by Saxon Andrew
Jingle smiled, “Sounds like a plan. Lead the way.”
“I want Jangle and Brooks linked up end-to-end. Our cross section will be reduced and any wake we leave won’t be very large. Further, Jangle, I want you pushing the Rapids. If we detect an alien warship, we’ll reduce our speed to the lowest possible speed and still use our stardrives. Any questions?” No one spoke and Alex flew the Rapids toward the edge of the nebula.
• • •
Jingle sat in her chair and sighed, “This could take forever.”
“Our estimated time of reaching the center of the nebula is four more days, Jingle.”
“Why don’t we just go to maximum speed and get there in less than a day?”
“Because our wake would be instantly detected, and warships would vector in on us from all over the Nebula.”
“I thought all of their warships were out at the edge of the nebula, Jangle.”
“Most of them probably are, however, we have no idea if any of those giant space hives are between us and that planet. I’m certain they don’t leave those hives undefended.”
Jingle nodded. She had thought the same thing but was getting impatient. Suddenly, she saw something in the distance appear on the monitor. She pressed the alarm and after a few moments, Alex was seen rushing to his chair on her display. “Alex, we’re detecting something in the distance ahead of us.”
Alex looked at his wall monitor, “Brooks, what can you tell me?”
“Alex, the light source is very small, but the passive scanners are detecting something huge.”
“Stop the ships!” The two ships came to a stop and Alex stared at the data coming in from the passive scanners. “That has to be one of their, for lack of a better term I’m calling it a space hive. We need to go around it.”
“I don’t believe that is possible, Alex?”
“Why not, Jingle?”
“I’m detecting energy sources surrounding that structure and it appears we’ve already moved inside their structure.”
“Brooks?”
“She’s right, Alex. We flew between some of their warships and didn’t detect them; they were more than forty miles away from our course.”
“Jingle, talk to me!”
“What do you want me to say?”
“Tell me what you think about this? You’re better at seeing the whole picture.”
Jingle stared at the light on the monitor and it suddenly went out. She thought about why they would turn off the lights. “Alex, do you remember when that freighter took the inhabitants from that planet they attacked to one of the hives?”
“I do.”
“You almost ran right up on it before it turned on the exterior lights. That would seem to indicate that they do nothing to reveal its presence, right?” Alex nodded. “Well if they don’t leave the lights on, then they probably don’t have active scanning taking place either.”
Alex started nodding, “That means they only use passive scanners. We know if we stay outside eight miles from it, their passive scanners probably won’t see us.”
“Why aren’t the warships surrounding it not using active scanners?”
“Jingle, if they did, this area of space would standout like a fire in an empty field. They are also using passive scans and we managed to move through their ranks with more than eight miles between us and their warships.” Alex paused and ordered, “Books, set a course above that structure such that we’re at least twenty-five miles above it.”
“Changing course.”
“Jangle, move us at our slowest stardrive speed.” The two ships moved forward and even though the exterior lights were out, the millions of aliens outside it had small lights on their backpacks. Jingle stared at the tiny lights, “Even this darkness is broken by light. It’s a shame we can’t take it out.”
“We have bigger fish to fry, Jingle. Brooks, lock the coordinates of that hive in your data.”
“Done!”
Alex stared at the approaching giant and said, “Jingle, put on a space suit. I want all systems shut down except for the energy fields and that includes environmental.”
“What about the internal gravity handlers?”
“Those will be shut down as well! “We’ll buckle in to our chairs.”
Jingle smiled, Alex was wise in the ways of war. They moved forty miles above the giant structure when suddenly Brooks announced, “The warships have gone to active scans!”
“Shut down the energy fields now!!” Alex ordered. “How far are the warships from our current location?!”
“A little over two-hundred miles, Alex?”
Alex nodded, “They must turn on their active scanners at random intervals. We’re still outside their detection range.”
“What about the structure, Alex?”
Alex’s eyes flew open and he ordered, “JANGLE, AS SOON AS THE WARSHIP’S ACTIVE SCANS STOP, MOVE US OUTSIDE OF A HUNDRED MILES FROM THE STRUCTURE!!”
There was a long moment and Jangle announced, “They’ve stopped and I’m moving now.”
Jingle stared at the giant structure below them and it instantly moved away. A moment later, the giant hive erupted with a wall of active scanner beams. Alex looked at the monitor and saw they were a hundred and twenty miles above it. He blew out a hard breath, “You saved us again Jingle.”
The two ships put the hive behind them, and Alex said, “Brooks…”
“I locked in the coordinates of the warships ahead of us in my monitor and the closest one we’ll pass will be thirty miles away.”
Alex fell back in his chair and released a long sigh. “I told you we should take it slow!” Jangle said to Jingle.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Have to rub it in, don’t you?”
“It’s what you pay me to do.”
“I don’t pay you anything!”
“You should!!” Jingle laughed and smiled.
