by Saxon Andrew
Chad sighed. He punched his panel and said, “All ships will move a thousand light years from the conduit opening and have their thrusters oriented so that your ships can run away from it if necessary. We will begin moving immediately.”
• • •
“Julie, he’s moving the two fleets a thousand light years and has them oriented to run if necessary.”
“Thank God, Jennie. He’s just too brave for his own good.”
“That’s why you fell in love with him.”
“I know. That still might not be far enough.”
“He’s in front of the conduit. The general consensus is that if it goes up it will expand out from the walls. He should be ok.”
“Let us pray you’re right. We may be worried about nothing and this may not be a problem.”
“This is uncharted territory, Julie.” Julie sighed. What was going to happen if they actually did damage that thing? Would they make another one or would they make the long voyage to attack. There was good news/bad news either way. It would take time for them to make another one and it would take close to a year for them to come through the void. The bad news is if they didn’t damage it but warned them. She tried to imagine the numbers of warships that other galaxy could send and just couldn’t grasp it. Millions? Billions? The Invaders controlled more than one galaxy. She tried again and just shook her head. A trillion wasn’t out of the question. She sighed and worried about her future. Would she live long enough to start a family? She decided she wasn’t going to wait. She hoped Chad would agree. If she did have a baby, it would be on her ship if the Invaders attacked. No planet would be safe.
• • •
Loree watched the ten other battleships in her squadron move away. The giant galaxy was filling the forward viewport and she knew they’d arrive the next day. She saw the tension on the faces of her crew and she lifted the communicator and spoke over the ship’s intercom, “There are a number of things that have to be accomplished on our mission. One of the most important is to determine the strength of the forces we’re facing. It’s my opinion that the best place to determine that is at the place where this conduit starts. They have to be forming up there and we need to take a good look at that place. Here’s how I intend to make that happen. We will move a hundred light years out from the conduit and we will continue to fly directly above it until we arrive at the where the conduit starts. At that point, we will make a scan and then move away at a forty-five degree angle. Fleet will be hitting the conduit close to the Milky Way just as we arrive at the edge of the invaders’ galaxy. I’m really hoping the conduit doesn’t actually start close to the galaxy but, like the end of it close to the Milky Way, is light years away. If it does start outside M-87, we’ll have some time to put some distance between us and the conduit before it goes up.” Loree paused and tilted her head, “I honestly don’t know if the conduit will instantly explode along its entire length. That’s a stretch I have difficulty imagining. However, we will act as if it will but I will not sacrifice my mission by running before we can find out what’s coming. That is all.” Loree turned to Rip, “As soon as we clear the conduit, get out of here like your tail is on fire.”
Rip smiled and nodded. Loree looked at Blake, “You have the bridge.”
Loree left the bridge and Blake looked at Rip, “Is there any way to make this bucket of bolts faster.”
“Hey, don’t insult her like that!”
“Is there?”
Rip stared at Blake and said, “I’m using eighteen reactors on the thrusters now. The other two are used on the force field.”
“Rip, a force field won’t help us if we’re caught in a disruption.”
“What about being chased by Invader ships? They’re bound to see us.”
“I don’t think they can catch us. Assume they can’t. What can you do?”
Rip shrugged, “I can shape the force field into a much sharper point in front of us and have it only cover the bow area. But if I do that, the rear of the ship will be open to attack.”
“Then I would recommend you do that once we’re away from the end of the conduit.” Blake looked at Cameron, “Is there anything else?”
Cameron shrugged, “If Rip is only using a front force field, I could move one of the reactors currently being used for the force field to the thrusters and half of the one making the force field.”
Blake looked at Rip and Cameron and then at the other members of the crew. He turned back to Rip and said, “Do it.”
“You really think it’s going to go up that fast?”
“If it doesn’t, no harm no foul. If it does, it still might not be enough to get away.” He looked at Laura, “How far can you scan the area at the end of the conduit?”
“About half a light year.”
Blake looked at Rip, “Laura will tell you when we’re half a light year from the end. Start the escape at that moment.”
“Shouldn’t we clear this with the Admiral?”
“Why do you think she left?” Everyone looked at each other and Blake smiled, “She knows she’s new in her position and she also knows we have a better understanding of our ship’s capabilities than she does. She’s giving us space to work together to come up with the best tactics.”
“If she hits the roof…”
“I’ll take the blame, Laura. However, I’ll bet you twenty that she doesn’t say anything when Rip starts running before we arrive at the end.”
Laura stared at Blake, “You’re on.”
“I hope I get the chance to collect.”
Laura shook her head, “Good point.”
Rip shrugged, “We stand a better chance doing this.”
Blake blew out a breath, “Let us pray you’re right.”
• • •
Trevor looked at Amanda, “Windy says the thing inside the conduit will arrive at the magnets in three minutes.”
“Willow, are you ready to fire?”
“I’m oriented toward the conduit and I’m going to hit my portside thrusters to push me toward the starboard side as I fire.”
