by Saxon Andrew
“I guess I can understand it under those circumstances.”
“We’re doing the same thing.”
“Not really.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because everyone is not employed building our warships. I suspect only about a tenth of our population is actually building them?”
“What percent is in our military forces?”
“Touché. You’re right, a much higher percent but not near the percent of the planets I’ve seen in this galaxy.”
“The main reason for that is our converter technology.”
“Even without it, they’re building them faster than we are.”
Chris looked at the planet and nodded slowly, “Yes, you’re right about that.”
“Have you scanned one of their ships to see how they measure up to our fleet?”
“No.”
“Are you assuming we’re ahead of them?”
“I guess I am.”
“Is that a good idea?”
“You’re starting to sound like Audrey.”
“I have to take that as a compliment.”
“Why is that?”
“You married her. You must respect her opinions.”
“Touché right back at you.” Allison laughed and thought about the issue. “Allison, prepare to make a hasty exit.”
“You’re going to do it?”
“I am. Just be ready to run.”
“We’ll be with you. Just lead the way.”
“Barbie?”
“I’ve been listening to you. What do you want?”
“I want one of those ships in orbit to be scanned all the way down to the molecular level. Focus on their weapon systems.”
“That will take a few seconds.”
“How many?”
“To get everything, about ten.”
Chris looked at the planet and said, “Perhaps we should move a little further out before you do it.”
“I think that would be wise.”
“And Barbie.”
“Yes.”
“Don’t get any closer to that moon.”
“I’ll move us away from it as well.” Chris watched the planet move away from his viewport and marveled at how beautiful a habitable planet looked hanging in space. It was truly a miracle of creation and the grey-white clouds moving over its surface only accented its beauty. The ship stopped moving and Chris said, “How far out are we?”
“We’re just outside the gravity limit. We should be able to get out of here in a big way if we need to run.”
“Start your scan.” Chris watched the planet and said, “HOLY BLISTERS ON MY BUTT.” The entire planet looked like a huge hornets nest with thousands of hornets bursting out of it and moving their way. He looked at the moon and saw another huge cloud of ships rushing off the surface and headed his way. “Barbie?”
“Give me a moment.”
Chris watched the huge cloud of warships getting closer, “BARBIE!”
“Done.” The B-Pod and the four Pods around it went to full thrusters and shot away from the planet like a shot. Chris saw two more clouds of ships moving toward them from the fifth planet and Barbie turned and went vertical from the planet’s orbit. She accelerated to full speed and they left the thousands of pursuing ships far behind.
Chris sat back in his chair and then leaned forward. Thousands of warships were skipping in above them, cutting off their line of escape. As he watched, thousands more appeared ahead of them. “Those ships had to be waiting in normal space to get here without us seeing them.”
“I agree.”
“Can you outrun them?”
“Falcon One!”
“Yes Sir.”
“Go to reactor pattern bravo and be prepared to go to full thrusters.”
“Bravo Pattern engaged.”
“In three, two, one, go!”
• • •
The Commander of the pursuing fleets wondered what kind of ship his fleets were chasing. The fleets in normal space above the galaxy dropped into the void to cut them off and he smiled. They had it surrounded. Suddenly, the small ship’s thrusters grew extremely bright and it flashed away so fast it was out of scanner range in an instant. His mouth fell open and he looked at his Sensor Commander, who was shaking his head. “Did you get a reading on how fast that ship was traveling?”
“Not really.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The maximum speed on my gauge was pegged. I know for certain it went that fast but how much faster, I have no way of knowing.”
“Did you get a color?”
“It was silver in color and there were five of them.”
“WHAT?”
An image appeared on the ship’s monitor and the Commander saw four small ships surrounding an identical ship in the center. All of them flew at the same speed. He shook his head. His communications Commander shouted from across the bridge, “I’m getting numerous calls questioning what kind of ship that was.”
“Tell them their guess is as good as mine.” The Communications Commander shook his head and began talking into his communicator. The Commander felt that the strange ships weren’t from the giant galaxy. He had never fought against ships that small. He was shocked that the ships had been able to get close enough to the planet to make a scan. How was that possible?
Then he remembered two Green Ships closing in on his vessel that suddenly exploded. Was this the ship that had saved him? He stared at the image on the monitor and looked at his Communications Officer. He saw the commander looking at him and he put his hand over his communicator. “Issue orders to all fleets that if they detect their planets being scanned, before they attack, try to open a channel to communicate.” Everyone on the bridge stared at him like he was crazy. He ignored them and wondered if it was his savior.
• • •
“I think I understand why you’re reluctant to make a scan, Sir.”
Chris laughed, “That’s a good lesson to learn, Lieutenant.”
“Uhhh, Sir, I’m an Ensign.”
“Not any more. Keep up the good work.”
“YES SIR!”
• • •
Seven years passed and Chris worked in getting the Alliance’s military forces organized into an effective fighting force. His original four bodyguards were eventually replaced by the newest hot shot pilots and the four were given commands of a fleet of Pods. Allison was placed in command of all the newest fleets as the children on Earth and Eden came of age. She was doing a remarkable job. The number of fleets now numbered more than two hundred with ten thousand pods in each.
