by Saxon Andrew
Andrea shook her head, “Both of those suggestions are very insightful. How did you learn so much about the launchers?”
“All of it is in the tutorial if you choose to dig deep enough. If the space for the belts is removed, wouldn’t it make room for another magazine?”
• • •
Olivia watched Jill and leaned back in her chair. The brat was just as smart as her brother. She was also impertinent and didn’t hesitate to interrupt other’s conversations. She was forced to admit that when she did it was to make a good point. She watched Rocky stare at her and felt hope. She didn’t have him, yet. He probably thought she was too young for him.
• • •
Nelson looked at his designers, “Is what she’s saying possible?”
Andrea looked at the designer sitting next to her and he said, “Each of the twenty missile launchers have their own belts that run into the magazines. They require space to make the circular trip back and forth to the magazine. I wish I had thought about this before and we could connect the missiles with links that connect them together in the middle. When the missile leaves the ship, the links will slide apart and the link will go with the missile. There would be no need to use a belt.”
Andrea nodded, “And since there’s no belt, using compressed air to push them out of the launcher can be done at a much faster rate than the current motor that is used to push the missile out.”
Rocky stared at them, “How much faster?”
Nelson smiled, “What they’re describing, Admiral is how our fastest weapons operate. Some of our heavy rifles can fire at a rate of two hundred rounds a second. However, if you locked the trigger down you would exhaust the magazine in less than three seconds.”
“Those missiles would also need to have a light signature programed which would also take some time.”
“Amber tells me that she can collect a thousand signatures a second.”
“Then that would be the limiting factor, Admiral.”
Jill shook her head, “Not really. My tactical system can track more than four thousand ships and feed them directly to the missiles.”
Rocky looked at Jill, “Why is your system so much faster than Amber?”
“She’s designed to do more things than just collect light signatures. My targeting computer is designed to only collect light signatures. It is faster because it has a specialized purpose.” Jack shook his head. His sister was something more than he remembered. What had happened to her? “If the belts are removed, would it make room for another magazine?”
Nelson looked at Andrea. She started punching data into her tablet and after a few moments looked up, “We’d have to remove a foot off the living quarters and two feet off the kitchen.”
Nelson looked at Rocky and he tilted his head, “We won’t miss the lost space. I’d rather have the additional magazine.”
“Alright, let’s get busy and make the modifications.”
“Whoa, Commodore. How long is this going to take?”
“We have to build the systems but we should have them done in ten days. The installations should take another five days.”
“How long will it take to repair the jammed belts?”
“About five hours.”
“Then make the repair and we’ll return the ship for the modifications in ten days.”
“But we need your ship to take the measurements.”
Jill shook her head, “Are you telling me you don’t have another ship like ours to use?”
Nelson looked at her and then turned to Rocky, “Admiral, we do have another ship but I prefer to match the changes to the ship they’re going in.”
“I know the close tolerances used to build our ships, Commodore. You make the changes on another ship and I’m sure they’ll fit my vessel.”
“Yes Sir. We’ll start the repairs immediately.”
Rocky nodded and turned to Jack and Olivia, “Who is the idiot that allowed the two of you to go to a Feeder Planet! Neither one of you is qualified to fly one of these new ships or possesses enough experience to survive?”
Olivia looked at Rocky and leaned back in her chair, “The High Leader sanctioned this mission. Perhaps you’d like to contact her and tell her what an idiot she is.”
Chapter Seven
Rocky’s eyes narrowed and Jill looked at Jack, “What did you tell her that convinced her to approve it?”
“My device depends on operating on the thought frequency of a Feeder. I initially developed it to hide a human’s mind so I could avoid being found. There is not a definitive record of a Feeder’s thought frequency. I have to have it to make my invention work. That means I have to get close enough to a Feeder to get a reading on its thought patterns.”
Rocky took his eyes away from Olivia and looked at Jack, “How close?”
“The closer the better.”
Rocky’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Jill then back to Jack, “How close are you intending to get to a Feeder?” Jack looked at Olivia and then at Jill. “Jack, I asked you a question.”
“I hope to stand directly in front of one of them. My device will have the best signal to lock in the proper frequency if I can do that.”
Olivia looked at Jack, “You didn’t tell me that!” Jack shrugged.
“You have to be crazy to do that.”
“Jill, we’ve been told our minds are invisible to Feeders and that in all likelihood our minds will be immune to their ability to consume us. I have to do this to make the mind shield operate properly.”
“There is no way you’re going to confront a Feeder face-to-face! Did you mention to the High Leader that was your intention?”
“She didn’t ask, like the Admiral just did.”
Rocky listened to Jack argue with his sister and after a minute said, “WHY DID YOU AVOID BEING CAPTURED!”
Jack and Jill looked at Rocky and Jack sighed, “I didn’t want to be forced to kill other intelligent beings.”
“I hope you recognize that if you actually do confront a Feeder, you will have to kill it.” Jack sighed, tilted his head, and nodded.
“What changed your mind?”
