Author: Saxon Andrew
Date: 2015-05-10T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science Fiction & Fantasy; Science Fiction; Alien Invasion; First Contact; Galactic Empire; Genetic Engineering; High Tech; Military; Space Fleet; Space Marine; Space Opera; Hard Science Fiction; Teen & Young Adult
Description: From the International Bestselling Author, Saxon Andrew, comes the third book in the Escape to Earth series, Defending Holy Ground. The Invasion from M-87 has been delayed by the destruction of the Conduit that was built connecting the two galaxies. But the Leaders in that gigantic galaxy are not giving up easily and they intend to find the High Energy Being they detected and kill it. Their fear of the Sentinel will push them to make a series of questionable decisions. Pat is the last remaining Sentinel in the Milky Way and he intends to do whatever is necessary to protect the civilizations in
Publisher: Saxon Andrew Publishing LLC
Rights: All Rights Reserved

Escape to Earth

Defending Holy Ground

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

Chapter Twenty-Four

Books by Saxon Andrew

Introduction

Chad sat in Fleet Operations and watched the huge wall monitor as the giant colony ship lifted from Barbados and moved quickly into Earth’s upper atmosphere. It was incredibly beautiful with the ten thrusters lighting up the night with their brilliant blasts. The entire Eastern Caribbean was lit up and the rising ship could be seen as far away as Florida. The construction ships had arrived on the new planet more than six months earlier and began clearing land for the structures needed to house the millions that were being chosen to leave. The building converters were ahead of schedule on manufacturing the buildings needed to house the initial colonists and thousands more were scheduled to arrive within a few weeks. The first human city was going up fast.

He sighed as he remembered all the chaos that ensued after the United Government had announced to the world that Earth was going to be attacked by an advanced alien civilization and there was a high probability the planet would be destroyed. It took months for the mobs to be brought under control. At that point, the process of selecting those that would leave got underway in earnest. The task of finding the best and brightest of Mankind began and they were moved to Barbados quickly to get them off the planet. Trying to move them on board in their various countries meant being attacked by the mobs. Barbados had a force field installed and was safe due to its isolated location.

Eventually, the planet came to terms with what was coming. The government vowed that the evacuations would continue as long as the defenders of the planet could hold off the invaders and that, hopefully, most of the population could be moved.

Once that announcement was made, the rush to leave slowed and the mobs disappeared. Many decided they weren’t ready to just up and go. Chad knew that they hoped to wait until the last moment to leave. He shook his head; that would probably be too late. If things went bad, it would happen faster than could be imagined. Chad wondered if Pat had anything to do with calming the mobs.

He looked at the rising ship on the wall monitor and was thankful that the Welken and their allies had built the fifty colony ships and gave them to Earth to start the migration. The Royal insisted that he was doing it to defend his subjects. He was of the opinion that humans would develop new defenses faster than any civilization in the Fellowship. Saving mankind was a form of insurance for him. He and the allies were also moving their populations to other planets outside the Milky Way as well.

The Sentinels in Andromeda had found a planet for humans to colonize. Pat convinced them that saving humans was the best thing they could do to continue their species. He simply told them that if the Invaders killed him, they were next and that humans showed the best aptitude of all the intelligent civilizations in the Milky Way for quick advancement. They were what would save them in the future.

Chad tried to relax but his spirit called out to be on the front lines holding back the Invaders. His fleet of battleships were taking a long needed break at home. Windy’s fleet had relieved him and, though he knew she was just as capable as he was…he missed the action.

The battle to destroy the second conduit had been bloody and costly. They lost John when he flew his battleship through murderous fire and missiles to release thousands of magnets along the orange walls. The new magnets were attracted to the orange energy of the conduit’s walls and they surged in and locked down on the massive conduit. This new conduit was more than fifty times larger than the previous one. Blake Clarke’s fleet found it first and managed to get a warning out before his fleet was destroyed by hundreds of thousands of Invader ships.

Chad shook his head; Blake was going to be missed. The fight for the conduit began with the arrival of tens of thousands of battleships and more than two hundred thousand Attack Pods. The Heavy Hitters arrived to find themselves in the middle of the largest dogfight ever seen and began firing solid Dark Matter rounds at the conduit from a light year out. The Invaders split their forces with a million gathered around the conduit, placing themselves between the incoming rounds and the passage being built behind them. They began exploding in massive blasts but Invader ships rushed in to fill the holes. More than a million more Invaders rushed out to destroy the Heavy Hitters firing the devastating rounds. Chad shook his head again. Who would have known that it would only take one round to collapse the conduit? Against all odds, that single round made it through a gap in the massive number of Invader Ships and hit directly above the giant vessel inside that was constructing it.

Chad could still see the hundreds of thousands of Attack Pods screaming in on the ships heading out to attack the Heavy Hitters inside his mind. All of them were being pursued by Invader Missiles and most of them were forced to dive into the middle of the enemy ships to scrub off the missiles on their tails. Sergy held them off long enough for that one round to get through. Sergy didn’t live to see it.

This conduit wasn’t as long as the first one; it was only three million light years out from M-87 when the battle began and the disruption it created when it went up wasn’t as massive as the first one; but it did take out every invader ship sent to defend it. The surviving battleships involved in the fighting used the Cameron Escape to stay ahead of the disruption and most of them survived. Most of the pods weren’t as fortunate. Twenty thousand pilots died in the battle and the ensuing disruption; but they had bought time for Earth to prepare.

When the civilizations in the Fellowship were given the recording of the battle, war and friction between them disappeared. Most of them were now building battleships for Earth to use in its defense. Chad had come back to have his fleet’s ships replaced by the newer model. With all the insides gutted, there was tremendous room to make the ship incredibly strong and far more powerful. Instead of twenty reactors, the new ships had fifty and the new reactors were thirty percent larger than the ones they had replaced. The trip to M-87 now only took eight days instead of more than two weeks. His ships were due to be completed within another ten days and he looked forward to seeing how they performed. He looked up and saw Julie walking across the huge room carrying their daughter. He smiled and went to greet them. The thoughts of war and death were replaced with his love for his wife and infant.

Chapter One

Loree sat in her command chair and stared at M-87. The Invaders occupied the side of the giant galaxy closest to the Milky Way and their domain was still more than three times the size of the Milky Way. The magnitude of their numbers and what it would take to stop them was beyond belief. Even slowing them down was a task fraught with danger and the effort was currently beyond the capabilities of only Earth facing off against them. The Fellowship was helping with their battleships…but…it was like trying to slow down a whale with a school of minnows. She wondered why the Invaders just didn’t launch their fleets and have them travel through the void instead of depending on the conduits. It would take them a year to arrive but they would eventually get there.

“Admiral, the probes have been placed.”

Loree looked at her new Sensor Officer, “Lance, run a diagnostic on the probes.” Loree looked up at the five monitors below the main tactical display and saw multiple images of the giant galaxy start to flash across them. After twenty minutes, the monitors went dark.

“Sir, they all check out.”

“What about the probes being placed around M-86?”

“They are in position and have been activated.”

“Run them on the monitors.” Loree watched as hundreds of views of M-86 flashed across the five monitors. She saw the conduit running between M-87 and M-86 several times as the views flashed and knew that the Invader Civilization inhabited the two galaxies. A conduit had not been found running from M-87 to M-84. She wondered why. M-84 was closer than M-86.

“Sir, we’re getting a ping on probe number forty eight.”

Loree saw the probe’s scan appear on the main monitor and watched as an invader ship began moving out toward it. She looked at Lance, “How far out is the probe?”

“Two light years from the edge, Sir.”

She watched the Invader move at high acceleration toward the probe’s location. “Do you think they see it?”

Frank Malone said, “Oh I’m sure they saw the scan being made. But I don’t think they see the probe.”

Loree looked over her shoulder at her Weapon’s Officer and then looked back at the monitor. “Continue with the scan.”

“Sir?”

“These probes were built so they wouldn’t be seen. I want to see if that aspect works. Continue the scan until that ship is within fifty miles.” Lance tilted his head and began pressing buttons on his panel.

Loree knew the actual probe was not in the void but was in normal space above it. An antenna extended out of the probe into the void that was used to collect information. That antenna was smaller than a human hair. Loree looked over her shoulder, “What do you think they’re going to do, Frank?”

“If I were in their position, I’d track it and if I didn’t find it, I’d fire a beam at the location of the signal it’s broadcasting.”

“Let’s see if you’re right.” The Invader moved in and actually accelerated past the probe’s antenna. The Orange ship stopped, turned around, and moved in slowly. Once again, it flew past the antenna. The Invader came to a stop, turned around, and fired a massive blue beam. The Image disappeared. Loree smiled and said, “Extend another antenna and don’t broadcast on it.”

The dark monitor suddenly lit up and Loree looked at the Orange Ship sitting less than two hundred yards away. The ship’s force field began rippling and Loree said, “Retract the antenna!” The monitor went dark again and she shook her head. “It appears if they get close enough they can detect the antenna.”

“Sir, from that range they could walk up and pull it.”

Loree looked at Emily and nodded. She turned back to Lance, “Set the probes to pull their antennas out of the void if an Invader ship comes closer than two hundred miles.”

“Yes Sir.”

Emily looked up from her controls, “Perhaps you might want to activate another probe that’s close by and then another and another and another…”

Loree smiled, “Sort of the ole runaround treatment.”

Emily smiled, “Exactly that and if we ever come up with a bomb that works in the void we can march them right in to it.”

Loree stared at Emily and started nodding, “Lance, put me in touch with Fleet.”

“Good day, Admiral. What can I do for you?”

“Is it possible to attach a rotary gun to our probes?”

“Hang on.”

Loree waited and after a moment, Trevor appeared on the panel, “Admiral, why would you want to attach a rotary cannon on our probes?”

“We just had the antenna shot off a probe.”

“Did you make the mistake of leaving it broadcasting?”

“No, I deliberately left it broadcasting to see if they could detect the antenna even if they were right on top of it. It appears they can.”

“Well just shut them off if they get too close.”

Loree shook her head, “Trevor, is that being creative? Think about this. The antenna has its own miniature drive field surrounding it. If the probe can do that, shouldn’t it be able to put a field around a rotary cannon’s barrel and use the data from the probe to sight on the sneaky Invader and teach it a lesson or two. It would make them think twice about attempting to find them.”

