by Saxon Andrew
“With those beams, they probably don’t need them.”
“Even the Feeders use missiles and their main weapon is their linked minds. Matter of fact, there is no instance of any species that the alliance has fought that didn’t have missiles.”
“None of them had those peculiar emissions we detected either.”
“There is that. It’s just never good strategy to only have one weapons system on a warship.”
“It is if the weapon is unstoppable.” Chase thought for a moment and his eyebrows went down, “Speedy, did you get a good image of the destroyed Feeder Fleet before the probe was destroyed?”
“Yes.”
“Where was the probe located in relation to that fleet?”
“It was directly above it.”
“Could you examine the images of that fleet and determine which side the Feeder ships were hit from?”
“Give me a minute.”
Chase stared at the images of destroyed and burning warships and thought he saw a pattern. “How did you come up with that idea?”
“I wondered what the range of that beam might be.”
“My analysis shows that every ship in that Feeder Fleet was hit from a single place in the center of their formations. The radius of that fleet was a thousand miles.”
“Are you saying the beam used by this ship has a range of a thousand miles?”
“At least that. There’s no way to tell if ships further out could have been destroyed.”
“Hey, you really are an early bird. Stay in your chair. For the duration of this mission you will be in command.”
Chase looked up and saw Commodore Desoto walk through the port, “Does that mean I can refuse to go?”
Derek laughed, “No, it means you will make the command decisions concerning the operation of the vessel. What’s your computer’s name?”
“Good morning, Commodore. My name is Speedy.”
Derek smiled, “It’s my pleasure to meet you. I seem to see a trend here. Chase Race, Speedy, is there something I should know?”
Chase shook his head, “No. My birth name is Rory but I picked up the name Chase as a child. You know how kids like to rhyme things.”
Desoto smiled, “Are you ready to go?”
“I think I need to share what we’ve determined before you arrived.”
“I think Intelligence has pretty much done a complete analysis of the data.”
“Then humor me and stop us if you’ve already seen this information.”
Derek raised his chair out of the floor and sat down, “Fire away.”
“Speedy, send what we’ve done to his panel.” Chase leaned back in his chair and after a moment, he saw the commodore was starting to get agitated. “Stop the images for a moment, Speedy. What’s bothering you, Sir?”
I want this information sent directly to Intelligence, now.”
“You didn’t make these connections?”
“No we did not. We were of the opinion that those rods were what produced the beams. We missed that blaster portal on the hull.”
“Start the flow again, Speedy.”
At the end of the presentation, Derek shook his head. “We were of the opinion that more than just one ship destroyed that Feeder Fleet. It’s now clear that only one ship did it.”
“Do you still want to go?”
Derek looked at Chase, “Yes, but we’re going to stay out of that galaxy until Intelligence can take a look at this data and see if they find anything else of importance.” Derek smiled, “Did you say goodbye to Jackie?”
“How do you know about her?” Derek lowered his head and looked at Chase through his eyebrows. Chase blew out a breath and shook his head, “You intelligence types know everything.”
“We didn’t know about those blaster portals. Was she ok?”
“She told me to fake an illness, resign from the service, or run for the hills to avoid going. She is not happy about this.”
“Faking an illness is out of the question.”
“I know. I told her that one medical scanner would show I was lying.”
“Now running for the hills, that might work.”
“Only if the hills are in another universe.”
“True, but it was a good idea.”
“I’ve asked her to marry me if I make it back.”
“I imagine that made her angry.”
Chase tilted his head, “It did. How do you know that?”
“Women never like being asked to marry someone under pressure. They want it to be a choice from the heart.”
“It is from my heart.”
“Then why haven’t you asked her before?”
Chase stared at Derek and shook his head, “You sound just like her.” Derek shrugged and Chase rolled his eyes, “I forgot. Intelligence knows everything.”
Derek laughed, “This is a no-brainer. Are you ready to start the trip?”
“How are we going in, Sir?”
“We’re not using the barrier.”
“Well thank God for that.”
“Make no mistake, Captain. We will go into the barrier before we leave but we need to determine if our stealth systems are functional against that ship.”
“You could have waited to tell me that.”
“You’re convinced that ship can see vessels in the barrier?”
“I am.”
“Well, when the time comes, keep a finger on the light drive.”
“Make no mistake, Commodore, my finger will not leave the button.”
Derek laughed and slapped Chase on the back, “This is going to be fun. Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Where do you want me to go?”
“Skip out to intergalactic space outside the cluster where that planet is located.”
“Speedy?”
“The light signature is on your board.” Chase tilted his head and pressed the white button on his console. The huge Fleet Building disappeared and was replaced by the darkness of open space. The galaxies in the cluster were brilliant against the dark backdrop of intergalactic space.
