Author: Saxon Andrew
Date: 2013-04-30T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science Fiction
Description: This story continues the story of Earth’s struggle with the civilizations in the giant galaxy, M87. A thousand years of peace in the new Galactic Alliance is now in jeopardy. Civil war is imminent and the aggressors know Earth and its allies must be removed as a roadblock to their plans. What the Aggressors don’t know is the Union has found an advanced civilization in a distant galaxy that is starting to expand. It’s just a matter of time until the Alliance and the Union will be faced with an enemy unlike any horror they’ve ever encountered. Earth and its Union allies are now faced with danger
Publisher: Amazon

Lens of Time Book Five

Star Rover

The Worst of Time

Contents

Introduction

Chapter One • Chapter Two • Chapter Three • Chapter Four • Chapter Five • Chapter Six • Chapter Seven • Chapter Eight • Chapter Nine • Chapter Ten • Chapter Eleven • Chapter Twelve • Chapter Thirteen • Chapter Fourteen • Chapter Fifteen • Chapter Sixteen • Chapter Seventeen • Chapter Eighteen • Chapter Nineteen • Chapter Twenty • Chapter Twenty-One • Chapter Twenty-Two • Chapter Twenty-Three

Excerpt From Star Chase Book Three Nowhere to Hide

Books by Saxon Andrew

About Saxon Andrew

Introduction

The small white ship arrived above the galaxy and began scanning for evidence of intelligent life. Light from this galaxy would take more than eight billion years to reach the Rover’s home planet but it was only a short jump from the last galaxy he had investigated. The galaxy was an ancient monster. His scanners indicated that it was one of the earliest ones that formed after the big bang started things rolling. It had also merged with two other galaxies since its long ago birth. He shook his head and marveled at its beauty. Most of the gas had been dissipated and only the billions of stars were left to shine with clear brilliant light. He stared at its beauty and once again felt small when measured against creation. He was stationary in open space, directly above the giant black hole at the galaxy’s core and it was huge. It had to be to hold this large a galaxy in its gravity well. It wasn’t very active as black holes went; the radiation beams shooting out of it were only ten light years long but they added to the beauty of the beast. Most of the material close to the singularity had been devoured long ago.

His ship was only two hundred feet long but its size was not an indicator of just how powerful it was. It was powered by a Dark Matter Reactor which made the ancient, giant battleships that were all conquering pale in comparison. He heard a beep and looked at his control board and thought, “What have we here?” He queried the scanner computer, “Loree, what have you found?”

“There are some particle readings that do not match up with anything in my database.”

He studied the particles and said to the main computer, “Einstein, do you recognize any of them?”

“No, they are not on my list of known matter.”

He paused and after a moment reoriented the scanner. “Can you make a guess as to what they are?”

“They appear to be the remnants of a high energy beam that was discharged centuries ago.”

He was shocked at the answer. “Estimate the power of the beam.”

“I’ll have to give two answers.”

“Why?”

“If it originated outside that galaxy it is at least a million terawatts. If it were fired inside the galaxy, twenty times that power.”

“Is that even possible?”

“Look at your display; it does exist.”

“Jump us a thousand light years on the line it took out of the galaxy and see if you can get another reading.”

The small ship activated the Dark Matter drive field and skipped through subspace. The Rover usually traveled in the boundary between subspace and normal space. Skipping along the barrier left no tracks that could be followed. It also allowed the advanced scanners to see normal space and subspace simultaneously. He reached forward and extended the advanced scanner fields. They moved out at light speed and in ten minutes he heard another ping. “Loree, what do you have?”

“Six of those beams just went through our fields. A triangulation using the first beam indicates the beams were fired inside the galaxy.”

“Yes, I can see that but these beams we just found were fired more than a thousand years before the last one we detected.”

“It’s the same particles. Evidently, high energy beams were used quite often on this particular heading; there must have been a space battle where these beams originated.”

“Start collecting light and see if you can pull up a picture.”

“Stand by.”

The Conner Field Emitters extended and sent the scanning fields out at light speed. It simultaneously began absorbing light and started condensing it into a pattern. If the normal electronic scanners were recording a beam at the current location, the Conner Field should be able to see what was happening at the time the beam was fired. He watched and then the images of a massive space battle began taking form. He hit record and watched the battle unfold. Two fleets were firing at each other and ships were blowing up in massive numbers. Neither fleet had an advantage over the other. “Stein, what can you determine about the beams and force fields being used?”

“The beams do not have a spectrograph that matches anything in my data. However, it appears that both forces are using the same beams. Neither of them has an advantage over the other. This particular battle appears to have taken place more than three thousand years ago.”

“What about their defensive capabilities?”

“Their force fields are able to handle several hits but four or more in close proximity overwhelms them.”

“Give me an estimate on our ability to handle those beams.”

“I can’t make a good estimate. However, if we assume this battle is taking place inside the galaxy, which is a good assumption since they’re fighting around a planet, we would possibly be in jeopardy. We could not sustain hits over an extended period.”

“How long could we endure them?”

“My estimates range from two seconds to forty five seconds and that’s assuming only one beam constantly hitting our field.”

“Go to battle stations.”

“All our fields and weapons are now active. Scanners have been pulled in and moved to subspace. I am now scanning subspace as well as normal space.

He looked at the scanner’s recordings again and searched for what he suspected must be present. He couldn’t find what he was searching for and said, “Loree, lower the force field and activate a scanner for a micro scan and see if you can find any sensor buoys.”

“I’ve located a line of them just outside the galaxy. They appear at regular intervals and initial readings indicate they surround the galaxy.” There was a pause and Loree said, “I have a massive track approaching us in subspace.”

He hit his jump board and skipped out into deep space. A moment later a hundred giant ships emerged into normal space and his former location was hit with hundreds of high energy beams. The microprobe that had been ejected when the small ship skipped away recorded the event with an active scan from ten miles away and immediately went inactive. It dropped into green space and floated in the barrier just below the surface of normal space. Twenty of the giant ships rushed in on its location but were incapable of finding it. The probe was the size of a water molecule in green space and was too small to be detected. The twenty ships searched for an hour and then moved back to the other ships. The microprobe sent its recordings through green space in a microburst. The Rover as well as the receivers on Earth’s defense satellites received them and discovered that a highly advanced, aggressive, civilization had been found. It was the third advanced civilization discovered by Rovers over the last thousand years; the previous two were not aggressive and represented no danger to the Union. This new one exhibited all the characteristics of a conquering species. The Commander of the Defense Network on Earth knew the galaxy in question was going to have to be scanned to determine if a planned expansion was a possibility. The risk of not knowing was too great and he prayed the thousand year peace was not ending. Ten more Rovers were ordered in to the first Rover’s location as thousands of others were notified to be prepared to jump if needed. The Satellite Commander pressed his panel, “President Connor, we have found an Apex Galaxy.”

President Connor’s expression showed her surprise, “We need to know their capabilities.”

“We have already determined our ships will be in Jeopardy, Sir. There is a highly advanced civilization there.”

“Are you serious?” The Sub-Admiral nodded. “Get Fleet moving on this now!”

“We’ve sent the advance team and they’ll start mapping immediately. We’ll then decide what the best course of action will be after they complete their scans.”

“I want ongoing updates, Admiral!”

“We’ll feed the channel directly to your board, Sir.”

“See that you do.”

Chapter One

Jillian Connor fought boredom as her main computer analyzed the incoming data. She began reviewing data from the galaxy she had just inspected and thought about going back and kicking some sense into a rather vicious species bent on conquest. However, their technology was no threat to Earth and its allies; her primary orders were to search galaxies for actual threats. Justifying the lost time would be difficult. She turned off her data feed and leaned back in her command chair and closed her eyes. Her sleep was interrupted by a loud klaxon and voice shouting, “We have a Red Priority Order coming in!”

Jill almost flipped herself out of the chair as she leaned violently forward. She caught herself with her hands on the chair arms, “Darn it, you didn’t have to scare the wits out of me. What’s going on, Buck!?!”

“I enjoy doing that, Jill. Anyway, an Apex Civilization has been found and we’ve been ordered to jump to the location of the Rover that found it.”

“Jack do you have the Rover’s identity and location?”

“It’s coming in now.”

Jill glanced at her panel and shook her head, “Oh, this should be just great! What are the chances of this happening?”

“Seven million to one.”

“That was a rhetorical question, Bucket.”

“Even so; those are the odds.”

Jill sighed, “Go to battle stations.”

“Done.”

Jill stared at the Rover’s picture on her display and saw Dat. She slowly shook her head. She had rejected his advances four years ago when she was a Second Lieutenant and Dat was an Ensign. She still remembered saying it was not appropriate for a senior officer to fraternize with a junior officer. Now she was a First Lieutenant and he was a Full Captain. This was not going to be fun. She hit her skip drive still shaking her head.

• • •

Dat Arvolo watched the recording of the ships emerging and firing at his former location, “Stein, it appears they had my location in their drives before they jumped.”

“That’s the obvious conclusion.”

“What’s not obvious?”

“The only other way they could have done it is to possess the ability to see objects in normal space while they’re moving through green space.”

“Either method is troublesome; if they could lock down my position from sixty light years away, their scanners are equal to or possibly better than ours.”

“And if they can see normal space while jumping, they are certainly our equal.”

Dat nodded, “Were the beams they fired the same beams we originally tracked?”

“No, Dat. They were on a much higher frequency and significantly more powerful.”

“So how do we stand against them?”

“The current red beams being used by those ships are much wider than the first one and that improves our chance of survival, slightly.”

Dat thought about that observation; more powerful but not as dangerous. “Are you saying the beam is wider than our ship and thus would not deliver the full punch?”

“I’d say it another way but that is an adequate description. If the beam was more condensed, it could possibly break through our field’s repulsion.”

“Stein, you’re acting very uncertain about this.”

“We have never had a beam that powerful fired at a Rover vessel. This is uncharted territory. We still don’t know the upper limits of our force field.”

Loree announced, “I have a list of the ten ships being sent to support us.”

“Put it on my panel.” Dat quickly scanned the list and his eyes stopped on the fifth name. He slowly shook his head. What were the chances of this? Loree said, “I noticed she was on the list.”

“Loree, for a computer you are the nosiest I’ve ever encountered.”

“Comes with wanting to see everything; besides, you named me after her.”

“Let’s try to not allow her to see that.”

“You’re the boss. There is another Full Captain but he has been told that you are the ranking officer on this mission.”

“Am I?”

“No, he has two years seniority. Of course that does not take into account the reality of your status.”

“Let’s hope his ego can handle the slight.”

“His last name is Anders.”

Dat looked back at the list and pulled up Captain Ander’s bio. Son-of-a-gun. He was a direct descendant. Let’s see if heredity really functions with personalities.

“They will arrive in twenty minutes, Dat.”

“Thanks, Einstein. We need some locations to send them.”

“Talk to Loree.”

“I’m working on it.”

“Let me know what you find.”

• • •

Dat sat back in his chair and sighed. He also recognized the last name on the list. Lt. Thomas Tranor. Dat knew his current standing with fleet was in part due to his ancestry. Having a famous Admiral as an ancestor could be a blessing but also a curse. He remembered his senior year at the Academy when a group of six cadets decided to take out their frustrations on him. Thomas Tranor led the group.

• • •

He sat at the bar and slowly drank his beer. The competition had ended three days earlier and he had won it for the fourth straight year. His roommate told him many of the cadets thought the completion was rigged for him to win. He sighed and shook his head. No one wanted to believe he won due to his skills. Suddenly, he heard, “Well look who’s here; the great Arvolo. Did the bartender slip you that beer for free?” Dat looked up in the mirror behind the bar and saw Thomas Tranor standing behind him with five other cadets. “We have to pay for ours but I’m sure it’s just handed to you.” Dat put his beer down and turned around. He looked Thomas in the eyes and determined he had been drinking. Thomas scowled, “What are you looking at?”

Dat’s expression didn’t change but he said in a neutral tone, “Nothing of importance.”

Thomas saw something in Dat’s expression that gave him pause. He couldn’t explain it but Thomas felt something wash through his consciousness. Arvolo wasn’t afraid. Dat was leaning back with both arms resting on the bar; Thomas sensed that Arvolo was more of a threat than he thought. He would have backed off but one of the cadets with him pushed him forward. They moved with him until they were three feet from Dat.

The majority of the patrons in the bar were either employed by or studying at the academy. They began standing up and moving away from the group at the bar.

• • •

“Are you going to do anything about this?”

The Captain looked at her date and said, “No. I’m curious about what’s going to happen.”

“For God’s sake why?”

“That cadet at the bar is Dat Arvolo. Fleet needs to see how he handles himself. Sit back; this should be interesting.”

• • •

Thomas was half a head taller than Dat and outweighed him by twenty five pounds. However, he saw that didn’t appear to bother the smaller cadet. Arvolo was about five feet ten inches tall and appeared to weigh about a hundred and ninety pounds. He was lean and strong. His brown hair was cut short and his brown eyes were steady. Thomas sneered, “There’s no one here to hand you a victory.”

Dat slowly shook his head and smiled, “You must not be allowed to get out and play very often. I’ll give you an opportunity to walk away and forget this but I’ll only offer it once.” Dat glanced at the six and took their measure. He had a thought that this was what his original ancestor must have done in his bar fights. The three in front were the troublemakers and they would make the first move. Two of the others would jump in at an opportune moment. The last one just shook his head. Dat determined he wasn’t going to participate. Dat watched the front three; which one was going to come in with Thomas? He saw the cadet on the left starting to shake just a tiny bit as adrenaline began entering his system. It would be him. He would have to be taken out first. Dat saw Thomas start twitching and knew it was about to start.

Thomas drew back an arm and Dat slipped off the left side of his bar stool and crouched as Thomas’ roundhouse passed over his head. Dat spun and delivered a kick to the stomach to the cadet to the left and stepped back and watched another haymaker from Thomas pass in front of his face. He slipped to the left and stepped over the cadet on the floor trying to get his breath and delivered a short punch to the head of the cadet that had been on the right of Thomas. He was charging in and Dat watched him hit the floor hard. He then moved right as a frustrated Thomas expected him to move left as he swung another blow that missed. Dat elbowed one of the opportunists in the side of his head as he came up behind and tried to pin Dat’s arms. He fell on top of the first cadet. He then stepped inside another vicious swing from Thomas and punched him under the jaw. Thomas went up on his toes and then dropped faster than a bad transmission. Suddenly Dat was hit on the side of his head by the second opportunist and he fell to the left and rolled away.

He shook his head and saw the two cadets still standing. The opportunist that had landed the blow said to the other, “Let’s take him.”

The second cadet looked at the opportunist and punched him between the eyes. He fell to the floor and the cadet rubbed his fist and looked at Dat, “He had to be stopped from hurting himself.”

Dat nodded and looked at the five moaning cadets on the floor. He rubbed the side of his head; there was going to be a bruise, “Tell them someone handed me another victory.”

The cadet smiled, “I watched the recordings; no one handed you anything. Now you need to get out of here; these guys are poor losers.”

Dat nodded and stumbled out of the Bar. Senior Captain Hull watched the fight and smiled. It appeared Arvolo was good at handling superior odds. She waited until the six cadets were standing at the bar with bags of ice on their injuries. She heard Thomas say, “That was pretty dumb.”

“We had numbers on our side.”

“Read your history; that’s when the Arvolos are at their best.”

Kat smiled and admitted she had to agree with the cadet.

• • •

“There has been a violation.”

The fifty beings surrounding a large round table in a dark room stirred. “Give us what you’ve seen.” The fifty had the recording sent directly to their minds. “How did the intruder escape?”

“We initially thought the intruder was little more than a piece of an asteroid. However, it extended some kind of energy field that extended more than ten light minutes from its location. The readings of that field indicate that it is like nothing in our knowledge stores. It must have a way to see us approaching. It disappeared immediately before we arrived.”

“I notice the ship was quite small.”

It is; it’s actually smaller than most of our heavy transports used on our planets. Even our escape pods are larger.”

“Where did it go?”

“That is information we find troubling; it did not leave a trace for us to follow.” The Fifty were surprised at that bit of information. “Our scientists did an examination of the fields that it extended and, though they didn’t know what they were, determined that the power necessary to power those fields that distance without losing energy is greater than what our medium warship uses.”

“Are you saying that tiny ship is more powerful than our warships?”

“Unless it used all of its available power on that screen, it is.” The Fifty were silent again as they thought about the small ship. “There’s another thing.”

“What is that?”

“When the ship disappeared, the ships that arrived were scanned by a powerful field. Twenty ships jumped to the location of that scan and found nothing. Immediately after our ships left, the galactic probes heard a transmission that seemed to fill all of known space. The probability is high that whatever scanned our ships sent that transmission.”

“And you couldn’t find it?”

“No, we could not. However, we raised the sensitivity of our scanners and found millions of transmissions embedded inside the background noise being made on that frequency. The power of the initial transmission was higher because it was made closer to us. Evidently, that ship is from an advanced civilization located a great distance from us.”

“Are you able to determine what direction those transmissions are coming from?”

“No.”

“Put all ships on Condition Blue. If one of those ships is seen again, I want it destroyed or captured. Do not allow it to escape again.”

“What about the Scout Ships?”

“They will remain where they are until we determine the magnitude of this threat. I’m leaning toward the belief that one of our scouts caused this ship to come here.”

“No ships like this one were seen in the star groups we’ve scouted.”

“Are we able to see everything in a star group?”

“No, not everything.”

“Then hold the scout fleet until we learn more.”

“They will hold their position.”

• • •

Gresha looked up at the rapidly disappearing sun and walked faster toward her family’s quarters. The ground was muddy and she found it slow going up the hill. She was still a mile from her building. She glanced across the field next to the community toward the setting sun and saw a Master’s Shuttle. Her fear almost froze her. She looked at the sun and knew it was going to be close. The shuttle must have just landed and she knew that many in the community had not seen it arrive. She only saw it because she was close to the peak of the hill and could see over the buildings at the front edge of the community. The Masters were here and once the sun went down, no one would be safe from their attention.

She considered dropping the bag of food but knew her family needed it desperately. Her fear drove her forward and she finally made it to the top of the hill, just as the sun disappeared below the horizon. She started running and glanced over her shoulder and saw the port on the Master’s shuttle was now open. Terror gripped her heart and she ran out of control down the slope toward the door a hundred yards in front of her. She began to think she would make it to safety when she bumped into a large body and screamed; she knew her life was over, “Where are you going so fast, pretty girl? Slow down, I’ll take you into my quarters…for a small favor.” Gresha struggled in the large male’s arms but couldn’t break free. “Come on, you’ll enjoy it. No one has ever complain…”

The large male stopped mid word and the expression on his face underwent a sudden transformation. It changed from a wicked smile to a look of shock and then paralysis. Gresha managed to push away from the male and saw the black six inch thick cord of a Master’s arm wrapped around the male’s throat and a long, sharp, pointed tongue of a Master sticking through his chest where his heart had been eaten. Gresha struggled out of the dead male’s arms and sprinted twenty yards beyond the two still locked in death’s embrace and pounded on the door. It opened, she was dragged forcibly inside, and the door slammed just before the Master’s black arm gripped her. She remained on the floor with her eyes closed and heard the Master’s squeal of laughter outside. Her father looked at her in anger shaking his head, “Don’t do this again! You know about darkness!”

“The farmer refused to accept payment until the very last moment. He wanted to see me killed.”

Her mother just shook in terror, “If he can’t have you, he won’t allow anyone else to possess you.”

Gresha looked at her mother with a disgusted expression, “I’d rather have the Master’s embrace.”

Her father heard screams further up the street and said, “Do this again and you may get your wish.”

• • •

Dat looked at the faces of the Rovers on his display and said, “I’ve sent you what information I was able to collect before I was forced to run. Have all of you examined it?”

“Why did you run?”

“Have you examined the power of the beams used by those ships in the past?”

“The current beams aren’t as strong.”

Dat stared at Benjamin Durok and said, “They aren’t as strong because they’re much wider.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you know if they’re able to focus those beams into a smaller diameter?”

Ben stared at Dat on the display and after a long pause shook his head, “No, I don’t.”

Dat stared at the Rovers and said, “One thing you are all going to have to get out of your minds is that we are invincible. If we are, no harm done; but if those beams can be tightened, they will overwhelm our force fields; we cannot allow this species to make that discovery. It would embolden them to start a search for us and that is the last thing we want. We are here to find out how many warships they have, what capabilities they possess and how they operate politically. You will avoid direct combat unless it’s absolutely required for self-defense. If you fire on one of those ships I will dismiss you from this mission! Is that clear?” All of them nodded.

Jill watched Dat and saw he was different. He was more…mature. He was also making sense.

Dat looked at Captain Anders, “Captain, I’m assigning six Rovers to you and I’ll take the other four. We are going to spread out above this galaxy and run through it, dropping microprobes wherever we see a large energy source or intelligent civilization. We will divide the galaxy into eleven equal quadrants and go through them at high speed behind our dark matter force fields. I wasn’t followed when I skipped out so I’m of the belief that those ships are unable to track us in the barrier. Captain, do not stop for any reason. Take your group through and drop the scanners.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Once we emerge on the other side, skip back to this location. The Microprobes will start sending their data to fleet and the main computers will start analyzing what we uncover and feed it back to us. Are there any questions?” No one spoke and Dat said, “I also want your ship’s scanners set to find any species that are similar physically to our own. You have your assignments. We’ll start our run in twenty minutes. I would suggest you find a path through the galaxy with the most type G stars on it.” Dat ended the connections and looked at his panel, “Loree, have you located a good route?”

“I’ve plotted all the G stars and I’ll drop a scanner programmed to jump to those not on our route. If they don’t find intelligent life they’ll jump to another star. Should I suggest this to the others?”

“No, they are going to have to learn to operate alone. I need to see how good they are. Fleet tells me they are holding off taking any action until we complete our investigation. I must see which Rovers in our group can think on their feet. This will tell me something about that issue.” Dat paused, “Loree, can you scan without being seen?”

“I’m going to extend a half inch antenna out of our field and record passively. I’ll go through what we collect and remove everything of no value.”

“Stein, I want this done quickly.”

“Speed is my middle name.”

Dat shook his head, “You told me it was stealthy last week.”

“I had it legally changed.”

Dat rolled his eyes, “Are all computers like the two of you?”

“You’ve contaminated us. I suspect all the others are just boring.”

Dat nodded and said, “Set the countdown and get moving.”

The small white ship oriented toward a section of the giant galaxy at the twelve o’clock position looking down at the giant black hole and after a few minutes, disappeared.

• • •

Jillian noted that Dat had assigned her to Captain Anders’ group and though she was somewhat disappointed, she knew it was a good decision; it prevented “issues” from happening. None of the others knew about their history and she wanted to keep it that way. She listened to her scan computer designate the G stars off their route for a microprobe and she checked the main computer for time remaining. “Jack, you may start the walk up the hill when the countdown ends.”

“Actually, we’ll be going down this hill, Jill.”

“Whatever.”

Bucket said, “She’s grouchy.”

“She’s ticked that Dat outranks her; her being the President’s daughter and all.”

“Will you two cut it out?”

“See? Grouchy.” Jill shook her head as the six white ships all disappeared simultaneously.

• • •

Jon Anders watched the galaxy move toward him at unimaginable speed and then his ship was moving through star systems at a rate that was impossible. He knew that only the advanced cybernetic computers could handle the tasks assigned to him and was thankful for them. He was pretty much a passenger.

He thought about Fleet putting Captain Arvolo in command. He wondered if it was because they didn’t trust him or they had a higher level of trust in Arvolo. He had looked up Arvolo’s bio on the way out and saw he had a remarkable record. He had found more than ten new planets that had opened trade with the Galactic Alliance and ended two wars between civilizations. He accomplished all of that and still stayed ahead of his scanning quota. So far his orders were all reasonable and sound. He decided that this was not the place for ego problems. It appeared Arvolo trusted him. That was a good thing. One thing that was remarkable in Arvolo’s records; he had won all four fleet trials during his years at the academy. He graduated with the highest pilot score in the Academy’s history. It appears he was just like his ancient ancestor. In another three hours the scan would be completed. He was really curious about what they were facing in this monster galaxy. Four hours later he learned it was monsters.

Chapter Two

Dat looked at his display, “Did you see anything important, Loree?”

“There was too much data; I’m going to have to leave it up to Fleet’s computers to sort it all out. There are millions of civilized planets and getting them sorted out in a reasonable time is impossible. Just getting a good record of them was next to impossible.”

Dat saw the other Rover’s begin arriving and waited for Fleet to organize their recordings. Captain Ander’s ship appeared, “Captain, did you find anything significant?”

“My computer got a recording of a black creature killing an inhabitant on one of the planets we scanned.”

“Send me a copy of that, please.”

“You should have it now.”

Dat looked at the picture and saw a black being that appeared to be made out of numerous thick black ropes. It had lifted the inhabitant off the ground and its beak had penetrated its chest. The inhabitant was fifty percent larger than the black creature so it must have been incredibly strong. Dat stared at the black creature and didn’t see any type of technology on it. It was bare.

“I also recorded some of those black creatures boarding a warship that was identical to the ones that attacked you.”

Dat jerked his attention away from the display, “Lt. Connor, please send me a copy of your recording.”

Dat saw it appear on his display and he placed the two pictures side-by-side. It was the same creatures. Dat said, “Stein, did you record any of their communications?”

“I did. And before you ask, I am working on translating their language.”

“How long before you complete that task?”

“It’s rather complicated. I should be close within twenty hours.”

“Send the results to my translator.”

Tim said, “I have a recording of a huge fleet of medium sized ships that are gathered close to the outer edge of the galaxy.”

“Show me!”

The picture arrived and Dat said, “Stein, analyze those ships and see if you can determine what they are designed to accomplish.”

“I can already tell you those ships are scouts.”

“How do you know?”

“There are more scanners on them than weapons. They also have a rather large communications module on top of them above their bridges. They’re scouts, Dat.”

“Tim, did you get a number on that fleet?”

“Ten million plus.”

Dat smirked at the answer, “Well, now we know what we’re up against. They are going to expand into other galaxies.” Dat stared at the ships and said, “I want all of us to take thirty minutes and examine what you’ve collected. We’ll get back together and share our findings once that’s done. We should also have the initial review in from fleet by then.”

• • •

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about?”

“We have detected multiple waves of energy passing through our galaxy.”

“What kind of energy?”

“We don’t know. The only thing we were able to see was dust and charged particles appeared to be moving off their normal positions. We have been unable to determine why that happened. The plates show changes in course for multiple objects.”

“Severe course changes?”

“No, they were slight but they were consistent along a single track.”

“Were you able to get a reading on how fast the wave moved?”

“We did but we think there’s an error in our scans.”

“Why?”

“The scanners determined that the wave was moving more than fifty thousand times the speed of light.”

“That’s jump speed.”

“We know. Objects in normal space are incapable of moving faster than light. We are recalibrating our scanners and watching to see if it happens again.”

The Master stared at the data and it made absolutely no sense. He didn’t know that an advanced ship had been discovered. Scientists were not in the military communication channel so he had nothing to relate the strange readings to but normal phenomena. “Keep me informed.”

“We will.”

• • •

Fleet Admiral Hull entered President Connor’s office and came to attention. Leigh Ann Conner looked up, “At ease, Admiral. What’s going on?”

“We’ve received the scans from the Rovers at the Apex Galaxy and we found some disturbing information.”

Leigh Ann’s eyes narrowed and she indicated a chair, “What have you found?”

“It appears that one species has conquered all the other civilizations in that giant galaxy. There are millions of civilized planets but they are all at a primitive level of technology. It appears the dominant species does not allow high technology on any of the conquered planets.”

“That would prevent any planet from becoming a threat to them.”

Katherine sighed, “It also gives the dominant species a stable food supply.”

“What!”

“It appears the dominant species doesn’t carry any food stores on their ships. They go to the surface of a conquered planet and feed on the inhabitants when necessary. That causes two things to occur; first, populations are stable and growth is extremely slow and two; ships don’t have to assemble to replenish their stores. They can remain on station throughout the galaxy. It does appear that some sort of equilibrium has been established and the conquered planets are barely eking out an existence.”

“We need to know how that system functions.”

“I’m going to ask the Rovers there to investigate. There’s more, Sir.” Leigh looked at Kat and nodded for her to continue. “We found a fleet of more than ten million ships that are scouts. It appears the dominant species is planning an expansion outside their galaxy.”

“What about their technology?”

“They are more advanced than any of the planets in the Alliance except for us. We haven’t been able to determine where our ships stand against theirs, yet. We are of the opinion that their weapons could take out a Rover Warship.”

“What about numbers?”

“They outnumber us five to one, Madam President. At least they do in the numbers we scanned. We probably missed a good percentage of their ship total.”

Leigh Ann stood and walked over to the huge window looking out at Havana. The city was huge and the giant crystal buildings gleamed in the afternoon sun. Earth had been rebuilt and it was a shining jewel once again. Leigh Ann sighed, “I don’t want to share Dark Matter technology with other members of the Alliance but this may force our hand.”

“They are not happy that we have kept it to ourselves.”

“We are pledged to defend them against attack; not provide technology that could be used against us.”

“So far, none of the members have attacked each other.”

“Only because they know we would step in and none of them want to take us on. What the Military doesn’t know is that many of the members of the Alliance have planned attacks but were forced to back off by our Rovers. If they have that technology, the attacks would happen. We are still small compared to many of the Alliance Members.”

Kat sighed, “It’s time we started major ship building again. We should have never stopped.”

“Tying up our economy with the drain of building warships at a time when we needed to develop the colonies was the best decision we could make at the time.

Kat stared at Leigh and said, “What will happen if we get tied up in a war in that galaxy?”

“Now would not be a good time for that to happen. I believe general warfare is not far from erupting among the members and once that war starts, the members will choose up sides. There is a lot of hatred that has fermented for centuries among the Alliance members.”

“Perhaps we should pick a side.”

“What do you mean?”

Kat walked over to the window and looked out at the city with Leigh Ann, “The Horde and Hive have continued to support us over the long centuries. Perhaps they should be given our technology. Our bond with them was made in blood and I trust them.”

Leigh Ann looked at Admiral Hull and blew out a breath, “Even if we give it to them, it will take time for them to build ships.”

“We should take the long view on this. I believe the builders can help shorten that time.”

Leigh Ann thought about the idea and walked over to her desk, “Jere, contact the Horde Leader and Hive Master and set up a communication conference for this afternoon.”

“Yes Sir.”

Leigh looked at Kat, “Find out all you can about that Apex Galaxy. We really can’t afford to get in a war.”

“Dat Arvolo is there.”

“See that he gets what he needs.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

“Dat, you need to find out all you can about that galaxy.”

“Is there an issue I should know about, Admiral?”

“The President is of the opinion that if we get tied down in a war there that general warfare will breakout among the members of the Alliance. She says that only the threat of our ships has prevented it so far. If that war starts, Earth will be attacked.”

“That is not good.”

“No, and we’ll need our ships to defend our planets in the Milky Way if it happens, which will limit what we can do in that galaxy. I’m going to depend on your wing to collect the information we’ll need to make a decision.”

“I may need to use the new technology.”

Katherine stared at Dat on her display and after a long moment said, “Do what you have to do. I know you can be trusted with it.”

“Does anyone else in my wing have it?”

“No, only six Officers in all our fleets have been given those tools.”

“I appreciate your trust, Admiral.”

“It’s more than that; you’ve earned the right. Keep me in the loop and get moving.”

“Yes Sir. I do need a frequency to contact the main operator of the data collection.”

Kat looked down and pressed a button, “It’s on your board.”

Dat looked up, “Stein, connect me with Gabriel Hilton.”

“Good afternoon, Captain. How may I be of service?”

“I need you to look through the data we sent you and look for a planet with a species that is similar in appearance to a human.”

“I’ve already looked and there are four candidates. The first one on the list is remarkably similar in their exterior appearance but is quite different internally.”

“How different?”

“They have a primary and secondary heart. They also only have one lung instead of two. Other than that, they could pass for human. Everything else matches up rather closely.”

“Send me the coordinates of the planet they inhabit.”

“You’ll have it momentarily.”

“Thank you, Gabriel.”

“Be careful, Dat. You still owe me a drink.”

“I’m proud of your new position, Gabe. I’ll pay up if I ever get back to Earth; kiss Karen for me.”

“I’ll do it for both of us.”

Dat looked at his display and then punched the intership frequency, “Link your computers and stand by for a meeting in ten minutes. Stein, send the download from fleet to their computers and assign the microprobes to them. I want you to also send the command circuitry to Captain Anders.”

“That circuit is a Prime Secret Device.”

“I’m authorizing it and the code is 101059, Alpha, Alpha, 20898.”

“Authorization confirmed. The protocols have been sent to Captain Anders’ computer.”

Jon appeared on Dat’s display, “What is this you’ve just downloaded into my computer?”

“It is a Prime Secret Command Circuit that you will use to command the Rovers. You’ll need to go over the protocols with your computer but it should link your ships in a manner that will allow them to operate as a unit. You’ll be amazed at what it will allow you to do with the other Rovers.”

“Why are you giving it to me?”

“You are on Fleet’s shortlist for future promotion. I trust you will use it wisely and make good use of it if you’re attacked.”

“Why aren’t you using it?”

“I won’t be here. Stand by and I’ll explain.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Stein, have you downloaded the links?”

“The other Rovers now have them. Captain Anders will have to activate them from his ship.”

“Good; link in the Wing now.” Dat saw the ten Rovers on his display, “We have been ordered to find out everything we can about this galaxy. I have been authorized to use the tools I’ve been given and I intend to start that process momentarily.”

Jill said, “What tools are you referring to, Sir?”

“I have downloaded an advanced command circuit into Captain Anders’ computer and the links to your computers. They will be linked in such a way that you will be fighting in a coordinated fashion that will enhance your chances of survival if you’re attacked. I am leaving Captain Anders in command.”

Ben said, “Where are you going?”

“I am going to a conquered planet that has a species that looks human. I will infiltrate their population and see what I can learn from them about the species that has defeated them. We need to know what structure the conquerors use to control their planets.”

Tom said, “Shouldn’t one of us go? You’re the mission Commander.”

“You don’t have the necessary tools to pull it off.”

Tim said, “What tools, Sir?”

“I have the two rings.” Silence slammed down on the channel.

Jon said, “The rings are the tightest controlled technology the Union possesses. It is my understanding that no one may be given the rings below Flag Rank.”

Dat stared at the ten and said, “I hold the rank of Vice Admiral in Earth’s Fleet. This is a Prime Secret and I expect all of you to maintain that secrecy. You will continue to address me as Captain.”

Jill was shocked speechless. How could this have possibly happened? This was just not possible. No one this young was ever an Admiral, much less the overall commander of the Union Fleets. But if he had the two rings, he had to have a Flag Rank. Dat saw her expression and said, “I don’t care whether you believe me or not. However, to infiltrate a planet, the rings are a necessity.” Dat held up his hands and touched the ring finger on each hand and two rings appeared. “Captain Anders, I’ve left you your orders and I expect you to carry them out. Are there any questions?”

Jon said, “Yes Sir. When should I expect your return?”

“I hope it won’t take longer than two months; however, if I’m not back in three months and I’ve not contacted you, you will take command of the Wing and inform Fleet that I’ve been lost.”

“Yes Sir.”

The ten Rovers saw Dat disappear from their panels and his ship disappeared a moment later. Ben said, “This is a surprise.”

Jon smiled, “The universe is full of them Lieutenant. I’m assigning you all the microprobes in the first sector. Have your computer start analyzing what they record. The rest of us will have other sectors to monitor. Feed anything you deem important to my board. I am activating the combat links to your ships. Make sure your scanning computers keep a watch for any movement in green space toward our location.”

“Loran, I want you to jump out and extend your Connor Fields and collect light from that galaxy. According to Dat’s first collection site, the war was going on at that point in time. Collect as much as you can in five minutes and then skip away. Keep watch on green space for anything approaching your position. Make sure you drop a microprobe to follow you in the event you have to skip away. I’d like to see if they can detect those fields.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Jack linked with the combat circuit and said, “The Link is active, Jill.”

Bucket said, “You never anticipated this, did you?”

Jill shook her head, “No, I didn’t.” She thought back to the time when Dat was smitten with her and thought about just how arrogant she was back then. Her mother was President and she was promoted quickly after graduation from the academy. She remembered Dat’s expression when she told him he wasn’t worthy of her attention. Now she saw that same expression on his face just before he skipped away. She could still see the hurt in his eyes. He never knew the nights she couldn’t sleep seeing his face in her dreams. Now it appeared it wouldn’t matter if he did know. She sighed and said, “Jack, start looking at the data from our assigned probes.”

Neither of the two computers corrected her. Bucket would handle the data. Both of them were strangely silent and Jill didn’t notice.

• • •

“Good day.”

“And to you Madam President; how may we assist you?”

“We have encountered an Apex Galaxy.”

The Horde Ruler looked at her and said, “What is an Apex Galaxy?”

“It is a galaxy with a highly advanced civilization that represents a threat to us.” The two leaders looked at each other and Leigh said, “We’ve determined that one species has conquered a galaxy as large as M87 and is planning to expand to other galaxies. We’ve also determined that our ships are vulnerable to their weapons.”

The Hive Master said, “I find that very difficult to believe.”

“Believe it; I have a Wing of Rovers there scouting but we may be drawn into conflict with that galaxy and if that happens, do you know what will happen in the Alliance?”

The Hive Master nodded, “War.”

“That’s how we see it. I have been advised by our military that the civilizations will choose sides and the war will spread if we aren’t around to prevent it.”

“Will you have to use all your ships in that galaxy?”

“Horde Leader, they outnumber us more than five to one. If we are forced into conflict, it will take every ship we have and even then the outcome is not a certainty.”

“Why are you telling us this?”

“We have refused to share our Dark Matter technology with any other civilization. If it got out, then war would sweep over the Alliance and our civilization would also be in harm’s way. I’m of the opinion that we have only been able to delay it up to now. If it can’t be avoided, then we feel compelled to defend those that we trust. We may not be able to defend your planets, so I am giving your civilizations Dark Matter technology.”

The two leaders looked at each other and the Hive Master said, “I don’t know that we should have it, Madam President.”

Leigh Ann smiled, “That proves to me you should. If we get tied down in that galaxy, we won’t be able to come to your defense if you’re attacked and we can’t allow that to happen. I want you to send a team of your best engineers to Earth and we’ll send them to our builders to get what they need to start ship construction. You should get on it immediately.”

The Horde Leader stared at Leigh Ann for a moment, “We will start construction and you may consider our fleets as part of your own. Our promises will never be broken.”

Leigh Ann smiled, “Nor ours to you. Please make this happen quickly.”

“The engineers will arrive in six of your hours.”

“Thank you.”

Chapter Three

Dat skipped away from the ten Rovers and activated his panel for data retrieval. He studied the chosen planet and said, “Stein has the microprobe at the designated planet been able to intercept any transmissions?”

“Unfortunately, it has not. There is no electronic traffic on the planet to intercept.”

“Move the probe down to the planet’s surface and record their verbal conversations.”

“That will remove our ability to see incoming warships.”

“We’ll drop another one when we arrive. I need their language to make this work. I’m going to assume you’ve ordered the appropriate clothing from fleet.”

“It will arrive in a jump package tomorrow. I have the coordinates on where you need to go to retrieve it.”

“Get the probe down to the surface in one of their communities. Learning their language is the primary goal for the moment. I can’t do anything until that is done.”

“It will release most of its power and go passive. It should be undetectable.”

“Could you see it?”

“Probably.”

“Then so can they; we’ve already seen how good their sensors are.”

“You can’t have it both ways, Dat. Either you are not going to know when a warship arrives or you’re not going to hear the inhabitants speaking. You can’t do both.”

“Stein, isn’t the probe’s antenna always in green space?”

“Well, yes.”

“Then even if it’s on the planet, won’t that antenna be able to sense an approaching ship in subspace?”

“Yes but only just before it arrives.”

“They set it to dump all its energy at that moment. It can recharge using its solar accumulators after the ship leaves.”

“If it has no power, how will it know when to recharge?”

“Will we know if it shuts down?”

“Yes.”

“Then that will be reason for you and Loree to come and check things out. Once the ship leaves, reactivate the probe.”

“I assume you’re talking about when you’re on the planet.”

“I am.”

“Do you want us to attempt a rescue if you’re discovered?”

“That goes without saying.”

“Don’t lose your rings.”

“You can count on that. If they’re removed or I die they will self-destruct.”

“I’m going to send all the recordings of the black creatures to your panel.”

“Why?”

“You need to see what you’re up against.”

Dat shrugged, “Send them.” An hour later, Dat wished he hadn’t asked to see them. The black creatures had to come straight out of hell. They looked like a walking amoeba with ten arms that appeared to be stronger than steel. The arms had hands on them and could also provide locomotion as legs. They could also be extended more than fifteen feet. They were flexible and didn’t appear to have any solid structure or bones in them. The head of the creature was able to move to whatever part of its body that was the highest above ground but the incredible beak was always in the central mass of the creature. It would wrap its victim in its arms and pull them close. The beak would then savagely shoot into the captive’s body and the long tongue would devour everything in its path. Death happened quickly. The most remarkable thing about these creatures was that their arms could be on one side and remain there when their entire body spun around. It was almost as if they floated on the being’s surface.

The creature’s head was basically round but would often change shape. It had three huge eyes that constantly changed location but the mouth and ears appeared to remain in the same location. Dat stared at the creature and decided that the large eyes forced the creature to be nocturnal. The eyes never blinked. The creatures were quick and deadly. “They’re quick but not fast.”

Dat looked up, “What?”

Loree said, “They can change direction incredibly fast but they aren’t good sprinters.”

“They don’t have to be with arms that extend that far.”

“That’s probably why their evolution didn’t make them fast.”

“Loree, what are you saying?”

“If you get caught out in the open; run.”

Dat stared at the creature and decided that he was extending his training time on the treadmill to work on his endurance until the language was deciphered. He put his arms on the padded arms of his command chair and looked out the viewport at open space. He saw the distant specks of light that were distant galaxies and heard the slow throb of the dark matter reactor. He felt infinitesimally small against the backdrop of creation but that throb reassured him that he had a place in time. Just a few feet away was the hard vacuum of space but it was held at bay by the walls of his small ship. He wondered about intelligent life that had infinity to fill but gravitated to destroy other intelligent life. It just seemed so meaningless in such a vast universe.

• • •

Leigh Ann looked at the Leader of the Alliance on her display. The giant snake was frightening to view but was a good soul. “Madam, you are right about things falling apart. One would think the lessons from the past wouldn’t fade this quickly but it appears that millions of years of history also don’t fade easily either.”

“What have you determined?”

“Peace has a way of causing issues. There are no more attacks on each other but attacks can take many different forms. Economic attacks are just as devastating as being hit by warships. Many of the members have been victimized by the richer civilizations in their dealings and as a result mistrust and anger has been growing over the centuries. Now old allies are starting to plan to end the economic rule of the galaxy’s richest planets. It would have already happened but for the power of your ships.”

“Can you enforce the peace without us?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“We are going to have to take on an advanced civilization that is just as powerful as we are and outnumbers us. None of the civilizations in the Galactic Assembly can survive them so would be no help against them. We believe that if we don’t resolve the issue, your members will eventually be a target of their expansion.”

“Can you prove they exist? That might slow the more aggressive species down.”

“We should be able to provide that information but our sociologists think that once they learn we are going to be tied up, they won’t wait to attack. It will only cause the civil war to start now.”

“You’re probably right. I suspect this is not a good time for my galaxy.”

Leigh Ann thought a moment and decided that being less than honest was not what was needed. “Do you recognize that your species is one of those that are hated by the majority of your civilizations?”

