by Saxon Andrew
“Why the front and rear, Belwen?”
“The Rovers may find themselves being pursued by these ships and the closing speed of the pursuer will reduce the time they have to react even more.”
Dat smiled, “Four thousand rounds a minute.”
“Actually, since cooling the barrels in space is much easier, these guns can be set up to fire seven times that number.” Dat’s eye brows went up. “We won’t have to rotate the seven barrels to keep them cool. We’ll just fire all seven at once with a continuous feed to each of them. Their speed will also increase to more than a mile in a third of a second in the vacuum of space; there won’t be any air resistance to slow them down.”
Dat smiled, “We’ll just send a massive wave of plastic projectiles and they’ll never see them coming until just before they hit.”
“If there is a huge battle taking place, won’t our own ships be in danger?”
Dat smiled, “Our normal force fields will stop plastic projectiles, Katherine. Only ships using the grey force field will be in danger.”
Belwen nodded, “He’s right, Admiral.”
“Will this gun work against their standard ships?”
Belwen shook his head, “No, their force fields will also stop the projectiles; however, our beams and penetrators do work against their standard ships. Our dark matter force fields will work against their standard ships as well.”
“What is the range of the Grey Ship’s beams?”
Gibbs said, “Five miles; if they fire from further than that it won’t harm our ships unless they can keep it locked on.”
Dat thought a moment, “So if a Grey Ship emerges into normal space, we’ll have about two seconds before it does. If we fire this gun the moment we detect their emergence, the projectiles will arrive…”
Gibbs said, “Two thirds of a second after they enter, if they are fired from five miles away or closer to the emergence.”
“Gibbs, why are you so excited about this development?”
“I’ve been wondering how we were going to use the Jukebox Class Battleships.”
Dat and Katherine saw it immediately as Gresha said, “I’m not sure I understand.”
Katherine smiled, “The Battleships can house more than twenty of these guns.”
Gibbs said, “Cha-ching. And they can lay down a covering fire that would be more than fifty miles across and keep it filled for hours.”
Blacky looked confused, “Then why would you put this gun on a Rover?”
Belwen shrugged, “No ship should be completely defenseless against another ship.”
Gibbs nodded, “I also suspect, once they see a battleship in action, those Grey Ships will give the Jukeboxes a wide berth. They’ll be forced to go after the Rovers fighting way from them.”
“Belwen, how long will it take to modify enough ships to use against their fleets?”
“We’ll start bringing some of them online in about four weeks. However, it’s going to take a year to really produce a large number.”
“Will you be able to produce enough to go after those ninety nine production planets?”
“We should be able to produce enough for that in about three months. Don’t look for any to be available before that.”
“Why not?”
“We’re working on about ten thousand ships but none of them will be ready before that time. We have to construct a system to control them and the guns will have to be calibrated to that system before they can be used. That is going to take at least three months.”
Dat looked at Katherine and said, “That is when our Madator Teams will have to complete their missions.”
“Do we need to drop them now that we have this weapon to use against them?”
“Don’t forget that our goal is to also remove them from the planets they invaded. Just killing their ships won’t change what’s happening on the surface of those invaded planets.”
“You intend to use the Madators to take out their ground forces?”
“We have to do that or they’ll take the local populations hostage and we’ll be doing this all over again.”
Katherine looked at Blacky, “Do you think you could remove the Grillen from those planets?”
Blacky’s smile was huge, “Some of them might survive…but I doubt it.” Katherine saw every Madator in the room was bobbing uncontrollably. Blacky saw her expression and said, “This time we get to hunt our prey. That makes it even more exciting…and fun.”
Dat turned to Belwen, “What about armored warriors?”
“The new swords they’ve been given should be effective against their armor.” Belwen looked at the Madators and sighed, “If we can force them to use them. I suspect they don’t want to use technology for their kills.”
Dat looked at Blacky, “Do you swear on your honor that you will use your swords against armored warriors?”
The Madators stopped bobbing immediately and Blacky’s frown was obvious, “We can take them out without using your swords.”
“Blacky, if you can promise me that you can do that without placing any of your warriors in danger, I might agree. Can you make that guarantee?”
Blacky looked at the Madators in the room and saw what they wanted; he rolled his head to the top of his body and they all deflated. “We will not be dishonest with our friends. Is that clear to all of you!?!” The Madators slowly rolled their heads to the tops of their bodies. Blacky turned back to Dat, “No, I can’t promise that.”
Dat saw their sorrow and he looked at Katherine as he said, “Then you will use your swords against armored enemy warriors.” He paused and said, “But…if you’ve removed most of them, and the survivors are reduced to a number that won’t endanger the local populations, you may try your hand at doing it the old fashioned way.” Katherine smiled and nodded.
Blacky and the Madators started bobbing again; now they had a goal to shoot for. Gresha looked at Dat, “I need to get back to our bed; my back has been killing me since I started sleeping here.”
Dat rubbed his stomach, “I look forward to having you back home, my love.” Blacky heard them and looked at Ringie. She smiled and looked quickly away.
