by Saxon Andrew
“What about the mini-missiles?” Taffy asked.
“They will only be effective in close combat situations,” Hessy answered. “They’re not large enough to carry the larger optical system and gravity drive.”
“And what if one of our missiles fails to hit its target and the aliens retrieve it?”
Hessy turned to Candy, “The missile will continue searching for its target and before it runs out of power for the gravity drive, it will go after the closest target of opportunity. If the missile’s power is close to running out, it will self-destruct.”
“It sounds like you’ve been working on this a long time,” Grady remarked.
“Actually, we haven’t. The heavy missile has been designed to be targeted by our passive scanners. It was only after this new data became known that we decided to use a more advanced optical system to target them. If we had known about this sooner, we’d be much further along,” Joshua replied.
Grady scowled, “I know, I know, I’m an idiot.”
“To sum this up, we will send a ship out and have it destroy one of their planet killers from long range with a heavy missile,” Noel announced.
Taffy leaned forward abruptly, “WHAT! THAT WOULD REVEAL OUR SHIP TO THE ALIENS!!”
Joshua shook his head, “The evidence says that one of the civilizations the Britannia Aliens are fighting possesses some kind of stealth warship. They’ll believe one of them did it.”
“We also need to find out the range of their dark matter detectors,” Hessy added.
Grady put his hand on Taffy’s arm, and he saw her expression turn fearful. She looked at him and he nodded slightly. She sat back in her chair and Grady turned to Joshua, “How long will it take you to modify their ship?”
“Another four weeks, Grady.”
Grady looked at RJ, “I’m going to approve this mission,” he felt Taffy’s arm tighten; ‘however, I am ordering you to not do anything that would endanger your ship! Do you understand!” RJ stared at him for a moment and then nodded. “RJ, I’m not kidding. I know my daughter and she will take a risk that isn’t called for. You will not allow that to happen!”
“Yes Sir. I understand.”
“Dad, that’s not fair!”
“The reason we’re here is because you decided to hack into my computer.” Candy’s mouth opened and Grady held up his hand, “Don’t even suggest that good things happened as a result of your behavior! You could have ended up in prison for treason. I would have released this information before we decided to take on the aliens and this would have been discovered. You are reckless, Candy. This is not the time or place to do it.”
Candy lowered her head, “Yes Sir.”
The room was silent for a long moment and Noel broke the silence by asking, “Have our scouts reported in, Sir?”
Grady took his eyes away from Candy to Joshua and nodded, “It appears the three civilizations haven’t been attacking each other like we thought they would. The Fagan have more than quadrupled their forces since Melbourne’s destruction and Earth now has more than fifty-thousand defense platforms around the planet.”
“Are the defense platforms able to deal with the alien’s newest planet killers?”
“I don’t know, Noel. I guess we’ll learn about that during the coming scouting mission. RJ and Candy should be able to record combat activity on the other side of the galaxy and give us a definitive answer to that.”
“If they haven’t been attacking each other, then the aliens have probably increased their forces tremendously.”
“I’m not sure about that, Joshua. They are currently fighting three civilizations across the galaxy that is costing them ships.”
“We’re no where close to being able to take on any of them if this is true.”
Grady shrugged, “We’re back to what Taffy said years ago.”
“What is that?” Hessy asked.
“We haven’t found the rock we need to take them down. We thought our invisible warships could do the trick, but it appears that isn’t the case. At least we’re hidden and can continue to search for the technology we need to make that happen.” Grady stood up, “This meeting is over. Joshua keep me informed about the progress on the Endeavor.”
“I will, Grady.” Grady took Taffy’s hand and led her out of the office.
• • •
Grady and Taffy walked out of Joshua’s office toward their transport, and Grady asked, “When were you going to tell me?”
“I wasn’t.”
Grady stopped walking, “Oh! Why not?”
“I wanted you to notice I was getting larger, Grady. I felt like that would be the right moment.”
Grady looked at Taffy and shook his head, “You aren’t any bigger.”
Taffy sighed, “Grady, I’m six inches bigger in the waist.”
Grady shook his head, “You don’t show it; you’re still incredibly beautiful.”
Taffy snorted, “MEN!”
“No one else has noticed it either!”
“Abby saw it a month ago, but I told her to not mention it.”
“Did Rory notice?”
“Of course not! He’s just like you. You know we’ve been trying.”
“I’m sorry, Love. But I can’t tell you how happy I am about this wonderful news.” Taffy put her arms around his neck and kissed him. She stepped back and sighed, “What do you think about sending Candy out to scout the aliens?”
“I messed up, Taffy. Joshua was right about my not sending him the data long ago. We should have been keeping track of their new technology.”
“And?”
“Now, it could be highly developed and pose a real danger to our new warships. I believe that RJ will keep them out of trouble. And, if all else fails, their ship is fast enough to run if needed.”
“I’m not only worried about the Britannia Aliens, Grady.” Grady’s brow furrowed. “They’re going into a war zone on the other side of the black hole; we know nothing about the warships being used by the civilizations fighting the aliens.”
