by Saxon Andrew
Dat stared at the display and saw the twenty six elders extend one of their arms to the two sitting in front of them. Thirteen touched Blacky and thirteen touched Ringie. “Bring the view in closer, Loree,”
Dat watched one of the Elder’s arms touch Blacky’s upper body and disappear into it. It remained for a minute and then the arm was withdrawn. The twenty six then rolled their heads to their lower bodies and remained still.
“Dat, their bodies are undergoing some kind of change.”
“What?”
“I don’t know what it is but my scanners detect changes in their body’s structure.”
Dat continued to watch and thirty minutes later, Blacky’s head rolled up to the top of his body and he hooted. He immediately rolled his head back to the floor as a hundred Madators came zooming out of the sky and formed a semicircle around the twenty six Elders. The process repeated itself and the next semicircle had four hundred Madators land and start it again. Within six hours, the huge plain was covered with Madator semicircles. Finally, Blacky rose and looked out at the million plus Madators sitting in front of the building. He raised six of his arms and hooted. The huge gathering of Madators answered him. Blacky turned and offered one of his arms to Ringie who allowed him to pull her to her feet. Blacky wrapped two of his arms around her and looked out at the gathering again. He hooted and screamed and the entire plain erupted into screams and hoots as all of the Madators took flight.
“What just happened, Stein?”
“Blacky instructed the ones here at the gathering to go and share the Ultimate Prey with their people. He then told them that he and Ringie were now bound to each other. It appears the gathering approves of Blacky’s choice. If they were on the ground, I suspect they would pound the earth flat with their bobbing.”
“Have you seen any difference in them, Loree?”
“The one that is clearly noticeable is that they are now flying at three times their normal top speed.”
Dat stared at the cloud of Madators circling the huge field and saw Loree was right. If these creatures had somehow assimilated the strength and speed of the Servants into their bodies….he shook his head. Sometimes…trust was the most difficult task one could do. Belief without evidence…that’s what made it so hard. He looked at Blacky and Ringie accepting the cheers of their people and shook his head. When you lose the ability to trust, you’ll never have peace in your heart. “Take me home, Stein. I need to see my family.”
The small Rover rose into the sky as thousands of Madators flew by. In a few moments it disappeared and jumped away. Blacky watched it disappear and smiled. Dat didn’t know what changes he had brought to his species. Dat didn’t know it but Blacky had no intention of keeping his promises when he first offered to assist the Union against the Servants. He was looking for an escape. Now he knew his promise was going to be kept. Dat had taught him how to love a different creature. It was a lesson none of the Madators would ever forget. Dat had proven his species could be trusted. For the first time in their long history, the Madators were not alone in the universe against everything else. They had a friend they could count on. Blacky almost laughed. Dat’s run with Blacky had already become part of Madator Legend. With every telling of the story, Dat’s speed would increase. Blacky figured in a hundred years, Dat would be running close to light speed. Blacky was thankful he had lost the race. His people were alive because Dat won. This was one legend where he had no problem being the loser.
“We need to get the waves ready to go.”
Blacky looked at his new mate and pulled her close, “That can wait until tomorrow. There is only you at this moment.”
Ringie smiled, as they turned and walked into the white building to the cheers of more than a million Madators.
• • •
Dat arrived home to Gresha and the three babies. He walked over and wrapped Gresha up in his arms and pulled her tight, “Hey, have you missed me or something?”
Dat smiled and pulled her out of the nursery where the babies were sleeping. Gresha wondered what was going on…for just a short time…then she knew. Sometimes love just had to be expressed. This was one of them.
• • •
Gem stared at Shane, “Is something bothering you?”
Shane gave a start and smiled, “I was wondering if you would marry me tomorrow?”
Gem was stunned by the question as Shane pulled a small box out of his front pocket and opened it for her to see. Gem’s eyes were full of tears and she glanced at the beautiful ring. She looked back at Shane, “Is it possible to do it today?”
Shane’s smile was huge, “I’ll contact Admiral Hull.”
Gem wrapped her arms around Shane’s neck, “Do that in an hour.” She stood on her toes and kissed him.
When they broke the kiss Shane said, “An hour it is.”
Chapter Nineteen
Admiral Hull looked at the Horde and Hive leaders and shook her head, “I appreciate your wanting to provide the pilots for this mission but the ones we’re dropping on the planets are right. They will all be killed before they can escape.”
“We only lost ten ships in the last drop.”
“That’s because only ten of the planets had a warship in orbit. None of your ships were able to escape them. They are planning to activate the ship’s self-destruct circuits on arrival. The ensuing nuclear pulse will blind the Servant scanners long enough for the drop warriors to get into the planet’s atmosphere.”
“What about the satellites?”
“Missiles will be launched as soon as the ship emerges into normal space targeted at the four satellites. The drop warriors will actually jump out of the ship just before it emerges and start their drops on the opposite side of the planet from the ship’s destruction. The ship will be operated automatically by its computer system after they drop. I guess the real question is whether or not you can afford to lose that many ships?”
