by Saxon Andrew
Loree looked at the monster galaxy moving at high speed under her ship. “Rip, slow us down and get us moving back at the edge of the galaxy where the conduit went up.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Sir, it appears we’ve lost five ships to the disruption.”
“Which ones?”
“Three closest to the conduit on the port side and two on the starboard.”
“Order the survivors to continue their missions. They will flee the moment they are detected or attacked.” Loree watched Laura deliver the instructions and she said, “Put the recording you made as we flew over the end of the conduit on the center monitor.”
The tactical view moved to the left and the recording replaced it on the center monitor. Loree stared at the tactical view as the recording loaded, “It appears they were unable to give chase. Tactical is clear at the moment.” She looked at the center monitor and saw the images start moving in extreme slow motion as the LaGrange flew over the end of the monitor. “Freeze it Laura!” The recording stopped and Loree saw large numbers of ships lined up tightly almost hull-to-hull in front of the conduit’s entrance. There was a small gap between each group but the line of ship groups disappeared in the distance. “Laura, can you determine how many ships are in each group?”
“Two hundred, Sir.”
“Why are they bunched like that?”
Blake shook his head, “They’re like bullets being fed into a machine gun, Sir. They’ll start flying into that passageway one behind the other and emerge at the other end and spread out as they exit.”
Loree nodded, “How fast do you think they could send them through?”
Blake lowered his head, “Sir, that line extends an incredible distance and then winds back at us. The gap between the groups of two hundred ships is less than ten meters. They’ll go through as fast as they can fly. I suspect they’ll exit the other end at an incredible velocity and number.”
“Blake, are you saying they’ll all move forward simultaneously?”
“Sir, the force fields of the ships in front will prevent them from running into each other. They’ll come through faster than the rounds of our rotary cannons.”
Loree stared at the image and said, “Barbie, have you analyzed the recording?”
“It’s like Blake says, Admiral. The line directly in front of the conduit has a million ships in it. There are nine more lines that come together where the first line ends. One line will move forward with the end of the first line and another will fall in behind the second. I suspect that if they fly at normal speed, they could have every ship through the conduit in less than fifty minutes.”
“Ten million ships in fifty minutes.”
“They’ll be traveling faster than light speed. I would also guess that the rear force field of each group probably attracts the front of the force field of the ship behind them. It would be like sending a long string of beads through.”
Loree shook her head, “We couldn’t deal with numbers like that?”
She looked at Blake, “Could we?”
“I don’t think so; however, it would depend on just how many warheads and rotary rounds we could fire to greet them. We need to get this information to Fleet and let their computers work on it.”
Loree looked at Laura, “Get the image out along with what we’ve just discussed.”
Loree turned around and looked at Blake, “There’s something else we’re missing.”
Blake nodded, “We don’t know if our ships can stand up to their warships and slug it out toe-to-toe.” Loree nodded. “We really can’t develop a workable strategy until we know.”
Loree turned around and stared at the image on the monitor. After an hour she said, “Connect me with Fleet.” Loree stared at the right monitor and a moment later she saw Jinks appear. “Sir, have you seen the scan and the discussion we’ve had concerning it?”
“I have.”
“It is my opinion that we have to find out the capabilities of their warships.”
“We have arrived at the same conclusion, Admiral.”
“I intend to pick a fight with one of them after my other ships have completed their missions and have started to make their way back.”
“I want one of them held back to record what happens, Admiral.”
“Yes Sir.”
“If you can avoid showing our armaments…”
“I intend to attempt to reveal nothing to them, Sir.”
“Good luck, Admiral.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
• • •
Loree looked at the giant galaxy outside the forward viewport and it was incredible. The long violent blast stream that blew out of the central black hole and extended thousands of light years beyond the galaxy’s edge was beautiful and terrifying. The black hole in the center of this galaxy was thought to be the largest in the universe. Fifteen billion solar masses made it something beyond imagination. There was an intelligent species that appeared to populate most of the planes in the sector of the galaxy directly in front of them. They flew the Orange Warships so they must be the species that had built the conduit. Loree shook her head, “It seems that species is the dominant one in this sector.”
“Sir, the other scouts confirm that this species appears to have taken control of all the territory they’ve seen.”
“Have they seen any other species?”
“No Sir.”
Loree shook her head, “I find it hard to believe that they are the only intelligent species in a galaxy this large.”
“They may have removed the others, Sir.”
Loree looked at Rip, “That would take thousands of years…no, hundreds of thousands of years to accomplish. This galaxy has six times the number of stars in the Milky Way and we are still finding primitive planets that haven’t been previously discovered.”
“This galaxy is older than the Milky Way, Sir.”
“I thought they were about the same age.”
“This one has devoured more galaxies than ours, sir, and they’re all completely assimilated and orbiting the black hole. What I find intriguing is why this species wants to conquer other galaxies. This one should be large enough to satisfy any would be conqueror.”
