“Standing by.”
Dizzy watched Angel and Bret laugh out loud and Grest frown and shake his head. She looked at Angel, “What’s so funny?”
“This is so Arve. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wanted us to back into each other. He’s always doing something off the wall.”
Dizzy smiled and said, “What do you think would happen if we did it?”
Angel continued to laugh and after a moment she stopped. She stopped smiling and then looked at Grest, “You’re the expert on force fields; what do you think would happen?”
Grest shrugged, “I suspect the two ships would deflect away from each other like a blaster beam that hits the sloped side of the force field. The faster they’re moving; the more dramatic the deflection would be.”
Dizzy said, “I think the correct term would be that they would ricochet off each other.” Angel looked at Dizzy as she said, “Anytime a radical departure from course is made; the ship will slow to make the change. A ricochet doesn’t lose much speed.”
Angel nodded, “So two ships being chased could deliberately hit each other and fly away from their pursuers faster than they could be chased.”
“I suspect Arve has already thought of that.”
Angel activated her microphone, “Arve, you’re six thousand miles away. We’re going to hit head on at thirty percent speed.”
“Don’t you think that’s a little high?”
Angel’s eyes flew open and she shook her head. Bret quickly said, “What speed do you recommend?”
“Let’s try eight hundred miles an hour.”
Angel said, “Eight hundred it is. I’m coming your way.”
The two giant ships came roaring in on each other and the Melbourne hit the Wellington on the right side of its force field. Both ships flew away from each other at a sixty degree angle. Angel barely heard the gravity compensators and she looked at the data on her helmet visor, “We actually picked up speed. We exited at nine hundred and fifty miles per hour.”
Grest said, “The extra speed was generated by the two force fields pushing against each other when they hit.”
Angel nodded, Arve, we’re going to keep doing this until the gravity compensators tell us to stop.”
“Alllllrrrriiiiiiggggghhhhttttt!!”
• • •
Dizzy sat in her chair and knew life in the Navy as she knew it was going to undergo a radical change. She knew there was no possible way Fleet Command would have ever approved running two fifty billion credit starships head on into each other. These officers did it and tried to push it to the limit. This is where the action was really going to take place. She shook her head and smiled; this was going to be fun.
Bret looked at his panel, “Sir, I have a priority message coming in from Fleet.”
“Put it on the Monitor.”
Angel watched the monitor and saw her father appear, ““How far are you and your brothers from Earth?”
“We’re about twenty minutes out between Neptune and Uranus.”
“I’m jumping out to your location. An Alien Battleship has appeared outside the edge of our galaxy and is hanging in space with its force field down. I’m going to see what they want and I don’t want to give them any information about how many new Jukeboxes are in our inventory. I’m certain they will be able to tell if I take a different ship out to meet with them; so I want you and your brothers to go with me.”
“We’ll be waiting.” Angel turned to Grest, “Go to your ship and go to battle stations. Arve, did you hear that message?”
“I did; I’ll be moving to the left wing.”
Angel looked at Dizzy, “Looks like you’re in for the ride. Your ship hasn’t arrived yet.”
“I don’t want to miss it, Sir.”
Angel saw her father’s Rover appear and she was surprised when he and her mother entered the bridge. Dat came in and everyone came to attention; Angel saluted and said, “Welcome aboard, Sir.”
Dat returned the salute and said, “As you were; do you have the coordinates?”
Angel looked at Bret and he nodded, “Yes Sir.”
Dat went to the command chair and Angel went to the second’s chair. Bret moved to the weapons console and Dizzy moved over to the Navigator’s console. Gresha stood behind Dat and Angel said, “Sir, you should buckle into one of the chairs.” Gresha looked at her daughter with eyes narrowed and Angel said, “This ship is capable of overwhelming the gravity compensators.” Gresha’s expression changed slightly and she moved to the chair Dizzy had formerly occupied. Dat looked at Angel and said, “Admiral, you have the ship. Take us out.”
Angel looked at Bret and he nodded again, “Melbourne and Haven, we’ll be jumping to the coordinates in four, three, two, one…” The three ships shimmered for a moment and disappeared.
Chapter Seven
The Tenth Master arrived outside the huge spiral galaxy and turned off his ship’s force field. The Ship’s Leader looked at him with his head forward and the Master said, “You saw what happened to the group sent here.” The Leader stared at him for a moment and then moved his head back. “If three of their ships could kill six of ours, putting up our shield would do us no good. I’m hoping they come and communicate.”
“And if they immediately open fire?”
“Do you think the outcome would be different either way?”
“We might have time to escape.”
The Master raised his head slightly, “If we go back without having communicated with this civilization…” The Ship Leader lowered his head. The Master was right, the outcome would be the same. One moment space was clear and in the next moment the large navy blue ship was surrounded by three white battleships; and they did have their force fields activated. The Master looked at his Communication Leader, “Do you have the frequency they used?”
“Your panel is set on it, Master.”
