by Saxon Andrew
“You know I said the thoughts were close to the electronic signal in the barrier?”
“Yes.”
“The ship with those thoughts have left the ship with the antenna in the barrier behind. It’s moving away from the area we staked out and the ship making the disturbance is moving in a different direction.”
“Langley, how can you hear those thoughts and the others can’t?”
“I guess I’m different from the others. However, you need to get into your armor and activate your thought blocker. I suspect that telepath may hear you if we move any closer.”
Jan pressed the silver button on her chair and her armor wrapped around her. She activated the thought blocker and Langley said, “That telepath thought it heard something. He’s stopped the ship.” Jan shook her head and waited. Thirty minutes later Langley said, “It’s moving again.”
“Langley, if they’ve gone to this much planning, how are we going to follow it? They might detect your thrusters.”
“It’s not using its thrusters, Jan. It fired them briefly and is now coasting through the void. I will use the compressed air canisters to provide enough thrust to keep up.”
“Will they provide enough thrust to do that?”
“The coating on our hull makes us much faster than that ship. I’ve had to use the bow thruster to slow down to avoid out running it.”
Jan looked at her monitor and saw the electronic signal moving away from them and then it disappeared from her monitor. The others didn’t know what was happening and were following that signal. There was no way for her to tell them. She turned off her scanner and dialed back every electronic system. The Battle Pod coasted through the void as Langley followed the ship away from the galaxy it had left far behind.
• • •
Jan felt her panel vibrate and she put her armored glove on it.
“I’m going to communicate with you through vibrations. Your armor’s computer can turn the vibration into words. I am sensing that the ship, or whatever it is, is moving through a vast field of sensor probes. If I use our electronic communication equipment, they might detect us.”
Jan put her faceplate on the console and said, Can you understand me?
“I can.”
“How far away are we from that vessel?”
“More than eight million light years.”
“And they have probes scattered across that much space?”
“Almost. The closest one is a hundred thousand light years away.”
“Has it changed course?”
“Not yet. However, I’m starting to hear more thoughts ahead of that ship.”
“Can you keep that ship targeted?”
“Yes, that telepath is easy to follow. I think there are other ships waiting for it.”
• • •
Time passed and she felt the console vibrate again. She put her glove on the panel and heard, “We’re past the probe field. The number of thoughts has increased dramatically. I sense there are more than sixty thousand ships ahead of it.” Jan waited and kept her glove on the panel. “I’ve managed to find a being on one of those ships that is looking out of the ships main viewport.” Jan was silent and heard, “The ship we’re following is one of the Monster Battleships. I can see it in that being’s thoughts.”
“Are you sure that telepath can’t sense your presence?”
“With the volume of thoughts taking place, I’d be surprise if he can hear his own thoughts.” Jan looked at the clock and saw twelve hours had passed. She put her faceplate on the console and said, “I’m so tired. I’m going to close my eyes for a while and lay on the console. Vibrate if you need me.”
“I will.” Jan leaned over and put her head down on the console. She was asleep in less than thirty seconds.
• • •
Michael followed the electronic disturbance for hours and it didn’t change course. It followed the same course without varying one degree. He shook his head and knew something wasn’t right. “Angelo, call the others in. I’m going to go get a better look at that signal.” A few moments passed and Jay and Josey came flying in at high speed. They waited and Jan didn’t show up. After ten minutes, Michael said, “Contact her directly!” Angelo sent the transmission and after a minute Michael looked at Jay and Josey on his display, “Something has happened to Jan.”
“But we’ve not detected any discharge of weapons.”
Michael looked at Jay and said, “Activate your weapon systems!” Michael grabbed the steering wheel and headed directly toward the disturbance. In ten minutes they arrived a hundred thousand miles out and found a small ship moving through the void with an antenna in the void. He quickly scanned it and saw it was unmanned. He slammed his fist on his chair arm and said, “We’ve been tricked.”
“But where is Jan?”
“Josey, she must have found out and is following the real ship.”
“We need to contact her!”
“How?”
“Telepathically, electronically. We should be able to reach her anywhere in the void.”
“Not if she’s shut down her communicator as well as her computer’s thought broadcaster. If she’s done that, then there must be a danger for her to try and reach us telepathically. She would have done it if she could. Do either of you see it differently?” Michael saw their anguish and Jay said, “She must have seen through their subterfuge. Nothing gets by her.”
“If we start trying to reach her telepathically, we may alert the ones she’s following to her presence. We are skipping out to Fifth Fleet and waiting for her to contact us.”
“Commander, we can’t lose her!”
“Don’t get worried just yet. She still has her barrier drive and can run faster than they can chase. I have to believe she’s doing this for a good reason and we can’t do anything to put her in danger. If we broadcast a general thought, it may be heard by the Legends. Stay strong and we’ll go get her if it comes to that.”
“Is there no way to back track and find her?”
