Finding keepers a-7
Page 17
Admiral Mord watched his fleet die around him. He banked his Alpha around one of the Keepers’ ships and fired his primary beam into the brown hull; it didn’t even show a flash. He jumped to the other side and launched twelve penetrators that hit the tail and just stopped and fell off. Nothing he tried had any effect. His original fleet had thirty thousand ships, which was now down to 3,200. He ordered his ships away from the huge fleet and gathered his forces outside the range of the Keepers’ main beams. “What are we going to do, Admiral?”
“We petition the Realm to join their forces and hope to take revenge on these creatures. Our planet is doomed and I see no sense in throwing away your lives against a force we cannot harm. I’ve already witnessed the death of most of my brave sailors. I desire to fly my ship into them, but it would only be suicide. You will stay here with me and watch our planet die and you will remember this moment the rest of your lives. I charge all of you to make them pay for what they’ve done this day.”
Mord watched the Keepers Fleet enter Brayent’s atmosphere and thought about the decision not to join the Realm when Brayent was first colonized. The new colony knew that it would be the power in this sparsely settled sector and wanted to be free to exercise its will over its neighbors. The Realm had issued them warnings several times, but the leaders made sure no Stars Realm planets or citizens were victims of their attacks. Mord shook his head, “If we had just joined we would have been able to teleport our population to safety. Now we pay the price for our arrogance.” The killing of the Brayent population began, and the Cainth Sailors watched with restrained rage.
Jake and Junior were parked outside the star drive limit watching as the Keepers moved toward the planet’s surface. “Jake, I need you not to use your telepathy when we are in proximity of a Keepers’ ship.”
“I can do that, Junior. It’s not using my mind to watch what’s happening that will cause me the most difficulty.”
“I’ll keep the screens active with a feed from our probe and my passive scanners. You should be able to view everything.”
Jake watched the death of Brayent and felt his anger grow. “Jake, a Keepers’ ship has just come out of star drive and is moving in-system.”
“That must be the ship coming to warn this fleet. I hope they don’t change their protocols.”
“Fleet Director, I have been sent here by the Collective to warn you about an enemy in this universe, however, I see you have already encountered the ships that are able to jump inside the Drive Band.”
The Fleet Director answered, “I was surprised by their ability to do that, but they were unable to harm my ships. We could have just ignored them, but we killed as many as came in range of our weapons.”
“Is it possible to take one of their ships back for us to examine?”
“Unfortunately, they would not stop fighting to the point where we could. If we go after those that survived, they will just jump away. Were you able to witness the battle?”
“Yes, I scanned it when I entered this universe and you’re right: these ships are no a danger to us. I’ll take the scan of this action back and report to the Collective as ordered. Please send me all that has happened so far.”
The Fleet Director linked minds with the messenger and sent the data. “I will deliver this. If anything happens that is out of the ordinary, send a ship back to report.”
“I will.”
The ship at the Star Drive Limit jumped out of the universe.
“Looks like they didn’t discover how we killed those ships.”
“Why do you say that, Jake?”
“The Fleet didn’t change what it was doing. I suspect they thought that it was my release that killed every Keeper. We’ll know shortly if they launch craft to collect stores from the surface.”
The Keepers Fleet was moving quickly forward when the Sensor Leader said, “There are thousands of craft fleeing in front of the fleet. They are in the air and flying faster than we are.
The Fleet Director looked at the scan and saw there was a huge cloud of aircraft a hundred miles in front of his ships. He thought a moment, then ordered, “
I want every odd numbered ship to accelerate ahead of our line and destroy those ships in front of us. Even number ships extend your beams to cover the space of the ships moving forward. We will slow down to make sure the beams stay at maximum efficiency until the ships return to our line.”
The Sensor Leader asked, “Do you not want to leave some of these creatures behind to later populate a farm?”
“No, they have fought too hard to stop us. They do not possess the right temperament to work a farm.”
“The ones in our home universe were domesticated.”
“And look what happened to our brothers there. No, we will eliminate them wherever we find them. Now that first planet would have made a good farm, and I regret disposing of them, but it’s too late now to change what happened.”
The Sensor Leader shrugged as 50,000 Keepers’ ships accelerated and closed on the fleeing craft in less than five seconds. As the beams hit the cloud of ships they began falling to the surface and exploding. Thousands scattered attempting to escape, but the Keepers overlapped their beams and there was nowhere to hide. Every ship crashed to the surface. The advanced Keepers’ ships stopped and waited for the rest of the fleet to join them, then they all moved forward.
Jake looked at the three thousand Brayent ships gathered in a group just outside the planet’s first moon and worried. “Junior, the Keepers may not launch their attack craft if the Brayent ships are still in system.”
“I was just thinking that, Jake, but how are we going to get them to move?”
“How far can you extend your jump screen? Is it possible to jump them all out of the system so I can communicate with them?”
