The Death Filament: Some Places Should Be Avoided

by Saxon Andrew

  “What happened?”

  “I entered the academy on Heaven. I was sucked up in my classes but I did try to go and see her whenever possible.”

  “Sounds just like Frank and me. What happened?”

  “The thing about loving a beautiful woman is that every other man she encounters is immediately attracted to her. They flatter her, bring her gifts, and try to get her to spend some time with them.”

  “That’s never happened to me!”

  Randy rolled his eyes, “Get real, Emily. Frank was just one of many that came chasing you. You looked over the herd and chose him. The two of you hit it off instantly and bodda bing, bodda boom, before you knew it, you married.”

  “WE LOVED EACH OTHER!”

  “I believed that Eleanor loved me as well, Emily.”

  “You didn’t tell me what happened.”

  “Eleanor was what one would call high-maintenance. She craved attention and it’s difficult to give it to her if you’re stuck in the Academy for weeks at a time. It was always a huge party when I got back to see her but then there would be long days we were not together. Love was there, but it was not getting nourished.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Love is like a living thing, Emily. It requires nourishment just like a flower requires water, air, and sun. What happens to a flower when it is denied those things?” Emily was silent and Randy said, “What happens, Emily?”

  “It wilts and dies.”

  “And what if you give it water once a month?”

  Emily sighed, “It doesn’t get enough and still dies.”

  “It will spring back but continued absence of nourishment will lead to it fading away and slowly dying. Eleanor chose me over all the other suitors chasing her but I wasn’t there and they were. She was given more attention by them than I was able to provide. Finally, one of them managed to turn her head and she sent me a message not to bother to come and see her anymore. She didn’t even have the decency to tell me face-to-face.”

  “She was a tramp!”

  “No, she wasn’t! And you don’t how hard it is for me to disagree with you.”

  “How can you say that?”

  Randy blew out a breath, “There was another cadet in the Academy that was constantly batting her eyes at me and telling me how wonderful I was.”

  “Don’t tell me you were unfaithful!”

  “I wasn’t. But I have to tell you, saying no to her was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. You know how the Academy was. You’re surrounded by intelligent, beautiful people but you’re alone…completely alone, and the loneliness was an oppressive weight. But I had given my heart to another and I would not betray her. Eleanor wasn’t a tramp, she was lonely.”

  “You don’t appear to have been hurt nearly as much as I have, Randy.”

  “We never married, Emily. However, I was never away from her for more than a couple of weeks. You’ve been away from Frank for six to eight months at a time. And even to my eyes, Frank was impressive. Do you think a strong-willed woman would not make a move on him even if he was married? Especially if you weren’t around to protect your property?”

  “You don’t think he was wrong, do you!?”

  “I think he missed you so much it nearly killed him. But he didn’t give you an ultimatum to leave the service and join him. He supported you and stood by your life decision even though it was killing him.”

  “I wasn’t with him either!”

  “No, but you were doing things you loved and kept yourself occupied. With everything that’s happened since the Tronan arrived, we haven’t had much time to dwell on personal feelings.” Emily stared at Randy and he said, “With his heart causing him immense pain by your absence, finding comfort with someone else was something he ultimately just couldn’t resist. He hated himself for it but you weren’t there to help him through it.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because the last time I saw him he wasn’t right. He was still fighting it and then you left for eight months. Love dies when it goes unnourished.”

  “But I gave him all my love!”

  “We were under strict communication silence most of the time. How many times did you contact him to tell him how much you loved him in the last year?” Emily lowered her head. “You aren’t to blame for this either, Emily. The two of you were placed in a situation that was untenable. Both of you are extraordinary people who found themselves in a bad situation.”

  Emily sighed, “That’s why you decided to not have a personal relationship while you’re in the service.” Randy nodded. “You said you swore you would never mention her name again. Did you grow to hate her that much? What is she doing now?”

  Randy lowered his eyes and pointed at the small star they were orbiting, “Eleanor chose a rich man that wasn’t in the service. He was a businessman and they were not taken off the planet on the Colony Ship before Heaven was attacked. They both died on Heaven when it exploded.” Emily stared at Randy and he looked up at her, “I came to understand after she left that she wasn’t to blame for what happened and I allowed her to go and find what happiness she could without my interference. I hope she found that happiness before they died. True love means you put the other’s feelings ahead of your own. Eventually, the love you had for the other dies from lack of nourishment and life becomes bearable again.”

  Emily saw the moisture in Randy’s eyes. She stood up and went to him. She sat down in his lap, put her head on his shoulder and wept for the loss each of them bore. He hugged her and said, “You have to let him go and look toward the future. That’s the only way to find your smile again.” Emily continued to cry until she had no more tears to give.

  Then she stood up and went back to her chair. She sighed and said, “You have always been my best friend. Thank you.” Randy nodded and she turned back to her console. She shed no more tears from that moment on.

  The Computer announced, “Mapping complete.”

  Randy looked up, “Have you determined an area that can be used?”

  “I have.”

