The Prophet's Eyes: The Death Prophecies book two.

by Saxon Andrew

  “Other than the obvious warships around the planet, there are twenty orbital fortresses in orbit above it. I’m moving in closer to take a look at the planet’s surface.”

  “Be careful.”

  “I’m sure you’re saying that to be nice. I can go down to the surface and not be seen. Here we go.” The planet rushed at them at incredible speed and they slowed slightly as they passed through the massive ship formations. Lani grabbed his arm and held it tightly.

  As they came to a stop, she released it and sighed, “Sorry. I usually grab my chair’s arm.”

  “It’s ok. I had the arm in a death grip.” Lani laughed and Steve smiled, “We have to get accustomed to this.” Lani nodded. “Poul, what’s happening on the surface?”

  “This planet has a large number of conquests. There are numerous species working in their factories and farms and it appears slavery is widespread. A huge portion of the planet’s surface is used to build warships.”

  “Where do they get the raw materials?”

  “There is a huge number of commercial vessels constantly entering orbit. I suspect the raw materials are brought from conquered planets.”

  “Have you been able to get an idea of how many home worlds they have?”

  “The Commander of the ship we followed has just arrived and has asked if the other twenty Leaders were going to be present for the presentation?”

  “Did he mean military leaders or planetary leaders?”

  “He was just told that they were going to listen to the report from their planets.”

  Lani leaned forward, “How do they treat their slaves?”

  “They’re treated like one would expect a slave to be treated but not with the cruelty demonstrated by the Traugh. In the short time we’ve been here, I have not seen a single slave killed. That wouldn’t be true on a Traugh Conquest.”

  Steve nodded, “It appears the Traugh and this species are evenly matched.”

  “The Traugh Ships are more powerful. They were defeated at the conquered planet because they were heavily outnumbered.”

  “This makes me thankful I didn’t send that communication at the Traugh Fleet moving toward the core. This will at least keep them on the other side of the galaxy and a long way from Earth.” Steve paused and said, “Is that how you analyze it?”

  “It should be remembered that we sent communication waves toward the Traugh Empire. That UE may act on that.”

  Steve stared at the wall speaker a moment and then looked at the planet below him. “Put what you’ve recorded in a package and I’ll add my point of view at the end later.”

  Lani looked at him, “What are we going to do now?”

  “It’s time we took a look at the other side of the Milky Way’s black hole. Poul, take us back to where we watched the Traugh Fleet.” Both of them saw a brilliant flicker in the forward viewport and then they looked out at the massive black hole in the distance. Steve looked at Lani, “You didn’t grab my arm.”

  “I didn’t have time!”

  Steve smiled and Poul said, “There are UE Warships moving across the space between the bar and the closest arm. It does appear they are now expanding toward the Traugh Empire.”

  Steve closed his eyes and then rolled them, “It looks like every time we do something, it turns out to be a mistake.”

  Lani nodded, “Death Prophecy number one.”

  “Poul, take us to the location where they destroyed Admiral McAlistor’s ship.” The viewport flickered again and Poul announced, “I am intercepting communications from numerous directions.”

  “Wait here until you can understand them.”

  “They are encrypted so it will take longer to break the encryption.”

  “That’s ok. I think we need to know what’s being said before we go out in the dark fumbling our way around.”

  “I’m moving close to one of the locations to see if I can hear them communicating in their normal language. That will make breaking the encryption easier.”

  “Do what you think is necessary.” The stars flickered and the Eyes appeared above a planet that orbited a dark star.

  The planet was very close to the star, “This star is extremely old. It radiates a high level of infrared heat and that is what makes the planet habitable. However, that planet is extremely dark on the surface. I’m picking up communications from the surface now.”

  Steve noticed that Lani was squeezing his arm again. He shook his head. The planet was huge and whatever species inhabited it had to be incredibly strong because of the planet’s high gravity. This was where nightmares were born. Twenty minutes later, Poul said, “I’ve learned their language. I’m going to start attempting to break the encryption now.”

  Lani looked at Steve and shook her head, “This planet raises the hair on the back of my neck.”

  Steve nodded and sighed, “This explains why they’re more advanced technologically. This species must be ancient.” He looked at the planet and said, “I wonder why there aren’t any warships around it to defend it.”

  “There are warships around it.”

  Steve looked up and said, “I don’t see any on the tactical monitor.”

  “I’ve not used my scanners this close to the planet.”

  “Why not? I thought we are undetectable?”

  “We are but they may be advanced enough to detect a scan. I looked at all the possibilities and think erring on the side of caution was called for.”

  “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

  “I look at this planet like a hornet’s nest. If they detect a scan, it might cause them to overreact and spread out into the galaxy searching for a civilization that could do it.”

  “Do you think they have enough ships to do that?”

  “Moving in I detected heat sources around us. That star is heating the hulls of the warships around the planet and my optical camera can see them with an infrared filter.”

  Steve looked at Lani and asked the question he wanted to avoid, “How many did you see?”

