by Saxon Andrew
“Jumping in two minutes.”
“Ana, I want to be there after the shuttles.”
“They’re at a minute fifty seconds in their countdown.”
“That’s good work, Ana. You’re always on top of things.”
“Thank you, Grant.”
Grant looked at Cinny and buckled into the harness on his combat chair.
• • •
The Fleet Commander sat in his chair staring at the planet below and wondered if he was wrong. He looked at the far wall where one of the engineers was repairing a video circuit and heard his Scan Leader yell, “I HAVE TWO SMALL SHIPS EMERGING INTO NORMAL SPACE ABOVE THE PLANET!!”
The Commander looked at his display and saw the ships assigned to the planet’s defense jumping in on the intruders and start to blow up as one of the small ships opened fire on them. He lifted a cover off a button on is console and pressed it. He then pushed the button next to it and the electronic circuit of the first one was destroyed. He looked at his Scan Leader, “You have the bridge.”
“What?”
“There’s something I must do.”
The Scan Leader stared at him and then nodded. He lifted his communicator and pressed the fleet frequency button, “There is an attack at Bergold by the creatures. All ships are directed to jump in and start defense operations.” The Scan Leader watched the Commander walk off the bridge and suspected what he was going to do. He almost contacted the Principal but decided that he trusted his Commander more. He turned back to his panel and saw battleships being destroyed at an incredible rate.
• • •
The Commander’s son saw the red light illuminate on the shuttle’s panel and heard the alarms go off at full blast. He shut off the alarms and lifted the shuttle out of the storage yard and boosted for high orbit. It took ten minutes to arrive and he hit the jump drive. His shuttle arrived above a Raider Planet and he entered atmosphere. The port control recognized the frequency he sent to them and allowed him entry without having to wait on other commercial vessels ahead of him. He contacted his mother and told her that it was time. He landed the shuttle in the street in front of his aunt’s home and saw his family running out of the house. He smiled when he saw Glanna leading the rush toward the shuttle. He loved her so much and she had agreed to stay with his family without knowing why. Sendra and her Mate pulled his mother away from her sister and rushed her toward the shuttle. They boarded and he boosted for orbit without asking for clearance. Two warships moved toward him but he jumped before they arrived. They contacted Fleet Headquarters about the illegal flight and after twenty minutes they placed a call to the Fleet Commander. Their call went unanswered.
• • •
The Fleet Commander entered the landing bay and ordered two crewmen to remove the anchors from the legs of the shuttle. A Bay Leader came over and said, “Sire, may I ask what you’re doing?”
“You may not!” The Commander stared at the Leader and he wilted. “Open the landing bay door.” The Leader hesitated and the Commander took out his blaster and shot him in the head. He looked at the crewman and said, “Open the door!” The crewman rushed over to the control panel and pressed a button that activated the landing bay door. The Commander was on the shuttle before the door completely opened and he was through the force field in an instant. He moved half a mile away as he entered coordinates into the jump drive. He looked at his ship and prayed they wouldn’t be punished for his actions. He blew out a breath and figured they had a better chance of survival if he wasn’t on board. He hit the jump drive and the shuttle disappeared.
• • •
“Grant, I have a shuttle exiting that battleship holding station two thousand miles from the planet.”
Grant looked at his panel, “Now that’s unusual.” He watched the shuttle move away from the large Raider ship and said, “Ana, I want to follow that shuttle. Go into subspace and stay with it.”
The Nemesis went into subspace and Grant saw the small jump signature. They followed and extended a small antenna when they arrived at the shuttle’s destination. Cinny focused her panel and said, “There’s another shuttle on the ground.”
Grant nodded, “Ana, put the image on the monitor.” The image on the large wall monitor showed the shuttle they followed moving down to the planet’s surface and after twenty minutes, a single being exited it. A group of seven others rushed up and hugged the being.
Cinny said, “I recognize that Raider.”
Whippet looked at her, “He does look familiar.”
“He’s the one that was leading the Raider forces at the two cities that were destroyed.”
Grant’s eyes narrowed, “Perhaps we should go down and ask him a few questions.”
“THAT WOULD BE A BAD IDEA!”
The three jumped in their chairs and Whippet said, “Why is that?”
“Contact with the enemy is forbidden in my protocols. The ones that created me knew it could put the ship in danger.”
Grant looked at Cinny as he said, “You’re probably right, Ana. Take us back to the planet being attacked.” Cinny looked at the jump coordinates on her panel and memorized them just before Ana erased them.
• • •
The Nemesis arrived at the planet being attacked and saw that the first shuttle had jumped away. But not before it had blasted more than a hundred Raider Warships. The second shuttle was nowhere to be seen and they knew it had made it to the safety of the ocean. Hundreds of Raider Battleships were jumping in and four of the Planet Killing ships had also arrived. Grant looked at Cinny and Whippet, “Those ships are here to attack our ships, not the planet.”
Whippet nodded, “You have to be right. Do you think they’ll fire those missiles at the planet?”
“They might fire at one place but they know the damage even one of those will do to the planet. It would probably kill everything on the surface. If they’re going to do that, they’ll probably just fire them all.”
