by Saxon Andrew
“No, Sire, I have not.”
“Notify me if you do!”
“I will.”
The Royal knew the strange ships were back. How few or how many, he had no idea. He was torn between issuing a warning or remaining silent. If he issued a warning, the Royal Family would demand to know how he knew and it would place the Lead Scientist in jeopardy. But if he didn’t…He shook his head and swore against a universe that refused to change. He should be allowed to attempt to communicate with them. It might prevent this madness. Then he had an idea. He lifted his communicator and pressed a button, “Fleet Leader, how do you intend to meet this new enemy if they return?”
• • •
The Communications Officer looked up at Gabe, “I’ve intercepted a communication between two Carand Leaders.”
Gabe saw Janell heard him and he said, “Have the computer translate it and put it on the speaker.”
• • •
“I’ll order in as many ships as possible to surround it.”
“And what if there are more of them? Maybe thousands more?”
“Sire, I have no choice but to follow the Royal Family’s directives.”
“And what are those directives, Fleet Leader?”
“Attack until they are destroyed or all my ships are lost.”
“Is that all?”
“Nor, Sire. I am not allowed to communicate with the enemy.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I would like to know why they are attacking us before I die. However, I do not possess the wisdom of the Royals and would not disobey them. How do you feel about it, Sire?”
“I asked if I could communicate with them and was told no. They were wise to prevent me. Even if they answered, we would still attack.”
“What if they tried to communicate with you?”
“I would still be prevented from answering unless all of our leaders were dead. But they haven’t attempted to communicate, so I don’t expect them to. Besides, I couldn’t respond. It’s good that you know your duties. I suspect they’ll be here before we know it. Maybe even now they’re here listening to us.”
“Let us pray you are wrong.”
“We just can’t know unless we can detect them. Continue your patrol, Fleet Leader.”
“Yes, Sire.”
• • •
Janell saw Gabe’s eyes were wide and asked. “What’s going through your head, Captain?”
Gabe looked at her tilting his head and shaking it, “That Royal Leader knows we’re here.” Janell’s expression showed her surprise at his remark. “Sir, he’s telling us that he can’t contact us and he suggested we could be here listening to him. He knows we’re here and he’s trying to tell us something.”
“Just how did you come up with this wild idea?”
“Sir, he’s telling a subordinate that he can’t communicate with us even if we attempt to contact him. What purpose would there be in saying that on an open frequency? He’s telling us he wants to communicate but is not allowed to do it.”
“How does that mean he knows we’re here?”
“Because he made this contact immediately after we arrived. Oh, he knows we’re here.”
“Why isn’t he warning his leaders?”
Gabe shook his head, “I honestly don’t know. It might be that he’s telling us to contact him after we remove his leaders. Or it could be that he has a plan in place in the event we do attack his civilization. I think he believes they stand no chance against us. If that’s true, he’s doing something about it and warning his leaders would jeopardize what he’s planning.”
“That’s a rather large leap, Captain.”
“It’s entirely speculation. However, I would keep his frequency and see if he responds to us later.”
“You mean after war breaks out.”
“He won’t respond before then.”
“I’m bothered, if you’re right, that he detected us. How did he do it?”
Gabe shook his head and looked up, “Chester, do you have any idea how we were detected by that Royal?”
“I’ve just examined the data collected by our scanners and there appears to be some kind of weak field just outside the black hole’s event horizon.”
“What kind of field?”
“It’s so weak, it only barely appeared on the scanner. However, it wasn’t there before.”
“Speculate.”
“I honestly have no idea what it does. The only thing that could be detected would be our mass or velocity as we moved through dark matter. Even that is a reach.”
“However it does it, that field must have detected our passage. What’s generating the field?”
“I don’t know. We could send a ship outside it away from those Carand Warships and see what it finds. If it finds something, it would have to be something that Royal put in place without the knowledge of his superiors.”
“Why is that?”
“Because none of them are acting like they know we’re here, except for that Royal.”
Gabe looked at Janell, “I’m pretty sure he didn’t do it.”
“Why?”
“Because he wouldn’t do that sort of work. Someone in with him on his plan did it. Would you go out and put a device out to create that field or would you have someone else do it?”
Janell stared at Gabe for a moment in silence and then said, “I’m starting to believe you. This Carand Leader is working a different agenda than his leaders.”
Gabe nodded, “Now the question is whether or not you want to work with him.”
“Why would I?”
“He didn’t warn them we are here. That saves a lot of lives and allows us to scout without them searching for our ships. I guess we owe him.”
Janell sighed and looked up, “Chester, save the frequency that Royal used.”
“Done.”
“I wish there was some way to let him know we heard him.”
Gabe started bobbing slightly and he said, “I think I know how we can do it.” Janell stared at him as he started speaking to Commodore Roland.
• • •
The Captain looked at his weapons officer, “Alright, we’re just outside this weak field. I’m starting my run.”
