by Saxon Andrew
“Hey, Gibbs. Did you get that message?”
“I did; I wonder what’s going on?”
“If what I’m seeing is right, it appears we’ve been detected and those Bronze Colored Warships are hoping to track us back to the Colonies.”
“I’m recalling our Unit and have them meet us a light year out on the course we’ve been ordered to take. Be ready to run.”
“Oh, you know I will, Gibby.”
The two Scouts moved away from each other and flew out of the star-system where the giant space battle was going full-bore. They kept their drive-fields at half-power until they arrived a light-year away. Ten-minutes later, the other four-Scouts arrived. They all lined up and made contact with each other’s ships and Roy said, “Ok, listen up. It appears those Bronze Ships have a scanner than can see us two-light years away. We’ve been ordered to fly a specific route and to move in behind a planet four light years away. We’re going to separate in a moment and get out of here like our pants are on fire. Any questions?”
“What happens when we arrive, Commander?”
“We’ll have to wait and see. I suspect we’ll receive more orders when we arrive. Alright, in four…three…two…one…GO! GO! GO!” The six-Scouts separated and went to maximum-speed.
• • •
Dean and Ginger were fifty-miles away from the course the Scouts were given and watched their six-drive-fields blow past them. Ginger smiled and said over the ship-to-ship, “I told you he was good.”
Dean punched his chronometer and said, “Shut it down!” They hit the power button in their Scouts and Dean stared at the chronometer. Two-minutes and twenty-seconds later, three drive-fields blew past them. Dean immediately hit the reverse button and said, “A little over two-minutes from now. We’ll launch the balls in two-minutes.”
“Do you think we’ll be seen?” Ginger asked.
“We’ll find out soon enough. One never knows when dealing with an unknown technology. I’m pretty certain the Scouts didn’t see us.” The countdown reached two-minutes and Dean said, “FIRE!”
The two Scouts fired three of the new power-spikes each and they flew out of their bows and then began curving toward three-drive-fields moving toward them at high-speed. Each of the new balls had a mini-drive field and they homed in on the three Paben Scouts. All three Paben Ships exploded. A few moments later, the two-power-spikes that didn’t hit, self-destructed. Dean looked at the three ships they hit and said, “Ginger, one of them looks pretty intact. There’s a hole in the bow so I believe the pilot is dead.”
“What are you thinking!!”
“I’m going to hitch-up to that ship and take it with me.”
“DEAN…”
“You’re going to have to take out the next wave alone. If we can get one of their scanners intact, it could make a huge difference. We have to make the effort.”
Dean powered up his scout, moved out to the damaged vessel, fired a peg and cable into its hull, and activated his drive-field. He disappeared in an instant and Ginger knew the next Paben Scouts would know the scouts ahead of them had disappeared. She activated her drive-field and flew another half-light year ahead of them and calculated in her mind when they would arrive. She didn’t have time to use the computer and she mentally counted it down. She screamed as she pressed the trigger on her engine-lever. Six-power-spikes shot out of her bow and instantly curved into the three-drive-fields that flew into them instantly. This time, there was no wreckage to scan; all three went up when they were hit by two balls each. Ginger powered down and waited for the next wave. This time she hit her chronometer and waited.
• • •
Megan had a sensor probe just outside the giant planet’s atmosphere and she said, “Here they come! Get ready to move out behind them once they clear the planet.”
The six-Scouts blew by the planet and Megan stared at her panel. She saw the three-drive-fields approaching at the edge of her scanning range and she yelled, “NOW!”
The Twenty-Attack Sleds blew out from the planet and launched a large spread of power-spikes in the path of the oncoming drive-fields. The ships inside the drive-fields tried to evade but the power-spikes were spread out too much. All three ships exploded and Megan hit the self-destruct frequency on her console. The remaining power-spikes went up in huge blasts. She hit her ship-to-ship and said, “Follow me!!” The twenty-Attack Sleds and six-Scouts went to maximum-speed and moved out the Corina Spiral Arm. Two-minutes later, Dean blew past the planet towing the damaged Paben Ship.
