by Saxon Andrew
“What’s going on?” Elena asked.
“Gregor, one of the probes has entered the filament and is following us.”
“WHAT?”
“I can see it in the wake we’re making.”
“We’ll just have to out run it. Embree, keep an eye on the gages and let me know when the internal temperature on the hull starts approaching a dangerous level.” Embree nodded and stared at his console. “Going to maximum speed.” The Dragon Fly exploded forward, and the wake grew larger.
Five-days passed, and the probe remained behind them. “Why hasn’t it burned up?!”
Embree looked up, “Gregor, I’m forced to believe that by staying inside our wake, that probe is not encountering the friction we’re facing.”
“How do we get it out of our wake?”
Embree shrugged, “Well, there’s two-ways. One, we go to a higher speed and outrun it.”
“Or?”
“We stop.”
“We’re already traveling at our maximum-speed.”
Embree nodded, “And the internal temperature of the hull is getting close to a dangerous level.”
“Computer, can you add the gravity boosters to the dark energy boosters.”
“Gregor!”
“Can you do it?”
“I can bypass the block-outs, but we’re already in dangerous territory.”
Gregor looked at Embree, “I’m going to use both solutions. Computer, connect the gravity boosters and I’m pushing them to maximum boost. Embree, tell me before the temperature goes critical and I will shut down all boosters and use the forward boosters to slow us down.”
“That is going to cause massive deceleration!”
“I know that computer! But it’s going to take us longer than a week to get back. Elena, turn your chair around and Embree and I will swivel ours the moment I stop the thrusters. Embree, buckle in tightly. Ready?” Embree nodded as he pulled his harness tight. Gregor pushed the gravity boosters to full power and the Dragon Fly went to incredible acceleration. “Is the probe still there, Toren?”
“It is!”
“DO IT NOW, GREGOR!!” Embree yelled as he whipped his chair around. Gregor pulled the thruster handles back, as he pushed the forward thruster handles half-way forward. He spun his chair and used the upper wing thrusters to push the Dragon Fly down. Gregor kept his eyes on the rear wall monitor and saw a huge flame appear moving toward him at a horrific speed. The flame burned incredibly bright…and then disappeared. Gregor, Elena, and Embree were forced back hard into their chairs as the gravity compensators whined loudly. Then…the Dragon Fly came to a stop.
Chapter Thirty-Two
“I’m going to hurt for a year.”
“Embree, you’re a big baby!”
“Easy for you to say, Elena; your body was changed by Gem’s machines.”
“I’m so sorry, Embree. I forgot about that.”
“So, did I,” Gregor muttered as he rubbed his neck. “I’m sorry about that but the probe burned up like a meteorite. I’m turning us around and heading back.”
“I don’t think I can stand up,” Embree winced as he fell back in his chair.’”
“Elena, help me get him into the sleeping quarters and put a chair in the shower. Computer, raise the water temperature and let’s see if that helps.”
“Gregor, I modulated the stopping thrust, so it wouldn’t reach a dangerous level.”
“Thank you for that, computer.” Gregor got under one of Embree’s arms and Toren came over and got under the other one.
“I can do this!” Elena said forcefully.”
“I know, but I’m closer to Gregor’s height.”
Elena saw one of Embree’s shoulders would be lower if she assisted Gregor. She sighed, “I’m sorry; you’re right.” She went ahead of them and put a cushioned chair in the small shower. She left the room, as Gregor and Toren undressed Embree and assisted him to the chair. Elena sat in her chair and wondered why she had snapped at Toren. She didn’t like the reason she came up with.
After an hour, Gregor and Toren lifted Embree and led him to the small bed. He laid down and winced, “The shower helped. I just need to rest a few minutes.”
“I’ll stay with him, Gregor.”
“Thank you, Toren.” Gregor went back to his chair and glanced at Elena, “What was that about?”
“I sometimes lose my cool when others think I can’t carry my share of the load. I was being silly; Toren was right.”
Gregor nodded and looked up, “Computer, how long will it take us to get back?”
“Without leaving a wake, eight-days.” Gregor rolled his eyes. “Hey, you’re the one that decided to run from that probe.”
“And just what would you have done, Computer?”
“Once we were out of range of the other probes, I would have blasted it.”
Gregor lowered his head and shook it. “I think the computer is making a good point.”
“You’re not helping, Elena.”
“She knows wisdom when she hears it, Gregor.”
Elena put her hand over her mouth and tried not to giggle, but failed. “I’m going to relieve Toren.” Gregor got up and went to the sleeping quarters.
“Computer.”
“Yes, Elena?”
“Why didn’t you suggest blasting it?”
“I didn’t know how big the explosion might be.”
“Why would that matter?”
“It might be detected by who knows who?”
“So, it wasn’t the best option?”
“Possibly, but our wake would be detected so who can really know what the best option would be.”
“I heard that!”
Elena burst out laughing. The computer sighed, “Oh well, it was good while it lasted.”
