Jimmy's Dreams II: A Recurring Nightmare

by Saxon Andrew

Ed smiled, “We use the word ‘cool’ to mean the same thing.” Leit actually said the word. “I need to get you a program to teach you my language.”

  Leit smiled and said, “Cool!” Ed laughed and entered the ship. Leit pressed a button on the wall and a second chair came out of the floor slightly behind the pilot’s chair. He sat down and looked at Ed.

  Ed activated the drives and said, “Well, let’s see what she’s got.”

  Ed activated the controls and Leit said, “It turns faster.”

  Ed nodded and lifted the ship off the tarmac and headed for orbit. He began making radical turns and high-G maneuvers and Leit said, “You’ve made it much faster.”

  “You think?”

  “I know, I can feel it. It also turns much better.”

  Ed stopped the ship and looked at Leit, “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yes.”

  “But your ships could turn as well and sometimes better than ours.”

  “It was hard work to make the ship do it. This is a big improvement.”

  “Here, you take the controls and see if you’re right. Two-minutes later, Ed came out of unconsciousness with Leit standing over him shaking him, “Ed, Ed, WAKE UP!!”

  Ed shook his head and saw white spots and black patches filling his vision, “What did you do?”

  “I just made a simple turn! That’s all I did.”

  Ed shook his head and stumbled to his feet. He looked at the pilot controls and saw the Gravimeter showed a forty-G turn.” He collapsed back in his chair and said, “Thirty-G’s is about all my body can stand.”

  “You should have told me!”

  “I’m dumb.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Well, I’m really thankful your former masters don’t have our technology.”

  “Me, too.”

  Ed moved into the pilot’s chair and took the ship back to Zurich. He stumbled out and later that day, a currier delivered a language program to Leit.

  • • •

  Ed arrived at the Community and Jillian took one look and ran up to him, “What happened to you?”

  “I let Leit fly the ship.”

  “WHAT?”

  “He damn near killed me making a forty-G turn.”

  “FORTY?”

  “Yes, and he wasn’t pushing it.” Jillian’s expression turned angry and Ed quickly said, “I didn’t mention I could only handle thirty-five-Gs.”

  “Then you’re the idiot.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “Come on and get in the tub. You need some warm water.”

  “Indeed, I do. I think I can taste my spleen.”

  • • •

  “Do you think the Fighters you left survived?”

  The Guild Master looked at the new Supreme Guild Master and shook his head, “No, there was no one to give them orders.”

  “How were they able to destroy your transports?”

  “I don’t know. There were no ships on our scanners but that was mainly due to them being locked on our Fighters. The weapon used to destroy them could have been fired from long-range. There was no time to search for them. I’m sorry about the loss of our Fighters.”

  The Supreme Guild Master waved an arm, “They were only pilots. We have more than we can use. We need to decide on a new strategy. But the attack will have to wait for a while.”

  “Why is that?”

  We’ve been given a contract to punish one of the Opat’s planets.”

  “They’re pretty heavily defended, Supremacy.”

  “That’s why the attack on them will have to wait. We’re going to focus on that contract and then we’ll go back to extract punishment for the loss of our Transports. The payment is well worth the wait.”

  “Yes, Supremacy. We could lose a lot of our Fighters going against the Opat.”

  The Supreme Master smiled, “Like I said, they’re only pilots.”

  • • •

  Jimmy met Ed at the Zurich Airport and walked from his Striker to where Ed and the ever present Leit were standing. “What’s up.”

  “Sir, you can stop modifying the White Ships.”

  “Why.”

  Ed blew out a breath and shook his head, “We don’t have anywhere near enough pilots to fly the ones we have. Training them will take too long and it’s a waste of time and energy. The Mercenaries will be back long before we’re able to use them.”

  “We’ll fly your ships,” Leit said. Jimmy and Ed looked at him and Leit said, “We’ve been discussing it and we think, like you said when you brought us here, it’s the right thing to do.”

  Jimmy shook his head, “How can I trust you to go against your masters?”

  “They are not my master.” Leit looked at Ed, “He is.”

  “But…I just can’t take the risk.”

  Leit stared at them and said, “Why did we fight for the large ships?” Jimmy and Ed stared at him and Leit said, “They were our home. Even after you destroyed them, we still couldn’t bring ourselves to leave them.”

  “But…”

  “This is our home now. And you are our Master, Ed. We will defend our new home against anyone trying to harm it.”

  “Actually, Jimmy is my Master.”

  “So, he’s the Supreme Master and you are a lower ranking Master. You are our Master!” Leit hesitated and said, “The one who gives us our home is our Master. You gave us this new home. You are our Master and we will defend it, if you will allow us.”

  Several Pilots standing around listening to them stepped up and said, “This is our home.”

  Jimmy looked at Ed and Ed turned to Leit, “Are you sure about this?”

  “We are all sure about this.”

  “But you could die doing this.”

  “That’s what protecting a home is all about. Is that not what you’ve been doing?”

  Ed looked at Jimmy and he said, “It’s your call.”

  Ed looked at Leit and said, “There’s no way for me to mix you among my ships. It would cause too much mayhem because of differing skill levels.”

