by Saxon Andrew
• • •
Riebbe watched Beth’s second wave accelerate away and watched his count down. Beth’s wave hit the base and Riebbe pushed the activation button. The remaining three hundred million attack craft jumped to the rear of the Red Ships in a giant dish formation and waited. They didn’t have to wait long.
• • •
Amie squinted as her ship hit the flames and suddenly she was through the beams and inside the force field of a Red Battleship. She hit the ultra-beam, which hit the Red Ship in the reactor room directly in front of the engines. She turned and flew out of the force field of the exploding Red Ship through the force field of another ship. Whaaaa-hoooo. Now she was on familiar ground and she moved up into the ranks of the massed Red Ships above her. Suddenly she heard a computer voice say, “Twenty seconds to escape…fifteen seconds to escape… She continued to kill ships until the countdown reached one and she flew her ship out of the explosions behind her into open space above the rear of the giant formation. She watched as the second wave roared into the hole that had been blasted in the base. She heard, “Your coordinates are as follows.” She jumped her ship to the coordinates and saw the other shock ships appear around her. They were eighty miles to the right of the giant formation. She looked at her board and saw that twenty ships in her wing were not on the channel. Her second was one of them. Then she heard, “Weapons are active.” She read her orders again and waited for what was expected to happen. She fought the depression at the loss of her pilots and forced herself to focus on the mission.
• • •
The Sub-Admiral saw the destruction of the ships in the rear of his formation and then millions of enemy ships flew into the space inside the four walls of the giant pyramid. Millions of ships began exploding in the surrounding wall and he knew they had no defense against the attacking ships. If they fired at them they would hit their own ships across the space from their location. He slammed an appendage on the panel and yelled, “Break away and kill the ships inside the structure…” He never had the opportunity to order them to reform afterwards. One of the ten ultra-beams that hit his ship burned through the chair he was occupying and went out the ceiling.
• • •
Beth and the other ships in the second wave saw the giant pyramid break apart and she pressed the escape frequency on her console. Every ship in the second wave jumped out of the center of the Red Ships and emerged just above the force field protecting the planet. She ordered, “Launch first salve.”
• • •
Riebbe watched as millions of Red Ships in the walls of the pyramid exploded. Giant holes appeared in the formation’s walls and he wondered how long they could sustain those losses. Suddenly, the entire formation fragmented and broke apart. Millions of Red Ships scattered in all directions. “Fire first salvo.”
The millions of attack craft at the rear of the Red Fleet fired a mini-penetrator at the wave of Red Ships. They left the giant fleet and accelerated into the ranks of the enemy fleet. Thousands of Red Ships collided attempting to escape the small, fast, missiles closing in on their thrusters. The explosions started and space looked like a sun had come into existence.
Riebbe watched his sensors and saw that many of the penetrators had been destroyed in the blasts. He pressed the frequency and said, “Fire second salvo.”
Another huge wave of penetrators accelerated into the fleeing Red Ships and easily overtook them. One moment there were millions of Red Ships exploding and the next they were all gone. They had jumped away.
• • •
Dolly and George watched the destruction of the Red Formation and Dolly looked at George and said, “I told you he was the best.”
George smiled, “I never doubted you, sis.”
• • •
Riebbe sat back and Cyanna appeared on his console, “Are you trained on your new weapons or do you need more time?”
Riebbe started laughing and said, “No, I think we can take it from here.”
Cyanna smiled, “Good job, Admiral.”
• • •
Earth’s fleets had returned to their home galaxy for a deserved shore leave. The Hive, Horde, White Civilization, Nexu, and Ramst took over the effort to keep the Red Sector on its heels as the Union’s fleets took time to reunite with their families and grieve the loss of their friends.
• • •
Amie entered Mark’s hospital room and she saw him try to sit up and greet her, “Lie back down; don’t hurt yourself.”
Mark smiled and said, “It’s really good to see you. How’s the squadron?”
Amie said, “Most of the ones that were there when we were privates are gone. We’ve lost a lot of good pilots.”
Mark’s smile faded and he said, “At least you’ve made it back.” Mark stared at her uniform and said, “Hey, hey, hey; you’ve been promoted.”
Amie smiled, “That happens fast in this navy. How much longer are you going to be here?”
“I have four more sessions in the tank and the doctors believe I’ll have the use of my legs again. I’m looking forward to getting out of here.”
Amie said, “Mark…”
Mark put his hand over her mouth and silenced her. “There’s something I’ve wanted to discuss with you.”
“What is that?”
“I’ve fallen in love and I’m buying a house near the ocean where she and I can live. I’m having it repainted and I just can’t decide on whether to paint the walls light blue or white.”
Amie’s heart fell into her shoes. “Congratulations, I’m happy for you.”
“What color do you think I should use?”
