by Saxon Andrew
Linda looked at Charlie, “New energy source?”
Grady stared at Linda and RJ said, “Perhaps they could use some help.” Grady looked at RJ and he raised his shoulders.
Grady turned to Linda, “Captain, I have another mission for you. Report to Joshua Goldman in the construction yard and have him train you on a new scout we’ve developed. Don’t waste time learning your new ship and once you’re ready, you will head out to Andromeda and find our scout. Contact them and offer your help in scouting for an advanced civilization.”
“How long will it take us to learn how to fly this new ship?”
“You should know everything in less than two or three days. Its controls are identical to your current ship with only a few modifications concerning a dark matter energy system. Get moving and consider this mission top secret.”
“Yes sir.”
“You’re dismissed.” Linda and Sharon went to attention, did an about face, and left Grady’s office. Grady turned to RJ, “Are you sure about this?”
“Grady, those two avoided detection from numerous Colony Scouts with a Stealth Scanner. Who better to send than them?” Grady nodded and worried about Cami. Had they found an advanced, dangerous civilization? Were they still alive?
• • •
Cami turned to Robert with a furrowed brow, “Are you hearing it?”
Robert’s eyes were narrow, and he nodded, “It’s getting louder.”
“I’ve not been able to shut it out of my mind.”
“Do you still want to be notified if I detect something out of the ordinary?” the computer inquired.
“Yes,” Cami replied.
“I’m detecting a vast globe ahead of us filled with telepathic frequencies.”
“How far ahead of us is it?”
“You’ll be inside it in ten minutes at current speed.”
Robert pulled the thruster handle back and ordered, “Show the area in question on the wall monitor.”
A gigantic blue globe appeared ahead of them that filled the monitor. It stretched into the distance on all sides of the Heartbreaker. “What is that?!” Cami asked.
“I have no idea. Computer, are you saying that globe is filled with thoughts?”
“No, I’m not, Captain”
“Then what do you detect?”
“That globe is filled with telepathic frequencies; they do not form thoughts.”
Cami stared at the globe and fought to stop the roar in her mind, “It must be like our telepathic scanner and they use it to detect anything that enters it.”
“You’re probably right about that. But there’s no way I’m entering that globe; the roar is almost debilitating.”
Cami nodded and fought to stop the roar in her head. Finally she said, “Back away from it. I need a break.” Robert backed the Heartbreaker away from the giant globe until the roar became bearable. Cami looked at her console and said, “I’m detecting some large ships approaching the globe off our starboard side.”
Robert saw the ships on the tactical monitor and turned the Heartbreaker to move in closer to them. Cami frowned and looked at Robert, “The Commander on one of those ships is saying that a warship has been shadowing them and is starting to move in on his ship.”
“Find it?”
Cami adjusted her telepathic scanner and said, “It’s behind that group of freighters and it’s picking up speed.”
“This should prove interesting,” Robert commented.
The ten freighters passed into the giant globe at high speed and Cami kept them on the optical scanner. The warship followed them in, and Cami shook her head, “I don’t believe any of those ships are detecting that globe.” She paused and said, “Something’s coming.”
Robert looked up at the tactical monitor and saw a dot on the edge of the optical scanner’s range and it was moving fast. The warship pursuing the freighters also detected it and came to a stop.
• • •
“What is that?”
“Ship Kahn, it’s some kind of ship and it’s moving this way at a high rate of speed. It will arrive in less than one minute.”
“Stop the ship!” The warship came to a stop and it saw the ten freighters it had been pursuing also come to a stop ten miles in front of them. The object moved in and decelerated in front of the ten freighters. It came to a stop and the warship along with Cami and Robert were stunned; the ship was larger than a Colony Carrier, much larger.
• • •
“Computer, are you recording this?”
“I am.”
A giant door in the side of the ship opened and two freighters flew inside it. Cami zoomed in and saw the two freighters were dropping all the crops that were stored on them. They weren’t packaged or bound in any way. The plants were shoved out of the freighters’ landing bays to the floor of the giant ship’s landing bay. Once they were empty, the two freighters flew out of the opposite side of the giant ship as two more freighters moved forward. Cami was focused on the giant ship’s landing bay and said, “All the crops that have been dropped on the floor are being moved to the side and into some kind of processing machine.”
The next two freighters repeated the process and the Computer announced, “I’m detecting another ship approaching at high speed.”
Robert backed the ship further away from the globe and he focused on the warship still holding position ten miles out from the Freighters.
• • •
“Ship Kahn, those freighters appear to be transporting some kind of plants in their bays. They’re not transporting anything of value for us to take.”
“This was a consummate waste of time!” The Kahn scowled.
“Kahn, another ship is approaching at high speed.”
“Turn and get us away from here now!”
