Escape to Earth-Fighting for Space

by Saxon Andrew

  “I have no idea. What are you thinking?”

  “If we can’t actually go into their formations with the Attack Pods, nimbleness is no longer a requirement. I was thinking that with the more powerful reactors, your Pods’ force fields might be able to withstand the enemy’s disruptors.”

  “Flying into a solid wall of disruptor beams in not a good idea, Jinks.”

  “But you would be destroying the ones closest to you as you moved forward.”

  Stoney stared at Jinks and said, “Let me think about this.”

  “It’s your call, Stoney. I was just thinking about how much more powerful our Defense Pods are with their two new reactors. Stay in touch.”

  “I will.” Jinks leaned back and thought about where he had come up with the idea. It had entered his mind as soon as he heard Stoney’s voice. He leaned back in his chair and began rocking slowly. Is this what Lukas was seeing? He decided not to say anything else and see if his suggestion bore fruit. It was like when Stoney asked if all his ships were in position. He probably didn’t know where that came from either. He leaned forward and pressed Amanda’s frequency. Maybe she would know the answer to his question.

  • • •

  Salud looked at Lukas, “Where are you going?”

  Lukas was startled and he looked up to see Salud standing behind him. “I was going to tell you after I left.”

  “Left for where?”

  “Something is going on in the Fellowship. We have to know what.”

  “So you’re leaving without telling me?”

  “I’m the only one familiar with the Fellowship’s geography. The next attack should have already happened and it hasn’t. Something is going on.”

  “Then I’m going with you.” Lukas began shaking his head and Salud interrupted him before he could say anything, “If you go, I go. If you stay, I stay. I will not allow you to go and leave me behind.”

  “I can’t take you.”

  “Because it’s too dangerous.” Lukas stared at her in silence. “What would happen if you go and I’m killed while you’re gone?” The emotions on Lukas’ face were obvious. “Tell me how it would be any different for me if it happened to you? I don’t want to go on living without you. If you go, I go!”

  Lukas stared at her and shook his head, “I just can’t allow you to be harmed.”

  “Then don’t. However, we are a team and you can’t just abrogate that without my agreement! Do you understand?”

  Lukas sighed and Salud said, “You will also pull rank and tell Jinks and the others that this is something that has to be done. Taking me with you will lower their fears about you coming back.”

  “Do you honestly think that will be an issue?”

  “Don’t you? You’ve been preparing Jinks to lead our efforts. I know he’d be afraid you did that so you could leave.”

  Lukas stared at her and took a breath, “I guess you’re right.”

  “You know I am. Contact him and let’s go. If this is worth doing, then we need to get moving.”

  “I can’t persuade you to stay?”

  “Can I persuade you to stay and I go?”

  Lukas smiled, “Let’s board Willow and take off. We’ll tell him once we’re in space.” Salud smiled and took his hand as they left their quarters. “How did you know?”

  “Something told me to put my space armor on and come see you.”

  Lukas stopped walking and looked at her, “Are you sure about that?”

  “I am.”

  Lukas nodded and said, “Then you are needed to be with me.”

  “That’s how I see it.”

  “Ok, let’s do this.”

  They climbed into Willow’s cockpit and Salud said, “I think Jinks knows.”

  Lukas looked at Salud and saw her expression didn’t mean he knew about them leaving. “It doesn’t surprise me. He’s pretty smart and has a way of putting things together.” Salud nodded and Willow blasted out of the launch tube.

  • • •

  Jinks was furious but he stopped arguing when Salud said, “This is necessary, Jinks.”

  He stopped yelling and stared at Lukas and Salud on his monitor. He saw their expressions said more than they were saying. He lowered his eyebrows, “Are you sure about that?”

  “We are.”

  Jinks nodded and said, “Just don’t take any foolish chances. If you end up being pursued, bring them here.”

  Lukas smiled, “You can count on it.” Jinks’ monitor went dark and he wondered what was going on. Too much too fast. He couldn’t put it together. He pressed his panel, “Start rotating the fleets so they are getting enough rest.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  Jinks knew the attack wouldn’t happen until they came back. That was the only thing he did see clearly.

  Chapter Ten

  “Willow, did the last attackers leave any probes behind?”

  “It appears they did not.”

  “That’s pretty stupid.”

  “Not if you consider that they had no doubt of their victory. They never considered they would be defeated and they were running too fast to think about it.”

  “They wouldn’t want to lower their force fields to launch one.”

  “They were firing at each other and that pretty much made it impossible to launch a probe.”

  “How do you like this new body?”

  “It’s taken some getting used to. Are you going to start building ships like me?”

  “You’re the Fleet’s Flagship. You’re a one-off creation.”

  Salud looked at Lukas, “What’s different?”

  “Don’t you see there’s more room between the seats?”

  “I’ve never sat in Willow when he was in his ship form. What’s different?”

  “I’m forty feet long now, Salud.”

  “That’s longer than a Defense Pod.”

  “It is. I’ve got a reactor designated for the thrusters, another for the gravity compensator, and one each for the force field and disruptors.”

