by Saxon Andrew
• • •
“It appears the Red Aliens’ ships are technologically superior to the Feeders’, Kyle.”
“That’s not a real advantage when facing off with them, Amber.”
“No, I agree…but it should make things interesting.”
“They’ll have to learn to stick and move.” Kyle turned, looked at Nicole, and raised his eyebrows. “I’ve watched a lot of your history tapes.”
Kyle started laughing, “That pretty much sums up what their strategy should be.”
Nicole tilted her head, “Until the Feeders’ link.” Kyle nodded.
• • •
“Supremacy, the Grey Ships have attacked the ships in orbit above Lenren. Only one managed to escape and those that stayed at the planet had their crews killed by the Species attacking their minds. The ship that escaped managed to have them self-destruct before the new enemy could board them. I’m sending you a recording of the event.”
The Leader swore and saw the recording arrive. He started it playing on his monitor and lifted his communicator as the ships began self-destructing above the planet. “I want you and your staff to come to my chamber immediately. We are not going to wait for these creatures to come and attack. Start developing a strategy to confront them.”
“I’ll be there momentarily.”
The Leader sat back in his huge chair and shook his shoulders. He moved his right arm out of his thick body and pressed the button to replay the recorded attack again. The two ships were right, Lenren was the next target of this strange species. If they were right about his planet being the next target, he couldn’t wait to answer this danger. Above his planet, the millions of ships began digesting the nature of this new force they were going to face. They knew war was rushing toward them and they didn’t outnumber this enemy like they did on the planets they were accustomed to attacking. Ships were going to die and staying away from this new enemy was the only way to avoid death. The various fleet commanders began training maneuvers while their leaders met to plan the coming attack.
• • •
Eric listened to the intercepted communications and looked at Kelly, “How far along are we at getting signatures on the Feeders’ ships?”
“About half way done. They’re not staying still very long and it makes the task more difficult.”
Eric’s eyes narrowed, “Stop the process. We’re going to have to do it again if these aliens attack the Feeders. We’ll get the signatures after they finish with each other.”
“But the First Commander ordered…”
“He’s no longer the First Commander. I’m contacting the First Commander and running my orders by her. Until she orders us to do it, I’m calling off scouting their fleet for light signatures.”
“Yes Sir.”
• • •
Kyle listened to Eric’s orders as Willow converted Eric’s and Kelly’s thoughts into electronic impulses and played them over the wall speaker, he smiled. Nicole listened and said, “You expected him to do this?”
“I did. I need him to work through Kyley. He’s doing the right thing.” Nicole shook her head; nudges within nudges. Where was this leading them? Could he see things she was missing? He was deliberately modest and she began to believe he was more than he presented himself to be.
Chapter Sixteen
The Feeder Fleet Leader looked at the recording of the attack on the next planet scheduled to be invaded and saw the Red Ships were technologically superior to his warships. He looked at his Second and thought, “Pull up the scout’s records. The planet where my ships attacked does not appear to have any manufacturing facilities on the surface. Where did those ships come from?” He played the recording again and started nodding slowly. Those ships did not self-destruct when the crews were killed. They had to be destroyed by the one ship that jumped away. The Supreme Leaders would reward him if he could capture one of them and take it back to them.”
“Leader, it appears the scout didn’t look for the source of those ships.”
“Launch four scouts and find out where they came from.” The Second began sending thoughts to the scouts as the Leader turned back to his monitor. The Scout would have to be punished for not doing his job.
Four scouts roared out from the giant Feeder Fleet and spread out as they rushed into the huge galaxy listening for thoughts. The magnitude of this new danger needed to be determined quickly. This enemy knew their location and that was an advantage that could prove to be deadly.
• • •
Kyley listened to the intercepted Feeder thoughts and knew that another issue had to be handled when the fleets were released to attack the Feeders. They had to be prevented from capturing a Red Alien ship and taking it back to their central planets. The Red Aliens were the most advanced civilization the Pilots had uncovered in their searches and could be a real adversary. She lifted her communicator, Admiral Charles.”
“Yes Sir.”
I’m forwarding you a conversation we’ve intercepted from the Feeders and I want you to come up with a plan to prevent the Feeders from capturing a Red Alien Warship.”
“Sir?”
“Listen to the communication and get back to me.”
“Yes Sir.”
Kyley shook her head and wished Kyle was back in charge. Things were accelerating and she worried that she wasn’t prepared to see what needed to be done. She sighed and pressed her panel, “Admiral Norden.”
“Yes Sir.”
“I want the number of probes to gather signatures doubled and kept away from that planet until they’re needed. You need to have your fleets ready to engage at a moment’s notice.”
“Yes Sir. I’ll stop the maneuvers and get them in formation.”
“Have the formations already established and keep them training until the actual battle between the Feeders and Red Aliens kicks off. They are going to be skipping in on a linked Feeder Fleet and they’re going to have to arrive, fire, and skip out in less than two seconds. Have them practicing that time frame until the last moment.”