Trevor stared at Loree and started shaking his head, “What kind of mind would come up with such a devious idea?”

“Actually, my pilot came up with the idea of running them around from probe to probe until they arrived at a bomb.”

“We don’t have a bomb that works in the void.”

“No, but you have a rotary cannon that does.”

Trevor tilted his head, “I’ll see what I can do.”

• • •

A week later Lance said, “Admiral, we’ve been ordered back to Earth to pick up some new probes.”

“What? I thought we delivered enough to cover the galaxy?”

Lance stared at his panel and shook his head. He looked up and smiled, “This new probe is called a void mine. It has a rotary cannon on it and will attack any enemy vessel that strays close to it.” Lance looked back down at his panel, “It appears the new probe is going to be delivered close to the edge of the galaxy to encourage the Orange Ships to not venture out quite as often.”

Loree looked at Emily, “See what you’ve started? Now we have to make more high speed runs to deliver them.”

Emily laughed, “I’d love to see the next Invader that tries to take one of them out.”

Loree smiled and shook her head, “I suspect the invader’s warships will deliberately avoid detecting them after a few of them are destroyed. Good idea, Lieutenant.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

• • •

“Lukas, all of the construction equipment from the moon is now at the new planet. The base on the closest moon should be completed shortly.”

“What about the city?”

“It’s growing at an enormous rate. The second city now has all the infrastructure in place and the buildings are going up at a fast pace.”

Lukas looked at his panel, “How many people have moved?”

“Not as many as we hoped. The first hundred thousand were attacked by the local bacteria and viruses and suffered for about three weeks. More than eight thousand died. However, the survivor’s blood has been used to develop shots that will immunize those that come later. It’s taken about eight weeks to get enough of the serum made for the others. While it was being made, we used the colony ships to move enough farming equipment and seeds to start growing crops when the farmers arrive. We would have to take time to make the move so we didn’t waste time during the stoppage.”

Lukas shook his head and sighed, “We’ve got to get moving on this.”

“Lukas, we’ve limited every colonist to only carry personal items that will fit in a back pack. It’s really hard to walk away from all the things you’ve built during your life. We’re able to get close to double the number on each ship now. The Welken sent the converters they use to build their battleships and we’ve already placed them on the closest moon.”

Lukas sat back in his chair and shook his head, “Has Stoney left with Kathy and Christopher?”

“They arrived last week.”

“How’s Jinks taking it?”

“He’s not happy with it. You know how close the two of them are.”

Lukas stared at Salud, “When are you leaving?”

“You know the answer to that.”

“Salud, we need you to help get the colleges up and running.”

“I go when you go.”

“I may not be leaving.”

“Then I may not be going.”

“Salud!”

“Lukas, if we take a vote on who’s more important to the success of our new planet, who do you think would win; you or me?”

“I’m highly overrated. You actually have the skills we’re going to need to build our society.”

“Lukas, the ratio of the smartest professors on Earth to the other colonists is about one in three. Pretty much everyone will have their own private instructor if things continue like they are. We’ll have enough talent to build the schools we need. You just don’t want me to be in danger.”

Lukas sighed and looked at his panel, “We’ll discuss this later. What about the space port?”

“It’s pretty much completed. Trevor and Amanda have set up shop there and are working on the reactors that will power the force field around it.” Salud went behind Lukas and put her arms around his neck, “It only takes us a day to get to Andromeda. The numbers leaving Earth will accelerate now that we have enough vaccine.”

“Salud, there are more than five billion humans here.”

“Each colony ship can carry twenty thousand colonists. It takes more time to get them on board than to make the trip. Now that they can only carry a backpack, the loading time will be reduced by two thirds. Within sixty days we’ll have half a billion people ferried to the planet.”

“There’s no way we can build enough housing for that many in sixty days.”

“That’s true but the building converters are clearing enough ground to build giant shelters until they can catch up. The climate is good where the cities are being built and humans have a way of enduring hardships. The most important thing is to get them there and build for them as quickly as possible. There are enough food processors to feed and clothe them until enough homes are completed.”

“It appears the unrest is starting again.”

“It will probably get worse before it gets better but the Pods are being used to move the colonists selected directly from their homes to Barbados. We’re leaving it up to the local governments to make the selections and they’re doing a remarkable job. I think the people on Earth know that no one is playing favorites trying to make this happen.”

“What about this HELL NO, I WON’T GO movement?”

“It appears a huge number of people are declining their selections. The computer has analyzed them and says that most of them are older than forty and don’t want to start over. They say they’ll take their chances on Earth.”

“That is not a good idea.”

Salud sighed, “This might well be Pat’s work.”

“I don’t want the job of selecting who goes and who stays. Even the local governments are having difficulty making it happen and Pat is probably the only being capable of making sure those that go should. I hope he is involved in the process.”

“He has been doing all he can to help us. By the way, have we come up with a name for this new planet?”

“The suggested list of names is rather long. Everything from Atlantis and Avalon in the A’s to Zander and Zonks in the Z’s. Do you have a preference?”

“I suggested Avalon so I’m prejudiced.”

“I’m not familiar with that name.”

“Avalon was a place in Celtic mythology that was an earthly paradise generally described as a land of plenty where eternal Spring, health, and harmony reigned. On this island of apple trees, food-producing plants were so abundant that no one ever needed to farm the land.”

“I seem to recall that this was similar to how the Garden of Eden was described.”

Salud tilted her head, “I believe you’re right. Is Eden on the list?”

Lukas looked at the list and shook his head, “No, it’s not.”

“Put it on. I like that.”

Lukas took a deep breath, “According to legend, that is where man first appeared on Earth and it was a gift from their creator.”

“Some believe it’s more than a legend Lukas.”

Lukas nodded, “It does sound like a beautiful place.” He looked up at Salud, “We’ll name it after we complete the migration. However, Pat tells me that there are some aggressive civilizations in Andromeda. I wonder if there is anywhere that’s really safe to live.”

“How does he know that?”

“The other Sentinels told him. They chose that planet because it’s in the middle of a huge nebula that’s birthing numerous stars. The planet and its sun are in a clear area in the middle of it.”

“It should be hard to find.”

“If one of those aggressive civilizations stumbles on it now, it has no defenses to protect it. We are going to have to decide whose fleets are going to be sent there to defend it and that decision has to be made quickly. This isn’t something we can put off.”

“”You’ve already decided, haven’t you?”

Lukas started shaking her head, “Am I that transparent to you?”

“”You’ve chosen Chad and Julie to go.”

Lukas looked up at the ceiling and raised his hands, “Just how could you know that?”

“Because Chad’s fleet is here now and you said it couldn’t be delayed. Julie should go because of her baby. I noticed her parents are already there and they can help her take care of her while she’s with her fleet.”

“Chad isn’t going to like this. Jinks agrees that it could be a problem.”

“Call him in with Julie.”

“I don’t know that she will make him change his mind.”

“Then you don’t know Julie. Call them in.”

Lukas shook his head and pressed his panel.

Chapter Two

“Sir, this is one of the worse decisions I’ve ever seen! You need my fleet to defend Earth! I belong in this fight. I cannot accept this assignment!”

Lukas knew this wasn’t going to be easy and Julie was staying quiet as she held their daughter. He looked at Salud and she said, “Julie, you will take your fleet to the new planet immediately and set up a defense around it.”

“No, if Chad stays, we stay.”

Chad looked at Julie, “She’s right, Julie. You should go.”

“Why?”

Chad’s eyebrows came together, “So you and Summer will be safe.”

“What makes you think we’ll be safe? According to the Sentinels, there are aggressive civilizations in Andromeda as well. It’s not safe anywhere.”

“But the odds are that Earth will be destroyed no matter what we do.”

Julie’s head went back, “So you’re telling me that even if you stay, we’ll still probably lose to the Invaders?”

“They outnumber us by millions. You know that.”

“So you want me and our daughter to leave and I’ll have to raise her without her father.”

“Julie, my place is here defending Earth.”

“No, your place is where you can do the most good in defending humanity. Earth doesn’t sound like the best place to make that happen.”

Lukas looked at Chad, “Who would you want to go to defend your daughter? Who could do a better job than you?”

“Windy, Jinks, Indra, Sarah, Loree, all of them are excellent Admirals.”

“Who is the best?”

“That’s not fair!”

Lukas shook his head, “It’s perfectly fair. That planet is the only chance for Mankind to survive. Should we not send our best?”

Chad stared at Lukas and then looked at Julie. His torment was clear and he turned back to Lukas, “Sir, how can I live if all of those I’ve fought with die and I’ve done nothing to save them?”

“Chad, your fleet is going with you.”

“I’m not talking about them. I’m referring to you, Salud, Jinks, Sarah and the others that have fought with me to protect Earth.”

“We need you to protect the ones that will one day avenge what happens here, Admiral.”

Chad stared at Lukas and said, “So you believe you should send the best one to insure that?”

Lukas nodded, “I do.”

“Then I’ll do as you order if you go as well.” Lukas’ eyebrows narrowed and Chad said, “Not so easy is it, Lukas. You are needed more than I am and you should know that. Are you going?”

Julie, Chad, and Salud all stared at Lukas. He saw they agreed with Chad. He shook his head and looked at Salud, “Talk some sense into him.”

“I happen to agree with him.”

“Salud!”

“If we’re going to avenge Earth, if it’s lost, we’re going to need you to make this new world all it should be. Answer his question.”

Lukas sighed. He stood up and walked over to the wall covered with star maps and stared at it. After a minute, he turned around and looked at Chad. “If Earth is discovered by the Invaders, I will immediately leave with Salud and go to the new planet.” Chad started to speak and Lukas held up his hand, “You will go with your fleet to the new planet now! That is non-negotiable. I will stay and try to delay Earth’s discovery as long as possible but our new home needs defending now! Is that clear, Admirals!”

Chad looked at Julie and she nodded. He turned to Lukas and shook his head before saying, “Yes Sir.”

“Notify the members of your fleets that they will contact their families and tell them to go to Barbados to be taken on the next flights. Your crew’s families will be housed around the space port. Now get moving and make this happen. I want your ships there as soon as they’re provisioned and armed.”

Julie stood up with Summer and saluted along with Chad. Lukas returned their salutes and they left the operations center. Lukas looked at Salud, “Are you happy now!?”

