by Saxon Andrew
The First looked at the others and said, “Seventh, please lead the link.”
The Leaders connected mentally and began looking at all the permutations of the information they had just been given.
* * *
Arvolo looked at Chris and said, “Where to now, Sir?”
Chris sighed and slowly shook his head, “I was hoping they would agree to never invade us again. However, I think we can count on them not coming until they think they have a ship that matches up with our new battleships. That could take a while.” He looked at the display and said, “Put up M87.” The display changed and the people on the bridge saw the giant galaxy in the center of the display. Chris pushed a control and a star on the outer edge was illuminated, “That is where the Moet went to escape the Blue Giants. We are going to have a conversation with them.”
RV looked at the display and smiled. Now this should be an interesting trip. His smile disappeared when Chris said, “Then we are going to find the Violet Ships and see what they’re currently up to.”
RV looked at Chris and saw he was serious. He turned back and said, “New destination. Please recall the Needles and rearm them. Place strikers on the wings of the Defense Needles as well as the Attack Craft. We will jump as soon as all ships are rearmed and ready.”
Chris listened to RV and knew that if the Defense Needles were also being armed with strikers, RV anticipated close in combat with major ship classes.
Jillian stared at Chris and wondered if going to M87 was a good idea. It wasn’t always a good idea to stir up a hornet’s nest. Chris looked at her and saw her concern and he smiled, “We’ll be leading this dance.”
Jillian looked at the galaxy on the display, “Let’s hope they know how to dance. I’m not certain they’ll follow our lead.”
Chris smiled again and said, “Then they are going to get their feet stepped on.”
Jillian smiled and once again admired Chris’s courage. She hoped RV had an escape plan.
* * *
The Fleet Controller arrived at the Central Hive and his communications panel illuminated. He activated it and heard, “An excellent victory for the Hive. You are praised for your tactics.”
“Thank you.”
“We have considered that now would be a good time to clear up some of the issues in the neighboring galaxies.”
“It will take some time to get the Fleet organized and rested from the combat they’ve endured.”
“How long?”
“About a year should allow us time to move the stores to our ships. We have used more than seventy percent in the most recent battle and we will also have to move the food necessary to feed the Fleet on the long voyage from our Hives.”
“Can you make the preparations that fast?”
“I believe so.”
“Then start the preparations.”
The Fleet Controller moved his antennae and ended the contact.
* * *
George and Meisa had listened in on the conversation Chris had with the Blue Giant Leaders and saw that what he had suspected about the predator/prey relationship had been verified by the Giants. He stared at the floor and Meisa asked, “What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know. I wish Chris had not told them about the weakness in their ships.”
“It is no longer an issue for us.”
“I know. I just don’t want to give any kind of edge to an enemy.”
“That’s because you are so logical and smart. Sometimes it’s the gifts that make all the difference. We’ll just have to see what comes of it.”
George patted his lap and Meisa came over and sat down and hugged George’s neck. He sat with her and thought about all that had happened. He rocked in his chair and enjoyed the feeling of Meisa in his lap, “You know, Chris was right about it only being a few years since we were just flying around our solar system. Things have changed dramatically in a very short time.”
“Why does that bother you?”
“If Chris is right and that species with the violet colored ships have been at war for four million years, they have to be incredibly advanced now. I’m not sure we can survive their attention.”
Meisa thought a moment and said, “Well, if they are still at war they can’t stay long. Is there a chance they might send a scout to find their targets?”
George thought a moment and said, “You make a good point. They won’t be able to just show up and start mapping. It would take too long.”
“Is there any way we could see if a scout showed up?”
George looked at her and lifted her up. Meisa sighed and knew he was now on task and could not be interrupted. She eased out of the room as George pulled up the recording the Crazy Cuban had made of the last invasion of the Violet Ships and checked to see if a probe wire had been extended into the past. He rushed through the data and found it on the last eight pages. “Please be here,” he said to himself and read the document carefully. “Ah Ha! Meisa, get in here.”
“What?”
“We’re going to a masquerade.”
“What?”
“Get Dolly on the line and see if you can get the Moet Ruler and the Leader of the Alliance on the line with us as well.”
“What are you up to, George?”
“You’ll see; just get them on the line.”
* * *
The display showed the four participants in four quadrants and Dolly said, “George, what do you want with us?”
“First things first, Dolly.” He looked at Tenah and the Moet Baron and said, “Have either of you ever wondered about what happened to the Jenze?”
The two looked started and Tenah said, “Yes, we’ve always wondered what happened to them.”
The Moet said, “They were wiped out in an invasion.”
“So were your planets.”
“That’s true. We had to struggle our way back to civilization.”
“I have a recording of the species that attacked and destroyed the Jenze. I’m going to play the recording and hold my comments until after it’s completed.”
George started the recording and waited until it ended. The Moet asked, “Where did those ships come from?”
“They came from the giant galaxy in the center of our galactic cluster. This recording comes from about four million years ago.”