The Horde master waved an arm, “They’re doing nothing but taking up space. They’re so ancient; we’ll never use them again. You’re welcome to all we have stored.”
“How many do you have?”
“I have about three hundred thousand that can fly.”
The Hive Controller looked up from his display, “I have a few more than that. Given time we could get some of the others repaired for you to use.”
“No, that won’t be necessary; we’re only going to need about four hundred thousand.”
“Well, if you’ll get the pilots here, we can train them how to fly it in less than a few hours. Since they will only be jumping in, that process is pretty much automatic.”
“I’ll send ten of our Sailors to take the training and they’ll come back to train the others. If you could start ferrying the ships to the coordinates I just sent you, I would greatly appreciate it.”
“We’ll start immediately, Admiral.”
“I thank both of you for your help in making this happen.”
Kat’s display went dark and she wondered about dropping that many Madators on that many planets. How would they ever manage to get them all back? She shrugged and decided to worry about that issue after the war was over. If they lost, it really wouldn’t matter.
• • •
Dat stood with Blacky and it felt like Déjà vu. The shuttles were lined up on the vast central plain of the northern continent and they extended over the horizon. The sky was full of Madators hooting and screaming as they waited their turn to land and board. Shuttles were lifting and shuttles were landing. The magnitude of the operation was staggering. Dat turned to Blacky, “Are you going with them?”
Blacky continued to stare at the sky and said, “No, this is where all of our new legends begin. I have been chosen to lead my people and my place is here.”
Dat thought about it for a moment, “Are you happy about that?”
Blacky looked down at Dat, “Not really. I’m going to miss the hunt.” Blacky looked back up at the sky.
“You could alw
ays round up some Servants and bring them here.”
Blacky’s head rolled halfway down his chest faster than Dat could follow. “I didn’t think about that.”
“You could put them on the huge island in the southern ocean. They’ll be unable to leave and endanger you from there without ships.”
Blacky hooted and heard those flying overhead answer. He looked back at Dat as his head moved up his body, “You understand us better than we understand ourselves. That is an excellent proposal.”
Dat smiled, “Have you tried to take on one of the Cape Buffalo alone?”
Blacky smiled, “I’m not that stupid. That is still a challenge we’re working on. The herd is on you in an instant if you attack one their members. We only have eight arms and that’s not enough against twenty of those beasts.”
They stood and watched the operation continue. After a while Blacky said, “This is larger than anything we’ve ever done.”
“I don’t see any of them carrying what they’ll need at their new homes.”
“The leader of each group has a communicator. They don’t need much more.”
Dat hesitated, “I saw that a thousand of the ships are going to drop on some of the Servant’s major planets.”
“We’re sending our best to those. The participants know the risk and want to do it anyway.”
“They want the challenge.”
Blacky shrugged, “I’d be going with them if I could. It should be glorious.”
“Not if the ship is blasted before you could get out.”
“The drop globes on those ships have their own means of propulsion. They can be dropped further away from the planet and work their way in. They’re extremely difficult for a scanner to see. I’d take the risk.”
Dat tilted his head and shrugged, “That doesn’t really surprise me.”
“Like I said earlier, you know me better than I know myself.”
Both of them watched the operation continue in silence. Much was communicated without words. They both knew each other’s expressions. At one point Blacky issued a loud hoot and was answered by a hoot high overhead. He hooted louder and the Madator began dropping toward him. Dat saw the Madator was smaller than the others. Blacky hooted at the Madator and it lowered its head and remained silent. Blacky pointed behind him and the Madator moved and sat down on the ground.
“What was that all about?”
“She knows she is too young to do this.”
“Then why was she attempting to go?”
“She’s being silly. She wants to be with one of the males assigned to the fight.”
“Would Ringie allow you to leave her behind?” Blacky’s head rolled down to his chest instantly and he stared at Dat. Dat tilted his head, “I suspect if she was forced to remain behind, her life would be filled with sorrow without you.”
Blacky remained silent and just stared at Dat. His head slowly moved up to the top of his body and he looked at the young female weeping quietly behind him. He blew out the air in his body and Dat’s hair was ruffled. He made a small hoot and the female walked slowly over to them. Blacky looked at her, “I’m telling you this in my friend’s language because he had made me see this differently. You may go with the one you have chosen.” The female’s head rolled completely around her body. “However, you will not participate in any kills until you achieve your full size. That is a supreme order and you will obey it.” The female hooted her agreement. “Go to your shuttle.” The female put an arm on Dat’s shoulder and said, “Thank you so much.” She ran forward and converted to the wing shape faster than Dat had ever seen. She flew low over the ground and flew into a shuttle that was starting to close its door. Blacky heard a loud hoot as the door stopped and he answered it. A moment later the door closed and the shuttle lifted. Blacky shook his head, “That female can fly!”
“What was the hoot about from the shuttle?”