  “They’re in tight formations above the planet all the way out to the closest moon’s orbit. If they’re like that all the way around the planet, there’s more than six million here.”

  Lani gripped his arm harder and closed her eyes. Steve pulled her out of her chair over into his lap and hugged her. She put her head on his chest and shook. He put his hand on her face and whispered, “At least this is not an unknown enemy.”

  “I really wish it were.” Steve nodded and put his head on top of hers.

  • • •

  An hour later, Steve took his arms from around her and she moved back to her chair, “I’m sorry for being so forward.”

  “I needed that, Admiral. Thank you.” Steve nodded and sighed, “At least we now know where the real danger lies and it explains why they destroy planets.”

  “Why do they do that?”

  “They can’t populate them. They’re too bright and the star would blind them. They’ve evolved here with a dying sun and can only live in darkness.”

  Lani nodded, “Perhaps light is their enemy.”

  Steve’s eyes narrowed and he tilted his head, “The problem would be getting it through their force fields and filters.”

  “At least it’s something to think about. I wonder if a bright light would temporarily blind them or be permanent.”

  “I think it’s going to be a while before we find that out.”

  “Not if they start expanding toward the Traugh. If they conquer the Traugh, they will be close to Earth’s location.”

  Steve sighed, “You’re right, Poul. I wonder if there’s a way to stop their movement in that direction.”

  “I’m reasonably sure the communication toward the Traugh Empire is what started them moving in that direction.”

  Steve’s eyes narrowed and Lani said, “What are you thinking?”

  “Maybe we need to get their attention in the other direction.”

  “How can we do that?”


  “I’m thinking about that. Let’s see if we can hear what they’re planning first.”

  “I’ve pretty much broken the encryption. There are some terms I don’t understand but I can hear most of what they’re saying.”

  “What have you learned?”

  “The ships here have been recalled to start the advance on the other side of the black hole.”

  “Poul, get us out of here and take us to where they were advancing.”

  “What do you have in mind, Admiral?”

  “They have to be searching for dark planets to inhabit. We need to find one in the opposite direction from the core.”

  “I’m taking us to the edge of the Loran Civilization, we’ll start the search there.”

  “Why there?”

  “Because I have that location in my database. I can go there instantly.”

  “Good idea.” The monitor flashed brightly and then they were in open space between stars. “Poul, we can’t have them close to the Loran.”

  “I know. I’m going two thousand light years in the Perseus Arm and start searching for dark stars.”

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “I’m going to run at high speed back and forth in the arm and see if I detect a dark star. Failing that, I’ll move out to the Outer Arm and continue the search.”

  They watched the stars begin rushing past the ship too fast to really see. Lani looked at Steve, “I just want you to know that I really liked your holding me.” She stood up and left the bridge. Steve watched her go and the left corner of his mouth went up.

  Chapter Ten

  The Commander of the huge black warship was angry. He had been recalled but had found a dark star. He stayed to survey it and found that there weren’t any planets in the habitation band around the star. He left and knew he was late for the recall. His scanning technician looked up, “Commander, I’ve just had a communication wave pass us moving out into the stars behind us.”

  “Did you lock on the line of that transmission?”

  “I’ve got the line.”

  He looked over the technician, “Contact the Group Commander.” He waited and the Commander appeared on his panel, “Group Commander, I’ve detected a communication wave moving past us toward the stars behind my current position.”

  “How powerful was the wave?”

  The Ship Commander looked at his technician and he held up two arms with four digits raised on each. “It was a force eight, Commander.”

  “Track that communication to the location it was sent. I’ll be dispatching a Minor-Pod to join you. Stay in contact until you find it.”

  The Commander nodded and turned his huge vessel around and went to maximum speed. As he raced out of one arm of the galaxy and entered the outer arm he heard his scan technician say, “Commander, that transmission passed through a system with a dark star.”

  The Commander struggled with what to do but he decided to investigate. He had time before the Minor-Pod arrived and he ordered the ship to slow and move toward the star. He flew in and suddenly the technician shouted, “Commander, there’s a planet.”

  The Commander stood up, “What do you mean there’s a planet?”

  “It’s located at the right distance.”

  The Commander forgot the transmission. The ship moved in toward the planet and he sat back down in his chair. His eyes narrowed and he felt his skin begin to turn moist. The Group Commander appeared on is panel and said, “You’ve not communicated!”

  The Ship Commander looked at his Communication Technician, “Send this to him.”

  The Group Commander’s eyes turned hard as he stood up from his chair but then the image appeared on his display. His eyes flew wide open and he shook his head, “Is that…”

  “Yes it is, Group Commander. My initial scans shows it meets all the criteria.”

  The Group Commander fell into his chair and put his head into his hands. He finally forced his head up and said, “You will remain at that star!”

  “Yes, Group Commander.”

  • • •

  The Moran received the image and his eyes went wide. He began shaking his head and lifted his communicator, “All ships will return here and load provisions to colonize a new world. All ships above the planet will report to their home worlds and start loading provisions to start the colonizing of a new baby.”

