by Saxon Andrew
• • •
Tal was attending a wake for the lost crews, when Commander Tuliano walked up and leaned in, “Sir, Admiral Montana is on the bridge’s monitor.”
Tal nodded and slipped out of the cafeteria and headed toward the freighter’s bridge. He arrived to see Duncan having a discussion with Captain Sager. He heard Sager saying, “Yes, Admiral, we’ll have the surviving ships rearmed within twelve hours.”
Duncan noticed Tal enter the bridge and looked over, “Thank you for taking a moment to join us.” Tal nodded. “Our intelligence unit has examined the recordings you sent me and they’re in agreement that the Epys you command are not up to dealing with this new gravity scanner. The main asset of an Epy is their ability to not be seen from long distance; they’ve lost that advantage now.”
“You’re right, Sir. Our attack strategies of using stealth maneuvers will no longer work once they get more ships here with gravity scanners,” Tal agreed.
Duncan sat forward in his chair, “Have you thought of any other tactics you can use against them?”
“I’ve considered just ejecting some missiles close to their fleets programmed to launch the moment an alien warship moves into its range. However, that won’t work.”
“Why not?”
“The missiles’ shells aren’t made from Phase Metal and are easily detected from far outside the missile’s range. The aliens will easily avoid or destroy them from long-range.” Duncan was silent, and finally Tal asked, “What are you thinking?”
Duncan raised his left shoulder, “We’re working on a new model of Epy warship, but they won’t be ready for a while. However, I don’t believe pulling your forces out would be a good thing. We’re not quite ready to reveal Earth’s stardrive, and we need to keep the pressure on them in the Large Magellanic Cloud for a while longer.”
Tal’s expression turned dour and challenging, “Admiral, if they bring ships in with gravity scanners, there’s not much we can do; my ships escaped because I was talking with you at the time they were attacked; we were lucky! I’ll lose every ship in my command if we attempt to attack them again! You have to know that!”
Duncan smiled, “What about setting them up for a fall?” Tal’s brow instantly furrowed, while Duncan began to share an idea with him. Tal started questioning him and, after twenty minutes, he smiled. He now knew the Chancellor choosing Duncan to lead Earth’s Military Forces was a stroke of genius.
• • •
Tal left the bridge to return to the wake. Everyone in the room rushed up to him and Gregory asked, “Have we been recalled?”
Tal held up his hands, “HEY, HEY!” He looked around the gathering and said in a softer voice, “This time has been set aside to celebrate the lives of the brothers and sisters we’ve lost. We will focus on that and nothing else! They deserve it!”
The group dispersed, but Jan stayed beside Tal. Rachael worked her way slowly back to him and stood beside Jan, as she stared at the crews in the room with them. They were silent for several minutes and Rachael finally asked, “Is there a possible way to load more missiles on the ShaKa?” Tal and Jan turned to her with puzzled looks. Rachael saw them staring at her and shrugged, “Just asking?”
“Why?”
“Because we’re not going home, and things will probably get really dicey shortly.”
“And just how do you know that?” Tal asked with a sarcastic tone.
Rachael looked out at the crews again and said, “If we were going home, now would be the perfect time to tell everyone and let them know we’ve been saved by the sacrifice our brothers and sisters made. Since you didn’t do that, I’m thinking it’s back into the fight for all of us.”
Tal rolled his eyes and started shaking his head, “Do you miss anything?!”
Rachael chuckled, “You have something up your sleeve you’re not going to tell us about. I really hope you’ll tell me; my curiosity is killing me.”
Tal’s head turned to the left and then back to Rachael as his expression showed his shock. He opened his mouth about to say something, closed it, and stormed off. Jan glanced at Rachael, “Are you sure about this?”
“I wasn’t but Tal confirmed my suspicions.”
“Rachael, you are one dangerous woman.”
“I hope you mean that in a nice way, Jan.”
Jan laughed and put her arm over Rachael’s shoulders, “In the nicest kind of way, Rachael.” Rachael smiled and walked away to join the other crews.
