“This is far worse than we thought. We’re definitely under attack.” He shook his head, then added, “It’s not as bad for me now. As soon as I left the seat, it diminished. I think it’s targeting the pilots.”
Two relief pilots entered the bridge, and Yng briefed them on what to expect, then he had them relieve the first two pilots. They traded places one at a time in order to give the newcomers time to adjust to the compulsion. Then the first two pilots stepped to the back of the bridge on wobbly legs.
“Well done, men,” Yng said. “Can you take more of this?”
“We have to, sir,” the first pilot said hesitantly.
“Okay. Keep an eye on the other two. When they need relief, trade places with them. I’ll get more people in here to rotate through.” He looked to Grayson. “We’ve been through Cass’ program, and we’re still barely able to function. The guys on the prime ships never had a chance. They’ve gone over to the dark side.”
Grayson nodded. “Agreed. See to your ship. We can’t lose the baseship under any circumstances. I feel it too, and I’m not even piloting—yet. Everyone, and I mean anyone who’s even remotely qualified, can rotate through the piloting if necessary.”
Yng shook his head. “Right now, it’s the pilots. If my theory is correct, that the Overmind focuses more energy on immediate threats, the compulsion will spread to our gunners when the shooting starts.”
Angie spoke up. “Our fighter pilots can fly the baseship and man our guns. We need their ships operational for any fighting, but they’re available to you as a last resort.”
Yng shook his head in disagreement. “They’re the first ones I want up here. They need to get a feel for what they’re up against before they go out in their own ships. In the meantime, I have to check with my department heads to see how they’re doing.”
When Cass and Emily each took a stint at the controls, they both struggled, but they seemed to do better than the other pilots. Did the fact that they had pushed through the compulsion to destroy the spire on the Oortmen world have anything to do with it? They wondered, but no one had answers.
When Grayson called for a meeting in his office, Captain Yng turned the bridge over to his executive officer and joined Grayson. Emily stayed on the bridge just in case. Angie, Greg and Arlynn, Kannick, Ollie, Claire Stuvesand, and Cass, joined Grayson. Grayson sat behind his desk. The others sat in padded chairs arrayed in a semi-circle in front of the desk. The lights in the room, normally brightly lit, had been subdued to match the attitudes of the attendees.
Grayson opened the meeting. “Even Claire,” he said, “who does not have any training at piloting ships and who has not occupied a pilot seat, feels a persuasion that’s telling her to turn back. For anyone actually piloting the baseship, the persuasion increases to a compulsion. Some cannot counter it. Some who have countered it have suffered actual physical injury in the process. Does anyone disagree with me that our target is the Overmind?” He was looking at Cass when he asked the question.
Cass rolled his shoulders, then straightened and said, “No, sir. I think we now know with certainty how the first explorers fell to the Oort. We have an advantage this time—we have some idea of what we’re up against—but even then, there are no guarantees. Personally, I believe our primary target is the Overmind and that it exists in the single, tall spire on Asval. If we destroy it, I believe the strength of the compulsion will decrease enough that we can move on to the smaller spires one at a time.”
“My thoughts as well,” Grayson said. He looked at Angie, Arlynn, Cass, and Kannick, the only An’Atee in the room. “I’m just concentrating on Asval at the moment. What we do with other worlds can be discussed later, but I believe we need to take out every single Oort on Asval. I believe that means taking out every single spire. If and when we do, the rest of the Oort will, most likely, die. So, too, will their hosts. To the Oortbok, the consequences of our taking out every spire is their genocide. Do you An’Atee want to voice any objections?”
Kannick was the first to speak. “This creature is reading our minds, meaning it might know our every secret. If we fail to eliminate it, we will have given it the knowledge it needs to conquer the whole galaxy. In the name of our descendants, this Overmind must be destroyed. I, too, believe that includes every Oort on the planet. I’m that scared of this thing. As for other Oort-controlled worlds, I suspect the same will apply, but we’ll have more time to decide their fates. Time is of the essence here at Asval, Admiral.”