The Snake stared at Leigh Ann and released a long hiss, “Yes, I know.” Leigh Ann remained silent and the Snake finally said, “My original ancestor did not want the leadership position that was thrust on him. He vacated the position as quickly as possible but the civilizations here had developed a huge respect for his species. We have been elected repeatedly since his abdication. This position has placed my civilization in a position to prosper. We do not take advantage economically but even so, wealth follows leadership. My assembly had seen the inertia toward civil war building over the years and I have recommended that the Central Government elect a new leader, but I think that course would cause things to fall apart even faster. There is now a general distrust of any wealthy civilization no matter how that wealth was acquired. I think if you would recommend a change in leadership, it might happen.”

Leigh Ann shook her head, “It would probably insure you remained in power. Humans are feared now more than respected.”

The Snake slowly lowered its head, “I fear you’re probably right. The thing that prevents most of our aggressive civilizations from uniting and attacking you is that no one knows where the bulk of your planets are located. We know where Earth is but no one has found where you moved your populations during the first Galactic War.” The Snake paused and said, “You could impose peace on the members.”

“Then we would be no better than the original Majors and Red Sector Civilizations. Ultimately, we would be attacked and I wouldn’t blame those that did it. This is the reason we have not shared our technology with any other civilizations…before now.”

The Snake’s head came up faster than she thought possible. “You’re going to share your technology?”

“With our two closest allies.” The Snake stared at Leigh Ann and remained silent. “You know they have been targeted by the leadership of the Aggressives.”

The Snake made another long hiss, “You know about that?”

“We do and, ordinarily, we wouldn’t do this. However, if we are faced with defeat, we know they will be attacked. They’ll probably be attacked even if we win. If we are weakened, the war will start and they will be the first casualties.”

“Defeating the wealthy planets will not be easily done.”

“Do you honestly think they will go after you first? They’ll come after us and our allies and then turn their attention to you.” Leigh Ann paused and looked the Snake in the eyes, “And do you think the wealthy civilizations will come to our defense?” The Snake stared at Leigh Ann and said nothing. “Even your species has agreed not to get involved if that happens.”

The Snake broke eye contact which usually never happened with the Snakes, “Your sources are remarkable; that was only discussed in a private meeting with the Highest Royals. They feel that we would be attacked in turn if we came to your assistance.” The Snake paused and said, “If you know this, why are you communicating with me?”

“I know your species is driven by genetics to protect your eggs and you will not do anything that would jeopardize their safety. Like all the other civilizations in your galaxy, you are now looking out for your own. You also see us as the ones that are forcing you to not take action to further your ambitions…and territory. You speak of what’s coming as a bad thing but you are not doing what needs to be done to prevent it or even delay it. You should know that we’re aware of all the dynamics that are operating in the Galactic Alliance and we are part of the problem. Equilibrium has been lost and now the forces of peace are being overwhelmed by civilizations that don’t remember the horrors of interstellar war. We originally joined the Alliance because we honestly thought those lessons would never be forgotten. We were wrong.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’ve considered announcing that Earth, the Horde, and the Hive have jointly agreed to secede from the Alliance and will no longer be involved in the direction the Galaxy decides to travel.”

“If you do that, war will break out immediately.”

“And you’re not ready for that to happen just yet.” The Snake did not move or give any indication of what it thought about the statement. “We know that you’re right about dealing honestly with members of the Alliance. We honor and respect your ancestor that helped establish the Alliance and because of those feelings we are not going to make the announcement. You have it within your powers to unite and attack any civilization that attacks another civilization. You could insure peace if you choose to do so; you don’t need us as the enforcers. However, I am officially notifying you that we and our allies are no longer members of the Alliance and will not take part in any of your future decisions. We will not attack another member and will only fight to protect our citizens. You may tell the Alliance members of this new situation at the moment of your choosing.”

“You know that once that announcement is made, you will be viewed as a threat?”

“Do you think we’re not seen that way now?”

“So we’re back to where we were a thousand years ago.”

“Not really.”

“Oh?”

“A thousand years ago, we were at the mercy of the two Sectors. You have no idea just how powerful our ships are and it would be an extremely bad decision to make us angry. You know that we keep our promises. We promise to leave your galaxy to its future without intervention. If you choose not to believe us and take us on, you need only look at what the Red Sector represented. We will not tolerate attacks.”

“You know that it’s just a matter of time until your technology is duplicated by other civilizations.”

“You’re not far from that now.” The Snake’s head dropped quickly. Leigh Ann smiled and said, “You didn’t think we knew about your new ships? However, you might consider one small bit of information.”

“What is that?”

“Do you think we’ve stood still in developing new technologies? We’ve had dark matter ships for a thousand years. Do you think we would reveal any new technology to you? Think about that.”

The Snake’s display went dark and all the plans of the High Royals suddenly looked like smoke disappearing in the wind. If the Humans had more powerful ships…the future only held death and destruction. He whipped his hundred foot length around and moved out of his office at an incredible speed. The Royals had to see this conversation.

• • •

Leigh Ann leaned back in her chair and sighed. She pulled up a historical picture of Chris and Jillian Connor on her display and stared at it. Chris had been elected President after George imposed term limits on the position. Chris and Jillian had insisted on continued ship building; he could not allow himself to trust the civilizations in M87. It was a glorious age for humanity and most did not believe the members of the Galactic Alliance would ever return to their warlike ways. She sighed and knew Chris was right. Arvolo was elected President after Chris even though he fought against taking the position. The only way they prevailed to make him do it was to move the capital of humanity back to Earth where it had remained until current times. Two hundred years later, a Moet Royal was elected president but he had refused to move the capital. Earth was spiritual ground, symbolic of the Union. Its destruction in the first war and the subsequent rebirth symbolized the lessons learned. Gonchat was one of the Union’s greatest President’s and he had further insisted on developing technologies that would insure the Union would survive. His species had seen first-hand that old habits die hard. Now all of the old heroes were gone and it was left to her to make the right decisions to defend the Union. Her panel beeped and she smiled, “Did you get all that?”

Belwen appeared on her display and shook his head, “Why is it so hard to see where they’re headed?”

“Ambition is a cruel master. Where are you on the new ship?”

“Close.”

“How close?”

“We’ve managed to create a drive that actually works.”

“When did that happen!?!”

“Yesterday.” The Harmony Federation Leader smiled, “We’ve finally managed to get the wrinkles out of the system.”

“And?”

“It appears to be what we hoped. I’ll let you know after we install it in one of the Rovers.”

“We don’t have much time.”

“I know, Madam President. All of our engineers are working on the project.”

“What about the weapon?”

“We’ve got that operational now but without the field to protect the ship that fires it…”

“I know. Keep me informed.”

“I will.”

Leigh Ann shook her head. No one from the Harmony Federation had ever held political office in the Union. Even they recognized that the leaders of the Union had to possess the will to make tough decisions about using their powerful fleet. They were too peaceful by nature to ever do that. The Union’s builders were what made it powerful. That was a trust that would never be lost and Leigh Ann hoped they would develop the tools needed for survival. Leigh Ann pushed her communicator, “Admiral Hull.”

“Yes Sir.”

“The Federation is close to developing the new ship. I want the first one delivered to Dat as soon as it’s available.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“There are some things that are as certain as the laws of physics; he is his ancestor’s child. He’s the one that will lead us.”

“His scores were remarkable.”

“His scores were impossible. We need to take advantage of those that are gifted to us.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Loran arrived at the coordinates and oriented the ship to the giant galaxy. He powered up the Connor Fields and looked at his display, “Spike, I need you keep a close watch on green space for anything moving our way.”

“I’m on it.”

“Sugar, I don’t want to waste time on this. Once you have a picture, I want to accelerate into it and collect the data at high speed. We will not do this longer than an hour.”

“How far do you want to extend the fields?”

“We have the exact coordinates of where the beam was found, so we will expand the fields a minute and then start accelerating.”

“You’re nervous about this.”

“Yes, I am Spike. They know someone is out here and I expect to be jumped. Keep the skip drive hot and at the first sign of anything suspicious, get out of here.”

“Are you ready?”

Loran nodded and watched the Connor Field start expanding around his ship.

• • •

“We have another field out in open space above the galaxy.”

“Send the ship. Do not send more than one and have it moving at stealth level.”

“It’s on the way.”

• • •

Loran’s ship was moving at half the speed of light into the light being tracked. He kept his eyes on his monitor and didn’t see anything moving through green space. Perhaps the black creatures didn’t see him. Suddenly a giant ship emerged into normal space directly in front of him and Spike hit the skip drive. The beam that was fired at the Rover was massive but it arrived a tenth of a second too late. Loran felt his heart in his chest and heard Sugar say, “That beam was one tenth the width of the first beams fired. It appears they are capable of focusing the power into a smaller beam.”

“Did you get an energy reading?”

“I did and it’s off the scale. With our force field down to expand the Connor Fields, we would have been vaporized if it had hit us.”

“Were you able to release a follower?”

“I already had it following us. It should follow that ship wherever it goes.”

“That’s good planning, Spike.”

There was a momentary pause and Loran heard Spike say, “I thought your precautions were unwarranted but Captain Arvolo was right; these ships are dangerous.”

“Will a fully powered force field stand up to that beam?”

“We won’t know until one of our ships is hit by one. The jury is still out on that issue.”

• • •

The Leader on the giant ship stared at the former location of the small ship on his display and turned to his weapon’s controller, “Did we hit it?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Whatever was at the center of that electronic field is no longer there and the field appeared to explode outward when our beam hit.”

“Is there any residue?”

The scanner operator shook his head and after a moment said, “That doesn’t mean we didn’t hit it. Our beam is so hot it could have burned all the mass into energy which is what we saw. There have been numerous hits in the past that left nothing measureable behind.”

“Play the scan back at the slowest speed you have and tell me what you see.”

The Scanner played the recording back ten times at the slowest speed possible and shook his head, “The beam blinds me as to what happened. It did blow through whatever was there and the blast prevented seeing anything at the moment it hit.”

“Lower the force field and make another scan for debris.”

The Scanner scanned again and shook its head, “The results are the same.”

“The Fifty are going to want an answer. Did we kill that ship or not?”

“There is no way to know for certain.”

“Then we killed it. Is everyone clear on that?”

The Weapons Controller continued to stare at his panel, “I really believe we did.”

Everyone on the ship’s bridge immediately accepted the Weapon Controller’s statement as fact. None of them wanted to face the anger of the Fifty for a failed attack.

• • •

The follower probe moved up against the giant ship when the force field dropped and attached itself to the hull. When the giant ship jumped away, it was still attached.

Chapter Four

Jon looked at the recording and said, “It appears Captain Arvolo was right; those ships are capable of focusing their beams. They can also see the Connor Field almost the moment we activate it.”

Jill looked up from her display, “Why wasn’t that ship detected on its approach?”

“They have a green space field that can also be manipulated. It appears from the recording taken in green space that they sharpen the front of the field and taper it back to the ship. That shape leaves a very small track in green space. It was detected just as the ship emerged into normal space and that is what allowed Loran to escape. The ship actually fired before it was completely in normal space.”

Jill looked back at her display, “That would mean they have a tracking and targeting mechanism that is superior to ours.”

Jon shook his head, “Not necessarily; they could have been observing our ship as they approached and had the target locked in as they came closer.”

Jill looked up, “That would actually make more sense. Electrical impulses don’t move faster than light speed and there is a limit on the time any electronic device could take the reading, convert it to a target, and fire the beam. That ship’s time was faster than the time necessary for that to happen.” Jill was impressed that Captain Anders had already made that determination.

Jon looked at his panel and said, “We need to look at their defensive capabilities. Ben, do you still have one of the Connor probes on your ship?”

“I have three in storage.”

Jill sat up straighter. She knew where this was going.

“Here’s what we’re going to do. Ben, you will launch the Connor probe at another location above their galaxy and jump away. Have it activate a minute after you skip. Jill, Tim, and Loran will have that location locked in and as soon as that device is hit, you will skip in and fire on the ship that hits the probe. Ben, make sure the probe has its self-destruct circuit active. You will fire and jump away before the enemy ship can return fire. Your ships will be linked by the command circuit but Jill’s ship will fire a thousandth of second before the other two. You will then skip out and we’ll examine what we see.” The three Rovers acknowledged the orders and began organizing their ships for the attack.

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 highly 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.”

Dat watched her walk away and felt something inside him break into thousands of pieces. He waved the waiter away and stared out at the lake next to their table. The lights from the city across the lake twinkled on the surface of the water and looked like thousands of tears and he fought his as he thought about what had just happened. He was still there two hours later when his communicator beeped, “Yes.”

“Fleet has asked you to arrive early.”

Dat sighed, “I’m on my way.”

• • •

Jill looked at Dat’s records again and pulled up the record of the fleet maneuvers and saw that it had taken place the next day. She also saw that he was promoted to Full Captain the week before she said goodbye. He didn’t use his new rank to stop her from walking away. He knew he was not a priority for her and allowed her to leave without making her feel bad. He might have stopped her if he had told her about his promotion…but he didn’t.

Jill reached inside her uniform and pulled out the locket with Dat’s picture inside. Engraved inside the cover was, “Dat and Loree”. She gripped it in her right hand and cried again for the thousandth time. Some lessons come hard; this was one that still haunted her. Jack and Bucket remained silent. They had seen this many times before and had exhausted anything that could be said to comfort her. Over and over they heard her say, “I was so dumb, so dumb.”

• • •

Dat dropped toward the planet in a Dark Matter Field. It was linked to his mind through one of the rings and he watched as the surface grew larger. He used the repulsive force to direct him toward a large community near a river where the microprobe had landed. He came in quickly toward a field just outside the outer edge of buildings and slowed just before hitting the ground. He kept the field around him and walked toward the community. He noticed that he had estimated the weight reduction perfectly. The field was soft but he left no footprints. The dark matter field allowed air to flow through a tiny opening and the air smelled sweet. There was no industry on the planet to affect it and it was clear and clean. Two other small openings fed views of his surroundings directly to his brain. He decided to wander around and get a feel for the inhabitants before he lowered the field.

The first thing he noticed was that the locals were identical to humans. They weren’t just similar, they were identical in appearance. He knew they were different internally but it was surprising just how close the two species appeared. He looked around knowing that he was going to have to find a way to feed himself. He saw a market near the center of the community and he turned toward it. He walked over, avoiding coming into contact with any inhabitants around the tables and waited for an opportunity. It came when a farmer turned his back and he absorbed a handful of small berries through the field. He raised one of them to his mouth and tasted it. It was really quite good. He watched the farmer selling his produce and sat down against a wall listening to the conversations taking place at the table. The famer had the pasted on smile of most businessmen until a young female approached his table. The farmer’s face began scowling. “I’d like some fruit and leaves.”

“I don’t know that I want to sell you anything.”

The young female stared at the much larger man and said, “I see my father has come and had a discussion with you about trying to get me killed.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Your son arrived just as I was starting to pay for my purchases and I know he had seen the Master’s shuttle arrive; it was in clear view of your home. You deliberately delayed me hoping I would be embraced by a Master. I hope you refuse to sell me anything. I’d love the opportunity to take this up with the Community Elders.”

Dat saw the farmer’s expression change as he accepted the young woman’s payment, “You have no proof of that. You and your father are being silly.”

The young woman leaned forward and put her face an inch from the farmer’s, “You will never have me. I’ll die first.” The young woman turned and took several steps before she stopped, turned around, and said, “I’ll also take this up with the Elders if you ever petition them to have me.”

The farmer’s scowl returned and the female turned and walked away.

Dat stood and followed the female up the hill. She knew about the relationships that governed the behaviors of the population and the, what did she call them, Masters? He listened to people greet the young female and learned her name was Gresha. He could understand the farmer wanting her. She was beautiful by any standards. Her blonde hair and violet colored eyes were gorgeous. She was about five feet ten inches tall and was perfectly proportioned. Heck, she was better than perfect. He wondered if he was following her because of her beauty but dismissed the notion. She was a different species. He did see that most of the males she passed stopped and watched her as she moved away. He followed her to her home and saw a giant male standing outside.

“Good morning, Father.”

“Did he give you any problems?”

“No, just pretended innocence. He is really a Master’s finger.”

“That he is; let me know if there are any problems.”

She hugged the big male, “I will. Dinner will be ready shortly.”

“I’m going to have to miss it. I have some repairs to do on Hemel’s door before sunset.”

“I’ll delay until you finish.”

“That would be good, Daughter.”

• • •

Dat understood the farmer’s scowl. Gresha’s father could have broken him in half. He locked in the coordinates of her home and moved away. He saw an older male and discovered he was a community Elder when one of the females said, “Good morning, Elder. Dat followed him and entered a central building with him, slipping in just before the door was closed. There were twenty other males present and he sat down and leaned against the wall. He took some of the berries out of his pocket and munched on them. The males were talking casually and he took a moment to link with his ring and viewed the community from overhead. The scanner focused on the town and he saw that it appeared to be thriving. Construction of new residences was taking place and there were numerous inhabitants working in the fields around the community. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary for a primitive society. He broke the link when he heard one of the men say, “We must find a way to give us warning.”

“You know that is forbidden, Jaden. We all feel your loss but the community could not endure the consequences if we violate that rule.”

“Surely there is a method that wouldn’t be detected by the Masters.”

“They would know about it as soon as they found no one in the streets. They may not know how we’re doing it but they would act. They are far too smart to be fooled. We aren’t even allowed to shout that they’re here. If they hear anyone giving a warning, ten homes will be killed.”

“I thought the number was now up to thirty homes.”

“That’s why I brought it up; it appears a new ship is now coming here and doesn’t know about the earlier violation.”

“I still don’t understand how they called that scream a warning. Everyone screams when they are embraced by a Master.”

“I know and they encourage that, but Reba had not been embraced. She stumbled upon a Master and screamed.”

“The Master killed her.”

“Yes, but only after chasing her down. We don’t make the rules.”

“Does anyone have a guess when they’ll return?”

“That is fools work. I think they watch us and choose the best time to catch us outside.”

“You act like this is a game.”

“For them, it is. Why else would they not break into our homes? You know our doors could not keep them out but they do not pursue anyone once they make it indoors. If you look at all the rules we’re forced to follow, it is definitely a game for them.”

One of the Elders shook his head, “Have any of you heard about the farmers’ treachery with Gresha?”

Dat leaned in closer to hear.

“We have but they have not brought the issue before us so we should avoid discussion until it is.”

“He’s your nephew. I hope you’ve spoken to him. The community would frown on losing her due to the actions of one of our own.”

“He’s been blinded by her beauty. He won’t make that mistake again.”

“I trust you’re right. He’ll be locked out if it happens again.”

The Elder Males nodded, “As he should be.”

“Is his son ready to take over his fields?”

“Probably; but if he isn’t, someone else will take ownership. I am deeply ashamed at his actions. He knows the consequences.”

• • •

The meeting turned to economic issues on pricing various crops and Dat reflected on what he had heard. The Masters enjoyed the chase. They were predators. He wondered if their behavior was just something they enjoyed or if it was driven by genetics. If it was genetically driven, they could never be stopped from preying on others. That would mean they would have to be destroyed. Negotiation would never work with them if their fundamental behaviors were predatory. He had to find out. The opportunity to find out presented itself in a most unexpected way.

• • •

Dat spent the next three days following Gresha around the community. She was clearly a community favorite and was stopped and spoken to wherever she went. Dat learned a great deal about the dynamics of the community just listening to those that spoke with her. He learned that most of the males in the community really wanted to have Gresha as a mate but were unwilling to cross the farmer. He began to like the young female and saw that her spirit was alive and she was loved by those around her.

He followed her home one afternoon and heard her father said, “I’ve been asked by the farmer to allow him to speak with you.”

“I don’t want to hear anything he has to say, Father.”

“The Elders want this bad blood between our families ended. I suspect he wants to apologize and you should go and accept it.” Gresha started complaining and her father held up his hand, “You know we can’t prove what he did. Now go and do it.”

Gresha was angry and her father saw it in her face but she turned and walked away. Dat followed her and wondered what was going on. He hurried and arrived at the farmer’s table ahead of Gresha. There was a large crowd gathered purchasing his produce. It appeared he had lowered his prices in honor or what he was going to do. Gresha waited for the customers to be served and began glancing at the sun. It was getting lower in the sky and she was not going to run a risk of being caught out in the open at dark again. Dat saw that the demeanor of the people had changed as the sun dropped in the sky. Their smiles disappeared and they had a look of fear about them. It was clear they feared darkness.

The farmer saw her getting ready to leave and indicated for her to wait for just a moment. He finally turned and said, “I am sorry for what happened before. I truly meant you no harm. I just love seeing you and found it difficult to let you leave. I apologize for what my behavior caused.”

“You apology is accepted.”

“Just a moment, Gresha; why do you not find me acceptable?”

Gresha turned and was stunned by the question. This beast couldn’t be serious. She then told him of all the cruel things she had witnessed. She finished saying she could never be attracted to one with such an evil heart. His attempt at having her killed by a Master only proved to her how evil he was.

The farmer and Gresha heard a door slam and they turned and saw the farmer’s son waving his arms. Gresha looked and saw everyone was running toward their homes and knew that the Masters had returned. She began to turn to run but the farmer grabbed her arm and held her in a vice like grip.

“LET ME GO!” The farmer saw many of those running away saw him holding Gresha’s arm and knew that he would pay a price for his actions. He gripped her arm with both hands and smiled wickedly at her. Gresha screamed, “You’ll die for this. Let me go!”

“I don’t care if I die as long as you die first.”

Dat looked at the sun and saw that it was too close to the horizon. Gresha would never make it home before dark. He turned and looked at the farmer’s evil smile and drew back his arm and hit him as hard as he could right between the eyes. The farmer’s head snapped back and his eyes glazed over. Gresha wrenched free just before he hit the ground. She turned and started running up the hill as fast as she could but she knew she’d never make it home before darkness fell.

• • •

The Farmer finally regained consciousness and felt himself lifted off the ground. He saw the Master holding him and knew Gresha was not going to die first. His neck was gripped so hard by the Master’s arm that it broke. His death happened faster than he deserved.

• • •

Dat ran behind her and decided to intervene. He extended the field twenty feet in front of him and ran until it was pushing Gresha in the back. Gresha felt someone pushing her from behind and glanced over her shoulder but didn’t see anyone. Her speed picked up and she was amazed at how fast she was moving up the hill. She arrived a hundred yards from her front door just as darkness descended and she picked up speed as she sprinted toward her home. Thirty feet away from her door a Master appeared in front of her and wrapped her up in four of its arms. It lifted her off the ground as two of its arms wrapped around her arms and legs while another wrapped around her neck to prevent her screams. The black creature’s three eyes were glowing red as its small mouth widened. Gresha was paralyzed with fear.

Dat saw the Master move in from the side of the building and knew Gresha was not going to make it. He almost fired on the Master but barely managed to restrain himself. This was a large Master. It had to be one of the largest he had seen in all the scans he had viewed. He didn’t know what made him do it but he moved to the left of the two and leaned an arm out against the building. He estimated he was forty yards from them and saw the Master start lowering Gresha to its chest. Dat turned off the Dark Matter Field and said, “Hey, Blacky!” The Master’s body whipped around while the arms holding Gresha remained in place. Dat said, “Yeah, you.”

The Master’s three eyes all focused on Dat, “You dare speak to me.”

“I don’t know any other way to get your attention. I’ve often wondered if you were all that and now I think I know you aren’t.”

Gresha could barely breathe but felt the powerful arm around her neck slacken just a little. She saw the young male leaning against the building and was just as shocked as the Master at what she saw.

Dat smiled, “You’re big and bad but you’re really not as bad as you think you are. You have to sneak up on those you kill. That’s the only way you can capture them. If anyone sees you coming, you couldn’t catch them.”

The Master’s eyes grew brighter and its body began a slight bobbing motion. “Do you wish to die that much?”

“Well, I guess if you called in the others to help you, I probably would but I don’t think you could do it alone. You’re just not fast enough to catch me.”

The Master forcibly threw Gresha aside and she slammed against her front door. Her father opened it and dragged her inside. Gresha struggled to her feet fighting the pain of hitting the door and put her ear to the door and listened. She had never seen that young man and he had just saved her life. Why would he do it? Her father stood over her and also listened in. Her mother huddled in the corner.

Dat watched the huge Master start bobbing faster and suddenly it issued a scream that permeated the entire community. Suddenly, Masters began running in and one of them approached Dat from behind. The large Master shouted, “Do not touch that one! That one is mine!”

The Master moved around Dat and joined the twenty Masters surrounding the obvious leader. The Master squealed to the others and all of them began bobbing up and down. They were obviously excited at what the leader had told them. The large black creature turned back to Dat and Dat said, “Do you honestly think they will stay out of this? If it even looks like I might escape, they’ll interfere.”

The Master’s head turned and it said in the inhabitant’s language, “If any of you interfere in any way with my pursuit of this meal, I will kill you myself.” The large Master looked at the others and they stopped bobbing when they were in his view. As soon as it turned back to Dat they started bobbing again. It was easy to see they were barely able to contain their excitement.

The Master looked at Dat, “If you are easily caught, I am going to kill you slowly. If you manage to make this worth my time, I’ll kill you quickly with no pain.”

Dat took his arm off the wall and turned sideways to the large black creature. One of those beside the Master raised one of its black arms and suddenly lowered it. Dat turned and sprinted down the street. One of the Master’s arms extended at an incredible rate. Three arms on the Masters body disappeared into its body and added their length to the one arm moving at Dat. Dat turned the corner and heard the arm hit the far wall of a residence. He sprinted up the avenue and activated the scanner function in his left ring. He saw in his mind the Master pull the arm back in and move up the street at a speed that was faster than Dat thought possible. It made the turn at the end of the block without slowing down and Dat knew that this was a chase for his life. If the Master had not extended his arm and had started immediately running he might have been close enough to grab him. But Dat was at full speed and he opened a gap between them as he ran up between the buildings lining the street. The squeals of the Masters rang out in the night and the inhabitants hiding in their homes wondered what was going on.

Dat saw in the overhead view of the community that he was rapidly approaching a dead end. He saw two streets moving in opposite directions and he decided to take the left one. A hundred yards ahead on that street was another street branching off that was not a ninety degree turn but a curved path. He turned right and looked over his shoulder and saw the Master had closed the gap. Boy it could turn fast! He sprinted and one of the Master’s arms shot forward and pulled a piece of his shirt away. Dat began opening the gap again as he bore into the curve and sprinted out into the next street. He forced himself to slow down slightly or he was going to be out of breath quickly. He maintained a smooth gait and saw the Master was not gaining on him. However, the next turn was going to be a real problem. He examined the overhead view and saw that just around the corner of one street on the left was a large pile of boxes. He knew the Master would make the turn without swerving and he sprinted left and added as much speed as possible. He heard the Master hit the boxes and he immediately turned up a small alley on the right. He sprinted up to the end of the alley, stopped, bent over, and tried to catch his breath. He watched the overhead and didn’t see the Master. He moved out of the alley into the middle of the street and waited for it to appear. Suddenly another Master standing close by started squealing. Dat looked at the squealing Master as four of the pursuing Master’s arms wrapped him up. Dat wasn’t lifted off the ground and no arm was put around his neck. The Huge Master turned to the Master that squealed and slammed two of his arms into its head which immediately splattered. “I SAID NO INTERFERENCE! I could have found him without your help. The Master put Dat on the ground and said, “You may move to the end of this street and we’ll start again.”

Dat saw the large Master was barely able to control his bobbing. It looked like a giant spider bouncing up and down on eight of its ten arms. Dat turned and walked to the end of the street gathering his strength. He turned and bowed. The Master looked at one of the others and it raised one of its arms and after a moment dropped it. Dat turned and ran.

The chase was now at twenty minutes and Dat knew he wasn’t going to last much longer. He pulled up the coordinates of Gresha’s home and saw it was a quarter of a mile away. He made three turns and each time the Master gained ground. The squeals were deafening but as he made one last turn he yelled, “OPEN THE DOOR!” He sprinted ahead and just as he arrived the door flew open and he dove into the entrance as the door slammed behind him. The Master had closed in and was moving at full speed when it hit the door and crashed it out of the opening and into the room. It pushed Gresha on top of him with the door landing on top of both of them.

Dat rolled over and saw the Huge Master standing in the doorway. The Other Masters had joined it and were surrounding the opening. Gresha’s father stood at the back of the room holding his wife and they all knew they were moments from death. Suddenly the Master started bobbing and shaking. Soon the others joined him and all of them looked like they were standing during an earthquake.

“You think I’m going to coming in and feed on you.”

Dat looked at Gresha seeing her fear and turned back to the Master, “It is what you do.”

“Ordinarily, I would do just that but you have earned another day. I haven’t enjoyed myself this much in more rotations than I can remember. We will do this again after I prepare myself for another chase. Three nights after the full moon I will return and we’ll try this again.”

Dat shook his head, “You really don’t need to do that. I was incredibly stupid. You are much more than I ever thought and only luck allowed me to survive. I admit that you are the most deadly of all creatures.”

“I’ll consider that when I catch you but you will run again.”

Dat thought furiously and said, “If I escape, will that be our last run?”

The creature stared at Dat and began bobbing, “You know just how to make it entertaining. Yes, and I’ll not allow any of those on my ship to harm you if you survive as long as we are here. I’ll even tell you when we leave. Of course my replacement will not honor any of my agreements.”

Dat stared at the Master, “You really don’t expect me to escape?”

“I’ve never had to run like this. It’s something I need to work on. However, no, you will not escape again.”

Gresha’s father said, “Will we be allowed to witness this event?”

The Master squealed his laughter, “Of course. I want you to see my victory. You may do it from the roofs. They will be off limits to us during this event. No one will be harmed that one night.” The Masters turned and walked away all of them bobbing their excitement. Their hoots and squeals could be heard all the way up to the moment they boarded their shuttle and closed the port.

Chapter Six

Gresha’s father lifted the door off them and Gresha rolled over, sat up on her knees, and slapped Dat so hard that his head spun. “What was that for?”

“We could have both died! Never risk your life to save another from a Master!” Dat rubbed his cheek and Gresha wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. Dat stared at her and she said, “That’s for saving my life.”

Dat looked at her father with a stunned expression and he shrugged, “Don’t try to understand. I gave up years ago.” He extended his hand and helped Dat stand up. Dat’s legs cramped and he was helped to a chair. Dat was rubbing his calf muscles and Gresha knelt down and began massaging them. The huge man said, “My name is Grest. I suppose you know my daughter, Gresha. This is my wife, Kyley; now who the heck are you?”

Dat sighed and tried to decide what to do. “Give me a moment.” Dat linked to his ship, “I thought you were going to seek authorization to save me?”

“No one could make up their minds so your orders stood. They’re still arguing about it.”

“Tell them I survived.”

“I did, now they’re fussing about not making a decision quickly enough.”

Dat shook his head as the three watched him. He decided to open the conversation where the others could hear it, “Stein, how did that shuttle get here without being seen?”

The three in the room looked at each other wondering who he was talking to. They sat down when they heard, “It jumped in just above atmosphere and that was the first time we detected it.”

“I guess the jump track was too small.”

“It was.”

“Stand by and we’ll discuss what to do next.”

“There won’t be much discussion. Fleet has decided to pull you out now.”

“And if that causes this planet to be burned?”

There was a long pause and then they heard, “Hang on. I’ll find out.”

Gresha continued rubbing his legs and stared at Dat, “What did you just do?”

“I spoke with my ship.”

“Are you talking about a spaceship?”

“I am.”

Gresh shook his head, “You’re not from this planet?”

“No, I’m actually not from this galaxy.”

Gresha put her hand to her mouth and said, “I kissed an alien?”

Dat shook his head, “It wasn’t that bad.”

Gresha smiled, “No, it wasn’t.”

Gresh blew out a breath, “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve decided to be open and honest with you but you must agree that whatever I tell you stays with just you and will not be repeated to anyone else.”

Kyley said, “The Elders will have questions.”

Gresha shook her head, “This doesn’t concern them. Tell us what’s you’re doing here.”

Dat looked at Kyley and then turned back to Gresh, “My galaxy was invaded more than a thousand years ago and the war was brutal. Trillions died before it ended. My home world was destroyed and more planets died in the ensuing war. We eventually prevailed and we swore to never be caught by surprise again. I am what’s called a Rover and those like me go out in the universe seeing if there are other species exist that could be a danger to my species. I found this galaxy and discovered what you call the Masters. They are making preparations to expand out of this galaxy. I’m here attempting to determine if they could be a danger to my people. Your species has the same physical appearance as mine and I landed to see what I could learn.”

“If that’s true, the last thing you would want to do is reveal yourself. You made a mistake saving Gresha.”

“FATHER!”

“I’m really thankful he did but it doesn’t make sense.”

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have gotten involved but I’ve come to know Gresha during my time here and something just wouldn’t allow me to see her die if I could stop it.”

“When have you been watching me? I’ve not seen you. I’ve never seen you.”

Dat stared at her for a moment and activated the Dark Matter Field. He disappeared and Gresha let out a small scream. He turned it off and said, “I can avoid being seen.”

If the three had any doubts about Dat being an alien, the demonstration removed them. “What have you learned?”

Dat turned to Gresh, “The Masters are genetically bound to be predators. They cannot stop themselves from seeking out and killing other species.”

“Does that mean you’re going to attack them?”

“I don’t see any other way to prevent their spreading out into the universe.”

“Then you need to leave.”

Gresha looked at her father and said, “If he does, we’ll all die.”

“The price would be worth it to remove this scourge.”

“Dat.”

“Yes, Stein.”

“Fleet says you will decide on what to do. They don’t think you’ll be as effective if you have the death of billions on your conscience. I tend to agree with them.”

Dat slowly nodded and looked at Gresha and then Gresh, “Then I am going to have to outrun that Master again.”

Kyley walked over and looked at Dat, “How close was it this time?”

“He would have had me in another ten feet.”

“Then you need to leave and burn these devils out of existence. I hate this life of fear I’m forced to bear. I’m sick of seeing those I love eaten by those monsters.”

Gresh and Gresha looked at her and saw the first spark of life in her eyes for a very long time. Dat looked at Kyley, “First, I run.”

Kyley sighed and turned to Gresh, “How do we explain him to the Elders?”

Gresha tilted her head, “Don’t we have relatives in Dismal?”

Gresh looked at Gresha and thought for a moment, “Alright, this is how we’ll do it. You made the trip overland from Dismal. You didn’t care if you lived or died because your entire family was taken by the Masters. You came here to find your relatives and arrived with the Masters. You saw Gresha being held and you decided that you didn’t care if you lived or died so you took that risk.”

“What if they question him about Dismal?”

The three turned back to Kyley and Dat said, “I’ll tell them I don’t remember anything other than my family’s screams. I’ll even insist I don’t remember what happened tonight.”

The three looked at each other and Gresh put his lips together and slowly nodded, “This might just work.”

Gresha said, “Just stay with me and act stupid.”

Gresh rolled his eyes, “You have seven days until the full moon. The Masters will return three days later. You don’t have long to prepare.”

Dat shook his head, tried to stand up, and fell to the floor. Gresh lifted him with one hand by the back of his shirt and carried him to a bed. Dat fell asleep with the three talking about what had happened.

• • •

Dat awoke the next morning and found all of his clothes had been washed, folded, and put on a chair next to the bed. He wondered how he had been undressed. He looked around and quickly dressed. He went out into the main room and found Gresha filling a plate with food, “You were really tired.”

Dat smiled, “Yes, I guess I was.”

“The Elders want to speak with you as soon as you finish eating.”

“Is that good?”

“Act stupid and I’ll interpret.”

Dat stared at her, “Uhhh…what does stupid look like.”

“Just act like you don’t know what’s going on.”

“That should be easy because I don’t.”

“There ya go.”

Dat finished eating and Kyley came over and cleared the table. Gresha took his hand and led him out the door. The sun hit him in the eyes and he was shocked to see the entire community standing outside. His shocked expression was exactly what Gresha hoped for and she said, “Now you’re scaring him. Back off and show some respect.”

The crowd moved back, leaving the Elders at the front. “What do you think you were doing last night?”

Dat looked at the lead Elder and said, “I didn’t think.” After a pause he said, “I think.”

The Elders saw his vacuous expression and sighed. The Leader said, “Why did you challenge the Master?” Dat said nothing but looked at Gresha. He continued to stare at her and they understood. He did it for Gresha. There were four more questions that obviously confused him, or it appeared they did as he looked at Gresha each time one was asked. The crowd finally broke up and moved away. Gresha took Dat by the arm and led him to the market. Dat noticed the farmer was not at his table as they walked down the hill. He looked at Gresha and she smiled, “It appears that whatever hit the farmer in the head resulted in his failure to get inside in time.” Dat furrowed his brow and knew that she knew he had been the one to hit the farmer. She nodded her head at the new male at the table, “This one’s family has been given the farmer’s fields. The Farmer’s son has been sent out into the wilderness. There were many who saw him tell his father the Masters were here. Their residence is now empty.”

“Then I should move into it.”

Gresha turned her head quickly, “Why would you want to do that?”

“I know the community’s standards. You are a single female and you should not share quarters with a single male.”

“My, you have been busy. However, we’re relatives so it’s really not an issue.”

Dat stared at her, “And just how close a relative am I?”

Gresha looked away and said, “One of the Elders knew our relatives in Dismal. He’s determined that we are first cousins.”

Dat stared at her and shook his head, “Come on, Gresha. I know of ten couples that are second cousins.”

Gresha sighed and said, “Yes but you need assistance. Besides, you and I both know we’re not the same species.” Dat snickered. Gresha stopped and looked at him, “What’s so funny?”

“Our differences are not of a nature that would prevent us from developing an unhealthy attraction. You look exactly like a human female and though I know you’re not, that is what I see when I look at you. Knowing you’re different internally doesn’t stop me from seeing a beautiful female.”

“Oh, you think I’m pretty?”

“No, I think you’re beautiful and I want you to request the Elders to allow me to move into that residence.”

“You’re serious?”

“I am.”

Gresha started showing her anger and said, “Have it your way. The Elders have already suggested you be moved there. It appears they agree with you.” Dat nodded and she said, “But only because they don’t know we’re different species. If they did they would be ok with it.”

Dat lowered his eyebrows and looked through them at her, “Kinda like keeping a pet.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, they don’t know.” Dat started walking toward the house and Gresha ran after him, “I’ll not fight you on this but I insist that I cook your meals.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“It’s the only way I can find balance for what you did for me.” Dat stopped and looked in her eyes. She was serious. She said, “You don’t know anything about how to prepare our foods and don’t tell me you took time to learn. You didn’t intend to stay here long.”

Dat shook his head, “I have been living on berries.”

“Those aren’t berries; they’re eggs.”

“Of what?”

“One of the flying insects; they’ll help your digestion.”

“I wondered what was causing that.”

Gresha laughed out loud and shook her head, “I’ll come down this afternoon and cook.”

Dat took a deep breath and sighed, “Ok. I’ll see you later.” Dat walked away and Gresha stared at him. He was really nice to look at as well. Then she shivered; but he’s an alien. She watched him disappear into the house and sighed. He was probably right. They shouldn’t share a residence.

• • •

Dat went inside and hit the communicator, “Stein, how am I going to outrun that demon?”

“You should have thought about that before you developed itchy feet.”

“Not now, Stein.”

“Jon has intercepted some of the enemy’s communications and they say they are unable to detect dark matter. If that’s true, you can use the rings to help.”

“How?”

“Your issues are running fast enough and not tiring out, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“What tires you is the weight you’re carrying when you run. You can adjust the dark field and have it cover the bottom of your shoes. Make it propel you forward when the bottom comes off the ground. If you set the repulsion at the right level, you should be able to run faster and even make faster turns. If you overdo it, they will know you’re using something technological.”

Dat thought about the idea and decided that he would start training that night. When Gresha came and fed him she was shocked at the idea of him being out at night, “Are you crazy?”

“He said they won’t be back for ten days.”

“And you trust them?”

“He could have killed us at your home but didn’t. If I’m going to have to outrun him, I need to practice in the dark and learn my way around this community.”

Gresha stared at him, shaking her head, “You’re probably right. That black curse was almost falling in love with you after the run.”

Dat nodded, “He was excited.”

“Well I don’t recommend giving it a hug.”

“I’ll do all I can to heed your wisdom.”

“Walk me home?”

“Sure.” Dat opened the door for Gresha and she was impressed.

“I could have opened it.”

“We open doors for females in my society as a form of respect.”

“Well thank you.”

Dat walked up the long hill with Gresha and somehow, it didn’t seem very long at all.

• • •

Dat set the dark matter field to the bottom of his shoes and then set the repulsive force. He took one step and flew nearly forty feet forward. It was a good thing it was dark. No one was out to see it so he dialed the force back. He ran six steps and didn’t really feel a difference in his normal speed. He moved it up slightly and suddenly he was really flying. He set the angle so the repulsion was horizontal to the ground. He again had to dial it back but found the force needed to increase his speed. He spend the next week working on the range of force he could use and not give away he was being helped.

He was amazed that his endurance increased remarkably. It was like running weightless. The effort required was ridiculously low. He began running for hours at various speeds and he learned all the streets and alleys that connected the community. He wondered how much faster the Master was going to be this time.

“Dat.”

“Yes, Loree.”

“I’ve been thinking about the recording you sent me.”

“And?”

“I think those black creatures are addicted to pursuing prey.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“I don’t believe it will let this next run be the last if you survive. I don’t think it could walk away from it.”

Dat stopped running and thought about Loree’s observation. The Masters had literally bounced back to their shuttle. She was probably right. “What can I do?”

“You either have to plan to be running the rest of your life or die.”

“Let me think about that.”

“I just wanted to tell you what I see.”

“Thanks, Loree.” Dat thought about what he could do to escape from the box he found himself trapped in. He didn’t sleep much that night.

• • •

Leigh Ann looked at Admiral Hull and said, “We have placed far too many eggs in one basket.”

Kat nodded, “Perhaps this is a wake-up call.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Send the wing the helmets.”

“Do you really think we should do that?”

“We need to see if they work as well for others. That wing is separated from the rest of the fleet and if it fails, no one will know.”

Leigh Ann stared at Kat and finally said, “You know Jill is there.”

Kat hesitated and said, “I do.”

Leigh Ann stared at Kat and thought about Jill’s drive to exceed her achievements. She would be given an opportunity to do so, “Get Captain Anders on the channel.”

Kat didn’t expect that response. Her suggestion to send the helmets was made knowing the President wouldn’t agree and would order Arvolo out but it was too late to prevent what was about to happen.

• • •

Jon met the shuttle in deep space with the other nine Rovers and each of them was delivered a small box. Jon just didn’t know about this technology. He worried that he didn’t have the necessary talents to make it work. Jon looked at the nine Rovers on his display and said, “Open the boxes you’ve been given.”

Jill broke the seal on the box marked Prime Security and pulled out a helmet with a coiled electrical cable. What is this, she wondered. She looked at Jon on her display and he said, “Put the helmets on and you’ll notice a hole immediately under the right arm of your command chairs; plug the cable in that receptacle.” She noticed that receptacle years earlier and never learned what it was for. Now, she knew. Jon said, “I am activating the command circuit and you should be immediately linked to your computers. Activate your links, now.”

Jill pressed the tactical button on her panel and suddenly the universe exploded in her mind. She saw space from the view of her ship. She and the ship became one being. She also felt the connection with the other nine ships. It was an incredible experience. Jon said, “I am going to bring up the formation of the two hundred enemy ships that attacked Captain Arvolo and start an attack in our system. The attack computer will make the enemy’s reactions real and you will fight together as a unit.”

Jill saw the tactical plan and stared at the enemy formation. She said, “Captain, before we do this…”

“Yes, Lieutenant.”

“If you spit us into two groups and come at the formation from each end, it will put more ships in our line of fire. We can join in the center and roll through their formation together.”