“Yes Sir.”
• • •
The monitor went dark and Kelly shook her head, “Is that possible?”
“Arriving in an instant using our light drives is. Firing and getting out was something we did when we attacked the Legends in the last war. If we set our weapons and drives to operate simultaneously, it might be possible to do it faster.”
“Why two seconds.”
“It takes about that long for something to be sensed and then responded to. Nerves can only transmit so fast and that will be what determines our success. That’s why we have to take out as many as possible in the first moments; the Feeder’s link will be greatly weakened if their numbers are reduced.”
“Do you not think our force field thought blocker won’t keep them out?”
“I really don’t know but I’m going to operate as if it can’t. Start assigning positions for our ships to form up.”
“Yes Sir.”
“You also need to make sure every ship knows that all of us will skip out simultaneously after every Feeder Warships signature has been assigned.” Kelly nodded and turned to her console. Eric sighed, two seconds! Close to half a million ships all skipping in at once. He shook his head. Perhaps, the use of light drives would reduce the chances of collisions. The pilots would arrive less than a hundred yards from their targets but…those ships would not be standing still. The Earth Legendary Hero, Admiral Stone did it in less than two seconds. If he could pull it off, so could he. He began writing the orders and hoped he wasn’t wrong.
• • •
Kyle saw that one of the Feeder Scouts was going to find the main planet of the Red Aliens in another twenty four hours. Would that be a good thing? He saw the Scout’s path through the void and blew out a breath, “Willow, I’m thinking about taking that scout out. What’s your take on doing it?”
“This is the problem with knowing the Nudges exist. You’re waiting on them to g
ive you an idea, aren’t you?”
Kyle shook his head and saw Nicole watching him, “Yes, I guess I am.”
“I suspect if you make the wrong decision, they’ll intervene but not until that that happens.”
“We need to learn to work without them.”
Kyle smiled, “I think you’re right, Nicole. Let’s think about this. What would be the advantage of not allowing them to find that planet?”
“You’d insure the battle would stay at that planet of telepaths the Red Aliens have conquered and the Feeders might be reluctant to link.”
“Do we want them to avoid linking?”
Nicole shook her head, “Are you serious? It would make it safe for our pilots coming in.”
“Nicole, if their survival is an issue, they are going to link even if it does kill billions on the telepath’s planet.”
“What are you saying?”
“I firmly believe the Feeders will avoid linking to preserve their meal. However, if push comes to shove, they will link.”
“Not at that planet.”
“Nicole is right, Kyle. The Feeders will move away from that planet to link. They aren’t going to just give up what they’ve been fighting for months to attain.”
Kyle nodded, “Are you saying they’ll leave that planet and skip to the Red Alien’s planet to continue the battle and that’s where they’ll link?”
Nicole sighed heavily. Kyle looked at her, “What?”
“You’ve already made that determination. Why are we going through this exercise?”
Kyle smiled, “You’re assuming that I know my idea is the right one. I need you to see if you can find holes in it.”
“The only hole I see is that all the probes that will gather the light signatures of the surviving Feeder Warships will be around that planet and not at the Red Alien’s world.”
Kyle and Nicole were both surprised by the statement, “You’re right, Willow. I missed that?”
“The other thing you need to worry about is that the Red Aliens won’t be attacking for another three days. If the Feeders beat them to the punch and come to their planet first, they could link and kill the Red Alien’s entire fleet without losses. Then you’ll have to take on the Feeder’s entire inventory of warships.”
Kyle looked at Nicole, “Now do you see why I went through this exercise.” Nicole rolled her eyes and nodded. Kyle’s eyes narrowed and he leaned back in his chair.
“What are you thinking?”
“This is going to involve some very close timing. I’m wondering if we can pull it off.”
Nicole’s eyes narrowed, “Pull what off?”
Kyle lifted his communicator, “Admiral Norden.”
“Yes Sir.”
“The Feeders have sent scouts out to find the Red Aliens’ planet. One of them will arrive early tomorrow. We need to warn the Red Aliens that the Feeders will be attacking them immediately and get them moving.” Eric looked at Kelly and his eyes were wide. I suspect the Feeders will take the fight to the Red Aliens away from the planet they’ve been attacking but we need their numbers reduced before they attack that world.”
“How do you want us to do that, Sir?”
“Contact Poncho and Cisco and have them tell the Red Aliens that one of the Feeder’s Scouts has found their planet and that they are going to be immediately attacked.”
“Why should they do that?”
“Just before the Feeder Scout arrives.”
“Do you have the current coordinates of the Scout?”
“I do. You will also need to move enough probes to the planet of the Red Aliens to collect the Feeders’ light signatures should they choose to go there.”
Eric shook his head and nodded, “Yes Sir. They’ll probably do that to avoid killing the population of the planet they’ve been attacking.”
“That’s how I see it.”
“I’ll get things moving, Sir.”
