by Saxon Andrew
• • •
RJ and Angel left the room and Grady turned to Maranda, “Thank you for helping me out on this.”
“Tell me again what personal issue required me to recommend him to lead our forces?”
Grady raised his hands, “Admiral Dunhan has proposed to my daughter and she has accepted. If we chose him, the other Admirals would have looked at it as nepotism.”
Maranda looked over at Taffy who was sitting beside Grady and said, “You’ve been remarkably quiet during this meeting.”
“I’m ticked off at my daughter and Admiral Dunhan for not telling me about their engagement. They told Admiral Dunhan’s parents first,” Taffy replied sullenly.
Maranda chuckled, “Candy must have done something to really tick them off.”
Taffy’s eyes narrowed, “Why do you think that?”
“Because telling them first is the only tool they had to calm them down.” Taffy jerked her head to Grady and saw him nod as he held up his hands. “What did she do, Taffy?”
Taffy signed, “She rejected him and told him her career was more important than him.”
“Ouch!” Richard Tarangelo responded.
Taffy thought for a moment and then raised her shoulders, “I guess I’ve been selfish about this.”
“You think!” Grady responded.
The attendees burst out laughing and Taffy’s face turned red. She looked at Maranda, “You know I’m not the selfish type.” Everyone burst out laughing again and Taffy said plaintively, “Well, not very often!”
Maranda sat down laughing and said, “You’re killing me, Taffy.” Taffy looked at the ceiling and rolled her eyes.
• • •
It took four months to manufacture the new rank insignias and Grady and Maranda made the announcement together. New Britannia and the Colonies were uniting their forces under one command and War Leader Rory Dunhan Jr. would be in command. RJ was the perfect choice to do it. He was the son of a former Prime Minister on Melbourne that was revered in the colonies and his coming wedding linked him directly to the Henricks. He was accepted and free humanity came together in a special bond.
• • •
RJ looked at his collar insignias and shook his head, they were incredibly beautiful. Both planets were rich in detail and shown with a polished glow. The three-gold stars were just…beautiful. Angel had RJ pin hers on her collar and asked, “Why isn’t America included?”
“America wasn’t destroyed, and the survivors will be returning if we win this war. Britannia and Melbourne were nuked, and it will be a very long time before they can be settled again.”
Angel nodded and pinned RJ’s insignias on his collars. His insignias had four stars under the planets; Grady and Maranda had three stars under theirs. Angel had two stars on her insignia below the planets, and they pinned Mallory, Joe, and Matt’s insignias on their collars. Angel stared into Matts face as she pinned them, and she saw his heart in his eyes. He told her that he was willing to be demoted. He would serve in the fleet another twenty years but having a special woman in his life for fifty years was worth being demoted. He and Angel had come together, and they clearly belonged with each other.
• • •
The Supreme War Leader was terribly frustrated, and he waited seven months before ordering a scout to move in front of the defense lines facing the Stealth Civilization. The scout crew prepared to die but they arrive in front of the lines and came to a stop. The War Leader stared at the wall monitor and ordered, “Send a hundred more scouts!” The scouts arrived and none of them were attacked. He stared at the scouts on the monitor and ordered, “All scouts go to the Stealth Warship’s home worlds and report on what you find!”
“Are you going to send a fleet with them, Supremacy,” the Second inquired.
“Absolutely not. We’ll wait for a scout to report back.”
• • •
Connie Horton was high above the aliens’ lines and she sent a quick message to the Hare Warship holding position high above the core of the galaxy, “The Aliens are coming out of their box. It won’t be long before they discover the Stealth Civilization has fled.” The Hare transmitted the message to Fleet Operations and the message was sent out to the combined forces; war was coming.
• • •
The Supreme War Leader was shocked when a scout returned a month later. “Supreme War Leader, the Stealth Warships are no longer present in their territory.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”
“We were not attacked, Supremacy. I ordered my scouts to spread out and examine their home worlds.”
“What did you find?”
“The planets were deserted. The cities were empty, and nothing remained of the populations, Supremacy.” The Supreme War Leader fell back in his container and the scout continued, “One of my scouts found a gigantic ship on one of the planets. Our scans revealed that one of the landing legs under it had collapsed causing the ship to collapse on its side. It appears no effort was made to repair it and it was just abandoned. Our scans revealed it was a colony ship, Supremacy.”
The Supreme War Leader came out of his container and turned to the Second, “Order twenty-thousand Warships to launch for the enemy’s space immediately. I want every planet blasted clean from space so there’s nothing for them to return to occupy.” The Second began issuing orders and the War Leader sat down. Now it all made sense. The enemy used every warship in its arsenal to prevent their migration from being discovered. The first attack fleet was overwhelmed by superior numbers which had to be ordered just as the Stealth Civilization was completing their movement out of their territory. Ummmm…where did they go? It really didn’t matter. He was certain where they went wasn’t anywhere close to the core. First, he must confirm they were actually gone and then he would use the forces here against the other enemies attacking the Empire. But before he made that decision, make sure they were gone.