Junior took a reading and said, “I’m sure I can make that happen. Stand by; I’ll jump in and take them.”
Mord was feeling rage and helplessness in equal measure. He was ready to order another attack but suddenly the planet disappeared and he found himself in empty space between galaxies. “What’s going on?” he asked his navigator.
“Communication coming in.”
“Put it on my console.”
“Please forgive me for taking you away from your planet, but we are going to attempt to attack that fleet and your presence may prevent us from using the only means of killing them.”
“Who is this?”
“My name is Jake Talant and I represent Valerie Gardner, the Queen of the Stars Realm. I have just arrived from the home universe of those creatures and I managed to kill one that was planning an ambush. We want to try and do the same thing to that fleet. I am truly sorry that we did not arrive in time to prevent their attack, but we need that fleet to stop and turn off their drives in order for us to hit them. Their normal pattern is to assemble in orbit and send landing craft to the surface. If you had remained, they would probably change that pattern.”
Mord thought a moment, “Do you think you can kill those ships?”
“If they stop and turn their drives off, we will kill them.”
“Will they launch landing craft before you can attack?”
“Probably. Why do you ask?”
“I want to handle the landers.”
Jake thought a moment and then said, “I will send a feed from our probe to your board; the frequency is on your com. If we attack you will see explosions from the rear of the brown ships. You may then return and we will allow you first crack at the Keepers’ forces on the planet.”
The Cainth Warriors were excited to have an opportunity to vent their rage on the creatures that killed their world.
The Collective absorbed the data from the messenger and presented it to the other Quadrants. “It appears that even if they are able to jump inside the drive band, their ships are ineffective against our hulls. It seems that nothing has prevented us from killing whenever we choose.”
Technology added, “I’m troubled by their
ability to deceive our scanners. We scan huge populations and arrive to an empty planet. How can that possibly happen?”
The Collective turned its attention to Science who responded, “If they broadcast a huge signal on the frequency of the brains of the local population, it might be seen as a population.”
“But why would they do that?”
The Collective pondered that question and said, “What if our scans are not wrong? Is there a possibility of the population actually leaving the planet unobserved?”
Technology answered, “I know they can jump inside the drive band, but it takes enormous power for that to happen. There is no way individuals can jump from a planet’s surface.”
Production asked, “I’m also puzzled by the fuel that was in the system where we lost our fleet. If that blue wave killed them, why would the ships have lost fuel?”
The Collective paused and then ordered, “We will combine for two intervals and examine these questions in unity. We’ll discuss our findings after we complete the examination.”
All of the quadrants melded into the overall structure of the Collective, and the immense mind began taking all the collected data and processing it.
Twig looked at Sprig and said, “You’ve not said much since the rescue of the colonists.”
Sprig gave a mental sigh, “I made a mistake not believing Valerie Gardner’s vision.” Twig started shaking her branches and Sprig interrupted, “I know, I know; there was nothing to support it becoming reality. But you and I have seen the power of these human psychics. Even now I doubt Jake Talant will be able to overcome this threat.”
“Valerie has not said he will; she only says he is our only hope.” Twig paused a few moments and then said, “Do you remember when we were looking for a way to kill the Eight Leg Invaders and both of us were frustrated to the point of feeling that the war was lost?”
Sprig leaned forward.
“Well, that is where we are at this moment in time. I believe that there is a way to beat these creatures and it is right in front of us again, but we don’t see it.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Matt Gardner, thousands of years ago, postulated that our Realm was created to bring balance back to creation. These creatures go against everything we’ve seen about the creative force. I believe he was right and a way will be found. I doubted it at first, but I am now certain that we not only must, but will, win this war or all creation will look like their universe. Jake is not here by accident and to quote a very famous queen, “There are few accidents.”
“Then you know what that means. The only way to stop them from coming here is to take the war to their turf. There will be monumental loss of life if we are forced to do that.”
“You worry that it is not in us to do what’s necessary?”
“Yes, I am.”
“That is why you should believe we will prevail.”
Sprig just looked at her puzzled.
“It’s why Jake was the perfect choice to lead us; he was raised on Gambia and knows what it means to struggle to survive. We may lack the courage to do what’s necessary, but do you doubt for a moment that he isn’t strong enough to make the hard decisions? The ones you should worry about are those creatures that had the stupidity to kill his home.”
Sprig thought, and said, “What will we become if we take that path?”
“Survivors, my love; survivors.”
“Manny, what’s happening at Brayent?”
“We are waiting to see if the Keepers Fleet parks in orbit to launch landing craft. So far they have destroyed the entire population, and they may not stop long enough for us to attack. Jake jumped the remaining Brayent warships out of the system so we’re hoping they follow normal doctrine, Valerie.”
Valerie hesitated but then asked, “How are our ships reacting to Jake giving orders?”
