by Saxon Andrew
Sam stared at Gregor and blew out a breath. “You’re right.”
Gregor nodded, “And it’s not like I can rush some of them through training. They’re all starting at the same point; they know nothing.” Sam was shaking his head and Gregor said, “Besides, you’ll have fifty-percent more SD Fleets to send out if you delay.”
“So, you’re estimating two years to be ready.”
“If you want it done right.”
Sam nodded and looked at Lydia, “Send a recording of this conversation out to Admiral Cranton.”
Lydia nodded and said, “Sir, I’m certain he could use the extra time to map Tronan Space.”
Sam nodded and looked at Gregor, “Let me know if I can assist you.”
“Sam, your going to Earth and getting them to start manufacturing our armor and their developing a smaller dart-gun is a huge difference maker.”
“Earth is still recovering from the ancient bombardment that destroyed most of the planet. But they’ve made remarkable progress since you started them installing force fields on commercial transports. Their engineers are about as good as those on Romania.” Sam looked at Gregor, “I’ll notify our Commanders on the delay.”
“Thank you, Sam.” Gregor left and Sam pressed a button, “What are you doing?”
“Getting Elena packed.”
“Why is that?”
“She’s been promoted to command a Battalion of our ground forces and is leaving to start their training.”
“What do you think her warriors are going to say about a child leading them?”
“They all know what she did at Bandasar. I don’t think any of them will want to take her on or challenge her authority.”
“I’m coming home. I don’t want to miss seeing her before she leaves.”
“Do you have time? The invasion is just a few…”
“It’s been delayed a year to give Gregor time to get his ground forces trained.”
Angel smiled, “Good. I’ve hated you being gone so much. Sonny also misses his father.”
“I’ll be there in a few hours. I need to tie up a few loose-ends and I’ll leave.”
“Hurry, Sam.”
“I will.” Sam looked at his panel and saw calls start coming in about the delay. He stared at the blinking lights and wished Jek was still around to handle these. He looked at his new Executive Officer and said, “Captain Ricks, handle my calls.”
Jerry nodded, “Yes, Sir.”
Sam stood up and left the bridge. When he returned three-days later, there were no calls that needed returning. He took his chair and looked at Jerry, “Any issues?”
“None that couldn’t be handled, Sir.”
Sam nodded and decided Admiral Mooney was right about this Scout Captain. Jerry was being targeted to command the scouts in one of the SD Fleets and he was there to prove himself. If he could handle the Dragon and Insectoid calls along with those from superior officers, he had the talent to command. Matter of fact, his development shouldn’t be delayed. He pressed his panel and said, “Commodore Watkins, your position on the Claw has been changed. I’ll notify you of your new ship when it comes on line.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Sam looked at Jerry, “Captain Ricks.”
“Yes, Admiral.”
“You are promoted to Commodore and will immediately report to the Claw to take command of the Scouts. Do a good job, Commodore!” Jerry stared at him and Sam smiled, “You’ve got a lot of work to do getting them ready. You should get moving.”
Jerry snapped to attention and saluted, “Yes, Sir. May I choose my XO?” Sam nodded and returned his salute; Jerry did an about face and ran off the bridge. Before he disappeared, Sam yelled, “Your second is promoted to Captain!” Jerry threw up a hand and waved an acknowledgement just as he disappeared from the bridge. Sam smiled; he needed more officers to show this much enthusiasm.
Jerry pressed his wrist unit and said, “Bonnie, bring the scout to Delilah’s Sword’s landing bay.”
“Sir, Lt. Owens has ordered me to remain outside the commissary while he gathers some personal items.”
“Bonnie, Admiral Oliver has promoted you to Captain. Notify Lt. Owens to contact Fleet Personnel for another assignment.”
Bonnie’s smile was immediate. She disappeared from his unit and he later learned Bonnie just lifted and left Owens in the commissary. It took him three hours to learn what was going on and he wasn’t about to challenge a Captain.
