Lens of Time - Planet Predators (Lens of Time (Book Two))

by Saxon Andrew

  “We need two more ships to go with us.”

  “We only have two ready, Admiral.”

  RV shook his head, “Admiral Anders has continued the war games with a third ship that arrived five days ago. It should be up to speed within a week.”

  “Why three ships?”

  “Three ships can provide a layered defense that is impossible to do with just two. We’ll train the three main ships in the tactics after the third ship is ready.”

  “What else, Admiral?”

  “I’ve examined the Needles and the launch tubes are long enough to hold two Needles in each. It would only take a small modification to the tubes to carry two Needles and it can be done in less than three weeks. I also want the Needles to carry an additional two fusion missiles under their wings.”

  “Why is that?”

  “They will be the real ship killers.”

  Chris looked confused, “How will they be able to kill a ship that the Jukebox Class can’t destroy?”

  RV smiled, “It’s not the jab that knocks you out; it’s the uppercut that follows right behind it. I’ll give you a demonstration after I have Dr. Levin do some surgery on the Needle’s control panels.” Chris nodded and RV asked, “I request that you allow me to make a quick trip to Earth. I’ll be back before the other two ships are ready and before you finish learning the Blue Giant language.”

  “Where are you going?”

  RV smiled, “To Cuba.”

  Chris and Jillian were both startled by RV’s request, “I thought you have not gone back to Cuba since the liberation.”

  “I haven’t, but I have a liberation that I need to do. I’m actually going to American soil.”

  Chris shrugged and said, “Permission granted, Admiral.”

  RV saluted and left the bridge. He boarded a Needle, launched, and jumped to Earth.

  * * *

  Arvolo entered the latrine and saw the cleaning detail at the far end scrubbing the floors. Captain Maddit was supervising their efforts and Arvolo saw he was filthy from joining the team in finishing their task on time before the Base Commander arrived to inspect the facility. Arvolo smiled and then adopted a stern expression. One of the sailors saw Arvolo approaching and jumped to attention and yelled, “Officer on Deck!”

  Maddit turned, saw Arvolo approaching, and came to Attention. He saluted and Arvolo said, “As you were; continue your work. Captain Maddit, please come with me.” Arvolo turned and walked out of the Latrine with Maddit following behind. Maddit knew he was going to have more suffering to endure.

  RV stopped outside the latrine and said, “Captain Maddit, I’ve read a report that you submitted to Commodore Connor. Tell me what you meant by not utilizing the Needles to their full capability.”

  Maddit remained at attention and said, “If the Needles are for ship defense, they could be made into a more powerful weapon platform, Sir.”

  “At ease, Captain. You may speak freely and I won’t use what you say against you. Tell me what you really think.”

  Maddit looked at RV and said, “I believe I hate you more than anyone I’ve ever known, Sir.” RV nodded and remained silent. After a moment Maddit continued, “However, you were right. The tactics I was teaching would have caused the destruction of our ships. I reviewed the recording of the session after I was dismissed from my post and it became clear that it’s a whole new ball game fighting a fleet in space.”

  “And what did you think about my formation?”

  “I would have had three ships flying in front of the ship.”

  “What about the stern?”

  “I would hope that the ship would be flying fast enough so that any attack from the rear would be difficult. The single ship would have more time to see any ships coming from that direction and call for any needed support.”

  RV nodded and said, “I’m going to start carrying two Needles in each launch tube. The first will be used in ship defense and the second for attack.”

  Maddit thought a moment, “How are you planning to arm the attack ships?”

  “They will carry two missiles under the wings that will have their warheads made from our spent nuclear material.”

  Maddit thought a moment and said, “Those warheads will be extremely hardened. Are you planning to launch them at light speed?”

  RV laughed out loud, “Yes, I am.”

  Maddit frowned, “I don’t believe our current force fields could withstand that kind of strike if the missile is at full mass when it hits.”