“I didn’t think about that, Taffy. I’ll make sure they know to keep their eyes open for trouble.”
“I suspect one of those civilizations have a stealth warship, Grady. I believe that’s why they developed that mass detector.” Taffy paused and asked, “Will they be able to detect a stealth warship?”
“I don’t know; we certainly don’t have a mass detector.”
“It maybe that the civilization with those stealth warships won’t be able to detect our ships either.” Taffy saw Grady’s brow furrow and she asked, “What are you thinking?”
“Space is big, but a collision isn’t impossible. I’ll discuss this with RJ.”
Taffy nodded, and Grady took her arm and assisted her into the transport. “I’m not helpless.”
“Not yet. But I need to practice.” Taffy smiled and sat down.
• • •
Joshua watched Taffy, Grady, Candy, and RJ leave his office and waited until the door was closed. He turned to Noel and he said, “The probe has been installed.”
“Will it launch automatically?” Noel nodded. “I’m concerned that if our young officers encounter another stealth warship, they could run into big trouble. Is there anything we can do to prevent that?” Joshua asked Hessy.
“It depends on the level of stealth technology being used by the Britannia Alien’s adversary.”
“Tell me what you’re thinking, Hessy.”
Hessy shrugged, “Our system uses the hull that absorbs all electronic waves and the gravity drive that bends light around the hull. If they don’t use gravity to bend light around their ships, they could block out light and be detected.”
“Can the new optical system be programmed to detect it?”
Hessy thought for a moment and shrugged, “I believe so.”
“Then do it. We have evidence of stealth warships being used and we need to give them everything we can.”
“I’ll start working on it now.
”
Hessy left the office and Noel turned to Joshua, “You’re worried they won’t survive this mission?”
Joshua nodded, “I am.”
“They should be able to escape, Josh. They still have superior speed and the cutters will keep an enemy off them.”
“If they use the cutters, then the gig is up, and the Britannia Aliens will figure out that we exist. I’m sure Grady will order them not to use their cutters or blasters.”
“Then I suggest we remove all the mini-missiles and load their ship up with as many heavy missiles as they can carry.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Josh, the minis are only used for close combat. If they get close enough to have to use them, then they’ve gone against their orders. They need to keep enemy warships at long distance. The heavy missiles can do that.”
Joshua put his elbow on his chair arm and rested his chin on his thumb and index finger. After a moment, he nodded, “Load them up.” Noel nodded and left the office. Joshua knew that if RJ fired a heavy missile at a stealth warship, then the Britannia Aliens would know there was another civilization operating in their space. Perhaps they might believe it was an Earth Warship. But he doubted it.
Chapter Six
Candy walked out of the office and said angrily, “I DON’T KNOW WHERE MY FATHER GETS OFF SAYING I’M RECKLESS?!”
RJ raised a shoulder, “Perhaps it’s because you are.” Candy came to an abrupt stop and glared at RJ. “You were bored at Intelligence, so you hacked into his computer and took a top-secret file that would get an ordinary person executed. You didn’t think about the consequences; you only thought about entertaining yourself during the long hours you were serving there. You don’t think that was reckless?”
Candy put her hands on her hips and said loudly, “WELL…WELL…OH YEAH!!”
RJ nodded, “Oh yeah. And that sudden reversal during fleet maneuvers. You didn’t order me to spin my chair and my chin almost slammed into my console.”
“That move allowed us to win!!”
“Yes, it did, Candy. But were you certain the ship could handle it as well as me. I saw you pull your harness tighter just before you reversed but you said nothing to me.” Candy glared at RJ and opened her mouth, RJ held up his hand stopping her, “Before you use the excuse that we’re supposed to be harnessed in, no one pulls their harness so tight it’s uncomfortable. You pulled yours tighter knowing it wasn’t tight enough.”
Candy’s expression softened, “You’re right. I was so focused on flying the ship that I did it without thinking. I tightened my harness with no thought. Did it hurt you?”
“My neck can still feel it. However, what do you think would have happened if you pulled that maneuver off flying at normal speed?”
“I’m sorry, RJ.”
RJ raised a shoulder and asked, “Do you have Joshua’s communicator number?” Candy nodded. “Contact him and let me speak to him.”
Candy punched Joshua’s number and handed RJ her communicator, “Hello, RJ. I thought Candy was calling me.”
“I asked her to contact you, Sir. Is there a way you can put a circuit in our command chairs where if the ship is suddenly thrown into reverse, they will spin around automatically?”
“Yes, I suppose that can be done. But the pilot would be facing away from their controls.”
“The new consoles are primarily operated by our helmets, Joshua, and as a result they’re much smaller than they were on the older model. What about attaching the chairs and consoles such that they’re a single unit. When the chair turns, the console turns with it.”
Joshua stared at RJ and after a moment started speaking, “Ummm… I suppose the consoles can be put on a shaft connected to an arm that runs to the chair’s pedestal. The wiring would have to be routed through the pedestal…”
“I just wanted to check and see if it could be done, Joshua. Being able to reverse course is one of the Hare’s advantages over other warships.”
