by Saxon Andrew
“As long as we’re moving, they’ll detect us.”
Dillon turned on the power and used the air thrusters to stop the vessel. He immediately turned the power off. He activated his suit’s communicator, “Captain Dobson.”
“Sir, we’re preparing to come to join your vessel.”
“YOU WILL REMAIN WHERE YOU ARE!” Dillon sighed and knew what she must be feeling. He softly said, “Janell, there’s no way out of this. I made a mistake not knowing about the scanner field this planet has surrounding it. This information must be given to Fleet to prevent future ships from being destroyed. I made a mistake. I hope you learn from it.”
“But, Sir!”
“Janell, power down your vessels, move in close to a planet, and lie low until all the Carand Warships pass you.”
“But, Sir. They may keep ships out here.”
“They won’t. I intend to make life miserable for them shortly. You’re in command and I want you to get both of your ships out of here to safety. That’s a direct order.”
Janell’s eyes were moist and she wiped them with her sleeve as she accelerated the ship toward the ninth planet’s atmosphere. “Yes, Sir.”
“Janell.”
“Yes.”
“Please tell Amy Hart that she was right and I’m so sorry. Tell her I love her and that I pray her life is filled with love and happiness.”
“Sir, tell her yourself. Just let us come and help you fight your way out.”
Dillon smiled softly on her monitor, “I’ve already made one mistake today. Please don’t make another one. Will you please do as I ask?”
Janell sighed and said, “Yes, Sir.” The image disappeared and Janell wiped her eyes again, “Chess?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Are any more ships arriving?”
“Yes. The last ones will pass in ten minutes. There is a large fleet holding station just outside the last planet waiting to be moved where they’re needed.”
“Let me know if they move.”
“Yes, Sir.” Janell pressed another button, “Captain Muller.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Where are you?”
“I’ve moved my ship to the opposite side of the planet you’re currently orbiting.”
“Move your ship deeper into the atmosphere and come here and form up on my port side.”
“Yes, Sir. On my way.”
Janell waited and then heard Dillon say, “Captain Dobson. I’m powering up momentarily and activating my full array of active scanners. I’ll be sending whatever they see directly to your computer and I need you to get this information back to Fleet Intelligence.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Janell.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You are a very special woman. Don’t ever settle for less than you deserve.” Janell’s tears started as she heard Dillon say, “Going to full power, Frenchy. Fire at will!”
• • •
Dillon activated the full thruster system and flew directly into the huge globe of ships over his vessel. He flashed into them and Frenchy opened fire with the Flagship’s twenty blasters. Dark Blue Warships exploded as thousands of their beams attempted to target the fast moving vessel. All the Carand Warships in the globe fell on the location of the blasts and it was all Dillon could do to avoid hitting them. He whipped the ship side-to-side as he pressed the missile control button on the end of the thruster handle. He moved vertically as the vessel was rocked by a huge beam that hit amidships. The ship shook off the hit and Dillon glanced quickly to the right and set the missile directional control to fire toward the rear. He pressed the missile button again as the twelve missile tubes launched a salvo of twelve missiles, immediately followed by twelve more.
The missiles were made of normal matter and when they hit a Blue Ship’s force field that was produced by anti-matter energy the resulting explosion was indescribable. The blast destroyed every Carand Ship within ten miles of the explosion. Frenchy played his weapons panel like a virtuoso and said, “Fire the missiles ahead of us. We might blast a way through.”
Dillon shook his head, “Frenchy, those anti-matter blasts would disintegrate us even in other space. They’re a hundred times more powerful than those beams.” Frenchy shook his head and then nodded. Dillon was right. If the ship slowed, the blasts behind it would probably destroy them.
• • •
Janell had the ship’s passive antenna connected to her helmet as it received the data being sent by Dillon. The massive explosions the missiles were making were blinding and she saw thousands of Blue Ships being vaporized by them. She looked up and saw in her visor’s tactical display that the large fleet of Blue Warships outside the star system were powering up their stardrives and flashing away toward the distant planet. Gabe looked at her, “We can go now!”
“Not until this is over!” Gabe saw her gritted teeth and nodded.
• • •
Dillon shook his head; he couldn’t fly any faster or he would hit one of the Blue Ships. He was moving in a huge circle and he saw there was no escape. He pressed the missile controls and emptied the magazines feeding the twelve launchers in all directions around him. He couldn’t allow his ship to be damaged and examined by this civilization. Frenchy saw what he did and looked back at him as he took his hands off his controls. He nodded at Dillon as the giant blasts exploded on all sides and washed over their ship causing the large flagship to explode into a shockwave that was incredible. The shock wave rushed out into the hundreds of thousands of enemy ships surrounding the center of destruction and enemy ships were disintegrated as the massive wave washed over them. The Flagship was gone. Every atom was completely canceled out in the anti-matter explosion leaving nothing behind.
