by Saxon Andrew
• • •
Two-hours later, the Chief Surgeon came out and Eddie knew the worst had happened. The surgeon shook his head and went to a knee in front of Eddie, “She was hit with a massive electrical shock. Her nervous system was burned out; I’m so sorry!!”
Eddie sat in his chair and wept. A few moments later, Bobby arrived, took Eddie’s arm, and pulled him up out of the chair. He took Eddie to his quarters and forced him to lie down. Eddie was in shock and in another hour, Sprigly arrived with Danielle. Eddie was given a shot to calm him down and he managed to look up at them. “I need to go back and pick up the DECs,” Eddie said in a slurred voice.
“We’re leaving them there,” Sprigly replied. “The first OA warships are arriving, and the twins will remain there to scout what happens.”
Eddie nodded slowly and said, “Bong?”
“I’m here, Ed.” Eddie nodded slightly and then passed out.
“What happened, Sprigly.”
“We had no way of knowing about it, Danielle.”
“About what?”
“Dark matter is what holds most galaxies together. Energy will collect inside it and that is what causes most galaxies to form. The dart left a dense trail of dark energy behind it and the power from the probe’s force field that was just coming back on line, followed it back to Eddie’s ship. It went through the missile port and followed the wiring harness to Cali’s console. She was touching it when it hit.”
Danielle sat down in a chair beside Eddie’s bed and rubbed his forehead. She was wrong; they were together when Cali died. This was the worst thing to happen; he didn’t get to say good-bye to her. Tag arrived a few-minutes later and Sprigly caught him up on what happened. He went and stood behind Danielle and put his hands on her shoulders. He turned to Sprigly, “Could this have been avoided?”
Sprigly’s leaves were brown, “If he had instantly moved the ship after the dart was fired, that energy stream would have ended at its former location. But no one could have known this would happen.”
Danielle continued to rub Eddie’s forehead and asked, “Are the twins OK?”
“They’ve not been detected. They’re sending everything they see to their Algean counterparts.”
“What about the ship?” Tag asked
“It can be repaired,” Sprigly answered. “Someone will need to take it back to pick up the twins, eventually.”
Danielle nodded, “I want him taken to Ross and put in the Castle’s hospital.”
“I’ll contact the hospital and will teleport him there the moment they’re ready to receive him.”
“Thank you, Grace.” Danielle stayed with Eddie until he disappeared. She stood up and sighed, “Grace, teleport me to his room.”
Danielle disappeared, and Tag turned to Sprigly, “How did the dart perform?”
“It destroyed the probe, but the jury is still out on whether or not it worked.”
“Why is that?”
“Tag, this is the freakiest random circumstances I’ve ever seen happen. The Dart was launched after the probe’s force field was initially breached by the missile fired at it by the warship from that universe. The probe was still able to start transmitting and Eddie ordered Cali to fire a dart at it. The dart arrived at the exact instant the probe’s emitters restarted the force field. The force field followed the dark energy trail back to their ship, instead of forming around the probe. The probe went up, but we still don’t know if the dart would have penetrated its force field; it never reformed around it.” Tag stared at Sprigly, as he said, “If the dart had arrived a millisecond earlier or later, Cali would not have been harmed.”
Tag nodded slightly, “You need to get back with your twin. I’m going to the hospital.” Sprigly teleported out and Tag thought about what happened. He knew Cali was in danger and Danielle was absolutely right; there was nothing they could do about it. He looked around Eddie’s room and saw pictures of Cali everywhere. How was Eddie going to take this loss? He lowered his head, said a prayer for Cali, and teleported out.
• • •
Eddie opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a hospital room, a very elaborate hospital room. That meant he was not on the Defense facility. He sat up and felt a wave of vertigo hit him. He fell back on the bed and clutched the mattress under him. After a moment, it passed, and he sat up slowly. He sat on the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands, “I killed her.”
“No, you didn’t, Ed.”
“I ordered her to fire that dart, Bong.”
“Which was the perfect order under those circumstances, Ed. We needed to determine if they would work and it was the optimum time to try it.”
“I caused it to happen, Bong!”
“No, Cali caused it to happen.”
“YOU’RE WRONG!!”
“Ed, who insisted on having the darts installed on the Knight?” Eddie didn’t answer. “She insisted on them being on board and trained extensively on firing them. If she had not insisted, it wouldn’t have happened. She was the one that suggested firing a dart at the probe. You simply followed her suggestion at the best possible moment.”
“I saw the energy coming at us and I couldn’t do anything!”
“Ed, there wasn’t enough time to do anything. This was a freak accident and you aren’t to blame for it.”
“But now…I’ve lost her.”
“I see your pain and feel it as well. Both of us will suffer with this for a long time. But we must go on and make her loss mean something. We didn’t make this happen.”
“It was the presence of that OA probe that led to it,” Eddie agreed.
“If not for the threat they represent, we would have never been out there, Ed.” Eddie started weeping and Bong entered his mind and began slowing it down. Eddie fell back on the bed unconscious.