  RV nodded, “Captain, you are promoted to the rank of Commodore and will leave immediately to take command of the Needle Pilots on the Melbourne. You will report to Admiral Bob Owens and I expect you to run a tight team.”

  Maddit stared at Arvolo and slowly shook his head, “Why did you send me here?”

  “To learn what you didn’t know.”

  “I still hate you.”

  “I can live with that, Wes; losing lives due to your lack of knowledge is something that I couldn’t.”

  Maddit looked at RV and stuck out his hand, “I will make the service proud, Sir.”

  RV shook his hand and said, “I expect in time that I will be reporting to you, Wes.”

  “I hope not, Sir; I would miss the combat.”

  RV nodded and put his arm around Maddit’s shoulder as he talked about how to use the new attack craft. They left an hour later to take Maddit back to the fleet. Commodore Maddit became one of RV’s best friends and a warrior that would be remembered in Earth’s new history.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dolly saw Izzy enter her office and she stood to greet her, “Welcome, Commodore Roselli, it’s good to see you.”

  “Thank you, Madam.”

  “I’ve considered your request to join the ships under Admiral Connor’s command and we have decided to grant it.”

  Izzy smiled and said, “Thank you.”

  Dolly went back to her desk and said, “I notice that you and our Jenze friend have become quite attached.”

  Izzy’s face turned red and she nodded, “I didn’t plan for that to happen but yes we are an item.”

  Dolly tried hard not to show too much interest but asked, “I would have thought you and Captain Arvolo would have had more in common.”

  Dolly continued to look at her display feigning disinterest and heard Izzy say, “He’s too intimidating.”

  Dolly looked up, “Intimidating?”

  “Madam Director, he is naturally brilliant and his ability to see things that everyone else misses is staggering. I always felt reluctant to offer any suggestions because I knew he would see something I missed.”

  Dolly smiled, “I can understand that. Well, good luck with your new assignment. Your Jenze friend will be trained on the Needles and will be a fill in pilot. Please tell him we really are thankful for helping us used the Jenze switching device.”

  “He’ll appreciate that opportunity and he’s happy to have helped us.. Thank you, again.” Izzy turned and left Dolly’s office.

  Dolly sighed, well; it looks like there was no one cut out to match up with the Crazy Cuban. She would just have to keep her eyes open. She shook her head and thought, “Well, I missed that one.” She saw Jeff come in and said, “Have you come here to gloat?”

  “No, it was a great try. The good news is that Zack is starting to feel a part of our world. It was good she was there.”

  Dolly thought a moment and smiled brightly, “You’re right.”

  Jeff laughed and went back to the hanger after giving Dolly a hug.

  Dolly thought a moment and said, “Contact George Sierra.”

  George appeared on her display, “What’s up, Sissy.”

  “Was the Jenze able to help you with any information?”

  “As a matter of fact he did. We’ve modified our switching of the reactors and there was another element that the Jenze didn’t use in their reactors because it made the energy too powerful for their reactor to contain.”

  “Wha
t does that mean as far as our new ships?”

  “Our reactors suspend the fuel in the reactor so they are able to handle the additional stress. We’ve trialed it and our energy levels were raised considerably.”

  “Can we use it on the Jukebox Class ships?”

  “Yes, but only on the force fields. The current beam technology we’re using can’t handle the heat. We are going to have to find another material to focus the power.”

  “So what does that mean for the three ships Chris is taking?”

  “We’ve already sent our engineers to inject the new element into the reactors of the three main ships and into the force field generators on the Needles. I was genuinely surprised at the Needles new force fields. It’s now as powerful as the Jukebox’s screen was a week or so ago.”

  “Are you close to finding a way to use that power in our weapons?”

  “No, we’re not even close. After two seconds the lens melts. I suspect it’s going to be a piece of technology we’ll have to steal from another ship.” George paused and said, “Dolly, you are aware that all of these systems we’ve developed to use on our ships are from technology we’ve acquired from other civilizations? It would have taken us thousands of years to develop them in isolation.”