Angie added, “I expect the Overmind will use our fleet of prime ships to prevent us from reaching the planet, and they’ll be a formidable opponent. They’re not our primary target, but they’re a serious obstruction.”
Grayson nodded and said, “Agreed. I’m surprised they’re not already moving out to intercept us. It’s bad tactics on their part to wait.”
Her lips firmed as she nodded. “That might mean the Overmind believes it’s strong enough to stop us without their assistance.”
Grayson looked away for a time, considering the strategic situation, before adding, “All the captains of those baseships are superior fighters. If the Overmind has access to their complete intellects, they’ll help it develop a last-resort strategy to stop us.” After just a moment’s more consideration, he said, “Actually, they don’t have to stop us. Their objective will be to prevent us from reaching the Overmind. They only have to damage us enough to prevent us from entering atmosphere to do that.”
Greg spoke up. “Harry, Cass and Emily took out a spire on the Oortmen’s world—all by themselves. To defeat the Overmind, we only have to get one or two ships through to the spire.”
Grayson lifted his eyes to the ceiling for a time before saying, “Those ships would have to fight their way through our prime ships and their 60 fighters, and that’s just to reach atmosphere. I suspect the Oort have a reserve fleet of their own ships hidden on the surface. They would be the next, and possibly final, obstacle. Our ships would have to run this gauntlet while countering the compulsion every step of the way.”
His gaze shifted to Cass. “This Overmind might know what we’re contemplating, so whatever we do won’t be a surprise.”
Angie spoke up. “The prime ships can’t possibly be at full readiness, Harold. If it were me commanding one of them, I can’t imagine myself shooting at my own people, no matter how strong the compulsion.”
Grayson nodded. “Maybe, but I’m done with maybes. If they fight us, we fight back. I’ll limit damage to them if I can, but my priority, everyone’s priority until this is over, is to do whatever we have to do to takeout the Overmind.”
He looked at each of them before saying, “This baseship is my primary attack force. I’ll take it right to the ground if I have to. I have 100 fighters, but the Overmind will end up dominating some of the crews, so I’ll concede 50% just to be on the safe side. One baseship and 50 fighters is a formidable force, but so is the fleet of six prime ships who might do everything they can to stop us.”
“You’re talking potentially heavy losses if you engage the prime ships. We’ll be fighting our own guys,” Yng reminded him.
Grayson’s lips thinned, and he nodded. “We assume the Overmind knows our every move. That means no subterfuge. We have to power our way through. Everyone’s priority here, and I mean this baseship and all our fighters, is to make sure that at least one ship makes it through to the big spire. I’ll sacrifice every ship in this fleet if that’s what it takes. The galaxy is counting on us to prevail.”
He looked to Cass. “You and Emily attacked two smaller spires and lived to tell about it. You’re the strongest minds we have. Will you take a fighter? If I need you, you’ll be our last hope.”
He nodded with pursed lips. “Yes, sir.”
Ollie spoke forcefully. “I’m going with you. Of everyone here, I’ve earned the right. My need for revenge will see me through any commands this Overmind sends to turn me away.”
Greg frowned, then said, “During my time
with Special Operations on Earth, I was trained to never give in. That effort might be needed here as well. Count me in.”
At a gasp from Arlynn, he turned to her and took her in his arms. “This is my destiny. I will make my stand here.”
She returned the embrace. “Then it will be my destiny as well,” she responded. Looking to Grayson, she said, “We’ll be a crew of five.”
“That’s putting too many of our eggs in one basket,” Grayson said with a frown.
“If we fail,” Greg said solemnly, “there won’t be any eggs or baskets.”
Kannick cleared his throat suggestively. Greg turned to him and put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We might fail here. Someone has to take what we know back to Ariall and to Lor Tas’val. Time will be of the essence for mounting another attack. We absolutely cannot let the Overmind adapt our technology to its own purposes. You’re that person.” When Kannick started to object, he added, “If we’re right about this Overmind focusing on direct threats, your mission might be as challenging as mine.”