“Jinks and the other Admirals were trying to figure out a way to tie you up and force you to go before Earth is attacked. They all agree that fighting to defend Earth was worthless if you refused to go. I’m not the only one that will welcome this decision, Lukas. We need you there.” Salud paused and smiled, “Besides, the new planet is located in an area of Andromeda dubbed the Space Beach and you know how much you like beaches.”

Lukas tried not to smile but failed. He shook his head and Salud moved into his arms. He held her close and said, “I do like a good beach.”

• • •

“Admiral.”

“Yes, Lance.”

We’re getting a signal from the probe closest to the conduit that runs from M-87 to M-86.”

“Put it on the monitor.”

Loree stared at the image being sent by the probe and she stood up. “Move the view in closer!” The end of the conduit outside M-87 grew until it filled the huge monitor and they saw it was disgorging Invader Warships at an incredible rate. As soon as the ships exited the conduit, they would turn and start moving directly toward the edge of M-87 closest to the Milky Way. The mass of ships exiting the conduit stunned the crew on the LaGrange’s bridge and Loree shook her head, “Contact Fleet Operations and send them a live feed on this. I’m issuing a War Warning to all of our fleets and tell Operations that it appears they will be coming through normal space; they have not started construction on another conduit.” Loree sat down as other probes began picking up the movement of the Invader’s fleets. Every monitor was filled with massive numbers of Orange Warships.

Lance shook his head, “Sir, we also have signals coming in from the probes watching the galaxy proper.”

Loree didn’t want to say it but forced herself to say, “Put it up on the tactical monitor.”

Images began flashing on the center monitor showing a massive migration of Orange Warships from inside the giant galaxy; they were all headed in the same direction. The first orange ships arrived outside the edge of M-87 and began forming up into giant formations.

• • •

Lukas saw Jinks rush into the Operations Center and he stopped beside Lukas who was staring at the bank of monitors on the wall. Jinks shook his head and Lukas quietly said, “Order all of our Attack Pods to leave for the new planet.” Lukas pointed at the monitor, “They stand no chance against that.”

Jinks shook his head, “If they’re coming without using a conduit, it is going to take them some time.” Lukas nodded. “I’m going to start seeding their path with the Dark Matter Balls.”

“It will slow them down a little but not much.”

Jinks nodded, “The only thing we can do is make this a war of attrition. When they hit the balls, we’ll attack the damaged ships in normal space.”

“Notify Joey that he needs to start the blackout practices in earnest. We will remove all traces of our facilities on the moon and we’ll fight them outside the Milky Way’s edge. If we attack them inside the galaxy, the Fellowship Civilizations may be attacked as well. I’ll notify the Welken and send them a recording of what’s coming. They probably need to speed up their migrations as well.”

“What do you intend to do?”

“Once they make it inside the galaxy, moving our fleets around Earth will only lead them to it. All of our ships that survive will skip out to open space between galaxies and wait to see if Earth is found. Make sure every ship is carrying a huge supply of food pellets.”

“But…”

“There is no but. We can’t stop them once their force enters the Milky Way. They won’t know who was attacking them and they’ll be focused on finding Pat. I hope they ignore everything else and then go home if they don’t find him.”

“Why would they?”

“Because it’s extremely difficult to provision a warship with enough food for the time it’s going to take them to arrive and find Pat. They’ll have to go back to provision their ships or send another huge fleet with the necessary provisions. We’ll attack those ships and hopefully shorten the time they can remain in the Milky Way. I am going to leave Loree’s Scout Fleet behind to attack any conduit they try to build. If we can destroy those targets, they’ll be forced to leave. If they don’t find Earth quickly, they may be forced to leave and come back later.”

“With that many ships coming, how can they not find Earth?”

Lukas smiled, “There are 300 billion stars in the Milky Way and it’s estimated that two thirds of them have planets. Even with that many ships, the search will take a lot of time and if they miss it the first time they fly by, they’ll have to start the search over. I’m praying the blackout will make them miss.” Lukas nodded toward the monitor, “The more of them we can destroy on the way here, the more difficult it will be for them to find Earth. We cannot have a ship anywhere near our Solar System and the probes are going to have to be moved before we leave.”

“How are our battleships going to take them on?”

“We’re going to have to hit them on the edges and run. We’ll find out what the real range of their missiles are during this phase of the battle.”

“The ships have been equipped with DM Pebbles. Their missiles will run into them at a speed that will send them through the drive field.”

Lukas sighed, “Jinks, each battleship would have to carry six battleships’ loads of them to make a difference and that’s not possible. We’ll fight until we can’t survive and then we’ll fight some more.”

“Are you going?”

“I don’t want to but once they find Earth, Willow, Salud, and I will skip to the new planet.”

“Good!”

“I need you, Jinks. Don’t go and do something stupid like getting yourself killed.”

“I’ll try to avoid that.”

“Don’t just try, do it!”

“You know me.”

“That’s why I said that. Stick and move and make sure you move fast.”

Jinks looked at the Monitor, “I’ll be leaving tomorrow and start getting the fleets organized. We’ll seed their path as soon as the Invaders show us which way they’re coming.”

“That’s pretty easy.”

“Oh?”

“They’ll be coming just outside the disruption the first conduit made. It’s the most direct path here. Start seeding there.”

Jinks nodded and put out his hand. Lukas shook it and Jinks left the Operations Center.

• • •

The Great Ones linked their minds and the Leader thought, “I don’t like doing it this way.”

“What choice do we have? We’ve seen that we’re unable to defend the passages. Once we arrive at that galaxy and remove all the warships that have been attacking us, we’ll start a new passage.”

“What happens if that fails?”

“We’ll have enough ships to make sure it isn’t attacked.”

“You better hope so. We won’t be there long if it’s not built.”

“Even if that happens, we’ll combine stores and leave enough ships to find that being.”

“If we don’t get the ships back to our conquered galaxy, we could lose ground.”

“You talk like it’s an option.”

“You’re right. Even if we have to start all over, we won’t be allowed to delay finding the Creature being sought.”

“I’m worried about sending the ships with fewer crewmembers on them.”

The Leader sneered, “That’s the least of our worries. There’s enough to fight the ships. Most of the time is going to be spent traveling through the void. We don’t need to feed crew members that will be sleeping most of the time. We need the extra space for the provisions needed to make the trip. Get the next passage builder powered up and it can start when the fleets are halfway there.”

• • •

Windy and Indra watched the massive gathering of Orange Warships just outside the edge of the giant ball galaxy and wondered when ships would stop arriving. Windy spoke over her combat helmet, “Indra, do we have an idea of how many ships are out there?”

“Not really. They’re packed so tight the probes can’t make a determination.”

“It seems like a real waste of a good time to just let them gather without letting them know we’re looking forward to their arrival.”

“What do you have in mind, Windy?”

“We’re a really long way out from them but I see my Magnometer is swinging back and forth along their lines. I think the DM shells would be attracted to them from this far out.”

“Ummmm, if several hundred thousand shells arrived, I suspect they might try to break up that formation.”

“That wouldn’t be easy to do without hitting each other.”

“Do you think Fleet would approve of us firing now?”

“Fleet says our entire mission is to reduce their numbers. I don’t think Fleet cares where that happens.”

Indra stared at the monitor and shrugged, “We need to make sure every shell hits a ship. Let’s do this. Let’s line up our fleets into a long line and put some space between our ships. Each of our ships will fire a DM Shell directly at that line of Invader ships, wait five seconds, and then fire another round. We’ll watch what happens and if it works, we’ll do it again.”

“How much spacing?”

“I think twenty miles between our ships should do it, Windy. We still won’t be able to cover their entire line.”

Windy nodded, “You go right and I’ll go left. Our fleets will use our flagships as the anchor to line up on.” Windy looked at her communications officer, “Greg, send the orders. Indra and I will be twenty miles from each other and have my ships line up to my port side.”

Windy watched her fifty thousand battleships move quickly into a line and saw Indra’s fleet doing the same. Greg looked at Windy, “Admiral, the ships are in position and their cannons are loaded and live.”

Windy activated the general frequency, “All ships in both fleets will fire on my command, wait five seconds, and fire again. Ready…FIRE!!”

• • •

A hundred thousand DM Shells shot away from the ONE WORLD Fleets and headed toward the distant Invader formations. They were traveling at an incredible velocity but the attraction of the Invader magnetic fields doubled their speed by the time they arrived. Most of the Invaders wouldn’t have known they were under attack with twenty miles separating each ship that was hit. However, the DM Shells were traveling so fast that they blew through the bows of the ships they hit and exited out the stern, taking out two more ships behind the first one hit before they ran out of energy. It was the explosions of the three ships that warned the Invaders that they were being fired on. What followed was too crazy to follow.

• • •

Windy watched her monitor showing the massive Invader formations and from her vantage point, she saw massive explosions happening within their ranks. The entire line of Invader Warships all tried to break out of formation just as the second salvo of DM Shells arrived. Windy shook her head at how many Invader ships were hit by another trying to escape. She heard Indra over the loud speaker, “On my command, fire another salvo and withdraw. Ready, FIRE!!”

The two fleets fired again and the hundred thousand battleships turned and accelerated away at top speed. Windy looked at her monitor and saw a massive wave of Orange Ships was accelerating toward their previous positions. Windy said calmly over her helmet communicator, “My fleet will go vertical, you take yours down.”

“See you after this is over.”

The two fleets separated and flew away from the path of the approaching Invader fleets. The massive wave rolled past them as every Orange Ship continued on the path toward the Milky Way. The Supreme Supal decided the late arrivals could catch up. He was not going to sit in line waiting to be fired on. The war was on.

• • •

Loree’s squadron was powered down far above the Invader formations and saw the massive explosions roll through the long line of Orange Ships. Once the massive gathering had managed to get organized and start moving, she saw thousands of broken and blasted ships left behind. “Barbie, how many ships did our two fleets take out?”

“More than two hundred and eighty thousand have been destroyed or damaged to the point where they will be unable to fly.”

Loree pursed her lips and nodded, “Good shooting. I don’t know if getting them started was a good thing but it was probably worth it to take out that many ships. Contact Operations and tell them the Invaders have launched their ships.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Gunny Johanson and Scott McCagg watched the feed coming from the probes and Scotty said, “They’re moving on the trajectory Jinks told us to expect.”

“My fleet is seeding the path.”

