by Saxon Andrew
“DUNCAN, YOU CAN’T DO THAT. THE COLONIES WILL BE IMMEDIATELY ATTACKED!!” Tal stated forcefully.
“I’m not that stupid, Tal. I’m sending in fifteen modified Sha class warships to take your place and their orders are to go out and attack Brotherhood warships one-on-one. They’ll fire on a Brotherhood vessel and immediately run before they can launch their small ships. That will keep the Cyren’s believing that we’re still carrying out their demand to attack the Brotherhood. They should be able to keep their numbers above single digits for a while.”
“And just where are you going to get fifteen warships to replace us, Duncan?”
“They’ve been training on simulations that have been made from your recordings of your most recent battles with the Brotherhood. Currently, they’re far out in interstellar space high above Andromeda and will go in and take your place when you leave the freighters.” Duncan paused, “Those ships are highly trained and have learned from your experiences. They been practicing hit and run tactics on their simulators and I’m confident they can draw this out for a little longer.”
“And if they can’t?” Tal asked.
Duncan started to answer but Ka interrupted, “What happens to us, Duncan.”
Duncan turned his attention to Ka, “I wish I could tell you that you’re going home to live your lives out being worshiped by the planet that adores you…but unfortunately, that isn’t going to happen.”
“Why not?” Tal asked.
“Tal, we’re still heavily outnumbered and need every warship we have in this conflict.” Tal sighed and lowered his head.
Chapter Two
Drum Gowie looked at Captain Taylor and John could see his nervousness, “Drum, I need you to do this. You’ve listened to enough of their transmissions to pull it off. I don’t trust anyone else to do it.”
“Why not, Captain?!”
“Because the Brotherhood language has a certain rhythm to it, Drum, and you can sound like one of their pilots. For this to work, you have to make them think you’re in a damaged and stranded ship.”
“Captain…”
“Drum, this must be done and quickly. Who else among the scouts can pull it off?” Drum sighed and shook his head as he looked at the floor. “I know this is dangerous, but not any more dangerous than what you’ve been doing for the last six-months.”
“Do you have a suggestion on where this should happen?” Drum asked.
“Yes.” John answered. “The Brotherhood fleets that were involved in Admiral Talent’s most recent attack have returned to their planets. One of them is just inside communicator range of where it happened. We’ve modified your communication panel to broadcast on a Brotherhood frequency.”
“They’ll immediately know I’m not one of them, Captain. I don’t have any identification to use to identify myself.”
“Then make them believe you’re too frightened to be coherent. Get the message out and cut it off.”
“When do you want me to do this?”
“Drum, you need to leave immediately. The coordinates of where you need to go have been sent to your scout.”
“You know my scout is too slow to outrun them, Captain?” John nodded. “Well, I’ll give it a go.” Drum walked across the Africa’s giant landing bay and went to the launch tube where his scout was located. He boarded the scout and transmitted, “Assassin’s Spear ready for launch.” The tube’s port opened, and Drum launched the Spear out of it. He activated his phase drive and accelerated away. Captain Taylor watched his scout disappear and prayed he would survive.
• • •
Drum arrived at the coordinates he was given and looked out at the distant star. He saw on his monitor that there were ten planets orbiting the star and the second one had high energy readings. He was far outside the Brotherhood’s scanning range, but he was inside the range of their communicators. He thought about it for a few moments, and then moved in closer to the planetary system. He stopped and shook his head. Why me? he thought. He thought about it and tried to figure out how to deliver this message. It had to sound realistic and he just didn’t think he could make that happen. He saw a Brotherhood warship blow past him in the distance headed toward the planet and waited, didn’t need to have one inside their scanning range. He picked up his drum sticks and started a beat on his console. After a few minutes, he felt himself relax. He activated his recorder and played the rhythm, so he could remember it. Then, he had a thought, “Computer, use the recording I just made and overlay what I’m going to say on top of it. Ready?”
“You may begin recording.” Drum smiled and began shouting. After he finished, he ordered, “Computer, replay it.” He listened and then activated the Brotherhood frequency.
