by Saxon Andrew
“We should have been able to find it before it could be refueled.” Fangs shrugged and sat down. The UL shook his head slightly, “Perhaps I was premature executing the previous Fleet Leader.” No one spoke. This was not something they would question. The UL looked at Growler again, “I understand you have issues with killing the species of the one that took our ship.”
“I do.”
Everyone in the room held their breath. No one should ever challenge the UL’s decisions. The UL’s mouth tightened and Growler said, “The decision to delay killing them was made by the previous Fleet Leader in the hopes of using them as hostages.” Everyone relaxed. This gave the UL an out from having to kill his most powerful supporter.
“Go on.”
“Great Leader, the planet of that species is the most profitable planet under my control. The planet had never been exploited for raw materials before we conquered it. Now my ships have been forced to leave to avoid being hit by a space bombardment.”
“Do you not think we should use them as a bargaining square?”
“How would we do that?”
Everyone in the room looked at each other and finally Fangs spoke up to save face for the UL’s silence, “We tell the being that we will kill his species if he doesn’t turn his ship over to us.”
“How do we tell him? Do we know if he is using our communications system? You know the system has a code that must be entered before it can be activated. If he’s not been able to do that, how do we threaten him?”
Fangs shook his head, “It appears to have mastered all the other systems.”
“I suspect that imbecile owner activated them in preparation to fly the ship. So far, that ship has not communicated with any of our ships since it was taken.”
The UL looked at Growler, “What do you suggest?”
“We start announcing, if we fail to find it, that we are going to kill everyone on his home planet on a specific date. We bring in our fleets to watch for that ship to show up and kill it when it does.”
“And if it doesn’t appear?”
“Great Leader, then we would know that it has not heard our announcement. I can then move my forces back to the planet and keep ships around it to scan for it should it show up. So far, it has not gone back to its home world.”
The UL saw that the other leaders were jealous of his special relationship with Growler. It wouldn’t be good if they started banding together against him because of it. “What you say is a good suggestion and we’ll do it exactly that way. However, you will not move your forces back to that planet until that ship is found.” Growler stared at the Ultimate Leader and forced himself to keep his face neutral. “It was under your watch that one of your warriors allowed that ship to be taken. You should use the forces that you would send to that planet to find that ship and destroy it.”
Growler saw the other leaders smile and knew why the UL was doing this. But he didn’t like it. Someone was going to answer for this. He lowered his head and sat down.
The UL looked around the chamber, “I will give you two months to find that ship. At that time we will start making the announcement.”
• • •
Pam looked at Sparky sitting in his chair and could see he was still in pain. A month had passed and he was getting better each day but he wasn’t close to being able to withstand a manual stop out of the stardrive. “You know what?”
Sparky looked at her, “What?”
“If I ever get the chance, I am going to tell that know all Prophet that it is entirely possible to kill one crewmember without killing the other one.” Sparky laughed and then suddenly stopped. His face grew serious and she said, “What did I say?”
“We’ve not communicated with the Prophet since we’ve been here.”
Pam’s eyes went wide and she shook her head, “I’ve completely forgotten about the message missiles.” She looked at him, “Do we have anything to communicate?”
“Duh, what about the manual stops that have been saving our hides. What about the Traugh response times to our attacks? What about…”
“Ok, ok, I get the picture.”
“You should also tell them how they can minimize the damages the harness can cause during a manual stop.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t share that with you before you were injured. I only figured it out when you were unconscious.”
“That’s why we should send a message.” Sparky sighed and said, “Query, have you been recording all of our conversations?”
“Affirmative.”
“Have you also been recording the attacks we’ve made?”
“Affirmative.” Pam stared at Sparky and he saw she didn’t like what she heard. He sighed, she might as well get all of it.
“Have you been downloading that information into the message missiles?”
“Affirmative.”
“If our ship is damaged, will you be launching those missiles?”
“Affirmative.”
Sparky looked at Pam, “Don’t let this bother you. You’d do the same thing if you were in their place.”
“I would have at least told us that everything is being recorded.”
“Why?”
Pam stared and him and shook her head, “Just because!”
“It would stifle our conversation and we’d be focused on something we should just ignore.”
“I confessed to killing those two muggers.”
“The Prophet already knew about them and it wasn’t an issue. You should remember that part of our mission is to allow our ship to be destroyed.”
“I forgot about that.”
“It’s there.”
“I KNOW!”
“What’s wrong?”
Pam blew out a breath and lifted her left shoulder, “I don’t know. I guess I’m not as ready to die as I was before we left.”
Sparky smiled, “Well, neither am I. Let’s do what we can to keep the Traugh busy and maybe keep them occupied until Earth’s ships can arrive.”
“When are we going to launch the missile?”
“When the Traugh give up and go home. I’m going directly above the galaxy to make the launch.”
“Why there?”
Sparky smiled and said, “Query. Are you capable of receiving messages sent from the ship stationed to receive our broadcast?”
