by Saxon Andrew
“Probably not, but I’m really not at all certain it would lose.” Chris looked at Loree, “The issue here is how do we make best use of the time we have remaining to get ready? I think you know the answer to that is obvious but can’t get your hands around just allowing the DE powered battleships to just sit around useless.”
“That’s the thing that bothers me most.”
“Well, that is easily handled.”
Lukas tilted his head, “How do you see your way around that issue?”
Chris shrugged, “Simple, we give them back to the fellowship to use. We’ll be giving them a more powerful ship than they gave us and they have the manpower to crew the ships against the coming Invaders.”
The conference room was silent. Salud finally said, “That is an outstanding suggestion!”
Stoney looked at Salud, “Do you really think giving them our battleships is a good idea?”
“Stoney, they built them to help us possibly survive. You have to get over your suspicion about them. You know the pods can handle them easily. They wouldn’t represent a danger to us.”
“I guess.”
Loree sighed, “Are you going to assign all of my crews to pods?”
Lukas looked at Chris and nodded. Chris tilted his head and looked at Loree, “Not all of them. The best ten crews in your fleet will take command of one of the new Battleships. You will be in overall command of them and you will be stationed at Earth. You will be one of our last lines of defense and we want to keep the existence of those battleships secret from those in M-87 as long as possible.” Chris looked at Lukas, “I hope that is what you’ve planned to do with them.”
Lukas smiled, “You’ve been reading my mind while you were out there keeping an eye on me. That is exactly what I want done.”
Chris’s expression showed his surprise, “How did you know?”
“I didn’t until you just revealed what I wanted. I didn’t think of that until I was already at M-86. That means you had to be close to hear it.”
Chris shook his head, “Not much gets past you.”
Lukas nodded and looked at Loree, “Your ships are waiting for you on Earth. I expect you to select the best of the best in our fleets to fly them. Once you’ve made your selections, take them to Earth and find out just what those ten ships are capable of doing.”
Loree was giving up her command of thirty thousand battleships and she looked at the new job as a demotion until Audrey said, “Admiral, those ten ships could destroy every battleship in all of our fleets.”
“What?”
“I’ve been flying one of them and you can use it to take your crews to Earth. However, I know for a fact that just one of the new battleships could kill every ship in your former fleet. You will be commanding our most powerful force. I would recommend that you promote the Pilot of the Montana to command her and keep the crew intact.”
Loree looked at Chris, “Do you agree with her?”
“She went through her fleet thoroughly and chose the best to fly her ship. They are without doubt an exceptional crew.”
“Then that will be my Flagship.” Loree looked at Jinks, “Will you authorize the promotion?” Jinks nodded. Loree looked at Chris, “What are the two of you going to do?”
“We are going to fly together in one of the new pods and go scout the enemy.”
Lukas shook his head, “No, you’re too important to risk doing that.”
Chris looked at Lukas and smiled, “This coming from one that just returned from doing exactly that.”
“But…”
Salud put her hand on his arm and he looked at her, “You need to allow Chris to do what he thinks is best. Haven’t you already made that decision earlier?”
Lukas stared at Salud for a moment and then shook his head as he turned back to Chris, “You will be assigned a new ship and you may do with it as you please.”
“Is Willow available?”
“No, she is Salud’s and my ship.”
“Drat. Alright, we’ll go to the plant and take one of the new ones coming off the assembly line.”
Lukas nodded, “You should also get one of the colony ships fired up and have all the battleships taken back to the Welken Royal. Use the colony ship to bring the crew back here to pick up their new pods and start training.”
Chris nodded and sat back in his chair. Audrey reached under the table and took his hand. He looked at her and smiled. Stoney looked around the table and said, “Who are the ones that will command our fleets?”
Lukas looked at him and said, “Do you have some suggestions?”
My first question is whether we are going to be building two different kinds of pods.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know we had Attack Pods and Defense Pods before we moved into the battleships. Are we going to build a Defense Pod?”
“We’re currently modifying all the old pods to the new reactors and coating them. Of course the new weapons will also be installed but most of our current ships will be those that are modified. What is the difference between the two models, Jinks?”
“The Defense Pods have three disruptors instead of one. They also have the rotary guns and one of the DM Cannons.”
“Why didn’t we build all of our pods that way?”
Jinks looked at Loree, “The Defense Pods aren’t as fast as the Attack Pods. They were built to stop any nuclear missiles launched at Earth.”
“With the force field around Earth, I suspect they won’t be needed to do that. Just how much slower are they?”
Jinks’ eyes narrowed and he shook his head, “With the new coating and reactors, I honestly don’t know.”
“I think I know someone who does.” Everyone turned and looked at Amanda. She lifted her communicator and said, “Nudge, have either of you updated a Defense Pod?”
“Matter of fact, we’ve modified ten of them.”
“How do they compare to the Attack Pod?”
“They’re more heavily armed.”
“What about speed and maneuverability?”