Dorman walked up and smiled, “Jan, do you mind if I join you?” Jan shook her head and put her arm around Dorman’s waist. This was when you needed to be around those you cared for.
• • •
The wake finally ended, and the crews broke up into couples and singles as they left the cafeteria. Greg walked up to Rachael, as she was taking a bag of sandwiches off the table and putting them into a large bag. “You aren’t planning to eat all of those, are you?” Greg asked with wide eyes.
Rachael jumped, Greg startled her, and she turned to him, “No, only about two-thirds of them. I’m sure Tal and Jan will scoff up some of them.”
“If I ate that much, I’d gain ten pounds.”
Rachael smiled, “I’m blessed with a high metabolism.”
Greg’s expression turned serious, “Do you know what’s going on?”
Rachael stopped cramming sandwiches in the bag and turned around, “No, Admiral, I don’t.”
“But you have an idea?” Greg pressed.
“Don’t you, Admiral? You’re in a position to know more about what’s happening than a lowly Lieutenant. I suspect your ideas would be better than anything I could come up with.”
Greg looked at her through lowered eyebrows, “You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
“Admiral, when I was busted back to Lieutenant, you made it known that you thought it was the proper thing to do, didn’t you?” Greg nodded. “Then why in this universe would you even consider any idea I came up with; after all, I’m not all that.”
Greg kept his attention on Rachael’s eyes and replied, “I’ve watched you since your demotion and I’ve seen that I was misinformed, Lieutenant. You also possess talents and bravery I missed, and I told Admiral Talent that you should have been one of the new Epy commanders.”
Rachael stared at him and then nodded slightly, “Thank you for that, but you would have been wrong.”
“Why?”
“I wasn’t ready, Admiral.” Rachael picked up the bag of sandwiches walked away but stopped and turned back to him, “I think I know what’s going on but it’s strictly a guess. I’m not going to share that with you because Admiral Talent is the one that should tell you; I owe him my loyalty, Sir.”
Greg smiled, “I can accept that, Lieutenant.” Rachael smiled and walked away. Greg watched her leave and slowly shook his head.
• • •
Jeremy sat on a bench in the landing bay watching the cranes loading missiles into the Epys. Nicole LaSalle and Mamani entered the bay, walked over, and sat down on each side of him. They were silent as the cranes continued moving missiles into the Epys’ missile magazines. Mamani broke the silence, “We’re not going back.” She turned to Jeremy, “Are we, Sir?”
Jeremy shrugged, “Those cranes say we’re not.”
Nicole turned to Jeremy, “Why do you say that, Sir?”
Jeremy took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly, before answering, “Figure it out, Nicole. If we were being recalled, why would our ships need to have missiles loaded in their magazines? We could be rearmed on Earth faster than here. They’re loading those missiles for a reason.” Jeremy turned to Mamani, “I’m highly impressed with the operation of your weapons console, Mamani. You saved us.
Mamani nodded, “Thank you, Sir. We barely survived the last attack.” Jeremy nodded and turned back to the cranes. Mamani turned to him, “Sir, are we going to be sacrificed simply to delay the aliens a little longer?”
The question caught Jeremy’s attenti
on and he turned and focused on Mamani’s face, “I trust the Admiral. I know for a fact he will not throw our lives away.” Jeremy paused for a moment, looked back at the ships, and added, “He’s planning something and we’re going to carry out our orders to the best of our ability no matter the cost.”
Mamani looked at Jeremy and wondered if he could see her thoughts. Jeremy turned away and she knew he couldn’t.
Chapter Nineteen
Tal contacted Greg and ordered him to report to the ShaKa. Greg entered the bridge and saluted. Tal returned his salute and said, “Admiral Ward, I guess everyone has figured out we’re not being recalled.” Greg nodded, and his expression changed to one showing his concern. “I am giving you new orders that you will follow to the letter, is that clear?!”
“Yes, Sir.”
“You will remain on the freighter for ten more days with the seven-remaining Epys, at that time you will move out of the freighter and take your ships high above the LMC. I want your ships centered above the galaxy.”
