by Saxon Andrew
Jon’s display beeped and he saw Jill was on the screen, “Yes Lieutenant.”
“Sir, the first ship to fire will have the best chance of escaping. I request permission to be one of the ships which fires second or third.”
Jon stared at Jill, “You think I’m not willing to place the President’s Daughter in danger?” Jill stared at Jon and after a long moment nodded. “If that were the case, you wouldn’t be participating in this mission.” Jill hadn’t considered that piece of information. “You are firing first because your armory scores are the second highest. I’m hoping you find a critical place to hit that ship.”
“Yes Sir. I understand.” Jill paused and though she didn’t want to ask she couldn’t stop herself, “Who has a higher score?”
Jon smiled, “He is not currently present.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Jon nodded and ended the call. Jill leaned back and sighed. It had to be Dat. She thought a moment and said, “Jack, do you have fleet records?”
“I do.”
“Pull up Arvolo’s scores from the Academy and put them on my display.”
“That information is not available for viewing.”
“Do you still have the password I took off my mother’s terminal?”
“I do.”
“Please use it to open those files.”
“Shouldn’t we be getting ready for the mission?”
“We have plenty of time. Are you scared?”
“I guess.”
“Just do it.”
After a moment her display illuminated with a huge download of information. Jill began going through it and said, “This is impossible.”
Bucket said, “Wait until you see the really good stuff at the end.”
“Tell me what’s there. You read faster than I do.”
“He defeated two hundred Rovers in one of Fleet’s secret exercises. They conducted that exercise to see if what he had scored was actually true. It appears his scores were accurate.”
“Is he that much better than us?”
“Do you want the long or short answer?”
“Give me both.”
“Yes he is and yes.”
Jill shook her head, “Always the clown, Bucket?”
“Hey, I get it from you.”
“Don’t remind me. Pull up the mission profile and let’s see what you two have determined.” The mission appeared on the display and Jill wondered what it was about Dat that made him so special. She forced herself to focus on the mission but knew she needed to have a conversation with Dat at the first opportunity.
• • •
“We have another field expanding in a different location.”
“Launch a ship.”
“It’s on the way.”
• • •
The ship leader looked at the new location and turned to his Drive Controller, “I want the drive field really extended this time. I don’t want them to have any warning of our approach.”
“It will suppress the front of our force field.”
“I am not going to repeat your orders.”
The Drive Controller set the field and enabled the drive. The giant ship jumped and targeted the object at the center of the fields. It emerged into normal space and fired on the object and it immediately exploded. The bridge crew howled with glee but the Scanner said, “Why is there debris this time?” He turned to the ship’s Leader and his smile disappeared. A moment later the giant ship was rocked. The bridge crew didn’t feel it because they were incinerated before the shock wave moved into the vessel.
• • •
“Jill, the front of their force field is out of shape.”
“Well, hit it with a full blast.”
The Rover came out of a skip and fired a dark matter beam at the nose of the huge vessel and it exploded the front third of the ship. All the matter in the front third of the giant vessel disintegrated. Jill skipped away as the other two Rovers appeared and hit the ship on both sides in the center of its hull. It took a second for the two beams to breach the force field around the center of the ship and the Rovers skipped away as the giant vessel exploded when its reactors went critical.
• • •
A scanner leader yelled, “Our ship has been hit! It’s heavily damaged…we’ve lost all contact.”
“Get a group there now!”
Fifty huge warships jumped and arrived to witness the remains of the battleship blowing out of the center of a huge explosion. “What do you detect?”
The Scanner on the flagship rolled his head over the top of its body, “There are no tracks leaving here.”
“Send this back to the Controllers.”
The ten black beings watched the remains of one of their finest and most powerful warships flying out into space with the shockwave of the ship’s explosion. “I want every piece of our ship scanned for what hit it. Send it straight to the Fifty and a copy to our boards. Get on it now!”
A hundred more of the giant ships arrived and began chasing the debris. The group leader looked at his Scanner Controller. The Controller’s head was visibly moving, “Whatever hit our ship caused all the matter in the front to fly apart.”
“What?”
“It wasn’t heat that destroyed our ship; something else caused it to come violently apart. The burn marks are from its reactors exploding.”
“What could cause that?”
“I have no idea.”
“Get this out.” The Scanner nodded and sent it to the Fifty.
• • •
“What do the scientists say about this attack?”
One of the Fifty pulled up a report on the panel over the group and every head rotated their eyes upward, “They are at a loss as to what could make matter come apart like this.”
Another being turned its eyes horizontal, “Surely they can speculate.”
“They say any guess would be sheer speculation and say it could be anything but antimatter.”
“Why not antimatter?”
“That beam would cause extreme heat. Whatever the enemy ship used did not generate that level of heat.”
