by Saxon Andrew
“Well if you know that any survivors won’t live, what are we doing here?”
Grady turned to Taffy, “Collecting a record of the Fagan’s destruction to share with our descendants. It’s important to know that the end result of being a conqueror is what happened to them.”
Taffy pursed her lips and snorted, “Grady, it wouldn’t have mattered if the Fagan were conquerors or not, the aliens would have destroyed them anyway.”
Grady saw Taffy’s expression and smiled, “I’ll give you a chance to see what you’re missing before I tell you.” Taffy’s head went back, and her eyes narrowed. After a moment, she replied, “I don’t see anything I’m missing. The universe is filled with predatory civilizations that go out and destroy other civilizations. The Fagan had the misfortune to run into one of the real bad ones.”
Suddenly, Taffy’s eyes flew wide open and Grady laughed, “Do you see it now?”
Taffy huffed out a breath and nodded. Ron was watching them from his console and asked, “Would you mind telling me because I agree with what Taffy said.”
Grady nodded to Taffy and she turned to Ron, “The Fagan didn’t have the misfortune of running into the aliens, we led them there.” Ron’s head tilted and Taffy continued, “Let’s suppose the Fagan were not conquerors but only built up their forces for defense against aggressive civilizations. America wouldn’t have been enslaved and we would have found America and the Fagan when we went out searching for the third colony, right?” Ron nodded. “We would have probably warned the Fagan about the aggressive aliens in the core of the galaxy and possibly become allies against them. Do you think the core aliens would have defeated the Fagan’s forces if we had joined them?”
Ron shook his head, “No, the aliens would have lost.”
Taffy turned to Grady, “You’re making this record to teach that you must always be prepared to defend yourself and also constantly look for allies to join you in the effort.”
Grady nodded, “Exactly right.”
“Is that why you’re thinking about saving Earth instead of destroying it, Sir?” Rachael asked.
Grady turned to his scanning officer, “Yes. But if I can’t pull their fangs, they will go the route of the Fagan.”
“Do you think they can be defanged?” Ron asked.
Grady turned to him, “I don’t know, but we’ll do what must be done.” The bridge crew looked at each other and after all they had witnessed, they knew Grady wasn’t kidding.
Chapter Nineteen
The Supreme War Leader arrived back at the Ruling World and expected some real problems from the Supreme Council. He had lost more than a million warships in exterminating the Fagan and he hoped he’d survive the meeting. He was greatly surprised when the Council spent the first thirty minutes congratulating themselves on making the decision to attack the Fagan ahead of the enemies attacking them on the other side of the core.
“The Fagan were more dangerous than those two civilizations attacking us. We were fortunate to remove them before they grew stronger,” a council member said to the Senior Councilor.
Another said, “Did you notice that they were starting to bring a much more powerful Fortress on line, it could have stood up to our most advanced Planet Killer and we’re lucky they didn’t have time to build more of them.” And so it went for thirty minutes.
Finally, one turned to the War Leader, “You lost half of your warships. What do you have to say in your defense?”
The War Leader realized in that moment that the Council didn’t want to have him executed and had spent thirty minutes telling him how to defend himself. He used their statements to defend what happened and at the end of the cross-examination, the Senior asked, “What did you learn from this?”
The War Leader was ready for this question, “I learned that staying in tight formations is suicide. Our fleets must be spread out so our Planet Killers can fire their beams at will. The Fagan had more than a thousand inhabited planets, but the First Enemy only has one. I have more than enough warships remaining to remove it from existence.”
“Are you sure about that?” the Senior asked. “We can pull some ships from the fleets on the other side of the core.”
The Supreme War Leader was certain, but every military leader always wants more forces to command. “I will certainly welcome any warships you can give me to use.”
The Senior looked at the other councilors and ordered, “Pull a hundred-thousand warships from the two fronts and have them report to the War Leader.” He turned to the War Leader and asked, “When do you intend to launch your attack?”
“My crews have been at war for almost a year without a break. My ships need to be provisioned again and I believe two months from now will give them the opportunity to see their families and get ready, Senior Councilor.”
The Senior turned to the Second, “Move the ships from over the core to give them a break as well. Have your forces ready to launch two months from this moment!”
The Supreme War Leader bowed his head, “Yes, Supremacy. We will be ready on time.”
• • •
RJ had Connie Horton on his monitor just before she launched to alien territory and he said, “Connie, it’s absolutely critical that I know how many warships the aliens are sending to attack Earth and I also need an idea of the formation they’re going to be using. The most critical thing is knowing how many are coming.”
“I’ll keep you updated on what we find and any changes as they happen, Sir. I’m concerned that they may just turn around and attack immediately; we need to get moving, Sir.”
“That won’t happen, Connie.”
“Why not?”
“I estimate it’s going to take at least several months to provision a million warships that have almost exhausted their stores fighting the Fagan.”
“Sir, you’re probably right about that but I’ve seen the aliens provision their ships and their civilization is large enough to get it done quickly. I’ll let you know what I find out the moment I arrive.”
