by Saxon Andrew
Candy nodded and pressed a button on her panel, “Teach me stars.” The computer activated, and Candy put on her headphones.
“Grady, how long before we arrive?”
“It’s a longer trip out to the edge of the Coma Arm but we should arrive in about a day.”
Taffy smiled, “My, how time has changed to travel the galaxy.” Grady nodded and turned back to his console to check on the ships in formation around the Rex Hare. Candy stared at the Milky Way passing far below the ship and Taffy saw her wide-open eyes, “What are you thinking, my love?”
Candy shook her head, “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, Mommy.”
Taffy smiled, “Indeed it is, honey.” Candy stared at the monitor for three hours until Taffy released her from her chair and said, “It’s time for you and Bob to go to your room and start going over your ABCs.” She turned to Bob and said, “Bob, take Candy to her room and start her language program.”
Bob came off his wall charger and Candy ran over and put her hand in one of Bob’s claws. They left the bridge and Grady sighed, “I wish I had that much energy.”
Taffy waved a hand at him, “You’ll never have as much energy as Bob, Grady.”
Grady turned to her, “I was talking about Candy!”
“Her either, Grady.”
Grady started laughing and Taffy tried to hide her smile. But he saw it and said softly, “I love you so much.”
• • •
The search began and after the first three months, Grady was starting to worry. Taffy saw it in his expression and put her hand on his arm. “There are just too many stars.”
“We can only do what we can, Grady.”
“I know.”
“This is worth doing, Grady. We need to keep looking and hope for the best.” Candy walked on the bridge and sat down in her chair. Taffy buckled her in and smiled, “Ready for your spelling Bee?” Candy nodded. Taffy said, “Spell cow.”
“C-O-W, cow,” Candy responded. “Come on mommy, you can give me bigger words than that.”
Taffy lowered her eyes and said, “Spell Apostrophe.” Taffy sat back smiling. That would show her.
Candy’s brow furrowed, and she asked, “Please say it slower.”
“Apostrophe,” Taffy repeated slowly.
Candy thought for a moment and started, “A-p-o-s-t-r-o-p-h-e.”
Taffy’s head went back, “You’re right. How were you able to do that?”
“Bob has been teaching me the rules of ABCs.”
Grady looked at Taffy, “What’s going on?”
“I programmed Bob and Robby with every book in the library on language. I guess they’re teaching her the rules of spelling.” Taffy turned back to Candy, “I’ll teach you what that word means later.”
“I know what it means. It’s a small curve used to separate words to shorten the spelling. I think it’s called a contraction.”
Taffy stared at Candy for a long moment and looked at Bob in his charging bracket, “Bob. How are you teaching her this?”
“I’ve reprogrammed her computer to include the rules of grammar. She learns words and their meanings at a very fast speed using many examples of each. She has become very proficient at using the program,” the robot answered.
“What about math?”
“She’s doing long division and five number multiplications, Taffy.”
Taffy looked at Candy and hugged her, “I’m so proud of you!”
“Thank you, Mommy. Give me some more words!”
Grady listened to them and wondered where Candy got her intelligence; it couldn’t have been him. Maybe Taffy was a lot smarter than he thought and she kept it hidden from him. He sighed and knew he didn’t stand a chance against both of them.
• • •
Six months passed and only a third of the spiral arm had been searched. Grady shook his head and Taffy sighed, “I know. This is impossible.”
Grady nodded, “Without some kind of clue, we’re wasting our time. Without an electronic signal, we could have missed the colony completely. We’ve only searched a third of the way back to the center line and we’ve not looked at thousands of stars where it might be hidden.”
Taffy sighed, “Candy turned six a month ago and we need to get her back to start school.”
Grady pulled up Desmond on the monitor and said, “Des, I believe this is a lost cause. There are millions of stars in this spiral arm and there’s no way our limited numbers can search them all.”
“Louisa and I have arrived at the same conclusion but I’m reluctant to say anything. Louisa believes even a hundred-thousand ships wouldn’t be enough to find the colony, if it’s really here.”
Grady nodded, “And there’s a real possibility that we’ve already passed it and didn’t detect it.”
Candy listened to them talking and quickly became bored. She wondered if she and Bob could go to her room to play. She looked at Bob from her chair and smiled, “Who are you talking to, Bob?”
Desmond was saying that they needed to call off the search when Candy asked her question and Grady and Taffy turned to her. They stopped talking and looked at the huge robot on his charging station. Desmond continued talking but saw them looking away and became silent. Bob replied, “I’m talking to another robot, Candy.”
Candy clapped her hands, “Can he come and play with us?”
“No, he’s on a planet a long way from here,” Bob answered.
Grady’s eyes were wide open, as he jumped out of his chair and ran over to Bob, “What do you mean he’s on a planet?”
“He’s on a planet we passed two months ago, Commander.”
“How did you…where was…how did this happen…”
Taffy touched Grady’s shoulder and said as Grady stopped talking, “Bob, are you saying that you contacted a robot on a planet two months ago.”
“Yes.”
“How did you do that?”
