The Dave Brewster Series

by Karl Morgan

  “And slavery, Emperor,” Michamanades replied. “If you are so peaceful, why did you invade Nom-Kat-La?”

  “Keep your sanctimonious drivel to yourself maklan!” the Emperor said. “The horrible creatures on that gas ball are an offense to any sane Being. You and your planet of peace-loving maklans have done nothing to improve the galaxy. It’s time all maklans join together again and control the galaxy. We will discuss this later maklan. In the meantime, please enjoy the hospitality of my prison planet.” The screen went black and slid back into the ceiling.

  Michamanades was starting to remember the battle over Nom-Kat-La. He had been on the bridge of the Courage with two other maklans. Their job was to keep the Predaxians from gaining control of any human minds on the bridge. Captain London led her ship into a skirmish in orbit over the planet. Two Predaxian transport ships were rapidly shuttling troops and weapons to the forces below. They were protected by four star cruisers and several hundred fighters. Nom-Kat-La was not a typical gas giant planet that the Galliceans loved. It had a heavy atmosphere and a large solid surface. That made the planet an ideal launching pad for defending or attacking the Greater Gallia frontier. If the Predaxians could take the planet, they would have a strong fortress to support their takeover of the region. Courage was one of ten ships that had jumped from Io to attack the transport ships. The remaining ships either landed troops on the planet or tried to stabilize the frontier by blocking further incursions.

  The Predaxian attack fleet was from the Palus star system. These Beings were very similar to their cousins, the Galliceans. They had been one of the largest and most advanced civilizations in that area and only lost dominance when the Predaxian maklans took over their leaders’ minds. The Palians had become unwitting partners in expanding Predaxian control. They believed they were fighting for their own honor while the Predaxian maklans pulled their strings.

  The Courage was ordered to fire upon the larger transport ship. They faced withering fire from the defending cruisers. The Kalidean cruiser Opus flew with her, trying to draw enemy fire. Kalidean defense shields were the best in the known galaxy, and the Opus extended her shields around Courage. Opus fired its blasters at the transport ship and explosions rocked the ship as it began to break apart. Escape pods from the transport ship littered the sky.

  Courage aimed her weapons on the main thrusters of the transport ship and fired. The thrusters exploded in a huge ball of fire and the ship twisted and started to fall toward the atmosphere. Opus pulled off its attack and headed for the other transport ship. As it moved off, its shields came off Courage. The Palian cruisers all fired on Courage and explosions rocked the crippled ship. Opus turned and rushed to help Courage which was already breaking up. Captain London told her crew to abandon ship. Escape pods shot out of the failing vessel. A dozen Kalidean troops jumped onto the bridge and began taking crew members back with them. Lauren London and the remaining crew donned their pressure suits on the order to abandon ship and waited their turn to be jumped to the Opus. Michamanades remembered her saying, “Mitch, we’ll be okay. As long as there is life, there is hope, old friend.” As she smiled at the maklan, a Palian fighter crashed into the bridge, causing a violent explosion. Michamanades felt he was floating in space, barely clinging to consciousness. Around him was the wreckage of the Courage. He saw several humans in pressure suits floating around him. Many of them were clearly dead, as their suits and bodies were smashed. He frantically tried to reach out to Lauren’s mind but could not. He could sense life, but did not know where the sensation came from. Then he blacked out.

  Chapter 2

  Admiral Dave Brewster arrived at Nom-Kat-La aboard the cruiser Defiant which had been repaired after the battle over Neptune. The Nom-Kat-La offensive had lasted nearly seven days until finally the Predaxian fleet was forced back into their territory. Thirty space ships and thousands of lives had been lost by the two sides. Dozens of Gallicean, Kalidean, human and maklan soldiers were missing and presumed captured or killed. Twenty Gallicean, ten Earth and fifteen Kalidean star cruisers orbited the planet now. It had been fifteen days since hostilities had ceased, but the Predaxians and Palians had made no attempt to contact the Galliceans. The entire quadrant was on alert and a second invasion seemed imminent. Jacomofledes Benomafolays the maklan jumped with Dave over to the newly commissioned fleet battle cruiser Amsterdam, which was the flagship for Fleet Admiral Arrin Adamsen. He was escorted to the Fleet Admiral’s ready room where the captains of the human fleet in the area were convened to meet.