Kyle put his communicator in its holder and looked at Nicole, “What do you think?”
“I don’t sense any nudges if that’s what you mean. Do you think the Red Aliens will launch early?”
“That is the issue. We’ll see.”
• • •
“Poncho, I’m starting to get worried.”
“Why is that, Cisco?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Perhaps half a million ticked of alien warships, not to mention a Feeder Scout telling the Feeders everything we tell the Red Aliens.”
“We are going to have to use telepathy to communicate with them.”
“And that Scout will hear us.”
“So let me think about this. We need the scout to find them.”
“That’s correct.”
“And we need to scare the bejesus out of the Red Aliens.”
“Righto again.”
“Ummm…the former First Commander sent us the Scout’s light signature.”
“What are you thinking about, Poncho?”
“Well, your computer can listen in on the Scout’s transmission and once it’s broadcast the Red Aliens’ coordinates and enough to really cause concern in the Feeder Fleet, you take it out. I’ll wait for you to do that and then tell the Red Aliens to pucker up for the giant kiss coming their way.”
“You have the hard part.”
“It’s my fault you’re involved in this, it’s only fair.”
Cisco sighed, “I’ll move out to the scout’s approach. As soon as I take it out, I’ll skip in to your light signature. I think it would be better if we go together so nothing is different from the first time we contacted them.”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Oh yes I do, Poncho.”
“Oh, Cisco.”
“See you in the morning.”
• • •
Poncho watched the Feeder Scout move in on the Red Alien’s home planet and looked up, “Amigo, feed the scout’s transmission to the wall speaker.”
“It’s starting now.”
• • •
“Fleet Leader, I’ve found a planet with hundreds of thousands of the ships we attacked at our next target. They appear to be moving into formations to launch an attack.”
“Send me the coordinates now!”
“I’ve just sent them.”
“How many ships?”
“Around half a million, Leader.”
“You say they’re forming up to launch an attack.”
“Yes Leader, they are. They’re…”
Suddenly, the scout’s transmission ended abruptly. The Fleet Leader tried to contact the scout but it could no longer hear its thoughts. He looked at his second, “PULL ALL SHIPS FROM THE PLANET AND MOVE INTO FORMATION TO LAUNCH AN ATTACK!!” The Second stared at him and the Fleet Leader screamed, “START THEM MOVING IMMEDIATELY!!”
• • •
The Red Alien Fleet Commander was rushing his fleets into formations when his detection officer yelled, “COMMANDER, A SHIP HAS EXPLODED CLOSE TO THE FIFTH PLANET!!”
The Commander looked at his monitor and saw the gasses from the explosion expanding on his display. “Those two ships are back!!”
“We’ve just destroyed one of the scouts of that species you attacked. We weren’t able to stop it before it sent information about the location of your world and we’ve determined that they will be launching an attack on this planet immediately. I’m sorry. We tried to stop it.”
The two ships disappeared and the Leader on the planet yelled, “START LAUNCHING THE FLEETS NOW!!”
“We’re not ready! What proof do we have that was actually a ship from the species that attacked our ships at Lenren?”
“You will follow my orders or I’ll have you executed! Send the others as they form up!”
The Fleet Commander closed his eyes and knew he was now in the hands of Krendel, the great God of War. He looked at his Communications Officer and nodded. Thousands of huge formations began disappearing from above the planet and began moving through the void toward the locati
on of the Feeder Fleet. The final ships left twelve hours later to enter the killing space above the planet the Feeders were attacking.
• • •
Kyle watched the battle start as the first Red Alien Warships jumped in and attacked the closest Feeder Warships. They would open fire and immediately enter the void to go after another Feeder Warship. The numbers of Feeder Vessels being killed were incredible. But the Feeder Fleet Leader released his ships from formation and it became extremely difficult to jump in to attack a single target. The Feeder Warships would also jump in and often find themselves close to a Red Alien Warship. Space above the planet of telepaths looked like a toxic nightmare from a drug induced hallucination. Thousands of warships were dying every minute and the carnage would not slow.
A Red Alien Warship entered normal space and opened fire on a Feeder Warship ten miles away. It launched missiles and they blew through the Feeder’s force field destroying it as a feeder ship entered normal space next to the victorious Red Warship and the Feeder killed the crew by devouring their minds. The Red Ship was set to self-destruct if it sensed everyone on the bridge was dead and it exploded in a massive fireball that took out the Feeder Warship that killed it. And the carnage continued.
“But the two sides were learning how to fight against each other. Ships would flicker in and out of the void and launch attacks if an enemy ship were in range. If not, it would immediately reenter the void to escape an enemy warship from emerging close by. Ships continued to die but the pace was slowing. The survivors were learning how to survive.
• • •
Nicole watched the battle on her display. The feed from the probes had images that were incredibly detailed and Nicole switched from one probe to another to follow the action. She saw ten ships die in a single explosion and looked at Kyle, “This is hard to watch.”