  “Oh, is that all?”

  “I’ve also been equipped with the larger diameter disruptor barrel. I’m not forced to pause to let it cool.”

  Lukas nodded, “But he only has that one disruptor.”

  Salud looked at Lukas, “Is that good?”

  “It does swivel and can be fired continuously. Since I could design it like I wanted, I felt having a weapon that could be continuously fired was more of a benefit than having three of the smaller disruptors.”

  “May I assume you’re as nimble as an Attack Pod?”

  “Actually, more so, Salud. Escape is the more powerful systems designed into me. We can change directions at a pace that was previously impossible.”

  “Is that due to the gravity compensator having its own reactor?”

  “Very good. That’s exactly why.”

  “Where are we going Lukas?”

  “I’m going to take a quick look at the Welken Home World.”

  Willow said, “Is that a good idea?”

  “When I say a quick look, I mean it.”

  “Ok, here we go.”

  • • •

  Jinks watched Lukas’ Pod disappear and as it skipped away and his panel activated, “Sir, the Void Probe has recorded a ship leaving our Solar System.”

  Jinks shook his head, “Are you sure?”

  “Yes Sir. It blew by faster than anything we’ve recorded.”

  “Thank you.” Jinks called Trevor, “Do you have the diagrams of Lukas’ modifications to his person Pod?”

  “I do.”

  “Send them to me.”

  “On their way.” Jinks studied the diagrams and tried to decide if the changes were worth the added time to build. He called in Trevor and he agreed that the ship was built to be incredibly fast and nimble. The single disruptor was probably not as good in a fleet battle as the three on the current Pods. “So this vessel’s main function is to outrun anything pursuing it?”

  “Th
at’s how I see it.”

  Jinks smiled, “Good! I want one built for all of my Admirals.”

  “Does that include you as well?”

  “Yes, and for Stoney, too. I would also recommend you and Amanda have one as well and you need to learn how to fly it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because there might be an occasion where flight is the operative word, Trevor.”

  Trevor stared at him for a long moment and said, “Do you anticipate the Fellowship making that a possibility?”

  “Them or someone else; you never know and I want my best officers to have a real chance to escape if it’s called for.”

  “Yes Sir. Does Lukas agree with this?”

  “I suspect he does but even if he doesn’t, you will have them built.”

  Trevor stared at Jinks and after a moment nodded. “You never know when an enemy will raise its ugly head.”

  Jinks stared at Trevor and knew he was seeing things as well. He smiled and nodded, “You just never know.” Trevor smiled and a message was passed between them with nothing being said. The monitor went dark and he knew Amanda knew, too. She probably saw it first. Things looked better. He wasn’t alone anymore.

  • • •

  Willow came out of Skip three hundred thousand miles out from the Welken Home World and Lukas said, “Take a scan and skip out to the Myot Home World.” Willow remained in normal space five seconds and skipped away as hundreds of Battleships began emerging into normal space around them. Willow entered the void and blasted away from the Welken world. Hundreds of battleships entered the void giving chase but fell behind at an incredible rate.

  • • •

  “Great Leader, whatever that ship was, it has vanished from our scanners.”

  “Then follow the skip trace.”

  “Great Leader, it’s moving more than fifty times our speed. There is no way we can catch it.”

  “What?”

  “It’s already too far away to visually track.”

  “Continue following that trace.”

  • • •

  Willow appeared in the Myot system, took a quick scan, and skipped away. Lukas said, “What do you see on the scans?”

  “There are thousands of battleships around both planets but nowhere near as many as they have in their fleets.”

  “Take us to the coordinates where my battleship was shot out from under me.”

  “That’s where all this started.”

  “I know.” The ship turned and changed course in the void. It left the Welken and Myot pursuers far behind and after thirty minutes it entered normal space, snapped a scan and skipped away at its fastest speed. Lukas looked at the scan and said, “This is where they’re gathering their ships.”

  Salud looked at the image on the display and grabbed her throat, “Oh My God! How many are there?”

  Willow hesitated and said, “I didn’t get all of them but it appears to be close to a million.”

  “Willow, are they in mixed formations?”

  “Two of them are. The others aren’t.”

  “How many formations did you capture?”

  “Fifty.”

  “Were the mixed ships the largest formations?”

  “They are.”

  “What are you thinking, Lukas?”

  “They are planning other attacks. I think it’s the other attacks that have slowed them down.”

  “I don’t understand?”

  “I think they’re planning to attack other members of the Fellowship but something has happened that stopped them.”

  “What could that be?”

  “I don’t know. Willow, do you have the Johan’s contact frequency?”

  “I do.”

  “See if you can get the Ruler on the frequency.”

  A moment passed and then the display showed the Johan, “Who are you?”

  Lukas smiled, “I’m from the primitive planet you’ve taken possession of.”

  The Johan stared at Lukas, “You’re not the one I’ve been communicating with.”

  “No, he’s my senior Fleet Admiral.”

  “Ahhh, so you’re the one behind their fast technological development.”