Gerome Kitchens came on the frequency, “It seems like a long time ago when we were sitting on that helicopter, Gunny.”

“You really got under my skin that day, Kitch. I almost stopped liking Green Berets.”

“Now here we are with our fleets taking on an enemy that is beyond belief.”

“Are you ready to take the lower route?”

“I am. Scotty, you’re taking the upper aren’t you?”

“I am.”

Gunny sighed, “Once my ships have put the pebbles in their path, I’ll be joining Windy and Indra in normal space above your fleets. If they stick to their pattern, you should be able to fire the Gatling rounds and not have to worry about missing. We’ll be launching DM missiles as soon as they enter normal space.”

“Do you think this will make a difference, Gunny?”

“We want to accomplish two things and this should help with both. We need to slow them down so they use most of their provisions and we also want to reduce their numbers. With their void missiles, we can’t stand and fight them toe-to-toe. So fire and join us in normal space.”

“We’ll be right behind you.”

“Here they come. They will be hitting the DM pellets in about two minutes. Remember, fire and get out of there.”

Kitch watched Gunny’s fleet disappear from the void and looked at his scanner. The massive wave of Orange Ships were moving toward his fleet at high speed. He punched his panel and said, “Alright, you know your job. Fire a ten second burst from all your rotary cannons and get out of the void. If you hesitate, you’re dead. Don’t aim, just fire and drop your drive field!”

Scott’s fleet was above the path of the oncoming wave of invader ships just beyond the Dark Matter balls. He saw the massive wave come boring in and suddenly, hundreds of thousands of them began exploding as they ran into the Dark Matter balls. The massive wave suddenly broke into two waves, with one going vertical and the other diving below their former line of approach. Scott’s and Kitch’s fleets opened fire with their rotary cannons firing tens of thousands of DM rounds into the two masses. The Invaders launched a wave of void missiles that blocked out the view of the Orange Ships. The high-speed missiles came flashing in on the ONE WORLD battleships and went through the space they occupied a moment before.

• • •

The numbers of Orange Ships popping into normal space was staggering. Gunny and Windy’s ships began salvoing their DM Missiles and they bore in on the magnetic fields the Invader ships gave off. The wave of destruction was running rampant in the Invaders ranks. Gunny and Kitch joined Windy and Indura’s ships and in a few moments, space was filled with missiles accelerating into the ranks of the Invaders that had been hit in the void.

Windy watched the destruction and shook her head, “Pan, what about the wave in the void?”

“The probe shows that they are continuing to move above and below the balls. Some are starting to slow down.”

Windy yelled into her communicator, “PREPARE TO GET OUT OF HERE!! THEY’RE SENDING SHIPS OUT OF THE VOID!!”

Gunny yelled, “SKIP NOW!!”

• • •

A massive wave of Invader ships appeared in normal space and opened fire on the four ONE WORLD fleets. Hundreds of battleships began blowing up around him just as Gunny left normal space. A giant wave of the Invader’s disruptor beams shot out at the thousands of DM missiles that were fired by the battleships. However, even though the Dark Matter warheads had their thrusters burned off, they continued to be attracted to the magnetic fields of the Invader Ships. They picked up speed and massive explosions walked the ranks of the Invader Ships that had just arrived in normal space.

The Human Battleships entered the void and skipped away with thousands of Invaders chasing each ship. But they couldn’t match the speed of the fast moving human ships. Windy looked at the feed coming in from the probe and saw the giant wave of Orange Ships had come to a stop to counter the ambush and to avoid running into more DM Balls. She saw more than three thousand battleships had been destroyed when the Invaders entered normal space and opened fire. She glanced at the tactical monitor and saw the probe’s report that more than a hundred thousand Invader Ships had been damaged or destroyed, but it was not a victory. Humanity could not afford to lose that many ships even if a hundred thousand enemy vessels were destroyed. This was a definitive war of attrition and so far, the Invaders were winning.

“Windy, we didn’t react fast enough.”

“I know, Gerome. We’re going to have to fire the DM Missiles from much further out and run immediately. We can’t attack that close again.”

“We did slow them down.”

“That’s the only good thing about this attack. We should jump to the next attack coordinates.”

“On our way. I’ll see you there.”

Windy sighed. Losing Sergy and John was a huge problem. Gunny and Gerome were getting up to speed but they weren’t seeing the big picture…yet. She looked at her tactical and saw Gunny was already in position waiting for the new path of the Invader Armada. She smiled, perhaps they were learning faster than she thought. She missed having Chad directing the attacks but understood why. There was more than a year of fighting ahead of them and she prayed she could make it take longer. The Fellowship was sending new battleships to replace those lost but the new crews weren’t experienced and it was showing. She hoped Jinks would help get them ready. Ninety percent of the losses today were to new battleships that recently joined their ranks. “Skip to the next attack coordinates.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chapter Three

Chad’s fleet of Battleships skipped in to the new planet and found a layered defense of Attack Pods surrounding the planet. He wondered why they were in a defensive formation and his Electronics Officer looked up, “Sir, Commodore Graham is on the frequency.”

“Put him on my panel.”

Brandon Graham appeared on Chad’s display, “Sir, it’s good to see you.”

“What’s going on BG?”

“A warship showed up yesterday and fired on one of our pods, Sir. The pod was destroyed and the ship skipped out before we could fire on it.”

“Do you have a recording?”

“Yes Sir. I’ll send it to your panel.”

“My fleet will move in around the planet. Move your pods into an outer layer as soon as we move into position.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chad looked at Audrey Allen, “Get orders out to move into defensive formation above the planet.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chad said, “Trio, play this recording on the main wall monitor.” The wall monitor flashed on and Chad leaned forward. A shiny silver warship came out of the void close to one of the attack pods and opened fire with a brilliant red energy beam. The pod glowed brightly and then exploded. “Trio, how was that pod configured?”

“It only had one reactor powering the force field. It had the other three reactors powering the thrusters.”

Chad pushed a button on his panel, “All pods, go to Alpha Energy Profile. I want all your rotary cannons disabled and disruptors powered by one reactor. Use the other three for your force field.” Chad ended the call and said, “Trio, that pod’s force field held up for a while?”

“Yes it did. If the readings are correct, that beam wouldn’t have penetrated a two reactor force field.”

Chad pressed his communicator again, “All battleships will use two reactors for thrusters and evenly divid the other two between force field and disruptors.” He ended the call and stared at the image on the wall monitor.

Jason Goddard said, “Sir, we’re not going to use our Dark Matter Weapons?”

“It appears that ship doesn’t have a magnetic field. The only way the DM weapons will work is if we can get extremely close to it and fire using our sights.” Chad looked at Audrey, “Did that ship leave a skip trail?”

“It did, Sir.”

Chad thought for a moment and said, “We aren’t going to follow it.”

Jason looked up from his weapon’s panel, “Why not, Sir?”

“Because technically, we are the invaders and I’m not going to run a risk of starting an all-out war with the locals. I think that ship may have left a skip trail to bait us into a trap. We’ll wait for them to show up again.”

“And then what?”

“Let them take another shot. We need to see their capabilities.” Chad looked at his panel, “Trio, have any void probes been put out?”

“No, they haven’t.”

Chad shook his head, “Audrey, contact Commodore Kay and tell him to get a line of probes out in the void.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chad glanced at his panel and saw fifty battleships break ranks and start moving toward the planet’s gravity well. A few moments later, they left normal space and skipped away. He leaned back in his command chair and waited for Julie’s fleet to arrive. He pressed his panel again and saw BG, “Commodore, I want five thousand of your pods detached. Assign a hundred of them to each of our colony ships. They will fly defensive cover for them from this moment forward.”

“Yes Sir”

Chad turned to his Electronics Officer, “Audrey, I want five hundred battleships moved from Commodore Adams group to assist with the defense of the colony ships.” Audrey turned to her console and began pressing buttons. Chad looked at the main tactical monitor and saw the thousands of glowing battleships moving into formation around the planet. Their disruptors were pulsating, powered up and ready to fire. He shook his head and pressed the general frequency again, “No one will fire their weapons without my approval. If you are attacked, you have free weapons, however, you will not fire unless your ship is being fired upon!” Chad thought for another moment and sighed. He pressed his panel and Commodore Graham appeared, “Admiral, how long have your ships been in orbit?”

“Three days, Sir.”

“Order half of them to go to Moon Base and take 24 hours to get some rest. When they return, send the other half. Tell those leaving for the moon that they are on active standby and to be prepared for an instant recall if we’re attacked.”

“Yes Sir. And thank you, Sir.”

Chad nodded and pressed the fleet general frequency, “Group A will go to the moon and take 24 hours of rest. They will be followed by group B, then C, and then D. If nothing happens, group A will go back in.”

Chad watched the tactical monitor and saw a quarter of his ships move out toward the closest moon. The other three Attack Groups spread out and filled in the gap caused by Group A’s departure. That ship hadn’t returned in three days. The probes would give him enough warning to get all his ships back in formation. The crews wouldn’t be at their best if their energy was sapped by the constant stress of sitting in orbit waiting for an attack. He needed them at their best.

“Second Fleet is arriving, Sir.”

Chad looked up and saw Julie’s fleet entering normal space. Good, now the coverage would be greatly enhanced, he thought. He’d decided to wait for Julie to move inside the gravity limit as he began issuing orders to his crew.

An hour later he heard, “Trio sent me a recording of what happened and the orders you’ve issued so far. I assume you want my fleet to move into defensive formations?”

“I do. If you’ll take the sun side of the planet and send a third of your ships to the moon to move in and take a break for 24 hours, I’ll send a corresponding number of ships to join them.”

“What do you think is going on?”

“It appears we are being scouted by a local civilization. They attacked a pod and left. I suspect they’ll be back and will be surprised by the arrival of our fleets.”

“Are we going to war so quickly?”

“I’m hoping we can avoid it. This may not be a planet we can stay on.”

“But we’ve put so much time and resources getting it ready.”

“We’re the invaders here. Let’s see what happens.”

“The Sentinels said this was a good place.”

“My belief that they are infallible is not as strong as most. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. Did your parents come earlier to be with you?”

“They’re on board now.”

“You may want to send them down to the surface with Summer. I suspect you’ll need to remain on duty until this situation is resolved.”

“I’ll leave a Defense Pod with them.”

“That’s a good idea. Make sure they understand that if they’re ordered off the planet to just leave everything behind and get out.”