  Dave walked around the table to greet each captain, most of whom he had met before. Each had been assigned a maklan to protect their minds from the influence of any Predaxians that might be in the area. He finished with the Fleet Admiral. “Admiral Adamsen, it is a pleasure to see you again,” he said shaking the admiral’s hand.

  “Dave, it good to see you too, even though I wish we were in a better circumstance,” Arrin responded. “Let’s get down to business team,” he said to the group.

  Commodore Willis Washington began the meeting, saying, “The battle at Nom-Kat-La did not go too well for our forces. Our defenses were not adequate to stop enemy fire. We lost three cruisers: the Courage, Freedom, and Honor. Eight hundred troops are dead, five hundred wounded and twenty missing in action, including Captains London and Whitaker. The only positive things I can say are that the Alliance forces have been repelled, and the Galliceans and Kalideans have agreed to retrofit our ships to improve our defensive shields and weapons.”

  “Thank you Willis,” Arrin said. “I want you all to know that Willis lost one son in the battle. Wally Washington was the navigator on the Courage and is missing and presumed dead. The attack on that ship was horrific, and we are lucky that half of the crew was rescued by the Kalidean ship Opus. We honor your sacrifice, friend.”

  Captain Cadiz Carlyle of the Reliant said, “Willis, I knew Wally Washington and Lauren London very well. They were both on my crew until Lauren was promoted and asked that Wally join her on the Courage. I thought of both of them as dear friends. We share your loss, my friend.”

  “Jake, would you like to update the group on Predaxian mind control activity in the region?” Arrin asked.

  “Yes Admiral,” Jake began as he glowed bright blue on the center of the long table. “I have communicated with the other maklans in the area since Courage arrived this morning. We have found no remaining signs of Predaxian minds on Nom-Kat-La or on any of the ships in orbit. We do continue to sense a large amount of activity near the frontier, and we have to assume that several ships are near there. We have also calculated that two hundred maklans were either killed or captured during the battle. Ten thousand maklans are due to jump to Nom-Kat-La in the next few days. With that number here, we should be able to sense activity further into their space. That may enable us to know how many ships and soldiers from their races are nearby. We are also hoping to be able to sense any prisoners-of-war. If we find some, it is possible we could jump in and rescue them.”

  “Excellent news Jake,” Arrin replied. “I hope you are successful. Please keep our group informed.” He turned to Dave and said, “Admiral Brewster, what do you have to report?”

  “As Jake mentioned, the maklans have been extremely helpful during this difficult time. We honor the sacrifice of their brave soldiers who were lost,” Dave replied. “The High Council of No-Makla has offered to send as many as one billion maklans to help defend the Gallicean frontier. On the home front, Earth and all of the major colonies have diverted resources to build more star cruisers. There are currently twenty ships under construction. That is not a simple task though and will take a few months to complete. I spoke with Mencius of Kalidus, and he is sending engineers with the upgraded weapons and defensive equipment to help our builders. We certainly don’t want to send low quality ships to fight these invaders. The cost in blood and treasure is too high.”

  “I completely agree,” Arrin replied. “I have already told High Commissioner
Fa-a-Di that our ships will play a back-up role only in any new combat until our ships are upgraded. Our soldiers were like fish in a barrel for those Predaxians. We won’t be that stupid the next time.” Arrin stood, “Okay, unless anyone has any questions or comments, this meeting is over. Dave, please stay, I need to speak with you and Jake. The rest of you can jump back to your ships with your maklan guards.” The captains stood, glowed white and disappeared.

  “Dave,” Arrin began, “I’ll never get used to that way of jumping. It’s a heck of a lot easier on a man, but it almost seems like witchcraft, if you know what I mean. No offense to you Jake.”

  “None taken Arrin,” Jake said. “Our species are so different that what seems ordinary to us may seem impossible to you. As you know, Arinofalez Zionaster developed this technology one million of your earth years ago. Imagine your predecessors from that far back looking at what you do.”

  “Point taken friend,” Arrin replied. “I don’t even think humans were around that far back. Anyway, I have a new job for you two and your ships. I know that everyone wants to help defend Greater Gallia from the Alliance, but there are other related needs that can’t be ignored. Right now, the Galliceans are the key to protecting their own frontier. Kalidus has committed ships to support them. That takes some of the heat off of us. As Jake mentioned earlier, No-Makla has also made a major contribution to the defense, but I need them to do a little bit more.”

