by Saxon Andrew
“That puts them on the opposite side of the galaxy from us.”
“Yes it does.” Holmes paused and said, “Thank you for putting Commodore Smith in command of my fleet. He’s doing an excellent job.”
“He’s keeping it ready for your return.”
Holmes tilted his head, “I just don’t see that happening. Good luck. I just thought you should know about this.”
“Thank you, Admiral.” The display went dark and Connor pulled up a map of the galaxy. Earth was on the opposite side of the galaxy from where that species was located if the colonists were right about its position. He stared at the map for an hour and knew that distance was the great savior. They were an incredible distance away. He continued to stare at the map and the third Death Prophecy kept running through his mind: The Unknown Enemy Will Kill You. He stood up and pressed the intercom, “Captain Blake, the ship is yours.” He left the bridge as Captain Blake rushed through the port. “I’ll be in my conference room.”
“Yes Sir.”
Connor entered his conference room and sat down behind the large console. He pulled up a tactical image of the Milky Way and stared at it. He thought about a species that killed planets. They obviously didn’t want to colonize other worlds if they were destroying them. What possible motive would they have for obliterating habitable planets? They were rare and really precious in the scheme of things. The Third Death Prophecy ran through his mind again and he pressed a button on his panel. “Waiting.”
“Contact Fleet Admiral Osborn.”
“Status of contact?”
“Priority.”
“Initiating contact.” Connor leaned back and stared at the tactical display on the monitor. Traugh space was red and it was located from two to four on the clock face superimposed on the galaxy. This species was located at eleven. Earth was at six thirty. The Traugh were much closer. He wondered if this fell into the Prophecy to only worry about things you can control but the third Death Prophecy kept entering his mind. He blew out a breath and waited for Admiral Osborn to answer his call.
• • •
Pam sat in an intelligence briefing and fought being bored. She knew this was important but nothing of importance had been discovered since the Loran. Jake Burns walked in and whispered to her, “You have a priority call from Admiral Connor.” Pam looked at her executive officer and nodded.
She stood up and looked around the gathering, “I’m sorry, but I have a contact I need to take. We’ll continue this later.” The intelligence officers looked at each other, then stood and gathered their materials and left the room. Pam saw the flashing button on her console and pressed it, “Admiral Osborn here.”
She saw Steve on her display, “Admiral, Holmes has uncovered some information that I think is critical.”
“Go on.”
“He’s uncovered the existence of an aggressive species across the galaxy from us that destroys planets. They use a weapon that can explode a planet’s crust and blow away the atmosphere.”
“Is he certain about this?”
“The Loran were visited by a colony ship two hundred years ago fleeing from them. They had recordings of the destruction of their home world.”
Pam stared at Connor and felt her heart beating in her chest. “What are your thoughts on this?”
“The Third Death Prophesy.”
“You think we need to go and take a look at this species?”
“I do but I’m concerned about being seen.”
“Why?”
“Sir, we don’t have a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet. This species did two hundred years ago and I’m concerned that they are technologically superior to us.”
“Then how do you suggest we go about scouting them?”
Connor hesitated but then decided to say it, “Sir, I want you to allow me to go and scout them in the Prophet’s Eyes.”
Pam’s eyes went wide open and then narrowed, “HOW DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT SHIP!?”
“I’ve not looked at any top secret files, Admiral.”
“The other four Senior Admirals know nothing about it; I’m the only one that does.”
“That’s not entirely true, Sir.”
“Start explaining, Admiral. This is not something you should know.”
“Sir, my great-great grandfather saw it when the Prophet returned from the Kindred Planet. He told his son about it and so on. My father told me.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because he knew I was going into the Navy and thought there might come a time when it would help.”
“This is the most precious ship in existence. There will be no more.”
“I know and I don’t ask this lightly.”
“It can only be used once.”
Connor’s eyes narrowed, “He didn’t tell me that.”
“There were two helmets built by the Bosrean when they built the ship. The Prophet used one to take the ship back to his home world to see what was happening to his species. There is one left that has not been coded to another pilot. Once it’s imprinted on another pilot, there will be no others.” Pam stared at Connor. “Does that change your mind?”
Connor closed his eyes and sighed, “No Sir, it doesn’t.”
“You really think that species is that dangerous?”
“They destroy planets, Sir. One ship would end our species if it broke through our defenses. If their ships are more advanced than our own, it would probably happen if we encounter them.”
Pam stared at the monitor in silence. After a few minutes, Connor said, “Sir?”
Pam took a deep breath and focused on him, “I believe we are going to have to focus on Death Prophecies Four and Nine.” Connor stared at her, “Never stop Developing and Survival is Never Free. We’re going to start building colony ships and start moving to other planets. We aren’t going to wait on the worst to happen.”
“There’s no safe place in this galaxy.”