“They know. I’ll get back in touch once my fleet is set up and organized.”

“That will be good. Set your reactor pattern to Able.”

“Will do.”

• • •

Ten days later, Audrey looked up from her panel, “I have multiple skip trails moving through the void toward the planet.”

Chad reached forward and pressed a blue button on his panel. On every battleship and pod the klaxons began blaring and a voice loudly announced, “ALL SHIPS TO BATTLESTATONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! ALL SHIPS TO BATTLESTATIONS!”

Chad watched his tactical monitor and saw thousands of Battleships and Attack Pods start blasting off the moon’s surface and start boosting for the gravity limit. Chad stared at the monitor and smiled; the fleets were very well trained. He looked at Audrey and she said, “The incoming ships will arrive in another fifteen minutes.”

Chad nodded and put on his combat helmet. He activated the general frequency and said, “No one will fire unless I or Admiral Mitchell orders it!” He pulled up the probe’s feed and put it on his combat visor. The incoming ships weren’t moving at their full speed. The energy being used wasn’t near what they had demonstrated during the first attack. He looked at the main monitor and saw there were fifty skip trails moving toward the planet. Finally, they arrived three thousand miles out from the gravity limit and entered normal space. They stopped and remained in a tight formation. Chad looked at Audrey, “Find out what frequency they’re using to communicate.”

Audrey began pressing buttons on her panel and Chad looked at the Silver Ships hanging in formation. He knew they had to be communicating with each other. He looked at Audrey and she shook her head, “Sir, I don’t detect any frequency being used by those ships.” Chad looked back at the monitor and raised his eyebrows. They had to be communicating. It was confirmed a moment later when one of the Silver Ships moved out of the formation and began accelerating toward his formations. He looked at Audrey and she raised her hands and shrugged, “If they’re using a frequency, it’s not one I can detect.”

Chad saw the single Silver ship approaching and he shook his head. If they weren’t using a frequency to communicate, how were they… Chad looked up and focused his thoughts, “If you’re sending your ship to test us, I would highly recommend against it. We have no desire to fire on your vessel.” The single Silver Ship slowed and stopped. Chad took a breath and thought, “Why are you attacking my ships?”

Everyone in the human fleets heard mentally, “To determine if you’re worthy of communication.”

“Exactly how do you make that determination?”

“If we are unable to destroy your ships, you are worthy of communication.”

“I would think that the ones you couldn’t destroy would be a bigger danger to you. Why would you destroy those who can’t harm you?”

“To prevent them from becoming a danger.”

Chad had to admit he saw the logic of the statement but didn’t like where it was headed. “And what happens if you can’t destroy my ships?”

“We’ll open communication with you to allow you the opportunity to leave our domain.”

“Is there any way for me to negotiate a settlement that would allow us to stay?”

“No!”

“I want to make sure I understand what you’re saying. If my ships can defeat your vessels, how would you force us to leave?”

“We would call on our partners to combine against you.”

“And if we volunteer to leave, would you allow us to go in peace?”

“No, you must be punished for violating our space.”

“Is this planet that important to you? Are your planets over populated?”

“We do not live on planets. We live in our ships.”

“Then why would you want to stop us from using this one?”

“You represent a current or future danger to us; you must be removed.”

Chad looked around his bridge and shook his head, “I know where this is going.” He pressed his panel and said, “Greg, I don’t want to do this but I want you to take the Clearwater out to meet that ship. Use all of your reactors on the force field. I don’t want you to fire on that ship if you can avoid it.”

“It doesn’t sound like they’re going to give me a choice, Admiral.”

“There’s too much at stake here to make a mistake. Move your ship now!”

Chad looked at the tactical monitor and thought, “I’m sending one of my ships out for you to make the determination if we’re worthy of communication.”

“That would be good.”

The Clearwater moved outside the gravity limit and accelerated toward the silver vessel hanging in space. As it approached to within ten miles, the Silver Ship fired a massive red energy beam at the Clearwater. The beam struck the force field and splashed off. Chad looked at Audrey, “What do the sensors indicate?”

“The red beam is not nearly strong enough to overcome the force field, Sir.”

Chad turned back to the monitor as the Clearwater continued to move slowly in on the Silver Ship. It stopped less than half a mile from it and hung in space while the red beam continued to splash off its force field. “Why have you not returned our fire?”

“I have no desire to harm you.”

“Part of the determination is to see if you can.”

“I would prefer that we just assume we can and leave it at that. We do not believe in attacking those that are weaker than ourselves. We also don’t believe in attacking those that are stronger either; for more than the obvious reason. My species is not aggressive.”

“You will fire on that vessel or it will be ordered to your planet to attack those on the surface.”

Chad shook his head, “Why must it always come to a show of force where lives are lost?”

The Silver Ship ignited its thrusters and the Clearwater activated one of its disruptors and fired on the ship’s rear fins. The two top fins were vaporized and the thrusters shut down. “Sir, I know you ordered not to fire on that ship but I was close enough to hit it and possibly not harm the crew.”

Chad smiled, “That’s why I sent you out there, Greg.”

Two Silver Ships skipped in next to the damaged ship and extended a long arm that locked on each side of the wounded vessel. A moment later, all three ships skipped away. “You have qualified for communication. We demand that you leave our space immediately.”

“That will take some time. We’re fleeing a civilization that is attacking our home galaxy. We must find another place to move to.”

“You have twelve hours.”

“I can’t move anyone in that time!”

“Your time has started. Be gone in twelve hours or we will return and destroy you.”

The remaining Silver Ships disappeared from the void and skipped away. Chad fell back in his chair and blew out a breath. Julie appeared on his panel, “We can’t get one Colony ship loaded in less than a day.”

“I know.”

“So what are we going to do?”

“What have we always done? We’ll fight to survive and hope Earth can find another suitable planet to send its people.” Chad looked at Audrey, “Send the recording of what just happened with a written report on what was said. Tell them to hold any Colony Ships headed this way.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chad looked at his panel, “Get your fleet ready for war, Julie.”

“Are we just going to wait on them to come? Shouldn’t we follow the skip traces they left and start the fight on their territory?”

“We’ve already discussed the problem with being an aggressor. And this is their territory. We’ve invaded it without permission. Get Summer on your ship and I want you to skip out if it appears we’re going to be overwhelmed.”

“I can’t do that, Chad.”

“WHY NOT?!”

“Because none of the families on the planet can escape. Using my position and ship to save my own is not ethical.”

“I don’t want to argue ethics, Julie.”

“Then don’t. I’ll bring her on board but I will not run.”

Chad stared at Julie and, after a moment, took a deep breath and nodded. He ended the contact and looked at Audrey, “Tell me what you learned about those ships.”

“Their beam could be handled by three reactors. If they’re all we have to worry about, we shouldn’t be.”

“I suspect they understand that as well as we do now. It’s the partners they mentioned that has me worried. Get a message out to Fleet that we have no option but to confront them when they return. Tell Lukas I’ll do all I can to avoid war.” Audrey nodded and began speaking into her combat helmet.

“Sir, how do you want to use the reactors?”

Chad looked at Jason and shrugged, “What do you think? You’re the weapon’s expert.”

“I would say to use half of them on the force field and the others on the weapons. I would move the pods away from the planet and have them skip in once the battles starts.”

Chad thought about the idea and nodded, “Tell them their DM cannons are released and can be used.”

Jason smiled, “That’s good strategy.”

Chad stared at Jason and saw himself in him. He was one hundred percent warrior. He would be promoted if he could learn to control his aggressive side. Chad said, “The order not to fire without direct orders still stands and make sure everyone knows it, Captain.”

Jason stared at Chad and nodded. He knew the Admiral was supposed to be the best but his reluctance to defend himself was weak. This was where force had to be used. He sighed and sent the orders. Chad heard Jason’s sigh behind him and shook his head, Jason wasn’t ready for high command…yet.

• • •

Lukas looked at the messages that were sent by Chad and turned to Jinks, who said, “Should we send two more fleets to him?”

“They wouldn’t arrive in time. Chad will have to handle the situation.”

Jinks sat down and shook his head as he stared at the recording of the faceoff between the Silver Ship and the Clearwater. After a moment he looked at Lukas, “Is it possible that Pat is controlling what’s happening there?”

“No, I’m sure he’s not. What happens there will be purely a matter of fate.”

“What about the Sentinels that went there?”

“That’s part of fate. It’s not something we can affect. We have more than we can do here and we must focus on the task at hand. I need you to get Loree to send some of her scouts out to other galaxies to find a habitable planet if this one fails.”

Jinks blew out a breath, “Why must it always be war!?!”

“War is the ultimate way to force your will on others. Once you succeed using it as a tool, all the other tools are removed from your toolbox.”

“Why is that, Lukas?”

“It’s the fastest way to cut to the chase. Most don’t have the patience to use other tools.”

Jinks lowered his eyes, “Are we like that?”

“Not yet.”

“But we could be, right?”

“We are quite capable of becoming conquerors and would probably excel at it. However, there is always someone else out there stronger than the conqueror du jour. Breaking that chain is worth the effort.”

“I’ll tell Chad you said that.”

“I suspect he already knows, Jinks. That’s why I sent him.”

“But he’s our greatest warrior.”

“It takes a warrior to understand it. You should have learned that lesson already.”

“You’re talking about the Mosul 25?”

“I am. Do you know what would have happened if you had been allowed to go in and attempt to rescue them?”

“I think I would have done exactly that.”

Lukas sat back and shook his head, “I had a long conversation with Gerome about Mosul. You know he was in the headquarters unit that was running the operation?” Jinks nodded. “The CIA operatives learned before you arrived that the women had been moved out of the Warlord’s camp to another part of the city. They sent you there knowing the entire area was set up to ambush your unit.”

Jinks’ eyes narrowed, “I never heard anything about this.”

“You were spotted moving in and the Warlord was warned. An inside informer told the CIA that it was a trap but they intended to allow your unit to go in anyway on the chance you might get lucky and kill the Warlord. The Warlord agreeing to talk with the CIA operative at the last moment is what led to your recall.” Jinks just stared at Lukas in silence. “The point is, you couldn’t have saved the women; they weren’t there and you would have possibly lost your entire unit. When the women were killed, it wasn’t in that camp. They were slaughtered at the other location and their bodies brought back to the camp to nail to the walls. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it.”