• • •
The Communication Officer on a Brotherhood battleship announced, “Commander, I’m receiving a communication.”
“Put it on the speaker,” the Commander ordered.
“…ME?! IS ANYONE RECEIVING ME?! MY BERSERKER IS HEAVILY DAMAGED AND I’M DEAD IN SPACE, ALL SYSTEMS ARE FAILING!!” The Commander turned back to the wall monitor; this was just a pilot that failed in his suicide mission; he should just be allowed to die. “MY SCANNER IS DAMAGED AND IS ONLY RECEIVEING A VERY HIGH FREQUENCY…IT’S A GIANT!! IT’S LARGER THAN ANYTHING I’VE EVER SEEN!!” The transmission broke up for a moment and the Commander turned back around, what was this?
“I CAN SEE IT ON MY MONITOR! IT’S FLASHING BLUE, YELLOW, AND PURPLE AND IS LARGER THAN TWENTY WARSHIPS!! IS ANYONE RECEIVING ME?! IS ANYONE RECEIVING ME?! THE FREQUENCY IS…”
“Get that frequency,” the Commander ordered his communications officer. The officer entered it into his panel as they heard, “OH MY CREATOR!! IT’S MOVING TOWARD ME! IT MUST BE ABLE TO HEAR ME!! IT’S TURNING A GIANT BLASTER TOWARD ME AND OPENING…”
The officer turned to the Commander, “The transmission has been suddenly shut off!”
“What was that noise in the background?” the Commander demanded.
“It must have been his systems failing, Commander. Something scared that pilot!”
“Did you get a line on that transmission?” The communication officer nodded. Get ten ships moving out to investigate. I want a copy of this sent to the Fleet Commander now. Are you able to scan that frequency?!”
“Barely, Commander.”
“Give it to the ships going out to scout the area!”
• • •
The ten Brotherhood warships flew out on the line of the communication to where the recent battle had been fought and found the debris of hundreds of destroyed berserkers. They scanned using the new frequency and reported back that nothing had shown up.
The Commanders eyes were narrow, and the communication officer asked, “Was he delirious?”
“He sounded like his mind was clear. Something out there scared him! I want all our ships to start scanning this frequency. If anything shows up, report it to me immediately!”
“Yes, Commander.”
• • •
Drum immediately accelerated from the site of the recent battle and moved at a ninety-degree angle to it. He flew at the scout’s maximum speed and saw ten Brotherhood warships pass behind him at maximum-speed. He flew for an hour and then moved the scout vertical toward the freighters. Just before he moved out of scanning range, he saw Brotherhood warships moving out from the planets they were defending, far below him. Now this should prove to be interesting.
• • •
The Supreme Commander of the Brotherhood fleets listened to the berserker’s recording and turned to the Senior Officer commanding his flagship, “What do you think about this?”
“I don’t know what to think, Commander.” He turned to the senior scanning officer, “If an invisible ship was out there, would we have detected it?”
“Not on normal frequencies, Sir. That frequency is far above our scanner’s normal band.”
The Supreme Commander’s eyes narrowed, “Launch scouts from every planet and have them sca
n on that frequency for a thousand light years out from their planets.” The Senior Officer turned and began issuing orders.
• • •
The Cyren warship hung in space far outside Brotherhood territory and one of the crew announced, “I have a wave of Invader scouts moving toward us, Controller.”
“What is their purpose?”
The Cyren looked at his panel and then looked back up, “I suspect they’re seeing if any alien fleets are planning another attack.” The Controller flowed back into his holding container and watched the monitor.
• • •
One of the Brotherhood scouts said over his communicator, “Are you seeing…”
“YOU WILL BE SILENT!!” the scout commander ordered loudly. “All scouts will hold their formation and continue on their present course! In three hours, we will turn and return to the fleet!!” The scouts passed above the giant Cyren Warship and all of them recorded what they were seeing on their displays.