Derek stared out of the view port and sighed, “You have no idea how much I’ve missed this.”
“Huh?”
“I was a light ship pilot before I was moved into Intelligence. I’ve never gotten accustomed to not being able to see the grandeur of the universe.”
“I don’t think I could do it, Sir.”
“Do what?”
Chase nodded toward the viewport, “Take a job that would take me away from this.”
“There are days I wish I could go back and change my mind. But that’s just wishful thinking. What’s done is done.”
Chase stared at Derek and felt a kindred spirit. His opinion underwent a change and he felt better about making the trip. He knew what Derek was feeling.
• • •
Rose looked at Admiral Ambrose on her monitor, “What have you been able to find out about this species?”
“I’ve ordered every probe in that cluster reprogrammed to search for those odd emissions our pilot detected.”
“And?”
“It does appear that this species is wide spread in that galaxy where they were initially detected as well as more than a hundred other galaxies in that cluster.”
“What are you going to do about it?”
“I’m surprised the Feeders haven’t encountered them before now. I’ve ordered all of our forces out of that cluster and have them on standby until we determine how we match up to them.”
“You’ve not found any of them in the other three clusters?”
“Not yet but the search has only just begun.”
Ambrose hesitated and Rose said, “What else?”
“I had one of our ships move out from that galaxy and see how far those emissions have traveled from the source.”
“What?”
“High Leader, you know that the early radio and television emissions from earth have traveled about seven hundred light years fr
om Earth since they were first broadcast. Beyond seven hundred light years, they don’t exist.”
Rose nodded, “They haven’t had time to travel any further.”
“Exactly right. The light ship was charged to continue moving away from that planet until the emission disappeared. That would tell us how long that species has been using high technology.”
“What did you find out?”
“They were detected all the way out to sixteen thousand light years.” Rose stared at Ambrose and kept her face neutral as Admiral Ambrose said, “This is an old civilization and it’s the opinion of Intelligence that they’ve had enough time to populate all four clusters.”
“They must have detected the Feeders prior to attacking that fleet. They’ve been running around in those clusters for about two hundred years.”
“The consensus is that the destroyed Feeder Fleet was the first one to come close to one of their inhabited planets. It was only three light years from the planet our pilot found.”
Rose thought for a moment and then said, “Thank you, Admiral. I need some time to think about this. I want to know what our pilot finds out.”
“I’ll send the information to you as soon as it comes in.”
Rose ended the call and looked up, “Did you know about this species?”
“No we did not. All of our attention was on the Feeders and the territory they occupied.”
“So you don’t have any advice as to what I should do about this?”
“We think you should back out and stay away until you determine the strength of their technology.”
Rose started shaking her head and lifted her communicator, “Admiral Ambrose, remove all of our probes and recall all of our forces from the four clusters and give the fleets some down time to enjoy liberty.”
“Yes, High Leader. I agree with you on this decision.”
Rose nodded and ended the call. She thought about recalling the pilot but decided against it. She had to know what the Alliance was up against. She contacted Intelligence and talked briefly with Admiral Mandel. He didn’t like his orders but he sent a coded message to Commodore Desoto.
• • •
Derek looked at his wrist unit and read the message. His eyes narrowed and Chase said, “What?”
Derek sighed, “The High Commander has ordered all Alliance Naval Forces out of the four clusters.”
Chase’s eyes narrowed, “Why?”
“It appears that this new species is located throughout this cluster and probably has planets in the other three. The cluster where you stumbled in on one of their planets appears to be the location of their home worlds.”
Chase stared at Derek and said, “There’s more you’ve not said.”
“Fleet has determined that this species’ civilization has been using high technology for at least sixteen thousand years.”
“You’ve got to be sh…”
“No, I’m not kidding you!” Derek lowered his head and slowly shook it. “I’ve also been given orders that pertain to our mission. I wasn’t ordered not to tell you but I think that’s what’s intended.”
“You have been ordered to destroy the ship if we’re discovered.”
“How did you know that?”
“It’s what I’d have done if I were in their place.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I don’t like it one little bit. But, I’ve sworn to defend the Alliance and I won’t shirk my duty. If it comes down to it, I’ll do what has to be done.” Chase looked up, “Speedy, activate the self-destruct circuit and open the voice recognition phrase.”
“Are you sure about this, Chase?”
“Of course not but do it anyway.”
Derek looked at Chase, “What’s the phrase?”
Chase hesitated and said, “My girlfriend’s first name repeated three times followed by saying red twice.”
“Why red?”
“You should see her in a red dress. That’s the last thought I want before I die.”
Derek smiled slightly and said, “I’ll only use it if you aren’t able to do it. As long as you’re conscious, I will not override you.”
Chase nodded, “Thanks, Commodore.”
