by Saxon Andrew
Leonidas instantly said, “Send them!”
Gem was uncomfortable with the idea and Sam said, “Come on, Gem. You’re not that big of a mystery anymore.”
Gem chuckled, “No, I guess I’m not and I’ve pretty much revealed everything by now. Send them to me as well.”
Sam smiled, “I think you’ll like what they add to your crews. I’ll be back shortly.”
Sam looked at Rangel, “Move the ship back into the filament and full speed to the intersection.” Rangel nodded and Sam pressed another button, “Quartermaster, I need another chair installed on the bridge next to Captain Jek’s chair.”
“Does it need the electronic array?” Sam looked at Jek and he shook his head. “That won’t be necessary. However, I do want a fully functional monitor that can be switched between the various systems.”
“We’ll get on it immediately, Sir.”
Sam watched Delilah’s Sword moving toward the filament intersection at a speed that shocked Jek and Kel. The stood beside Sam’s command chair and Jek shook his head, “This is amazing. This vessel will leave the warships from the Insectoids in booster dust behind us.”
Sam looked at Rangel, “What is our current speed.”
“Two-thirds, Sir.” Jek could only shake his head. The ship arrived at the intersection and entered a filament leading directly away and after five minutes Jek looked at Sam and nodded.
Sam stood up and said, “Captain Mason, you have the ship. Stop the ship in another five thousand light-years.”
“Yes, Sir.” Mason turned his weapons panel over to his second and moved to the command chair. Sam, Jek, and the female Guyton returned to the conference room.
“Is this far enough from Heaven?”
“It is, Sam. I worried that my Father might suddenly think about me and enter my mind while we were having our discussion.”
“Is there a possibility he might do that tomorrow before he leaves?” Sam asked.
Jek nodded, “I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t.”
“Then the two of you will take a shuttle and stay away from Heaven until he leaves.”
Jek smiled, “I think that would be wise. However, I don’t want to miss the meeting.”
Sam pressed his console, “Captain Fowler.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Notify all the Senior Officers and their staffs invited to attend the strategy meeting tomorrow that is has been delayed until mid-afternoon.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Sam ended the contact and looked at Jek, “What have you done?”
Jek stared at Sam and saw what was in his mind. “You know what’s coming.” Sam nodded. “Did Angel tell you or did you work it out on your own?”
“A little of both. But how did you know?” Sam asked with his eyes narrowed.
Angel opened her mind to me at your wedding.”
“Why would she allow you to see it and not me?”
“Because she felt you couldn’t handle it and that you might do something stupid.”
“And you wouldn’t, Jek?”
Jek shrugged, “She told me that you loved Heaven more than anything but that I loved you more than Heaven. She saw that if it came down to you or Heaven, I would choose you.”
Sam shrugged, “I don’t really know that I would do anything different than you. I really wasn’t prepared to consider Angel’s vision. However, if one has a puzzle to complete and pieces are missing, it’s impossible to see the final image. She provided enough pieces for me to see it and she knew that if I refused to look at them, then I was not prepared to handle what is coming.”
“What made you look, Sam.”
“When Kaylee told me that it was going to take the Tronan an additional five months to arrive, she confirmed one of Angel’s visions. There was no way Kaylee or Angel could have known what was going to happen in advance but Angel did. That confirmed that she actually does have visions of the future. Once I knew it to be true about when they would arrive, I couldn’t avoid looking at all the evidence.” Sam looked at Jek, “Now tell me what you’ve done and why is Kel here with you.”
Kel smiled, “Sam, you know I’ve been ga-ga over Jek since you first met him.” Sam smiled.
Jek shrugged, “I decided in light of what I’ve learned that it is time for Kel and me to see if our relationship is real. I don’t want to put it off any longer.”
Sam smiled, “I’ve told you for years you’re a dummy for not seeing her at every opportunity.”
Kel’s head went back and she said, “Is that so?” She looked at Jek and he could only shrug. Kel smiled, “I think I like you more now, Sam.”
Jek said, “I’ve sent the Dojuit Colony Ship toward the Insectoid Planet.”
“Why?” Sam asked.
“Just as an insurance policy. I’ve had the vast majority of our scientists, engineers, and anyone of any importance moved on board.”
“How were you able to get Dyget to approve that?!”
“I told him that time was running out and that we needed to send our best to the Dragons and Insectoids to help them complete the warships we’ve purchased.”
Sam’s head went back slightly, “I thought all six-hundred were delivered.”
“They have been. But Dyget and the Party Leaders didn’t know just how many we’ve purchased. Dyget balked when I told him all of the families would be going with the ship.”
“And…”
“I told him that our scientists and engineers would be gone for at least a year while they worked on our ships and learned the new technology. I told him that living quarters had been built and that it wasn’t good to have our people separated from their families for that extended period. It would make things more efficient because they wouldn’t have to keep taking leave to come back to visit their families.”
Sam nodded, “That sounds reasonable.”
“I also had every crew that was not assigned a ship to go as well.”
“What?”