RJ saw Connie’s impatience to leave and he ordered, “You are free to launch, Admiral.” Connie disappeared from the monitor and RJ immediately pulled up Joshua Goldman, “Joshua, is the computer ready?”
“We’re close to finishing its programming, RJ.”
“Joshua, we’re running out of time!”
“It will be ready in a week. It will be moved to your vessel within another week.”
“Can it do what I need?”
Joshua shrugged, “It’s the most powerful computer the Colonies has ever constructed and the only way we’ll know is to use it under combat conditions. It has performed well in simulations, but you know how that goes.”
“Make sure Matt and Angel know how to operate it, Joshua.”
“That isn’t an issue. Matt is astounding in his understanding of it. I think he understands it better than the scientists that built it.”
“Let me know when you need the Troke to arrive for installation.”
Joshua smiled, “I still think that’s an interesting name you chose for your ship, RJ.”
“I’m praying the aliens feel the same way, Joshua.” RJ ended the contact and turned to Mallory, “Get Admirals Connor and Henricks on my channel.”
“Yes Sir.”
Maranda and Grady appeared on RJ’s monitor and RJ said, “Connie just said something that has me worried. I thought we’d probably have six months before the aliens launch their attack, but she thinks it could happen a lot sooner. I want you to start moving your fleets into position immediately.”
“How much sooner?” Maranda asked.
“Possibly a month from now. I’m hoping my estimate is more accurate but I’m not going to risk I’m wrong. Get your forces moving immediately.”
Maranda glanced at Grady on the display before asking, “Do you trust Admiral Horton’s opinion ahead of your own, War Admiral?”
RJ smiled, “I trust her opinion ahead of anyone’s Admiral Connor. She’s watched
them closely for more than two years and she knows them better than anyone, including me. Get your forces moving, Admiral!”
Maranda smiled, “Just checking, Sir. We’ll start launching the carriers in two hours.”
Maranda disappeared from the monitor and Grady asked, “Where are you on the computer?”
“It will be installed in a week. I’ll be joining your forces in two weeks.”
“That’s cutting it close if Connie is right, Sir.”
“I know. But I’d rather have it done right than make a huge mistake when the missiles start flying.”
Grady smiled, “I’ll see you at home.”
Grady disappeared from the monitor and Joe asked, “Are we going home?”
“No, he’s talking about Earth. That’s the home for all humanity.”
“Oh,” Joe replied.
RJ thought about it and decided, “Mallory, prepare to move the ship to New Melbourne. I’ve done all I can here, and I want to go there now.”
“Yes Sir.”
RJ pressed a button on his console and Candy appeared on his console’s monitor, “I’ve just received my orders to start moving to the Orion Spur, RJ. And so it begins. I’m sorry I’ve not been able to spend any time with you. I’ve had to get my fleets ready.”
“I understand, my love. I pray there’ll be enough time after all this is over.”
“RJ, are we ready to do this?”
“I’ve done everything I can think to do, Candy. But there are so many unknowns in space battles that I just don’t know.”
Candy smiled, “I know that I’d not want anyone else making the plans, RJ.”
“Stay safe, Candy.”
“You do the same, RJ.”
The display went dark and RJ saw New Britannia disappearing behind the Troke on the front wall monitor.
• • •
After a week of waiting for Joshua to clear the computer for installation, RJ wished he had remained at New Britannia. His impatience was getting the best of him. It didn’t help that Connie had reported that more than two-hundred-thousand additional warships had joined the forces that attacked the Fagan and they were rapidly being provisioned. She estimated they would be ready for launch in three weeks. He called Joshua almost hourly until Joshua asked him if he wanted him to work on the computer or continually answer his foolish questions. So, he sat in his chair fuming. He had slept all he could and paced the bridge continually, until Mallory told him, “Sir, you are driving us crazy. Everything is ready and constantly asking us is getting us up tight.”
RJ fell back in his chair and sighed. He didn’t know if he could handle five more days of waiting. His console beeped and he saw Joshua’s number on his communicator. He punched the button and Joshua saw his expression, “WILL YOU RELAX!” RJ’s frown appeared in an instant and Joshua smiled, “A shuttle is bringing the computer up to your ship. Matt and Angel will supervise its installation.”
“How long is it going to take?” RJ demanded.
“You should be ready to go in a day or so. Now sit back and let them do their work!”
Joshua disappeared from the display and RJ wanted to ask a thousand questions about the new computer. But he suddenly realized that if he barraged Matt and Angel with his questions, the computer may never get installed. He sat back and waited patiently as the computer arrived and began being installed.
He was glad he chose to be quiet because Matt told him numerous things about the computer as it was installed. Matt was watching the engineers attaching the leads to his console and said off handedly to RJ, “I bet you’re wondering how this computer can keep track of every ship in our combined forces without a scanner, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I am,” RJ answered.
“It connects with the robot on each ship designated to handle communications. So even if the ship is invisible, the computer will be able to see it and track it.” Matt made a correction to one of the engineers and then continued, “At this moment, every fleet Admiral is having a smaller version of this computer installed on their ships to track the ships under their commands.”