“Then we’ll look in Andromeda.”
“The Traugh will be looking for us there.”
“It’s a large Galaxy, Admiral. We’ll do what we need to do when that happens. They’ve not started looking there yet. I’m calling a meeting of the Leadership Council to start moving on this.”
“What about the Prophet’s Eyes?”
“Let me think about it.”
“Yes Sir.”
“In the meantime, you can send a ship to take a look at what’s there, can’t you?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Just make sure it can’t be tracked back to us.”
“I’ll remove all courses from the stardrive.”
“Will it be able to find us if you do that?”
“It will fly close to our location in the galaxy and it should be inside our communication range where we can send it the courses it needs.”
“How are we going to know if it’s destroyed?”
“I’ll have it deploy a Space Receiver directly above that arm of the galaxy that will receive any message. The Receiver will launch a missile directly above the galaxy toward the ships we have between the Milky Way and Andromeda. They will then collect the information and bring it to us.”
“I see you’ve thought about this. Why didn’t you do this before asking for the Eyes?”
“I didn’t want to choose the pilots that will probably be killed.”
“Maybe they won’t. Try that first.”
“Yes Sir.”
Chapter Three
Steve sat at his desk and stared out of the viewport. He didn’t like what he was about to do but there was no avoiding it. He heard the triple tone and said, “Enter!”
Lt. Halekia entered followed by a large man wearing the uniform of a Warship Pilot. Both of them came to attention and Lani said, “Sir, this is Wade McAlistor. He’s the one you’ve selected for the mission.”
Connor said, “At ease. Thank you, Lieutenant.” Lani turned and left the room as Connor pointed to a chair in front of his desk
, “Have a seat, Captain.” The large pilot sat down and the chair groaned slightly. “How much do you weigh, Captain?”
“Too much, Sir.”
“Have you always been this…size?”
“I’ve always been large but not this big.”
“What’s going on?”
Wade stared at Connor and lifted his left shoulder, “I have about two months to live.”
“Is that why you volunteered for this mission?”
“It played a role.”
“What was the deciding factor?” Wade stared at Connor and sighed, “My wife died about four years ago and my sister has been taking care of my daughter. If I’m killed in the line of duty, my retirement doubles and they can really use the funds.”
Connor blew out a breath and said, “The mission description was accurate. There is a good possibility that you will not survive it. You’ll leave your daughter without a father.”
“I’ll be doing that anyway. At least this way she will derive a benefit from my death.”
“What’s killing you captain?”
“There are some cancers that are not curable, Sir. I have a blood disorder that has affected all of my major organs.”
“What about your mind?”
“The doctors tell me I’ll be lucid until the end.” Wade watched Connor staring at him and said, “I have all my faculties, Admiral. However, if you intend to use me, you should do it as quickly as possible. What is the mission?”
“We have learned of the existence of an aggressive advanced civilization on the other side of the galaxy from us. This species is capable of blowing up a planet with one of their weapons.”
“Is that possible?”
“The records we’ve been given shows a planet blasted into rubble with no atmosphere. It was inhabited at the time it was killed.”
“You want someone to go and take a good look at them?”
“I do but I also don’t want this species, if it does exist, to learn anything about our capabilities. Nor do I want it to be able to track our scout back to us.”
“You’re really worried about this, aren’t you, Sir?”
“I am. The ability to destroy an entire planet says volumes about their level of technology. I believe they are much more advanced than we are and we have to find out how far we are behind them.”
Wade tilted his head, “It’s a shame we don’t still have that Traugh Warship.”
“Why is that?”
“Getting information back is going to be a real problem, isn’t it? The other side of the galaxy is far outside of our communication range. But the Traugh aren’t that far away. If we had that Traugh Ship, I could run in that direction, and send whatever data I collected toward them. The data could then be relayed to one of our ships in range of the transmitter.”
Connor shook his head, “Now that is a remarkable idea.”
“Thanks, I seem to be thinking clearer now than I ever have in my life.”
Connor thought about the idea and pressed a button on his panel, “Lieutenant, contact Admiral Hudson and patch him in to my panel.”
“Yes Sir.”
Wade looked at him, “What are you thinking?”
Connor opened his mouth and saw the communicator button illuminate. He pressed it and Admiral Hudson appeared on his wall monitor, “Good day, Admiral.”
“Charles, do you still have the computer program that was used to repair the Traugh Warship that was used by Pam and Sparky before they went back on their last mission?”
“Give me a moment.”
Connor looked at Wade, “You’re right, I’ve been worried about sending any communication from there to one of our ships. It’s frightening to think that if that species is really a long way ahead of us, they’ll be able to track any message we try to get out.”
“Yes Admiral, that program is still in the system.”
“Would it be possible to build a Traugh Hull around the frame of one of our warships?”
I don’t see why we couldn’t. We pretty much replaced the entire hull of that Traugh Ship.”
