by Saxon Andrew
“What about from the direction it was transmitted?”
“That line moves through space that we’ve explored. There were three planets we destroyed on that line but nothing else.”
“How far did you trace it?”
“All the way to the core of the galaxy.”
“What do you think about this?”
“I really don’t know what to think, Mosan. It appears that whoever transmitted it wanted us to find the new planet. Or, there’s another civilization located in one of those small galaxies and the new planet was an accidental discovery.”
“Let’s assume for the moment that we were deliberately led to that planet. What would that tell us about the ones that did it?”
The Group Leader’s eyes blinked. “Mosan, that would mean that they have much better scanners than we’re using.”
“Why?”
“Because we destroyed a planet not far from that dark star and never saw it.”
The Mosan stared at the Group Leader and his eyes closed halfway, “Why would they give us that planet?”
“The most obvious reason is to distract us, if it wasn’t an accident.”
“Distract us from what?”
“I really have no idea. We were moving in a different direction and this brought us back to this side of the Domain.”
“That assumes they were watching us.”
“I’m not at all certain that it was intentional, Mosan. If a superior civilization knew about us, I would think they would have attacked one of our ships to determine our strength and there have been no attacks.”
“That grey ship was destroyed inside our borders.”
“But it was nowhere near as advanced as our ships. Why does this bother you?”
“If they could find one dark star, they could find another.”
The Group Leader’s eyes went fully open, “I didn’t consider that.”
The Mosan stood up and flexed his strength arms. “This makes me think it was an accident. The odds of the existence of a technologically superior civilization that would deliberately find a planet that would strengthen us is not realistic.”
“Perhaps we can move our ships back to the other side of the core when this planet is completely developed and see if it happens again.”
“That is a good idea. However, it will be some time before we can do that?”
“Time is always a friend. We can be patient.”
“Thank you for your advice, my old friend. Keep me informed of the new planet’s progress.”
“Yes, Mosan. I will.”
• • •
Groh received the warning of an impending invasion and contacted all the Planetary Leaders. He ordered them to keep their forces on alert and to be prepared to move them to the outer edge of the halo in the event an invasion was detected. He couldn’t move them there now without alerting the civilizations around him that something serious was happening. He had already received word that the Mororat were moving additional warships into their lines. They must know something he didn’t. The Gunnel observed the Mororat moving more ships into their lines and they began doing the same. He was forced to send additional ships to his lines to match their strength. This was not good.
He contacted his Nest Leader and ordered him to send a line of scouts out between the two galaxies. He thought about it some more and ordered a line sent out above and below the halo’s outer edge. The Mororat had to have seen something. That had to mean that ships from that other galaxy had come and scouted his territory. But his scouts had not seen anything out of the ordinary. But the Mororat were moving more ships into their lines. How had the Mororat seen them? He decided to contact the Mororat’s Leadership and ask. They probably wouldn’t answer but it was worth the effort.
The giant Mororat appeared on his panel and he once again wondered how he could lift his weight to walk. He was less than four feet tall but was at least five feet wide. His flat head sat directly on his shoulders and the wide mouth was necessary to feed a body that big. I notice that you are moving additional warships into your line on our border.”
“I’m constantly having to train new crews how to properly patrol the border. I’m matching the new ships with an experienced crew to teach them properly.”
Groh stared at the Mororat and knew he was not going to be forthcoming with honest information. He wondered what he could say that might startle him into revealing what he knew. He decide to use fear as a tactic. “I think that you’ve learned that ships from the close spiral galaxy invaded one of my conquered planets.”
He had to admit the Mororat Leader kept his composure and gave nothing away. “I’ve heard rumors about that. Are they true?”
“They are. I’m concerned that they might be coming back and it might cause all of us great harm.”
There! He flinched. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Those ships don’t know about the Darkness. If they attack again, they could move inside the galaxy to come at me from that direction.”
“THEY WOULDN’T DARE!”
Got him! “They won’t know about the Darkness at the core and they could even move inside the halo while attacking. Do I have to tell you what will happen if they make that mistake?”
The Mororat stared at him and then moved a hand toward his panel, “I’ll contact you after I discuss this with the other members of the Directive.” The display went dark and Groh knew that he knew something. He waited for him to call back. Two hours later, his panel illuminated and he saw the three Mororat Dictators appear, “We have discussed this and decided that we should be open about what we know and what should be done about it.”
“Go ahead.”
“We detected a large number of grey ships moving high above your territory eight days ago.”
“How many?”
“Our best estimate is ten thousand ships.” Groh was shocked. He fought to hide his surprise but knew he failed. “We’ve also determined in our recording of their movements that they did moved slightly inside the edge of the galaxy but immediately flew high above your territory and out of our scanner’s ability to track them.”
