by Saxon Andrew
The Death Prophecies
The Unknown Enemy
Will Kill You
Contents
Introduction
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Epilogue
Books by Saxon Andrew
Introduction
Captain Dillon McCagg saw the green button on his panel start flashing and he put on his combat helmet and took the call. “Captain McCagg here.”
“Captain, your request has been approved and you are ordered to report to Fleet Operations immediately to be briefed on the mission.”
“Has Fleet also agreed with the second part of my request?”
“They have and acknowledge the reason for it is appropriate.”
“I may meet some resistance.”
“Your request has been accepted. If you meet any resistance, have the one doing it report to Admiral Gomez in Fleet Personnel.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“Your new rank will be effective immediately.”
“New rank?”
“The one chosen for the mission will be promoted to Admiral and take command of any follow up vessels once the mission is completed.”
“Thank you, again, Sir.”
“Report to Fleet Admiral Osborn upon arrival.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Dillon removed the combat helmet and saw Janell staring at him, “What’s going on? Why the private communication?”
“Lt. Dobson, I have been ordered to report to Fleet Operations immediately. You will pack your gear and, upon arrival, report to Admiral Gomez in Fleet Personnel for reassignment.”
“What are you talking about, Dillon? This is my assignment.”
“Not any more, Lieutenant. Go to your quarters and pack your things.”
“Dillon, what’s going on?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss it. This falls under Fleet Red Security. You need to get moving, Janell.”
“But…”
Dillon’s expression hardened, “Lieutenant, you’ve been given orders. Now carry them out!”
“Dillon!” Janell saw his expression and knew he wasn’t budging. She stood up, went to attention, saluted and left the bridge. Dillon watched her go and sighed. This was the best thing for her. He lowered his head and shook it. He blew out a breath and entered Fleet Operations’ location in the stardrive. A moment later Earth appeared below the ship and he entered its atmosphere. He landed on the tarmac outside the giant building and stared at the ship’s camera in the exit port as he waited for Janell to exit the ship.
She looked at the wall camera and knew Dillon was watching her. If he thought he was just getting rid of her, he was wrong. She would protest this in the strongest possible manner. Fleet could not just arbitrarily reassign her without justification. She knew something was going on but she suspected Dillon was transferring her because of her engagement to Rowdy. That wasn’t a good enough reason to do it. She opened the port and headed toward the huge entrance to the building.
Dillon stood up and looked at the bridge’s wall camera, “Go and make sure everything is in top working order.”
“You should have told her what’s going on.”
“I don’t need a computer to tell me that. However, that would have made her resistance even more difficult to handle and I’d probably had to have her arrested for not following orders.”
“I guess you’re right. It’s just the two of you have been such a great team.”
“I know. But I should do this alone.”
“I can see your logic.”
“Fleet did as well. I’ll check in with you after I meet with Admiral Osborn.”
“What do I tell Janell if she contacts me?”
“Use a recording that communication silence has been imposed and to send all messages to Fleet Admiral Osborn’s office.”
“I doubt that will stop her.”
“It should. At this point, she doesn’t need to die before her wedding.”
“What does that say about you?”
Dillon shrugged, “I’ll speak with you later.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Chapter One
Pam looked at Admiral Connor on her panel’s display, “We’ve chosen the volunteer to make the first penetration.”
“Anyone I know?”
“Captain Dillon McCagg.”
“Isn’t he on the shortlist for promotion to Flag Rank?”
“Everyone on the final list is on the shortlist.”
“But I thought he was at the top?”
“He is and that’s why his request was accepted. We need to send our best. Death Prophecy Six says to always select your best to lead.”
“It just seems like a waste to send him first.”
“So you don’t think he’ll survive, either?”
“There’s just too much unknown at this point to expect anything else.”
“I know. There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you but I’ve waited until now to do it.”
Connor’s eyes narrowed, “What is that?”
“I’ve resigned and my resignation is effective in ten days.”
“Pam, you can’t do that!”
“You more than anyone should understand why, Steve. I’m watching my children grow up without me. Ben deserves more than that.”
Connor shook his head and then sighed. He nodded, “I understand.”
Pam looked him in the eyes, ”There’s more; you have been chosen to replace me.” Connor’s shocked expression made it clear how he felt about this piece of information. “Before you start yelling about this, I told the Leadership Council and the other Senior Admirals that you would refuse the promotion and that perhaps one of the other Admirals might be better for the position.”
“And?!”
