by Saxon Andrew
• • •
They finished eating and Sha took the dishes to the kitchen. She came back, and Tal turned to her, “Sha, see if you can contact Earth.” Ste’s eyebrows came down and he wondered how that could be possible. They were further away from Earth than the most distant Colony.
Sha extended the antennas from the hull and pressed a pad on her panel, “This is Earth Ship Eyes of Providence, do you read me?”
“You’re coming in loud and clear, Sir.” Sha’s head went back, as Tal smiled. She pressed the pad, “We’re checking in to report our status. The ship has performed marvelously, and we’ll check back in when it’s safe to do so.”
“I’ll pass this on to Admiral Montana and General Lein, Sir.”
Sha pulled the antennas back inside the hull and looked at Tal, “You expected us to be able to contact Earth, didn’t you?”
“There’s not much blocking our view of Earth out here,” Tal replied. “Inside the galaxy there are stars, dust, black holes, and other things that would get in the way if we tried to communicate from this far away.” Don’t you have another receiver on board, Sha.”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“If we put it here, and directed our communications toward it, it should be able to transfer them directly to Earth no matter where we are in the Milky Way.” Sha thought about it and nodded. “You could also target the spy satellite’s communicator to it and the frequencies shouldn’t be detected by any one inside the galaxy.” Sha’s eyes narrowed, and Tal added, “How often have you ever scanned for communications coming from outside the galaxy?”
Sha stared at him and shook her head, “Never. All the communications take place inside the Milky Way.”
“So, if you’re an alien, would you be looking outside the galaxy to track communications?”
Sha smiled, and turned to Ste, “Have I ever told you my husband is brilliant?”
“Not more than six-hundred times or so.”
Tal laughed, as Sha turned to her panel, “I’m launching the second receiver.” Ste turned and kept his eyes on the speedometer.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ste flew the Epy back into the galaxy on a direct course for Neptune. Tal had him slow down and stop the ship ten-billion-miles above the planet. He turned to Sha, “Can you detect their scans this far away?”
“I doubt it.”
“Can the spy satellite detect them from here?”
“It might. But the scans might not be good.”
“How close does the satellite need to be to operate at its optimum performance?”
Sha hesitated and then answered, “We need to be inside two-hundred-thousand-miles to get everything clearly.”
“What would we miss further out?” Tal asked.
“We’d miss that ship’s internal communications.” Tal’s head tilted, and his eyebrows came down. “Tal, every starship of any significant size communicates via an internal PA system. We’ll probably have to use ours if one of us is in one of the bedrooms in the back of the ship, and this is a small ship compared to that alien vessel.”
“Do we need to hear it?” Ste asked.
“Dr. Patel gave me a program for our main computer before we left. If you don’t know, Dr. Patel is without doubt the best linguist on Earth. He told me if we can collect enough samples of the alien’s language, this program could possibly translate it. I think we need to try to collect their internal communications.” Sha looked at Tal, “Why are you reluctant to get closer?”
“Sha, we’re going to have to open the landing bay door to launch the satellite. That will open us up to be easily detected by the aliens if they have a scanner pointed in our direction.”
“Like you said earlier, Tal, no one scans above the galaxy.”
“But there are scanners that constantly rotate looking at everything around the ship.” Sha’s mouth pursed, as she thought about the conundrum.
“They can’t scan through Epy, can they?” Ste asked.
Sha turned to him, “I don’t think so.”
“Then I’ll turn the side of the ship with the landing bay door away from them, keeping the ship between us and them. You launch the satellite, I’ll close the door, and get out of there.”
They turned to Tal for his thoughts. He shrugged and raised his hands, “We need to know what they’re saying to know what they’re up to. It’s worth taking the risk.”
Ste looked at Sha, “Get an image of that ship on the monitor and let me know when we’re at the right distance to launch.”
Sha pressed a button on her console and an image of the blue ship appeared. It was incredibly small at their current distance, and Ste activated the joystick. He moved Epy slowly toward the distant vessel, as Sha counted down the distance. Tal hesitated but pressed a button on his panel and the four-pulse-cannon barrels rose out of the hull. Sha looked at him with a concerned expression. “Sha, I promised your mother to keep both of you safe,” Tal explained before she could ask.
Sha returned her focus back to her panel and exhaled a slow breath.
• • •
The launch of the spy-satellite was uneventful, and Tal was happily surprised that it appeared on the monitor to be a large piece of rock floating in open space. Neptune’s gravity pulled it along as it moved on its orbit. What’s that satellite’s hull made of, Sha?”
“Ste, if it’s scanned, it will give an identical return of any other rock floating in space.”
“What about its antennas, Sha?”
“Tal, only their tips extend out of the body. They’re too small to be detected at this distance.”
“And you’ll be able to hear them inside that ship?”
“Yes, Tal. It can detect minute vibrations in that ship’s hull. We will hear them.”
“Ste, get us out of here. Sha did you orient the satellite’s transmitter to the receiver we left above the galaxy?”
“No, currently it’s oriented to find us. When we leave, it will search for the receiver and lock on it.”
