by Saxon Andrew
“If our readings are correct, they no longer pose a threat.”
“There are two million of them, George. They could gang up on us.”
“I really don’t think they could, Chris. The new ship is faster and can escape any attempt to overwhelm it. The ship that chased the original Jukebox would be left far behind in any pursuit. We probably need to go pick a fight and see how we do but I’m certain we could survive now.”
Jillian looked up from her display where she was viewing the new ship’s weapons platform and asked, “How may crew members does it require?”
“It’s designed to work with a hundred and twenty. Twenty of those are pilots of the Needles.”
Chris looked up sharply at the display, “What are Needles?”
“They are new attack craft that have been designed to launch from the ship’s hull. They are stronger than the previous ship and each of them are powered by a smaller version of the new reactors. They carry three fusion missiles and their beams are strong enough to penetrate a Blue Giant just long enough to launch a missile through the opening. The pilots are currently undergoing their training as we speak.”
Dolly asked, “What are the other hundred doing?”
“A third of them are responsible for making sure the reactors are at optimum efficiency. Forty of them have a beam platform, which are placed around the ship, to target selected bogies; however, the ship can be placed on automatic to fire at any ship in the vicinity. The beam operators can override the system if they determine a bogey should be hit immediately. This is designed to target incoming missiles that might not be given a priority by the master system.”
Chris nodded, “That’s a good idea.”
“The remainder of the crew is cross trained on both systems so that the ship can be run in shifts during normal operations. The cross trained crew will also be responsible for getting the Needles ready to launch or recover during General Quarters.” George saw Chris’ expression and said, “What’s wrong?”
“I was hoping I could take the ship out for a couple of trips.”
“I don’t see any reason why you can’t. The crew has been training for more than four months on the new ship design. The crew for the Jukebox is ready to go on its trial run. Do you anticipate any combat on these trips?”
“Yes, I do George.”
Dolly looked at Chris, “You didn’t say anything about combat!”
“Dolly, how can you go anywhere in this universe and not expect to encounter a rabid predator?”
“We’ve got our galaxy under control at the moment.”
“Who said my trips were going to be in this galaxy?”
Dolly leaned back in her chair but before she could respond George said, “You’re going to M87?”
Chris looked shocked, “How did you figure that out?”
“I’ve been receiving the feed from Captain Arvolo’s ship and it appears the Jenze were attacked numerous times by ships from that Galaxy. I suspect he will confirm shortly that the Jenze were ultimately destroyed by ships from that Galaxy. We need to see what the current state of affairs is in that monster. Where else are you going?”
“I felt that if this ship can stand up to the Blue Giants that we should let them know that they aren’t welcome to come here again. That was going to be my first visit.”
Dolly remained silent as she listened to the conversation. Then George said something that convinced her to approve the mission. “You should wait for the Crazy Cuban to arrive before you leave.”
“Why?”
“He can train those new pilots faster than anyone we have. They need to temper their aggressiveness with tactics and he has a natural ability to know what works. Those Needles are going to make a huge difference in the survival of your ship.”
Chris looked at Jillian and she nodded. “He hasn’t been trained on the Needles.”
George laughed, “He’ll fly one better with no training than anyone trained on them. Let him take one out and that’s all he’ll need.”
Meisa said, “We’d be glad to go with you on the initial flight.”
Dolly said, “Absolutely not!”
George looked at Dolly and started to resist but then smiled, “You’re right, of course. Our duty is here getting the rest of the fleet prepared.” He looked at Meisa and smiled, “You know she’s right.”
Meisa sighed, “I miss the good ole days.”
George laughed out loud, “Love, it was only one day.”
“I still miss it.”
Dolly said, “I want Admiral Ander’s ship ready as soon as possible. We may need to assist Admiral Connor and I want the ability to do it if needed.”
“He is out with his ship training the crew. He should be ready soon.” George looked at Chris and said, “I’ll send the Jukebox to Earth and you can start going through battle drills until the Ninja makes it back. Make good use of the time.”
Jillian looked at Dolly, “Then we have your support?”
“If you and George think this is needed, that’s all I need to know. You have your approval and I’ll notify President Suh.”
Chris looked at Jillian, “Will you take over the training; I need to visit some scientists.”
“Get back as quickly as possible.”
“You know I will.”
* * *
Arvolo entered normal space and sent out the field. After four minutes the board chimed and the Jenze planet was centered on the display. Zack looked at the display and said, “Everything looks normal.”
RV nodded and jumped ahead five years. The display once again showed the planet with numerous ships around it both coming and leaving the system. RV jumped three years and once the display illuminated they saw a huge fleet of starships moving in toward the planet from the outer system. Jenze ships started appearing in normal space to confront the incoming fleet and the numbers of defenders was growing by the second. Izzy looked at her board and said, “The incoming fleet has about two hundred thousand warships. The Jenze just matched their numbers with the last group that jumped in. The Jenze are continuing to arrive.”