“I heard him on an old frequency we once used on Britannia and I sent him a message to see if he wanted to talk. He replied to my inquiry and we’ve been in contact since then.”
Grady turned to Candy, “How did you know Bob was talking to someone?”
Candy smiled, “The white light on his chest was flashing. It always flashes when he’s talking.”
Grady whipped his head around and saw a small white light on the side of Bob’s chest flashing, “I don’t recognize this light, Bob. When was it installed on you?”
“It was installed when the vocal modules were programmed into my systems, Commander.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were communicating with a robot not on one of my ships?”
“You didn’t ask that I tell you about it. We’re searching for a planet, not a robot.”
Taffy interrupted them, “Has this robot you’re communicating with told anyone about you?”
“Let me ask him?” Bob was silent for a moment and then replied, “No, he’s not been programmed to report it, either.”
“Tell him not to mention it!” Grady said quickly.
“DON’T DO THAT, BOB!” Taffy ordered quickly. Taffy turned to Grady and said, “Bob, what if that robot told you not to mention you were communicating with it, what would you do?”
“I’d tell you, of course.”
Taffy turned to Grady, “So far, they’re only communicating with each other. As far as we know, that robot Bob is talking to probably thinks he’s a robot on one of his planet’s ships.”
“I believe that’s exactly what it believes,” Bob responded. “He’s a mining robot and is operating autonomously out in a desert. He welcomed someone to communicate with.”
“Tell it you will contact it later, Bob.”
“I’ve told him, Taffy.”
Taffy shook her head, “We’ve been so stupid!!”
Desmond was still on the monitor listening to what was going on and he asked, “Why do you say that, Taffy?”
“Because we knew the Union had to have sent
robots out to the new colony. We know robots can connect with each other over long distances and didn’t even think about attempting to use Bob to look for other robots not on our ships. We missed the obvious.”
“Did I get Bob in trouble?”
Grady and Taffy turned around and saw Candy’s eyes were moist with tears. Taffy ran over and pulled her out of her chair and into her arms, “No, my darling. You have done a wonderful thing!”
“Really, Mommy?”
“Really!” Taffy turned back to Bob, “Put the location of that planet on the map of the Coma Spiral Arm.”
A map appeared on the wall monitor and a light started flashing twenty-thousand-light years behind their current location. Grady stared at the light and said, “Computer, zoom in on that flashing light.” The flashing orange light grew larger as the map expanded and after a few seconds, they stared at it. Grady shook his head, “Bob, there’s no star on the map where that light is located.”
“That is the location of that robot, Commander.”
Grady stared at the map and looked at Desmond on his console’s display, “Bring your ships to my location immediately!”
“Yes Sir, we’re on the way.”
“What are you going to do, Grady?”
“We’re going to go take a look at that location, Taffy. Something is screwy about this whole thing.” Taffy nodded and stared at the flashing light on the monitor with Candy hugging her tightly. Grady shook his head and said softly to Taffy, “I was against bringing Candy on this mission. If she hadn’t been here…”
Taffy nodded, “I know.”
• • •
The thousand King Hares gathered in formation around the Rex Hare and Grady ordered, “All ships spread out and maintain your position around my vessel. We’ll be moving toward the flashing light on your monitors and we will institute communication silence immediately. Order all robots to cease communication with each other immediately. They will only communicate with their vocal systems.” Grady looked at Bob and said, “Pass that order to the other robots on board, Bob.”
“Order sent.”
“Do not allow your friend to detect your presence, Bob.”
“I will comply, Commander.”
Grady pushed the thruster handle one notch forward and the Rex Hare accelerated across the Coma Spiral Arm toward the location of the flashing light. As the ship moved inside five light years, Grady slowed the ship and continued moving in slowly, “Taffy, are you seeing anything?”
“Not yet, Grady. We’re entering a large star cluster with thousands of stars occupying a small region of space.” Grady continued moving forward and after forty-minutes, Taffy said loudly, “STOP THE SHIP!” Grady stopped the ship and the other warships stopped with him. Grady looked up at the monitor and saw a dim light in the distance, “Computer, what is that dim light?”
“It is a small Class M star.”
Grady shook his head, “No wonder we missed it. It’s too dim to detect from long distance.”
Taffy nodded, “We went right through this star cluster and never saw it.”
Grady shrugged, “It appears the Union chose an excellent place to hide their colony.”
“If the colony is there, Grady,” Taffy replied.
“A robot says they are, Taffy.” Grady activated his communicator, “All ships, remain in formation around my ship.” Grady started moving toward the small class-M Star and his heart began beating faster. Could this be the location of the Union’s secret colony?”
• • •
Taffy stared at the scans coming in and said, “Grady, move us high over the top of that star so I can get a look at it from above.”
“Why?”
“I want to see if it has any planets in the habitable zone.” Grady nodded and changed course. “Keep us at the edge of our scanning range, Grady.” Grady nodded and changed course again. After two hours, Taffy looked up from her console, “Grady, there are eight small planets circling that star; three of them are in the star’s habitable zone. Two of them show electronic emissions on their surfaces.” Taffy looked back at her monitor and quickly said, “Stop the ship, Grady! I’m detecting ships below us.”