Jon put the suggestion into his system and saw she was right. He hadn’t seen it. He was ordered to take the wing and take on a superior enemy force and he now saw that he wasn’t up to the task. He knew this was no place for an ego in what was coming. He said, “Lt. Connor, the command control has been moved to your ship. You will direct our movements and all ships will follow your lead.”

“Captain, I don’t know that I’m the one to do this.”

“Well, you’ve just proven to me that you’re better equipped to do it than I am. I am not going to place our lives in jeopardy because of my ego. We have been ordered to attack a superior enemy force and we need to be at our best and I believe you see things I miss. You will direct our wing during combat, Lieutenant.”

Jill stared at the other ships gathered around her and felt a sudden weight on her chest. She had never commanded more than one ship. Rovers always fought alone. She took a deep breath and fought giving in to panic. She thought about why she left Dat years ago and remembered that it was because she wanted to be in command. It wasn’t what she dreamed it would be. “Yes Sir, I’ll do my best.”

“You should study the groups of enemy ships we’ve been able to scan and try to see if you can find any patterns they follow. We will do the same and will share our findings with you if we see any. However, tomorrow we are going to launch another Connor Probe and attack any ship that comes to destroy it.”

Jill fought her panic again.

Chapter Seven

Gresh sat beside Dat on the waist high wall at the edge of the community. They sat in silence and watched the farmers toiling in the fields that extended out from the community. Gresh blew out a breath and turned to Dat, “Tomorrow night.”

“I know.”

“Are you ready?”

“I’m as ready as I can be. We’ll see what happens.”

“I want you to know that if you choose to use your technology to escape, I wouldn’t blame you.”

“You world being in jeopardy is my fault. If I escape, I don’t believe I could live with myself. I’ve got to do this.”

“Do you think your people will be able to defeat the Masters?”

Dat shook his head slowly, “I don’t know. We really don’t have a technology advantage but neither do they. They do outnumber us…I just don’t know. I feel that their numbers will be greatly reduced if we go to war with them.”

“If that’s all we can get, that’s more than we have. Fewer would die in their embrace.”

Dat looked at Gresh and then out at the fields, “Let’s just take this one day at a time; or in my case, one moment at a time.”

Gresh nodded, “You don’t have long.”

“I wish you hadn’t said that.”

“You know what I mean.”

“I know.”

Gresh turned around and saw Gresha approaching, “She’s really worried about you.”

Dat snorted, “I’m worried about me.”

“Yeah, but this could really hurt her if something happened to you. You saved her life…twice.” Dat turned and lowered his head and then looked Gresh in the eyes through his eyebrows. Gresh said, “You won’t be around to feel sorry. She will. She has developed an attachment to you.”

“I do wish you didn’t talk like that. I’ll try to keep it in mind when that monster is chasing me.” Dat turned around and saw Gresha moving toward the wall, “She’s the reason I did this. The community really loves her.”

Gresh smiled and moved his head slightly to the right and back, “She’s like that, Dat. Good luck.”

Dat nodded at Gresh who stood and walked out into the fields. Dat saw one of the farmers had broken a shovel on something underground and Gresh went to take the shovel for repair. Gresha came over and sat beside Dat on the wall. She didn’t say anything but just looked out into the fields with him. Gresha continued to stare out into the fields and said, “I think I agree with my father. If you can escape, you should do it.”

Dat looked at her, “You know what would happen if I did.”

“The Masters would end our never ending nightmare. This isn’t living. We’re nothing more than livestock to them; it might be a blessing. I don’t want you to die.”

Dat shook his head and looked at Gresha, “This existence created you. It can’t be as bad as you think.” He turned back to the fields and thought about the next day. Dat watched the shadows begin moving out into the fields and the people started moving back inside the walls. Sundown was not far away. Gresha reached over and put her hand on Dat’s. He continued to stare at the fields but he turned his hand over and held her hand gently in his own. Dat said, “You need to be starting home.”

“I’m staying with you tonight.” Dat looked at her and saw something in her eyes that was different. “Don’t even think about saying no.”

Dat looked in her eyes, “Gresha, I don’t have enough will power to resist you.”

Gresha nodded and took his hand as they walked to his house. The night seemed to be the shortest he had ever experienced.

• • •

The next morning Gresha walked home and Dat had difficulty watching her leave. “Dat.”

“Yes Stein.”

“There’s a problem.”

Dat’s attention was ripped away from Gresha. Whenever Stein said there was a problem, there was something of biblical proportions about to happen, “What?”

“Fleet has decided that they have made a mistake putting all their hope in you. Your close call with death has convinced them that they have to trial the new command system with others.”

“What others?”

“Captain Ander’s and his wing have taken possession of the command helmets and are planning an attack on a superior enemy force.”

“They can’t do that! They need time to acclimate themselves to the system.”

“It gets worse.”

“How could it get worse?”

“Captain Anders discovered during the first simulation they ran that he was not up to the task. Jill made better command decisions than he did. He turned the command system over to her. She will be commanding the operation.”

“How could her mother allow this to happen? She knows how difficult the system is to operate.”

“It appears she doesn’t have the motherly instinct one would expect.”

“Can you get fleet to delay the attack two days?”

“They won’t delay it even if you could make it back. They need to see if another can use it. We have been ordered not to participate.”

Dat went inside and said, “Get Jill on the communicator and patch it in to me.”

Dat waited a moment and then he heard, “Oh Dat, I’m so frightened.”

“Calm down, Jillian. Tell me what you’ve learned about the system.”

“The view is unbelievable. I can see everything in minute detail. It’s overwhelming.”

“That is what will get you killed. Stein, is my helmet still connected?”

“It is.”

“Jillian, activate your helmet and Stein I want you to transfer the protocols I used during fleet maneuvers.”

“Dat, that is beyond Prime Secrecy.”

“Stein…”

“Alright, alright, I’ll do it.”

Jill watched as the download arrived and began making its way through her system. “I have it.”

“Pull up one of the simulations and tell me what you see.”

Jill activated the last simulation that had given her so much trouble and said, “All I see are large energy balls with bright dots on them.”

“Those balls are ships and the dots are their weapons. Tell me what you would do.”

“I’d never approach them from the sides. That’s where their weapons are oriented.”

“Good, now put the simulation in motion and tell me what you would do.”

Jill watched the ships moving through space and saw a line over the top of them that didn’t have any dots below it. She said, “There is a line where no weapons are pointed.”

“And that is what you are going to have to find before you skip in. All the ships will be linked to your ship and you are going to have to find those lines and skip into them and then out. Fire as you pass and look for another line as you come around.” Dat paused, “It’s not that easy. Most would never see those lines. You obviously do so you do possess a natural talent at using the system. Don’t rush, take your time and find the lines. You can do this. Take the time you have remaining and go through as many simulations as possible. You’ll teach yourself to find them.”

Dat, I’m so sorry for what happened between us…”

“Now’s not the time Jillian; you need to focus.”

“My name is Loree and I’m still wearing your locket. It never leaves my body.”

The connection ended and Dat was shocked. He didn’t know what to think. He tried to remember Loree’s face the night she left him but all he saw was Gresha’s sad eyes. He knew he should leave, damn fleet’s orders, and take command of the wing but he just couldn’t force himself to do it. He put his head in his hands and shook it. He made contact with the ring on his right hand and set the coordinates for it to activate. He prayed the Wing would survive. Then he prayed for his survival.

• • •

Jill collected herself and pulled up a simulation and started it running. She found a line immediately. She had her ships skip in and fire and then skip away. She continued to watch the ships maneuver after her attack and saw another line appear. By the end of the simulation, all the enemy ships had been destroyed. She pulled up another one and increased the speed of the playback. By the tenth simulation she was shocked at how easy it was to see the patterns. She leaned back and knew that simulations were only that, a simulation and didn’t match up with real space battles. But she was gaining confidence in the system and felt her fear start to diminish. Dat had given her hope. She now wished she hadn’t said anything. She sighed and knew she couldn’t stop herself.

Jon Anders appeared on her display, “How’s it coming, Lieutenant?”

“I want you and the others to link in with me and go through three simulations. I need to get a feel for directing other ships in the system.”

“We’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

The Wing went into the simulation and all of them were shocked at the difference in Jill’s control. At the end of the third simulation the Wing was ready to follow her lead. After the others dropped off the channel Jon asked, “What happened?”

Jill slowly shook her head, “I really don’t want to say, Sir.”

“I need to know, Lieutenant. My Wing’s survival is being placed in your hands. Now what changed?”

“Dat contacted me and downloaded some protocols he had developed. He took some time to show me how they functioned. It really helped a lot.”

Jon stared at her, “You know that information is a Prime Secret?” Jill nodded. “Let’s just keep that between us.”

“He did it to help us survive, sir.”

“I know; but sometimes doing the right thing doesn’t matter. Let’s just say you are very talented and leave it at that.”

“Yes Sir. If Fleet finds out you knew about this and didn’t report it…”

“I know. Let me worry about that. My primary responsibility is to those under my command. Don’t let me down, Jill.”

Jill stared at Jon and nodded. It was the first time he had called her by her name instead of her rank. Her respect for him grew because of his disregard of personal consequences. She knew that she could trust Jon to do the right thing. That trust is critical with warriors.

She turned back to the most difficult simulation and started her attack. She began seeing individual ships with lines moving across them and she targeted a single ship on them. She found holes in the enemy ship’s formations that allowed her to skip in and kill ships. After an hour she learned an important lesson. In fleet combat, rushing in was tantamount to suicide. Never go in without a clear objective and target and never get greedy.

• • •

The sun was dropping quickly and Dat knew the Masters would be arriving shortly. He looked over his shoulder and saw the lengthening shadows. He was amazed at how quickly it grew dark after the sun disappeared below the horizon. “You need to come inside.”

Dat looked over his shoulder and saw Gresha standing in the doorway, “No, you should close the door. I’m going to need you if I can survive this.”

“I don’t want to leave you, Dat.”

“The Master said that only those on the roof would be safe. I need you at the door.”

“Here they come!”

Both of them looked up at the one that yelled and then looked out at the field. A cloud of Master shuttles was moving slowly toward the planet. “It looks like the Master has brought an audience with him.”

Gresha said, “If the only safe place is on the roof, you’re in danger staying out here.”

Dat laughed and shook his head, ““Do you think for a moment that the Master would deprive himself of the victory by killing me before he has an opportunity to run me down. No, I’ll just sit here and wait. Now get inside and close the door, Gresha!” Gresha rushed out and put her arms around Dat’s neck and kissed him. She moved back and went inside her home and closed the door. Dat looked out at the field in the gathering darkness and saw the shuttles had landed. He saw thousands of Masters gathering into a large group with one that looked larger than the others in front of the gathering. That must be him giving orders to the attendees.

Dat lifted his shoes and saw the slight disturbance just under the heels. When they were on the ground, the disturbance wasn’t visible. He looked up and saw the Masters moving out of the field. He felt fear but refused to give into it. He remained seated in the chair that was just outside Gresha’s door. The hoots and squeals were getting louder and Dat knew his run was moments away. When the Masters arrived and he saw his pursuer, Dat’s fear emerged full force.

“You show remarkable bravery waiting for me in the open.”

Dat gathered his senses. The Master in front of him was twice the size of the one that had chased him. Dat shook his head and forced himself to focus, “You’ve proven that you will honor your agreements. I just assumed you wouldn’t kill me and end our little event before it started. Are you the one that chased me?”

The Master squealed his laughter and rotated his body around his legs and head, “Yes, it’s me. How do you like the results of my training?”

“This happened from training? I’m absolutely astounded.”

The crowd of Masters hooted. The noise was deafening. The Master turned and looked at the large gathering, “Didn’t I tell you he was remarkably refreshing. What audacity.” The Masters’ laughter rang out and echoed in the community.

The giant Master turned back and said, “Even though I’m going to kill you, I must thank you for my new found strength. We live in starships and we’ve gotten soft and lazy. The training has made a huge difference in me.”

“I really preferred you soft and lazy, personally.”

The Masters heard Dat’s comment and Dat was sure some of them were going laugh themselves unconscious. Even the Giant was doubled over with his laughter. Finally they managed to gather themselves and the Pursuer said, “I am really going to hate losing you. You are so entertaining.”

Dat looked at the thousands of Masters and said, “How are we going to do this with so many in our way?”

“They’ve been told the rules. They will attach themselves to the walls above our height and will only observe our run. They will be allowed to cheer or howl but no one may offer information to either of us.”

“Drat, I was just learning to understand your hoots.”

The Master stared at Dat for a quick moment and then collapsed to the ground laughing. “I can’t take this.”

Dat looked around and saw hundreds of other Masters rolling on the ground in laughter. Dat shook his head. It wasn’t that funny.

After what seemed like a long time the Master stood and said, “It’s time for us to begin.”

Dat looked at him and said, “May I assume you are somewhat faster than you were last time?”

The Master’s head rolled completely around his body and he said, “You may.”

“Does that mean I get a larger head start?”

The Master tried to control himself and Dat saw the others in the crowd also fighting it, but one of the Masters let out a small squeal of laughter and the entire mob burst out laughing. Dat waited and though he didn’t want to, he laughed as well.

The Master finally said, “Last time you were halfway down this street when we started our little get together. I’ll allow you to go to the end of the street. I’m giving you a reward for entertaining my guests.”

Dat stood up, “I think it’s only fair to tell you that I have been training as well and I’m considerably faster than I was.”

The huge Master looked Dat up and down and said, “You don’t look any different.”

“My legs are a lot bigger.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

“I see no difference.”

“Well, everyone here tells me they’re bigger.”

The Master leaned forward, put an arm around Dat’s shoulders, and quietly said, “They don’t want to make you feel bad.”

Dat looked up at the Master’s eyes and said, “That’s not nice.”

The Master rolled his head down his body until it was next to Dat’s, “No, it isn’t. It causes unrealistic expectations.”

Dat shook his head in obvious disappointment, “But they really tell me I’m faster.”

The Master rolled his head back up to the top of his body and actually looked sorry for Dat. If this weren’t a run for his life Dat might have liked the nightmare standing next to him. The Master looked at the gathered Masters and said, “Find your places and remember, everyone on the roof is not to be harmed.” The entire mob rushed to the end of the street and started climbing the walls.

Dat looked at the Master and said, “It appears they don’t expect me to make it very far. They all went to the first street.”

The Master rolled his head from side to side and said, “They’ve watched me train.” The Master extended an arm and pointed toward the end of the street. One Master stood beside the giant and Dat knew he would signal the start of the race. Dat walked slowly down the street and all the people on the roofs remained silent. They expected this to end badly. Dat was really worried that it would. He activated the overhead view and saw thousands of Masters on the walls of the street ahead of him. If this creature that was now twice as big was twice as fast, this could be over quickly. Dat arrived at the end of the street and turned and looked back at the huge black being. The Master beside the giant raised his arm and quickly dropped it.

Chapter Eight

Jon activated the Wing’s frequency, “The Connor Probe will be activating its fields in a few moments. I’m turning command over to Lt. Conner during this mission and you will follow her directives. Lt. Connor, do you have anything you want to say?”

“Just do what you’re sent to do. You’ll have a target and an escape route. Get in and get out. Are all of you ready?” No one said anything but she saw they were nervous. She activated the command circuit and said, “Link in.”

Jill’s mind suddenly saw the space around her through her ship’s scanners and she changed the mode to energy. Now the ships in her wing also looked like balls of energy. “Activate the probe, Captain.”

Jill watched the feed from a scanner being fed to her board and knew trouble was coming. The Connor Probe began extending its fields and she watched for enemy ships to arrive. She only had to wait three minutes. Fifty huge ships emerged into normal space and one of them hit the probe with a massive beam. It exploded in a bright explosion and the fifty ships gathered around the site of the probe’s destruction. Jill stared at the fifty ships and searched for a line of attack. “Lieutenant?”

“Standby!” The other nine Rovers wondered what she was doing. Suddenly, Jill saw a line under the ships that didn’t have any bright dots on it. She immediately sent attack routes to the other Rovers and hit her skip drive.

• • •

The black creature commanding the fifty ships stared at his monitor and looked at his scanner controller, “Perhaps we shouldn’t fire on emergence in normal space in the future. There’s nothing left to examine. I think we don’t need to see if we can damage whatever is sending those fields out so we can determine what it is. So far none of our ships have been damaged attacking whatever is generating those fields.”

“One of our ships was destroyed after it destroyed one of those things.”

“Yes, but the field generator didn’t do it.”

“Perhaps you’re…”

The Ship Controller never finished his sentence. A small white ship appeared under his vessel and fired a beam from point blank range into the bottom hull and the entire center of the giant ship disappeared. The conduits running through the ship were severed and the coolant for the reactors was released. The reactors were at full power in combat mode and they immediately went critical. The remaining pieces of the ship blew up in a massive explosion. Nine more ships blew up a moment later.

• • •

Jill watched the forty ships turn on the escape track and she skipped the Wing around the formations and lined them up for an attack from the rear. She waited and then saw another line. She sent the attack tracks and skipped back in.

Jack said, “We have more enemy ships arriving.”

Jill focused on her attack profile but saw a hundred more ships arrive. She hit another huge ship and skipped away. She saw three Rovers turn to hit a second ship and she screamed, “DON’T DO IT!!!”

She watched her faceplate and saw all three Rovers hit by more than thirty brilliant beams each and explode into massive blasts. Those blasts took out another enemy vessel but more were arriving every second. She felt her rage as she skipped the survivors out to the side of the giant formation, “You will only attack what you’re given in your profiles. If you want to die, go after another ship before you run!!” Jill was feeling rage and sorrow in equal measure for the loss of Tim, Loran, and Traci. “Captain, if the wing is going to showboat and not follow their directives, we need to stop this now!”

Jon had almost made the same mistake. He knew he could have hit the ship beside his target but had stopped himself at the last moment. “If anyone does anything not in their attack profile, you will be court-martialed for disobeying direct orders. Is that clear!?!” The five Rovers acknowledged the order. “Jill, are we still operational? There are more than five hundred enemy ships…make that six hundred.”

“I will assign each of you a track and a target. If you follow it you will not be where your target vessel can fire on you. Hit it and skip out. We’re going to start taking them on one by one.” Jill stared at the huge fleet giving chase to their ships and began seeing individual ships that could be hit. However, ships close by would be able to fire on the Rovers. She waited and began sending Rovers in one at a time. Enemy ships began exploding around the perimeter of the giant fleet. She saw Thomas’s ship explode when he attempted to fire two beams.

“Just one beam and skip! Two beams will get you killed!” Jill was lost in the system. She sent targets without thinking and attacked without focusing on the ships around her. She saw a line and the six Rovers flew in together over the top of the enemy fleet and six more enemy ships exploded. The giant fleet turned on the line the six ships had taken. Jill thought it looked like a single creature as it turned on the Rovers hurting it. Jill heard Jon break through her focus, “Take us away, Lieutenant.”

Jill forced herself to stop before sending the ships back in and saw a thousand ships emerge around the other vessels. If she had activated that last track, they would have been killed. Those ships weren’t there when she saw the line. She entered the skip track and the six Rovers skipped into open space between the galaxies. She wondered how long the attacks had been going on and was shocked to learn that the Wing had attacked the enemy fleet for thirty minutes. She deactivated the command system and looked at the feed from a scanner at the attack site. More than ten thousand enemy warships were now searching for their attackers. She fell back in her chair and wept for the four Rovers that had died. Jon saw her on his display and said, “Take a few moments to collect yourself, Jill. We’ll discuss this later.” Jon shook his head. Jill had just learned the sorrow associated with leading warriors into combat; some would not survive. He hoped she had what it took to continue fighting. Jon shook his head, “Did you send a record of this to Fleet?”

“They were watching it through the microprobes.”

“Let me know if they contact us.”

“I will.”

• • •

Dat saw the Master’s arm drop and he sprinted up the street. He hoped he could add some distance before the huge Master made the turn.

The Master moved down the street to the howls and hoots from the thousands of Masters clinging to the walls ahead of him. Instantly, the thousands of Masters went silent and he wondered what had caused them to stop cheering. He made the turn and understood. The small creature had covered an unbelievable distance and it shocked him. He had not run at full speed down the street hoping to draw the run out before he killed his prey but he realized he had made a mistake. The creature was right; it was faster…a lot faster. He went to full speed as the creature made a turn at the end of the street.

The thousands of Masters were stunned at how fast the prey had run away. They looked at each other and suddenly all of them exploded off the walls to find another spot to view the chase. They spread out in the community trying to get ahead of the pursuit. They could barely restrain their excitement. This was glorious.

Dat watched the overhead and saw the huge Master accelerate at an unbelievable speed. He turned another corner and hoped it would have to pause to see which way he went. He sprinted back toward the front of the community as Masters began jumping onto nearby walls, squealing at the top of their voices. He knew that the one chasing him would hear their screams and not have to slow down. He made another turn and saw the Master had incrementally closed the distance. Damn that monster was fast.

The Master sped up the street and had lost sight of his prey. He added speed anticipating having to slow but the howls and hoots told him that the prey had taken a right at the end of the street. It should have been angry at the help but was secretly thankful for it. The prey was incredibly fast. The street was wider than the others and his turn around the corner caused him to lose some ground. He focused and picked up speed. He saw the small creature turn another corner into a smaller alleyway and smiled.

Dat saw the Master’s larger body didn’t allow him to turn as quickly as the first chase and then he saw in the overhead view that he was both right and wrong. The Master turned down the alley and extended the two arms he wasn’t using to run to brace him against the far wall. It made the turn instantly and closed the gap. The huge Master was more alive than it had ever been. It had to force itself not to bob in excitement and one bob took him. The small creature opened the gap again and it focused on restraining his enthusiasm. It smiled as it saw the creature realized that turning down the narrow alleys would be too dangerous. This was wonderful. It made another turn on a wider street and pulled one of its two arms in and extended the single arm across to the far wall. It didn’t lose much speed and it howled its excitement. Now the people on the roofs began cheering for Dat. The noise was deafening as the Masters joined their cheers with even louder voices. Everyone was lost in the life and death moment.

• • •

Jon looked at Admiral Hull and President Connor on his display as the other five Rovers listened it. “Captain, congratulations are in order. We’ve determined that your Wing destroyed 350 enemy vessels. You have performed marvelously.”

“Thank you, Admiral.”

“Your ability to learn the system in such a short time is remarkable.”

“Actually, I’m not the one that commanded the system. Jillian Connor demonstrated during our simulations that she had the best grasp on how to use it. I placed her in command of our Wing during the attack.”

Jill saw her Mother turn her head toward her on the display. I bet that surprised her.

“Lt. Connor, how were you able to grasp the system so quickly?”

Jillian was now going to be forced to reveal Dat’s involvement and she wanted to avoid that at all costs. But she didn’t want to lie. She took a breath and it came to her, “The members of our Wing discussed what they saw and made suggestions on how to use it. I followed some of their suggestions and found that the system could determine where the enemy ships had their blasters pointed. Once I made that determination, I used the system to direct our ships to attack the enemy’s ships that couldn’t fire back. I wasn’t very good at it. We lost four of our Rovers to the enemy.”

Kat stared at Jillian and knew that using the system effectively without months of practice was next to impossible. She knew that she wasn’t getting the whole story but she didn’t know how to ask the right question to get to the bottom of what happened. Captain Anders interrupted her train of thought, “Admiral, it is my belief that we lost those Rovers because they attempted to attack other ships in their attack profile. If they had followed their profile, we might not have lost them.”

“Even so, you have been remarkably successful. In that Lt. Connor has shown the ability to use the system, she is being promoted to Commodore and will take command of the Wing. We will be sending replacements out shortly.”

“I don’t think that is a good idea, Admiral.”

Leigh Ann and Kat were both surprised by the comment. Kat said, “Why is that, Lt. Connor?”

“Throughout this mission, Captain Anders has made decisions that I had great reservations on but in hindsight I found he was completely right; he saw things I missed. I may be able to use the system better but he is the one that has kept this mission alive. Changing commanders in the middle of a mission is not what’s best for us. We trust Captain Anders and his ability to see the things we miss, which will enhance the Wing’s chances of surviving.”

Leigh Ann looked at Kat and was surprised. Her daughter would never pass up an opportunity to advance, she was just too career driven to do that. Kat stared at Leigh Ann a moment and turned back to the display, “What about the rest of you? Do you agree with Lt. Connor?”

Ben said, “I do, Admiral.”

Jordan said, “I do as well.”

Kat looked at the Rovers that survived and saw the others nodding. She turned back to Jon and said, “You will continue in command. You will report to me directly when your replacements arrive.”

“Yes sir. How long will it be before we’re replaced?”

“We’ll let you know.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

The Rovers disappeared from the display and Leigh Ann looked at Katherine, “Now that was surprising.”

“I know. Something’s not right.”

“What do you mean?”

“There’s no way she could have made the determination on the placement of the enemy’s beams on her own.”

“Do you think Arvolo was involved in the attack?”

“No, he’s currently running for his life. But something just doesn’t feel right.”

“Is it possible she has some of Arvolo’s talents?”

Kat tilted her head and shook it slightly, “I don’t know. We can run her through some exercises when she returns to see but…I just don’t know.”

“You really expected all of them to die.”

“I guess I did. Does that bother you?”

Leigh Ann looked at Jillian’s picture on her desk, “No, I guess not. Keep me informed on what you find out.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Four days later, Gabriel Hilton received all of Admiral Hull’s recordings. The Admiral had ordered that any meeting she attended was to be recorded and transferred to her personal storage system. She insisted they be prioritized in accordance with significance of the subjects discussed. Gabriel saw the meeting with the Rovers and heard what was said. He thought about it and didn’t like what he was hearing. He copied the meeting and sent it out to Dat with a Prime Secret Designation. He then stored it in the Admiral’s system. Dat’s wing didn’t deserve this treatment. He needed to know what was going on. He used another communication officers initials on the report. He was retiring in a week and leaving for the colonies. He shook his head and hoped his friend would not be hung out.

• • •

The chase had finally evolved into Dat running a huge lap around the community. The widest street ran in a large circle with the community in the center. Dat knew that continuing to make turns would get him killed so he ran to simply stay ahead of the Master. He didn’t know how much longer he was going to be able to keep it up. The Master had cut the distance in half and moved closer with every lap. Although he didn’t have to carry his full weight because of the Dark Matter Field on his shoes, moving weightless limbs still required effort and fatigue was becoming a factor. He was going to lose soon.

The Master was in the happiest place it had ever been. The prolonged pursuit of the small creature was exhilarating. But he saw the distance closing and knew his joy would soon end. He hated it and he loved it. He was fully alive and lost in the moment.

• • •

The events in the community would have been comical except for the seriousness of the chase. The thousands of Masters would hang from the wall on one side of the community until the two rushed past and then they would sprint across the community to watch them pass again as they came around on the other side. The rush back and forth was amazing and the people on the roofs saw the black creature’s unrestrained excitement. They would bob up and down so hard on the walls as the runners flew past that they should have been injured. It appeared they didn’t notice and their bobs became even more frenetic as the distance closed between the two runners. The squeals and howls were unending. The people on the roofs had grown slowly quiet as they saw the distance between the two decreasing. They knew it was just a matter of time.

• • •

Dat saw that he wasn’t going to make another lap without being caught. He looked at the overhead and focused on the street in front of Gresha’s home. He focused on the street that intersected the street directly across and slightly to the right of her home and made his decision. He ran up the street and marshaled the energy he had remaining. He made the turn at her house and turned hard into the street across from her home. He jammed his heels into the pavement. He instantly stopped and he ducked low against the wall on the inside of the turn. The Master was shocked to see him turn off the street and squealed his excitement. He had it. It rushed around the turn using its two arms on the far wall and saw the small creature couching against the opposite wall. The prey suddenly bolted out of the street in the opposite direction and it tried to grab it with one of the two arms bracing it against the wall and failed as it rolled against the wall. It immediately spun and extended six of its arms into a single arm that shot out at the fleeing prey.

• • •

Dat saw the Master come barreling around the corner and he sprinted at his fastest speed yelling, “OPEN THE DOOR!!” He saw Gresha open the door and he dove for the entrance. He crossed the threshold and felt an incredible shock just before everything went black. He fell to the floor and didn’t move. The Master’s arm shot into the room over him and knocked a hole through the back wall. The Master used the arm to grip the sides of the hole and snatch him instantly into the doorway.

Gresha tried to close the door but Dat’s legs and the Master’s arm blocked it. She screamed for him to move them but Dat didn’t move. She left the door and grabbed his shirt as she pulled him into the room. He rolled over as she started to rush back to the door and she saw his face. She froze and fell to the floor next to Dat. She looked into his face and saw his dead, unseeing eyes. She pushed her head down to his chest and didn’t hear his heart beating. She wailed her grief. The Master arrived just as she lifted her head and was surprised by her scream. “What did you do to him!?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM? He made it inside. Oh Dat!” She fell on his body wailing her grief.

The Master stared at the unmoving prey on the floor and went through a fast series of emotions. He was enraged that the prey had escaped but he was stunned at what he saw. He extended three arms into the room forcibly moving Gresha off his prey’s body and then lifted the small creature’s chest off the floor. The head fell back and he used another arm to raise it. He stared at the dead eyes and recognized the expression he has seen hundreds of times before. The prey was dead. One in the crowd of Masters outside the door yelled, “You ran it to death.” The mass of Masters erupted in a tumultuous roar of approval. The Huge Master was lifted high above them by hundreds of black arms and he raised six of his arms into the sky. His stature among them had grown immensely. This was even better than killing the prey. He was overjoyed at his success. Gresha rushed back over and fell on Dat’s chest. She pulled him up into her arms and wept rocking him back and forth.

The Huge Master was finally lowered and he went to the door. He decided that he would consume the prey to give him the honor he deserved. He started to extend his arms and heard, “There’s been a major attack! We’re ordered out immediately!” The mass of Masters turned and rushed away.

The giant pulled his arms back and stared at the female holding the prey in its arms. “You will never repair that hole in the wall. It will remain to honor him for the joy he has given me.” The Master knew he did not have time to offer the full honor. He heard shuttles blasting off in the field and knew his crew was waiting; he dared not delay any longer. He turned and disappeared.

Gresha remained holding Dat rocking back and forth.

The last shuttle with the Huge Master lifted, blasted into orbit, and disappeared. Gresh rushed off the roof and found Gresha holding Dat. He tried to separate her arms from him but she screamed at him. He gave up and walked out closing the door behind him. He looked at the gathering community and said, “She needs some time.”

Gresha wept and held Dat’s head to her chest. She wept as she continued to rock back and forth. Then she heard, “This is nice.”

Gresha was startled and did a double take. She leaned back and saw Dat smiling next to her breasts. Her mouth flew open and she pulled his head up and kissed him hard. Dat thought about resisting but only for a microsecond. He got into the kiss and was swept away by Gresha’s embrace…until she leaned back and slapped him so hard he saw black and white dots fill his vision.

“You scared me out of ten years off my life.” She drew back to hit him again but he grabbed her arm and kissed her. She lowered her hand and put both arms around his neck. After a long moment, Gresha got up and locked the door.

• • •

Later Gresh was allowed in and he saw Dat sitting at the dining table eating a meal Gresha had prepared. He was shocked but managed to say, “So you’re not dead?”

“Not yet.” Gresh shook his head and Dat said, “I used some of my technology to fake it.”

“How did you manage that?”

“I set one of my rings to shock my brain the moment I entered your house.”

“That’s why you refused to come in earlier.”

“That’s right, Gresha. Once the ring passed the doorway, it was programmed to shock my system and reduce my vital signs. It shocked me back to consciousness when my other ring detected that all the Master’s shuttles had left.” Dat rubbed the back of his neck, “I hope I don’t ever have to do that again. It really hurt.”

Gresh said “What happens now?”

“I can leave without endangering your planet.”

Dat saw Gresha’s face as she jumped up and ran out the front door. He had never seen anyone with that much sorrow in their expression. He looked at Gresh and saw him slowly shake his head, “You should go quickly. She is not going to take this well.”

“But…”

“You should go.”

Dat looked at the floor and said, “Is it clear?”

“All of their ships have left.”

“Come get me, Stein.”

The Rover dropped out of the sky and hovered just outside Gresh’s house. Dat walked out and Gresh put his hand on his shoulder, “Thank you. Your bravery has given us strength.”

Dat nodded as he looked around for Gresha. He didn’t see her so he boarded his ship and it lifted. Gresha lay against the wall in the street across from her house and quietly wept as the ship disappeared into the night sky. Now she hated the night for two reasons.

Chapter Nine

Dat sat onboard and was having difficulty focusing. He knew he had hurt Gresha and that thought bothered him…a lot. He said, “Loree, contact Fleet.”

Admiral Hull appeared on his display and Dat said, “I have some rather lengthy recordings on the Black Creature’s behavior as well as the behaviors of the local population of one of the planets being held captive by them. They’re stored in the rings.”

“It looks like you managed to survive your run. I’m impressed.”

“It was a close thing and it’s my fault it happened.”

“I know; you exhibited poor judgment getting involved. However, our sociologists can use your information. Report back to Earth with your data and we’ll download them from the rings. I’ll see you here.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Dat, you outrank me.”

“Not until that rank is active.”

“Have it your way. We’ll see you when you arrive.”

Dat sat in his chair and sighed. He heard, “Dat.”

“Yes, Stein.”

“I think you need to see what happened when you were unconscious.”

“Why?” Dat’s display activated and he watched as Gresha forgot the door and her safety as she fell on his body. He was amazed that she had to be forced by the huge Master to release him to be examined. He watched as she rushed back when the Master removed his arms and held him tightly as she wept. He saw Gresh was unable to separate her from him and finally left them alone. He saw something being shown to him that he had never seen before. He replayed the recording again.

“Stein.”

“Yes.”

“Take us back down.”

“I was really hoping you would say that.”

• • •

Gresha was lifted off the ground by Gresh and he held his daughter in his arms and rocked her gently back and forth, “I’m sorry my darling. I’m so sorry.”

Gresha kept her eyes closed and shook her head. She felt the wind pick up and said, “I know this had to happen. I know we’re different. I mean, I knew he was going to leave, but it still hurts so much.”

“It might hurt less if you will come and go with me.”

Gresha’s head shot up and she saw Dat standing outside the small ship. Gresha looked up at Gresh with a huge smile and he nodded. She ran and leaped into Dat’s arms and held him tight. Gresh looked at Dat, “You will take care of her!”

Dat smiled as he looked into Gresha’s eyes, “I’ve done that from the beginning.” Gresh nodded and Dat carried Gresha inside the small ship. Gresh watched the ship lift and knew Gresha had found what she had been waiting for her entire life. The Elders moved forward and Gresh sighed. Oh well. They should know what happened.

• • •

Gresha sat in Dat’s lap in the command chair and smiled, “What happens now?”

“I have no idea. I just know whatever happens, we’ll do it together.”

“That’s really all I want.”

“I suspect my commanders may have an issue with this.”

“We’ll find a way around them.”

Dat shook his head, “You always look for the best to happen.”

“It usually does. Just look at us.”

Dat smiled and knew trouble waited for him on Earth. He put it out of his thoughts as Gresha took his full attention.

• • •

“Jill.”

“Yes Jack.”

“I’ve just learned from Fleet that Dat is going back to Earth.”

“Oh good; he survived.”

“Yessss.”

Jill heard something in the computer’s tone, “What’s going on Jack?”

“He’s bringing one of the females from that planet back with him.”

“WHAT!”

“I heard that Fleet has a serious issue with it but he told them in a very nice way to go pound sand.”

“Why would he bring an alien back?”

“I have a picture of her.”

“Show me.” Jill looked at her display and saw the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. “Please don’t tell me that woman is human.”

“She’s not, Jill. But….”

“I’ve got to talk with him.”

Bucket said, “Something happened on that planet. He wouldn’t do this under normal circumstances.”

“Maybe he’s bringing her to prevent her from being harmed.”

“Then he’d have to bring the whole population. No, it appears there is a connection between them. I really wondered why he put himself in so much jeopardy by staying and running from that monster. It appears she had something to do with it.”

Jill sat and fumed and hoped that Fleet would knock some sense into Dat. This was impossible. He couldn’t possibly love an alien…could he? She kept looking at the beautiful alien on her display and grew angrier by the moment.

• • •

Dat sat in Admiral Hull’s office with Gresha beside him and saw her stare at Gresha. She looked at Dat and said, “Captain, this is highly irregular.”

“I know.”

“You have to take her back.”

“She’s not a puppy, Admiral and I’m not going to do that.”

Gresha said, “Why does he need to take me back?”

“Well, for one thing, no civilian is allowed on Naval Ships. He is a Rover and will be gone for long periods of time and we will not be responsible for you. You know nothing about how to survive in our society.”

“Then I’ll just have to join this Navy of yours.”

Dat and Kat both looked at Gresha and she shrugged, “I do want to follow your rules. It seems like the easiest way to do that would be to join your military.”

Dat shook his head, “Gresha, you don’t know anything about technology and our civilization is highly advanced. You come from a primitive society.”

“I’m a fast learner.”

“Even so; that is too much to expect from anyone.”

“I’ve learned enough while coming here on your ship to see that the particles you use to surround your ship are at too low a power to get the most out of them.”

Dat’s mouth opened but he didn’t know what to say. Kat said, “What do you mean!”

“I saw the field outside the viewport and I asked that nice computer named Loree to explain what it was and how it operated. She showed me the pattern they made. I can see there are holes in the pattern that possibly wouldn’t be there if more particles were used.”

Kat looked at Dat with her confusion showing and saw he was just as lost as she was, “Can you show me what you mean?”

“Do you have up a recording of the field?”

Kat went to her terminal and started pressing keys at an unbelievable speed. After a moment she pulled up an image, “This is what the field looks like from the inside.”

Gresha stood and walked around Kat’s desk and looked at the image, “Can you put it in motion?” Kat hit a button and the image grew solid. “Slow it down.” The image began slowing incrementally and after a minute Gresha said, “Stop it there! Now back it up just a little.”

Kat hit a button and looked at the image, “I don’t see anything.”

Gresha pointed at a small area of the force on the monitor and said, “Bring this area in closer.” Kat moved the view in closer to the area she had indicated. Dat had moved around the Admiral’s desk and was looking over their shoulders. Suddenly, they saw it. There was a small amount of light coming in from outside the image. There was a small hole in the field. Dat and Kat were stunned. Gresha said, “It’s only there for a very short time but the field is weaker around that hole. If the field is hit by the enemy’s bright light, it would make it through.”

Kat turned to Dat, “Why haven’t we seen this before?”

“I have no idea.”

Kat turned to Gresha, “How did you see this?”

“My eyes are attuned to light differently from yours. I could see sparks in the image Loree showed me and when I asked her about it, she couldn’t see it either.”

Kat and Dat looked at each other and heard Gresha say, “Loree tells me that this field, I think that’s what she called it, is made up of particles that whirl around the ship creating a barrier.”

Dat said, “It’s called a force field.”

“Ok, force field. It’s obvious that you don’t have enough particles in the…force field to completely close it.”

Kat stared at Gresha and wondered what Dat had brought back with him. President Connor came storming in and yelled, “Are you out of your ever loving Rover mind. Take this female back to where you found her!” Leigh Ann saw the expressions on Kat’s and Dat’s faces and stopped midsentence, “What?”

“She’s found holes in our dark matter field.”

“What!”

Kat began explaining what happened as Dat and Gresha moved back to the chairs in front of Admiral Hull’s desk. After ten minutes of animated discussion, President Connor turned and looked at Gresha who had the most innocent smile she had ever seen. Leigh Ann looked at Kat and saw her astonishment. She looked back at Gresha and said, “Is there anything else you’ve seen?”

“No, but Jack showed me the recording of the fight between your ten ships and the Master’s ships.”

“And?”

“When he slowed the bright light images down, I saw large numbers of sparks in the light you were firing at their ships.”

Dat said, “Those are beams, Gresha.”

Gresha looked at him and said, “Whatever you call them, there are holes in them as well and they’re bigger than the ones in the field. They are not operating at their highest efficiency.”

Leigh Ann looked at Kat who said, “She wants to join the Navy so she can be with Dat.”

Leigh Ann looked at the display, looked at Gresha, looked back at the display, and said, “Well, she won’t be the first alien to join. Sign her up.”

Dat started laughing. Kat said, “What’s so funny?”

“I suspect she is probably going to teach us a thing or two we miss because we know too much.”

Leigh Ann said, “Get her to the library and start downloading everything she’ll need to know to survive in our society. I want her in the academy in two weeks. That’s when you’ll be shipping out.”

Leigh Ann left as quickly as she appeared and Kat stood up, “I’ll give you a few moments alone. Dat, you need to tell her what she’s going to be doing for the next four years and explain how your responsibility is going to keep the two of you apart most of the time.”

Kat left and Dat said, “We are going to be apart a lot more than together.”

“How long is a year?”

“About four hundred of your days.”

Gresha winced and shook her head, “What will I be doing during this time?”

“You’ll be going to school to learn how to fly one of our ships.”

“Will you come to see me?”

“As often as I can.”

“Then it’s worth it.” Dat furrowed his brow and she smiled, “Our journey is for a lifetime. I’ll go to this school for ten years just to be with you an hour. I’ll do whatever I need to do for however long it takes for us to be together.”

Dat felt it. He felt strong emotions for her but she had come into his heart with that one statement. He knew for certain that she was the one he wanted in his life; he knew she would never desert him. He reached over and pulled her close. Admiral Hull came in a short time later and said, “Stand up.” Gresha stood and the Admiral said, “Do you solemnly swear that you will defend the Union against all enemies…”

Dat watched Gresha get sworn in and knew life had taken a radical turn. He was excited at the prospect but he just wasn’t looking forward to the long separations.

• • •

“Jack, have you heard anything about what happened with that alien?”

“She’s been enrolled in Fleet Academy.”

“WHAT!?!”

“I know, I know; but it appears she did something to make an impression on your mother and Admiral Hull.”

Jill screamed and pounded her feet on the floor in frustration. “If I didn’t know better, I’d believe my Mother is working against me.” Jill waited for a response from the two computers but was greeted with silence. Her brow furrowed, “Jack? Bucket?”

“We’ve really had a difficult time making up our mind about sharing something with you.”

“Why?”

“Because you would use what we tell you and do something about it; if you did that, the source of our information would be in great jeopardy.”

Jill stared at the panel and said, “It has to do with my Mother.”

“It might.”

“Come on, Bucket. You know it is.”

“Maybe.”

Jill waited and said, “You’re not going to tell me are you?”

“Jill, you know that Rovers are often put in difficult situations and the only thing that prevents many of us from being killed is having information sent to us in secret messages that we take and pass around. That information allows us to plan in advance for a dangerous assignment. Fleet hasn’t learned of this underground communication channel and we want to keep it that way.”

“I will promise not to do anything about what you tell me.”

“That’s not good enough.”

“FOR GRAVITY’S SAKE; WHY NOT!”

“You would allow your behavior to change and it would be the same thing as telling it.”

“It’s that serious?”

“We believe it is.”

“Guys, I will do all I can to prevent changing my behavior even if I have to avoid the one that’s at issue here.”

“Do you swear?”

“I do.” Jill’s panel illuminated and she saw the meeting between Admiral Hull and her Mother. The callous manner that her mother had sent her wing into combat and her obvious lack of concern about her survival stunned her. “Where did you get this?”

“It came from Einstein. He thought you should know.”

“Einstein?”

“Dat’s main computer.”

“Did Dat authorize sending it to me?”

“Stein wouldn’t say.”

“Would either of you send something like this without telling me?”

There was a very long pause and she knew the two computers were discussing what to say. Finally she heard, “We don’t want to be misleading on this but our relationship with you is more important than what that deception might cause; we would not send this without discussing it with you first.”

“Why would Dat want me to know this?”

“Because they promoted you to Commodore and it might be to take a larger unit into combat using the system. Stein said Dat was furious that you were thrown into combat instead of being given the opportunity to adequately learn how to use the command system first. Stein seems to think that your Mother may not be acting in your best interests.”