Bonnie said as Jerry entered the scout, “I never liked that stuffed shirt anyway.” Bonnie insisted that he just be left there to figure things out on his own but Jerry shook his head and sent the scout back to pick up Lt. Owens after they arrived at the claw.
Leaving Bonnie was the thing he hated most about being assigned to Admiral Oliver’s staff; he was glad they were back together. Jenny had married Jose and was expecting their first child. She suggested he replace here with Bonita Burns, a friend since childhood, and, though he was angry about losing Jenny, she was right about Ensign Burns being proficient.
He saw a message from Lydia that he and whomever he chose to be his second should go to the quartermaster and be fitted for their new uniforms. When they returned to their new command-scout, the paperwork notifying them of their promotions was on their panels. Jerry smiled, if nothing else, Admiral Oliver’s staff was really efficient.
Chapter Twenty-One
Tommy looked at the five officers sitting in his conference room and was reminded of when he was fighting the Tronan Communication Lines. The only difference was that the former commodores were now admirals commanding their own transports. He sat back and listened to Netty questioning them. Admiral Montgomery was also present and he was bothered by their progress to date. Tommy listened to the back and forth.
“What are you suggesting, Admiral?” Netty asked.
Travis shook his head, “It’s a good thing the invasion has been delayed for a year. We are not doing much good in our efforts so far.”
“Your scouts have found hundreds of Tronan Fleets and have put them on our developing maps. That will be a great help to the SD Fleets when they arrive to take them out,” Netty answered.
Travis snorted, “The Tronan, by conservative estimates, have more than 9,000 fleets in their navy totaling forty-five-million warships. At the pace we’re moving, it will take five-hundred years to come close to finding them all. In six-months, we’ve mapped a hundred-galaxies of the millions that are here. It will take us more than a million years to map them all. Or do you see it differently.”
Tommy said, “What are you suggesting, Travis?”
“Sir, all we’re finding in these galaxies are Tronan War Fleets looking for planets to invade. It’s foolish to try and go after their fleets. We need to find the head of this serpent and try to chop it off.” Tommy stared at Travis as he said, “If you want to find all of their fleets, just put that supreme leader in danger and you’ll get to know them all rather quickly.” Tommy started laughing and Travis smiled as he said, “It’s true, Admiral! If Romania or the Dragon’s Planet or even Bellingham was threatened, how many of our ships would we send to defend them!?”
Tommy stopped laughing and tilted his head, “You make a good point, Travis. However, are you suggesting we forego mapping this space? We have no idea of where the filaments connect.”
“Sir, all we need is just one yellow brick road to their leader’s location. Anything more than that is just superfluous. I also believe that if we find their leader, we’ll find their most important planets as well. I don’t want to spend my entire life fighting a never-ending war just to map all the millions of galaxies in their empire. I know we have no intention of staying here, so why do we need a map?!”
The six-admirals stared at Travis and Netty looked at Tommy, “He’s got a point. We may be going about this the wrong way.”
Tommy lowered his eyes and Jenell said, “Sir, Admiral Montgomery is right. If we could find that leader and pin him in where h
e couldn’t escape, you can bet a brass hat that every Tronan Warship in their empire will be ordered in to remove the threat. We wouldn’t need to go out searching for them.”
Tommy shrugged, “I’m think we’re in violent agreement here. But can the small number of SD Fleets we have win against 9,000 fleets determined to ram our ships?”
Travis sat back and said, “I don’t know, Sir. I do know that if we take the slow and cautious route, they’ll build warships about as fast as we find and destroy them. We can win this war quickly, if we’re willing to strike boldly.”
Tommy tilted his head, “We can also lose it very quickly!”
Travis nodded, “I know, but I don’t want to be away from those I love for years at a time for the rest of my life.”
“So how would you go about finding this Prime Director the Tronan Children described, “Netty asked.
Travis smiled, “That’s easy.”
Tommy looked at him, “Oh! Is that so?”
