by Saxon Andrew
Steve’s face showed his surprise.
Chapter Seventeen
“What do you mean they’re in the wrong place?”
“I see from your thoughts that you’ve sent your fleets out toward a galaxy you’ve designated as M-81.”
“That’s what those Traugh Warships at the edge of the galaxy are aligned on.”
“Well, that Dictator is looking at another galaxy on his terminal. Your designation for that galaxy is M-84.”
“He’s right, Admiral.”
“You are really hung up on not using first names, aren’t you?”
“The Admiral has not given me permission to use his first name, Prophet!”
Kam looked at Steve, “Is that true?”
“Poul, you can call me Steve. What do you mean he’s right?”
“You’re using an alignment starting with the Traugh ships at the galaxy’s edge. However, when the Dictator makes a run for it, he’ll be moving on a line toward those warships from the planet he is currently on.” They saw the monitor illuminate and a line was shown running from the Traugh Ruling Planet, through the Traugh Warships at the galaxy’s edge and out into open space. It continued and they saw it intersect M-84.
“Get Admiral Holmes on the monitor.”
Holmes appeared and he said, “Good-day, Admiral.”
“Bob, you are in the wrong location. The Traugh are going to make their break toward M-84, not M-81.”
Steve stared at the monitor and saw Admiral Holmes staring wide-eyed out of the display. “Is that who I think it is, Admiral?”
Steve looked at Kam and turned back to Bob, “Yes, it is.” Bob could only stare at the Prophet and Steve said “BOB, SNAP OUT OF IT!!”
Bob shook his head as Steve said, “You must move your ships out to M-84. Have your navigator draw a line from the Dictator’s planet through the ships holding station at the galaxy’s edge. That is the line he’ll be taking.”
“I’ll move immediately, Sir.” He paused and said, “Prophet, this is a moment I will always remember.”
Kam blew out a breath and smiled, “Go and do your duty, Child.” Bob’s smile was immediate and the monitor went dark.
Kam looked up at the ceiling and shook his head. Steve saw him, “What?”
“Now the kitty litter is out of the bag and I’m expecting a load to be dropped on it shortly.”
“Where did you learn that?”
“Essay was full of expressions like that.”
“What do you mean?”
“What do you think Admiral Holmes is going to do once he gets his fleets moving?” Steve just stared at him. “He’s going to contact everyone he knows and tell them he has spoken to me. Which will then lead to a parade of communications.”
Steve continued to stare at Kam as Poul said, “Message coming in.”
“And you don’t think you’re a Prophet?”
“It doesn’t take a prophet to call this.”
They saw the main monitor come on and Pam Osborn was staring out of it. She saw Kam and her eyes went wide. Kam’s head tilted and he said, “You are the spitting image of Pam Osborn.”
Pam’s tears began and she said, “Her sister is my great-great aunt.”
“She is one of my biggest regrets. I hated sending her to die fighting the Traugh. Her spirit was one of the most intense I’ve ever seen.”
“Admiral Holmes told me you were with Admiral Connor and I refused to believe it.”
Steve said, “Prophet, this is Fleet Admiral Pam Osborn. She is the commander of all our forces.”
Kam smiled at her and reached into his vest pocket, “I have something for you.”
“What is that?”
“I have an old data cube that I took with me when I left Earth for my home. On it is the recording of the first day where Pam and Sparky were chosen to take the Traugh Warship to try and delay them finding Earth. I’ve also recorded everything they sent to us in scouting reports and every conversation I had with her including the final one where she convinced Essay and I to take her out to be with Sparky. The last thing is the recordings that were sent as they attacked the Traugh Planet. I’m giving this to Admiral Connor to take to you.”
Pam’s tears ran down her face and she didn’t care who saw it. “Your gift is priceless. I don’t know how you are on Steve’s ship but this is…”
Kam nodded, “I understand. However, Admiral Connor has a lot to do and I can’t handle communications and allow him to do his job. Please forgive me for not being available but may I assume this is being recorded.” Pam nodded. “Tell all Mankind that I am so very proud of all they’ve accomplished and what they’ve become. It is humbling for me to witness it. Will you share that with the people of Earth?”
“I will.”
“Thank you.”
Steve looked at Pam, “I’ll get this to you as soon as possible.” Pam nodded and the monitor went dark.
Kam shook his head, “I can’t get over how much she looks like her ancestor.”
“I think they’re very much alike.”
“By the Creator, I hope not.”
“Why?”
“Pam was insane. So was Sparky and it took their being crazy to accomplish what they did.”
“Admiral Osborn is not insane or crazy”
“That’s because she comes from Pam’s sister.”
Steve stared at Kam and shrugged, “You’re probably right. Do you want to see what the Traugh are up against?”
“By all means. And what is this UE you keep worrying about?”
“I’ll have time to show you once the Traugh get underway. I’ll also show you what’s at the center of Andromeda.”
Kam nodded and saw the viewport dim. Poul flew over the top of the Halo Fleets and Kam could only shake his head, “This is a remarkable turnaround. I always feared that Earth would be overwhelmed by the massive number of Traugh Warships. The shoe is on the other foot now.”