Zack watched the massive Jenze fleet organize and start moving to meet the invading fleet. Jenze ships continued to arrive and join the rear ranks of the defenders. He knew that it didn’t matter how many ships arrived, they were going to lose this battle. He had already seen the burning planet and the blasted hulks floating in the system. Who were those invaders?
RV focused in on the invaders and saw them form four lines of fifty thousand ships in each line with a thousand feet between each one. Then he saw the force field activate. He stood up and pointed at the display, “That fleet is using one force field to protect it. It appears that each ship is contributing to the overall field.”
Zack looked and saw RV was right. The light green glow surrounded the invading fleet, which had stopped and organized itself into the line formations. Once the formation and force field was in place the huge fleet started moving forward. The Front ranks of the Jenze Fleet arrived and fired hundreds of thousands of missiles at the approaching ships. The missiles streaked out and started impacting the force field. The blasts were gigantic but did not penetrate the ranks of the approaching ships. The Jenze Fleet split and moved over the top and bottom of the invaders as they fired their main beams at the individual ships in the ranks of the attackers. Nothing made it through the force field. The incoming fleet did not fire back and waited until the massive defensive fleet had gathered around its formation.
RV said, “They’re making a huge mistake. They shouldn’t have all their ships at the battle. They should have left half of them at the planet.”
Zack continued to watch the display, “Why is that?”
“The invaders are waiting for them. They must think they can kill those ships.”
One of the Jenze main battleships fired twenty heavy missiles at the force field and followed them in with its force field at its maximum strength. The missiles and ship struck the force field a
nd blew a hole in it that allowed two other Jenze ships to get through the force field before it closed. The two ships attacked the invaders and destroyed eight ships before they were hit with a white ball of something. The invading fleet then fired millions of the white streaks of energy that went out and homed in on the Jenze Fleet. The strange energy pulses hit and blew through the Jenze force fields as if they weren’t there. The Jenze Fleet began exploding around the invaders and the explosions moved away and began destroying those ships in the outer ranks. If a white pulse hit a ship, it died in a huge explosion. The thousands of Jenze ships further from the invaders turned to run but the pulses were faster and caught them. Hundreds began jumping into green space but of the three hundred thousand ships that left the planet, more than two hundred and fifty thousand were destroyed. The survivors jumped back in to normal space at the planet but they were now outnumbered by more than four to one.
RV looked at Izzy, “Did you get a reading on the strength of that force field?”
“Yes, I did. That energy ball, pulse, or whatever you want to call it, is twice as strong as the beams being used by the Jenze.”
RV watched the large violet colored ships accelerate towards the planet and arrive a thousand miles above the planetary force field. The fifty thousand survivors rushed at the fleet to suicide against the force field but were destroyed by the strange white pulses before they could get close. Zack said, “They’ve taken station above the continent with the force field structure.”
RV focused in on the continent below the fleet and saw a huge pyramid surrounded by a modern city emitting a broad beam. The invading ships all launched a white pulse at the huge structure on the surface and two hundred thousand of them struck the force field directly above the pyramid. The force field held momentarily but failed when a hundred and fifty thousand pulses hit it. Fifty thousand of the pulses screamed down to the planet’s surface and disintegrated the huge pyramid along with the city surrounding it. The force field around the rest of the planet disappeared and the huge fleet began raining hundreds of thousands of the pulses into the now defenseless world. The fleet moved around the planet continuing to rain down destruction and soon a tsunami of wind borne fire began sweeping across the surface at more than three hundred miles per hour. Everything was burned out of existence including the oceans.
Izzy and Zack watched the planet’s destruction but RV separated his display and focused in on the ranks of the invaders. He studied the ships closely and saw that one of them in the center of the formation was slightly larger than the others. He brought the view in closer and saw a section on its hull slide back and large cone shaped device emerge and orient itself away from the planet and above the solar system’s plane. He set his board and had his sensors look in the direction the cone was pointed. He brought the view out and saw the beam was aimed outside the galaxy. He followed the direction and saw a distant galaxy. He recorded his findings and then turned his board back to the planet. “This fleet has just called for a general invasion of this galaxy.”
Izzy and Zack turned and looked at him.
“One of their ships has just sent a message to another galaxy and I’m reasonably certain that the major invasion will now start since the species in those ships have determined that they can be successful against the Jenze.”
Zack was in a state of shock and Izzy was holding his hand, “What makes you think that, RV?”
“Those ships invaded this galaxy ten million years ago and had their butts kicked by the Jenze. I’m sure they’ve mapped every Jenze planet and have been working to develop a weapon to defeat the planetary force field. They aren’t coming to kill every one; only the Jenze.”
RV pulled up a ship that had attacked the Jenze millions of years earlier and they saw that it was similar to the current ship being used by the invading fleet. “This is where your people were exterminated, Zack.”
Izzy watched the continued bombardment and asked, “Then how did they arrive at Earth more than three million years from now?”