  “Yes, I am and the use of the gravity gun was the first tool we discovered. The important thing to remember is that we took existing technology and improved it to a much higher level. I’m surprised we aren’t able to develop a better means of focusing our beams. You would think that as strong as they are now we wouldn’t have to focus them.” Dolly saw George’s expression immediately change. “What?”

  “Sissy, you are a genius.”

  “What did I do?”

  “Delay the ships for five more days. I think I know how to use the additional power in our beams.” George looked over his shoulder and yelled, “Meisa, get in here, now!” George turned back to Dolly and said, “Just buy me a few more days. Meisa, get in here!!”

  The display went dark and Dolly sat there wondering what she had said. She replayed the conversation and still didn’t see what had got George so excited.

  * * *

  Eight days later all three ships were in space dock with constructions crews working diligently on their hulls. George was in a meeting with the three ships Officers and explained the new guns being installed, “How many of you know anything about the battleships that were used in the World Wars that were fought in the last century?” Every one held up their hand. “What was their primary weapon?”

  Arvolo said, “The fourteen inch naval guns.”

  “Exactly right, Admiral and how many shots could those guns deliver?”

  No one responded so Arvolo said, “Only one at a time and then they would have to be reloaded.”

  “Exactly right again; however, each of those shots destroyed anything they hit. The new guns being put on your ships are what we call Main Guns. They will fire three short pulses in succession and then the lens will have to cool for two seconds. The lenses have a cooling system build in to prevent the lens from melting.”

  Chris asked, “Why three pulses instead of one long pulse?”

  “The lens will melt if the shot is longer than a second each. We’ve designed the pulses to penetrate extremely strong force fields. If the first pulse doesn’t penetrate, the second will and the third will blow through to the ship inside the force field. These guns are good out to a thousand miles and we have not encountered a ship yet that can stand up to just one pulse.”

  Kenny raised his hand and asked, “What happens if three don’t penetrate?”

  George smiled, “Then I would recommend you run.”

  Arvolo said, “Not necessarily.” George turned to Arvolo and he continued, “We are training our Needles to follow a beam in to the ship it’s fired at. The Needle will accelerate to 40% light speed just ahead of the beam and follow it in to the ship. It will arrive right behind the beam strike and launch a hardened striker missile at light speed. The weight of the missile will be returned just before it hits.”

  George got out his calculator and his fingers flew across it. He looked up and everyone saw the shock on his face, “Admiral, that two ton missile will have more kinetic energy than the asteroid that struck Earth and killed the dinosaurs.”

  “That’s what we’ve calculated.”

  Kenny again said, “And if that only knocks a hole in the field?”

  “Then the Needle will have a fusion missile flying in right behind the striker.”

  Chris said, “This is what you meant by the Needles being ship killers?”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “Why would you need the beam?”

  “The Needles will leave ahead of the beam and move in behind it as it passes them. Any ships the enemy might have to intercept them will be destroyed by the beam. The beam will be the blocker and the Needle will carry the ball.”

  Everyone stared at Arvolo and he said, “Hey, this was Commodore Maddit’s idea and he should be given the credit for it.”

  Wes stood up and said, “I thought of the striker but it was Admiral Arvolo who thought of using the beam as a blocker.”

  Chris said, “The two of you are congratulated for your development.” Chris turned to George, “Just how powerful will these two new weapons be compared to our current beams?”

  “Chris, they are not even in the same ball park. The energy hitting a force field with the new pulses and the striker are more than a hundred thousand times the energy of the old beams alone. The striker will hit with more force than eighteen fusion missiles.”

  The room was silent. Jillian said, “How can you possibly coordinate the launch of a Needle with the firing of a beam?”