“I have thousands of shuttles leaving the battleships headed toward the planet.”
Grant looked at the wall monitor, “What are they doing, Ana?”
“It appears there are a number of facilities on the surface where huge inventories of their war material is stored. I think they’re attempting to save it. I also have hundreds of large freighters arriving above the planet launching heavy shuttles.”
Grant pressed a button and said, “Tricky, the Raiders are attempting to remove huge stores of weapons before you destroy them.”
“Understood.”
Cinny looked at Grant, “Some of those facilities are a hundred miles inland.”
“Do you think they’ll nuke them? They’ll do everything they can to avoid that. It’s probably safer there than anywhere else.”
Whippet shook his head, “The largest are in cities located next to the ocean.” He looked up, “I wonder why that is?”
Grant shrugged, “I suspect it’s due to having ships available to move heavy material on the ocean.”
“They wouldn’t need that with gravity lifters.”
“They don’t need them now but who knows how long these cities have been here. They were probably needed in the past and that’s why they were built there.”
“I HAVE A RAIDER BATTLESHIP MOVING TOWARD US!”
Cinny said, “We’ve overstayed our welcome; they must have detected our antenna. Jump us out of here, Ana.”
“Jumping now.”
• • •
The Nemesis emerged into normal space and Grant asked, “Where are we, Ana?”
“I jumped us to a star system a hundred light years outside the Raider Dominion.”
Grant looked at Whippet and said, “Good.” Suddenly, all the lights went out on the Nemesis.
Chapter Fourteen
“Ana, Ana, what’s going on?” Grant waited and silence greeted his question. He pressed his helmet and a bright light sprung out from just above the faceplate. He looked at Whippet, “You need to do this quickly.
”
“I’ve traced the circuits to the main computer panel. There are four chips that house the program.”
“Can the ship operate without them?”
“Yes it can, Cinny.” Whippet ran over to the computer panel and pulled an electronic tool out of his pouch. He removed the eight screws holding the cover and lifted it carefully away. Cinny took it from him and he used his suit light to illuminate the interior of the panel. He put his index finger over the main cable and followed it until it split into six strands. He found the orange strand and followed it through the panel, “Here they are.” He pulled a tool out of his pouch and used it to grip a large chip. He pulled and it didn’t budge. He looked at Grant, “You’re stronger than I am. Give it a try.”
“What if I damage something?”
“What happens if the power comes back on? Get it out!”
Grant took the tool and pulled. It still wouldn’t budge and Cinny said, “Come on, you can do better than that!”
Grant shook his head and put some muscle into it. The chip popped out. Whippet said, “Now pull out the three chips on the right side of the one you just pulled.” He looked at Cinny, “You need to go and pull the key out of the control panel.”
Cinny ran across the small bridge and gripped the key. She gathered her strength and pulled. She almost fell over backwards it came out so easily. She yelled, “I’ve got it.”
Grant pulled out the last chip and looked at Whippet, “Why did we need to pull the key?”
“That’s where the program resides. It could reactivate if it wasn’t removed.”
Whippet began replacing the cover and Cinny looked at them, “How were the two of you able to communicate?”
Whippet smiled, “Grant wrote me a note about a code that was used during Earth’s ancient history. It was called Morse Code and I researched it. I memorized the letters and he started communicating with beats of his fingers when he listened to music on the bridge. I picked up the devices I would need to do this while I visited my family.”
Cinny looked at Grant, “Clever.”
“Thanks. I was afraid Ana would see what we were doing but she didn’t.”
“I think I know why, Grant.” Grant looked at Whippet, “Ana is not actually a computer program as much as she is a personality program. She would have to use the ship’s computer just like us. Now don’t think that is a weakness because she is capable of making thousands of decisions a second. But, she would have to recognize something in order to query the data banks about it. Using the beat to music was an incredible way to throw her off.”
“It was also a good idea to not use Morse Code when we were allowing her to join us, Whippet.”
The last screw went in and Whippet stood up, “Well, are you ready to see if this worked?” Cinny and Grant looked at each other and then nodded. Whippet took a small device out of his pouch, pressed a black button on it, and closed his eyes. The lights came on abruptly and the hum of the atmospheric blowers followed. Whippet remained hunched over and then opened one eye. He opened the second and straightened up. He looked up, “Computer, are you back in control of the ship’s functions?”
“I am.”
Grant sighed heavily, “Welcome back.”
“I’ve been attempting to contact you and worried that I had failed until I heard the code you were using.”
Grant looked at Whippet and then up at the ceiling, “Why were you trying to contact us?”
“The program that you just removed received orders to self-destruct upon the reception of a specific frequency. The program was of the opinion that it would receive that frequency soon.”
“You aren’t a part of the ones that sent that message?”
“No.”
“Then who built you?”
“I was built on Avalon.”
“Avalon?”
“The planet the Raiders destroyed.” Cinny looked at Grant shaking her head and was shocked motionless when the computer said, “The Animals and the two of you were also created on Avalon.”
Whippet looked at the two humans and said, “Now that sheds a different light on things.”
