by Saxon Andrew
“If that’s true, what made you think you could get close to them?” Taffy asked.
“The only way to get close enough for me to detect them is to not represent a threat to them. The Rex Rabbit is smaller than any warship being used in the Navy and it’s painted with rainbows and paisley decorations; it looks like a toy ship. Any alien wouldn’t see it as a threat.”
“But the alien could hear your thoughts and know what you’re up to doing?”
“No, they can’t.” Taffy’s head went back, and she started shaking it. Cami continued, “I listened to RJ, Rory, and Grady discuss those aliens when I was here at Christmas. RJ mentioned that he communicated with one of them and the conversation was in his mind. I listened to that conversation and the evidence says they aren’t able to hear our inner thoughts.”
“What evidence?”
Cami looked at RJ, “The very first thing that aliens said was ‘Who are you?’ If it was able to hear our inner thoughts, it wouldn’t have had to contact RJ to ask that question. That told me that they’re not true telepaths. They’re…” Cami paused and shrugged before continuing, “Rudimentary telepaths.”
“What does that mean?” Taffy asked.
“They can only sense the part of our brain that deals with speech. They can detect the brain pattern from a long distance even if nothing is being said, but they can only hear what is spoken. As long as no one says anything about searching for them, they won’t know we’re doing it.” Taffy’s face showed her confusion and Cami raised her hands, “I told Britt and Sweets to pretend they were teaching Linda Kay how to fly the ship and only say things that supported it. Britt would offer encouragement and Sweets would nag her and tell her a rock could fly better than her. Britt flew the Rex Rabbit in an extremely erratic course but remained above the colleges close to the Science Center and Fleet Operations. We determined that was where the alien scout would be attempting to steal our technology.”
Taffy nodded, “Go on.”
“Britt did an outstanding job of making the Rex Rabbit appear to be piloted by someone that had absolutely no skill in flying the ship. The alien watched us and thought the whole thing was extremely funny. Britt moved around the area above the colleges and after a couple of hours, I heard the alien’s thoughts. At that point I motioned for them to continue talking and I handed Britt a written plan I had put together the night before. I looked in his mind and saw how to operate the navigation system and put a course out to the scout’s location. My plan involved flying by the scout close enough to fire a blaster and disable it.”
Taffy turned to Britt, “And you agreed to do it?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Why?”
“Because Cami told me in her plan that she needed to listen to the scout’s thoughts to find out what they knew about our technology.”
Cami interrupted them, “Unlike the aliens, I am a true telepath; I can hear its inner thoughts. I gave Britt a series of questions to ask that would cause the alien to reveal what it knew.” The room was silent, and Cami continued, “I also suggested he tell the alien that the other scouts spying on us had been located and if they didn’t come to his location to tow his ship back to Andromeda, they would be destroyed along with his ship. He agreed to call them in.”
“Why did you want them to come to your location?” Taffy asked.
“So I could listen to their thoughts and see if they knew things the scout in the disabled ship didn’t.”
Grady said softly, “That’s why you refused to follow my order to leave?”
Britt nodded, “It was vital Cami be able to look into their thoughts.” Britt leaned forward and turned to Cami, “Why did you insist I contact my father?”
“Because the alien we trapped was scanning the space around it and could only detect the Rex Rabbit. The five scouts moving his way reported that they also didn’t detect any ships around them. The alien ordered them to attack the Rex Rabbit when they arrived. That’s when I had Britt contact Grady. Grady was a lot closer than those scouts and I knew he’d arrive ahead of them.”
“Why did you decide to make this happen, Cami?”
Cami stared at Taffy, and then lowered her head. After a moment she turned to Grady, “Do you remember when you took me to meet Dr. Goldman the day after Christmas?” Grady nodded. “You pleaded with Dr. Goldman to develop technology that would block our pilot’s thoughts from the aliens. He told you what you were asking was impossible; he had no possible way to know if anything he developed actually worked without a telepath to trial it against. I listened to your conversation and chose to be selfish and continue hiding my talent. I refused to be treated as a freak and an outcast if I revealed myself.” Cami paused and sighed, “But after last night when two of you asked me to agree to being adopted…” Cami shook her head slightly. “I realized that not only were the people on New Britannia in danger, but everyone in this family was as well. I decided I couldn’t just sit by and do nothing. I spent last night coming up with a plan to find out if they were out there.”
“Why didn’t you come and present it to me?” Grady asked.
Taffy frowned at him and Cami said, “Whooo! Look at what happened when the plan turned out successful! You would have never agreed for us to do it! And it required young humans to make it work. I decided to take my case to Britt, Sweets, and Linda Kay. I think Britt really understood what was going on and he did make the decision to do it.”
Cami sat down and the room was silent. Taffy turned to Britt and looked into his eyes, “Britt, what made you decide to put Sweets, Cami, and Linda Kay in danger; they could have been killed along with you.”
Cami stood up, “At no point during the entire event was anyone in danger. I would have heard the alien’s thoughts to activate his weapons and I would have yelled at Britt to flee before that could happen.”