  “We’ve come to the same conclusion.”

  “If we choose to do this, You will command your pilots.”

  “We have also come to that conclusion as well.”

  Ed smiled, “How did that happen?”

  “Everyone looks at me as your Apprentice. It’s natural that I would be the logical choice.”

  “Apprentice?”

  “That’s how guilds operate. An apprentice learns from their master.”

  Ed stared at Leit and he started fidgeting. His face also changed from a dark grey to a lighter shade. “You’re not telling me something, Leit.”

  Leit looked at the other Urriks standing around and said, “Why do you say that?”

  “I’m starting to be better at reading Urrik expressions. You’re hiding something.”

  Jimmy eyes narrowed and Leit lowered his head down on his short neck and said, “Do you remember when you came out and asked if we were hungry?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, one of our ships left the hull of the large ship it was on and followed you. Do you remember?”

  “I do.”

  “Well, that was me. The others all say they didn’t have the courage to move and I showed them the way. They say I led them to a better life and that I should lead them from now on.”

  Jimmy smiled as Ed looked out at the vast numbers of grey ships and said, “Our ships are called Strikers. Your modified ships will be called Hitters.” He turned to Leit, “You need to select the pilots to fly the ones that are ready and get them up and learning how to fly them.”

  “I will do that immediately.”

  “You will also take food with you. You might be practicing a long time.”

  Leit smiled, “That is a welcome change.”

  Leit walked away and Jimmy looked at Ed, “Are you sure about this?”

  “Sir, they have not demonstrated any hostility the entire time they’ve been here. Th
ey’ve done what we asked without complaint and if they’ve told us anything we’ve asked about, there was no dishonesty. I believe in him and I believe what he’s saying.”

  The pilots standing close by told the others what the Master said and they felt pride in his words. No one was going to attack their new home and live to tell about it. They also vowed to start attending Leit’s language classes.

  • • •

  Ed was sitting in his quarters on the sofa reading a book. Jillian walked in and looked ragged. He closed the book and said, “What happened to you?”

  Jillian collapsed on the sofa and said, “I don’t know why we even go out anymore.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Some of us decided to take on some of our Urrik pilots and…”

  “You shouldn’t have done that, Jillian.”

  “You’re right. We’re so out classed that we’re not even in the competition. It’s disheartening.”

  Ed shook his head, “But you were able to take out some of their ships.”

  Jillian’s head went back, “How did you know that?”

  “They let you do it.”

  “WHAT?!”

  “Jillian, the Urrik come from a planet with at least three-times Earth’s gravity. The Strikers can handle fifty-Gs but human pilots can’t. The Hitters can handle at least that much and the Urrik can physically handle more than that.”

  “But we were a match for them before.”

  “Their White Ships weren’t anywhere as good as our Strikers. Now they’re probably better.”

  “You don’t know how disheartening this is, Ed.”

  “They have a natural advantage and they’re not to blame for that. Next time you make the challenge, have them take their unmodified ships up and the contest will be more even. If they balk, accuse them of being afraid. That should get them to do it. Tell them they’ll be better pilots flying their old ships.”

  “Ed, you seem to know them better than…”

  “It’s like Ayet and that young fish.” Jillian’s eyebrows came together. “He would go swimming with him a lot and he learned who they are. I’ve spent a lot of hours with the Urrik and I’ve learned who they are.”

  “And they’ve learned who we are, as well.”

  Ed smiled, “Yes, they have. A lot of them are now speaking our language.”

  “I’ve noticed that. Their favorite term during maneuvers seems to be ‘touché’.”

  Ed laughed and pulled her into his arms.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The Guild Master stood in front of the Supreme Guild Master again and was asked, “You’ve had a year to come up with a plan on attacking that planet that killed our transports.”

  “I think the transports are a liability. They’re too slow to avoid fighters and can be targeted easily.”

  “What are you suggesting?”

  “We transport enough fighters to insure victory and launch them immediately after we exit our stardrives. We then activate our stardrives and move away. We allow our fighters enough time and come back after they’ve won.”

  “You intend to do what defeated the Opat’s.”

  “It was a brilliant strategy, Supremacy. It’s what won the day against them.”

  “That is a good plan. How long before you can be ready.”

  “I’m ready now but the pilots need some rest.”

  “They can get it on the way. Leave immediately.”

  “Yes, Supremacy.”

  • • •

  Ed sat in his Striker and watched the Fleet Maneuvers. Leit was in his Hitter next to his Striker and Ed asked, “It’s been a year. Why haven’t your former masters returned.”

  “I can think of a lot of reasons.”

  “Give me one.”

  “They got a lucrative contract and focused on completing it first.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “The Mercenary Guild is the epitome of greed.”

  “What would that take them a year?”

  “Attacking a well-defended planet would do it. There are other reasons such as some infighting in the Guild stirred up by one of the losers.”

  “So, this isn’t that unusual?”

  “No, it’s not.”

  Ed pressed a button on his console and Jimmy appeared on his monitor, “Good morning, Commodore.”

  “Good morning, Sir. I wonder if you’ve had another one of those dreams.”