“Why didn’t Admiral Kitchens tell me about this?”

“For what purpose?”

“So I wouldn’t go on blaming myself for what happened.”

“He didn’t want you to hate your country any more than you do now. He told me that not everyone was like those that made those terrible decisions.”

Jinks lowered his head and Lukas slowly shook his head, “Jinks, there are times when you’re trapped in situations where there is no way anything good can happen. It’s how you come out of them that determines what kind of person you’ll become.” Jinks looked up at Lukas and saw him smile, “I’m proud of what you are, Jinks. It’s time to forgive yourself and look toward the future.”

Jinks started nodding slowly and then stood up, “I have an enemy to confront. Thank you for telling me this.” Lukas nodded and turned to leave. He stopped, turned around, and looked at Lukas, “I did take care of that Warlord.”

Lukas nodded, “That’s the kind of man you are.” Jinks nodded and left the room.

Lukas watched him leave and prayed he would survive to lead mankind into the future.

Chapter Four

“Sir, the probes are reporting an approaching stream of skip trails.”

Chad looked at his panel and shook his head; eleven hours, forty minutes. They were right on schedule. He looked at Audrey, “How many?”

Audrey stared at her panel and pressed multiple buttons and after a few moments looked up, “I don’t know. It appears that whoever is coming is destroying our probes.”

Chad stared at her and shrugged, “If this doesn’t turn out well, we won’t really need them.” He pressed the blue button on his panel and the battle stations warning began blaring on all ships in the fleets. He glanced at Jason, “Are the pods in position?”

“They are, Sir.”

Chad activated his helmet’s communicator, “Attention all ships. If the approaching ships come into normal space firing their weapons, every ship will be weapons-free. Hold your sectors above the planet and don’t get fooled into leaving. If they emerge and are not attacking, you will hold your fire until I authorize free weapons.” Chad looked at Audrey, “How long until they emerge?”

“About thirteen minutes.”

Chad tongued his channel selector and saw Julie appear, “Is your fleet ready?”

“We are.”

“Try to stay safe, my Love.”

“You do the same, Daddy.”

Chad smiled and changed the monitor inside his helmet to tactical. So far normal space was clear. He looked at the huge monitor on the wall and saw the void probes inside the gravity well showed a modest number of skip trails approaching. He wondered what was going on. He continued to stare at the huge monitor until ships began emerging into normal space. He looked up at the corner of his helmet display and saw that thirty-six ships had appeared four thousand miles in front of his lines. He muttered a question and his helmet answered, “All thirty-six ships are different from each other.” He looked out at the gathering and immediately noticed a giant blue ship that was flashing bright blue. It was furthest from his ships and behind the line formed by the other thirty-five ships. “Trio, tell me about that flashing blue ship.”

“It doesn’t appear to be solid matter. I can’t determine what it’s made of.”

“You haven’t left as I ordered.”

“I didn’t even try.”

“Why not?”

“If I ordered you to move down to the surface of the planet and push it out of orbit, what would you do?”

“That’s ridiculous. It can’t be done.”

“So you wouldn’t even try, would you?”

“No, I suppose I wouldn’t. However, my planet dwelling partners tell me that ordering you to leave in twelve hours or we would attack was not a fair option. They also agree that vacating a planet that fast is not possible. I’ve brought them back with me so there won’t be any misunderstandings concerning your vacating our territory. How long will you require to leave?”

“It’s taken us seven months to move everyone here. It will take that long to get everyone moved.”

“That is unacceptable.”

“You asked, that’s the true answer.”

Suddenly Chad heard a booming voice over his wall speaker, “Why have you come to our galaxy uninvited?”

“Is there a possibility of ever being invited?”

“No.”

“We came here to escape an invader that is coming to destroy my species.”

There was a long moment of silence and the voice said, “You should have stayed and fought them there.”

“Most of my civilization is doing exactly that. However, the possibility of defeating this invader is remote. We left our galaxy to go to a new world to try and develop the weapons needed to go and take back our home.”

“Where is this invader you refer to coming from?”

“Do you know the giant ball galaxy about fifty million light years away?”

“We do.”

“They’re coming from that galaxy and another one close by it.”

“Are you trying to tell us that you are being invaded by forces from two galaxies?”

“I’m telling you the truth and you out of all those present should want us here.”

“Just why would I want that?”

“Because once they finish with my galaxy, your galaxy is the next closest large galaxy. They will turn their attention here and if they see you, they will come to kill all of your species.”

“I do not believe what you’re saying and I certainly don’t fear any force that might come here.”

Chad shook his head, “You should. That invader is attacking my galaxy because they detected a species similar to yours. They rushed to invade and kill them. They’ll do the same with you.”

“I really don’t believe you’re being honest. You’re attempting to deceive us into allowing you to remain here. We will not fall for this ruse and we’re offended by your lies.”

“With your permission, I am going to send you some recordings of recent battles with the Invaders. You should know what you’re going to have to face in the future.”

“Keep your recordings!”

“I would like to see them.”

“Piper, you can’t believe this being is telling the truth.”

“What can it hurt to see? Send the recordings.”

Chad looked at Audrey and pointed his finger at her. She took a datacube and pushed it into her panel. She pressed a red button and the datablock illuminated. She looked at Chad and nodded. He sat back in his chair and waited.

• • •

After ninety six minutes passed, Chad heard, “How do we know these recordings are real?”

“It would be easy to verify.”

“How?”

“Go to the other side of my galaxy and look at the massive disruption that extends out into intergalactic space.”

The Silver Ship thought, “The numbers moving toward your galaxy are beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

“That’s why we came here. We don’t see any way to survive their intrusion. We were sent out to try and develop weapons that can stop them.”

Another of the ships said, “It appears you are destroying large numbers of them.”

“They out number us a hundred thousand or more to each of our warships. In the end, they will overrun my galaxy.”

“Why did you choose to come here?”

“This planet was discovered and is perfect for my species.”

The booming voice said, “We can protect ourselves from this invader. You are not wanted here.”

Chad sighed and his bridge crew saw him shake his head, “You must be the big stick in this galaxy.”

“I am.”

“What you fail to understand is that no matter how powerful you think you are, it’s a large universe and every species has a particular civilization out there somewhere that is perfect for exterminating you. No one is immune from danger.”

“I can destroy all your ships and you could do nothing to stop me.”

Chad looked up, “Sentinel, can he harm you?”

“Of course not. He’s still quite young in his development. His natural aggression is part of that youth.”

Silence ruled the channel. The Silver Ship thought, “Who was that?”

“He is a member of the species that the invaders detected in my galaxy. They are going there to eradicate his species.”

“What is he doing here?”

“His species decided to come here and wait out the war; if the invaders win, they’ll have to find a new home.”

The Blue Ship boomed out, “YOU ARE NOT INVITED HERE EITHER!”

The Sentinel laughed, “Unlike the humans you’re here to threaten, we don’t require an invitation to do what we want.”

Chad said over his transmitter, “Sentinel, do not harm any of those that came here.”

“You should want us to simply dispose of them.”

“NO WE DON’T WANT THAT!!”

“Why not?”

“Have you learned nothing from your interference in the Fellowship? You build nothing but a structure of distrust and hatred among them. They’re working together for the first time and it’s because they’re no longer under your control. You’ve failed to realize that being all-powerful means you must learn when to use that power. So far you haven’t. You have no problem using your power on others when you should take the time to persuade others to your point of view instead of forcing them. Your actions aren’t permanent because those you control don’t believe in your vision. I don’t even think you have a vision.”

“These civilizations are here to destroy your people on the planet and in your fleets. Don’t try to tell me you don’t want us to prevent that happening.”

“That is exactly what I’m telling you!”

Silence ruled the moment and Jason thought Chad was crazy. He couldn’t do this. The Silver Ship thought, “Why would you turn down his offer of help?”

Chad took a breath and said over his communicator as he thought, “Because we are the invaders here. We’ve come here uninvited and if we take what belongs to you, we are no different than that civilization that is invading my galaxy. We’d be little more than another aggressive conqueror that will one day face a foe that will destroy us. I cannot live if it means becoming like those that are coming to kill us.” Chad looked up and said, “Sentinel, do not harm any of these ships!”

The booming voice said, “It couldn’t if it wanted.” Suddenly, Chad saw a white colored mist surround the Giant Blue Warship. The ship began firing massive blue energy beams but they did not faze the white mist surrounding it. The Blue Ships pulsating light stared blinking slower and Chad yelled, “DO NOT HARM THAT BEING!!!”

The white mist disappeared and everyone heard, “I’m not going to harm him. Some lessons have to be experienced to be learned. The conceited arrogance of this child is more than one should be forced to handle.”

“But one day his species will grow and develop into an adult civilization that can discuss the mysteries of the universe with you. Patience with the young is required.”

The Blue Ship’s voice was no longer booming, “Why would you defend this being?”

There was a pause and the Sentinel said, “It was one of my species that caused the galaxy to be invaded. The rulers of the invaders detected him and they fear him. They’re coming to find him and kill him.” The Sentinel paused and said, “That Sentinel is hiding at this species planet and if he’s found, their world will be destroyed. This species is defending our brother even though he is causing their destruction. They deserve our protection.”

The Silver Ship said, “Why would you defend this Sentinel?”

“Because he is right to choose us. If we lose, only one planet will be destroyed. If he went elsewhere, hundreds of planets would be exterminated. We understand why he came to us and he’s helped us prepare for the invaders.”

“But not enough!”

“No, not enough. But this planet is our hope to one day balance the scales and retake our home.”

The Silver Ship thought, “You will leave if told you’re not wanted here.”

“We will go elsewhere but it will take time for us to move.”

The Silver Ship thought, “I withdraw my request for assistance.”

A voice from a dark green warship said, “Why would you do that?”

“We are going to allow this species to stay here until they are ready to go home.”

“WHY?”

“They could have used that entity to kill all of us. They tried to prevent it from harming us. If they would do that under these conditions, then it is our belief that they are no danger to us.”

Chad said, “I can promise you one thing.”

The Silver Ship asked, “What is that?”

“If you are ever attacked, we will come to your defense and will not forsake you in your hour of need.”

The Blue Ship said, “This is something that we must discuss among us. We will communicate with you after we finish.”

“We’ll be awaiting your response.”

• • •

Chad reached under his chair and pulled the pin. He leaned back and started rocking back and forth. His bridge crew stared at him and he said, “WHAT!?”