  “Arrin,” Dave began, “just tell us what we need to do.”

  Arrin rose and went to a cabinet and removed a bottle of bourbon and a second of Gallicean whisky and three glasses. He poured bourbon for Dave and himself, and a full glass of Gallicean spirits for Jake. “Jake, Fa-a-Di tells me maklans love Gallicean hooch, so he sent me a case to share with our maklans. I think he is sending a few hundred cases to Nom-Kat-La. Let’s have a drink to our success!” The three took long drinks. Arrin sat again next to Dave Brewster. “Dave, High Commissioner Darak and I think you need to start finding new worlds for humanity. You are the guy who will be known as Founder of a Thousand Worlds, right?”

  Dave was stunned. After a moment, he replied, “That’s what I heard Admiral. But isn’t this crisis big enough to put that on hold? Also, we are just getting started on Far Sky and New Dawn. Those planets need a lot of attention, Arrin.”

  Arrin put his hand on Dave’s shoulder. “Dave, the key to achieving incredible results is delegation. You can’t do it all on your own, even if you live to be a thousand years old. You have a core team. That’s Jake here, your wife the ambassador, Commodore Watson and his wife the colonel in the Temporal Command. I’ll give you Captain Jon Lake and a few more, four colony ships, and ten cruisers. We hope to provide a personal maklan each crew member for protection.”

  “I am certain that High Commissioner Arroflenides Pakalanalan will agree to that,” Jake replied. “But I am confused as well.”

  “Let me lay it out for you then,” Arrin said as he rose and began pacing around the room. “I was told that Ai-Makla sent their maklans to five hundred worlds before the nova destroyed their home system. Jake, we know the maklans who landed on Predax did not turn out very well.”

  “That is an understatement,” Jake agreed. “But we have no evidence that any other maklans devolved into warlike creatures.”

  “That is exactly my point!” Arrin shouted. “There are four hundred and ninety-eight maklan worlds we have no contact with. I spoke personally with Commissioner Pakalanalan on this matter. If several of those other maklan worlds can be found and help us explore more of the galaxy, all of our civilizations would advance a million years ahead. Also, if the Predaxian maklans want to cause trouble, maybe some of those other maklan cultures will help us.” Arrin refilled his glass and drank deeply. “Even if we don’t find a single maklan civilization, perhaps we’ll find others that want to be partners in commerce or defense. For example, we know that the Alliance sphere of influence borders on Greater Gallia. We have no idea what other cultures lie on other parts of that sphere. Perhaps there are other civilizations being abused by Predax that we can help. If our sphere of influence could surround Predax, their threat would be reduced dramatically.”

  “Arrin,” Dave said after he took a long drink, “that plan is brilliant. I hadn’t thought of that at all. What do you think, Jake?”

  “I agree completely, Dave,” the maklan glowed. “If No-Makla could reestablish ties to other maklan worlds, it would be as though we were honoring the sacrifice of our ancestors when they set out blindly for new worlds to make their own. It would be a tremendous honor to help you Dave.”

  Dave touched his glass to the others and said, “We are in full agreement, Admiral. We can leave immediately.”

  “Fantastic,” Arrin replied, “I am happy you like the plan and are ready to explore. I do have one confession though. It was not my plan.” Dave looked confused. “This plan was created by Ambassador Darlene Brewster.”

  Chapter 3

  Dave and his core team moved their belongings from the colony ship Ticonderoga to the newly commissioned fleet battle cruiser Texas. His plan was to go ahead of the rest of his fleet and jump to star systems likely to contain planets suitable for human or maklan life. The star cruiser Nightsky would accompany his ship. The Nightsky had also been recently completed and was given the name of the pirate ship that Jon Lake had used to raid other Earth colonies before Admiral Brewster had been able to turn the situation around. The Far Sky colony was growing well and the terraforming operations were almost completed. Fulfilling his promise, Dave appointed Jon Lake captain of the Nightsky.

  The plan involved using an existing permanent portal to open a wormhole to the desired system. The Texas would jump through the portal and scan the new solar system for positive and negative signs. Nightsky would remain near the permanent portal to guard against debris or alien ships jumping through the opening. Once it was deemed safe, the Nightsky and a colony ship would jump and deploy a portal near one of the most desirable planets and establish a permanent connection to the Far Sky portal. After the colony ship jumped back, Nightsky would join Texas in their search activities. The two ships would survey all of the planets and determine whether there were any candidate planets for colonization or other civilizations to befriend. If a civilization rejected them, they would remove the permanent portal and jump back to where they started. Otherwise, the rest of the fleet would jump to the new system and begin the work of colonization or treaty negotiation.