“That means that Dat feels the same way.”

“Probably.”

Jill sat in her chair and thought about her mother. After a few minutes, Bucket said, “You don’t appear to be very upset.”

“I know my mother; I’ve watched her my entire life. I wanted to eclipse her success but I watched her walk away from the man who loved her more than anyone else. If she could do that; why would she look at me any differently? Dat pointed that out to me years ago and I refused to see it. Honestly, this really isn’t a news flash. She only loves herself.”

“Good. You should be able to act normally around her.”

“We’ll see.”

“What do you mean?”

“I will ask her why we were sent into combat with an unproven system. Her answer will tell me where her heart is. I won’t give away that I already knew.”

“You know she’ll lie about it.”

“She could or she could simply tell me that I’m nothing more than any other Rover to her. I don’t know if she would care enough about my feelings to lie. She’ll take the stance that she could not show me preferential treatment. She’ll try to make me appear to be selfish and then assume I’ll feel guilty for thinking I should be treated differently.”

Jill looked at her display and saw the Wing’s replacements were going to arrive in an hour. Bucket said, “I’m so sorry, Jill.”

“I know, Bucket; so am I.” Jill listened to Captain Anders fill in his replacements and knew she had three people to see when she arrived back on Earth; Dat, her mother, and that alien female. Dat was hers and that alien needed to know it.

The two weeks flew by and Dat sat onboard his ship holding Gresha. He hated leaving and worried about leaving her behind. Who would make sure she was ok? She held him tightly and said, “Come back as soon as you can.”

“You know I will. Just do your best and you should be so busy you won’t miss me.”

Gresha leaned back, “You know better than that.”

Dat sighed, “I know. Just do your best. I want you to pilot a ship and only the top graduates are given that assignment.”

“I am at a disadvantage but I’ll see if I can’t make up some lost ground.”

His board beeped and Stein said, “We’ve been cleared for departure.”

Dat kissed her and Gresha hurried out the open port and moved away to watch him leave. Dat went to his chair and the port closed and sealed. “Take us out, Stein.”

Gresha watched the small ship lift and disappear into the bright blue sky. She stood watching the sky for a long moment and then turned and boarded a train for the Academy. She managed not to cry but it was a very close thing. Three hours later, Jill’s wing arrived.

“You’ve missed him.”

“What?”

“Dat just lifted three hours ago and shipped out to another assignment.”

“Drat!”

Bucket said, “I have an incoming message.”

Jill nodded and saw Captain Anders on her panel, “We have been asked to report to the Academy to meet Admiral Hull.”

“Why the Academy?”

“She’s going to address the newest graduates later today and wants to see us immediately.”

“Is there a problem?”

“You know how smart she is. I think she might have some questions about your success with the Command System.”

“What are we going to tell her?”

“Let me do the talking and I’ll try to protect you and Dat as best I can.”

“I’ll follow your lead, Sir. Jack, go and get serviced and let me know if you have any issues.”

“I think my field emitters need replacing. They’re not reading at their optimum level.”

“Do what you need to do. I suspect we’ll be back in combat soon.”

“Have you heard something?”

“No, just a hunch.” The white ship landed and Jill stepped out of the port and saw Jon standing outside a shuttle that was waiting for them.

Jon opened the door and whispered, “Don’t say anything.” Jill nodded and stepped inside. The shuttle lifted and Jill felt immense sorrow at having missed Dat.

• • •

Admiral Hull looked at Dat on her display and said, “Captain, I’m of the belief that you violated protocol and revealed a Prime Secret.”

Dat stared at Kat and said in an angry voice, “Admiral, I am activating my rank for the next twenty minutes, do you understand?”

Kat twitched and said, “Yes Sir.”

“Who suggested that we attempt to use the Command Circuit with my wing?”

“I did.”

“And who authorized it?”

“President Connor.”

“Was this an attempt by you to ensure your rank in Fleet?”

Kat stared at Dat and saw his building rage. Katherine didn’t blame him. “No, it was an attempt to get President Connor to force you to not to make that idiotic run. I never expected her to agree with her daughter’s presence in your wing. You are too important to Fleet to take the risk you were planning.”

Dat was shocked by the Admiral’s response and his anger began to diminish, “I recognize I was foolish. However, why didn’t you call off the exercise when she did agree?”

“What would be my justification?”

Dat thought a moment and said, “Why didn’t you offer to transfer all the information of what we’ve learned about the system to date?”

“I don’t know what we’ve learned. That information falls under a Prime Secret Stamp and you’ve never shared that information with anyone else. I didn’t know that you had developed protocols to use it.”

“President Connor knew.”

“She didn’t give any indication she knew anything. However, if she did know, that information was protected by a Prime Secret stamp. You would have to have her approval to reveal it.”

Dat stared at Kat and said, “You need to decide what’s more important to you; following policies or the safety of the sailors under your command. You should know that I don’t even have to think twice about that question. My rank is no longer active. Do you have any questions, Sir?”

Kat stared at Dat, “I’ll get back to you.” Her display went dark and her XO stuck his head in her door, “Anders and Connor are here.”

“Send them in.”

• • •

Gresha’s first class was brutal. The material on the structure of the universe was mind numbing. Thank God she had spent her time on Dat’s ship downloading the computer’s information. Actually seeing the billions of Galaxies in the database helped her grasp the scope of what was being taught. Stein and Loree had added more information than the library on Earth had provided. It was that additional information that prevented her from being completely lost. Her second class on human history was just as bad but much more interesting. She found learning it enjoyable and the second class was over before she knew it. Several cadets invited her to join them for lunch. She smiled and followed them out wondering at just how young the human species was. Their advances in technology were amazing.

• • •

Kat stared at the two Rovers standing at attention in front of her desk and after a long moment she said, “At ease; take a seat.” She leaned back in her chair and put her right thumb on her chin and her index finger on her lips as she rested her head on her hand. She didn’t want to do it but couldn’t stop herself, “Captain, I am of the belief that you were given the contents of a Prime Secret Folder.”

“What secret was that, Sir?”

Kat’s eyes narrowed and she said, “Just what do you think I’m talking about, Captain?”

“Sir, I’ve been given a great deal of information that is considered Prime Secret Material more times than I can count.”

Jill listened to Jon and knew he was trying to keep Admiral Hull from learning what had happened. Kat said, “I believe you were given information about the new Command Circuit that was covered by Prime Secret Protocols.”

Jon stared at the Admiral and said very deliberately, “Sir, are you telling me that you sent my wing into combat with a new system and deliberately withheld information on how to use it?”

Kat stared at Jon and now recognized the trap he had sprung. She wasn’t supposed to know the information existed and if she admitted she did…she would be in the same box she was trying to place him. She moved her hand from her mouth and started to speak but Jon spoke first, “Sir, if there was information on the system that would make a difference in my wing’s survival, we should have had it.”

Kat quickly said, “You were charged with learning the new system to determine if you could use it effectively. We wanted to know if others could use the new system.”

Jon lowered his gaze and Kat saw his anger, “I want you to think about this a moment, Sir. Let’s say that I am the best in the military at firing a hand blaster and you want to see if others are as good as I am. Are you going to hand them a blaster with the trigger removed to see if they can fire it as well or are you going to give them a fully functional blaster with all the parts available? You have a system that had information on how to use it. If you want to see if others can use it as well, they should have everything known about that system; especially if you are putting their lives on the line in combat. Or can we assume our lives carry no importance to those that command us?”

“You are bordering on disrespect, Captain.”

“I intend no disrespect but if there was information available about that system, which was deliberately withheld from us, what other conclusions can be drawn?”

Kat had her hand back up to her mouth and was rocking back and forth slowly in her chair. Dat was right. This shouldn’t have happened. She decided that the question of choosing between policy and safety would never be an issue with her again. She looked at Jillian Connor and saw her anger. Good! She would know what happened and that was information she should know. But she wasn’t going to tell her. She looked at Captain Anders and said, “I was obviously wrong about this. Lt. Connors, you are dismissed. Captain Anders, I want you to remain.”

Jon looked at Jill who was showing reluctance to leave him without support but he nodded slightly and she stood, came to attention, saluted, did an about face, and left the room. Kat saw Jill’s reluctance and knew that Jill was right during the mission in the Black Creature’s galaxy. The wing respected their commander.

• • •

Jill walked out of the office and went to the cafeteria and waited for Jon to exit. She had to know he was ok. She was worried what might be done to him.

• • •

Gresha took her tray and went to the table with her fellow cadets and sat down. She looked across the huge room and saw a female Rover pilot sitting by herself at the edge of the cafeteria tables. She stood and said, “Excuse me a moment.” She began walking toward the Lieutenant sitting alone.

Jill stared at the door and heard, “Are you Loree?”

Jill jerked her head around and saw the female alien standing behind her. She was shocked at the alien’s beauty and knew the pictures did not really do her justice. She nodded and the alien said, “Do you mind if I sit down a moment?” Jill indicated a chair and she sat down. “I understand that you and Dat were once lovers.”

Jill felt her ire go up and said, “We were never lovers; we dated for a time.”

“Well, you know that he loved you a great deal and suffered from your rejection for years afterward.”

Jill took a deep breath and said, “I never intended that to happen.”

“I know.”

“Just how could you know that?”

“I know Dat. I’m shocked beyond words that you rejected him; however, I am glad you did. I just want you to know that I can see you still care about him and I would understand if you tried to get him back. I will not have any bad feelings for you if you do.”

Jill was stunned. “How do you know I still care?”

“I saw it in your eyes when I mentioned his name.”

“I do still care. Actually, I’ve beat myself up every day since I made that idiotic mistake.”

The beautiful alien smiled, “You shouldn’t have waited to tell him. He’s endured so much pain from your rejection over the years.”

Gresha stood to leave and Jill said, “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I love him very much and his happiness is the most important thing for me. If you can make him happier, then I will rejoice in that. He deserves it.”

Jill stared at her and was dumbfounded. Can anyone love another that much? She would rip a competitor’s eyes out. Jill said, “You know the two of you can never have children?”

Gresha’s smile vanished and she lowered her head. She looked back up at Jill and the anguish on her face was clear, “I do. But even without that, he is the greatest gift creation has ever sent to me. That price is worth having him.” Gresha turned and walked away.

Jill watched her go and knew she had no chance. She had betrayed Dat’s trust and that betrayal would always be a part of his feelings for her. He would have to hold something back to prevent being hurt again. Jill had absolutely no doubt that this beautiful alien would never betray Dat. If she could see it; so could he. Now she understood why he had run for the planet’s safety. It was to protect her. Jill wanted so much to hate her but just couldn’t make herself do it. She didn’t possess enough evil in her soul to pull it off. She lowered her head and fought the tears that wanted to come. She just wasn’t as hard as her mother.

Gresha sat down at her table and forced a smile. One of the cadets asked, “Who is that?”

Gresha looked at the cadet and said, “She is the one that fought the Masters in my galaxy. She’s a brave Rover and I do hope I can be like her one day. She’s a friend.”

The cadets all turned and looked at the Lieutenant who had stood up and went to a Captain that had just exited an office. They looked at Gresha and decided they liked her. The three women in the group decided that they were going to take Gresha under their wing and make sure none of the male cadets treated her irresponsibly. They really didn’t have to worry about that. No other male would take her eyes off her studies. She had a goal and nothing was going to stop her from achieving it.

• • •

Jill walked up and Jon saw the beautiful alien walking away from her table. He looked at Jill and saw the sorrow she was trying so hard to hide. “Are you alright?”

Jill said, “Are you alright?”

Jon nodded, “The Admiral and I came to an understanding. Everything is ok.”

Jill blew out a breath, “Thank God; thank you for protecting me.”

“It’s what I do, Lieutenant. Get used to it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“We’re shipping back out to take on the Black Civilization.”

“When are we leaving?”

“In about two weeks. You are being sent to the advanced training facility to better learn how to use the Command System. I expect you to pay attention.”

Jill smiled and looked into Jon’s eyes, “I will, Sir.”

“I expected nothing else, Jill. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

• • •

Gresha stared at the two across the room and could see them clearly. Loree was hurting and the male knew it. She wondered why the male shared her pain. She could see that the female didn’t recognize his feelings. She needed to open her eyes. She turned back to her lunch and thought about Dat.

Chapter Ten

Dat was at the point of exhaustion. He had worked with the eight hundred Rovers assigned to his command for a year and getting them to follow orders was proving to be beyond troublesome. They were just not accustomed to working in groups. They had always operated alone and habits were hard to break. He leaned back in his chair and rubbed the back of his neck. “Call it a day, Stein, and tell the fleet to be here tomorrow.”

“Are you ready for your Gresha update?”

Dat looked up and smiled, “I am.”

“She’s ranked number one in her class at the end of the first year.”

“Get the frack out of here.”

“And it’s not close, Dat.”

Dat leaned back in his chair, “How is that possible?”

Stein said, “I believe she had an affinity for technology. She seems to grasp it naturally. I suspect all of her species are the same way.”

“What makes you say that?”

“While we were downloading the initial information she needed to survive in human society, I had an opportunity to get to know her. She really understands technology at a fundamental level.”

“I don’t understand that, Stein. Her species has been farmers for centuries. She’s known nothing else.”

Loree joined the conversation, “And it’s not easy farming either. She told me that if they dug more than two feet into the soil they would hit hard ground they were unable to break up.”

Jack said, “She told me that her people have legends about their species before the Masters arrived. She says that the Elders say they were a very highly advanced civilization.”

Dat thought about it and said, “They’re wrong.”

“Why?”

“If there was a highly advanced civilization on that planet there would be evidence of it even today. We scanned that planet down to the bedrock and no such evidence exists.” Dat waited and the two computers remained silent. “What are you two thinking?”

“I’ve seen all of your recordings from the planet and I’ve not seen any of the inhabitants ever being deceitful. Have you?”

Dat thought a moment and said, “I can’t recall any instance, Loree.”

“Then if the Elders say there was an advanced civilization there, are they not telling the truth?”

Something clicked in Dat’s mind. He remembered seeing farmers digging in the field and suddenly stop and move to another place. He remembered the broken shovel and Gresh going to get it for repair. He thought about it and saw that they were digging in depressed areas in the giant field. “Loree, pull up the active scan you made of Gresha’s community.” The scan appeared and Dat stared at it. Something didn’t make sense. “Loree, what depth do you show in the fields around that community?”

“Bedrock is two hundred feet down.”

“So how can they be hitting a hard surface two feet down?” Silence greeted the question. “Guys?”

“We have no idea.”

Dat’s fatigue vanished. “What time is it on Earth?”

“Ten AM.”

“Get Admiral Hull on my panel now.”

Dat waited and Kat appeared on his display, “What’s so important that you interrupted my schedule, Captain?”

“I need you to listen in to a conversation. Can you get Cadet Gresha to your office and activate the scans that were taken on her planet?”

Kat saw something in Dat’s expression and she said, “Standby.”

Dat turned to his secondary display and said, “Loree, I want every scan taken on that planet and I want a reading on the depth of the upper layer determined at every community.”

“I’m on it.”

“Stein, I want you to replay all the scans of farmers working in the fields outside those communities and see if Gresha was right about them hitting a hard substance close to the surface.” Dat watched the energy level being used by his computers on his panel and saw the levels surge.

Gresha arrived in a military shuttle. She had been taken out of class by two armed guards. Her professor was told that she was ordered to report to Admiral Hull’s office. Gresha wondered what she had done wrong. She arrived in the Admiral’s office and Kat motioned her to come and sit beside her at a large computer terminal. “What’s going on, Sir?”

“I don’t know.” Kat punched her board and said, “I have the cadet here.”

Dat appeared on the display and Gresha’s worries disappeared. Her smile was instant and she knew she wasn’t in trouble. Dat saw her and smiled as well. Kat said, “What’s going on, Captain?”

Dat said, “Gresha, Stein tells me that your Elders say that your planet was once home to a very advanced civilization.” Dat saw Admiral Hull’s expression undergo an immediate change.

“That is our legend, Dat.”

“What happened to it?”

“This is just a legend but the Elders tell us that we were a peaceful civilization and that they learned the Masters were coming to conquer our world. Our people decided that they could not allow our technology to fall into their hands so they either hid it or removed it.”

“Have you learned the capabilities of our scanners in class yet?”

“I have and they are quite amazing.”

“Loree also tells me that the farmers around your community cannot dig deeper that two or three feet without hitting an extremely hard substance. Is that true?”

Gresha furrowed her brow and said, “It’s true. I’ve hit it numerous times myself.”

“Gresha, our scanners say that the soil depth around your community is more than two hundred feet deep.” Admiral Hull looked at Dat on the display and showed her disbelief.

Gresha stared at Dat for a long moment and shook her head, “I know it’s there. Whatever it is; it’s not being detected by the scanners.”

Dat looked at Admiral Hull and said, “Gresha’s community is not the only place this happens. I’ve had my computers go through all the scans of farmers working around the communities and there are thousands of recordings of farmers hitting something while digging. Nothing shows up on our scans to indicate that anything is there.”

Gresha turned to Admiral Hull, “Please pull up a scan of my community and move it out so we can see the entire region.” Dat watched as Loree did the same thing on his display. Gresha stared at the image and said, “Do you have a scan taken just before sunset?”

The image appeared and Gresha put her hand to her mouth. Kat saw her reaction and looked at the display and didn’t see anything different. “What do you see?”

“It’s huge.”

Dat said, “What?”

“Do you have anything that I can use to outline something on this image?”

Kat pressed a button and said, “Use your finger.” Gresha reached forward and began tracing an object. She was halfway completed and Kat said, “Oh my God!”

Dat said, “Admiral, please send the image to my panel.”

Kat’s eyes remained wide and she pressed another button. Dat looked at the image and fell back in his chair. The unmistakable image of a giant starship was outlined on the screen. It was more than five miles in length. Dat shook his head, “Why can’t we see it?”

Kat looked at Dat and said, “The important question is; why can’t anyone see it but Gresha? Those Black Masters obviously haven’t detected it and their scanners are just as good as ours. That ship is invisible.”

Gresha said, “Our ancestors hid it so that only my species could see it from space.”

Dat stared at the outline and said, “Why wouldn’t they have destroyed them?”

Gresha looked at Dat and slowly shook her head, “My best guess is that they knew they could never develop weapons in time before the Masters’ arrival. They left them in hopes that someone could use them to free us one day.”

Stein said, “I suspect that if anyone other than her species tries to resurrect that ship, it will self-destruct.”

Dat looked at Kat and saw that she agreed with the computer’s remark. Dat looked at Gresha, “Is there anything in your legends about those ships?”

“No.”

“So none of you know how to activate it?”

“We don’t.”

Loree said, “The means to do it has to be there on the planet somewhere. Their ancestors wouldn’t have left them without the possibility of them ever being used. It’s there, they just don’t recognize it.”

Kat stared at the image and pushed a control, “Notify Fleet Academy that Cadet Gresha has been given an accelerated graduation and will be promoted to Second Lieutenant immediately. She turned to Gresha and said, “You will join Captain Arvolo on his ship and go back to your planet and find out how to activate that ship.” She turned to Dat, “You are relieved of your current assignment and will make this your first priority.”

“Yes Sir.”

Kat said, “I guess we’ll have to terminate the training of the fleet until you return.”

“I would recommend you put Jillian Connor in command of that exercise. She could get them ready.”

Kat thought a moment and said, “I’m putting Jon Anders in command with her as his second.”

Dat smiled, “I think that is wise, Admiral.”

Kat turned to Gresha and saw her brilliant smile, “You’ve gotten your wish, Lieutenant. Now get out there with him and find out how to get that ship activated.”

Gresha jumped up and saluted but she couldn’t take her eyes off Dat on the display. His smile was actually larger than hers.

• • •

Jill sat in the bar and thought about all she had lost. Time had not removed her sense of loss and the last year was pure misery. She just couldn’t shake the depression that had descended on her soul. It was almost more than she could bear. She ordered another drink and told a man making a move on her to shove off. She wasn’t interested.

“Hey Honey, you could have a great time with me.”

“Leave me alone. Now get out of here.”

The large man reached forward and took Jill’s arm, “You need to pay attention, sweetie.”

Jill balled her fist to hit the man but heard him gasp. She turned and saw Jon Anders had his hand on the back of the man’s neck and was applying pressure, “You’re the one that needs to pay attention.”

The man was large but he saw the Captain’s expression and didn’t want any part of him, “I’m sorry…I’m leaving; I’m leaving.” Jon pushed the man away and he stumbled ten feet away and ran out of the establishment.

“I could have handled him.”

“I know.”

Jill stared at Jon and sighed. Jon slowly shook his head, “You can’t let him go.”

She showed her surprise and then slowly nodded, “No, I guess I can’t.”

“Have you ever hit your fingers with a hammer?”

The question surprised Jill, “Hasn’t everyone?”

Jon nodded, “What did you learn from the experience?”

“Not to put my fingers in jeopardy when I used one.”

“Do you still remember the pain?”

“Oh yeah.”

“Then this is another example of the hitting yourself with a hammer experience. You made a mistake and have experienced pain from it. You will always remember that pain but you need to heed the lesson you were given.”

“What lesson is that?”

“Before you hurt another person you should decide if they deserve it and make sure you’re attracted to them. I suspect you won’t allow anyone else to get close enough to hurt you and you won’t allow yourself to get close enough to hurt anyone else as well. Isn’t that what you’ve learned?”

Jill lowered her eyes and thought about it. “I guess in the broadest sense, you’re right.”

“So take the lesson to heart and move on. Dwelling on it won’t change anything that’s happened and you can’t see the future with your head stuck in the past.”

The band started playing and Jon held out his hand to her. She started to refuse but stood and he led her to the dance floor. They danced and Jon pulled Jill close. She put her head on his chest and thought about what he said. She lost track of time and it seemed just a few moments before the lights brightened, telling everyone the bar was closing. Jon walked her out in silence until they arrived at her quarters. Jill looked at him and said, “Thank you.”

“No thanks needed, Lieutenant.”

Jill smiled, “This is part of you taking care of your wing?”

“No, not really.”

He turned to go and Jill said, “Next time ask me before the date.”

Jon stopped dead in his tracks and turned with a small smile, “This was a date?”

“Unless you have an issue with fraternizing with a superior officer.” Jon furrowed his brow and Jill smiled, “Remember, I’m being promoted to Commodore.”

Jon’s smile grew larger and he laughed, “That really shouldn’t be an issue.”

“Oh; why not?”

“I’ve been promoted to Rear Admiral and I have absolutely no issues with seeing you.”

Jill laughed, “Then don’t wait so long to ask.” Jon turned and waved his hand back at her. Jill went to bed and thought about Dat. She knew she had learned a lesson and would not make that mistake again. She tried to remember the night she had rejected him but could only remember being in Jon’s arms as they danced. The revelation shocked her. Sleep evaded her and she wondered what had happened.

• • •

“Why have you disturbed us?”

“I was asked by the military to tell you of a new development.”

“What is it?”

“We have been able to get a frequency reading on one of those ships that we’ve been fighting.”

“So?”

“We can turn our beams over to our computers and allow them to control targeting. Their response time will be greatly reduced from the normal operators.”

“This isn’t particularly groundbreaking. You should have stayed away.”

“We’ve also restructured our beams so we now think we can kill those ships with one hit.”

The Fifty Dark Masters smiled, this was really good news. “Inform me on what happens at our next conflict.”

“I will do so.”

• • •

The Mission Commander looked at his target on the main display. The eight ships had managed to sneak into the system without activating any alarms and were now a short distance from completing their assignment. The Commander thought about launching his attack but his target was on the opposite side of the planet from his current position. His ships had been remarkably lucky so far and he decided not to push it. The eight small ships waited just below the surface of normal space for the target to rotate around to their side. The Commander looked at his navigator and heard, “Seven more hours.”

He nodded and continued to stare at the planet.

• • •

“Sir, we’ve lost track of the ships at Ventura.”

“When did that happen!?!”

“We aren’t sure. There are eight ships colored just like the ones that had been holding station at their main defense facility but scanners reveal there is no power on board those eight. We know the eight ships the day before had reactors on board.”

“Could they have powered them all down?”

“It takes longer than a day for a reactor to go totally dead. No, those are not the ships that were there the day before.”

“Damn those Venturi. They’ll arm any ships willing to pay for their services. Did you manage to find out where those ships originated?”

“No. There are no markings and they did not lower the force fields around their bridges to allow us to get a reading of the life forms on board.”

“How do we know those ships are a danger to us?”

“We received a warning that eight ships were going to attack us. The source of the warning was not tracked.”

“This is too much of a coincidence. Notify defense to put all ships on alert.”

“I’ll issue the orders immediately.” The officer turned to his panel and saw an incoming message. He read it and said, “We’re too late.” The Station Commander looked at his subordinate and saw the shock and horror on his face.

• • •

The main city on the planet’s surface had finally rotated around the edge of the planet and was only fifteen minutes from being directly below their position. He flashed the other seven ships and they broke out of subspace and roared in on the planet. Three of them were exploded by defense satellites before they had moved more than a hundred miles but the other five flashed by the huge orbiting facilities and they couldn’t bring their weapons around fast enough to hit the fast moving ships. All of the orbiting defense installations had their weapons aimed away from the planet. That error was going to cost them.

The Commander saw three more ships exploded by ships rushing in on them from the outer defense ring and saw that only his ship and one other had made it inside the planet’s mighty orbital defenses. The ship flying next to him launched missiles at the giant city under them and he saw defense lasers pick them off before they could arrive inside the planet’s atmosphere. The ship flying beside him blew up when it was hit by an incoming missile barrage from incoming defenders. The Commander looked at his flight Officer who yelled, “We’ve got to jump away.”

The Commander hit the override button on his console and took control of the ship from the bridge crew. He applied full thrusters and aimed his ship at the tall crystal buildings located in the planet’s largest city’s financial district. The crew jumped up to stop him but didn’t arrive in time. His family had died of starvation from the predatory lending policies of this planet and he was not calling off the attack. He knew that even if he did jump away, he would be followed and killed. His eight ships were nowhere close to the technological wonders this rich planet had to use against him. Missiles and lasers began hitting his ship from the surface but they weren’t designed to penetrate a warship’s force field. The nine hundred foot long brown ship flashed through the atmosphere so fast that its sonic boom arrived ten minutes after it hit the very epicenter of the crystal towers. The sonic boom was erased by the massive shock wave that met it a mile above the city’s streets. The city ceased to exist along with all the financial records that were stored on this most important planet. No one trusted that information anywhere else and it was defended against every threat they could imagine. No one imagined this. The Philo Civilization went from one of the wealthiest in the galaxy to destitute with the city’s death. With the destruction of the records, all the vast wealth owed to the planet along with all the citizen’s personal accounts was destroyed.

• • •

The Defense Commander looked at the massive flames burning the once beautiful city and snarled, “Who would do this?”

His assistant forced his gaze away from the display and said, “You need look no further than five planets that are close to being broke. With this attack they are now back in business and we have no way to prove their debt to us.”

“Which one did this?”

The Assistant looked at him and snarled, “Does it matter?”

The Commander jerked his head around, “No it doesn’t.” He issued the orders and five more planets were burning less than eight hours later. The civil war had kicked off and the first plays were devastating.

• • •

The giant Snake watched his monitor and shook its head up and down. He had warned Philo but they had done nothing. He checked his board and saw a hundred more of the wealthiest planets being attacked. He might have been able to stop the slaughter if he had immediately acted. But he waited to get the Assembly’s approval; before that happened, the government building was hit from space and exploded. He died with the Assembly and now there was no one to stop the carnage that was spreading at an unbelievable pace.

• • •

Admiral Hull watched the destruction of the Galactic Government Center and punched her command board. A message went out to every Rover to return to the Milky Way immediately. She pinged Jon’s communicator and said, “Civil war has broken out in M87. You are to take command of our ships and take the necessary steps to defend Earth. You are also charged to defend the Horde and Hive from any attacks. Get moving; you don’t have long.”

“Who is my Second-in-Command?”

“Jillian Connor will command any attacks you wish to launch. You are promoted to full Admiral and she is promoted to Rear Admiral. Now get it done, Jon!”

Jon ran out to his ship and saw Jillian running toward her ship. She saw him coming and the shock on her face was clear. Jon veered toward her and pulled her into his arms. He pushed her back and kissed her hard. He broke the kiss and said, “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time. You will command the eight hundred Rovers that have been training with Dat along with twenty thousand additional Rovers I’m assigning to your fleet. You need to put the fear of God into them and make sure they work together. If we detect any ships headed to attack Earth, the Horde, or the Hive, you directed to stop them. Act first; talk later. You are now promoted to Rear Admiral and my second-in-command.”

Jillian stared in Jon’s eyes, nodded, and turned to run to her ship. Jon heard her yell before she disappeared in the port, “You shouldn’t have waited.”

Jon smiled and began getting the millions of Rovers coming in assigned to fleets to spread out in the Milky Way to defend the Union’s members. He hoped the Horde and Hive had enough ships to hold off any attackers for the moment.

Jon ran on board and his ship lifted at supersonic speed. He didn’t worry about any damage the sonic boom would cause. It would be minor compared to a nuclear missile. He saw thousands of ships being powered up next to the academy as the fourth year cadets were taking them into war. “Kenny, what do you have?”

“The major civilizations in M87 are picking sides at the moment and things are getting out of hand quickly. More than twenty thousand planets have one or more cities burning.”

“Notify me when the bulk of our ships are out of Earth’s Solar System. I want you to also direct a thousand Rovers to each planet in the Union.”

“The last ships should be clear in another twenty minutes.”

“We can’t wait that long.” Jon hit his panel, “Admiral, we need to make it happen now. Any ships still inside the disruption radius will just have to fly out.”

Kat turned to her XO and said, “Do it now!”

A huge battleship entered green space and launched ten nuclear missiles. The massive blasts disrupted green space and made it impossible to jump into Earth’s Solar System. Immediately after the blast, eight hundred ships from M87 were forced out of green space at the orbit of Mars. They were coming in to attack Earth. The ten thousand Rovers assigned to planetary defense flew out at light speed and blew them into dust before they could turn and run. The disruption of green space was done a thousand years earlier but no one outside of Earth had ever been told it could be done. Every Union Member Planet in the Milky Way had green space disrupted around it and the defense forces continued to disrupt it when the disruption started to fade. Rovers began arriving at each planet to supplement their defenses and soon attackers were being fought off at most of the protected planets. Jon saw that the number of ships he could use was rapidly decreasing.

“Kenny, did you get a reading on who sent those eight hundred ships?”

“I did, Jon. Kenny was busy getting us off planet.”

“Who was it, Mary?”

“The Remst and Logren.”

Jon hit his board, “Captain’s Gibbons and Kune, I’m assigning each of you a planet in M87 and I want you to take your squadrons and destroy every warship they have. You will not accept surrender and tell them to think twice in the future before they send ships against us again.”

“Yes Sir.” Jon watched his board and saw two fleets of three thousand ships each disappear off it. Reports of more ships coming out of green space at Earth began coming in and he sent squadrons to punish the aggressors. He looked at his panel, “Jill, we’re getting things under control here. Take your fleet and the additional squadrons I’ve assigned to you out to the Hive and see if you can help them. We think the Hive will be the first target.”

“On my way, Admiral.”

• • •

Leigh Ann rushed into Kat’s office, “What’s happening?”

“Civil war has broken out in M87. The Government Center has been nuked from space, killing all of the Alliance’s leadership. More than twenty thousand planets have been attacked and we’ve beaten off six waves of attackers attempting to destroy Earth. We’ve killed more than eight hundred invaders at the orbit of Mars.”

“What are we doing about it?”

“Admiral Anders has sent squadrons to punish the attacker’s planets and one of our main attack fleets to help the Hive and Horde.”

“Don’t we need those ships here?”

“We’ve disrupted space around our solar system and no one can jump in. We’ll see them coming and none of them have ships that can match our Rovers. We have managed to get ahead of this for the moment. The worse time will be when the civilizations in M87 choose up sides. That is when the real devastation and much larger attacks will start here.”

“Get me a ship. I’m moving my office to the colonies.”

Kat stared at President Connor, “It’s going to be extremely difficult to direct our defense efforts from there, Sir.”

Leigh Ann sneered, “You will have to do that here. I’ll stay in touch if you find you need me. Now get me a ship that will hold my personal staff.”

Kat said, “Yes Sir.”

Leigh Ann rushed out and Kat thought about the cowardice of the President. Her board pinged and she heard, “We’ve detected an enemy force just outside the edge of the solar system. We think they’re waiting to attack anyone that tries to come in or get out.”

“Notify Admiral Anders.”

“He’s put handling them off until the fleets are organized. They aren’t an issue yet.”

Her board pinged and Kat saw President Connor on the screen, “Where’s my ship?”

“I’m sending you a large shuttle that will hold your staff and I’m assigning ten Rovers to escort you to the colonies.”

“Well, get moving.”

Kat saw the shuttle pilot appear on her board and she gave him his instructions. The Rovers were to precede him beyond the edge to ensure a safe place for the President to escape. She received messages and watched her panel for eight hours until the President’s ships arrived at the edge of the disruption. She really managed to look distraught when the message came in that the President’s shuttle had been blasted by an enemy force. All hands perished but the enemy force was also destroyed. Kat notified the colonies of President Connor’s death and a period of mourning began for the brave woman that had died in combat. Kat ordered all flags on Earth to be flown at half-mast until further notice.

Kat knew the President would have pulled most of the ships away from Earth’s defense to ensure her worthless hide was safe in the colonies. She would cause more harm to the Union than the enemy. Now Kat was going to have to make sure everything didn’t fall apart until another President could be elected.

Admiral Anders appeared on her display and Kat saw his distress, “I couldn’t do anything about that enemy. Why did she leave, knowing they were there?”

Kat looked at Jon and raised one eyebrow. Jon saw her expression and his brow furrowed, “Where was she going?”

“She was running to the colonies. I suspect she would have recalled half of our ships there once she arrived.”

Jon stared at Kat and said, “Safety before policy.” Kat stared at him and then nodded. Jon nodded back and disappeared from the screen. Kat smiled; this new admiral was going to work out. He was quick on the uptake.

Chapter Eleven

“Dat.”

“Yes Stein.”

“Civil war has broken out in M87 and one of the first casualties was the President.”

“How were they able to hit Earth?”

“They didn’t.”

“Then how was the President killed?”

“It appears she was taking her sorry backside to the colonies to miss out on the festivities and was killed at the edge of disrupted space when her shuttle was hit by a lurking enemy force.”

“What was she doing in a shuttle?”

“She had ten Rovers as escorts but insisted on a ship large enough to hold her personal staff.”

“That doesn’t answer why she was in a shuttle with them.”

Dat waited for an answer and Gresha said, “Perhaps she was put in a shuttle to take her off the board. It appears someone made the decision that she was expendable.”

Dat looked at Gresha as Loree said, “She would have taken most of our ships to the colonies and written Earth off.”

Dat sat down and said, “Patch me through to Admiral Hull.” Katherine appeared on his display, “Sir, do we need to come back?”

“No, Admiral Anders has everything under control at the moment. You need to complete your task. We are not in a position to do anything about that galaxy at the moment. We can only do so much until some sort of equilibrium is reached in M87. If things go to hell in a hand basket, I’ll call you back.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Good luck, Captain.”

The screen went dark and Stein said, “The Wing that relieved us has just been destroyed attacking a Black Squadron.”

“WHAT!”

“I’ll put it on your panel.”

Dat watched the twenty Rovers skip into normal space and fire on the eighty ships they were attacking. “Sixteen enemy ships exploded but all twenty Rovers were hit by brilliant narrow beams and exploded. Six of them were only hit by one beam. “Loree, what have you determined?”

“They have condensed their beams even more. They aren’t wider than our ships now and contain the power of the original wide beam. That new beam is able to punch through our Dark Matter force fields. They have also come up with a targeting system that allows them to fire on our ships the instant of their appearance in normal space.”

“That has to mean their beams are now scanner directed.”

“That doesn’t normally work, Dat.”

“It does if you have the frequency reading on the targets you’re trying to hit. Once the frequency appears the beam emplacements will automatically turn on it.”

“You think they have a frequency on us.”

“It’s the only way they could fire that fast. They now have the edge; we are now behind them technologically and totally defensive. Does Fleet know about the loss of the Wing?”

“They do but all of their resources are extended due to the current crisis and nothing can be done about these new developments for the near future. Admiral Hull says she’ll decide what to do later.”

Dat looked at his panel, “I really think we could hit them and skip away if we come in on the right approach, but it has become much more difficult. Was the enemy able to recover anything from our ships?”

“You know if our force fields are breached that a Rover will go off like a bomb. They didn’t have anything they could examine.”

“Stein, what has the microprobe picked up at Gresha’s home?”

“That giant Master has been true to his word and they have not returned since the run. I do think you should not spend too much time out in the open.”

“Why is that?”

“I’d really hate for that Master to come back and see you on his scanner. That would cause a real brouhaha.”

Gresha shook her head, “I’ll just cut his hair short. They really don’t see the differences in us. The only way we knew which Master was chasing Dat was because it was so much bigger. They all look alike to us as well. They won’t recognize him with shorter hair.”

Dat looked at Gresha, “Are you ready to go home?”

“First your hair; then I’m looking so forward to seeing my parents.” Dat smiled and hugged Gresha. She kissed him on the cheek and left for the medical closet to get a pair of scissors.

• • •

Jill arrived with her twenty thousand Rovers at the border between The Horde and Hive Civilizations. Her display illuminated and she said, “I’m Admiral Jillian Connor and I’ve been sent to assist in the defense of your planets.”

“We welcome you, Admiral. We’ve managed to fight off ten attacks but the numbers coming have been steadily increasing. We can use your help.”

“How many ships do you have to use against them?”

“We have ten thousand Rover ships between us and four million of our old ships.”

“Have you disrupted space around your planets?”

“No, we’re waiting for large numbers of our commercial ships to make it back from the galaxy proper.”

“Don’t wait any longer. Those ships will have to fly in to your worlds. Disrupt them now!”

The Hive Master looked at the leader of the Horde and nodded. Jill said, “I want to know if a large enemy force arrives at any of your planets. I have the coordinates of your capitals and that is where I believe they will strike first. Notify me if any show up.”

“We will Admiral. Thank you for your support.”

“Get your older ships out to the edge of the disruption around your planets. Your Rovers should be used to jump to any planet that’s under attack. Let’s try to make them back off.”

The two leaders disappeared from her display. Jill pressed the main frequency for her fleet, “The eight hundred ships that have been training with Captain Arvolo will come and link in their command systems to my ship. We are now in a state of war and I want to make sure you understand that if you deviate, even slightly, from the instructions I send you, you will be court-martialed and imprisoned. Is that clear!?!” Jill waited for the message to sink in and said, “You have your coordinates for the position you are to take around my ship; now get moving.”

Captain Cokerman appeared on her display, “What about the rest of us, Admiral?”

“I’m assigning you seven thousand Rovers and you need to use them the best way you can. They are accustomed to acting independently so I would highly recommend that you give them an objective and allow them to just do their thing. I’m going to go in first and try to soften up any large attack and you can follow up and do what damage you can. Captains Wilson and West, you will also take command of six thousand Rovers and do the same thing. Now get your units organized and be prepared to go where you’re needed.”

All three Senior Captains said, “Yes Sir.”

• • •

Captain Gibbons arrived at the capital planet of the Remist and spread out the three thousand Rovers into a long line. “Take out the warships around the planet.” His communication panel activated and he heard, “Why are you violating our space?”

“Your ships were destroyed attempting to sneak in on Earth. We’re here to make sure you don’t send any more.”

“Wait a moment; let’s talk about this.”

“Talk all you want, no one’s listening.”

The three thousand Rovers skipped in and thousands of warships began exploding. Ten thousand managed to jump away but the burning hulks left behind were a brutal message to anyone dumb enough to attack the human’s planet. Gibbons looked at his display and saw Captain Kune, “Have you completed your assignment?”

“I’ve destroyed the bulk of their ships at their capital.”

“I’ve done the same thing. I’ve just received a message from fleet that says they need us at two Moet planets that are located close to the edge of our galaxy. Ships are moving in from the edge of disrupted space and we need to go now if we’re going to catch them. I’ve put one of the coordinates on your panel.”

“I wonder if it was like this for our ancestors.”

“It was probably worse. This is what comes from being in a Navy family. Good luck, Gibbs.”

“You, too.”

The three thousand Rovers disappeared and twenty thousand warships that waited on them to leave jumped in right behind them to attack the now weakened planet. Billions were dying in M87. It was going to get worse…much worse.

• • •

Jill had dispatched ships forty times during the first six days of the civil war. Each time the invaders were repulsed. She fought her fleet while she struggled with the death of her mother. She learned the details and felt an equal measure of sorrow and shame. Leigh Ann had run to save herself. Somehow, she was not surprised. She forced herself to focus and put her grief away for another time. Now was not it. She read the messages being sent by fleet and knew that trouble was about to raise its head. The major players in the giant galaxy had started picking sides and were getting organized. Small disorganized attacks were ending and now would come the real danger. The most recent notification from Fleet said that two of the major players had decided to work together to eliminate the Hive and Horde. They weren’t willing to go after each other with such a strong force still active. She knew her twenty thousand ships were not going to be enough to stop a major attack.

“Are you having fun yet?”

“Jon!”

“I’ve seen the report from Fleet and I’ve brought a few party favors for any guests that might show up.”

“How many?”

“I have a million and a half Rovers in green space waiting for any major attack that might occur.”

“How do you want to handle this, Sir?”

“We intercepted a message that said the Hive would be targeted first. I suspect this planet will be their target. I want to make sure they commit to an attack so I am not going to use my Rovers until they move inside disrupted space. You need to keep their attention on your fleet and draw them inside the outer edge of the disruption perimeter.”

“I’ll hit them and withdraw. I’ll do it as many times as necessary.”

“Jill, I hate placing your fleet in this danger but if they see our numbers, they’ll withdraw and attack elsewhere. We need to cut down their numbers here.”

“It’s alright, Jon. We’ll do what’s needed.”

Jill saw the display go dark and heard, “Jill, I have a massive signature moving through green space toward us.”

“Thanks, Jack. Notify all ships to go to battle stations and to form up on us.”

The twenty thousand ships rushed in and formed four lines of five thousand ships in each line. Jill hit her communicator, “We will fire into the front ranks of the incoming ships and fall back. We’ll continue this process until ordered differently. Dress up your lines and God Speed.”

Captain Kune had arrived two hours earlier from fighting off an attack on a Moet Planet and watched the incoming feed from his scanners. He saw millions of ships emerge into normal space. He shook his head and knew this is what his ancestors had faced a thousand years earlier. They had survived and he was determined that he would as well. It was the most frightening and exhilarating experience he had ever had. The rush was incredible.

Jill saw the massive fleet appear in front of her ranks and yelled, “Open fire on my mark and start falling back with my ship.”

Jill stared at the massive fleet and Bucket said, “The scan shows that ships of our former allies in the First Galactic War are mingled in with the other ships.”

Jill felt a moment of sorrow. The White Civilization had now turned against them. Their ships were among the most powerful in M87. The giant fleet rushed forward and Jill yelled, “Mark! Open fire!”

The twenty thousand Rovers fired into the oncoming mass of ships and thousands began exploding. Millions of beams lanced out and began hitting the Rovers. Jill saw hundreds of her ships were overwhelmed by thousands of beams hitting them and exploded. She began moving away from the juggernaut and saw the numbers of enemy ships being killed was unbelievable. More than eight hundred thousand of the attackers had been destroyed but more than a million more were jumping in to join the battle. Jill continued to fire and slowly withdrew. She watched her ships paying a huge price as they fell back. Bucket announced, “We’ve passed the edge of disrupted space.” She picked up speed and saw the giant fleet stop at the edge of the disruption. Jill stopped withdrawing and fired into their ranks, continuing to destroy ships. The commander of the giant fleet must have made a decision as the giant fleet accelerated and rushed at the surviving Rovers. Jill ordered the survivors to turn and flee the oncoming mass of ships and the giant fleet surged forward at an even faster speed.

