by Saxon Andrew
Maranda closed her eyes and exhaled a long breath, “It’s not that simple, Rory.”
“Then link the Prime Minister into this conversation. I’m shocked that John would even consider doing this.”
“Rory, John is no longer the Prime Minister. A member of Parliament has been yelling that the colonies should go out and make the aliens and Fagan pay for destroying Melbourne. Before he launches the fleets against them, he wanted to know if you were a…”
Maranda’s voice trailed off and Rory said, “Threat.” Maranda nodded. “Link him in, Maranda!”
• • •
Five minutes later, a middle-aged man appeared on the monitor beside Maranda’s image. He spoke up, “Is there a problem, Admiral Connor?”
Rory suddenly appeared on the Prime Minister’s monitor and his eyes flew wide open, “Yes there is. You’ve sent a war fleet to New Britannia and if you don’t order it back to the colonies, I am going to destroy it.”
“You’re dead!” was all the Prime Minister could think to say.
• • •
Drew stood up and walked over to the communication officer, “Have you been recording this?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Send a copy of it to my communicator and once this is over, send another copy to this frequency on New Melbourne.” The officer looked up at Drew and he smiled, “Just keep this between us.” The officer nodded, and Drew went back to his chair.
• • •
“My death has been highly exaggerated,” Rory responded.
“What are you doing on New Britannia?”
“Defending it, Prime Minister. Just to make sure we’re on the same page, if any of your uninvited warships enter our sovereign territory, I will destroy every ship in the fleet you sent here.”
The Prime Minister gathered his wits and said slowly, “You and your wife are traitors!”
“Why? Because we escaped being burned alive? This was the only place where we would be safe from the mobs on New Melbourne. The Colonies turned their backs on my wife for saving all of them from certain death and all they had for her was to kill her. We didn’t turn our backs on Melbourne; it turned its back on us. However, that’s not the issue. You’re going to need these warships to defend the colonies from its enemies. Sending them here to be destroyed is a stupid decision.”
“We’re just sending them to see how you’ve come along in building up your defenses.”
“You could have requested a visit and sent an unarmed ship, Prime Minister.” The Prime Minister glared at Rory and Rory’s expression turned angry, “What about my ordering several of my fleets to go to New Melbourne to take a look around, would you be ok with that?”
The Prime Minister leaned forward, “I wouldn’t recommend that, Mr. Dunhan.”
“But you have no problem ordering a fleet of warships to scout my planet!” Rory replied angrily. “Recall your fleets and don’t do this again!”
“I am not recalling my fleet and your threat of being able to destroy them is pure fiction. Those ships are the most advanced warships ever built and you can do nothing to stop them.”
“Are you saying that New Britannia is a threat to the colonies?!”
The Prime Minister glared at Rory and then said, “You are not one of us.”
Rory exploded, “More than half of our pilots fought to defend Melbourne over the years! My wife and I, along with Grady and Taffy Henricks spent three years harassing the aliens and Earth fleets to buy time for Melbourne to build up its forces. We put our lives on the line to prevent Melbourne’s discovery and you have the unmitigated gall to say that we’re a threat to the colonies!! You are no different than Earth, the aliens, or the Fagan. Any civilization they encounter is attacked and you tell me that because we’re not part of the colonies you see us as a threat. You sicken me!!”
The Prime Minister smiled, “If the shoe fits, wear it. New Britannia could be a threat to the colonies.”
“WE’RE THE COLONIES BIGGEST ALLY! AND YOU ARE A CONSUMATE DONKEY’S REAR!”
“Insults will not make me change my mind. I will find out what kind of defenses you’ve developed!”
Rory stared at the Prime Minister and said, “Is it true you intend to launch an attack on the Fagan and alien civilizations?” The Prime Minister glared at Rory in silence and Rory saw that was exactly what he intended by his expression. “Have you not run the odds of the colonies being found if you do attack them?” The Prime Minister remained silent, but his expression changed slightly. “You’re dumber than I thought! The odds of the colonies, along with New Britannia, being found goes up to ninety-five percent in less than three years if any of the colony ships are detected by them.”