  “I am.”

  “Are you Welken?”

  “I was. I consider myself Human now.”

  “I imagine that was a rather dramatic change.”

  “More than you know.”

  “Why are you contacting me?”

  “Something is going on with the Myot and Welken fleets. I was wondering if you might know what it is.”

  The Johan smiled, “I disrupted their plans of conquest.”

  “How did you manage to do that?”

  “Let’s see if you’re as smart as I think you are. If you had to guess, what would you say?”

  Lukas stared at the Johan smiling at him and thought furiously, “Well, you’ve done something that’s prevented them from attacking other members of the fellowship. That would mean you’ve used the agreement you made with them work against them.” Lukas paused and suddenly smiled, “You’re taking possession of other members!”

  “Very good! That’s exactly what I’ve done. The more powerful members agreed to vacate one of their cities and one of my ships nuked it.”

  “Which made them one of your possessions and under the terms of your agreement, they can’t attack them.”

  “They aren’t very happy at the moment.”

  “I imagine they’re not. How has being one of your possessions been received by the other members?”

  “I agreed to leave them alone and let them rule themselves. The only difference is that the Myot and Welken can’t attack them without violating our agreement.”

  “What are they doing about it?”

  “They’re currently in a discussion with the Sentinels. As it stands right now, they are saying the agreement was made fraudulently. They insist I made it to prevent them from doing what was in their best interests. They’re insisting that my taking possession of the other members without actual resistance violates the covenants. They are currently waiting for the Sentinels to decide who’s right.”

  “Why didn’t they just appeal to void the agreement?”

  “Because all three of us will have to agree to void it.”

  Lukas shook his head and laughed, “And you have no intention of doing that?”

  “Why would I? They’re mad they didn’t think this thing through.”

  “Which way do you think it’ll go?”

  “I’ve taken part in numerous discussions with the Sentinels and I honestly don’t know. However, I’m sure they aren’t going to do anything until the Sentinels decide and that includes attacking you. If they allow the agreement to be vacated, then they’re going to have to use their fleets to protect their planets. My planet will also be in danger but I’ve moved most of my population to other planets and they do not know their locations. We’re in a holding pattern at the moment.”

  “And the Fellowship is at peace for the first time in history.”

  “There is that.”

  “They’re still preparing to attack my planet.”

  “They’d be foolish to send ships there if the Sentinels announce their decision while they’re gone.”

  Lukas nodded, “I expect some of their battleships to arrive here shortly. I visited their planets before coming here.”

  “And they’re that far behind you?”

  “I am somewhat faster. Thank you for your honesty.”

  “Good luck. Your help saved most of my fleet. It is I that owe you.”

  Lukas nodded and looked up, “Get us out of here, Willow.” The Pod entered the void and Lukas saw the glow of hundreds of ships moving toward their position. Willow blasted away and Lukas said, “How long would it take you to go out to the edge of the galaxy and make a run around the edge?”

  “Getting there won’t take long but how far do you want to go around it?”

  “Start outside the Welken territory and
run toward the Myot Empire. I’ll let you know if we need to continue.”

  “What are you looking for?”

  “I’m not sure. Matter of fact, move out to ten thousand light years from the edge before you start moving around the edge.” Willow changed course and went to an incredible speed. The battleships rushing toward them stopped and turned back. They realized they had no chance of catching the small ship.

  • • •

  The skip took an hour to arrive at the coordinates Lukas wanted. Salud looked at him, “What are you hoping to find out here?”

  “Nothing, I hope.” Willow started moving around the edge of the galaxy toward the point opposite the Myot Empire. Willow entered the void and Lukas looked at the Milky Way. He knew nothing physical existed in the void but the vast disturbances made by stars in the Milky Way created a small glow in the void like small fireflies. He looked out toward open space and saw the unlimited blackness of void extending out toward infinity.

  That blackness was darker than the darkest night. It was a place inside the physical universe where the normal laws of physics didn’t apply. A small push would exceed the speed of light and a large thruster push would cover thousands of light years every minute. It was impossible to judge the speed because of the uniform darkness gave nothing to make the determination. The discovery of the stardrive field which allowed entering the void is what made moving around the galaxy practical.

  Willow continued accelerating and the distant glowing stars began visibly moving in the distance as the pod moved thousands of light years every minute. After three hours Willow said, “I see something ahead, Lukas.”

  “Slow down and take us in slowly; don’t get too close.”

  Salud stared out of the viewport and didn’t see anything. After thirty minutes, she saw something…

  “Stop here, Willow.”

  They stared through the viewport and Salud said, “What is that?”

  “Don’t scan it, Willow.”

  Willow said, “I’m using my visual optics to bring it in closer.”

  They stared at it and after a moment they saw something like a broad orange line moving away from the galaxy. Lukas stared at it and said, “Willow, assume that is a skip trace. How large must a ship be to make it?”

  “Size is not the issue; I am more powerful than a Myot Battleship and you know how much larger one of those are than me. The thing that’s scary about that trace isn’t fading.”