Amie tried her best not to cry and managed to say, “You should ask her.”
Mark said, “I did.”
“And what did she say.”
“I’m waiting for you to answer.”
Amie stared into his eyes and he smiled, “So what color is it going to be?”
Amie fell on the bed into his arms and said, “Color it home,” just before she kissed him.
• • •
RV and Cyanna were playing with Leigh Ann when Phil and Ann arrived at their home. The door alarm sounded and RV went and invited them in. Leigh Ann saw the two strangers and stopped laughing as she intently stared at them. Phil made a funny face at her and she laughed out loud. Anne said, “I didn’t know you like children.”
“It’s the little boy in me; I can’t help it.”
Cyanna said, “Hello, did you have trouble finding us?”
Phil shook his head, “No; everyone knows where you live.”
“Really?”
“Really, why have you asked us to come here?”
Phil sat down on the floor with them and Anne joined them. Leigh Ann crawled out of Cyanna’s lap and rushed across the floor to Anne. Anne picked her up and blew on her tummy. Leigh Ann laughed and looked at her with wide eyes and a big smile.
RV said, “I want you to take the Ninja and try to do something for me.”
“What is it?”
RV spent the next hour telling him.
That’s when Chris and Jillian came in followed by Mikal and Loree. The party started and soon Kenny and Jessica arrived with Kate Diamond. An hour later, Dolly, Jeff, George, and Meisa arrived. Leigh Ann watched the adults and wondered why they made the crazy movements around the room. She stared at her mother and Cyanna said, “It’s called dancing.” Leigh Ann looked back at Dolly gyrating in a circle in the middle of the room and laughed.
Jillian said, “Even she knows you can’t dance.”
“This coming from an old stiff leg.”
Jillian grabbed Chris’ hand and pulled him out into the center of the room. “We’ll see who’s old and stiff.”
For the moment, war was forgotten and happiness was the watch word.
• • •
The RSA looked at his display, “Did you see the disaster?”
“I did.”
“Can they do that to us again?”
“Not if we modify the structures slightly.”
“Are you certain?”
“I am.”
The RSA started at the lead weapons scientist and said, “Make the needed changes and notify me when they have been completed. Where are we with the movement?”
“Thirty percent completed. We’ll need to use some ships from the front to make sure we’re not discovered.”
“Are you satisfied that won’t be discovered?”
“None of their ships have ever ventured that far into our provinces.”
The RSA thought about the plans and said, “Make sure everyone knows their places and don’t waste time.”
“We’ve already had a trial and it went smoothly. You know we’ll probably lose more planets if we move forward?”
“We’ll lose them if we don’t; at least this way we can remove the problem.”
The scientist moved to the side and said, “I’ll let you know when we’re ready.”
• • •
The Dark Creature looked at the Ramst King and the Hive Controller on his display, “I’ve been notified that more of our members are ready to join in the campaign against the Red Sector.”
The King said, “I would have never thought we would have survived this long. Those, what do you call them, uhhhh…”
“Humans.”
“Yes, Humans, have made such a difference. Most of our old ships are now armed with the new beams and missiles. We just might stand a chance.”
The DC said, “Don’t get your hopes up too quickly. Their numbers are still staggering.”
“Yes but they have found a way to break into their formations.”
The Hive Controller said, “The Red Sector isn’t dumb. I’m sure they’re working on a counter to that tactic. Still, the longer we can keep them defending their territory, the longer we have to build ships.”
“How many do we have to use against them?”
“We’re over a billion main battleships.”
The DC slowly shook his head, “That’s still less than twenty percent of their ship totals.”
“The odds were at ten to one.”
“Just keep your attention on that sector. I just know they’re planning something and we’re not seeing it.” The Emperor paused and said, “Will you make the assignments of the new ships coming online?”
The Hive Controller said, “I’ll work the Minor’s new ships into the fleets if you’ll handle the two sector’s new ships.”
The King nodded, “I’ll take care of it.”
The display went dark and the Emperor worried about what they could be missing. Something had to be going on in the Red Sector.
• • •
Phil and Anne were jumping back to the fleets when Anne said, “Let’s run a quick scan of Sierra Space in the Red Sector.”
“Why, is something bothering you?”
“They haven’t attempted to take back the territory they lost to the Grillen. I wonder about that.”
“What do you want to look for?”
“Scan for their ship frequencies.”
Phil moved the Ninja into Sierra Space and extended the scanner fields. The massive number of black dots representing stars always amazed him. This galaxy was huge. After six minutes the computer put the results of the scan up on the main display. They looked at it and Anne said, “Something’s changed. Computer, put the scan up we completed three months ago.”
The two scans were placed side by side and Phil jumped out of his chair. “Computer, jump us to the Havana’s location. Do it now!”