“That’ll work.”
Ste flew the ship away and Sha announced after a few minutes, “I’m activating the receiver on the satellite and feeding everything into our main computer.” She pressed a blue button on her console and it illuminated. She stayed focused on her console’s display and soon a smiled appeared on her face, as she reported, “Everything is operating perfectly.”
Tal stood up, “Start the recorders and settle in; we’re going to be here for a while.”
“Where are you going?”
“I’ve not slept well in a week. I’m going for a nap.”
He walked off the bridge and then Sha stood up, “I’m going to join him. Call me if you need a break.” Ste watched her leave and shook his head, as he thought, “Oh, Ka. I do wish you were here.”
• • •
Two-months passed, and life became monotonous on the Epy. Sha was leaning back in her chair in front of her console, as Tal walked on the bridge, “Need a break?”
“No, every other place on this ship is just as boring.”
“You’re right about that, Sha. Is the computer still recording their conversations?”
“It’s operating even better than I thought, Tal. It can record their conversations even when they’re not using the PA.” She reached over and turned the volume control up.
They immediately heard, “I’m so over this.”
“Get used to it. We still have a long way to go.”
Their eyes flew wide open and Sha started shaking her head in shock. “IS THAT THE ALIENS, SHA?” Tal asked.
“OH MY GOD, IT MUST BE! I TURNED THE VOLUME DOWN WEEKS AGO AND HAVEN’T BEEN LISTENING.”
“Rewind the recorder! See when this started!” Tal ordered.
Sha put on her headphones and began rewinding the recorded conversation, as she quickly said, “Dr. Patel’s program must have translated their language and began playing their translated conversations.” She’d stop, listen, and start rewin
ding again. Finally, she stopped and fast-forwarded. She sent the recording to the wall-speaker and took off the headphones. “…much longer before this job is over?”
“We’ll have to wait for the third-planet to move behind the star before we’re relieved.”
“Why has the invasion been delayed so long?”
“The Fleet was reduced in size from the last invasion and had to be rebuilt. Most of the ships have been tied up at other civilizations being invaded.”
“But even so…”
“You know that there are many more than just one civilized planet here. It takes time to build the necessary ships to be successful. It was hoped there would be a war between the advanced planets and the one we’re scouting. That’s the main reason it’s taken so long.”
“Any news on the fleet’s status?”
“I’ve asked many times and I keep getting the same answer.”
“What is it?”
“Soon.”
Tal’s eyes were almost closed when Sha stopped the recording. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Prioritizing the information,” Sha answered. She pressed a series of buttons on her panel, “Computer. Sort through the recordings and prioritize anything that deals with invasion, warships, weapons, and attacks.”
Sha waited and heard, “Instructions completed.”
“Start playing them in the order of importance.”
The immediately heard over the wall-speaker, “What do you mean we’re ordered to remain here!”
“The initial invasion will be taking place at one of the planets that uses a stardrive. You will need to keep us informed if the planet you’re scouting takes any action.”
“They can’t take action; they don’t have faster-than-light capability!”
“You will remain at your station and keep us informed!” There was a pause and they heard, “The Fleet has been launched and will arrive in a week.”
Tal yelled, “STOP THE RECORDING! WHEN WAS THAT COVERSATION HEARD!!?”
Sha looked at her panel and looked up with fear in her eyes, “Eight-days ago.”
“Sha, send these recordings to Earth and tell Duncan he needs to accelerate modifying the warships. Tell him one of the colonies is under attack. Let him know we’re going to head to the colonies to find out what’s happening.”
“Are we going to take out that scout?”
“No, we need to keep them in the dark about Earth’s technology.” Tal pressed a button on his console and shouted, “STE, GET UP HERE NOW!!”
Ste arrived rubbing his eyes a few seconds later and Tal ordered, “Get the ship moving toward the colonies! Sha, keep the receiver open and see if you pick up any news about an attack!” Ste looked stunned, when Tal shouted, “Go! GO! GO!!”
Ste took his seat at his console and turned off the joystick, pushed the thrust handle forward, and pulled the ship’s nose up. He changed course slightly and poured on the power; the colonies were three-days away at maximum-speed.
“Tal, I’m intercepting colony transmissions. They’re fighting at Australia!”
“Change course to Australia, Ste!”
Ste nodded and turned the steering-wheel slightly as he pushed down on it. “Australia is closer than Americas. We’ll arrive in just over fifty-hours.”
• • •
Australia was on the front monitor and Tal ordered, “Sha, put the transmissions you’re intercepting on the wall-speaker.”
“…can’t get near them, Sir. They’re gigantic and covered with missile ports and some kind of huge beam weapons. There’s ten of them and they’ve got overlapping fields of fire around Australia. We’ve lost fifty-warships trying to get close enough to launch or fire on those monsters.”
“Is the planet being attacked?”
“No, Sir, nor yet. There’s approximately 400-warships surrounding the planet but all they’re doing is preventing anyone on the planet from escaping. Hundreds of personal ships have been shot down.”