“All of them said that this is a critical time facing humanity and is probably even more dangerous than the Traugh threat. They all insisted that you were the only one qualified to lead us at this moment in time and began quoting the sixth prophecy.”
“I know Admiral Holmes wants the position.”
“He was the first one to say that you had to accept.”
Steve stared at her and, after a long moment of silence, he said, “Why?”
“Steve, I didn’t lead us during the destruction of the Traugh, you did.”
“That’s not true, Pam!”
“Yes it is and you know it. You were out there watching everything that was happening and you made suggestions to the Senior Admirals and me about what we should do. We treated your suggestions as orders and never really questioned following your lead.”
“There were many objections, Pam. Admiral Malone had more than I can remember.”
“But each time you showed him where he was missing the big picture and he came around to your point of view. They trust you more than you know. You have to do this.”
“Pam, I have a family now as well.”
“Yes and you’ve been there for
them from the beginning. Are you ready to resign from the service, retire, and spend all of your time with them?” Steve stared at her in silence. Pam tilted her head, “I asked Lani a month ago if you were ready to retire and stay home. I didn’t give her any indication that anything was going on and she told me pretty quickly that you would die of boredom if that happened. She says you’re only happy blasting around the galaxy at maximum speed.”
“And that ends if I accept this promotion.”
“No it doesn’t. You can command our fleets from your flagship or from this office. You can stay on Earth and spend as much time as you want with your family after work hours. Or you can go out with the fleet and get your dose of excitement. However, it’s clear to everyone that leads Earth that no one is close to being the leader you are.”
“Pam, I don’t want to do this.”
“I didn’t either and I really felt inadequate when I assumed the position. It was having great leaders like you and the other Senior Admirals that made it doable. Now it’s your turn and we desperately need you to guide us through this.”
“When is Captain McCagg arriving?”
“He’s here now. He just landed outside on the tarmac.”
“I need to talk with Lani about this but I also need to talk with the captain. Tell McCagg to meet me on the roof. I’m coming in the Prophet’s Eyes.”
“I didn’t know you had the Eyes at your home.”
“It allows me to get places on time. Besides, I like to keep an eye on our most powerful warship.”
“You’re the only one that can fly it so it makes sense for it to stay with you. I’ll bring him there. By the way, he’s been promoted to Admiral and if he survives the mission, he will command the ships that will follow.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“It will be good to see you, Steve.”
Steve smiled, “It’ll be good to see you as well, Sis.”
Pam smiled and ended the call. She wasn’t actually his sister-in-law but Steve thought of Ben as a brother. She had to admit that she loved Steve like a brother she never had. She pressed her panel, “Send Admiral McCagg to my office.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Pam waited and wondered why McCagg had volunteered for this mission. He entered her office and went to attention. She was surprised at just how handsome he was. He was about six feet two inches tall, built like a gymnast, and had short curly black hair which was a nice contrast to his steel blue eyes. “At ease, Admiral. If you will come with me, we’re meeting a ship on the roof.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I’ll hold my questions until the ship arrives.” Pam walked out of her office and Dillon followed her. They arrived on the roof and Dillon’s eyes widened when he saw a port and ramp hanging above the roof with nothing around them. He looked at Pam and she smiled, “Yes, this is the Prophet’s Eyes and Admiral Connor wants to discuss your mission.” Dillon smiled and walked up the ramp with Pam. The Prophet’s Eyes was the only ship in Earth’s Fleet that was invisible. It existed in Other Space and was not in contact with normal space. He was excited by the opportunity to go on board.
She turned left after entering the port and he followed her to the bridge where Admiral Connor stood up and smiled, “It’s good to see you, Sir. And this must be our volunteer.”
Pam walked up to Connor and hugged him, “Yes it is. Admiral McCagg, this is Senior Admiral Connor.”
“It’s a real pleasure to meet you, Sir.”
Connor nodded toward the chair beside him. He pressed a button and another chair came out of the floor beside his that Pam sat in, “Dillon, why did you volunteer to do this. You have to know your chance of surviving isn’t good.”
“Sir, I’m a good candidate to do it.”
“Why?”
“I don’t have any living relatives and I’m not married. If I die, no one will suffer as a result.”
“I have to apologize but I haven’t had the opportunity to look at your personnel records. Why don’t you have any living relatives?”
“I was placed in an orphanage at two years old. My mother left me at the hospital and she used a fictitious name when she signed in. I know nothing about either of my parents.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’ve done fine without a family.”
“Even so, you just don’t know what you’ve missed. There’s no one you’re romantically involved with?”
“No, Sir.”