• • •
Ginger watched the countdown and prepared another launch. She fired and the power-spikes flew directly away from her Scout. She pressed the self-destruct button on her panel and they blew up. She waited for an hour, and nothing showed up. She turned and fled toward the giant plant. She waited another hour and then decided to shut down her power. She stayed there for the remainder of the day and nothing appeared. She knew her Scout’s hull was made from an entirely new composite that did not reflect any radiation that hit it. How could she be sure the Pabin weren’t waiting outside her scanning range to follow her?
She went to maximum-speed and moved close to a Type O Star. She flew around it and stopped far below the top of the star. She waited and nothing appeared. She waited another day and nothing showed up. She reduced the power of her drive-field and moved directly away from the giant star. She went to full-speed and flew another ten-thousand light years out the Carina Sagittarius Arm before turning into the gap.
• • •
“War Leader, we have lost contact with our pursuit-ships.”
The dark-brown colored alien turned to his left and said, “All of them?”
“Yes, War Leader.”
The alien turned his two-large eyes at the monitor and said, “Recall all ships and have them go back to the Port-Planet.”
“But we’re winning this fight!”
“You know the dangers when an unknown more powerful enemy enters the conflict. We are not going to take this weaker enemy on with a more powerful enemy lurking to spring on us. Recall the ships now and get us moving out of here. The Pack will have to decide what happens next.”
• • •
One moment a savage space battle was swirling around an inhabited planet and the next moment every Bronze-Colored Warship activated their drive-fields and flew away at their best-speed. The leaders on the planet had no idea why, since they knew they were losing the fight.
• • •
Megan’s Wing and the six-Scouts made it back to the Babylon and an hour later, Dean arrived with the Paben Scout in tow. A Space Tug took the Paben Vessel to the planet for the Tech’s to take apart and Dean flew back out to the edge of the Orion Spur to wait for Ginger. He stayed there for two-days and his heart was close to breaking; she should have been back by then. On the third-day, he began weeping. “I hope you’re out here waiting on me!” Dean’s head jerked up out of his hands as she said, “I’d be out here waiting if it was you.”
“GINGER!!”
“You are here.”
“I’ve felt like I lost my soul. Where have you been!?”
“I had to make absolutely sure I wasn’t being followed. I also ran into another advanced civilization in the Carina Arm that required me to take some more time to avoid being followed. I knew you’d be worried but it had to be done.”
“Thank Creation you’re ok.”
“I love you, Dean.”
“And I discovered out here while I’ve slowly lost my mind that I love you too.”
“Let’s go home.” The two-Scouts turned and flew at high-speed to the Babylon where they were greeted to a hero’s welcome. The data collected by the Scouts was invaluable and the scanner in the captured Paben Ship was still operational. The discovery of an advanced civilization further out the Carina Spiral Arm would deflect the Paben from searching for the Colonies. Sometimes, good things happened in bunches.
• • •
“Well, there’s more collateral
damage for you.”
“Kerry, this is not on us!”
“What do you mean? The Humans have led the Paben out toward the Sagin Civilization and it’s our fault.”
“Come on and get real. I thought you were smart.”
“Ok, tell me where I’m wrong.”
“What would have happened if the Humans weren’t even there at the battle for the Kell’s Planet?” Kerry was silent and Lissell sighed, “They would have conquered the Kell and started moving out the Spiral Arm searching for other planets to conquer. They would have run into the Sagin anyway. Actually, there was less damage because the Paben left the Kell out of fear of a more advanced civilization scouting them.”
“Well…I guess you’re right. But there’s so much death in this mission.”
“Unfortunately, it would still be happening anyway. We’re just here to witness it because of our assigned mission. This is business as usual in our galaxy.”
There was a long silence and Kerry said, “Lissell.”
“Yes.”
“You’re different since that Demon is no longer in your mind.”
“How so?”