• • •
Embree was back to normal in five-days and the distant galaxy was getting larger by the moment. “Computer, go to full-stealth mode but don’t use the force field stardrive. Only use one-third of the gravity thrust until we pass those probes.”
“Changing now.”
“Do you have any suggestions, computer?”
“No, Gregor, I do not.”
Gregor activated the filament-communicator. Leo appeared, and Gregor smiled, “We should be back in less than twenty-four-hours. We’re not using maximum speed.”
“How do you want to handle this?”
“What’s going on in Greng Funland?”
“They’re rather nervous. They’ve recalled most of their fleets and have placed them at their major planets.” Leo answered.
“Go out and destroy those probes prior to my arrival.”
“You don’t want to record it?”
“You and Sam can do that and transfer the data to my computer when we get there. If it takes this new civilization four-weeks to get here, I don’t want to wait longer than necessary.”
“Sam has an idea?”
“What is that?”
“He suggested we send one of our ships out on that filament to keep an eye out for their approach.”
“That’s a good idea. Have him scan for other probes and don’t leave a wake going out.”
“I’ll let him know; I’ll contact you once we remove the probes.”
The monitor went dark and Gregor looked up, “Computer, send the method you use to see the new force field to Sam and Leo’s computers.”
“I did that before we left, Gregor.”
“Good.”
“And…”
“Thank you.”
“Was that so hard?”
“More than you know, computer.”
“You’re just so argumentative.”
Gregor smiled, “Imagine that? Where do you think I became that way?”
“Has to be genetics.”
Elena chuckled, and Gregor smiled, “And you became that way due to…”
“My exposure to you.”
Elena laughed louder, and the computer responded, “Elena, it�
��s contagious. Don’t get too close to him.”
Gregor sighed, “I imagine it’s too late.”
“Pray for an antidote, Elena.”
“We’re approaching the probes, Gregor.” Gregor nodded, as he heard the computer say, “Now that’s interesting?”
“What is that?” Gregor asked with raised eyebrows.
“There were four-probes here when we passed them leaving the galaxy. One of them followed us and now there are still four probes here.”
Gregor sat up straight, “We haven’t been gone four-weeks. How did they get one here so fast?”
“I have no idea,” the computer replied.
Gregor hit the communicator, “Leo, have you started removing the probes?”
“We were just about to start.”
“How many are there?”
“Four.”
“We’ve also got four at this filament. That civilization managed to get one here to replace the one that followed us in less than two-weeks. They must have developed a faster speed since the Filament Makers were attacked.”
Sam appeared on the monitor, “It has been several-centuries since that happened, Gregor.”
“Even so, we don’t have any idea how long it will take them to investigate. You should wait until I arrive to take them out.”
“What has you worried, Gregor?”
“Leo, what if they’re able to use the filaments?”
Leo’s eyes narrowed, as Jek spoke up, “Then they have the means to go out and find our civilization a lot faster than we thought.”
“You’re right. I wondered why that probe entered the filament to chase us, but I see now that it must be able to use the filaments to increase its speed. We need to discuss this before we move forward.”
“You believe this civilization may go looking for where your ship came from.”
‘It’s a possibility, Toren.”
“Destroying that probe may cause them to go looking for the Filament Maker’s motherships.”
“I realize that, computer. Hold off until we arrive.”
Sam and Leo disappeared from the monitor and Gregor’s eyes narrowed. If this civilization’s warships could withstand the friction generated by the filaments, would they be immune to their blasters?
“Gregor.”
“Yes, computer.”
“I’ve done some analysis about the new force field that makes their probes invisible. I need to verify it with the one we’re using, but it shouldn’t be able to hide a large warship.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The frequency used to produce it won’t hold its cohesiveness beyond a small size; It will lose its ability to hide anything.”
“Just how did you arrive at this conclusion, Computer.”
“I scanned our force field at various strengths and saw a marked difference in the strength. It will lose half of its strength for every ten-feet it expands. I know you’re questioning this, especially in light of it working with our ships. However, keep in mind that the probe that was chasing us in the filament was only slightly smaller than the Dragon Fly. The strength of the force fields around Sam and Leo’s ships is less than fifty-percent of that around ours. If the field is stretched to surround a large ship, it will not allow it to be avoid being detected.”
“Stop the ship, computer, and move out of the filament.”
“We can check this out when we get back.”
“No! Do it now!” The Dragon Fly moved out of the filament and came to a stop. “Toren, leave the ship and see if you can see the ship when we expand the field.” Toren changed to his energy form and moved out of the ship. Gregor looked up, “Expand the new field,” Gregor ordered.
“I’m going to expand it slowly and start at the size of our two-new warships.”
Gregor said loudly, “Can you see the ship, “Toren?”
“No.”
The computer announced, “Now I’m going to start expanding the field without stopping. Toren, tell us the moment you see anything change.”
“Go ahead.”
Gregor looked up at the wall monitor, where a silhouette of the Dragon Fly appeared with a white line surrounding it. The line began expanding and they heard Toren say, “I can see something.”
“Stop, Computer!! What do you see, Toren?”
