by Saxon Andrew
“What’s on it?”
“A conversation between Ayet and the Alien Leader.” Jimmy nodded and Rachel sent the recording to her father’s computer. This was not good!!
• • •
Ed and Jillian sat at a table with the Community’s Leaders and listened to General Alverez issue new instructions. “You mission has been changed. We’ve discovered that the white ships that you destroyed belong to some kind of Mercenary Guild. It appears that Earth’s location is currently a secret but will be soon be given to this Guild and they will come here to retrieve their ships and pilots.”
Ed shrugged, “Can we gather all the pieces to give them back to them?”
Juan shook his head, “Cute, Boyer. It appears killing them has repercussions. They will attack anyone that kills one of the members of their Guild.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t have used the first white ship for target practice,” Ed replied.
“Boyer, we have no idea about how powerful this Mercenary Guild is and we want you and Captain Grant to try and find out.”
Ed looked at Jillian and turned back to Juan, “Just how are we going to do that?”
“We’ve installed a long-range receiver on your Striker and it will automatically translate what it picks up.”
“What if it’s a different species from the Aliens we captured?” Jillian asked. “We may not understand their language.”
Jimmy said, “All the civilizations in that space speak the same language. It’s required to join. Just don’t take a risk in your efforts; we need you to come back and tell us what we’re up against. Even if you don’t find out how powerful that Guild is, get back with what you do find out.”
Ed didn’t look at Jillian when he said, “Perhaps I should go on this mission alone, Sir.”
He felt Jillian’s anger beside him but he refused to look at her. “That won’t work, Commodore,” Rachel said.
“Why not?”
“Because the one in the second seat is going to have to operate the receiver. It’s too involved for you to fly the ship and make the scans, determine if what you receive is worth saving, and fine tune other interference out.”
Ed looked at Jillian, “Welcome aboard, Captain.” Jillian just glared at him.
Rachel looked at Jillian, “I will train you on how to use the new system and you will have to use it to get a good understanding of how it works. I’ll give you all I can but you’re scheduled to launch in four-days.”
Ed’s eyes narrowed and Suzette said, “You’re going to need that time as well, Commodore.”
Ed looked at her, “Why?”
“We’re changing the Rail-Guns on your Striker.” Ed’s eyes narrowed and Suzette lowered her eyes, “We’re taking out the middle Rail-Gun and replacing it with a larger model.”
“How much larger?” Ed asked.
“The two side Rail-Guns will fire the two-inch magnetized balls. The center Rail-Cannon will fire a five-pound Magnetized Ball.” Ed’s eyes flew wide open and Suzette smiled, “Those larger balls would blow a huge hole in anything they hit.”
Jillian said, “Just how large of a ship do you anticipate?”
“Ayet found out that the vessels the Mercenary Guild uses to transport their white ships is fifty-percent larger than the Freighter we captured and they are heavily armored. We’re hoping five-pounds is large enough.”
“How many rounds will I be carrying on board?” Ed asked.
“A hundred-thousand for each of the Rail-Guns and two-hundred of the five-pounders.”
Ed shook his head, “And just where are they going to fit in my Striker?”
Summer smiled, “When we converted the Magnetic-Drive Units, a lot of space was freed up in the rear drive compartment. They’ll fit.”
Jillian stared at the Leaders, “It sounds like you are anticipating trouble.”
Jimmy looked at her, “We don’t know what to expect but I’d rather you have the ammo and not need it than need it and not have it.”
Ed looked at Jillian and shrugged. Juan said, “Captain Grant, go with Rachel Carpenter and Commodore Boyer, you go with Suzette and start learning the new systems and their controls. You’re launching in four days.”
Ed and Jillian stood up and followed their trainers out of the room. After they left, Summer said, “Ed doesn’t surprise easily.”
The corner of Juan’s mouth went up, “No, he doesn’t.”
“Let’s hope he can keep it together and get back.”
Jimmy looked at them, “Either way, they’re coming.” Summer and Juan looked at him. “I was in the control room last night and I was staring at the freighter in orbit. I found my eyes being forced closed and I saw more white ships than I could count flying out of three giant vessels. They’re coming.”
Juan stared at him and said one word, “When?”
“I’m not sure. It’s not soon but I don’t think it will happen a long time from now.”
There was a knock on the door and Juan said, “Enter!”
The twins came through the door and Summer said, “What have I told you about interrupting our meetings?”
John said, “You told us that if we saw something that we thought was important to find you wherever you were and tell you.”
Jimmy said, “What have you found?”
Spring said, “Both of us had the same dream. We were celebrating our sixteenth-birthdays and the celebration was interrupted by defense alarms going off.”
Jimmy looked at Juan, “It looks like they’ll arrive in ten-months.”
The twins looked at Jimmy, “Who will be arriving?”
“The next Alien arrival. We’re going to celebrate your birthdays a little earlier.”
John lowered his eyes, “Why not after the arrival.”
Jimmy stared in his son’s eyes and said, “I prefer to do it before.” John looked at Spring and saw she realized that they might not be around to celebrate afterwards. Spring stared at John and Summer knew something unsaid was communicated between them. John looked at Jimmy and said, “Spring and I want to start pilot training, Dad.”
