The Lost Prince

by Saxon Andrew

  “You mean we can now scan neutrinos?”

  “You’re actually able to passively scan every energy emission.”

  Andi looked at Drey, “We’ve got to go back to their main planet and run another scan.”

  Abby said, “Why don’t you scan the energy band and I’ll take a reading on the Higgs.”

  Andi’s excitement was clear, “How are you going to do that?”

  “I’ve developed the process, but it involves numerous minor adjustments as the readings come in. I’ll be glad to show you how to use the process.”

  Drey looked at Ian, “What do you think?”

  Ian tilted his head and shrugged, “I think we should listen to our experts and do what they say.”

  Andi looked at Abby, “What about photons?” Abby nodded and saw Andi’s excitement.

  Ian said, “We’ll be jumping in and will remain out of normal space for the duration of the stay. Plan to jump in thirty minutes.”

  The displays went dark and Abby said, “Thank you for coming to my defense but she was right.”

  “Not entirely. You stopped yourself.”

  Abby nodded and said, “I need to make sure I do not talk while I’m deep in thought.”

  Gary smiled, “I think that would be wise, Sir.”

  Abby punched him on the arm, “Hey, we’re informal here.”

  “Yes…ma’am.”

  Abby laughed and pulled up the Higgs software.

  • • •

  The three ships were directly above the alien planet and Abby and Gary were stunned at what they saw. Gary shook his head and said, “I don’t feel so confident anymore.” Abby nodded and smiled. Gary looked at her, “Why are you smiling?”

  “I’m so thankful I was forced to come. I’m going to learn so much.”

  Gary shook his head.

  Andi appeared on the secondary display, “How do you want to do this, Abigail?”

  “Call me Abby, Andi. I think we should scan a ship that is arriving at that space facility as it shuts down its force field and try to scan one that’s leaving as it powers up its fields.”

  “That’s a good idea. I’ll send you what I get.”

  Abby nodded and watched the display for a ship that met the requirements.

  Drey appeared on Gary’s display, “What do you think?”

  “This is scary.”

  “That it is. We’re here to buy the Union time to build a fleet.”

  “They’ll need a hundred years to even start matching what I see in this system.”

  Drey shrugged, “I’m planning a little soiree with one of those smaller vessels when the ladies complete their work. I want you and Ian there to hold off any party crashers.”

  Gary tilted his head and said, “We’ll do what we can. We need to know their capabilities.”

  Drey nodded at Andi sitting behind him, “I suspect we’ll know a lot shortly.” Gary nodded absently and continued to stare at the massive city covering the planet below.

  An attack ship began backing out of the huge facility and Andi said, “Abby?”

  “I’m on it.”

  Violet looked at Ian, “I’m feeling useless again.”

  Ian said, “Get with E and see what information you can get on the ship types and which direction they’re heading out of this system.”

  Violet nodded and started speaking.

  Ian looked back at his scanner that was set to view inferred on the planet’s surface. He found numerous bright spots and plotted them on the map of the planet. He switched the view to positron emissions and overlaid them on the map.

  Fifty minutes later a ship moved in system and Gary saw Abby sit up straight in her chair and start making adjustments on her panel. He glanced at the display with Doc’s bridge and saw Andi start doing the same. I guess we’ll soon know.

  An hour later Abby said, “Send me what you have, Andi, and I’ll send you my readings as well.” Abby looked at her panel and smiled, “I have them, thanks.”

  “No problem. We might what to move away and not run the risk of too many communications.”

  Ian nodded and said, “Gary, I’ve sent the coordinates of where we go above the galaxy. We’ll see you there. Stay below normal space.”

  Gary saw the coordinates and entered them in the drive. G arrived and Gary was amazed at the beauty of the Milky Way below him.

  Drey said, “I suspect it’s going to take a few minutes for them to analyze this, so we might as well take a break and get something to eat.”

  Abby didn’t even look up, “Are you planning any combat operations in the very near future?”

  Drey looked at her and said, “Why do you ask?”

  “You might want to delay eating until after they’re over.”

  Drey thought a moment and said, “No, we’ll take some time to discuss what you’ve discovered. We’ll start the party later.”

  Abby nodded and continued to stare at her display. Gary shook his head at her ability to focus so intently on her display and still be aware of what was happening around her. He got up and went to the small kitchen and prepared a meal for himself and Abby. He brought it back to the bridge and placed it beside her. Over the next hour he watched her flashing screens on her panel and absently eating the sandwich he had put next to her. He finished his meal and took her plate with him to the kitchen. He came back and reclined on his chair. He fell asleep as Abby continued to punch keys.

  • • •

  “You can wake up now.”

  Gary started and jumped up. He looked at Abby and saw a gleam in her eyes. “Are you done?”

  “Yes, we are. Andi just wrapped up as well.”

  Gary stood up and stretched, “What time is it?”

  “Ten p.m. ship’s time.”

  “You’ve been at this twelve hours!?”

  “What time did I start?”

  “Ten a.m.”

  “I guess I have.”