Anne continued to stare at the two scans and wondered where the ships had gone. The Ninja jumped away at high velocity to warn the galaxy.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
RV looked at the two scans and then contacted all the major players in the war against the Red Sector. George and Dolly were also in attendance and most of those present were impressed with the leader of the humans. After a brief get acquainted session, the Emperor called the video conference to order and said, “What have you found?”
RV put the two scans on the display and said, “More than sixty five percent of the Red Ships are no longer in their sector.”
Silence dominated the conference and RV said, “They were quite clever in their deception and we only caught this by accident. They moved more than seven hundred million ships around the sector that’s closest to us. Our probes didn’t process that the ships they were recording were the same ships that were constantly jumping around the sector.
The Nexu Council Leader said, “They’re forming up to attack.”
RV nodded, “Yes they are and we don’t have long to get ready.”
The Horde Master said, “Now would be an excellent time to jump in and start destroying their planets.”
Many on the conference agreed that they should do exactly that.
RV stared at the Emperor and saw him staring back. RV slowly shook his head and the Emperor said, “It would not be good for us to do that.”
The Hive Controller said, “It might force them to bring those ships back to defend them.”
The Emperor looked at RV and he said, “If they had just started forming up their ships; that might be a good strategy. However, we’ve looked at the pattern from our sensor buoys and we’ve determined that this has been going on for more than four months. If we send our ships into their sector, how are we going to organize to meet their fleets when they jump into our sectors and start killing everything?” RV paused, “It appears they are willing to write millions of planets off to eliminate us once and for all.”
The Emperor said, “So what do we do?”
“Move all of your critical citizens into ships and get them off your planets.”
“Why do you want us to do that?”
“Because we revealed our hand when we destroyed their formation in my home galaxy; I’m hoping it will still work but I don’t know if it will.”
The Ramst King said, “Why wouldn’t it?”
RV looked at the thousands on the video conference and said, “I thought about how to prevent our ships from breaking though their beams. I went and asked someone who I highly respect how he would counter our strategy and the answer was so simple I was shocked.”
The Emperor said, “How can they do it?”
“Just shorten their beams from seventy miles to twenty. They don’t need to do anything else.”
George sat back in his chair and immediately understood. RV saw the Emperor did as well. The Nexu Leader said, “How would that make a difference?”
“Our ships were able to fly through their beams because they went through them at high velocities. Their force fields were only affected by the beam for a brief moment. If they shorten their beams and overlap them like they would have to do to shorten that much, the temperature would go up more than a thousand times. Nothing could make it through without being burned instantly. We’ll know when their formations arrive whether or not they know this little piece of information.”
The Emperor said, “They may have their beams at seventy miles and instantly pull them in if you attack.”
RV shrugged, “That’s what I’d do. So when they arrive I’m sending a million small craft at their formation and have them break away at the last possible moment.” RV paused and said, “If they shorten those beams, there is nothing we can do to harm them and all of us are going see the end of time for our civilizations.”
The Emperor said, “Is there no way to break through their shortened beams?”
“I asked my friend that same question and he told me that you would have to have a ship big enough to contain fifty of those reactors used to power the planetary force fields.”
“But those reactors are more than twenty miles wide.”
“Actually, they’re closer to fifty miles wide. We could build ships like that if we were given time but I think all of you know, time is not what we have here.”
“So what do we do with our fleet
s if they’re useless?”
“We go to their sector and burn every planet we can. We leave them as little as possible to go back to.”
George said, “What purpose would that serve?”
“Our civilizations will survive just like they did the last time they attacked. The survivors in the fleets will build again. This time we want to ensure they have enough time to build what they need to face them again in the far future.”
“Where do you think they’ll attack first?”
“Oh, they’ll come right outside the galactic edge of your sectors and challenge you to bring your fleets out to meet them first. They know the danger your ships represent to them. Failing that, they will move into the sector burning everything.” RV waited for comments and said, “We need to form our own fleets up and move them out to the edge of the sector.”
“Why?”
“There is a remote chance they haven’t discovered the information on reducing their beams. It’s a remote possibility but it is a chance. We’re going to plan our defense around that possibility. I’ll be having my staff send you your assignments.”
The Emperor said, “Start your commercial vessels moving as many citizens as you can to a safe location. The Fleets will follow the Human Admiral’s instructions. This meeting is adjourned.”
• • •
Dolly sat at her console and turned the red light off on her board. George looked at her and said, “What was that?”
“I was recording the meeting.”
“That looked like a transmit button.”
“Silly, you don’t think I’m going to store it here do you?”
George shrugged and went to be with Meisa.
• • •
RV sat in his command chair and waited. Two weeks had passed and the constant expectation of the Red Ship’s arrival was nerve wracking. Cyanna said, “What about our worlds?”