by Saxon Andrew
Gibbs brought the Lincoln to a stop. “What else can you determine?”
“Sir, it appears there are large agricultural communities scattered around the large modern cities and they appear to be farming with almost primitive tools.”
“What?”
“They do appear to have motorized vehicles to assist them but most of the farming is done with hand tools.”
“That doesn’t sound right, Frank?” Gibbs responded.
“Sir, that’s what I’m seeing. The cities are quite modern but not the farms.”
Gibbs turned the Lincoln and moved away from the planet. He entered the data Frank collected and forwarded it to Jee’s Flagship, Black Hills. Jee immediately forwarded the data to Tal.
After reviewing the data, Tal said into his helmet, “Computer, project a map of the Andromeda Galaxy on my monitor.” The image appeared on the monitor and Tal ordered, “Computer, put a mark on the map with the location of the planet that Captain Gibbons just found.” A red-flashing light instantly appeared on the map and Tal added, “Place the number ten next to the marker. In the future, include the number of warships detected around any future planets my ships discover.”
“Order acknowledged, Admiral,” the computer responded, and Tal hoped that any other planets found would have small numbers of warships in orbit above them. That wasn’t to be the case.
• • •
Three weeks later, Jee’s squadron had not found any other evidence of the Brotherhood’s presence in the space across the black hole. However, Jan and Rachael’s squadrons had found numerous planets and all of them had large numbers of warships in orbit above them. The smallest number was a hundred and fifty warships and several others had up to two hundred plus warships located in orbit. Tal focused on the map of Andromeda and saw fifty-six flashing-red markers on it. He studied the map closely and wondered why that first planet discovered was so different from the others. He put the map on the forward monitor and said loudly to the crew, “I want all of you to look at the map on the monitor and tell me what you see.”
The crew began examining the map on large wall-monitor and were silent until Katy remarked, “Sir, that first planet appears to be far more settled than the others.”
Tal looked at the images sent to his console from the crews that discovered them, and rubbed his chin, “It appears you’re right, Katy. Anyone have an idea what that might mean?”
Indie said just loud enough to be heard, “It must mean that planet was settled much earlier than the others.”
Tal suddenly saw it. He sat back and said with a smile, “I suspect that might be the planet the last colony ship landed on and settled.”
Ka turned to him, “I think you’re right about that, Sir.”
“So why does it have so few warships defending it?” Tal asked.
“It has to mean they don’t think that planet is in any danger, Sir,” Mila replied.
“And the others?” Tal inquired.
Indie turned around, “Sir, we know the Brotherhood is a conquering civilization. The planets with the large number of warships must have been taken by the Brotherhood from other civilizations. It appears someone is threatening the Brotherhood for having done it.”
Tal’s eyes narrowed, “Notify the ships’ scanning officers to keep an eye out for different types of warships in that area of Andromeda, Katy. Those large number of warships wouldn’t be there without a reason.”
“Yes, Sir.” Katy began sending out the information to the other admirals.
Tal knew if Indie was right, then this area of Andromeda was dangerous. Another red-flashing marker appeared on the monitor and Tal began to worry about just how large and spread out the Brotherhood civilization really was. He touched Jee’s monitor on his console and ordered, “Jee, move your squadron back across the black hole and join the other units in scanning for the presence of the Brotherhood.”
“Yes, Sir. Where do you want me to start?”
Tal examined the map and looked up, “Start to the portside of Rachael’s squadron.”
“On my way, Sir.”
“Be careful, Jee. I suspect you’ll be entering a war zone.”
“I’ll move in from above the galaxy and take it slow.” Tal nodded and turned back to the map as another red marker appeared on the map. This was not looking good. At least none of his ships had been detected by the Brotherhood’s forces…yet.
Chapter Thirteen
“Sir, I’m receiving high-energy bursts out from the fifth-planet in the star-system we’re approaching!”
Gibbs turned to Frank, “What are they?”