“The Red Warriors and transport crews that moved the colonists away from the Keepers’’ planet have been contacted by huge numbers of our military and told about the fighting powers of the White Demon. That information has a way of traveling fast in our navy, and there is a huge amount of curiosity about how he was able to do the things he accomplished. The word has also leaked out that he is the psychic savior of the Realm that the Queen has foretold.”
“White Demon?”
“The Red Warriors that fought with him against the Keepers’ garrison were amazed at the damage he caused to the Keepers; they say he fought like a demon. Some of their recordings of his bravery have been released to the fleet, and the numbers that have viewed them is staggering. Trust me, Valerie, his actions have earned him more respect than anything we could ever say.”
“How are the colonists?”
“Their happiness makes all the risks we took worth it. We need to remember why we fight, and they are a great example. They are in another universe on a planet of humans that are caring for them.”
“Thank you for accepting your new role, Uncle. I know the Navy is excited to be working for you.”
Manny nodded and Valerie ended the connection. She leaned back in her chair and missed Jake. She closed her eyes and saw Junior just outside the Brayent ships in another galaxy and wondered how he was going to turn things around. She wanted to be with him but he was right, the Realm was almost in a panic. She thought about it and decided to return to Ross and the Castle. The Realm needed the reassurance that the Queen was not running scared. If the Keepers Fleet showed up she would teleport away, but for now it was time to be the Queen. Her eighteenth birthday was three weeks away; she hoped Jake would be there to celebrate with her.
“Director, those ships have jumped away.”
“Where did they go?”
“They are no longer in this galaxy. We will need to leave the planet for a better scan. Are you planning to collect food stores?”
“I wasn’t, but the uncertainty of finding another planet to attack soon leads me to lean in that direction. Is there enough left to collect?”
“We will arrive at a medium city in one third interval with the required numbers. It is the only one remaining with population enough to meet our needs.”
The Director knew that if he didn’t take the stores from a densely population area, the landing craft would have to touch down over wide areas to gather enough stores. “Issue the orders to modulate the beams over that city.”
“Orders issued, Director.”
The Director thought about those ships coming back, but he would have his ships’ beams pointed toward the collection point and destroy any ship that tried to interfere with the process. He looked at his navigator, “Have the next target selected.”
“I’ve narrowed it down to three choices.”
“This just in, there are bodies lying in the street at Gredna.”
“Junior, are you sure?”
“Look at your monitor; you can see some of them are still twitching. You did the right thing to move the Cainth ships out of the system. There wasn’t another city after they hit Brayent large enough to justify a landing. They should be wrapping up the beaming of the planet momentarily, then they should park in orbit.”
“Connect me with Fleet Operations.”
Manny appeared on his console, “Admiral, they have left bodies in Gredna. Have your Searchers selected their targets?”
“As soon as they park in orbit our computer will assign the ships. The Searcher will attack their assigned target and the ship immediately to the left. The computer will also download the coordinates of each firing point behind those ships. The ship’s computers will target the drives and have already gone weapons live.”
“How long between shots, Admiral?”
“We guess two seconds; however, that is truly a guess. We aren’t jumping the Searchers to the second ship until we verify the first was hit successfully.”
Jake thought about what he wanted, then decided he had to do what he thought was right, “How long between shots if we don’t wait to verify?”
“Change the protocol, Admiral. If you wait to fire again, it’s possible one of the two ships will escape. Your program is set to make the two shots; we’ll go back to the first after the second. There are three drives to hit, and certainly one of them will be damaged in the first firing. That’s the one we’ll target after the second ship is killed.”
Manny stared at Jake and then said, “It will be done as you order.”
“Manny, I can’t give you orders.”
Manny smiled, “You and Joe are the only ones that can.” Jake’s screen went dark.
Junior announced, “The Keepers Fleet is moving into orbit above Gredna.”
Jake hit his com, “Admiral Mord, I want you to reconsider your request.”
The Angry Cainth glared at his com and said, “You made a commitment.”
“Just think about this. We are going to be forced to take this fight to their universe and I’m going to need pilots who are willing to fight their way through planetary defenses to kill their planets. You are about to attack 100,000 landing craft, with sixty Keepers on each craft, using your 3,200 ships. Those landing craft have the beams that destroyed your other ships. I will keep my commitment to you if necessary, but I thought you might want to make them pay on a much larger scale”
Mord felt the need to kill permeate his body and he knew his pilots felt the same. But the chance to kill a planet of these creatures for the death of his home cried out to him. He hit his com, “You’ve heard the offer. I long to kill these creatures, but not as much as I want to kill one of their worlds. What is your wish?”
One of the Cainth Pilots asked, “What do you intend to do with the ships on the planet?”
Jake smiled and answered, “I’m going to melt that city they land in down to the bedrock of Brayent. I’m not giving them a chance to kill or consume any others.”
“Will that harm their Landers?”
“Their Landers are made from a different material than their main ships. Oh yes, it will harm them.”
“Do you promise to give us a chance at revenge?”