“I also moved the families of the crews in our fleets on board at the last minute and told them that their ships would be updated once the Tronan were defeated and they would be gone for an extended period.”
“I imagine some of them didn’t like that.”
“It was easier than you think, Sam. I think our crews know what’s coming and they realized that their families would be safe.” Jek hesitated and said, “I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart that you were able to get my father, mother, and sister to leave.”
Sam smiled, “Thanks for reminding me.” Sam pressed a button on his communicator as he connected it to the ship’s long range antennae. Kel appeared on his console and Sam smiled, “Kel, I’m wondering if you might assist me on an issue.”
“What is that?” the huge dragon asked.
“I have the leaders of my government along with their families leaving to come to your planet to finalize our agreements.”
“That’s not necessary. We accepted you as a final authority.”
“Kel, what will happen if we’re unable to stop these invaders?”
Kel stared at Sam and after a moment said, “You must be sending more than just your leaders away from your planet?”
“We are and they are unaware of our doing it.”
“What do you need?”
“The latest estimate on the invader’s arrival is about three weeks. I need you to keep our leaders at your planet until this issue is resolved one way or another.”
“That’s going to be difficult if they are in their ships.”
“Then take shuttles out and move them to your planet. I’ll pay for any expense involved in keeping them there.”
Kel stared at Sam and shook his head, “That will be unnecessary. I’ll discuss this with the Queen and I’m sure she’ll be able to keep the talks going for quite a while. There will be no expense.”
“I hate to tie her up like that, Kel.”
“Don’t be. Trust me that she really likes having visitors to
meet. It makes her day pass faster.”
Sam smiled, “One of them is a telepath.”
“Then I’ll just won’t tell her to about keeping them from leaving. I’ll tell Kil to make sure everything possible is known before they are allowed to leave. I’ll make sure I’m not present when they arrive so they’ll know I set them up.”
“Do you think that will work?”
“Kil is known for his curiosity and he’ll suggest that he be allowed to question them before the Queen getting involved. Trust me, three weeks is not near long enough for Kil to satisfy his curiosity.”
“Thank you, Kel.”
“keep me informed on what happens.”
“You’ll be one of the first to know.” Kel nodded and the monitor went dark.
Jek smiled, “You know, I really like those Dragons.”
Kel stared at Jek with wide eyes, “How big was that creature?”
Jek shrugged, “About thirty-five feet long and fifteen feet high at the shoulder when standing.”
Sam smiled at Kel’s wide open mouth and said, “Is there something else you’ve done that I should know about?”
Jek’s expression changed, “There were some important people I was unable to convince to leave, Sam.”
“Who?”
“Your father refused to leave.”
“WHY?”
“Sam, I tried everything even telling him what was going to happen. He initially told me he could never leave his arm behind but I knew he wasn’t being honest.”
“You could have looked at his thoughts, Jek!”
“I promised him years ago I would never do that without being invited. He finally told me that he would not leave Samantha behind.” Sam’s eyes closed as he looked up at the ceiling and Jek continued, “He told me that you have too many things to do to come and argue with him about it. Nothing you could say would change his mind. He also said to tell you that he is so very proud of the man you’ve become.”
Sam looked at the floor and shook his head. After a few moments, he looked at Jek and Kel and said, “I don’t know if I could leave her, either. Anyone else?”
Jek tilted his head and looked at Kel before saying, “Annie refused to leave as well. She’s just been given a contract to star on a new entertainment show. She absolutely refused to consider it and I thought it would be foolish to tell her what was coming. She would not keep it to herself.”
Sam shook his head and sighed, “She is, if nothing else, consistent. You gave her a chance. I really don’t know if I would have, Jek.”
“I know. But I had to make the effort.”
“What else?” Sam asked.
“I had to tell Pletal what was going to happen or he wouldn’t have helped. He had five thousand of his people move on board the colony ship to operate the cranes and loading machines. They remained on board. Just before the ship lifted he had two thousand more brought on board.”
“Why were they needed?”
“I had every expansion chamber in our inventory loaded on the ship along with fifty million tons of bretel.”
“WHAT?”
“I know, I know. That’s an incredibly dangerous cargo but we’re going to need bretel to trade for what we might need to survive, Sam. I’ve also instructed all the Senior Scientists and Engineers that large amounts of it to pay for things will now stop. We will only use the minimum needed to purchase what we need.”
Sam nodded, “I was worried that flooding the market with bretel would drop its value to little more than nothing.”
“It would also put a very powerful explosive in possession of others that I don’t really feel comfortable doing,” Jek added.
“Did you discuss what you were planning with Chief-Engineer Hardy.”
“Actually, he came and had a discussion with me. I made him swear his silence and he eventually understood after four hours of arguing.”
Sam stared at Jek and asked, “Is he on the colony ship?” Jek nodded. Sam scrolled down a list of contact numbers on his panel and activated the Sword’s long range communicator. He pressed a button and a few moments later, Hardy appeared on his monitor.
“Good-day, Fleet Commander, how may I be of service?”
“I sent you a message probe a month back. Were you able to conduct the experiment I requested?”
