by Saxon Andrew
Kyle shook his head. “Surely you were questioned about how you made that happen?”
“My Weapons Operator kept his mouth shut and sat back and watched it take place. It was only when I was called out by the Welken Fleet Leader during the meeting that I challenged him to beat me with six of his ships. The meeting was adjourned while we had that little head-to-head.” Kyle stared at her. “I killed all six ships in less than five minutes. That was when I had to reveal my use of another computer.”
“What happened?”
“The former commander of this facility called for my court martial. Grengel fired him on the spot and put me in his place with the rank of Admiral. He said it was timid, weak minds like his that stopped our civilization from growing and advancing.”
Kyle nodded, “I have to agree. How do you like your new position?”
“I hate it!”
“Because you miss going out into the wide open universe and flying your ship.”
Clarissa sighed, “Exactly. But I made this bed so I’m going to be forced to sleep in it.”
“That’s true until you find someone else with an even better idea than you came up with. They would then take your place freeing you to get back in a Light Warship.”
Clarissa’s eyes narrowed and she smiled, “I didn’t think of that.”
“When it happens, I’ll have a place waiting for you.”
Clarissa smiled, “Thank you, Sir. That means a lot.”
“So what are you doing with my ship?”
“I’m installing another computer that will control your weapons.”
“Is this computer one I might know?”
“The Computer’s name is Willow.” Kyle’s face showed his shock and he started shaking his head. “Commander, she requested to be put in your ship.”
“Why is she the weapon’s computer?! She’s, she’s,…”
“It gives her time to learn all of the new technology. She’s been mourning Lukas and Salud’s passing for a few years but wants to get back in the game. The Alliance Leadership agreed to honor her request to be put on your ship.”
“What?”
“She petitioned them directly once they approved putting two computers on our warships.”
“I don’t know how I feel about this? That computer is just as great a hero as any Earth has produced.”
“Do you want to say no to her request?”
“How do you say no to a genuine heroine of Earth?”
“I would suggest you don’t. She is one of the few computers that weren’t decommissioned. She is the most interesting being I’ve ever encountered.”
“You’ve talked with her?”
“Yes. And she’s adamant about being on your ship.”
“When will my ship be ready?”
“Yours is going to take a little longer than most…”
“Why?”
“We’re changing the disruptor barrels.”
Kyle tilted his head, “What?”
“We know the Feeders will link and their range will dramatically increase.”
“Just how do you know that?”
“Grengel questioned Amber about what was going on during your trip to Feeder Territory. He ordered me to find a way to dramatically increase the range of the disruptors.”
“I don’t see you extending the range half a light year.”
“He also demanded a real thought blocker instead of the piece of crap we’re currently using.”
“They worked.”
“Only because you ran before you were overwhelmed.”
Kyle leaned back in the chair and thought. He sighed and looked at Clarissa, “You got a measure on the Linked Feeder’s power.”
“Amber did. It would have penetrated the thought blocker.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“I’ve already done it.”
“WHAT?”
“I’ve made the assumption that if you run into linked Feeders, it will be in open space.”
“I was on the Kerit’s planet and there were thousands of them there.”
“I know. We’re also making the modification to your armor.”
“What modification?”
“The force fields used by the Light Ships will operate on a frequency that will block all thoughts from entering or leaving the ship.”
“That pretty much eliminates our telepathic advantage.”
“Sir, at present we only have an advantage when confronting less than ten Feeders and they usually have far more than that. By blocking all thoughts going in or out, they will not be able to detect our minds and we should be able to withstand their links.”
“All of their links?”
Clarissa tilted her head and shook it, “We don’t know what the power of their link will be if they use billions to make it.”
“There are billions of ships in the fleets they use to attack a galaxy.”
“The Goran are of the opinion that they won’t link that many if they intend to take possession of planets. The power of that many Feeders would kill all life on a planet.”
“They would do it here!”
“That’s why my officer would not broadcast what we’re doing.”
“Explain that, Admiral.”
“At some point, we are going to confront the Feeders and they will be sending specially prepared ships to scout us. We hope that won’t happen for a very long time but we’re implementing regulations to never communicate openly about sensitive information. Perhaps by the time we do face them the regulations will be second-nature to our forces.”
Kyle straightened up in his chair, “They could intercept both thoughts and electronic transmissions.” Clarissa nodded. “Was that your idea?” Clarissa shrugged and nodded again. “It’s a good one.”
“There’s one other thing.”
“What is that?”
“The Goran took one of the Kerits to their Capital World and have been working on a type of thought blocker that will allow them to actually see what the primitive part of their brain is sensing.”
“That’s a waste of time.”
“Why do you say that?”
“If the new force field will block all thoughts, they would only be effective when the force field is down.”
“Commander, I’m not as knowledgeable as a Goran scientist but they seem to think that the Kerit would still be able to sense them.”
