by Saxon Andrew
“Well, if those white ships don’t belong to you and they don’t belong to me, who do they belong to?” the High Leader asked.
“This isn’t the first time they’ve led an enemy to our space,” the War Leader responded. “That civilization with the invisible scouts was led to us by two of those ships more than six years ago.”
“Are you saying they don’t belong to that civilization as well?” the High Leader asked.
“We’ve recorded them attacking the warships from that enemy over the years. They must be part of an unknown civilization. We have determined that the species flying the white ships is the same species as the one on a planet we destroyed just before they led the first enemy to our space.”
“Do you have an image of the species on that planet?” The Fleet Admiral asked.
“Yes.” The War Leader nodded to his communication leader and he sent an image.
The High Leader and Fleet Admiral were shocked, “That is the same species as the slaves that were taken from one of our slave planets.”
“It’s also the same species as the first enemy. It appears that species is not working together but against each other,” the War Leader remarked.
• • •
Candy stopped the recording and turned to the assembly, “It was this conversation between the Fagan High Leader and the Britannia Aliens War Leader that led to Melbourne being discovered. However, that is not the issue I’m here to discuss with you. I hope you noticed that the Fagan High Leader said that the humans on America were taken from one of their slave planets. That means there are planets that are being held hostage in Fagan Territory that will die if the Britannia Aliens attack the Fagan. Those planets are innocent and don’t deserve to die. We need to do something to prevent their destruction.”
The room erupted into bedlam as they shouted there was no possible way to make that happen. Finally, Admiral McArdle stood up on the front row and glared out at the assembly. The gathering saw him, and the room returned to silence. Admiral McArdle turned to Candy and said, “Captain, there is no possible way to save those planets if the Britannia Aliens attack. And it’s also impossible if we try to save them before the Fagan are attacked.”
Candy looked at McArdle and said, “Sir, I believe there is a way to save them.” McArdle stared at Candy for a long moment and Candy added, “The question before us is that if we can save them without endangering our ships, is it worth doing?”
McArdle was silent for a moment and then asked, “How many planets are we talking about?”
“I have no idea. But if it were only one, would it be worth making an effort to save it?” Candy asked.
McArdle looked at Grady on the stage and saw his expression was giving nothing away. He turned back to Candy and said, “I need a lot more information before I could make that decision.”
Candy nodded, “That’s fair. She turned back to the huge monitor and pressed the button. An image appeared and everyone in the room was stunned by what they saw. Candy turned back to the assembly and said, “This was a planet my parents discovered when they went to find America. It’s their voices you’ll be hearing;
• • •
More than a hundred freighters were in orbit above the planet and the number of transports moving to and from the planet numbered in the thousands. Grady stared at the image and turned to Taffy, “What are they doing? Why would they transport all the crops from one planet to another like this?”
Taffy stared at the monitor shaking her head, “It’s obvious, Grady.”
“Oh! Please enlighten me.”
“You know how we take food and convert it into the condensed balls we eat on long missions?” Grady nodded. “They’re converting the collected crops into a form of food their species can consume. Think about it. We couldn’t eat the plants from other worlds because we evolved on a planet with a specific type of plants humans learned to digest. They are obviously herbivores and they’ve developed the means to convert plant life from different planets to a form they can consume. Look at the giant buildings they’re transporting the contents of the freighters into. The transports leaving those buildings are moving the converted foods back into orbit to the freighters that have sent all the stores down to the planet.”
Candy stopped the recording and said, “All of those freighters came from planets that have been enslaved by the Fagan and this is only a snap shot of how many were here on this particular day.” Candy stopped the recording and looked at Admiral McArdle, “I believe it’s safe to say there’s a lot more than just one planet enslaved by the Fagan. I asked Senior Scientist Joshua Goldman if he would estimate how many planets there might be, and he refused at first, but I pushed him, and he said that it would only be a guess.” Candy smiled, “You know how scientist don’t like giving an inaccurate answer.” The room laughed at the comment and Candy said, “He estimates there are between one to three-hundred slave planets.”
The room was silent, and McArdle shook his head, “And just how would you be able to find them? We can’t send thousands of ships in to scout their space; that would be too dangerous to try.”
Candy pointed a thumb over her shoulder at the monitor, “Finding them will not be as hard as you think. We simply follow the freighters going to that planet back to where they’re going, and they’ll lead us to the planets. All we’ll need is a few hundred ships to make that happen.”
McArdle looked at the monitor and nodded slightly. He then turned back to Candy, “And just how do you intend to save the inhabitants of those planets without endangering our ships. There’s no possible way we can move them.”
“We won’t try to move them, Admiral. Once we find their locations, we’ll send three ships to each of them when we know the Britannia Aliens are starting their attack. The ships that find the planets will detect the frequency that is used to control the collars on the inhabitants and once the battle kicks off, they will broadcast the frequency releasing the collars. They’ll then destroy the collection buildings stopping the Fagan from sending out a warning and we’ll leave the inhabitants to deal with the Fagan Overlords on the planet. When the Britannia Aliens sweep through the galaxy all they’ll see are primitive planets with no advanced technology and they’ll just ignore them to go after the Fagan planets and forces.”
