by Saxon Andrew
Jan sighed and nodded, “If I hadn’t wasted so much time at the start, we wouldn’t have had to rush so hard at the end.”
Michael looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes, nodded, and then smiled. Jan replayed what she said and suddenly understood; she shook her head and wondered why she was waiting, “I love you, Michael.”
He took her in his arms and said, “Only love would allow us to do this together and not quit. My father saw it in Allison and I see it in you. I’ve loved you from the moment you charmed the meeting with your speech. I knew at that moment that there would never be anyone else for me.” Jan hugged him tightly and felt her tears start. He was right. She would have left if she didn’t love him enough to build that fort. Her tears began in earnest when he said, “Perhaps, one day, our children will help us build a bigger one.”
• • •
Word spread through Fleet Headquarters that Michael and Jan were building a huge sand fort and many went to the beach to watch them. Averel arrived and watched Michael and Jan working hard to beat the sun and she thought, “Chris, I have something that you and Allison should see.”
“What is that?”
Suddenly, Chris and Allison saw Michael and Jan building the sand fort. Allison’s eyes went wide, “That one’s bigger than the one we built!” They watched the images Averel was sending them and both of them began crying when they finished and Michael spoke to Jan.
Chris sighed heavily, “Thank you, Averel. You have no idea how much this means to us.”
“I think I do. Michael has chosen a remarkable woman and I know you’ll be proud of her.”
Averel broke the connection and wiped her eyes. She was going to teach her child, when it was old enough, how to build sand forts. This was a lesson that would send it out into the universe with the hard lessons the effort would teach. The next day the fort was washed away by high tide but the cement trench Averel had placed at the fort’s wall that night would be a reminder for the next ones, what the challenge would be to build one bigger than two lovers.
• • •
The Leadership Team was gathered in the Fleet Operations Conference Room and Michael looked at Talel and said, “Welcome to our team Fleet Leader.”
“Thank you for inviting me. I’m excited about our new ships and look forward to seeing them in action.”
Laney smiled, “It’s good to have you here. Michael has told us a lot about you and I really look forward to working with you.” She turned to Michael, “I’m confused by the Legends going ahead with building the smaller Monster. I thought they wouldn’t put their tools in a ship more powerful than their own.”
Michael nodded, “That does go against their former pattern.”
Jan looked around and said, “They wouldn’t have done it without those telepaths.”
Everyone looked at her. Audrey smiled, “I’m not completely clear on what you mean?”
Jan shrugged, “The reason they wouldn’t do it in the past was the fear that the tools might rise up in revolt against them, right?”
Everyone looked at each other and Luke said, “That’s been their position.”
“The telepaths will see if any of their tools are thinking about a revolution and consume the offender. This allows them to start building the Mini-monsters.”
Audrey smiled, “Mini-monster?”
Jan smiled, “That’s what Michael calls them.”
Audrey nodded, “That’s a good name for them and I think you’re right. This removes their fear of revolution.” She looked at Michael, “Does this change our plans?”
“Not really.”
Luke tilted his head, “Why? Won’t they launch an attack before they get the real Monster Ships?”
Michael looked at the group, “Remember, those Mini-monsters’ primary purpose is to defend the Legends wherever they go. They will remain at the Legends’ Planets until the real Monsters arrives and the Legends go on board. They will then be used to attack us. They disrupted the barrier in their cluster because of what we did to that Legend who tried to build the first Monster. They’re concerned that we might attack them before they have the really dangerous ships. They’ll keep them around their planets until those ships arrive.”
Katy shook her head, “They didn’t hesitate to send four hundred of them after you.”
“I think that was done to posture with the Telepaths. We killed the one with that small fleet and they sent those ships to show them that they took the death of one of them seriously. Also remember that the Telepath that came with them threatened the commander of those ships.”
Talel thought, “Are we going to sit here and wait on them to attack us.”
Michael looked at Talel, “What would you do?” Talel’s eyes narrowed and he started to speak but then hesitated. Michael nodded, “Now you see it.” Talel nodded.
Luke watched the exchange and shook his head, “See what?”
Talel turned to Luke, “If we launch attacks on them with the new ships, their paranoia may cause them to combine all their forces and send them against us before the Monster Warships arrive. Our numbers of Attackships are woefully few to take on those ships.”
Jinks’ eyes narrowed, “Are you saying that our Battle Pods aren’t strong enough to take on those new ships?”
Talel shook his head, “No, but if they come here to attack, there’s no way we can put a thought blocker on every person on every planet and the telepaths will learn everything we know about the Sentinels, the Goran, the members of the Alliance, as well as this new ship we’re building. They will also learn about Eden and the Sentinels in Andromeda. They’ll see that if they hesitate to attack once the Monsters arrive, they might lose the advantage in numbers.”
“You’ve left out something.”
Talel looked at Michael, “If these psychic feeders come here in large numbers, they could decimate the entire population on this planet.”