“I’ve had the opportunity to view recordings from planets the Feeders have conquered and are now occupying.” Jack looked Rocky in the eyes, “They must be stopped.”
Rocky slowly nodded and smiled, “I’ll get you in front of a Feeder, Jack. You’ll have to do what’s necessary to prevent it from revealing to the others what you’re doing.”
“YOU WILL NOT!!”
Rocky looked at Jill, “Is his quest any less important than yours? It will be his device that our survival will ultimately depend on. I can see that now and I suspect that is why the High Leader approved this mission.” Rocky looked at Jack and Olivia, “However, the two of you will not be taking a light ship into Feeder Space.”
“And why not?!”
Rocky looked at Olivia, “Because you are going down to the planet with him to kill that Feeder if he hesitates. Jill and I will be above you and have our disruptors trained on that Feeder. If it links with the others on the planet, Jill will burn a hole through its head with a needle disruptor beam.”
Olivia stared at Rocky and, after a moment, nodded. Jack looked at her, “Do you think you can kill a Feeder?”
Rocky smiled, “Jack, she was a pilot during one of the most vicious fights we’ve had in the Coma Cluster. She’s quite capable of killing a Feeder.” Rocky looked at her, “Just don’t do it before he collects what he needs.”
Jill was shaking her head, “What does Genève think about this?” Jill saw Jack’s immediate expression and knew something had happened.
“Genève left me to go back to her teaching position. She’s now seeing someone else.”
“Is that why you’re doing this!?”
Jack’s eyebrows came down, “I could have gone with her. This is more important than she is and she doesn’t want any part of it. She made the decision without even discussing it with me. I wouldn�
��t take her back if she wanted me to.”
Rocky looked at Jack and said, “Why not? Don’t you love her?”
Jack looked at Rocky and shook his head. Jill said, “Why wouldn’t you?”
“She made a decision about what was best for us without having the consideration to at least allow me to discuss it. She removed all possibility of a compromise or coming to a solution to the issue. How can I trust her not to do it again? When trust goes, love is never enough. I’d always be worried that she was one decision away from leaving and I can’t live like that. She destroyed our relationship.”
Olivia listened to Jack and looked at Rocky who was nodding. She had done the same thing but had lied on top of it. Rocky looked at her and saw her expression. He turned back to Jack, “You’re wiser than I thought. Not many would have the strength to walk away from someone they love.”
“I didn’t.”
Rocky looked at Jill, “We’ll be there to defend them. I don’t anticipate any Feeder Warships to be involved so we can focus on keeping them out of harm’s way.”
“What if he’s wrong and the Feeder can take his mind?”
“Willow and I will be focused on his mind and at the first sign the Feeder is taking control that Feeder will die.”
Jill looked at Rocky, “Promise me you won’t allow him to be harmed!” Rocky stared at her and she said, “PROMISE ME!”
• • •
Rocky stared at Jill and then turned to Olivia, “I’m changing the plan.”
“How?”
“You will be piloting the ship and I will go down to the surface with Jack.” Rocky turned back to Jill and saw her face was white. “I promise you I will prevent him from being harmed or die trying.”
“Rocky!”
“Jill, you need to be careful what you ask for. This is how we’re going to do it.”
“But…”
“Jill, you and I are invisible to the Feeders. Without Jack’s device operating properly, they aren’t. This is a better way to do it.” Rocky looked at Jack, “Are you ok with this plan?”
Jack stared at Rocky and smiled, “You’re a lot more than I thought, Admiral. You’re in command and I will follow your lead without hesitation or question.”
Rocky smiled, “Like I said, you’re wiser than I thought. The two of you plan to meet us on our ship in four hours after the missile belts are repaired.” Rocky stood up and walked out of the room leaving them to their thoughts. Olivia almost got up to follow him, but knew it would be a waste of time. She sat in her chair in silence and Jill could see her sorrow and distress. She felt so sorry for her but oh well, this wasn’t her problem.
Jack watched Rocky leave the room and looked at Jill, “Your Admiral is quite impressive.”
Jill scowled and shook her head, “He’s not my Admiral.” She nodded toward Olivia, “He’s hers.”
Jack looked at Olivia and she sighed, “Not anymore.”
Jack saw he was missing something, “Why not?”
“Because your Genève and I are pretty dumb. Let’s go and collect our things from the other ship.” Jack nodded and followed her out of the conference room. Jill watched them go and saw they had started to become close. She defended Jack during the meeting and he was also defensive towards her. Jill pulled up Olivia’s data on her wrist unit and saw she was twenty-five years old. Six years older than Jack…was she too old for him? She shook her head and figured Jack wouldn’t be interested in anyone for a while after losing Genève. He was a lot like her.
• • •
Rocky looked at Jack and Olivia as they entered the ship and nodded toward the left, “Olivia, you and Jill will share quarters and Jack and I will also bunk together. Put your things away and meet us in the kitchen to discuss the next steps.”
