Saving America

by Saxon Andrew

  “They must have kept their construction facilities up dated on any advanced technology they developed so they could immediately start construction on them,” Abby interjected.

  “That appears to be exactly what is happening, Abby.” The Prime Minister paused and then added, “The scouts have also found giant warships being built above numerous planets.” The Prime Minister shook his head slightly, “There is a real probability that the Fagan may be the most dangerous of the three civilizations facing us.”

  The conversation stopped and the four thought about that implication. Grady finally asked, “How many of the old rabbits are in our inventory?”

  “Only the ones you took with you to lead the Fagan to alien territory, Grady and we were lucky we were able to find a hundred for you to take with you. All the rest have been coated and we’re using them to scout the Fagan and alien’s civilizations because of their small size and maneuverability. Why do you ask?”

  “Can they have the coating on them removed?” Grady responded.

  “No, once it’s applied, it can’t be removed.”

  Grady shook his head and added, “I hoped we could do it with the older model rabbits, but it appears we’re going to have to use the Super Rabbits.”

  “To do what?” Rory asked.

  “As it currently stands, the aliens that attacked Britannia, as well as the Fagan civilization, believes that the rabbits come from the other side, right?” The Prime Minister nodded. “If we allow the Fagan to build unchecked, they may overwhelm both Earth and the aliens eventually. The problem is that the aliens may be reluctant to attack the Fagan due to the threat of Earth hanging over them. We must convince them to not delay attacking the Fagan. Failing that, we must force the Fagan to go out and attack the aliens. If we’re lucky, maybe we can get both of them to start knocking heads.”

  “And just how do you intend to do that?” Abby asked.

  “We stop coating the Super Rabbits and build enough ships to go out and attack both of them.”

  The Prime Minister shook his head, “Grady, those Super Rabbits won’t be coated, and the Fagan may discover we’re sending them. That poses too great a danger to Melbourne to risk.”

  “Why?” Grady asked.

  “Because if they build a vessel able to take on the Defense Platforms from Earth and the alien’s planet killers, we’ll have no way to defend ourselves against them. Hell, we don’t have a way to defeat them now and if any of these three dangerous civilizations discover Melbourne’s location, we’ll be destroyed by those giant vessels!”

  Grady leaned forward, “Sir, we can use the carriers to ferry the uncoated Super Rabbits into the vast void between the Fagan and alien civilization. They won’t be detected, and the carriers’ defense screen will detect if any of their scouts or ships are around. They’ll launch the uncoated rabbits near the Coma Spiral arm and they’ll leave from there to attack. We can do this safely, Sir.”

  “And just how sure are you that these new warships the Fagan are building can’t detect the carriers?”

  “Didn’t you say the scout that actively scanned them managed to escape?” The Prime Minister nodded, and Grady continued, “They only detected the active scan and not the scout. We have the advantage of our stealth coating for now and we need to use that advantage.”

  The Prime Minister raised his hands, “We are building warships as quickly as possible but there is no way to match the building capacity of any of those three civilizations; Melbourne is just one planet and they have hundreds.”

  “That needs to change, Mr. Prime Minister!” Taffy interjected.

  Everyone turned to her and the Prime Minister lowered his eyes, “And just how can that be done?”

  “I’ve been looking at the data stored in my ship’s computer and I noticed that a number of inhabited planets were discovered in the outer arm of the galaxy several hundred years ago, right.”

  The Prime Minister scowled, “Yes, more than fifty were discovered. But it takes hundreds or even a thousand years before a new colony can advance to the point where it can build advanced warships. By the time that happened, this war would be long over. And besides, why would anyone in their right mind want to leave a highly advanced planet to take on the dangers of establishing a colony?”

  Taffy smiled, “The answer to that is a threat, Sir. That’s why Melbourne was settled. However, you are right that under normal circumstances it would take a very long time for a new colony to be able to assist us in this current war.”

  Grady turned to her, “What do you mean by ‘normal circumstances’?”

  Taffy smiled, “You have to make leaving Melbourne for a new colony a very tempting proposition, Grady?”

  “And just how do you envision that happening?” Grady replied with impatience in his voice.

  “Simple!” Taffy answered. “Have it already built before the colonists arrive.” Everyone was stunned by her answer and the Prime Minister was surprised the most. Taffy turned to him and quickly started talking, “We’ll need to choose planets with an abundance of natural resources to build the ships we’ll need. We’ll use the freighters to deliver thousands of our robots and they will build the cities and infrastructure for the colonists before they arrive. They will also start mining the planet and build the construction facilities to build our warships. Everything will be in place before the first colonist arrives and they’ll just move in and take over.” Taffy turned to Grady, “You know how fast our robots can build. A hundred thousand of them can have a planet ready to be occupied in less than a year.”