• • •
Three hours later, the scout commander said over his communicator, “All of you heard that berserker pilot state that a ship like that was hearing his transmissions. What do you think would have happened if we mentioned anything about seeing it?!” No one replied. “All of us would have been destroyed!” the scout leader continued. “They believe we can’t see them and we must get this information back to Command.”
“Scout Leader, that thing is…”
“I know!” the scout leader interrupted. “We’ve done our duty, now it’s up to the battleships to handle this…if they can.”
• • •
Tal went back to Zak’s Jil and saw the crew was at their stations. The scouts reported in that no Cyren warships had been detected near the freighters and Tal walked to his chair, activated all of the surviving ship’s monitors on his console and ordered, “All ships will form up and, on my order, start moving vertically above the freighters.” Tal watched the fifteen black warships move into formation and he ordered, “Start moving your ships.” The formation moved above the freighters and Tal ordered, “Go to maximum speed.” The fifteen ships accelerated, and Tal watched the Andromeda Galaxy start falling behind them. An hour later he announced, “Attention all ships, we will be changing course for the Milky Way. We’re headed back to Earth and I’m implementing a communication black out. I’ll tell you what’s going on when we’re closer to our galaxy.”
Indie turned to Tal with his eyebrows raised. Tal handed him a chip with a recording of his conversation with Admiral Montana. “Play this to the crew.”
Indie took the chip and inserted it into his console. A moment later, the crew heard it on their helmets. Jab and Ryshana stood behind him and Tal handed his helmet to Jab. They held the helmet between them and listened together.
• • •
Tal leaned back and put his hands behind his head. He noticed Ka listening to the meeting again and knew he should be doing the same, but Jab and Ryshana needed to know what was going on. He had plenty of time to hear it again on the voyage home. He wondered if the plan to pit the Brotherhood against the Cyrens had been successful. Well…he’d find out from Duncan later. He thought about the current situation and didn’t like it. But…it was what it was. He saw the Andromeda Galaxy on his monitor moving far below the ship as his survivors flew high above it. Two days later, it was behind them and he saw the distant small light that was the Milky Way. He was tired…very tired. It was like using a spoon to drain one of the great lakes; progress was invisible and appeared nothing was being done. He felt like a failure and thought that resigning from the Navy might be the best thing; let someone else pick up this load. A week later, he played the chip to the other fourteen ships and began taking their questions.
Sr. Captain Doughty said over her console, “Alright, you know your assignments. We’re moving in to the freighters as soon as Admiral Talent’s ships move far enough away from Andromeda. We will separate and head out to start our attacks immediately after arriving at the freighters. WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO COME AND SAVE YOUR BACKSIDES!” Gracie paused and added, “Do not take any chances. Get in, open fire, and get out immediately. Use your scanners and don’t get caught in an ambush. Hit them on the edges and keep at it. We will report back to the freighters one week after we start our attacks to see how we’re doing. Go to full speed; Admiral Talent’s fleet is clear.” The fifteen new Sha warships accelerated toward the freighters and were past them in ten minutes; these new Sha’s were faster and even the berserkers would not be able to match their speed.
• • •
Drum landed on the Africa and Captain Taylor met him in the landing bay. “Did it work?” Drum asked.
“We don’t know yet, Captain.”
Drum snickered, “I’m a lieutenant, Captain.”
“Not any more, Drum. You’ve been given command of the Africa’s scouts and need to start planning how to use them effectively.”
Drum’s expression showed his surprise, “But…I’m not cut out to…”
“There’s no one better suited to do it, Captain,” John interrupted. “I’ve scheduled a meeting with the scouts under your command in an hour. Keep Admiral Doughty informed of what you find out; you’re going to have to be the eyes and ears of our forces here in Andromeda. Make me proud, Drum!” Drum was at a loss on what to do. John smiled, “I’d suggest you look for any Cyren vessels near the Brotherhood’s space and keep an eye on them.”
Drum smiled, “That’s a good place to start. Who is commanding the scouts from the Brazil?”
John smiled, “Oh, I forgot to mention that you are also in command of them as well.”
