“About what?” Billy challenged again, “Someone standing up to you? Calling you on your bad manners and dishonesty? Boy, are you in for a disappointing lifetime, lady!” he added.
“I’m trying to apologise so that we can be friends again,” Emma blurted.
“Well, I don’t need your so-called friendship, Emma Wallace. I had a bellyful of it at the dance,” Billy said icily, “now if you’ve got nothing more…”
“Okay, Okay!” Emma interrupted, “I was wrong. I treated you badly. I shouldn’t have said all those stupid, horrible things. I apologise. I’m really sorry, Billy,” she pleaded.
“No, I’m sorry; that’s not good enough. I don’t believe you,” Billy replied calmly, “You have no integrity; your word is worthless and I simply don’t trust you.”
“You could give me another chance?” Emma said softly.
“Why would I want to do that?” Billy asked.
“Because everyone deserves a second chance,” she replied hopefully.
“No they don’t,” Billy responded, “second chances have to be earned they’re not simply a right.”
For a moment the line went silent; the static crackling in Billy’s ear.
“I’ve really blown it, haven’t I, Billy?” Emma said sadly.
“Blown what?” Billy asked.
“Our friendship,” she replied.
“Don’t make me laugh” Billy snorted, “there was never any real friendship between us,”
“That’s not true!” Emma protested.
“Yes, it is, Emma,” Billy cut in remorselessly, “I was a convenient shoulder to cry on when it suited you, a back-up plan for the school dance and a handy maths tutor to get you through the pre-Quals.”
“No!” Emma protested loudly, “That just simply isn’t true!”
“Really?” Billy snapped, “Then, please, tell me one thing, just one thing that you ever did for your old and dear friend Billy Caudwell!?”
“Well…” Emma blurted, “There was…” the line fell silent once more.
“There was nothing, Emma Wallace,” Billy responded, “Friendships are about give and take, and that doesn’t mean you doing all the taking.”
“I’m really sorry, Billy,” Emma said dejectedly and hung up the receiver.
“You all right there, Billy?” his mother said quietly, looking up from the box she was packing as he gently replaced the receiver.
“Just putting out the garbage, mum,” he replied softly and climbed slowly back up the staircase.
Chapter 21
The Star-Cruiser Aquarius
Intelligence Technician, Junior Grade, Marilla Thapes, sat alone, in utter silence contemplating the Display Screen on the table in front of her in the Intelligence Section’s Bardomil Desk. It had been another long and frustrating duty shift for Marilla. She knew, just knew, that the Bardomil had deployed some kind of emitter weapon. Every instinct in her body told her that somewhere out there, in the depths of space, a Bardomil weapon was pointed like a pulsar-pistol at the proverbial head of some life-bearing planet. The question was; where they would deploy it? The video signal from the Explorer-Class Science Ship Magellan had shown her that something had been launched from the Bardomil incursion close to the frontier. To all the Scanner Interpretation people it had looked like a small rock, with a high metallic content, not unlike many trillions of other small rocks in that sector.
Looking carefully at the data once more, Marilla could clearly see ‘the rock’ being jettisoned by the damaged M-Cruiser before it disappeared in a huge blinding fireball. The debris from the blast was scattered in all directions. Yet, Marilla still believed that this ‘rock’ was moving under its own propulsion. Again and again, Marilla watched the few fractions of a second before the fireball, where ‘the rock’ seemed to move quickly away. Rubbing her tired eyes once more, Marilla was starting to doubt the evidence of her own vision. Was she really seeing an object moving of its own volition or was she simply imagining it, she asked herself. She couldn’t possibly have gotten it so badly wrong, she challenged herself. And, to stand up in front of Admiral Lokkrien and get it wrong stung Marilla even further. Further, the look in Senior Intelligence Officer Sownus’ eyes told her that her opportunity to shine was about to come to an end. The normally philosophical Marilla Thapes would have usually taken the disappointment in her stride, but this time, she knew, that this was her one and only chance to impress the top brass. But, she had blown it.
Again, she took the heavily magnified image forward, one frame at a time. The fuzzy image of ‘the rock’ seemed to be pushed slowly away from the M-Cruiser as the Alliance pulsar-bolts slammed into its hull.