“Yes, Sir.”
• • •
The Royal sat in his Command chair and heard the alarm go off again. He silenced it and watched his display. Something moved through the field once. There was a slight pause, and then something went through twice quickly. There was another pause and then something went through the field three times. He tilted his head. One, two, three. He leaned back in his chair and smiled. They were telling him they had heard him and that they knew about the field. He shook his head; they didn’t attempt to use the frequency he had used to contact his Fleet Leader. He wanted to tell the Lead Scientist but there was no way to contact him. He decided to hold his position and wait to see what this civilization was here to do.
• • •
Scott looked up at Amy, “Sir, what do you think about what the Admiral said?”
Amy was staring out of the viewport and she sighed as she turned and looked at him. She sighed, “You saw the information on that civilization in Andromeda. They’re thousands of years more advanced than we are. Hell, they could be a hundred thousand years more advanced. If Fleet Admiral Conner is suggesting that we have to go and assist them, they must be facing an even more advanced enemy.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Scott, he sent us here so that our ships would go through the change. That change makes our ships incredibly more powerful than they normally are and creates something more advanced than we could ever build. He’s saying that our normal warships are worthless and that he needs our ships after the change is complete.”
Scott blinked and then nodded. After a moment he said, “Are you going to participate in what’s coming?”
“What do you mean?”
“You knew what we were facing he
re and our ships are far more advanced than the Carand or any other civilization in this galaxy. If the civilization we’re going to face in Andromeda is more advanced than the Darkness…”
“The danger goes off the scale,” She interrupted.
“I don’t want your sons to lose their mother.”
Amy smiled, “You’re biased.” Scott started shaking his head and Amy snickered, “You might as well admit it. Besides, I’m here to protect those that I love. If there is a larger danger to them coming out of Andromeda, I believe I belong there trying to stop it.”
Scott stared at her and took a deep breath, “I don’t want to lose you, Amy.” Amy rolled her eyes and Scott said, “What?”
“Let’s just say I don’t go to Andromeda, are you going to stay with the ship?”
Scott shrugged, “I guess.”
“So, I’ll be gone and you’ll fly into danger where you might be killed. Wouldn’t that be losing me?”
Scott’s mouth tightened and he stumbled, “But it…it…wouldn’t be the same thing. You’d still be alive.”
“That’s nice of you to say but the result would be the same. We wouldn’t be together. I persuaded you to join me on this ship. I will not go and leave you behind.”
“So it’s we both go or we both stay?”
“Something like that. However, I also love these wonderful sailors I’m leading. I can’t walk away from them.”
“Amy, there will be some down time when we go back before our ships complete the change. Will you come with me to Crystal River if we have some free time?”
Amy stared at Scott and smiled, “Scott, I will go with you wherever you want to go.”
Scott smiled and turned back to his panel. His heart was five times larger and he could only rejoice at what she said.
• • •
“Gabe, status of our scouts?”
“Admiral, we’ve been receiving their data for two days. They’ve mapped the border of the Carand Civilization and have found the planets where they build their warships. We’ve located about a thousand planets they’ve inhabited and more are coming in each hour.”
“Have any of them been detected?”
“Sir, two were detected six hours ago and a rush of warships was sent to those locations. The scouts left and are no longer in danger.”
Janell sat back in her chair, “They know we’re here.” Gabe nodded. “Recall all ships and start sending them through the black hole upon arrival.”
“Sir, we still have two days.”
“I’m not going to take the risk. Get them moving, Captain.”
“Yes, Sir.” Gabe went to his console and opened the general frequency, “All ships, return to our entry point and start exiting this galaxy immediately. Assume formation on the other side and start downloading the data you collected to your Admiral’s Flagships.”
Janell contacted Heinrik and Amy, “Take your ships back through the black hole and start collecting the data from your scouts.”
Amy looked at her, “Sir, we should remain with you.”
“Don’t worry about me, Admiral. At the first sign of trouble I’ll be headed through the black hole.”
Amy didn’t like leaving but she looked at Scott and nodded. Hobbs activated the thrusters and began moving through the warships weaving around the flagships and picked up speed. Ten minutes later, the Crystal River arrived in normal space in the Milky Way. Heinrik’s Berlin arrived two minutes later.
“Sir, long range scanners have a massive wave of Carand Warships moving toward our location.”
Janell looked at Gabe, “Have we been detected?”
“The Carand Warships that are here are not moving our way. They must be operating on the assumption that this is where they’ll be able to find us.”
“Order the scouts to find an undefended course through the black hole.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Janell pressed a button on her panel, “Commodore Roland, we’re going through the black hole now. Cover us until we cross the event horizon and then get your ships through.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Gabe, will those Carand Warships arrive before we make it through?”
“No, Sir. But they may arrive before Commodore Roland can move his defense forces out.”