Candy saw the tension in her parent’s faces and she remained silent. She knew this was not a time for her to ask questions.
“What can you tell me about those ships, Taffy?”
“They’re powered down, but I can still detect them from this range. Any further out, they would be invisible.”
“Are they communicating with each other?”
“If they are, I can’t detect it, Grady. I suspect they’re only using short-range ship-to-ship communications. That’s what I’d do if I were intent on staying hidden.” Taffy looked up, “What are you going to do?”
Grady was silent and after a very long moment he ordered, “Taffy, direct a tight communication beam to one of those ships. Send it on the frequency the Union used when we left Britannia.” Taffy began entering data into her console, turned to Grady, and nodded. Grady pressed the communicator and said, “This is Colonel Grady Henricks of the Britannia Naval Forces. I wish to communicate with you.”
“Those ships are powering up, Grady, and I’m detecting hundreds of others coming on line far out from the ships we detected.” Grady waited and stared at the blips on the tactical monitor. They remained in place and Taffy said, “They don’t see us, but they must be getting a line on our communication beam.” Grady moved the ship and saw the ships start moving toward his former location. He waited for them to blow past his former location and sent another transmission, “You won’t be able to find my ship. I want to communicate with whomever is in command of your forces. I will stand by and await a response.” Grady moved the ship again, came to a stop, and waited.
• • •
Grady waited, and no one responded to his message. After two hours, Taffy looked up, “Grady, a large ship is leaving one of the planets and is moving out to join the ships searching for us.” Grady nodded and watched the huge ship move out and come to a stop. It was surrounded by a large number of smaller warships and Grady waited. Suddenly, a face appeared on the monitor and Grady’s expression showed his shock, “ISOBEL! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!”
Isobel looked back at him and she smiled, “I thought the same about you, Grady. We had to make sure you were who you claimed to be.”
“How did you survive?”
Isobel smiled, “The Admiral sent me and my family away from Britannia to the colony the day before the Coalition attacked. Did you ever complete your mission?”
“I did, Isobel.”
“It’s good to see you, Grady. Please follow my ship to the planet.”
Grady nodded to Taffy and she ordered quietly over the general fleet frequency, “All ships, follow us in but remain hidden.”
Grady turned on the external hull lights on the Rex Hare and moved in behind the huge warship. Isobel appeared on the monitor again and said, “It appears we aren’t able to detect your ship, Grady.”
“We’ve come a long way in building warships, Isobel. I’ll tell you about everything that’s happened since Britannia was destroyed.”
“Do you have other ships with you, Grady?”
Grady hesitated and replied, “I do.” Isobel stared at Grady and then disappeared from the monitor. The hundreds of small ships spread out and Grady knew they were searching for his fleet. He couldn’t really blame them. He glanced at Taffy and said, “You and Candy will remain on the ship.”
“But… “
“That’s an order, Admiral!”
Taffy stared at him and then answered, “Yes Sir.”
• • •
Grady followed the large ship into orbit and Isobel appeared on the monitor, “I will send a shuttle to pick you up, Grady.”
“I’ll take one of my shuttles down, Isobel. I’ll follow you to the planet’s surface.” Isobel frowned and then nodded.
Taffy turned to him, “Grady, you will turn your commu
nicator on and leave it on!” Grady’s eyebrows came together, and Taffy said sternly, “I’ll follow your order and stay on the ship, but I will not be out of contact with you! Is that clear?!” Grady nodded and stood up.
“Where are you going, Daddy?”
Grady smiled, “I’m going to see some old friends, Candy. I’ll be right back.” Grady hugged Candy and then hugged Taffy, “They know who I am. I’ll be fine.”
“If you turn off your communicator they won’t be, Grady!”
“Taffy…”
“Just make sure it stays on!” Grady sighed and hugged her again. He would have done the same thing. He turned and left for the landing bay. He boarded a shuttle and flew it out of the Rex Hare. He saw another shuttle outside the large warship and it turned toward the planet’s surface. He fell in behind it and flew toward a large city on the planet’s surface.
• • •
The two shuttles landed in front of a large marble columned building and Grady powered down the shuttle and exited. He saw Isobel come out of her shuttle as five armored guards came rushing up to surround him. Isobel said, “Search him!”
Grady was wearing a form fitting jump suit and said angrily, “I’m not armed.”
“Search him anyway!” Isobel replied sternly.
One of the guards saw Grady’s communicator was active and he reached for it. Grady looked at him and said, “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” The guard hesitated and turned to Isobel and as her eyes narrowed. “You really don’t want to do that Isobel.”
“Why not!?”
“Because you wouldn’t want to face the consequences if you do,” they heard from the communicator.
“Who are you?” Isobel asked.
“My name is Adelle Alexandra Boshran and I’m a survivor from the destruction of Britannia. Grady is my husband and if you interrupt our communications, I will start bombarding your planet until he is safely returned to our ship.”
Grady looked at Isobel and smiled, “She is my wife and you really don’t want to make her angry.”
“We’ll destroy your ship if she does anything, Grady. If you really are Grady Henricks.”