by Saxon Andrew
A few moment later, Lt. Orton looked at him and shook his head.
“Show me the small ships that are still inside the ship.” The view changed and he saw thousands of small ships lined up on their launching rails. The support crews for those ships were all lying on the floor below the launch rails. The scan move in closer to one of the small ships that still had its cockpit open. The being sitting in the chair was burned to a brilliant red and dark black.
Tim exhaled and said, “Losses?”
“Two Attack Fighters, Sir. They exhausted their containment vessel and didn’t withdraw.”
“Destroy any remains of their ships.”
“Yes, Sir.”
• • •
Essay sat in his chair and watched the battle and at the end felt sick. The number of beings that were killed on that ship had to be in the millions. He closed his eyes and shook his head. Tim saw him and said somberly, “Don’t let this bother you.”
Essay opened his eyes and looked at him, “How can you say that?”
“Do you remember the so called Ritual this civilization uses to wean out pilots that don’t measure up?” Essay nodded. “They kill more than a hundred thousand times more of their own species than we killed here in this battle. If they’re right about their over population pressures, we actually did them a favor.” Essay didn’t want to do it but he smiled. Timmy smiled with him, “I think we’re going to assist them a lot more in the future.”
Tim pressed a button on his panel, “Alexandra?”
“Yes, Admiral.”
“Are there any more of these vessels around?”
“Yes, Sir. One is currently scouting the dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way.”
“Go with the Eyes and find it. Do you know if this ship got out a warning?”
Tim heard Kamela in his mind, “They did not. Destroying the bridge prevented their doing that.”
“Find that other ship and let me know its location. We’ll start moving toward the Milky Way as soon as the debris from the two Fighters I lost is cleaned up.”
“Congratulations, Admiral.”
“Thank you, Erica. Let’s get this done.”
“Admiral, might I make a suggestion?”
“What is that, Commodore Connor?”
“I believe a Hart Class Battleship has been modified, has it not?”
Timmy eyebrows came together, “Yes, one had been through the modification process. However, its Attack Fighters have not been modified.”
“Would it not be a good idea to call it in to do the next attack and allow it to use your modified Fighters?”
Timmy looked through his eyebrows at Essay, “The Battleship that’s been modified belongs to my mother.” Essay smiled and Tim chuckled, “But you already knew that, didn’t you?” Essay shrugged. Tim lifted the communicator and said, “That warship isn’t going anywhere. We have time to go back to the Colony and bring the Crystal River back with us.” He pressed the Communicator and said, “Alexandra, we’re going to the Admiralty. Find that ship and we’ll be back as quickly as possible.”
Alexandra smiled, “Going to try out a Hart against them, aren’t you?”
“Did you come up with that by yourself?”
“No, Erica thought of it first.”
“See you soon, Alexandra.”
“That’s not fast enough, Timmy, but it will have to do.”
Timmy smiled and looked at Essay, “It appears Commodore Goldwin thinks a lot like you.”
Essay smiled, “Yes, she does.”
Timmy extended his hand and Essay shook it, “Commodore, I look forward to our future missions together.” He looked at his bridge crew, “Are all the fighters on board?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Take us home.” The Carrier’s stardrive activated and the Homosassa disappeared leaving a giant burning tomb behind it.
Chapter Twenty
Amy stared at the huge wall monitor with the burning exploding Giant Warship on it. The John Hart Battleship came roaring in behind after the Homosassa’s Attack Fighters had blasted the huge Bridge on the warship’s hull. The five DE Blasters opened fire on the top of the red and blue Flashing Warship and blew a fifty-mile wide hole through the top of the giant and out of the bottom. The radiation from the blast incinerated every being scattered throughout the giant. It didn’t have enough time to launch one small fighter or fire a beam at its attackers.
“That’s impressive, Admiral.”
Amy smiled and saw her youngest son on her panel’s display. “The information you brought back made this easy.”
“Now we know what we have to do to face this threat?”
“We’re a very long way from doing that, Timmy. The numbers they can send are beyond belief and we have to build enough forces to survive.”
“We have at the very least bought the time to do that.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you about something.”
“What is that, Mom?”