RJ’s eyes narrowed, “What do you mean by smaller version?”
“They can keep track of our forces, but they aren’t capable of also tracking enemy ships and designating targets. A software download was just sent to our Garrions and King Hares that will allow them to see the ships fighting close to them. This will make a huge improvement on our fleet operations.”
Angel smiled, “We’re really fortunate the aliens aren’t able to detect the connections between our robots.” She turned back to an engineer attaching leads to her and RJ’s console and said, “That lead needs to be done last.” RJ looked at the main wall monitor and suddenly saw every vessel in orbit above New Melbourne. Angel saw his surprise and smiled, “Even the commercial ships use robots and this system can see them.”
RJ looked at the work being done and relaxed. It would be finished when it was finished. His impatience wouldn’t make it happen faster and he released a slow breath and began focusing on how to use this new weapon.
• • •
Grady and Taffy sat on the Rex Hare and waited for RJ to arrive to issue orders. Taffy stared at the small star in the distance and sighed, “It’s been years since we went to Earth. I’ve only seen it from orbit.”
“That’s not true.”
Taffy jerked around to Grady, “We didn’t land on Earth.”
“No, but we came pretty darn close before you screamed at me to get us out of there!”
Taffy chuckled, “I guess you’re right about that. Earth was a dangerous place at that time.”
Grady turned from the tactical monitor and looked at Taffy, “It’s a lot more dangerous now than then, Taffy.”
“That depends on your point of view, Grady.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“When we were almost captured, we were in the original Rex Rabbit. We were fortunate to escape before they could organize their forces to fire on us. We can handle Earth’s most powerful warships now; they’re not as dangerous now.”
Grady shrugged, “I guess you’re right about that.”
“Do you know how RJ is going to handle this attack?”
“He intends to allow the aliens to open fire on the defense platforms before we commence our attack.”
“Why is he going to do that, Grady?”
“He believes to do it before they start their attack, they could still be changing their formations. Once the attack begins, they will be in their final formation. That’s when the new computer will finalize the targets for each ship.”
Taffy nodded and turned back to the wall monitor, “Joshua tells me RJ has been a bear.”
“I would be as well, Taffy. He cut it pretty close to getting this done in time for the attack. RJ will be arriving tomorrow, and things will start getting busy. Enjoy this time while we have it.” Taffy nodded and continued to stare at the wall monitor. After a moment, she heard Grady’s breathing become louder and she turned to him. She rolled her eyes and once again wondered how he could sleep at a time like this! She envied him that talent. But a few minutes later, she closed her eyes and joined him.
• • •
The Troke was moving at maximum speed toward the assembled Combined Forces Fleets. He contacted Connie and when she appeared on his console he quickly said, “Connie, I need an ongoing feed of the alien formations as they move toward Earth.”
“That will be difficult, Sir.”
“Why?”
“The aliens still have their mass detectors. They can’t detect my scouts if they remain motionless but if I attempt to follow them, they will be seen.”
“Connie, this information is critical!”
Connie shook her head slightly as she thought about it and them looked up, “Ok, but I’ll have to leave and place my scouts along their line of approach. I won’t know the actual moment they launch but I’ll pick them up four days out from Earth. I’ll start s
ending you the feed from the first scout that detects them, and it will pass the feed on to the next scout. Will that meet your needs?”
“If that’s the only way to do this, then it will have to do.”
Connie was silent for a moment and then replied, “Tell you what, I’ll send my scouts out to form the line and I’ll remain behind outside the detection range of the aliens’ scanners. Once I see them launch, I’ll go to maximum speed and join the line.”
“Will they be able to detect you?”
“I’ll stay far above and behind their line of approach; their mass detectors should be focused ahead of them.”
RJ thought about the risk and ordered, “I need to know when they’re launching. Do it.”
“Yes Sir.”
“RJ, is this worth the risk?”
RJ turned to Angel, “I trust Connie, Angel. She’ll detect them leaving and then fly directly away from their line of approach and make her move back here once she’s several light years away from them. Detecting her will be next to impossible if she does that.”
“Shouldn’t you tell her?”
RJ smiled, “No, she probably has a better plan than any I can come up with.” RJ turned and said, “Computer, show me the positions of our forces on the tactical display.” Instantly the tactical monitor changed, and RJ stared at the icons on it. The two-hundred Attack Carriers were in formation at the center of four other icons indicating the locations of the King Hare Fleets. RJ stared at the icons and wondered if he had enough warships to confront the aliens. Angel saw his expression and said, “Computer, show the numbers of warships in each formation.”
The tactical view changed, and RJ saw numbers appear beside each icon. The carrier’s icon had .6 million Garrions next to it and the four King Hare icons had 50k beside each of them. RJ chuckled and asked, “Computer, how many heavy missiles are in each unit?” The tactical view changed again as new numbers were added to the icons. The carriers alone had 12 million and the four King Hares had five million next to each of them.