Connor looked at Pam, “I thought we were assigning our pilots with good matches?”
“We are and for the most part the program is working quite well, however, Admiral McCagg’s weapon’s officer made an attachment during her academy years and they are to be married in two months.” Dillon looked at Pam and his eyebrows came together.
Steve smiled, “Don’t look surprised, Dillon. We pry into the lives of all our crews and keep close tabs on them. So the one you were matched with belongs to someone else.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“And you never developed an attachment to her?”
Dillon stared at him and Pam said, “He requested that he go on this mission alone and that his weapon officer be reassigned.”
Steve looked at him and tilted his head, “That’s the real reason you volunteered for this mission, isn’t it?” Dillon was silent and Steve’s expression changed, “Admiral, you and I are going to be working together and for that to work, you are going to have to be open and honest with me, even about things that are painful to discuss.”
Dillon continued to stare at Admiral Connor and then sighed, “Yes, Sir. The Fleet matching program is very good. I fell for Janell the moment I saw her.”
“But she belonged to someone else.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“She wasn’t worth fighting for, Dillon.”
“She told me up front that she was in love with someone else. I believe her relationship deserved my respect and I kept my distance.”
“And now she’s getting married.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Do you want to die?”
“Not really. But this just makes me a better candidate in my humble opinion.”
“What about your computer?”
“That’s what will prevent me from doing anything stupid. I won’t put him at risk if it can be avoided.”
Connor tilted his head, “I had to know where your head is, Dillon. You’re right, you are a good candidate. However, we need to discuss what you’re up against. Turning toward the main display, Steve looked up, “Poul, what can you tell us about your transit of the singularity?” Steve saw Dillon’s expression change and he tilted his head, “Poul is the Prophet’s Eyes computer. I should have introduced you before starting.”
Dillon smiled, “It’s a pleasure meeting you, Poul.”
“Thank you, Admiral. To answer Admiral Connor’s question, I was traveling at superlight speed when I entered the black hole. My force field was covered with blaster beams that had been fired as I crossed the event horizon. It was those beams clinging to my hull that got me to the singularity. However, they faded as I exited the singularity and my crew was killed at that moment.”
Connor looked at Dillon, “Do you have any questions?”
“I learned in the academy that blaster beams fired around a ship will get it to the singularity. Has anyone thought about the singularity existing in both universes?”
“What do you mean?”
Dillon looked up and said to Poul, “It’s my understanding that your hull doesn’t exist in our universe. You’re somewhere between normal space and the void.”
“That’s true.”
“Well, if that’s the case, how can the singularity be in contact with both universes and not be affected?”
Pam looked at Steve and saw his expression, “What are you thinking?”
“He makes a good point. If the black hole looks the same in both universes, it can’t be reacting to the different spaces. The
most recent analysis by our leading physicists says that they are of the opinion that the universe Poul came from is made up entirely of anti-matter.”
Pam’s head went back, “What?”
“The consensus is that when the big bang went off there was just as much anti-matter created as positive matter. They’ve not been able to account for what happened to it. If what Dillon is saying is true, then the positive and negative matter were separated by early gravity into two different universes. The only place where they might come into contact is in a singularity in the core of a massive black hole. However, the singularity keeps the two separate and is immune to both spaces.”
Dillon shrugged, “Which means that when this ship passed through the singularity, the beams clinging to its hull came into contact with positive matter and annihilated each other.”
Pam nodded, “That would account for no radiation.”
Dillon nodded, “That’s true but remember that the ship’s hull wouldn’t leave our normal space until it moved outside the singularity’s field. Inside that field, they would be affected by the forces of gravity at the heart of the black hole along with the reversed polarity of the ship’s gravity compensators.”
Connor nodded, “So how do you avoid those forces?”
“I’ve thought about that since I graduated from the Academy. I think, and this is only a guess, that the gravity compensators have to be reversed.”
Steve’s eyes narrowed, “What? It’s the gravity compensators that keep the ship at normal gravity.”
Dillon nodded, “I know but instead of reducing the gravity on board the ship, they have to be reversed to produce a very high level of gravity for an instant while the ship is passing through the singularity’s insulating field. Once the ship clears that field, it will be outside normal space and unaffected by the forces around it.”
Pam looked at Dillon, “Have you discussed this concept with anyone?”
“No, Sir.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to be seen as insane. You have to admit that this is a pretty wild idea increasing gravity in the center of a black hole in order to survive.”
Steve snickered, “Well, if you don’t make it we can throw that idea away.” Steve looked up, “Poul, what do you think about this?”