Nemesis: The Search for Orion

by Saxon Andrew

  Telah said, “I will remain with Cinny.”

  Grant nodded and looked around at the huge gathering, “If the first scooter is successful, then the next seven will jump to their assigned planets. Iggy, I’ll need you and Slick to organize the other scouts to go to the planets on the schedule at the appropriate time.”

  Telah said, “What happens if one of our scouts receives a message?”

  Grant lifted his communicator and asked Ana. “I’ll refer them to you, Grant.”

  “How is that going to work?”

  “I’ll tell them that all of the scouts holding station at the planets where the Fleet has left are under strict communications black out. I’ll send the message in a microburst and no video will go with it.”

  Grant smiled, “If we run into a problem, we’ll just pull our scouts out.”

  “I suspect you won’t.”

  “Let us pray you’re right.”

  Tricky said, “How do you want us to go about attacking once we’re on the planet?”

  “You have to avoid being seen as long as possible.”

  “Why?”

  “If Earth determines it’s you that’s attacking their forces, they could hold the conquered planets hostage against us. They’ll take a page out of the Raider’s playbook and destroy the planet to remove you. It’s probably only a matter of time until you’re discovered but we need to make progress before we start attacking their ships with our fleet.”

  Tricky shook his head, “Just how are we going to do that?”

  Grant smiled, “I trust you’ll find the means to make it happen.”

  • • •

  Admiral Blake looked at his bridge crew and lifted his communicator, “Commodore, I’m jumping away from Lovely in three minutes. Is one of your scouts assigned to keep an eye on this planet?”

  “Yes Sir, I’ve also assigned one to every planet you’ve scheduled to remove your ships. They have been ordered to maintain communications silence and I’ve promised to kill anyone who violates that order.”

  “They will report if anything happens?”

  “Yes Admiral. But they will remain hidden if nothing does.”

  “Thank you, Commodore.” Blake looked at the crew and said, “Jump us out of here.” Blake stared at the planet below his battleship. This is where it had all started with the Raiders. He stared at the image until it disappeared.

  Grant watched the warships disappear and he waited for three hours. He thought, “Cinny, get them out.”

  Cinny raised the landing bay door and looked at the Spider flying the scooter, “Wait until we give you the go ahead.”

  “I will.” The scooter moved out of the landing bay and disappeared from subspace. Cinny kept the landing bay door open and stared at her chronometer. They should know quickly if this wasn’t going to work.

  Ten minutes passed and she heard Grant say, “Move down to the planet. Be ready to run if anything threatens you.” Grant watched the scooter move down toward the dark side of the planet. He knew it was flying through the planet’s scanner fields but nothing was being reported on the communication channels. In twenty minutes, the scooter arrived on the surface and went underwater close to the planet’s largest city. Grant thought, “Notify everyone the operation is on.”

  Cinny smiled and looked at Telah, “Did you hear that?”

  “I did and I’ve notified everyone to implement the plan.”

  Grant looked at the second scout in subspace and Telah sent Grant’s thoughts to the pilot, “Keep a close eye on them. If any warships arrive, get out of here.”

  Grant jumped away from Lovely and set a course for the Animals’ Planet. There was so much to be done and they were needed there. Later, they would go to visit the High Priest. But first, the animals had to be delivered.

  Chapter Ten

  Three days later, Grong looked at Picky as the Animals moved out of the scooter that had just brought them to their assigned planet, “So what do we do?”

  The Spider looked at the Dragon and shrugged, “I think we spread out and stay hidden until all of us are delivered to our targets. We’re going to have to develop tactics that reduce their numbers slowly. Hegoth is the tenth planet we’ve landed on and there are many more that have to be dropped on before we can even think about taking action.” Picky looked at Toolo, “Are you able to hear their thoughts?”

  “I can.”

  “Then we’re going to need you to let us know when they send out units to patrol the cities. We’ll go after their small units until we’re told it’s clear to start major attacks.” Picky looked around the group, “Does anyone have another idea?”

  “Do we still work in teams with the Dragons?”

  Picky nodded, “Having one of each of us will give us options we might not have otherwise. We’re going to send two of us to the twenty five largest cities and we’ll hide until we’re given the go ahead to start our attacks. Use this time to learn the terrain and good places to make your attacks.” Picky looked at Greasy, “You’ll use the scooter at night to take us to the cities.” Greasy nodded and shrugged, “I’ll need to move some of our teams at night and wait until the following night to make the delivery.”

  “Just take five or six teams with you and deliver them all at one time.” Greasy nodded.

  • • •

  Cinny looked at Telah, “How are the drops going?”

  “We still have another two hundred remaining. I’ve been listening to my sisters and the teams already on the planets are spreading out and moving where the Earth Ground Forces are stationed. This delay in starting our attacks is helping our warriors prepare.”

  “How is that?”

  “They’ve been practicing at getting in position to attack their scout units. My sisters are intercepting Earth’s ground plans and organizing our responses.”