“I don’t see how that’s possible.”
“The way Kegel explained it to me is that thoughts take place in the cerebral cortex. The primitive part of a human’s brain is not directly connected to that part of the brain. The pattern used by the force field blocks the frequency of thought patterns. The Kerit sense the Feeders on an entirely different wave length.”
“How is that possible?”
“The Goran believe the Feeders also have a primitive part of their brain that gives off that wavelength. They are not in touch with that part of their brain, just like humans.”
“You say they’re working on it, have they developed one?”
“Not yet. But Kegel says his team is close.”
“Let me know if they’re successful.”
“Yes Sir. What are you going to do now?”
“Check on Admiral Jorgenson and my sister. If they have things under control, I’m going to Miami and hang out in the bar.”
Clarissa smiled, “You act like that hotel is home.”
“It’s the only home I’ve had for the last three years. It is where I’m most comfortable.”
“Tell Bart and Tim hello and please thank them for the great vacation.”
“You can tell them yourself.”
“What?”
“I want you to plan to meet there with all of our Fleet Admirals on how you’re going to make the conversions in about three weeks.”
“It’s going to take longer than three weeks to convert the facilities on Earth and Eden to implement them.”
“I am authorizing you
the authority to do whatever you need to make it happen faster. Will that speed things up?”
“Yes Sir. There are a few superior officers that have resisted making the changes.”
“I want their names.”
“But…”
“That’s an order, Admiral!”
“Yes Sir.”
Kyle saw Clarissa shake her head and he stood up, “Grengel is right; it’s timid minds that hold us back. I want you to choose their replacements immediately and I’ll authorize the promotions to insure you can get things done. You are also promoted to full Admiral reporting directly to Kyley.”
Clarissa sighed, “Another Promotion?”
“Get used to it. You’ve shown the talent we need. Make sure you keep Kyley up do date on your progress.”
“Yes Sir.”
Kyle started to leave and stopped. Clarissa saw something in his expression, “What?”
“Hensel told me a story about how a Feeder stalked his father when he was a young Goran.” Clarissa looked at him and waited for him to continue. He turned to her and said, “I want the control that shuts down the computers to be taken off the control board.”
“I’ll make the change but would you mind telling me why?”
“What if the device for the Kerits doesn’t come to fruition? We’re going to have to develop a way to go out and find the Feeders without them.”
“I can see that.”
“Hensel told me that he took control of his Father’s brain and had him shutdown his computer so no record of his interfering with the Feeder would be recorded. We may have to go out without a thought blocker and depend on the computers to watch our minds and activate the force field if they sense a change in our minds. I’m worried that the Feeders may make our pilots shutdown the computers before they can do it.”
“Do you think they can take control that fast?”
“I don’t know. But I’m not willing to risk it.”
“I’ll make the change, Sir.” Kyle nodded and left the office. Clarissa sighed and began contacting the maintenance facilities on Earth and Eden. She wrote down the names of those that resisted her requests and forwarded them to Admiral Ambrose. She called in members of her team and sent them to replace the offending Admirals. She didn’t like doing it but she knew it had to be done. She shook her head and realized she never saw the strength of the First Commander when she saw him every day during her vacation at the beach. She knew he had what it was going to take to get the Alliance ready to face the Death Feeders.
• • •
Kyle looked at Bart and nodded. Bart shrugged and poured him another glass of tequila, “I just don’t understand why you continue to drink that poison. I know you don’t like it.”
“Come on, Bart. Sometimes you need a shock to the ole system.”
“I’ve tried it; it’s a lot more than a shock.”
Kyle took another swallow and winced. “I see you’re back at it. Did you lose your job?” Kyle turned and saw Nicole behind him. “Bart, I’ll have what he’s drinking.”
“Nicole, you can’t like that stuff!”
“Actually, it’s different enough to be enjoyable.” Bart poured her a shot glass and she stared at him. He rolled his eyes, poured the shot glass into a regular glass and filled it up. Nicole turned it up and emptied it.
Kyle shook his head, “How do you do that?”
“How would I know? What are you doing here?”
“We’re at a standstill until we can get our fleets updated with the new modifications. There’s nothing to do until that happens.”
“That’s pretty short sighted.”
Kyle winced again as he took a sip and almost choked at her remark, “Is that so?”
“You’re wasting time. I would think that either you or someone else would be out mapping Feeder Space. We really didn’t determine the extent of their civilization when we went out last time.” Kyle stared at her for a long moment, took another sip, winced, and blew out a breath. “You’re right.”
“Good.”
“How’s the acclimation of the Kerits coming along?”
“Quite well. I’m surprised that we appear to be really adaptive to new situations. Most of us are really ga-ga over your technology.”
“Your language has really improved.”
“I’ve been exposed to it while teaching the others how to use the simulators. I’ve also learned a lot from the Alliance Staff.”
“They’re our best instructors.”