Jimmy stared at them and then looked at Juan. Juan nodded and said, “You’ll start the physical training tomorrow after you learn how to steer a Striker.”
Summer looked at Jimmy with her brow furrowed and Jimmy shrugged, “They might be safer in a Striker than on the ground with us.” Summer glanced at the twins and then turned back to Jimmy and nodded.
• • •
Jillian sat in her chair and powered up her systems. She saw the green lights illuminate and she heard the drive-units start pulsating in the rear of the Striker, “How long is this trip going to take, Sir?”
“Jillian, we’ll use first names on this voyage. We pulled the Pilot out of the lagoon and he says the trip would take about two-weeks at the freighter’s full speed.”
“How long did he say it took him?”
“About four-weeks.” Jillian was silent and Ed said, “The Leader ordered him to fly an erratic course so some of the Aliens on board wouldn’t be able to guess Earth’s location. He says he flew the ship manually most of the time.”
“We should be faster than that freighter, don’t you think?”
“Jillian, I’m not going to lightspeed, much less full speed, until I get a feel for how we avoid large objects in our path. It might take longer or it might be less. That will depend on how fast I can learn how to use the stardrive.”
“That’s a good idea, Ed.”
“Ready?”
“I am,” Jillian replied and tightened her seatbelts. Ed lifted the Striker off the floor of the launch cave and moved it out over the forests far below. “Earth is healing,” Jillian said wistfully.
“Let’s hope it can continue the process,” Ed replied and accelerated into the sky. They moved out of Earth orbit and Ed pushed the lever on the stardrive. The Striker blew past the Moon in an instant and Ed pulled the drive-unit’s lever back as they blew past the orbit of Mars. He saw t
he asteroid belt approaching fast and he saw red-dots appear on his forward scanner. He used the side thruster and flew between two large asteroids. That’s how it’s done. He flew past Saturn off the starboard side and straightened out. He said over his shoulder, “I’m going to enter one of the coordinates that the Alien Leader used a lot, first.”
“You’re the boss.”
Ed pulled the coordinate up on the stardrive’s display and pressed the orange button. The Striker’s nose turned slightly and held course. He stared out of the viewport at the grey-field shading everything; it was like looking out of a dark pair of sunglasses. Moving around large objects was simple, just fly around them. He squinted a few hours later and said, “It looks like we’re headed toward the Andromeda Galaxy.”
Jillian leaned to the side and stared out of the viewport, “I think you’re right.”
“This should be something!” Jillian smiled in agreement. Ed went to full speed two-days later in the vast void between the Milky Way and Andromeda.
Chapter Nine
The Big-Head sat in a back room playing cards with two of the Law Enforcers. He said, “Drat!” One of the Enforcers pulled the winnings in front of him. “I’ve noticed that it’s taken you a long time to arrive at our Center.”
“I’m billing the Guild by time.”
“OHHH! I get it.”
“I will, of course, be sharing some of that with both of you.”
“How long do you want us to delay you?”
“If you could give me some questions to send the Guild to answer, that would make it easier.”
The two Enforcers looked at each other and one said, “I think I have just the thing.”
The other Enforcer started dealing the cards and said, “Those Guild Leaders would be really gized off if they knew about your tactics.”
“Let us hope they never find out. I’m not doing anything that all of us aren’t doing.”
The Dealer waved one of his six-arms and nodded, “I’m not casting aspersions. This is an easy way to gather wealth.”
“How long are you going to keep it up? You still have two more Law Centers left before you get the modification completed.”
“As long as they can take it. I’ll know when I’ve milked everything possible.” The Big-Head looked at his cards and saw he had six-of-a-kind. He discarded three of them and knew winning against the two-Enforcers was not a wise thing to do. Lives had been lost for less.
• • •
The Striker arrived at the edge of the Andromeda Galaxy in four-days and Ed saw a star directly ahead of them. He reached for the thruster controls but they came on automatically. He frowned but kept his hand on the controls. The Striker changed course as it moved toward another star and Ed said, “Jillian.”
“Yeah.”
“It appears the stardrive has all the stars in this galaxy plotted in it. The Striker is automatically changing direction to avoid objects.”
“That takes all the fun out of flying.”
Ed shrugged, “They must have this galaxy mapped to a fare-thee-well.”
“I think we’re not moving as fast now.”
Ed looked at the Drive-unit controls and said, “You’re right; the ship has slowed down.”
“I’d trust the system if I were you.” Ed leaned back in his chair, stared out of the viewport, and wondered how beautiful the stars would be without the dark grey field. I’m starting to receive transmissions, Ed.”
“Anything important?”
“Not, yet; I’m struggling to separate them.”
“Do what you can.” Ed looked at the stardrive controls and wondered what the blue button was for. The orange button energized the field, the black button turned it off…what was the purpose of the blue button? The Engineers didn’t have a clue. He put his hand on the button and raised his shoulders just before he pushed it. The grey-field immediately disappeared and the brilliance of the stars jumped out at him. He saw the Striker was still moving faster than light so the field had to be still functioning. He smiled and knew the pilot had not told them everything. He leaned back again and smiled…this was more like it.
