by Saxon Andrew
Taffy nodded, “Thank you, Mr. President.”
“This meeting is over. All of you know what has to be done and Admiral Dunhan, I’m leaving the planning of our exodus in your hands.”
“I’ll handle it, Mr. President.”
• • •
The meeting broke up and Taffy stood up. Grady grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to her chair, “We need to talk.” Taffy sighed and waited until the room emptied. Grady waited until everyone left and then turned to Taffy, “You promised me you wouldn’t keep things from me!”
“I promised not to keep anything from you that you should know!”
“And you don’t think I needed to know you were doing this?!” Grady replied forcefully.
“And just what would you have done if I told you what I was planning?!” Taffy said loudly. Grady was silent and Taffy continued, “You would have said no because you didn’t have time to get our fleets ready to take on the aliens and lead the construction on Britannia. You would have stopped me in my tracks!”
“You could have convinced me if you tried!”
“Get real Grady Henricks! You were already furious that I made a small omission about the scouting reports on the aliens and you would have seen my plan as a selfish way to get back to Britannia. You would have said no just to prove to me that I made a huge mistake and punish me by saying no! Besides, you had more than you could handle just getting our fleets organized!”
“That’s ridiculous!”
“Oh, is it? Britt has been gone for months to Britannia and you haven’t even noticed he was gone.” Grady’s expression turned angry and Taffy’s expression grew angrier, “You’ve seen Linda Kay here on numerous occasions and Britt wasn’t here; not once did you ask where he was! You were so focused on learning what the aliens were up to that you ignored everything and everyone around you; that includes me! Now that my plan is going to save us, not once have you said, ‘Good thinking, Taffy! Way to go, Taffy!’ No, you’re sitting here angry that I didn’t tell you. I didn’t tell you because you wouldn’t have listened!”
Grady glared at Taffy and then took a deep breath. He released it slowly and said, “RJ and I scared you at Christmas when we discussed the danger the aliens represented.”
“Damn right!”
“And you feared that our family would be in danger if nothing was done?” Taffy sighed, lowered her head, and nodded. “Good job, Taffy.” Taffy looked up at him. “And you’re right; I would have stopped you.” Grady paused and shook his head slightly before continuing, “You are a brilliant woman and your suggestions have been the difference in us still being alive today. I promise from this moment on that the small omission about the aliens will never enter my thoughts again. You’ve more than made up for that with this. Please forgive me and know that I’ll support you from this moment on, unless I see something you’re missing. I’m sorry I’ve not given you the attention you deserve. I love you more than I can express.” Taffy stood up and went to sit on his lap. He held her close and said softly, “I am so proud of what you’ve done.”
“And I promise to not keep anything secret from you again.”
Grady chuckled, “Unless you think you have to do it.”
Taffy shrugged, “Let’s hope I won’t be put in that situation.” Grady hugged her tightly and smiled.
• • •
Sweets found Charlie waiting on the roof and she excused herself from Linda Kay. She walked up to him and he asked, “Is the reason you wanted me at this meeting was because you knew about this promotion?”
“No, it was a shock to me.”
“Then why did Admiral Dunhan do it? There are far more qualified Admirals than me to do this.”
“I suspect my parents want to separate us.” Charlie’s head tilted. “My mother caught me staring at you during the meeting and she knows me too well; she could tell I’m interested in you.”
“Are you?” Charlie asked.
“I’ve told you that in so many words earlier on the ship.”
“So many words isn’t saying you’re interested in me.”
“I’m not ready to be in a relationship with you, Charlie. I’m too young and inexperienced and it would be a constant issue between us. I need some time. But yes, I am interested in you.”
Charlie sighed, “When I found out how young you are, I beat myself up over being interested in you.”
“I understand why.” Sweets paused and asked, “Is there anyone in your life?”
“No. You have amazed me at the insights you had during our mission and I really respect how much you know. I guess right behind respect comes interest. I did decide to back away from you after you told me your age.”
“I ask you not to do that, Charlie. Let’s wait and see what happens, ok?”
Charlie smiled, “This conversation shows me you’re more mature than I thought. I won’t be going anywhere but out into New Britannia’s star system. Let me know if you change your mind.”
Sweets nodded, “I expect you to do the same.”
“I don’t think I’ll be changing my mind. You are quite the catch for anyone.”
Sweets smiled and Candy walked up. Sweets turned to her and said, “I was just congratulating Admiral Grinstead on his promotion and I was telling him he deserved it.” She turned to Charlie, “Stay safe and good luck.”
Charlie nodded, “Thank you. And it’s a pleasure to see you again Mrs. Dunhan. If you don’t mind, I have a report to do for Admiral Dunhan.”
Candy smiled, “Congratulations, Admiral.” Charlie walked away and Sweets hugged Candy. She turned to go to the shuttle and Candy wondered if it had been necessary to promote the Captain; it didn’t appear to bother Sweets in the slightest. Oh well, never hurt to be careful.
