by Saxon Andrew
Cyanna left the room and was excited at the Admiral accepting her proposal. He was a big man but he intrigued her. He was the first man she had ever met that was able to see things she missed. She knew that he was already seeing the changes that needed to be done. She wondered why he wanted her to suggest them. She smiled, it’s just another thing he saw that she didn’t.
* * *
Three weeks passed and Chris sat in the Admiral’s Chair on board his Flagship. The three ships were completed and Admiral Arvolo was in the Command Chair looking at the ready lights on his board. Chris said, “Contact Space Dock.” Colonel Cowart appeared on the main display and Chris asked, “Are you ready for our launch?”
“We just have to remove the cover on the bow and then you’ll be released.”
Arvolo looked up at Chris wondering what was going on and Chris said, “If you will do the honors, Colonel.”
Colonel Coward pulled a rope and the new name plate was revealed. “Sir, the Havana is now ready for launch.”
Arvolo stared at the picture on the display that read, “United Earth Ship Havana.” He turned around and Chris said, “This is your ship, Admiral; let’s go make history.”
Arvolo turned around and wiped his eyes and nudged the thrusters.
Colonel Coward announced, “Tampa and Melbourne, you are clear for launch.”
Dolly, Jeff, Arnold, and Hemon watched the three eighteen hundred foot long ships move smoothly out of the giant space dock. Arnold looked at Dolly and asked, “Why are we sending three Admirals to command those ships?”
“Sir, those three will come back from this mission and command the fleets we are now building. They’ll be getting green, inexperienced crews and the crewmen on those ships will be distributed throughout their fleets in command positions to train the new fleets. This will prepare them for that responsibility.”
“What if we lose one or more of them?”
“That’s called growing pains. You should always send your best on the hardest tasks.”
Arnold looked at the display and slowly nodded, “Those are three very dangerous ships.”
Jeff smiled, “It’s the sailors on board that really makes them what they are, Sir.”
Hemon stared at the display and smiled, “I never envisioned this. I thought we would have to run to survive.”
Dolly kept her eyes on the three ships as they picked up speed, “We still might have to run…but…those ships will give us the time to escape.”
“So you’re going to continue to colonize other planets?”
“Yes we are Hemon. We have three thriving at the moment but we are sending four more colonies out within the next six months. The Earth’s population will be reduced by thirty percent but it gives us a better chance of ensuring our survival.”
“How many ships are ready for launch?”
“None at the moment; however, two hundred will all be completed at one time in three months. I expect that within the next year we will have close to a thousand in service.”
“Will they all be stationed here?”
“No, Dad; they will be distributed among the colonies. They are only a jump away from here. With our communications we can get them all to a single location within ten minutes. We’ll also need them in the event the Moet and Alliance don’t behave.”
The group watched and suddenly the three ships went to high speed and disappeared. Dolly whispered, “God Speed.”
* * *
The Three ships arrived at the orbit of Neptune and Arvolo sent the coordinates for the jump to the other two ships. Kenny and Bob acknowledged receipt and the three ships disappeared from normal space and reappeared at the edge of the galaxy. Chris and Jillian looked at the main display and saw the small coin sized light out in the vast distance of interstellar space. It looked like a miniature twin of the Milky Way. Chris turned to Arvolo and asked, “Did Admirals Anders and Owens complete the language sessions?”
“Yes they did, Sir.”
“Patch our communications in to their boards. They should be listening in to what we discuss.”
Arvolo looked over at Anita Leigh and she nodded. “Done, Sir.”
Jillian looked at her board and asked Chris, “Were you able to find a frequency that their leadership uses?”
Chris shook his head and Arvolo spoke up, “I was able to find the frequency their military uses to issue commands.”
Jillian and Chris both turned and looked at RV, “How were you able to do that?”
“In my off time, I synchronized the messages being sent with the recording of the last battleship that we destroyed. I locked in the ones being broadcast just before it powered up to jump into our galaxy. I assumed it must have received a distress signal from the Scout. There were about eighty messages being delivered at that moment and I looked for a duplicate frequency when the battleship disappeared. I felt certain that it would have notified the Scout that it was on the way. There was only one frequency in that time frame that was repeated. That must be a military frequency. What are you planning to do?”
Chris shrugged, “I’m going to beam a message in their language on that frequency and request a dialogue with their leaders. If I don’t get an answer, I’m jumping to the outer edge of the Andromeda Galaxy and will then issue my request again.”
RV lowered his head and looked through his eyebrows at Chris, “I suspect they will open the conversation with several thousand Blue Giant Battleships.”
“We might as well see if our ships are able to stand up to them. We’ll run if we have to but only if we are in danger of being overwhelmed.”
“I might recommend that you limit the first party to the ships sent out initially. Then jump away and attempt to make contact again.”