The Moet and Tenah looked at each other in the display and George said, “No, I’m not going to tell you how we got it. However, that species is now four million years more advanced and we believe it will eventually be coming back. We want to pull a little subterfuge and see if we can persuade them to leave us alone.”
Tenah said, “How do we do that?”
“It is our belief that they are in a constant state of war in that galaxy and they can only come to attack surrounding galaxies during a lull in their conflicts. They can’t stay for a long time because their ships will be needed to defend their home galaxy. That’s why they just destroyed the Moet and Jenze on their last invasion. They pretty much left everyone else alone.”
Tenah thought about it and said, “You want to make them think there are no advanced civilizations in our Galaxy?”
George clapped his hands, “Very good, Alliance Leader. That’s exactly what I want to do.”
The Moet said, “Just how would you make that happen?”
“I have the frequency of their ships. We are going to keep some of our scout ships out at the edge of our galaxy closest to them. If we detect that frequency, we will send a warning to all our ships and they will jump out to the other edge of the galaxy opposite their location. They will remain there until those scouts leave. We will just operate inside our solar systems as if none of us possess star drives. The Alliance Worlds will have to turn off their planetary defense screens during their presence.” George looked at Tenah and said, “You do realize that those screens would be a dead giveaway of an advanced civilization.”
Tenah nodded and looked at the Moet on his display, “We will do as you as
k but I want an assurance that the Moet will not attack us while they’re down.”
The Moet said, “You can leave them down permanently. If we attack you, we will be destroyed. You’re safe as long as that threat hangs over our heads.”
“The same is true for us.”
George said “Those scouts may be here for an extended visit. You will need enough ships loaded with provisions ready to jump at a moment’s notice to the rendezvous point at the outer edge. All the gathered ships will then jump away from our galaxy into deep space and wait for us to call them back. Can you make this happen?”
Tenah said, “We’ll be ready within ten days.”
“We can be ready in ten days as well.”
“Dolly, can we get our fleet in on this exercise?”
“We’ll just have them jump there as soon as they enter the service. That’s a good place for fleet exercises.”
“We’ll need all of your planets to be using ships within their systems that do not have a star drive. This is especially true if you have colonies on any of the moons or planets in your solar systems.”
“We can make that happen.”
“I’m sending you the communication frequency and I will conduct a trial occasionally to see if we are up to speed. I will announce it as a trial before I send the warning so that if I have to send a real warning everyone will know it’s the real thing.”
Tenah looked at George and asked, “What do you think they’ll do if they don’t see an advanced civilization?”
“I expect them to ignore us and go after the Blue Giants.”
Tenah and the Moet looked at each other and George could see they liked that idea.
* * *
Dolly’s board lit up and she saw Chris, Jillian, and Arvolo on the display, “You must have been listening in to George’s conversation?”
Chris said, “Actually, Arvolo was scanning the frequencies and saw the request for the Alliance and Moet Leaders. He called us in to listen.”
Dolly looked at Arvolo and he just shrugged. “It’s hard to get one by you.”
“I fear you underestimate my sneakiness.”
Dolly laughed out loud and turned to Chris, “What do you want?”
“Dolly, I agree that we need to have our ships training maneuvers outside the galaxy away from M87. How is that going to work with the training being done at the Academy on Earth?”
“We’ll just train them in ships without star drives. They’ll learn how to handle the gravity engines and maneuver in normal space. Once they complete that portion of their training, we’ll send them out to the fleet for advanced jump training. It’s going to be inconvenient but it’s probably the safest path to follow. We’ll just keep three Jukebox Class Ships at the edge of our solar system for defense.”
“That’s another thing, Dolly. According to my most recent scans, the energy disruption around Earth is starting to dissipate; we need to allow it to disappear.”
Dolly thought a moment and said, “Earth would stand out on a scan of Sierra Space and that would give away that we must possess a stardrive.”
“Yes, it absolutely would. We can always fire a beam and create a disruption if we are threatened with an attack. Removing it would take a year.”
“We’ll allow it to dissipate. We are able to jump away at the orbit of Mars now so it shouldn’t be much longer.”
“I suspect that some of the more ancient species in M87 may be able to detect the frequency of a stardrive. The less we use them in the Milky Way, the better our chances at fooling any scout that might slip by our scans.”
“Consider it done.”
“Thanks, Dolly.”
“Be careful.”
“Oh, you know we will.”
“Like I said, be careful.”
* * *
Chris broke the connection and looked at Arvolo, “How do you want to go about the next leg of our trip?”
RV sighed and said, “I want you and Commodore Connor to take the Ninja and go take a look at the part of M87 that has the frequency of the purple ships. George sent me the reading we collected in the recording and we should be able to determine that Species location by scanning for it. I would then suggest you start collecting light from a year ago and then move forward. I wouldn’t get any closer than a light month.”
“Why?”
“I’ve got to believe that their sensors are more advanced than any we’ve encountered. They’ve had more than four million years to develop them.”
“What makes you think a light month will be safe?”