“Are you sure they moved outside the halo and into forbidden space?”
“We are.”
“The Darkness didn’t come.”
“I suspect it saw them but the violation was minor and they moved away quickly.” No one questioned whether the Dark Civilization at the galaxy’s core saw them; they didn’t miss anything.
Groh was scared, “The Darkness probably ignored it this time but they won’t if it happens again. This is frightening.”
“Your mentioning that this other civilization doesn’t know about the Darkness could get us all killed if they attack and move outside the inner edge of the halo. Have you thought about what can be done to prevent it?”
“I think the only way to prevent it is to meet them before they can enter the halo.”
The three Mororat Leaders looked at each other. One said, “We will promise not to attack your territory if you move your ships to the outer edge of the halo.”
“Do you think that will be enough. I’ve sent scouts to that galaxy and there are more than three million Warships gathering to invade.”
“HOW MANY?”
“Three million are gathered around a planet in that galaxy. There is no way for me to prevent all of them from entering the halo. If I’m forced to chase them into my territory, they won’t stop at the edge of the inner halo.”
The Mororat were frightened. He could see it in their faces and color. Their normal brown color was now almost black. “We must discuss this with the other civilizations in the halo.”
“Will you make the contacts?”
“We will. You’ll be notified when a gathering is scheduled.”
“I’ll be awaiting your call.” Groh sat back in his chair and shivered. He only thought to use the threat of the grey ships violating the forbidden space to find out what the Mororat knew.
Finding out they had already violated the forbidden space sent waves of fear through his chest. The Planetary Leaders needed to hear the conversation he just had with the Mororat Leaders. He put the recorded conversation in a message and sent it out. The responses started coming in immediately. He was not the only one frightened by what could happen.
• • •
“It looks like a compromise.”
“What are they going to do?”
“The Supreme Leader is going to launch the invasion force and if it detects a problem, they will turn and return back to Traughville.”
“We need to go and see what’s happening in Andromeda.”
“Where do you want to go?”
“Take us to the White’s Main Planet. We should be able to find out what’s going on there.”
The viewport flashed but it wasn’t as bright as the other times. Lani tilted her head, “Why is the flash so dim?”
“I’m darkening the viewports when I go to full speed.”
“Thank you for that.”
“I should have done it sooner. I’ll make sure they’re dark from now on.”
The ship arrived high above the planet and the viewport lightened. The massive formations of warships were still in place around the planet. “GOOD GRIEF!”
“What?”
“The communications are off the scale. Give me a minute to try and isolate one of them.”
Steve looked at Lani, “It appears they know about the coming invasion.”
“I guess.” Lani looked up, “I don’t want to disturb your focusing but are any of those communications coming in from outside the White’s domain?”
“Yes. There are too many to count.”
Lani sighed, “It looks like the civilizations here are discussing what’s to be done about the Traugh.”
“There’s a communication conference being planned for tomorrow. If I am hearing this right, the leaders of all the civilizations in the halo are going to be present.”
Steve shook his head, “Something happened that has them frightened.”
“How do you know that?”
“It has to be something that affects everyone for them to come together and it can’t be something minor.”
“You’re right.”
“What did you find out, Poul?”
“Even the warships from different civilizations are contacting each other and discussing the Traugh Scouts that came here. It appears that they moved a small distance inside the inner edge of the halo when they were scouting. They were only there briefly but the halo civilizations fear the Darkness, that’s what they call the civilization at the galaxy’s core, will come and eradicate all of them if any other violation happens. They are really scared, Admiral.”
Steve sighed, “The Traugh are going to run into a buzz saw.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
“It will be if they are pursued back to the Milky Way, Lani. We need to hang around until tomorrow and see what they decide to do. Poul, communicate what you’ve learned to Admiral Osborn. Tell her that I recommend she recall the Fleets and have them form up between the Traugh and Earth. Also request she notify the Bosrean about what’s going on and bring them on board.”
“So you think they’ll be going to our galaxy?”
“That’s what I’d do if I were in their place, Lani. It’s the only way to prevent the Traugh from getting all of them killed.”
“But why are you worried about Earth being in danger?”
“I would also remove any future threat while I was there. This is going to get really dangerous very quickly. But let’s wait and see what the conference yields tomorrow. Poul, while you’re communicating with the Senior Admirals, tell them that we will be sending the conference as it happens tomorrow.”
“Will do.”
“Is there a reason you’re having Poul do it instead of me?”
“We need to simplify things so we aren’t slowed down if we have to communicate during an emergency. I suspect the Fleet Admiral knows the ship is capable of handling the communications but really doesn’t care. I need your insight to help me see what’s happening.”
Lani smiled and nodded. Tomorrow was going to be an intense day.