  “And just who do you envision going to these planets?” Rory asked.

  Taffy turned to him, “Do we not have more than six-million refugees from Britannia and America. We start educating them now on what they’ll need to know to make a new home for themselves. I also suspect that with the threat of constant attack from Earth and the others, many citizens of Melbourne will also vote to go. I seriously doubt finding enough qualified people to leave will be an issue.” Taffy looked at Grady, “We may decide to go ourselves.” She paused and added, “Especially if one of the planets is named Britannia.”

  “Where are we going to get a hundred thousand robots, Mrs. Henricks?”

  Taffy turned to the Prime Minister, “I can have the robots build that many in less than a month, Mr. Prime Minister.”

  The Prime Minister’s head went back, and he asked, “Then why haven’t you done that before now?!”

  Taffy shrugged, “It would flood the market and reduce their value to next to nothing, Sir. Besides, you aren’t set up to use that many anyway. It would require rebuilding all the ship building facilities and that would slow down the current production of warships. It won’t be an issue if the construction facilities are built from scratch on a new planet.”

  Grady said softly, “How long have you been thinking about this?”

  Taffy looked at him and saw he was irritated, “Since the moment I learned that habitable planets have been found in the Outer Spiral Arm. Saving America had to be given our total focus and I didn’t want to distract from that mission.”

  The Prime Minister shook his head, “That’s some wife you have, Grady.”

  Grady’s mouth was tight as he replied, “I know. But she sometimes doesn’t tell me things I should know.”

  Taffy waved a hand at him, “And just what could you have done with this information, Grady?!”

  “We could have started this before now, Taffy?”

  Taffy leaned back and looked down her nose at him, “And just what would you have used to move the robots to a new planet, Grady?” Grady glared at her and Taffy continued, “Every military freighter and most of the civilian freighters were away in the Sagittarius Arm. You had an almost impossible mission to complete against the aliens and I wasn’t about to distract you from pulling that off!”

  Grady saw a twinkle in her eye and he asked, “What is it you’re leaving out?”

  Taffy’s expression reveale
d her surprise, “How do you do that?”

  Grady chuckled, “I know you.”

  Taffy rolled her eyes and blew out a breath, “Well, I did have Joshua start building the robots prior to leaving on our mission. He’s built the first hundred thousand and is ready to start construction on the second.”

  “Why didn’t you start the second batch?” Abby asked.

  “Well, I wasn’t certain the Prime Minister would agree to this plan and I also didn’t know if we were going to manage to move all the people from America.”

  “And?” Grady added.

  Taffy glanced at the Prime Minister and turned back to Grady, “I hadn’t negotiated a price for the robots, Grady.”

  Grady shook his head and lowered it, “Taffy, when will you decide that we have enough wealth?”

  “Can’t help it, Grady.” Taffy turned to the Prime Minister, “We’re currently selling you our Robots at three-million crowns each. “I’ll lower the price to twenty-thousand crowns.” The Prime Minister’s eyes widened. “However, I will charge you one billion crowns to program them to build the new colonies.” The Prime Minister’s eyes quickly narrowed, and Taffy quickly added, “That saves you two hundred and ninety billion crowns from the current price, Mr. Prime Minister.”

  “And why are you willing to do this, Mrs. Henricks.”

  “Well, the robots will be taken to another planet and won’t flood the market here on Melbourne, keeping their value high. The billion crowns will replace the funds we used to purchase Meadow’s Industries’ stock; it’s a win-win for both of us, Sir.”

  The Prime Minister stared at Taffy for a moment and then smiled, “You have a deal.”

  Taffy smiled, “I’ll send the contracts to you tonight.”

  “You’ve already written them?”

  “Yes, Mr. Prime Minister.”

  Abby looked at the Prime Minister, “You’re going to do this?”

  “If Melbourne is found, those new planets will be the only salvation for free humans. We have no defense against the giant vessels capable of destroying a planet.”

  “I’m not so sure about that,” Taffy responded.

  Everyone immediately turned to her and the Prime Minister replied, “Mrs. Henricks, we have no way of stopping them.”

  Grady saw something in Taffy’s eyes, “What are you thinking, Taffy.”

  “There you go again reading my mind, but you’re right.” Taffy turned back to the Prime Minister, “There was a very old book I read as a young child when I lived on Britannia. There was a story in it about a teenager who was forced to go out to fight a giant. They tried to put armor on him, but it only weighed him down to where he couldn’t move. They gave him a large sword he wasn’t strong enough to swing. Why they sent him out anyway is beyond me, but they did. The young man picked up a rock and put in a weapon called a sling. The giant charged him, and the young man twirled the sling around his head and released the rock striking the giant in the middle of his forehead, killing him. He crashed to the ground and the young man’s people won the ensuing battle. I think we’re looking at this the wrong way.”

