by Saxon Andrew
“Sir, we just started working on this.”
“They’ll arrive in five minutes.”
“Yes, Sir.” Janell disappeared from her panel and she activated her fleet’s general frequency, “Attention all ships. We are being attacked by first fleet in a training exercise within five minutes. Maintain your weave around my vessel and follow your training. Be prepared for evasive maneuvers.” Amy looked at Scott, “Make me proud, Captain.”
Scott punched Commodore Jones’ frequency, “Sol, you’ve got the initial wave. Start the weave outside Commodore Roland’s fleet and hit targets of opportunity.”
“I’ve just set my ships up to use the new pattern. We’ve not actually flown it yet.”
“Do the best you can. Order your ships to keep their places in their lines and follow the lead ship in the pattern. Training weapons only.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Scott punched another button, “Tony, get your ships moving now!”
“We’re already moving. The pattern is complete and my ships know to close up the line if a ship is lost.”
“We’re starting evasive maneuvers now. Keep your lines outside the kill zone.”
“We’ll do our best. We’ll move the weave outside the axis of your evasion pattern.”
“Starting evasive maneuvers now.” Scott looked at Lt. Hobbs, “Don’t use radical changes of course unless it’s absolutely necessary, you’ll lose the coverage of the weave if you do.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll keep my pattern inside the weave as much as possible.”
Scott pressed the intercom, “All blaster and missile crews target any attacker that moves inside the kill zone. Make your shots count.”
Amy sat back in her chair and waited for the battle to start. She had done all she could to get her crew ready and this was the opportunity to see if the hard work had paid off. She looked at her long-range tactical scanners and saw the warships from first fleet moving toward her position. She also saw Admiral Heinrik’s Flagship moving in with them. “Captain Sole, order one of Commodore Jones’s outer lines to break away from the weave to attack First Fleet’s Flagship once the enemy ships are committed.”
Scott looked at his tactical monitor and smiled. He issued the order and stared intently at the wave of incoming warships. They were breaking up into smaller units and he watched as the outer layer of defenders moved the weave slightly to take on the first arrivals. He saw the outer defenders were holding their own and he turned his attention to his ship to make sure any attackers that made it through the lines were targeted as they entered the Crystal River’s kill zone.
• • •
Janell sat in her command chair and watched the exercise on her main monitor. She looked at Gabe and shook her head, “What’s going on? We’ve lost more than three thousand ships in the first five minutes.”
“Sir, Second Fleet had developed a formation that is multi-layered and has a crossfire covering their ships. They’re ignoring any of our ships that make it through the outer layer and are only concentrating on any ships inside their pattern. The Flagship is also surrounded by a much tighter pattern and we’re losing a huge number in the crossfire.”
“Will they take out the Flagship?”
Gabe smiled, “I don’t know. This is not something that First Fleet has encountered and they’re losing their coordination attempting to break through.”
Janell smiled until Gabe said, “Sir, Second Fleet has detached two lines of their ships in the outer weave. One is headed toward Second Fleet’s Flagship and the other is headed toward us.”
“WHAT?”
“You didn’t tell them that they are restricted to being defensive. We’ve not held any ships back and we’re undefended.”
Janell shook her head, “Turn and flee from those ships.”
Gabe looked at the pilot and he went to full speed. Janell looked at Heinrik’s Flagship and saw that it was remaining in place. It couldn’t flee and leave its ships without leadership. Thirty minutes later the ship’s computer announced, “Exercise is complete. All ships in First Fleet have been destroyed.”
Janell looked up, “Second Fleet Losses?”
“Thirty percent of their warships.”
“Notify all ships to move back to their formations and for all Unit Commanders to report to my conference room in six hours.”
• • •
Amy sat in her command chair and watched more than eight hundred of First Fleet’s warships break through the weaves into the Crystal River’s kill zone. Every one of them was hit by a training missile or blaster beam before they could move into firing range. Lt. Hobbs moved the flagship away from the ships that broke through giving the weapon crews time to target them and open fire. Her crew was extraordinary in their performance. At the end, the ships in the outer weave joined the inner layers and fell on the surviving First Fleet Ships. The losses were high, but nothing like what First Fleet endured. Heinrik appeared on Amy’s monitor after the exercise and smiled, “That was a great job, Admiral. I trust you’ll share the pattern you used to win this exercise.”
“I’ll have my Ship Commander send it to you now.”
“Thank you. This has been illuminating.”
“I’ll see you on board Admiral Dobson’s ship.”
“I look forward to it.”
Amy lifted her communicator, “Attention all ships in Second Fleet. You were incredible and I couldn’t be more proud of you. Congratulations.”
The sailors in Second Fleet started cheering and they knew who the First Fleet really was. The crew of the Crystal River was united and felt a ton of pride at their accomplishment. Gone was the anger at the hard work they endured and in its place was a respect for their Admiral. They were ready for what was coming.
• • •
Three weeks later, Janell, Heinrik, and Amy arrived at Fleet Operations for a meeting with the Senior Admirals. They entered Admiral Connor’s conference room and saw the four highest-ranking admirals sitting at the main table. They went to the three chairs in front of the table and sat down. Steve looked at Janell, “Is your Fleet ready to go?”
