by Saxon Andrew
“There was no place above the planet to fire without being attacked before our beam could do its job. The waters at the equator are hot and it reduces the time needed for the beam to heat the core. I determined we only had a second and by going into the atmosphere, the warships would hesitate momentarily to make sure they didn’t hit their own structures. That slight delay allowed us to make the kill.”
Virgie turned the display and looked at her last two planets and shook her head, “Get us out of here.”
“You are very wise, my captain.”
“I’m an overachiever, but I’m not stupid.”
Virgie learned later that most of the Mites were only able to kill three planets before they withdrew. She earned her Admiral’s rank, not because she killed the most planets, but because she showed remarkable wisdom knowing when to call it quits.
• • •
Sprigly looked at his device, “We’ve lost four hundred ships.”
“Were any of them seen?”
“No Ping, only the explosion of their ship was detected and when a Mite’s reactor overloads and explodes, most of the atoms are changed dramatically by the heat of the blast.”
“Is there any possibility of them finding particles of Nemite?”
“No, it has a low melting point and will have combined with other atoms in the blast. They probably won’t waste time attempting to collect anything; there’s not much left to detect.”
“Do you know how many planets were hit?”
“I’m collecting that information from Dean’s panel as we speak. He’s waiting for all of them to report in. It appears the ones being attacked put together a defense in remarkable time. All of our losses happened in the last few minutes of the attack.”
“That’s going to make the next attacks impossible.”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Whether or not they take the bait; their numbers could be greatly reduced if they take it.” Sprigly paused, “You know we can’t attack them soon.”
Dahlia looked up, “They have to have time to decide what to do. If we attack during that time, it will throw away our deception.” Sprigly looked at Ping and he nodded. Dahlia shook her head, “So much death.”
“There will be less now.” Dahlia turned and looked at Ping, “The ships those planets would have built won’t be killing anyone.” Dahlia nodded and turned back to her display.
• • •
Three days later the Rageon, Chinga, and Beast Master all looked at each other on their displays. The atmosphere was subdued and even the Master was still stunned by what happened. The Chinga Emperor said, “Who did this?”
The Master slowly shook his head, “It has to be the ships that have been attacking our fleets.” He turned to the Rageon, “Do you agree?”
“As a matter of fact, I do.”
“We’ve been unable to find the location of their civilization.”
The Rageon looked at the Emperor, “Let me ask both of you a question; has anyone benefited from this?”
The Emperor stared at the Rageon Ruler, “I’m not sure what you mean?”
“It’s not that hard of a question. Has anyone you know benefited from the attacks on our planets?”
The Emperor thought for a moment, “Well, the Hedgon and Drund weren’t attacked so they weren’t harmed. I guess that could be considered a benefit.”
“Didn’t the Hedgon lose the majority of their construction facilities when we were fighting the ships from that other place?”
The Master nodded, “Yes they did. They made the mistake of placing all of their production facilities on a limited number of planets.”
The Rageon Ruler looked at the other two, “If we were not attacked, what position would the Hedgon be in ten years from now?”
The Emperor said, “They would be tremendously outnumbered by the other four of us.”
“Do you think they know that?” The Emperor looked at the Master and the Rageon saw his sudden anger. “One last question; what was the color of the beam used to destroy our planets?”
The Master’s anger was instant and he forced himself to not give in to his rage, “But we’ve not seen any of their ships capable of avoiding our scanners.”
The Emperor responded, “If they were working to weaken us, they would not have revealed them.”
“But what about the Drund; they weren’t attacked.”
“Do you think the Hedgon would take on all of us without the assurance of their support? The fact they were not attacked gives their intentions away.”
“We should confront them.”
The Rageon looked at the Chinga Emperor, “And do what? They’ll scream at the top of their voices that they’re innocent and have done no wrong. We couldn’t prove that they conducted the attacks and they’ll wait for the next time they can do it again and really weaken us.”
The Rageon Ruler saw his panel blink and he said, “Hold on for just a moment.” He pushed a button and his Fleet Admiral appeared on his display, “Pardon me for interrupting your meeting; I’ve uncovered a piece of news you might find interesting.”
“What is that?”
“The Hedgon has signed an order for the Drund to build them a million Warships.”
“Thank you Admiral, do you have a copy of that agreement?”
“I’ll send it to your panel.”
“That would be good.” The Rageon Ruler saw the agreement appear on his panel and he immediately forwarded it to the Emperor and the Master. He watched them start reading the document and smiled as their anger went to a higher level. He was not going to tell them that the Hedgon had approached him to build them ships. It was an obvious ploy to throw him off the truth.
The Master looked at the Rageon Ruler and said, “We will end our hostilities until this issue is resolved.”
The Rageon Ruler nodded and the Emperor said, “When do we pay them back in the same currency?”
“How long do you need to organize your ships?”
“Three weeks.”