Chapter Six
The Grillen King looked at the Creature standing in front of his throne and tried not to show his disgust. The being had a triangular shaped head with two large black bulbous eyes on the sides of its head. Its jaw had two serrated sabre-shaped teeth that looked like pincers in its mouth. He couldn’t see the creature’s body because it had a long, flowing emerald colored robe that covered it from its sloped shoulders to the floor. He could only imagine what horror was under it. The creature spoke and the round device that kept the robe fastened in the middle flashed multi-colors as it translated what it said, “We are disturbed that you allowed one of the construction facilities to be destroyed.”
The King’s frown was obvious but he really believed the creature had no clue what his expressions indicated, “Perhaps you would like to go and investigate how it happened. We’ve not come up with a good answer.”
“It had to be something done by that Union you’re fighting.”
“Our investigators say that it was done by the local inhabitants. We’ve proven the ships were sabotaged while they were on the planet being serviced.”
“Then the locals had assistance from them.”
“We’ve not made that determination…yet. Would you like to go and see if you can find something we’ve missed?”
“You will do your own work. We’re just trying to assist you in the effort. We are simply Servants.”
“Why are you doing this? You’ve never really told me why.”
“Do you not see the danger the Union represents? If they defeat you, we’ll be next. It’s in our best interests to make sure you survive. My species is called Servants because we try to protect those that are in danger.”
“What’s to prevent you from coming after my kingdom if we prevail?”
“We’ve promised not to
do that.”
“I hope you understand my concern about that issue.”
“We do and don’t take offense at your doubts. We only wish to be left alone. We have no desire for new territory.”
“Why are you here now?”
The creature paused and the King sensed it was getting nervous, “I just came to see if there is anything else we can assist you with your ship construction.”
“Do you have any technology you’ve not given me to use on the Grey Ships?”
“No, no; you have our most advanced technology for building warships.”
“The probes were also a gracious gift. We appreciate them very much.”
The tall Creature lowered its huge head, “Well, I’ll leave since you don’t need me to answer any questions about how to operate the ships. If you think of anything else, contact us.”
“I will. Safe travel to your destination.”
“Thank you.” The creature turned and moved quickly out of the throne room. The King watched him leave and felt trepidation.
“Your Majesty, it had to have come here for some other reason.”
The King turned to his son, “Did his ship scan us?”
“It did, Father.”
“Did it focus on anything in particular?”
“It appeared to make an intense scan of the Grey Ships above the planet.”
“It’s checking to see if they’ve been changed or modified from the original design.”
“Why would they do that?”
The King thought for a long moment, “I want one of our Chief Scientists to take a good look at the production process to see if we’re missing something.”
“What do you suspect?”
“I’m wondering if they have a hidden self-destruct circuit on them.”
The Son paused, “There is a self-destruct circuit on all of them.”
“Yes, but it’s the one we installed. There must be another one we don’t see.”
“Father, if you don’t trust them, why are we working with them?”
“As you grow older you’ll learn that you should always take advantage of anything handed to you. We just have to make sure none of those ships are built on our planets.”
“What are you saying?”
“What if they could cause that strange material that’s used to build those ships to explode?”
“We have thousands of them in orbit above the planet.”
“I moved them here for our guest’s visit. Once he leaves, and you confirm he has jumped out of our galaxy, they will be moved to the outer system.”
The Son bowed, “I do have much to learn, Father.”
The King watched him leave and wondered what he was missing. There had to be something…
• • •
The Creature arrived on his ship and turned to the huge creature sitting in a room at the rear of the bridge, “Well…”
“They haven’t found the weakness.”
“Are you sure?”
“I am.”
“They don’t appear to trust us.”
“How do you know that, Lord?”
“They’re scanning us as we speak. I suspect they’ll be looking for our jump track.”
“What do you want to do?”
“We’ll leave and wait to see what happens.”
The creature turned to the Navigator, “Jump us to the decoy galaxy.”
The ship shimmered and disappeared.
• • •
The commander of the small Grillen Scout Ship watched the ship jump away and followed it. It arrived at the coordinates of the jump track and was blown into dust just as it entered normal space. The huge creature leaned back, “I’ll tell them, if they ask, I thought it was an enemy invading our space.” He watched to see if another ship appeared on his scanners and then jumped to the second decoy.
• • •
“Gibbs, why are you so determined to use the Jukeboxes against the Grillen?”
“You saw how effective they were against the Masters. They can also hold their own in a pitched battle with the Grillen Standard Fleets. Now that they have a way to hold off the Grey Ships, they can make a huge difference in the upcoming liberation of the planets invaded in the Red Sector.”
Lydia sighed, “Are you certain this new gun will do all it’s advertised to do?”
“We’re going to go pick a fight with one of the prime planets when we drop the Madators.”
Lydia showed her shock, “I haven’t heard anything about that.”