Silence slammed down on the meeting. Luke began shaking his head and Michael quickly replied, “We’re working on building a system that is incorporated into the planet’s force field to act as a thought blocker. Trevor and Budge have taken on the assignment and their initial finding is that the system should operate.”
Luke sighed, “That’s good news.”
Michael shook his head, “It is, and it isn’t.” Luke’s head went back slightly. “The main planets of the Alliance are having force fields built around them and we’ll incorporate the thought blocker once it’s developed. However, there is no way to build a force field around every planet; there’s millions of them and Earth’s leadership role in this fight against them is known on most of them. If they find that out, they will ignore all the others and come here, and if they learn about it, and Eden. This attack will make the first two invasions look like a small ship excursion. The force field is strong, but none of our scientists are certain that it could withstand a bombardment from thousands of the Monster Warship, much less the millions of Mini-monsters coming with them.”
Katy shook her head at the vision and looked at Michael, “That’s why you went back and fired those heavy rounds.”
Michael smiled, “Very good, Admiral. You’re the first one to see the necessity of doing that.”
Everyone turned to Katy and she shrugged, “We had to see if they would take out the Mini. Now that we know they can, I suspect we might start building satellite missile launchers that will be in orbit just inside the force field to fire at them.”
Michael shook his head, “Again, very astute. The first one will be launched in two months. The heavy rounds used on them will be force field protected to give them a chance to get through the Legends’ disruptors.”
“Why don’t we put those rounds on our ships and avoid having to fight our way down to the Monster’s hulls?”
Michael looked at Katy, “Do you want to answer Audrey’s question?”
“I’m not sure if I’m right but I’m going to assume that this new force field protected heavy round is probably too lar
ge for our ships to carry.”
Michael nodded, “It’s about one third the size of the new Attackship.”
Luke shook his head, “We don’t have the building capacity to build defense satellites large enough to hold enough of those rounds you’re describing to make a difference.”
“We’re not.”
“What?”
“Piper’s family on the Grey Planet are building them and will transport them here as they’re completed. A third of Eden’s manufacturing facilities are building the rounds and shipping them to the Greys so the satellites will be armed before they are brought here.”
“Are the missiles the only weapon they’ll have?”
Michael shook his head and looked at Josh, “No, they’ll have a full complement of Heavy Dark Energy Disruptors.”
Talel nodded, “That’s more reasons why we would be foolish to start this conflict now.”
Michael nodded, “Exactly right. You still saw it without all the information.”
Jan looked at Michael, “So, what does this mean?”
“About how long before the party begins?” Jan nodded. “I suspect there will be a few years or maybe as many as ten before it kicks off.”
“Why so long?”
Talel thought, “Now the Legends aren’t limited to just one Monster per Legend. They’ll build quite a few more.”
Jan’s head tilted and Michael sighed, “He’s right. You said it yourself, the Vampire Telepaths will command the Monsters along with the Legend. They now form a sort of weird symbiosis where the Vampires will keep the Legends in power and the Legends will give them conquered species to consume.”
Jan shook her head, “There’s no way we can match their building capacity.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Jan.”
“OH! Did you see the size of that galaxy in the bullet cluster where they’re being built?”
“Have you taken a good look at the size of M-87, M-84, Andromeda, and our own Milky Way? If given time, I suspect we can hold our own.”
Jan tilted her head and smiled, “Now that is a good point. Touché.”
Michael bowed and looked around the room, “We have more than we can do and we’re behind at the moment. However, time is on our side. For the immediate future, we’ll work on defense satellites, ship building facilities in all four galaxies, expanding our simulators to all four galaxies, force fields and thought blockers around as many planets as possible and finally having a wedding.”
Jan jerked her head up and Michael smiled, “If that is agreeable with you?” Jan was out of her chair and in his arms in an instant. He took a ring out of his pocket and held it out, “This is an exact duplicate of Allison’s ring. Salud gave it to me when I told her what I was going to do.” He lifted her chin and looked in Jan’s eyes, “Will you marry me?” Jan couldn’t speak but she could nod. Michael slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her tight. The meeting ended with the others crowding around the two lovers congratulating them.
Katy took Jan’s hand and stared at her ring, “It’s really beautiful.”
“Katy, I’m sorry things didn’t work out for…”
Katy put a finger on Jan’s lips, “Don’t be. I learned the hard way that I’m not up to dealing with our First Commander. It took him scaring the living crap out me to see it. I no longer want that. I see that you have what it takes to meet him on a level playing field and that is what both of you need. I really am happy for both of you.”
Jan smiled and hugged Katy tightly, “You will always be my First Admiral, Katy. I love you.” Katy smiled and hugged her.
Audrey went over to Michael and watched Katy and Jan hugging. “I assume you discussed this with Mom and Dad?”
“I did.”
“Are they coming to the wedding?”
Michael’s eye’s narrowed, “Now that I think about it, they didn’t say.”