“Do this under the guise of defending your worlds from another attack.” The two nodded and the displays went dark. The Rageon Ruler thought about what was about to happen and decided that it was worth doing. The Drund’s territory was next to his civilization and he knew possession was nine tenths of the law. The Black Civilization and the Chinga could fight over the Hedgon Domain. He contacted his Fleet Admiral and told him what he wanted. He knew his Admiral would make it happen.
• • •
The Hedgon First Leader looked at the Drund Royal, “I’m concerned at the buildup of forces in the other three Majors.”
“They told me they were sending their forces to protect their production planets from other attacks.”
“If that were the case they would be sending warships to all of their planets. My sources tell me they’re only sending them to the planets that border our two territories.”
“Surely, you don’t think they’re planning to attack us?”
“I’ve assured them that we had nothing to do with those attacks and they say they believe me…”
“But you’re not buying it?”
“I’m not.”
“I’ve also told them we’re completely in the dark about who did it.”
“They’re not buying it, either. They’re planning to attack us.”
“What should we do?”
“My worst fear has always been of them combining to attack my domain. It looks like that fear is about to become a reality.”
“How can you be so certain?”
“We’ve intercepted communications between the Black and White Fleets.”
The Drund Royal felt immediate fear, “That has to mean they’re working together in their mobilization.”
“It does and if they’re putting aside their hatred for each other…”
“They’re going to attack together. The Chinga have also been communicating with their fleets.”
&nbs
p; “We can’t stand up to them if they combine?”
“Whoever attacked them set us up. We’re helpless to do anything to prevent it and the fact they used red beams is a death warrant for my civilization.”
“You know what I have to do to save my planets.”
The Hedgon First sighed, “I’d do the same thing. I don’t blame you.”
“I’m sorry, my friend.”
“Do what you have to do.”
• • •
The Rageon Ruler looked at the Drund Royal on his display and didn’t really know how to respond. “Are you saying that you believe the Hedgon made the attacks?”
“The attackers used red beams; it has to be them that did it.”
“And you’re suggesting that we attack them for their actions?”
“I’ve contacted the Master and the Chinga leaders and they agree with my assessment. I’ve offered to use my forces to punish them for their treason and they say I should let you know. They say you would set up the plan to make it happen.”
“You have an agreement with them to build warships for them.”
“That was before they did this. That contract is null and void. Where would you like me to send my forces?”
The Ruler was frustrated. He knew the Master and Chinga Emperor had sent the Drund Royal to him to see if he was genuinely attempting to punish their attacker or to grab territory. He saw his massive expansion into the Hedgon territory going up in smoke. It would now be divided among the four of them. “Why do you think you weren’t attacked?”
“It had to be due to the contract with them. They were wrong to think I would support any attack against one of the Five.”
“Have you spoken to the Hedgon First?”
“I have and he denies making any attacks against you. However, the evidence is clear that it had to be ships using his weapons. I told him that the evidence pointed toward him and he said he didn’t have a beam that would destroy a planet, much less invisible ships firing them.”
“Do you think he was being truthful?”
“How would I know? If he did it, he would never admit it. He did seem righteously indignant at the accusation.”
The Rageon Ruler thought about the other three powerful civilizations having territories next to his borders. Currently, the Hedgon was the only civilization on that side of his Empire and it was weaker than the other three. Was he making a huge mistake? He lifted his communicator and the Master and Emperor, joined the Royal on his display, “What do you think about what the Royal has said?”
The Master saw the Royal on his display and said, “It doesn’t make sense that he would join us if he were guilty.” The Emperor nodded his agreement.
“Then if the Drund were not involved in the attacks, there has to be some doubt about the Hedgon.”
The Master snarled, “And why is that?”
The Rageon leaned back in his chair, “I had my Admiral run a frequency scan of the beam that destroyed our planets. That beam would not penetrate our force fields.” The three leaders grew instantly silent. “If the Hedgon had a beam as powerful as the one that destroyed planets, they would have to have a different kind of reactor powering it.” The Rageon paused, “Now that doesn’t mean they don’t have one in secret; but it’s a stretch to start throwing things into the mix that are pure speculation.”
The Chinga Emperor said, “Someone set them up to take a fall.”
The Rageon leaned back in agreement, “Just like our scouts, some agency is trying to get us to fight each other.” He looked at the Master, “How do you see it?”
The Master thought about it and slowly nodded, “That makes the most sense.”
The Emperor shook his head, “Where are they located?”
The Rageon leaned back again, “Now that is the question I cannot answer. I would suggest that all of us really take a good look at every habitable planet in our territories including the ones we control. We need to conduct a thorough search and then look at those that are uninhabitable.”
The Master’s eyes narrowed, “Why would we look at those?”
“We’re assuming whatever agency that is doing this is a life form similar to ours. That is an assumption that may cost us dearly if we don’t examine it.”
“Are you going to include the Hedgon in this?”