Chris sat up on his lounge chair and saw Audrey walking down from their residence. He smiled and kissed her as she leaned down. “What ya doing?”
“I want to go sailing. I’m going to take the small boat out and get in touch with the ocean. Do you want to join me?”
“Actually, I do but Dad is coming down with two surf poles to teach me how to fish in the waves. I think he wants to talk about something but can’t bring himself to tell me.”
“He’s like that.”
Chris nodded, “Yes he is. Where’s Michael?”
“He wanted to go and play with Junior. He should be home by nightfall.”
Chris stood up and helped her pull the small sail boat into the water and gave her a push. She raised the sail and tacked away from the shoreline. He shook his head; Audrey was a fine sailor. The bright pink and blue sail moved quickly out into the waves. Hey, give me a hand!” Chris turned around and saw Stoney lugging two long fishing rods and a rather large tackle box. He ran over and grabbed the tackle box and Stoney whistled, “Man, I need to get rid of some of those lures!”
“You know that will never happen; you’re too much of a hoarder.”
Stone smiled, “No, I guess you’re right. I’ve tried before but all of those lures are tied to the memory of a large fish I pulled in. Here, let me show you how to bait your pole.” Chris smiled. Stoney had
taught him to bait a line when he was just five years old. He handed the pole to Stoney and watched him.
Ah hour later, Chris cast the line far out into the waves and set the reel. Stoney cast his line as well and looked at Chris, “Son, do you miss not having a childhood?”
Chris looked at his father, “What do you mean?”
“You changed your DNA into an adult when you were ten years old. You missed so many of the things that make a childhood fun.”
“Such as?”
“Going to high school. Playing sports. Going on family trips. I could go on and on but I worry that we allowed you to grow up too fast.”
Chris said, “Sit down, Dad.” Stoney sat down in a folding chair on the beach and Chris joined him. “I had a great childhood. You and mom took me to all the meetings that happened here and also wherever you went. My telepathy didn’t start developing until I was nine and my childhood was spectacular up until then. Once I started absorbing the thoughts of people like Amanda, Trevor, Jinks, Lukas, Salud, you and mom, playing with toys just didn’t do anything for me.”
“But you missed graduating from high school and college.”
Chris shook his head, “Dad, once I absorbed the thoughts of our leaders, I knew more than most Ph.D.’s. Going to school to confirm it would be a waste of time. I’ve done things that are important and I also found a woman to love that loves me just as much. I have a six-year-old son and I just don’t see how life could be any better. You and Mom did a wonderful job of preparing me for life. I don’t regret anything.” Stoney smiled and reeled his line in. “Are you leaving?”
“I am.” Stoney looked out and saw the pink and blue sail far out on the waves, “She’s a pretty good ways out.”
“She’s an excellent sailor, Dad.”
Suddenly, both of them jerked their heads to the north as the giant defense disruptor discharged a giant beam into the atmosphere. Instantly, the force field protecting the island slammed into place an instant before a brilliant flash turned it black to prevent them from being blinded. The sound of the explosion directly above the force field was deafening.
• • •
Chris shook his head to clear it from the explosive noise and suddenly looked out at the ocean. The force field was still pitch black but he didn’t see the pink and blue sail inside it. Stoney saw him look away and he looked out to sea with him. He felt his heart go into his throat, Audrey had sailed outside the force field’s coverage. Chris screamed at the top of his lungs and turned to run into the waves. Stoney tackled him and held on with all his might. Chris was screaming Audrey’s name over and over. He pressed his wrist communicator, “GET A DOCTOR TO THE BEACH NOW!!!!” Stoney held on to Chris and saw a doctor and nurse running down from the shore. The doctor saw Chris’s hysteria and took a syringe out of his bag and filled it with a clear liquid from a vial. He pushed the syringe into Chris’s neck and pushed the plunger. A moment later, Chris’s screaming stopped abruptly and his eyes closed.
“What’s going on, Stoney?”
“Jinks, Audrey was sailing outside the coverage of the force field.”
“OH MY GOD!”
“I had a doctor sedate Chris. Send a transport to the beach; we need to move him to a hospital.”
“It’s on the way.”
“Jinks, how did this happen?”
Jinks forcefully blew out a breath, “I don’t have all the details yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”
Stoney nodded and felt his tears. His son’s wife, his step-daughter was just murdered. He saw Kathy running down the dune toward him and as soon as she saw his eyes she stopped for a moment and grabbed her neck. Then she ran forward and threw her body on Stoney and Chris.
• • •
Four days later, Chris sat in a wheelchair staring out of a large picture window in the hospital’s hall. His arms and legs were tied down with leather restraints to prevent him from hurting himself. The view from the window showed a large orange field where workers were harvesting the heavily laden branches. Chris’s eyes just stared straight ahead without blinking. Lukas, Salud, Jinks and Sarah walked up and looked at Stoney. Salud said, “Has there been any change?” Stoney shook his head. Salud bent down and hugged Chris as she kissed him on his head.
