Brad shrugged, “I have no real way of knowing but if their mission is to find the source of the Jukeboxes, they won’t have time to stop and look at individual planets. They have a giant area to scan and they’ll be focused on the frequency of the Jukeboxes.”
“That means we can’t destroy any probe that comes here.”
“That would tell them just as much as finding a Jukebox here.” Brad sat down, “The Rovers have a similar frequency to the Jukeboxes.”
Katherine leaned forward, “You know, I’ve been thinking about that. The Rovers can’t stand up to the Blue Ships; how do they stack up against the rust colored ships?”
“I honestly don’t know, Sir.”
Katherine shook her head, “Dat is right; we have to take a shot at them and we need to use the Rovers in the attack to see if they can survive.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Notify all our warships that once the attack on the Pumgas starts, every warship will jump out to the Strike Fleet’s location and form up. They will remain there until ordered otherwise. We’ll see if the probes are launched after the attack.”
“What if our ships are discovered at that other location?”
“We just might stick around and take them on before we run. However, at least they will be sent on a false trail.”
Brad nodded and left the room to issue the orders.
• • •
Angel sent orders for all her Admirals and Commodores to meet her in the conference room onboard the Wellington. Bret, Jillian, and Ray were on a Rover and skipped to the Wellington’s location. Jillian looked at Bret, “Are you going to be ok?” Bret smiled and nodded.
Ray frowned, “What do you think is going on?”
Bret blew out a breath and looked at him, “Combat. We’ll be going to war shortly.”
Jillian’s eyes narrowed, “How do you know that?”
“The Admiral was on Earth in a conference will all the Senior Staff. The first thing she does after leaving is call for an immediate meeting with her Senior Staff. She’s been given orders and I suspect they are war orders.”
Ray looked at Bret and tilted his head, “Well, this is what we’ve been busting our humps to get ready for; I’m glad we had the time to prepare.”
Bret nodded and heard Jillian remark, “The new Jukebox B’s really shortened the time needed to get ready.”
Bret nodded as he stared out of the viewport at the Wellington, “We should thank the Admiral for sending the initial delivery to our new fleet.” Jillian and Ray nodded.
• • •
The four Rear Admirals arrived with their Commodores before Jillian made it back to the Wellington and they renewed old friendships. Arve went immediately up to Bret and looked him in the eyes, “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, Arve; thanks for asking.”
“I really don’t understand why…”
Bret interrupted Arve, “It really doesn’t matter, Arve; she had her reasons. She’s got a lot on her and we have to support her decisions.”
Arve stared at Bret and then slowly shook his head, “You’re a much better man than I am. I would have ripped off her neck and screamed down her neck.”
Bret started laughing and after a moment Arve joined him. Bret said, “Brothers do have a different way of looking at their sisters.”
Arve shook his head and smiled, “It’s good to see you again. I’ve heard good things from your fleet.”
“The new B model is incredible. You need to get one.”
“I’ll see what I can do.”
Suddenly they heard Grest yell, “Admiral on Deck, Attennshun!”
Everyone came to attention and Angel entered the room and said, “As you were, at ease. Take a seat; we have a lot to cover.” Angel sat down at the head of the conference table and saw Bret sitting at the far end. She kept her face neutral and wasn’t able to read anything in his expression. She placed a data chip in the panel in front of her and activated the main wall monitor, “We have been ordered to skip out and find a distant galaxy to set up our operations. The galaxy we choose must be far enough away and on a different bearing than our own from the Pumgas’ galaxy. I have sent four hundred Rovers out to find an appropriate location.”
The room was silent and Angel waited a moment and was impressed that they waited on her to answer the obvious question. “We’re being sent there to prepare to jump into the Pumgas’ Domain and take part in the attack against the Blue Ships if it looks like they are going to be defeated by the Rust Colored Ships. Our Senior Admirals believe the Blue Ships are more advanced and powerful than the ones coming to attack them but there is a real concern that the numbers coming will dwarf anything we’ve ever encountered in the Union’s history. Grand Admiral Hull believes the numbers will even dwarf the numbers of M87 during the Union’s first Intergalactic War and even exceed the Servant’s numbers.”