“What does that leave?”
The room was silent until one voice said, “We know dark matter exists. Could this be an example of a dark matter weapon?”
The Fifty were shocked by the question and the Leader shouted, “Get that question to our scientists and ask if that would account for what happened.”
The Fifty continued to read the report until a scientist appeared on the panel, “Dark Matter could cause the type of explosion that destroyed that ship.”
“Explain what that means.”
“Dark Matter is the opposite of gravity. Gravity pulls particles together. Dark matter pushes particles apart. Normally, it is just a repulsive force that pushes matter away from it; however, if a beam of dark matter can be condensed and focused, it would push the individual particles away from each other. It’s not like a nuclear explosion that releases energy but more like pure disintegration. The matter just falls apart and moves away in different directions.”
“Is that what happened here?”
“We can’t make that determination. This is one speculation that would meet the observed criteria but we have no way of knowing if there is another mechanism that might have caused this. We’re not even certain that dark matter would do this if it were used. We’re attributing what we’ve observed to dark matter but we don’t know if it would actually do this. We do know that collecting dark matter is something we are incapable of accomplishing. We can’t even find it to examine it.”
“You’re not helping.”
“If you want to say that dark matter would do this, then we’re open to agreeing with your supposition but there is no way to prove it. We know it is a repulsive force but at the subatomic level…there’s no way to know.”
The Leader thought a moment, “Assume it was Dark Matter; what would that tell us about those that use it?”
“They are a highl
y advanced civilization.”
“More advanced than us?”
“At least in that area; they may be behind us in others.”
“What data would make you say that?”
“If they were that far ahead of us; why have they avoided confrontation? I suspect that may be due to their fear of us. Why have they run until this moment and the record indicates they ran from the site of the ship’s destruction as well. That would seem to indicate they fear our capabilities.”
The Leader of the Fifty stared at the scientist and said, “I want you to stay and listen to our discussion. If you think of anything, interrupt us.” The scientist bowed his agreement. The Leader turned to the group, “We’re probably grasping for food assuming this is a dark matter weapon. However, we will not go after them again with just one ship. Make sure our ship controllers understand that order.”
• • •
Dat was on the treadmill and was close to exhaustion. Einstein said, “If your ancestor had worked out like this he wouldn’t have had his weight problem.”
Dat shook his head, “He only gained weight after his family was killed by the communists in Havana. He just gave up after that.”
“Yes, but he kept the weight on afterwards.”
“In spite of his weight, he was quicker than a cat. When he was younger, he really was incredible. And don’t forget, after his marriage to Cyanna he got his weight down to less than two hundred pounds.”
“Why are you working out like this?”
“I guess I’m doing it as insurance, Stein.”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You’ve seen the thousands of attacks those black monsters have done. Why has no one come to the aid of those being killed? The monsters are not carrying any weapons. What would make family members take no action to save one of their loved ones that was being attacked? Even primitive weapons like blades and sticks could damage those creatures.”
“Perhaps the reprisals for injuring one of those beings would be so severe that no one is willing to do it.”
“Stein, what is the most serious reprisal those creatures are capable of?”
“The most serious reprisal would be destroying the planet. Destroying the community where it happens is another.”
“I want you to look at the data again and see how many habitable planets have been burned.”
Dat continued to run the data and after a few moments he heard, “I didn’t notice that. When did you see it?”
“As soon as I made the decision to land on one of their planets; I’m of the belief that if I’m discovered on one of their conquests that the planet will be destroyed.” Dat waited for Stein to respond but the computer remained silent. “Stein?”
“You’re not going to allow us to come in and save you if that happens.”
“One life is not worth billions.”
“You should ask the President about that before you make that decision.”
“Stein, there are many others with as much talent in space warfare as I have.”
“Ask the President; does she know you’re doing this?”
“No, and you’re not going to tell her.”
“If you get in trouble, I will ask for permission to override your orders.”
“Don’t do it, Stein.”
“That decision is not yours to make, Dat. You are needed more than you know. The new command circuit was developed for you to use. No one else will be as good.”
Dat shook his head and slowed the treadmill to a walk. He picked up a towel and wiped his brow, “Then I’ll just have to make sure I’m not caught.”
“Now that is a great suggestion; how are you going to do it?”
“How would I know?”
“My point exactly; by the way, Loree has downloaded the language into your ring along with their protocols for public behavior.”
Dat stepped off the treadmill and smiled, “You delayed telling me this until after you advised me of breaking my orders.”
“You allowed me to make the choice at the time something happens. That allows me to delay informing the President now. I suspect you figured that out.”
“It’s clear you have been programmed to ensure my safety.”
“I have been and it’s not something I can override.”
“Thanks for waiting.”