• • •
Connie saw the blaster barrages surrounding the alien ships in their lines of defense suddenly disappear. Thousands of them activated their rear thrusters and she knew what they were ordered to do. RJ said that if they launched a large fleet, they would be going to lay waste to the Stealth Planets. The Stealth Civilization had inhabited more than eight-hundred worlds and it was going to take a while for them to be destroyed. What a waste. She sent another message and waited to see what the aliens did next.
Within the next six-weeks, the aliens launched another twenty attack fleets. That would reduce the time needed to destroy the Stealth Planets. Now the important decision would be made. Would they use the freed-up warships to attack the two enemies attacking them on this side of the core or decide to attack the Fagan and Earth. She waited and knew the answer to that question would soon be revealed.
• • •
RJ looked at Candy on the display in his office, “It won’t be long before we find out the aliens’ intentions. Are your ships ready?”
“I think they’ll welcome action after the long training they’ve endured.”
“Do you think you can use more ships?”
Candy smiled and shook her head, “More ships will only increase the risk of being detected. I have enough to carry out this mission and adding warships that haven’t been adequately trained will be a liability.”
RJ nodded, “Just stay safe, Candy!”
“I’ll do my best, RJ.”
“When are you leaving?”
“When Connie reports that the Britannia Aliens are moving into attack formations, I’m moving my fleet outside Fagan territory closest to our line into their space. Once the aliens launch, the Fagan will move all of their forces to the other side of their territory. That’s when I’ll order my ships in. They’ll launch their attacks at the slave planets when the initial contact between the aliens and Fagan takes place.”
“How will you know when that happens?”
“Admiral Troastle has given me two-hundred Garrions to use. They’re scattered hi
gh above the route the Britannia Aliens will take into Fagan Space and they’ll let me know when to launch.”
“It sounds like you’ve got everything covered, Candy.”
“Can you think of anything I’m missing?” RJ shook his head. “I’ll keep a communication link open to you and if you see anything, let me know immediately.”
“I will, my love. I’ve got to get back to work. Contact me before you leave.”
“Yes Sir,” Candy replied. RJ chuckled and ended the contact.
• • •
Connie stared at her tactical monitor and saw a huge number of alien warships returning to their defensive lines. It hadn’t taken them as long as she suspected to destroy the Stealth Civilization’s home worlds. This was the first group and others would be arriving shortly. She sent a message to Fleet Operations and sat back. It shouldn’t take them much longer to determine the Britannia Alien’s next plans. Gordon looked up from his console, “Connie, it appears the aliens are sending freighters out to the ships in their defense lines.”
“Show me on the monitor!” Connie ordered. Gordon was right, thousands of freighters were moving out into the warships forming the lines of defense. “That cooks it!”
“What’s going on?” Gordon asked.
“They wouldn’t need to provision those warships if they were going to stay on this side of the core and attack the two civilizations, they’re at war with. They’re starting to prepare to move to the other side of the core and go after the Fagan and Earth. We still have some time; they’re going to have to provision all the warships they sent to Stealth Space. Connie lifted her communicator and linked in with Fleet Operations; it wasn’t going to be much longer before the war kicked off.
• • •
The Supreme War Leader had mixed emotions about the orders he was given. The Supreme Council decided to take the fleets formerly fighting against the Stealth Warships and send them to destroy the two enemies on the other side of the core. He personally preferred attacking the two civilizations attacking on this side of the core, but the Council believed that by taking out the two small enemies on the other side of the core, it would free up all the warships on that side to go after the two ancient enemies. They insisted fighting on just one front was preferable to two. He had to admit at the end, he agreed with them. He didn’t know if he liked being sent to command the attacks on the Fagan and Earth, but…the victory might lead to him being promoted to the Supreme Council. He turned to his second as he reported, “The rest of the fleets sent to Stealth Space have reported in and will be back in two-days.”
The Supreme War Leader nodded and turned back to the monitor. It was going to be different being on the attack instead of defense. It should be a welcome change. At least he hoped so.
• • •
Grady appeared on Candy’s console, “Our scouts have reported that the aliens are preparing their fleets to leave. Are you ready?”
“My crews are ready; how long do I have before they launch?”
“We estimate three to four weeks.”
“Sir, my ships are provisioned, and I request permission to move them to the Perseus Spiral Arm to await the coming attack.”
“Why do you want to do that, Candy?”
“Our response time will be decreased.”
Grady shrugged, “If you believe it will help, then you’re free to go. Where are you going to form up?”
“I thought we’d go to Melbourne and form up there.”
Grady shook his head slightly, “That’s a good place. Send me an image of the planet when you get there.”
“I will, Dad.” Candy turned to Todd, “Notify all ships that they are given a week of liberty. They will report to their ships in eight days for immediate launch to the Perseus Spiral Arm.”
“Yes Sir.” Candy was anxious to leave…but…her desire to see RJ before she left out-weighed her desire to leave.