“Why are you doing that?”
“So that all of my shots are not moving toward the same magnet. By moving to the right, each shot will be directly out from a magnet. It will take two minutes for the DM projectiles to hit the magnets. I’m getting out of here in a big way once the last two are fired.”
“That’s a good idea. Thirty seconds.” Amanda gripped the arms of her chair and held on tight.
Chapter Nineteen
The Lagrange was flying at an incredible speed and Loree glanced at the countdown on the upper left corner of the tactical monitor. One minute until Fleet fired on the conduit. Suddenly, Laura yelled, “The end is half a light year ahead!”
Loree felt the Lagrange change course and start moving away from the conduit. Her eyes narrowed and Laura yelled, “I’ve scanned the area at the end of the conduit. It starts forty thousand light years out from that galaxy.”
Blake yelled, “Get us out of here, Rip!”
Loree looked at Blake, “What do you see?”
Blake pointed at the countdown, “The conduit is going to go up at the end of that countdown.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Why did they start it this far out from their galaxy? They must know there’s a danger of an accident and they’ve built it far enough away so their galaxy won’t be impacted.”
Loree nodded and looked at the tactical monitor. It showed thousands of ships powering up. She saw there were millions of them within range of the optical display. She looked up at the monitor and saw the countdown reach five seconds, “How far are we?”
Laura shook her head, “Thirty thousand light years.”
Loree looked at Rip, “Kick her in the pants, Rip.”
Cameron moved the reactors to the thrusters and Loree felt the sudden surge in speed. A moment later, the space outside the viewport changed to a brilliant white. Loree yelled, “It’s gone up!”
Loree looked out of the starboard viewport and saw the massive disruption blow past them. The walls of the conduit had blown outward with a force that was beyond measure. She looked at the rear monitor and saw the disruption moving toward the rear of the Lagrange and getting larger by the second. She glanced at the tactical monitor and saw all the invader ships chasing the Lagrange were engulfed by the white cloud moving out from the conduit. She gripped her chair and waited for impact, which was only moments away. She shook her head and looked at Laura, “Did you get the scan out?” Laura nodded as the disruption rolled in on them.
• • •
Willow said, “Firing now!” Trevor felt the side thruster push the ship as it jerked twice. The ship continued to shutter as Willow fired the void cannon. All hundred rounds were fired in less than four seconds and then Willow turned and went to full speed directly away from the conduit.
• • •
Chad watched the countdown and at a minute he opened the general fleet frequency. “Attention all ships, accelerate at maximum speed away from the conduit. Execute now.” The thousands of Pods and battleships ignited their thrusters and blasted away from the conduit’s opening at maximum speed. He saw he was thirty five thousand light years from it when the entire length went up in a massive disruption. It rolled out at his ships and more than a thousand attack pods were caught by the disruption and destroyed. He knew that if he had remained in his previous position, he would have lost every ship. The disruption was still rolling out toward him but was not moving any closer. At forty three thousand light years, it stopped. Chad sat in his Pod and trembled at what had almost happened. He was shaken to his core.
• • •
The hundred Dark Matter projectiles sensed the magnetic fields on the conduit’s wall and began picking up speed. The first two hit behind the giant vessel inside the conduit but blew through the conduit’s wall and ruptured the other wall. The twentieth pair of projectiles hit directly over the giant vessel and blew through the force field protecting it. The giant exploded and the giant blast flew the length of the conduit in less than two seconds. The stored energy was released in a massive blast and the disruption rolled out at thousands of times the speed of light.
• • •
Julie was watching the feed from the probe that was placed at the conduit and she saw the massive blast and disruption blow out from the conduit. She screamed and yelled, “JENNIE HOW FAST…”
“Julie…”
“TELL ME!”
“It was moving too fast.”
Julie activated her communicator, “CHAD, CHAD!!”
There was a long moment and she heard, “I’m alive.”
“HOW?”
“I started my fleets accelerating at the one minute mark. Julie, I lost more than a thousand ships.” Julie fell back in her chair and tried to slow her heart. It was pounding in her chest at a speed that physically hurt. “I thought about what you said and decided that there was not a good reason to be close. I should have moved sooner and those ships wouldn’t have been lost. It’s my fault.”
“Chad, except for your actions we would have lost them all. I was certain you’d be safe at a thousand light years.”
“But I wasn’t.”
“Now you know. Don’t do it again.”
“Julie, this isn’t a trivial matter.”
“Chad, no one knew what to expect. You can only do what you know.”
Chad sighed. He wept for the pilots that died. He should have…what? He looked up and shook his head. Why did he have his fleets move? He looked up and said, “Thanks, Pat.”
“Like she said, don’t let it happen again.”
“I won’t.” Chad took a deep breath and shook his head.
He sat in silence and he heard, “Chad, I’m headed your way.”
“You should be with your fleet.”
“Chad, if you think an attack is imminent, how will they get here?”
Chad looked out at the massive disruption in the void and shook his head, “You stay where you are. I’m coming to you.”