Lukas shook his head, “I don’t want to do it but should we bring Michael to see if it brings him out of it?”
“I’ve never been in it.” Everyone jerked their heads toward Chris as he twisted his arms and broke restraints on his arm. He reached down and untied his leg restraints and tossed them to the hospital orderly standing close by, “Use this on someone that needs it.”
Kathy jumped up and ran over to hug Chris. “It’s OK Mom, I needed some time to say goodbye.”
Kathy leaned back, “Are you ok?”
Chris’s eyes narrowed, “What do you think?” He turned to Lukas, “How did they get through our defenses?”
Lukas heard Chris’s tone and didn’t recognize it. “Our investigation has determined that seven years ago when you killed those scouts and sent the sixth back with a message, they launched a special ship. It was little more than a thin non-ferrous hull with an engine and drive field. It had just enough room to carry a shielded nuclear bomb.”
“How did it get through our scans?”
“It skipped in outside the coverage of our void probes and continued the journey in normal space. The pilot appears to have the ability to go into a suspended animation state. It took more than six years for it to arrive here through normal space traveling close to the speed of light.”
Chris nodded slightly, “Our detection systems in normal space were inadequate to see it coming.” Lukas nodded. Chris looked at him, “Tell me again why the main force field was off.”
Stoney said, “It’s not his fault. You know the power to keep it running would be too high to make it effective when it might have to be used. You approved not keeping it on along with the rest of us.”
Chris winced and shook his head, “I think I forced myself to forget that little piece of information. So no one here is to blame for her death?”
Salud nodded, “No, it was a freak occurrence that the attack took place on just the day she went sailing.”
Chris snorted, “Sort of like it’s a part of my destiny.”
“I’M NOT SAYING THAT! ACCIDENTS HAPPEN!”
Chris looked at Salud with dead eyes, “This was no accident.”
Lukas sighed, “Chris, we can give you some time off…”
“The only time I’m going to need is to go and take my son back to that beach to tell his mother good-bye.”
Sarah said, “What are you going to do?”
Chris looked at her and then turned to Jinks, “I want the top 100 Pod Fleets assembled in orbit three days from now.”
Stoney looked at Chris, “Son, you should wait to do this. You need some time.”
Chris smiled for the first time and put his hand on Stoney’s shoulder, “Dad, I told them seven years ago that if they sent another ship here I was going to eradicate them. They didn’t wait a month before they launched that ship.” Chris looked at Lukas, “What good are consequences if you’re not willing to enforce them?” Lukas could only shake his head. Chris’s face turned grim, “They learned seven years ago that our leadership was on this island. I’ve spent the last four days thinking about what happened and I wanted to blame myself for what happened to Audrey. I shouldn’t have let her go so far out; but she had gone there many times. I should have stopped her from sailing; but I go out surfing more often and sometimes further out. I want to be able to blame myself but I know that is a wasted effort and she wouldn’t appreciate my hypocrisy if I did.” Chris looked at those gathered around him. “The only ones I can blame are the ones that launched that ship. I intend to do something about it.”
Chris stood up and Lukas tilted his head, “Tell us what you need to go and keep in mind that Earth and Eden need to be defended in your absence.”
&nb
sp; Chris smiled, “Thank you, Lukas.”
Lukas nodded, “If I lost Salud under the same circumstances, I would want to tear whatever they use for a throat out.”
Chris looked at Jinks, “Will you request the Royal to send me one planetary drop fleet? I also want the First Drop Pod Fleet ready to go as well.”
“Why just one?”
Chris’s eyes narrowed, “I’m only going to drop on one of their planets.”
Sarah said, “Which one?”
Chris looked her in the eyes, “The one where the being that sent that ship here is located.” Everyone there saw something had changed in Chris and the menace in his words could almost be felt.
• • •
Chris stood on the beach holding Michael’s hand in his right hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. Michael was also holding a smaller bouquet and they stood there saying nothing. But Chris was speaking to Michael through telepathy. He heard Michael think, “I really miss her so much.” Chris squeezed his hand lightly and Michael looked up at Chris and thought, “She told me many times how much she was proud of you.”
Chris fought back his tears and shook his head as he blew out a breath. “The last thing she told me before she went out was that you were at Junior’s playing. I heard in her thoughts how much she loved you and how she thought you were the greatest person ever. Her love was more than I can ever describe to you, son.”
“I know.” Chris’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve been hearing her thoughts for a while.” He looked up at Chris and said, “I want to be just like you when I grow up. I think that is how I can honor her best.”
Chris’s tears started and took he Michel down to the waves and tossed the flowers out on the waves. Michael threw his in and Chris bent down, “Son, I’m going to be gone for a while and you’re going to stay with Lukas and Salud.”
“Where are you going?”
Chris looked out at the waves, “To find the one that did this.”
Michael looked out at the waves with him as they both cried for the wife and mother they lost.
• • •
Salud picked up Michael and said, “We’ll take good care of him Chris.”