“We have enough advanced warships to exterminate them!”
Rory looked up and rolled his eyes, “Are you that naive? The aliens have more than a million Planet Killers and three-quarters of them are the new model that are as powerful as Earth’s Defense Platforms. You don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell if you allow them to see your ships.”
“You’re lying, Mr. Dunhan!”
“I never lie, Mr. Prime Minister. We’ve scouted the alien’s home space and there are a million Planet Killers that will be moving toward the colonies if you’re stupid enough to go out and poke them with a stick! How anyone could elect you Prime Minister is beyond me! You’re dumber than a brick!”
The Prime Minister’s expression was past anger. He ordered, “Admiral Connor, you will carry out your orders.”
Rory turned to Molly, “I want a cutter fired close to the two carriers; make sure you don’t hit one of the Garrions.” Molly nodded and lined up the shots. A moment later, two brilliant beams flashed out of the Roo Hare toward the two carriers.
Maranda shook her head when suddenly, a brilliant beam blew in fifty-yards above the Song Bird. Everyone on the bridge flinched and Maranda turned to her scanning officer, “Sir, that beam was fired far outside the range of our weapons.”
“Power?” Maranda asked.
The scanner looked at his console and then looked up at Maranda, “Sir, it’s the most powerful beam ever recorded. It’s more powerful than any of our enemies’ major warships’ beams.”
“By how much?”
“At least four times, Admiral.”
The Prime Minister watched Maranda and asked, “What’s going on?”
“Sir, we’ve just had a beam fired above the two carriers. According to our scans, that beam originated far outside the range of our most powerful blasters and it’s more than four times the power of Earth’s Defense Platforms.”
“I told you, I don’t lie!” Rory interjected. “I will destroy every ship in your fleet if you violate our sovereign territory.”
The Prime Minister snarled, “ADMIRAL CONNOR, FOLLOW YOUR ORDERS!!”
Maranda looked at Rory and saw the tension on his face and then she turned to the Prime Minister, “No Sir. I will not.”
“ARE YOU REFUSING TO FOLLOW A DIRECT ORDER?!”
“Sir, my duty is to keep my carriers safe and not waste the lives of the crews under my command. I will not put them in jeopardy against a force clearly more powerful than my fleet.”
“I will have you court-martialed for treason!!”
“Sir, I hereby resign my commission in the Colonies’ Navy.”
“YOUR RESIGNATION IS ACCEPTED, AND YOU’LL GO TO PRISON FOR THIS!!”
Andrew stood up and said with a smile, “I also resign from the Colonies’ Navy…Sir.”
The Prime Minister sat back in his chair, “Your resignation is also accepted, Admiral.” Maranda looked at her Communication Officer and ran her hand across her throat. The Prime Minister disappeared from the monitor and Maranda turned to Syl, “Admiral, the ship is yours. Contact Admiral Tarangelo and inform him that my last order was to return the fleet to the colonies. He will assume command of the fleet.”
“Sir, the Prime Minister is attempting to contact us.”
Maranda s
miled, “Tell him when you get back to the colonies that our communications were blocked by the New Britannia forces.” Maranda turned to Syl, “That will prevent your having to resign.”
Syl hugged Maranda and said, “Sir, this is so…”
“Stupid!” Maranda added. Syl nodded. Maranda looked around the bridge and then turned and walked out with Drew. Drew glanced at the communications officer and saw him nod slightly and give him a thumb’s up. Drew smiled as he left the bridge.
• • •
Maranda ran to the tubes and said, “Come on, Drew!” They entered a tube and arrived at the forward landing bay. Maranda dismissed the crew to her personal shuttle and flew it out of the landing bay. She flew toward New Britannia and activated the communicator, “Rory, do you have room for two more refugees?”
“I’ll pick you up in a moment, Maranda.” Maranda continued flying toward the distant star and suddenly saw a bright light as a huge landing bay door went up. She shook her head and she flew into the invisible ship’s landing bay.