Janell smiled, “It is, Sir.”
“Are you clear on your mission?”
Janell looked at him and then looked at her two junior admirals who shrugged. She turned back to Steve and shook her head, “Not really.”
“What have you been training to accomplish, Admiral?”
“Actually, I was planning to go back to that galaxy and take some revenge for the Death of Admiral McCagg. However, I really don’t think that’s a good objective by itself.”
Steve smiled, “I agree. We been discussing this issue and it seems to us that you’re not taking enough ships to really make a difference.” Steve saw Amy nod. “Admiral Hart, what is your opinion?”
“Sir, I’ve looked at all the recordings from the vessels we’ve sent to that galaxy and it’s obvious that twenty thousand warships aren’t near enough to take on that civilization. Admiral McCagg’s vessel was attacked by two hundred thousand enemy ships and from what we’ve seen, that’s just a tiny percent of their total number. Most of their warships are out defending their borders. If we attack, I’m reasonably certain they will call those ships to join in the fight.”
“That’s how we see it as well.”
Janell rolled her eyes, “Then what is our mission, Sir?”
“We believe that this civilization is still an Unknown Enemy. We know where one of their main planets is located but that is all. We don’t have an accurate count of their warships or where they’re located. Before we can take them on, we need that information. Your fleet is going to collect that data and bring it back to us.”
“So we’re going on another scouting mission?”
“Yes, you are Admiral. Only this time we’re not sending just two ships to defend you. You will take a close look at that civilization and we will then send the necessary forces to confront them.” Steve tilted his head, “Or do you think yo
u can do it with just your fleet?”
Janell’s eyes narrowed and she glanced at Amy who was shaking her head. She sighed and started nodding, “Yes, Sir. We’ll find out what we need to know.”
Steve noticed that Janell paid attention to Amy. He lowered his eyebrows and said, “Admiral Hart. What do you think?”
“Sir, I think it’s time we quit sending enough ships in to get killed. If we’re going to attack then we need to do it with everything we have. Sending Admiral McCagg in with just three ships was a suicide mission.”
“That’s the way he wanted it, Admiral.”
Amy saw Steve’s irritation but she didn’t back down, “That might be, Sir. But you were his commanding officer and you should have overruled him for his own safety.”
Steve stared at her for a long moment and then said, “Do you think you have enough ships to do the scouting this time?” Amy nodded. Steve stared at her for a moment and said, “We all learn from our mistakes, Admiral. I expect you to get the job done this time.”
Amy closed her eyes for a moment and nodded, “Yes, Sir.”
Steve looked at Janell, “When will you be leaving?”
“Seven days, Sir. I’m giving the sailors some time to be with their families before they leave.”
“Keep us informed of your progress. That is all.”
The three stood up, saluted, and left the room. Admiral Malone looked at Steve, “Do you still think promoting that inexperienced officer to lead a fleet was a good idea?”
“From what I’ve learned from watching their progress, I do. I’ll forward the recordings to you and you can make up your own minds about it.” The three senior admirals looked at each other and saw that the Fleet Admiral had looked at the novice for guidance. They held their judgement until they could view the recordings.
Once they saw how Amy’s Fleet had destroyed First Fleet in their last training exercise, they no longer worried about her competence. They realized that all of their Fleet Commanders were inexperienced in fighting live combat. This new Admiral showed a remarkable understanding of fleet maneuvers.
• • •
Steve looked at the other members of his senior staff after the three Fleet Admirals left the room, “Have you arrived at consensus on sending our ships through Andromeda’s black hole?”
Malone looked at the other two and turned to Steve, “We might as well do it. We’ve let the cat out of the bag by opening communications with them. They would have to be idiots to believe our vessel was from the Halo Civilizations.”
“They haven’t agreed to accept us as allies but I confess that I’m worried about what might lie beyond their black hole.”
Admiral Knott leaned forward, “I’m not sure what you mean?”
“They pretty much confessed that a ship came through their black hole in the past and really put the fear of death in them. If the civilization that sent that ship is an aggressive civilization and sends an invasion fleet, we will be impacted by it.”
Admiral Holmes looked at Malone and said, “I don’t see why we would be in jeopardy.” The other Admirals looked at him and he shrugged, “They have to be made of anti-matter and there’s no way they could come here and settle on a planet. The first time they set foot on a planet’s surface they’d set off a massive explosion. The same is true in the galaxy on the other side of our black hole. There’s no way we could set up a base there. We couldn’t use any of the matter in that galaxy. The only reason we’re going through is because of the danger the Carand Empire represents. I suspect the same is true of the civilization threatening the Darkness Civilization in Andromeda.”
Steve stared at the Admirals and shook his head, “There’s something we’ve discovered that may change your mind about this.” Steve paused and said, “Fleet Construction has taken a look at Admiral Dobson’s and Admiral Heinrik’s ships that went into the other galaxy. They discovered something that is troubling.”
Holmes lowered his eyebrows, “What is that?”