• • •
Four days later, Brooks stopped. “Alex, there is a star ahead of us and it’s on the line of that communication we traced. It’s also close to the center of the cluster. I’m also detecting a massive field of active scanners ahead of us.”
“That has to be where that planet is located.”
“Our approach is taking us over the top of that star’s planetary system and there’re twelve planets in it.”
“Which one is the planet, Brooks?”
“We’re too far out to detect any electrical activity on any of them, Alex. The only way to find out is to go through that scanning field.”
“Can we do it without being detected?”
“No, Alex. The warships are much closer together than they were at the hive.”
Alex sat back and Jingle saw his expression revealed his frustration. “What are you thinking, Alex.”
“Jingle, if we select the wrong planet to attack, those warships will be on us like white on rice. Trying to then search for the right one will probably get us killed.”
Jingle shrugged, “Then you’re going to have to make the best guess possible and go after it.”
“Jingle, there are twelve planets in that star system; our odds of success are less than ten-percent!”
“Brooks, did you get an exact line of that communication?”
“Yes, Jingle.”
“And it wasn’t directed at the star, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then what side of the star was it directed?”
Brooks paused and then answered, “It had to be on the left side of the star as we’re seeing it.”
“Jingle, there are eight planets on that side of the star.”
Jingle focused and asked, “Are any planets in that system habitable?”
“Two are habitable,” Brooks answered.
“Where are they located?”
“One is on the left side of the star and the other is on the right side.”
“Why do you ask that?”
“Alex, put yourself in the alien’s shoes, boots, hoofs, w
hatever they have. They will not want to send freighters in to that planet to feed their scientists. If that’s the case, where would they get their food?” Alex thought about it and Jingle added, “It they built their base on a habitable planet, they can live on the animal, plant, and sea life to feed themselves. It’s what I’d do to keep this planet hidden.”
“And what if the other habitable planet is where they’re located?”
“Alex, Brooks insists the communication line passed on the left side of that star; the other habitable planet is on the right side. I’m not going to come all the way here and fly away without making an effort!!”
Alex stared at Jingle and said, “You’re too pretty to die.”
“Then I’ll cut my hair and wear outrageous makeup! Now get off your butt and make this happen!!”
Alex glanced at the wall monitor and then sat up straight, “All right! If that’s not it, we’re going to get out of here! Brooks, do you have those warship’s locations locked in?”
“I do.”
“Pick two on a direct line to that habitable planet and activate all weapons. They’ll detect us a hundred miles out and we’re going to maximum speed during our approach. We’ll be on them in less than a second and we’ll open fire with our blasters as we pass. We should arrive at that planet before any of them can catch us. However, we’re going to be forced to slow down to launch our DD Missiles. All defense missiles are free and use them if needed! Jangle, you need to stay locked on Brooks until we’re inside firing range.”
“Will do, let’s get this show on the road.”
Alex smiled and ordered, “Go to maximum speed in 3-2-1-NOW!”
Chapter Six
Jingle started fastening her harness as Alex issued orders. She couldn’t remember when Jangle had ever gone to maximum acceleration in the past; this was going to be a new experience. The two linked warships exploded ahead, and Jingle heard the gravity handlers start whining. She was pushed hard back into her chair, but it stopped a few moments later when the ships achieved their best speed.
Jingle sat back and crossed her arms, she felt useless…but there was nothing for her to do; Jangle was controlling the ship and she knew there was no way she could stay linked to the Rapids. She kept her eyes on the main monitor and saw every alien warship surrounding the planet was turning and attempting to cut them off before they reached the planet. “Jingle, Brooks has detected huge electronic emissions coming from the habitable planet. It appears you were right again.” Jingle sighed and shook her head; being right is what kept her in trouble. She activated the missile targeting system and saw the red X appear on the monitor. The red button on the arm of her chair illuminated and she put it on standby. She had to wait until they arrived at the planet.
She watched the planet growing larger on the tactical monitor and zoomed in on it. An entire continent had one of those giant alien structures covering it. Did they have enough missiles to destroy it? She saw the thousands of alien warships moving inexorably toward them and sighed. They had traveled halfway across the Styx Nebula. They were finally arriving at the Ferry Man and they might end up taking his boat into the underworld, as legend says, if they ended up being killed.
She should have been frightened by everything happening around her, but she wasn’t. More than anything else, she was weary of the fight. She told Alex originally that she was leaving the Union, if for no other reason, to just feel her pulse rate rise. Be careful what you ask for… Now with this new probe… Jingle was ready to just call it quits. She was over it.
“Jangle, we’re approaching firing range. Drop slightly below the Rapids to clear your missile tubes. Jingle, Brooks has detected a large force field in the center of that structure; you will fire your three DD’s at it. I’ll fire my three in a triangle three-hundred miles around it.”