“Because it will take a month for their sensors to receive the scans with you in them; they can’t travel faster than light and your stardrive leaves no trace in Sierra Space. Once they jump out to investigate, you should be long gone.”
Chris thought a moment and said, “So you think we should not go and have a discussion with the Moet?”
“They are no longer an issue. They represent no threat and we can educate them about the new situation upon their return. It’s the Violet Ships that we should focus our attention on.”
Jillian looked over and said, “We want you to make the trip with us. Is there anyone that can take your place piloting the Havana?”
“Captain Hardy is just as qualified as I am.”
Chris shook his head, “I find that impossible to believe.”
“Trust me on this one, Admiral. She might even be better. She can see things that even I miss.”
Chris looked at Jillian and said, “Are you sure about that?”
“She improved the Needles Defense Formations over what I had set up. She also saw the needed changes we had to make in coordinating with the Main Beams. She’s quite up to the task.”
Chris said, “Intercom on.” He paused and said, “Captain Hardy, please report to the Bridge.”
Cyanna ran through the corridors and arrived on the Bridge where she came to attention. Chris said, “At ease, Captain.” She relaxed and Chris said, “Admiral Arvolo seems to think that you have some rather unique abilities.” Cyanna quickly glanced at RV and he shrugged and nodded. “We’ve been struggling with our fleet structure but now I think we have found a solution to our issues.” Chris looked at RV and said, “Admiral Arvolo, you are hereby promoted a star and will be the senior Flag Officer over the Earth’s Fleets. You will report to Vice-Admiral Jeff Garcia but you will assume command of all ships in our Navy. Admiral Garcia will still report to me and continue to have responsibility for commanding Naval Operations.”
“Sir, I really prefer to stay at my current rank.”
“That’s too bad; you will take the Rank and do your best to make our fleets the best they can possibly be. Is that clear?”
RV sighed and said, “Me and my big mouth.” He saw Cyanna smile and he said, “Oh don’t think you’re going to miss out on the fun.”
She furrowed her brow and heard Chris say, “He’s right, Captain. You are promoted to the Rank of Rear Admiral and will assume the former duties of Admiral Arvolo. You will also be given a fleet to command when we return to Earth.”
Cyanna started stuttering, “But, but, but, I’m just a Captain. Captains aren’t made Admirals.”
RV said, “I was.”
“Yeah, but you deserved it.”
Chris smiled, “Just as you do, Admiral. You will assume command of the Havana and will continue in that role until we return.”
“Where are you going, Sir?”
“On a sightseeing tour, Admiral and I expect you to have the ships in our fleets ready for combat when we return.”
Cyanna looked at RV as he said, “Welcome to my world.” He stood and smiled, “Congratulations, you really do deserve it.”
Cyanna came forward and gave Arvolo a big hug that totally flabbergasted him. She stepped back and said, “I’ll do my best to make you proud, Sir.”
RV smiled and nodded, “I’m sure you will.”
Chapter Seventeen
Chris looked at Jillian and sa
id, “I’m still not sure why RV wanted us to take Zack with us on this trip.”
“I’m not sure he completely understands the decision himself. But he has not been wrong.”
“Yet.”
“Yes, but I’d go with his hunches most every time. I still wonder if he’s right about Admiral Hardy.”
“I’ve done a little investigating and it appears she is extremely talented. Her IQ is on level with Dolly and maybe as good as George in some areas of intelligence.”
“Really!”
“Yes, really.”
Jillian shrugged and stared at the display. Finally she said, “Where has she been hiding?”
“Her former Commander viewed her as a threat due to her high rankings at the Academy. He wrote her some performance evaluations that kept her out of sight. I’ve asked Jeff to investigate and there are quite a few good sailors whose careers were damaged by that officer.”
“What did Jeff do?”
“He had him court marshaled for behavior that endangers the state and he’s now serving ten years in Leavenworth.”
Jillian shrugged, “Good. What are we going to do?”
“We’re going out to a hundred light years from M87 and move around the outer edge and see if we can find that ship frequency.”
“I’d start at the point of the Galaxy that was directly opposite the Milky Way fifty million years ago.”
Chris thought a moment and tilted his head, “That makes sense. They would attack the closest threat to their domain. Let me run that through our computer and see what it says.”
Arvolo and Zack came in from stowing the Needle and watched as Chris had the computer results transferred to the main display. “It appears that the area in question is now at the far right hand side of the Galaxy. I’m jumping to an area outside that position.”
The Ninja jumped and Chris turned it to face the Giant Galaxy.
RV whistled, “Boy, that galaxy is huge.”
“Yes it is. It has ten times the number of stars we have. I’m extending the fields.” The fields moved ten seconds and an alarm went off. Chris watched the display and said, “That’s the fastest we’ve ever received an alert.” He stared at the display as it expanded even further and saw a huge purple band extend around the edge of the galaxy. “It appears that the species in question inhabits a huge area.” Chris stared at the readout and said, “But it occupies an area that is only located in the outer edge. It extends fifty light years into the interior and stops.”