“We know the Tronan Communication Lines extended all the way back to that Tronan Leader and my scouts detected they remained in the Death Filament for as far as we could scan. Move all our transports and their scouts to the Death Filament and map everything that comes off it. Forget the others, that Leader is somewhere close to that giant filament. It is our yellow brick road.”
Oscar nodded, “That makes sense. The Death Filament provides the fastest mode of transportation around their empire. I suspect that if Death did leave calling cards, he’d be at that Leader’s location passing them out now.”
Lynch started laughing, “You and you calling cards.”
“Hey, Death never leaves a calling card to let you know when he’s coming to take you!”
Tommy stood up, “I suspect if Admiral Oliver goes along with this idea, Death won’t have to; we’ll know when it’s coming. I’ll get back to you after I discuss this with Admiral Oliver.”
Tommy left the room and everyone stood up to go back to their commands. Netty said, “You might as well stay where you are. Admiral Oliver won’t take long to make this decision.”
“How do you know that?” George asked.
“I suspect he’s already heard about it. Even if he hasn’t, Tommy wants to do it and that should push him to agree.” Netty looked at Travis, “I hope this idea doesn’t get us all killed.”
Travis shrugged, “I’d almost prefer that to a slow death of endless years of fighting an endless war.”
Lynch said, “Amen to that.”
Travis looked at Jenell and she nodded. She wanted a wedding, family, and a home as much as Travis; this war was keeping them apart.
• • •
Two-hours later, Tommy entered the conference room and said, “I’m ordering all four transports to move to our current location.” Travis’ smile was instant. Tommy said, “We must keep the Transports from being discovered and this is how we’re going to make that happen. Every Ghost will launch into the Death Filament and move out ahead of us. They will move on the filaments that intersect the Death Filament and notify us if they see any Tronan Vessels moving toward us. If any are detected, the Transports will leave the filament and move out of scanner range until those vessels pass. Once it’s clear, they’ll enter the Death Filament and catch up to our scouts.”
“Sir, that won’t be a problem most of the time.”
“Why is that, Lynch?”
“Because the Death Filament is intergalactic; I believe it runs from the largest black hole in this space to a similar sized black hole across the universe. A lot of our travel will be in the void between their galaxies.”
Tommy nodded, “Good; it might not take us forever to find this Prime Director. Return to your ships and let’s get started.”
“Sir, how far do you want my Ghosts to move down filaments?”
“Your scouts have the old communication system. Listen to any Tronan Ships you encounter and see if they’re moving toward an important location; only go to the next intersection if you don’t find anything of importance. I do believe that if we move close to the Prime’s location, the amount of filament traffic will increase dramatically. Get moving.”
• • •
Sam looked at Gregor on his panel and said, “I’ve changed the plan of attack.”
“How?”
“Admiral Cranton has made a good case for finding their Prime Director and attacking him at his home planet. You should also be made aware that more than three-hundred planets have been found that are being attacked and the number is growing.”
“THREE-HUNDRED!”
“Yes, and all of them have Tronan Fleets in orbit. We’ve marked the locations on the map our ghosts are creating and if we manage to find the Prime Director’s location, I believe he will order every fleet in his empire to come and defend him. That will leave those planets being invaded undefended and you can move in and attack their ground forces.”
“They probably will leave some warships behind.”
Sam nodded, “A few. However, your transports will have a thousand scouts on them which, should be able to remove them and support you landing operations.”
“So, I’m on hold until we find this Prime Director?” Gregor asked.
Sam shrugged, “All of us are, Gregor.”
Gregor smiled, “I really shouldn’t complain. I can use the additional time to get my forces better trained.”
“I’ll keep you updated on Admiral Cranton’s forces progress.” Gregor’s image disappeared and Sam decided this new plan was better. Cranton was right; make the Tronan Fleets come to him. It would also give him time to build more SD Fleets.
