The Definitive SpaceFed Trilogy (SpaceFed StarShips Trilogy).: A thrilling, action-packed Sci-fi space adventure. (SpaceFed StarShips Series Book 8)

by Gerry A. Saunders

  ‘True. And I would need at least two-and-a-half light-seconds to respond. Yes, that should be enough, she added having rechecked the info.

  Then, changing the subject, she asked out loud. “Are you going to see Susanna? Only, she's just gone to her cabin.”

  “Thanks. I'm on my way. Change my mind-link to emergency only please.”

  “Of course, Frank.”

  “I've missed you,” he said, as the door to Susanna's cabin slid shut behind him, then, as usual, her fragrance hit him. He pulled her to him and gave her a long tender kiss.

  When they parted from their embrace, she looked at him with her blue-green eyes staring intently into his and said, “Do you like Alice?”

  “You're jealous?”

  “No, it’s just, well, she is good looking.”

  “But I love you, no one else. Let's forget her. How long have you got?”

  “Sorry, just half an hour.”

  Chapter 20.

  Day Three.

  The comms buoy was ready to go. With all the information about the Crillon weapons and defense systems, and their location and tactics, uploaded. Plus the Homing-circuit, which had been programed to enable the ships coming from Earth to locate Andromeda.

  “Andromeda, are we ready to warp the comms buoy?” Frank asked.

  “Yes. Everything has been triple checked and is ready to send.”

  “OK, send it, in your own time.”

  A two-minute warning sounded in all crew transceiver implants.

  Then the two-second signal was heard, and the lighting dimmed as the power decreased to allow the ship’s twin-fusion reactor to achieve the warp pulse required to create the buoys wormhole.

  Then the comms buoy leapt forward, disappearing into the hole.

  The wormhole was held open for almost a minute. Enabling the buoy to then use its own power to keep the wormhole open long enough for it to exit warp close to Earth.

  “It's on its way, Frank. Hopefully, it will exit in two hours, twenty-one minutes, fifteen seconds.”

  “Good. Pretty accurate timing, Andromeda,” Frank replied.

  Andromeda completed the 'Send' task. Then said, “I have instructed the service droids to link the rail, on which the alien pod is sitting, to Mark's Telta-Chamber rail.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, it could be useful. You never know what else we may be able to do with it.”

  Frank grinned. “Yes, the possibilities are endless!”

  He thought for a moment. Then asked her. “How many jumps do we need to make for Zeta Reticuli?”

  “Zeta Reticuli is thirty-nine light-years away. We can only Jump eleven light-years at a time, even with the Force craft’s reactors coupled in. Ok. So, three eleven light-year jumps, then the last, just six light-years.”

  “But remember, we mustn’t be more than one light-minute from the wormhole,” Frank instructed.

  “I understand,” Andromeda confirmed. “Ah, the Telta Chamber has reached the maximum intake. It's being moved back to the holding bay.”

  “Good, so how long will it be before we are able to Jump?”

  “Five hours I’m afraid, there are still of a lot of ends to tie up.”

  “OK Andromeda, set up a 3D meeting in my cabin, in three hours. Heads of the Departments, only.”

  “It’s been arranged.”

  A sudden loneliness filled him as Andromeda ended their mind-link. However, he needed some sleep now, so he made his way to his cabin and collapsed on the bed.

  He awoke with a start, Andromeda's voice in his mind. ‘It's time to move Frank, the meeting is in fifteen minutes.’

  He looked at the chronometer and was surprised. “Is that really the time?”

  “I'm afraid so.”

  “OK. I'll be ready,” he said, getting up. Then stretched, before seating himself in front of his multi-dimensional screen. Then set about getting his notes ready for the meeting.

  A few minutes later, the usual nine departmental head’s images appeared one by one, along the bottom of his screen.

  “Glad you could make it,” he said.

  Their eyes all seemed to be staring right at him, which made Frank feel uncomfortable.