  “I haven’t.”

  Ed paused and said, “Have any of your children?”

  “Spring is the most clairvoyant of us and she says she saw forty of those large transports.”

  “WHEN?”

  “Settle down. Usually when only one of us has a dream, it’s not going to happen immediately.”

  “Sir, did your ability to use that talent get better or worse with age?”

  Jimmy stared at him and said, “Better. I was Spring’s age when I saw the asteroids.”

  “Do you think she might be seeing things a little clearer than the rest of you since she has the most talent?”

  Jimmy shook his head, “They are running late, aren’t they?”

  “They are.”

  “She saw forty-large transports moving through space.”

  A loud voice interrupted them, “Sir, a scout just reported in! They’ve spotted forty-Transports leaving Andromeda!”

  “Did she see anything else, Sir?!”

  “She says that she saw a massive space battle but there were no transports.”

  Leit said, “They’re going to launch and run.” Ed’s eyes narrowed. “It’s one of their main strategies to use against a powerful enemy.”

  “We’ll meet them at their exit point.”

  “Won’t work, Master.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because everyone knows about the standard exit of a stardrive. They’ll launch from a new position. You’re wasting time to try and figure out where they’ll launch.”

  Ed looked at Jimmy, “Did Spring…”

  “That’s all she saw,” Jimmy said interrupting him. “She didn’t see the White Ships launched.”

  Ed lowered his head into his shoulders, “That’s eighty-thousand White Ships.”

  Leit was struggling for the right words and then he smiled, “Piece of cake.” Jimmy and Ed looked at him on their monitors, “Just draw them in and we’ll put the icing on them.”

  “You’re getting pretty good with our language, Leit.”

  “That’s because our former masters didn’t teach us many words. We’ve learned a whole new universe of words to express ourselves.”

  “Why do you think they didn’t teach you more words?” Jimmy asked.

  “They intended to keep us dumb. As long as we were kept stupid, we could never pass the test to be able to vote in the guild.”

  “How does that make you feel?” Ed asked.

  Leit smiled a wicked smile, “Just draw them in. We’re looking forward to this.”

  “You know the White Ships are just like you once were?”

  “Yes, I do. But they’re trying to attack our home. What or who they are doesn’t matter. Does it matter to either of you?”

  Jimmy smiled, “Not much.”

  Ed said, “It doesn’t bother me at all. I’m thankful you, your brothers, and sisters are here fighting with us.”

  Leit smiled, “There is one small bit of information I’ve been wanting to tell you, Master.”

  “What is that.”

  “We had ten births during the last week.”

  Ed smiled, “That changes things, doesn’t it?”

  “We’ve never been allowed to have families. You have no idea how much it changes things. Draw them in!”

  • • •

  Rachel sat with AA in her lap and was cooing at him. AA was laughing hysterically and John, Spring, and Hope were laughing with him. Nothing can tickle a funny bone like a baby laughing out of control. Finally, he wound down and Rachel gave him his bottle. “Do
you mind if I hold him?” Rachel smiled and handed him to Spring.

  Rachel watched AA stare into Spring’s eyes and knew that of all of them, Spring was most like Summer; she had the biggest heart. “How’s your Fish Friend doing?”

  “Spring kept her eyes on AA and said, “He’s growing up fast and he’s really smart. His parents agree that he’s the brightest one of the bunch. Ayet had a big impact on his early life. He’s speaking English now.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, Rachel. Ed gave that Urrik a language unit and I decided to have a waterproof one made for Ayet. He’s really good; he even understands idioms.”

  “He doesn’t have much to do in the lagoon but eat and swim around. I suspect he spends most of his time with that unit.”

  Spring smiled, “He does, John. He takes it with him wherever he goes; I also gave him some history programs to keep him entertained.”

  Hope was fidgeting and said, “Ok! What are we going to do about this fleet of Mercenary Transports moving our way?”

  Rachel chuckled, “Are you getting bored like our little fish?”

  Hope rolled her eyes and nodded, “I am. Don’t tell me you aren’t either.”

  “Actually, I’m quite content to be here with my husband and baby. Dad and General Alverez have not included us in their plans this time.”

  “I wonder why that is?”

  Rachel looked at Spring, “I think the Urrik Pilots that are going to be fighting with our fleets are unpredictable and I think they’re concerned about our safety. They wouldn’t see us.”

  “But our ships deflect their rounds!”

  “I know, but they don’t deflect a Hitter making fifty-G turns, Hope! We wouldn’t be able to react in time to avoid them if they came running into our positions.” Rachel stared at Hope and lowered her eyes, “You’ve been planning something.”

  “I have.”

  “What is that?”

  “They’re not planning to try and attack the transports that are coming.”

  “They don’t know where they’re going to come out of stardrive and launch.”

  Hope smiled, “But we know where they’re entering the Milky Way. We can wait for them there and follow them in.” Rachel, John, and Spring stared at her and John said, “Now that is an outstanding idea.”

  “What do you think about that, Rachel?” Hope asked.

  “It doesn’t matter what I think, Hope. You need to run this by Dad and Juan. You’ll probably have to get Commodore Boyer involved as well.”