• • •
Four years passed and Tommy began sending each of his four-transports back to be provisioned one at a time. The Ghosts from the transport sent back would have to share the other three until it returned about six weeks later. Tommy was stunned by what his ghosts were finding. The Tronan Empire covered a massive space. Everywhere his transports went, they found planets being invaded and Tronan Fleets moving in the filaments and they had still not found the Prime Director’s location. He wondered if they had possibly passed it but the evidence suggested otherwise; they had not found a planet with Tronan living on it.
He was thankful he had listened to Travis; this war could have gone on forever before it arrived at his transport’s current location. He stared at the monitor and wondered if he’d ever be on a planet again. Perhaps the next time he would stay.
• • •
“Lieutenant, I have intercepted a Tronan communication you should hear.”
“Put it on the speaker, Computer.”
“…don’t understand why the Prime Director has ordered us to report to him.”
“I hear he has uncovered a conspiracy in the military working against him.”
“WHAT CONSPIRACY?”
“I don’t know. But I’ve heard that large numbers of our fleets have started mysteriously disappearing and can’t be accounted for. He is calling all his Fleet Directors in to question them.”
• • •
“TELL ME YOU HAVE THE LOCATION OF THOSE VESSELS?!”
“I do. They’re at the edge of my long-range scanner,” the computer responded.
“SHOW ME!”
Lt. Kera Ishido saw the two blips on the monitor and went to full boosters to close the distance. She looked at her First Officer, “VALERIE, GET A COPY OF THIS BACK TO THE DRAGON’S MAW. TELL THEM WE’RE FOLLOWING THOSE VESSELS.” Valerie nodded and activated the filament communicator.
• • •
Alarms started going off in the Ghost Scouts scattered around Tronan Space and a recording began playing, “ALL GHOSTS RETURN TO YOUR TRANSPORTS IMMEDIATELY, ALL GHOSTS RETURN TO YOUR TRANSPORTS IMMEDIATELY!”
Travis jumped out of his command chair and yelled, “WAHOOO!!!”
“What’s going on?” Zek asked.
“PAY DIRT, ZEK! SOMEONE HAS TO HAVE FOUND THE PRIME DIRECTOR’S LOCATION.”
Zek p
ressed buttons on his panel and stared at his panel for a moment as he listened to his earphones. He looked up and smiled, “One of our ghosts is following two Tronan Vessels going to a meeting with the Prime Director.”
Travis smiled, “We’ve done it! After all these years, we’ve done it!”
• • •
Klaxons were blaring and orange lights were flashing in the four Ghost Transports as the first Ghosts arrived and began landing operations. The Klaxons were silenced but the battle stations lights continued to flash. There was an exuberance in the transport’s crews and Ghost Pilots knowing their long search had finally found success.
Tommy looked at Admiral Oliver on the monitor and said, “Sir, we’ll have the Prime Director’s location shortly. What do you want done now?”
“You need to get your ghosts out to scout out that area. I suspect that is where their ship-building planets as well as their population centers are located.”
“Sir, do you want me to start destroying Tronan Warships?”
Sam’s eyes narrowed, “Why do you suggest doing that, Tommy?”
“I would rather have their fleets started gathering at the Prime’s location than have them coming in behind our forces.”
Sam rolled his eyes, “You’re absolutely right. I’ll get our forces moving and they will mass at a safe location.”
“I have a filament that exits the Death Filament not far from my current location. I’ll send you the coordinates. Sir, I’m going to use my new scouts as well as the Ghosts using hit-and-run tactics until you arrive.”
“Use your best judgement, Tommy. Don’t waste your forces.”
“I won’t, Sir.”
• • •
Tommy looked at his Senior Commanders on the giant wall monitor and said, “I’m sending out all the Ghosts to scout the surrounding galaxies around the Prime’s location. We’ll have about eight-weeks before all the SD Fleets are provisioned and ready to go. We will scout that space for four weeks and then start our attacks at the Prime’s location. We will then begin destroying warships using hit-and-run tactics until the SD’s arrive. Admiral Montgomery, I’m leaving the planning of those tactics to you.”