Angel saw the expressions on her officer’s faces and said, “That is why we’re going to launch the attack from that distant galaxy and that will be where we fall back if we have to retreat.” Angel’s board pinged and she saw a Fleet Priority Message coming in. “Excuse me a moment.” Angel began reading the message and the officers saw her concern. This new message must be serious. Bret stated at Angel and saw her stress. The others wouldn’t see it because she hid it so well but he knew the way her ears were slightly back from normal and eyebrows being slightly closer were an indicator that she was worried. He sat back and waited for what was coming.
Angel looked up, took a deep breath, and blew it out, “Well; it appears that every Jukebox and Rover will be joining us when we select a galaxy.”
Grest frowned, “Why would we do that, Sir? Aren’t we leaving the Union undefended?”
Angel pressed a button and the group looked up and saw a planet completely surrounded by tens of millions of probes. “The Admiral thinks that if we jump in and take part in the coming battle, that civilization will send all those probes out to find the source of our ships.”
Dizzy said, “But Sir, there are billions of galaxies in our universe?”
Angel nodded, “That’s true but the odds are great that whoever sends ships will not be located so far away as to have an interest in what’s happening in our neighborhood. They will narrow their search to this section of the universe and there aren’t a billion galaxies within a billion light years. They’ll send those probes out to the closest galaxies and work their way out. Our computers estimate one of their probes will arrive at the Milky Way within two months.”
The officers all looked at each other, not grasping the magnitude of the situation. Bret took a breath and said, “Admiral, what is the ratio of Advanced Probes to Battleships in the Union?”
Angel looked at Bret and said, “I don’t know. Give me a moment.” Angel queried her computer and forced herself to keep her composure. She heard his voice and her heart beat sped up. She looked up and said, “We have one Advanced Probe for every five Jukeboxes.”
Bret looked at the other officers and said, “What if the ratio is the same for the Rust Ships?”
Arve said, “Five billion warships?”
Bret nodded, “If the ratio is the same.”
Angel smiled and realized that she missed Bret’s wisdom. She looked at him, “Thank you, Admiral Young. That gives us a starting place to see what we’re up against. We have also been ordered to take an equal number of Rovers with us if we are committed to an attack. We know they won’t stand up to a Blue Battleship but they may survive a Rust Warship. The Admiralty needs to know how we match up to them.”
Grest shook his head, “It really won’t matter if they have five billion warships.”
Angel looked at Grest and tilted her head, “The Union will decide its future course of action based on what it learns from our attack. That information is critical to our survival. I’m sending you all the information collected on the Herbivores and you need to take a look at it as quickly as possible. I’ll b
e sending you updates on what’s going on but you should go to your Commands and get them ready for combat operations. Do you have any questions?” No one spoke and Angel said, “You are dismissed to go to your ships. Admiral Young, may I speak with you a moment.”
Bret took a breath and hoped it wouldn’t happen but here it was. The officers picked up their tablets and looked at each other as Bret stood and walked to the front of the room. “Yes Sir?”
“Bret, I just want to try and explain…”
“There is no need, Admiral.” Angel stared into Bret’s eyes and felt her heart breaking. “Sir, I know you’re young and what we had between us could be intimidating and fearful. You are a genius at commanding warships but you are woefully unprepared for a romantic relationship. You won’t find anyone else out there that is better for you than me. I have no fear of your taking a look around and finding out what you want. I’ll not make things difficult for you while we’re working together and take all the time you need. You know where I am.” Angel stared at Bret in silence. Bret smiled softly and whispered, “Does that cover the issue, Sir?”