Kannick lifted an eyebrow in surprise and nodded. He did not feel the need to speak.
Grayson did. “I concur, Kannick.” He shifted his gaze around the room, taking in everyone. “In our favor, forewarned is forearmed. I wonder if the Oort have ever defended themselves against someone who knew what they were up against?”
He looked sharply around the room again. “I’m counting on you. Actually, civilizations are counting on us. I’m asking each of you to give everything that you are. I’ll ask the same thing of the rest of our crews.”
He shifted his gaze to Cass. “You’re commanding a wing of five fighters. If I’m too badly damaged to enter atmosphere, you’ll be on your own. Assume the Overmind knows your every intention and tactic. Select anyone you want for the remaining crews and prepare them as well as you can to resist the Overmind. I’ll get you as close to the planet as I can before you launch.”
Cass nodded. “Yes, sir. I think the Harbok will be our strongest contenders for crew positions. I brought two of them with me from Admiral Douglas’ group. Their hate of the Oort provided a core of resistance in their minds. I recommend that Captain Yng place as many Harbok as he can on the bridge and at his guns.”
He stared hard into Grayson’s eyes, then he shifted his gaze to Greg. “We’re fighting a war of the mind,” he said softly. “You saw how the baseship’s pilots fared. Some of them suffered minor physical injury in addition to whatever compulsions they felt. I want to remind you that we might not have seen the full capabilities of this Overmind.” Looking at Grayson, he said, “If it succeeds in holing you, meaning you can’t enter atmosphere to attack it, it’s going to focus on me. I suspect that I’ll have a limited survival time. I need to wait as long as I can to launch, and I want to make it impossible for the Overmind to know our minds or our plan in advance. My crews need to turn off our minds.”
Grayson’s eyebrows lifted. “How do you do that?”
“By being unconscious until just before we launch.”
Grayson’s eyes lit up at the prospect. “Is that possible?”
“I think so. Our medical people can personalize sleep disks to last only a certain amount of time.”
“What if I need you to launch early?”
“They have ways of waking us up.”
“Won’t you be groggy and easy to confuse?”
“Probably. It won’t last long. I’ll have to have trainers in place to start working on us right away.”
Grayson looked away thoughtfully for a time before saying, “So far, we’ve seen only minimal effects from the Overmind on people who weren’t directly engaged in piloting or fighting the ship.”
“Exactly. We should assign someone to each fighter to wake up the crew. That individual cannot know our purpose.”
“A doctor?”
Cass rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. “You have a long fight ahead of yourself, sir. The doctors might be needed for doctoring. I’ll check with them to see what our options are.”
“Very well. See to it.”
* * * * *
Cass called his five crews to a meeting. “Any suggestions on how we do this?” he asked, knowing that some of them, the Harbok in particular, had vastly more experience at fighting than he did, and he was right. “Keep in mind that the Overmind might be listening to whatever strategies we come up with,” he added.
“Drones,” one Harbok said.
Cass nodded. “They’d be the perfect solution. I wish we had some that we could arm. We don’t.”
Ollie spoke up. “Assume that the Overmind knows our strategy. It might be listening at this very moment. We need a plan so powerful that it cannot counter us despite knowing the plan. As Admiral Grayson said, we have to be prepared to power through whatever defenses they set up. I begin with this: our attackers have to see us to hit us. I suggest that we five launch as near to the planet as possible to reduce our exposure, and we launch cloaked.”
Gasps met this suggestion. “Can we?” Greg asked.
“Yes,” Ollie replied. “Fighting between the big ships will be intense. At the very least, they’ll be fully shielded to defend themselves. They cannot see cloaked ships through their shields.
“You don’t want the rest of our escort ships to cloak?” Cass asked.
Ollie frowned, then shrugged. “Grayson placed you in command, so it’s your call. My focus is on getting the five of us to the planet. In that regard, the rest of our escort is expendable. They’re decoys.”