  He put his communicator down and thought about the communication wave the world’s discoverer was following. He thought about the coincidence but shrugged it off. This was a priceless gift. The population pressures that would be removed by this new world was sorely needed. It was going to take every ship in the fleets to move the materials needed to build the structures to support the millions at their new home. Expansion was forgotten in the joy of the discovery.

  • • •

  Steve and Lani listened to the communications for an hour and could hear the joy of the dark beings. Lani looked at Steve, “What happens when they get around to following that communication wave.”

  “Poul, do you want to answer that?”

  “I lined it up so that it would pass that vessel, go through that dark star, and continue out into open space. I was fortunate to find one so close to their domain. They had destroyed a civilized planet five light years away and didn’t see that star. I’m sure they’ll look at their records and probably take a second look at all the stars they already surveyed.”

  “How were you able to find that star?”

  “I didn’t actually see it, Lani, but I did detect a huge gravity signature as I passed close to it. That told me something was there.”

  Steve sighed, “I really hope this doesn’t backfire on us like the other things we’ve done.”

  “We should go and see if their ships are still on the other side of the core.”

  “You’re right, Lani. We should also go and take a good look at Traughville and see if one of the ships made it back to the Supreme Leader.”

  Lani smiled, “I like that, Traughville.” She paused, “Are we going to tell Fleet about this?”

  “We can’t without giving away how fast Poul can fly.”

  “Perhaps we can tell them that the UE has found a new planet to colonize and will not pose an immediate problem.”

  “Good idea, Lani. Poul, save the images of their moving toward that planet. We’ll send it later.”

  “Stored.”

  “Take us to the other side of the core.” The viewport flashed and they were looking out at the bright bar that extended across the center of the Milky Way.

  “I have more than ten thousand stardrives passing in the distance. It does appear the UE is recalling their ships.”

  Steve smiled and said, “Let’s go to the Traugh’s ruling planet.” There was another bright flash and they saw the heavily defended planet in the distance. “Poul, has a ship arrived yet?”

  “It doesn’t appear one has. If one does make it back, it won’t show up for another five hours.”

  “Intercept their transmissions and let me know when one does show up.”

  Lani looked at him, “What are you going to do?”

  “Take a bath. It’s been so crazy I’ve not taken the time.”

  “Let me know when you’re done. I’ll take mine afterwards.” Steve smiled and left the bridge.

  Lani moved to the command chair and looked out at the planet in the distance. She sighed and felt a mixture of emotions wash over her. She almost wished Steve had not pulled her into his lap when she was so terrorized. She felt her fear evaporate in his arms but it changed things. Everything was professional before he did it and she was ok with it. Now all she could do was look at him and wish he’d do it again. It didn’t help that Poul had revealed he was just as smart as she was. She was accustomed to dating men that weren’t nearly as bright. She deliberately dumbed her conversation down to keep them from being intimidated.

  Men didn’t just run from smart women, they usually left skid marks. Now one of the mos
t handsome men she had ever met had held her in his arms. And he was brilliant on top of it. What to do, what to do? This genie was out of the bottle and she wondered if it could be put back in, or even if she wanted things to return to what they were before. Hell, he was an Admiral! She sighed and closed her eyes. What to do? She sighed again and knew he was just out of her league and if she made a move and it was rejected, she risked being reassigned to another ship. It was best to keep her feelings hidden and make sure they stayed hidden. She didn’t want to leave this mission.

  • • •

  Steve laid in the warm water and closed his eyes. This was heaven. He took the bar of soap and began washing off the sweat of the mission. So much had happened and there was so much to do. But at least more time had been gained against the black ships.

  He suddenly saw Lani in his mind. He could see her smile and he sighed. Was this the right thing to do? He felt an attraction for her and he fought it every minute since he pulled her into his lap. He shouldn’t have done it but he could see her fear overwhelming her. Truth be told, he was also frightened and holding her had brought him peace. She was just so beautiful and young. He was eight years older and must be an old man in her eyes.

  He thought about his mother constantly asking if he was in a relationship. He didn’t have the heart to tell her that he was in love with his job and no one else interested him. Besides, why would Lani be attracted to him? He knew if he approached her about this she might ask to be reassigned. He decided to leave things alone and come to grips with his emotions. Things were good like they were; he didn’t want to mess them up. He stood up and dried off. He put the suit back on and headed to the bridge. He walked through the port and smiled, “Your turn.”

  Lani smiled and walked past him. Boy, he smelled good. She immediately thought, “STOP IT!” She forced the thought out of her mind and headed back to her quarters.

  • • •

  “Admiral, one of their ships has made it back early from Andromeda.”

  Steve hit the intercom, “Lani, a Traugh Ship has made it back.”

  Lani stopped drying her hair and left it down as she quickly put her suit back on. She rushed to the bridge and sat in the chair next to the Admiral. He looked at her and his head went back lightly, “I had no idea your hair is that long.”