The Master sat in his chair and pressed a button, “I see you arrived promptly.”
Dat heard the transmission in his language and knew the Aliens had been listening to the Union’s communications. He pressed the green button on his control board and said, “I’m somewhat surprised you came here after your previous actions.”
“I’m just as surprised you didn’t show up shooting at me.”
“I considered doing just that but you know how hope springs eternal.”
“No, I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
“That says a lot about you; however, why did you openly come here? You’ve been watching us for a very long time. I would think you’ve seen everything that would interest you.”
“Those ships you arrived in has me very interested. We’ve not seen them.”
“You didn’t look hard enough.”
“Oh but we did. We’re of the belief that they weren’t built in your galaxy. Which then begs the question of what you’re hiding and just what assets you really have?”
Dat shook his head and looked at Gresha. She ran her hand across her neck and he muted the panel. “He’s here to see if we will reveal anything that might cause them a problem. It appears that being is being blatantly honest to see if you’ll do the same.”
Dat nodded and unmuted the panel, “You broke your promise right after you made it.”
The Master saw the being communicating with him wasn’t going to take the bait. “You really can’t blame us for that.”
“Yes I can. If you didn’t intend to keep it, you never should have made it.”
“Are you going to tell me you kept your promise?”
“I am.”
“Do you expect me to believe that you knew you were being observed and didn’t do the same?”
“You can belief what you want. However, we keep our promises. It was the huge additional number of probes you recently sent that told us you were going to take action against us. Having a probe assigned to follow all of our senior military leaders was not just observing, as you call it. The last one firing at our Leaders confirmed our sus
picions. Following that up with an attack on our Capital made it clear you are now a clear and present danger to my civilization.”
“Your destruction of those ships showed us that you are also a danger to us.”
Dat shook his head, “So let me see if I understand you; if we had allowed you to destroy our Capital, you would have then left us alone?”
The Master knew the idea was ludicrous to say yes but he was boxed in, “Yes.”
“It appears we have nothing to say to each other. Your paranoia is not something that a rational mind should deal with.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Your civilization is mentally ill. You think anyone that learns of your existence is a danger to you. That is aberrant behavior. You’re not attempting to reach an understanding. You’re here to see if you can delay any action we might take and uncover anything that would give insight as to what we’ve done or are going to do.”
“It appears you have no fear of us.”
“That’s your paranoia speaking; I don’t fear you and your ship. Perhaps you’ll leave peacefully now. If you’re still here in ten seconds, I’m going to blow your ship apart.”
“But.”
“Eight seconds.”
The Master looked at the Ship Leader and nodded. The large blue ship turned and accelerated away. A moment later it left normal space as its jump field surrounded it. Dat looked over his shoulder, “Did that ship launch any probes?”
Stone nodded, “It was sending them out during your conversation.”
“How many?”
“Twenty.”
“Did you have them followed?”
“There is an advanced probe following each of them.”
“Destroy them now.”
Stone pressed a button on his panel and looked up, “It appears these probes have a stronger force field around them.” Dat lowered his head and Bret said, “It took two beams to kill them; they are all destroyed, Sir.”
“Did you dispatch a probe with that ship?”
“I had a tracker attached to its hull. The Advanced Probe will follow the tracker’s signal.”
Gresha looked at Dat, “You know they’ll be expecting that ship to be followed. Is it a good idea to send our most advanced probes with that ship?”
Dat looked at Bret, “She’s right. Terminate the tracker and recall the probe.”
Bret shrugged and pressed a button, “The following probe just sent the signal. The tracker fell off and melted into the boundary. “I’ve recalled the probe.”
Angel shook her head, “It would have been good if we could have followed that ship to the planet it came from.”
Dat looked at Angel and smiled, “We already know where it is. We’ve been watching them for eighteen years.”
“I thought you told him we keep our promises?”
“The promise was that we would not go into their galaxy without permission. They gave us permission by sending their probes here to invite us.”
Arve snickered, “That’s cutting it fine, Sir.”
“Why else would they have sent those probes but to invite us to come?”
Dizzy looked at Dat, “What do we know about them, Sir?”
“They’re carnivores. They feed on the populations they conquer. They don’t consume the growth rate of the planets they’re on but they do rule with a heavy hand. They appear to have been doing it for a very long time. On the planets they conquered a very long time ago, the local populations choose those that will be eaten. It appears they have adapted to their ruler’s demands.”
Arve said, “And we wouldn’t do anything to stop this if they had not attacked us?”
Gresha looked at her son and said, “There are some benefits of their system.”
Arve looked at his mother with shock a shocked expression, “Such as!?!”
“The conquered civilizations live in peace with no worries about being attacked by another civilization. Can we say the same?”
“Your home world could have said the same thing.”
“Yes we could have; but these worlds are not forced to live a primitive existence. Their cities are modern, clean, and well run. Their standard of living is excellent. I suspect most of the older conquests wouldn’t want to change anything.”