• • •
Five-days later, Cali was buried in her family’s plot with full military honors. Eddie wept openly, and Cali’s family told him that it wasn’t his fault; Cali had told them she’d rather die than not be with him. Her father hugged him tightly and said, “She was so proud of you, Eddie. Make her death count for something, please.” Eddie nodded and held on to him.
Janie came up and said, “I’ve entered Kelen Tech and I will be following in her footsteps, Eddie.”
Eddie turned to her, “I don’t want you to do that?”
“That’s what life is about, Eddie; keeping the faith.” Janie turned and walked away. Eddie watched the New Stars Realm Flag handed to Cali’s mother and closed his eyes. She was gone.
• • •
Ten-months later, he returned and picked up the twins. The Proton was released near a stationary OA warship and it wasn’t detected. Eddie was shocked at the discovery. The Proton extended its psychic filed and the OA warship remained in place and didn’t react. Eddie spent a lot of time thinking about it and decided that the color of the field must not be visible to them. They were color blind to any color but green. Their scanners would detect anything made of physical matter and most forms of energy. But psychic energy was invisible to them.
The data they collected was extensive and the Queen decided that they had enough to not go back and run the risk of being discovered. Eddie had confirmed that the Dark Night would not be detected by the OA’s scanners and he threw himself into building a new warship. This one wasn’t going to be a small vessel, it would be large enough to defend itself and its power was increased tremendously.
• • •
While it was being built, he taught classes and saw Janie was in his most advanced class as a sophomore. He congratulated her on her achievement and she smiled and blew him a kiss. She graduated with honors in her third-year and immediately left for the Realm’s Academy on Ross. Eddie continued building his ship.
• • •
Finally, seven-years after Cali died, Sprigly came to Eddie’s office to meet with him. “It’s good to see you, Sprigly.”
“It’s been a long time, Eddi
e.”
“What brings you here?”
“We’ve finally gone over all the data collected from the twins you took out on your first voyage and we’ve found something troubling.”
“What is that?”
“Do you remember the missile that was fired at the probe that breached its force field.”
“I do.”
“That civilization was able to hold off the OA warships attacking it with the new missile they developed. The OAs used a tactic against their planets that worries us.” Eddie’s eyebrows went up. Sprigly walked forward with a datacube in his branches and extended it to Eddie’s computer, “May I?”
“Go ahead.”
Sprigly inserted the cube and a video started on Eddie’s wall monitor. Eddie saw thousands of huge cylinders flying from space into a planet’s atmosphere. They caught fire from friction as they plummeted toward the planet and there were giant explosions on the planet’s surface when they hit. The view zoomed in and Eddie saw thousands of OAs rushing out of a giant crater and moving out toward a distant city. They were met with fierce resistance and a smaller version of the missile used against the OA warships was fired at them with no effect.
Sprigly pointed a branch at the monitor, “What you’re seeing is the OAs’ ultimate weapon. If they manage to get on a planet, that planet will die. Two-months after this video was taken, the planet was defeated. These creature’s skin is actually more powerful than their warship’s force fields. Nothing will penetrate it.”
“Those things that fell to the planet can be destroyed,” Eddie commented.”
“Yes, they could. But the containers they were in were teleported in just above the atmosphere and, even if you did burn them out of existence, the OAs inside them would just fall to the planet’s surface unharmed.”
Eddie nodded, “And teleporting them in that close doesn’t allow enough time to react.”
“Even if there were surface defenses that could react, they would not stop the creatures from falling on the planet,” Sprigly added.
“Are you saying these creatures can survive in the vacuum of space?”
“We’ve seen their ships blasted and the crew inside them floating in open space to be picked up later.” Sprigly paused, “This is the most remarkable species I’ve ever seen, Eddie.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“The King has decided to see if a psychic beam can kill them. They want you present in your new ship to record what happens.”
“Perhaps they may want to wait and take all the available time to try and develop something else,” Eddie replied.
“They want to do this as surreptitiously as possible and if it fails…”
“Then there’s nothing that can stop them.”
Sprigly nodded, “And we start moving galaxies to the Dark Dimension as quickly as possible.”
“We still don’t know if they have a dimensional drive.”
“The King insists that will also need to be determined when this effort is made.”
“What does the Queen have to say about this?”
“I can still hear her from here. But I wanted to keep you in the loop on what’s going on. When will your ship be completed?”
“About five-months.”
“I’ll let them know.”
“I’ll need a crew sent to fly the ship.”
“What about some of your students?”
‘They’ve not signed up to die, Sprigly. I want members of the military sent to man the ship.”
“How fast do you need them?”
“Two-months would be the right time to start their training.”
“How many will you need?”
“Five. One for the weapon console, two for the reactors, and two-more for the rear-defenses.”
“I’ll get on it. Have you named the ship?”
Eddie smiled, “The ship’s name is Nightmare.”
“Do tell?”
“It’s the right name for it.”
“I’ll get back to you on the crew,” Sprigly said just before he teleported out.