  “Abby, that Higgs scan is amazing.”

  “It is isn’t it? I’m very proud of it.”

  “You should be. Do you want to start the discussion now?”

  “No, I think we should get some rest. We’ll probably be crashing shortly and I want to be alert.” Andi looked at her and Abby said, “Gary tells me we’ve been at it for twelve hours.”

  “Really?”

  Gary said, “Really.”

  Andi stood and stretched and looked at Drey, “Come on; you can rub my shoulders.”

  Gary saw the display go dark and he leaned back in his chair. Abby said, “I’d sell my soul for a good shoulder rub.”

  Gary smiled and came around to the back of her chair and said, “Lean forward; you won’t have to pay that much.”

  Abby leaned forward and Gary started massaging her shoulders. Abby sighed and closed her eyes, “That’s heavenly.” After a few minutes Abby said, “Can you reach my lower back?”

  “No.”

  “Then follow me to my room and continue this, please.”

  Gary followed her out and stopped rubbing her back and shoulders when she fell asleep. He went to the bridge and reclined in the command chair remembering how good she felt under his hands. Eventually, he fell asleep smiling.

  Chapter Twenty

  Abby arrive on the bridge with her hair still damp from the shower. It hung down her back and she shook it as she sat down. She saw a hot breakfast beside her panel and looked at Gary. “Good morning. I asked G to let me know when you woke.”

  “Thank you. I’m famished.”

  “You should be. Did you learn anything?”

  “Oh yes. Let’s see if the others are up.”

  “Eat first.”

  Abby smiled and dug in. She thought a moment and said, “I didn’t hear you leave.”

  “I waited until you were asleep.”

  “Well thank you.” Abby paused and said, “You could have just slept there.”

  “No I couldn’t.”

  Abby stopped the fork an inch from her m
outh and looked at Gary, “Why not?”

  “You know, we’re not allowed to fraternize with our commanders.”

  Abby ate the fork full of eggs and said, “Is that so?”

  “It is.”

  Abby continued eating and said, “What rank is Violet?”

  Gary thought a moment and said, “I really don’t know.”

  “Does Ian outrank her?”

  Gary thought again and said, “Ian is the mission commander.”

  “Ok.” Gary sat there staring at Abby and she said, “What is Andi’s rank?”

  “Alright, alright, you’ve made your point.”

  “Just wanted to make sure that you left because you decided to do so and not for any other reason.” Gary sighed and Abby said, “I’m not being mean.”

  “You’re not.”

  “Nope, I didn’t call you a moron.”

  Gary started laughing and said, “You’re right.”

  “They’re my two favorite words.” Abby continued eating and when she finished, she picked up her plates and stood to go to the kitchen. Just before she exited the bridge she said, “Do you still hate me?”

  Gary stared at her and shook his head. Abby smiled, “Just checking.” She turned and left.

  Gary stared at the port and sighed.

  • • •

  The six were on their displays when Ian said, “Who wants to start?”

  Andi said, “Abby should go first.”

  Abby shrugged and said, “Pease stop me if you see something I miss and I ask forgiveness in advance if I react harshly.”

  Andi nodded and said, “I wish I had developed that ability.”

  Abby looked at her with lowered brows and said, “Why?”

  “I think I finally understand what you’re doing.”

  “We’ll please tell me, because I don’t.”

  “When I’m really focused on something and someone interrupts my thought process with an idea that I know is wrong, I have to stop and explain why they’re wrong which really throws me off my original thoughts.” Abby pursed her lips and nodded. “I suspect that you process what they’ve said and know they’re wrong but don’t want to lose your train of thought so your subconscious just tells them they’re wrong and you keep on processing. Am I right?”

  “Yes, but I’ve said some things that are pretty hateful.”

  “What would happen if you told them in a nice way that they were wrong?”

  Abby thought a moment and said, “I suspect they would defend their point of view.”

  “The result would be you’d be thrown off track. Now what if you really insulted them?”

  Abby’s expression changed to understanding, “They would storm off and not speak to me again unless forced to do so.”

  “I don’t think it took your subconscious long to learn that behavior works. In the future, if you insult me I know I need to take another look at my position to see what I’ve missed.”

  Abby thought a moment and said, “It’s still not good behavior. I could take the time to listen and work my way back to where I was.”

  Gary said, “If you possessed patience, you could do that; under stress you would revert to your survival behaviors.”

  Abby looked at Gary and said, “I didn’t call you a moron.”

  “I know, forget that.”

  Abby stared at him and turned back to the display, “I have great respect for everyone on this mission and the last thing I want to do is cause you to not want to work with me.”

  Drey said, “Have you ever been wrong about a suggestion you rejected?”

  Abby thought a moment and shook her head.

  “Then I agree with Andy. I hope you do call me an idiot.”

  Abby smiled and said, “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  Drey said, “What have the two of you learned?”

  Abby said, “Their ships are just as strong as ours. Our force fields are slightly stronger and will hold up for a few more moments than theirs and that’s good if you’re only fighting one ship. If two are firing at us, it’s a very iffy situation.”