“Why would you do it that way?”
“I don’t think you want them to think we’re there to invade? If you stay and hold that ground against anything they throw at you, then you become the aggressor. If you jump away after being attacked, they assume the aggressor’s role. It just depends on what you want to accomplish. I just thought that you aren’t going there to start a war.”
“You’re right. I want to attempt to stop one. We’ll do it like you suggest.”
“How long are you going to wait for an answer before you jump in closer?”
“Why do you ask?”
“If we assume they have had starships for more than a million years, how long would a message sent into the edge of their galaxy take to work its way through channels to be delivered to the leaders?”
Chris nodded, “That’s a good point. We’ll give them a week to respond and I’ll rebroadcast the message each day.”
“I’d recommend broadcasting it every fifteen minutes.”
“Fifteen minutes it is. Lt. Leigh, record the following message and set it to be broadcast every fifteen minutes.”
“Yes Sir.”
Chris looked at Jillian and punched the transmit pad on his console, “I am attempting to contact the Leaders of the Blue Ships that recently came to invade my galaxy. I request that you respond on this frequency. There are issues that we should resolve and I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss them with you.”
* * *
The new Messenger move smoothly into the huge room and saw the Leaders gathered around the large table that displayed all the events taking place in the Gathering. It stood at the edge of the room and waited to be noticed. The former Messenger saw him and left the table, “Why are you here?”
“We have been receiving a message on our Ship Circuit from the other galaxy.”
“What kind of message?”
“It is being broadcast in our language and is requesting a meeting with our Leaders.”
The First Leader heard the Messenger and moved quickly up to them, “Did I hear you correctly that it is being broadcast in our language?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Show me?”
The Messenger played the message in its mind and the Le
aders listened. “This is highly unusual.”
The former Messenger remained silent and waited for the First to decide what to do. “Ignore it.”
The Messenger bowed forward, turned, and left the room.”
The Second looked up from the table, “Why did you choose to ignore the message?”
“I don’t need to hear their threats. We’ll handle them soon enough. How many of the new ships are ready?”
“We’ve completed two hundred.”
The First went back to his observations and forgot about the message.
* * *
Arvolo sat in the Command Chair on the Bridge of the Havana during the third shift and felt at peace. The ship had that feeling of being at top efficiency and the Needle Pilots had been perfecting their coordination with the Main Guns. The Attack Needles were unable to get a shot off at the Havana because of the coordination of the Defense Needles. Cyanna had really perfected the defense weave around the ship. She had even taught the Attack Needles how to coordinate with the intricate pattern. The crew was jelling and he was glad Admiral Conner had agreed to his delay of moving any closer. The ship and crew were now ready for combat. He looked up and saw Cyanna enter the bridge. He raised his eyebrows and said, “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
Cyanna smiled, “I couldn’t sleep. I thought I would check and see if you needed a break.”
Arvolo stood and said, “Take over the Chair, Captain.”
Cyanna sat down and leaned back. She looked at the close up of the Andromeda Galaxy and said, “We’ll be fighting there shortly, won’t we?”
Arvolo sat down in Chris’s chair and sighed, “Yes.”
“This delay was for the purpose of getting us ready?”
“Yes, it is?”
Cyanna looked at Arvolo, “Do you ever miss anything?”
Arvolo looked at her and slowly nodded his head, “I miss my family.”
Cyanna knew his history. She had looked it up in the ship’s computer and knew about their deaths during Cuba’s liberation. She nodded and turned back to the display. They remained silent and Arvolo was surprised that she understood that silence was the best response. They sat there for two hours and said nothing but both of them felt at peace and at home on the bridge of the Havana.
Chapter Fifteen
Chris and Jillian walked on the Bridge and the Crew came to attention, “As you were. Admiral, we have given them a week. I’m about out of patience.”
“Yes Sir and I think it’s time we nudge them.”
“How would you go about doing that?”
“We jump in just outside the edge of Andromeda and send a new message giving them our coordinates.”
Chris stared at Arvolo for a long moment and said, “Do you think that’s wise?”
“Yes Sir. I think they will attack first and that will give them a nudge to talk with us if things don’t go their way.”
“Just how do you intend to make sure things don’t go their way?”
“We know we’re faster than they are in normal space. We will jump our ships and maintain a thousand mile separation between our squadron and the bulk of their ships. We’ll use the main guns to inflict maximum damage and use the attack craft and our beams to hold off any that come close. If things get dicey we jump back to this location and continue our attempt at initiating a dialogue. However, if we manage to destroy a large number of their ships we will break off and do the same thing.”
Chris looked at Jillian and saw her shrug, “Admiral, the ship is yours. Take us in and notify the other two ships.”