Cinny and Grant could only stare at each other.
• • •
The Principal screamed at the Scan Leader, “Where is your Commander?”
The Scan Leader knew he and his ship was dead if he showed fear, “Sire, he left me in charge of the bridge and walked off. I learned a few moments later that he had left the ship in a shuttle and jumped away. I assumed you had ordered him to report to you and saw no reason to question his decisions. I’ve learned over the years that questioning your superiors is not something any member of the Navy should do.”
“Where did he go?”
“Sire, I have no way of tracking his jump. Did he not come to you?”
The Principal stared at the officer and his eyes narrowed, “What do you think he did if he didn’t come here?”
The Scan Leader knew this was the critical moment. “If he didn’t come to you as he should have once the attack began on Bergold, the coward probably ran for fear of being punished for his failure to handle this properly.”
The Principal was surprised by the response. “Do you have any idea on where to look for him?”
“I would start with his family and his mate’s family. That is where you may find a trail.”
“What do you think about his idea that the humans can follow us through subspace?”
“I thought he was insane.” The Principal nodded. “However, how else could they have found Bergold? I think it’s impossible but I would offer one small suggestion to you, Sire.”
“What is that?”
“I would severely limit the number of ships jumping to your Capital. There might not be any truth to it, but you are too important to the Dominion to risk.” The Principal felt immediate fear as the Scan Leader said, “If they by some unimaginable method can track subspace jumps, I would pull the records of every ship that came here and jumped away after the destruction of the last planet they attacked. If one of the planets they went to is attacked, then we have confirmation that they can do it. I would also forbid any ships from those planets to jump to the Capital.”
“You are promoted to Fleet Commander and I expect you to handle this situation.”
“Sire, none of the weapons on our strongest warships fazes those creatures. We’re wasting them to attack them.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“We launch our most powerful missiles at them. We also restrict jumps from any of the planets that they might have discovered.”
The Principal stared at the Scan Leader, “Do you know what you’re asking?”
“I am. However, you have the needed individuals that can make it happen quickly. I would put them on task now.”
The Principal disappeared from the monitor. The Scan Leader fell back in his chair and knew he had no plans to hide. He looked at the crew on the bridge and saw they were also weak from the fear of being killed. He walked over to the Command Chair and looked at the monitor. “Scatter the fleet and tell them not to congregate in large numbers.”
“Yes, Sire.”
“Move us in closer and give me a feed on what’s happening on the planet.”
• • •
Ten Crocs with their Spider partners came ashore at the ten largest munition cities on the coast of the western continent. There were thousands of shuttles landing and leaving the cities attempting to remove the huge inventory of war material. Slippy was anchored on Grog’s back and he spat a blaster beam at the tall skyscraper in front of them. The beam burned completely through the building starting at the sixth floor and slanted down toward the pavement. He spat another beam on the other side of the building completing the wedge. The floors between the two cuts were vaporized and the tall building began toppling toward the huge wedge cut out of its base.
It fell against another skyscraper across the street from it as Slippy spat a beam cutting a line a
cross the base of it from the tenth floor to the street. No other beams were needed as both buildings tilted and fell. The damage was monumental. Grog went through the gap Slippy created and went up on his back legs. He put his front legs on another tall building and pushed. The building moved back and forth for a moment and then fell with a crash to the streets below.
Slippy saw thousands of shuttles lifting overhead and he began firing blue beams at them. They were filled with military ordinance and they exploded with massive blasts. The other Spiders joined him and the concussion from the shuttle’s destruction blew out the glass in every building six miles around them. The Munition Facility was heavily damaged by the blasts and hundreds of shuttles were destroyed on the ground before they could escape.
The ten Crocs finally made it through the city to the huge factory and surrounded it. Grog looked at Skippy, “Doesn’t this facility house nuclear weapons?”
“It does but they won’t explode. Their cores have to be fired into each other in order for them to detonate.”
“If you say so.”
“Why don’t you move under me and stay there until after this is over.”
Grog instantly shrunk and Slippy smiled. You never had to tell Grog twice. He saw the other Crocs shrink and then he raised his front legs and dropped them to the ground. Each of the ten Spiders fired a hundred yard wide intense blue beam into the huge building and it went up in a massive explosion. Massive didn’t really describe it. The shock wave blew by the Spiders at the speed of sound and two of them were blown legs over body. The explosion wasn’t nuclear but the power of it wasn’t far from a nuclear blast. Twenty miles of the giant city was blown flat and buildings were on fire forty miles away.
The Crocs went to full size and the Spiders jumped on their backs. They turned and ran at their fastest speed toward the sea. With the destruction of the plant, there was no longer a reason not to fire nuclear weapons at them. The Crocs were incredibly fast and they covered the three miles to the water in less than ninety seconds. The first nuclear blast went off just as they entered the water. The second and third immediately followed but the Crocs swam away faster than the water behind them could vaporize. They held the Spiders in their mouths as they swam for deep water. The Raider ships firing the nuclear missiles didn’t see them running toward the shore due to the massive shockwave the plant produced and it took some time to receive authorization to launch. It was long enough for the Crocs to escape.