  “That’s how I see the data as well.”

  “Andi, did you factor in the time of their beam?”

  “I don’t have a clue as to how long their blasters can fire. I’ll have to make that determination after we see one of their ships in action.”

  Gary said, “That ship Drey killed fired one of the heavy blasters at him.”

  Andi and Abby looked at Gary and he nodded. Drey said, “Gary told me that one of the blasters on the bottom of the FTL ship destroyer fired at me as it rolled.”

  “E, do you have a recording of that?”

  “I’m sorry, I don’t.”

  Gary said, “Doc should have it.”

  Doc said, “Hold on.” After a moment he said, “I have it.”

  Andi said, “Please show us what you have.”

  They watched their display as the image of the giant ship appeared with Drey’s ship running around the hull. The recording started and the bright beam flashed just above Drey’s ship.

  “Abby, do you think that’s the maximum duration?”

  “I think if they could have held that beam any longer it would have hit Doc. It went out just as the ship turned far enough to hit it. I believe that’s the limit.”

  “Did you get a time?”

  “Two seconds.”

  Ian looked at the two women staring at each other and started to ask what that meant, but Violet put her hand on his arm and shook her head. He settled back in his chair. Gary saw Abby’s eyes focused on something very far away and waited.

  Andi said, “There’s good news and bad news.”

  Ian said, “What?”

  “We can take two hits simultaneously as long as they don’t hit the same place on the force field. The bad news is that if another beam hits, the force field will be penetrated.”

  Abby came back and said, “I see the same thing, but I believe there is a way to prevent that happening.”

  The five looked at her and she said, “Remember when Gary dropped out of normal space to allow you to fly past him?” Ian and Drey nodded, “If we set our ship’s systems to drop out of normal space as soon as a second beam hits, they should be able to come right back and continue the fight. That drop will allow the force field to regenerate to its maximum strength.”

  Drey said, “Gary, the only way I saw that you had left normal space was to slow the recording down to super slow motion. It appeared to me that you just suddenly stopped.”

  G said, “The entire process took less than two hundredths of a second. Your sight doesn’t function that fast.”

  Drey looked at Ian and Gary, “We need to follow this doctrine in any ship battle we have.”

  Gary said, “G, can you program this into your sensors and do it automatically.”

  “I’ve already put it in.”

  “We have as well.”

  Abby said, “I think I may have a way to kill them with one shot.”

  Andi said, “I was wondering about that.”

  “There are some changes that would have to be done, but I think they would work.”

  “How would you feed the accumulators?”

  “They would pull it in from the leading edge of the force field.”

  “They would empty rather rapidly.”

  “That is the one drawback I’ve seen.”

  Gary said, “What are you two talking about. There are others here.”

  Andi said, “Their force fields do not slow the Higgs particles.” Gary looked at Abby and she nodded.

  Drey said, “How do we use that to our advantage?”

  Abby said, “We convert two of our blasters to fire the Higgs. I think one on each wing tip would be the best place to make the conversion.”

  Abby looked at Andi and she said, “I was thinking of the front edge, but I’m not as knowledgeable about flying tactics.”

  Gary said, “Our main efforts are to k
eep the enemy outside our wings and only present a flat surface for them to attack.”

  Andi nodded, “Then the wing tips would be best.”

  “Do we have to take the ships back to the Union to make this change?”

  E said, “No, Ian, I think we could do it here. Andi are you saying you need the FTL Field to be routed so that the particles it collects are fed into the blaster’s accumulator?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you know at what pressure they can be stored?”

  “No but don’t you have a gage that tells you when it’s overloading?”

  “I do, but will they power a blaster at the same pressure as pressure from the reactor?”

  Andi looked at Abby and she said, “I have no idea.”

  Gary said, “The only way to find out is to make the change and give it shot.”

  Abby said, “We have to find a habitable planet to do it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we need to put a red coating on the blaster’s lens to change the color of the beam.”

  Everyone looked at each other and Gary said, “Ok, I’ll bite; why do we have to change the color?”

  “What happens if this thing works and the aliens see a blue beam hit their ships? They’ll know it has the distinctive color of a FTL field and start developing a similar beam. Our ships are also vulnerable to the Higgs; we have to throw them off.”

  Ian said, “First things first. We’ll jump to Hellhole and make the changes. We’ll trial the beams on an asteroid and come back for Drey to have his meeting.”

  Gary looked at Drey, “I hope you’ve practiced.”

  “Oh, I have. But first, the beams.”

  • • •

  Five days later the ships were back at the main alien planet. Drey said, “Doc, are you sure about following one of their ships?”

  “We’ve learned a lot about the other space. Those vibrations we felt when we first came here can be tracked and as long as we enter behind the ship we want to follow, we should be able to track it to its destination.”

  “I’m looking for a single ship.”

  “Well, if it jumps to a place where they have more than one ship, we’ll just have to come back and try again.”

  “Are you able to listen in on their communications?”

  “I can, but I’m assuming they’re not being completely honest.”