• • •
Janell saw the data feed from Dillon’s ship had stopped and she looked out of the viewport at the distant spec of light where the battle was taking place. A few minutes later, the brilliant light from the anti-matter explosions passed. Heinrik appeared in her monitor and she shook her head, “Heinrik, I’m so sorry.”
“Frenchy died a warrior’s death. I’ve lost my mentor and best friend.”
“Power up. We’re headed back to the black hole.”
Heinrik looked bad as he nodded. Janell looked up, “Chess.”
“Yes.”
“Your name is now Chester.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
“I’m sure Dillon would want it this way.”
“I’m missing him now.”
Janell sighed as she powered the thrusters, “You’re not alone, Chester.”
• • •
Janell found Amy sitting in the small park outside the Fleet Operations building. Three days had passed and the mood in the building was somber. She knew Heinrik had left for Paris to meet Frenchy’s family. Both of them would start their debriefing as soon as Fleet Intelligence analyzed all the data. She walked up and sat across from Amy on a bench. Amy looked at her and softly smiled, “I’m so sorry.”
Janell was surprised by the comment, “Why do you say that?”
“Because he loved you.”
“Not anymore.”
“No, that’s true. But you experienced his love and I know you were different because of it.”
Janell fought back her tears and said, “He asked me to deliver a message.” Amy took a deep breath and lowered her head. “He told me to tell you that he loved you that you were right and that he’s so sorry. He said that he prayed that your life would be full of love and happiness.” Amy nodded and kept her head down. Janell stood to leave and looked back at Amy, “What were you right about?”
Amy looked at her with tears falling and shook her head, “I told him that he was more important than he knew and that he shouldn’t take a risk that would get him killed.” Janell stared at her and sighed as Amy said, “Telling him that was a total waste of time.”
“Why is that?”
Amy sighed, “Because Dillon never put himself
first. He always put the safety and happiness of others ahead of his own. I knew at some level that I would eventually lose him.”
“Then why did you…”
“Because he made me a better person. He taught me to love again and I won’t forget that lesson. I only had nine days with him and it is a memory I’ll treasure for the rest of my life.”
“He loved you, Amy. I could hear it in his voice.”
“I know. I could see it in his eyes.”
Janell started weeping and Amy moved beside her and hugged her. Janell hugged Amy as well and Amy said, “Promise me you’ll stay in touch.”
Janell said through her tears, “Why?”
“Because you and I will have to make sure our lives count for something. We owe it to him.”
Janell nodded as both of them wept for their loss.
• • •
The Carand Commander sat in front of the Royal Family and wondered if he would survive the meeting. More than eight hundred thousand warships had been obliterated by the single ship they attacked. At least the question about anti-matter was answered. He looked up and saw the Great Majesty looking at him. He straightened up in his chair as he said, “We understand that it was you that contacted us about the strange ship coming to our planet.”
“Yes, Majesty.”
“You’re fearing for your life.”
“Too many warriors died in this attack.”
“If your fleets had not arrived, many more might have died on this world.” The Commander nodded. “We have discussed what has happened and we’ve decided that you will take command of the internal forces in the Empire to prevent this from happening again.”
The Commander took a deep breath and said, “I fear for the Empire, Majesty. This was done by just one ship. I fear larger numbers will come.”
The Supreme Royal Smiled, “I think you can count on that happening. However, you at least saw what was happening and acted. My Council of Scientists refused to see the truth and they are no longer alive to repeat their mistake.”
“My Fleet Scientist saw it.”
“And he will lead the next Council. We’re charging you with doing everything in your power to prevent a future occurrence, Fleet Royal.” The Commander’s eyes went wide and the Royal said, “You are now a Royal and will advise me directly on what we should do to support your efforts.”
The Commander went to one knee and bowed his head, “I will do everything to make sure it doesn’t.”
“Rise and go make sure it doesn’t.”
The Commander stood and walked out of the giant chamber. He exited the giant door and a member of the Royal Staff met him, “Sire, your uniform should be changed to the appropriate attire. The Commander nodded and followed him to another section of the huge structure. What was he going to do? He had to meet with that scientist.
• • •
Janell sat outside Admiral Connor’s office and reflected on the past four weeks. The three officers that went with Admiral McCagg had endured a brutal debriefing and she was relieved it was finally over. She wanted to take some time to grieve for Dillon but wasn’t given the opportunity. She had been ordered to Admiral Connor’s office as soon as the last question was answered in her debriefing. She wondered what the Admiral wanted. She looked over at Amy’s console and saw she wasn’t back from Florida, where she had taken her sons. She was both jealous and envious of Amy. She had Dillon’s heart at the end and she had to admit that she had earned it. She was a remarkable woman.
“Captain, the Admiral will see you now.”
Janell stood up and nodded to the woman taking Amy’s place. She blew out a breath and went to the door where an armored guard opened it for her. She walked in and stopped in front of Admiral Connor, went to attention, and saluted. He returned her salute and nodded toward the chair in front of his desk, “Take a seat, Captain.” Janell sat down and Steve stared at her for a moment. Then he said, “I understand that you tried to stop Admiral McCagg from moving into the Carand’s star system.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“Sir, I’m sure you’ve already seen my answer to that question.”