Jackson looked up from the steering panel and said, “You appear to be relaxed. I’m as tight as a twisted yoga dancer.”

Chad shook his head, “There’s thirty different civilizations represented out there. How long does it take for two to make a decision? We could be here a while.”

Chad’s helmet beeped and he activated his personal frequency, “No matter what happens, I love you, Chad. You did the right thing refusing to use the Sentinels.”

“I love you, too, Julie. It’s the right thing to do. If we depend on them to keep us safe, we’ll be little more than what the Fellowship became. Those civilizations have the right to be doing what they choose. This is their home.”

“I know. We’ll just have to try and find another place if they don’t want us here.”

“If they do, I just hope they give us enough time to go.”

• • •

The Silver Ship listened to the exchange and shared it with the other representatives. It was not going well for the humans up to that point but that exchange made the difference. The thirty species voted to allow the humans to stay at that moment. The rest of the time was taken to determine under what conditions.

• • •

Three days later, Audrey called Chad to the bridge, “Sir, it appears they’ve made a decision.”

Chad shook his head and rushed to the bridge. A decision made this quickly usually was not a good sign. He arrived and went to his command chair. Audrey linked in the images coming from the thirty ships. The Silver Ship thought where all could hear, “We have decided to allow you to remain here.” The bridge erupted into cheers. Chad raised his hands and then they heard, “Under certain conditions.”

“What are those conditions?”

“The first and most important is that those you call Sentinels stay out of our affairs. We do not want them interfering with our societies.”

Chad looked up, “Will you agree to that condition?”

The Sentinel Leader thought, “We could help you in many ways.”

The Silver Ship replied, “We do not desire your assistance. We’ve seen it and don’t desire it.”

Chad said, “Will you agree, Sentinel?”

“We will not interfere with them.”

The Silver Ship thought, “Good. We also require that any weapons you develop will be shared with all of us.”

The Sentinel said, “I don’t know if I’d agree to that if I were you.”

Chad said, “You agreed not to interfere.” He looked at the monitor, “We will share what we develop with you and we’ll give you our Dark Matter Weapons now.”

The Blue Ship said, “Dark Matter?”

“Yes, we have a weapon system that uses solid dark matter projectiles.”

The Silver Ship said, “Why didn’t you use it when I attacked your ship?”

“We did not want to harm anyone on your ship.”

The Silver Ship hesitated and then said, “We will also accept your offer to come to our defense in the event we are attacked. If you agree to these conditions, which will be verified by an observer, then you may keep this planet and remain as long as you deem it necessary.”

“We accept the conditions.”

“Then welcome to our galaxy and we wish you success in defending your former home.”

The crews on all the Human ships began celebrating. Jason watched the others on the bridge cheering Chad and he leaned back in his chair. He would have attacked those ships as soon as they entered normal space. He looked at the wall monitor showing the crews of other ships celebrating the agreement. He shook his head. Chad was more than he thought. Chad turned around and Jason said, “Congratulations, Sir.” Chad nodded and turned around.

Jason thought about what happened for many days before he realized that the most important thing said during the negotiations was said to the Sentinels. When you’re all powerful, it’s important to know when to use it. He knew he liked to fight. He was never more alive than when he was in the middle of a space battle. This showed him another side to winning. He was shocked when Chad called him in to his conference room to give him a new assignment.

“I’m going to what!?”

“You will be the liaison with the Silver Ship that is assigned to stay here and observe us.”

“Why me? I’m not the political sort.”

“It’s something you need to learn. You will take possession of your former Attack Pod and do all you can to make our guest as comfortable as possible.”

“Sir, surely there are others better suited to do that. Audrey would be an excellent choice.”

Chad’s eyes narrowed, “Captain, you have been given our orders. Now get out of here and go check on the Silver Ship.”

Jason jumped to attention, “Yes Sir.” He saluted, did an about face, and left the room. Chad smiled and hoped his subordinate learned from the assignment. He needed another Command Officer and good ones were in short supply. But it was better not to make a promotion than to make a bad one. Chad smiled, he learned that lesson from Lukas.

• • •

Gunny yelled over the Fleet Frequency, “SKIP OUT!! SKIP OUT!! SKIP OUT!!!” He saw normal space disappear and be replaced by the blackness of the void…but not before he watched a massive wave of Orange Ships roll over his fleet. He felt the ship accelerate at high speed away from the site of the attack and he closed his eyes as he said, “How many this time?”

“We lost twenty thousand ships, Sir.”

“What’s our current ship count?”

“We’re down to less than forty thousand.”

Gunny blew out a breath and fell back in his chair. The other fleets were also taking a pounding and he wondered if it was worth it. The giant Invader Fleet had been forced to stop numerous times to confront the attacking ships from Earth but now they forgot about moving at their highest speed toward Earth and focused on destroying their attackers.

Gunny looked at the tactical monitor and saw the Invader fleet re-form and begin moving toward the Milky Way again. They found a way around the DM balls rather quickly. They began sending a small screen of ships ahead of the major fleet and whenever one of the ships in the screen exploded, the main fleet would spread out and prepare for an attack. Their reaction time was incredible. Gunny shook his head. That was probably why they were galactic conquers. Gunny pressed his panel and said, “Windy, how did you do?” He waited for a response and was greeted by silence.

He heard Jinks say, “Gunny, Admiral Davis was killed in the last attack. I’m sending the survivors to you to incorporate into your fleet.”

Gunny closed his eyes and shook his head. First Scott was lost, then Indra, and now Windy. The price was just too high, “How many are you sending?”

“Fifteen thousand ships.”

“Jinks, this can’t go on much longer. We’ve lost more than seventy percent of our strength.”

Jinks sighed, “I know, Gunny. Using the DM balls will have to stop. You’re going to have to skip in, fire on them, and immediately skip out.”

“Jinks, there has to be some way we can use the balls.”

“Give me a moment and let me contact Trevor and Amanda. I’ll get back to you.”

Gunny waited and shook his head. “Sir, the survivors from Admiral Davis’ Fleet have arrived.”

“Organize them around their surviving officers and assign them to my remaining attack groups.”

“Yes Sir.”

Gunny sat in his chair and thought about the six month long running fight. So many good sailors lost. His hatred of the invaders grew with every battle. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the massive Invader Fleet moving through the void toward his home. It didn’t appear to be any smaller than when he first saw it…but he knew it was. He just wasn’t able to see all of it at first.”

“Gunny, Amanda had made a suggestion.”

“What is that, Sir?”

“She said to use the DM cannons to fire them.”

“What?”

“She suggested you load the cannons with hundreds of the balls and use it like a shotgun. The invaders are stopping their forward progress when any of the advance ships in their screen are destroyed, right?”

“Yes.”

“That’s to prevent the main body of the fleet from running into the balls. If the balls are fired at their fleet, even when the first ships are hit, the balls will continue forward into the main body of the Invader fleet. Stopping will not prevent them from being hit.”

Gunny nodded, “We’ll give it a go and see what happens, Sir.”

• • •

Kitch looked at his monitor, “Gunny, are we too far away to hit them?”

“Gerome, the balls will find their way to the Invader Fleet. I’m not sending my sailors into that threshing machine again if I can avoid it.”

“From this far out, we won’t be able to detect it.”

“They won’t be able to see us either. The computers agree that if we fire at the correct moment, the balls will arrive at the Invader Fleet. After all, it’s a really large target.”

Kitch began issuing orders and the two surviving fleets began spreading out with more than eighty miles between each of their ships. He looked at his Weapons Officer sitting behind him and he said, “Admiral, we have three cannons loaded with a hundred balls each.”

“Will the compressed gas launch them?”

“Oh, I know they’ll all be blown out of the barrels. I just don’t know if they’ll leave in any sort of organized pattern or at what speed.”

“The same can be said for a shotgun shell.”

“But you fire a shotgun close to your target. This is far beyond anything I’ve ever considered.”

“THIRTY SECONDS TO FIRING!”

Kitch heard the warning from the computer and said, “Put the feed from the probe on the main monitor.” The main monitor’s view changed from tactical to a view of the blackness of the void. Nothing was visible. He heard the computer start the countdown and at zero he felt his battleship shudder briefly. Kenny said, “If we miss, that’s going to be a real navigation hazard in the future.”

Kitch shook his head, “Not really; we’ve fired them toward the void disruption made by the conduit we exploded. Amanda tells me that the disruption should break up the balls if they don’t hit anything.” Kitch looked at Kenny, “How long before they arrive?”

“Twelve hours, Sir.”

Kitch nodded and said, “Order the ships moved to the next firing point.” The thousands of surviving battleships activated their thrusters and moved ahead of the oncoming Invader Fleet. Everyone on every ship watched their monitors to see if the plan worked.

• • •

Eleven hours later, the first faint images of the Invader Fleet began appearing on the feed coming from the probes. Kitch and Gunny watched the faint image solidify over the next hour and at the twelve-hour mark, the oncoming wave of Orange Ships began blowing by the probes. The two Admirals sat down and in their command chairs and felt their disappointment just as the center of the giant Invader Fleet exploded into a massive disruption as more ships than could be counted in the brief moment blew up and disappeared from the void.

Gunny yelled, “Switch to the probe in normal space!” The view on the monitor immediately changed and Gunny and the rest of the crews on their battleships saw a massive debris field extending in all directions. The devastation was beyond imagination. The view was greeted by silence and then the crews began cheering. Gunny ordered the feed changed to the probes ahead of the advancing Invaders and saw the entire mass of ships had scattered in all directions. For the first time, he saw a difference in the size of the fleet; it was noticeably smaller. He sent a message to Kitch to move his ships to six hours out from the Invader’s advance.

“Why do we want to do that?”

“We’ll be long gone by the time the rounds hit them. However, I suspect they’re not going to continue to fly in such a tight formation. We need to fire the cannons on different trajectories next time.”

“You’re the boss. Issuing orders now.”

• • •

The Invader Fleet Supal screamed, “WHERE ARE THEY?!”

“They are not within our scanning range.”

The Supal shook in his tub and said, “Order the ships to spread out and avoid gathering in groups. They had to have fired from far ahead of our advance. As soon as the first ship explodes, the entire fleet will leave the void and move into normal space to allow time for their projectiles to pass.”

“I will issue your orders, Supal.”