“They’re just as fast. The Attack Pods can turn slightly faster.”
“How do you and your brother see them being used in combat?”
“The Attack Pods are the ships that will penetrate the Invader’s formations taking advantage of their superior maneuverability. The Defense Pods can stand off and blast the formations from a distance and still be fast enough to avoid anything fired at them.”
“Thanks, Nudge.”
“No problem.”
Amanda hesitated a moment and then quickly said, “Nudge, before you go.”
“Yes.”
“Which one of the two are you and your brother going to fly?”
“We’re taking a Defense Pod.”
“Why?”
“Because it is a real ass kicker.”
Amanda ended the call and looked at Chris, “I suspect you might want to pick up a defense pod to go scouting. It’s about thirty feet longer than the Attack Pod, holds more munitions, and doesn’t suffer much in loss of speed.”
Lukas looked at Stoney, “It sounds like all of our pods are now going to be used to attack.”
“It appears you’re right.”
“Calling one of them a defense pod is not a good description.”
Trevor smiled, “We’ll designate the Attack Pod as an A-Pod and the Defense Pod we can call a B-pod.”
Audrey said, “What do the two letters stand for?”
Trevor shrugged, “A is for assault and B is for batter.”
Jinks laughed, “A and B it is.”
“So who commands our fleets and how many pods are going to be in each?”
Lukas looked around the room and smiled, “You all know your personnel. Let’s take a break and come back together and decide who should be promoted. It’s been a while since we went into battles with large fleets. I know there are officers up to the challenge. I suspect most of you know who they are.”
The gr
oup stood up and moved toward the cafeteria. All of them were discussing possible candidates for the Command Positions. Audrey walked in with Loree and said, “You don’t want to keep your crew?”
“No, I think they’re ready for a larger challenge.”
“What about Lance?”
Loree stopped walking and looked at Audrey, “You noticed that?” Audrey nodded. “It wouldn’t work.”
“Why not?”
“I intimidate him too much. He could never really relax around me.”
“You might want to take a good look at the new Commodore on your flagship.”
“Why?”
“Just take a good look. I think he’ll impress you and I can assure you that nothing intimidates him.”
Loree smiled, “Now that’s interesting. I’d recommend Lance for command of a fleet. That man is brilliant.”
“I agree. Let’s get something to eat.”
• • •
Kyel came running into the throne room and said, “Your Greatness, one of the colony ships we built for the humans has asked permission to move into our system.”
“By all means, give it to them. Did they send a frequency for us to communicate?”
Kyel pressed his belt and said, “I’ve just sent it to your panel.”
The Royal saw the numbers appear on his communication panel and he pressed a button, “Welcome to my Capital. What brings you here with a colony ship?”
“Good day, Your Greatness. I’ve been asked by our leader to come here to deliver a gift.”
“Does this gift fill a colony ship?”
“No, it’s somewhat larger.”
The Royal looked at his Fleet Commander and Kyel shrugged. “What is this gift?”
“Will you give me permission to bring it to your planet?”
“By all means.”
“I’ll deliver it in open space at the edge of the gravity limit.”
The two Welken looked at the wall monitor as the Royal directed a scanner to look at the edge of the gravity limit directly out from the planet. Suddenly, thousands of battleships began skipping in and falling into formations. The voice said, “We are returning a little more than two hundred thousand main battleships that have been updated with our new weapons and reactors. Lukas has asked me to thank you for your generosity in building them for us and he hopes you can use them when the next invasion happens.”
“Is there going to be another invasion?”
“We expect one in about a year but we are planning to meet the enemy about six months out.”
“You should not go alone this time.”
“It is wise of you to say that. This time the invaders will be coming to attack every civilized planet in our galaxy. Your help would be appreciated.”
The Royal looked at Kyel and shook his head, “Do you think we have a chance against them?”
“Your Greatness, we will teach them a lesson this time.”
“Please send your Fleet Leader to coordinate our efforts. We will begin preparing immediately.”
“We’ll send him to plan with you. And once again, thank you for your gifts. They made the difference in our survival.”
Kyel watched shuttles leaving the battleships ferrying the crews to the colony ship. He shook his head, “Those ships must be incredible in their capabilities.”
The Royal nodded, “I suspect the ships the Humans will be using are even more amazing.” Kyel looked at the Royal. “They no longer need them or they would have kept them.” The Royal nodded at the display, “Those ships are probably more powerful than any ship in our fleets. But the ones they will be using will pale in comparison next to them. Get the fleet commanders on line and get our best crews here to take over those ships. We need to get the Fellowship organized to go to war.”
Kyel nodded, “We’ve been preparing for this for years.”
“Let us hope the preparation pays off.”
• • •
Chris looked out of their Pods view port at the crews leaving the battleships and smiled. He turned to Audrey, “Are you ready to take a trip?”
“I am!”
“Chris looked up and said, “Captain, we’re exiting the landing bay and will leave momentarily.”