Janell pressed a button on her panel, “Commodore Roland.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“I don’t want to fire on them unless it can’t be avoided. Once the Dream Catcher enters the event horizon, get your ships away to make the transit in another place that’s not being defended by the Carand.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ve opened a lane in the weave for you to make your exit.”
Janell looked at Gabe and he went to full air-thrusters. The giant ship flew away picking up speed. Roland watched it and saw the oncoming wave of Carand Warships would arrive in thirty seconds. The Flagship disappeared into the black hole and Roland yelled, “Break left and fly along the event horizon. Hold your position until we clear the enemy ships!”
• • •
The Royal had silenced the alarm on the probes and saw it reporting massive movement through the field. He had ordered the massive fleets to come and defend the zone around the black hole to prevent any suspicion of his complicity. He wondered if the strange ships would make it through the massive wave of oncoming warships. Thirty minutes after their arrival, he knew they did. He lifted his communicator, “All ships, start a search pattern around the black hole. Notify me if you detect anything!”
• • •
Amanda Hilton looked at her scanner, “They’re thicker than fleas on a wild dog, Alex!”
“Yes they are. However, space is too big for them to cover everything. We’re going under that formation in front of us and we’ll make our exit behind them.”
Amanda watched the huge formation of Carand Warships growing on the monitor and then they were past them in an instant. She watched them in her rear scanner and saw three of them open fire with their giant beams. But they were out of range and the small scout crossed the event horizon, “Alex, I think those ships detected us when we passed.”
“You’re right. I had to cut it close when that formation below them changed course. If we hadn’t been flying at maximum speed, we’d probably have been hit.”
“Oh well. At least we made it past them.”
“I know we were told about how many warships are in this galaxy but I never thought it would be as many as we’ve seen. Every civilization here must have their economies built around warship construction. This is not a place I’d ever want to live.”
“I think their life expectancy must be very low. How can they have continued this for as long as they have?”
“I have no idea.”
• • •
“Sire, we detected something moving toward the black hole and fired on it.”
“Did you hit it?”
“There was no explosion.”
“Are you sure you detected a vessel?”
“It had the same reading as the other ships that trespassed into our territory before.”
“Keep searching.”
The Royal’s panel activated and he saw a member of the Royal Family, “You ordered our fleets to your location. We want to know why you did that.”
“Sire, we’ve just detected one of the strange warships and opened fire on it.”
“Did you hit it?”
“Sire there was no explosion but it was forced to enter the black hole’s event horizon. We wouldn’t see the explosion from there.”
The Royal stared at him and then smiled, “It appears you made a wise decision. You correctly anticipated where they would go. We detected two of them.”
“I have my ships continuing the search.”
“Inform us of what happens.”
“Yes, Sire.” The Royal released a deep breath he had been holding and knew he had been lucky. Thank creation that ship was detected. He was still in good graces with the Royal Family.
He wondered how long that would last. Fifty minutes later, one of the warships encountered one of the small probes making the weak field and opened fire on it. It blew up in a massive explosion and he wondered what the Lead Scientist had used to power it.
“Sire, I’ve hit one of the enemy ships.”
“Are you sure it was one of their ships?”
“It was only visible for an instant and I fired before it could disappear.”
“Scan the wreckage and tell me what you find.” He immediately contacted the Royal and said, “Sire, one of my ships has fired on and destroyed an object that he believes is one of those enemy vessels.”
“Congratulations. Perhaps they’ll stay away now.”
Thank you. I really hope they do, Sire.”
• • •
The Royal moved his ship to the site of the destroyed probe and saw that nothing remained to be scanned. After three days, he sent the ships scanning the area back to patrol and he dropped a new probe out of his ship. The weak field was back in place in an hour. He was shaken that the invaders could detect the field and none of his vessels could. He thought about it and then understood; the Lead Scientist had deliberately built them to go undetected by his ships. Next time the alarms went off, he would go and hide at the asteroid with his loyal fleet.
Chapter Nineteen
“Gabe, did we lose any ships?”
He looked up from his panel at Janell and said, “We had to have one self-destruct.”
“WHY?!”
“Evidently the ships timing was slightly off when it transited the black hole and the gravity surge weakened the reactor supports. Another ship came and picked up the crew after it downloaded the ships computer into a recovery cube.”
“How were they able to hide the ship’s presence?”
“They sent it moving toward a star in a vacant star system and set off the self-destruct circuit when it moved in close enough for the star’s outer layer to hide it. The crew reported that the blast was hidden by the star.”
“How many ships didn’t make the transit?”
“Remarkably enough, all of them made it through. So many trips have been made that the timing has been established and pretty much perfected. That one ship was the only one that experienced any damage.” Gabe looked down at his console, “I’ve received all the data from Amy and Heinrik. I’m taking the ship back to Fleet Operations to turn it over to Fleet Intelligence.”