  “Put your suggestions with the map and send it to the scout holding station at the intersection.”

  “Message has been sent and I’ve received confirmation on it.”

  Randy nodded and stared at the small star outside the viewport. “It was once a beautiful world.”

  Emily nodded, “It might be gone but the love of Heaven is something that none of us will ever lose.”

  Randy looked at her and smiled, “Of that you can be sure. Let’s go home.” Randy entered the filament and went to full boosters. He didn’t need to look at the maps. They were not something that he would need.

  • • •

  Gem stood in front of the Insectoid King and shook his head. “Sire, this is not something you can avoid. If the Tronan Fleets arrive in this section of the Universe, you will not survive them. You must put aside your desires to remain aloof from this confrontation and take part in what’s coming.”

  “You’re asking me to send all of my fleets to meet this enemy. Why should I do this when no one else is going to confront them?”

  “Because all of the ships that confront that fleet must all be the same model. We must make them believe that there is only one civilization that destroyed their ships. You are the only one that has enough warships to make this plan work.”

  “My warships cannot stand up to them!”

  “We’re hoping that they won’t have to, Your Majesty.”

  “And just how are you going to do that!?”

  Gem smiled and told him.

  The King stared at Gem and then sat back on his throne. He thought about it and then said, “Who will defend my planets while this is going on?”

  “The Pirates on Fellowship have agreed to send warships to defend you.”

  “Are you sure about that?”

  “I am, Your Majesty.”

  “Gem, I’m entrusting
my people to your judgement.”

  “I won’t let you down.”

  “Notify me when we need to leave.”

  “Embree will contact you on when it’s time to move. Thank you, Your Majesty.”

  • • •

  Randy arrived at Romania and found the first two-thousand scouts holding formation above the planet. He activated his communicator and a newly promoted Commodore appeared on his console, “Welcome back, Admiral.”

  “Are all your crews on board their ships?”

  “Yes, Sir. They arrived from training yesterday.”

  “Did all of them complete the tutorials successfully?”

  “Yes, Sir. However, I’m concerned that tutorials are not equivalent to real combat conditions.”

  “That’s why I’m here. How many of the new Wing-Commanders are in place?”

  “The Scouts are divided into fifty-ship units and all of them are being commanded by a Senior Captain.”

  “I want all of them to report to Dahlia’s Sword at the Bellingham intersection. I will hold a meeting with them there and will start training operations at the completion of the meeting. Have their units stay in formation until the conclusion of the meeting.”

  “Yes, Sir. I’ll notify Commodore Sukawa and we’ll get on the way momentarily.”

  “Good. I’ll see you on the Fleet Commander’s Flagship.”

  • • •

  Randy looked at Emily, “I’ll work with Commodore Sukawa and you will be responsible for Commodore Meg’s Fleet.” Emily stared at him and Randy smiled, “There is an additional scout in the Sword’s landing bay for you to use. Meg will be on board with you while the training is taking place.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Randy turned the Scout and headed toward the filament. He wanted to arrive ahead of the two scout fleets and get the meeting set up properly. Having the Fleet Admiral present was a little pressure he didn’t need but it couldn’t be avoided.

  “Randy.”

  “Yes.”

  “I don’t want to be separated from you. Is this just a temporary move?”

  “This ship is my flagship, Emily and only two people can be on it. You will be with me when the training is completed.”

  Emily smiled for the first time since Frank had left. “Good. That’s where I’m most at home.”

  Randy smiled and went to full boosters. It was good to have her back in the land of the living. She was making progress.

  • • •

  They arrived on Delilah’s Sword and Randy was surprised that the Fleet Admiral was not the only one attending the meeting. The entire Leadership Team was present except for Gregor McGregor. Sam greeted Randy as he entered the conference room and said as Randy and Emily came to attention, “At ease, Admiral. Don’t view our presence as something to pressure you. We’re here to assist you in your planning.”

  Randy nodded and said, “Easy for you to say, Sir. However, I appreciate the support. Do you have any recommendations before the rest of the Scout Commanders arrive?”

  Sam nodded to Desiree and she stood up and went to the front table and picked up the monitor controls, “I’ve been studying the recordings your unit made of the new Tronan Warship. If we intend to use your scouts to launch a preemptive attack on them before our main fleet joins the battle, you’re going to have to hit them in places that will knock them out of action immediately. If they’re able to activate their blasters, you’re going to lose a lot of ships, Admiral.”

  “I’ve been worrying about that, Sir. What have you been able to determine?”

  Desiree smiled, “Take a seat and let’s take a look.” The huge wall monitor activated and split into an upper and lower image with a Tronan Warship in each. Desiree said, “The vessel on top is the standard Tronan Warship we faced when they attacked Heaven. The one on the bottom is the new Tronan Warship. You being able to get an active scan of the new warship was a very fortunate piece of good luck.” Desiree looked at Randy, “Tell me what you see, Admiral.”

  Randy stared at the two ships and started shaking his head, “Other than a much smaller crew on the new vessel, there are no glaring differences that I can see.”

