by Saxon Andrew
“Yes, Sir.”
“You’ll receive the names of the admirals commanding your three fleets and you need to get them trained quickly.”
“Yes, Sir, I’ll keep you informed.”
Jennings ended the call and contacted the second admiral. He received the same orders and Jennings sat back. He was taking two fleets with him out into the alien’s territory but was not going to get involved in combat. He’s seen how dangerous that could be.
• • •
Martov pumped his fists and yelled, “YESSS!!” He called his Executive Officer in and smiled, “I’ve just been promoted to Senior Admiral and given command of three-major-fleets. You are promoted to Admiral and will call a meeting of my fleet commanders as soon as I receive their names.”
“Congratulations, Sir!”
“Save that for later, we have three fleets to train and the sooner we can make that happen, the sooner this promotion will stick. Now get moving!”
The XO left the office and Martov sat back and smiled. Then he sat up straight. He remembered the small ship that warned him about the aliens and wondered why it did it. The commander of that ship was human…could it be he was on their side. He remembered the woman sitting beside him and decided that he wanted to see her again…up close…very close.
Chapter Fourteen
The Rabbit exited the Sagittarius Arm and entered the void between it and the giant Perseus Arm. There were two major spiral arms in the Milky Way, each of them came off an end of the bar that rotated in the galaxy’s center. There were more minor arms inside those two arms as they wrapped around the galaxy, but the Scutum-Centaurus and Perseus Arms were the monsters. Grady watched the Rabbit occasionally flash by a star and knew the void wasn’t really a void, there were stars scattered around in it. But the distances between them were tremendous and, from a distance, the space between the two arms looked empty. He thought about what would happen if he did find a colony and decided that appearances were important. He pressed the intercom and announced, “Taffy, come to the bridge.”
Taffy ran through the portal and quickly asked, “WHAT’S HAPPENING?!”
“Nothing, I want to talk with you a minute.”
Taffy punched him on the arm, “Don’t scare me like that!! Tell me why you want me to come to the bridge!” Grady nodded. Taffy sat down on her chair and asked, “Why do you need to talk with me?”
“I’ve been thinking about how we’ll be perceived if we encounter a ship from a colony?”
“Why would that bother you.”
“Taffy, perceptions are important. I want you to start wearing your flight suits on the bridge at all times.”
“Why?”
Grady huffed out a breath, “Which of the following two images would you choose to be more imposing; a military officer flying a ship with a beautiful woman beside him?” Grady paused, “Or…two military officers flying the ship.” Taffy blinked. “Which one, Taffy?”
“Well, I suppose two professional officers would have more impact, but I am not an officer.”
“Your flight suit says differently, Taffy,” Grady replied. Taffy flinched slightly, and she touched her collar feeling the Captain’s star sewn on it.
“But I’m not in the military, Grady and it wouldn’t take long for someone to see it. The closest I’ve ever come to the military is sitting in this chair next to you.”
Grady smiled, “You’ve actually come a lot closer than that.”
Taffy’s lips pursed, “You know what I mean! I know nothing about being a soldier.”
“Well, let’s think about that, shall we?” Grady replied. Grady held up his hand and began bending fingers, “One; you completed blaster training and learned how to use it faster than I did in my formal training. Two, you took part in a combat operation defending the ship when we gathered more food. Three, you know how to operate the ship’s blasters and used them during a space battle when we attacked the aliens. Four; you know how to operate the scanner system and I have little doubt you could fly the Rex Rabbit if you chose. Five; you…”
“That’s enough!! You’ve made your point!” Taffy snapped at him.
Grady looked at her and said in a soft voice, “The truth is that you know more about things military at this moment than I did when I came out of the academy and took a job as a scientist. You’re a lot more military than you believe.”
“But I’m not in the military, Grady!”
Grady tilted his head, “Is that what’s bothering you?”
“I guess.”
Grady smiled, “As the last surviving senior officer in the Union’s armed forces, I’m officially drafting you into the military at the rank of Captain, based on the thorough knowledge you have about the operations of a Union Warship. In that you are being drafted, you may not refuse to serve.”
Taffy stared at him for a very long moment, and then turned to the monitor saying, “OK.” Grady’s head went slightly back, and Taffy turned to him, “While you’ve been jabbering I’ve thought about it and you’re right. I’ll receive more respect if those we encounter see me as an officer. It will also create a better impression to any military types we might encounter. I appreciate your making me a Captain; I won’t have to change the rank on my flight suits.”
Grady shook his head, “Now I know where it came from.”
“What are you talking about, Grady?”
“Look at your unit patch; you’re the unbelievable part of it.”
The corner of Taffy’s mouth went up and she turned back to the monitor, “I’ll wear a flight suit on the bridge when I’m on duty. However, I will not wear one when I’m sleeping or off duty.”
Grady nodded, “Fair enough.”
Taffy shrugged and added, “I think it might be a good idea to keep a flight suit on the bridge and be prepared to change into it quickly if needed.”
Grady smiled slightly, “You can wear your flight suits over most of the things you wear.”
Taffy turned to him with a huge smile, “So I’m going to be off duty all the time and be ready to change at a moment’s notice.”