  “What do you mean, Taffy?” Grady asked softly.

  “We just need to find the right rock to use against them, Grady. Building a giant warship is a huge waste of materials and natural resources. Besides, there’s no way we could build enough of them in time. But…if we had the right rock and we hit those planet killers and defense platforms where they are most vulnerable, we wouldn’t need a giant warship.”

  “They could blast anything fired at them long before it could get close, Mrs. Henricks.”

  Taffy turned to the Prime Minister, “They could if they saw them coming, Sir.”

  Rory burst out laughing and everyone turned to him. He looked at the others and said, “A stealth missile large enough could do the trick. She’s right. It’s possible to hit them before they even knew they’re under attack.”

  “Tell me what you mean, Rory?” the Prime Minister requested.

  Grady pulled Taffy closer and whispered, “I love you.”

  “You aren’t mad, Grady.”

  “No. I’m just feeling so fortunate to have you in my life.” Taffy moved in closer and they listened to Rory talking with the Prime Minister. Grady said softly, “Just when I thought there would be some time to relax.”

  Taffy snorted, “You and I both would go crazy if that happened! Even a beach would eventually get old.”

  Grady shook his head, “I’s sure like to see if that’s true.” Taffy leaned back in close to him and sighed. Perhaps they’d have time to find out before the coming madness. She saw the Prime Minister’s animated expression and rather doubted they would.

  The End

  Message me at Saxonandrew@msn.com and let me know your thoughts. I treasure your feedback.

  Books by Saxon Andrew

  The Annihilation Series:

  Love Conquers All

  The Power of a Queen

  A Rose Grows in Weeds

  Tommy’s Tale

  Searcher

  Demon’s Sacrifice

  Finding Keepers

  (The seven books above are also audio books at Audible.com)

  Prequel-Psychic Beginnings

  Searching for a Hero

  Dahlia’s Deception

  Annihilation-The Complete Series Box Set

  The Annihilation Saga:

  Lost Royalty

  The Warrior's Destiny

  No Way Out

  Fight... and They Will Come

  Ashes of the Realm:

  Juliette’s Dream

  Greyson’s Revenge

  Death of an Empire

  The Return of the Realm

  Lens of Time:

  The Pyramid Builders

  Planet Predators

  Pray for the Prey

  The End of Time

  Lens of Time - Star Rover:

  The Worst of Time

  Running Out of Time

  Chosen to Die

  The Fight for Creation:

  Life Warrior

  Scout Warrior

  Ultimate Warrior

  Star Chase:

  The Lost Prince

  (Also an audio book at Audible.com)

  Nowhere to Run

  Nowhere to Hide

  Probe Predators

  Jesse's:

  Jesse’s Starship

  Mike’s War

  Joshua’s Walls

  Nemesis:

  Revenge is Best Served Hot

  The Search for Orion

  Trapped in Time:

  The Time Takers

  Taming a Planet

  Extinction

  Escape to Earth:

  Running From Fate

  Fighting for Space

  Defending Holy Ground

  The Legacy of a Conqueror

  Living Legends

  The Sequel Series to Escape to Earth - Defending Earth:

  Searching for Death Feeders

  Discovery Means Death

  The Death Prophecies:

  The Coming of the Prophet

  The Prophet's Eyes

  The Unknown Enemy Will Kill You

  No Technology is Invincible

  Survival is Never Free

  The Last Prophecy

  Stories from the Filament Universe:

  Gregor’s Run

  A Pirate’s Tale

  Soul of the Swords

  The Death Filament

  Death Never Leaves a Calling Card

  Gregor’s Search

  Jimmy's Dreams Stories:

  Jimmy’s Dreams

  Jimmy’s Dreams II - A Recurring Nightmare

  The Assassins Guild:

  Earth Must be Stopped

  Defending the Colonies

  Rage of the Brotherhood

  The Last Man Standing

  Brittania series:

  The Fight for Brittania

  Saving America

  Other:

&nbs
p; The War Against Earth

  The Book of Life

  (a short story)

  Coming Soon:

  End Game – Saving Humanity

  About Saxon Andrew

  Saxon Andrew is a former social worker with a degree in Psychology and Education from Mercer University. He has taught school, managed several sales organizations and owned his own business.

  He has devoured science fiction since he first learned to read and his stories are the product of years of personal experience and exposure to the universes created by the genre’s great authors.

  He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and two dogs who still appreciate his sense of humor after all these years. "Dogs are always ready to smile."