“I’ve just had a message come in requesting that you delay a moment.”
Chris looked at Audrey who shrugged and he said, “Who sent the request?”
“The sender is named Piper.”
Chris’ eyes went wide and he said, “Barbie, take us out and hold position three miles from the colony ship.”
“Moving now. You appear to be somewhat dismayed.”
“No, shocked, stunned, bewildered, but not dismayed.”
“Some time in the future you’re going to have to tell me the difference.”
“Come on, Barbie. Look up the definitions.”
“I did and there’s not much difference.”
“Were you this argumentative with Loree?”
“No, her thinking was usually pretty clear.”
“Funny!”
“I thought you’d like it.”
Chris smiled and was thankful Loree allowed him to take Barbie out of her battleship and put her in their new B-Pod. The Pod moved quickly out of the landing bay and moved three miles away from the giant ship. Chris looked at his display and saw the Silver Ship moving toward them.
“What do you think he wants?”
“I have no idea.”
“Actually, since today appears to be a day for delivering gifts, I thought I would bring one to you.”
“What is that, Piper?”
“I’m going to give your new ship the same device I gave Willow. I still deem it important to be able to keep tabs on what you’re doing. Will you accept it?”
“I most certainly will and I greatly appreciate it.” The Silver Ship moved in close as Audrey and Chris pulled their helmets over their heads and pressurized their armored suits. “Open the hatch, Barbie.”
“What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain after I take the device from Piper.” The cockpit depressurized and then lifted. A long arm extended from Piper and moved into the open cockpit and Audrey took the cube from it. The arm withdrew and Chris smiled, “Thank you, Piper.”
“It is I that owe you and Willow for telling us about what my brothers were doing. Let me know if I can be of assistance.”
“I will.”
The Silver Ship turned and blasted away from them at an incredible speed. “What is that device?”
“Barbie, I want you to contact Willow and ask her about the device Piper put in her. If you don’t want it, we won’t install it.”
“Give me a moment.”
Audrey looked at Chris, “You aren’t going to just order her to install it?”
“She deserves the right to decide her own destiny, Audrey. We will not treat her differently from any other being.”
“You have got to be kidding me. That device will make me telepathic!?”
“Indeed it will.”
“Well, get on with it. This is something that should be fun.” Audrey smiled and pushed the cube into the computer’s panel. The lights started flashing and after a moment Chris thought, “Can you hear me?”
They heard over the loud speaker, “Yes, I can hear you. Willow told me that I can convert thoughts to electronic pulses and play them over the speakers. I’m going to do that so Audrey won’t miss anything that’s being said.”
Audrey leaned back, “Why thank you, Barbie. That’s very nice of you.”
“Hey, we’re a team.”
Chris laughed, “Audrey heard over the loud speaker as Chris thought, “Let’s go visit our future guests and see what’s going on.” The small B-Pod blasted out of the gravity limit in an instant and was gone from every scanner and probe in the system in less than two seconds.
• • •
The Welken Royal watched the two ships on his monitor and saw the exchange. He watched the large Silver Ship blas
t away at an incredible speed and he looked at Kyel. “That speed is impossible, Your Greatness.”
They watched the small silver colored pod suddenly disappear at an even faster speed and the Royal saw Kyel’s mouth open in amazement. “It appears that is one of their new fighting ships. What do you think?” All Kyel could do was shake his head.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Leader of the Combined Fleets looked at his panel and shook his broad upper body. The Legends had pulled the trigger on invasion and now he was going to lose all the ground he had made in the other galaxy. This was an incredibly stupid thing to do…but who would have the claws to tell anyone. He felt reasonably certain his wings would be clipped if he said anything. And he only had two months to get his forces organized for the long voyage. He slammed his talons on the floor under his command chair and then looked at his communications wing, “Send the orders out for all fleets to begin preparing to make the voyage to the spiral galaxy. I want enough provision transports made ready to feed our ships. I will not make the same mistake that was made during the first invasion.”
“What about our ships in the other galaxy?”
“Start recalling those that are in systems that have been pacified. We’ll recall the others at the last moment.”
“That’s most of them, Great Flier.”
“I know. Start them moving.”
The Wing turned to his panel and contacted all the Fleet Fliers to gather for a group contact. The Leader looked at his panel and felt a sense of dread. That Galaxy had been given enough time to prepare. He suspected they would greet him with some real resistance. He slammed his claws again and suspected the Oranges were rejoicing at what was happening.
• • •
The view of the huge conduit running between M-87 and M-86 was extraordinary. Their pod hung in normal space and looked at the conduit with an antenna extended into the void. They hung in empty space looking at millions of galaxies in the distance. They looked like individual stars, but Chris knew they were all large and small galaxies. The size of the universe was humbling. He wondered how many of those far away galaxies were also at war. He sat in silence in the cockpit holding Audrey’s hand and staring out of the view port. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Chris sighed and nodded his head.