“The Traugh can still win this if they can get their fleets into a formation where they can use the superior range of their disintegrators to hold the Halo Warships away from them.”
“If they do that, what do you think will be happening to the Traugh Home Worlds and their conquered planets?” Steve tilted his head to the left slightly and Kam nodded, “They’ll breakup their formation and go to save their planets.”
“Their fleets might survive if they don’t.”
Kam shrugged, “Tell me about these other threats you’ve found during my absence.”
“It will probably be easier to show you. Poul, start playing the recordings we have on the UE and the Darkness in Andromeda.”
The monitor started and Steve walked back to Lani’s chair at the rear of the bridge. She shook her head, “He is really remarkable.” Steve nodded. “What do you think about what he said about our showing up at this moment in time?”
“If that doesn’t make him a believer, I don’t know what will. I know that my doubts about it have been removed.”
Lani smiled and hugged him.
• • •
The Supreme Dictator looked at his body guard, “Are you ready to go and defeat our enemy?”
“I am, Greatest Leader.”
“I’ve waited for this moment for you to claim the glory. You will be my successor if you win this conflict.”
The Huge Traugh smiled and bowed, “I will destroy them.”
“I’m expecting you to do just that. Go now and take your fleets across the gulf that separates us from our foe.” The huge Traugh bowed again and left the room. The Dictator watched him leave and breathed a sigh of relief. If he had known about his escape plans, the New Supreme Fleet Admiral would have probably killed him. Now that he was out of the way, he could get things organized in the event things turned bad. That ship flying through the forbidden star system had him worried. His predecessor predicted that if that happened his entire species would be eradicated. It was probably just a bad dream but now there was an enemy showing
up that had been absent for decades. He wasn’t taking any chances. He lifted his communicator and said, “Move the other ships once the fleets are out of scanning range.”
“Yes, Great Leader.”
He leaned back in his chair and smiled. That idiot really thought he would be the chosen successor. He had a chosen group of warriors ready to greet him if he managed to win this confrontation under the pretense of bringing him to the Ruling Chamber for celebration of his victory. It would be unfortunate that he would be disintegrated before he could arrive. It would be easy to accuse him of conspiring to assassinate his rightful ruler. He had everything covered, no matter what happened.
• • •
The Supreme Fleet Leader boarded a shuttle and lifted off the planet and flew to his Command Warship. He went to the huge bridge and looked around, “Order the scouts to launch.” The hundred thousand Traugh Warships that were holding station outside the main formations activated their stardrives and disappeared. “Send out orders that we will be leaving in two hours.”
The Communication Leader looked at the Fleet Leader and only hesitated a moment. He began sending the orders out and the two thousand fleets wondered why the launch was shortened from the planned six hour delay. The Fleet Leader sat in his command chair and knew the Supreme Dictator was not going to make him the chosen successor.
He had to be ready for anything when he returned from his victory. It would probably happen as soon as he landed. He looked at the main monitor and saw the blips of scouts moving out of range of his scanners. First things first; this old foe had to be eliminated before he could take control of the Empire.
• • •
The Scouts had only flown for six hours when they detected an object in their path. A few moments later, they detected a communication wave leave the object directed toward the galaxy they were moving toward. A warship flashed forward and fired a brilliant disintegrator beam into the buoy and it exploded. But the damage was done. They knew the communication would be sent ahead of them to the enemy in the large galaxy.
• • •
The Supreme Fleet Leader received the report from the scouts and knew the enemy would be warned and waiting for his arrival. He looked at his communication leader, “I want to know what we’re facing in that galaxy the moment our scouts have them in scanning range.”
“Yes, Fleet Leader.”
• • •
“They are coming.”
“Have we determined if they’ve sent scouts outside their approach?”
“Our scouts outside their scanning range have not reported any sightings.”
“Order the fleets on the wings to start moving on the long course around them.”
“Order issued.”
Groh looked at the communication sent by the message buoy and saw that two million of the grey ships made up the main body of the attacker’s forces. He would have six million warships gathered at the outer edge of the halo while three million warships would move on each side of the oncoming enemy making sure they took a course far outside the enemy’s scanning range. The enemy was faster but it’s difficult to run away from warships blocking your retreat. It was incredibly naïve to attack on a single front.
The fleets sent around the approaching enemy would pass them in a day and when the enemy arrived at the halo, they would move in and combine a day later where they would wait for orders on whether to stay and attack any ships that fled or to move to the halo to assist the fleets holding formation there. The enemy would determine what would happen. If it became a fight to the death outside the edge of the halo, the fleets would be ordered in to attack from behind the enemy fleet. If the enemy fled, then all the ships at the halo would pursue them. The wing fleets would be responsible for slowing them down so the main halo fleets could move into the battle. It was still going to be difficult to slow all of them down. But perhaps a significant number of their warships could be removed from the table before his fleets arrived at the spiral galaxy the attacker had come from.