“Sir, it appears a space battle is going on around that planet.” Gibbs pushed the thruster handle forward accelerating the Lincoln into the star-system. He slowed and came to a stop just inside scanning range and Frank began announcing, “I have at least two hundred grey and blue-colored warships attacking an equal number of Brotherhood warships. The blue warships constitute sixty-percent of the aliens’ numbers.”
Tal was listening to his console and immediately touched Gibbon’s monitor when he heard the exchange, “Captain, what’s going on?”
“Sir, there is a major space battle taking place around a previously undiscovered Brotherhood planet. The forces appear to be evenly matched in numbers and close to each other in weapons.”
“Send me the feed from your scanner, Captain.”
Gibbons nodded, and Frank began sending the data his scanner was collecting; Tal immediately saw the pitched dog-fight taking place, and asked quickly, “Computer, results of this scan!”
“Four Brotherhood warships are either damaged or destroyed, Admiral. The attacking force has lost five warships.”
Tal was focused on the feed but suddenly heard something from another monitor. He jerked his head around and started shutting down monitors until he heard, “…don’t appear to be in a hurry.”
Tal touched the monitor, “Captain Earoth, report!”
“Sir, I’ve run across a hundred Brotherhood warships moving at slow speed through open space. I’m following them to see what they’re doing.”
“STOP YOUR SHIP NOW!!” Tal immediately ordered.
Earoth stopped the Pampas and asked, “Sir, I’ve stopped the ship. Is there a problem.”
“I really hope not, Captain. Have you been running scans of the space around your vessel?”
“Yes, Sir. The only thing on my monitor is those ships.”
“What kind of scans are you running, Captain.”
Earoth turned to Genia Haskins and she answered, “Sir, I’m scanning for any energy sources.”
“I want you to immediately scan for any physical objects near your vessel,” Tal ordered.
Genia reprogrammed her scanners and her eyes flew wide open, “Sir, I’m detecting numerous physical objects on either side of the Pampas along with a large number behind us.”
Earoth’s expression showed his shock as Tal anxiously responded, “You’ve been suckered into a trap, Captain. You didn’t think this through!”
“But, Sir…”
Tal interrupted, “Captain, why would that many ships be moving at a slow speed through open space? They’re not going on a mission or they would be moving at high-speed. They’re flying slowly hoping they can get you to follow them.”
“But the objects around us aren’t emitting any scanner radiation, Sir.”
“They don’t have to scan to see you optically, Captain. They must be using their optical systems and are watching for the light from distant stars to be blocked out by a passing ship. They know you’re there and the ships behind you are moving to get in line with the course you’re following. Did you detect any physical objects above your ship?!”
“No, Sir.”
“Move your ship vertical and keep moving. Scan for physical objects and keep an eye out for any of them moving in your direction. Stay in touch and keep me informed!”
“Yes, Sir. I’m sorry, Sir, I regret this mistake!”<
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“I need you to escape undetected, Captain. Keep moving vertical and be prepared to run!”
“Yes, Sir.”
Tal jerked his attention to Captain Gibbon’s monitor as he heard, “Sir, I have four hundred Brotherhood warships moving in at high-speed.”
“Don’t get caught in their path, Captain!”
“I’m moving above their trajectory, Sir.”
Tal jerked his head around, “Indie, I’ve been told by Admiral Montana that the scientists who developed our new scanners insist that our active scans cannot be detected. Is that correct?!”
Indie turned to Katy and she answered, “Sir, the evidence suggests they won’t be detected.”
“Skip the trash, will they be detected, Katy?”
“Sir, the Brotherhood uses phase-field scanners like ours, but they only operate on a very narrow band. Our new scanners use a pulsed phase-field at a much higher frequency; the gaps between the phase-field pulses is more than five hundred miles. I don’t believe they could be detected and if they are, they most certainly can’t be traced to a location.”