“But they could go back and kill everyone on those planets after they remove the Fagan.”
Candy shook her head, “They won’t waste time doing that, Sir. They still have to attack Earth and they’ll leave as soon as the Fagan are exterminated to get their fleets ready to attack Earth.” Candy paused and added, “The Britannia Aliens have developed a mass detector that allows them to detect our ships, but the Fagan don’t have that technology. Our ships will be invisible to their warships.”
“How do you know that?” McArdle asked.
“It’s clear the Fagan don’t need it. The Britannia Aliens developed it because they’re fighting a Stealth Civilization. The Fagan have no reason to look for invisible warships and they believe they can detect the invisible ships that were in their territory by detecting their gravity drives. They can’t detect our new gravity drives so our ships will be invisible.”
The room was silent, and McArdle remarked after a few moments, “If we use our weapons, this whole gig is up.”
“Sir, we’re going to have to use our weapons at some of these planets.” McArdle’s eyes narrowed, and Candy continued, “There will be some Fagan freighters at some of those planets and the ships at those planets are going to have to vaporize them so they’re nowhere close to the planet when the Britannia Aliens arrive. The planet must appear to be primitive. The good news is that none of those freighters have a Fagan Warship escorting them. The freighter will be destroyed the same moment as the collection building so that no warning goes out.”
“So, you say that we’ll need three-hundred warships to make this happen?”
“No, Admiral. We’ll need three hundred to find the planets. If there are th
ree hundred slave planets, we’ll need three ships at each of those planets to make sure the frequency being broadcast to release the collars on the inhabitants covers the entire planet at the same moment.” Candy shrugged, “If there are fewer planets, then the numbers needed will be less.”
“Do you have any idea how many inhabitants we’re talking about here?”
Candy stared at Admiral McArdle and knew this was the critical question. “Sir, there were five million inhabitants on America. If we assume there are a similar number on the other slave planets, and there are only a hundred planets, the total would be half a billion inhabitants. If there are three-hundred planets, then the total would be one and a half billion inhabitants.” The room was silent, and Candy said softly over the speaker, “Even if we lose this war, saving those innocent beings is worth making the effort. If we win, we’ll have new allies to join us.”
McArdle turned to Grady and said, “Sir, you need to state your opinion on this.”
Grady stood up and said, “Admiral, my daughter has requested that I put her in command of the forces going to save those planets. I will not state an opinion on this with her being involved in this.”
Taffy stood up and said, “I don’t command anyone and if you don’t believe this is worth doing then you’re not worth wearing your uniforms! Those poor beings deserve our help and even if it was only one planet, they deserve our kindness!”
Taffy sat down, and McArdle smiled slightly as he turned to Candy, “Captain, do you honestly think you can make this happen?”
“Sir, I’ve been so self-absorbed that I’ve never really worried about anyone but myself. Not only can I make this happen, but I must try to do it to atone for my past sins. Please allow me to save them!”
McArdle saw the intensity of Candy’s expression and he turned around and faced the assembly, “How many of you would be willing to put your ships in jeopardy to do this?” The entire room jumped to their feet and screamed their answer. Candy’s tears started as McArdle looked up at her and nodded. Candy mouthed, ‘Thank you!” And McArdle nodded again.
• • •
The roar from the assembly echoed through the building and the crews in the training room looked up from their computers at each other. Angel turned to RJ and said, “That must have been some presentation.” RJ started laughing and Angel thought this was the first time she had ever seen him laugh. She wondered what was happening in the meeting.
• • •
Abby and Rory were sitting in the back row of the assembly and Abby turned to Rory, “RJ was right.”
“About what?”
“She is something special. I just haven’t allowed myself to see it.” Rory put his arm around her and hugged her. Abby was right.
• • •
The assembly began chanting, “CANDY, CANDY, CANDY…” over and over. Candy stepped out from behind the podium and did a curtsy. The screams grew louder. McArdle looked at Grady and saw he realized that this was what was needed to bring all of them together. Grady was smiling broadly, and McArdle could see his pride for his daughter.
Grady walked back to the podium and raised his hands. The room slowly grew silent and he said, “Thank you, Captain Henricks. Fleet Operations will start moving on making this mission happen and I want to thank everyone here for staying true to their hearts and doing the right thing. You’re dismissed to return to your units.”
• • •
Taffy looked at Candy and smiled, “Now was that so hard?”
“You have no idea, Mom.”
“You did it for them, Candy. Everyone here could see that and that’s what brought them around. Now you have to make it happen.”
“I will. I promise.”
Taffy looked out at the officers in the assembly and felt immense pride in her daughter. She had finally found her way and calling. Saving life is what gave Candy purpose now and she wouldn’t lose that feeling. She was going to need it fighting the Britannia Aliens.