“Yes, Sir,” Greg replied after a slight hesitation.
“I am going to release a position beacon and, when ordered, you will take your ships and move them as quickly as possible to that beacon. You will remain there until you are able to scan the alien fleets moving toward your location. Are we clear so far?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Once you detect the approaching alien warships, you will determine if they have their gravity scanners operating. If they aren’t present, you will commence attacks when the aliens move into range.”
“And if we do detect the gravity scanners?” Greg asked.
Tal leaned forward in his command chair, “You will immediately turn and flee, contact me, and tell me they are using gravity scanners. I will activate a position-beacon close to the ShaKa and your will flee directly toward that beacon! Repeat my orders, Admiral!”
“If I detect the aliens using gravity scanners, I will flee and contact you immediately. I will have my ships running on a direct line to your ship, Sir.”
“Now, this is the important part, Admiral Ward; you will only flee at three-quarters speed.” Greg’s eyes widened, and Tal said firmly, “Repeat your orders, Admiral!”
“I will flee toward your ship at three-quarters speed. But, Sir…”
Tal interrupted, “Admiral, you have your orders and anyone that violates them will be court-martialed and either be summarily executed or imprisoned, you got that!!”
“Yes, Sir. But at three-quarters-speed, we won’t be capable of outrunning the alien ships…”
Tal raised his hand, cutting Greg off, “Admiral you have your orders and you will not reveal them to your crews until you implement them! You’re dismissed!”
Greg glared at Tal as he saluted. Tal returned it and Greg left the ShaKa wondering if Tal had gone insane. He knew he was ordered not to reveal his orders, but he couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. The ShaKa left the freighter and Greg met Jeremy in the cafeteria and told him what Tal ordered him to do. Jeremy listened, and Greg asked, “Has he lost his mind?”
Jeremy’s expression showed his concern, “I really wish you didn’t tell me this.”
“Why?”
“Because Tal didn’t want me to know. He didn’t want any of us to know because some of our crews might not follow his orders, just like you don’t want to do it now.” Greg sat back in his chair. Jeremy took a breath and Greg saw his eyes narrow, “Admiral, Tal is the most brilliant person I’ve ever known. If we follow his orders, we’ll probably live. If we don’t, we’ll die.”
“Jeremy, are you certain?”
“Greg, it doesn’t matter what I think; you’re in command and if Tal thought you wouldn’t follow your orders, he would have put someone in command who would. The question really is whether or not you are the right choice to follow his orders and do trust him.” Jeremy stood up, “I’m really hoping you do.”
Greg watched him walk away and shook his head. This was ludicrous! Greg saw Jeremy walk out the door and suddenly remembered a while back when Tal, Jeremy, Jan, and Ka stood in that door and Ka made him promise to keep her children safe. Greg’s eyes narrowed, and he began to rub his chin, as he remembered how Tal blamed himself for Sha’s death by not being there with her. Jeremy was right. He didn’t know what was going on, but Tal issued his orders for a reason. He put his worry behind him and decided to allow events to unfold as planned. That evening, Greg saw Jeremy looking at him from across the cafeteria and he smiled, nodded, and turned back to the tray line. Jeremy smiled and wondered what Tal was up to.
• • •
Tal took the ShaKa out of the freighter’s huge landing bay and headed toward the last known position of the alien fleet. He asked Jan, “What’s the best way to determine the current location of the alien fleet without being detected?”
“They’re using phase waves to communicate. I can triangulate on those waves and determine where they are, Sir?
“Do I need to move in closer?”
“No, if they have gravity scanners they might detect us.”
Tal nodded, “Let me know when you determine where they’re located.”
• • •
Jan had her combat helmet on and was listening intently. An hour later, she said back at Tal, “Sir, it appears the alien fleet has not moved since our last attack.”
Tal nodded and went to full speed toward the distant Pinwheel Galaxy. After a day passed, Tal asked for an update, “See if you can detect any communication traffic in the direction of the Pinwheel Galaxy.”
