by Saxon Andrew
“Sir, they’re human and I can’t help but like that leader and his wife. I would refuse an order to attack them, Sir.”
Martov smiled and slapped Gary on the back, “Good! I’m depending on you to make sure our civilizations become closer friends. I won’t miss being a conqueror.”
“Neither will I, Sir.”
Captain Sato looked up, “I have a message coming in from those approaching ships.”
“Put it on my panel.”
An older man appeared and smiled, “Good day, Admiral. My name is Joshua Goldman and I’m delivering the first thousand barrels for your warships. Please move a thousand of your ships out from the planet and I’ll start installing them.”
“Aren’t you going to need more than ten ships to do that?”
“The freighters are bringing enough shuttles to do the job and the robots will carry out the engineer’s instructions quickly.”
“Robots?” Martov asked.
Joshua smiled, “Meet me on one of your ships and I’ll introduce you.”
Martov looked at Gary and repeated, “Robots?” All Gary could do was shrug.
• • •
Amy had wasted no time moving into the power vacuum and made an announcement to Earth that the Dictator had died from a brain aneurism and that she was chose by the council to replace him. She said nothing was going to change and that everyone should remain calm and carry on with their normal day to day activities. Two weeks later, she had Martov order all the warriors stationed around the planet enforcing the travel bans to report to their forts and to remain there until ordered otherwise. A month later, Amy announced a reduction in the war tax and that the people of Earth would be allowed to keep it. Two months later, the Council issued a modification to the travel ban allowing the citizens to move between communities to spend their new wealth. The population was nervous, but soon, many were venturing out to other communities. No more changes were made. The people on Earth needed time to grow accustomed to the changes already announced.
• • •
Candy decided that keeping the baby’s existence secret from RJ wasn’t the right thing to do. She told him and his happiness was overwhelming. Candy was joyous that she told him until he informed her that she would not be going out with her fleet. That pronouncement almost led to a divorce. Candy was adamant and told RJ that if she wasn’t allowed to go with her fleet, she and he were over. RJ fought her but soon realized she wasn’t kidding. She walked out on him and refused to speak to him for weeks.
Finally, he went to Taffy’s home and knocked on the door. Taffy greeted him and said, “You’re wasting your time, RJ. She won’t see you.”
“Taffy, do you think I’m doing the right thing?”
“It doesn’t matter what I think, RJ. Candy is her own person and she’ll disown me if I go against her on this.”
“But that’s not an answer, Taffy.”
Taffy blew out a harsh breath, “I’m so thankful you’re not allowing her to go with her fleet.”
RJ stared at her expression and said after a moment, “But…”
“I’m going out with Grady and leaving Brit behind with Clarissa. If he tried to stop me, I’d beat his brains out.”
“But our baby isn’t born yet?”
“He’s still my baby, RJ! Born or not, my place is by Grady’s side in this.”
RJ stared at Taffy and said, “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you about the marriage.”
“I’ve handled that with Candy. She promises that there will be a wedding if we survive the war. That will be enough.”
What does Grady say about this?”
“He’s staying on the Rex Hare. He says he has enough issues without an obstinate stubborn daughter ruining his days.”
RJ nodded and said loudly, “Candy, if you truly love me, get out here now!!”
Taffy and RJ waited, and Taffy shook her head. Suddenly, Candy’s door to her bedroom opened and she walked out. She looked at RJ and said, “I have nothing to say to you!”
RJ looked at her and said, “Candy, I can’t allow you to go out with your fleet.” Candy turned around and took a step toward her bedroom as RJ added, “But I can allow you to go with me.” Taffy’s head went back, and Candy stopped dead in her tracks. She turned around and RJ rushed forward and took her hands in his. “Candy, we’ll be launching within four or five months to attack the aliens and who knows how long this fight will take. I can’t risk the lives of a hundred-thousand sailors in your fleet against the possibility you might go into labor during the fight. Surely you can see that!”
“But I’m not due for more than six months, RJ.”
“And how long will it take to defeat the aliens, Candy?”
Candy lowered her eyes and shook her head, “I don’t know.”
“And neither do I Candy.”
Candy released a huge sigh and looked at Taffy, “I guess I’m being selfish.”
“He makes a good point about the safety of your crews, love. You know he’s right about that.”
Candy’s eyes moistened and RJ said, “You will be going with me on the Troke, Candy.”
“What? How is that going to work out?”
“I’ve sent Angel and Matt to take command of your fleet. Your ships are going to be placed in the hands of two of our best officers. You are taking Angel’s place as my Second-in-Command.”
“I don’t know if I like this!” Taffy said firmly.
RJ turned to her, “I’m having an infirmary put on the Troke and one of our best doctors will be assigned to my crew. If the baby comes, then we’ll be ready for it.”
“Why are you doing this, RJ?” Candy asked.
“Because I can’t live without you and the silence is killing me. I can’t focus on anything else and I really need you with me.”
“But what if you’re killed in the fighting?!”” Taffy shouted.
Candy turned to her again, “Then all three of us will die together and I wouldn’t want it any other way, Mom! We survive and live together, or we die together.”
“I don’t know that Grady will agree to this?” Taffy responded.
