by Saxon Andrew
“Langley, let’s do this like we did the first time. We’ll put our gloves on our console and you can tell us what’s going on.”
“Slow down, we’re getting closer.” Michael put his armored glove on his console and Langley played the thoughts he considered important.
“These idiots aren’t worth living. I should just eat them and good riddance.” There was a pause and they heard another thought, “My ship could have detonated the weapon. We didn’t need this mind reader to do something this simple.”
“Watch your thoughts, Commander! I had to match the thought pattern of more than fifty of their sentries and blind them to my presence going in and going out.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t eat them!”
“You will be my next meal if you don’t start showing the proper respect. I wanted to consume them but I had to get away before the device was exploded. I will consume them next time!”
Michael looked at Jan and nodded. He knew the other warships waited outside the Virgo Cluster for the telepath to return. If it encountered trouble, they would skip in to save it. The small Legend Fleet passed below them and Michael said, “On my command, we will activate all systems and move out of the barrier directly behind those two lines of ships. Jay, hold position next to my ship and we’ll fire at the two lines as we pass between them. That Telepath is flying directly in the middle of the two lines and I want both of us to designate a forward disruptor on that ship as soon as we enter the void. Fire as soon as it moves into range. Jan, I’ll operate the forward disruptors, you have the others.”
“Commander.”
“Yes Jay.”
“The odds of hitting all of them in one pass is remote. They’re going to scatter alike a rack of pools balls as soon as we open fire.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“We come out of the barrier directly behind that Telepath and take it out first while our partners are firing at the ships on either side. We’ll continue down the line and turn to come back at those we missed.”
“Thanks, Jay. That’s an excellent suggestion. Are you ready to do this?”
“I’ll come out of the barrier in sync with your ship and break the connection as soon as we move on that Telepath.”
“On my mark. Three, two, one, MARK!”
Michael roared in on the enemy formation and saw the forward disruptor’s aiming point on his helmet’s heads up display move on top of the ship flying in the middle of the formation. He pulled the trigger on his steering wheel and saw the small ship cut into three pieces as two disruptor dark energy beams hit it. He ignored the other ships as he flew at high speed toward the front of the enemy formation. Twelve ships in each line of the Enemy formation were cut through the middle as the two Attackships blew past them. Michael flew out beyond the front of the formation and whipped the ship around as the twenty-four Legend Warships in the rear of the formation opened fire. Michael poured on the speed and moved to the side of the formation as the surviving enemy ships began to scatter.
Michael saw in his visor that Jay was flying slightly to the right and slightly behind the rear of his ship. He flashed back in on the formation and saw the forward disruptor had another ship in its sights. He pulled the trigger and pulled it again as the disruptor immediately locked on another target. They blew past the formation and Michael pulled back on the steering wheel and went vertical over the remaining ships. Of the twenty-four that survived the initial attack, only six remained. He wondered how his two ships had killed so many so quickly but he put the thought out of his mind. Two of the six survivors tried to move in behind the two Attackships and Jan killed one with a rear disruptor and Josey bagged the other.
“Break off and chase the survivors.”
Jay broke away and flashed by an enemy battleship and it was hit by four disruptor beams as he passed. He dove and took out another ship as it ran away at maximum speed.
Michael saw the two ships to his side of the formation had moved in opposite directions. “I’m going after the one on the right. Target a missile on the other.” Michael saw on his visor’s tactical display that the missile left almost before he had finished giving the order. Jan was good! He blew the ship he was chasing into a huge disruption in the void as the dark energy beam hit the huge ship’s reactors and exploded them.
“I heard the Commander of that small fleet calling for help. It appears that help is moving out here at a remarkable speed.”
“What are you saying, Langley?”
“They aren’t the Monster but they are larger than any Legend Warship I’ve seen in my databanks.”
“Can you see how many?”
“Four hundred.”
“Commander, if those ships are the newer model being built for the Legends, we should be careful attempting to take that many on with just two ships.”
“Back in the barrier before they disrupt it and skip out. Angelo, drop a mini-probe.”
The two ships disappeared from the void and flashed away in the barrier before the oncoming fleet arrived and disrupted it.
“Stop here! Angelo, put the probe’s feed on my tactical.” Michael watched his visor’s display and saw the Legend Ships come in at incredible speed. They were the new model of battleship he decided to name Mini-monsters. “Langley, can you hear them?”
“No, Commander. It appears those ships have a rather strong thought blocker.”
“Is there anything you can detect?”
“The void drive is using a different frequency than their standard ships.”
“I thought stardrives didn’t give off a frequency?”
“Those ships do. I can see it from here. I would have to be right on top of their older models to detect them.”
“Is our field detectable?”
“We’ll need to check that out on the way back to Virgo. Hold on just a moment! I’m hearing one side of a conversation. Evidently those Telepaths don’t think we can hear them.”
“Put it on the speaker.”