• • •
Six weeks later, Funny Man and Charlotte arrived from Andromeda and were called in to meet with Grady and RJ over dinner. Sweets sat across the table from them and watched Funny Man and Charlotte; something had happened. Funny Man began telling them what they discovered. Charlotte sat beside him and remained silent and Cami’s expression showed something was wrong.
RJ listened to Funny Man and asked, “When did you find out about them launching the missiles in fifteen-months?”
“They made the decision almost immediately after the follow up fleet arrived.”
“When was that?”
Funny Man shrugged, “About four weeks ago.”
“What took you so long to get back?” Grady asked. “Did you run into trouble getting away?”
Funny Man turned to him, “No. I just wanted to wait and see if they revealed anything else that was important.”
Grady turned to Charlotte, “Did you agree that you should delay your return.” Charlotte was silent and Grady said, “Lieutenant?”
“I told him the moment we learned of the timing of their attack we should leave immediately but he refused to do it. I finally took control of the scout and moved out of Andromeda. We’d still be sitting there if I hadn’t done it.”
Funny Man scowled at Charlotte and Grady said, “Is she right about that?”
“Sir, the opportunity to listen to the leaders of that civilization doesn’t just happen every day. We needed to make good use of the opportunity.”
“Do you think anything else you learned would be more important than that bit of information?” Taffy asked. Funny Man stared at her and she added, “Did you find out anything else of importance in the time you stayed?”
“No, we didn’t,” Charlotte answered. “However, we were nearly discovered six times during the time we remained.”
Grady stared at Funny Man and saw his anger. “You’re mad at her for forcing you to leave.”
“She wouldn’t let it go and kept insisting we had to leave.”
“And what would have happened if you had been discovered and your scout destroyed?” RJ asked.
Sweets saw that Cami was right. Funny Man was just a hollow shell filled with a giant e
go. He still didn’t see he had acted stupidly. RJ turned to Charlotte, “You are promoted to Captain and will be commanding the ships leading our ships to Britannia.” He turned to Funny Man, “You will be joining Admiral Grinstead’s fleet making sure no enemy scouts make it in close to New Britannia.”
“Britannia?” Funny Man asked.
Grady nodded, “We’re moving New Britannia’s population to Britannia. We have no possible way to stop the alien’s planned missile attack and we started the exodus three weeks ago. The most important piece of information we needed was the timing of the aliens attack and you sat there four weeks and didn’t bring it back to us!”
Funny Man nearly exploded but heard Cami in his mind, “You self-serving, egotistical idiot. Go ahead and scream! You need to be kicked out of the Navy. You’re a danger to yourself and the people counting on you to protect them!”
Funny Man looked at Cami and saw her disgust. He looked at Charlotte and saw the same expression. He turned to Grady, “I was stupid. It won’t happen again.” He turned to Charlotte, “I’m sorry and you were right; I should have listened.”
“But you didn’t. And I doubt you ever will listen to anything but your huge ego.” Charlotte looked at Grady, “Sir, may I be excused to go check up on my mother?” Grady nodded and Charlotte stormed out.
The dinner continued peacefully, and Grady and RJ questioned Funny Man on what he saw at the alien’s planet. By the end, he was relaxed and knew he wasn’t going to be kicked out of the Navy. He looked at Sweets with a smile numerous times during the conversation and just before he left, he went up to her. “Perhaps I can see you before I leave.”
Sweets saw Cami’s expression behind him and smiled sweetly, “Why would you want to do that?”
“You’ve been helping me since that day I met you on the shuttle. I appreciate it.”
Sweet’s smile grew larger, “Is it because you looked at my thoughts and saw I was very interested in you? I know you’re not looking at my thoughts now because Cami would see you doing it. Please, take a look at what I think about you now.”
Funny Man looked in her mind and his smile disappeared. “I was so incredibly naive being attracted to you. I confused self-confidence with ego. You disgust me! I really can’t blame you; after all, you’re a product of what you’ve been, and you didn’t control that. But you’re poison and I don’t want any part of that. You think that by getting close to me, it will help your career. Trust me on this; you need to stay as far away from me as you can. I won’t be helping you!”
Funny Man glared at Sweets and both of them heard Cami in their minds, “BRAVO!” Funny Man turned and looked at Cami. “Your future is your own. I don’t think you can change enough to make much of yourself. It’s a pity; so much talent wasted on someone like you.”
Funny Man walked up the stairs to the roof and disappeared. He appeared a few minutes later and said, “Charlotte has left with the shuttle we came in.”
Grady looked at Sweets and her expression stopped him in his tracks. He looked at Linda Kay and decided, “Taffy, I’m taking Funny Man to the hotel.”
“That would be good, honey.”
• • •
Grady lifted the shuttle and they flew toward the hotel in silence. Finally, Funny Man said, “You don’t think much of me, do you?”