Cass paled, and all the An’Atee crewmembers gasped. Not so the Terrans and Harbok.
Greg stepped into the silence. “He’s right, Cass. As a last resort, everyone, including this baseship and its fighter group, is a decoy for your five ships. You and Emily have the strongest willpower against the Overmind. Out of your five ships, you have the best chance of getting through.” Looking around at the rest of the crews, he said, “If it comes down to it, we pay whatever price we have to pay to get Cass through to the spire.”
Cass sequestered his five crews in their ships. Doctors prepared sleep disks and activated them, putting all of them to sleep. One outside person was designated to awaken each crew on command.
Chapter Thirty-nine
Grayson, Angie, his command staff from the Tactical Operations Center, and Captain Yng conferred to strategize the coming battle. Grayson’s responsibility was to the battle, while Yng’s responsibility was to the baseship. Yng would call the shots when it came to fighting with his baseship. He made a ship-wide announcement to explain what was happening and ordered crewmembers to secure their areas within the next 24 hours.
Admiral Douglas and his fleet dropped from hyperspace on the other side of the system. Because of the distance separating them, the communications lag was two hours.
“Douglas here,” he said, reporting in. “Your situation looks a bit strange from where I’m sitting.”
Grayson sent him a full briefing of everything he knew. When Douglas’ return message reached him hours later, Douglas suggested that Grayson hold off until they could merge forces.
“We took the time to attack multiple spires on the Oortmen world,” Douglas’ message said. “We learned a lot, so I’m fairly confident my guys can hang in there no matter what this Overmind throws at us.”
Grayson mulled over Douglas’ suggestion for a long few minutes, then he shook his head. “No,” he responded. “Our priority is to win, not just reduce losses. I’m sticking with a plan that I think will work. You’re the second wave of our attack. If I fail, you’ll have a clearer idea of what you’re up against, and I will have taken out most, if not all, of their defenses.
“We absolutely have to take out the Overmind, Geoff. If I fail, and you’re not certain of a win, I want you to go for reinforcements.”
“I think we’re strong enough to help you, but very well,” Douglas said, the disappointment clear in his voice when his reply came in. “I’ll continue inbound but rem
ain clear.”
“I don’t want you attacking me if the Overmind takes over your crews,” Grayson sent in a return message. “Stay far enough away that your forces do not become a threat to mine.”
A full day went by without the prime ships moving from their orbit about Asval. Everyone who was expected to fill a fighting position, including gunners if they were qualified to pilot any kind of ship, and every fighter pilot, rotated through pilot positions on the baseship in order to get a sense of what they would be up against with the Overmind. Even Grayson took a turn. Everyone came away with grave doubts, but after a few minutes of recovery time, most left the bridge with determination.
Then, the Overmind must have given up on turning the baseship back. The fleet of six prime ships regrouped and headed out toward Grayson. The two forces would intercept about half a day out from Asval.
The compulsion to turn back actually increased for Captain Yng’s bridge and gunnery crews as they approached the planet. Surprisingly, it stayed at the persuasion level for everyone else. Engineering, Communications, Fleet Plot, even fighter crews who remained on standby, felt a strong sense of wrongness as they went about their tasks, but none of them felt the stronger compulsion. Support crewmembers, including farmers, scientists, craftsmen, and the medical staff felt no discomfort at all.
Though lacking proof, the evidence suggested to Grayson that the Overmind might have limitations on how many minds it could influence at once. That might well be the reason his pilots were suffering the most at present, and it would explain why their suffering stopped as soon as they were relieved from duty.
If he was right, he might be able to use the knowledge against the Overmind. If it focused its efforts on the most immediate threats, the longer he could keep Cass’ small fleet of fighters out of the fight, the better chance they had of reaching the spire.
To test his idea, Grayson launched five fighters toward the prime ships with orders to attack when they came within range. Those crews reported strong persuasions that turned into compulsions just as soon as they cleared the launch tubes. Grayson recalled them, and the compulsions ceased.
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