Three days later Jillian said, “We’re slowing down, Ed.”
“How can you tell, Jillian? I don’t feel anything different.”
“I just sense it in the seat of my pants or something. Are we slowing?”
Ed looked at the controls and said, “The drive-unit’s speed control has backed off slightly.”
“We must be arriving at the coordinate in the stardrive. I’m getting a clear signal on the communications I’m receiving.”
“The ship had just turned directly toward a star twenty-degrees off the portside. Now it’s flying a straight course again. It looks like that’s where we’re headed. The speed control is starting to back off again.”
“What are you going to do?”
Ed shrugged, “Just sit and enjoy the ride.” They began seeing planets going by them as they moved toward the star. The Striker slowed and then came to a stop a long distance from a planet orbiting the star. Ed pressed the black button and the stardrive shut down. Jillian leaned to the side and said, “I’m picking up transmissions from that planet but all of them are dealing with routine things. I’m not picking up anything important. What do you think we should do?”
“I’m going to move in closer and see if we can get inside our optical system. I’d like to see what’s on that planet’s surface.” Ed feathered the drive-unit and Jillian heard the hum of the Rail-Guns warming up.
• • •
Ed stopped the Striker a hundred-miles from the planet. Suddenly, he heard Jillian scream and a voice say, “That’s close enough!” He looked in the overhead mirror and saw an Alien sitting in Jillian’s lap with some kind of weapon pushed up against her helmet.
Ed reached to his left and the Alien said, “Uh, uh, uh! Keep your hands where I can see them.”
Ed raised his hands behind his head and Jillian loudly said, “WHO ARE YOU?”
The Alien smiled, “Just one of the locals that doesn’t like unauthorized starships close to his home. However, you may call me Ayet.”
Ed smirked, “You have a popular name.”
The Alien jerked his head toward Ed, “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, the Director’s middle name s Ayet, his oldest son is named Ayet, and a fish swimming around in the water is named Ayet.”
The Alien moved his face up against Jillian’s face plate and said, “You’re humans.” Ed’s eyes went wide and the Alien said, “Do you know Jimmy?”
Jillian started shaking her head and said, “How do you know him?”
The Alien waved the weapon, “He’s my son.”
“WHAT!!” Ed and Jillian said together.
The alien shrugged, “He must still be keeping that a secret.”
“How did you get in here!!”
The Alien looked at Jillian, “My species has a way of getting around unnoticed.”
Ed muttered, “That explains a lot.”
The Alien looked at him, “What do you mean by that?”
“The Director and his children are able to see coming events. I suspect he picked up that talent from you, if you really are his father.”
“I am. What are you doing here?”
“We captured a species of fish attempting to destroy our planet and we saw this coordinate on their stardrive was used more than the others; we came to take a look.”
The alien laughed, “I knew your species was smarter than the average Gread but stealing their stardrive technology is not something I anticipated. I assume that’s what you’ve done.” Ed and Jillian were silent and Ayet smiled, “You don’t have to confirm it. The drive you’re using is identical to the one on the ship I rented them.” Ed’s eyes narrowed and Ayet raised his shoulders, “Hey, that’s what I do, rent starships.”
“Just how did you manage to be Jimmy’s father,” Jillian asked.
Ayet holstered his weapon and
said, “Lighten up, I’m not going to kill you. I went to Earth and had a…uhhh…coupling with an Earth Female. Jimmy was the product of that.”
“Why did you do that?” Ed asked.
“Look, it’s against the law to discriminate against anyone in the Guild. One very rich Gread came and questioned me about what kind of ship he would need to drop a few asteroids on a planet. I determined that he was going to go out and kill an intelligent species. I examined his stardrive and went to the last coordinates to see what he was up to. I discovered that I would be part of your planet’s destruction, even though the law gave me no choice. I decided the only way to possibly give your species a chance to survive was to endow one of you with some of my talents. I still didn’t think you could do anything to save yourselves, after all, your civilization was primitive. I must say that I am very proud of my son. He’s more than I ever thought he’d be.”
“But we did survive!” Jillian replied.
Ayet shrugged, “Not very many survived.”
“How do you know that?” Ed asked.
“I was there when it happened.”
“WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP THEM!?!”
Ayet looked at Jillian, “If I am caught interfering with one of my clients, my society would be at risk. I did tell Jimmy not to destroy the Gread ship and to allow it to leave giving him more time to build up against their return.”
Ed looked in the mirror and said, “Did you rent him those two white warships.”
“Oh, hell no! I’ll have nothing to do with the Mercenary Guild; they’re far too dangerous.”
“But you did rent them the freighter to bring the heaters.”
Ayet looked at Jillian and nodded. “You still haven’t told me why you came here.”
Ed sighed and decided to tell the truth, “We were ordered to come here and take a look at what we’re up against.”
“Well you better thank your stars you came here first.”
“Why is that.”
“Why do you think your stardrive stopped you that far out?” Ed and Jillian were silent and Ayet said, “That’s the closest you can come without being attacked by a planet’s defenses. Any closer, without a clearance code, and you’d be attacked.”