The Rageon looked at the Drund and then at the Chinga and Master. They nodded and he pushed a button on his panel. The Hedgon First appeared on the display and he said, “I’m going to bring you up to date on what we’ve been discussing. The Rageon began talking and after a moment the Hedgon looked at the Royal. The Royal saw his thankfulness. He nodded slightly and listened to the Rageon’s suggestions.
Chapter Ten
Ping sat on his ship and watched the feeds coming in from the Five civilizations. He used his vision to see a Rageon Fleet surrounding one of their production planets. The Fleet was breaking formation and huge numbers began jumping out of the planet’s orbit. He kept his eye on one of the warships and saw it start jumping from planet to planet. He shook his head. Pare said, “They didn’t go for it.”
“No, it appears they didn’t; although they came close.”
“The patterns of their fleets indicated an invasion of the Drund and Hedgon territories.”
“Something they discovered must have made them change their minds. Do you see anything that might have done it?”
“The most obvious things are that they were able to analyze some of the remains of our ships. Second would be the two that weren’t attacked managed to convince them they weren’t involved. Or it could have been as simple as doing a frequency analysis of the beam we used. I can think of more than twenty other reasons but those are the most obvious.”
“Which one do you think did it?”
“The frequency scan is the easiest to do. But they would have believed that the Hedgon had ships in secret making the attacks; it would take more than just the scan.”
“Well, we can rule out finding anything in the remains of our destroyed ships.”
“Why is that?”
“We would have seen their ships going back to the sites of all of our destroyed ships. The probes would have seen that if it happened.”
“You’re right; I missed that.”
“It appears they are now looking for us within their borders.”
“What do we do about it?”
“I am going to suggest we do nothing at the moment. We need to build more ships to use in in the next attack and they should be occupied for the foreseeable future. Perhaps we will attack when they have exhausted themselves searching for us. That would make them believe that they were getting close to our location, wherever they were at that moment.” Ping brought his vision back to the bridge, “We also need them to relax their guard before we attack again.”
Ping stood up and Pare wanted to ask about the flicker but didn’t want to put the thought in Ping’s mind. Sprigly suddenly appeared and Ping said, “What are you doing here?”
“I want to use Pare to help me with some issues. He is more advanced than the computer I brought here; do you mind?”
“I’m going to need him for a project of my own…but I guess I can delay until you complete your work.”
“That would be good. I’ll let you know when I start to wrap it up.” Ping nodded and teleported down to the planet. “It looks like he’s going to go take a look.”
“That is what was in his mind. We need to make sure it’s safe before you tell him you’re done.”
“We can only delay his so long.”
Pare said, “Tell Dahlia what’s going on.”
Sprigly nodded, “Now she could put a crimp in his plans.”
“Someone needs to.”
“Did you lock the coordinates of the flicker in your memory?”
“I did; why do you ask?”
“I want to focus in on it from two different locations and triangulate just how far it is from here.”
“We’ll h
ave to do it from long distance; it won’t show up inside a hundred light years.”
“I have an algorithm that will make the measurement. Let’s get to work.”
• • •
Tess, Dahlia, and Dean agreed with Ping’s assessment. We’ll start full production and take this time to better prepare our pilots for space combat.”
Ping nodded, “They are going to have to use their thrusters to evade the ships firing at them during the next attack. It’s a good bet they’ll get a reading on the fuel they burn.”
Dahlia sighed, “And if they get a reading on the fuel, they will be able to track the residue left on the thrusters even if they can’t see the ship.”
“There’s no way to remove it. No one has developed a fuel that doesn’t leave a residue.”
“They would have to come at our ships from the rear to detect them.”
Ping nodded, “You’re right Dean, but with the number of ships that would normally be involved in a fleet action, all of our ships would have an enemy vessel behind them. They would deliberately spread out to make that happen.”
Tess lowered her eyebrows, “You don’t think we could just use our teleportation systems to make the attack?”
Ping shook his head, “What would we do if we were in their place? We would place ships around our planet such that every inch of the planet’s surface could be fired on the moment our scanners detected the beam. The ship firing it would be hit in less than half a second. If the ship teleports to continue firing, the beam would shut down; we know that we need two seconds to get in and fire the beam long enough to heat the core.”
“Are you saying we can no longer attack them?”
“No, Dean; we just have to find the spots where we can. Most of those planets have our probes around them. Ships will leave the pattern for various reasons and when one moves away, that’s when one of our ships will have to teleport in.”
“That sort of timing is impossible.”
“Not if our pilots are in their ships at battle stations. They will let their computer make the jump the instant the probe sends an opening to them.”
Dahlia looked at Ping and said, “There is another way.” Ping looked at her. “They didn’t buy the idea that Hedgon performed the attack.” Dahlia waited and Ping nodded. “There is no reason not to use the green energy missiles. Our ship will teleport in and launch missiles at the ships covering that space above the planet. The missiles have a Nemite coating and would not be detected by the enemy warships. The moment they explode, the Mite fires the beam.”