“I’ll see what I can do, RJ.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
RJ handed Candy her communicator, “I hope he can do it.”
RJ smiled, “He can. The wiring for the consoles is only six feet in front of the chairs. They can reroute it easily into the pedestal and attach a support for our consoles.”
“How do you know that?”
“Candy, I spent hours memorizing the way our new warships function. I should have thought of this sooner. It was your reversal that made me think of it. I’m surprised the engineers haven’t thought of it first.”
“Well, there you go! I may do reckless things, but good things come from it.”
“That may be true in these two events, Candy, but being reckless in enemy territory is an invitation to die.”
Candy sighed heavily, “I’ll be careful.”
“That’s just it, Candy. You act first and think later. If you really thought things through, you would have never chosen more than half of your former boyfriends. You will consult with me before you do anything in alien space!”
Candy saw RJ’s expression, “Yes Sir.”
RJ turned to go to his transport, “I’ll see you later.” He walked away, and Candy wondered how someone three years younger could act so much older.
• • •
RJ and Candy sat on board the Endeavor as Joshua was going over the modifications to their vessel. After three hours, Candy was mentally exhausted. She stared at her floating console as Joshua explained the changes to RJ’s console. She closed her eyes and rubbed them before finally turning to Joshua and RJ. She heard Joshua ask, “Do you understand?”
“I do.”
“Good. Good luck and be very careful.” Joshua glanced at Candy, “Did you get everything?”
“I did,” she replied.
“Your ship has been provisioned for six months, however, I don’t expect you to take that long to complete your mission. Get it done and come back safely.”
“Thank you, Uncle Joshua.” Joshua nodded and left the bridge. Candy turned to RJ, “Do you need to go and say goodbye to your parents?”
“No, I did that last night. What about you?”
“I did the same.”
“Time to go. Take the ship high above the galaxy and set course for the other side of the black hole.”
Candy turned to her console, “How high do you want to go?”
“Fifty-thousand-light years.”
“Why so much?”
“Candy, I’m considering a hundred thousand, but I think that might be over kill. Fire it up and let’s go see what destiny has in store for us.” Candy waited for Joshua to move out of the Endeavor and go a safe distance before she took the steering wheel and pushed the thruster control slightly vertical. The Endeavor rose slowly off the spaceport’s tarmac and lifted into the afternoon sky. After a few moments, Candy turned the bow vertical and pushed the thruster control forward. The Endeavor rose high into New Britannia’s atmosphere and then Candy pushed the control forward to the first-stage gravity notch. The Endeavor disappeared leaving New Britannia far behind.
Joshua lifted his communicator, “I’ve covered them on everything.”
“I’m worried about them, Joshua.”
“So am I, Grady. But we’ve done all we can to give them the tools they need to survive and now it’s up to them.”
“Thank you, Joshua.” Joshua nodded and ended the call.
• • •
Candy turned the ship vertical to the plane of the galaxy and announced, “Going to second -stage.” RJ put his head back on his chair as Candy pushed the thruster control to the second notch. The ship exploded ahead, and the Outer Arm of the Milky Way began growing smaller quickly. It took thirty-six hours before fifty-thousand-light years passed behind them and Candy turned the bow of the ship toward the center of the galaxy. She glanced at the forward monitor and saw the Milky Way spread out below them. She contacted RJ and told him to report to the bridge. He got up, dressed, and walked to
the bridge. RJ looked at the forward monitor and saw Candy smile, “I remember seeing the Milky Way for the first time when my parents took me with them to search for the Union’s Colony; it’s just as beautiful as I remember it.” RJ stared at the monitor in silence and nodded. Candy turned to him, “Going to third-stage.” RJ went to his chair, fastened his harness tightly and put his head back again. He nodded to Candy and the Endeavor accelerated to an unimaginable speed. The giant galaxy began visibly moving far below them. Candy stood up and stretched, “I’m going to take a break, if it’s alright with you?”
“Go ahead. We have three days before we arrive close to the galaxy’s core. We’ll need to space our sleep times out to be fresh when we arrive.” Candy nodded and left the bridge. RJ watched her go and sighed. She didn’t appear to have any feelings for him other than those he’d seen over the years. She viewed him as a little brother. What could he do to change that? He decided to stick to his plan and give it plenty of time. Being in such close quarters, perhaps things would start to change. He saw her disappear from the bridge and hoped he was right.
• • •
They arrived far above the other side of the galaxy and Candy looked at RJ staring at his console’s monitor, “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking a closer look at the recording of those Planet Killers that appeared behind our parent’s ship when they scouted this area.”
He continued staring at the monitor and Candy’s brow furrowed, “Have you found anything?”
RJ kept his eyes on his display as he answered, “I’ve been wondering how those planet killers managed to detect your parent’s ship. A mass detector works similarly to our optical system and I can’t see how those warships appeared so quickly.”
“They didn’t show up for a long time after my parent’s ship moved away.”
“I know, Candy. But those ships came in from locations more than thirty light years away from their course. It would have taken more than thirty years for their ship to be detected by a mass detector, but they arrived less than two hours after the King Hare moved through their space.”