• • •
Rory met Maranda in the landing bay and hugged her tightly. He stuck out his hand and Drew shook it, “It’s good to see you Drew.”
“Likewise, Rory.”
Suddenly, the wall speaker announced, “Admiral Dunhan, I have an incoming message.”
Rory turned and ran up the corridor to the bridge. He yelled over his shoulder, “COME WITH ME!”
Rory arrived on the bridge, looked up at the monitor, and saw Grady and Taffy smiling at him. He came to a stop and Grady clapped as he said, “Bravo, that was an excellent job, Rory.”
“You saw it?” Grady nodded. “Why didn’t you take over and handle it?!”
“I would have if it was necessary, Rory. You didn’t need my help.”
“But I revealed the cutter to them, Grady!”
“Rory, the colonies can’t duplicate the technology being used in the cutters. I would have done the same thing. I told you that you were up to handling New Britannia’s defense.” Grady turned and looked at Maranda as she entered the bridge, “It’s so good to see you, Maranda!”
Taffy’s tears were running down her face as she smiled, “One of my sisters has come home. I’ve missed you so much. And you too, Drew.”
Maranda was crying as well, and Grady said, “Let’s go home. Rory, leave the defense fleet at the border and send the others back to New Britannia.”
Rory nodded and issued the orders. Abby had joined Grady and Taffy on the monitor and they were all smiling and weeping as they welcomed Maranda to New Britannia.
Chapter Fourteen
Desmond and Louisa joined the three couples at the spaceport and they spent the afternoon catching up on all that had happened since they last saw each other. Finally, Taffy invited everyone to dinner at her quarters and they took time to freshen up and change clothes.
Later, they sat at the dining table and Abby asked, “In all the excitement of Maranda coming, I forgot to ask, did you find the colony you were searching to find?”
Grady nodded, “We did.”
“And!?”
Taffy saw Grady’s expression and said, “They weren’t what we hoped they’d be, Abby. We left them and came home.”
Abby turned to Grady, “I’m sorry.”
Grady shrugged, “Don’t be. They are a product of fear and they can’t overcome it to become something special.”
Rory shook his head, “I’m reasonably certain that idiot Prime Minister is going to send a larger fleet to invade our space.”
Grady shrugged, and Drew smiled, “Give it a few days and let’s see what happens.”
Maranda turned to him and asked in an exasperated tone, “What have you done now?”
“Not much.”
“What did you do, Drew?”
“I recorded the conversations and had our communications officer send a copy to a reporter friend of mine on New Melbourne.”
“You know the Prime Minister will stop him from running that tape!”
Drew smiled, “Not if he distributes it throughout the colonies and they all broadcast it simultaneously. My friend knows how to get the news out.”
“It will probably get him arrested, Drew.”
“That won’t stop him, Maranda. He believes in truth and making sure it’s known. Give it a few days and let’s see what comes out of it.”
Taffy chuckled, “Drew, that sounds like something I’d do.”
Grady rolled his eyes, “You are so right about that.” Everyone laughed, and the time passed quickly as old friends became new again.
• • •
The two carriers arrived in orbit above New Melbourne two days later and the Prime Minister yelled over his communicator, “EVERY OFFICER ABOVE THE RANK OF CAPTAIN IN THAT FLEET WILL IMMEDIATELY REPORT TO MY CONFERENCE ROOM!!”
The door to the Prime Minister’s office flew open and his assistant rushed into the office. “What’s going on?”
“Turn on one of the news channels, Sir!”
The Prime Minister lifted a remote and pointed it the wall monitor. His eyes flew wide open as he watched himself talking with Rory Dunhan. “WHERE IS THIS COMING FROM!?”
“Sir, every news channel in the colonies is running it.”
“Arrest the one that released it!!”
“I’ve already done that, Sir but there’s no way we can stop this from going out.”
The Prime Minister watched the monitor and thought hard about a way to get around this. He glanced at his assistant and asked, “What are you not telling me?”
“Sir, I ran a computer simulation and asked what would happen if we attack our enemies?”
“And?”