• • •
Cami stared at the Tactical monitor and she said in a soft voice, “Oh my aunt’s beard!” Robert’s eyes were wide open as a giant warship, even larger than the first ship, came roaring in at high speed directly toward the fleeing warship. It was pulsing blue and violet colors as it passed the freighters and rushed in on the warship fleeing at high speed. A bright red beam shot out of the giant warship and hit the fleeing warship stopping it instantly.
Another brilliant white beam shot out of the giant and the Computer announced, “That is the most powerful scanning beam ever detected by any of our ships throughout humanity’s history.” There was a pause and the Computer added, “That ship is extracting all the data in that warship’s computers.” After a minute, a brilliant blue beam shot out of the giant ship vaporizing the small warship. The giant warship then turned slightly and accelerated away.
Robert turned the Heartbreaker and pushed the thruster handle forward. “What are you doing?!”
Robert kept his eyes on the monitor and answered, “We’re going to follow that warship to see where it’s going. We must find out what it’s doing.”
“If I were ever going to influence you now would be the time!”
“Then stop me!”
“I can’t! I promised not to use my talent on you.”
“Do you think we should just let it go? Cami, that ship flew past us well within scanner range and it didn’t appear to see us. We must find out what it’s up to and where it’s going.”
“Where do you think it’s going?”
“It just collected all the data in that warship’s computers and if I had to guess, I believe it’s headed to that warship’s planet.”
“Are we able to keep up with it?”
Robert shrugged, “I’m at half-speed and it’s not moving away from us. If it turns on us, we’ll go to full speed and escape.”
Cami nodded and said, “I’m hearing the same roar from the globe in that ship only it’s not as loud.”
“Are you able to decipher anything?”
“No, I’m not.”
“It appears that warship didn’t know anything about the Farmers. They were surprised that the freighters were delivering c
rops which tells me they are ignorant about them.”
Cami stared at the giant ahead of them and said, “Computer, activate the universal translator.”
“I’ve set the base language to the one that was being used on that destroyed warship. I think we collected enough to be able to translate their language,” the computer replied. Cami sat back in her chair and stared at the blue and violet pulsating lights on the giant warship.
“It appears we’re headed out toward the edge of Andromeda. That ship is locked on a course toward a star near the periphery of the galaxy. We should arrive in less than five hours.” Robert turned to Cami, “Take control of the ship; I’m going to get some sleep on the way.”
“How can you sleep at a time like this?!”
“Simple, stay awake for twenty hours. Wake me if anything changes.” Robert closed his eyes and reclined his chair. Cami took control of the ship and blew out a harsh breath. She wished she could sleep but that wasn’t going to happen. After thirty minutes, Cami ordered, “Computer, if that ship changes course in the slightest, wake both of us up and maintain this distance from it.”
“Order acknowledged, Admiral.” Cami reclined her chair, closed her eyes, and fell instantly to sleep. Robert was right, twenty hours of no sleep did the trick.
Chapter Twelve
The giant warship entered a star system and the computer sent a wakeup message to Robert and Cami. They raised their chairs and stared at the tactical monitor. Hundreds of warships like the one the giant destroyed came rushing in to cut the giant ship off before it arrived at an inhabited planet near the central star. They opened fire but the giant ship ignored them and continued at high speed toward the planet. Robert slowed the ship and followed the running battle into the center of the star system and was amazed that nothing was getting through the giant ship’s force field. By the time it moved into orbit above the planet, there were more than three thousand warships attacking the giant.
“Computer, analyze the blasters being used by the warships attacking the giant ship.”
“They are comparable to the Grang blasters.”
The giant ship moved around the planet and stopped above a large city on the planet’s surface. A loud voice came over the loudspeakers, “One of your warships has violated our domain and we are here to implement punishment for the transgression. You have one minute to make contact with us to discuss your options.” A minute passed as the thousands of warships continued their attacks. The giant ship suddenly fired a brilliant blue beam at a city located on the horizon from the large city and it was vaporized into molten slag. “You now have thirty seconds to discuss your options or another city will be destroyed.”
“Who are you!” a voice said over the loudspeaker.
“That is not relevant to our discussion. You will have your warships move away or they will be destroyed.” The voice didn’t respond, and hundreds of blue beams shot out from the giant warship and vaporized the warships closest to it. The other warships turned and fled from the giant ship and the voice from the planet asked, “Why are you attacking us?”
“One of your warships entered our sovereign territory and we do not allow that. Any ship that violates our space is destroyed and the planet where it came from is punished for its actions. You now have two options to decide on. We don’t care which one you choose but the decision is left up to you.”
“What are the options?”
“The first option is that you will start growing crops on your planet and will deliver them to us on a timely basis. The second option is to refuse the first option, and we will destroy every living thing on your planet as well as all of your warships. Choose which one you will accept.”
“Is your single ship capable of carrying out option one?”
“We have often run into doubt about our capabilities, so I am willing to offer a demonstration if you require it.”
“And what will that demonstration look like?”