RJ looked at her, “Unless he’s willing to remove me from my position, he won’t have a say in it; I outrank him.” RJ turned to Candy, “Does this meet your expectations?” Candy wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. That was all the answer RJ needed.
Candy looked over his shoulder and said, “Mom, you’d be doing the same thing if our roles were reversed and you know it!” Taffy sighed heavily, walked forward and joined their hug. She knew RJ would not allow her daughter and their baby to be put in danger if it could be avoided. That would have to be enough.
• • •
Maranda launched the first message probe four weeks after the alien fleet was destroyed and RJ ordered Connie to take her scouts back to alien territory to see if they started gathering warships to launch another attack against Earth. Connie reported no movement in the alien’s lines. After four more weeks, Maranda launched the second message probe and Connie reported no build up of alien forces on Earth’s side of the core. It was working and the Defense Platforms were being modified at an ever-increasing rate. The last one was completed four months after the alien fleet’s destruction and RJ joined the other senior Admirals on board Maranda’s Carrier. Admiral Martov and Gary were stunned at the size of the giant ship and could only stare at each other as a shuttle took them on board. Martov glanced at Gary as they exited the cart and said under his breath, “Perhaps we have a better chance against the Core Aliens than I believed.” Gary nodded and entered the giant conference room with Martov.
RJ waited until all the attendees were present and stood up, “I want to welcome everyone to this meeting, especially Admiral Martov and his XO Admiral Wisecup. We’ve finally completed modifying Earth’s Defense Platforms and according to the trials that were recently completed, they are quite extraordinary. The aliens call their major warships Planet Killers. Perhaps enoug
h of them could destroy a planet, but the real planet killers are Earth’s Defense Platforms. I’ve been running simulations in the computer and I’ve come to the conclusion that our options to win this war are limited. Destroying their forces could take a very long time, especially if they avoid confronting us head on. Once we reveal our weapons, they will immediately start working on counters to them. Those counters will be developed and built on their planets and that is where we must focus our efforts. The Combined Fleets will go after the Core Alien’s warships and Earth’s Defense Platforms will go after their planets.”
Grady stood up, “You aren’t going to attempt to reduce their forces before going after their planets.”
“No, Admiral Henricks, I’m not.”
“But they will send hundreds of thousands of warships to defend each of their planets.”
“If we attack all fifteen hundred of their planets on this side of the core simultaneously, how do you think they’ll respond, Admiral?” RJ asked.
“I’m not really certain?” Grady answered.
“What would you do if you were in their place Admiral?”
“I’d dispatch a huge number of warships to defend the main governing planet.”
“That’s because the alien leaders would demand it, right?” Grady nodded.
“And if all of our warships are attacking the warships in their defensive lines preventing them from getting there, what would you do then?”
Grady smiled, “I believe I’d have to call in ships from the other side of the core.”
RJ nodded, “Leaving all of the alien’s inhabited planets on that side of the core open to attack by the two civilizations attacking them there.”
“They’d still call them in,” Grady replied.
“Do we have enough warships to hold off the forces in their front lines on our side of the core?” Admiral McArdle asked.
“The Planet Killers on our side of the core are an older model and the Garrions can take them on.” RJ answered. “We can cause enough havoc among them to delay their getting into the interior of their territory. We are going to blast a hole in their defensive line and fly in behind their forces as the Defense Platforms fan out and head toward their inhabited planets. I firmly believe that even if some of their warships manage to get to their worlds, the Defense Platforms will easily handle them.”
“How many Platforms are you sending to each planet?” Wade asked.
“Thirty-three or so. Two will destroy the planet and the others will hold off any alien warships that make it through our ships.”
“And if the advanced Planet Killers arrive, what then?” Maranda asked.
“We back off and allow them to stay at the planets they’re defending. We’ll move on to the undefended planets and remove them before coming back with our fleets to take on the advanced Planet Killers.” RJ paused and added, “Before any of that transpires, we will remove the Core Alien’s Governing Planet.”
“Do you honestly think we can pull this off?” McArdle asked.
RJ smiled, “Our ships are faster, can’t be detected, and our new heavy missiles can make it through their defensive blaster barrages. What do you think?” McArdle raised a shoulder and smiled. “Are there any questions?”
Angel raised her hand and RJ nodded to her, “Just how do you intend to blow a hole in their lines? You aren’t going to just allow the platforms to blast their way through?”
“Did all of you notice what happened when we launched heavy missiles at the alien fleet surrounding Earth.” Everyone nodded and RJ said, “I believe the aliens will launch a massive number of nuclear missiles ahead of the Defense Platforms causing them to be forced to stop where the aliens’ warships will fly over the blast to attack. I don’t believe they will be harmed but with millions of ships attacking the Platforms, the outcome is uncertain. I want to remove the uncertainty.”
Taffy turned to Grady and whispered, “Am I the only one that sees this plan is rubbish.” Grady glanced at her and shook his head. “Grady, he’s hiding something.”
Grady looked over at Maranda and saw she had an intense look focused on RJ. He stood up and RJ turned to him, “Yes, Admiral.”