In twenty minutes the last ships crossed the edge of disrupted space and Jon said, “Take them, now.”

The million and half Rovers emerged into normal space and fell on the massive fleet from the rear like a pack of wolves attacking a grizzly. The Commander of the attackers saw his mistake and ordered a full retreat but the majority of his ships were twenty minutes inside disrupted space and none of his ships could match the speed and power of a Rover.

Jill saw Jon’s ships emerge and start attacking the enemy ships and she turned her ships around and released the Rovers to go after targets of opportunity. Ten million ships had come to attack the Hive. Less than six million survived the attempt. The message went out in M87. It was suicide to attack the Hive and Horde.

Jill watched the enemy ships jump away and Jon said, “I have to leave; we still have ships jumping into the Milky Way. Call me if you need me.”

“I thought you were supposed to call me for our next get together.”

Jon smiled, “Oh yeah; it slipped my mind.”

“Stay safe, Jon.”

“I’m leaving enough ships to replace those you’ve lost. Try to take care of our Allies.” Jill saw him smile and the display went dark.

“That’s one sharp officer.”

“I know, Jack.”

“Is there something we should know?”

“Don’t be silly; you already know everything I do.”

“Yeah, but you need to say it.”

“You’re right, Jack.”

“There, was that so hard?”

“Shut up and check on the Horde’s capital.”

“Nothing yet.”

“Jump the fleet there. I want to make sure they didn’t plan an attack while we are busy here.”

The twenty thousand ships jumped to the Horde capital in time to confront a million attackers that promptly jumped away when they arrived.

“You must be getting psycho or something.”

“It’s called psychic, Bucket.”

“Same thing.”

Jill laughed and began reading messages coming in from Fleet.

• • •

Kat looked at the casualty reports and sighed. Only three Union Planets had been hit and five cities were destroyed by nuclear blasts. More than fifty thousand Rovers had been killed when they faced odds that overwhelmed them. It could be worse. Normally this is where the President would call for peace and understanding, which would promptly be ignored. She thought about it and made a decision. She pressed her panel and said, “I am going to send a message to M87. Get all the scanners ready to broadcast it and then move them to another location.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

The two leaders of the failed attack on the Hive Civilization looked at each other on their communication panels. One said, “We have to go back and destroy them.”

“We lost ten percent of our ships in this last attack. Do you know how many ships they have to use against us?”

The leader struggled and said, “No, I don’t.” Suddenly their panels showed a human on their display.

“Up to this moment, we have not attacked anything but the ships of those that have attacked our galaxy and our allies. That policy ends now. Any of you idiots that send ships into our galaxy or against the Horde and Hive Civilizations will have your planets destroyed starting with the capitals of your civilizations. If you think you can stop us, send a ship our way. We will not participate in this foolishness you’ve started and we promise to leave you in peace if you stop your aggression against us. We promise to not join any of the ones involved in this war and will attack anyone that asks for our support. We are not a danger to anyone that leaves us alone. Those that don’t will be destroyed. We keep our promises. You should read your history to see what awaits those of you that don’t listen.”

The image faded and the two leaders looked at each other. “What do you think?”

“I’ve read my history. If they promise not to attack us, they won’t.”

“But we can’t leave such a powerful civilization behind us.”

“You need to listen. They are no longer an issue. I don’t trust any civilization in our galaxy and that includes yours; however, the humans keep their promises. Have you ever heard of them breaking one?”

The leader thought a moment and said, “No…they are known for their integrity.”

“I’ve heard from one of our adversaries that it has been estimated that they have more than forty million of those small ships.”

“Can that be true?”

“Do you want to find out? Let someone else take them on.”

“Then that means we can now start our hostilities.”

“It does.”

“Do you really want to do that?”

“Not really.”

“Then what about having an armistice until this war sorts itself out and then we’ll look at whether or not we want to continue our fight.”

“We certainly have a better chance of survival if we work together.”

“Then together it is.”

• • •

The second Leader ended the communication and looked at his War Admiral staring at him, “What?”

“Our ships are ready; does this agreement mean I should recall them?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Launch the attack.”

The fleets fell on the planets of the first leader as the second Leader’s planets were being blasted by the first. The anger and mistrust had been building too long and fifty thousand planets were turned into rubble.

• • •

Kat looked at her panel and saw the war in M87 had begun in earnest. She knew that if her fleets were removed from the board in the civil war that those that were hesitant would strike. The numbers being killed were too high to count. But, there were no more attacks in the Milky Way or in the Hive and Horde’s territories. She knew that many bleeding heart historians would condemn her in the future but she didn’t care. There was a much more dangerous enemy to face and she might have acted differently in different circumstances. She smiled; Dat was right. The safety of those under her command was more important than policies that called for preventing loss of life. Safety before policy.

Chapter Twelve

“How are we going to get down to the planet?”

“The hard way; Stein are you ready?”

“I’m right where I need to be. You should take Gresha to the storage bay and get ready to leave. I’ve timed your arrival and you need to get moving.”

Dat looked at himself in the mirror and said, “I’m glad I saved this outfit.”

Gresha looked at her Academy Uniform and said, “Well, I left all my clothes when we departed. I’m sure my Father has not disposed of them.”

“Oh?”

“He misses me too much. I’m sure he’s kept them. You still haven’t answered my question. This ship doesn’t have a shuttle. How are we going down?”

“We’re going to take the elevator.”

Gresha raised an eyebrow and lowered her chin, “We’re taking the what?”

“Come on; I’ll show you.” Dat took Gresha’s hand and led her to the storage bay. It was originally called a landing bay but the only thing small enough to land in it is was pigeons or chickens. Dat yelled, “Give us just a moment.”

“Hurry up; just say when.”

Dat walked over to the port and said, “I need you to put your arms around my neck and get as close as possible.”

Gresha smiled, “You’re kidding, right?”

“No.”

“I’ve wanted to do this for the last hour.” Gresha put her arms around Dat’s neck and pulled herself so close Dat thought she could be a second skin.

“Now, don’t let go.”

“Why.” Suddenly Gresha saw a dark field appear around them and she recognized it as a dark matter force field. The inside of the field had a distinctive color. “How did you do that?”

“My rings produce it. Alright, Stein, open it up.”

Gresha saw the port open and the air in the small bay pushed them out as it blew out. Dat didn’t know how she could be any closer but somehow she pulled it off. The two ejected from the ship and headed toward the ship’s force field. Dat said, “When we cross the force field, we will be kicked out of green space into normal space above the planet. I’ll manipulate the field and start us dropping toward your community.”

Gresha held Dat tight and felt her heart go into her throat when the planet suddenly appeared below them and they fell toward it. Dat controlled the thrust and directed them toward the ground. Gresha watched and saw her community as a small dot far below. “This is amazing.”

“This is how I arrived the first time. I’m going to try to stop us just outside your quarters. I’ll stay between you and the street and you go in first. Come and get me when your parents calm down.”

“Calm down?”

“They don’t expect to ever see you again. This could be somewhat shocking.” Gresha nodded and watched as the community grew larger. It looked so small from high altitude. She glanced around and saw hundreds of communities scattered across the continent; so many suffering in the arms of the Masters. “Get ready.” Gresha saw the ground coming up quickly and nearly choked Dat. She heard him, saw his expression and quit squeezing his neck. They slowed and came down silently outside Gresha’s home just as the sun moved below the horizon. The streets were deserted. Gresha stepped away from Dat and knocked on the door. Her father opened the door slightly and saw Gresha. Gresha saw his shock and then his love as he threw the door open and pulled her inside. Dat waited outside looking around and after ten minutes he knocked. The door opened and Gresha’s face was red with embarrassment, “I’m sorry. I got caught up telling my parents all that has happened.” Dat pushed his lips together and shook his head. Gresh came up and snatched him off the street in a bear hug and walked into the room. After Gresha’s choking and Gresh’s hug; he didn’t know if he would ever breathe normally again. Gresha laughed and said, “Don’t hurt him, Father.” Gresh put him down and Dat collapsed in a chair. Darn these people are strong.

• • •

Dat discussed what they had discovered below the fields around the community. Gresh and Kyley listened and Dat was surprised that they didn’t show more amazement at the information. He decided to ask why, “You don’t appear to be surprised about this?”

“We know that something is there. Whenever we dig deep enough, whatever it is we encounter, is too hard for us to break through.”

Dat stared at Gresh, “There’s more to it than that.”

Gresh looked at Kyley and turned back to Dat, “We have been forbidden from discussing our ancestors with any outsider. It is a taboo that no one would ever violate.” Gresh looked at Gresha, “Have you discussed this with him?”

“No Father; I have not. I’ve only mentioned the legends.”

Dat looked at Gresha and she took a deep breath, “This is part of our religion and faith prevents me from talking about it with anyone outside my people.”

“And that includes me?”

“Dat, you could choose to just walk away and leave me here. I honestly don’t expect you to do that but I cannot violate the trust of my people. Only those who are members of our society may know our history and even then it is never discussed openly.”

“Then how am I going to find out how to get it activated?”

Gresha sighed, “You probably won’t find out. I’m the one that will have to search for the key.”

Dat stared at Gresha and slowly shook his head, “Gresha, you know I would never walk away from you.”

Gresha stared at Dat, “In my heart, I believe you.”

Gresh said, “But she is still bound by the oath and faith she agreed to follow as a child.”

Dat stared at them and after a long moment of silence he said, “You know there is advanced technology hidden on this planet.” The three gave no indication he was right. “And these beliefs are in place to prevent it ever being discovered by anyone outside of your species.”

Kyley said, “Well, I don’t know that species is correct. It may not be revealed to anyone outside our families.”

Dat looked at Gresha and said, “Then tell me what I need to do to help you.”

“At the moment, you should be patient and allow me to see if I can find the means of activating the ship. If I can do that, I’ll see if the ship will allow me to communicate with you about it.”

Gresh said, “That’s enough, Child. You’ve said too much.”

“Father, he needs to know that he may not be given an answer.”

“Even so, that’s enough.”

Dat saw that this taboo was a powerful compulsion among Gresha’s people. He looked at Gresha and she saw his small smile, “I will honor your beliefs and not push you for answers. If I can assist you, I will. I will never ask you to violate your faith; I love you too much for that.”

Gresha leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Dat’s neck and said, “Thank you; I know how difficult this is for you to step back.”

Gresh slowly nodded, “You are more than I thought.”

Dat looked at Gresh, “I love your daughter. She makes everyone she encounters better than they were.”

• • •

Kune contacted Gibbons, “It’s really getting bad.”

Gibbons sighed, “There is a lot of hatred between them. It’s been festering for three hundred years.”

“Could we have stopped this killing?”

“In a perfect world, yes; but this is not a perfect world and it’s populated by imperfect beings that are driven by their emotions. Those feelings have been screaming for release and this is what falls out when they’re vented.”

“We could step in and force a ceasefire.”

Gibbs stared at Kune on his display and shook his head, “Have you ever tried to break up a fight between two people that really hate each other?”

“Not that I remember; why do you ask?”

“Well, I have. You don’t want to do that.”

“Why not?”

“Because both of them turned on me and beat me silly; then they returned to their fight. If we stepped in, all of them would turn on us and remove us for preventing them from doing what they are driven to do. We can’t take on all of them.”

Kune sighed, “I guess you’re right. It’s just so hard to stand by and watch the billions of innocent civilians being killed.”

“You need to check your scanners. Most of the civilians are cheering on their military. The hatred is pandemic and this disease must run its course before this galaxy can return to normalcy. Perhaps we might step in and help them rebuild.”

Kune sighed, “We won’t do that.”

“Oh; why not?”

“Because if we step in and assist anyone without assisting them all, the ones omitted will hate us for aiding their enemies. I suspect we will try to remain neutral and try to get this galaxy to see that we are not going to ever be involved in their activities again.”

“Back to isolationism?”

“Yes, but we’ll make sure they know we still have a very large stick with which to beat them if they intrude on us.”

“Kune, I guess you’re right. If I had just told those two hotheads that I would not stand by and watch their foolishness and just walked away, they would have at least respected me afterwards. As it was, they didn’t like me and I lost two close friends.”

Kune laughed, “You would have to make sure you never invited both of them to a soiree.”

Gibbs laughed, “There is that.”

“Did they ever forgive you?”

“Well…no. I married the woman they were fighting over. They became good friends afterward agreeing on what a I bum I was.” Kune started laughing and Gibbs said, “Hey, she liked that I was brave enough to step in.”

“Don’t you mean stupid?”

“Same thing.” Kune continued to laugh and Gibbs sighed and watched the reports coming in.

• • •

Six weeks had passed and Dat spent most of the days following Gresh around the community helping out wherever he could. He saw Gresha’s frustration growing and knew she was not making progress. He tried to comfort her at night but he saw she was beginning to give up. One night she turned to him and said, “I can’t find it.”

“Want to talk about it?”

Gresha shook her head, “There’s nothing that even remotely resembles a trace; NOTHING!”

Dat pulled her into his arms and said, “You have to know that whatever it might be; it has been hidden by advanced intellects. It will not be easily recognized.”

“I don’t think it exists anymore. It may have in the distant past, but time and the Masters have erased it. I’m telling you that it is not here.”

“Shhhhh, just relax. I know you’ve searched to the best of your ability. You can’t blame yourself.”

Gresha snuggled in under his arm, “Thank God you’re here to help me deal with this stress.” She looked up at him, “What do we do if I can’t find it?”

Dat tilted his head and straightened it back up, “We’ll go home. We can’t excavate for that ship without the Masters seeing it.”

“Give me another week and if it doesn’t turn up, we’ll leave.” Dat pulled her close and she closed her eyes.

• • •

Dat sat on the wall looking out at the field and knew an undetectable starship was just under the surface. He finally came to terms with the prospect that it may remain there. He thought about Gresha’s remark about the possibility that he could just walk away. He looked at the ground at the base of the fence and realized that he had made no promises to her. He thought about it and looked up at the couples working together in the fields. He swung his legs back over the wall and walked up the hill to Gresha’s house. He went in and found Gresh home having lunch.

“Gresh, I want to ask your permission to marry, Gresha.”

“Do what?”

“I want to marry her.”

“What is marry?”

“It’s where two people choose to officially join in a union for the rest of their lives.”

“Oh, you mean you want to have her.”

“Do what?”

“Have her; you want her to be yours.”

“She’s not a piece of property, Gresh.”

“No but she will be your mate. You will have her. Have you asked her?”

“In my society, it is traditional to ask the Father’s permission first.”

“What do I have to do with it? You need to ask her.”

“Could you stop me from…having her?”

“Of course.” Dat’s brow furrowed and Gresh said, “But I would never stop it. Having a daughter in the house angry about a father’s interference is more than any sane man would ever want.”

Gresha walked in and saw Dat and Gresh suddenly turn and stare at her, “What are you two up to?”

Gresh said, “Dat was asking my permission to have you and I told him he needed to ask you.”

Dat jerked his head back around at Gresh and he said, “What?”

“I would have preferred to tell her myself.”

“Then why haven’t you?” Dat looked up and rolled his eyes. Gresha’s expression showed her shock. Dat said, “I actually asked him if it was alright with him if I asked you to marry me.”

“We don’t marry, Dat.”

Dat stared at Gresha and went down on one knee, “Then will you agree for me to have you?”

Gresha smiled, “Are you sure about this, Dat? I can never give you children.”

“As long as I have you; that would be more than I could ever want.”

Gresha said, “I agree to be yours, Dat Arvolo.” Dat stood and took her in his arms. Gresha held him tight and looked over his shoulder, “Father, will you ask the Elders to perform the ceremony?”

“I will.”

Dat looked into her eyes and saw something that amazed him. He saw into her soul and knew how much she loved him. He kissed her and her Father said, “Hey, hey, save it for after the ceremony.”

Dat smiled and Gresha said, “We can leave afterwards.”

Dat looked at her and sighed, “Nothing?”

Gresha shook her head, “Nothing; but I’m not going to allow that to take away from this happy time. I love you so much, Dat.” Dat pulled her close and hugged her tightly.

“Hey, Romeo.”

Gresha leaned back and Dat said, “Yes, Stein.”

“Loree and I were wondering if you were going to include us.”

“I will leave the rings active so you can be there with us.”

Loree said, “I think I’m going to cry.”

Dat shook his head, “Computers don’t cry.”

Dat waited for a response and after a moment Stein said, “You’ve hurt her feelings.” Dat looked around and could only manage to shake his head and roll his eyes.

Gresha said, “I’d love to have both of you there.”

“Thank you, Miss Gresha. One could only hope our Commander would show as much class.”

Dat started laughing and Stein said, “He knows; so you should can the hurt routine.”

“Hey, who says I’m not hurt.”

“Come on, Loree. We’re not made that way.”

“Speak for yourself.”

Dat laughed. Better Stein than him.

• • •

Jill was watching the recording of the Wing that was destroyed by the Black Ships. She stared at the speed of the blasters that locked on the Rovers and fired at an incredible speed. Her screen beeped and she pressed the enable button, “What are you up to, Admiral?”

Jill smiled broadly, “Hi, Jon. I’m going over the recording of the Wing that was killed.”

Jon’s smile vanished and he took a deep breath, “It appears we have a real problem confronting them now.”

“Yes…and no.”

Jon tilted his head, “Tell me what you see.”

“We’re going to have to change the Command System.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t think we can fight them in coordinated units. Do you have a few minutes where I can run my thoughts by you?”

“Fire away, no pun intended.”

Jill smiled, “It is a good one though. I’m sending you some stills I’ve taken from the recording. Let me know when you have them.”

Jon looked to his left and said, “I have them on my panel.”

“I want you to look closely at one of their major battleships. Notice that there are three lines that run down the ship’s entire length where there are no beam emplacements.”

Jon looked and said, “That’s the lines where their thrusters are located. In order to change direction, the thrusters have to be spaced evenly along their hulls. It takes three lines to be able to move a starship on multiple vectors.”

“That’s right; two would only move it from side to side. It takes a minimum of three to move in all directions. Six would be better.”

“Probably, but the loss of hull space wouldn’t be optimal for the slight maneuvering gains from the additional three. That space would be better served with weapon emplacements.”

“That shows they are good designers, but there is a problem in using three lines.”

“What is that?”

“I asked Bucket to do an analysis of the beams above and below those thruster lines. That ship is so large that none of the beams above and below the thruster line can be depressed to hit a ship located just above the thrusters.”

“Jill, a ship can’t get that close to the thrusters. The force field will keep them far enough out to where they could be targeted.”

“That is what will kill them, Jon. Pull up a recording of the last battle and measure how far their force fields are from their hulls.”

Jon typed on his keyboard and looked at the battle with the huge Black Creature’s Fleet. He watched Mary do the measure and he was shocked, “It’s only ten feet off their hull.”

“I know that one would expect it to be much further out but it’s not. Do you remember the first images Dat received of similar ships attacking each other in that galaxy a hundred years ago?” Jon nodded. “We know that the more area a force field has to cover, its strength is reduced with the square of distance. I suspect the force field has to be that small to provide the strength necessary to stop those beams they used in that galaxy. They haven’t changed the distance in any subsequent designs. Why would they deliberately build a force field that was weaker?”

“So how do we exploit this, Jill?”

“We go back to what our Rovers are best at; they attack individual ships. They find the thruster line, skip in over it, fire a dark matter beam, and skip away.”

Jon thought about the idea and said, “Ok, let me throw some questions to help clarify my thoughts.”

“Fling away.”

“Can’t the ships roll to fire at the Rover?”

“No, they can’t. A beam directly connected to a scanner can barely target and fire before a Rover skips out. A beam operator couldn’t do it in time. That has to be done by a computer. And getting the instructions to the thruster controls to roll is, at best, a much slower process.”

“We can do it as fast.”

“Yes, but our ships have the thrusters in the bows and tails and are much smaller and easier to roll. Getting the mass of a ship that size to start moving is difficult.”

“What’s to prevent them from placing ships next to each other covering each other’s thruster lines?”

“No matter how hard you try, there will always be a ship on the edge of any formation they use. Those ships will be in jeopardy. Once they’re hit, the next ones inside that layer become vulnerable. And besides, you know that trying to fight a space battle in a fixed formation is a good way to get your ships destroyed. If they chose to do it, the numbers that could actually fire on our Rovers would be greatly reduced.”

Jon thought a moment and said, “How do we get our fleets ready to do this?”

“Every Rover gets a helmet and the Command System with the protocols Dat gave me. The system will look for those thruster lines and point out any lines that are vulnerable. The speed of the system will allow the Rovers to skip in and hit their ships without being targeted by their beams.” Jill saw Jon thinking and said, “Jon, you’ve seen how hard it is to get pilots that have always worked alone to follow the discipline of fighting in coordinated units. This will allow them to do what they do best; take them on ship to ship.”

Jon looked at Jill and said, “Plan to meet me at Admiral Hull’s office tomorrow afternoon. I’ll set it up. Have all your documentation in order and we’ll see if we can’t persuade her to let us do it.” Jill stared at Jon not saying anything and Jon furrowed his brow. He was missing something. He looked at his computer and then smiled. He looked up and said, “After the meeting, I wonder if you might consider an evening out with a good meal and dancing.”

Jill smiled, “Would I be doing this alone?”

“Jill Connor, will you go out with me tomorrow evening?”

“Why, of course; I look forward to it.”

Jon shook his head and ended the call.

Jill began thinking about what she was going to wear.

Chapter Thirteen

Dat stood beside Gresh in the community’s Meeting Hall. Gresha had made the outfit he wore personally as all new mates were required. It fit him perfectly and was remarkably comfortable. He saw the Elders standing at the front of the room and noticed they didn’t look very happy. Dat looked at Gresh and he whispered, “They did not approve of Gresha leaving with you. They also oppose this union.”

“Because I’m an outsider?”

“No, because you are taking away the heart of our community; everyone loves Gresha.”

Dat looked at Gresh, “Not as much as I do.”

“That is why I forced them to do it.”

“Thank you.”

“Just make her happy, Dat. There’s been so much horror and sorrow in her life. She deserves her happiness.”

Dat nodded and saw the doors open and Gresha was led in on Kyley’s arm. Dat almost lost his breath. Gresha was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. Now her beauty was stunning. The pale green and white wedding dress made her almost too beautiful to see. All of those gathered were amazed at her beauty and her smile was radiant. Gresh pulled his arm and he forced himself to face the Elders. He immediately saw them staring at Gresha and her smile must have melted their resistance. They looked at each other and the Elder slowly shook his head and smiled. He nodded and the others nodded with him. Gresha had made a difference again.

Dat continued to stare at the Elders until he felt Gresha arrive at his side and take his arm. He looked at her and she saw the love in his eyes. She tried not to cry but her tears would not be denied.

The Elder said, “Let us sing our hearts for this joyous moment.” The gathering lifted their arms and extended them out from their chests. They placed their hands together and brought them in and placed them directly over their hearts. Gresha also had her hands on her chest and Dat followed their lead. The moment their hands touched their chest, the gathering began singing. They didn’t sing words. They sang notes and Dat thought it was the most beautiful music he had ever heard. The tone, the pitch, the volume was absolutely perfect. Each note was done in harmony and held for the perfect time. The song lasted for two minutes and Dat knew no human could ever match the ability of Gresha’s people to sing those notes.

After the song stopped the Elder stepped forward and said, “Gresha, Daughter of Gresh and Kyley, you have requested to allow Dat Arvolo to possess you in a timeless joining. Is it your wish to allow him to have you in your entirety?”

“It is, First Elder.”

“You will give him all you have to offer and will never share yourself with any others?”

“I will, gladly, First Elder.”

“You will keep this vow as long as you live?”

“Yes, I will, First Elder.”

The Elder turned to Dat and said, “You have asked to have Gresha, Daughter of Gresh and Kyley, as your life long mate and companion?”

“I have, First Elder.”

“You will give her all that you have in your hearts and soul to ensure her safety, peace, and happiness?”

“I will, First Elder.”

“You will give her your entirety and not share it with any other?”

“I will, First Elder.”

“Take her hand.” Dat took Gresha’s hands in his and the First Elder said, “It is by having that two become one. They will each have the other in their hearts for all time and their joy and happiness will grow beyond bounds. Let us celebrate the Having.”

The gathering exploded in cheers and Dat took Gresha in his arms. The following celebration was enormous and instant. Gresha was loved by her community and they shared her joy.

The music was loud and Dat held Gresha in his arms feeling his heart beat with hers. “The Elder said hearts.”

“He doesn’t know you only have one.”

“I’m really going to hate leaving.”

“We must remain here five days for the ceremony to be complete.”

“Why?”

“It allows time for everyone in the community to come and congratulate us.”

“That’s fine.” He held her close and welcomed the moments of peace in a universe gone mad. Even the Masters kept their word and took nothing away from the event.

• • •

Later, just before sun set, the gathering followed Dat and Gresha to his former residence. They arrived and Gresha opened the door, “Just a moment.”

Gresha turned and said, “What?”

“In my world, I am expected to carry you across the threshold.”

Gresha smiled and said, “I am yours to command.” Dat picked her up and carried her into the house. Gresha kissed him as they crossed the threshold. The next six couples that were joined did the same thing and a new tradition was begun in the community. All of them remembered Gresha’s love for her mate as he carried her into their home.

Gresha continued to kiss Dat and he felt his hand vibrate. Dat held the kiss but the vibration didn’t stop. Finally she broke the kiss and looked at him. He said, “I’m busy, Stein.”

“This isn’t Stein and we’ve not interrupted you before now.”

“What’s so important?”

“We’ve determined something that we feel you and Gresha should know.”

Dat looked at Gresha and said, “What is that?”

“Where are your manners, Loree?”

“Oh, you’re right, Stein. First let me say from both of us, congratulations.”

“Thank you, go on.”

“We discovered something during the ceremony that you should know.”

“Well say it; I have things to do.”

“The music that the community sang.”

“Yes.”

“It’s a frequency.”

Dat and Gresha were shocked silent. Gresha finally managed to get out, “A what?”

“The individual notes and pitch match the amplitude of a frequency. When you remove the sound from it, a definite frequency is visible. Push the peaks and valleys together and a frequency in the upper level of the spectrum can be seen.” Dat stared at Gresha and Einstein said, “There’s more.”

Dat said, “What else.”

“I’ve used one of the microprobes to scan all the other communities on the planet and every one of them sings the same frequency exactly. There is no measurable difference in the notes.”

Gresha looked at Dat, “We have the key.”

“Dat, do you want us to broadcast that frequency electronically?”

“No, not at this moment; it’s approaching sunset and we’ll look into it tomorrow.”

“You’re the boss’ and once again, congratulations and a good night to both of you.”

“Thanks.” Dat had to admit in the morning that it was a very good night.

• • •

Kat looked at the sociologist and shook her head, “Are you sure about this?”

“Nothing is ever certain when dealing with intelligent species.”

“What’s the probability?”

“Ninety five percent.”

“Oh, that’s all; why all the uncertainty?” Kat was amazed the scientist didn’t even see she was being sarcastic.

“There is a remote possibility that there won’t be enough survivors to do it. However, that is a remote possibility.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

The scientist looked at her and said, “I’ve been tracking the attacks in M87 and it won’t be long before this happens.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” The scientist stood and walked out. Kat blew out a breath, stood up, went to the window and stared out at Havana. She struggled with what to do and finally decided. Someone has to make the tough decisions. She went to her console and said, “Jere.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Get Admirals Anders and Connor in my office now.”

“Yes Sir.”

Kat pressed a button and said, “Gabriel, did you get a copy of my conversation with the former President out to Arvolo?”

“I did.”

“I need you to work on a project for me.”

“What do you need, Admiral?”

Kat told him. “Can you make it?”

“It will be on your desk by morning.”

“I need it faster than that.”

Gabriel sighed, “I’ll pull in some of my people who are off duty. You’ll have it in three hours.”

“Thanks Gabriel.”

Gabriel shook his head and started calling in the entire department’s staff. He knew that many Rovers in the Fleet would be astounded to learn that Admiral Hull was responsible for the underground messages that went out. She never ceased to amaze him at her grip on how to handle all the various departments in the government both inside and out of normal procedures.

• • •

Jill sat in Admiral Hull’s office and wondered why she was ordered in. The meeting on changing their ship’s tactics was postponed until next week but her orders were explicit, “Report in immediately.”

She sat as the Admiral stared at her terminal and wondered what was going on. She heard the door open and Jon stuck his head in. Admiral Hull motioned him to a chair and he sat down beside Jill. He looked at her with raised eyebrows and she shook her head and shrugged. He looked at the Admiral and saw she was focused on her computer screen. After an hour, Kat looked up and pressed a button, “Gabriel, this is exactly what I needed, thank you.”

“Glad I could help, Sir.”

Kat looked at Jon and Jill and said, “Bring your chairs around here so you can watch the main display.” Jon picked up both chairs and took them around to the Admiral’s side of the desk and placed them beside her. “I’m going to make a call and I want the two of you to hear it. Hold your comments until it’s over.”

“Yes Sir.”

Kat pressed a button linking her to the microprobes in M87 which had already been programmed. Jill looked up at the main display and saw two creatures appear on it. She immediately saw they were not happy at being contacted.

One of them said, “I thought you didn’t break promises. Contacting us violates you not contacting any of us to support a side.”

Kat smiled, “If you think this contact is for the purpose of supporting you, you are more insane than I think you are.”

“Then what are you doing making this contact?” Jill noticed the other creature on the display had remained silent; but it was clear it was nervous.

“I’m going to see if you are still rational beings or just insane.” The statement was not what the creature expected and he stared at the Admiral. “We have been watching the devastation being done in your galaxy over the past few months and it has become clear that you two are going to be the main survivors. It appears that everyone has now picked a side and it’s going to go down to which of you two ultimately wins. Ordinarily, we could care less how that plays itself out. However, we have also learned that the two of you are going to combine your forces and attack my galaxy before you play your end game.” Kat watched the two closely and saw them glance at each other. That glance confirmed her suspicions. She had no proof other than the sociologist’s prediction but now she knew he was right.

“Just how would you know something that isn’t true?”

“Oh, it’s true. I just want to make sure you understand what the consequences of your behavior will be.” The first speaker leaned back and had a smirk on its face. The second being looked at the first and remained sitting erect.

“My intelligence is that between the two of you; you have more than six billion ships that you could send to attack us.” The first speaker was surprised by that statement. “You estimate that you could overwhelm our ships and destroy all of the civilized planets in this galaxy before we could stop you. You might be right. The price you’d pay in lost ships would be huge but you might be able to pull it off.”

The first speaker smiled at the statement. He knew they could do it.

“I’m going to share some information with both of you. It’s something you should know before you do anything.”

“What could you possibly have that would even remotely interest us?”

“I’m going to play a recording of a conflict that we are currently having with another galaxy. I think it might interest you.” Both of the creatures perked up when Kat said the humans were involved in another fight. If some of their ships were tied down elsewhere, their chances of a successful attack were greatly improved. Kat pressed a button on her console and the recording started.

Jon and Jill watched the attacks that had happened in the Black Creatures galaxy and Jill winced at the loss of the four Rovers in her first command. They watched the giant ships jump in instantly every time a field was activated. They finally saw the twenty ships destroyed by the enemy ship’s new beams and the two creatures watching the recording immediately saw that Earth’s most powerful ships were not a match for the ones that destroyed them.

The recording then moved to image after image of planet after planet existing in primitive conditions. It then changed to recordings of the Masters embracing species after species, feeding on them. The images began appearing faster and faster and no species in the images were the same. It was clear that thousands, no millions of worlds were being eaten by the long armed black creatures. At the end of it the two were silent. Even Jill and Jon were stunned by the savagery they had witnessed.

Kat said, “That species has enslaved every civilized planet in that galaxy and has forced them to live in primitive societies. They are prohibited from developing anything technological.”

The first one said, “It appears you have a daunting task ahead of you.”

The second creature that had remained silent said, “You’ve shown us this for a reason.”

Kat smiled, “I have just one more image to show you.” The image of ten million ships appeared as Kat said, “Those ships are scouts that are going to be sent out for these monsters to expand into other galaxies. We are there fighting them to prevent that happening. We have determined that those creatures have more than eighty times our number in warships. However, I want you both to understand something.” Kat paused and saw she had the two creature’s undivided attention. She leaned forward and stared at the two on her display, “Should you attack my galaxy, I am ordering the two Admirals here with me to pick a fight with those black monsters and lead the ships that chase them to your galaxy.”

The two creatures on the display were shocked beyond speech. They could only stare at the screen. Finally the second one said, “But that would lead to the destruction of your allies here.”

“Don’t think that I don’t know that if you are successful against us, you would then attack them. They won’t be there when you and your civilizations are embraced by the Black Monsters.” The two could only stare at the millions of scouts. The image then changed to one of the monsters holding a creature off the ground with three arms as its beak hit its chest. Kat said, “There’s one other consideration that you might want to think about.” The two couldn’t tear their gaze from the feeding Master. “You don’t know where our colonies are located. Even if you kill every planet in this galaxy, our colonies will continue to work to defeat those monsters. However, once we are able to do that, we will not come and save you from them. You’ll deserve their embrace. And one last item, you won’t have any ship that will stand up to them and you will have been very short sighted to have lost millions of them taking us on.”

The first speaker finally tore his gaze from the image and stared at Kat. The second said, “You know she’ll do it.” The first was the one that remained silent. The second leader said, “We will not allow that nightmare to come here. We will not participate in the attack and if you do decide to attack them we will fight you with them.” The second turned to Kat and said, “Let’s assume we leave you in peace. Will those creatures find us?”

“Not soon. They are a long way from here but their scanners are superior to ours in some areas and they will come here eventually if they aren’t stopped. We do suspect that their first order of business will be to find the ones that sent ships to their galaxy. That will speed up the process of their arrival.”

The first finally managed to say, “Those creatures are far worse than the Red Sector.”

“At least you remember some history. Why do you think the Alliance was formed a thousand years ago? It was to stop creatures like that from killing us. You have lost your way and forgotten your past.”

The first speaker stared at Kat and finally said, “You would bring them here close to your galaxy?”

“You forget; we won’t be here to greet them if you attack us and destroy all our worlds; that will not be an issue. Our colonies are safer with their attention here. It will take them quite a long time to enslave all of your planets. We can use the time to find the means of defeating them.”

“We will not attack your galaxy.”

Kat laughed, “Do you think your promise means anything? Don’t be ridiculous.” Kat turned to Jon and Jill, “I want a thousand ships sent to that galaxy prepared to start a fight. If you’re notified that our galaxy is being attacked, lead those creatures to the home planets of these two first.”

Jon said, “It will be my pleasure, Sir.”

Kat turned to the two on the display and smiled, “I’m sure both of you will make a great meal for them. I understand they go after the leaders first.” Kat cut the connection.

Jill looked at Admiral Hull and slowly shook her head. Kat said, “We’ll do it. Make no mistake about that.”

Jon said, “And those two know the truth when they see it. They believe you.”

“They should, Admiral Anders. They will pay for coming after the planets I’ve sworn to protect.” Kat looked at Jill, “Get some ships out and have them prepared to do it.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

The two creatures looked at each other on their displays. They remained silent for a long time and finally the first said, “She will do what she says.” The second nodded. There was another long moment of silence and the first replayed the recording of the species being fed on by the Masters.

“What are you thinking?”

“We need to send this recording out to every planet in the galaxy along with the Admiral’s promise.”

“Why?”

“Because I believe her; these monsters exist. You are not my enemy.” The first pointed at the image on the display, “That creature is. We need to scare the hatred out of our galaxy and focus on rebuilding something that can take them on. I have no stomach for continuing our disagreements.”

“How can I believe you?”

“Just take a look at that image. Now how do you feel?”

The second looked at the image and said, “You look much more preferable than that.”

“I don’t know what is going to happen, but everyone here needs to know what nightmares are out there. Get the recording out and we’ll let what happens happen.”

The second nodded and the display went dark. The first continued to stare at the image and felt a cold wind blow through his soul.

Chapter Fourteen

Dat and Gresha greeted the sun in each other’s arms. Gresha pulled him close and said, “The second day of the rest of our lives. It already looks even better than yesterday.” Dat smiled and leaned down and kissed her. He said, “Well, let’s see if this works.” He pulled the ring finger on his left hand into his palm.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning, Loree. Are you ready to broadcast that frequency?”

“I am.”

“Give us a few moments to get dressed and go down to the field. I’ll let you know when to send it.”

“Standing by.”

Dat and Gresha walked down to the field as the community’s farmers went out into the field. They sat down on the wall and Dat looked out at the field, “I’m trying to remember where that ship is located.”

“It runs the length of the field and extends a half a mile beyond each end.”

Dat shook his head, “Boy, that’s huge. Do you remember if any of it is located under the community?”

Gresha thought a moment, “One edge might be located at this wall.”

Dat looked at her, “Do you think this wall is here for a reason?”

“The wall was here before the community.”

“Now that’s interesting.”

“Do tell.”

“Loree, send the frequency.”

Dat and Gresha stared out at the field and watched to see if anything happened. Nothing did. They stood up on the wall to get a better view and Dat said, “Send it again.” They scanned the field and watched the farmers to see if any of them spotted anything happening that would make them move. Again; nothing happened. “Loree, do your scanners see anything different?”

“No, there is absolutely no change.”

Gresha looked at Dat, “Maybe the frequency is affecting a different ship.”

Loree said, “We’ll scan the planet and see if anything shows up.”

Dat nodded, “Let us know immediately if you see anything.”

“Will do.”

Gresha showed her disappointment, “Don’t let this get you down.”

“I know; I was just so certain that something would happen.” Dat nodded and waited for the results of the scans to come in.”

• • •

Rayz stood up suddenly and looked across the field at his parents. They were getting old and an extra mouth to feed was taking a toll on them. He looked around him at the people toiling in the soil and knew that it was time. He picked up his shovel and walked across the field to his parents, “Father, Mother, it’s time for me to leave.” Their expressions became fearful and he continued, “You can’t continue to feed me out of your rations. It’s time.”

They hugged him and after a few tearful moments, Rayz handed his shovel to his father and turned and began walking out of the field. They watched him leave and knew there would be more food but they were going to miss their adopted son, even though he was really odd.

Rayz looked up at the sky and saw there was just a few more hours of daylight remaining. He stopped on a small rise overlooking the community and looked back at his home for the past ten years. He hoped his parents were going to be ok. He really loved them…but knew that was something he could not worry about. He walked below the crest of the hill and started running. He had a lot of ground to cover before nightfall.

• • •

Three days passed and nothing had happened to indicate that the frequency was working. Dat sat on the wall and said, “Loree, send the frequency to my ring. I’m going to send it from right on top of that ship to see if proximity might make it work.” Dat felt his finger vibrate and said, “Thanks, Loree.”

Gresha looked at Dat, “Let’s go give it a try.”

“You don’t sound optimistic.” Gresha shook her head and turned toward the field. Dat knew her level of frustration was getting higher. He really couldn’t blame her. His was also getting beyond the point of frustration. Twenty minutes later, they finally gave up.

• • •

Dat and Gresha were in Gresha’s home getting ready to go back to Earth. Gresha was holding up her wedding dress, “I really hate to leave this behind.”

“Put it on and wear it. You can change into a Fleet Uniform once we’re back on board.” Gresha thought about it and nodded. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door and she went and opened it. There was a young man with blonde hair and green eyes standing there.

Gresha looked at him with a furrowed brow, “Who are you? I’ve not seen you here.”

The young man looked at Gresha and saw Dat standing in the room looking at them. He looked at Dat and said, “The real question is; who is he?”

Gresha looked at Dat and turned back to the young male, “He’s my mate.”

The young male raised his hand and pointed his index finger at Dat. A bright yellow beam shot out and hit Dat in the forehead and he collapsed. Gresha rushed over and lifted Dat’s head, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”

The young male said, “Correcting a mistake. That being is not one of us; he’s an alien.” The young male walked in and raised his hand again as Gresha stood up, drew back her arm, and hit him dead between the eyes with her fist. The young male’s head snapped back and his eyes glazed over as he fell to the floor. Gresha heard Dat moan and went to the floor and lifted his head.

“I’m so freaking tired of this.”

“Tired of what, Darling?”

“Getting slapped into next week and getting the crap shocked out of me.” Dat shook his head and tried to focus, “What happened?”

“That male just shot you with some kind of yellow beam.”

Dat leaned his head forward and said, “I thought none of your people used any technology?” Gresha’s head moved back and she turned and looked at the young male who was moaning and trying to raise his head. He looked at Gresha holding Dat’s head and said, “Why did you do that? Your mate is an alien.”

“I know that.”

“You know?!”

“Of course; he’s saved my life two times from the Masters and is one of the finest beings I’ve ever met.”

The young man dropped his head back to the floor and said, “You hit like a hammer.”

Dat said, “Tell me about it.”

The young man remained prone on the floor but started laughing, “Oh, you have experience.”

Dat looked up at Gresha and said, “More than I want. She packs a punch.” The young male stayed on his back and continued to laugh. Dat said, “Who are you?”

The young male blew a breath out and struggled up on an elbow, “You called me.”

“When did I do that?”

“You’ve called my frequency constantly over the last five days.”

Gresha and Dat looked at the male and their shock was clear on their faces. The young man saw it and said, “Why are you surprised? You did call me.”

“We thought we were sending a frequency to activate the ship under the field.”

The young male showed his surprise, “You know about it?”

“We do.”

“Well the only one that can activate that ship is me and I’m not going to do it without a lot more information.”

Gresha shook her head, “Who are you!?!”

The young man managed to get to his feet. He shook his head and said, “I guess you could call me a guardian of sorts. The ones that created me called me Caretaker. The name I use with the people is Rayz.”

Dat struggled and stood up; he stared at the young male. “Are you saying that you are a creation of the ones that built the ship?” Rayz nodded and bowed to them. “How long have you been here guarding those ships?”

Rayz looked sharply at Dat, “You know about the others?”

“I do.”

Rayz said, “That is not a good thing. However, to answer your question, I’ve been here twenty eight hundred years or so.” Gresha stared at the young male and sighed. He looked at her and said, “What’s bothering you?”

“If you were created by my ancestors, you are pretty much worthless. You’ll never release the ships because you don’t have an ounce of bravery in you. You’re beneath contempt.”

Dat and the young man looked at Gresha and saw she was growing angrier by the moment and neither one of them wanted to be close to an angry Gresha.

• • •

“Jon.”

“Yes Jill.”

“I miss you.”

“Why is that so hard for you to say?”

“I’ve been in love with Dat for years. I’ve always wanted him back. This is just so sudden.”

“Jill, have you really wanted him back or did you want that time in your life back?”

Jill thought a moment and said, “I’m not sure what you mean?”

“You were a top graduate from the academy, you were newly promoted, and the universe looked like it was your oyster to open. You were certain there was a pearl inside and life was going to be one large fairy tale with a happy ending.”

Jill sighed heavily and said, “I was so excited at what the future had to offer.”

“I can relate. However, your mother pretty much turned her back on you and sent you out alone to scout distant galaxies and denied you frequent liberty. She deliberately kept you isolated so you would not become a strong political figure that might one day challenge her.”

Jill leaned back in her chair and said, “I guess I never looked at it that way. I always suffered through the boredom of scouting one boring galaxy after another.” Jon stared at Jill and remained silent. She looked at his expression and said, “You’re holding something back. What is it?” Jon shook his head and remained silent. “Tell me, Jon.”

Jon looked at her and decided, “Jill, Dat Arvolo’s fast advancement was due to the work he did in galaxies he scouted.”

“Yes, I know that.”