“The mission commander wanted confirmation that I approved her going.”
“I suspect she will be a good asset to the mission with her flying skills, Blacky.”
“I think you’re right.” Blacky paused and finally said, “It was the right thing to do.”
Dat smiled, “Indeed it was.”
Later the next day, when Blacky told Ringie about what he had done, she snatched him off his feet and showered him with caresses. “Hey, hey.”
“My mate is romantic. I love you so much.”
Blacky gave in to Ringie and decided it was a good thing to have allowed the young female to go. It was that young female who ultimately became the leader of the community. Her bravery shamed them all. Her spirit is what drove them to victory on one of the Servant’s Minor Planets. She was the one that killed the planet’s ruling Lord and escaped to continue the fight. One of her descendants would one day return to rule the home world.
• • •
The Madator pilot went to the bridge of the large yellow ship and set the jump drive. He activated the automatic missile launchers, force field, and self-destruct circuit. He checked to make sure everything was operating and then activated the two minute countdown. He rushed off the bridge to the landing bay where he was the last to enter his drop globe. He flowed into it and saw the red light on the landing bay door start flashing, indicating there was fifteen seconds until jump.
He closed his globe and suddenly the entire load of drop globes was blown out of the ship into green space for a moment…then they emerged into normal space and saw the planet below them. There was a bright flash over the planet’s horizon and they began falling toward the surface. An hour later, they were on the ground and moving into the soil at their assigned locations. More than a thousand Servants were killed on the planet that first day.
• • •
Dat sat in the second scanner chair on board the Saturn. A year had passed and Shane’s four fleets had finally reached full strength. Dat saw a bright signal appearing on the scanner display. He knew it was a probe and it was located at the center of the area in space that Shane was going to demonstrate the maneuver he had been working on while his fleets were being built. He saw the four fleets surrounded the probe at a distance of more than a million miles with a formation that placed the globe inside what looked like a huge box. Shane looked over at Arvolo, “Are you ready, Sir?” Dat nodded and moved his head to the huge monitor on the wall that would track the training maneuver. He saw the four sides of huge box facing each other with the probe in the center. Shane said, “Please understand that, normally, we would just jump to this location with pre-assigned coordinates and start the process immediately.” Dat nodded and Shane reached forward and pressed a button. Dat felt the Saturn leave normal space and reappear suddenly. “What are the bright lines that left your ships before you jumped?”
“Those are four penetrators that each ship launched before starting the maneuver. Our brief jump through the barrier will put us ahead of them until we arrive at the probe’s location where we’ll see the penetrators launched by the other three sides moving ahead of us looking for targets.”
Dat watched the display and the four sides rushed forward at an incredible velocity. The four sides began intersecting each other immediately and ships passed other ships moving in a perpendicular direction from above and below and head on. He watched the millions of Jukeboxes passing each other at an incredible velocity and wondered how they avoided hitting each other. All four sides of the huge box came together at the probe’s location and then moved away from each other as they moved across the space designated for the exercise. Trying to follow the exercise on the display was impossible. The four sides arrived at the opposite side from where they had started and stopped. The ships disappeared briefly as they flipped in green space to orient themselves back toward the center of the box.
Dat stared at Shane and released the arms of the chair he was sitting in, “How do you avoid collisions?”
“The ships look like they’ve moving close to each other but the sides are offset f
rom each other such that the path each ship will take through the box is half a mile clear of any ships approaching it. The ships are allowed to veer either left or right for a half mile to avoid a collision or to fire on a ship in their line. The computer will automatically return it to its assigned vector when the pilot releases the manual controls.”
“And you think the penetrators won’t hit your ships?”
“The computers will be tracking them as they move across the box. It will automatically leave normal space as the ship approaches an incoming penetrator.”
“That’s why each ship only launched four instead of a full barrage.”
“Yes Sir, a full barrage would overload the system.”
“I would think we might have our own ships firing at each other.”
“That’s why each side of the box had only one layer. There will not be one of our ships in the assigned path of another ship. All our pilots have to do is follow their vector and fire at anything in front of them. As long as it is within the half mile area around their ships, they will not fire on each other.”
“How long will it take for you to organize your ships into this formation? It looks like it could only be used once.”
Shane pressed a button on his panel, “Sir, I have the coordinates of four more probes; all of them are more than four light years from this location. I want you to pick one and send it to my jump officer.”
“Why?”
“I think you’ll find it enlightening.”
Dat looked at the four coordinates and chose the second one. He sent the coordinates to the jump officer who entered them into his board. The ship’s lights went to combat level and he heard, “Three, two, one…”
Dat looked up at the large display and saw the four million ships instantly appear in the box formation and immediately accelerate. He saw the red lines that represented the launch of the penetrators and the ships went through the space in less than ten minutes. Dat knew this was an entire new order of using major battleships. He shook his head and looked at Shane, “This is incredible; it’s hard to believe you could make this happen. I guess I was wrong about needing the Rovers.”
