by Saxon Andrew
The Fleet Commander nodded, as he ordered, “Order the scouts to make sure no enemy warships are approaching any of the planets we’re defending. Notify me immediately if anything is detected.” The second nodded and began issuing orders. Every Brotherhood scout was called in to the defended planets leaving none to witness what was going to happen to the abandoned planets.
• • •
Tal saw Drum appear on his monitor, “Admiral, my scouts have reported that the Brotherhood warships have stopped communicating with each other. It also appears that all of their scouts are moving in to surround the space where the defended planets are located.”
Tal punched his console, “JEE, RACHAEL, MOVE YOUR FLEETS OUT FROM BROTHERHOOD SPACE IMMEDIATELY! MOVE VERTICALLY ABOVE THEIR TERRITORY OUT OF SCANNER RANGE AND BE PREPARED TO GET BACK IN IF I ORDER IT. GET THEM MOVING NOW!”
“Sir…”
“I DON’T HAVE TIME TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS, RACHAEL! FOLLOW YOUR ORDERS AND GET MOVING!!” Tal shouted over his communicator.
Ka was staring at Tal with a shocked expression and Tal quickly said, “Ryshana is right. They’re not going to defend the undefended planets.”
“How do you know?”
“Ka, they’ve shut down communications between their warships to prevent any of them from disobeying orders. Imagine that some of the colonies were being attacked and our ships defending Earth could hear them.”
“Some of the warships from the colonies would leave to go to their defense,” Ka replied.
“That commander was smart in sending all the warships defending those planets to defend the High Cleric. The ones remaining are from the defended planets and probably wouldn’t disobey their orders not to go and defend the planets being attacked. But he’s not taking any chances. However, if his scouts detect our fleets just outside their territory, they will launch an attack against us. We’ve got to get our fleets out before their scouts arrive!”
Drum appeared on his monitor, “Sir, all of our ships have moved out of Brotherhood space at maximum speed and are now holding position high above them outside their scanning range.”
“Did any of the Brotherhood scouts arrive before we moved?”
“No, Sir. They’re arriving as we speak.”
“Tell your scouts they’re doing an excellent job, Captain. Keep me informed if you see any Brotherhood activity moving out of their defended planets.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Tal turned and said, “Lieutenant, I want the recordings from my two ships sent to me the moment they start coming in.”
“Yes, Sir.”
• • •
“Sir, I have twenty-one warships moving in from the outer edge of the planetary system,” Lt. Russel announced.
“Are we outside the range of their scanners?” Jab asked.
“Yes, Sir; we are.”
“How long will it take for them to arrive at the Brotherhood planet?”
“They’re moving in at high speed and will arrive at the planet in less than an hour.”
“Start the recording the moment they move into orbit.” Bobby nodded and turned back to his console. Jab looked at Ryshana and saw her powering up her weapons, “Captain, are you anticipating trouble?”
“I’m not at all certain the aliens look at us as friends, Jab. I’m not taking a chance of them detecting us and opening fire,” Ryshana answered.
Jab smiled slightly, “You make a good point. The ship will go to battle stations. Power up all weapons and defense systems.” The alarms sounded and Jab shut them off after a few seconds. He activated the intercom and asked, “Engineering, are you ready for possible combat?”
“We are, Sir. We’re raising power to the generators.”
Jab turned back to his console and saw Ryshana staring at her monitor. He wondered what she was thinking about the coming alien attack on the planet but he was reluctant to ask; he might not like her answer. He had been watching images from the planet and it looked like any normal planet inhabited by humans. The cities were vibrant and the streets filled with people going about their daily tasks. The farming communities were working in the fields and he shook his head at the dichotomy of how most of the women on the planet lived in terrible conditions while the military and leaders lived a life of luxury in the cities. The data collected on the planet revealed that the Brotherhood had invaded and conquered the planet two-hundred years earlier destroying the civilization that lived on it. Every being died and fifty years later, the Brotherhood colonists arrived. There were still vast tracks of land that were uninhabited and the burned ruins of the former civilization remained covered in vegetation and decay. He knew how evil the Brotherhood was…but…there were countless numbers of children and infants on the planet. He lowered his head slightly and shook his head. He looked up after a moment and saw Ryshana staring at him. “There were children and infants there when the Brotherhood attacked the alien inhabitants, Jab.”
“Am I that transparent?”
Ryshana nodded, “You’re feeling guilty about sentencing them to death.” Jab stared at her and she shrugged slightly, “Removing them will save untold numbers of other children from their future attacks. The ones coming to remove them are right to do it.”
The crew was listening to the exchange and Makayla asked, “What if we’re ordered to attack one of their planets. They’ve never attacked us.”
Ryshana’s expression turned angry and Jab spoke up before she could, “You need to look at your history, Makayla. The Brotherhood killed more than a million people on Earth before they were defeated and forced to leave. If they discover Earth’s location, they would go and burn the planet down to the bedrock leaving nothing alive. Do you prefer to wait until that happens before we take action?”