“Are they still out keeping track of any Cyren Warships leaving their space toward Andromeda’s core?” John nodded. “That should make things easier.”
“I’m sending all the communication frequencies of your scouts to your new Command Scout.” Drum’s eyebrows came together, and John chuckled, “You can keep the name, Drum. Just find out what’s going on.”
Drum felt his communicator vibrate and he opened it. Every scout in Andromeda was going to be in the meeting and he nodded absently as John walked away. He thought about how to find the Cyrens scouting the warzone and his mind began crystalizing a plan.
• • •
Captain Ferguson looked at his monitor and turned to Brigette, “Do you have the planets we’ve been assigned?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Lay in a course for the center planet. We have fifteen to choose from and that’s a good place to start. Stay outside the range of their scanners.”
Fredrick turned to his weapon’s officer, “Mike, use a missile on our first target; they have a longer range than our pulse cannons.”
“Sir, we need to use our missiles sparingly. The pulse cannons are not going to run out of power; we could run out of missiles.”
“Mike, use a missile on the first target! We need to watch how they react to being attacked. Once that’s determined, I’ll give you more freedom.”
“Yes, Sir,” Mike responded.
• • •
The Liverpool moved into a planetary system toward the Brotherhood fleet holding position out from the conquered planet. Fredrick moved the ship out to the side of the giant formation and stopped outside the scanning range of the Brotherhood fleet. He turned to Mike, “Attack profile?”
“The fleet is holding position with their phase fields down, Sir. The missile shouldn’t need to waste its blaster knocking down a phase field.”
“After launching, how long until impact, Mike.”
“If we launch from here, about a minute and ten seconds, Sir. With the new coating on the missile, it shouldn’t be detected until two seconds before impact.”
Fredrick thought about it and asked, “Mike, are our systems capable of locking on a target and destroying it two seconds from impact?”
“Barely. However, if they’re on automatic defense, our pulse cannons should knock it out more than twenty miles
out.”
“I want you to start leaving the system on automatic whenever we’re near Brotherhood warships,” Fredrick ordered.
“Yes, Sir. I’ve done that prior to our moving in.”
Fredrick turned to Bridgette, “Are you able to detect any Cyren Vessels?”
“No, Captain. None are present near this planet.”
“If your scanners detect them, I want to know immediately, Bridgette. We will be forced to avoid using some of our new systems if they are close enough to detect us using them. This ship must appear exactly like the ships we’ve replaced.”
“Currently, none are in range to detect our attack, Sir.
Fredrick smiled, “The ship is yours, Mike. A coated missile and maximum speed are authorized to be used in this attack.”
“Turn the bow ninety degrees, Sir. I’m targeting the outer warship in the top row closest to our position.” Fredrick changed the Liverpool’s orientation and Mike nodded, “That’s good, Sir. Launch in four…three…two…one…”
Everyone felt the vibration as the large missile left the ship. Fredrick turned the ship away from the Brotherhood fleet, “Bridgette, keep a scan running from the rear scanners.”
“Locked on, Sir. Images will be on the front monitor.”
Fredrick stared at the forward monitor and watched the chronometer. A little over a minute later, a giant explosion appeared on the monitor. Mike said, “YESSSS!” and pumped his fist. Fredrick saw the Brotherhood fleet instantly scatter in all directions with numerous warships going to maximum speed toward the Liverpool’s position. He noticed that only the outer ranks of the fleet scattered; the two inner ranks remained in place out from the planet. Fredrick pushed the thruster handle forward and the Liverpool accelerated away long before the Brotherhood warships moved into scanning range. He turned the Liverpool into a dive and moved back under the pursuing warships. The Brotherhood ships began putting space between themselves as they moved out from their original position. He turned the ship vertical and Mike fired a barrage of pulse cannons at a warship moving over them. It exploded, and he dove the Liverpool directly away from the destroyed warship. Four minutes later, he changed course to another Brotherhood planet assigned to his crew. He rejected it when a Cyren Warship was detected close by.