“It wasn’t easy, Commander. Keeping it secret was nearly impossible but I was able to do it two days before we lifted.”
“What were the results?”
Hardy stared out of the monitor at Sam and said in a neutral tone, “Commander, you really don’t want to know.”
Sam stared at Hardy for a long moment and said, “Thank you, Chief-Engineer.” Hardy nodded and the monitor went dark.
Jek and Kel stared at Sam in the ensuing silence and finally Jek looked at Sam with his eyes moist, “How did you know about…”
Sam slowly shook his head as he interrupted, “Do you remember the recording Pletal showed us in the first meeting we had with him? I know you weren’t present but you must have seen it in my thoughts?” Jek tilted his head and Sam continued, “It showed a recording that was being transmitted by one of the local inhabitants on a planet the Tronan invaded. A Dojuit Scout intercepted it and Pletal shared it with us in the meeting. Pull it up from the database and take a look at it. You’ll understand.”
Sam stood up and walked out of the conference room and Jek went to his console. He queried the computer’s database and pulled up the recording and watched it with Kel. When the recording moved to show the Tronan Warriors herding the local population into large holding pens, he saw it. His head fell to his chest and Kel’s eyes closed as she reached for him. Thank the Creator that the thoughts of those in the recording could not be heard. Sam was right; there were pieces that they were not prepared to see.
Chapter Twenty-One
The meeting was a large one. It was finally decided that every warship commander would be present along with the Senior Commanders. The only place large enough for the meeting was the general assembly room in Killamed. It was closed to any outsiders and armed guards were stationed at every entrance to enforce the restriction. Sam and Jek sat at a raised table above the huge gathering and Sam sat back and looked around the room as the attendees entered.
He saw Daniel sitting to the far right of the gathering with the crews from Earth’s former fleet. The six-hundred crews of the Insectoid Warships sat to the left of the gathering. The center of the gathering was reserved for the crews of Heaven’s Fleet and Hefin sat in the front row.
Sam glanced at Jeles, who commanded the six-hundred Insectoid warships, and wondered where his loyalty lay. Finally, the doors to the room were closed and the room became silent. Jek stood up and smiled at the gathering, “I’ve been asked to lead this discussion by Fleet Admiral Oliver due to my ability to better understand any questions you might have. Sometimes a question may be spoken that is not what the questioner really wants answered. I’m hoping that any misunderstandings can be eliminated in advance.” Jek looked around the room, “Are there any questions?”
Hefin stood up, “I’d like to know why my fleets will not be attacking the Tronan directly but only used to blind their scanners?”
Jek looked at Hefin and saw there was a lot more to the question but he looked across the room at Daniel, “Commander, you have experience with the force fields we’ve had installed on our ships. Can they stand up to the Tronan blasters?”
Daniel was handed a microphone and he said, “They can handle only two.” Hefin’s eyes went wide and Daniel said, “The force fields can be strengthened if they are linked together with another ship but alone, three blasters will penetrate them.”
Jek looked at Hefin, “If your ships attempt to break through the massed blaster fire of the Tronan Warships, they will be blown into dust faster than you can imagine. Your ships will only be effective in attacking them if they breakup their formation leaving their ships to fend for themselves individually. It is our opinion tha
t the Tronan have been through enough space battles to have learned not to do that. We have to have them blinded so that our major warships can go in to weak places in their formations and deliver a fast, and I do mean fast, attack and get out before they are targeted by high numbers of blasters.”
Hefin was not ready to let it go, “Is there not a vulnerable place on their ships that my warships could exploit?”
Sam’s eyes narrowed and he stared at Hefin as he said loudly, “Commander, technically, you out rank me due to your seniority. Would you like to take command and do this another way?” Hefin stared at Sam in silence and Sam said, “I do not question the bravery of your warriors or doubt their willingness to die to defend Heaven.” Sam paused and looked around the room, “I trust that all of you have seen the simulations of the blaster coverage that the two hundred blasters offer the Tronan. There are no holes in that coverage. They even have the boosters covered ten miles out behind them.” Sam turned back to Hefin, “Your crews would be dead before the battle even started if they rushed into that coverage.” Sam paused and lowered his eyes, “Or do you see it differently, Fleet Commander?”
Hefin stared at Sam and turned around and looked at his crews, “The Fleet Commander is right. We can only do what our ships are capable of doing.” He turned back to Sam, “I may have a higher rank but you will command this fight.”
Hefin sat down and Daniel stood up, “You are breaking up my ships to work with the large warships. I’m not sure I understand why.”
Jek smiled, “The Demon Class warships we acquired from the Insectoids have a much larger force field and by flying in with them with linked forces fields, your force fields will be stronger and able to withstand more punishment. The Demon will have fifty blasters along with the eight your two ships add to their fire. You will move in firing all your blasters at a section of the Tronan Warship’s hull that has twenty blasters. We believe that your combined fire will blow them off the hull where the Demon can launch ten Trillium Missiles at that place. You will then turn and run!” Daniel nodded and Jek said before he sat down, “I want to make sure you understand. When I say run, I mean it!”