  Perhaps it should have been a live meeting, after all, he thought. No, just get on with it, he told himself.

  “Right. All systems are available, and Andromeda is prepared to go,” he told them. Noting the solemn faces before him.

  “We’ve agreed to start the first leg in two hours, it will be an eleven-light-year jump.”

  “And, if we get it wrong,” Andromeda added. “We’ll just be cosmic dust.”

  That made their faces almost leap from the screen, with the understanding of the risks involved, and what would, therefore, be asked of them.

  “The comms buoy should have reached Earth already,” Frank added.

  That perked them up.

  “Mark, I know the Telta Chamber’s ready. But what do you think about it, and of the role that the alien's survival pod may play in all this?”

  “I'm happy with the chamber. It should disrupt the wormhole,” Mark replied.

  “But, as for shooting the pod at an incoming discharge beam. Well, I think the odds of then hitting the alien ship with it are pretty small.”

  “All right Mark, your remarks are noted. Andromeda, can you give me your predicted sequence, please?”

  “As you know, we can only jump eleven light-years at a time, even with the Force craft reactors coupled in.

  We’ll make three jumps. Then the last, a six-light-year jump, must be very accurate.”

  “Yes, we can't be more than one light-minute from the wormhole,” Mark said, interrupting her.

  Andromeda ignored him and carried on.

  “I'm sorry that you'll all have to endure going in and out of so many jumps, but there's no alternative. Worst of all, we’ll have to exit each time, under full battle ready conditions.

  The wormhole is just off Zeta 1, so we'll go between Zeta 1 and Zeta 2. This way, there will be less chance of the Crillons detecting us before we reach the wormhole.”

  “Because of the gravimetric distortion,” Ned added.

  “The chromosphere will also help us,” said Tim.

  “OK. Continue Andromeda,” Frank prompted.

  “Once we've disrupted the wormhole, we need to jump ‘out’ as fast as possible.

  After that, our rendezvous with the Earth ship carrying our new warp coil will be our primary concern.

  If Earth can send it, and it reaches us in time, then, with the new warp coil fitted we may yet be able to fight our way home.”

  “Agreed. Anything else from Computer Science or Geo?” Frank asked.

  They both shook their heads. “Nothing we haven't already uploaded,” Jim and Tom replied, speaking together.

  “OK. Good luck everyone, let's get to it.”

  Chapter 21.

  Sector Two revisited.

  The Crillons, were in the process of expanding their Empire further, via their natural wormhole at Zeta Reticuli some 600 light-years from their planet Crilla.

  Arans, the Crillon flagship’s Commander, watched his fleet of battlecruisers end the search for the mystery intruder and ran his hand over his bald head, as he thought about the current situation.

  He was annoyed at how long Axon was taking, he should have been here days ago, to assist Fleet Twelve.

  A beeper sounded on the communicator built into his epaulette. “Yes,” he voiced, touching the front of the device.

  “It appears that the mystery ship has destroyed Axon's ship, sir.”

  “What? How did that happen?” He asked, scratching his head.

  “One of our ships picked up a short data burst from the intruder’s vessel. That's all we know now.”

  “Is that really all we've got?”

  “Yes sir,”

  “Very well. Ready our Fleet to move out.

  We'll send one ship back to that planet. Then it can re-j
oin us, after checking on Axon. The rest of us can go straight to the gateway.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The communication ended.

  Arans still had five of the finest battlecruisers in the Crillon Empire under him. The battlecruisers were all his so he would ignore Fleet-Twelve. He would do it his way.

  Chapter 22.

  Interlude Two.

  Jack Medcalf, Head of the UK arm of the SpaceFed, was well respected and had a significant role in decision-making, as even though the UK unit was relatively small, it was important to the global Federation.

  He stood in his office thinking, as he looked down on his favourite view, the river Thames. His team waiting patiently for him to speak.

