by Saxon Andrew
“You realize that your story will be questioned by the Prime Minister and if you do anything out of the ordinary they will be on you like white on rice. And that is especially true if you treat that woman you’re living with any different. They will probably have your thoughts examined by another telepath as well.”
“I can tell you now there are no Coco’s on New Sydney and I can block out my inner thoughts from other telepaths without them knowing it.” Cami turned to Stoney and he nodded. Devin added, “This is worth the risk and I’m willing to take it.”
Cami shook her head, “Devin, that woman will know in an instant that your feelings have changed since coming here.”
“Not if the Prime Minister assigns me to a position on his staff. I’ll be forced to tell her that we have to break up due to my new job.”
“And you think he’ll assign you a new position.”
Devin smiled, “Just who do you think he’ll send to find the traitors?”
Cami stared at him and sighed before turning to Stoney, “Hire him as a custodian and let me know when he’s ready to attempt an escape. That needs to be planned carefully.”
“I’ve already come up with how to do that. He’ll leave when one of our freighters launch to take provisions to the fleets at the edge of Britannia’s star system.”
Cami nodded, “That should work.” Stoney and Devin stood up, “You need to convince that Scout that you’re going to be in the building close to Britannia’s decision makers. That will make your claim more plausible.”
Devin smiled, “Leave it up to me. If you could give me some information to share with him until then, it would be good.”
“Tell him that we know the Prime Minister is planning something against Britannia and Earth.”
“Is that a good idea?” Stoney asked.
“The Prime Minister has to expect that we are suspicious about him cutting off communications. He won’t make a move until he has complete control of the fleet so it shouldn’t change the timing of his plans. What are the two of you going to do now?”
“I’m going out to the bench Devin normally sits on and offer him a job,” Stoney answered.
Cami laughed, “Good answer, good answer.”
• • •
The Scout was in turmoil. The telepath had accepted a job working in Britannia’s Fleet Operations Building and that could be dangerous. There was no way he could target the telepath inside that building and if he was discovered…well…there would be hell to pay. But, he hadn’t discovered anything of importance since he arrived, and this could lead to important discoveries. He decided not to mention this development to his superior and just keep it quiet; he could always say they discovered him outside the building. He sighed and sat back in his chair. He would have hours to waste each day as he waited for the telepath to leave the shielded building. He hoped this mission wouldn’t last much longer.
• • •
Cami was looking over the reports from the Academy of Science and glanced at some of the newest discoveries. She started to put the report down, most of the discoveries were improvements on civilian electronics but noticed something about matter density. She looked at the bottom of the list and immediately contacted Joshua Goldman telepathically, “Joshua, what is this new discovery on detecting matter density?!”
“And it’s really good to hear from you too Cami. It’s been a while since we’ve talked.”
“I’m sorry Josh. I’m just overwhelmed, and I’ve forgotten how to be polite.”
“Why don’t you come by and I’ll explain it to you. I tried to contact you, but you were away from Britannia; so, I sent you a report on it.”
Cami looked at the huge stack of binders on the corner of her desk and sighed, “I’ll be there in an hour. And it is good to talk with you again.”
“That’s more like it. I’ll be awaiting your arrival.”
Cami left for the elevator and sent a thought to Stoney, “I’m going to discuss an issue with Dr. Goldman. Meet me at the Carts under the building.”
“On my way. Should I bring Devin?” Stoney replied.
“No.”
“Ok; see you at the carts.”
The cart accelerated away from the lower level of the Fleet Operations Building and arrived at the construction site in the mountains in fifteen minutes. They boarded another cart and moved underground to another mountain range seven hundred miles away and exited the cart. Noel was standing at the cart station waiting for them and he smiled, “It’s good to see you Planet Leader.”
Cami walked up and hugged Noel tightly, “It’s so good to see you Noel. Forget that Planet Leader crap. How’s Joshua doing?”
“I think he’s about ready to retire to part time work in the lab.”
“Why just part time? I’m sure you and Hessy can handle everything now.”
“Cami, Joshua’s whole existence is built around being in a lab. He needs it to stay alive and healthy. He’s also incredibly sharp and most of our new developments are a product of his input. We still need him, but he should take some time out of the lab to recharge. He refused to agree at first, but I think he’s finally seen that we’re right.”
“What changed to make that happen?” Cami asked.
“He had a meltdown with some of the engineers one day and you know that he never does that. He realized he was getting wound too tight and he started taking some time away from the lab.”
“What does he do during his off time?”
Noel smiled, “He goes and teaches a class on advanced electronics at Britannia Tech. He’s really enjoying the interactions with the students.”
Stoney smiled, “I’ve seen people retire that didn’t last a year before they just died. I think he needs to have a reason to get out of bed each day.”
“That’s why we’ve insisted he retire only part time,” Noel stated with a smile.
Cami chuckled, “Let’s go see him.”
• • •
They arrived at Joshua’s office and Noel led them in. Joshua jumped up and went to Cami and gave her a huge hug, “My, my but you’ve grown up.”
“Joshua! I saw you less than a year ago!”