“I see sparks flickering inside a dark cloud. I’m also seeing energy inside that cloud. It’s intermittent, but I can see it.”
“Would you see it from a long distance?”
“Give me a moment.” They waited and, a few seconds later, Toren answered, “I moved out at high speed and I lost sight of the ship at a thousand-miles.”
“Computer, I want you to start expanding the field again and Toren, I want you to describe what you see.”
“I’ll do better than that. I’ll send the images to the wall monitor.”
Gregor looked up at the monitor and saw, what appeared to be, some sort of disturbance in space. It would be visible for a moment and then disappear. “Start now, computer.” They stared at the wall monitor and the disturbance grew clearer quickly. It solidified into a pitch-black circular shaped field. “Stop!” Gregor ordered. “How large is the area the field is covering now?”
“Gregor, it wouldn’t cover a commercial Starliner. It’s about two- hundred and fifty yards in diameter.”
“Computer, could pushing more power into the field maintain it?”
“No, Elena. Remember that with each increase in size, the power needed to do it is squared. A large warship would require the majority of its inner space to have reactors to keep it operational; this is a clear example of diminishing returns. This issue is a property of the frequency being used to produce the field; it just can’t hold together over a large space. It is only effective for ships as large as our two-new warships, after that, it breaks down quickly.”
“It’s only good for probes and small missiles,” Embree added to the conversation.”
“What did you say?”
Embree turned to Gregor, “I said it’s only good for probes and small missiles.”
Gregor smiled broadly, “Computer, our new missiles have the first force field drives, don’t they?”
“Yes, they do.”
“If we tuned their drives to this new frequency, would it cover them without breaking down?”
“Easily. The new missiles are tiny compared to this ship.”
“So, if we fire them at an enemy warship, they wouldn’t be detected.”
“Gregor, you saw how hard it was to lock that frequency into our stardrive.”
“I can help make it happen, Computer!”
“Toren, we have fifty-missiles on the Dragon Fly and the other two-ships have more than two-hundred.”
“Computer, we don’t need to change all of them; we just need to modify enough to defend us while we attack one of their ships. If we only use missiles, our ships won’t be seen.”
“How many will you want changed, Gregor?”
“Five on our ship and twenty on the other two-vessels.”
“I guess it could be done.”
“Toren, come back on board and start making the changes. I want all fifty-missiles changed.”
“I THOUGHT YOU ONLY WANTED FIVE DONE!”
“Don’t get lazy on me, Computer. We’ll change ours and transfer them to Leo and Sam’s ships.”
“And where are we going to do this?”
“In normal space. We’ll have zero gravity and moving them will be easier than on a planet. We’ll use a tether line to attach ten-missiles together and have the hoist inside the missile tubes pull them in. Contact Sam and send a copy of what we just did, and discussed, to their computers. Have them move their ships back to where we assembled before we attacked the Greng warships. We’ll make the transfers there.”
Embree chuckled, “This is all a moot point if the computer and Toren can”t adjust the missiles’ force fields.”
“I’ve already done the first two.
”
“My, my, aren’t you the overachiever, computer.”
“It was Toren that made it happen. I couldn’t have done it alone.”
“Computer, it was you that came up with the data to make this possible. You are certainly an overachiever. Thank you.”
Elena said, “Aww…that’s so sweet.”
“Don’t get all sentimental on me, Elena.”
“Get as sentimental as you want, Elena. Gregor doesn’t appreciate compliments.”
Gregor rolled his eyes, looked at the filament map of the galaxy, and set a course back to the site they launched the attack on the Greng. Sam and Leonidas were already there when they arrived.
• • •
Gregor and Leonidas were in space suits and completed connecting the last missiles to the tether line. They began moving into the missile port on Leo’s ship and Leo blew out a breath, before saying, “I don’t care if it is zero-gravity, those things are hard to move.”
“They still have mass, Leo.”
“Gregor, what if this unknown civilization shows up with a million-small-warships.”
“I don’t see that happening, Leo.”
“It could.”
“Anything is possible, but in order for them to have ships as small as ours, they would need a metal like ours, and I doubt they have that.”
“Why would they need a metal like the one on Bellingham?”
“A warship has to possess tremendous bracing inside of it to deal with the huge gravities space combat calls for. Smaller warships are never as stiff as larger vessels. If you build up the bracing, you sacrifice room for weapons. Bellingham metal is what allows us to have the blasters and missiles on board to defend us. It’s extremely light and incredibly strong. Your ship is the largest a ship can be and still use that new force field.”
Leo shrugged and watched the last missile pulled into his ship, “You say these missiles can’t be detected?”
“I do.”
“What about the thrusters?”
“Leo, you need to do your homework; they use the gravity boosters.”
“I leave that sort of thing to Embree.”
“But he’s not with you now.”
“He will be after Solo goes back to your ship.”
“Why are you doing that, Leo.”
“We’re not going to get into a contest with the warships from this unknown civilization. We’re going to fire a few missiles at them, and turn for home. Since you insist they can’t be detected, we’ll launch from long range and not get involved in any close fighting. Embree is more than capable of doing that.”