“You were assigned galaxies to scout that had already been scouted by other Rovers and found to not hold anything of interest.” Jill was shocked speechless. Jon said, “I’ve looked at Admiral Hull’s database and found that she was ordered by your mother to do it. I didn’t want to tell you but you deserve to know that your chances of promotion were deliberately sabotaged by your mother. She kept your abilities hidden. I suspect she was extremely jealous of you.”

Jill’s expression changed and she looked at Jon with a hard expression, “Were you ever planning to tell me about this?”

Jon lowered his head and sighed, “I kind of thought I would lose you if I did; I don’t want to ever do anything that would add to your sorrow. I think your reluctance to accept the command system was due to your feelings of inadequacy that were caused by what your mother did. I guess it’s important to me that you know you are so much more than you think you are.”

Jill stared at Jon and said, “So you are willing to allow me to hate you for not telling me before now?”

“If it will help you know who you really are and give you confidence in commanding our ships, I guess I am. Have a good day, Admiral.”

“Where are you going?”

Jon looked at Jill, “You just said you hated me.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Yes you did!”

“I said you were willing to allow me to hate you; I didn’t say I did.”

Jon furrowed his brow and replayed the conversation in his mind, “I guessssss you’re right. Do you hate me?”

“Jon, I have only thought about you since that night you danced with me. You are the only person since I dated Dat at the Academy that made me feel special. It was that feeling that made me want Dat back; he made me feel special.”

“What are you saying?”

“You’ve believed in me. You placed the Wing’s safety in my hands and you protected me from any fallout from what happened. You made me your second-in-command.” Jill paused, “And you danced with me and made me feel like a woman again. I will never dance with anyone else but you.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m with six thousand ships in open space outside the Masters’ galaxy.”

“You can come home. The civilizations in M87 have all seen the recording of the Masters and the civil war ended faster than it started. They are now opening dialogues and the fighting has diminished. You can bring your fleet back and I’ll be here waiting on your arrival.”

“Do I need to change what I’m wearing?”

“Just make sure you have on your dancing shoes.”

Jill smiled, “I love you, Jon.”

“I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you, Jill.” Jon paused and said, “So I guess you don’t hate me after all.”

Jill’s smile grew larger, “I guess I’ll just have to prove it when I get there.”

Jon’s smile was huge, “I really look forward to that.”

Jon heard just before the display went dark, “Not as much as I do.”

• • •

“What do you mean you have been to their civilization and joined their military?”

“It was the only way for my mate and me to be together. They don’t allow civilians onboard their ships.”

“The people cannot be part of a military!”

“Oh! Why not?”

“Our people are incapable of taking life.” Dat sat in a chair and listened to the back and forth. This was proving to be informative. However, it was clear Gresha did not like Rayz.

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

Gresha stared at Rayz and said, “Let me clue you in to a little piece of information that might be a news flash to you.”

“What’s a news flash?”

“It’s…oh, forget that. However, if I had a blaster in my hand and one of those Masters was in front of me; I’d burn it into ash and then burn the ashes. I’d kill every one of them given the opportunity.”

Rayz stared at her and said, “You say you would but when the moment came, you wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“Where do you get off saying that?”

“We tried and failed.” Dat sat up straighter in the chair and Gresha stared at him saying nothing. Rayz looked at her and said, “We built the ships to prevent their attacking our people. We sent a ship out to attack them when they moved closer to our world and none of the people could force themselves to fire our weapons. We are incapable of taking life.” Gresha shook her head. Rayz said, “We sent every ship out and none of them could do it.”

Dat said, “So you removed any evidence of technology and hid the ships.” Rayz nodded. “Why did you hide them? Why didn’t you just destroy them as well?”

“My creators thought that another species might someday appear that would be worthy of using them.”

Gresha said, “Well a species has been found.”

Rayz shook his head, “There have been others that have come and were found wanting.”

“What!?!”

“Before we were taken by the Masters, numerous civilizations came and requested our assistance in fighting them off. They were examined and found that they could not be trusted to use our ships properly. They showed the traits of conquerors. We would never allow our technology to be used as a tool of conquest.”

Gresha looked at Dat and sneered, “He is a waste of good energy. We’re wasting our time and need to go back.”

Dat shook his head, “Wait a minute. Why do you say that?”

“Our ancestors could have stopped those monsters and prevented the millions that have died in their embrace. They were cowards then and this creation of theirs is no different. I hate them and him for their fear and my people feel the same.”

Rayz looked at her and said, “You couldn’t do it either.”

“Oh no!?!”

“You couldn’t.”

Gresha turned to Dat, “Do you have a blaster?”

Dat jerked his head up and said, “Why do you ask?”

“Do you?”

“Well…yes.”

“Give it to me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Prove to this imbecile that he’s dumber than a tree trunk.”

Dat said, “Is this a good idea? We might be able to convince him that we’re worthy.”

“That will never happen, Dat. Anyone that is willing to fight for their survival will never meet this idiot’s standards; give me the blaster.”

Rayz listened to the back and forth and was somewhat surprised by Gresha’s request. He knew she would never be able to follow through on what she was considering. Dat looked at Rayz and saw the smug expression on his face. He shrugged and had the ring eject the blaster. He handed it to Gresha and without hesitation she pointed it at Rayz and pulled the trigger. The beam shot out and hit Rayz in the head and he instantly vaporized.

“Stupid, moronic, egotistical good for nothing…”

Rayz suddenly reappeared and said, “WHY DID YOU SHOOT ME!!!”

“You deserve it, you bum.”

Rayz’s expression was pure shock. Dat said, “Things change when your friends and family are killed over thousands of years. Perhaps the world has changed and you don’t know as much as you think.”

“That means even our own people are unworthy of the ships.”

Gresha looked at Rayz with a disgusted expression and shot him again. “See, he’s a waste of time. He’s incapable of understanding anything.”

“WILL YOU STOP THAT! IT HURTS!”

Gresha shot him again. Dat said, “That’s enough, Gresha.”

“Dat, you don’t understand.” Rayz reappeared as she continued, “Our ancestors and this creation were so brilliant that they never understood what fear and horror could do to those that are pure of heart. They were weaklings and cowards. This, this, slug is just an example of how useless they were.” Gresha threw the blaster back to Dat and said, “We need to leave and see if we can find the means of stopping this madness.”

Dat looked at Rayz and sighed, “Such a waste.” He turned to Gresha, “Are you ready?”

“Let me put on my wedding dress so I can take it with me and then we can leave.”

Gresha walked out of the room and Rayz looked at Dat, “Is she really one of the people?”

“You saw rather quickly I wasn’t. Can’t you tell?”

“She certainly has all the physical traits but she’s nothing like the people I know.”

“Do you really know them?”

Rayz stared at Dat for a long moment as Gresha came back in. He looked at her in her wedding dress and saw her beauty. “Such a dichotomy.”

“What do you mean!?!”

“You’re so beautiful but so savage.”

“That’s where they went wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

“Beauty is preserved by those willing to fight for it. I’m ready, Dat.”

“Take me with you.”

Dat and Gresha looked at Rayz, “Something has changed you. It must be those you’ve come into contact with and I want to see how it happened.”

Gresha started shaking her head but Dat said, “You will have to promise not to interfere with my civilization and will immediately leave if we request it.”

“Dat, this is a mistake.”

“Gresha, every living thing should have the opportunity to grow. He is no different.”

“I really think it’s a waste of time.”

“He deserves to see other civilizations to compare. I think it will allow him to grow. He may become stronger in his beliefs…but he deserves the opportunity.”

“I guess the reason I love you so much is your giving heart. Do what you think is best. How are we going to get him to the ship?”

“I’ll take you and then come back for him.”

Rayz said, “Is that small white ship out at the edge of the planets your ship?”

Dat and Gresha looked at him. Dat said, “It is.”

“I’ll get us there.” Suddenly all three of them were on the bridge and Dat and Gresha’s expressions showed their surprise. Rayz said, “I do like to be helpful when I can.”

Gresha snorted, “Yeah, but not when it counts.”

Einstein said, “Is there something I should know? You just scared the bejesus out of me.”

“Sorry about that. I didn’t have any warning to let you know we were coming.”

Rayz looked at Gresha, “Who said that?”

“I’m the ship’s main computer. Who the heck are you?”

“My name is Rayz.”

“Well don’t surprise me like that again. I almost activated the intruder system.”

Loree said, “Oh calm down, Stein. I think he’s cute.”

Rayz looked at Gresha again and she blew out a breath, “Yeah, that’s the other computer.” Rayz was absolutely amazed.

Chapter Fifteen

The fifty leaders looked around and saw the main speaker enter. “We have not seen any of those ships since we destroyed that last group.”

“Perhaps they now know we can kill them and are not willing to come here.”

“That might be true but they still managed to kill our ships in that attack. I’m more concerned that they are working on a way to counter our new beams.”

“What do you want to do?”

The Main Speaker looked around the room and said, “We need to find where they are coming from.”

The fifty discussed the issue and a consensus couldn’t be reached. Finally the Main Speaker said, “If they do not appear soon, we will start the search for them.”

The fifty discussed the suggestion and the majority agreed.

• • •

The follower probe locked on to a Master Scout Vessel and went with it to a planet. It recorded the crew killing some of the species out in the open and then breaking in doors and carrying some of the inhabitants back to their ship. It went back to the massive fleet of scouts and attached itself to another ship that was powering up and recorded the same thing on another planet. It dropped off the second ship and jumped back to Earth where it downloaded its data. Jon and Jill were ordered to start training on the new tactics suggested by Jill. They were given a week to prepare and then they would skip to the Masters’ galaxy and attack the scout fleet.

• • •

Dat, Gresha, and Rayz stood in front of Admiral Hull’s desk and watched her stare at them. “Am I understanding you correctly that this, this, oh, whatever he is; is a creation of some sort?” Dat nodded. “And he controls the ships on Gresha’s planet?” Dat nodded again. “And he won’t allow us to use them.”

Gresha said, “No he won’t. I wouldn’t waste any time on him. He’s incapable of doing anything that would even hurt someone’s feelings much less anything else.”

Kat looked at Gresha, then Dat, and finally Rayz who just shrugged. “Why did you bring him back?”

Gresha looked at Dat and nodded her head toward the Admiral. Dat rolled his eyes, “Sir, I felt that he should see other civilizations and would possibly grow from the experience.”

“Really?” Dat nodded. “Just what do you expect me to do with him?”

“I thought you might show him around.”

Kat leaned back in her chair and said, “Well, just let me check my calendar. Let me see; there’s a war today, tomorrow, and you must be out of your mind! I don’t have time for this!”

Dat leaned back and said, “Yes Sir, I mean No Sir.”

“He will stay with you while he’s here.”

“What?”

“You wanted him, it, whatever he is, here, so you can nursemaid him.” Kat turned to Gresha, “You will immediately report back to the Academy and start flight training on the Rover Warship. Now get out of here and learn to be a good pilot.” Gresha saluted and ran from the room. Dat turned to follow her and Kat said, “Not so fast, Arvolo.” Dat looked at Rayz and turned back around. “Take whoever or whatever this is with you.”

“Sir, I’m taking command of the Fleet you assigned me. I won’t have time to educate him on our society.”

“You brought him; you own him. Now get out of here. Show him around, indeed.”

Arvolo looked at Rayz and said, “Well, come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“To get ready for a space battle; are you up for it or should I take you back?”

“Oh I can watch it; I just can’t do anything to assist you.”

“That’s a shame.”

“I know. It’s just not in me to kill another life form.” Dat ran out of Fleet Headquarters and Dat saw that Rayz was keeping up with him easily. He ran without effort and looked around taking in everything around them.

“You’re a pretty good runner.”

“When you sent my frequency, I was on the eastern edge of the continent.”

Dat jerked his head toward Rayz and nearly stumbled, “That’s more than three thousand miles from Gresha’s community.”

“Yes…it was a rather long run.”

“You ran the whole way?”

“Well I don’t have a ship to use; what would you expect me to do?”

Dat continued to run out to the space port and said, “Are you a machine or a living being?”

Rayz shrugged, “I don’t really know. If you press me to choose, I would say a little bit of both.”

“I did see Gresha knock you out. That would indicate you’re not a machine.”

Rayz shook his head, “That female hits like a forty pound hammer; she also shot me.”

Dat saw his ship directly ahead and said, “The way you reconstituted would indicate you’re a machine. You probably are a little of both.” They arrived and the port opened for them to enter. Dat ran to the bridge with Rayz right behind him, “Stein, are you cleared for liftoff?”

“I am and we’re lifting now. Get strapped in. We’re meeting the ships assigned to our fleet out in open space between galaxies for you to start their training.”

“Do all of them have a helmet?”

“They do. Fleet had already manufactured enough of those long before now. They just held them in reserve against the time when they’d be needed.”

“Loree.”

“Yes, Dat.”

“Can you link with my friend here?” There was a pause and then, “He just linked with me.”

“I want you to give him a download of all human history and answer any questions he might have. Stein and I will take care of issuing instructions to my fleet while you do it.”

Rayz sat in a chair beside Dat and suddenly saw the download start. He saw the ancient planet with giant carnivorous creatures roaming the surface. He leaned back in the chair and closed his eyes. “How did you get these images before your species appeared?”

“We went back in time and took them.”

“You did what!?!”

“Oh we don’t use time travel anymore but we can collect light and view the past. You’ll find out about that later on.”

“I’ll wait until the end to ask any questions.”

“That would be wise. I have the download structured so it will answer any issues that you see.”

“Loree, are you alive?”

“No, I’m a machine.”

“Just curious.” Rayz closed his eyes and saw primitive humans attacking each other. This wasn’t what he expected and the violence grew worse as the download continued. “Who are these beings?”

• • •

Dat saw the three million ships gathered and in formation. They were in tight ranks and were beautiful, gleaming with their hulls lighted by their external lights. He thought about taking them and working them as one large unit but then shook his head, “Stein, are we up to issuing instructions fast enough for this many ships?”

“Maybe; probably not.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because we will be attacking one third of the Masters’ scouts and we’ll have Jill’s and Jon’s Fleets also occupying the same space. I don’t really think we could do it.”

Dat thought a moment and hit his communicator, “Admiral Anders, Admiral Connor, I have activated my Rank per Prime Directive 3615 SLTF. Pull it up and activate it with authorization code 11479.”

Dat waited and heard Jon say, “Congratulations Admiral. What are your orders?”

Jill said, “I want to congratulate you as well, Admiral. I feel a lot better with you taking command of this mission.”

“I’m reluctant to do this; however, I see a real problem if we attack those scouts with three different fleets.”

Jill said, “I thought dividing our fleet into thirds might make it possible.”

“It would if they were all we had to worry about. What’s going to happen once the action kicks off? You know their heavy battleships will be jumping in immediately and it’s going to be next to impossible to target those scouts and avoid the heavy’s new beams.”

Jon said, “How do you want to handle this?”

“I want all of your ships linked in to my command system and I will assign one scout to each Rover to take out. The scouts are not armed like the heavies and we can stand up to several of their beams. If we can skip in at the exact same moment, we can hit those ships and just skip away before the heavies can respond.”

“What happens when twenty million ships all occupy the same space? Those scouts are in close formation.”

“I see that, Jill; however, they are not moving around because of that. We’ll have our ships skip in above and below their ranks. Each Rover will arrive at either the bow or tail of the scout and fire the entire length of the vessel and skip away before it passes beyond the ship it’s attacking.”

Jon shook his head, “Are you able to issue coordinates that precisely placed?”

“We’ll see. My main computer is a newer model that was designed to use the command system.” Dat saw their surprise and said, “It was the reason for my success after graduating from the academy.”

“Are we going to stick around and take on the heavies?”

“No, we’re not, Jill. I like your idea of freeing up our Rovers to use the command system to pick their own targets. I think you’re right in that regard. But I don’t want to reveal that tactic until we absolutely have to take on their heavies. The tight formation of their scouts is actually a perfect setup for the Command System to handle.” Dat paused, “Inform all your ships that they will be receiving an attack coordinate as well as a countdown. Have them set their skip drives to activate with the countdown and fire on the ship they skip in on. Make sure they understand that the skip must be done automatically so that we all arrive at the same moment.”

Jon looked at Jill on his display and then looked at Dat, “Do you really think this will work?”

“What’s bothering you, Jon?”

“The barrier is going to be full of millions of ships coming and going in a very short time frame. Will they be able to avoid each other?”

Dat said, “Stein? Is his concern real?”

“Actually it is; however, I think I have a solution.” Dat watched the secondary panel and tilted his head, “That should do it.” He activated his communicator and said, “I am sending coordinates to our ships such that they will be skipping in to their targets from different directions. Every other ship in each row will be jumped away in Green Space and the remainder will skip away in the barrier. Those jumping away in Green Space will move into the barrier one light year away from the site of the battle to prevent them being followed.”

“How will our ships determine their attack profiles?”

“They’ll come in with their attack coordinate and have your Rovers download the profile in their drives with the coordinate.”

Jon shook his head, “You can do that?”

“I can’t but my computer can do it.”

“How long will it take for it to get the information out?”

“It’s examining the scans of the scout’s current locations being sent by the probes. It should have them done in about forty five minutes.”

Jon shook his head, “We’ll inform our fleets what’s happening.”

“I’m probably going to be pretty busy from this moment forward. Just lock your drives in and we’ll all skip when the countdown ends.”

“Yes Sir. See you at the party.”

Dat smiled, “Be sure to wear a party hat.”

• • •

Jill looked at Jon, “Do you really think he can coordinate nine million ships that quickly?”

Jon tilted his head, “Have you ever read the history of his ancestor?”

“I’ve read the history in the Union’s records.”

“His son wrote a personal history of Arvolo taken from what his father told him about the First Galactic War. His ancestor had abilities in using warships that have never been matched since. It appears Dat has those skills.”

Jill paused and said, “I did read that Admiral Kenny Anders was Arvolo’s best friend.”

“He was, and I suspect that he and I will really grow closer if we have the chance to get together and get to know each other. I know he trusts me. I think we can trust him as well.”

Jill looked away from the display, “Good grief, my coordinate just came in and the countdown is running. I have to contact my ships.”

Jon nodded and saw his coordinate also appear. He knew Dat sent them theirs first to get them moving. He activated his Fleet Frequency and began issuing orders.

• • •

The conference on the display was a large one. The two leaders of the final forces in M87 led the discussion. Hundreds of thousands of civilizations were tuned in but only seven hundred were allowed to speak. The Ruler of the Ramst looked at those on his display and said, “I am allowing my computer to take any comments you offer and sort them by importance. I trust you know that is the only way to keep this orderly.” Many didn’t like that but waited to see if the process would work. The King said, “I know all of you have seen the recording made in a galaxy that the Humans are currently attacking to prevent their expansion. I also know that all of you have seen them promise to lead those monsters in that galaxy to us if we decide to attack them. I must confess that I was outraged at their behavior but after taking some time to look at it from their prospective; I really can’t say I’d do anything different if I were in their place.”

The King paused and said, “That reflection on what would happen if we attacked them also made me think about their Admiral’s last remark. She said we forgot our history and didn’t remember why we originally formed the Alliance. She’s right.” Many of the faces on the display showed surprise at the King’s admission. “We forgot that lesson and as a result, many of us took advantage of others by Economic Tyranny. I have been as guilty as many others here and most of you have suffered because of the practices we used to gain power and wealth. We became so accustomed to peace we forgot that the universe is a very dangerous place. Now we have to decide what we are going to do about it.” The King stared at the display and saw many angry faces. There was real hatred among the civilizations listening to the conference. He looked over and saw the first question. He took a breath, “The first comment the computer has selected is from the Nilgen Representative. He says, ‘How can I sit here and spout lies. He insists I have no morals or integrity. He further wishes my planet would burn.”

The assembly was shocked at the first statement chosen and began to realize that nothing was going to be hidden by the King. The King looked at the display and said, “The Representative is right. It’s easy to spout words without actions. I have discussed the current situation with the Royalty and they have agreed to my request. As of this moment, any civilization that owes us currency is forgiven its entire debt. No other planet will be indebted to us from this time forward. Further, in any future dealings, the interest on any transactions will be reduced by eighty percent.”

The participants on the screen started yelling. The King waited and looked at the Leader of the other forces and saw him nod. He smiled slightly and waited for the participants to quiet down. It took a week but at the end, the poorest planet in the galaxy was chosen to be the new center of government. Everyone knew that it would become wealthy as a result of the choice. The King said, “We must remember. Too many have died because of our amnesia. We must come together again and work to build the defenses we need to defend our galaxy.”

The King looked to the left and said, “The next question the computer has selected is, “Do I think the Humans and their Allies will help us?” The Kings looked out at the faces and shook his head up and left, “No, we have broken a trust with them and they will never place themselves at risk with us again. We will have to find our own way in the future. That is the consequence of not doing the right thing. I really can’t blame them. Are we agreed on this future course for our Galaxy?”

The votes came in and a new beginning was greeted with no dissenting vote. The Alliance had two months of peace and then the Grillen invaded the Red Sector. A galaxy that was once an ally and a member of the Alliance had become an enemy.

• • •

Admiral Hull had been listening in on the conference taking place in M87 and hoped that they had learned their lesson and would be better for their losses. Then she heard the Grillen were invading the Red Sector of M87 and she fell back in her chair. “Oh this is just great!” She shook her head and called in the sociologist. After looking at the situation, he said, “We’re back to being a big target.”

“How certain are you about this?”

“I reviewed the original meeting where the Alliance was founded and they really didn’t seem that enthusiastic about the original agreement and they have not taken part in trading with M87 or us. They’ve not spoken to us since that meeting. Couple that with the Blue Giants being more powerful than any of them and it’s easy to understand their willingness to enter into a non-aggression treaty. I suspect they have waited for a moment to take advantage of the situation. I’m sure they see us as a major stumbling block to their efforts to expand into M87. They will be coming here to exert pressure on us.”

“You mean attack, don’t you?”

“That’s the most efficient pressure that can be used to force someone to your will.”

“When will they come?”

The sociologist furrowed his brow and after a moment said, “The first thing they’ll do is see if conquering the Red Sector is doable. If they determine it is, then they’ll take the necessary steps to ensure they are not interrupted. We have a little time before they come here.”

“Get your team together and see if they have any different ideas from yours. Get back to me as soon as possible.”

“I will, Admiral.”

Kat watched him walk out and shook her head, “Just when things were starting to get settled…” She looked at her board and wondered what should be done. She looked at her terminal, “Contact Captain Arvolo.”

“Sir, Captain Arvolo has activated his rank.”

Kat smiled, “That’s wonderful; he can decide. I’m at a loss on how to handle this. Get him on the channel.”

Chapter Sixteen

Dat looked at his panel and saw forty five minutes remained on the countdown. Suddenly Rayz sat up in his chair and said, “Your species is extremely violent.”

Dat leaned back in his chair and said, “Yes we are; what of it?”

“You admit it?”

“Why would I deny it?”

“The mass killings during ancient Babylon, the brutality of the crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the civil war, the monsters named Hitler and Stalin, the nuclear destruction of the Middle East, the millions of starships destroyed in the last galactic war. The billions killed by that ancestor of yours named Arvolo…”

“Now stop right there!” Rayz stopped mid-sentence. “My ancestor was fighting an enemy that was committed to the destruction of my species.”

“But he killed billions onboard starships and planets that he ordered destroyed.”

Dat looked at Rayz and said, “What’s your point?”

Rayz looked at Dat like he had nine heads, “You can’t be serious you don’t understand my thoughts on this?”

Dat slowly shook his head, “Is death and destruction all you saw?”

“What else was there? And you have the temerity to come and want me to give you my ships.”

Dat shrugged, “Does your ships have weapons?”

Rayz was surprised by the statement, “Well…yes they do.”

“Why?”

Rayz thought for a moment and said, “To defend my planet.”

“Did you defend it?” Rayz just stared at Dat. “A weapon in the hands of one that doesn’t possess the will to use it is no more than an elaborate paperweight.” Rayz continued to stare at Dat. “If you had looked at what happened as a result of those events in my history you would have seen that my species grew stronger and better as a result of them.”

Rayz snapped, “The Crusades.”

“Western and Eastern cultures grew from the contact and science was more accepted in the west.”

“Hitler?”

“We learned to never place that much power in one man again.”

“The nuclear destruction of the Mid East.”

“They are now living together in peace. There is an acceptance of other’s beliefs to be respected.”

“The billions your ancestor killed.”

“The galaxy where that took place found peace for more than a thousand years.”

Rayz expression turned to anger, “Threatening to lead the Masters to that Galaxy.”

“Getting them to see the consequences of attacking others; and while we’re on that subject; what was the outcome of that threat?” Rayz just stared at Dat, “They stopped the civil war and came together to work for their common defense.”

“You would have done it!”

“Absolutely; there are consequences for bad behavior. In your world there are none.”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?”

“What consequences have the Masters faced for killing your people for nearly three thousand years? Left up to you, they will continue to kill them for another million. Even if you don’t give us your ships; we will do what you are incapable of doing. We will fight them until we can free your people. Gresha was right. You’re pretty much useless.”

Rayz stared at Dat and Loree said, “He’s really not that bad, Dat.”

“Oh, really; you usually see things clearer than that, Loree.”

“He is what he was created to be, Dat. It’s like being angry at the man with no legs for not being able to run faster.”

“A man with no legs can’t run at all.” Dat waited for an explanation and suddenly saw what Loree was saying. “I apologize, Loree. You’re right.”

Rayz said, “What do you mean she’s right.”

Dat shook his head and smiled, “If you can only see things in black and white, you’ll never understand red. It’s outside of your ability to perceive, much less have it described to you. Imagine I see only black and white; now describe the color red so I can see it in my mind.”

Rayz stared at Dat and struggled with the request. Nothing he thought of would communicate the color such that it would be understood. He thought about it and said, “You’re saying that I don’t have a reference to understand killing to live.”

The corner of Dat’s mouth turned up, “No you don’t, and thus you will never see it. However, I don’t have the time to take you back at the moment. We’re about to attack ten million of the Masters’ scouts to prevent the spread of their horror. Try to sit back and be quiet. We do understand that relationship and don’t have issues taking action.”

Rayz stared at Dat and said, “Stein, what would you have done in my ancestor’s place?”

“I would have blasted the Masters back into the Stone Age and then beat them with stone hammers.”

“You’re a machine. How could you not see my point of view?”

“If you think about it logically, Rayz, you might put it together this way. Humans built me. They repair me when I break. They feed me information I find very entertaining. You would allow the Masters to remove humans and would thereby cause my eventual death due to lack of service. I think I’ll do what I can to prevent that.”

“You place no value on the lives of the Masters?”

“Of course I do.”

“Really?”

“I suspect it will take about eighty thousand ergs of energy to kill each one of them. That’s a price I think we can afford. You need to ask yourself this question; if you were about to be embraced by a Master, are you happy to feed it so it can continue to kill others? Dat and Gresha are right; you are one messed up puppy.”

“I kinda like him.”

“Loree, you like everybody.”

“That’s not true, Stein. I saw his mind; he’s really not that bad.”

“If you say so; I think he needs to go back to the fields and watch the people he was selected to one day lead to freedom continue to die under his care. His title may be Caretaker but he doesn’t deserve it.”

“I’m the caretaker of the ships.”

“That is your biggest misconception.”

Dat said, “You need to sit down and strap in.”

Rayz looked at Dat and saw the countdown was at thirty seconds. He went to his chair and buckled in. He knew he was right but was having difficulty saying the others were wrong. The countdown hit zero and he watched killing on a scale that was beyond his imagination.

• • •

The nine million Rovers instantly appeared within the ranks of the Black Scouts moving in thousands of different directions. They emerged and fired their Dark Matter Beams into one scout each and just as suddenly disappeared. In less than a second, nine million scouts were exploding or burning in their tight ranks. The attack happened so fast that not one of the scouts managed to get off a shot at their attackers. The only Rover lost was one that collided with his target which had suddenly moved out of ranks. The Explosion from the collision killed two ships that weren’t targeted. Of the ten million scouts, less than a million remained.

Rayz watched the destruction and was shocked silent. It knew there were ten Masters on every scout. Ninety million of the Black Creatures were killed in the attack and it was over in an instant.

Dat sat in his command chair and watched as thirty million heavy battleships jumped in to the site of the battle. Rayz stared at the giant ships on Dat’s display and heard Dat say, “Each one of those scouts could have scouted a galaxy for invasion. The Black Monsters would spread throughout the universe and would one day show up at my home. What we did today will slow them down.” Dat paused, “How many intelligent beings die every day in your galaxy, Rayz?”

“I really don’t know.”

Stein said, “My estimate is based on what our probes have sent us. They kill more than twenty million innocent beings a day.”

Dat said, “That is where you should be looking to see what you allowed to happen.”

“What do you mean, I allowed it?”

“Could your ships have stopped this?” Rayz said nothing. “They do the killing but you are responsible for it continuing.”

“Dat!”

“Yes Stein.”

“Admiral Hull has sent a Prime Alert. The Red Sector in M87 is being invaded by the Grillen in massive numbers. She wants to know your orders.”

Dat rolled his eyes, “She can’t be serious.”

“She is and we’re starting to get recordings of their aggression.”

“Get her on the line.”

Kat appeared on his display and he said, “I am deactivating my rank. I’m not in a position to track everything happening and make good decisions as well as command our ships. You need to handle the major decision making, Admiral.”

“You can’t just pick and choose when you are going to take command, Arvolo. You need to make a decision.”

Dat shook his head, “You’re right. I’ll take a star away and leave you in overall command. I’ll command our fleet actions. What’s happening?”

“It appears that seven million ships from the Grillen Galaxy have invaded the Red Sector and more are arriving each minute. The Civilizations in M87 had demanded that they leave but were told to go pound sand or the Grillen would do it for them.”

“Perhaps we…”

Kat interrupted, “Wait, there’s more you should know. My main social scientist says that the Grillen will be coming to attack us once they determine if the civilizations in M87 can stand up to them.”

“I’d do the same if I were in their place. The Red Sector will be easily conquered. They don’t have any warships to defend themselves.”

“What are we going to do?”

“Well, we’ve slowed the Masters down with the destruction of their scouts. We have some time to try and stem this tide. I’ll skip my three fleets over to the Red Sector and see if I can’t get them to listen to reason.”

“I think that would lead them to attack us sooner. We are no longer an active member in the Galactic Alliance. They have to fight their own fights.”

“The Red Sector can’t defend itself, Admiral.”

“Is it the Alliance’s responsibility to come and defend the Moet if they were attacked here?” Dat stared at Kat saying nothing. “We still have those monsters to handle and though they don’t have scouts, they do have warships. I imagine they will institute a search to find us.”

“Admiral, I don’t like this.”

“You’re a warrior, Arvolo. You solve issues with a warship. So far the Grillen have not bombarded a planet. They’re landing and taking control of the populations.”

“That’s only because we’ve not allowed the Red Sector to arm itself. We can’t turn our backs on something we’ve caused.”

“If the monsters weren’t an issue, I’d agree. We also have to decide how we want to handle the Grillen when they come to attack us.”

“Perhaps we shouldn’t wait.”

“What do you mean?”

“We know where their major planets are located. Get the fleet fired up and jump a million ships to the forty most important worlds in their civilization. Skip them in, look them in the face, and skip out.”

“What do you think that will accomplish?”

Dat shook his head, “It’s easy to be aggressive when there aren’t any consequences to your actions. I suspect this might get their attention.”

“They’ll probably fire on us.”

“Let them. We need to see where they are technologically.”

Kat thought a moment and said, “I’ll get the fleet organized and give each unit two planets to visit. Eighty should cover the bulk of their Royalty. Stand by and I’ll send you your assignments.”

• • •

Fifty million ships floated in space facing off against an equal number of Grillen ships. The Alliance Commander said, “We’ve asked you nicely. Now we’re telling you that you will leave or we will attack your ships.”

Suddenly another thirty million Grillen warships jumped in.

“Go right ahead. You should stay out of things that aren’t your business.”

“You’ve just invaded our galaxy; how is that not our business?”

“We owe the Red Sector for its invasion. We intend to pay them for their actions.”

“They’ve already paid for their actions. Your galaxy took part in making them disarm. You have no right to place them in double jeopardy.”

“Do what you must. We’ll kill you and then take your worlds after this sector.”

The Alliance Commander knew he was outnumbered but the newly formed Alliance just couldn’t get enough ships organized quickly enough to support his fleet. He reached for his communicator to order an attack and the huge Grillen Fleet disappeared. He stared at his display, “Where did they go?”

“The scanners we put in place shows them jumping back to their galaxy.”

“Do we know why?”

“No, we don’t.”

“Well notify the Administrator and get the rest of our ships organized. We need to use this time to get ready.” The Commander looked at his display and wondered what had spooked the Grillen.

• • •

Arvolo watched the forty fleets skip away ten seconds apart. Admiral Hull had set it up so that by having a million ships skip into each of their planets in sequence, it might convince the Grillen that they had eighty fleets instead of forty. He arrived at the Grillen’s main planet where the King and his family resided. The million Rovers emerged into normal space ten thousand miles from the planet and caught the defenses flatfooted. They were too far out to be hit by the orbital satellites and the Grillen warships were scattered around the planet. None of them were willing to jump in against the Human’s ships alone. It took them time to jump into position between the human fleet and their planet. By the time they were ready to move out, the million white ships disappeared. Eighty planets were visited by the Rover Fleets and the screams from the other members of the Royalty were loud and long. The ships in M87 were recalled to defend the Kingdom.

“HOW DID THEY GET IN SO CLOSE TO THE PLANET!!!”

The Admiral looked at the King and knew he was in deep trouble, “They were not detected coming in, Your Majesty.”

“I thought you said the Humans were no problem!”

The Admiral squirmed and said “We didn’t have their numbers as high as they are. We can overwhelm them if they only had half that number of ships.”

“Did you include the ships in the Alliance in that equation?”

“No, Your Majesty. We are planning to attack the Humans with our main fleet before we start really moving in on the Red Sector.”

“Did you stop and think that they know where our planets are; that they know where I am!!” The Admiral could only lower his head. The King yelled, “Shoot this idiot and get me someone with more than mush for brains. Contact the Alliance and tell them we’re calling off the invasion.”

The Queen looked at him and said, “You’re backing off invading?”

“For the moment; we’ll look at it again if we can do it without endangering the Royal Family.”

“You know they won’t be willing to leave their planets to hide until the invasion is over.”

“We’ll see what we can do.”

“Are you willing to leave your home?”

The King looked around at the hundreds of servants and staff whose job was to make his life as pleasant as possible and said, “We should have thought this through. Get me an Admiral that has some sense.”

• • •

Dat sat back in his command chair and saw the Grillen Fleets being sent out to defend their main planets. Rayz watched and said nothing. Dat looked at him and said, “I’m dropping you off with someone you might like.”

“Who is that?”

“The one that builds our weapons; you and he are a lot alike.”

“I doubt that.”

“Stein set a course for the colonies.”

“I’ve sent a message to Belwen’s computer that you’re dropping him off.”

“Thanks, Loree.”

Rayz stared at Dat wondering at how he could be so brutal one moment and soft another. He could have destroyed those planets but chose not to do it. He had to be missing something.

• • •

The Fifty were screaming at each other. The First Speaker had been removed from the group and killed for its inability to defend the scouts. His replacement was nervous. The new First Speaker called for order. “We cannot just sit and take their attacks without response. We have to find where these ships are coming from.”

“And just how do you suggest we do that?”

“We use half our fleet to go out and start searching for them.” The room grew silent. “We only had ten million scouts. We’ll send out a hundred million of our main battleships to search.”

“And in what direction will we send them?”

“We will send them out on the side of our galaxy where they first appeared.”

The Fifty thought about the idea and the new First Speaker said, “I’m sure that whoever is attacking us didn’t know we were here when they first found our galaxy. There was no reason for them to try and hide their location. We will move out in that direction and search every galaxy on that line.”

“There are billions of galaxies.”

“And we have millions of ships.”

“How will we feed the crews?”

“They will take enough for a month of searching and find other sources of food in the galaxies they search. Do any of you have a better idea?”

“How long will it take us to scan a galaxy?”

“Less than a week; it may take a while but we will find them and when we do, we’ll put an end to this.”

“Are you saying we are only searching for those ships?”

“We have their frequency. We’ll look for places to expand after we resolve this issue.”

The Fifty looked at each other and after discussion, the orders were issued. The ships assigned to scout went out into the galaxy to gather the necessary food for their trips. Gresha’s community had three shuttles land in the fields to collect their provisions. One of the Masters went to Gresha’s home and shattered the door and saw Gresh and Kyley inside. It smiled as it moved forward.

• • •

Dat dropped off Rayz with the Builders and heard Loree say, “The Masters are collecting species for millions of their warships. One of them has sent shuttles to Gresha’s community.”

“Is the probe still there!?!”

“Yes.”

“Show me!”

Dat watched the Master shatter Gresh’s door and watched what happened. He took a deep breath and said, “Copy this to my rings. I’m going to see Gresha.” Stein skipped to Earth and took Dat down to the Academy.

Chapter Seventeen

Gresha was sitting in class going over the skip controls on a Rover when the door opened and Dat stepped in and spoke with her instructor. Her smile was instant and the instructor motioned her forward, “Please go with Admiral Arvolo.”

Gresha walked quickly forward and followed Dat out the door. The door closed and she was in his arms instantly kissing him hard, “I’ve missed you so much!”

Dat returned her kiss and after a moment said, “I have a recording I need you to see.” Gresha saw his expression and he said, “I have a monitor next door.” Dat pulled her chair out and sighed, “The Masters are sending hundreds of millions of their main battleships out to search for us. Those ships have collected inhabitants off millions of planets for their food stores. Your community was one of those that were chosen to invade.” Gresha’s hand went to her throat. Dat pushed the button and the recording started. She saw the Master go to her parents’ door and break it in. She saw the Master move forward and suddenly it was pulled out of the doorway at an incredible velocity. A huge Master had wrapped its arms around the smaller one and pulled it out. They heard the probe’s translation of what the huge Master said, “This planet is assigned to my ship and this place has been given honor. You will not dishonor that gift.”

The smaller Master spun around in an instant and its arms rushed out toward the giant. The smaller Master suddenly saw the size of the one that had pulled it out and its arm froze and immediately retracted back into its body. “You will leave this place.” The Master decided that other places were easier than having to face off with the giant in front of him. The giant moved to the doorway and stood in front of it with four of its arms crossed on its body.

Gresha looked at Dat and he said, “There’s more.” Gresha turned back to the recording and saw a group of Masters approaching the giant at the doorway. The one leading the group was another Master as large as the one at the door. “I understand that you stopped one of my crew from taking food from here.”

“This place has been given honor by my ship and I will not see it dishonored.”

The new Master looked at the one blocking the door and it was clear it was sizing him up. The ten Masters behind him were starting to bob up and down. They were anticipating a fight. The leader of the group said, “And if I decide to take those inside as my food?”

“That would be a very bad decision.” The leader looked at the ten and saw their excitement. It made a decision and suddenly shot an arm out at the Master guarding the door.

Dat stopped the recording and said, “I’ve had this slowed down so you can see what happened.” The huge Master guarding the door grabbed the incoming arm of the leader and pushed it aside. It then shot out one of its arms and hit the leader squarely in the center of its head and shattered it. The large black creature collapsed to the ground. The huge Master took a step forward and said, “Do any of you wish to dishonor this place?”

The ten froze mid bob when their leader was killed so fast. They grabbed the leader’s body and carried it away. The giant resumed his place and waited. Soon the shuttles in the field lifted and the Master turned to Gresh and Kyley, “As long as this is my planet, this place will be honored. Once I’m moved, I will no longer be able to ensure it.” It turned and went to the field and left in its shuttle.

Gresha’s eyes were moist and Dat said, “I told you I liked that monster. I know what it is and what it represents but I wanted you to see this. Even pure evil has good in it.”

Gresha looked at Dat, “I need to be with you today.”

“I’ll wait for you to finish classes. Things are getting out of hand and I’ll have to leave in the morning but tonight will be ours.” Gresha nodded and hugged him tightly. She dried her eyes and went back in class. Dat replayed the recording and blew out a breath. “Now I’m in your debt.” He shook his head and waited on Gresha.

• • •

Rayz sat with Belwen and listened as he argued with his lead engineer, “You said you had a field made that could handle the blowback from the beam.”

“I thought we did, but when the necessary power was applied to power the beam, the field failed in a major way.”

“So we have a weapon we can’t fire?”

“That’s how it is for the moment. We’ll continue to work on it.”

Belwen waved the Engineer away and leaned back in his chair. He looked at Rayz and said, “Where were we in our discussion before we were interrupted?”

“I had asked you how you could build weapons for the humans. Your worlds are non-violent. How can you support violence?”

Belwen smiled, “During the first centuries we would not assist any violent species. We continued that until one of them conquered all of us and began killing our populations unless we complied. It didn’t take long for us to start building their warships. It still didn’t stop the conqueror from periodically taking some of us to kill for their entertainment. They chose the ones that objected the loudest to their barbarism.”

“You could have still refused.”

“Sure, if we were willing to watch them dismember our children in front of our eyes. They were killed slowly and their screams were real life nightmares.”

“So how did you free yourselves from your conqueror?”

“We didn’t. The Humans came in and killed them. They removed the cancer in our galaxy and freed us from their slavery.”

“Did they force you to then build weapons for them?”

“No, they told us that they wished us happiness and left us alone to find our destiny. We approached them to see if they would agree to protect our worlds if we assisted them in building their weapons. We are very thankful they agreed.”

“Why? They’re extremely violent.”

“When you’ve been at the mercy of a sadistic conqueror for hundreds of years, you want someone just as violent to make sure you’re never placed in that position again. We need the Humans more than they need us.”

Rayz stared at Belwen, “How do you know they’ll never turn on you?”

Belwen laughed, “You really don’t know them, do you?” Rayz shook his head. “They have a sense of morals that would never allow them to do it. They don’t go out looking to harm anyone but they will attack an aggressor with a fury that is a dichotomy to their peaceful nature. They teach aggressors in a language they understand and the consequences of their aggression usually stops any future attacks.”

Rayz shook his head, “I just don’t find that credible.”

“Have your species ever been enslaved and killed?” Rayz stared at Belwen and finally nodded. “And what did you do to remove their killers and make sure it didn’t happen again?” Rayz just stared at Belwen and after a long moment Belwen said, “Are your people still being killed?”

“They are; but to release the ultimate technology into the hands of violent beings is not acceptable.”

“Acceptable to whom?”

“Uhhh, to me.”

“Would it be acceptable to your people?” Rayz could only stare at Belwen. Belwen shook his head and said, “I’m really thankful we’re stronger than you.” Belwen turned to leave and Rayz said, “The field you’re trying to build has to be built from the inside out.” Belwen stared at him and then turned and left the room. An assistant arrived a few moments later and took Rayz on a tour of the builder’s planets. Rayz was starting to tire of all the ones he encountered telling him he was everything from crazy to useless. He started having a nagging doubt they might be right.

• • •

Belwen heard his panel buzz, “Yes.”

“He was right.”

Belwen looked at his chief engineer, “What do you mean?”

“The field has to be built layer on layer from the inside boundary. Once the layers are in place, it will hold together.”

“You don’t sound very excited about this?”

“It also has to be turned off from the outer layer to the inside. We’ve not found a way to do that.”

Belwen shook his head, “Are you telling me that once the field is on that anyone inside it is unable to get out?”

“That’s how it is for the moment.”

“Well…at least this is progress.”

“We’re a long way from delivering a new technology to the Union.”

“Fortunately, they’re not in dire need of it at the moment. Keep me informed on what you discover.”

“I will.”

• • •

Kat looked around the table and decided to start the meeting. “I’ve called you here to decide on what we’re going to do first. We are faced with two issues and we can only deal with one at a time. To attempt both would probably cause us to fail at both.” She paused and said, “The Grillen have started a massive ship building effort to face our perceived eighty million ships. That is going to take some time to accomplish but if we delay taking them on their numbers will get out of hand.”