“You’re smarter. I thought I had it on you in the smarts department but now I’m not so sure. You’re seeing things a lot more clearly.”
“Thank you, Kerry. That means a lot.”
“I hope you don’t lose interest in me.”
“Kerry, that will never…ever…happen. I just hope we can come out of this mission without our souls being dirtied by what we’re seeing.”
“Actually, seeing the truth doesn’t dirty a soul. It’s doing nothing about it that causes it.”
Lissell reached over and hugged him, “One thing I know I’ll never be able to match you.”
“What is that, Lise?”
“Your heart. It’s so much bigger than mine.”
Kerry smiled, “Thanks…that means a lot, too.”
• • •
The Admirals were all gathered in New York’s conference room and Mogosagi said, “The scanner used by this Paben Civilization operates by using a frequency that is not in the normal electronic-spectrum.”
“I’m not sure what you mean?” Rory replied.
“All of our electronic systems use frequencies that are in the electronic-spectrum, Admiral. This is a new one. We’ve been able to tune our scanners to it but it has some issues if we intend to use it.”
“What issues?” Dean asked.
“You couldn’t detect the Paben Vessels following our Scouts because the frequency was invisible to your scanners. You need to understand that the Paben were actively scanning ahead of them. They were not using passive scanners like we normally do.”
“But if it was an active scan, why didn’t we detect it?” Logan asked.
“You can’t detect what you can’t see, Admiral. That frequency is beyond our scanner’s ability to detect. However, once you include it in your scanner’s repertoire, it would easily be detected from a lot further than two-light-years. They can no longer sneak up on our vessels.”
“Will they be able to detect the hulls on our new Scouts, Doctor?”
“No, Meredith, they will not. We’ve already conducted tests that have proven our Scouts to be outside their detection ability.”
Ginger leaned in and whispered to Dean, “I wish I knew that when I was running.” Dean gave her hand a squeeze and focused on the meeting.
“So, can we use this?”
“Admiral Mankin, we can use it here but it wouldn’t be much of a benefit against the Paben.”
“Why not?”
“The Paben keep the scanner operating at all times. It’s constantly sending out a signal and why do you need a scanner with a range of two-light-years if you can detect them further out than that?”
Rory tilted his head, “You make a good point. What do you mean we can use it here?”
“It would give us a much longer warning of anything moving toward us from Earth.”
“What about their weapon-technology, Doctor?”
“Commander Gibbon’s Scouts did an excellent job of collecting data on their warships, Admiral. They’re pretty much an equal to ours. Their armor is similar, their disruptors are of equal power, however, they do not have a similar missile to our darts. They also do not appear to have anything like our power-spikes in their arsenal. However, they do have some pretty bad ship-to-ship missiles that have avoidance technology built into them. All-in-all, it’s an even match.”
“What about our new Warships?” Dean asked.
“If we can build enough, they will have a decided advantage.”
“How is that?”
“Their hulls will be able to withstand those missiles.”
“Actually, our warning time of an attack from Earth is much longer than you suggest, Doctor,” Ginger said.”
“Oh, why is that?”
“Because our new Scouts will not be detected by Earth and the new frequency will also go undetected. We can have a Scout inside the moon’s orbit and scan the planet without being caught.”
Everyone stared at Ginger and Dean said, “That’s my girl!”
The room erupted in laughter and Dr. Mogosagi smiled, “I’d suggest staying further out than that?”
“Why is that?” Rory asked.
“Because they might not be detected but a shadow they would cast on the moon’s surface would be seen. You know how good their optical systems are.”
Ginger shrugged, “I didn’t think about that.”
Mogosagi nodded, “It’s easy to miss. However, your suggestion is a good one. A scout in the outer Solar System can keep a close watch on Earth and give us plenty of advanced warning.”
Rory looked around and said, “Doctor, please get some of our Scouts set up with the new scanner and I hope you can get the new warships being built as quickly as possible.”
“That is what we’re working on at our best pace.”
Dean said, “Admiral, since we now know the Paben can’t detect our Scouts, shouldn’t we send some back to keep track of what the Paben are up to?”