“Most of my learning has taken place when the male instructors have asked me out to dinner. That’s where I picked up the term ga-ga.”
Bart nodded, “You have been quite the social butterfly.”
Nicole looked at Bart, “What does that mean?”
Kyle winced again and said, “It means you’ve been flitting from one person to another.”
“Oh. I guess.”
“Why haven’t you been going out with another Kerit?”
“Now how much would I learn if I did that? I don’t want to distract them from their studies.”
“Oh.” Kyle put his glass on the bar and nodded. Bart rolled his eyes again and filled it up. “So when are we going back out?”
Kyle turned around and looked at her, “What?”
“You shouldn’t go out without one of us on board and I’m the only one ready to do it.”
“But…The Goran haven’t developed the new device for you, yet.”
“That doesn’t stop me from sensing them. We’ll do it like we did the first time, just keep that part of my brain in focus.”
Bart looked at Nicole, “You don’t mind someone listening to your thoughts?”
“He can’t if I’m wearing a thought blocker.”
Kyle tilted his head, “Are you sure about that?”
“Yep.”
“Just how do you know for certain?”
“I thought of some things you would have confronted me on if you could and you didn’t.”
Kyle stared at her. “Really?”
“Really.”
“What were…”
“I’m not telling you. A lady should keep private things private. Are we going to do it?”
Kyle stared at her and Bart said, “You need to do something.”
Kyle turned around, “Why?”
“I’m running short on tequila. The Kerits love it.”
Kyle shook his head, “I guess.”
“Don’t sound so excited.”
Kyle shook his head, “Your job of operating the weapons has been turned over to a computer. Your only purpose in being there is to act as an early warning system to the presence of Feeders.”
“When did this happen?”
“It was in the works when we landed.”
“Then why are my people going through the simulators?”
“They’re going to start the pilot’s program shortly. They may end up with their own ships if the Goran develop the device that allows you to see what you’re sensing. Either way, they need to learn how the ships operate.”
“You’ve not gone out for another reason.”
“Just how do you know that?”
“I know you. Sitting around here all day is not something you would normally do. What’s going on?”
Kyle sighed. He shook his head and looked at Nicole, “My ship has a second computer installed. Maintenance completed the installation a week ago.” Nicole stared at Kyle and raised an eyebrow. “The computer installed in my ship goes by the name Willow.” Bart and Nicole’s mouths fell open. Kyle saw their reaction and said to Nicole, “I can tell by your reaction that you know who she is.”
“You mean ‘The Willow’?” Kyle nodded. Why haven’t you gone to meet her? I mean this is incredible!”
“Easy for you to say.”
Nicole stared at Kyle and after a moment shook her head, “You’re worried you don’t measure up to the ones she worked with in the past?”
“Nicole, she was Lukas Axel�
�s personal ship. She also worked with Chris Stone. Who am I compared to them?”
“I think that has yet to be determined.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve read your history in detail and I think it’s pretty clear that your heroes went out and made history. Your time to do that is now. I suspect they would have felt the same if they were in your shoes.”
“But I’m not a Lukas or Christopher.”
“No, you’re you and I suspect that Willow knows that.” Kyle flinched. “What?”
“What, what?”
“Why did you flinch?” Kyle was silent. “Why did you flinch?”
“Willow requested to be assigned to my ship.” Nicole slowly shook her head and Kyle said, “What!?”
“It would help if you had an oversized ego but you don’t. You never consider that Hensel chose you to lead and that Willow probably knows why. You’re in your position for a reason and you need to understand that and keep it in the forefront of your insecure little brain.”
Kyle’s anger flashed as Bart said, “Are you for real?” Kyle turned around. “Willow chose you?” Kyle blew out a breath and nodded. “You should go and find out why.”
“Huh?”
“Kyle! I’d be dying to know why she would select me if I were in your place.”
Kyle stared at Bart and then shook his head, “From the mouth of babes comes pearls of wisdom.” Bart lowered his eyes and looked down his nose at Kyle. “No offense, Bart. But you’re right.” He turned to Nicole, “I’ll send a shuttle to pick you up in the morning. We’re going to meet her together.”
“REALLY!!!”
“Really. Be ready to leave at nine.”
“Can you make it eight?”
“Why?”
“I won’t be able to sleep until I meet her.”
Kyle stared at her and rolled his eyes, “Go pack. We’ll go now.”
Nicole squealed, hugged Kyle’s neck and ran out of the bar. Kyle and Bart watched her go and Bart said, “That’s the first time I’ve seen her hug anyone.” Kyle turned to him. Bart raised his hands, “Hey, I’ve not been spying. She has been asked out a lot but she always goes to the restaurant and ends the date there. I’ve seen her shake a few hands but that’s all.”
“She’s probably picked one of her own species.”
“If you say so.” Kyle looked at him again, “If you haven’t noticed, she is our species now.”