  Wes stood and said, “When they fired those fourteen inch guns more than a hundred years ago, someone made the decision to use them. Once the ship commander decides to use the Main Beam weapon system, the Attack Needles will have their boards synchronized with one of the beams. Once the fire button is pushed the Needle will launch and one thousandth of a second later the beam will fire. The ship will be up to speed and will see the beam pulses pass overhead and fall in behind them. Weapons will be released automatically on the Needle and the Pilot will only have to worry about turning away from the target and returning to their mother ship. The strikers are programmed to hit any area on the force field hit by one of our beams. In the absence of a beam strike it will just hit the force field.”

  Chris looked at Jillian and turned back to George, “I was extremely reluctant to delay our mission but now I’m really thankful we did. George you should also be congratulated for your new development.”

  “Thanks, but just make sure you come back from this mission.”

  Chris smiled, “I have all the confidence that we now have a better chance of survival. Thank you, George.”

  Jillian came over to Chris, “Did you notice that RV now takes the protection of the Jukebox as a personal challenge.”

  “Yes, and we are going to make it even more personal.”

  “How are we going to do that?”

  “I’ve had the ships name changed in the Ship’s Registry.”

  “Oh?”

  “It’s now named the Havana.”

  “Does he know?”

  “Not yet. The name will be put on the hull after all the guns are in place.”

  “Now I remember why I married you.” Chris tilted his head. “You always think of others before yourself. I love that about you.”

  Chris saw her expression and knew he would remember this moment for the rest of his life. The love on her face was what gave him life. “Why don’t we go down and have dinner with Arnold. I know he misses you.”

  Jillian wrapped her arms around Chris and put her head on his chest.

  * * *

  Arvolo was sitting in his personal quarters when the door chimed. He looked up and said, “Enter.” He saw Cyanna Hardy standing at the entrance, “Please come in, Commodore.”

&nb
sp; Cyanna came in and came to attention and saluted, “Permission to have a few words with you, Sir.”

  Arvolo saw that the Captain had her blond hair down to her shoulders and her blue eyes were bright. She looked very different out of her flight suit, “Only if you relax and sit down. I get enough of the spit and polish during the day. What’s on your mind?”

  “I’ve been thinking about the new tactics for our attack craft.”

  “And?”

  “I don’t like it, Sir.”

  Arvolo stared at the young woman who was obviously troubled, “Tell me why?”

  “I will but first I want to ask you a question.” Arvolo shrugged and she asked, “Admiral, would you allow the weapons on a ship you were flying to be totally controlled by the computer?”

  Arvolo said, “Sit down, Captain.” Cyanna went to the chair at the small desk and took a seat. “No, I would not like having my weapons controlled completely by software. However, at the speed my pilots will be flying, being able to fire at the right moment will be almost impossible.”

  “So set the armament system to activate when chosen; don’t make it automatic. I also think it’s not good tactics to attack the way it’s planned now.”

  “Go on.”

  “The way I see it, the whole reason for having the Needles flying at such a high rate of speed is to deliver a striker or fusion missile right behind a beam strike.”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Well if the Needle is going to see the beam pass by overhead, why not just move up behind it and fire the striker or missile behind the beam? The Needle can then slow down and evaluate the results. It would then be able to fire the second striker, a beam, or a fusion missile. By having the Needles moving in so fast, there is nothing they can do but turn away from the ship that they’re attacking. You also keep the Needles away from the enemy’s close in weapons by having them slow down.”

  Arvolo tilted his head and stared at her. He said, “I’ve never seen successful attacks when the ships are flying in at top speed. Write your proposal up with all the exceptions and bring it back to me tonight. I’ll see what I can do.”

  Cyanna smiled, stood up, saluted Arvolo, and left the room. Arvolo was thankful she had finally shown up. He was thinking he was going to have to give her a hint to get her moving but she saw it on her own. He knew the high speed attack was not good tactics but he didn’t want to be the one to suggest the change to Wes. It had to come from someone else. Now he just had to nudge Wes in the right direction and things would be as they should. Arvolo put on his glasses and lifted a book. Cyanna was proving to be quite talented in tactics. He was going to keep a close eye on her wing. She was also very nice to look at.