“Call me Derek. On this mission, we’re just two warship pilots taking a pleasure trip into the great unknown.”
Chase laughed, “Derek it is. What now?”
“Let’s give our navy some time to clear out. I have to believe that there is a good possibility that this new species has already seen our ships.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Derek.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Our stealth screen blocks electronic emissions and that appears to be how this new species tracks their prey. Our standing orders are to maintain communication silence except for telepathy and to remain in the barrier. We need to see if they can detect us inside the barrier and the stealth field.” Chase looked up, “Speedy, I need you to turn off your telepathic broadcasting module and listen for any thoughts that are different from the Feeders. Derek, you and I should also activate our thought blocking modules and only communicate through the ship’s systems. Speedy, if you hear anything, feed it directly to our combat helmets.”
“You think we need to stay in armor?”
“I do, Derek. The armor is a much better shield against stray thoughts than using the blocker alone. We must find the thought pattern this species uses.”
Derek thought a moment, “They may not be telepathic.”
“I don’t think they are but we still have to find that pattern.”
“Why?”
“We can’t see their ships when their purple fields are at full power. We could fly right into one not knowing it was present. The only way to prevent that is to be able to localize the thoughts of the beings on those ships.”
Derek shook his head, “I’ve been behind a desk too long. From this moment forward, you will command this mission. You know what we need to do and I can see you’re better prepared to make it happen.”
Chase nodded and yawned, “Derek, I didn’t sleep much last night. I’m going to activate my sleep circuit and force myself to catch up on the hours I missed. Wake me if anything happens.”
Derek smiled, “I think neither of us slept much last night. Speedy, I’m going to sleep as well. Wake me if a message comes in from Fleet Intelligence.”
“I’m skipping the ship away from this cluster. I don’t want to run the risk of a message being seen by one of those purple ships.”
“Excellent idea.” Both of them activated their armor and then activated the sleep circuit. They slept as millions of Alliance Warships skipped away at maximum speed from the four clusters.
• • •
The Feeder Scout moved through the void toward a faint signal. The transponder was on a warship that was assigned to the fleet that had failed to report in. The scout moved through the void and had most of its systems shut down. He was scared of what he was going to find but knew he had no choice but to find out what had happened to the fleet. He set his star drive to auto and saw the signal was growing in strength.
He moved slightly past it and stopped his tiny vessel. He backed tracked until the signal was at its highest strength and took a breath. He set his scanners to operate the moment he entered normal space and he broke out of the void into normal space. The devastation of the fleet shocked him to his core. He began shaking when he suddenly saw a giant purple colored ship materialize four miles in front of his ship. He hit the stardrive and disappeared from normal space. He went to maximum speed and saw the giant vessel enter the void far behind him and start accelerating toward him. He pressed the send button and all the data he had collected was sent as the giant pursuing him roared in and fired a lavender colored beam. An instant later, his tiny ship was gone.
• • •
“I told you that signal would draw them to this location.”
“Destroy the source of the signal. I find it surprisin
g that it was detected by a vessel that far out. Its strength was miniscule.”
“That tells us this species is highly advanced.”
“We’ve already determined that. Activate the field and return to the location of the attack. Perhaps others will come to investigate.”
“I don’t like them coming this close to Aratamem.”
“They pose no danger to the planet. We just have to show them that they need to stay away.”
“What about those two communication sources we recently attacked. Do you think they were from this species?”
“There’s no way of knowing. They possess some way of hiding their devices but our sensors determined that whatever was receiving and sending those signals ceased operating the moment we opened fire. They also posed no threat.”
“If they can hide a ship…”
“We’ll detect it just like we did before. Tech says they were probably very tiny electronic communicating devices that were below the threshold of detection. They pose no threat.”
“I hope Tech is right.”
“Have they ever been wrong?”
“Not in my lifetime but one never knows.”
“I’ll go with what Tech says. Move the ship back to the attack coordinates.”
“Moving now.”
“Let’s hope others arrive to continue our entertainment.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Commodore.”
Derek opened his eyes and shook his head, “How long have we been out?”
“A little over ten hours.”
Derek shook his head, “Has something happened?”
“I’ve received a report from Fleet Intelligence. It came in three hours ago but I felt both of you needed the rest before we move into that galaxy.”
“Did you look at the report?”
“I did.”
Derek noticed Chase stirring and said, “Why don’t you tell me what it said.”
“The scientists have analyzed the data and have come up with some information about the beam that new Black Civilization uses.”
Chase raised his chair from the prone position and shook his head as he listened in on the conversation. “What did they determine?”
“It appears that beam is made up of a particle that has not been discovered by our physicists. It’s incredibly small but carries a huge molecular weight. When condensed into a tight pattern, it will split most elements that it hits.”