“And you’ve changed a lot! You need to come around more often. And those parents of yours!” he grinned.
“I’ll talk to them. They’re spending most of their time with the grandchildren.”
Joshua chuckled, “I know how that can tie you down.”
Cami said, “Joshua, this is Jessie Stone; he’s my assistant.”
Joshua looked at Stoney, stuck out his hand, and said, “You’re the Colony Spy, aren’t you?”
Stoney laughed and shook it, “I was.”
“Joshua, now who’s being impolite?” Cami retorted.
Joshua turned to Stoney, “No offense.”
“None taken,” Stoney replied.
Joshua turned to Cami, “I like him. But you came here to discuss the new matter density scanner.”
“I didn’t know it was a scanner.”
“That’s why you need to come by here more often.” Joshua led them to a table, and everyone sat down. Joshua started the discussion, “Since we developed the dark matter propulsion system, I’ve been worried about it not being detectable.”
“But that’s the real benefit of it,” Cami stated.
“It’s a benefit of not being detectable by your enemies.” Joshua acknowledged. “But how do you conduct fleet operations in space if you don’t know where your ships are located?”
Stoney smiled, “You don’t.” Everyone turned to him and he continued, “You are forced to just send your ships out to operate independently of each other and assign them a specific area to operate. Otherwise you risk numerous collisions among your forces.”
Joshua smiled and said to Cami, “Did I tell you I like him?”
“Yes, Joshua, you did.”
“Well, he’s right. Once a space battle breaks out, all semblance of order goes out the window and with high spe
ed maneuvers, collisions are a real probability. So, I’ve been working on a way for us to be able to track our ships.”
Cami’s eyebrows went up, “Have you developed a way for us to do that?”
Joshua nodded to Noel and he nodded, “Yes, we have. Dark matter is not detectable but the effects of it are.”
“I’m not sure what you mean?” Stoney interjected.
“How do we know dark matter exists?” Noel asked.
Stoney shrugged, “We’ve inferred its existence from the gravity it produces.”
“Exactly right! The dark matter containers on our warships have a tremendous amount of dark matter in them and they produce a significant gravity effect on the space around them.”
“What do you mean by ‘significant’?” Cami asked.
Noel smiled, “We can measure it. And if we can measure it, we can detect where it’s located.”
Cami’s expression turned serious and she sat forward, “That’s not good. If we can see it, it’s only a matter of time before the Colonies’ scientists can develop the same technology.”
“Never happen!” Joshua stated firmly.
Everyone turned to him and Cami shook her head, “Their scientists are just as good as we are Joshua.”
Joshua waved a hand, “I do agree they’re pretty good. But…they aren’t that good. The circuit board we developed to detect that tiny gravity anomaly is beyond their ability to duplicate.”
Cami sat back in her chair, “And you know this because…?
Noel turned to her and stated, “We managed to compress dark matter to a level that’s normally impossible.”
Cami stared at Noel and said, “So?”
“We made dark matter into a solid structure,” Noel answered.
Stoney whistled and said, “I thought that wasn’t possible.”
Joshua smiled, “It isn’t.”
“Then how did you do it?” Cami retorted.
“We moved the compression chamber inside the event horizon of the massive black hole in the center of the Milky Way and that provided the gravitational force necessary to compress it,” Joshua explained.
“But why wasn’t the compression chamber not sucked into the black hole?” Stoney asked.
“We modified our gravity drive field to warp the black hole’s gravity around it. The compression chamber was barely on the edge of the gravity field, but it was enough to compress the dark matter into a solid. Once we moved outside the event horizon, the solid dark matter remained a solid,” Noel added. “We take microscopic particles of the dark matter solid and use them in the computer chip to allow us to detect the dark matter in our ship’s containment vessels.”
Cami and Stoney stared at Noel with shocked expressions and finally Stoney asked, “What genius came up with the idea to enter a black hole’s event horizon? You had to know that was incredibly dangerous.”
Joshua shrugged, “Actually it was Hessy that came up with the idea.”
“How did that happen?” Stoney asked.
Joshua shrugged, “We knew we had to have dark matter compressed tight enough to make the chip work. But we just couldn’t get the pressure chamber to a level to make it happen. Hessy commented that it would take pressure equivalent to the gravity on the surface of a neutron star to compress it enough. Noel said ‘why use a neutron star; a black hole would be stronger and was just as out of reach as a neutron star.” Joshua paused and smiled, “That started us thinking and it eventually led us to developing the technology to make it happen.”
“Where is Hessy now?” Cami asked.
“She’s at the black hole converting more dark matter into a solid. We’ve been installing the chips into our dark matter warships, but we don’t have enough to complete the job,” Noel answered.
Cami turned to Joshua, “That’s why you say the Colonies will never be able to duplicate this chip.”
Joshua nodded, “Even if they were able to capture one of our warships, the chip is inside a sealed, pressurized container and the dark matter solid is so tiny they would have to open the seal to be able to detect it. Once the pressure seal is broken, the dark matter solid will decompose into normal dark matter. Even if they then duplicate the circuit board, it will never function without the solid.”
