Nowhere to Hide

by Saxon Andrew

  The clock appeared on his display. The Grandfather sat in the chair next to his son and looked at the time remaining, “It appears they do intend to keep their promise.” The Grandfather thought a moment, “They could still launch before we jump.”

  “That’s true; but we’re going to operate on the assumption they’re being honest.

  ***

  Ian and Drey were holding position in front of the four Strike Fleets. The four groups with a hundred thousand ships in each of them were organized and it was clear the pilots had performed the maneuver to organize hundreds of times. Chip was proud of his pilots and their leaders. They were the most highly trained and disciplined of all the Alliance’s forces. They were ready.

  Ian picked up his communicator and keyed it on, “We are about to take this war to the enemy. Three of you will attack the three fleets we hit and the fourth will jump in to assist wherever it’s needed. You are the best of the best. You’ve trained for this and I know you’ll make me proud today.” Ian paused and then continued, “The enemies we’re attacking today are carnivores. They don’t know the meaning of mercy or salvation. They will kill every living being and think nothing of it. We will also fight on their terms. You will show no mercy. You will not allow any of them to survive. All damaged ships will be destroyed. You are going to deliver a message they understand. I expect you to make sure they know we’ll not be defeated without a price they should never want to pay. I’m counting on you to make sure the message is understood. Prepare to launch in two hours.”

  ***

  Drey looked at Commodore West on his display, “Are you sure about this, Sir?”

  “I am. You will launch your mine two minutes early.”

  “I was told by the Prince that I would follow the countdown and not deviate.”

  “Commodore, you have your orders!”

  “Yes Sir.”

  Drey sat back in his chair. Ian just didn’t have what it took to do what needed to be done. That fleet could not be allowed to escape. He watched the countdown and fifteen minutes before the fleet launched, Dee appeared on his display. He smiled, “Hello, Darling. It’s good to see you.”

  “What have you done?”

  Drey saw something in her expression, “I’m not sure what you mean?”

  “You’ve ordered the neutron mine delivered early on the ones who asked for our forgiveness.”

  Drey’s face hardened, “It has to be done.”

  “IF YOU GO THROUGH WITH THIS, YOU AND I ARE FINISHED! I will never tell my child anything about the father who brought unforgivable shamed on the Union. What you’re doing is despicable!”

  The display went dark and Drey stopped in midsentence saying that he was doing it to protect her and their child. He slammed his fist on his panel, “Damn you, Moe. Why did you tell her?” He waited for an answer but even Moe wouldn’t communicate with him.

  ***

  The four specially designed attack ships went into subspace and jumped to the location of the four Invader fleets. The jump field around their ships was deliberately shaped with a long tapering point on the front and rear. The shape would not create a wave in subspace and there would be little or no warning of their arrival. The arrived at the coordinates given them by the Obelisk Computer as the countdown ended.

  ***

  The Senior Father watched the countdown and sent a message out on the Family’s general frequency, “Waves in subspace have been detected; on my command, every ships will jump to the escape coordinates. He watched the countdown and just before it reached zero…”

  ***

  The three Invader fleets were hanging in space getting prepared to jump when suddenly a tiny object appeared in the middle of their formations. Two hundredths of a second later, space erupted into a blinding flash as an explosion flashed out at the speed of light. It rivaled a supernova in intensity and the high energy gamma and x-rays were off the scale as the explosion rushed through the ranks of the Invader fleets. Ten minutes later, after the hurricane of lethal energy flashed out from the center of the explosion, a hundred thousand Green Ships arrived and looked for any survivors of the neutron explosion. Of the billion ships assembled in each of those fleets, fewer than a million were still intact. However, the crews had been irradiated with a lethal dose of radiation and the incredible push by the shock wave as it passed had killed most of the crews. For the millions in the center of the giant fleets, nothing remained.