“…no evidence that my Dram allowed your ships to be detected.” There was a pause and they heard, “I don’t care if three of them are ashes. That is due to your stupidity.” They waited and then heard, “I will take it up with the Elder. What are you going to do now? Run around in circles.” Another pause, “Don’t tempt me, Commander.”
“Angelo, have the probe do a full scan on those ships. Once we have the information, activate its self-destruct and get out of here.”
Jan watched her visor and saw the results of the scan collected into the databanks. She pressed a button on her panel and the two ships skipped away an instant before a hundred Legend Mini-monsters arrived at their former location. Langley activated the wall speaker, “That is one angry Commander. The Telepath is really giving it to him for allowing his ships to be scanned.”
Michael smiled and said, “Are they giving chase?”
“No.”
Michael turned the steering wheel and the Attackship made a hundred and eighty degree turn. “What are you doing, Commander?”
“We haven’t fired a heavy round…yet.”
“Commander!”
“Jay, we’re going to come over the top of the ships that followed the probe’s transmission. We’re going to come out of the barrier and fly between their ships and fire two heavy rounds each. Get in the barrier instantly afterwards and hit full thrusters.”
“Yes Sir.”
Michael looked at Jan, “He doesn’t sound excited.”
“I can understand why.”
“Are you against this?”
“Sir, this falls into your province. They should have disrupted the barrier but they didn’t. They have provided you an opening and if you choose to exploit it, then I’m here to support you.”
“Would you do it?”
Jan tilted her head and after a moment smiled, “I believe I would, Sir.”
“Jay, on my mark, three, two, one, Mark!”
Jay hit the thrusters and said, “I
guess I was wrong.”
Josey looked at him, “About what?”
“I wondered if Michael had the guts to be a leader.”
Josey saw the giant Black Warships appear around their ship and she pressed two buttons simultaneously as Jay went back into the barrier. Josey saw the barrier form around their ship as hundreds of huge disruptor beams fired and missed them. The remaining ninety-six Mini-monsters were kicked out of the void into normal space as four of them exploded into massive void disruptions. “Is it possible he might possess more than he needs?”
Jay shook his head, “I suspect the Alliance Leaders will take that position when they view the recordings of what just happened.”
“You didn’t tell me what you think.”
“Michael is just like his father. He’s exactly what we need at this moment in time.”
“Jan is really lucky.”
“Luck has nothing to do with it.”
“What?”
“Come on, Josey. Who else would be a match for his intelligence and strong will? She’s perfect and he waited to make sure. I think she knows it, too.” Josey thought about it and after they arrived back at the Virgo Cluster and started the flight back to Earth, she knew Jay was right. She wondered why Jan’s ship was so quiet on the way back.
Chapter Seventeen
Michael sat in his office with Jan as they waited for Luke to arrive; finally, Luke entered with Averel. Michael looked at Averel and she shrugged. Luke said, “Averel is going to connect us with the other leaders of our Allies.”
Michael nodded and Luke looked at Jan, “You may leave.”
Jan stood up and Michael said, “She will stay here!” Luke’s eyes narrowed and Michael said, “She is my co-pilot and she needs to hear whatever is decided today.” Jan sat back down and tried to appear small.
Luke saw Michael wasn’t smiling and appeared to be defiant. He decided to wait for the other Leaders to link in before he started the conversation. Suddenly, Jan saw the Alliance Leaders in her mind sitting in their chairs. She was stunned and looked at Averel who shrugged and smiled. The Welken Royal leaned forward, “I’ve been given a copy of the recent engagement you had with some Legend Warships.”
“Was it enjoyable viewing, Your Highness?”
The Welken’s frown slowly disappeared and he shook his head as he started smiling, “I must say it was, Commander. However, we’re meeting today to discuss preventing a recurrence.”
Michael’s voice growled as he looked at Luke, “Then you can accept my resignation and you can choose another to replace me.” Luke’s mouth fell open and the other Leaders were also stunned. “I’ve been charged to lead our forces against ships I know nothing about with ships I also have no idea of their capabilities. The only way I can make decisions that will not place our forces in unnecessary danger is to know what our ships can do and what they can’t do in combat. I have a learning curve to fully understand how we should attack the new Legend Warships. That necessitates me doing exactly what I did yesterday! And if I need to do it again, I will.”
The Audon High Leader looked at Michael in the link and lowered its face, “And what happens if you get killed in the process?”
“Then perhaps the information I’ve collected will help the next First Commander to effectively meet and defeat the enemy fleets.”
Luke scowled, “Who could take your place and do a good job.”
“Talel possesses more talent than any of you suspect. He has a talent for using his ships in combat and from what I’ve seen in his mind, he and I think alike.”
The Leaders all looked at the Goran High Leader. He shook his head and smiled, “I agree with you, High Commander. He is the best we have.”
The Welken quickly responded, “Is he as good as the current First Commander?”
“In his own way, yes. I’ve discussed with him why he wasn’t chosen initially and he was angry that he was passed over. However, he and Michael met and he told me that the Alliance had chosen the right person for the position.” The Goran looked at Michael, “He was also highly impressed with what he saw in your mind.”