“No, Josey. I suspect the route of that ship is covered in traps. And there’s no way for us to determine what direction the ship broke away from this decoy. They’ve probably changed course several times, which will make it impossible to find where they are. We’ll keep the channels open and be ready to go get her. Follow me to Admiral Greenwall’s fleet and pray Jan isn’t caught in one of their traps.”
“And what happens if she dies in one of their traps?”
Michael looked at Jay and sighed, “Then we will mourn for our loss and try to make our lives something she would be proud of. I know I’m incredibly proud of what she’s doing now.”
Jay lowered his head and shook it. He looked up and said, “Lead the way, Sir.”
Chapter Nine
The console vibrated so hard Jan’s head bounced on it. She shook her head and heard, “They’re changing course and none of the Legend Ships are going to be allowed to go with them.”
“Why did you shake the panel so hard?”
“You wouldn’t wake up; I had to get your attention.”
“How long have I been out?”
“Thirteen hours.”
Jan shook her head to get rid of the cobwebs, “What’s the problem?”
“The Telepath has ordered all of the Legend Ships to skip away before it leaves its current location. I suspect that once everything is clear, that ship is going to full speed. I won’t be able to keep up with it just using compressed air in the thrusters.”
“Have you been able to see one of those ships that puts an antenna in the barrier?”
“I’ve gone through at least three hundred of the beings on those ships that are looking at scanners or out viewports and I’ve only seen one. If that ship leaves with the others, we may be able to slip into the barrier and use compressed air to keep up.”
“And if the giant ship has the capability to put an antenna in the barrier, what then?”
“Jan, I’ve been thinking about
that while you’ve been sleeping. I really don’t think they’ll be able to detect us in the barrier if we keep all our systems shut down and continue to use compressed air to move. In the barrier, just a little push will blow us past that monster no matter how fast it’s traveling in the void.”
“What makes you think they won’t detect us?”
“The ship the scouts originally heard didn’t detect them or millions of our ships that travel in the barrier every day. I believe the drive field blocks a ship from being detected. Where it would be seen is if it communicates electronically, uses its scanners, or activates its force field. The Barrier Drive matches the frequency of the space it’s in and whatever is inside that field becomes just another part of the barrier. At least that’s what the evidence seems to suggest.”
“So how do we activate the barrier drive and not be detected?”
“We allow that ship to go to full speed and wait until it’s at least a hundred thousand light years away. We activate the barrier drive on one side of our vessel and slide in the barrier until all of the ship is out of normal space.”
“Langley, do what has to be done. If you’re right, this should take a lot of the pressure off us about being detected.”
“The Legend Fleet is skipping out. I’ll keep us here until the Monster enters the void and skips away.”
Jan sat in her chair and thought about what Langley had postulated. Why did the Legend Ships during the last attack detect the ships in the barrier? What were they doing? She thought about it and remembered that a scan of the Legend Fleets around the planet was being sent to Fleet and all the ships participating in the attack. But the Scouts didn’t use a scanner? She worried about that piece of the puzzle that didn’t fit and then she saw it. Langley had shut down his thought broadcaster so that telepath in the huge battleship wouldn’t hear his thoughts. She was using the thought blocker, which also prevented it from seeing her mind. The Scouts didn’t do that. The telepaths in the Legends’ Fleets must be able to hear the scouts’ thoughts if they moved too close. She put her faceplate on the panel and said, “I’ve thought what you said over and I think you’re right. You have my full approval of doing this.”
“Thanks, Jan. Stand by, he’s about to leave.” A moment later Langley said, “Boy, that ships is fast to be that big. Going into the barrier…now!” The Battle Pod entered the barrier and Langley pushed a hundred pounds of air pressure through the rear thrusters. The pod accelerated at an incredible speed and Janet felt the console vibrate. She put her glove on it and heard, “That vessel has changed course again and is headed due galactic west from Pandora’s cluster where the Legend Galaxies are located. I’ve analyzed how the pilot is moving the ship and I’ve found a pattern. That ship is going to turn shortly and head toward the Bullet Cluster.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“The pattern is clear and I’ve seen an image of that cluster in one of the bridge crew on that ship. That must be where the new ships are being built.”
“How far away is that Cluster?”
“From Earth, about three point seven billion light years.”
Jan actually shook her head while keeping it on the console, “It’s going to take us months to get there!”
“Actually, about five months, twelve days, and sixteen hours give or take thirty minutes.” Jan sighed and Langley said, “I’m going to leave that ship and go directly there.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
“Jan, I wouldn’t even consider this if there was any possibility I was. I’ve correctly predicted the last ten course changes that ship has made. It’s going to the Bullet Cluster.”
“Well, that Legend did say they were going to have their ships built a long distance from their location and that cluster certainly qualifies as a long distance. How will we find them if they’re there?”
“I suspect that is where the Legends originally evolved but that isn’t based on anything other than the Commander saying that the Pandora Legends would never send one of their own out with that much freedom to increase its own power. That made sense and if there are Legends in that Cluster, I will hear them.”
“Will we be able to communicate with Jay and Josey?”