Tal reached up and rubbed his neck, “I really hope you’re right, Lieutenant.” He connected to Captain Gibbon’s monitor, “Captain I want you to run an active scan to track the ships involved in the battle you’re recording.”
Gibb’s head went back in shock and Frank started shaking his head vigorously, “Sir, if we use an active scan, we’ll be seen. Besides, the ships attacking the Brotherhood planet have fled before the arrival of the incoming Brotherhood warships.”
“Captain, run an active scan now and keep running it until you see it’s been detected!”
Gibbs turned to Frank, “You heard the Admiral. Run the scan.”
“Sir, I’m activating the evade button to give us the escape tracks before I run this scan.”
Gibbs shrugged, “Activate it but we will not leave until the scan is detected.”
“Sir, that shouldn’t take long.” Frank pressed the green evade-button on his panel and then activated a full active scan. He raised his shoulders as he pressed it and kept his eyes on his monitor. After two minutes, he lowered his shoulders and looked very closely at his monitor and then turned to Gibbs. Gibbs immediately said, “Sir, it appears the scan is not being detected. No Brotherhood ships are moving toward my location.”
“Start running a full active scan for physical and energy emissions, Captain!” Tal shot back.
Frank lowered his head again and pressed another button. After another minute passed, Gibbs reported, “Neither type of active scans appears to be detected, Sir.”
Tal sat up straight, “Keep running those scans until you need to move out, Captain.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Tal reconnected to Earoth’s monitor, “Captain, start running both physical and energy active scans and get a clear reading on a path for you to run.”
“Sir?”
“We’ve just determined that our new scanners can’t be detected, and you must get a full picture of what you’re up against. Run the scans now!”
Genia pressed the appropriate buttons on her console and suddenly numerous blips appeared on the monitor. Earoth changed course from vertical to horizonal and moved out from under the ships that were moving in from above the Pampas. He saw numerous phase fields appearing behind him and he increased speed to three-quarters. He saw a green track appear on his monitor and he moved the ship directly on top of it. He saw a gap ahead and he pushed the thruster handle fully forward. The Pampas exploded ahead and then dove below the approaching ships. None of them managed to get a scan of the escaping ship and Earoth realized he had made a huge mistake by getting caught in the trap. That wouldn’t happen again.
• • •
The Brotherhood Group Commander heard his communication leader say, “But you reported earlier that there were numerous stars occulted by an object following our formation.”
The Senior Commander of the small group replied, “My ships reported the light from more than twenty stars was blocked by something moving in front of them. When we surrounded the area where the object should have been located, nothing turned up.”
The Group Commander turned to his officer as they listened in, and he heard, “Then what caused the light to be blocked?”
“I really have no idea. There is a possibility that something moving at high-speed further away caused it, but I really don’t like that explanation.”
“Why not?”
“If it was a single object, it would have to be exceeding the speed of light; no phase field was detected. Something inside our zone of detection must have caused the light to be blocked.”
“Do you say you believe it was a starship that did it?” the communications officer asked.
There was a long moment of silence and the Senior Commander answered, “If it was a starship, my ships were unable to detect it when we went in.”
The Group Commander interrupted the conversation, “The evidence says it has to be a starship. You were slow in moving in and allowed it time to escape our net around it. It’s clear this ship does not appear on our scanners however, they are able to detect our ships even if they are powered down.”
“But Commander, it took numerous calculations to determine the course that object was taking before I could order my ships in!” the Senior Commander explained.
“I do not hold you at fault for this. We knew the issues with laying this trap and knew that it might not work. Order your ships back to their ports and I’ll let you know if we decide to try again.”
“Yes, Commander.”
The Group Commander broke the connection and turned to his Second-in-Command, “Do you see this differently?”
“There’s no solid evidence that a ship was there.” the Second replied. “Reporting there was might be a mistake.”
The Group Commander leaned forward, “Why?”