“Why are they avoiding us, Michael?” Michael stared at his half-sister and his eyes narrowed and he shook his head. “I think you need to find out.” Michael looked at Jan and nodded, “I will.”
• • •
“Chris.”
“Yes, Averel.”
“I’m about to take leave to have my baby but I thought you should know that Michael is coming to visit.”
“WHY!”
“Audrey has brought up the point that you appear to be avoiding them. They intend to find out why.”
“OH CRAP!”
“Chris, you have the answer.”
“What answer are you talking about and do you always meddle in everything?!”
“Of course. That’s who I am. However, what orders did Chris give to all of the Alliance’s Forces and said there will be no exceptions?”
Chris looked at Allison who was listening in and saw her smile. She walked over to the front office and brought a small box back with her. Averel saw her in Chris’s mind and smiled, “It’s about time you open your mail.”
Allison took out a small knife and began cutting through the packing tape, “What is that?”
Allison smiled, “We received this after Michael issued those orders.” She opened the box and took out two thin black headbands.
Chris looked at them, started smiling and shaking his head, “Averel, you are a genius!”
“Wear them well.”
“Someday, somebody is going to force you to keep one of these on all the time.”
Averel laughed, “Probably, but not today.”
Allison put the black band on and looked at Chris, “How do I look?”
“As beautiful as ever.”
“Then contact Michael and tell him we’re coming to meet his new fiancé.” Chris smiled and pressed his wrist unit.
Chapter Eighteen
Michael looked at the wall monitor and leaned back in his chair. Seven years had passed too quickly. It really seemed like the meeting had taken place just a few moments earlier but the Alliance had changed dramatically over the years. The first change was the most dramatic and he remembered when Budge, Nudge, Amanda, and Trevor had asked him to come see them in Hanger X.
“Hi, guys, what’s going on?”
Amanda looked at him and said, “We want you to take a look at a ship we’ve been working on.”
“Sure.” They led him across the gigantic hanger and they entered an Attackship. Budge went to the controls and the others took a seat in chairs that had been installed. One of them was empty, so Michael took a seat. “What’s going on?”
“Do you remember a place in M-87 that holds a special place in your heart?”
Michael looked at Amanda and smiled, “The destruction to the Legends’ Planet by my Father will always be a special place for me.”
Michael saw Budge turn around and activate a display above the panel. A gigantic list of codes began scrolling down at high speed and suddenly stop with one of the codes highlighted. Budge put his hand over a button on the console and turned around, “It’s always good to visit places you miss.” Michael’s head tilted as Budge pushed the button behind him.
Michael didn’t feel anything but saw light coming through the main viewport. He looked and saw the Legends’ Planet below the ship. His eyes went wide and his mouth fell open, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”
Amanda smiled, “We found out how everything in the universe is connected. You and Jan were right. Space is an abstraction that doesn’t disconnect matter. Everything solid is still in touch.” Michael stood up and walked over to the viewport and stared at the planet below the ship. He started shaking his head and Amanda said, “Light is key.” Michael turned around. “Everything that is made of matter reflects it and that light has the unique properties of the object it reflects off. Once you have that object’s light frequency, you can travel that beam to it instantly. Light is the rails that take you to your destination.”
Michael was shaking his head, “But you couldn’t see the light from this planet? And you were inside a building that had to be blocking it.”
Amanda smiled, “Once you activate the drive, the ship it surrounds leaves on any light wave as it searches for the light with the proper frequency.”
Trevor nodded as he took Amanda under his arm, “And since all matter is still in touch with each other, the search takes no time at all.”
“But…there are galaxies more than ten billion light years away.”
“And we still see that light with our space telescopes. That light is here and everywhere else around that galaxy. We travel that light to the matter that reflected it or sent it out into the universe. You and Jan were also right that space, for all intents and purposes, does not exist when you want to travel to anything made of matter.”
Michael stared out of the viewport and shook his head, “How long will it take you to return to where you started?” In an instant, Michael saw the interior of the giant hanger outside the viewport. He shook his head and looked at them, “This is…is…I don’t have the words.”
Nudge smiled, “We’re still in the discovery phase of this drive but we’re working on making it usable by our ships. That’s going to take some extremely delicate maneuvering to keep the ship far enough away from the object it’s traveling toward without a collision.”
“How will you do that in a space battle?”
Amanda looked at the display and said, “Where are space battles fought?”
Michael shrugged, “Mostly in normal space.”
“And every object in normal space is reflecting light even if the light isn’t much more than a wave. The light waves traveling through space from distant galaxies, nebulas, stars, or anything else that gives off light will be hitting any ship in normal space as they pass. We can detect the light that reflects off an enemy ship and lock it in our sensor library.”
Michael nodded, “So, the pilot can then use this new drive to move in on that target?”
Amanda nodded, “However, we’re not at the point where we have the control to do that. Yet.”
“Even if you don’t get there, this is more than we could hope for, Amanda. Our ships have a way to escape if they’re being overwhelmed by the Legends’ disruptors.”