by Saxon Andrew
“Yes, Sir. The Scout moving toward your vessel has the armor and data-block.” Gregor smiled and the monitor went dark.
• • •
The transfer was completed and Gregor said, “Captain, take your ships first. I’ll follow you.”
Randy nodded, “Gloria, Tommy, we will be going to maximum speed and enter the filament the moment it appears.”
“Yes, Sir,” They responded. The filament suddenly appeared and the three-scouts left normal space and entered the filament. They went to full boosters and disappeared in an instant.
• • •
Sam sat in his conference room with Angel and waited for the ship to arrive in the landing bay. Angel looked at Sam and put her hand on his arm, “You can’t blame yourself for this.”
Sam shook his head, “If something happens to them, I’ll never…”
“Yes, you will. We’re all victims of the circumstances we’re caught in. You know it…and so do they.”
Sam sighed but then stood up as Jek and Jel came through the conference room door. Sam smiled and rushed forward to hug them, “It’s good to see you again, Jek and Kel.”
The tall black-skinned Guyton Female wagged her index finger at him, “Sam, you know I’ve changed the first letter of my name to match my husband.”
Sam winced, “Sorry. It’s good to see you again, Jel.”
Jel hugged Sam and then Angel as she said, “That’s better.”
Sam started to speak but Jek interrupted him, “Don’t even start thinking about not sending us. You know we’re the best ones to make this happen and you can’t allow personal feelings to get in the way of making a good decision.”
Sam closed his eyes and then opened them. He walked to the front table and said, “Have you familiarized yourselves with your new vessel?”
Jek nodded, “It’s taken a few months, but yes, we have.” Sam started shaking his head and the two Guyton’s heard his thoughts. Jek said, “We know what we’re up against, Sam. But this must be done and quickly. In order for us to move forward, this issue has to be clarified.”
Sam sighed, “Just promise me you won’t take any foolish risks.”
Jek smiled, “A wise teacher once said that taking any risk is foolish…unless one wants to grow and evolve. I’ll not do anything that would endanger Jel needlessly.” Jel’s eyes flashed and Jek said, “My role in this mission is different than yours. However, I won’t do it if it appears to be too dangerous.”
Jel’s eyes softened and Sam said, “I’m so glad to hear you say that. I don’t want to lose my best friend.”
Jek smiled, “Let us pray it doesn’t come to that.”
Angel looked at Jek, “Are you ready to go?”
Jek nodded, “We are.”
Angel smiled, “We’ll take you to the short-cut filament and activate it for you. Once you’re across, I’ll shut it down.”
Sam nodded, “I want you to check in with the sentry still stationed outside Tronan Territory. You’ll pick up your three escorts there.”
“Do you honestly think we’ll need escorts? I think we should keep as low a profile as possible.”
Sam smiled, “It’s better to have them present and not need them than to need them and not have them there. They know to keep their distance.”
Jek nodded and the four felt the vibrations of the warship’s giant boosters as they went to full power; Delilah’s Sword picked up speed.
The huge warship arrived at the location of the shortcut-filament and Angel closed her eyes. A moment later, the filament appeared and Angel said over her communicator, “Jek, contact us when you’re across the filament. We’ll shut it down at that point.”
“I will.”
“Good-luck, Jek. Remember to stay safe,” Sam said.
“I’ll do what I can Sam.”
Sam looked up at the exterior monitor and saw the landing by doors open. The small scout moved out of the landing bay and turned on its boosters. It moved at high speed toward the filament below the Flagship, entered it, and disappeared. An hour later, the wall speaker announced, “We’ve exited the shortcut and are now moving toward Tronan Space.”
Sam sighed and looked at Rangel as Angel removed the filament, “Take us back.” Rangel nodded and Delilah’s Sword accelerated away.
• • •
Jel looked at Jek and shrugged, “According to the computer, we have six weeks before we arrive at the Sentry and our support unit.”
Jek nodded, “Pull up the recordings we have on the location we’re going to scout and let’s see if we missed anything in developing our plan.” Jel nodded and began pressing buttons on her console.
• • •
Emily took her tray over to the table and sat down across from Randy, “The First Officer just told me that the scout is now moving our way. He says it will arrive in about three weeks.” Randy took a bite of eggs and nodded. “Why has it taken so long for them to come?”
Randy looked Emily in the eyes and lifted a shoulder, “I understand that they were being trained on how to fly their scout.” Emily pursed her lips together and Randy leaned back, “Before you start thinking they must be slow, how long did we take in our initial training?”
Emily stared at Randy and said, “We received our new scout at the same time they did and we had it nailed in just three weeks.”
“Emily, get real. We had already been flying a scout for more than eight months. They had to start at ground zero. If you take our initial training and add in the three weeks, we took more than a month longer than this new crew did.”
Emily blew out a big breath, “I guess. I’m just bored to tears sitting around waiting for this to happen.”
“Are you up to speed on recording telepathic conversations?” Randy asked.