  He was very glad they now had the ability to warp a comms buoy through space. Courtesy of a small wormhole that had been being generated by the Andromeda, their latest StarShip. With this advance, it took days, not years, to receive reports from the ship. Well, he thought to himself. I’d better get this meeting under way.

  “OK, gentlemen, proceed. You first Carter.”

  “We’ve read the report. Are there any ships ready to go to Zeta Reticuli?” Carter asked, brushing his long grey hair from his eyes as he spoke.

  Jack could see that the other four members present were looking concerned.

  ‘Carter. He's the only one of the five that I don't like. He thinks he's superior.’ Whereas Jack liked Anderson and Philips, who were quite good friends of his, socially.

  “Well, sir?” Philips asked.

  “The American, Russian and Chinese governments have donated more finance to the Federation, to help with this situation. The two ships have just completed their acceptance trials, and, as we speak; they're on their way back to the Mars shipyards to have the requested extras added.”

  “Which ships are they sending Jack?” Anderson asked.

  “There are only two available. Illustrious and Derringer.”

  “What type of ships are they?”

  “You could call them Battleships. We've taken note of the information that Andromeda has given us. And with the benefit of all the equipment they have also asked for, we think they now have a good chance to defeat the Crillons.”

  “But if we haven't been attacked,” Terrence queried. “Wouldn't it be better to leave well alone?”

  “In your dreams, Terry. You can surely see, as well as we can; they will eventually try to come here.”

  “But can we really beat them, in that case?”

  “Our scientists think so,” replied Jack. “The Crillons aren’t as smart as they think they are. If we can deny them access to that wormhole, then maybe, just maybe, we can get rid of them.”

  “Do our new ships have a mind-link, like Andromeda's?” Philips asked.

  “Yes, similar, but the captains have more control of their links. I’d like to point out though that Andromeda and Frank's link seems to work exceptionally well.”

  “When will the ships jump for Zeta Reticuli?”

  “Tomorrow, if the new weapon works. We've also managed to bring forward, not one, but two warp core generators, just in case,” he continued.

  “We’ve also cancelled the previously scheduled dispatch of fully crewed ships that were going to be sent into deep space to be on stand-by. We just don’t have any ships to spare yet.”

  “What?” Philips almost shouted.

  “We can't do both, and you know it!” Jack snapped back.

  Philips knew Jack was right and kept silent.

  “What about this Science ship in Earth orbital dock?”

  “Not finished yet.”

  “But Jack. It should have been, with all the effort that’s gone into it.” Anderson said, sounded dismayed.

  “I know. But, the tech bods keep updating their specs.”

  “Well, at least they’ve agreed on one thing. The warp core generators and crystals will be interchangeable,” Carter added.

  “Common sense prevails at last!”

  “Yes Gentlemen, and we need support, like never before.” Jack finished, pounding the table as he spoke.

  Chapter 23.

  A dying race, but which one?

  The two minute, then ten-second warnings sounded. Everyone was tense, wondering what might be waiting for them when they exited from the first jump towards Zeta Reticuli.

  Lighting dimmed, and only the necessities to maintain human life remained. Warp-field creation and entry occurred with the familiar feeling of giddiness.

  “Andromeda. What's our status?”

  “I've set us to full battle stations on exit.”

  “Good.”

  “Jump duration time?”

  “Two hours, seven minutes, thirty-one seconds from now.”

  “Good!”

  Time seemed to drag with everyone nervously waiting for the two-minute warning. Tick-tock, tick-tock. Then the two-minute warning came.

  Then, the ten-second warning sounded again in their transceiver implants, as Andromeda prepared for possible action.

  She exited into Normal-space with her screens up and weapons on full alert. Suddenly, stars were swirling as Andromeda adjusted her angle to re-align with Zeta Reticuli.

  “My detectors can’t find any enemy ships,” she informed Frank.

  Relief flooded through the crew with the news.