Eddie thought about the issues confronting him and then had a thought. He pressed his communicator and Sprigly appeared on it, “What did I forget?”
“Nothing, Sprigly. I was wondering if the DECs can consume those creatures.”
“Why do you ask?”
“I know they were deadly before they began uniting with your species. I was wondering if we could get some of the twins on their ships if they could take out the crew.”
“No, they can’t consume them.”
“You’re sure?”
“My twin went down to a planet and tried to consume one of them. He says that he could not penetrate the creature’s exterior.”
“Wasn’t that dangerous?”
“It never even noticed he was there.”
The monitor went dark and Eddie sat back. So, dark energy wouldn’t penetrate them. What would? Whatever could…it would have to be pointed and moving at high velocity. He fought with finding an answer and finally gave up. He’d keep his attention on completing the Nightmare and worry about a penetrator later.
Chapter Thirteen
Eddie was sitting in his office and waiting for his crew to arrive. He heard a knock on his door and he shouted, “Come in.”
He was wearing his Admiral’s uniform and the four-crewmembers came to attention. Eddie saw Bobby Cor was one of them. He came out from behind his desk and hugged Bobby, “At ease! What are you doing here?”
“I joined the military and entered the academy a few years back.”
Eddie released him, “Why did you do that?”
“Because Cali’s death made this war personal, Sir. My place in on the front lines.”
“What will you be doing on the ship?”
“I’m handling half of the rear defenses.”
“You should be on the weapon control panel!”
“There’s someone better qualified than I am, Sir.”
Eddie looked at the other four, “Who could that possibly be?”
He suddenly heard a voice at the door, “That would be me, Sir.”
Eddie looked up and saw Janie. “OH, HELL NO!!”
Bobby shrugged, “Sir, she’s received the highest scores of any one in the academy. She is far better than I am in the latest technology.”
“I DON’T CARE IF SHE IS!” He turned to Janie, “YOU WILL NOT BE ON MY SHIP!!”
Janie stared at him, “Do you think you’re the only one to ever lose someone you love?”
Eddie looked at the others, “GET OUT!” The four-officers turned and quickly exited his office. “You will not be on my ship!”
“Why did you build it?” Janie asked.
“What do you mean?!”
“You could have repaired the Dark Night and gone right about your business, but you didn’t. Why did you build it!” Eddie glared at her and Janie waited for him to answer. When he didn’t, she said, “You built it to go out and make the OAs pay for killing my sister. I deserve to be on it more than you do!”
“NO! YOU DON’T!!”
“I knew her all my life; how long did you know her?”
“That has nothing to do with this?”
“Do you think you’re the only one that wants to make them pay? I’ve busted my hump doing everything possible for the opportunity to go out and get my revenge. If you don’t take me on this ship, I will be assigned one of the new Primes to attack them. Where would I be safer, Eddie? I honestly knew you would react like this and I hated that I’m the best qualified to operate the weapons on your new ship. But that’s fate. Go ahead and send me packing…I will get my revenge one way or another!”
Eddie glared at her and said, “Sit down!” Janie went to the chair in front of his desk and glared back at him. “I saw Cali die in my arms. I can’t live with having the same thing happen to you. She loved you.”
“And she loved you, as well!”
“If I don’t allow you to
be on my ship, it may be long after you die of old age before the OAs come here.”
“I thought you were pretty smart.”
“What is that supposed to mean?!”
“Even I can see that it’s just a matter of time until the Queen makes a mistake and one of our ships is detected. Then I’ll have my Prime to go out and blast every OA vessel I find. Or do you believe the Queen will simply sit back and do nothing? A mistake will be made, and we’ll be at war.”
Eddie thought about Tag going out to trial a psychic beam and find out if the OAs had a dimensional drive; Janie was right. That was a mistake waiting to happen. What would Cali want him to do? Janie would be safer on an undetectable ship. Janie watched his expression and smiled, “A-ha, I’m right!”
“About what!”
“That’s the reason we were rounded up so quickly to come here. The Queen is going to send out a ship to poke the hornet’s nest and they want you there to record it!”
Eddie exhaled slowly, “They are going to send out a psychic ship.”
“Then do what you want, Eddie. I didn’t come here to upset you; I’m simply following my orders. That’s why I delayed coming into your office. I knew how you’d react to my presence.”
“Are you the best at operating the new technology?”
“First in my class,” Janie replied flippantly.
Eddie sighed and muttered, “Congratulations.”
“Say it like you mean it! I’ve put everything aside to be prepared for this. I had no social life and my entire focus was on being the best. It wasn’t easily done. Rory has just entered the academy and I know he’ll be given a Prime when he graduates.”
“What do your parents have to say about this?”
“They say that to do anything less would be an insult to my dead sister!”
Eddie stared at her in silence and then said, “Join the other crewmembers and go to the ship. Your instructors will be waiting for your arrival.”
Janie stood up at attention and saluted, “Thank you, Sir.”
Eddie waved his hand toward the door. Janie did an about face and marched out of his office. Bobby greeted her and asked, “How did that go?”