“I’ve been practicing with Met and I think I’m up to the task.”
“You need to know for certain.”
“Hey, it’s not easy to differentiate between thoughts from different beings.”
“That’s the only way their conversations will make sense, Em.”
“I know. I have the program that assigns a different voice to different speakers. I just have to focus on the conversation to keep them accurate.”
“Well, you have about three more weeks to get it done. I’d use that time to perfect the process.”
“Is that why we’re going with them?” Emily asked.
“It is. Both of them could be killed and we’d have nothing to show for their loss. It’s up to us to make sure the intelligence we gather gets back to Bellingham.”
“What about the other two scouts?”
Randy shrugged, “I’ve discussed this with Captain O’Connor and, though he didn’t initially agree, he has come around to my way of thinking.” Emily’s head tilted and Randy said, “It’s too much of a risk to send all three of us. You and I will be the only one’s accompanying the scout.”
“I’m glad he listened. The fewer ships we have in that space the better.”
“I agree. Later today, you and I are going to start approach exercises to see how close we can get to the Bow String before we’re detected.”
Emily nodded and began rushing through her meal. She wanted to work with Met before they went out.
• • •
Jel looked at Jek and thought, “I think you’re right. We really don’t have an idea of their ability to see things.”
Jek nodded, “And I don’t want you close when I’m discovered.”
Jel shook her head, “I don’t like this, Jek. You’re going to be exposed and there’s not much I can do to defend you.”
“I’ll take care of defending myself, you just get me out.”
Jel smiled, “I’ll do what I can. We’ll arrive at the Bow String in about an hour forty minutes.”
Jek stood up and stood behind her chair, “Perhaps we should make good use of the time remaining.” Jel smiled and said, “Computer,
you have the ship. Notify us when you’re thirty-minutes out.”
“Will do.”
Jel stood and went into Jek’s arms.
• • •
Jek and Jel were sitting in the Bow String’s conference room when Captain O’Connor entered with two other humans. The three came to attention and Jek smiled, “As you were. Take a seat.” The three sat down and Jek said, “Where are the other crews?”
Captain O’Connor said, “Commodore, Captain Hummel has persuaded me that sending the other two ships would pose a greater risk to the mission.” Randy looked at the two Guytons and was stunned by their size. Both were close to seven-feet tall and their bright yellow eyes in the black skin of their faces seemed to jump out at them. Randy and Emily were both amazed at the fluid grace of the two Guytons.
Jek looked at the young human and said, “How did you arrive at that conclusion, Captain?”
Randy smiled, “I assume you’ve seen the recordings we took.” Jek nodded. “We were able to take those recordings without being detected because we didn’t have to move through the Tronan Fleets to the planet. That will not be the case this time and getting four scouts through their formations will be twice as risky as sending two ships through. The additional two ships won’t really add any defensive firepower against that many Tronan Warships.”
Jek smiled, “I agree with you, Captain. Were you the crew that took those recordings?”
“No, Commodore. One of the other ship’s in my unit made the recordings.”
“Why are you here instead of that crew?” Jel asked.
“Fleet Admiral Oliver determined that I would be a better choice to take part in the mission, Sir.”
Jek stared at Randy and saw his thoughts. After a few moments, he looked at Jel and saw she was also be viewing the Captain’s mind. He turned back to Randy and shrugged, “I believe the Admiral was right. Do you understand your role in what’s going to happen?”
“I do.”
“And exactly what is your role, Captain?” Jek asked.
“Record every conversation and event and if things go bad, get the hell out and take the information back to the Leadership Team.”
Jek smiled, “You understand that you will not do anything to save us that would jeopardize that mission!”
“I do, Sir.”
Jel nodded, “That’s why you’re here instead of the other crew. They might not follow their orders if things get dicey.”
Randy nodded, “That’s the way Admiral Oliver saw it. However, there is one exception.”
Jek’s eyes narrowed, “What is that, Captain.”
“If it’s possible to save you by sacrificing my ship, then I will do it.”
“Why would you do that, Captain?” Jel asked.
“Because a recorded conversation is nowhere close to the knowledge of one that participated in it, especially if they’re telepathic. You will have the most valuable information of the two of us.”
Jek lowered his eyes, “Did Admiral Oliver suggest this to you?”
“No, Sir. Like you, he said for me to take no chances.”
Jek eyes widened, “I think I can trust you to use good judgement, Captain. Do what you think is best.”
Randy smiled, “Yes, Sir.”
Captain O’Connor said, “We cannot reveal our scouts to them!”
Jek turned to him, “And the reason for that is…?” Captain O’Connor stared at Jek in silence and Jek said, “How will they know they are not ships from the planet?” O’Connor opened his mouth and then closed it. “We’ll do what we can to avoid our ships being detected but getting the mission done is the main issue.” Jek turned to Randy, “Are you ready to shove off?”
Randy nodded, “Once your ship is provisioned, we’ll be ready to go.”