“Towards me…towards me…towards me…” Marilla tracked ‘the rock’ on each individual frame until suddenly it blurred for two frames as it moved off quickly to the right.
“Yes, it definitely changed direction,” Marilla hissed to herself.
“It’s the first sign of madness you know, Technician Thapes?” a voice said from beside her.
Turning quickly, Marilla noticed the two small golden stars of a Second Admiral on the lower left sleeve of the uniform next to her.
“Sir!” Marilla barked and sprang to her feet, her chair falling to the floor and clattering behind her.
“At ease, Technician,” the familiar voice of Marrhus Lokkrien consoled.
“Sir!” Marilla rested into the ‘at ease’ position waiting for the dressing down she felt that Lokkrien would inevitably deliver.
“Do you really believe that my old friends on Bardan have created this emitter weapon?” Lokkrien asked calmly.
“Yes, sir, the evidence indicates…” Marilla began a further regimentally-correct report.
“The evidence indicates only the possibility, Technician Thapes,” Lokkrien cut across her, stifling Marilla’s flow of words.
For a long nerve-shredding moment, Lokkrien let his view sink into Marilla Thapes’ mind.
“You have nothing but speculation and supposition, Technician Thapes,” Lokkrien added, “However, I happen to think that you might be on the right track.”
“Sir?” Marilla looked in astonishment at the Second Admiral.
“What you suppose and conjecture, Technician Thapes, works in very well with what I happen to know about how the Bardomil Empire operates,” Lokkrien continued, setting up Marilla’s chair once more.
“And, sir, I…” Marilla started to speak once again and then gave up the ghost, “I have nothing to add other than what I presented earlier,” her shoulders slumped in resignation.
“Your reasoning and logic are correct, Technician Thapes, your technique is somewhat lacking,” Lokkrien announced pulling another chair up and sitting down, “sit,” he ordered.
Nervously, Marilla sat slowly down on the chair that Lokkrien had retrieved for her.
“I don’t understand, sir?” Marilla puzzled.
“Let’s look at what we have and do a bit more speculating,” Lokkrien suggested, “The Empress has had the weapons expert Claggit and his assistant killed; that’s standard procedure for the Empire. Aliens are not considered intelligent enough to create the weapons that win glorious victories, only Bardomil scientists do that. So, Claggit and his little friend are removed, do you follow me?”
Still mystified by what Lokkrien was talking about, Marilla stared open-mouthed at the Second Admiral and nodded.
“This tells us that our Bardomil friends have a weapon made by Master Claggit and being a magnetic field specialist, we can assume that the weapon works on those principles,” Lokkrien continued to the confused Marilla.
“We are now also assuming that the Empress has tested this weapon in the Artreaus system, which was chosen for a specific reason. Now, what might that reason be, Technician Thapes?” Lokkrien asked.
“Well, I’d say because it bore certain similarities to where the weapon is intended to ultimately be used?” Marilla speculated.
“Now, Technician Thapes, you’re getting the hang of i
t,” Lokkrien praised.
“So, the Bardomil would target this weapon at an enemy planet, would they not?” Lokkrien asked.
“Well, yes sir,” Marilla replied.
“And, this planet would have to be a life-bearing enemy planet, would it not?” Lokkrien asked.
“Yes, sir,” Marilla replied, “There’s no point in scorching an empty piece of rock.”
“So, how many life-bearing planets were there in the Artreaus system, Technician Thapes?” Lokkrien continued.
“Just the one, sir, Collizon,” Marilla answered.
“This weapon supposedly created a super-charged plasma stream from the star at the centre of the Artreaus system. So, what kind of star does the Artreaus system have?” Lokkrien questioned.
“It’s a yellow dwarf, sir,” Marilla provided the information from her own memory.
“And, how far was Collizon from that yellow dwarf?” Lokkrien continued.
“About one hundred and fifty million kilometres, sir,” Marilla replied.
“So, Collizon, a fairly unremarkable planet in a back water system in the depths of the Bardomil Empire was wiped out to test this weapon, why Technician Thapes?” Lokkrien asked.
“Same answer as before, sir, because it has some similarity to where the Bardomil want to attack,” Marilla responded.