“He could do the job and I am going to put him in command of the new Attackships. That will remove a lot of my worry about their being used effectively. If something happens to me, he can step right in and replace me.” Michael saw the Leaders looking at each other and he quickly said, “All of you need to understand that I am not going to act foolishly. What I do will be thought out and risk versus reward will be considered carefully.” Michael looked at Luke, “Did the information we collected help our new pilots?” Luke sighed and then nodded. “If it means anything to you, I’m hoping I can convince my co-pilot to become a permanent part of my life and I will not endanger her without a very good reason to do so.”
Jan’s eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. The Leaders nodded and the Welken said, “You were chosen to command. We’ll stop getting in your way. Thank you for discussing this with us.”
Michael sighed, “I know as our preparations move further along, I will have to forego putting myself in danger. I will, like my father before me, have to take a true leadership role.”
The Leaders nodded and the link disappeared. Luke looked at Michael and Jan, “I’m sorry you were forced to make that admission before you were ready.”
Michael looked at Jan and then at Luke, “I had to weigh the benefit versus the consequences. I had to reassure all of you that I wasn’t going to do anything stupid.” Luke nodded, looked at Jan, then turned and left the room with a smiling Averel. Michael looked at Jan, “I’m sorry.”
Jan stared at Michael, “How can you be certain I’m the one you think I am?”
“I’ve watched you since the day you mentioned the Entanglement theory when I talked to you about staying in Fifth Fleets ranks. I’ve seen your total lack of an oversized ego and your love for Jay and Josey. That told me more about your heart than anything else. You are brilliant and we think about things on a very similar level.” Jan stared at him and Michael shrugged, “You are also the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
“You had me going until you said that.”
“Jan, ask Jay and Josey. Don’t just take my word for it because you’re right to think that I might be prejudiced.”
“How do I know you’re right for me?”
“That’s why I said I am going to try and convince you. I don’t assume you will choose me.”
Jan smiled and said, “We have time to see, Michael. No one else has caught my attention and you know you have it. Let’s see where this goes without putting pressure on us.”
“Do you have some time off to go with me to work on a project?”
“You decide when I have time off. I report to you.”
“Good. Go change into a swimsuit and meet me at the beach near the officer’s quarters.”
“Why?”
“Where’s your sense of adventure? Meet me there in an hour.”
Jan smiled and stood up, “I’ll see you there.”
• • •
Jan left her quarters and walked toward the beach. She hadn’t gone far before she started seeing every male she passed stop and stare at her. It actually became disconcerting. She arrived at the beach and found Michael standing about thirty yards from the beach chairs. She walked up and saw sand toys scattered around him. Michael pointed at lines in the sand that formed a huge square. “What is this, Michael?”
Michael smiled, “After my mother died, my father would bring me down here and I would build sand forts. I was really good at it and it helped me deal with the sense of loss and sorrow at never seeing my mother again. It kept my mind off her loss. One day, my father brought Allison and she got up and helped me build a sand fort.” Jan saw Michael’s joy as he talked about what happened. “The fort the two of us built was incredible and I made her promise to come back and build a bigger one.” Michael paused and looked at her, “Jan, that fort drew a huge crowd. It was beyond anything I ever e
xpected I could do.” Jan looked around and Michael said, “It was building those forts with me that allowed my father to see that he loved Allison. Today, you and I are going to build a bigger fort than Allison and I built.”
Jan stared at him as Michael picked up a small shovel and started packing a form with sand. He put it one foot outside the line he drew in the sand and began filling the form again. “Are you serious?” Michael remained silent and filled the form again. “It’s over ninety degrees out here!” Jan shook her head and started to leave but she couldn’t force herself to do it. She sighed and picked up a shovel and a form.
After six hours, Jan finished the inner sand city and looked at Michael who was working on the wall around the city. Michael looked at her and said, “Are you ready to quit?”
Jan looked at the beautiful city she built and said, “Not on your life.” They began building the wall and soon, officers began walking down to the beach and several offered to help. Jan looked at them and said, “NO! This is ours. Build your own.”
They would take short breaks and eat sandwiches Michael had brought down and drink copious amounts of water. The sun was setting in the west as they worked on the last section of the west wall. “Allison and I finished before the sun completely set.” Jan began filling the forms with a passion and handed them to Michael, who ran them to the wall. The last form was put in place just as the sun disappeared. Jan fell to her knees breathing heavily and Michael fell beside her. “Look at what we’ve done, Jan.” Jan raised her eyes and saw the huge crowd start cheering. The fort was beautiful and she shook her head. Michael looked at her and smiled, “This is like our lives, Jan. Out of nothing but loose sand, we build something beautiful.”
“It will be gone with the tide by morning, Michael.”
Michael took her chin and turned her face to him, “But the memory of this will be with you for the rest of your life. You’ll know that we did this together and neither of us gave up or quit. That should tell you something about me and it tells me volumes about you.”