“Their ships no longer have a charge.”
“What on Earth do you mean by that?”
“You know that matter in our universe has a positive nucleus with negative electrons spinning around it.” Holmes nodded. “Matter in the other galaxy is just the opposite, negative nucleus positive electrons. Somehow the atoms in their ship’s hulls have been changed so that they are neutral. Neither the nucleus or electrons have a charge.”
Malone shook his head, “Then how are they holding together? The atoms in the hull should just fly apart.”
Steve sighed, “We have no idea what’s going on but our lead scientists have speculated how it could happen. One thing we know is that black matter also has no charge and it exists in both galaxies. We also know the field around the singularity exists in both galaxies and is not affected by either. The scientists believe that when the two vessels passed through the singularity’s field, it changed the structure of the atoms and made them neutral.”
“But…our ships and weapons in that other galaxy react like anti-matter to the Carand’s Ships.”
“It appears that the change took place after the ships went back through the singularity. Those two ships could now exist in both galaxies without causing an anti-matter explosion.”
“But the Prophet’s Eyes went through and still reacts like anti-matter.”
Steve looked at Admiral Knott and nodded, “That’s because it hasn’t gone back through the singularity. If it did, I suspect it would also have a neutral charge.”
Holmes shook his head, “How will this affect our ships? Will they still exist inside the other space or will they appear in normal space?”
“They’ll be just like black matter and not be detectible. They’ll still exist in other space because they aren’t part of either. We discovered this about a week after Dobson and Heinrik returned; their ships slowly disappeared while they were in the space dock. The change is not instantaneous but takes some time to complete.”
Malone sat back, “How are we going to use warships we can’t see?”
“Actually, we just need to turn the ship’s force field on with a minimum setting and it can be seen in space by our other ships. Everything inside the ship is normal.”
Malone smiled, “So just the hull was affected?”
“So far. We’re concerned that if the singularity’s field penetrates our force fields, the interior of the ships and the crews will also be affected.” The Admirals stared at Steve and he sighed, “They would also be invisible if that happened.”
Holmes shook his head, “This is not good.”
Steve shrugged, “Maybe not; I learned yesterday that our team working on the two ships put a device on the hulls with a positive magnetic field.”
“And?”
“The ship reappeared. It appears the outer layer of electrons can be charged and allow it to be seen. If the crews are affected, they would have to wear a device that charges their bodies with a small magnetic charge. They would be seen as long as they’re wearing the device. The scientists also believe that the crews would see each other because they have an identical neutral charge.”
“Why does this make a difference in sending our ships to Andromeda?”
Steve looked at Malone, “With a neutral charge, the crews would be unaffected by anti-matter. They could live in either galaxy. If that civilization confronting the Darkness in Andromeda goes through and then goes back, they’ll learn that they could conquer planets and settle them with the crews or colonists that have a neutral charge.”
Holmes shook his head, “The same is true for the Carand.” Steve nodded. “Will our weapons lose their charge?”
“Not as long as they’re inside the hulls.”
Steve paused and took a deep breath. Holmes saw him and said, “Something’s bothering you.”
Steve nodded and prepared to deliver bad news, “Oscar Barton, our lead scientist on the team working on this, thinks that the return trip from the other galaxy does aff
ect the inside of the vessel, including the crews.” The other Admirals were silent. Steve sat back in his chair and continued, “The insides of the two ships are slowly changing to a neutral charge. I also had Admiral’s Dobson and Heinrik scanned while they were here and it appears they are slowly changing as well.”
“Are you going to tell them what’s going on?”
Steve looked at Malone and shook his head, “No. I’ve had the four that went through with Admiral McCagg replace their wrist units and the new ones put a positive charge on them. The change takes place from the inside out and they’ll probably be back from their mission before they go invisible without the wrist units.”
Malone leaned back in his chair, “But they’re taking twenty thousand warships with them. All of them will also be affected by this.”
Steve nodded, “The thousand warships we’re going to send through Andromeda’s black hole will also undergo the change.”
Holmes shook his head, “You can’t do this without telling them!”
“If I tell them and allow those that don’t want to undergo this change to back out, we’re back at ground zero in sending our fleet into that galaxy.”
Holmes shook his head, “Even so, they should be given the choice.”
Steve looked at the three Admirals and shrugged, “Do all of you agree on this?”
Malone nodded, “It’s the right thing to do.”
Knott nodded and Steve looked at Holmes, “Sir, before I agree with them, is this change permanent?”
“Oscar doesn’t see any way to change it once the process starts.”
“Then I agree with the other Admirals. They should be told.”
Steve stared at them and said, “We can’t stop defending ourselves because of this.”
Malone nodded, “I agree but our sailors should know what’s happening so any we send out in the future will know what they’re up against.”
Steve stared at them and said, “I’ll go out to the fleet and meet with the Admirals and let them make the decision.”
The three admirals looked at each other and then nodded. Steve lifted his hand communicator, “Admiral Dobson.”
Janell stopped before she entered the shuttle and lifted her wrist unit, “Yes, Sir.”