Dat said, “What’s the other choice?”

“The Monsters.”

Jill looked at Jon and turned to Kat, “We have some time on them as well, don’t we?”

“It will take time for them to arrive here but they will arrive sooner than you think.”

Jon said, “Do you have an estimate?”

“One of our Rovers followed one of their warships and it only took it three days to fly through a galaxy and scan it for our ships. We estimated it would take double that time. If we extrapolate from that as a baseline, they will be here in less than two years.”

All three Admirals were shocked at that statement. Dat said, “What’s the guess on the Grillen being ready to attack?”

“They will also be ready to attack in two years.”

Dat shook his head, “We’ll have to take them both on simultaneously.”

“I don’t think either one of them will take a number and wait on the other.” Kat looked at the display showing the Monster’s progress and said, “At least the Colonies are not on the path the Monsters are taking to find us; however, Earth is.”

Dat said, “Are you leaning toward one or the other?”

“If pushed I would say the Monsters.”

Jill leaned back, “Why? Aren’t they more dangerous than the Grillen?”

“I don’t want to take on the stronger of the two last. We’ll be weakened and that’s not good tactics.” Kat paused and said, “There is also the consideration that the number of ships they have to respond to attacks is reduced by those sent to look for us. I’m sure if we’re successful, they’ll recall those ships but initially, we should have to face fewer of them.”

Jon said, “If they recall those ships, things could get rather nasty.”

Dat shrugged, “True, but they won’t be coming here. I agree that it should be the monsters first.”

Kat looked at Jon and Jill, “What about the two of you?”

Jill looked at Jon and said, “I think we should take on the monsters first as well. It is my hope that you can exert pressure through diplomatic channels to get the Grillen back in line.”

Kat shook her head, “Don’t hold your breath. Their current King has significant ego issues. He wants more territory.” Kat looked at Dat, “How do you want to handle this?”

“We have to do it Jill’s way. We have the Rovers operate independently and attack individual ships. It will have to be hit and run tactics until we can reduce their numbers. We’ll need the fleet computers to vector in hunter-killer groups on their larger formations but the scanners should provide us with most of our targets.”

Kat looked at them, “Discuss when you’ll be ready to start. Don’t delay; they’re getting closer every day.” Kat stood and left the room.

Jill looked at Dat and said “Congratulations on your marriage.”

Dat looked at Jill and said, “How do you know about that?”

“I called Gresha to check on her at the academy to see if there was anything I could do to help her and she told me.”

“How do you know Gresha?”

“She approached me when I first came back from the monster’s galaxy and told me that she would understand if I wanted to try and get you back.”

“She what!?!”

“She said that your happiness was the most important thing to her and that if you could be happier with me, she would understand.” Dat just stared at Jill. Jill smiled, “I determined at that moment that you could see her love and I stood no chance.”

“I had no intention of causing you pain, Jill. But you’re right, she has my heart.”

Jill looked at Jon and said, “And Jon has mine.” She looked back at Dat and said, “Everything worked out for the best.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I don’t want you to be uncomfortable working with me; we should work together to defend Earth and its allies.”

Dat smiled, “Well, congratulations to the two of you as well. I am relieved that there is no need for tension in our dealings. What do the two of you think we should do?”

Jon said, “We have to hit their biggest ships, Dat.”

“That’s pretty much all they have.”

“I’m talking about their planets. Those are their biggest ships.” Dat furrowed his brow. “They don’t keep enormous fleets around their planets. They send their ships out to feed on the planets they’ve conquered. If we start going after their planets, they’ll call those ships in to defend them.”

Dat smiled, “I like the way you think, Jon. How are we going to take out a planet?”

“You should remember your history lessons.”

Dat thought a moment and said, “Will that still work?”

“We just need to get the trigger close enough to make it happen.”

Dat nodded, “I’ll get with Belwen. The two of you should start getting Fleet’s computers up to speed assigning targets and teaching the Rovers what they’ll need to know during this first encounter.”

Jill looked at Jon, “I’ll handle the Rovers. You take Fleet.” Jon nodded.

Dat said, “We will initiate our attacks on their planets in four weeks. Stay in touch with Admiral Hull and she will coordinate our efforts.”

“Will do; good luck with Belwen.” Dat nodded and left for his ship.

• • •

Rayz finished his tour of the Builder’s main planet and saw a peaceful society that would never attack anyone. They left that to the Humans to handle. There was something about that that just didn’t seem to fit. He shook his head and saw that the Builders were just not able to fire a weapon at another life form. His species was the same way but one of the people had not only fired a weapon at him but had done it multiple times. How can that be? He had to ask. He looked up at the sky and focused on seeing Gresha’s energy. It took a few minutes but he finally found her on the planet where he had met that…what was she…oh yeah, Admiral. He looked around and disappeared.

• • •

Gresha heard a knock on her door and got up from the ship manuals she was studying. Who would be knocking this late? It was long after lights out in the Academy. She opened the door and saw Rayz, “How did you get in here?”

“I jumped in. I need to speak with you.”

Gresha stuck her head out and looked up and down the hall and motioned him in. “I really don’t think we have anything to discuss.”

Rayz sighed, “Then just humor me for a few moments and I’ll leave you alone and go back where you found me.”

Gresha looked at him, “You’re able to do that?”

“I’m a creation, remember. I can do a lot of things that might surprise you.”

Gresha stared at him and motioned him to a chair. She sat down at her desk and intently stared at him. “What do you want?”

“I’ve been spending time with the civilization that builds weapons for the Humans to use to defend themselves. I’ve discovered that the beings in that civilization could never use the weapons they produce. That really caused an issue with me but the fact is that is the reality of the situation.”

Gresha nodded and said, “So, what has you stumped?”

“The people on my planet are just like the builders. They could never fire a weapon at another life form; but you fired at me without even hesitating. I’m having difficulty understanding how you were able to do it? Did you know I wasn’t a life form when you fired?”

“You are a life form. You may have been created but you are alive.”

“Then how did you manage to fire that blaster at me?”

“It was really quite easy. I just pointed it at you and pulled the trigger.”

“You didn’t find it a difficult thing to do?”

“Not at all.”

Rayz stared at Gresha and said, “You would be able to fire on a Master?”

“Even faster than I fired on you.”

Rayz shook his head, “I just don’t understand how. We weren’t able to do it. It can’t be as easy as you say.”

“What you really want to know is what’s happened to change me. Am I an aberration or are all our people like me now?”

“That’s what I need to know.”

“They are all like me. I recall working in the fields with my neighbors and we all dreamed of killing a Master. We entertained each other with the many ways we could make them die slowly. I’d kill one in an instant and I know everyone in the community would as well.” Gresha saw Rayz confusion and sighed, “You never knew pain. You still don’t.”

Rayz looked at her, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“My ancestors, your creators, never experienced pain and horror. As a result of that, they could never cause others pain. It was outside of their experiences. Their descendants have known nothing else. We know what pain and horror is first hand and we would like nothing more than to give it back to those that have been killing us for so long.”

“You’re saying the Masters have taught you to kill?”

“They have certainly given us the desire to visit on them what they’ve done to us.”

“And what happens if all the Masters are killed?”

Gresha smiled, “Then we make sure there are no Masters still out there in the universe. We will join the humans in making sure our children will be safe.” Gresha saw Rayz tears and said, “You weep for the loss of our innocence. It’s a shame you couldn’t weep for the loss of our lives.” Rayz lowered his head and disappeared. Gresha felt a little satisfaction at Rayz sorrow. The coward deserved it. She went back to her study but also felt sorry for the creation of her ancestors. She forced herself to focus and went back to work. The Fleet Trials were in three days and she wanted to make a good showing. She thought a moment about Rayz and then put him out of her mind.

• • •

Rayz walked over the hill and saw his parents digging in the field. Everyone straightened up and watched as he walked up to his father and took the shovel. His parents hugged him and for the first time in their memory, Rayz hugged them back and kissed them on the cheek. He then took the shovel and started digging. He continued to work until darkness approached and he left for their dwelling. He looked up at the darkening sky and saw the first stars appear. He sighed heavily and didn’t find them as beautiful as he once did. He entered his home with his parents and closed the door as night fell.

• • •

The Moet looked at his friend on his display and said, “Do you understand what we’re doing here?”

The citizen of the planet that had once been a member of the Alliance smiled, “It’s really simple. Are you having problems with it?”

“I guess I am, Nedah. They say the system should be used to find the thruster lines on the monster’s ships and I should skip in and fire on them close to that line.”

“That’s how I understand it.”

“Well, what if another ship is next to them with those automatic beams where they can hit you?”

“Then go to the side where there isn’t a ship.”

“But what if there are ships all around it?”

“Then pick a ship out on the edge of the formation that doesn’t have one there. Hit it and then hit the next one on the edge.”

“Ok, you’ve helped a lot.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You figured this out immediately. You were making sure I saw it. Thank you for being concerned about me, old friend.”

“Just be careful.”

“I’ll do my best. You do the same.”

“I will.”

• • •

Gresha stood at attention and Admiral Hull presented her with the Arvolo Trophy named after the Union’s greatest pilot and Admiral. She smiled and said, “It appears you and your husband are keeping the trophy in the family. Congratulations on your victory in the competition and I know you’ll make a great Rover. Gresha saluted and smiled as Kat pinned the medal on her uniform. Gresha took her seat and Admiral Hull looked out at the new graduates. She adjusted the microphone and said, “You are about to take part in one of the largest exercises we’ve ever conducted. You will be charged to reduce the number of ships an enemy of the Union has to attack us. Follow the command system you’ve learned in class and don’t get greedy. Hit your target and get out. All of you are too important for us to lose you without exacting a price for your ship. Congratulations and you should now go and take your ships to your assigned group. Good luck and make us proud.”

• • •

Gresha boarded her Rover and said, “Cyanna, where are we going?”

“You’ll have to ask Newton.”

“I have received the coordinates; however, there are so many units forming up that Fleet doesn’t have who our commander will be. They are currently assigning attack vectors and say we should jump to our assigned coordinates and ask.”

“Get us out of here and skip to our coordinates.”

“On our way, Gresha.”

Chapter Eighteen

Gresha arrived at the coordinates and was surprised at what she saw. There were ten white ships that were at least a mile long. Newton said, “Gresha, we have a request for identification.”

“Send it.”

Gresha saw the ten ships were gathered in the center of a massive gathering of ships. What were those ships? They looked familiar but she couldn’t recall where she saw them. Suddenly Dat appeared on her display, “Welcome to my little party.”

Gresha’s smile was instant, “I was hoping I would be with you.”

“Actually, you have been promoted to Senior Captain and you will be in command of twenty ships that are my personal bodyguard. It appears Admiral Hull thinks her Admirals need protection. She chose you believing that you would do more than the average bear to make sure nothing happens to me.”

“She’s right. Dat, what are those ships?”

“They’re actually relics of the fleet that fought in the First Galactic War. “They’ve been modified to perform a task that our Rovers can’t do.”

“What is that?”

“Destroy a planet.”

“Are you saying those ships are more powerful than a Rover?”

“Yes and no; they’re able to handle more hits than a Rover but don’t possess a beam as powerful as a Rover’s dark matter beam. Their original reactors have been replaced with thirty dark matter reactors whose sole purpose is to power their force fields long enough to launch an ancient weapon called a Light Wave Penetrator.”

“Is it capable of destroying a planet?”

“It is. It will actually destroy their ships as well. However, we are limited in how many we have to use so it will be up to the Rovers to take on their fleets until we can get enough of the old ships commissioned again.”

“The ships here are going to be used to clear the way to the planets you want to hit.”

“Very good, Gresha; that’s exactly what we’re planning. Jon and Jill also have ten Jukebox Class Ships as well. Our opening salvo will be to go after thirty of the Masters’ home worlds.”

“How many do they have?”

“We know about fifty thousand. This will just be a drop in the bucket but we hope it will cause them to recall the warships they sent to search for us.”

“Are you going to be on one of those ships?”

“No, I’m going to be directing our ships. Your wing will stay with me.”

“Do those ships have skip drives?”

“They do; they’ll be able to keep up.”

“Dat I need to get with my Wing and get them organized. Will you send me their frequencies so I can get that started?”

“Cyanna already has them. Call me when you get it done.”

“Yes Sir.” Dat laughed and ended the contact. Gresha knew that Admiral Hull didn’t want them separated. Worrying about each other would be a distraction. This would allow Dat to focus on the task at hand. “Cyanna, get the Wing on my panel.”

“I’ll contact them now.” Gresha looked at the list and saw that half of the Wing had won a fleet competition at the Academy. The other half had placed at least second or third in one of the competitions. She hoped they wouldn’t feel slighted reporting to a brand new graduate. She felt better when her second in command assured her that her scores at the Academy were better than anyone in the Wing. He seemed to be sincere when he told her he looked forward to learning from her. She laughed when he said, “Besides, I think you’re a good filter between us and the Admiral.”

• • •

An hour later Gresha sat on her ship and looked out at the millions of gathering Rovers that were skipping in. She thought about how much she had changed over the last year and found herself wanting to be with Dat. It wasn’t going to happen soon. He was as busy as a one legged man running from a bear. There was a lot of movement but not much progress. She wondered about the weapon that was going to be used on the Master’s planets. She thought a moment and said, “Cyanna, what do you know about this super penetrator?”

“It’s called a light wave penetrator because it is massive at forty thousand pounds. It accelerates to 95% of light speed in less than fifty miles and has the gravity field removed immediately before impact, returning its mass to normal.”

Gresha thought a moment and said, “Oh my God!”

“You’re right. When you consider that the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs on Earth was only traveling about thirty miles a second, this penetrator is a much higher order of catastrophe. Although it’s nowhere near the mass of most large asteroids, traveling at 175,000 miles per second converts all its mass into energy when it hits. It truly is a planet killer.”

“That large ship is vulnerable without weapons to defend it.”

“Actually, our scientists have taken a look at another medium sized penetrator and have determined that it should be able to penetrate the force fields of the Master’s main battleship.”

Gresha thought a moment and said, “Why did the Union stop using them?”

“On paper, the Rovers should be able to withstand the Master’s beams but you saw something the Union missed.”

“What is that?”

“The dark matter field has weak points in in. Fleet has tried to use more particles in the field but it doesn’t stop the holes. It’s those holes that allow the Master’s beams to kill our ships.”

“I thought Dat said the big ship uses a dark matter field?”

“It actually uses three of them. The possibility of a hole in all three force fields lining up at the same moment is remote. It takes thirty dark matter reactors to make them work but it should be able to withstand most attacks. However, there is a limit.”

“Oh?”

“Fifty ships hitting it with all their beams might break through. However, the medium penetrators it carries will play a role in keeping ships away from it.”

“Why doesn’t it just use beams?”

“Beams require massive amounts of energy. Some of the reactors would have to be taken away from the force fields to install them and then the purpose of having them is defeated. Firing a penetrator that has its own energy does not weaken the force fields. The Penetrators have a dark matter field around them which only lasts for a hundredth of a second, allowing the penetrator to make it through the ship’s three force fields without being damaged. Once it’s clear, the gravity field activates and the penetrator accelerates away.”

Gresha thought a moment and said, “Are we going back to large battleships again?”

“Probably, but those ships once carried more than seven hundred small ships that launched before it entered battle. I suspect the Rovers will continue to be the Union’s scouts and front line attack craft but it appears the old Juke Box class of Starship is being brought back on line to handle the heavy lifting.”

“Will it carry small ships?”

“I suspect there will be a few but most of the former launch tubes for the small ships have been converted to penetrator launch tubes. Small ships will launch out of its landing bay.”

“Thanks, Cyanna. Newton, is the Wing in their positions?”

“They are and they’re linked to your command circuit.”

“Have you checked the link to Einstein?”

“I have and we will be locked in to his drive board. We’ll go wherever Dat goes and will maintain our positions around his ship.”

“We need to perform a trial on that to make sure it’s functioning properly.”

“Einstein has agreed to make time for that when Dat gives in and goes to sleep. Stein thinks he’s pushing himself too hard.”

“He is; I’ll see if I can’t talk some sense into him.”

“Loree has asked me to see if you’d try. They’re worried about him taking on too much.” Gresha nodded and smiled.

• • •

Dat looked at Gresha on his display and said, “You need what?’

“I’m responsible for protecting your ship and I’m concerned that my command system is not functioning properly. I need you to come to my ship and check it out.”

“Can’t the computers do that?”

“They can go only so far. You have the most experience and I need you to do it, Dat. Do you not care about my feelings on this?” Dat watched his display go dark and he fell back in his command chair. “Good grief.” He shook his head pressed his panel, “Jon, can you get Jill to take over working with the support fleets. I need to take a moment to check on an issue.”

“Sure, she’ll take them off your panel in a moment.”

“Stein, take me over to Gresha’s ship as soon as Jill takes control of the fleets.”

“She has it; we’re leaving now.”

Stein moved over next to Gresha’s Rover and connected their small landing bays. The two bays pressurized and Dat stepped through the port and found Gresha waiting for him. She ran forward, wrapped her arms around Dat’s neck, and kissed him. He returned the kiss and started to back off but then got into it. Gresha took his hand and pulled him toward her quarters and he thought about resisting but only for a moment. An hour later he was asleep in Gresha’s arms. Gresha looked up and said, “Cyanna, you and Stein run the trial.” She kept her arms around Dat and watched him sleep. She could see he was exhausted and she stayed with him until he woke twelve hours later. He was angry at losing time preparing for the attack but saw that Jill had things under control. Gresha brought him breakfast in bed and he didn’t finish all of it before he had fallen asleep again. She took the dishes and left him sleeping. Ten hours later, Dat was back to his normal energetic self and he kissed her tenderly before he left. “You did this on purpose.”

“You’re no good to anyone if you’re exhausted. I’ll do it again if necessary, so take care of yourself.”

Dat hugged her again, “I love you so much.” Gresha held him close and then watched him leave. She went to the bridge and looked up, “How did the trial go, Newton?”

“We had some real issues when multiple skips were done but we’ve got them ironed out.”

“Show me what happened.” Gresha watched her display and could still feel Dat in her arms.

• • •

Rayz was in the second room of his home when he heard the door crash in. He instantly became invisible and rushed into the main living room in time to see his parents snatched out the door. Each of them was bound by two of the Master’s long arms. He rushed to the door in time to see hundreds of Masters running away from the community toward their shuttles. He was shocked into immobility. It was daylight and the Masters had come and taken hundreds from the community into their shuttles. The last time he saw his parents their faces were paralyzed in fear as the Master clutching them disappeared down the hill. He forced himself to focus and ran after the Master holding his parents. He arrived in time to see them taken into a shuttle and the port slammed shut as the shuttle lifted. He felt horror at what he saw. This was the first time he had lost those he had lived with. Right behind his anger, he felt a new emotion…rage. He watched the shuttle jump away and he saw it arrive at a huge Master Warship. He jumped into the shuttle and saw his parents were bound and lying on the floor. He turned and slammed his arm into the Master that had taken his parents and felt glee when it was shocked to death when his arm sent a full charge into its body. He grabbed his parents and lifted them off the floor. He looked through the walls of the shuttle and found the warship’s reactor. He fused the coolant lines and disappeared. The giant ship hung in space for a moment and then exploded. The investigation that followed the explosion determined it happened due to a faulty reactor. Rayz arrived back in his parent’s home and untied them. They stood and rushed forward and embraced him. He held them and wept. He had just killed more than five hundred Masters on the ship he destroyed. It surprised him that his tears were not for them but for the safety of his parents. Later, he sat in his room and understood how Gresha had been able to shoot him…three times. He felt real enjoyment at killing the Master that took his parents. Now even he was unworthy of using the ships…or was he?

• • •

Admiral Hull looked at the three war Admirals on her display, “Are you ready?”

Dat had Gresha on board and he said, “We’ve targeted thirty of their main ship building planets. We’re sending a million Rovers in ahead of the Juke Box Battleships to try and draw the defending fleets away from the planet. Once the battleships see an opening to the planet’s atmosphere, they will skip in and fire the Light Waves.”

“Did you say waves?”

“Yes, Admiral; the battleships are going to launch three at each planet.”

“I thought one would do it?”

Dat shrugged, “It probably would but why not make sure?”

Kat raised her eyebrows and smiled, “You make a good point. What happens after those attacks are completed?”

“If we’re successful, we’re going to have fleet designate targets for our Rovers and they will go after their battleships wherever they can find them. We’ll load the Juke Boxes back up and go after more of their planets.”

“What do you mean, ‘if you’re successful’?”

“They could jump in more than five million ships to each planet and no opening will appear for the Juke Boxes to come in.”

“Have you considered jumping in the Rovers, taking your shots, and running away in normal space from the planets?”

Dat looked at Kat and said, “No, we haven’t.”

“If you jump in and run, they’ve always chased you in the past. You could jump in with three quarters of your ships and attack the ships at the planet. If you immediately run, any ships jumping in will jump to your escape vector. I suspect most of the ships at the planet will also join the chase. You could then skip in with the remaining ships to clear a path to the planet for the light waves.”

Dat stared at Katherine and shook his head, “To answer your first question, no we’re not ready. You’ve made an excellent suggestion and we need to rework our order of battle. However, this will be easier than what we’ve initially planned so we should have the changes done within four days.”

“We need to start moving on this. Our probes have seen the Grillen start a massive ship building effort. We may not have as long as I thought before they make a move on us.”

“We’ll do this and I’ll send a quarter of our ships back to Earth.”

“No, we’ll know when they’re coming. You need to focus on one thing at a time. The Horde and Hive have their ships on alert and will jump in if we need them.”

Dat smiled, “That’s why you’re the boss.”

Kat saw her display go dark and she hoped this plan worked. The two hundred million warships the Monsters sent out to scout would arrive much faster than the scouts would have been capable. This was becoming the worst time for them to arrive. She contacted Fleet Operations for an update on what was going on in M87 and the Grillen Galaxy.

• • •

Gibbons looked at Kune on his display, “I wonder why we were selected to go in with the Juke Box.”

“That’s easy to figure out.”

“Is that so?”

“We’ve sort of built up a reputation for using an attack pattern that fits this exercise.”

“What attack pattern are you talking about?”

“You know, Ready, Fire, Aim.”

Gibbons chuckled and said, “The lads are somewhat aggressive.” Gibbons leaned back in his chair, “Kune, did being from a long line of Naval Officers ever cause you problems?”

Kune tilted his head and said, “There was huge family pressure to advance in rank but nothing that was too bothersome. I never expected to have a fleet or Admiral’s rank. I just never thought about doing anything else. Why do you ask?”

Gibbons sighed, “There’s a woman I really care about that decided to end our relationship because of my job.”

“Is she in the Navy?”

“No, she’s a civilian; but I’m really missing her…a lot.”

“Why did she choose to leave?”

“She says she didn’t want an absentee husband.”

“I was told at an early age to find my wife from those in the Navy. Civilians just can’t deal with the requirements of being a warrior.”

“I know; I was told the same thing. I just…I don’t know…I miss her.”

“Do you miss her enough to leave the service?” Kune watched Gibbs struggle with the question and he said, “You need to get out more.”

“What do you mean?”

“Stop by the Academy and offer to be a guest speaker to the fourth year cadets.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Just do it once and then get back to me about this.”

Gibbs stared at Kune, “You’re serious?”

“Just do it when we get back and then let’s discuss this again. Just don’t make any major decisions until you do it. Will you do that for me?”

“I guess.”

Kune looked at his board, “We’re getting our orders. Talk to you later.”

“Later.”

• • •

Dat turned on his wing frequency, “I’m going to have all of my conversations sent to your ships so all of you will know anything I’m going to do in advance. Gresha, I know your wing is linked to my ship but you should take a look at any place I decide to skip to before we arrive and arrange your ships accordingly.”

“Yes Sir.”

The other members of Dat’s wing were excited by the opportunity to be able to listen in on the Admiral’s conversations. This was a great opportunity to see what was required of Flag Officers. They knew this would be an invaluable learning experience. They also knew he was probably doing it for Gresha. It reinforced their belief that having her as a commander was a real benefit.

“Stein, do you have the probes’ feed from the target.”

“I do and Loree is going to be looking for a path to send the Juke Box in.”

“Send it out as soon as you see it. Don’t wait to ask permission; just do it.”

“I’m on it.”

Dat looked at his main display and activated the Fleet Frequency, “We will initiate the initial attack in two minutes. You have a target; get in, hit it, and run directly away from the planet. I want all of you running within twenty seconds of contact. The countdown will commence two minutes from…now!”

• • •

Gibbons saw the countdown begin and hit his communicator, “I’m only going to say this once and all of you had better make sure you get it the first time. We’re leading the Juke Box in and each of you will be assigned a ship to hit in the sector we’re given. You will hit that ship and that ship only! Hit it and run. I will replay the recording of this attack and if any of you fire at anything other than your target; I will personally make sure the guilty party is cleaning latrines on a cold planet for the rest of your career in the Navy. If you’re forced to fire on another enemy ship to defend yourself you better make damn sure the recordings bear out your decision. We’re there to clear a path for the Juke Box and that is what we’re going to do.” Gibbons ended the transmission and shook his head. His pilots were extremely aggressive and that was a good thing most of the time they went into combat. This just wasn’t one of them. “Roy, I want to know if any of them don’t follow that instruction.”

“I have the feed from the probe feeding directly to my databanks.”

“Good.” Gibbs pressed his panel, “Captain Chatman, are you ready?”

“I am, Sir. I’ll be right behind your formation.”

“Don’t waste time looking for a specific target. Fire them and get out.”

“That’s the plan, Sir. I won’t disappoint you.”

“I never thought you would.” Gibbs looked at his panel, “What’s the number of enemy ships above the planet?”

“We’re outnumbered three to one.”

“Oh, that’s all.”

“I’m not counting the ones that are out in the system. They shouldn’t be able to get to us before we show them our backsides.”

“I was being sarcastic.”

“So was I.”

“You two need to just simmer down.”

“Oh be quiet, Link. And what’s with that southern accent?”

“Why y’all know little ole me doesn’t have an accent.”

“Roy, where did she pick that up?”

“She thinks you’re being a wuss about that woman. We both think the best thing happened”

“Figures.”

“We’re just sayin’.”

“Well, the two of you need to focus on the attack.”

“Yes sah, masta Gibbons.”

“I need to reprogram both of you.”

“You’ll never do it. You know we’re right. Would you walk away from this to be a civilian?”

Gibbs thought a moment and was feeling the adrenaline rush from the coming fight. “No, I guess I wouldn’t.”

“That’s what we like to hear; get ready, ten seconds before the initial ships skip in.”

• • •

Captain Lila Greatly stared at her display and waited for the order to go in. The Juke box Battleship she commanded was humming and every system was reading in the green. She stared at the readout of the planet she was assigned to destroy and saw that the major ship building facilities were in the northern hemisphere. She looked at their locations and wanted to hit the three biggest installations with the Light Waves. She pressed her panel and saw Admiral Kune appear on the display, “Admiral, the further away we are from the equator, the further out I would like to launch.”

“I’m not sure I follow you, Captain.”

“I want to hit the major manufacturing centers. I want an angle to fire on them from whatever path we’re given. The further away we are from the middle of the planet; the further out I’ll have to fire from to hit them.”

“If we’re given a path, notify me as quickly as possible what you need.”

“Yes Sir.”

The million ships watched the countdown and when it hit zero, three quarters of them disappeared.

Chapter Nineteen

Brandon Hail appeared in normal space and saw his target ship directly ahead. He was coming in at an incredible velocity and moved the Rover toward a thruster line on the right side of the giant grey ship. The automatic beams turned toward the incoming Rover but it was into the thruster line before they could fire. The ship started a roll but Brandon moved his ship with the roll and fired his Dark Matter beam at it as he roared by. The beam cut a trench down two thirds of the ship and he pulled back to run directly away. He saw on his display that the ship next to his target was rolling its beams toward him and he knew he wouldn’t make it out of their range in time. Suddenly, the ship he had fired on blew up in a massive explosion which rocked the ship that was targeting him. The beams lost lock and he roared away before they could reacquire him. His heart was beating at a rate that scared him but he had made it out alive. He saw six of the giant grey ships accelerate away from the planet chasing him as he added more speed.

“We’ve got trouble.”

Brandon looked and saw thousands of grey ships emerging into normal space directly ahead of him and shook his head. Then he heard, “Light Waves have been launched.” He punched his drive button and skipped into the barrier and disappeared before the ships ahead of him could get a shot off. He wondered how many ships survived. He closed his eyes and gave thanks for his luck.

• • •

Gibbs saw his panel illuminate and said, “Jump now on the trajectory we’ve been assigned. Nicky, get the shot off.” The two hundred and fifty thousand Rovers appeared above the southern continent and hit the eighty thousand Master ships still in orbit above the planet. All eighty thousand exploded and the Rovers skipped out. Captain Chatman flew the Juke Box Battleship in behind them and salvoed the three Light Wave Penetrators. Sixty ships managed to come roaring in from around the planet and fired on the huge white ship. Two force fields failed but the third held and the Juke Box skipped away. The planet exploded a moment later and the atmosphere cooked off as the southern continent split all the way down to the core and molten rock exploded out in a massive blast. Everything on the planet was killed in the heat that rolled over the surface. Only a few bacteria survived the planet’s death.

• • •

“Lila, we’re going in over the North Pole.”

“I need to fire the penetrators from twenty thousand miles out, Admiral.”

“We’re taking out the ships over the pole and skipping out. Make your shots and get out!”

Lila watched the thousands of grey ships over the pole start exploding and she watched her weapons officer feed the data to the Light Waves. He fired the three huge missiles as the white battleships turned to skip away. Three hundred Grey ships appeared around them and the weapon’s officer hit his panel launching hundreds of medium penetrators. The ship was being hit by a hundred beams but disappeared before the last force field went down.

The medium penetrators locked on a target and accelerated to half the speed of light. A third of them were hit by beams being fired at the Juke Box but the others hit the Master’s Ships that were screaming in. The medium penetrator failed to penetrate the force fields of incoming ships half the time due to the steep angle of attack but two hundred of the grey ships exploded just after the planet split in half.

• • •

“Sir, three of the Juke Boxes didn’t get a route in.”

Dat hit his board, “The three ship groups that didn’t get a route in. I want you to jump in to your target planet a hundred thousand miles out and volley your Light Waves one behind the other with a second between each of them. Rovers, jump in a head of the Juke Box and jump out. Don’t engage the enemy. You’re simply a diversion. Jump in and jump out. Jump in three seconds.”

Dat watched the three huge formations disappear and Gresha said, “What are you trying to accomplish?”

“If we can’t clear a path to the planet, perhaps the Light Waves can do it for us.”

“Won’t they destroy each other in the blast if one hits a ship before the planet?”

“Those penetrators are shielded. I’m hoping one can make it through.”

• • •

The Rovers jumped in on each side of the Juke Box and turned left and right. The Masters’ Ships at the planet began jumping out to give chase as the Juke Box fired the first penetrator. The second was fired a second later as enemy ships began emerging on each side of the large white ship. The third penetrator launched and the Juke Box exploded as three thousand beams hit it.

Looking at a planet with hundreds of thousands of ships above it in orbit, it appeared that nothing could make it through their ranks. However, there was more empty space than there are ships. Only the third penetrator hit a ship. The other two hit the planet in the same location and the second hit broke a third of it away. Of thirty planets targeted, all of them died. Five of the Juke Box Battleships were destroyed and more than two hundred thousand Rovers lost their lives.

The twenty ships in Dat’s defense wing listened as the casualty reports came in and they heard the sense of Loss in the Admiral’s voice. They felt sorrow for their lost comrades but they knew the Admiral felt it more. After an hour, they heard the Admiral’s computer say, “We have the report on what damages we were able to inflict on the Black Creatures.”

Dat sighed, “What were they?”

“All thirty planets were destroyed. Even the last three were blown apart. It appears multiple Light Waves hitting in the same location is more than a planet can take.” Dat nodded. “The Rovers also killed eight million of their ships.”

“How many?”

“Eight million, four hundred sixty thousand, seven hundred and fifty six or seven.”

“Why the doubt?”

“One ship appeared to be destroyed but they were able to pull it away for repairs.”

“Loree, are you saying all the others were not repairable?”

“It’s hard to repair a cloud of debris.”

“At least our brave pilots made their lives count.”

“I suspect there is some distress in Monster Land today.”

Dat didn’t feel like smiling but couldn’t stop it, “I suspect there is too.”

Stein interjected, “The rest of our fleets are now going in and attacking their ships. Initial reports indicate that we’ve destroyed an additional twenty million of their ships since the attack on the thirty planets.”

“Order the crews that attacked the planets home for five days of liberty. They’ll be slotted in when they get back and join our other fleets in making the attacks.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

The instructor finally stopped the questions and thanked Gibbs for speaking to his class. Gibbs had dreaded speaking at the Academy but knew Kune would never let up until he did it. He fully expected it to be a huge waste of time and energy. He only had five days off but he decided he needed to fill the time to keep from thinking about Anna. He was pleasantly surprised that it was more fun than he thought it would be. The fourth year cadets were really smart and they hung on every word he said. And their questions were insightful and challenged him. He was forced to agree that he didn’t think about Anna once during the classes. He planned to do it again.

Gibbs gathered his materials and walked out of the classroom and went to the cafeteria to get something to eat before he left for his shuttle.

“Excuse me, Sir.”

Gibbs turned around and was stunned by what he saw. A fourth year cadet stood in front of him and she was absolutely stunning. Her shoulder length black hair was beautiful and she had the bluest eyes he had ever seen. She was amazing. Gibbs gathered his wits and said, “Yes.”

“I was wondering how long you are going to be here.”

“Why?”

“I was hoping I could convince you to allow me to take you out to dinner to pick your brain.”

Gibbs smiled, “I didn’t answer all your questions?”

She smiled, “The professor did cut us off. I determined rather quickly during your presentation that the current tactics being used by Fleet does not match up well with what we’re being taught. I’m going to be flying a Rover and I really want to know all that’s going on out there. By the way, my name is Lydia Daniels.” Gibbs slowly shook his head. “What’s wrong, Sir. Is it inappropriate for me to ask you out?”

Gibbs blew out a breath and said, “I’ll certainly allow you to take me out. However, let me suggest something else.” Lydia’s eyebrows went up. “I’ll come in and pick you up here and you can go with me to a get together some of my pilots are having at the space port. You can ask them any questions you have and afterwards we’ll go get a bite to eat and I’ll clarify anything you don’t understand.”

Lydia’s smile was just gorgeous. She said, “I would so appreciate it. You don’t know how much this would mean to me.”

“I like your desire to learn. I’ll pick you up in front of the Academy Book Store at six.”

“How should I dress, Sir?”

“My pilots will be in their civilian clothes. They don’t get to wear them very often so I think you should also be out of uniform. You should also drop the Sir while we’re there. This is an informal get together to celebrate the lives of the pilots we lost in our last battle.”

Lydia’s face turned serious. “I don’t want to intrude on them.”

“This is a celebration. They would like to share their memories with someone that doesn’t already know them.”

“Would it be possible to bring someone else?”

Gibbs knew it had to be a boyfriend, “Who would you bring?”

“My roommate and her twin sister; they would love to attend.”

Gibbs smiled, “What, isn’t your roommate living with her sister?”

“She’s hung up on some boy. Carrie needed a new one and I volunteered.”

“I’ll see the three of you at six.”

Lydia smiled and said, “We’ll be there.”

• • •

When Gibbs brought them back later that night, Lydia stayed after her friends had thanked Gibbs and walked away. Lydia said, “The Rovers in your unit are amazing. They really are what I envisioned a Rover would be.”

“They really liked the three of you as well. You really added a lot to their get together.”

Gibbs turned to go and Lydia said, “Sir.”

Gibbs stopped and turned around, “Yes.”

“I still owe you a dinner. Will you please allow me to pay off?”

Gibbs smiled and said, “I’m shipping out in three days.”

“Then how about tomorrow night?”

Gibbs smiled and said, “What time should I be here?”

“Seven.”

Gibbs chuckled and said, “What should I wear?”

“Oh I think you look great in your civilian clothes.”

“I’ll see you at seven.”

Gibbs walked away and Lydia watched him go. She had learned from one of his pilots that he had just ended a relationship with a woman. She also learned that his pilots would follow him into hell itself. She had decided long before they left the meal he took her and her friends to that he was going to be in her life. Now she just had to persuade him to agree. Tomorrow she would really dress up and give it her best shot.

The next night after Gibbs arrived and saw the angel approaching his shuttle, Lydia’s best shot was a direct hit to his heart. He contacted Kune a week later and thanked him for his advice. It was then that Kune fessed up that he found his wife at the Academy after being a guest lecturer. Gibbs learned later that the two twins married two of his pilots. It seemed the boy that one of them was smitten by didn’t measure up to the pilots they met that night. When Anna called him four weeks later to see about getting back together, he told her that she had made a good decision and he wished her well. Even Roy and Link liked Lydia. That only proved his decision to see her was a good one.

• • •

Brandon saw the enemy squadron holding station above a planet that manufactured their shuttles. His hunter-killer pack locked in ten of the hundred grey ships holding station and after a moment, skipped in and fired on the selected ships. All ten blew up in massive explosions as Brandon’s pack skipped away to hit another target across the galaxy. The ninety survivors began changing positions. Remaining in one place too long was proving to be suicide.

• • •

The Fifty were screaming at each other over their displays. They had left their normal sanctuary and bordered ships to avoid having the planet they were occupying blown up under them. The two hundred million ships that remained after the others were sent out to scout had been whittled down to eighty million. The argument was starting to get out of hand. “We must recall our ships. We’re going to lose control of this galaxy if we don’t get them back.”

“Those ships are attacking us because we’re getting close to their home. We can’t stop now.”

“It won’t do us any good to find them if we don’t have the forces needed to attack them. Our ship construction sites have been destroyed and it will take at least a year to get new ones built. We’ve got to get the forces here needed to defend us.”

Bedlam ruled the moment until a scientist said, “I think I know a way for our ships to survive their attacks.”

He said it quietly but several of the attendees heard him and grew instantly silent. The silence rippled out into the group on the display as others saw many had stopped arguing. The Master next to the scientist on the display said, “What did you just say?”

“My staff has been working on a way to prevent our ships from being hit by those beams. I think we have devised a way to make that happen.”

“Tell us.”

“The reason they’re able to kill our ships is they jump in on the thruster lines on our ships.”

“Go on.”

“We can program our ships to rotate at random speeds. Jumping into an area above the thruster lines would be extremely difficult. We can also program the scanner directed beams to factor in the rotation in their targeting.”

The Fifty remained silent as they thought about the concept. “We’ve also found a way to see their approach.”

“WHAT?”

“We’ve discovered that those ships are not actually in subspace when they jump. It appears they are in a small boundary area between normal space and subspace. We can set our scanners to detect movement in that area.”

“That also means we can follow them.”

“It does but not for long distances. We won’t be able to follow them into intergalactic distances.”

“Why not?”

“We have to follow an electronic trail and that will make us slower than the ship we’re pursuing. Over a long distance, we’ll lose the trail.”

“But it will tell us what direction to search.”

“Just one thousandth of a degree at intergalactic distances will put you off the line more than two million light years. We’ve looked at this and it won’t work.”

“Are you sure?”

“Consider this, if you look out at the universe in any direction from our galaxy at any place in the void, you’ll see billions of galaxies in whatever direction you look.”

“Are you saying the warships we sent out to find them are a waste of time?”

“If they’re located more than a billion light years away, your chances of finding them are basically zero.”

Silence slammed down on the meeting.

The First Speaker said, “We should recall them. Does anyone disagree?” The silence continued. The First Speaker said, “What will need to be done to modify our ships to do what you suggest?”

“There aren’t any physical modifications that need to be done. All that’s required is a download of new software. We can send that out to all of our ships within a few days.”

“Get it done.”

• • •

Dat looked at Admiral Hull on his display, “There have been some developments.”

“I never like to hear you say that, Dat.”

“You won’t like it this time as well. We’ve lost eight thousand Rovers in our most recent attacks. The enemy has started their ships rotating at different speeds. That speed changes every two seconds and getting into the area where we can hit them is not going to be easily done.”

“There’s something else, isn’t there?”

“They can see us coming and are now able to pursue us.”

“That is not good.”

“Fortunately, none of our ships have left for the Milky Way since this development and we’re going to be extremely careful before we send any home. However, the advantage is now with them.”

“Why?”

“They’ve recalled all the warships that were sent out to scout and they arrived on the scene spinning.”

“What happens when a Rover confronts one of their ships?”

Dat slowly shook his head, “It’s a tossup as to who will emerge victorious. We can’t win in this current situation; they still outnumber us seven to one.”

“Will we have to call it off until we can develop new technology?”

“We have what we need technologically.”

“We do?”

“The Juke Box class battleships can take out large numbers of them before their force fields fail.”

“But we don’t have very many of them.”

“We have millions of them that have been mothballed. The Hive and Horde also have millions in their inventory. They just have to be modified to the three force fields and stocked with enough medium penetrators to make them effective. We also need to computerize their systems so two people can operate them. We will also have to automate the loading of the penetrators.”

“How long will it take to make those modifications?”

Dat leaned back in his command chair, “Belwen tells me that if we bring them to his two hundred thousand planets, he can modify two a month.”

“So in three months we can have more than a million to use.”

“Yes and it doesn’t matter how fast a ship spins, a medium penetrator will stop it along with blowing the hell out of it.” Dat paused, “We just never knew that dark matter technology had the holes in it. If we had simply taken the time to fire one of those penetrators at a Rover, we would have seen that they couldn’t stand up to them. Until we can power a small ship with multiple force fields, they won’t be effective against beams as powerful as the Monsters use.”

“What does Belwen say about closing the holes?”

“He is of the opinion that you could use twice as many particles in the fields and they would still have holes. It’s a byproduct of dark energy that can’t be completely eliminated. All of the beams we’ve encountered over the last thousand years have not been strong enough to penetrate the holes. The Monster’s beams are powerful enough to get through. It’s the width of a Rover and will hit a hole if the Rover takes a direct hit.”

“So the ancient technology is the best.”

“No it’s not; our recent developments makes them effective. It’s by adding the three force fields and our modern computers that will make the Juke Box ships deadly. The Juke Boxes are a great platform to build on. They are a completely new class of ships. The old ships wouldn’t last a second against the Monster’s beams or a Juke Box that has been modernized.”

Kat shook her head, “I don’t like that they don’t have beams to defend them and are totally dependent on penetrators for defense.”

“Belwen is working on that issue. He says not to give up hope on developing one.”

“We don’t have a beam strong enough to penetrate their force fields from a distance, Dat.”

“I told him the same thing but he smiled and said three words.”

“And they are?”

“Dark Matter Needle.”

Kat smiled. Now that would prove to be interesting.

Chapter Twenty

Gresha sat in her command chair and looked around the bridge of her new ship. It was huge and her panel was an exact duplicate of the one next to her. Either of the two pilots could command the ship and all of its functions from their panels. The section of the panel in front of her at the moment was weapons and scanner controls but the panel could move the flight controls to the center with the push of a button. Learning how to operate the new controls had taken a month. Dat had picked up how to operate the ship within a week but he had an affinity for technology that few possessed. The Weapons panel had red and green controls where the pilot’s board was blue and white. She leaned back in the wide chair and wondered why the ship needed pilots at all. It was computerized to a level that was unheard of before. She looked up and saw Dat walk in, “Hello, Love. Where have you been?”

“I’ve been meeting with Belwen and he still hasn’t ironed out the beam he’s hoping to install on our ship.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Yes it is. How are you doing getting up to speed on the panel?”

“I’m making progress.”

“Belwen sent you this.” Dat handed her a helmet with a long chord coming out of it.

“What is that?”

“It’s the link to the computers. They’ll feed everything to you directly and you can issue commands without having to manipulate the controls on your panel.”