Jill sat at the small table and drank a cup of coffee. She didn’t like this but it was now out of her control, if it ever were in her control. The four finally gathered in the Kitchen and Rocky looked around at the three, “On this ship, we use first names. Jack, Olivia, our two computers are named Willow and Amber.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet the both of you.”
“It’s good to have you on board.”
Olivia’s eyes narrowed, “Is this the Willow that was Lukas Axel’s escape pod.”
“I am.”
Olivia’s eyes widened and she looked at Rocky. He shrugged, “I guess fleet decided this mission Jill and I are on is a high priority and they sent the best computers in Fleet.”
“Rocky, you’re making me blush.”
Rocky laughed, “As if that’s possible.”
“Anyway, it’s good to have you with us.”
“Willow, have you and Amber looked at the plans for Jack’s confrontation with a Feeder?”
“We have and it needs to be changed.”
Jack looked up, “What was wrong with the planet I chose?”
“It’s located on the Alliance side of Feeder Space. We’re doing all we can to keep them focused away from this direction and if you stir things up, it may send them searching in this direction. We need to pick a planet out in the direction of their current search.”
Jack stared at the wall speaker and took a breath, “I didn’t consider that. Have you selected a planet?”
“I’ve actually looked at six possibilities. I want to make sure that everyone understands that if we kill a Feeder, it will probably lead to every local inhabitant under its control being killed.”
Jack’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Rocky, “Is that true!?”
“Probably. I’ll try to find a way to prevent it but I really don’t see a way to avoid it yet.”
Olivia looked at Jack, “You have to do this. Those inhabitants are going to die anyway. We have to make their deaths count for something.”
Jill looked at the wall speaker, “Do any of the six planets you’ve chosen have an extremely large natural predator?”
“Two of them do. Why do you ask?”
“When Kyle moved the Kerits three hundred years ago; he used the, I think they were called Grondons, to mask killing the Feeder in their community.”
Rocky tilted his head, “You really have been looking at the history database.”
“Will it work again?”
“Probably not.”
“Why?”
“Because the Feeder was killed by the Grondon and all of the inhabitants were taken away on an Alliance Transport months later. Bearing that in mind, we are not going to linger at whatever planet we choose.” Rocky looked at Jack, “Are you up to doing this?”
Jack looked at Rocky and slowly exhaled, “Olivia is right. This has to be done.”
“That’s not an answer, Jack? Can you kill that Feeder and walk away knowing everyone left behind might be murdered?”
“Can you do it, Admiral?”
“I’ve watched millions of innocent civilians die in battles against aggressive civilizations in the Coma Cluster. I knew that their deaths, though awful, would lead to less being killed later. I can do this and have peace of mind.”
Jack stared at him and then nodded, “I can do this.”
“Olivia, if you have to scorch the community and all the lands around it to ensure Jack isn’t harmed…”
“I have no problem doing it. You should know that.”
“I do but Jack needs to know it as well. He’s not attended Fleet Academy and been prepared to understand just why things like this have to be done. He’s also not seen the benefit that comes from decisions like this being made in the past.”
“Jill hasn’t attended the Academy either.”
Jill opened her mouth to retort but Rocky said, “Jill has had the time to review hours of Fleet History and has learned the lessons on her own. I suspect if Jack had the time to do the same, he would also understand why it must be done.”
Jill closed her mouth and nodded to Jack when he looked at her. “I still want you to try and find a way to save the locals.”
Rocky nod
ded, “I’ll do all I can to try and make that happen but not at the expense of losing you.” Jack sighed and nodded. Rocky was glad he understood his importance to the Alliance. “Willow, why don’t you show us the two planets with large predators and give us an image of how they appear.”
The wall monitor in the kitchen activated and an animal appeared that looked like a green hump with eight legs under it. Olivia shook her head, “How can that thing be dangerous? I don’t see any jaws or claws.”
“Give me a moment.” Suddenly, the green hump appeared with a giant opening in the front with six rows of jagged pointed teeth. “You need to understand that this particular predator is about thirty feet tall and can run on those legs at a speed that rivals a cheetah. It scoops its prey up in its jaws while running at full speed.”
Olivia shook her head, “I stand corrected. What about the other one?”
Another animal appeared on the monitor and it looked like a cross between a giant crocodile and a gargoyle. It had two arms with long claws but the creature’s jaws were imposing. “This particular predator can fly.”
“How do they keep them at bay?”
“The Feeder uses its mind to force them to keep their distance.”
Olivia shook her head, “I’m against allowing either of those creatures anywhere near the two of you.”
Rocky stared at the image and shook his head, “Willow, can the first creature swim?”
“The second one doesn’t need to swim. It can pluck its prey out of the water. The first one isn’t capable of swimming.”
“Why not?”
“From an analysis of the depth of its footprints, it masses too much to float.”
“Check your data on that planet and see if any of the communities are built close to water.”
There was a long pause and then they heard, “Nearly all of them are located next to an ocean or river. It appears the local inhabitants used running into the water to escape these beasts before the Feeders showed up.”