Angel’s eyes lost their stress and she smiled, “Yes it does, Admiral. Thank you.” Bret turned and walked toward the door where Jillian and Ray were waiting on him. He saw their concern and knew they really respected and liked their commander. She looked at Jillian and began to worry if she might lose Bret to someone else. She hadn’t considered that when she sent him away.
“Sir, I have Fleet Admiral Arvolo wanting to speak with you.” Angel nodded and turned back to her console.
• • •
The Fleet Leader watched his monitor as his million ships entered normal space. Arrayed in front of him were millions of rust colored warships hanging in space. The Blue Fleet rushed forward and opened fire on the unmanned vessels. The explosions were massive and thousands of Rust Warships began blowing up and slamming into the ships parked next to them. The destruction was unbelievable. Fifty thousand large Blue Warships accelerated away from the main fleet toward the planet and charged their blasters.
The Ship Leader watched the giant space docking facility above the planet growing larger on his monitor. He saw fifteen warships trying to move out of the giant dock but it was clear they weren’t going to make it. The Blue Ship roared up on the facility and fired ten intense blaster beams into the structure and watched as it caught fire and suddenly exploded, taking out the fifteen warships still trying to release their moorings and maneuver away. He looked at the tactical long view monitor and saw hundreds of the giant facilities exploding above the planet.
He turned the ship down to the edge of the atmosphere and took station above a giant manufacturing plant on the surface. One nuclear missile would have destroyed it but he launched a hundred in a giant rectangular formation that covered more than a hundred square miles of the planet’s surface. He looked at the tactical display and saw that hundreds of small mushroom clouds were rising up from the planet next to the place he had launched his missiles. The planet’s surface was burning as a huge wave of atomic fire roared across the lands around the construction facilities. The radiation from the millions of missiles would render the planet uninhabitable and a living planet died under the nuclear bombardment.
The fifty thousand ships attacking the planet turned and rushed away to take part in the destruction of the giant fleets of warships hanging in space. In less than two hours, the planet and all the millions of ships were destroyed.
• • •
The Fleet Leader stared at the vast wreckage of the Rust Colored Ships and smiled. This would be a lesson to those that thought they could attack his civilization without being punished.
“Fleet Leader, I have numerous ships arriving at the jump point.”
“How many?”
“A million…make that six million…the number is now twenty million.”
The Fleet Leader jerked his head toward the main monitor and saw a wave of rust colored warships appearing and rushing toward the planet. The numbers suddenly appearing in normal space was mind boggling. “Jump the fleet back to the assembly coordinates.”
“We must flee toward the jump point below the planet.”
The Fleet Leader watched the wave of ships accelerating toward him and he yelled, “I don’t care how you do it; get us out of here now!!”
The Blue Fleet accelerated away from the planet on an angle away from the incoming wave of ships. The massive tsunami of ships turned to follow but the Blue Ships were faster and opened the gap between them. The jump point was reached and the million Blue Ships jumped away.
• • •
The massive Blue Ship Fleets jumped back to the planetary system of the Pumgas’ main planet. The Fleet Leaders began reporting in and the Masters at the table were hearing of unbelievable numbers of rust colored ships that arrived at the attacked planets and forced their fleets to flee. The Lead Master looked at the Masters gathered around the table and said, “These reports can’t be true.”
The Seventh said, “I’ve been receiving the recordings and they are actually understated. When our fleets left, there were still huge numbers of those ships still arriving at the planets we destroyed.”
The Leader looked at the Military Masters, “Can we handle that many ships?”
“We don’t know. Our ships are more powerful but those numbers are beyond anything we’ve faced.”
“Get the Fleets organized to defend the planet. Set up the orbital defense satellites to prepare for combat.”
• • •
The Third saw the Fleet Admiral appear on his monitor, “You should leave now.”
“What happened?”
“The numbers that arrived at each of those planets we attacked are larger than any force I’ve ever encountered. Send your fleet out into deep space and run. Don’t wait for them to come and start tracking you.”