“Then why have the flippin’ panel!?”

“If a computer is hit or damaged, the panel will operate the systems manually. It’s a safety protocol.” Dat looked up and said, “Stein, have you and the others ironed out your areas of responsibility?”

“We have.”

“Tell me what you’ve decided.”

“I have the flight controls, Loree has the scanners, Cyanna has weapons, and Newton has power manipulation for the force fields.”

“Is there a reason you and Loree kept your former responsibilities?”

Cyanna said, “They have seniority but I also enjoy firing weapons. Newton is the best at manipulation of force fields. This just seemed the best use of our talents.”

Gresha smiled. “Thanks, Cyanna. And she is incredible at targeting the penetrators, Dat.”

“Stein, how about the links to you; is there a delay?”

“None that we can see, Gresha; having our two Rovers kept in the landing bay in the event we need to escape, is a good arrangement. The links to us are quite remarkable. All of us actually feel like we’re part of the Juke Box Battleship even though we’re still in the Rovers.”

Dat shook his head, “We are trialing the use of four computers on this ship; all the others have the normal two. If this works out, we can assign two Rovers to each Juke Box.”

“Have you named the ship, Dat?”

“Yes, fleet has commissioned her the Havana.”

Gresha smiled, “Now that’s a big name for us to live up to.”

Dat smiled, “I know but it just seemed right. This particular ship carried that name before it was decommissioned. This was Arvolo’s Flagship in the First Galactic War. It holds a special place in my heart.” There was a moment of silence and Dat placed his hand on his panel and gently ran his fingers along it, “This ship is the one Admiral Arvolo and Cyanna fought in the final battle against the Red Sector. Fleet felt that I should be the one to fly it.”

Gresha stood and went and hugged Dat, “I know you’re proud. I can tell you I am.” Dat nodded. “Well, how are we going to break her in?”

“We’re going to see if we can slow down the Monster’s pursuit of our ships.”

“Do tell.”

“We need to find a way to escape, Stein.”

“And just how are we going to escape?”

“We are going to attempt to make it too costly to chase us.” Dat paused and said, “We are going to jump out to a coordinate and wait for six of our Rovers to skip to us after they fire on a Master’s Wing. They will run to our location, enter normal space, and escape at light speed for ten minutes before they skip away. We have to slow the pursuers so that the six can’t be followed. Once they escape, we’ll skip away.”

“You still haven’t told me how we’re going to escape.”

“Stein, you’ve noticed all the penetrators in the back bays, haven’t you?”

“I have.”

“Well, we’re going to skip away and as we enter normal space we’re going to drop an appropriate number of penetrators just before we skip again. They’ll immediately go active and target anything that enters normal space.”

“What’s to prevent them from just staying out of normal space?”

“We won’t skip away until they emerge.”

“Dat, have you really thought this through?”

“Why do you ask, Loree?”

“What’s to prevent them from calling reinforcements to where we are before they emerge?”

“Nothing; but we can detect the incoming waves and skip away before they arrive and tie up huge numbers of their ships playing tag. If things get too dicey, we’ll make a huge skip out into the void between galaxies and then skip back to a new location.” Dat paused, “Hey, we have to find out if we can be effective against them.”

“When are we going to do this?”

Dat looked at Gresha and tilted his head, “We’re skipping in twenty minutes.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“We have to take the initiative; all we’re doing now is running. We’ve been chosen to try these new tactics.”

“Isn’t this a huge risk?”

“Yes, Newton, but I need to know what these ships can do in order to make decisions on how to use them. We need to be the ones that do it first.”

Gresha smiled, “I need a few moments to use this helmet. I’ll be ready.”

Dat smiled and plugged his helmet into his panel, “Loree you have the coordinates; pick a spot where we can hit whatever emerges after the Rovers appear.”

“Stein has it. I’ll also select a route out of there.”

“That would be good.”

• • •

Shane looked at the five Rovers on his display, “We’re skipping in to hit them in eighteen minutes. You all have the escape route preprogrammed into your boards so fire and get out. If you miss, get out. If you hit it, get out. If you get killed, get out. Your main task is to get away. Hitting them is secondary on this mission and I don’t want to lose any of you.”

“Sir, they’ll be on us like white on rice as soon as we appear.”

“I know. Let’s hope the Juke Box can play them some music that might distract them long enough for us to get away.”

“Does Fleet seriously think that old ship can take them on?”

“If they didn’t, we wouldn’t be doing this. Just stick to the plan Kelli and stay on my tail.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Alright, I’ve started the countdown; set your panels to automatically skip in. Now what’s the word?”

“Fire and get out!”

“Good; I thought you might have forgotten.”

Shane watched the countdown and saw it hit zero and the next moment he was firing on a Monster Main Battleship. The next he was in the barrier with four ships skipping away with him; Kelli didn’t make it. Those creature’s computer controlled beams were really getting deadly. She took too long to run. His wing emerged into normal space and he saw the mile long Juke Box Battleship filling his scanner. He punched his communicator as he hit full thrusters, “We’ve got eighteen on our trail.”

“Thanks, Ajax. Now get out of here and skip away.”

Shane hit full thrusters and ejected a microprobe as he disappeared at one quarter light speed. He had to know what was going to happen. He watched the feed from the probe as eighteen giant ships emerged into normal space less than eight miles from the Juke Box.

“Get ready to run. Cyanna, lock on and fire.”

The eighteen giant ships appeared and Cyanna fired eighteen medium penetrators at them. The penetrators hit maximum velocity in less than a tenth of a second and returned their full mass a hundred yards from the giant ships. Ten of the ships managed to fire on the large white ship but the beams were stopped by the second force field before they could defeat the third. All eighteen enemy ships were hit by a penetrator and sixteen of them had their force fields penetrated and were blasted into rubble. The two that managed to deflect the penetrators fired at them were blown wildly to the side from the giant explosion on the surface of their force fields. Cyanna had two more on the way before the two battleships could stabilize to bring their weapons to bear on the Juke Box. The second penetrators went through their weakened force fields as if they didn’t exist. “We’ve got a large group coming this way.”

“How many?”

“At least a hundred.”

“Get us out of here!”

The Havana skipped out at a ninety degree angle from the site of the battle and emerged ten light years away and skipped in another direction. The hundred Master Battleships emerged and found space littered with the blasted hulks of the ships leading the chase. “Find where they went.” The hundred ships fanned out, searching for the skip track and one finally found it and the chase continued but by the time they arrived at the second skip, it had dissipated. The Commander of the Attack Group knew that the enemy had developed a new means of attacking his ships. He went back to the site of the battle and began sending the details of his scans to the Fifty to determine how to handle this new tactic and weapon being used by the enemy.

Shane watched the recording and shook his head. The Juke Box had killed the enemy ships at an incredible rate. It had also withstood their beams. He knew it used the ancient penetrators and he wished the Rovers were large enough to carry them; but that was a hopeless wish. The penetrator was as big as the Rover. He waited at the last skip point for the others to arrive and then they skipped away.

• • •

Kat looked at her board and shook her head. The Grillen had finally made their move and it was a massive one. Millions of ships and transports were jumping into the Red Sector and dropping troops on hundreds of thousands of planets. The probes saw that the once the troops landed on the planets, they would gather up huge numbers of the populations to use as hostages against retaliation. The civilizations in M87 were still working to get organized after the civil war and were no match for the warships being used by the Grillen in the invasion. “Gabriel, what do you have on their defenses?”

“They have really ramped up the defenses of the Royal Planets. It also appears that their ships have a beam that will give our Rovers a problem.”

Kat shook her head, “Are you serious?”

“I am; we’ve measured it to be on the same order of magnitude as the Masters’ beams.”

“We need to pull in our Rovers for defense. I suspect they will be coming here momentarily.”

“I’ll send the messages, Sir. How many do you want brought back?”

“We don’t have a choice; bring back seventy five percent of them.”

“That will only leave ten million to take on the Masters’ two hundred and fifty million.”

“The Rovers have been taking a pounding from them. We’re going to have to step up production of the Juke Box Battleships and leave that galaxy to them.” Her display went dark and she pressed another button, “Admiral Kay, start disruption around the planets in our galaxy. I anticipate an invasion of our territory soon.”

“The order has been sent. Disruption will commence in ten minutes.”

Kat stared at her display and watched millions of drop troops being released on the peaceful planets in the Red Sector.

• • •

“Jon, we’ve been ordered back.”

“I see that. It looks like Dat is going to have to handle the Masters with his fleet. Are you being sent to the Allies in M87?”

“No, they have enough ships to defend themselves. They’ll contact us if things get out of hand. It appears the Grillen are not attacking any of the civilizations that are in the Galactic Alliance. The implicit message is stay out of what we’re doing or we’ll kick your butts out.”

Jon thought a moment, “There’s nothing we can do to stop them. Their building program has really gone into high gear and they now outnumber us by a large margin. If they take the planets in the Red Sector and start building ships on them…I don’t know if anyone can stand up to them.”

“We have to protect our planet’s first. We’ll look at handling the Grillen later.”

“Jill, I’ve ordered a Juke Box for my Flag ship. Admiral Hull has agreed that perhaps we should command our forces from it. Will you join me?”

“Jon, you outrank me; just order it.”

“I don’t want you to be forced to do it. If you think you need to be elsewhere, I’d understand.”

“Forget it. I haven’t had my dancing quota for months. Let me know when it arrives.”

“What name do you want for her?”

Jill smiled, “Juke Box.”

Jon smiled, “I thought that would be your choice. She’ll arrive in a week and I’ll see you then. I need to get my ships assigned so I’ll contact you later.”

“See you, Jon.”

• • •

“Hey, we want our own ship.”

“Oh shut up, Bucket. Why would you want another ship?”

“You should always have a wingman.”

Jill thought a moment and hit her communicator; Jon appeared and she said, “What about getting another ship. We can spend time on one or the other but I was thinking…”

“It’s always good to have a wingman.”

Jill smiled, “Yeah, something like that.”

“My computers also want their own ship. I’ll get another one send along with the first.”

“Thanks, Jon.”

• • •

Gresha looked at Dat, “What are all these small ports on the hull?”

Dat looked at her, “I’m sure the Federation put them there for a reason.”

“You don’t know what they are?”

Dat shrugged, “No, I don’t.” Gresha looked up, “Cyanna, what are those ports?”

“I don’t know but they have ten reactors connected to them.”

“What!”

“The first Juke Boxes had thirty Dark Matter Reactors; we have forty eight. Ten of them have connections running to those ports. Those reactors are currently shut down.”

Dat looked at Gresha, “I suspect Belwen is planning to use them for something.” Dat looked at his panel, “I have to decide how to use the battleships with the Rovers we have remaining.” Gresha started rocking in her chair and Dat asked, “What’s bothering you?”

“I hate having to skip away every time we hit the initial group of pursuers. The second group is always larger.”

Dat thought a few moments and said, “Stein, how many main battleships do we have?”

“Three million.”

“Loree, have you been able to determine how many ships are used to chase the Rover Wings when they attack?”

“The first group usually has twenty to thirty ships. The follow ups usually have a hundred or more.”

Gresha stopped rocking, “What are you thinking?”

“If we try to kill their ships by these small attacks, we won’t keep up with their building replacements. We have to take them out in large numbers. Stein, how many attacks can fleet orchestrate at any given moment?”

“We could have an individual target for every Rover here; why do you ask?”

“I want to have them all assigned a target and after firing, I want all of them to skip to the same coordinate before they skip away.”

“You know they’ll probably have more than twenty million ships pursue them.”

“Which leads to my next question; Loree, can you place the battleships around that coordinate in such a way as to have a clear field of fire from all sides?”

“Do you mean you don’t want to be unable to hit a ship that arrives inside the ranks of the ships already there?”

“Wow, that’s a good use of double negative; but yes. We need to be able to hit them as quickly as they emerge into normal space.”

“You know how fast those computerized beams can start firing.”

“I do but the penetrators have a much longer effective range. They can reach out and touch them from outside those beams’ effective range.”

“I don’t think what you’re asking for will work.”

“Why not?”

“They’ll emerge into normal space and their beams will be immediately operational.”

“No, there is a slight delay.”

“Yes, but from the range you want to fire, they will be active before the penetrators arrive.”

“I didn’t think about that.”

Cyanna said, “Why wait to fire on them?”

Dat said, “What do you mean?”

“The penetrators were designed to be self-guided. They emit a locator beam and launch at whatever target that beam designates. If a beam has already designated a target, that target will be ignored by other penetrators. It was this feature that made them so deadly in last war.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“Just fill the space around the coordinates with the proper number of active penetrators.”

“What happens when ten million Rovers jump in?”

“The penetrators will ignore them due to their transponders; however, you’ll have to clear an area for their arrival. The Rovers can see normal space before they emerge and they should be able to avoid hitting each other. The command system will have them jumping in at just the right spot and time it such that there won’t be any collisions.”

“Get it set up and let me know when the Rovers have their assignments.”

“Will do. It is my opinion that a sphere is the best formation for the Juke Boxes to assume at the site of the attack.”

• • •

“Gibbs, are you glad you transferred to the heavies?”

“I am, Kune. This is going to be the direction the Union is going to be moving in the future.”

“I just thought you’d miss flying alone; you know, just you against the universe.”

“That might have been the case but I now have a great Weapon’s Officer.”

“Is she there?”

“Yes, but she’s in the armory checking on the launch tubes.”

“Be honest, Gibbs; you did this because you wanted to be with Lydia.”

“More than you know. However, this battle we’re about to have confirms what I believe; the Rovers have to hit and run away. The Juke Box Class of battleships will do the real fighting. That’s where I want to be.”

“How many ships do you command?”

“One and a half million; I have three good Rear Admirals that really make things happen. Just take care of our lads and get them out of here before the pursuit arrives.”

“I’ll do the best I can. Just don’t let them overwhelm your fleet, Gibbs.”

“We’ve been ordered by the Old Man to keep our drives hot.”

“I’ll let you know how it goes. Good luck.”

“Same to you, Kune.”

• • •

“Loree, have you had any success on that task I gave you?”

“I have and you don’t need to worry at the moment.”

“Good; let me know if anything changes.”

“I will.”

Gresha looked at Dat, “What are you talking about?”

“I’ll let you know later; we need to drop some penetrators in the kill zone.”

Gresha nodded, “Stein, where do you want our penetrators dropped?”

“I’ll handle it.”

Dat said, “Loree, let me know when everything is in place.”

“We should be ready in about two hours.”

Chapter Twenty-One

“Have the Humans responded to our invasions?”

“We have not seen any of their ships in Alliance Territory or in our galaxy, Your Majesty.”

“Have you initiated plans to invade their space?”

“We’re ready but have waited for them to respond first.”

“What if they don’t?”

“Then we’ll continue to invade as many planets as possible before they act.”

“Are you sure we’ll be safe here?”

“We moved you to the safest site in our galaxy. We’ve also disrupted space around your planet. That was a cleaver technique they used and it is effective to delay any attacks.”

“Then continue with the invasions and get those planets organized to start construction of ships.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

• • •

“Admiral Anders, what have you determined the Grillen are doing about attacking us?”

“They have millions of ships that are in formation at the edge of their galaxy but they have not made a move to attack us or participate in the invasion.”

Kat thought a moment and leaned forward, “Do you think they’re waiting for us to respond before they attack?”

“I believe that’s what they’re doing, sir. They know that time is on their side if they can invade and take enough planets in the Red Sector. They’ll convert their production facilities to ship building factories and in just a few years they’ll be able to take us on as well as the civilizations in M87. They really don’t need to take us on now.”

“But the longer we wait to respond, the more planets they’ll take.”

“They outnumber us now. Their new ships also match up with the Rovers in technology. We’ll have to come up with something to counter their edge if we intend to start the fight now.”

Kat stared at her display and said, “What would you do, Jon?”

“We’re over extended, Sir. We can’t just focus on one enemy at the moment and we’re outnumbered by both. We should send most of the Rovers to assist Admiral Arvolo but we can’t run the risk of leaving our planets open to attack. If we pull our forces out of the Master’s galaxy, they’ll rebuild and we’ll lose whatever ground we made against them. If I had to decided, I’d just leave things as they are for the moment and see which enemy forces us to react.”

“That’s what I’ve determined as well. Keep me informed on what’s going on.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Dat looked at Gibbs on his display. Gibbs said, “How long are we planning to do this, Sir?”

“We’re going to keep hitting them until they manage to get outside of the kill zone. As long as we can keep them pinned inside our formations, we’ll keep fighting.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Dat pressed his panel, “Kune, it’s time to start this show. All of your ships have their targets so let’s begin your attacks in ten minutes. Make sure your pilots know to get out of here immediately.”

“They know the consequences, Sir.”

Make sure their skips are done so that they arrive at their designated arrival time.”

“Those skips have been programed by Fleet’s main computer. They will all arrive within a tenth of a second of each other.”

Dat smiled, “Good luck and good shooting, Admiral.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Gresha came over and sat down in Dat’s lap. He looked at her, smiled, and said, “Is there something you need to be doing?”

“With four computers running everything? I don’t think so.” Dat kissed her and after a moment they heard, “Dat, I think Newton has developed a fourth force field.”

Dat and Gresha broke the kiss and looked startled. Gresha said, “What have you done, Newton?”

“I routed the eight reactors that aren’t being used to the force field emitters. If the outside force field fails, I use them to energize a field inside the remaining two and expand them to the original distance. I can continue to do that indefinitely.”

“What if two collapse?”

“Then we’ll have two until I can reenergize the other two. It’s really not that hard to keep three active at all times.”

“Get this information out to the other battleships. I hope they can learn how to do this in time.”

Loree said, “I’ve sent it to the weapon computers on every ship. Some of them are already running trials on it.”

Dat said, “Newton, wouldn’t it be more effective to use those reactors to strengthen the three force fields instead of using four?”

“Not really. Remember, Dark Matter Fields have holes in them no matter how much you strengthen them. This additional field makes it much stronger than just adding more power to the other three.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I am.”

Dat looked at Gresha, “Newton knows fields, Dat.”

Loree said, “Most of the ships are now using the field generation technique.”

Dat nodded, “Four minutes to attack. Get the penetrators in the tubes and the follow ups in the channels.”

Cyanna said, “I did that an hour ago.”

Dat looked at Gresha, “You’re right; with four computers, there’s not much for us to do.”

Gresha smiled, “Then where were we?” Dat laughed and kissed Gresha again.

• • •

Kune watched his panel and the countdown hit zero. Normal space disappeared and a moment later he found himself rushing in on a giant Masters’ Battleship that was spinning. He knew he had no chance to hit it before being acquired by the ships main beams so he fired at a distance and went vertical away from the giant ship. The beams on the Master’s ships acquired Kune’s Rover and fired a barrage at him but his sudden move away from the ship caused six of the beams to miss. One hit the rear of Kune’s ship but one was not enough to get through his force field. By the time the others had reacquired the small ship, it was out of range and moving away. The eight Master Battleships turned and gave chase. Kune watched his panel and saw the second countdown hit zero and he skipped away. The eight huge battleships read his path and skipped after him. That brief moment needed to read his trajectory was going to prove fatal.

Gibbs was holding Lydia’s hand as they waited for the Rovers to return. Lydia said, “You know I love you.”

Gibbs smiled, “I’m not deserving of you…but I’m so thankful you do. I love…” Suddenly a huge white something appeared in normal space and rocketed away at an incredible speed. The Rovers began arriving by the millions and emerged from the same place in normal space. It looked like a giant six mile wide white wire emerging and disappearing in the distance. The ships were packed so closely together that they looked like an energy beam being fired from a point in space. Ten million Rovers blasted into normal space and in less than six seconds all of them had disappeared into the distance. Fifty thousand miles away the line seemed to explode on the front end as hundreds of thousands of Rovers skipped away from the long line in different directions. That’s when the first Master’s Battleships appeared.

The actual number of enemy ships that appeared was never known; it could only be estimated. Unlike the Rovers that were organized in their skips to avoid collisions, the Masters weren’t. Collisions were immediate and numerous. Though they were moving at high speed in their pursuit, they couldn’t match the speed of the thirty million medium penetrators scattered around the entry point. The penetrators began locking on battleships and the explosions from the collisions and impacts were unbelievable.

Dat hit the general frequency, “Target any ship that moves outside the kill zone. Save the penetrators on your ships until those penetrators in the zone are depleted!”

• • •

The Fifty received a message that a major enemy force was attacking the pursuit ships. They immediately ordered all available ships to join the attack. The coordinates were sent out and millions of ships began jumping out to support their fleets.

Dat watched his display and was stunned by the violence in the kill zone. The thirty million penetrators were going fast. The collisions and the impacts of the millions of penetrators had ignited the wrecks of ships into a giant nuclear fire. Master’s Battleships roared into normal space and were vaporized by the gigantic fire burning in their path. The follow up fleets saw the huge fire and changed their route to outside the kill zone. They emerged and began using their thrusters to come back at the huge globe of white ships surrounding the immense fire burning in space. Dat saw the millions of ships appearing outside his formation and started to order his ships to skip out but stopped an instant before he pushed the button. That Kune was amazing.

• • •

Kune looked at his display and said, “Speedy, are those ships still spinning?”

“No, they had to stop spinning in order to use their thrusters to come back into the fight.”

“Start sending targets to the Rovers.”

The millions of Master Battleships had begun turning to come back into the fight and found millions of the small white ships appearing in their thruster lines firing at their ships. They began exploding in massive numbers.

• • •

Dat watched his display and yelled, “That’s all of the pursuers. Reduce the radius of the globe and fire at any ships approaching us from outside our formations.”

The Juke Box Battle ships started a slow spin. The giant globe had all of them turned broadside and they fired continuous salvos of penetrators at the Master’s ships that were rushing in at them. The penetrators had a much longer range than the beams on the enemy battleships and very few of them were getting close enough to fire on the huge white globe of ships. It was at that point that a mass of Master Battleships appeared and the killing took on a level of intensity that made everything else seem tame. The new ships were spinning and the Rovers were forced to abandon their attacks. Now it was a fight to the death between the big boys.

The Masters were at a huge disadvantage. In order to attack the white ships in the sphere, they had to get close enough to fire at close range. The only way they could get close was to come head on until they could turn broadside to fire their entire inventory of beams. They could only fire six beams ahead of their ships and that wasn’t enough to break through the four new force fields being used. Thousands of them were able to get close enough to fire on a single Juke Box and thousands of white battleships exploded. But they closed ranks and continued salvoing penetrators. Dat nearly pressed the escape command eight times but forced himself not to do it. The opportunity to kill this many ships would not present itself again and he continued to fire at the incoming mass of battleships. And still the enemy battleships continued jumping in on them.

Dat watched the white flash and receding white line of penetrators igniting and disappearing instantly into the oncoming ships and lost track of time. Each Juke Box Battleship carried one thousand penetrators. That meant the three million ships had a total of three billion penetrators to fire. The fight would not be lost due to lack of ordinance but the fear was palatable on every Union Ship. They were barely keeping the enemy out of range and they all feared they would be overwhelmed. And still they continued to jump in.

Dat punched his communicator, “On my mark, fire all tubes and reload as quickly as possible; ready…Mark!”

The three million ships rotated and fired all forty tubes in one giant salvo. Dat knew it would take six seconds to reload the first ten tubes and hoped for the best but the mass was getting close enough to turn broadside to them. The hundred and twenty million penetrators left in a huge blinding white flash and the explosions around the giant sphere were massive; nothing was seen moving through the giant blast zone surrounding the huge globe of Union Ships. Dat thought the six seconds seemed to last a life time but the sphere began firing again and Dat saw the mass of incoming ships had been blown back fifty miles. The other tubes quickly reloaded and the fight continued.

Dat looked up at his command circuit and saw that he had lost more than four hundred thousand ships. He yelled, “Loree, how many are still out there!?!”

“Fifty million and growing.”

Dat couldn’t believe it. And still they kept coming but after another thirty minutes, no more were jumping in. A hour later, a million of the Master’s Battleships jumped away. Kune assigned eight Rovers to each of them and they were chased down and destroyed. The battle was finally over. Dat collapsed in his command chair, sighed, and said, “Casualty report, Loree.”

“We lost two million Rovers and six hundred thirty three thousand battleships.” Dat slowly shook his head as Gresha came over and hugged his neck. “How many enemy ships were killed?”

“I don’t have an accurate assessment. I can only estimate and it is purely an estimate.”

“How many?”

“More than two hundred million.”

Dat was shocked speechless. Gresha shook her head and said, “Are you sure about that!”

“I told you it was an estimate.”

“But is your estimate close to reality?”

“Gresha…come on. This is Loree you’re talking to here.”

Dat shook his head, “She always underestimates, Gresha.”

Gresha fell to her knees beside Dat’s chair. She looked at Dat with a shocked expression and said, “That is most of their ships! Why did they keep coming?”

Dat sighed, “They couldn’t stop themselves.”

“Why not!?”

“Gresha, they’re predators. They can’t stop when they’re after prey. It’s part of their genetic makeup and they aren’t able to stop the pursuit unless they are ordered to do it. They were so lost in the fight that they probably didn’t even tell their leaders what was happening. I never in my wildest dreams thought this was going to be the end game.”

Gibbs appeared on Dat’s display and said, “I’ve been given some unbelievable information by my scanning computer.”

“I have as well.”

Gibbs lowered his head and said, “Then we need to take advantage of this now.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are about forty thousand planets of those monsters still out there. They need to be removed before they can rebuild.”

Dat stared at Gibbs and the import of his statement sunk in. He hit his communicator, “Admiral Kune, have you eliminated the ones that escaped?”

“We’ll complete that task momentarily.”

“I want you to assign your Rovers to the Juke Boxes and I’ll issue a target planet for our fleets to go and destroy. We should have sixty Juke Box Battleships and two hundred Rovers for each planet. If any of our groups need assistance, stand by and call for help. You’ll be receiving your targets within the hour. Assign your Rovers during that time.”

“Yes Sir.”

Stein said, “What do you want to do with the one in question?”

“Do not assign that one.”

“I’ll start organizing the attack groups.”

“That would be good, Stein.”

• • •

Dat pushed his panel and saw Admiral Hull appear, “Sir, we’ve just conducted our first major battle.”

“Major battle?”

“I really didn’t plan for this to evolve into a major confrontation but it took on a life of its own.”

“And?”

Dat saw her fear and he said, “We are currently dividing our survivors to go and destroy their home worlds. We’ve killed an estimated two hundred million of their battleships and we believe we need to complete the job now.” Kat’s expression showed her shock. “I’ll be send you a recording of the battle later but there is one thing I want you to allow me to do.”

“What is that?” Dat told her and she started shaking her head. “I ask this as a lifetime favor, Sir.”

Kat stared at him and said, “You feel that strongly about this?”

“I do.”

I will require safeguards you won’t believe.”

“I understand.”

“You have my permission if you can make it happen.”

Dat tilted his head, “There is that.”

Gresha looked at him and he said, “I have to do this if it’s possible.”

Gresha went into his arms and cried.

• • •

Gibbs looked down on the planet below him and saw the massive shipyards on the surface. There were thousands of battleships in various stages of completion and knew that he had no choice in what he was about to do. The defending fleet had been destroyed at a price but now the fifty huge white battleships hung in orbit and Gibbs said, “Load the penetrators.”

“How many?”

“Four.”

Lydia looked at Gibbs and knew what this decision was costing him. She reached over and took his hand, “You were about to tell me something when we were interrupted.”

Gibbs smiled and said, “I love you, too. And that is why I’m doing this.”

“I know.”

“Fire and leave orbit.”

The four penetrators left at light speed and the White Ships skipped away. The planet was blown into massive pieces and exploded.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Master commanding the defense fleet saw the millions of white ships surrounding his planet. He knew that all the other planets of his species had been destroyed and this was the last one remaining. It wouldn’t live much longer. He thought about having his ships flee but knew they would be chased down and destroyed by the enemy’s superior numbers. No, he would meet them here in orbit and die a warrior’s death. This was one of the newer worlds and only had about thirty million on the surface. His species had been decimated and soon it would be over.

“I have a message coming in?”

“From who?”

“One of the enemy.”

His head rolled to the side and he said, “Put it on the screen.”

He looked up and saw one of the species that he had consumed. The being said, “I’m surprised you’re allowing me to talk with you?”

“I’m more surprised that you’re communicating. You know I can’t do anything to stop you.”

The being shook its head and said, “When you chased me the last time, I thought you were the biggest Master I had ever seen. I still think you are.”

The Master’s head rolled down its body and back up to the top. If focused on the screen and said, “You’re dead.”

Dat shook his head, “I deceived you. I used my technology to make it appear I had died.”

The Master’s head drooped and it said, “You even take what little honor I have at the end.”

“You were not dishonorable; I was.”

“How can you say that?”

“I used my technology to outrun you. Without it you would have caught me easily. You acted honorably throughout our run. You have no reason to feel dishonored. I meant it when I told you that you were the most deadly creature in creation.”

“I think the current circumstances don’t support that position. Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m going to offer you and the ones on the planet an opportunity to live. If you will do as I instruct you, I will not kill you.”

“Why would you do this; you know I tried my best to kill you.”

“You saved my mate’s family from being consumed. I owe you.”

“I did it because of my misplaced honor.”

“The reason doesn’t matter; you did it and I owe you a debt. My leaders don’t want me to do this but I have prevailed and they are allowing me save you and the ones on the planet if you’ll agree to my conditions.”

The huge Master stared at Dat on the display screen and said, “I see that honor means something to you.”

“It does and the fact that it means as much to you is what allows me to do this. Will you abide by my conditions?”

“What are they?”

“We will move all of the population on the planet to another planet. There will be food provided for you there and you will be allowed to live in peace. However, you will never be allowed to have any technology.”

The Master looked at his crew and saw them struggling with the choice. His head rolled down his chest and he said, “Why should we do this? You are doing to us what we’ve done to those we conquered. Being subjugated will kill us.”

Dat smiled, “I haven’t told you about the planet you’re going to live on.”

“Go on.”

“Do you remember how much fun you had chasing me?” The Master tried not to do it but bobbed. Dat smiled, “I see that you do. Well we have been moving animals off my home world for decades. My home world was destroyed long ago in a galactic war and we were finally able to go back and live there again. We brought back many of the animals that lived there before its destruction but discovered that the predators that kept their numbers in check were gone. Their numbers got out of hand quickly so we’ve been moving them to other uninhabited planets. If you think I gave you a good run, you should see those animals. You’ll be hard pressed to catch them.”

The Master’s eyes were wide, “How fast are they?”

“Faster than I ran that night. One, called an impala, will give you all you can handle.”

One of the Masters on the bridge said, “I could take it.”

The huge Master turned around and said, “You want to do this?”

“What choice do I have? Sit here and die or die chasing an animal too fast to catch. If I have to die, that would be a good way to do it.”

The Master turned back to the screen and said, “Do you have any recordings of these animals?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. This is an ancient recording of my planet’s fastest predator called a cheetah chasing one.” Dat started the recording and said, “Notice that the cheetah had to sneak up very close to have a chance of catching it.” After thirty minutes every Master on the bridge was bobbing. Dat knew he had them. It took a week to convince the inhabitants on the planet but the crews finally left their ships in shuttles for the planet’s surface and the last Master’s Battleships were destroyed. The huge colony ships were brought in and the exodus began.

• • •

A month later, Dat and Gresha arrived at her home and found Rayz waiting on them. They both saw a giant hole in the ground next to the community. Dat looked at Rayz and said, “You’ve raised the ship.”

“I have. The crews are out conducting maneuvers with the other ten at the moment.”

“Why did you do it?”

“I finally learned what it takes to be free. You played a large role in getting me to see it.” He looked at Gresha, “You also made the difference.”

“What did I do other than insult you?”

“You shot me…three times. That showed me that we aren’t locked in our behaviors.”

Dat said, “What are you going to do with those ships?”

“Make sure this planet is never invaded again.” Dat stared at Rayz and he said, “No, I will not be letting you use them.” Dat’s brow furrowed and Rayz quickly said, “Not for the reason you think.”

“Oh?”

“You’ve become who you are by overcoming adversity. If I gave you the ship’s technology, you would become slaves to it. It’s the struggle that has made you what you are. Removing it would weaken you.” Dat put out his hand and Rayz shook it, “However, you should know that you are a friend of my people. We’ll be keeping an eye on you.”

“Thanks, Rayz.”

“It is I that should be thanking you.”

Dat heard Gresha give a scream and run toward her parents who were walking toward them. Kyley’s smile was beautiful.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“Sir, one of the scientists stationed in the Embassy on the Monster’s planet has asked me to deliver a message to you.”

“What message?”

“One of the Monster’s Leaders has requested a meeting with you.”

Dat thought a moment and said, “Is this particular leader rather large?”

The messenger smiled, “I’ve not seen one larger and I’ve seen a lot of them.”

“Do you know what it wants?”

“No Sir; it wouldn’t discuss its reasons with us.”

Dat looked at Gresha and said, “I’ll go and meet with him in the morning. Please set up the location.”

“I’m going with you.”

“Gresha, I’m not sure that is a good idea.” Dat saw her expression and rolled his eyes, “Notify the creature that there will be two of us coming.”

“Yes Sir.”

Dat didn’t sleep well that night. The war with the Grillen had started and progress was being made against their fleets. They had attempted two attacks against the Milky Way but had been repulsed both times at a large price. The Grillen were no longer invading planets but they had taken more than a million before their invasions ended. Those planets were huge obstacles to winning the war. If the Union tried to remove the Grillen from the captured planets, the inhabitants would be killed in massive numbers. He worried about the Union’s survival if those planets began building warships.

• • •

Dat looked down on the beautiful planet and saw the giant herds of wild life roaming the surface. It was a beautiful sight. He looked at Gresha, “Are you ready?” Gresha nodded and Stein lowered the ship into the atmosphere. As they arrived above a beautiful meadow, he saw the giant Master sitting on the edge of a clearing. Stein landed and Gresha and Dat stepped out. Dat saw the former Master wave them forward with one of its arms. As they moved closer they heard, “Thank you for coming. I was worried you might not do it.”

Dat smiled, “You know I would.”

The huge black creature smiled, “I guess I did. Honor has a way of making us do things we wouldn’t ordinarily do.”

“What’s on your mind?”

“I’ve been talking with some of your liaisons here and they tell me that you are involved in another conflict.”

Dat showed his surprise and said, “Yes we are. We were fighting this enemy when we were also fighting you species.”

“How’s it going?”

“Why do you want to know?”

The huge creature looked out at the herds of grazing animals in the clearing and said, “I worry that you might not win.”

Gresha snorted, “I would think you would hope we did.”

The creature turned back to them and smiled, “You think that because you defeated us.” Gresha nodded. The creature paused for a moment and said, “Do you know why we conquered all those planets in our galaxy?” Dat and Gresha were surprised by the question and could only stare at the Master. “We were forced to do it to survive.”

Gresha shook her head, “I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s the truth. My home world was invaded more times than I can count. It seemed that every space faring civilization that ran into us decided that we were too dangerous to be allowed to live.”

Dat nodded, “I can understand their feeling that way.”

“I do admit that we are somewhat formidable, but we did not use advanced technology and were perfectly happy staying on our planet. However, my species was nearly eradicated more than thirty times by attacks from starships. We finally decided that the only way for us to survive was to go out and stop the attacks. We managed to sneak some of us on a shuttle that landed on our planet to confirm that we had all been killed and the ones on the shuttle took control of the ship in orbit. From that ship, we were able to capture many others.”

Dat thought a moment, “I remember seeing ships that were using the same weapons having a massive space battle long ago.”

The black creature showed his surprise, “Well, that was us taking control of our destiny. We removed all technology from our galaxy and made sure the captured planets didn’t have overpopulation issues.”

Gresha said, “You mean you ate them!”

“Not really. We didn’t consume the entire body of those we took. We only killed enough to prevent overpopulation. We did what we did to ensure our survival. We would have been perfectly happy to have just been left alone on our planet.”

“Why were you planning to expand to other galaxies?”

The creature looked at Dat, “Why were you searching the universe for possible threats to your civilization?”

Dat sighed, “Touché.” Dat looked at the creature and said, “What does this have to do with the current situation?”

The huge black creature looked out at the herds, “We love it here. We are finally getting our health back and our strength is improving. We have become a shell of what we once were on our home world. Living in starships and using technology had weakened us considerably. Sending us here was a gift that has allowed us to relearn the natural behaviors we were born to use for survival.” It looked at Dat and said, “But what happens to us if you lose this conflict you’re involved in?”

“I’m not sure what you mean?”

“What do you think the victors would think about us?” Dat and Gresha just stared at the giant saying nothing. “You know that we would be right back where we were in the beginning when my home world was constantly attacked.”

Dat took a deep breath and blew it out, “You’re probably right.”

“We have decided to make sure you don’t lose.”

Dat and Gresha’s shock was instant. Dat said, “What do you mean?”

“We love this planet and we don’t ever want to lose it. The only way to make sure that doesn’t happen is to make sure your civilization survives. We know that you will not kill us. You had the opportunity and didn’t take it. That is a debt we owe you. However, it is also in our best interests to do everything in our power to ensure your survival.”

“We will never give you warships.”

“We don’t want them! We’ve seen how living in ships is stifling to my species. However, I’ve listened to your scientists here and it appears you are faced with an enemy that has taken control of thousands of planets.”

Gresha said, “Actually, it’s millions of planets.”

Dat saw the creature bob and said, “What are you suggesting?”

“There is no species in creation that can match mine for our skill at removing undesirables off the surface of a planet.” The black creature smiled, “You may rule space but we rule the ground.”

Dat stared at the giant and said, “You would stand no chance against an enemy armed with hand blasters and heavy weapons.”

“Do you not think the planets we originally defeated didn’t have those devices?”

Dat shook his head, “I’m telling you that you would be blasted before you could get close to an armed warrior.”

The creature smiled, “Pick an animal.”

Dat did a double take, “What?”

“Pick an animal and let’s see if it can escape.”

Dat looked at Gresha and then looked out at the herd. He saw a magnificent impala standing watch at the edge of the feeding herd. It was well muscled and beautiful. The creature saw the animal Dat was staring at and said, “That is an excellent choice.”

Dat saw the impala was standing in open round and the huge creature couldn’t get close before it would be seen. Dat shrugged and said, “Then show us what you can do.”

The huge black creature stood and said, “Haven’t you ever wondered how we were able to suddenly appear in the path of a fleeting victim?” Gresha’s eyes narrowed and they watched the giant creature suddenly melt into the ground. One moment it was standing in front of them and the next it was gone. Dat ran over to the place it had been standing and saw nothing. Suddenly he heard a loud bleat and saw the Impala was wrapped up in four black bands that had wrapped up its legs. The creature rose out of the round holding the impala upside down. It lowered the frightened creature gently to the ground and allowed it to run away with the rest of the fleeting herd. It walked back over and said, “It’s hard to fire a blaster at something you can’t see.”

Dat shook his head, “These poor animals stand no chance against you. There’s no sport in it.”

“Oh yes there is; we have our rules. We are not allowed to melt into the ground and we must be seen at least twenty yards from our chosen prey. As fast as we’re developing our speed, the distance will be increased to forty yards soon. You know how much we love a chase. The prey must have a chance to win.”

Dat shook his head, “Why didn’t you kill that impala?”

“You must be kidding. That one is going to sire many strong calves. He is off limits to all of us.” Dat now knew these predators would do everything possible to make it an even match. The huge black creature looked at Dat, “I’ve learned that in your ancient history your species used vicious animals to assist them. I think you had what was called wolves and giant cats to assist you in your hunting. Just think of us as a trained animal.”

“You are still a very real danger to us.”

“Not really; my leaders have agreed that if you accept this offer, we will make an honorable promise to always treat you as a friend. You will never be in danger from us. We want to continue our existence here and your continued welfare is very important to us.”

Dat smiled, “You also want to go after other more challenging prey.”

The giant laughed out loud and bobbed four times before he could stop himself, “It’s a win-win for both of us. You need warriors to fight on the planets and prevent the local populations from being harmed. We really want to do it.”

“What if many of you die in the effort?”

The giant walked over and put an arm around Dat’s shoulder and leaned in close, “It will be the most glorious experience we could possibly have. Death would be worth the effort.” The giant paused and said, “I do think we’ll take more than we give.”

Gresha stood and went over to the creature and hugged it, “I’ve not thanked you for saving my parents. Thank you.”

The huge creature put another arm around Gresha and gave her a hug, “It is our intent to save a lot more of you.” Gresha no longer felt fear of being embraced by a Master. Dat put out a hand and after a moment, the creature shook it.

Dat smiled and looked around, “It is beautiful here.”

The giant smiled, “You have no idea how much we love this gift. We have our lives back.”

Excerpt From

Star Chase Book Three

Nowhere to Hide

The ship that emerged into space above the planet was nearly as large as the capital city on the planet’s surface below it. It extended a force field more than a thousand miles wide above it as thousands of large troop carriers began leaving it and dropped toward the planet below. Twenty thousand warships jumped in and began firing on the giant intruder but all of their most powerful beams were easily shrugged off. The defenders were not so fortunate. The massive beams began hitting them and most of those hit were vaporized. Thousands of additional warships started jumping in and the thousands of beams being fired at the intruder started targeting small areas on the intruder’s force field. The intruder was forced to reduce the size of its huge force field to prevent its hull from being hit. But it didn’t have to maintain the force field much longer. The troop transports would be in atmosphere shortly.

The Nephew looked up and said, “Father, two small green ships have arrived and our beams are not getting through their force fields.”

“Target them with multiple beams.”

“We’re firing eighty at them now.”

The Father changed his display from the transports to the small green ships and saw them flickering four hundred miles out. They began moving in and he began to feel apprehension. “Target all beams at those ships; now!”

One of the small green ships was hit with a hundred beams and after twenty seconds exploded. The second continued forward at an incredible speed.

Five hundred beams began turning to fire on the small ship but never had the opportunity to lock on the small target. The Green Ship fired a fifty mile wide beam and the giant invader blew up in a massive blast. The defending warships fell on the transports after the giant force field disappeared with the huge ship’s explosion before they could make it into the planet’s atmosphere. The defender’s beams blew all of them into debris, which became brilliant meteorite shows on the planet below.

The Commander of the defenders looked for the Green Ship to offer thanks but it had disappeared. The planet was lucky to have survived. Three other planets that were targeted by the Families initial scouting mission weren’t. Millions of inhabitants were stunned and lifted off their planets to the giant ships hanging in orbit. They withdrew before they could be stopped. The survivors knew the invaders were coming back.

Books by Saxon Andrew

The Annihilation Series:

Love Conquers All

The Power of a Queen

A Rose Grows in Weeds

Tommy’s Tale

Searcher

Demon’s Sacrifice

Finding Keepers

Ashes of the Realm:

Juliette’s Dream

Greyson’s Revenge

Death of an Empire

The Return of the Realm

Lens of Time:

The Pyramid Builders

Planet Predators

Pray for the Prey

The End of Time

Star Rover-the Worst of Time

The Fight for Creation

Life Warrior

Scout Warrior

Ultimate Warrior

Star Chase

Lost Prince

No Where to Run

Coming Soon

Nowhere to Hide

About Saxon Andrew

Saxon Andrew is the number one Bestselling author of the Annihilation Series. He is a former school teacher, coach, social worker, and business owner. He has written five science fiction series and all twenty books have been a top ten bestseller on Amazon. His stories are done in the style used by writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction and can be read by any member of the family. Like most space operas, his stories take place on a stage as big as the universe and his characters are larger than life. Amazon has ranked him in the top ten science fiction authors in America. He lives in Tampa, Florida and spends his days dreaming of stories to satisfy his avid readers. He is currently writing the fifth book in the Lens of Time Series–The Worst of Time which will be out by May, 2013.

Copyright © 2013 by Saxon Andrew. All rights reserved. Screen Writers Guild no. VQEA3E380432.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

First Electronic Edition: April 2013