  “Good, but keep all screens up and weapons ready. We don't want visitors while we recharge our field generators.

  How long before we can jump again?”

  “About twenty minutes, making allowance for the warp core recharge time.

  Then, hopefully, every time we jump our destination point will be more accurate. So, in the end, we should be less than one light-minute from the wormhole.

  If we’re too close, though, our inertia might cause us to drift into it,” Andromeda finished.

  As time ticked slowly by, droids and crew members checked and re-checked the systems that couldn't be dealt with while in warp space. Trying to make sure that every time they jumped, their destination point would indeed be more accurate.

  Entry into, and exit out of jump two, towards Zeta Reticuli, was just an uneventful replay of the first.

  The third jump-exit was harrowing, raising thoughts that maybe the Crillons were active in this area. Just six light-years from Zeta Reticuli and the alien's Gateway to this system.

  The double stars of Reticuli were now very close and bright on Frank's screen, but still no Crillon ships.

  'Strange, there’s not even a scout vessel,’ Frank thought. 'Either they're too sure of themselves. Or it's a trap.'

  Last minute, adjustments were made allowing for the next, and final jump. There was only one shot, and it had to be right.

  Time passed slowly, twenty minutes seeming an eternity. The usual two minute, then ten-second warnings sounded again.

  “Frank, we've been scanned!” Andromeda called, with disbelief sounding in her voice.

  “Too late to worry,” Frank snapped.

  Warp-field creation and entry to jump occurred, and Andromeda was now hurtling through the wormhole. Nothing could be changed until they exited jump, one and three-quarter hours later.

  “Andromeda, your report, please.”

  “It was a soft scan, Frank. Our shields prevented too much information being given away, but the Crillons know something is in the area.”

  “OK. But we're a long way out, so surely the scan wouldn’t identify which way we jumped?”

  “I agree, Frank. It must have been a sensor buoy, but it's done its job, though.”

  Frank tapped the icons for Mark, Tim and Ned, and their faces popped up on his screen.

  “I'm afraid we’ve been spotted earlier than expected, you'll have to be precise with your timing and location.

  Don't be distracted by the battle that's obviously going to be fought between us. Destroying the wormhole is paramount.”

  “We understand Frank,” Mark said with a smile. “They won't know what hit them.”<
br />
  “Come on! As they used to say on Earth,” Ned added, his voice stuttering slightly.

  “Yes. Good luck everyone,” Tim concurred.

  That done. Frank selected 'full-broadcast’ to all crew transceiver implants and hit the broadcast Icon on his screen.

  “Right. Just to keep you all in the picture,” he paused, then went on. “You all know how dangerous this mission is. Well, it seems that a Crillon drone or sensor-buoy got lucky and tried to scan us as we jumped.

  There's little chance the Crillon’s drone succeeded in determining what we are. But nevertheless, they now know something is around.

  They don't know where we’re going, or what we're going to do. So nothing has changed in that respect.

  When the ship exits warp, we'll be very close to the wormhole. Hopefully, they won't have time to respond.

  We will reach the wormhole in one and a half hours. Make use of the time as you think best, until the two-minute warning. Good luck.”

  He tapped the broadcast button icon again, closing the channel, and sat back.

  After a few moments, he tapped Susanna's icon, not expecting her to answer. So was surprised when her face popped up on his screen in response.

  “Yes? Oh, hello Frank, are you coming to see me? I miss you. We…,” she stopped.

  “I'll be there in five.” He hurried out of his cabin, and along the corridor to her cabin.

  Feeling the slight giddiness associated with being in warp transit, he took care not collide with anyone but met no one anyway. 'Not surprising,' he thought.

  Susanna was waiting for him. He entered her cabin, the door sliding shut behind him. Pulling her to him, he gave her a long passionate kiss.

  When they parted from their embrace, he could see a touch of fear in her blue-green eyes.

  “Don't look so worried Sues,” he softly said.