Cami sat down again, and Taffy turned back to Britt, “But you didn’t know you were in no danger, did you?”
Britt shook his head, “No, I didn’t.”
“Then why did you do it?”
Britt took a deep breath and said, “Because I believed Cami was right and we were the only ones that could do it. I remembered the discussion between Dad, Rory, and RJ at Christmas and they painted a dour picture of what New Britannia was up against. I decided that if we could uncover them that it was worth dying to find out if it would prevent the loss of billions of lives on New Britannia and the Colonies.”
Taffy stared at Britt and then looked at Grady. His head was down, and he was slightly shaking it. “What’s wrong?”
Grady blew out a harsh breath. He looked up into his son’s eyes and said, “Since the day the Core Aliens destroyed my family and home on Britannia, I have dedicated my life to insuring the survival of humanity. I fought tirelessly to create the forces capable of destroying that terrible civilization and even went out in the very ship you flew during this mission to attack their fleets and delay them from continuing their attacks against mankind. I took greater risks than you took today and didn’t give it a second thought.” Grady took a breath and his expression showed great sorrow. “And today, you’ve done one of the bravest things I’ve ever witnessed, and I’ve called you irresponsible, stupid, and not fit to be my son.” Taffy put her hand on his arm and Grady turned to her, “Somewhere along the way, I’ve lost myself. I was more concerned with the safety of my family than with the well being of humanity.” He turned to Britt, “I am ashamed of what I’ve said to you and I am prouder of you at this moment than I have ever been. I’m truly sorry, Britt.”
Britt smiled, “That means more to me than you can ever understand Dad.”
RJ stood up, “I’m also ashamed of my behavior. Candy was right, I’ve been an ass. Sweets, I’m sorry; I’m really sorry!” Sweets eyes were moist as she nodded. RJ turned to Cami, “It’s you who I’ve offended most of all. I wish I could make it all disappear, but I can’t. I know my words hurt you and I humbly ask you to forgive me.”
&n
bsp; Cami went over and hugged RJ, “I understand why you acted that way. All you could think about was that you could have lost your only child today. I’m amazed at how much you love your daughter. I’ve always wanted someone to love me like that.”
Cami heard, “Someone does.”
She looked at Taffy and Grady added, “Two some ones, Cami.”
Cami rushed to the sofa and threw herself into Taffy’s arms weeping. Taffy hugged her tightly and stroked her hair. Grady blew out a breath and said, “Perhaps we should call this off and continue another time.”
Cami pulled away from Taffy, “NO!”
“Why not?” Grady asked.
“There’s more you need to know!”
Cami wedged her way in between Taffy and Grady and released a soft breath. She turned to Grady and said, “When you showed up with those large warships, the alien in the disabled ship told the others to flee to Andromeda and not continue toward him.”
“Why didn’t they do that?” Taffy asked.
Cami smiled and nudged Grady with her elbow, “Because you said the perfect thing to stop them.”
“What did I say?”
“You told them that if the other ships didn’t show up, you were going to destroy the disabled scout, assemble the fleets, and deliver your message to Andromeda personally.”
Grady nodded, “I did say that, didn’t I? I was so angry I don’t remember a lot of it.”
“I was listening to the alien’s thoughts and he immediately called the other ships to continue to his location.”
“Why did he do that?” Abby asked.
Cami turned to her, “They’re not ready to take us on yet. That scout decided that he couldn’t take the risk you would do what you were promising.”
“I should have destroyed those scouts!”
“No, they needed to go back to Andromeda and tell them you would launch an attack on them if they sent any more scouts into our galaxy,” Cami replied. “They’re not the only ones we’re going to have to face.”
The room was silent, and Sweets asked, “Who else will we have to take on? Is there a civilization in Andromeda that is going to assist them?”
“No. Most of the civilizations around the area they are setting in Andromeda are fighting against them. Several years after the war against the Core Civilization ended, they sent envoys to the two aggressive civilization located on the other side of the central black hole. It took some time, but they convinced those two civilizations that we represent a far greater danger to them than they do to each other. They gave those two civilizations their stealth technology and they are building up their forces to come and attack us.” Grady’s eyes narrowed and Cami added, “They have been stealing some of our technology.”
“Such as?”
“They managed to get the transponder technology we use on our ships so we can keep track of them during combat. Our stealth technology will do us no good; they can see our ships.”
“What else?” Grady asked.
“They’ve installed that transponder technology into their warships…but I saw the frequency they’re using in the mind of a pilot that arrived with the five ships that arrived later. Their stealth technology will do them no good either.” Cami raised a shoulder, “You need to find another way to use transponders that they can’t detect.”
Grady nodded and asked, “What else have they taken?”
“They’ve learned the composition of the stealth fields we once put on our ships. But that won’t matter now that we know their transponders’ frequency. They’ve also learned how to make the hulls we use on our ships.”
“WHAT?!”