• • •
“Order all ships to move into globe formation and hold their positions.” The two million Traugh Warships moved into a giant globe as they flew at maximum speed toward the distant galaxy. The enemy knew they were coming and he was giving up maneuverability for what he hoped would be overwhelming fire power. He looked at his monitor as the ships assumed their positions and he lifted his communicator. He pressed the general fleet frequency and said, “The crew of any ship that leaves formation without direct orders will be executed. There will be no exceptions.”
The millions of Traugh Warships liked moving into the globe formation. The crossfire and overlapping of their beam coverage was better than having to face multiple enemy ships. The Fleet Leader didn’t need to worry about any leaving the protection of the globe. They knew their lives depended on maintaining the globe’s integrity.
A day out from the galaxy, the Fleet Leader looked at his Communication Leader, “Order the scouts to fan out and keep me informed of what they find.”
The hundred thousand scouts spread out from the giant globe’s approach and began searching for any danger to the sides of the main body. The wing fleets from the halo had passed them two hours earlier and were now barely out of range of the Traugh Scouts’ scanners. If the order had been made two minutes earlier, the scouts moving away from the Traugh main fleet would have detected the millions of ships moving behind their approach. A hundred and twenty seconds; such a short time to make such an incredible difference in tactical superiority.
• • •
“Those halo fleets were incredibly lucky they weren’t seen by the Traugh Scouts.”
Steve looked at Kam and shrugged, “You’re right. They were incredibly lucky.”
Kam looked at him, “You’re being sarcastic.”
“Prophet, if the Traugh Commander had not moved his launch up from six hours to two, they would have seen them. It had to be moved up four hours exactly for them to miss seeing them. But you’re right, it’s just a coincidence.”
“Oh my aching ass! Are the three of you going to beat me over the head with every coincidental event during this?”
“I would hope that we wouldn’t have to do it. You should be able to see it yourself.”
“Poul, I know you’re named after my father but you are starting to get on my last nerve.”
“We could always change my name to Kam. Would that make you happier?”
“That did it! I’m going to pull every wire out of you, you bucket of nuts. You don’t even have bolts. Matter of fact, I doubt you have the intellect of vacuum cleaner…”
Steve and Lani listened to the Prophet go off and they were shocked. Then they listened to him and started laughing. He was pretty good. Kam saw them and closed his mouth. He huffed and said, “You know how to pull my chain.”
“I’ll stop. I just couldn’t resist that one.”
Kam snickered, “No, I guess I’d have taken that shot as well given the opportunity.”
Lani looked at the tactical monitor and shook her head, “The Traugh are really in a bad position.”
“You’re right. They are now surrounded and heavily outnumbered.”
“Poul, if they hold that formation, I don’t know that the Halo Fleets can penetrate their defenses.”
“We’ll see. The Traugh Scouts will see the fleets outside the halo in another six hours.”
“It appears the Fleets behind them are holding their positions and not moving in on them. I wonder why they’re doing that.”
“It leaves several options open to the Halo Commander.”
“Such as?”
“They could turn and arrive at the Milky Way before the Traugh could get there. Or they can be a blocking force.”
“What do you think they’ll do?”
Kam looked at Steve, “What would you do?”
“If that Traugh Globe turns and runs, I’d not send the fleets behind them against that globe. I’d have them run
to the Milky Way and do as much damage as possible before the Traugh Globe shows up.”
“Then we’re about to see how smart that Halo Commander is.”
“Poul?”
“I agree. That globe would blow through the halo ships between the Traugh and the Milky Way. They probably wouldn’t be slowed much.”
Lani smiled, “If he’s really smart, he’ll send them as soon as he sees the globe.”
“Why do you say that?”
“The Halo only sent forty percent of their ships to take part in this. They still have millions of ships they can call in from the halo while the ships behind the Traugh can go and clean up in the Milky Way.”
Kam shook his head, “But the Traugh still have a million ships there.”
“And the Supreme Dictator will see six millions warships moving in on his empire. He doesn’t strike me as someone that’s willing to fight it out. He’s prepared to run and he did that for a reason. He’ll take most, if not all, of the warships with him when he runs.”
“The Halo Scouts have detected the Traugh Globe. They’re currently fighting it out with the Traugh Scouts but the message has been sent to the Halo Commander of what’s moving his way. Stand by.” Kam looked at Steve and Lani and his eyes narrowed. “The Halo Commander has called for reinforcements and has received confirmation that more ships are being sent. He’s also ordered the blocking fleet to head toward the Milky Way.”
“We’ll need to be there when they start attacking the Traugh Empire.”
“Why?”
Steve looked at Kam, “We have to be there to make sure they don’t move outside Traugh Territory.”
“Just how do you intend to do that?”
“I’m going to play with their fears. However, we can wait and see what happens here before we leave.”
Kam shook his head and was amazed at how far humans had come in their development. They were planet bound when he arrived less than a century earlier and now they were showing an acumen for space battles. Their predictions of what would happen were spot on and that was simply incredible. He wondered what he had created and hoped it wasn’t a monster.