“What are you trying to hide?” RJ stared at him in silence and Grady saw the participants in the room were absolutely silent. RJ remained silent and Grady said, “If we used the Defense Platforms to blast a hole through their lines, our Hares and Garrions would arrive at their inhabited planets long before any of the ships from their defensive lines could arrive. The Defense Platforms are the slowest vessels taking part in this mission and you’re using them to go and attack the planets. Reinforcements from the other side of the core would never have time to come and defend their planets if we sent our warships instead of the Platforms. What’s going on, War Admiral?”
RJ continued to stare at Grady, and then he smiled and looked at Candy, “You were right.”
“Right about what?” Grady asked.
“That you would see right through my plan. I told her if you did, you wouldn’t know why. Do you see why I developed this particular plan, Admiral?”
Grady’s eyes narrowed and everyone in the room saw him thinking furiously. After a moment, he chuckled and said, “We’ll go with your plan.”
“WAIT JUST A FREAKING MINUTE!” Maranda said loudly as she jumped to her feet. “I SEE NO REASON TO WASTE TIME DESTROYING THEIR PLANETS. WHAT’S GOING ON?!”
RJ turned to Grady, “Why don’t you tell her?”
Grady remained in his chair and said where everyone could hear, “RJ is trying to get help with the heavy lifting.”
RJ smiled and gave Grady a thumbs-up, “Right on.” RJ turned to Maranda and said, “The planets on our side of the galactic core only represent half of the alien’s inhabited planets. If we rush in and destroy them before reinforcements can be called in from the other side of the core, we’ll be forced to go around the core and attack the Core Aliens’ planets and there is a real possibility that we’ll have to also take on the two civilizations attacking them there.”
Maranda slowly sat down in her chair and nodded, “If we can force them to withdraw a large number of their warships from the other side of the core, those two civilizations could take over the load of attacking their planets on that side of the core,” Maranda replied.
RJ nodded, “Exactly.”
Grady spoke up, “If that’s what you want to happen then you should delay the Platforms arriving at the inhabited planets on our side of the core.”
“I’ve considered that, but I don’t want them to have enough time to react. Once the Planet Killers break through their lines of defense, I’ll need them to spread out and head toward the aliens’ critical planets. A large number will be sent to the Core Alien’s governing planet.”
“That should bring rain!” Taffy responded loudly.
“Why do you say that, Taffy?” Maranda asked.
Taffy turned to her, “We know from the scouting mission we made decades ago that the oldest inhabited planets are on our side of the core. The Governing Planet and I believe most of their important worlds are also on our side of the core. If they are endangered, and especially if the Governing Planet is threatened, I suspect they’ll not hesitate to pull all of their warships from the other side of the core and abandon their inhabited planets on that side.”
“Can we handle all of their forces if they do that?” Martov asked.
RJ nodded, “It’s not as easy as you think to disengage from an attacking force, Admiral. If they tried, I suspect those two civilizations would rush in and attack their ships as they try to disengage. They may not be able to stop all of them from leaving but they would delay a huge number of them.”
“And if they can’t?” Martov asked.
“Before Earth joined our war effort, I didn’t think we could take all of them on, especially in a pitched battle.” RJ glanced at Grady and added, “But now I believe we can defeat them if we take them on piece meal.”
“Ho
w do you plan to do that?” Admiral Tarangelo asked.
“The Garrions will be launched prior to the Defense Platforms and will be used to keep their defensive forces from ganging up on them as they move in toward the aliens’ inhabited planets. The King Hares and your carriers, Maranda, will move over the top of the core and launch attacks against the advanced alien warships as they move over the core. Their most advanced warships are on the other side of the core and if we can destroy a large number of them, our odds are greatly improved.”
“How many Garrions will stay with my carriers to defend them?”
RJ tilted his head, “None, Admiral. We need to use all of them against the forces in their lines of defense on our side of the core.”
“I don’t know if I like that, War Admiral!”
RJ smiled, “Your carriers are faster, more maneuverable, and vastly more powerful than any Planet Killer in the aliens’ inventory. Your cutters can keep them at bay outside the range of their weapons and if they threaten to overwhelm your carriers, just order them to run and start over.” RJ raised his shoulders, “There’s a reason they’re called Attack Carriers, Admiral. There’s no reason to save them; this is where we win or lose our fight to save humanity from the Core Aliens.”
Grady turned to Maranda, “Once the leaders of the aliens find out their reinforcements are being eliminated, they will demand all their warships leave the other side of the core. We’ll leave it up to those other two civilizations attacking them to take out their inhabited planets on their side of the core.”
RJ ended Maranda’s doubts when he said, “Each of your carriers will have a thousand King Hares assigned to their defense. I suspect they can do a far better job than the thousand Garrions normally assigned to defend the carriers.”
Martov raised his hand and RJ nodded to him, “How are you going to intercept them? There’s no possible way you can cover the entire space around the core.”
“We know the locations of their inhabited planets and the reinforcements will be sent on a direct course to go and defend them. The Carriers and Hares will position themselves accordingly, with a much larger force on the course to the Governing Planet. They will adjust their positions based on data being sent to them by Admiral Horton’s scouts.”