“Scott and I are retiring from the service and going back to Earth. We’re going to go to work at the resort where I met him and live our lives out caring for the manatees.”
“Mom, humanity needs you.”
“Timmy, I’ve paid the debt I owe humanity. It’s time for love and we deserve our remaining years to be in peace. Besides, there are some new leaders that can take my place and do an excellent job.”
“But Earth is not defended!”
Amy smiled, “Oh, I think it will be protected from now on. If there’s an issue, come and get us.”
“Have you informed Admiral Connor or Gabe?”
“You are the first one to know, Son. That’s how it should be.”
“Be prepared for a lot of screaming.”
Amy laughed, “I heard it when I was originally hired by Admiral Connor so it won’t be anything I haven’t dealt with in the past. Scott agrees with this decision and I promised him that if he would come out to fight with me, he could one day go back and resume his old position at the resort. It’s time I kept that promise and I’m so looking forward to being there with him.”
“Do you ever think of Dillion, Mom?”
“Every day. And I think about your father as well. I’ve been loved by some incredible men in my life and it’s time I take advantage of the gifts I’ve been given.”
“I love you so much, Mom.”
“You’ve become such a wonderful man, Timmy. If you don’t come to visit us I will personally take a Battleship and hunt you down.”
Timmy smiled, “I’ll come. I wouldn’t miss it.”
“Make sure that new friend of yours comes with you.”
“I think you know she’s much more than a friend.”
“That’s what I said. Bring her with you.”
Timmy laughed and smiled, “Take care of Sally and Jimmy.”
“You know I will.”
The screen went dark and Timmy looked at Commodore Collins, “You have the ship.”
“Yes, Sir.” Timmy went to his conference room and fought his emotions. His mother was not going to be there any more to be his emotional support. He sighed and knew that it was time he stood up on his own two feet and do it on his own but the idea frightened him. His mother and John had always been there for him during his darkest hours. He needed them and John was gone.
He sat there slowly shaking his head and heard John’s voice in the back of his mind, “I always set the course for the boat. Now it’s your turn.” Timmy smiled and knew his brother was right. He wiped his eyes and went back to the bridge. He nodded to Commodore Collins and sat down in his command chair. Alexandra was waiting for him and he needed to be with her. He looked at Collins and smiled, “Take us home, Commodore.”
The Homosassa disappeared from normal space and flew toward the Ghost Colony at maximum speed. It was incredibly fast…but not fast enough to get him into the arms of the woman he loved.
Epilogue
Essay sat in his chair and stared at the form
ation of Azura Motherships. He was shocked and looked at Kamela, “With everything that was happening in the Milky Way and Andromeda with the Builders and those Flashing Scouts, I pretty much forgot about the Carand Galaxy.”
Kamela nodded, “We all did.”
Essay pointed at the wall monitor, “Do you believe this?”
Kamela could only shake her head as Erica said, “It kind of makes sense if you really think about it.” Essay and Kamela looked at her and she continued, “The Carand Galaxy has civilizations that have been at war with each other for tens of thousands of years. We’ve only focused on the Carand Empire and haven’t really looked at the others, right.” Essay looked at Kamela and then turned back to Erica as he nodded. “I looked back at the initial contact Admiral Dillon McCagg had with the Carand and he determined that the beam they fired at his ship was incredibly powerful. He said that if it had hit his vessel directly, instead of a glancing hit, it would have destroyed his ship.”
Essay said, “But…”
Erica interrupted him, “I know, our current force fields could handle them. But could it handle a million of those beams? I really doubt it could. We never really got a full count of the numbers of warships the Carand had in their inventory. We looked at one of their borders and extrapolated from the numbers we saw there. Now we know why they sent hundreds of thousands of warships whenever just one of our ships was detected because they had enough to spare to send that many. And all the other civilizations had a corresponding number of warships. The Azura came into this galaxy full of swagger and arrogance knowing that nothing could stand up to them and that included the Builders as well. What they found was a threshing machine.”
Essay sighed, “I’ve read where Admirals Eagle and Hart fully intended to invade this galaxy several times and eradicate all the aggressive civilizations in this galaxy but events prevented them from doing it.”