Jek turned to O’Connor and he said, “Your ship is being provisioned at this moment and should be ready to go in less than forty minutes.”
Jek smiled and looked at Emily, “Are you the one that will be recording our conversations?”
“Yes, Commodore.”
Jek looked at Jel and she pulled a cube out of her pouch. She handed it to Emily and said, “Load this into your computer. It will record the different voices and keep things organized.”
Emily rolled her eyes, “I’ve been working on that non-stop for the last two months.”
Jel chuckled, “Then you should be really thankful for this.”
Emily smiled, “I am. I still need some work on it.”
Jel nodded, “Now you can pay attention to your weapons. I think you’re needed there more than recording our conversations.”
Emily looked at Randy and nodded, “I believe you’re right, Captain Jel.”
Jek looked at O’Connor, “We’re going to our ships now. We’ll be launching as soon as they are ready and I hope we’ll be back within a few weeks.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Jek stood up and motioned Randy and Emily to follow him. They left the conference room and as they walked down the corridor, Jek said, “You can quit calling me, Sir.”
Randy looked at him, “Why is that, Sir.”
“Because you have been promoted to Admiral and will take command of our fleet of scouts once we return.”
Randy’s eyes flew open and Jek smiled, “Oh, I still outrank you because I’m a member of the Leadership Team but we’ll use our first names for the remainder of this mission.”
Emily looked at Randy and hugged him, “Congratulations! You deserve it!”
Jel smiled, “Not so fast. You’ve also been promoted to Commodore and will continue to be his Executive Officer.”
Randy smiled, “Congratulations, yourself. Now let’s go get this done.” They entered the landing bay and went to their ships.
Chapter Eight
A week later, the two scouts were holding position outside the giant Tronan War fleet. Jek stared at the thousands of giant warships and thought to Randy, “Do you have any suggestions on how to get through this gathering?”
“Lower the housing over your boosters and only use your black matter thrusters to move forward. I would recommend that you flip your ship around and back through their formations.”
“Why would you suggest that?”
“Because the fins on the front of your scout is the most effective way to avoid being detected. All the Tronan Scanners are pointed at the planet so you won’t have to worry about one of them scanning you from ahead of your position. The fins will deflect most of the scanner’s beams away and you should be able to make it through. I also recommend that you avoid moving close to one of the new Tronan Warships. Their scanners are far ahead of the ones on the older model.”
“I guess we’re fortunate that the band of Tronan Warships is not that thick and there is about forty miles between them,” Jel commented.
“Just keep an eye on the electronic level of the scanning beams hitting your vessel. If it starts to rise, change direction away from the increasing level,” Emily suggested.
“We should also go through their ranks at different locations. We’ll move to the left and you go to the right,” Jek ordered. “We’ll meet above the planet once we make it through.”
“Will do,” Randy answered as Emily snorted.
Randy looked at her and she said, “If we make it through. We’ve never done this before.”
Randy smiled, “Come on, Em. We have forty miles between those warships. We can move to within five miles of them and not be detected.” Emily pursed her lips and Sam quickly said, “I know, there will be thousands of beams hitting us but this new scout is far better than the previous model.”
“But it’s not been trialed against this many ships, Randy!”
“Just keep your eyes peeled for those new Tronan Warships and let me know if any are in our path.”
Emily sighed and turned back to her console. “There’s one fifty miles to the starboard side.”
“Moving
toward the portside.”
Randy stared at the monitor showing the rear-view of the ship and couldn’t help but notice the front fins moving at high speed. Emily was right…this could get tricky.
• • •
Jel smiled and looked at Jek, “There’s something about a fleet of warships hanging in space that is just beautiful. The way they shine in the light of the star and the pitch-black shadows that cross them.”
Jek nodded, “I’ve not detected any thoughts on those ships about detecting us. I suspect Randy and Emily are stressed at this moment.”
Jel shrugged, “We do have the advantage of being telepathic. This scout is a pretty remarkable ship.” Jek nodded. “We should be clear in another thirty-minutes.”
“Notify Randy that we’ll be moving above the planet on the dark side.” Jel nodded and sent a thought to Emily. Jek looked at his console and suddenly moved the ship vertical. “What’s going on?”
“The level of energy on our receptors had jumped significantly. It does appear that the entire front row of ships ahead of us are the new model of Tronan Warship. I’m going to move above them before I turn toward the planet.”
“Let Emily know about them.” Jel nodded and sent the warning.
• • •
“Move vertical, Randy!!!”
Randy pulled the ship up instantly, “Why?”
“The entire front rank of ships ahead of us are the new Tronan Model. We’re going to move vertical to them and move in to the planet from the North Polar region.”
“How did you know about them?”
“Jel just warned me.”
Randy shook his head, “They’re ahead of us. So much for having more experience.”
“Jel says they can hear the thoughts of the ships around them and avoid being detected. They have one more system than we do.”
Randy shrugged and continued moving vertically. Three hours later, they rendezvoused with the other scout over the North Pole.