• • •
Pam looked at the Bosrean Leader on her panel and smiled, “It’s been a long time since we’re talked.”
“Too long. I’ve gone over the communication that was sent to you from the Invisible Ship and it appears we are at a crossroads of sorts.”
“We are. I’m bringing in the fleets and have them form up between the Traugh and our civilizations. I think you would be wise to have your ships join us.”
“We’ve discussed this long ago and it was decided then that when the time came for open war, our ships should be dispersed among your fleets.”
“Why is that?”
“My people have never fought a battle, much less an all-out war. We are terribly inexperienced and would be more useful following your lead.”
“That could pose a problem getting your fleet organized and able to respond to orders being sent.”
“It won’t be as difficult as you might think.”
“Oh?”
“We are a telepathic species and all your commanders need do is think what they want done and my pilots will follow their directives. As my ships gain experience, they will become more effective.”
Pam nodded, “Perhaps we should start training maneuvers after this crisis is over to make the different fleets more effective.”
“I would have suggested this before but didn’t think we would be having to fight this soon.”
“You should start having your fleets gather at the scout line and we’ll organize them into our units.” Pam paused and said, “Pillan, Admiral Connor is of the opinion that you didn’t actually construct the Invisible Ship. Is he right?”
The Bosrean Leader stared at her for a moment and then lowered his head, “No, we didn’t construct the hull or the main computer. We did build the inner living space along with the control center.”
“Where did you find it?”
“Buried more than half a mile in our planet’s crust. I believe that it would have sunk into the planet’s core but there is a sulfa-compound that the hull wouldn’t pass through.”
“How long do you think it was there before you excavated it?”
“Soil samples indicate it was there more than twenty thousand years.”
“The Admiral is also of the opinion that it didn’t originate in this universe.”
Pillan shrugged, “You know that our level of technology was nowhere near what yours is. The Prophet is who brought us into an age of high technology but we are still far behind you in our understanding of many things about the universe. He would probably be better at understanding the ramifications of the vessel.”
“Why did you build it?”
“We could hear the Prophet’s thoughts. He missed his home world and his sorrow was immense. We knew the hull was invisible and it was the only gift we could offer to repay him for what he had done to save us.”
“Do you think the Traugh would have invaded your planet with its poisonous atmosphere?”
“All it would take is one scan to see all the metals on the surface and there is no doubt they would have done whatever it took to take possession of them.”
“I think you’re right about that. I’ll be forwarding the conference to your panel tomorrow. I’ll talk with you afterwards about what to do next.”
“That would be good, Pam. I’ll talk with you then.”
The display went dark and Pam exhaled sharply. The long delayed fighting was getting close. She had hoped it would be after the chosen planet was colonized but sometimes you just don’t get to choose when things happen.
Progress was steadily moving along and at least the scientists and medical staff had developed the vaccinations to protect the colonists from the germs and microbes on the planet. She thought about it some more and de
cided to dispatch two colony ships with the engineers and technicians needed to start constructing the initial structures where the workers would be housed. If anything happened to Earth, there were enough of them to start all over again. She lifted her communicator and began speaking. Sometimes you cast your seeds into the wind and hoped that they would take root. This was one of those times. She spoke to the Lead Scientist and ordered him to gather his teams and be prepared to leave the next day. She ended the call and entered Admiral Holmes code into her panel. She pressed the button and a moment later he appeared on the wall monitor, “Good evening, Admiral. How may I be of service?”
“Admiral, I am dispatching two colony ships to the Fornax Dwarf Galaxy tomorrow and I want two full fleets to go with them and stay at the planet.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll contact the fleets immediately.”
“The Bosrean Leader has also told me that he thinks that his fleets should be worked into our fleet organization and led by our officers. He rightly says they are inexperienced at warfare and we should take the lead in any combat operations.” Holmes opened his mouth to speak and Pam held up her hand, “I know you’re concerned that they are not knowledgeable at how our fleets operate but he makes a good point that his pilots are telepathic and can be given orders just by thinking them to their pilots. They can probably respond faster than our own ships. Either way, I want you to meet their fleets at the Scout Line and start getting them organized.”
“Yes Sir. I’ll start moving our fleets there now.”
“That would be good. Admiral, I trust you to get them ready and make a good showing if we come under attack.”
“Thank you, Sir. After what happened, I’m thankful you believe in me.”
“Thank Connor for that. He said you were a great commander and shouldn’t be wasted. You’re proven him right. Keep up the good work.”
Holmes smiled, “Yes, Sir.
• • •
Steve laid on the bed with Lani under his arm. He was worried about what was going to fall out from the meeting among the halo civilizations. There just wasn’t much that could be done but wait. Lani had her head against his chest and she said, “I’ve been reading some of the history data that Poul has collected.”