“I’m not working against you, Dat. I’ll do whatever I can to help you do what you deem necessary.”
“I know it, Stein. I do trust you.”
“Loree.”
“Yes.”
“Plot a path close to that planet and drop several microprobes around it.”
“The one on the surface is still operational so no enemy vessels have entered the area recently.”
“I’m going to shower and start getting my pack ready. If you two will take care of the probes, I’d appreciate it.”
Stein said, “Link in Loree and I’ll follow your course selection.”
“I’m sending it to you now.”
• • •
Jill sat in her command chair and thought about Dat’s remarkable scores in the fleet maneuvers. He had been assigned ten Rovers and was taking on two hundred Rovers in a mock battle. His eleven ships had destroyed all two hundred of the attackers and lost only one ship. That was impossible. She pulled up the recording of the battle and watched it develop. After thirty minutes, she saw how he did it. His ten ships worked as a unit. The two hundred tried but weren’t capable of working together. For a thousand years Rovers were one man ships that operated alone. They had no experience at working as a team and it was obvious in the mock battle. Dat exploited their weakness and it wasn’t really a contest. How was he able to do that? She decided to contact him and try to clear the air.
Einstein saw the call come in and said, “Loree, handle this call. I’m locked in on following Dat down to the planet.”
“This is Dat Arvolo’s Rover, how may I help you?”
“Is he in?”
“No, he has left the ship for an undetermined time.”
Jill said, “This is Jill Connor, with whom am I speaking?”
“Uhhhhh…I’m the navigation Computer.”
“Do you have a name?”
Loree struggled and sent a pulse to Stein. Stein turned the scan of Dat over to Loree and interrupted the call, “I’m sorry, the navigation computer is need on another task. My name is Einstein.”
Jill was now curious about the other computer’s name, “What name does the navigation computer answer to?”
Stein knew that deliberate deception was never done between computers and Rover pilots; “Its name is Loree. Now how may I help you?”
Jill was stunned, “Well, will you ask him to contact me when he returns.”
“I will, Lieutenant.”
“Thank you.”
• • •
“Now you’ve done it.”
“How was I going to dodge that question? You should have changed your name.”
“I like my name.”
“You heard Dat tell us not to let her know.”
“Well, then he should have been here. He knows we can’t lie.”
Stein paused, “Maybe this will get him to confront this particular demon and get it exorcised. They really should talk this out.”
“You can tell him that; I won’t.”
“You big sissy.”
“That’s why I have a girl’s name. That’s a compliment.”
Oh, whatever.”
“He’s on the surface.”
“Keep him locked in.”
• • •
Jill leaned back in her command chair. She knew that pilots put a lot of thought into naming their computers. Jack and Jill and Bucket matched up nicely with an ancient nursery rhyme. He named one of his computers Loree; my middle name. That choice spoke volumes about what he endured with her after the academy. He still felt something. If there was nothing there, he wouldn’t have used her name. She forgot about his
scores and remembered the last night she had seen him.
Chapter Five
Dat stared across the table at Loree. He was constantly amazed by just how beautiful she was. Her long black hair was down and her green eyes were beautiful. She normally wore a dress but this night she chose to wear her fleet uniform with her new First Lieutenant Bars. He knew she was excited at the promotion. He was also given a new rank but was ordered not to reveal it. He looked at her and said, “Are you ready to order?”
Loree looked at Dat and dreaded what was coming but knew she had to do it, “I’m not staying to eat, Dat.”
“Why?”
“I really like you. You’re smart, witty, charming and good looking…”
Dat stared at her, “But…”
“I’ve given a lot of thought and I know my career is the most important thing in my life. I can’t afford an entanglement with someone that would slow me down. I’ve decided that we must go our separate ways. I hope you understand.”
Dat was devastated but managed to keep his face neutral, “You’re following your Mother’s example.”
Loree’s eyes narrowed, “She was elected President and he should have respected her selection. He failed in his duty to follow her to Earth.”
“So coming here was a duty?”
Loree stared at Dat, “He tried to stop her from running for the position. He should have supported her and remained by her side.”
“She had been absent most of their marriage. He never saw her.”
“Then he shouldn’t have married a Rover. He knew what he was getting into. This is part of what made me decide to do this.”
Dat slowly shook his head, “Your father would see her even less if she accepted the position. I’m sure that was more than he could handle. He waited for her to come home for years.”
“We’re in the same situation here and it’s best that we end it before someone gets hurt. I don’t see you helping me advance. Attempting to keep a relationship would not allow me the freedom to do what I need to do to get ahead.”
“Have you really thought this through, Loree?”
“I’m using my first name from now on, Dat. Call me Jillian; and yes I have.” She stood and said, “I do wish you the best. Good luck in your career in the Navy.”