“Is it possible there might be another species in this galaxy that controls a large area?”
“It could take a very long time to find it if it exists. If it does, then the two enemies have reached an equilibrium.”
Rip shook his head, “How can you say that, Blake?”
“Because they had ten million warships lined up waiting to invade our galaxy. If there was an active war between them and another species, they’d not be invading anywhere else.”
Loree nodded, “We’re supposing another species exists without any evidence. The evidence suggests the Orange Ships are the only ones here.”
“Sir, the Barbados just reported in that another space-faring species has been found on the other side of the galaxy.”
“What did they determine?”
“It appears there is a line that bisects the galaxy and the two species do not appear on either side. They must have divided the galaxy between them.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes Sir. The other side has more species in it.”
“SIR, THE BARBADOS HAS BEEN DETECTED BY ONE OF THOSE OTHER SHIPS AND HAS FLED.”
“What’s going on, Laura?”
“Sir, the Barbados is outrunning the pursuer. Captain Montoia says he’s heading out of the galaxy and back to Earth.”
Loree smiled, “Good! He’s following orders.”
“Sir, if we can assume that other species is just as powerful as the one attempting to invade our galaxy, should we attack one of their ships to determine their strength?”
Loree thought for a moment and then shook her head, “No, there may not be a strength relationship between their ships.”
Blake’s eyes narrowed, “Logic would seem to dictate they would be close or there would only be one sp
ecies.”
“You’re leaving out this galaxy’s version of the Sentinels. They may not allow the Orange Ships to attack them.”
Blake looked at Loree and smiled, “Touché, Sir.”
“We need to go after an Orange ship to make sure.”
“Sir, evidently the two species communicate between them.”
Loree looked at Laura, “Why do you say that?”
“The ship pursuing the Barbados turned back but an Orange Ship has left the galaxy on an intercept course.”
Loree said, “Battle stations! Get in touch with the Barbados and see if they can move their route toward us. This is where we’ll take a look at what they can do. Laura, order all ships to leave and return to Earth now. Once you do that, open a channel to Captain Montoya.”
• • •
Loree stared at the Monitor and saw Juan Montoya on the screen, “Are they gaining on you Juan?”
“Barely, Sir. I’m only using eight reactors with the thrusters.”
“So you’re leaving a skip trail?”
“I am.”
“We’re going at full speed and should be close within another three hours. Why don’t you slow down and allow them to get closer.”
“What do you want me to do, Sir?”
“Juan, we have to see how our ships match up to theirs. I intended to pick a fight and have someone else record it. It appears you’ve managed to pick one before I could.”
“So how do you want this done, Sir?”
“Use ten reactors to power your force field and see if you can get them to take a shot.”
“Would it be alright if I attempt to avoid it?”
“By all means, Juan. We just need to get a reading on the power of their weapons.”
“See you in a few hours, Sir.”
Loree looked at Rip, “Can you get there faster?”
“I’ll leave a skip trail that ship can see if I use more reactors on the thrusters, Sir.”
“Ok, you’re making the right call, Lieutenant.”
• • •
Blake watched Loree command the ship and shook his head. Loree was only five foot three inches tall and her full cheeks made her look twelve years old. Her blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail and her blue eyes were bright. She wasn’t beautiful…she was…adorably cute. But her mind was extraordinary. She didn’t suffer from an oversized ego and did not feel threatened if someone disagreed with her. She listened and made the best decision under the circumstances. He was initially ticked off she was promoted ahead of him but he had to agree that the decision was a good one. He had learned a lot about how to command watching her. He had to admit he did have an ego and it did get in the way on occasion. He needed to see her in action. He was better for it.
• • •
The Lagrange moved in behind the Orange ship and saw the Barbados in the distance in front of it. Loree was going to tell Juan to slow down when the Orange Ships force field that was flashing orange and blue started pulsating and then a series of blue ripples rushed the length of the vessel. They collected at the bow and a brilliant blue beam lanced out at the Barbados. Laura yelled, “That beam didn’t cause a void distortion but it rocked the Barbados. The force field lost sixty percent of its power before it recovered.”
The Invader Ship started rippling again and another beam shot out and hit the Barbados. The battleship was rocked to the left.
“Juan, pick up speed and outrun it.”
“I can’t take a reactor off the force field. If I do, that beam will penetrate it.”
The Invader continued to fire and then suddenly, six large missiles shot out of the Invader ship and flew at the Barbados at an incredible speed. Blake shook his head, “He can’t use his disruptors in the void to stop them.”
“Rip, get us close to that ship and fire a spread of Rotary Cannon shells at it.”
Blake shook his head, “Sir, I thought you didn’t want to reveal anything.”
“There’s no other enemy ship near us and those missiles are being guided by that ship. Pour it on Rip!”