Jan turned up the gain on her scanners. The LMC had large areas of dust and gas that interfered with tracking communication waves but the open space between the galaxies greatly increased the range of her scanners. “Sir, I’m picking up alien communication traffic.”
“Any ideas about how many ships are causing it?”
Jan looked at her scanner again and shook her head, “No, Sir. But I can tell you it’s heavy traffic.”
Tal turned to Rachael, “When we first arrived here, we estimated there were about two thousand Alien Warships. Do you have any idea how many we’ve destroyed or knocked out of action?”
Rachael turned to Tal, “Do you honestly expect me to know that?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” Tal responded.
“Why would you think that, Sir?”
“Because you are one of the most competitive people I’ve ever known, and you’d want to know where you stand in ships destroyed or damaged in relation to the other ships.”
Rachael smiled, “Just checking, Sir. Before our last attack, I estimated that we destroyed or damaged beyond repair about five hundred warships.”
“And after our last attack?”
“This is strictly a guess but if only eighty-percent of our missiles hit a ship, then we took out about three to four hundred more.”
Tal nodded and turned to the front-monitor. “Why do you think they haven’t moved, Tal? Jan asked.”
“Jan, I suspect the commander of the fleet was removed from command and the new commander is with the new ships headed this way. How long do you estimate it will take for those ships to arrive, Jan?”
Jan looked at her console and quickly began entering data. After a few-minutes, she announced, “About five days.”
Tal’s expression turned apprehensive and he reversed course. Tal flew the ShaKa high over the LMC. He pressed a button on his console and split the front monitor; showing a map of the LMC under the forward view. He zoomed in on the map until he saw a flashing red-light where the aliens were currently holding position. He pulled up a file and studied it for a minute and then began entering data. He pressed a button and a large area in front of the alien fleet was illuminated by a huge green square. He pointed to the monitor and ordered, “Jan, get a positional beacon prepared for launch.” Jan’s eyes narrowed slightly, as she turned to her console to download data into one of the ShaKa’s beacons. Tal turned the ShaKa and dove toward the clos
est edge of the green-square to the aliens. He arrived and ordered Jan, “Drop the beacon.” Jan pressed a button on her console and the beacon was ejected from the ShaKa’s hull. Tal flew toward the other end of the green square and said to Jan, as he focused on the forward monitor, “Show me everything detectable in this square.”
“What’s going on, Tal?”
“Just follow my orders, Admiral.” Jan nodded and put her helmet back on.
Tal began to worry as the ShaKa moved through the designated area, but Jan suddenly announced, “I have a small asteroid field directly ahead.”
Tal slowed the ShaKa and asked, “How small?!”
Jan changed the gain on her helmet’s faceplate and started reading off, “Four-large-asteroids, one medium-sized asteroid, and eighteen-small asteroids.”
“Give me their dimensions!”
“The largest of the four-largest asteroids is four miles across and the smallest is three miles across. The medium-sized-asteroid is slightly less than two miles across. The eighteen others vary between half-a-mile across to a hundred yards.” Jan looked up and Tal said, “Drop a positional beacon behind the largest asteroid on the side away from the alien’s current position and activate it.”
Jan released another beacon and when it arrived at its programmed destination, she activated it. Its pulses came over the wall speaker at such high volume that Jan had to turn the volume down. Tal flew the ShaKa back toward the Alien fleet’s current position and the pulses disappeared. Tal arrived halfway between the beacons and stopped the ship. He turned to Rachael, “Do you still have those sandwiches?”
“They’re in the refrigerator, Sir.”
“Well, break them out and let’s settle in. We’re going to be here for a while.”
“You’re not going to tell us what’s going on, are you?” Rachael asked.
“It wouldn’t be fair to the others if I told you.” Rachael shrugged and left for the small kitchen.
• • •
The next morning, Tal entered the bridge and smiling, “Good day.”
Both women turned to greet him, and Jan announced, “I’m starting to pick up communications from the alien fleet.”