“Because the Fleet Commanders will make decisions about the technology of a ship that could have evaded our trap and it might not be correct. A starship that is invisible, undetectable, and fast enough to move out of the area we surrounded might cause them to question your sanity. The warship that was destroyed wasn’t anywhere close to being capable of doing those things, Commander.”
The Group Commander thought about the advice his son was offering him and decided to heed it. He looked at the monitor and said, “Recall the ships; I think we’ll set the trap up again in another place.” He glanced at his son and saw him tilt his head and raise his shoulders. “What are you thinking?” he asked impatiently.
“I suspect this type of trap will not work, Commander.”
“Why not?”
“Because I do believe there was an invisible, undetectable ship present and it now knows how to avoid that type of trap.”
“But you said that there wasn’t solid evidence to prove one was present!” the Commander countered.
“Commander, those of us out here in the fleets know the truth in most situations. However, the Fleet Commanders are driven by politics and self-ambition and would use any excuse to replace you with one of their lackeys. They’d suspect it was true as well but use the situation to increase their power. You know I’m right about this.”
The Group Commander’s mouth turned to a scowl, as he nodded, “Set up the trap anyway. If we don’t do it, I’ll be questioned as to why I didn’t. If I even suggest we saw a ship, then it will be like you said.”
The Second nodded and turned to the communication leader. The Group Commander sat back wringing his hands. If there was an undetectable ship…that spelled real danger to the Brotherhood. It was going to be politics and stupid selfish leaders that would make the problems worse, if it were true that this ship really existed. But he wasn’t going to run the risk of execution by pressing the point.
• • •
Tal was angry, and he knew that Earoth made a really dumb move. He decided that just discussing this over the monitors was not enough. He p
ressed the general frequency and began speaking, “Attention all ships. Break off your searches and move out of Andromeda to meet at the Brazil. I want all front-console operators to meet in the Brazil’s conference room in ten-hours. Use your shuttles to move to the Brazil.”
Indie turned around, “Sir, is that a good idea. We’ll be leaving the ships defenseless.”
Tal pressed two-buttons and ordered, “Paris and Yosemite, you will take up a position far below the Brazil and make sure no enemy warships are moving toward the freighter.”
Nicole and Jack acknowledged the order as the three ships in Tal’s unit turned to move toward the Brazil. Tal turned to Indie, “The crews must not be suckered into other traps, Indie. I must pound that point in to where they won’t make another mistake.”
“Sir, these traps can be easily avoided,” Indie replied.
Tal’s eyebrows came together, “Oh? And how can that be done?”
“Sir, if the Pampas had decided to move below the hundred ships they were following, and stayed outside their scanning range, it could have scanned them and saw the hidden warships lying in ambush.”
“But the Pampas would have still occulted the light from distant stars, Indie.”
“True, but if they were a light week below those ships, the ambushers wouldn’t have seen the blocked light for a week. Using blocked light will only work if our ships are close to the site of the trap,” Indie responded.
Katy turned and interrupted them, “Excuse me, Admiral.” Tal and Indie turned to her. “I’ve just received a communication from the Sha-Class Warship Endeavor that it will be delivering a passenger to the Brazil in less than twelve-hours.”
Tal nodded and turned back to Indie, “I still want to meet with the command crews from each ship, if for no other reason than to summarize where we are in our scouting activities. I need you to discuss the avoidance of traps when the meeting starts.”
“Yes, Sir.” Indie stared at Tal, but he had turned back to his console. Indie went to his command chair and wondered what passenger was being brought to the Brazil. But Tal wasn’t saying, and he saw that he wasn’t going to offer the information. He saw Katy staring at him and Indie raised his eyebrows and shrugged; he didn’t know anything about this passenger. Katy turned back to her console and wondered who it was. Why would a sha war ship be used to deliver a single passenger; it was an exorbitant waste of time and energy. She saw a flash from her engagement ring and smiled. She looked at Indie and blew him a kiss.