Arvolo activated his com and saw Kenny and Bob on the display, “We’re going in. Make sure your Jump Officers lock their boards on the Havana’s drive coordinates and transmit the new locations to any of their Needles that are engaged in combat operations.”
“They will get them as soon as we do but there may be a half second delay in getting them back to their main ships.”
“Kenny, just make sure they don’t get left behind.”
“We’ve practiced this enough times that they have learned jump discipline. Even if they are attempting a kill they will break off and jump. They know their duty.”
“Now we find out just how good they are.” RV looked at his board and entered the jump coordinates, “We’ll be jumping in three seconds from now.”
The three Jump Officers stared at their displays and when the countdown hit zero, they all pushed their drive pads. The three ships disappeared together.”
Chris stared at the huge Andromeda Galaxy on the central display and took a deep breath. He pushed the communication button and began speaking.
* * *
The Messenger entered the room and continued closer to the large table than it had ever dared approach. It stopped and leaned back asking forgiveness for the trespass. The First Leader saw how close it had come and knew something important demanded their attention. He went forward and said, “Why are you here?”
“Three small ships have appeared just outside the edge of our home and are broadcasting another message.”
The First grew angry and said, “Show me now!”
The First saw the three ships and heard, “I have been attempting to talk with your leadership and it occurred to me that you may not know where we are. I’ve come to a location outside your galaxy at the following coordinates. I request that you come and talk with us. We are not here to fight but to have a peaceful conversation. Please answer us.”
The First replayed the message to the other Leaders and they grew angry. At least all of them did but the newest Leader, “Why are you not angry?”
“I’m more curious about this than angry. I’m wondering what possessed those ships to come here; this has never happened in our history. I also wonder how they know our language. We have learned that they are capable of killing our ships so why do they want to communicate? I don’t see any possible reason for their actions. Do you?”
The First focused on the newest member and thought about what he said. “No, I don’t. They might be here to threaten us.”
“If that were the case they would have just come inside our home and started attacking. They appear to have only come closer because they thought we were not hearing them. They have also said their purpose was peaceful and have openly given us their location. I think they are here for something other than issuing threats. What that could possibly be; I have no idea.”
“Communicating with another species is a waste of time. We’ve learned that long ago and they have violated our space. They will be removed.”
“No one has ever attempted to communicate in our language in the past. In that they are unique.”
The First was also curious about how the strange ships were able to do that but his only responsibility was defending the Home. He thought a moment and said, “Even so, I’m issuing orders to attack their ships.” It turned to the Messenger, “How many ships do the Military think we need to send?”
“They suggest five hundred.”
“Send a thousand.”
The messenger leaned forward and smoothly backed out of the room. The First turned to the Leaders around the table and said, “I want the attack on the table. Clear a space and have it where we can all see what happens.”
The Third Leader thought, “Should we have sent our newest ships?”
“No, I don’t think we’ll need them. If we do, we’re in more danger than I’ve anticipated. There is no ship that can stand up to that many of our Battleships. Even our newest ships wouldn’t be able to withstand that assault.”
The Leaders cleared an area in the center of the table and saw the three ships hanging in space. The newest Leader wondered if this was a good idea but kept his thoughts to himself.
* * *
Chris looked at Arvolo and said, “It’s been two days.”
“Which indicates to me that it takes time to get to their leaders, Sir?”
“Do we continue to remain at General Quarters?”
&nb
sp; “Yes Sir. The crew is taking meals and sleep close to their posts. Our first action, if they arrive, will be to jump away from the major point of their ships entry into normal space. That will give us time to go to get all systems up to speed and launch our Needles.”
Chris nodded and leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to catch up on sleep. Three hours later the alarms began sounding and the speakers blared, “All hands to Battle Stations.”
The three ships jumped and moved three thousand miles away from the massive fleet of Blue Giant Battleships that appeared in close to their former location. RV silenced the alarm and said, “Launch all Needles. Make us proud.”
The three Earth ships turned broadside to the Blue Ships and waited for them to make a move. The Needles waited surrounding their main ship and waited for orders. The first ten Blue Giant Battleships to emerge accelerated towards the Earth ships and fired their main beams. RV yelled over the military frequency, “Weapons Free. Initiate Combat protocols.”
The three Earth Battleships fired three of their Main Beams at the incoming ships and watched as the three pulses blew away the force fields surrounding the Giant Blue Ships allowing the two remaining pulses to hit the Blue Giants. All nine ships were blown through and started blowing up as their reactors started exploding. An Attack Needle accelerated and fired a Striker Missile at the tenth and watched as it punched through the force field and hit the sole remaining ship in the middle. The entire center of the ship was blown away and left a twenty mile hole blasted completely through the incoming Giant. The ship hung in space for three seconds and then exploded into a huge blast that sent debris hurtling out from the center of the explosion.