Grady sighed, “You like the way I look at you.”
“I don’t intend to give that up, Grady.”
“Then you need to practice changing quickly.” Taffy nodded and went to bring a flight suit to the bridge. After a week of practice, she could put it on in less than forty-seconds.
• • •
The huge Perseus arm was growing daily, and Grady didn’t have to tell Taffy to wear a flight suit; she began wearing one on her own. Four days later, the flashing red light on the map of the galaxy was huge and Taffy asked, “That’s where we start the search?”
“Yes, we should be there in six hours.” Taffy nodded and put on her helmet, “What are you doing?”
“I’m practicing designating targets with the blaster software. It’s been a while since I used it.”
“I’m moving the Rabbit out of its FTL drive and move in close to a star to recharge the expansion fluid,” Grady commented.
“That’s a good idea.”
“Why do you say that, Taffy?”
Taffy raised her faceplate, “For the same reason you’re recharging the expansion fluid; if we find another colony, they may not be as friendly as we hope they are. Earth has made me nervous about encountering new civilizations, especially those with humans.” She paused and added, “Besides, we may run into another alien civilization like the one that attacked Britannia. It’s better to hope for the best and plan for the worse.” Grady nodded, and Taffy pulled her faceplate back down.
• • •
The next day, the Rex Rabbit was flying through the Perseus Spiral Arm and Grady suddenly saw a flicker on his faceplate. “Heads up…”
“I see it,” Taffy interrupted. “Charging blasters and activating the scanner.”
Grady kept his eyes on the faceplate and saw the flickers were too weak for the computer to decipher. Suddenly, Taffy said loudly, “I HAVE A SHIP M
OVING IN ON US AT AN INCREDIBLE SPEED!”
Grady quickly asked, “Computer, how does that ship’s speed compare to our speed?”
“It’s traveling faster than double our normal speed,” the computer answered.
Grady knew there would be no outrunning this ship. He said, “I’m stopping the ship!” Taffy nodded as a medium sized warship flashed in and came to a stop two-miles off their portside. Grady opened a wide frequency and activated the ship’s communicator, “This is the Union Scout Ship, Rex Rabbit! Identify yourself!”
A man appeared on the monitor and he was more surprised than Grady and Taffy at seeing humans. His hand moved forward, and Taffy quickly shouted, “WE’RE NOT FROM EARTH!”
The man’s hand stopped, and he glared at Taffy. He took a good look at her and Grady saw he liked what he was seeing, “May I assume you can prove that?”
Taffy turned to Grady and he shrugged. Taffy turned a knob on the console as Grady was speaking quietly under his faceplate. She pulled up an image and pressed send on the communicator. The man looked down at the image Taffy sent as she said, “That is our planet. You can see it is not Earth.”
The man looked up, “This could be an image of any planet in this galaxy. This proves nothing.”
Taffy patiently requested, “Move the view in closer to one of the cities on the planet.”
The man turned something on his panel and, after a moment turned back to them, “Humans do inhabit this planet, but how do I know this isn’t a planet Earth conquered and settled?”
Grady finished reading what was on his faceplate and raised it, “You requested we send you proof we’re not from Earth…”
The man interrupted him, “This doesn’t cut it. You’ll have to do better than this. I’m suspicious by nature and this doesn’t prove anything.” The man reached up with his right hand outside their vision and Grady wondered what he was doing.
Taffy pulled up another image and sent it. The man glanced at his panel and his head went back. Grady looked at the image she sent and saw the two colony ships in orbit above Earth. The man raised his head, “WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?!”
“The colony ship Britannia settled the world we come from and it took that image as it launched from Earth thousands of years ago,” Grady answered.
The man turned back to the image and Taffy added, “Three colony ships were the only ships above Earth when they launched. That image could have only been taken by the first ship to launch; that ship was the Britannia. Our ancestors chose to use the ship’s name for the planet.”
The man looked up at her and said, “This image could be faked.”
Taffy shook her head, “Boy! You are suspicious!”
“That’s what I’m paid to do.”
Grady’s expression turned angry, “So, you demand proof and we give it to you. Then you say that the image could be faked and doesn’t prove anything. You could say that about any information we send you.”
The man raised a shoulder and tilted his head, “You said you were a scout ship. How do I know you aren’t a scout from Earth using some preplanned story to avoid detection?”
Grady lowered his eyes slightly, “How do we know you aren’t from Earth? What proof do you have that you aren’t?”
The man’s face tightened, “You’re not in a position to be asking questions. Unfortunately for you, I’m the one carrying the big stick here and you will comply with my questions or I’ll destroy your ship.”
Grady sat back and said, “Ok, hit me with your best shot!”
The man’s head went back, “Say what?”
“You say you’re the big stick, prove it. Take your best shot!”
The man glanced at Taffy and saw her staring at the man beside her like he had two-heads. He shrugged and said, “It’s your funeral,” as he pressed a button on his panel. A brilliant blaster beam flashed out and hit the Rex Rabbit dead-center.