“Affirmative.”
Pam scowled, “Is affirmative all you can say?”
“Negative.”
Pam looked at Sparky, “So you’ve suspected all this and said nothing.” Sparky nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Pam, your initial reaction toward me was to try and think of a way to kill me. I guess I’m just not certain about you.”
Pam stared at him and sighed. “Sparky, I wouldn’t hesitate to kill most people, or Traugh. However, I will never do anything to hurt you.”
“Oh, why is that?”
“I really don’t know. But our time together out here has changed how I feel about you. I was really frightened when you were injured. I don’t want to lose you.”
Sparky stared at her and smiled, “Ever?”
Pam smiled slightly, “Yes, ever.” Sparky stood up from his chair with a grunt, walked over to Pam and kissed her on the cheek. “What’s that for?”
“I’ve been wanting to do that since you sat in my lap when we first saw the Milky Way. You will also never be harmed by me. What you did while I was hurt only seals my feelings. Quite frankly, since I’ve come in contact with the Traugh, I’ve been really concerned that I might one day become just like them. It’s a fear that has tempered my desire to kill.”
Pam nodded, “The way that Leader had his Fleet Leader murdered on a whim…”
“That is where I really saw them for what they are. I just can’t stomach the idea of being like that.”
Pam nodded, “I still have a burning desire to kill them.”
“As do I. I think we’re singing from the same hymn sheet. Let’s see if we can play a melod
y.”
“So when do we get out here?”
“When the sonic scanners don’t detect a Traugh Stardrive for four days.”
“Good enough.” Pam paused, “The time has flown since we arrived. Did you know that next week will make it six months?”
Sparky’s eyes widened, “No, I didn’t.”
“I thought surviving would be impossible and, though it’s been hard, we’ve managed to do it.”
Sparky nodded and went back to his chair, “Query. Are there any other installations the Traugh use that are similar to the depots?”
“More information required.”
“Installations their ships frequent.”
“There are twenty two space installations the Traugh use to service, repair, and build their ships.” Pam’s eyes widened as Sparky said, “There are installations in space that are used to build their ships?”
“Sixty seven to be precise.”
“Start showing them one by one on the monitor along with any information you have on them.” The monitor illuminated and they sat back in their chairs as the computer recited the information it had in its databanks on the first one to appear. The next four weeks passed quickly as they made plans for their future attacks.
Chapter Seventeen
Pam and Sparky were looking at the image on the large table and Pam pointed at the central hub, “That is where the real danger lies.” Sparky nodded. “Those disintegrators are huge and they’re mounted on swivel platforms.” Pam looked at him, “How do we get around them to hit the station?”
“What about the underside?” Pam pulled the large sheet of photographic paper out from under the top sheet and put it down. Sparky shook his head, “Same set up there as well.”
“We have to find a way to hit that station between those defenses. That’s where the reactors are located.” Sparky nodded and stared at the image. “It looks like every approach is covered by their defenses.” Pam nodded. Suddenly, they heard a loud gong sound. They looked at each other and Sparky said, “Query. What does that gong mean?”
“You wanted to be notified when four days had passed without the sonic scanner detecting a stardrive.”
Sparky looked at Pam and shook his head, “We’ll work on this after we launch the message missile.”
“I thought you wanted to wait five days.”
“We need to see if we can get out of this cave. We know none of their ships are nearby so we can work on that now.” Pam nodded and took the images and placed them in a hard folder. Sparky waited and followed her to the bridge. She lifted the ship and moved it toward the entrance. They arrived and Pam shook her head, “The bombardment must have caused more rocks to fall.” Sparky shook his head. The former entrance was covered by a huge landslide of huge boulders.
Pam started breathing rapidly and Sparky put his arm around her, “Relax. Slow your breathing. Pam’s face was white with fear of being entombed in the cave. She forced herself to slow her breathing and looked up at him, “What are we going to do?”
Sparky stared out of the front viewport and blew out a breath. “Query. Do you still have the original scan we made of this cave when we chose it to be a hiding place?” The scan instantly appeared on the central monitor. Sparky stared at it and Pam looked at it and said, “What are you thinking?”
“The entire wall where the entrance was located is the same thickness.”
“Yeah, it’s only twenty five feet thick! Nothing to it! Admit it, we’re trapped.”
“How much space do you need to activate the stardrive?”
“WHAT?”
“Think, Pam. How much space do you need?”
Pam focused and shook her head. “Query. How close to the hull can the stardrive be pulled in?”
“Eight hundred and eighty feet.”
Pam shook her head and saw Sparky close his eyes knowing they were trapped. The cave was huge but there wasn’t that much room in the cave. Pam felt her fear start to take her and forced herself to focus. She closed her eyes and said, “Query. How much space is needed if the force field is not activated?”
“A hundred and twenty feet in diameter and three hundred feet long.”
“What are the dimensions of this cave?”