“You don’t want to relive it, do you?”
“No, Sir. I do not.”
“Even so, tell me why?”
Janell sighed, “Because he was more important than either of our two ships. He should have sent one of us in.”
“And?”
“His ship would have detected the Carand Fleets moving toward us in time for all of us to escape. He made a mistake thinking the only ships in that system were close to the planet.”
“Did you share this with him?”
“I tried but he had already made up his mind. His argument that our ships would have to move in too close to the planet to make a good scan was also accurate but he should have still sent one of us in.”
“Do you really believe that, Captain?”
“I do. However, Dillon would always put his subordinate’s safety ahead of his own. This was in keeping with his character.”
“He wasn’t in command long enough to learn that lesson.”
Janell took a breath, blew it out slowly and nodded, “No, Sir, he wasn’t.”
Steve stared at her in silence and Janell began to grow nervous. After a minute had passed, she said, “Why did you order me to come here, Sir?”
Steve smiled, “You don’t appear to be intimidated by me, Captain.”
“I respect your position, Sir. After all that’s happened, I’m not easily intimidated anymore.”
Steve leaned back in his chair, “No, I imagine you’re not.” He sat forward and his eyebrows narrowed, “I’ve been struggling with what to do and the obvious answer worries me.”
Janell tilted her head, “Sir?”
“When you first had the moxie to contact me directly, I thought you were a foolish Lieutenant. I also thought your judgement was…questionable.”
Janell stared at him and then shrugged, “I can see where you would think that.”
“Admiral McCagg said that you were an excellent officer and he wanted you to go with him on this mission. I questioned him about that but he said that he reassigned you for your benefit, not his. He said that you were very qualified to be a part of it.”
Janell lowered her head briefly and then looked directly into Steve’s eyes. He could see she was fighting to maintain her composure. “Here’s my issue, Captain. I have to decide who is going to command the next ships that transit the black hole. I can choose one of my current Admirals to take command but none of them have fought in any combat, or seen any combat for that matter, and don’t have any idea of what’s on the other side of the black hole. Getting them up to speed in a command position could be dangerous to those ships they command. I’ve read your debriefing in detail and I’m forced to admit that Dillon was right about you, you are an exceptional officer who had a good intellect to command. I am promoting you to Admiral and you will lead the next incursion into Carand Territory.”
“Sir, Captain Muller was also there and is highly rated in Fleet’s standings.”
“Not as high as you.”
“That was due to Dillon. I was his weapons officer.”
“No, you were an equal member of his team. You will take this command and I expect you to not make the mistake he did. You will use your assets to carry out what needs to be done. From reading the reports on you from Intelligence, I don’t think that will be a problem. Do you?”
“Sir, I just don’t know if I should be the one selected to do this. I couldn’t stop him.”
“No one could, Admiral. I hope you don’t put those under your command into a similar position. However, this is not an option, unless you’re prepared to resign. Fleet needs you to do this.”
Janell stared at him and then nodded, “I’ll do my best, Sir.”
“Good.”
“When do we go back in?”
“We have to build your flagship first.”
>
“Sir?”
“We’ve learned from the recordings you received from Admiral McCagg that if his ship had been better armed, he could have possibly survived. We aren’t going to make that mistake again.” Janell tilted her head and Steve smiled, “Your new ship will be four hundred yards in length and will carry a massive load of missiles with more than a hundred major blasters on its hull. You will have a crew of two hundred that will man the offensive and defensive weapons on the ship along with a bridge crew to carry out your communications and directives.”
“Then I won’t be piloting the vessel?”
“No, you won’t.”
“Sir, would it be possible for my current weapons officer to command the ship’s operation?”
“He’s young, Admiral.”
“But he is experienced and the most brilliant person I’ve ever seen at understanding the operation of our warships. I want him involved in the building of the new ship.”
Steve looked at his computer screen and punched some keys. He glanced at it and said, “He is the one that suggested building a larger ship.”
“He see’s things I don’t, Sir.”
“He also came up with the air thruster system.” Janell nodded. “I’m promoting him to captain and he will report directly to you on the flagship.”
“Thank you, Sir. I would also like my computer moved to the new ship.”
“It’s already been removed from your former vessel and is being installed.” Janell’s eyes narrowed and Steve smiled slightly, “I told you this wasn’t optional.”
Janell shook her head slightly, “Yes, you did.”
“Your ship is being built in the Space Dock above the Bosrean Planet. How many ships do you think you’ll need on the next mission?”
“I want to take at least twenty thousand, Sir.”
“What?”
“We’re not going in to run, Sir. We will remove this civilization as a threat and now is the best time to start. If we have to retreat, we will. But next time they won’t step away unscathed.”