Grady looked at the temperature gauge and smiled, “Now it’s my turn!” He pulled his faceplate down and locked in one of the blasters to fire ten-feet above the bow of the ship. The blaster flashed and was blinding. The man fell back in his chair and, when his vision returned, he looked out of his viewport and saw the surface metal on the bow of his ship was boiling and bubbling. Grady looked at him on the monitor, “Before you could run, I can destroy your ship.”
The man glared at him and knew he had made a mistake. Grady asked angrily, “Now, who are you and prove to me you’re not from Earth?!”
The man glared at Grady and Taffy sighed, before saying, “If you genuinely thought you could destroy our ship whenever you chose, there was no reason for you to come rushing in acting like an ass. You could have been polite and gotten whatever information you needed. Now you’re sitting there struggling like we were a few minutes ago trying to come up with something to prove you aren’t from Earth.” Taffy paused and requested, “Send me an image of your planet.”
“What good will that do?” the man asked.
“Just send it and let us decide.” The man hesitated and began operating his panel. A moment later an image of a planet appeared on the Rabbit’s monitor. Taffy moved the view in and stared at a large city on the planet’s surface. Grady kept his finger on the red button and the three blasters focused on the man’s vessel. Taffy looked up from the monitor and turned to Grady, “He’s not from Earth.”
The man’s eyes instantly narrowed, “And just how could you make that determination from that image?”
Grady took his finger off the firing button, as Taffy replied, “The city in that image is nothing like the cities on Earth. It’s clear that the population on that planet have freedom of movement and from the level of commercial traffic above the city, it appears the planet has a free and open economy.”
“And just how do you know what the cities on Earth look like?”
Grady raised his hands, “We went there recently and the cities on Earth are tightly controlled; the population there is little more than prisoners on their own planet.”
“WHY WOULD YOU GO TO EARTH?! ARE YOU INSANE?!”
Taffy answered before Grady could respond, “Britannia has been attacked by an alien civilization and they’ve blasted every metropolitan area on the planet into slag. They’ve killed ninety-percent of the planet’s population and there are only about ten-percent of the population remaining hiding in the wilderness. We went to Earth to see if they would assist us against the aliens.”
The man leaned back and asked sarcastically, “How did that work out for ya?”
Taffy looked at Grady as she answered, “Not very well; we barely escaped with our lives.” Taffy turned back to the man, “However, they did send a fleet of warships to Britannia’s location to see if we were being honest.”
The man was shaking his head, “You can kiss those survivors goodbye. Earth sent a fleet to invade your planet and kill the survivors.”
Grady shook his head, “Actually, they’re planning to round them up and enslave them. They plan to use them to rebuild the planet.”
“That’s just as bad as being killed,” The man responded.
Grady shrugged, “Unfortunately for Earth, I was being honest about the alien threat and I managed to get Earth and the aliens to attack each other. Would you like to see the video?”
The man nodded, and Grady sent him the last moments of the battle. “The entire recording takes more than a day to see so I sent the climax. Tell me what you think? I believe it should get some kind of award for cinematography.”
The man saw the cube fleeing the approaching giant vessels and he looked up at Grady, “I’m Leftenant Dunhan and I’m from the planet, Melbourne.”
Taffy spoke up, “Your planet must have been colonized by the Australia?”
Dunhan nodded, “It was. They named the planet after Australia’s largest city. You need to go with me back to Melbourne and share this with the Senior Officers.”
“How do I know you won’t imprison us?” Grady asked.
“I will personally guarantee your safety!” Dunhan answered.
Suddenly, alarms went off in the monitor and Grady saw ten large warships rushing in and surrounding the Rabbit. Their blasters were charged, and Grady looked at the man on the monitor with a disgusted expression, “Is this what you call guaranteeing our safety?”
Dunhan reached forward and yelled, “DO NOT FIRE ON THAT SHIP!!”
“DUNHAN, YOU REPORTED YOU WERE UNDER ATTACK!!”
“Sorry, Commodore, I’ve made a mistake! This ship is from the planet settled by the Britannia Colony Ship. They are not from Earth!”
An older man appeared on the monitor beside the young blonde pilot and looked at Grady, “Do you have proof you’re not from Earth?!”
Grady rolled his eyes, “You people sound like a broken record. You must have other words in your vocabulary!”
“Sir! I have the proof. They are from Britannia.” Dunhan paused and added, “Britannia has been attacked by an alien civilization and most of the population has been killed. This ship caused Earth and the Aliens to go to war and they are facing off as we speak.”
The Commodore’s expression changed, and he turned to Grady, “Please follow us to Melbourne. I’m sure we have a lot to discuss. Dunhan, you may return to your patrol.”
“But, Sir. I found them!”
Grady quickly interjected, “The Leftenant has given his personal promise that we will be safe; I think we will be more comfortable if he is present to make sure his promise is kept.” The Commodore stared at Grady in silence and Grady added, “I believe it was he that stopped you from destroying my vessel.”
The Commodore shook his head, “All right, Dunhan, you can go with us.” Grady glanced at Dunhan and saw him wink. Perhaps he wasn’t quite the ass he appeared to be.
Chapter Fifteen
Grady looked at Taffy, “I hope we can stay up with these ships. The computer says they’re twice as fast as our normal speed.”