  ***

  The High Council was in session to view the launch of the fleets and there was a view of them on the main display. The Grandfathers were feeling giddy at the coming invasion and their mood was one of cordiality. Suddenly, the entire display went white. The Grandfathers looked at each other and turned to the Senior Grandfather. He waited for the view to change but it remained white. He looked at a Senior Father and yelled, “Get ships out and see what’s going on!” The Father quickly left the room and the Grandfathers could only stare at the display.

  ***

  …he ordered, “Jump now!”

  The billion ships disappeared and less than a second later the neutron mine detonated. Drey looked at Commodore West on his display, “Did they get away?”

  “They did, Sir.”

  “You will keep your earlier instructions secret. Failure to follow that order will be considered treason and you will be executed.”

  “Yes Sir.” Stan’s display went dark and he fell forward and put his head in his hands. Thank God the Admiral had changed his mind. He didn’t know if he could have lived with the treachery he had been ordered to commit. He entered the coordinates for El Dorado and jumped back to M87.

  ***

  Drey sat on board Doc and was angry about being forced to change his orders. He couldn’t live without Dee. He still didn’t like being forced to allow the Invader fleet to escape. “Admiral, The Prince is currently occupied with the cleanup of the three Invaders fleets. I have received a message from the Invaders that escaped and I’m delivering it to you as the highest ranking officer available.”

  “Moe…” But the channel was empty. The Senior Father appeared on Drey’s display and said, “I can’t express the gratitude of myself and my family for you allowing us to escape. You have taught us that honor does exist in the universe and we will endeavor to be honorable in all our future dealings with any civilization we encounter. We know you were tempted to eliminate my family but you kept your promise. If you ever need us in the future, we owe you a debt that we can never fully repay. Thank you.”

  Drey stared at the screen for hours afterwards. Natalie’s face was in his mind and he knew that if he had gone through with his plans, this would have been his Natalie. If he had destroyed them…He put his head in his hands and lost himself. An hour later, Dee arrived and rushed on board to try and save him. What she found, broke her heart.

  ***

  Chip looked at his main display and saw that no Invader ships survived the neutron blasts. He pressed a button and Lilly, Mikki, Bang, and Gregan appeared. The large Kilper Admiral looked out of place among the humans but he was the jokester of the group. “Each of you has been assigned one of the remaining Invader fleets to go and make life miserable for them. You have the four galaxies they’re currently invading and I expect you to start reducing their numbers immediately. Don’t take on a force too large for your wings to handle. Hit and run and hit again. The attack craft will be joining you shortly but they understand that they are in a supporting role. You four will command our efforts in the galaxy you’ve been assigned. You’ve trained for this and I know your pilots are ready. If we do this properly, I suspect they will not be able to mount another organized attack on M87 in the near future. Do you have any questions?’

  “Who will you be going with, Sir?”

  “I will be going with Lilly’s fleet.” Chip saw the surprise on Lilly’s face. “Are there any other questions?” No one said anything and Chip said, “Make the Alliance proud. You are also preventing our galaxy from
being attacked as well. We will launch in one hour after the attack ships arrive.”

  “Sir?”

  “Yes, Bang.”

  “Why are the Theta fleets not taking part?”

  “The attack ships don’t carry a boson blaster. The Thetas will be needed to disrupt space around the civilizations in M87 if the Invaders manage to launch an invasion. We can’t run the risk of them not being there to disrupt space.”

  “Thank you, Sir.”

  “No problem, Bang. Now get your initial targets from the Obelisk and Hub. You’ll have the appropriate number of attack ships assigned to your wings to carry them out. Go and keep them distracted.”

  “Admiral.”

  “Yes, Hub.”

  “We’ve had a squadron of Invader ships appear at the four locations and immediately jump away.”

  “Looks like the cat is out of the bag; Hub, see if you can’t get those attack ships here now. We need to start our attacks before they can take any steps against us.”

  “The first hundred thousand will be sent to their assigned wings within five minutes. They can jump out immediately and the others will be filtered in as they arrive.”