“Admiral Arvolo just sent me the orders. I’m going to drop the Madators from the Jukebox and take a shot at the Grey Ships above the planet before the main fleet arrives. We won’t be there but a few moments.”
“I’m going with you.”
“Lydia!”
“Get over it, Gibbs. I won’t let you go without me.”
Uhhh…Dear…I outrank you. Just how would you go about stopping me?”
“I’ll refuse to see you until you use me in a battle.” Gibbs stared at Lydia and saw her stern expression and crossed arms. “Would you allow me to go into a fight without you?”
“That’s different.”
“Make me see how and I’ll not push this.” Gibbs’ mind worked on the issue and all he could do was remain silent. There wasn’t a good answer. Lydia gave him a smirk and then turned and left the bridge. He activated the ships internal video monitors and saw her packing a bag in their quarters. He shook his head and started to respond but she walked off the ship before he could think of what to say. This mission was too dangerous to risk losing her. He sat and struggled on what to do.
• • •
Katherine and Dat sat in her office with Blacky and looked at the data scrolling on the main wall display. Dat shook his head, “Blacky, there is no way they’ll not know you’re on the surface this time. We’re going to be dropping hundreds of your warriors on each of the Grillen Prime Planets. They’ll know the objects dropping into the atmosphere will be coming from our ships.”
“Let them; they still won’t be able to find us.”
Katherine shook her head, “I’m not so sure about that. They can use biological scanners to find you.”
“Only if there are no other biological forms around us.”
Dat leaned back, “And if they scan one of their buildings when no one is present, they will detect your presence.”
“We just won’t go in unless someone is there.”
Dat shook his head, “Blacky, you make this sound too easy.”
Blacky shrugged.
“I’m serious.”
“We’re a product of evolution that has prepared us for doing this. If we get on a planet’s surface, the only means of removing us is to blow up the planet.”
Katherine stared at Blacky while Dat discussed the coming drops with him and interrupted the conversation, “Why do you have no fear?”
Dat and Blacky looked at Kat and Dat looked back at Blacky. Blacky hesitated and after a long moment said, “I guess it’s just not a part of our psychology.” Kat started to speak but Blacky held up two arms stopping her, “Do you remember the final space battle between us?” Dat and Kat nodded. “We kept coming in to attack even though we saw it would have been wiser to retreat and avoid the loss of our fleets. Madators are driven to hunt. We lose ourselves when we’re going after prey. We will, of course, find the best possible means of making the kill without getting ourselves killed in the process, but we will always go after our prey.”
Dat sighed, “That is what allowed us to destroy your civilization. Sometimes you need to be able to back off to survive.”
“That’s where liking to play with our prey comes in.”
Dat looked at Blacky, turned to Kat, saw she was just as confused as he was, and turned back to Blacky, “You’ve lost me.”
“We enjoy evading traps set to catch us. Sometimes we’ll go through the traps and leave evidence we were successful, just to antagonize our target. We didn
’t back off your fleet because we were ordered to attack and none of our leaders sent an order to stop. All of my warriors have been ordered to avoid getting themselves killed and, if the risk is real, they will choose another target. They all understand evasion is the watch word and they won’t take any stupid chances. Your forcing them to use their swords against armored enemy troops will probably save most of them…even though I’d really like to do it without technology. It’s a…I don’t know…a good challenge.”
Kat shook her head, “I find it amazing that you can sit here and carry on an intelligent conversation and not be tempted to go after us.”
Blacky smiled, “I’ve noticed a pet that some of your embassy personnel keep in their homes; I think it’s called a cat.” Kat nodded. “That creature is very much like us. When the owner comes home, the cat greets them, rubs up against them, and makes a sound showing its delight at being with the owner. However, let a small rodent or bug be spotted and the cat is on it in an instant. Once my species recognizes another species as a friend, they will never again be seen as prey. Quite frankly, if a species is not seen as a possible danger to us, we would leave them alone to concentrate on those that are. Belwen’s civilization would never be one of our targets. Not only are they an ally of ours, but they are just too gentle in spirit to ever be considered prey. They would pose no challenge and would be boring to go after.”
Dat smiled, “Which group are you going in with?”
“I’m dropping from Admiral Gibbs’ ship. That particular planet has really been cranking out Grey Ships and I’ve allotted two hundred warriors to make the drop.” Dat started shaking his head and Blacky quickly said, “We won’t be detected as quickly as you’re thinking.”
“Oh! Why not?”
“Belwen’s new coating will make a tremendous difference. Our first coating really burned rather brightly entering the planet’s atmosphere; however, the new coating will start expanding in size before it starts burning. It will start to swell as it gets hotter and a byproduct of that is it will offer resistance to the atmosphere and slow down the descent. Our previous drop globes actually broke the sound barrier as they fell toward the planet’s surface. We can manipulate the coating and use it to glide toward our assigned targets. It will eventually burn up and leave no residue once the temperature hits a critical point and we will use the second coat to drop lower. We’ll come out of it at an altitude we can breathe and start gliding to our targets.”