“Are you sure; the Leader is calling me now.”
“Get out of here! You don’t have long to make your escape,”
The Third looked at the Fleet Admiral on his ship and said, “Have all your ships jump away and start making the random jumps you’ve programmed. We’ll meet at the assembly coordinates in two weeks.”
“But Master…”
“DO IT NOW!”
The Admiral looked at his communications leader and said, “Activate the jump command in all my ships.” The million Blue Ships jumped away. Three minutes later, a massive wave of Rust Ships appeared.
• • •
The Lead Master suddenly heard, “The Rust Ships are jumping in to our system!”
The Leader looked down at the huge table and saw a massive wave of ships pouring into normal space and accelerating toward the planet. The numbers were mind numbing and they didn’t stop appearing. He looked at the Second and saw his shock. “It appears I made a mistake.” The Second couldn’t even show agreement. The hundred million Blue Warships moved out to meet the incoming wave and the destruction was beyond belief. Rust Ships were exploding in massive numbers but they continued to pour into normal space and the Blue Ships began exploding as well. Thousands of Rust Colored Ships would attack each Blue Ship and they would be destroyed in huge numbers but even more replaced those that were destroyed.
The Sixth looked up from the table and said, “All of our planets are facing waves of ships just like this one.”
The Leader could only lean forward in dismay. This was impossible.
• • •
Angel watched the massive waves of Rust Ships jumping in on the Pumgas’ domain and knew the magnitude of the attack was beyond imagination. She shook her head and wondered if attacking was a good idea. She heard her Communication Officer say, “We’ve been ordered to go in at one of the planets on the edge of the Pumgas’ territory.”
Angel nodded and said, “We will not jump in until they have begun attacking the planet. Send the coordinates of the planet to my Admirals and assign them their positions in our attack formation. We will jump j
ust outside the coordinates where those ships are appearing in normal space and will hold our position there until they turn and move on us.”
Angel watched the feed coming in from the probe at the Pumgas’ Home World and shook her head. She queried her computer and saw that more than six hundred million of the attacking warships had been blasted into rubble but still they continued to arrive into normal space by the millions.
• • •
Dat looked at Katherine and shook his head, “I’m beginning to wonder if we shouldn’t just stay out of this.”
“I’d do just that if they hadn’t seen the two Matadors. They are going to be looking for them and it’s a matter of time until they come knocking on our door.”
“We don’t have the number of warships the Pumgas have in their fleets.”
“No, we don’t; but we do have the planetary force fields.”
Dat stared at the huge monitor and knew the Pumgas were not long for the universe. Dat watched the feed coming in from the probes and said, “Admiral, I don’t believe we should send in Angel’s fleet.” Katherine looked at Dat and her expression showed her surprise. Dat shook his head, “We should send in one Rover and have it take a shot at one ship as they jump in and immediately jump out.”
“Why?”
“Sir, we don’t need to let them know about our strength. If a Rover can take out one of their ships, we’ll have what we need.”
“You’re frightened by them, aren’t you?”
“Sir, we’re going to need all the time we can get to build our forces to take them on. If they know a strong force exists that knows about them, they’ll go to every effort to find us. We can’t take that kind of risk.”
Katherine stared at Dat and looked at Gresha, who was nodded her head vigorously. She turned to Brad and he tilted his head to the left and nodded toward the feed coming in from the Pumgas’ galaxy. She took a deep breath and blew it out. She pressed a button on her panel and said…
• • •
Angel looked at her helmet visor and saw a message coming in from Fleet Headquarters. They were thirty seconds from jumping and she couldn’t believe the orders. She hit the main command frequency and said, “Attention all ships in the Striker Fleet. THE JUMP HAS BEEN CANCELED. HOLD YOUR POSITIONS UNTIL FURTHER NOTIFICATION!!”
Star Rover-Chosen to Die (Lens of Time) Page 21