Rory nodded, “Make that happen. If we ever get the issues with Earth ironed out, the Paben will be the next one we have to confront.”
Admiral Donovan looked at Rory, “Sir, I’ve been told that our new warships are going to be half the size of our current Battleships; is that true?”
“It is.”
“Won’t we be sacrificing a lot if we do that, Sir.”
Rory looked at Mogosagi, “Doctor would you like to explain the decision to Admiral Donovan?”
“Certainly. Admiral Donovan, what makes our Current battleships so dangerous to an enemy?”
“The number of disruptors that can be brought to bear on an enemy vessel, the huge dart clouds they can release, the number of missile launchers for both nuclear and anti-missile types, and the number of power spikes they can fire at an enemy.”
Mogosagi smiled, “Ok, let’s just for the purpose of this discussion, that you have a choice of two vessels of equal capabilities but one is twice as large as the other, which one would you select?”
“But they can’t be equal, Doctor.”
“Like I said, let’s assume they are; which one would you choose?”
Dan thought for a moment and said, “I think I’d choose the larger of the two.”
“Why?”
“It could carry far more munitions than the smaller ship.”
“Are you aware that in every space battle the fleet has fought in that no battleship used more than forty-percent of its munitions.”
Dan stared at Mogosagi, “That’s hard to believe, Doctor. My destroyer was almost out of darts at the end of the first fight with the Brax.”
“I said Battleship, not destroyer, Admiral. And you might find it interesting to note that the Battleships that used forty-percent of their munitions were knocked out of the fight or destroyed outright.” Dan stared at Mogosagi and it was clear he wasn’t buying wh
at the Doctor was selling. Mogosagi saw it and said, “Let’s try this another way; why did we build the Battleships as large as they are?”
“So, they can carry a large weapon’s systems and munitions,” Dan replied.
“The real reason is to build them large enough to support the heavy armor in their hulls. They had to be big because of the structural requirements to have an armored hull more than twenty-feet thick.”
“But they also had to be large enough to house the fifty-disruptor emplacements.”
Mogosagi nodded, “That’s true but if you could have just as many disruptors and better armor on a ship half the size, would you prefer it?”
“Doctor, you’re talking like that is a possibility.”
“It is. And here’s something you’re not considering; which would be easier to defend with a dart cloud?” Dan stared at the Doctor and he sat back in his chair. “Also, which would be more maneuverable? Which would be faster using the same engines? Which would take a smaller crew to operate? Which would be easier and faster to construct?” Mogosagi stopped and looked at Dan, “Should I go on?”
“But you still haven’t answered the extra-munitions the larger ship can carry.”
“The smaller vessel can carry the same load, Admiral?”
“How is that possible?!”
“Because the majority of your current Battleship’s interior is used to house the crew. A crew half the size of what’s currently being used in our battleships, will allow far more space for munitions in the smaller ship. Also, the shorter distance from the reactors to the disruptors reduces the required coolant lines and their shielding along with increasing the power to the disruptors.”
“Doctor, I don’t believe you can place fifty-disruptor emplacements on ship half the size.”
“You can’t.”
“So, why are we even discussing this?” Dan asked.
“The disruptors will no longer be mounted on the ship’s hull, Admiral. The disruptors will be mounted inside the armored hull the barrel will extend out of a swivel mount when they’re powered. They can rotate 360 degrees, unlike the current disruptor mounts that can only turn 180 degrees. And since the huge emplacements have been removed, there is room for sixty-five disruptors on the hull and an additional ten missile-launch tubes than are currently on your flagship, Admiral. The new Battleship will be twice as fast and the Brax armor being used on it will make it immune to enemy missiles, both nuclear and anti-ship types. It will turn in less than one-third of the space your current Battleship needs and use less than half the number of darts to defend it.” Mogosagi smiled, “And last, it will take less than a third of the time to construct compared to our current Battleship and it can be built on the planet’s surface and not have to be constructed in orbit.”