“I have no idea. That’s an issue we’ll have to attempt to answer later. We need to go home and deliver what we’ve discovered.” Izzy continued to hold Zack’s hand. RV jumped the Ninja and watched as they stood and left the bridge….together. RV put on his glasses that he had refused to wear since Izzy came on board and sighed. He took his time arriving home to give them time together. Once again, I lose to a flat-belly.
* * *
Chris looked at the huge display in the planetarium as Paul Howard pulled up a close up view of M87. Paul said as the huge galaxy grew in size, “We were given this view when you went out originally to capture the Jenze Weapon. It was off to the side of your line of sight to Earth but we were able to enhance it and see details we’ve never seen before.”
“What can you tell me about it, Doctor?”
“That galaxy is in a class by itself. It’s located at the center of the Virgo Super Cluster of which the Milky Way is a part. We are of the opinion that all the other five thousand galaxies actually revolve around this monster. Our best approximation is that it has 200 times the mass of our galaxy.”
“What makes it so special?”
“It has a black hole in the center that staggers the imagination. Most black holes in the center of Galaxies are about seven or eight hundred times the mass of our sun. The black hole in the center of M87 is more than six billion times the mass of our sun. It is possibly the largest black hole in the universe and it is extremely active.”
Chris stared at the image and said, “That huge jet coming out of the center must be dangerous?”
“It is and it erupts periodically with a pulse of gamma and x-rays that extend more than six thousand light years from the center. It erases all the dust in its path preventing the formation of any new stars. It will also kill any life on planets that happen to be close by.”
“Are you saying that life will be rare in M87?”
“Oh no! M87 was once thought to be the same width as our galaxy but we now know that it is about 500,000 light years wide. It has more than ten times the number of stars in it as well. Our galaxy has between 120 to 150 star clusters inside it. M87 has more than 12,000 orbiting the black hole at the center. Some of those clusters located close to the center only have half a light year separating the individual stars. The average for the Milky Way is seven light years. There are more than two trillion stars in that giant galaxy and half of them are older than the Milky Way.”
Chris stared at the image and asked, “If I were looking for intelligent life in that galaxy, where would I start my search?”
Start on the outer edges that are on the same plane as the black hole. Anything above and below it would be in the path of the black hole’s eruptions. Start in from the edges.”
“Do you see any areas that appear to be good candidates?”
Doctor Howard smiled, “There are too many Class G-Stars to count but I’ve made a map of the galaxy and highlighted the ones that are in their prime. I’d start with those.”
Chris took the insert, “Thanks, I appreciate your help.”
“Dr. Connor, I suspect there are more civilized planets in M87 than a thousand other galaxies. I would also suspect that a huge number of those civilizations are ancient.”
Chris nodded, “We already know that to be true. We just need to find the bullies of the bunch.”
Dr. Howard slowly shook his head, “I suspect they will find you.”
Chris smiled, “I suspect you’re right.”
* * *
“Jillian, Captain Arvolo is back.”
“Thank you, Lt.” Jillian went to her command chair and said, “Contact the Ninja.” Captain Arvolo’s face appeared on her display and she saw him smile, “Captain, did you find what you were looking for?”
“Yes, we did. Who should I send the documentation to?”
“Send a copy to George, Dolly, and Chris’s address. I also want you to drop off the Jenze with Dolly.”
; “What’s going to happen to him?”
“George wants to talk with him about the reactors and then he’ll be pretty much free to do as he pleases.”
RV sighed and said, “I would recommend you sent Commodore Rosillo with him until we are finished with him. He’s pretty much helpless without someone to guide him in our society.”
Jillian stared at Arvolo and saw this was not something she should question, “I’ll clear it through Dolly. As soon as you drop them off I need you to get to the Jukebox ASAP.”
“Why is that?”
“You have been given command of our Needles. Admiral Anders ship has been kicking out backside in maneuvers and I would hate to give up our mission to his ship. I need you to get our pilots in shape.”
Arvolo squinted, “What is a Needle?”
“It’s a new ship designed to be a small attack craft for the new class of battleship. We need you, Captain. Get here quickly.”
Arvolo smiled, “Who is in command of the pilots now?”
“Captain West Maddit.”
Arvolo rolled his eyes, “That explains a lot. What are you going to do with him?”
Jillian tilted her head. Admiral Anders had recommended him to command the Needles. “What would you like to do with him?”
“Don’t do anything until I arrive. I’ll handle his disposition.”
* * *
Jeff met the Ninja at the Melbourne Spaceport and Zack and Izzy left with him. Just before Zack stepped off the ship he turned to RV, “I know you have been honest and have treated me with respect. I count you as one of my friends.”
RV smiled and the handsome Jenze stepped out of the landing bay. Izzy smiled and started to say something but then shook her head and followed Zack out.
Dolly sat in her chair and watched the two disembark from the Ninja and saw the Jenze take Izzy’s hand as they walked away with Jeff. What went wrong? She was perfect for the Cuban. This was her first failure and she intended to find out where she had made a mistake. She had to stay at the top of her game in manipulating the important relationships. What went wrong? She shook her head and went to greet the two arrivals.