“Admiral, what is the shortest time you could do it?”
“Six months, Sir.”
Connor saw Wade’s eyes close as he sighed. Charlie, I need it in thirty days.”
“Impossible. The missile system and disintegrator feeds will take at least three months to install and align.”
“The ship will not have the missile system installed. It will also forgo the disintegrators although if you could have one or two, at the most, operational, that would be a plus.”
“What about the reactors?”
“Only two. I want the bulk of the power to be fed to the force field.”
“If you make this a Red Priority, then I might be able to pull it off.”
“I am giving you that authority now. Also, I need to extend the range of the communication system, if that’s possible.”
“Why?”
“I need any data collected by that ship to be sent to a Message Buoy. The further away that buoy can be will be critical to the mission.”
“I’ll see what I can do about that.”
“I’ll need enough buoys to transmit the information across a third of the galaxy. The final buoy will just broadcast the data in on a wide open channel into all directions.”
“That won’t pose a problem.”
Connor thought for a moment and said, “Will this ship have the same operating system as our current warships?”
“It will, although it won’t have the defenses.”
“Use some of the empty space to install additional scanners.”
“You will tell me what you’re intending to do with this ship? It will help me make decisions about what’s going in during its construction.”
“I’ll contact you within the hour.”
“Yes Sir. I’ll get the ball rolling immediately.”
The monitor went dark and Connor looked at Wade, “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes Sir, I am. I’m the best one to do this. I have nothing to lose.”
Connor shook his head and pressed a button on his communicator. “Yes Admiral.”
Connor looked at Commodore Alexander and said, “Effective immediately, Captain Wade McAlistor is being given a battlefield promotion to the rank of Rear Admiral. He will be given the full benefit package that goes with that rank.”
“Sir, we’re not currently at war.”
“We are and you just don’t know it, Commodore. If you have any issues, contact Fleet Admiral Osborn. However, the promotion is effective immediately. Is that clear?”
“Yes Sir. I’ll send out the package to his address this afternoon.”
Connor looked at Wade, “Take your ship and go home and spend the time we’re building this ship with your daughter. The retirement benefit of an Admiral will take care of her for the rest of her life.”
Wade fought the moisture in his eyes and came to attention. He saluted Connor and Connor returned it. He did an about face and left the room. Connor shook his head. He was sending this pilot out in a ship that was almost defenseless. He contacted Fleet Personnel and they confirmed that the Captain did have an incurable disease. They were in the process of relieving him of duty and ending his naval career.
Connor stopped the process and later explained to Commodore Alexander what was going on. Alexander closed his eyes and opened them slowly. “I really hate your having to do this, Sir.”
“I do as well. Captain McAlistor earned his rank with a suggestion he made. We owe him much more than we can ever repay if this works out.”
“Sir, if he dies in combat, he will automatically be promoted one level and his benefits will be doubled.”
Connor smiled, “Thank you Commodore.” Alexander nodded and the monitor went dark. Connor hoped he was wrong and that Wade would have additional time with his daughter before he died…but…well, he could hope for the best. He left his conference room and walked to the bridge, “I have the sh
ip.” Captain Blake nodded and stood up from the command chair. He stood at attention and Connor smiled, “Go and get some rest. I’ll be here until twenty three hundred hours.”
“Yes Sir.”
Connor sat back in his chair and the bridge crew saw his expression. They were all devoted to him and his sorrow at sending the pilot out to die only confirmed their faith in him. He had their welfare at heart and it was made clear again at this moment.
• • •
Three weeks later, Admiral Hudson sent a message that he should come and assist in the final stages of the ship construction. He pressed a button on his console and said, “Commodore McDonald, report to the Kindred. You will command the fleet until I return.”
“Yes Sir. On my way.”
Connor looked at Captain Blake, “You have the ship. You should train McDonald, while he’s here, on her fighting capabilities.”
“Yes Sir.”
Connor walked off the bridge and Lani looked at Blake, “He’s never told you to do that in the past.”
“Perhaps he’s intending to promote the Commodore.”
“Or he’s training him to replace him.”
Blake tilted his head, “Commodore McDonald is a superb commander. The only thing certain in the Navy is that things can change very quickly.”
“I’d really hate to lose the Admiral, Sir.”
“You’re not alone but he’s planned for it by getting his subordinates ready to do the job.”
Lani sighed, “Even so, I don’t want to lose him.”
Blake sat down in the Captain’s chair and blew out a breath. He felt the same but couldn’t voice the opinion. Admiral Connor would never accept such unprofessional behavior.
• • •
Connor flew back to Earth at maximum speed and arrived shortly after daybreak in England. He landed at the sprawling facility just outside London and exited his ship. He saw Admiral Hudson waiting for him on the ground, “Thank you for coming, Admiral.”