“Four hundred feet long by a hundred and fifty feet from floor to ceiling.” Pam cheered and then looked at Sparky, “Why do you want to know how much space I need to activate the stardrive?”
“We’re going to blow a hole in the wall with our disintegrators and you’re going to fly the ship out before it collapses.”
Pam stepped back, “I’m what?”
“Did you not hear that we won’t have a force field?”
“I did.” Pam stared at him. “Do you have another plan?”
“This is suicide.”
“Do you have another plan?”
“Sparky, do you honestly think this has a chance of success?”
“It’s this or sit here and ultimately starve to death.”
Pam sat down in her chair, put her head in her hands and shook it. “Sparky, this cave is barely holding together now. The Traugh bombardment has caused cracks in every wall.”
Sparky walked over to her chair and started massaging her shoulders, “It’s our only choice.”
She took a deep breath and said, “That feels really good. Maybe we can stay here and you can do that until we starve.”
“Come on, Pam. We’ve made all these great plans and we can’t sit here and waste them.”
Pam sighed, “So how do you see us doing this?”
Sparky smiled and said, “Query. How long after the thrusters are switched on with the stardrive active can you activate the force field?” They waited and heard silence. “Did you hear my question?”
“I did and I’ve tried to come to an answer but have no idea how to provide an answer. According to all the data I have, this has never been tried.”
“Can you do this? When you hear the word Mississippi, immediately activate the force field.”
“Yes.”
“Sparky?”
“Listen, Pam. I’m going to take all the power normally sent to the force field and feed all of it along with the normal power the disintegrators use to the beams I fire at the wall. I believe the beams will instantly vaporize a two hundred foot hole in the portion of the wall the beams hit. The wall will hesitate slightly before inertia takes over and collapses it. That slight hesitation will be when you hit the thrusters and fly out.”
“But Sparky, how will I know when the hole is blasted out?”
Sparky shook his head and looked at the wall speaker, “Query. How long will it take six fully powered disintegrator beams to burn through twenty five feet of solid rock?” Once again the question was greeted with silence. Sparky rolled his eyes, “Computer?”
“Do you know the content of the materials in the wall?”
Sparky looked at Pam and then said, “Can’t you scan it and see?”
“You chose a cave with a high metallic content to block scanners.”
“Don’t get cute.”
“Then no, I have no idea.”
Pam looked at Sparky and laughed, “I think you made it angry.”
Sparky mumbled to himself, “Angry computer my ass!” He shook his head and said, “Since you’re so smart, do you have a better idea!?”
“Forget the stardrive. Blow a hole in the wall and use the force field to protect the ship as you fly out. If a nuclear blast can’t penetrate it, what could a few hundred tons of rock do? The ship flies fast enough on thrusters to be out before the entire cave collapses.”
Sparky stared at the wall speaker in shock. Pam quietly said, “Why didn’t you suggest this when we were asking those questions?”
“I’m programmed to answer questions. You didn’t ask for another solution.”
“Do you honestly think this will work?”
“Affirmative.”
Pam looked at Sparky and shrugged, “We’ve been looking at this wit
h small minds.”
“What do you mean?”
“The computer is right. We watched a force field nowhere near as strong as we have shrug off more than two hundred nuclear explosions. If you can make a two hundred foot hole in the wall, I can fly the ship into it fast enough to push our way through.” Sparky’s eyes narrowed and she said, “I’ll hit the thrusters one Mississippi after you fire your beams.” Sparky’s eyes narrowed and Pam smiled, “We have to remember that our beams can penetrate the force field that survived those nuclear explosions. The wall will be vapor faster than either of us can imagine.”
Sparky looked in her eyes and then nodded, “Ok, let’s do this.” They went to their chairs and Pam began powering on the ship’s systems. The force field came on and the cave was illuminated by the bright glow. They looked at the front wall and saw giant cracks they had missed in the dark. Both of them simultaneously shook their head and Sparky said, “I’ve used the front lights to illuminate where the beams will hit. I would suggest one thing.”
“What is that?”
“Instead of saying Mississippi, try to hit the thrusters as quickly as possible after you hear me say Go!’”
“Will do.” Pam put her hand on the thruster handle and felt the engines building up pressure. She stared at the illuminated circle on the wall and said, “Say when.”
Sparky put his hand on the firing button and said, “In five, four, three, two, one, GO!” Sparky pressed the button just before he said go and Pam immediately hit the thrusters. In an instant, the two hundred yard long warship burst out of the wall and climbed above the moon’s surface. Pam activated the stardrive and turned the ship vertical. It was out of the planetary system and headed above the galaxy at maximum speed. Sparky said, “Thanks, Computer.”
“It is always good to be of service.”
Pam felt reborn. She experienced what it must feel like to emerge from a grave and her soul flew with the ship free of the tomb that she had left behind.
• • •
“Fleet Leader.”
“Have you seen anything?”
“My scanner has detected a ship blasting away from a moon at an incredible speed. There is no way to get a ship to follow it.”