“Hurry!”
“I will.” Chad pressed his panel, “Admiral, I’m sending our ships home for some rest and relaxation.”
Jinks was looking at the massive disruption on his monitor and said, “I think we’ll be ok for a while. Plan to meet with me when you get back.”
“Sir, I need some time with Julie and to contact the families of the pilots I lost.”
Jinks looked at Chad on his monitor and nodded, “Take as much time as you need, Admiral.” Chad sent the message to return to Earth and the fleets turned and accelerated away. Chad arrived and found Julie waiting for him at the base of his silo. She helped with his healing. She knew they needed his warrior’s heart and she wouldn’t allow him to blame himself for his losses. He couldn’t learn hesitation and she was determined he wouldn’t.
• • •
Willow fired from twenty five thousand light years out and went to full speed. She passed the end of the conduit as the first missiles hit and turned forty-five degrees away from it as the other missiles struck. Twenty seconds later, the entire conduit went up in a massive blast. The disruption blew out but they managed to barely outrun it as she crossed forty thousand light years. The disruption that roared out of the conduit’s opening rushed out at her but she had too much of a head start. She continued to accelerate until the void disruption ran out of steam and slowed. She whipped around and moved along the outer edge. Amanda looked at the massive distortion and shook her head, “How far into the Milky Way did that blast move?”
“About thirty thousand light years.”
“Did it reach the Myot Planets?”
“Barely missed.”
Trevor shook his head. There’s probably a lot of primitive planets that won’t be able to use a star drive for centuries.”
“It will dissipate faster than that. The core of the disruption may last that long but the outer edges will fade quickly. The universe has a way of healing itself.”
Trevor sighed, “Let’s go home, Willow.” The Pod turned and accelerated away.
• • •
The Great Ones watched the Monitor in the giant Fleet Control Center, which was on a large moon that revolved around the most populated planet in their species possession. The giant monitor constantly monitored the buildup of the ships that were being sent to invade the distant spiral galaxy. They were in the process of finalizing the command of the fleets when the conduit went up in a massive blast.
Their attention was on the monitor when an alarm went off at full volume indicating an enemy vessel had entered their domain. They were staring at the large battleship that came over the top of the passage and went vertical. Thousands of warships powered up to give chase but they didn’t manage to get underway before the passage blew up in a massive blast that blew into the giant gathering of warships. The disruption blew into their ranks before any could escape and destroyed every warship between the conduit and a light year out from the edge of the galaxy. More than ten million warships were obliterated.
The Great One’s linked their minds and yelled, “TELL US WHAT HAPPENED!”
The Legend Lead Speaker said, “It’s obvious. The Passage was destroyed on the other end.”
“How was it done!? Never in the past has any species ever managed to damage a passage.”
“We’ve examined the site where the passage initially blew up but the disruption destroyed all the evidence of how it was done. We are reasonably certain that being we’ve been searching for had something to do with it.”
“We’ve lost every ship we moved here to invade.”
“You will, of course, bring others.”
“How will we move there? The passage is gone!”
“You will build another at the appropriate size and send enough ships to defend it from attack.”
“It will take another seven months to get there.”
The Legend was disgusted, “It will take the
passage seven months; it moves faster than your warships. You will launch the warships to defend it now and have them on the new path waiting on it to arrive.”
“We won’t get enough ships here to do that for five weeks.”
“Why so long?”
“They’re going to have to come from the far side of the galaxy.”
“The longer you waste time, the more powerful this enemy becomes. Stop yelling about what’s happened and get working on what needs to be done. If you must take the ships from the other galaxies, do so.”
“If we remove too many ships, we’ll lose ground on what we’ve taken.”
“Which galaxy poses the biggest danger?”
The Group Mind was silent and the Legend said, “You should be able to see this on your own. Have we chosen the wrong species to carry out our will?”
“No, we will do what is necessary.”
“See that you do!”
• • •
Loree saw the disruption rolling in on her ship and she started shaking her head. “CAMERON!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!?!”
Everyone on the bridge jumped at Rip’s scream. The disruption blew into the LaGrange and everyone on the ship was pushed into their chairs. The battleship was shoved violently by the disruption and it flew away from it at an impossible speed. In less than ten seconds, the disruption was left far behind. Rip looked at Cameron, “What did you do?”
Cameron took a deep breath and blew it out. “I saw we weren’t going to outrun it. So I switched every reactor from the thrusters and used them to power the force field. I shot the field at the disruption and it acted like a spring. It bounced us off it at a speed that we could never match with our thrusters.”
Blake shook his head, “How did you know that would work?”
“I didn’t.”
Loree smiled, “So you took a wild chance?”
“Yes Sir. I could see there was no way to outrun it.”
Loree nodded, “It was a good decision to start running early, Rip. We would have certainly died if you didn’t.”
“We agreed as a team that it was the best thing to do, Sir.”
“Well, I congratulate all of you for your planning. Laura, contact the other ships and see how they did.”