Jingle saw the planet suddenly appear on the targeting monitor as Jangle dropped below the Rapids. The force field appeared on the monitor and Jingle moved the red X on top of it. “Ready to fire.”
“Slow to launch speed and be prepared to get out of here immediately!” Alex ordered. “Jangle, activate your rear scanner and record what happens.”
“Done.”
Jingle watched the planet and saw the green light illuminate on the monitor. She pressed the fire button and held it down. She felt the vibration of each missile as it leapt out of the center missile tube. Jangle moved behind the Rapids and the two ships went to massive acceleration and flew away below the planet. Jingle shrugged, they would lose speed if they attempted to change course. They attacked from above the planet, maintaining their current course was the optimum thing to do. Jingle saw the huge alien warship formations rushing in at them when suddenly, every monitor flashed white and then went black.
Alex immediately took control of the Rapids and stared out of the viewport. He turned slightly and flew in on twelve alien warships that were turning toward his original course. They maintained their course and Alex knew their monitors must have gone down as well. He flew in on them and launched ten of the new defense missiles and sight fired the Rapids’ blasters at the two remaining warships directly ahead of him.
The blasters raked the entire length of the two warships causing both of them to go up in massive explosions. The ten other warships were hit by the new defense missiles and also exploded. In an instant, the two Union Warships were through their lines and moving away at maximum speed as the monitors came back on. The alien warships turned and began pursuing them as they moved out into the nebula.
“I wasn’t able to record the planet after the missile launch,” Jangle announced. “However, I don’t believe it was necessary.”
“Why do you say that?” Alex asked.
“That planet is still in range of my long-range scanners and the entire planet is on fire. The DD Missile was never developed to have more than one fired at a target, Alex. Firing six was overkill.”
Jingle sighed, “We just killed a living planet.”
“Better one of theirs than one of ours, Jingle!”
“I know, Alex. But it’s such a horrible waste. What if there was an intelligent species on it.”
“Then they’ve just been saved the horror of being eaten by the aliens!” Jingle raised a shoulder and nodded. “Alright, we haven’t crossed the Styx yet. The aliens know we’re here and the direction we took away from that planet. They’ll be moving all their forces ahead of us to cut us off from escaping.”
“Can’t we just slow down and go out slowly like we came in?” Jingle asked.
“Can’t risk it, Jingle. We don’t know how many warships they have to use to find us. We must maintain our speed and fight our way out. Jangle, back off from the Rapids to clear your front missile tubes. Move back in if we’re in jeopardy of being detected.”
“Alex, detecting us is not going to be an issue. We’re leaving a giant wake behind us!” Jangle replied.
Alex gritted his teeth and ordered, “Slow down to half-speed. If we’re detected, we’ll go back to maximum speed to evade. I’m changing course.”
Jingle stared at the monitor and saw the thousands of warships from the planet pass far below them. They detected the smaller wake and tried to come around on a new course. They lost their organization as Alex went briefly to maximum speed and changed course again. The large wake they were leaving moved forward and engulfed the new smaller wake they were leaving. Before the alien warships arrived, the smaller wake had dissipated. For the moment, they were free.
• • •
The Seniors were all connected and one of them yelled, “HOW DID THEY FIND THAT PLANET?!”
Another senior added loudly, “DO YOU STILL INSIST THAT THE UNION ISN’T DOING THIS?!”
The voices rose in volume until the highest-ranking Senior sounded a tone and they all became silent. He waited a moment and asked, “Senior, it appears you are wrong about this being done by Invaders.”
The Senior knew he was in jeopardy and was quiet for a moment bef
ore replying, “The only way our planet could have been discovered is by our communications being compromised.”
The Elder Senior said, “Go on.”
“The data of our last attacks on the Union Fleets was sent to the planet to assist them in developing the Union’s hiding field. The communications between our fleets and the planet had to be intercepted.”
“That means it was probably the Union that did it,” the Elder responded.
“That isn’t possible.”
“Why not?”
“The humans we were working with to attack the Union did everything possible to develop a communication device to talk with us; they failed miserably. We could only develop one because we worked on it for more than ten years before it was operational. Our languages are too different for them to decipher it. Not only would our communications have to be intercepted, but whoever did it would have to be capable of translating what was said.”
“Are you suggesting that these Invaders understand our language?”
“Elder, all the data says it was them that did this.”
“Explain!!”
“The data from the attack on the planet reveals that an identical ship that destroyed our warships on the edge of the dust was used to attack the planet. It matches up perfectly with the data we collected at the edge of the dust.” The Seniors were silent, and the speaker continued, “At no time have the Union Warships launched a weapon that makes that giant explosion. At no time has their blasters been powerful enough to penetrate our ships’ force fields. Also, when that ship escaped, it destroyed or damaged twelve of the warships moving in to attack it. That ship is far beyond anything the Union possesses.”
The Senior played the recording of the destroyed warships at the planet and the Elder asked, “Why is there not a recording of those ships’ destruction?”