Makayla looked at Jab and shook her head, before answering, “It’s just that they look so normal that it’s hard to believe they’re like that, Sir.”
Jab sat back and tilted his head slightly, “Makayla, the Brotherhood leaders pulled all the warships out defending that planet. They abandoned the population to protect themselves and it appears they’re not sending ships out to save them. What does that tell you about this civilization?” Makayla was silent and Jab added, “Even with that, the believers on this planet would still gladly go out and kill intelligent civilizations. They will not change and they’re a danger to any one that’s not a part of their society.” Jab nodded toward the monitor showing the planet, “The only answer to them is radical surgery removing them from existence. Those aliens remember their world being attacked and destroyed. They have no issues with returning the favor.” Jab paused and added, “And neither should we. It’s our fault for sending them out to sow destruction and sorrow in this galaxy. We didn’t have the guts to do what should have been done and now we are here trying to prevent them from destroying our civilization.”
“But the children and infants are innocent, Sir!”
“Makayla, go into the computer’s database and look up the recordings of the Brotherhood while they were on Earth. See what they did with their children and infants when they were attacked. Then tell me how we could save them.”
The crew turned to their consoles and after thirty minutes Makayla looked up. “Sir.” Jab turned to her. “There’s no way to go in and save them. They’d just hurl them at any one making the effort to save them as they attacked.”
“It would lead to the death of millions of warriors trying to save them,” Jab replied. “And most of the young children would die in the effort.”
Makayla turned to Ryshana, “Are they really like that?”
“Worse!” Ryshana replied. “You’ve seen the pilots of their Berserkers suicide crashing into warships. Every one of them on that planet will willingly die to kill anyone that’s not a believer. They did it on Earth and they’re doing it now. Their High Cleric won’t lose a moments sleep over the billions that die on the undefended planets; they are nothing more than tools for him to use to expand his dominion; th
ey have no value in his eyes. I watched my father and brothers die fighting for the Brotherhood and my mother and I were sent to hard labor in the farms after they were gone. I watched my mother die a long slow death from cancer and there was medicine that would have saved her that the Brotherhood does not allow the farming communities to have. Our child would have a similar future if it was born on a Brotherhood planet.”
Jab’s eyes suddenly opened wide, “What do you mean ‘our child’?” Ryshana turned from Makayla and shook her head before lowering it. “What do you mean, Ryshana!”
“I wanted to wait to tell you, Jab.”
Jab was out of his chair in an instant and was kneeling in front of her, “Are you saying…?”
“Yes, we’re going to have a child, Jab.”
Jab took her in his arms and hugged her. Ryshana put her arms around his neck and put her head into his shoulder. The crew was silent and finally, Jab released her and stood up. He looked around at the crew and said in a voice filled with menace, “To answer your earlier question, Makayla, if we are ordered to attack one of their planets, we will leave none of them alive to endanger humanity in the future. Is that clear!”
The crew stared at Jab and Makayla turned to Ryshana, “You have convinced me we’re doing the right thing. I know you are committed to protecting your family and I will do whatever I can to help make that happen.” Makayla turned to Jab, “This is probably not the best time to say it, but congratulations to you and Ryshana, Sir.”
The crew shouted their congratulations and Jab and Ryshana stood up and nodded to them. Jab went to his chair and it was clear his reluctance at destroying the Brotherhood was gone. He glared at the monitor and ordered, “Start the recording and send it to Admiral Talent.”
• • •
“Sir, the recording from Captain Montoya’s ship is coming in.”
“Put it on my console, Lieutenant.” Tal saw the Brotherhood planet appear as twenty-one large warships moved into orbit above it, spread out, and moved into the planet’s atmosphere. The image focused on one of the alien warships as it moved in above a huge city. The warship opened fire with it’s full compliment of heavy blasters as it moved from one end of the city to the other. The city exploded into flame as the towering skyscrapers came crashing down into the maelstrom. The giant warship moved out over the sprawling space port and continued the path of destruction. Hundreds of warships still in the construction process went up in massive explosions as the ship passed over them. One ship that was nearly completed tried to lift but was hit by an alien missile and exploded. Tal watched the destruction and as the warship left for another city he was left with an image of raging fires blowing through the ruins at horrific speed. This was the first city he had ever witness destroyed and it shocked him at how fast and fragile life could be when attacked by a modern warship.
Ka was watching the recording on her monitor and said, “That is what they want to do to Earth and the colonies if we don’t stop them.”
Tal nodded, “I know. It’s just…”
“Necessary!” Ka interrupted. Tal turned to her and after a moment, nodded.
• • •
Jab looked at Ryshana, “They’re not attacking the farming communities.”
Ryshana shrugged, “They’re saving the best for last. They have to remove the ship construction facilities first to remove any ships that might cause them danger.” Jab nodded and saw numerous bright lights appearing on the dark side of the planet. It took the aliens a day to hit all of the cities on the planet and some of them were revisited after every one of them were hit. Then, Jab saw hundreds of small ships leaving the warships. They moved out and went after the farming communities.
Jab expected Ryshana to be joyous at the destruction but her face was somber. He heard her say under her breath, “Such a waste.”