Wondering where the line of constant questioning was going, Marilla managed to forget that Marrhus Lokkrien was a Bardomil; the traditional enemy of her Thexxian blood. As a Bardomil, Marilla distrusted and was wary of the Second Admiral. Yet, as a Second Admiral, Marilla knew that she not only had to obey his orders, but she also had developed a rather reluctant admiration for him. He didn’t have to travel through the Aquarius to sit with her in the Intelligence Section. He didn’t have to explain that he shared her suspicions. And, he surely didn’t have to sit down and try to work out what he thought was happening with her.
“So, we are looking for a system with a yellow dwarf star and a life-bearing planet some one hundred and fifty million kilometres away from it,” Lokkrien theorised, “Do we have such a system in our territory?”
“We have several systems that are similar to Artreaus in Alliance held space, Admiral,” Marilla replied, “But, none of them lie on the predicted course of the weapon,” she added sadly.
“Show me,” Lokkrien asked.
With a few deft stabs at the portable keypad, Marilla called up the three-dimensional schematic of the course that she had projected from the encounter with the Clements. From that location, Marilla had extrapolated a path that stretched all the way through Alliance held territory to the unclaimed systems beyond New Thexxia.
“There is nothing on that course even remotely similar to Artreaus, sir,” Marilla said reluctantly.
“Then, obviously, this weapon must be taking another route,” Lokkrien replied, staring at the schematic.
“Because it has independent propulsion capability,” Marilla added, suddenly feeling rather stupid for not considering that option when she herself had suggested it based on her video analysis.
“Precisely,” Lokkrien smiled, “so, how many systems do we have in Alliance space with a yellow dwarf star and a life-bearing planet at one hundred and fifty million kilometres distant?” Lokkrien asked.
Tapping on her keypad once more, Marilla dismissed the flawed projected course image and accessed the Astrophysical database.
“Three systems sir: Stegmar, Terra and Palyon,” Marilla replied innocently.
Marrhus Lokkrien flinched in his seat as if he’d been shot by a pulsar-pistol at the realisation that had just struck him.
“Technician Thapes, if you were a vain and arrogant Bardomil Empress who had just lost an entire Imperial Fleet to First Admiral Caudwell, how would you take personal revenge for that?” Lokkrien said calmly, the tension in the conversation racking up several notches as Marilla listened.
“I’d be mighty angry, sir, and I’d want to kill him?” Marilla said speculatively.
“But, to kill him, you’d have to get through the entire Alliance Fleet, so what’s the next best thing?”
“I’d want to kill his family, sir!” the realisation suddenly struck Marilla, “and his family and his whole human species are on Terra!”
“And, we have a surveillance asset close to Terra,” Lokkrien answered grabbing the keypad from Marilla.
Quickly, Lokkrien tapped in his personal code and was connected to the Ranger that orbited over Planet Earth to monitor and shelter Billy Caudwell’s double, Technician Jedithram Prust. A moment later, the face of the Commander of the surveillance Ranger appeared on a two dimensional projection on the Display Screen.
“Admiral, it’s an honour, sir; how can we be of service to you?” the nervous Thexxian Ship Commander stammered.
“Scan the yellow dwarf star at the heart of the Terran system, quickly,” Lokkrien barked the command.
“But, sir…” the Ship Commander stammered again.
“Just do it!” Lokkrien snarled.
“Yes, sir!” the Ship Commander yelped like a frightened schoolboy and his image vanished to be replaced by that of the burning yellow orb of the Earth’s sun.
“Scanning, sir,” the disembodied voice continued.
Looking anxiously at the yellow star at the heart of the Terran system, Lokkrien could see nothing out of the ordinary. The sun seemed to be just the same as thousands of other yellow dwarves he had personally encountered in his career.
“Sir, we’re picking up a massive increase in Lissian radiation emissions from the star,” the voice of the Ship Commander broke over the image, “but, this star doesn’t produce any Lissian…” he added in confusion.
“No, no, no, no!” Lokkrien hissed through gritted teeth as he watched the yellow dwarf closely.
“There sir, top right,” Marilla instructed, drawing Lokkrien’s attention to an area of the star that seemed to be turning a deeper orange colour.
“Oh no, you do not,” Lokkrien challenged the image as the orange patch seemed to convulse.