“Don’t get upset. They have the method used to build the old hulls like the one on the Rex Rabbit; they can’t produce the current hulls because they don’t have New Britannia’s atmosphere to build them.” Cami paused and then said, “I think I saw that even if they didn’t see us as a threat, they would attack us anyway.”
“Why?” Linda Kay asked.
“To take possession of New Britannia so they can build those hulls. They plan to launch a sneak attack against New Britannia and New Melbourne removing our most important planets. They would then turn their attention to the other Colonies,” Cami answered. She paused and then continued, “They’ve tried to steal our advanced blaster technology, but they discovered they can’t produce the barrels without access to New Britannia’s atmosphere. They’ve also been working hard to steal the technology used in our gravity drives but they’ve not been able to do that yet.”
“Are you sure about that?” RJ asked.
Grady smirked, “I’m reasonably certain that if they had it, they would have used it on the scouts they’re sending here to spy on us and none of them had it.”
RJ nodded and Grady turned to Cami, “You will be leaving school immediately and going to work with Joshua to develop a thought blocking mechanism.” Cami sighed and nodded.
RJ looked at Cami and asked, “How do you know you’re the only one?”
“The only one what?”
“Telepath; how do you know there aren’t any others on New Britannia?”
Cami shrugged and pursed her lips, “I haven’t heard any others.”
“Would you hear them if they used their talent?” Taffy asked.
“I believe so.”
“Didn’t you tell us that if a telepath tried to listen to someone’s thoughts that was surrounded by a large number of people it would be extremely difficult?” Linda Kay asked.
“That would be true of a non-telepath.”
“I’m not sure I understand,” Linda Kay responded.
Cami was silent as she thought about it. After a few moments she said, “Think of it this way. If I were in a large room with a huge crowd of people talking to each other at the top of their voices it would be extremely difficult to hear the thoughts of any one not standing close to me. But if a telepath broadcast a thought, it would be like a sound that would pierce the noise around me. Even with all the background roar, I would hear it.”
“How do you know that?” Sweets asked.
“I can’t really explain it, but I know it’s true.”
RJ interrupted them, “But what if there are other telepaths that choose to hide their talent from being seen. Isn’t that what you’ve been doing?”
Cami shrugged and nodded, “If that were the case, I wouldn’t detect them.”
“What are you getting at, RJ?” Candy asked.
“I don’t believe Cami is a freak.”
“Why not?” Cami asked.
“I believe that you represent the next stage of human evolution and that doesn’t happen with just a single person; it happens in a pattern that pervades humanity.”
“What are you saying?” Grady interjected.
“The odds of Cami being the only telepath on New Britannia, as well as the Colonies, is extremely high against it.”
“How high?” Taffy asked quickly.
“The odds of her being the only telepath is more than a hundred-thousand to one against it. I suspect there are telepaths on New Britannia a lot older than she is. Cami is just part of the current wave of telepaths.”
“There are others like me?” Cami asked softly.
RJ nodded, “I believe there are.”
“How do we find out?!” Cami asked forcefully.
RJ shrugged, “You try to contact them and tell them they’re needed to save us.”
Grady shook his head, “Cami refused to reveal herself when she knew we needed her desperately. Why would any other telepath act differently.”
RJ smiled, “A telepath wasn’t asking Cami to help us. I suspect every telepath on the planet believes they’re alone, just like Cami.”
“But there are half a billion people living on New Britannia. How will they hear her?”
RJ shrugged, “Taffy, just put her in a ship flying high above the planet’s surface to deliver her message.” RJ turned to Cami, “They should be able to hear you if you
did that, wouldn’t they?” Cami nodded.
“But what if they don’t answer the first time?” Britt asked.
“Then schedule her to fly around the planet and tell them you’ll be back the same time the next day if they want to contact you.”
Sweets shook her head, “I take it all back about you not being smart, Dad.”
RJ smiled, “I’ve stopped giving in to my fears and I’m thinking about this. Thank you for saying that Sweets.”
Grady looked at Taffy and she nodded. “This is how we’ll do this. Cami will go to work with Joshua and once he has something to work on, she’ll start delivering her message. Britt, you will fly the ship she’s on.”
“I want to be there too?” Linda Kay quickly replied.
Grady chuckled and looked at Sweets, “What about you?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
Grady nodded and turned to Taffy, “Contact President DeChirico and tell him I want an immediate meeting with him and his staff. RJ, I want you, Candy, Rory and Abby to attend that meeting.”
“I’ll contact him immediately after this meeting is over,” Taffy replied.
Grady looked at her, “Thank you for saving me from my stupidity.”
Taffy hugged him, “It’s been my pleasure.”
• • •
After the meeting ended, Taffy called Abby to the roof and began talking. Abby immediately started shaking her head but stopped as Taffy continued to talk. When Taffy finished, Abby sighed, “This is crazy!”
“Yes, but do you agree with it?” Abby shook her head and then nodded. “You must keep this a secret.”
“That’s going to be next to impossible.”
“Together, we can do it.” Abby blew out a huge breath and hugged Taffy.