The farming communities were located just outside the cities and the flames from the cities’ destruction burned some of them. The people in the farming communities tried to flee into the forests but knew the only food available for them was in the community. They began gathering food to take with them but before they could scatter, the alien’s small attack ships arrived and fired their blasters into them. It was clearly evident that the aliens had scanners that found every believer wherever they tried to hide. The aliens spent another four days hunting down the ones hiding in the forests and fields.
Jab turned to Bobby, “Can you detect any of them still alive?”
“Not on this side of the planet, Sir. The aliens are still attacking the other side of the planet.”
Ryshana said softly, “Notice that no one came to defend them. I hate them so much!” Everyone turned to Ryshana and she continued, “The Clerics are to blame for this. They are the ones that rule with iron fists and have led these people astray with a sick theology. They could have been so much more.”
Jab looked at the crew and said, “We’ll remain here and make sure none of the believers survived the attack.”
“And if any did?” Gisselle asked.
“We will remove them!” Jab answered.
The alien ships finally left and after multiple scans, no humans were detected on the planet. The atmosphere was filled with smoke from the still burning cities and it would take a long time for it to settle out. But the planet still lived. The forests and animals living in them survived along with the life in the oceans. One day, the survivors of the former civilization could return and rebuild.
• • •
Tal watched the recordings and received a message from Captain Gowie that the ninety-three Brotherhood planets were in ruins. The Brotherhood had lost thirty-seven percent of the conquered planets along with the ship building facilities on them. It was a huge loss for them but what remained was still incredibly dangerous. Now the hard work would begin. Attacking the remaining planets was fraught with danger but it had to be done. Tal knew that more ships were going to be lost, but he had to hold out until a means of defeating the Cyren warships was found. Only then could the Brotherhood be removed. Tal touched his console and Rachael and Jee appeared on a monitor, “Once the aliens complete their destruction of the Brotherhood planets, you will be free to start your attacks on the defended planets on your side of the Brotherhood arc. They are not going to be easy to get at and you are free to use the full capabilities of your new warships. That includes using the Killer-Tee missiles and the new thrusters. Stay in touch with me on any new tactics the Brotherhood fleets use against you and I suggest you don’t take on a planet until your fleets have an opportunity to fight against the Berserkers surrounding their fleets.”
“Sir, may I speak with you for a moment privately?”
Tal turned his eyes to Jee, “I’ll start organizing my fleets immediately, Sir.” Tal looked at Rachael on his monitor and nodded.
“Sir, I apologize for my past behavior in questioning your commands.”
“Rachael, you are in command of the Colony Fleet and are second in command overall. I know that I have seniority and have been designated the Commander of all the forces in Andromeda, but I’m going to have to depend on you to use the Colony Fleet without my interference. My hands are going to be full commanding both fleets and I’ve been guilty of issuing commands without discussing them with you in advance. You had a right to demand to know what was going on.”
“Tal, this has nothing to do with our ranks. I am here commanding this fleet because of what you’ve taught me and I will not be challenging you again during an open meeting. I know I trust you are doing the right things and it’s time I accepted that without this constant urge to prove myself your equal. I’m not close to being you and what’s just happened proved it to me.”
“Thank you for that Rachael. We’re going to be separated by long distance and I’m focusing on both sides of the arc. Let me know if you run into issues and I’ll come to your defense if needed. You are perfect for the position you occupy and are far better than you think. Keep up the good work.”
Tal smiled and looked up, “Ashley, how long before our two wingmen return?”
“Captain Connor is on her way back now and should arrive in two hours. Captain Montoya is scanning the planet to insure there were no survivors.”
Ka said from her console beside him, “Perhaps we should do that before we start our attacks. If any are left behind, we’ll just have to do this again in the future.”
Tal shook his head, “I believe the final solution will take care of that issue, Ka.”
“Are you still planning to go through with it?”
Tal sighed and nodded, “I am.” Ka raised a shoulder and turned back to her console. Tal stared at her for a moment and said, “Ka, you have the ship.” Tal stood up and left the bridge. Ka wondered what he was doing but he walked to the conference room and closed the door behind him. She started to join him but he hadn’t invited her. She’d discuss it with him later.
Chapter Thirteen
Tal sat down at the front of the conference room and said, “Connect me with Ashley.” Ashley appeared on the console’s monitor and Tal ordered, “Connect me with Admiral Montana.”
A few minutes later, Duncan appeared on the monitor and Tal asked, “Duncan, are you any closer to finding a way to take on the Cyren warships?”
“We’re working on it, Tal; however, we’re working in the dark.”
“What are you saying, Duncan?”
“We don’t know how many Cyren warships we’re going to have to face.” Duncan paused and added, “My scientists don’t believe there is a huge number of them.”
“Why do they believe that?” Tal asked.
“If they had large numbers, they could just take out the Brotherhood. They’re not doing that because they don’t believe they could do it without being severely damaged in the effort. They do believe they can handle us but the Brotherhood numbers have forced them to back off until their number of warships have been substantially reduced.”