The Lagrange flashed up on the invader at incredible speed as the Barbados was dodging in multiple directions to escape the missiles. Blake used his combat helmet to designate the orange and blue flashing ship and fired twenty dark matter rounds. The rounds sped ahead of the LaGrange just as the Invader detected it coming up from behind. It tried to whip to the left but the twenty rounds cut the corner on its turn and ripped into the ship’s force field. The entire starboard side of the enemy vessel exploded. A disruption flashed out and the Lagrange dodged left to avoid it. The missiles chasing the Barbados lost lock and flew out into the void where they flashed when they exhausted their fuel.
Laura said, “I have numerous Invader vessels at the edge of my scanning range.”
“What are they doing, Laura?”
“This is a guess but I think they’re following the Barbados’ skip trail.”
Blake shrugged, “We can activate ten reactors and not leave a skip trail.”
Loree shook her head, “They’ve already seen one.” Blake was miffed that his suggestion was rejected so quickly. Loree looked up, “Laura, in what direction is the nearest galaxy to this one in the cluster?”
Laura pulled up a star map, “M-84 is on a bearing of 290 degrees, Sir.”
Loree pushed her communicator button, “Juan, did that Invader vessel see you with your force field down?”
“No Sir, it did not.”
“Turn and follow us. Go to full speed and stay with me until I tell you otherwise.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Rip, steer the ship at full speed toward M-84.”
Cameron switched the reactors to the thrusters and said, “What are you doing, Sir?”
“I’ve got to believe that they didn’t actually see one of my ships. If I can make them think we came from M-84, it might make them pause before they invade us.”
Blake listened to Loree and fell back in his chair. Her idea was sheer genius. He was glad his chair was behind her so she couldn’t see his expression. His ego couldn’t take much more of the beating she was giving him. He decided it had to go.
“How far are you going to go before you change course to Earth?”
“What would you suggest, Mr. Clarke?”
“A week.”
“Why that long?”
“Because it’ll take them more than two months to travel that far and I suspect they’ll be recalled long before that. That should at least make them think we came from M-84. We’re only adding seven days to our trip home. It’s worth the extra time if we can throw them off.”
Loree nodded, “Make it seven days, Rip.”
“Yes Sir.”
Captain Montoya appeared on the wall monitor, “Thanks for saving my ship, Admiral.”
“I don’t think I was seen firing on your attacker. I do hope you scanned those missiles down to the molecular level.”
“They didn’t have a force field so the rotary rounds wouldn’t have been attracted to them. We don’t currently have a defense against them.”
“That’s something Fleet is going to have to answer Captain. At least we know the strength of the beam they use in the void and their maximum speed. We can use that.”
“We also know our rotary rounds will penetrate their force fields.”
Loree smiled, “Yes, we do. “We’re going to continue on this course for seven days and then we’re going to stop making a skip trail and head for home. We’ll do that for five days and then go to full speed.”
“Yes Sir. I’ll prepare a report on what my scanners uncovered during the fight.”
“Get it out to fleet under your name as soon as you complete it. Be sure to send me a copy.”
Montoya smiled, “Yes Sir.” Loree was giving him credit for the discoveries. Blake watched the exchange and knew that Loree now had Juan’s complete loyalty by that little favor. Would he have done that or would his ego have demanded the report go in un
der his name? He had a lot to think about.
Chapter Twenty
“Julie, it was Pat that put the idea in my head to escape.”
“Chad, all of us thought two thousand light years was far enough. Truth be told, most of us thought it was too much. What you’ve just experienced is a brush with death. Like having a blowout on a road and coming close to going over the guardrail and crashing down a mountain. You survived but you keep seeing yourself crashing. Pat has been nudging us for a very long time. He’s there to assist us when it’s absolutely necessary.”
“But I lost a thousand ships.”
“John, I had fleet look at the locations of those ships you lost and most of them weren’t as close to the conduit as others.”
“What? I thought they were the closest ones to it.”
“No, some were close but the majority weren’t. They just didn’t take the command seriously and implement it fast enough to escape. Their death is not on you.” Chad stared at Julie. “If you don’t believe me, check with fleet. They’re the one that told me about it. The closest ship to the conduit escaped because the pilot took the command seriously and got out of there. If he could do it, everyone could.”
Chad took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, “Thank you, Julie.”
“Chad, your ship was one of the closest, or did you forget that?”
The corner of Chad’s mouth went up, “I was and yes, I guess I did.”
Julie kissed him, “I want to talk to you about a family.”
Chad nodded, “I’m ready.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.” Julie put her arms around him and hugged him. She loved him so much.
• • •
The Sentinel focused on the one who had been observing the Primitive Planet, “You’ve deliberately misled us about what was happening.”
“If you choose to see it that way, I guess I did.”
“How could it be viewed any other way?”
“If you had taken the time to focus on what was happening at this planet I’m located you would have seen what was happening. You chose to focus on other things.”
“But you should have told us about this invader.”