“But how can they live with members of their families being eaten?”
Dat looked at Angel and tilted his head, “Most of the ones they eat are the planet’s criminals and insane. The others choose to do it.”
“For God’s sake, why would anyone choose that?”
“How many people commit suicide every year? I suspect there is some sort of reward system for those that volunteer. Perhaps their families will receive a benefit for their sacrifice.”
Grest said, “They formed a symbiotic relationship with those conquered.” Everyone turned to Grest and he shrugged, “They each benefit from the relationship.”
Dat nodded, “Think about it this way. Their planets have a similar population to ours. Every day on earth, 356,000 people are born. About 144,000 die. You could take just one day’s population growth and feed the conquerors the entire year; the planet wouldn’t feel the impact. In exchange, the conquered get to live in an advanced, modern civilization. If the conquerors weren’t there, disease would kill far more than they do.”
Dizzy said, “The Servants attacked their planets.”
Dat shook his head, “No, actually they never pushed into those being’s space. They were moving closer but never attacked one of their planets.”
“So why are they planning to attack us?”
“I suspect they fear we don’t approve of their eating habits and will do something to stop them. Or it could be they just don’t tolerate a possible adversary. They know we know of their existence and they probably see us as an enemy just by knowing about them.”
Bret leaned back in his chair, “How do we match up to them?”
Gresha smiled, “Eighteen years ago they could have come in and plastered the room with us. We were no match for their numbers or their ships. It took us a long time to build up our forces to take on the Servants; they removed the Servants from their galaxy in less than two weeks once they attacked. We’ve been sure to only allow them to see the ships we had at the end of the Servant War. They have not seen us building our forces and we hoped they would just leave us alone if we didn’t represent a danger to them. I’m sure they sent the probes to make sure we would not be a problem.”
“What changed their minds?”
Dat said, “We really don’t know. We need to get some of the modified Rovers into their galaxy to intercept communications and see if they can find out. How are the modifications coming along, Admiral?”
Angel looked at her display, “We have eight thousand completed and Leon has a similar number of Matadors trained on infiltrating their planets.”
Dat nodded and looked at Gresha, “We need to get back and talk with Admiral Hull about getting them moving.” Dat turned to Angel, “Admiral, take us back to Earth and get your ships prepared for combat as quickly as possible.”
“Yes Sir.”
• • •
Dizzy watched the Arvolo family’s interactions and was surprised at how easily they remained professional in their conversation. They addressed each other by their ranks and didn’t show any evidence of different treatment to their children. She suspected they had grown up learning the importance of appearances and impropriety. She saw that the triplets were comfortable with their parents being in command. She didn’t know if she could have felt the same under the same circumstances.
• • •
The Master’s ship appeared in normal space outside its home galaxy and was instantly surrounded by more than a million ships with their force fields expanded against each other. The globe began moving in toward the single ship in the center as they slowly reduced the size of their force fields. The Master looked at the Ship Leader, “Did you determine anything about those three ships?”
“They were the same three ships that killed our six ships.”
“They were!?!”
“Yes; the markings were the same.”
“Why would they send the same ships?”
“They might be the only ones they have in that class.”
The Master thought about that for a moment and said, “Or they could want us to believe they are the only three they have.”
The Leader leaned forward, “You can beat yourself up over and over and still not know the answer to that question.”
“I suspect the other Masters can work on that issue.” The Master looked at the Leader and said, “If you had to make a choice, what would you say?”
“They have more of them.”
“Why do you say that?”
“It would be stupid to destroy all of our probes with only three of those ships in their inventory.”
The Master’s head went back in agreement, “You’re right; they’re playing us just like we tried to play them.”
“It appears they’re better at it than us.”
“Oh?”
“All of the probes we released have been destroyed.”
“Oh.”
“And nothing has been detected around us. They expected us to do this and didn’t have us followed. That civilization is not going to be an easy target.”
The Tenth looked at his Ship Leader and respected his wisdom. He wasn’t a young commander but he was experienced. If he had come from a higher family, he would have been given a fleet. He deserved to have one.
The Tenth watched the giant globe arrive and heard the Fleet Leader say to the Lead Master, “Nothing was here.”
“Tenth, Bring your ship back and report to the table.”
The Master pushed a button, “I’ll arrive momentarily.”
• • •
Angel looked at the three thousand Jukeboxes arrayed in ten formations and looked at the microphone on her visor’s display, “Commodore Arve Arvolo’s fleet will be the first to start the competition. Your ship’s computers are linked to the main computer at Fleet Control and it will track the Gee forces each of you are able to attain during the next twenty minutes. The one hundred ships that pull the highest Gee force during this exercise will move on to the second round. Your engineering section is on board to make sure all your systems are functioning properly so everyone will have an equal opportunity to win. You are challenged to push your ships beyond their capabilities. The exercise will commence in one minute.”
Star Rover-Chosen to Die (Lens of Time) Page 9