Kamela chuckled, “They don’t know how fortunate they were that their plans were thwarted. It would have been a bloodbath if they did.”
Essay looked back at the monitor, “It appears the civilizations in this galaxy have decided to come together and stop their constant wars. The Builders passing through, along with the Azura Motherships, have shown them that they’re stronger together than alone. I would have never believed that the nine thousand Motherships that came here could be reduced to less than fifteen hundred survivors.”
Erica nodded, “All of their small ships have been eradicated. The only thing holding off the millions of warships surrounding them is the formation the Azura have made creating a gigantic crossfire around it. Those warships around them are waiting for them to make a move.”
Kamela’s eyes narrowed, “They’re leaving.”
Essay looked at her, “What?”
“They’ve decided to leave. They’re going to make a run for the Builders’ former galaxy.”
“Isn’t the fleet of Flashing Warships between them and that galaxy?”
“They are and they’ve been monitoring this fight. The Azura don’t know what they’re running into.”
“No, they don’t and I suspect the Flashing Warships are hoping that the Azura could weaken the forces in this galaxy to the point where they could use the black hole to move into the Milky Way.”
Erica interjected, “They could probably send enough ships to open the way.”
Essay sighed, “Just like the Azura thought they could move in and take control. There are still hundreds of millions of surviving warships in the Carand Galaxy and I’m not at all certain that even the giant Flashing Warships could get out without being severely damaged.”
“Do you think they’ll attack the Azura?”
Kamela nodded, “They will. I heard it in their thoughts when we scouted their fleet.”
Erica sighed, “I really want to feel sorry for the Azura but I just can’t bring myself to do it.”
“Why not?”
“Essay, the Azura are an apex predator that doesn’t just conquer single civilizations; they go in and kill all life in a galaxy. They deserve what they’re getting and the Universe will be better off without them.”
Essay tilted his head slightly as he said, “I wonder how many more families of Azura are out there?”
“Six.”
Essay and Erica looked at Kamela, “I heard them discussing it. They’ve called for assistance but they won’t arrive for about thirty years.” Both continued to stare at Kamela and she smiled, “We’ll be waiting for them to arrive and then there will be none.”
“That’s if we can survive the Flashing Civilization.”
Kamela shrugged, “If not us, then they will be there to do the honors. Either way, the other Azura Families are being called into a death trap and, like Erica said, the Universe will be a better place without them.”
Essay nodded and looked back at the Monitor as the surviving Motherships activated their stardrives and fled toward the distant edge of the galaxy at maximum speed with millions of warships in hot pursuit. Essay shook his head and heard Kamela say, “I had to suggest to Erica that she tell you why she wanted to be on this mission with you. Do I need to prod you as well?”
Erica’s eyes narrowed, “Prod?”
Essay chuckled and stood up. He walked over to Erica’s chair and went to a knee as he pulled a small box out of his pocket, “Erica Olivia Goldwin, will you marry me?”
Erica’s mouth fell open and her eyes went wide. She dove out of the chair into his arms and they fell to floor with Erica kissing Essay’s face over and over. Kamela stood up and walked toward the portal, “I think the two of you need some time alone. I’ll come back when you’re ready.” Kamela walked off the bridge and smiled as she said, “Poul.”
“I know, go to the location of the Flashing Fleet and record what happens.”
“Very good, Poul.”
“There probably won’t be anyone to watch it.”
“Send the images to my quarters. I’d like to see it.”
“Good.”
“Don’t interrupt them, Poul.”
“I honestly don’t think I could, Kamela. And I’m not going to record what’s happening on the bridge.”
“You are wise beyond you years, my very old friend.”
“Kamela, if I haven’t told you before, your being here has brought me back from my shallow dreary existence.”
“The same is true for me, Poul. Life is now worth living.” She exited the bridge and forced herself not to listen in on Essay and Erica’s thoughts as they celebrated their coming union. The destruction of the fleeing Azura Motherships helped her focus on something else.
THE END
Copyright © 2016 by Saxon Andrew. All rights reserved. Screen Writers Guild no. VQEA3E380432.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
First Electronic Edition: May 2016