  “Admirals, get your squadrons ready to go. It’s show time.”

  Chip’s display went dark but Lilly remained on it. “Sir, why are you going with my fleet?”

  Chip stared at Lilly, “Why do you ask?”

  “Do you not trust me to handle this alone?”

  “No, I trust you implicitly.”

  “Then why?” Chip remained silent and Lilly said, “I want to know!”

  “I’m doing it for selfish reasons, Admiral.”

  Lilly was confused, “I don’t understand.”

  “I want to make sure if you get into trouble, I’ll be there to defend your ship.”

  Lilly’s brow furrowed and then she knew. She smiled as all the little things that had gone unnoticed until this moment entered her mind. Her smile grew wider, “Maybe if we make it out of this, you’ll allow me some time to discuss this with you, Sir.”

  Chip didn’t want to but he smiled and sighed, “I look forward to that conversation, Lilly.” Lilly disappeared from his display and he heard, “It’s about time you told her.”

  “I didn’t tell her.”

  “She knows.”

  Chip sighed, “Follow her to her fleet, Salud.”

  “I’ll make sure we stay close, Chip.”

  “I would really appreciate it if you’d do just that.”

  ***

  “Didn’t I tell you he liked you?”

  “Oh come on, Jack. You meant he just liked me; not LIKED me.”

  “What are you going to do about it?”

  “I think I should start the proceedings with a few hugs and kisses. Then we can talk about it.”

  “I suspect there won’t be much talking if you do that.”

  “One can only hope.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  The Alarms went off in the High Council’s chamber and a voice announced, “We are under attack. Please report to your duty stations immediately. We are under attack…” The Grandfathers rushed out of the room to go to their ships to be taken to their Families.

  The Senior Grandfather stayed at his chair and looked at the incoming messages. He wasn’t worried about the enemy getting anywhere near his ship. More than three million ships surrounded the giant vessel he was in and there wasn’t much chance of the numbers of enemy ships currently attacking the ships at the edge of his fleet getting through. The ship’s commanding Father entered and said, “We need to jump out of here.”

  He looked up, “Why?”

  “What if they detonate another blast?”

  The Senior Grandfather turned dark instantly, “Get us underway…NOW!”

  ***

  Lilly appeared on Chip’s panel, “Sir, the Leadership of the Invaders has jumped their fleet.”

  “Follow them and keep them running.”

  “Sir, are you ready to start the festivities?”

  Chip smiled, “Lead the way, Admiral.”

  ***

  Dee held Drey in her arms and knew he was broken. All that made him what he was went missing. She could see his mind and knew she was close to losing him. She held him close and slowly rocked back and forth. After a long time she said, “You’re looking at this the wrong way.” Drey just kept his eyes closed and thought about what he had almost done. “You are not one person, Drey.”

  Drey was confused by her comment and he forced his eyes open and looked at her. She grabbed his head and forced him to look into her eyes, “You and I are one. You do the hard things and I’m there to make sure you don’t screw up. We didn’t fail. We did the right thing.” Drey started shaking his head but Dee gripped it harder forcing him to continue looking in her eyes, “You didn’t have anyone but yourself when Natalie died. That won’t ever happen again. Our decisions are made by both of us; that’s why I was there when you needed me.”

  “If Moe hadn’t told you, it would have happened.”

  “He didn’t tell me. I saw it.”

  Drey stared at her, “What?”

  “I saw what you were going to do in that place in my mind. You can’t make that kind of mistake without me being there to help you.”

  Drey thought about what she was saying and he straightened up in his chair. He fought back from the abyss and thought about the danger he represented. Dee leaned in and kissed him deeply. “I can’t live without you, Dee.”

  “I know, my Love. Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

  Drey looked at the floor, “Losing you was the only thing that stopped me.”

  “I won’t allow it to get that far along in the future. The Union needs you to be hard. You’re right about Ian not being able to do the really hard things and you have to balance him.”