“And if they don’t break the seal to examine it?” Stoney asked.
“The seal is made of the stealth material that can’t be penetrated by electronic devices. And they will have no way of knowing the unit is pressurized without opening it,” Noel answered.
Cami’s expression showed she was thinking furiously, and she said, “So. Even if they duplicate our dark matter energy system, we would still be able to detect their ships.” Joshua nodded. “But they would still not be able to detect our ships without the chip?”
“Exactly right, Cami.”
“How difficult is it to install this new chip?”
Noel smiled, “Cami, all that’s needed is to wire the chip into our current scanners and set the frequency. It can be done in less than ten minutes.”
Cami suddenly had a thought, “Have you updated the Arrow with this new chip?”
“The Arrow just completed its renovation and the chip has been placed in the carrier and all of its warships.”
“And Kendal has been updated on how to use it.”
“Along with all of her pilots,” Noel interjected. “They were going through fleet maneuvers using the chip while the Carrier was being completed.”
“What about the Griffin?”
“It and all of its warships were completed a week ago. They are currently conducting fleet maneuvers as we speak.”
Cami hesitated and then asked, “Does Grady know about this development?”
“One of my engineers explained it to him when he left for the Arrow yesterday,” Noel answered. “Why do you ask?”
“He’s making a trip out to the colony Britannia settled before the core aliens destroyed Britannia. He seems to think there might be an issue with them.”
Joshua shook his head, “That colony doesn’t play well with others.”
“Why do you say that?” Cami asked.
“They won’t take orders from anyone and make all their plans independent of any consideration of others. They are a wildcard in what’s currently happening.”
“That’s not good.”
“No, it isn’t Cami.”
Cami glanced at Stoney and turned back to Joshua, “Thank you for taking the time to explain this to us. I promise to come more often but please contact me directly if you come up with any new developments.”
Joshua stood up, hugged Cami, and said, “I will. You can always send me a thought.”
Cami rolled her eyes, “I’ll do that Uncle Joshua.”
• • •
Cami and Stoney were sitting in the cart headed back to the Capital City and Stoney commented, “I didn’t know you were related to Dr. Goldman.”
“I’m not. He’s just been so close to our family that I started calling him uncle when I was ten years old. I know my parents love him and he’s been the difference in Britannia surviving against all the threats facing it over the years.” Cami smiled, “Even Britt, Linda Kay, and Sweets call him uncle as well.”
“What about Coco?”
“She does too. I think she listens in to him a lot.”
“Why?”
“She gets bored easily and she’s told me things were always interesting around Uncle Joshua.”
“Sweets tells me that Coco reminds her of you when she first met you.”
“Really?” Stoney nodded. “Well, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Were you as direct as Coco?”
“No. I spent my youth hiding my talent and didn’t let people know I was telepathic. Coco hasn’t had to deal with that, and she only knows to say what she thinks. She can be quite unnerving on occasion.”
Stoney chuckled, “Tell me about it.” Cami laughed and wondered how Grady was doing at the Colony.
>
Chapter Six
Grady sat at a table with the Britannia Colony leaders and listened to the President of the Colony discussing the state of the Colony’s defenses. Something didn’t feel right and he couldn’t put his finger on what it was. After an hour of report after monotonous report he noticed that the Commander of the Colony’s Military was constantly looking at him when he thought he was being unobserved. Finally, he thought, “Sweets, has Coco found anything going on we should know about. I hate I have to use her, but I know they’re up to something and can’t determine what it is.”
“G-diddy, they are planning a sneak attack on the Colonies’ Capital.”
Only Grady’s years of political leadership prevented his expression from changing. He sat back pretending to listen to the current speaker and thought, “Where are the ships they’re planning to send.”
“They are currently on the surface of the Colony’s moon and will launch the moment you leave,” Coco answered. “They’re waiting for the Commander to join them.”
“Sweets, tell Kendal what’s going on and get some scouts out to see how many ships they’ve gathered on the moon.”
“Will do.”
Taffy was sitting next to Grady and she leaned over and whispered, “Are you alright?”
Grady smiled, “It’s good to see some of the old friends from my youth Taffy. You know how much I’ve missed seeing them.”
Taffy looked into Grady’s eyes as he spoke and knew something serious was up. Grady never missed going to the Colony and really didn’t want to come this time. He was telling her that they were being watched closely. She smiled and gave him a quick hug and turned back to the speaker before saying softly, “You know how much long presentations bore me.”
Grady chuckled and knew Taffy was on board. He appeared to be focused on the speaker but was considering his options. He glanced at Admiral Kosare and saw he was staring back at him. The Admiral was close to eighty-years-old, but he was still sharp mentally. Did he know what was going on? The fact he hadn’t smiled during the entire presentation told him he did. He glanced at Isobel Jensen who was the current President of the Colony and remembered the last time they had met. It had led to her being kicked out of the military and forced to retire. She insisted she had no hard feelings about that, and her smile had seemed genuine…but he knew she hated him. Her son was the Commander of the Military and Grady now knew why he kept looking at him. Were they planning to hold him and Taffy hostage?”