by Saxon Andrew
He opened his eyes and immediately closed them at the bright light. He moaned and felt hands on his face. “I’m here, Rocky.”
He managed to whisper, “Dim the lights.” The brilliant glare went down and he opened his eyes to see Jill’s face just above his and her tears were falling unabated. “You cry a lot.”
Jill laughed and leaned down to kiss him. “You gave me a scare.”
“How did you find me?”
“I had to threaten to take two computers apart to get them to do as I wanted but thank God they can think enough to disobey a direct order.”
“I love you, Jill.”
Jill started shaking her head and crawled up on the bed beside him. “He needs to sleep.”
“Rocky, I’ll tell you everything that’s happened when you’re strong enough. I’ll be here.”
Rocky nodded and felt the needle go into his arm, “I’m starting to hate needles.” He closed his eyes as he heard Jill chuckle.
• • •
He slowly opened his eyes and for the first time in a while he didn’t feel overwhelming pain. He looked to the left and saw a window with a tree just outside bathed in white light. It must be night time. He looked to the right and saw Jill sleeping in a chair next to his bed. He remained silent and stared at her. She looked thinner than he remembered. She was still incredibly beautiful and he laid on the bed and stared at her for a long time. She turned to change position and opened her eyes to find him staring at her. She leapt out of the chair and was beside him in an instant, “How long have you been awake?”
“I don’t know. I’ve just been enjoying looking at you. How long have I been here?”
“About four weeks.”
Rocky shook his head, “That long?”
“You were suffering from radiation poisoning and you had to be put into a regeneration tank for three weeks to repair the damage.”
“My suit told me I didn’t receive a severe dose of radiation.”
“Your suit was worthless. Everyone is shocked you survived with it damaged as much as it was.”
“I’m sorry I left you, Jill. I had to…”
Jill put her finger on his lips, “I know, I know. You wouldn’t be the man I love if you hadn’t done it.”
Rocky stared at her and said, “Did I hear you say you love me?”
Jill’s eyes softened as she stared at him, “It took losing you to make me realize how much. What possessed you to use the barrier drive?”
“You told me you never even kissed me and I decided to try anything to make sure you could. How did you know what I did?”
“I didn’t, initially. But after I managed to pull myself together, I thought about it and figured out that you might think of using your thrusters and barrier drive to escape the blast. I had to shut down Amber and Willow to force them to conduct a search of the barrier for your scooter. Willow was determined to follow your order to return to Earth.”
Rocky sighed, “I didn’t think of trying it until just before I skipped to the planet.”
“Willow finally realized that there was a remote chance you used the barrier to escape. She agreed to make the search.”
“How far did I go?”
“About a billion light years.”
“And you found me?”
“I just took the line directly above the city you destroyed and went full speed on that line scanning the barrier for anything on that line. It took four days to finally find you.”
“I should have died.”
“But you didn’t and my life is starting again. I would have been lost without you, Rocky.”
“The Alliance needs to leave the Feeders alone!”
“They know. They’ve recalled all the scouts from those clusters and are going to allow the Feeders to search all of them. It appears you’ve given us more than two hundred years before they can complete the search.”
“I knew you would figure it out.”
“Actually, it was Jack that made the determination. He and Olivia want to see you as soon as you can have visitors.”
“Jill, will you marry me?”
Jill leaned down and tenderly kissed him. She broke the kiss and smiled, “I’ve already started making the arrangements. I wasn’t going to allow you to put it off.”
“You’ve always been the smartest person I’ve ever known.”
Jill smiled, “And you are the bravest and most committed man I’ve ever known. I know that I can always count on you being there taking care of me.”
Rocky shook his head slightly, “It appears you are the one taking care of me.”
“You put your life on the line to make sure I would be safe.” Rocky started shaking his head and Jill smiled, “I know, you also did it for your family and all of humanity but I was the one that gave you the courage to do it. I could hear it in your voice.”
Rocky stared at her and then nodded. “So what happens now?”
“We get married and then eventually join the forces going out to remove the Feeders from the planets they’ve enslaved. The Leadership feels the Feeders will ignore the conquered planets until they complete the search of those clusters. We have to be careful but there is a brief window of opportunity to reduce their territory. How does that sound?”
“I like the sound of eventually. I want some time with you before I go back into the fight.”
Jill leaned down and hugged him. She felt the same way.
• • •
Claudrel looked at the wedding announcement and added Rocky and Jill’s names to the list of potential leaders. Their children would be watched closely to see if they developed the talents the Nudges had set in motion fifty years earlier. She knew that her task had been completed and the future would be up to her successors.
Jack and Olivia had already been placed on the list along with Rocky’s sister’s children. The Nudges had made it clear that they would be important in the coming conflict and she hoped the Alliance had enough time to prepare for the coming war. The coming fight to free conquered planets was little more than an effort at keeping the military trained to a fine edge against the time when the real war began.