“I will destroy half of your warships and fifty of your largest cities.” The voice was silent and suddenly hundreds of blue beams erupted from the giant warship and hit fifteen-hundred warships around the planet.
The voice suddenly yelled, “WE NEED NO DEMONSTRATION! WE CHOOSE THE FIRST OPTION!!”
The blue beams stopped, and they heard, “Less there be any misunderstandings, we’re giving you your directions on carrying out the first option. We will be sending landing sleds to the surface with the seeds of the plants you are required to grow and harvest. It will take about seven months for them to ripen and you will then harvest them for shipment to a collection ship within two months. They do not need to be packaged, just fill a freighter and shove them out into the collection ship’s landing bay. Do you understand so far?”
“I do.”
“The coordinates of the collection ship is written on each sled. Make the delivery within ten months from this moment and we’ll consider you keeping option one.”
“How many deliveries must we make?”
“You will make the deliveries from this moment forward and failure to deliver on time will lead to the implementation of option two.”
“Are you saying we must do this forever?!”
“That is the punishment for violating our space. You will also find a communicator on one of the sleds with a large yellow button on it. If any civilization threatens to delay your deliveries, you will press that button and we will come and remove the threat. We do not allow our communities to be attacked or harmed by outside forces.”
“Are you going to invade my planet and take control?”
“We have no desire to control your planet. You will be free to run it as you choose. You are only required to deliver the crops on time.”
“Will we be able to meet your requirements if those plants spread out on my planet’s surface?”
“Only the seeds you are given initially will be planted and harvested. Once the plants are harvested, they will re-grow in seven months and they will not expand to cover more territory.”
“And what happens if a planet we’ve attacked comes here to attack us?”
“We will not save you from your own actions. If you cause your planet to be attacked, we will not intervene. However, if you miss a delivery, we will implement option two.”
“And what happens if a new leader in the future decides not to continue the deliveries?”
“Then option two will be implemented.”
“May we escort our freighters with our warships?”
“You may do whatever you choose as long as the deliveries are made on time. However, if one of your warships enters our domain, we will immediately implement option two and you will not be offered option one a second time.”
• • •
Cami looked at Robert, “I know why they’re called Farmers.”
“Why is that?”
“Because anyone that runs a foul of them are given no option but to become Farmers.” Robert tilted his head and then nodded.
• • •
“Now is the time to decide; which option do you choose?”
“May I ask a question of my Fleet Commander?”
“You may.”
“Is there anyway we can avoid doing this?”
“Sire, this ship can destroy us all and there’s nothing we can do to prevent it.”
“Then we choose option one.”
Suddenly, small sleds came out of the giant warship and started moving toward the planet’s surface. Thirty minutes later, the giant warship flew away at high speed.
• • •
The Planet’s Leader immediately contacted his Fleet Commander, “Are you certain we can’t do anything to stop this?”
“Sire, we’ve scanned that ship and it’s so far ahead of us technologically that we’re not even in the game and I doubt we’ll be able to defeat it for centuries to come. We can work on it, but I suspect that ship will also be more advanced as we work on coming up with a ship to meet it on an even footing. W
e’re at least fortunate that they are leaving us alone and only requiring us to deliver those plants.”
“What about the planets we’ve conquered?”
“We better make sure they don’t gang up on us.”
“We could defeat all of them.”
“That’s probably true but if they cause enough damage to delay one of those shipments, we’re doomed. We need to come to peace terms with them to prevent that happening.”
“They couldn’t do that much damage!”
“What if they get a ship through our defenses and nuke the plants destroying them. It won’t be as difficult as you think, Sire. And if just one of them knows about that species and learns we’re now growing crops for them…”
The Leader suddenly felt his fear rise; the Commander was right. “They’ll target the plants. What can we do about this?”
“Give them their freedom and tell them we won’t attack them in the future. That way, if they then choose to attack us, we’ll hold them off with our warships and call that ship back to remove them. That’s the only way I see out of this trap.”
“I’ll discuss it with the Governors.”
• • •
Cami turned to Robert and saw he was staring at his console. “What do you think?” Robert shook his head. Cami remarked, “It appears an aggressive civilization has just had its wings clipped.”
Robert nodded, “Yes, it has. But it has also lost whatever freedom it had as well. Now its existence is dependent on the delivery of those plants.”
“But the universe is safer as a result,” Cami stated.
“I know you’re right Cami. But would you prefer a universe controlled by those giant powerful warships?”
“Its big but it’s not that powerful,” the computer stated. Robert and Cami were both shocked by the statement.
• • •
Grady looked at the scouting report from the Triangulum Galaxy and saw that many of the surviving warships from the war in Andromeda were starting to return. He struggled with what to do about it and he looked up, “Taffy, do you have a moment?”
Taffy walked in smiling holding Rick, “Sure. Rick has just been fed and he’s almost asleep. What’s up?”