  The first system selected was eight light-years from Far Sky. The location was as far as they could find from the Predaxian frontier. This early in the exploration they did not dare risk being too close to the enemy. None of the Earth colonies in the vicinity had ever detected communications or other signs of advanced societies coming from that system. The engineers manning the portal had taken several days to find a suitable location in the target star system to open a temporary portal. This kind of portal was very dangerous as passing asteroids or comets might slip through the opening and crash through near Far Sky, potentially destroying the portal and killing thousands on the planet. The crew of Texas spent the time loading supplies and offering shore leave to crew members. When the coordinates for the portal were finalized, it took another two days to get all of the crew back on board and ready to jump.

  Dave, Darlene, Charlie and Aria stood on the bridge when the order to head to the portal was given. Captain Jon Lake was with them and offered to take a photo of the bridge crew. He transferred the shot to the ship’s view screen. Dave said, “Wow, I remember this picture. How about you, Charlie?”

  “This is the picture we saw when you made your first jump to the thirty-second and met Mencius the Kalidean and Arrin and Lanz, right?” Charlie Watson replied.

  “Freaky, isn’t it?” Dave said. He turned to Jon Lake, “Jon, you’d better jump back to Nightsky now. I don’t think your crew wants you to jump with us.”

  “Aye-aye, Admiral, good luck and we’ll join you
when you are ready” Jon said as his maklan glowed bright white and the two disappeared from the bridge.

  “Carl, you have the comm. Let’s make the jump at your command,” Dave said to Carl Cartwright, captain of the Texas.

  The captain turned to his crew and said, “Helmsman, ahead five percent.”

  “Aye-aye, Captain,” Jack Johnson replied, “Ahead five percent!” The Texas moved slowly toward the portal several miles ahead of them. On the view screen, the bridge crew could see the portal starting to energize. Hazard lights around the rim of the huge circle began to flash to warn unwitting ships a space portal was being opened. After a few moments, the interior of the portal was bathed in light and energy. Gradually, a small perfectly black dot appeared in the middle and started to grow. Texas continued to accelerate as the black circle grew until it completely filled the portal opening, which at one thousand, five hundred yards across was large enough for any ship, even a Gallicean battle cruiser to fly through.

  “Captain Cartwright,” crackled the voice of Head Engineer Peter Paulsen of the Far Sky Portal Command, “our portal is fully energized and is ready for your ship to enter.”

  “Peter,” Carl replied, “Thank you for your report. We are on course to intercept the portal in twenty seconds. Please advise me if the status degrades.”

  “Aye-aye, Captain,” Peter replied. “Carl, have a safe jump. Far Sky Portal Command out.”

  The amount of energy needed to open an eight light-year wormhole was immense. Everyone on Texas could feel electricity tingling in their bodies as they approached the event horizon. Jake was glowing bright white from the energy hitting him from the portal. As the front of the ship touched the portal, the ship creaked and groaned as it was stretched between the void inside the wormhole and the normal space outside. The sound of metal on metal grinding grew louder and louder as the rest of Texas moved through the event horizon. The sound was becoming deafening on the bridge when it suddenly stopped completely. They were inside the wormhole, somewhere outside of the space-time of the galaxy. Warning buzzers sounded and lights flashed on all of the panels, but no one could hear the sounds. Dave looked at his wife, Darlene and smiled. Traveling through a wormhole was an experience that could not be explained, only experienced. Jack Johnson waved at Dave and Carl to get their attention. When they had entered the portal, their view screen showed nothing but blackness. Now, a small white dot appeared in front of the ship. It was growing rapidly. This was the opposite end of the portal. Within a minute, the dot had grown as large as the portal opening had been over Far Sky. As Texas touched the circle of white, the groaning and creaking sounds returned. The crew could now hear the alarm buzzers. Dave felt his body being stretched as the bridge passed through the whiteness and back into normal space. After a few moments, the creaking stopped and the alarms quieted. Texas was now eight light-years away from Far Sky, in a new star system that humans had never visited.