But for the moment, she had delayed the final encounter and had kept the faith of all the previous High Leaders. It was this effort to free conquered planets that would add to the forces to be used against the Death Feeders. She looked at her list and decided who would keep the Feeders focused on the four clusters. She worried about the two force fields the Feeders were installing on their warships but was pretty sure the silver coated missiles would still penetrate. Force fields had no effect on the silver coating. The Feeders would have to be kept in the dark about that issue until the critical moment. The missiles to be used in the near term would not penetrate the two force fields. That should give the Feeders the courage to continue their search. Who knows what they would find in those four clusters. There might be a civilization there that could take them on.
Claudrel sighed; this was wishful thinking but she could hope. At least there would be time to hope and that was due to Admiral Stone and Commodore Axel. She issued the order to present them with the Alliance’s highest medal for bravery. Both of them deserved it. She looked up, “Have I missed anything, Pat?”
“No, I think you’ve got it all covered for the moment.”
“I wish you and your species could take them on. It would solve a lot of problems.”
“We’re just as vulnerable as the Nudges were when they faced off against the Feeders. There’s just too many of them.”
“It doesn’t appear they know of your existence.”
“We need to keep it that way. We’ll join the effort at the appropriate time.”
“Let me know if you think of anything.”
“You know I will.”
Claudrel felt the contact fade and hoped the Sentinels would make a difference one day. But for now, all that could be done was being done.
Chapter Fourteen
Graylin looked at the feeds coming in f
rom the stealth probes scattered in front of the advancing Feeder Fleets. They were collecting light signatures and feeding them to the missile transports located just under Graylin’s Light Ship. He looked across at Cassidy’s cockpit and saw her manipulating her controls. “What are you doing?”
“I’m making sure none of the missiles will be targeted at ships that are close to each other.”
“That’s a good idea. That should prevent their light drives from interfering with each other.”
“I’m also launching them in sequence from the transports. None of them should come close to each other during the launch phase.”
“Are all of the Feeder Warships of the two force field class?”
“The support vessels only have one but the warships all have the two fields.”
“Is the silver bullet targeted where you can capture the results?”
“Yes. I’ll be launching as the fleets approach one of the stealth probes. It’s been programmed to focus on the ship the silver bullet is targeted.”
Graylin looked up, “Edison, I want you to keep your attention on any communications that are sent from those fleets after the launch.”
“I’ve found the Feeder Fleet Leader in overall command of the fleets, Admiral.”
“Graylin, I’ll be launching in thirty seconds.”
“The ship is under your control.”
Graylin watched the count down and pulled up the probe that would be tracking the silver bullet. He hoped Intel was right about this. The countdown hit zero and he stared at the display on his console. The bullet wouldn’t be fired until the middle of the barrage. That would be in another five minutes. He glanced at the ten missile transports and saw tiny flashes of light as the missiles ejected from their tubes and activated their light drives. He looked back at his display and smiled. That Fleet Leader’s ship would receive the first missile. That should wake him up.
• • •
The Feeder Fleet Leader was lounging in his command chair when suddenly, his vessel was rocked by a huge explosion that almost threw him out of his chair. “WHAT’S HAPPENING!?!”
“LEADER, OUR SHIPS ARE UNDER A MASSIVE MISSILE ATTACK!!”
“GIVE ME THE STATUS OF OUR SHIPS BEING HIT!!”
The Fleet Leader waited and saw his navigator look up, “Our fields are holding up. We’ve not lost a ship to them!”
The Fleet Leader smiled. The initial explosion was huge but his vessel was unharmed. His fear of finding the enemy disappeared. Waiting until the fleets were upgraded was worth the wait. He could search for them without fear.”
“Leader, one of our ships has been destroyed.”
“What? Just one?”
“Yes, Leader.”
“Why was it hit?”
“I have no way of knowing. It might have had a faulty outer force field generator.”
The Fleet Leader stared at the Navigator and shrugged. With a billion warships, it was possible that one had a faulty system. He continued to watch the explosions in his fleets and lifted his communicator, “Prime, my fleet is undergoing a massive missile attack.”
“WHAT’S HAPPENING?!”
“Our new double force fields are stopping them. I’m not losing ships.”
“THAT’S EXCELLENT. FIND THIS ENEMY AND ELIMINATE THEM BEFORE THEY CAN BUILD WEAPONS TO DEFEAT OUR NEW TECHNOLOGY.”
“Yes, Prime.” The Navigator listened to the conversation and wondered why the Fleet Leader hadn’t mentioned the single ship that was destroyed. He was honest in saying that he was not losing ships but, why was that ship killed? He turned back to his console. This was not his province to worry about. He stared at his console and saw thousands of explosions continue in the fleet’s formations.
• • •
Edison fed the conversation to Graylin and he said, “Wrap it up, Cassidy. The ruse has worked.”
“I still have more than a hundred thousand missiles remaining.”
“Save them for landing operations. What do the probes say about those we launched?”