“Sir, Mr. Dunhan is right. The colonies will be found within three years and probably in two if we attack. If I could run this simulation, I’m certain others are currently running it as well.”
The Prime Minister saw his communication panel light up with multiple calls coming in. He looked up at his assistant and he said, “The Parliament is meeting in emergency session as we speak, Prime Minister. It doesn’t look good.”
A colonel walked into the Prime Minister’s office with two armed guards and the Prime Minister sneered, “Who gave you permission to come to my office armed?”
“The Parliament voted to have you arrested for attacking one of our allies, Sir.”
“I didn’t attack them!!”
“You’ll have the opportunity to explain that in court, Sir. Please come with me. I don’t want to make a spectacle of this by dragging you to your cell.”
The Prime Minister walked out of his office and the assistant pressed a button on the communication panel, “All officers ordered to the Prime Minister’s conference room will remain on their ships. The meeting is canceled.”
Four days later, the reporter that released the recording was released from prison to a heroes’ welcome.
• • •
Grady went to the console in his bedroom and saw Wade on it, “What’s going on, Wade?”
“Sir, a colony shuttle just left but requested that the Prime Minister be allowed to come and have a discussion with New Britannia’s leadership. I told the shuttle commander that he may come in three days.”
Grady smiled, “Thank you, Wade.”
“No problem, Sir.”
“By the way.” Wade turned back to Grady on his monitor before he ended the call. “I’ve been meaning to do this for some time, but the new command ships hadn’t come on line. You are promoted to full fleet Admiral and you will take command of fifth and sixth fleets. Congratulations, you deserve it, Wade. Your command ship is waiting for you at the construction site. You need to start thinking about the twenty crewmen you want on board.”
Wade lowered his eyes and then looked up at Grady, “Thank you, Sir. The chances of a scout being promoted to admiral has always been small.”
“They’re the best one’s to command, Wade. They’ve seen our enemy and know who they are. Make your fle
ets into something special.”
“I will, Sir.”
The monitor went dark and Taffy said over Grady’s shoulder, “I have no doubt that he will, Grady.” Grady swiveled his chair around to her and she sat down in his lap, “What are you going to do with Maranda and Drew?”
“I’m not sure, Taffy. Let’s wait until after the meeting with the Prime Minister.”
“Why?”
“He might be coming to demand his Admirals be returned.”
“That’s not going to happen!!”
“I know. But we need to wait and see why he’s coming. I don’t want them to be caught in the middle of a political issue.” Taffy nodded and put her head on Grady’s shoulder.
• • •
Three days later, Maranda asked, “Where are we going to meet him, Grady?”
Grady turned to Maranda, “We’re going to hold the meeting at Moon Base.”
“Moon Base?”
“Yes. New Britannia’s small moon has been developed and our robots have built a control center underground.”
“So, you’re not meeting him on the planet?”
Grady turned to Drew, “No! He hasn’t earned that right. I’ll not allow him to see our construction sites and one of our new warships on the ground.”
“He’s arrived at the border and one of the Super Rabbits is escorting his ship in to the system, Grady.”
“Thank you, Louisa. You and Desmond hold things down on the planet and we’ll send you a feed from the meeting.”
Louisa nodded, “Kendal will take care of Candy and RJ until you come back.”
“Thank her for us, Louisa.”
“I will, Taffy.”
Taffy smiled, “Kendal is growing up fast, Louisa. She looks so much like you and she’s incredibly smart.”
“That comes from all that she’s experienced, Taffy. Des and I are very proud of her.”
Taffy hugged Louisa and left for the meeting.
• • •
Grady nodded toward the shuttle, “Time to go.” The three couples boarded the shuttle and lifted off New Britannia. Two hours later, they arrived on the moon and a giant hangar door opened on the moon’s surface. The shuttle entered the giant hangar and it closed behind them. An elevator moved the shuttle down through several sealed doors and arrived a hundred feet under the moon’s surface. Grady led the group out of the shuttle and Grady turned to the base’s commander, “I expect our guest shortly, Commodore Hawkins.”