• • •
McArdle walked up to Candy and said, “You should meet me in my office and start choosing your ships.”
“Sir, I was hoping that you would select the initial ships I’m taking.”
“Why is that?”
“Sir, I need pilots that have the smallest level of aggression in their profiles. I don’t need someone that would think to shoot first. The first crews should be focused on not being seen and following the freighters assigned to them. I’m sure fleet has a list of the pilots I require.”
McArdle smiled, “That’s a wise decision. I’ll have Fleet Personnel pull a list and have the crews report to you tomorrow morning in the strategy room.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
• • •
Candy was sitting at the dinner table again and absently eating the meal Taffy made for her. Grady came in, Taffy hugged him, and went to get his plate. Grady looked at Candy and said, “Your initial pilots have been chosen and it caused an issue, but it’s been resolved.”
“What sort of issue?” Candy asked.
“Forty-six of the pilots outrank you. Admiral McArdle has promoted you to Junior Admiral for the duration of this mission to ensure your orders will be followed.”
“I wasn’t looking for a promotion, Dad. So, this is a temporary promotion, right?” Grady nodded. “Good. I want to earn my promotions.”
Grady chuckled and Candy looked up at him from her folder, “What do you find amusing?”
“It was my idea to make it temporary. Admiral McArdle says it’ll be temporary over his backside. He wants you to command one of his fleets after this is over. Admiral Alexander is also demanding you be assigned to him. You made quite an impression today.”
Candy sighed, “I wasn’t trying to forward my career, Dad.”
“I’m sorry for thinking you were. I’ll have the temporary removed.”
“But I don’t deserve a promotion.”
“Candy, finding leaders that our warriors will follow is an extremely difficult thing. You demonstrated today that you have what it takes to lead. You deserve the promotion and I hope we find more officers out there just like you.”
“But I’ve not proven myself, Dad.”
“No one has, Candy! It’s been over eighteen years since anyone has fought in combat. Everyone is going to have to prove themselves and you will at least have experience in dealing with one of New Britannia’s enemies; we won’t waste that experience. You deserve the promotion. Besides, you’ll have more than three-hundred warships under your command and that calls for an Admiral to command them. You could possibly end up with nine-hundred warships under your command and if that happens, you’ll be promoted to Lieutenant Admiral. You need to start thinking about who you want for your executive officer.”
“I haven’t even thought about that.” Grady started eating and Candy sat back and thought about who she could work with. After a moment, she knew.
• • •
Lt. Todd Jenkins was sitting in an office in Fleet Personnel wondering why he had been ordered to report for a meeting. He thought hard about what he could have possibly done that could get him in trouble but came up empty. The door suddenly opened, and he saw Candy Henricks enter the office. His head went back and then he noticed she was wearing an Admiral’s uniform. He jumped to attention and Candy waved a hand at him, “Take a seat Lieutenant.” Todd sat down, and Candy pulled a chair up in front of him. “I’ve been looking at your file and it appears you’ve been passed over for promotion four times.”
“Candy, I’m sorry for what I did in the Academy. I was wrong to do it.”
“That’s not what this is about, Todd. Why do you think you’ve been passed over so many times?”
Todd blew out a long breath, “That event is in my file and, even though I was cleared of the cheating accusation, my attacking another cadet is still in it.”
“Were you being honest back then, Todd?” Todd’s eyes narrowed, and his head tilted. “Did you mean what you sa
id about being in the service was the most important thing in your life?” Candy asked.
Todd shook his head slightly, “I thought I had lost everything, Sir. I lost control and there’s no excuse for my behavior.”
Candy stared into his eyes and asked, “There’s nothing in your file about attacking any other cadets.”
“I’m not aggressive by nature. I made the mistake of attacking the Supreme Fleet Commander’s daughter. You have to admit that was pretty stupid.”
Candy laughed and said, “I have a proposition for you.”
“What is that?”
“I need an executive officer and I want you to be it.”
“For heaven’s sake, why?”
“I like your loyalty to the service. I could see you meant it years ago and I can also understand why you lost it. Will you accept the position?”
“What do you want of me?”
“I want your loyalty and commitment to saving a billion innocent lives.”
Todd blinked and struggled to understand what he was hearing. After a moment he managed to ask, “Are you serious?”
“I am!”
Todd stared at her and then said, “I joined the service to save the lives of innocent civilians. If you really want me, I’ll do whatever you need done.”
Candy smiled broadly, “Excellent! Your promotion papers are at the front desk and you need to sign them and report to the quartermaster for a new uniform. I have a meeting in the strategy room in two hours, so you need to hurry.”
“Promotion?”
“Yes, you’re being promoted to Senior Captain. Now get moving!”
Todd smiled, jumped to attention, turned, and then left the office. Candy knew she had made a good decision. Todd would be motivated to prove himself and she needed someone she could trust and count on. She still hadn’t named her ship and it came to her in that moment; she would be named Defender. It was a perfect name for her vessel.