Cassidy looked at her panel, “They recorded an explosion for every missile we launched. I’ve terminated the launch and sent the transports back to Eden.”
“We’ll stand by here and listen for anything they might communicate.”
“Yes Sir.”
Graylin smiled. Using standard missiles instead of the silver coated ones had fooled the Feeders. Now they would continue their search and the Alliance could build for the day the real missiles would be used. The Feeders were still about six months from the four clusters but they had a huge volume of space ahead of them to search. He listened to the feed coming from Edison and leaned back in his chair. He was worried about this new Feeder Technology but they were still vulnerable. So many things could have gone wrong but they didn’t. Let’s pray that was true for future operations. Thank God the Silver Bullet punched through the two force fields.
Two days later, he skipped the ship back to Fleet Headquarters for debriefing. A year later he was promoted to overall command of the Alliance Navy.
• • •
“Sir, I have an issue that requires a superior officer to resolve.”
“What’s the problem, Sergent?”
“The community has come to the defense of the Feeder and are threatening to attack me if I attempt to harm it.”
“The Feeder must have them under its control. Shoot through them if necessary.”
“That doesn’t appear to be the situation, Sir. The Feeder is trying to get them to leave and not put themselves in danger. They are refusing to do so.”
“Standby, I’ll be there momentarily.”
Sgt. Anez watched the tableau developing around him and he thought to the inhabitants, “I have a superior coming to resolve this issue. Everyone remain calm until they arrive and determine what’s to be done.” Anez watched the locals come rushing in from the fields and form a barrier between him and the Death Feeder. This was ludicrous. He could hear the thoughts of the locals and they were not being controlled by the Feeder. He could also hear the Feeder yelling at them to leave and not confront the armored being in their mist. This was crazy.
Captain Hummel arrived in the flash of his armor’s light drive and Sgt. Anez sighed a breath of relief. This was beyond his understanding. Right behind the Captain, three Alliance Light Ships appeared above the community. The inhabitants saw the ships hovering above their community and they moved closer to the Feeder.
Captain Hummel saw the local’s behavior and shook his head. He thought, “Who is this village’s leader?”
A tall, thin amber colored being stepped out from the gathering around the Feeder and thought, “I am.”
“We are here to free this planet from the Death Feeders. Why are you preventing us from eliminating this creature?”
“This creature has a name, Pravel, and we will not allow you to harm him.”
“Are you insane? This species kills those it conquers and feeds on their minds.”
“This one doesn’t.”
Hummel’s expression showed his shock, “What!?”
“This one has not killed anyone and has saved most of us from sure death at the claws of the predators. He is a member of our community and is loved and valued by all of us.”
Hummel could hear the Feeder’s thoughts as it screamed at the locals to back off and not place themselves in danger. He shook his head and looked at Sgt. Anez, who could only shrug. He looked at the Feeder and said, “Come forward and speak with me!”
The local inhabitants moved in tighter around the Feeder and it thought to them, “Allow me to speak with this being.” They opened a path and the Feeder walked forward. “I know why you’re here.”
Hummel tilted his head, “And why am I here?”
“You’re here to remove my species from this planet.”
“How do you know that?”
“There have been rumors of other planets being cleansed of my species.”
“Why haven’t
you tried to communicate with the others of your species on this planet?”
“I have no desire to prevent it. We should be removed.”
“Is what the leader said true?”
The Feeder looked around at the inhabitants and thought, “It is.”
“How have you managed to survive without consuming them?”
“I take my sustenance from the local predators that attempt to attack the community.” Hummel stared at the Feeder and it actually shrugged, “I decided when I took control of this community that I would not harm them.”
“What about the one before you?”
“She didn’t think like me.”
“What happened to her?”
“I killed her when she tried to consume a child.”
“Why were there two of you here?”
“She was my mother.”
“And she didn’t force you to consume them?”
“She tried hard enough but I refused to do it.”
“Are there any others like you on this planet?”
“There is a female that is currently hiding in the forest. You’ve probably detected her with your ships.”
Hummel activated his communicator, “Do you detect another Feeder close by?”
“We do, Sir. We’ve locked a disruptor on it and will fire once you resolve this situation.”
“Hold your fire until I order it.”
“Yes Sir.”
Hummel looked at the Feeder, “Call her in.”
“I will not place her in danger.”
“I can kill her with a word. Call her in.”
The Feeder stared at Hummel and his single eye closed for a moment and then opened. Hummel heard its thoughts as it called for the female to come out of the forest. Hummel waited and six minutes later the Female entered the community with a group of locals surrounding her. The Female moved to the male and took its clawed hand in hers. They stared at Hummel and he saw their fear. “You should do what you came to do.”
Hummel saw the locals tense up at the thought and he shook his head, “This is outside my experience. I’ve never heard of a Death Feeder that has any value of another’s life.”
The Feeder shrugged again, “It’s a big universe.”