  Cinny looked at Telah, “What’s bothering you?”

  “I’m not sure. I just sense…something.”

  “What?”

  “I’m not sure, Cinny! There’s something that doesn’t feel right.”

  “Let me know if you determine what it is.”

  “I will.”

  • • •

  Tatum Stockard looked at the man standing in front of him in his personal library and said, “Are you sure it won’t be traced?”

  “I am. My family has been placing the transmitters for the last three weeks and they’re connected to their own power sources. Once they’ve finished, they’ll self-destruct.”

  “What about the extent of its reach?”

  “Every communication, listening, or entertainment device will receive it.”

  “What about our forces out in the stars?”

  “That was the easiest part. It will feed through the main computer to all of our units.”

  Stockard nodded and dismissed the gangster. He looked at his youngest daughter and she nodded. He smiled. His daughter had greeted him at the door to the library and had hugged him. She had been given the task to approach the thug and convince him to help Tatum; the man was very attracted to her. She had hugged him the first time when he agreed to do what was being asked for a huge sum of money. The hug in the library that was to put a micro-bug in his neck had gone in unnoticed. It was made from non-ferrous material and was invisible to scanners. Stockard would use it…but first, the transmitters.

  • • •

  Blake gathered the ships from the captured capitals and held them in formation waiting to see if any of the abandoned planets were attacked. He had concocted the lie about the capitals having hidden warships and didn’t expect any trouble. Telee had kept him informed about the Animal drops on the planets and he didn’t like taking action that would cause humans to die but Earth’s conquests had to be stopped.

  Aubrey looked at him and held up four fingers. Blake’s eyes narrowed and looked at his console. A Four Star Communication was coming in. He looked at his panel and saw the image of Avalon. His eyes went wide and Aubrey said, “Si
r, this message is coming in on every receiver on the ship.” Aubrey looked at his panel and shook his head, “Sir, every unit in the military is receiving this message.”

  “How can that happen!?”

  “It can’t, Sir. Something is overriding all of our protocols.”

  Blake watched the video and sat back in his chair. He thought, “Telee, are the Genetics doing this?”

  “No, Admiral. This message is being sent from Earth.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “The ship’s computer has sent a message to your communication officer. He should be telling you…”

  “Sir, this message is being sent from Earth!”

  Blake’s eyes narrowed and then he smiled. Now this should bring rain.”

  • • •

  Sargent Cashion watched the video over the wall monitor and heard the drop troops start mumbling. The Officers in the huge barracks watched the video and the Colonel commanding the Brigade stood up and his face was a mask of rage, “They murdered billions!!”

  “Sir, the men can hear you!”

  The Colonel stared at the officer who warned him and said with an undertone of danger, “This is all a lie. Are you so blind you can’t see it?”

  “Sir, we have to wait for the Prime Minister to get to the bottom of this.”

  “He’s at the bottom of this. All troops will report back to their bases and await further orders.”

  The Major stared at the Colonel and heard the menace in the troops voices around him. The Colonel saw the major’s hesitation and said, “Take the major and put him in irons. Major Glen, you will recall all our troops.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  • • •

  Aubrey said, “Admiral, we are receiving thousands of messages from our ships.”

  “Open a channel to all ships.” After a moment, Aubrey nodded. Blake punched the blinking light on his panel and began speaking.

  • • •

  “Grant! The Avalon video has been played to all of Earth’s military forces.”

  “WHAT!?!”

  “Telah says that Telee tells her that every unit has received the video and there is massive confusion among them.”

  “Tell Telah to notify all of our units to stand down until this sorts itself out.”

  “Grant! Our scout at Hegoth says he’s detecting thousands of subspace signatures moving toward the planet.”

  “Telah, can you hear me?”

  “I can.”

  “Ask Telee to ask Blake if he’s sending ships to Hegoth. Tell him thousands of subspace signatures are moving toward the planet.”

  “ADMIRAL!”

  “What?”

  “Have you sent any ships to Hegoth?”

  “No, I haven’t.”

  “Our scout there is detecting thousands of subspace signatures approaching the planet.”

  Blake punched his console, “ALL SHIPS WILL GO TO BATTLE STATIONS! Set your jump drives to the Hegoth Capital Planet and be ready to jump in one minute.”

  Cleve looked at Blake, “What’s going on?”

  “It appears a fleet is moving toward Hegoth.”

  “Is it our ships?”

  “None have been ordered there. We’re going in to see what’s happening.”

  • • •

  The Earth Troops on Hegoth heard the alarms start going off and they rushed to don their armor. Ships were moving toward the planet and their commanders were telling them it wasn’t theirs. They moved out and spread out in the major cities. What was going on?