“That telepath will be between us and them and there is a possibility it will hear us if we try. I don’t have any hard data on what its capabilities are but I do know our Goran Scouts would hear us.”
Jan sighed, “I know they’re worried sick about us.”
“Yes, I’m sure they are. But I think they’ve worked out that we’re following that ship.”
Jan thought for a moment and nodded, “If they didn’t, they would be broadcasting thoughts on a general broadcast and that being you’ve been monitoring would have heard them and know that he was possibly being followed.”
“Exactly right.”
“Is it going to be possible to turn on the environmental systems?”
“Once we’ve put a billion light years between us and that telepath, you can remove your armor. There are too many thoughts moving through the universe for it to hear you among that background noise.”
“Then let’s do it; I need a bath!”
“Changing course and applying full thrust with the air cylinders. I’ll use the standard thrusters once we’re far enough away.”
• • •
“Commander, what’s going on?”
“Admiral, we set up a screen to follow the ship that left the Legends’ Cluster. Three of us were decoyed by a probe that had an antenna in the barrier. One of my team disappeared from our pattern and we believe that she is following the Monster Battleship back to where it originally launched. We’re going to wait here until we hear from her and then go to her defense.”
Katy shook her head, “If anyone could pull this off, Jan is the one that could do it.”
Michael smiled, “You must have gotten to know her?”
“I did and I’ve got to say I’m impressed. Her mind is very methodical and she doesn’t miss much.”
“I don’t know how long we’re going to be here, Admiral. Are your ships provisioned for a long wait?”
“No Sir, they are not. But I’ll order a colony ship to bring what we need and I’ll send my squadrons one by one to stock up on what they’ll need for a long mission.”
“I could have another fleet come and relieve you if the time wait becomes too long.”
“Sir, that is one of my sailors out there and we’ll wait until hell freezes over if we need to.”
Michael nodded and ended the contact. Now he knew why her fleet worshiped her. He was once again thankful Audrey had intervened. He remembered his father being thankful for his mother stopping him from killing all of the Goran. He almost made a similar mistake. He knew one thing for certain; Jay and Josey would still be waiting even if hell froze over. It was clear both of them were more afraid of losing her than each other. Jan was the glue that made them whole.
• • •
“Langley.”
“Yes, Jan.”
“I’ve been thinking about what would happen if we are killed before we can get all we’ve learned out. Would it be possible to launch a barrier message probe from this far out with all we know?”
Jan felt the ship decelerate and come to a stop. “That is an excellent idea. It shouldn’t be detected this far away from the Legends and it will help the Commander to decide what to do.” I’m downloading everything now. Give me a moment.” Jan ran the towel through her hair and shook it. Ten minutes later, Langley said, “It’s ready to launch.”
“There’s something you need to include in the download.”
“What is that?”
“There is something different about you, Langley. You were the only one that could hear the thoughts on that ship.”
“I’ve wondered about that as well.”
“Tell them that I suggest they go back to the last time your processors were serviced and to look for anything that might account for how t
his happened.”
“Standby.” Jan waited and a few moments later she heard, “I’ve included a diagnostic of my systems in the download along with your suggestion. Can you think of anything else?”
“Yes, make sure you tell Jay and Josey I love them very much.”
“Already done.” Jan felt a slight bump in the ships structure. “The probe is launched.”
Jan felt the ship start accelerating again and leaned back in her chair. “Langley, did you record the Commander when he came on board to install the telepathy module?”
“I record everything, Jan. You know that.”
“Please put that recording on my panel.” Jan sat back and watched Michel come through the port. She froze his expression when he saw her. She stared at that image until they arrived just outside the Bullet Cluster.
• • •
Michael activated his communicator, “SHE’S OK!!’ Jay and Josey looked at him from his display and he said, “They’ve sent a barrier message probe and we were right; she’s been following that Monster Battleship; it was in that galaxy!”
Josey blew out a loud breath and said, “Thank God!!”
Jay took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, “Where is she?”
“She’s moving toward a distant cluster of galaxies named the Bullet Cluster. We’re going to skip there in an hour after Greenwall’s last squadron is provisioned from the colony ship. We’re not going to join her unless she calls for help. She is of the opinion that is where the new Legend Battleships are being build. She also says, and her computer agrees, that cluster may be where the Legends originated.”
Josey smiled, “That’s our Jan.”
“Standby, I have some orders to issue and then I’ll transmit you a copy of what she sent.”
Jay smiled, “Thank you, Sir!”
Michael nodded and activated the general fleet frequency. “Attention all ships and personnel in Fifth Fleet. We will be skipping out to a distant galaxy cluster in an hour and there will be new rules while we’re in that space. All ships will remain in the barrier with all systems that emit signals outside the hulls of your ships shut down. All personnel will have their armor on and their thought blockers activated at full power for the duration of the mission. Make sure your armor’s pellet dispenser and water tanks are full before arrival. All pilots will use compressed air in their thrusters to move around in the barrier once we arrive. All external systems on your ship’s hulls will be shut down and that includes your disruptors and missile ports!”