  “Very good, Admiral. The Tronan are efficient if they are nothing else. The operating systems are identical except for the blasters. The new ship’s blasters are wired to a computer system that detects a target and instantly rotates a blaster to fire on it. They operate at a much higher speed than the old model. However, the systems that feeds the blasters energy is the same one that the old vessel uses.”

  Randy stared at the new warship and said, “Where are the computers that control the blasters?”

  “They are located with the blasters. There is not a central location where they are located,” Desiree answered.

  “I was hoping there would be one location where we could take them all out,” Randy replied.

  Desiree smiled, “There is one location that would take out all of the blasters on both models, Admiral.” Randy’s eyebrows went up. “What is the most defended place on the Tronan Warships?” Desiree asked.

  Emily said, “The nuclear missiles and the ship’s bridge.”

  Desiree smiled, “Very good, Commodore.” Desiree used the laser pointer and illuminated a section directly behind the bridge. “The blasters and bridge systems are powered by a separate brace of reactors that are not used to power any other systems. The reactors that power all of the other systems are located at the rear of the ship close to the boosters.”

  Randy stared at the section Desiree was indicating and said, “Do I see that the area around the bridge and reactors is more heavily armored than the rest of the hull?” Desiree nodded. Randy looked at her, “Are the blasters on the Scouts capable of defeating that additional armor fast enough that they can’t open fire on my ships?”

  Sam said, “We believe they are, Admiral”

  Randy looked at him, “But you don’t know for certain.”

  “We have no way of knowing without making the attack.”

  “Admiral, you’re putting all the lives of my two fleets on the line with this uncertainty.”

  Sam stared at Randy and then nodded, “You’re right. However, the two blasters on the scouts are as powerful as those on our main battleships.”

  Randy’s eyes narrowed, “That tells me you’re not sure that our main battleship’s beams will defeat that particular armor either.”

  Sam shrugged and Desiree said, “We have no choice but to assume they will break through the hull fast enough to take out those reactors before the blasters can open fire.”

  Randy stared at her and then heard Jek’s thought, “There is a way to find out.”

  Everyone in the room turned to Jek. Sam looked at him, “What are you talking about?”

  “We do have a Tronan Warship to experiment with.”

  Sam stared at him with his eyes narrowed and Leonidas said, “The Tronan Children’s ship.” Jek nodded.

  Sam lowered his eyes, “I thought we already crossed this bridge three years ago, when we released them?”

  Jek shrugged, “Sometimes necessity forces us to do things we would not ordinarily do. If it comes down to us or them, I choose us. Are you willing to put our sailors in harm’s way or do what must be done?” Everyone stared at Jek and he shrugged, “Besides, they may all be dead by now. If that’s the case, it won’t be an issue.”

  Sam shook his head and Jek smiled, “Hey, I’m an assassin. Nothing and no one comes before those I’m sworn to protect. You know that’s my nature. Do you have a better idea?”

  Sam could only shake his head. He knew that he had no choice but to investigate this situation. He wondered why he felt so bad about it when he was originally so against allowing the young Tronan crew to live. Sam announced, “This meeting is adjourned until we go and take a look at the Tronan Warship.”

  Randy looked at Emily, “Notify our unit leaders to go back to Romania an
d to wait for our return.”

  “We need to start them training.”

  “Have them practice sneaking up on our warships in orbit above Romania. I’ll get Admiral Oliver to notify the fleet there of our training maneuvers.” Emily nodded and lifted her communicator. Randy looked at Jek and wondered what was going on. And what did Leonidas mean by a Children’s Ship? He was going with them to see for himself what they were talking about.

  Chapter Twelve

  The huge warship arrived at the planet and Angel looked at Sam, “I hated providing this filament to come back here. There has to be another way.”

  Sam looked at Jek, “Do you hear any of them?”

  Jek shrugged, “I do. It appears a large number of them have survived.”

  Sam blew out a breath and said to Jek, “Contact them and tell them we need to communicate with their leader.”

  Jek nodded and after a few minutes he said, “He’s currently on the planet and says he will take a shuttle up to the ship. He should arrive in twenty minutes.”

  “What can you tell me, Jek.”

  “I have to say I’m really surprised by what they’ve accomplished. They built a small community on the surface and it appears most them are currently living on the planet’s surface.”

  Randy looked at Sam, “What’s going on here.”

  Sam looked at him and asked, “You weren’t here with the fleet when we removed the Tronan’s probes that were launched from the attack on Heaven.”

  “I was at Bellingham with the defense pickets when that happened.”

  Sam nodded, “We discovered one of the Tronan Warships was sent back to warn their leaders about us before they attacked Heaven. Elena helped us find them and we discovered that the Tronan Crew was made up entirely of children, most of them were little more than human teenagers. They came with the two hundred Tronan Warships to be trained on how to kill. We decided, reluctantly, that killing children, no matter how despicable their species was, was not the right thing to do. So, we disabled their ship and parked it above this planet and told them to find a way to survive.”