  • • •

  Stockard watched the wall monitor and saw a massive wave of protestors marching on London. He saw the government’s military units being organized outside the giant Parliament Building and heard the orders going out to the planetary defense ships to move in above the city and to be prepared to fire on the marchers. He knew this confrontation was going to be bloody. More than seventy reporters were clamoring outside his chamber in New York and he nodded to his daughter. She opened the door and the reporters flooded in. Tatum stood up and held up his hands. “It appears the video you have seen is accurate. I’ve had my staff look into my mainframe and the video is there and has been there for decades. The only ones on the planet that know about it are the Prime Minister and Admiral Hall. I am calling on all our military forces to stand down and arrest them on grounds of treason and the murder of four billion humans.”

  The defense fleets heard Stockard’s remarks and the Rear Admiral commanding them ordered them back to their former positions. The troops surrounding the Parliament announced to the approaching mob that the Prime Minister, his staff, and Admiral Hall were being arrested and held for trial. The cheers were immediate and soon the millions in the city began yelling a single word, “STOCKARD, STOCKARD, STOCKARD!”

  By the next morning, Tatum Stockard was voted in as the new Prime Minister just in time to learn the danger Earth was going to have to face along with all the known civilized planets. The first appointment Tatum made was to appoint Channing as the new Fleet Admiral.

  • • •

  Grant shouted over the communications channel, “Get your scout out of there, now!”

  Sticky hit his jump drive and jumped away just as thousands of strange warships arrived and entered normal space above Hegoth. Telah sent a thought to her sister on Hegoth, “There are ships coming and we don’t know who they are. Stand down until you’re notified what to do.”

  The Spiders and Dragons wondered what was going on but they went into hiding and waited for what was coming. They gathered every Animal on the planet and brought them together at the Capital; there they waited while Toolo told them what she was hearing.

  • • •

  Three thousand warships spread out above Hegoth and troop carriers began dropping toward the planet’s surface. The warships moved back into formation just as Admiral Blake’s fleet arrived fifty thousand miles out from the planet.

  “Admiral, I have a massive wave of carriers dropping on the planet.”

  Blake looked at Tufer, “Whose ships are those?”

  “Sir, there is nothing like them in my databanks.”

  Telee thought, “Admiral, they are not from any known civilization.”

  “What can you tell me about them?”

  “They have been listening to your communications and there are other fleets of theirs that will be moving towards the other capital planets.”

  Blake pressed his panel, “Attention all ships. You will move to the captured Capitals and assume defensive positions. Assignments will be sent momentarily.” Blake looked at Cleve, “Please tell me you still play with fleet organization.”

  “I do it to pass time, Sir.”

  “Send out the assignments for the Capitals and get our ships moving.”

  Cleve connected his personal communicator to Captain Patel’s panel and pressed a button. The millions of Earth’s Warships scattered around the known civilizations and began jumping to their assignments.

  Blake looked at the warships above Hegoth and saw them pulsing a green and yellow color. “Tofur, what can you tell me about those ships?”

  “Sir, their force fields are force twelve.”

  Blake’s eyes narrowed, “That’s more powerful than our battleship’s fields.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  Blake looked at Cleve, who said, “Sir, it appears they have been scouting us and they must think they can handle our ships.”

  “Ana, I need you to organize our ships so that we outnumber the ships we attack.”

  “I’ve sent the patterns to all ships, Admiral.”

  Blake’s eyes narrowed and he said, “Initiate attack in three, two, one…”

  • • •

  “Grant, what are we going to do about this?”

  “I’m not sure. This is all happening too quickly.”

  “Channing’s father is now Earth’s Leader and he’s sent a message to all the conquered worlds that Earth is withdrawing its forces and
giving them back their freedom. We’re going to have to rethink our plans about Earth.”

  “What does Blake say about the Military?”

  “They are following Stockard’s orders, at the moment. Blake has been ordered to defend the planets this new aggressive civilization is moving in on.”

  “What does Telee say about the warships they’re going to confront?”

  “They appear to be more powerful than Earth’s Battleships. Blake is about to attack the ships attacking Hegoth.”

  Grant stared at Cinny and then looked at Iggy and Slick, “I want three hundred of our ships covered with Spiders and to prepare to jump into the Hegoth System.”

  “Are you sure about this?”

  “No, I’m not. But we have to find out who the real enemy is here. That’s where we’ll be able to make that determination. We may not get into this fight but that will all depend on the actions taken by those new warships.”

  Slick looked at Iggy and then said to Grant, “If Earth is reduced in power that would help us.”

  “I agree but what if this new civilization is worse than Earth?”

  Iggy nodded, “We have to know. Get the ships ready.”

  “Are we going to use your children?”

  “Yes.”

  Cinny looked at them, “What do you mean about using the Dragons?”

  Iggy blew out a huge smoky breath, “We’ve found out that the Spiders can take energy from my children to supplement their beams. We actually provide a stronger protection against energy beams than the spiders if they are utilizing the energy we absorb and keeping it below dangerous levels. It also takes fewer of them to cover the hulls.”

  Grant nodded, “So how do you do it?”

  Slick said, “The Dragons will cover the hulls and each of them will have two spiders on them drawing energy from what they absorb.”