• • •
The Fagan High Leader exited the staff meeting and was weary of attending so many meetings. Perhaps now was the time to step down for someone else. It had been decades since the Empire had been attacked and they were ready for any attacker. He arrived at his office and sat down in his chair. He stared at the bank of wall monitors and thought about retirement; his oldest son was ready to assume control. He decided to start the process of putting him in place and possibly resign in two months. He didn’t see anything important happening during that time. He looked forward to taking things easy for a change.
• • •
Admiral Martov sat in his command chair and watched nine-hundred-new Defense Platforms arrive and move into formation around Earth. There were more than fifty-thousand Defense Platforms in orbit above Earth and he hoped that was enough, but he wasn’t sure. No scouts had been sent to the Core Aliens nor the Fagan Civilization in more than two decades. He had no idea what danger either of them represented. He suggested sending scouts out a few years back, but the Dictator screamed at him for possibly stirring up either of those enemies. What an idiot! Martov thought about retiring but feared if he did the Dictator would see him as an adversary and have him assassinated. So, he spent his days on his Flag Defense Platform with a woman that caught his attention a couple of years ago. She made the long days bearable and he stared out of the viewport at the unblinking stars. Was anything going to come out of them soon? He hoped not, but he knew it was a false hope. He turned to Chelly sitting beside him and smiled, “Are you hungry?”
“I could use a lunch.” He stood up and took her hand. Small moments of happiness made his life bearable.
• • •
The old War Leader learned of the coming attack and prayed he would be allowed to take part. He contacted the Supreme War Leader directly and asked permission to go with him. The Supreme War Leader shook his head slowly, “I don’t know what you did to anger the Supreme Council so much, but part of my orders was to not allow you or any of your defenses to go with me. What did you do?”
“I allowed thousands of our warships to be destroyed in an attack by the First Enemy long ago.”
“Well, they’ve not forgotten, nor have they forgiven you. They say you are the most experienced War Leader in our defenses on your side of the core and your place is there.” The old War Leader’s expression showed his sorrow and the Supreme War Leader said softly, “I’m sorry.” The old War Leader nodded, and the display went dark.
The Supreme War Leader decided that once he won these wars, he would allow the Old War Leader to retire. The Council might not like it, but they would be so overcome with joy at the end of war that they shouldn’t make it an issue.
• • •
Grady sat at the dinner table and Taffy placed his plate in front of him. She sat down beside him, and he raised his eyes, “I want to sit beside you tonight instead of across from you.” Grady smiled, leaned across, and kissed her. “When are we going out to the Rex Hare?”
“We have some time, honey. It won’t happen until after the aliens attack the Fagan.”
“What if they go after Earth first?”
Grady blew out a long breath before replying, “I don’t think they’re going to do that. They’ll save the easiest target for last. If they do, we’ll still wait until they destroy the Fagan.”
“I hope you’ve planned for both eventualities.”
“We have, Taffy. Where’s Brit?”
“He’s spending the night at Clarissa’s. I want him to get accustomed to staying with her; he’ll be living with her when we go to war.” Grady shook his head and Taffy hugged him, “Linda Kay is there as well. Abby and I have set up a calendar to have them there together.”
Grady returned her hug, “If we win this war, I pray our children will never have to go to war again. I want them to live a peaceful life.” Taffy stared at Grady in silence and he asked, “What are you thinking?”
“Grady, if we’ve learned nothing else over these long years of fighting it’s that the universe is not a peaceful
place. Our children will be warriors defending humanity and making sure there’s nothing out there representing a danger to our survival.”
“But all of the dangerous civilizations will be gone from the Milky Way, Taffy, if we win.”
“Maybe in our galaxy, Grady, but with the current speeds of our warships, the galaxies close to us are not out of reach. We will not lay down our arms and just hope there’s nothing dangerous out there!” Grady stared into Taffy’s eyes and saw her intensity. “Perhaps you and I will step aside and spend the rest of our lives on a beach. But our children will continue to defend humanity,” Taffy said firmly.
Grady released her and nodded, “You have always been the wisest one.”
“And you have been my heart and soul, Grady. What is Candy going to be doing in the coming war?”
“Admiral Alexander believes that simply dividing our warships into two groups isn’t wise. He and McArdle think we should divide into three major fleets with Candy commanding the third group.”
Taffy’s eyes widened, “Is she ready for that, Grady?”
“I had my doubts not long ago, but she’s come a long way, Taffy. She’s ready. I will not promote one of the current admirals to that command and Candy is the best choice. I’m certain she’ll hold up her end in the coming confrontation.”
“Does she know?”
“She has enough on her plate attempting to save the slave planets. I’ll tell her after her mission is completed.” Taffy stared at him and sighed. “What’s wrong?”
“Grady, I want to go out with Candy’s fleet and watch the attack on the Fagan.”
“Why would you want to do that? We can just watch the feeds coming in from the scouts.” Taffy was silent and Grady saw something in her expression. “You want to be there in case Candy gets into trouble.”
“Something like that,” Taffy responded. “I also suspect RJ is going to be close by.”
“He hasn’t asked permission to go, Taffy.”