“Hold off any further attacks until I arrive with the rest……the other five-fleets will be arriving in six-weeks. Consolidate your control of the planet….Yes, Sir. We’ll wait for your arrival, Sir.”
Sha’s eyes widened, and she said while operating her panel, “The middle part of that was a transmission from the aliens. The Colony and alien messages are overlapping each other.”
“Five more fleets will attack in six-weeks,” Tal said quietly.
“What are you thinking, Tal?”
Tal looked at Sha and turned to Ste, “Set a course for Americas. Sha, get Duncan on the channel.”
“I’ve collected some images from Australia, Tal.”
“Be prepared to send them to Duncan.” Duncan appeared on Tal’s display, “Duncan, an alien fleet is attacking Australia. We’ve intercepted a transmission from them that five other alien fleets will be arriving in six-weeks. You need to get moving on modifying the warships.”
“Tal, that’s not something we can move quickly on. We’re working on three-warships but it’s going to take at least six-months to get them ready. To modify them all is going to take years.”
“Duncan, the war is on with an alien civilization. What if you start modifying the fleet at every construction facility instead of only at the one in the Sahara?”
“That’s not something we can hide, Tal.”
“As long as you don’t show them your ships using a stardrive, it won’t matter! The colonies are no longer a threat, they’ve got their own ball of wax to melt before they could begin to consider doing anything about Earth. You’ve got to get the ships modified as quickly as possible.”
“You sound really worried, Tal!”
“Duncan, Sha is going to send you some scans of the alien fleet surrounding Australia. Take a good look at what you’re up against and start moving on preparing the fleet!”
“Tal, it took us two-years to build your small ship. We can speed things up by using multiple facilities, but it will still take several years. However, you need to see if the Colonies can slow them down.”
“I’ll do what I can, Duncan. Have our scientists look at the energy beam the aliens are using. It’s not fired in pulses but is a solid beam. We need to see if we can duplicate it or build one more powerful.”
“I’ll give the scan to Ka and Dr. Meier.”
“I’ll be back in touch later.” Tal ended the contact and turned to walk off the bridge.
“Where are you going?” Sha asked.
“To have a discussion with the Guild Master.”
“WHY?”
“He’s the only one that can get me in touch with the President of the Colonies. I’ll be back.”
Sha yelled at Tal before he left the bridge., “Are you sure about this?”
“Nothing is certain, Sha. Did you manage to get a physical scan of an alien.”
“I did.”
“Send it to my panel. I need to study it and see what we’re up against. Ste, how long to Americas?”
“Four-days, Tal. It’s on the far-side of the colonies from here.” Tal said over his shoulder, “I’ll be right back.” A few-minutes later he returned with a black bag. He put the bag down beside his chair, activated his console’s computer, and pulled up the image of the alien Sha had captured on his computer. It was big, bad, and ugly. It had two-arms and legs. Their knees bent their lower-legs forward instead of back like a human’s and their elbows appeared to be a sort of swivel joint that allowed them to move their lower arms in any direction. Their bodies were thick, wide, and heavily muscled. Their skin appeared dark but that was because of the fine dark hair covering their body.
He didn’t get a good view of the alien’s face; It was looking away when Sha made the scan. He began running queries through the program and waited for the computer to respond.
The scans appeared on his display and he saw they really weren’t that different from humans in their vulnerabilities. Their heads were just as vulnerable as a human’s and their lungs
were on one side of their chest and their heart on the other, leaving them vulnerable to any hit on their chest. Their blood was different but was still vulnerable to disease and poisons. They would probably wear armor of some sort while on a planet they invaded…but they were vulnerable.
“Tal.”
Tal looked up from his computer, “Yes, Ste.”
“My children are on Haven.”
Tal looked up at Ste and realized that Haven was the closest colony to Australia. It was probably next in line for conquest. “Do you have a way to get them off the planet?”
“My son has a pressurized air-transport. But I suspect all space travel has been stopped due to what’s happening on Australia.”
“Stop at Haven, Ste. Get you children on that air-transport and have them fly it to maximum altitude.”
“How can I contact them?”
“Do you have one of their communicator’s frequencies?” Sha asked as she entered the bridge.
“It’s in my communicator.”
“Give it to me!” Ste handed it to Sha and she took out a small handheld device from her pouch. She scanned the communicator and looked up at Ste, “Where do they live?”
“Just outside Acropolis.”
“Ste, take the ship above the city and I’ll try to connect you to your son’s communicator.” Ste flew Epy into Haven’s star system and stopped far out from the planet.
Tal looked up, “They won’t detect Epy, Ste. And besides, the fleet has been sent to Australia. There’s no one here to interfere.” Ste nodded nervously and moved the ship in a thousand-miles above the huge city.
Sha pressed several buttons and handed the communicator back to Ste, “I’ve linked it to my panel.”
Ste scrolled through the contacts and then pressed the transmit button. A moment later, a young man appeared on the small display, “DAD!”
Ste quickly interrupted, “JEE! I NEED YOU TO BE QUIET AND LISTEN TO ME!!” The young man’s eyes narrowed, and Ste said, “Where is Jan?”
“She’s at work, just like me.”