“I haven’t from the beginning.”
Funny Man’s eyebrows came together, “Why not?”
“Because you’re a user and only think about yourself.”
“Then why did you allow me to join the Navy?”
“Because even though you’re a reprehensible person, I need you to defend the people I’m sworn to protect. You couldn’t care less about them and it shows in your facial expressions. I owe it to them to use you and many other telepaths just like you. A superiority complex is what you’re afflicted with and I don’t know of a cure for that particular ailment.”
“And when you’re done with me?”
“I’ll give you a fleet retirement and try to make sure your life is comfortable. I hold no animosity toward you; you are who you are, and I knew that going in. You deserve to be treated well for choosing to help humanity.”
“It really wasn’t a choice.”
Grady looked at him, “There is always a choice. Sometimes the choice isn’t a good one, but you could have said no. I respect you didn’t.” Grady landed the shuttle outside the hotel and turned to Funny Man, “You and Charlotte were an item, weren’t you?”
“We were.”
“I find it interesting that you kept the woman you supposedly cared about in a dangerous situation for weeks and didn’t give a second thought to her welfare. What does that say about you?” Funny Man stared at Grady for a moment and then exited the shuttle.
• • •
A week later, Funny Man received his orders to report to the spaceport to pick up his ship to join Admiral Grinstead’s fleet that was assembling above the planet. That evening he entered the Cafeteria and saw Charlotte sitting at a table with her mother. He walked over and said, “I’m shipping out in the morning; may I speak with you for a moment?”
“We have nothing to say!”
“Please, it will only take a moment.”
Charlotte’s mother said, “Charlotte, don’t be impolite! He’s asked you nicely.”
Charlotte’s mouth pursed and she stood up and walked with Funny Man to the lobby. Funny Man looked at her and asked, “Do you know why I kept refusing to leave?”
“Because you’re a fool?”
Funny Man winced, “I deserve that. I refused to leave because I kept hoping the aliens would reveal something that would make me a hero when we returned. I was totally focused on me and in the process kept you in a dangerous situation. I was dumb, very dumb. Only thinking about myself has led to nothing but trouble and has revealed just how shallow and irresponsible I am capable of being. I’m sorry for putting you in that situation and I don’t expect you to ever forgive me for it. But I want you to know that I see it now and I’m ashamed of who I am. I’m sorry.” Funny Man turned and walked away.
Charlotte watched him leave and sighed. She went back to her table and forced a smile. “Isn’t that the young man you’ve spent a lot of time with?”
“Yes, but that’s over, Mom.”
“Pity. I thought he was very nice.”
Charlotte took a bite of her meal and thought, “So did I.”
Chapter Thirteen
Grady went to the Science Center and saw everything was in an uproar as the scientists and engineers were getting everything ready to ship to Britannia. He felt a lump in his throat knowing there was nothing he could do to prevent the coming destruction. He went to Joshua’s office and found him, Noel, and Hessy looking over a stack of plans. They looked up and Joshua went over and hugged Grady, “I know how this must be affecting you.”
“It’s so frustrating to know there is no defense to prevent it,” Grady replied. “I hate we’re going to have to abandon New Britannia!”
Joshua nodded, “We’re working on making sure we never have to abandon another planet.”
Grady shook his head, “The Universe just keeps throwing things at us that aren’t anticipated. We’re in more trouble now than when we were confronting the Fagan and Core Alien Civilizations. We were at least able to detect their warships.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Joshua, they can detect our warships’ gravity drives and if they stop using their transponders, which they intend to do, we’ll not be able to detect them; our fleets are in real jeopardy.”
“We think we know how they developed the means of detecting our gravity drives.”
Grady sat down in front of Joshua’s desk and said, “Do tell. How did they manage to do it?”
“I believe they scouted the ruins of the Fagan Civilization and found one of their warships that was still pretty much intact. The Fagan were able to detect our gravity drives and that is the most likely place they found
that technology.”
Grady shrugged, “That makes sense. But what can we do about it?”
“The problem is that the gravity drives’ disturbance around the ship extends beyond the stardrive field,” Joshua responded. “Noel Hessy and I can detect the drive field and it’s clear it is operating outside the stardrive.”
“Are we able to detect their gravity drives?”
“Not yet. Remember that they don’t use a stealth coating on their warships; they use the stealth field we once used. That field extends far enough out to contain the gravity field inside it.” Grady sighed and shook his head. Joshua smiled, “That doesn’t mean we can’t detect them Grady.”
“What?”
“We invented the stealth field and it uses a very specific frequency that’s transmitted from front and rear emitters.”
Grady nodded, “I remember that.”
“Well, those emitters have leakage of the frequency from the bow and stern of their ships. It’s a small leakage but it can be detected with a sensitive enough scanner.”
Grady’s eyes widened slightly, “Do we have a scanner capable of detecting it?”