  “What about me?”

  “That’s what I’m here for, Drey.”

  Drey stood up, “I need to tell Ian what I was going to do.”

  “He already knows. He knew as soon as you issued the orders.”

  “Why didn’t he stop me?”

  “Because he also sees his weakness and decided that if you felt that strongly about the need to do it, he wouldn’t prevent it. He has tremendous trust in you, Drey.”

  Drey looked up, “Moe.”

  “Yes Admiral.”

  “Thank you for telling him.”

  There was a moment of silence and Moe replied, “You have restored my faith in you. She’s right, we need you.”

  “Make sure you keep tabs on me in the future.”

  “I suspect I won’t have to worry about that, Sir.”

  Drey’s smile was crooked, “Some lessons are learned the hard way.”

  “Exactly right.”

  Drey reached for Dee and she came into his arms. Her joy was overwhelming; he was back from the abyss.

  ***

  Max looked at Claire on his display, “Max, why did you turn down the promotion to the Strike Fleet?”

  “I’m an attack ship commander. This is where I belong.”

  “Are you familiar with the command Theta you’ve been assigned?”

  “It’s taking some getting used to but I see where the additional space is needed for the command circuitry. Having multiple forms of beam weapons is taking some getting used to. I’m accustomed to just firing missiles.”

  “I’m working on that issue myself. Has your fleet been given their initial assignments?”

  Max smiled, “All but ten thousand ships have jumped out with the Thetas. What about yours?”

  “We arrived late. They’re being sent out as we speak.”

  “Have the Freaks arrived?”

  Claire looked at her panel, “They’ve joined Admiral Martin’s Strike Fleet and they’ve replaced Lilly’s fleet harassing the fleet where the Invader’s leaders are located.”

  “I suspect they’re causing a huge problem for them.”

  “I’ve se
en messages that the Invaders have been forced to jump more than twenty times to try and escape their attention.”

  “Are your pilot’s ready?”

  “They are. I’ll get with you after this is over.”

  “Will you consider a wedding at that time?”

  Claire’s smile was soft and beautiful, “I think we’ve put that off long enough.”

  “Stay safe.”

  “You, too.” Max jumped away with his last squadron and Claire prayed the wedding would happen. The forces arrayed against them were staggering. She looked at her panel and opened the general frequency, “Alright, it’s time to do our part. You are released to go to your assignments. Give ‘em hell.”

  ***

  Ryan banked hard left and micro-jumped over the top of the giant Invader Battleship. Three massive beams blew through the space he just vacated and he fired a three missile barrage as he jumped again. He emerged for a moment and saw the three missiles had not made it through to the target. “Crap!” He micro-jumped three more times, before he jumped away to pick another target. That ship was going to be a tough nut to crack. “Are you having fun yet?”

  “It’s getting harder to get a barrage through their defenses, Wes.”

  “I’ve seen that; we need to up the ante.”

  Ryan blew out a breath, “Do you want to be the target or the shooter?”

  “I’m better at jumping than you are, Sir; you’ve spent too much time behind a desk. I’ll roll through from the top and head toward the bow. I’ll probably only get two jumps before I’m forced to get out.”

  “That should be enough; I’ll lock my sensors on you and come in a half second behind on your route over the top.”

  “Call it out, Sir.”

  “Three, two, one, and go!”

  ***

  Wes disappeared and Ryan followed him in half a second later. Ryan saw eighty beams sweep out trying to anticipate Wes’ route as he moved in behind the beams sweeping away. He fired a three missile barrage and all there roared in and hit the ships force field rocking it hard away from the blast. The organized beam coverage around the giant went haphazard as the crew was shocked by the massive explosion. Ryan micro-jumped and fired another three missiles and the giant battleship blew apart as he jumped out into open space. He looked for Wes and didn’t see him, “Salud, where is Lt. Madden?”