Slowly, at first, the great orange blister on the surface of the sun began to spread as the Bardomil weapon destabilised the magnetic polarity of the star. With growing horror, Thapes and Lokkrien sat motionless as the blister quickly expanded and then suddenly burst, throwing great spumes of solar material out into space. The long, snaking finger-like tendrils seethed out into the darkness of space and began their journey towards the unsuspecting blue planet that lay just a shade less than one hundred and fifty million kilometres away.
“Sir, it’s…” the horrified Marilla announced pointing to the image.
“Yes, I know Technician Thapes, I can see it,” Lokkrien replied, stabbing the keypad once again, “Ship Commander get the First Admiral off that planet immediately!”
“But, sir…” the Ship Commander replied, “I don’t have the authority to…” he pleaded for understanding.
“Never mind,” Marrhus Lokkrien interrupted the Ship Commander as he watched more and more solar material spewing out from the sun, “How long did it take to destroy Collizon, Technician Thapes?”
“About two Terran hours,” Marilla replied still staring aghast at the drama unfolding on the Display Screen.
Tapping the keypad again, Lokkrien began to bark orders.
“Ship Commander,” Lokkrien contacted the ‘Captain’ of the Aquarius, “make ready for immediate Trion Drive to the Terran system.”
“Acknowledged,” the Aquarius Ship Commander replied professionally having learned not to question orders.
“Senior Intelligence Officer Sownus,” Lokkrien tapped the keypad once more, “report to the War Room immediately.”
“Sir, acknowledging,” the familiar voice of Karap Sownus responded, “Do we have a problem?”
“That Bardomil emitter weapon Technician Thapes told us about has just activated in the Terran system,” Lokkrien answered.
“But, the First Admiral…” Sownus suddenly realised the si
gnificance, “on my way,” he added.
“Technician Thapes,” Lokkrien broke Marilla out of her morbid fascination with the great plumes of super-heated plasma hurtling away from the Terran sun, “you’re with me,” Lokkrien ordered.
“Sir!” Marilla barked, snapping out of her fascination.
“Come on, we have to get to Terra and secure the First Admiral before it’s too late,” Lokkrien announced and dashed off towards the nearest Teleport station.
Marilla Thapes was close behind.
Chapter 22
Planet Earth
Elizabeth Caudwell, nursing her cup of scalding hot tea, sat on the battered brown family sofa for the last time and contemplated the worn and untidy street that had been her home for the last five years. When this particular tea break was over, the long-serving family sofa was being consigned to the local rubbish dump. The new house in the country was almost ready. It had taken Elizabeth several weeks to get it just right, but now she was happy with it. And, now it was nearly time to move in to the new property. The lease agreement on their current home, a Council property, was due to expire in three days. The decorators were due to finish the new kitchen the day after tomorrow giving the Caudwell’s a full day to settle into the new property before surrendering the keys and rent book of their old home. Everything in the new house was new, and, to John Caudwell’s mind, just a little bit too expensive for his tastes. But, Elizabeth didn’t care. She had always wanted a home that she had designed and decorated to her tastes and specifications. She had grown tired of living in rented houses where a landlord’s rules stifled her creative and decorative aspirations. The money in the bank from her writing now made those aspirations a reality and she was going to let her imagination run riot.
Outside the large living room window, the young removal men were kicking a wad of newspaper around like a football on the narrow front lawn that Billy had hated mowing. It had been a thankless task for young Billy. The lawn was more weed than grass, and every mowing seemed to produce more weeds and dandelions to be culled with a hand held trowel. That was one job Billy certainly wouldn’t miss, Elizabeth considered, sipping the scalding sweet liquid from the dark blue mug. The noise from the rowdy young removal men distracted Elizabeth from her thoughts for a moment. An older man, tough overweight and world weary, the gang leader, perched precariously on the three bar fence that divided the asphalt public footway from their front lawn. Smoking a rolled up cigarette, the gang leader smiled and nodded to Elizabeth who smiled in reply. The gang leader had recognised her from the portrait on the back cover of her book. Like hundreds of thousands of husbands and fathers he had secretly read “My Lost Little Angel”. He himself had lost a child of a few days, many years before, and had felt the anger, outrage and powerlessness. Elizabeth’s book had helped his wife, even these many years later, and gave him a window into what she had never really been able to explain to him.
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