The Supreme Supal swore at the Great Leaders who had sent him on this murderous voyage. They were four months behind schedule and his losses were monumental. At the rate he was losing ships, less than a third of his fleet would arrive at the target. This was not worth the losses being suffered.

• • •

Kitch shook his head; “We should have been doing this from the beginning.”

Gunny slowly shook his head, “The end result would be the same.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re going to run out of DM rounds after five more attacks. We would still have been forced to go in and attack them head on.”

Kitch leaned back in his chair, “Are we going back to those tactics after we run out of rounds?”

“Lukas has ordered us not to do it. He wants us to skip out into open space above the Milky Way and wait to see if the Invaders can find Earth. We’ll go in and make it a fight if they do.”

“There’s no way we can win?”

“No, but we should be able to hurt them enough to delay an attack on the Fellowship Civilizations.”

“Haven’t we already done that?”

Gunny shrugged, “Who knows. The point is that we’ve done a good job of cutting into their numbers. Now we have to see if delaying them as much as we have shortens the time they can search for Earth.”

“How are the blackouts going?”

“Far from perfect. How do you notify everyone on the planet to not use electricity when huge sections of the planet don’t have a means where they can be contacted? The oasis out in the Sahara has the food stations but no electronic communications. The same is true for the Outback in Australia. They’re working on it but every time they order a blackout, numerous places are detected by our ships. We’ll hope for the best but it doesn’t look good if an Invader Warship comes close to the planet.”

Kitch wiped the sweat off his brow and shook his head, “I didn’t know a black man could sweat this much.”

“Get in line, Kitch. All of us are sweating this.”

“Easy for you to say. You’ve fought in tight spots before.”

“Yeah, but nothing like this. We’re all novices at this and the worst is still ahead of us.”

“You could have gone all day and not told me that.”

“Ok, I take it back.”

“Too late! Are you ready for the next attack?”

“We’re waiting for the computers to link with the probes and give us the coordinates we should fire from. The invaders are on the move again so it shouldn’t be much longer.”

Chapter Five

Jason left the bridge and went to the landing bay. He was depressed at his new assignment and wondered what he had done to tick off the Admiral. He arrived and saw his Attack Pod was being serviced. Lt. Maxwell saw him walk into the giant bay and yelled, “We’ll be done in twenty minutes.”

“Take your time!” Jason went over to the small cafeteria and ordered a meal. He didn’t know when he’d have another full meal. He only had the food pellets to eat on his Pod.

Samantha Young saw Jason eating alone so she took her tray over and looked at him, “Do you mind if I join you?”

“No, I’m not going to be good company, though.”

Samantha put her tray down and said, “Why not?”

“I’ve been relieved of my current duty and assigned to being the liaison with the Silver Ship sitting above the planet.”

“Really?”

“Why do you say it like that?”

“I would think you’d be the last one chosen for that duty.”

Jason leaned back in his chair and stared at her for a moment. He leaned forward and began eating is meal, “Why?”

“Because you’re always ready to pick a fight. I would think that would be the last thing we’d want to do at this moment.”

“We could have taken them.”

“Are you so sure about that?”

“The Sentinels would have ensured we’d win.”

“So, you’re saying the Sentinels could take them.”

“We probably could as well.”

“And what price would we have to pay if we used the Sentinels?”

“What makes you think there would be a price?”

“You need look no further than the Fellowship. However, I’m sure there was a reason you were chosen.”

“You’re making me feel soooo much better about this.”

Samantha laughed, “I’m taking your place on the bridge.”

“WHAT?”

“Yeah, I know. I’m not exactly the aggressive sort.”

“You wouldn’t think that by the way you just came at me.”

Samantha tilted her head and after a moment, smiled, “Maybe I am more aggressive than I thought.”

Jason saw the Lieutenant motion to him and he picked up his tray, “Good luck. You have a good team working with you. If you have any questions, Audrey is the one to go to.”

Samantha stared at him and shook her head, “Thanks. That was nice of you.”

Jason sighed and walked away. He said over his shoulder, “I’m really not that bad.” He emptied his tray and walked over to his Pod.

“She’s all tuned up and ready to go, Captain.”

“Thanks. I’ll check back in later.”

“Be safe.”

“You know I will.” Jason climbed into the cockpit and saw the systems were already activated. “It’s been a long time Astro.”

“Indeed it has. It’s good to see you again.”

“Let’s go out and introduce ourselves to our Silver Guest.”

“You don’t appear to like this.”

“How would you like to try rolling on the ground?”

“I don’t have wheels. That could prove to be problematic.”

“Just like me being an emissary. I’m not built for it.”

“You can change, I can’t grow wheels.”

“We’ll see. Let’s go.”

• • •

The Pod left the landing bay and accelerated toward the Silver Ship hanging in orbit. As he moved closer he thought, “Just how am I supposed to communicate with it?”

“Just focus your thoughts and think them clearly.”

“Whoa! Did you just read my mind?”

“No, I heard what you were thinking.”

“What’s the difference?”

“If I read your mind, I’d see the things in your mind that you aren’t thinking about.”

“Now I know this is a bad idea.”

“Do you say that because you don’t want to be here?”

“So you can see that?”

“Obviously.”

“I’m sorry but I’m just not cut out for politics,”

“Do you see your function here as political?”

“Isn’t it?”

“Actually, politics as you know it would fail miserably because I can see what you’re actually thinking and could ignore what you’re saying. Your task here is far from political.”

“Then what is my task?”

“I believe you were sent here so I can get an idea about what your species is all about.”

“Then I’m the worst choice. I’m a fighter; I’ve never been described as a peacemaker.”

“Perhaps that is something I should see.” The Silver Ship paused and said, “You should know that it was your thoughts that we initially saw that made us decide to make you leave.”

“WHAT?”

“We initially thought that you were the leader on your ship.”

“Why would you think that?”

“Because your chair was higher than your commander’s. We assumed you were in command. It was only after we began communicating that we learned who was in command.”

“What was it about my mind that you didn’t like?”

“You wanted a war.” Jason was silent and the Silver Ship said after a moment, “You did want one, didn’t you?”

Jason sighed, “Yes, I guess I did. I was in charge of the weapons on our battleship and I usually want to use them. I thought I was the perfect choice for my position.”

“You were.”

“Then why did the Admiral send me out here?”

“Because that is all you’d ever be good for. You would never rise to a higher station. I sense the Admiral sees more in you than you do.”

Jason took a breath and shook his head, “Well, if we’re going to be stuck with each other, what do I call you?”

“Piper.”

“Is that your real name?”

“My real name takes about two minutes to say; however, that part is something you can pronounce.”

“Well, it’s good to meet you, Piper. My name is…”

“Jason Goddard.”

“Yes, it is.” Jason paused and looked out of his viewport at the five hundred yard Silver Ship next to his Pod. “That was a real brave thing you did coming in and attacking one of our ships. I didn’t think it was a good idea to place one of you in that sort of danger.”

“Is that what you think happened?”

Jason stared at the ship and said, “Isn’t it?”

“Of course not. We’d never deliberately place one of us in danger.”

Jason thought and shook his head, “The ship was unmanned.”

“It was remote controlled.”

Jason stared out the viewport and after a moment he heard, “You’re wondering how many of us are on this vessel?”

“I am.”

“It’s just me.”

“WHAT?”

“I am part of this ship and the ship is part of me. We are basically a single organism.”

“I did hear you tell the Admiral that you don’t live on planets. Does that mean you spend your entire life in space?”

“We do.”

“Then why would you object to us living on a planet in your territory?”

“Where do you think all of the enemies we’ve faced over the centuries came from?”

Jason sighed, “From planets.”

“Yes. And with someone as aggressive as you are in command, there was no way we were going to allow you stay.”

“What changed your minds?”

“Your Admiral figured out we were telepathic and sent a thought telling us he didn’t want to have to fire on our ship. We were surprised when he communicated instead of you. When his officer fired and deliberately didn’t destroy the drone, that made us start reevaluating who you were.”

“I am the exception, not the rule among my fellow sailors.”

“Once we took a look, we saw that. However, we still wanted you gone. It was your Admiral stopping the Sentinel from assisting you and then demanding he not harm the Blue Ship that made us rethink our position. Once we saw the recordings he sent, we couldn’t in good conscience send you away.”

“How could you know the recordings were real?”

“One of us went and took a look. It was as your recordings depicted.”

“You went all the way across my galaxy and returned during your discussion?”

“I didn’t but one of the others did.”

“The Admiral was wrong and so was I.”

“About what?”

“That remote controlled ship you sent in was not as powerful as you are.”

Piper laughed, “How did you come to that conclusion?”

“I’m pretty certain that a civilization will have to arrive at a minimum level of technology before you’ll open communications. That ship was set up for that minimum standard. The Admiral said the Blue Ship was the big stick in this galaxy; he was wrong. You are.”

“You are much more than I thought, Jason Goddard. No one else has ever seen through our subterfuge.”

“I can’t help but wonder how your species reproduces. If all of you are part of the ship you live in, how does your species increase in population?”

“We don’t reproduce like your species.”

“No?” There was a moment of silence and Jason said, “I’m sorry if I offended you by asking about this.”

“No, it’s not that. Do you mind if I look in your mind for the right description?”

“No, you can see everything anyway.”

“Not really. I can only see what you’re thinking.”

“You can’t look beyond that?”

“I can but we don’t once communication has started. Give me a moment.” Jason sat on Astro and didn’t feel anything in his head. “Ah, I found it.”

“Found what?”

“The term to describe our reproduction. We are like what you call an amoeba.”

“You mean you split into two different identical beings?”

“Something like that. The two are identical initially but they start changing immediately.”

“How?”

“Once the new one is placed in a ship, it leaves to find its own destiny. It will live through different life experiences than the first and will thus be changed over time. After a thousand years, it’s really hard to determine where we originated.”

“So you’re saying your life experiences are what make you who you are?”

“The same is true of you.”

“The jury is still out on what has the most impact on a human, genetics or experience.”

“Why are you so ready to fight?”

“I guess I was born with that in me.”

“Don’t you often describe yourself as having to fight for anything you ever received? No one ever gave you anything?”

“I thought you didn’t read our minds.”

“We saw that initially before we opened a dialogue.”

“That’s how my life has been.”

“And that’s why you are like you are today.”

Jason thought for a moment and slowly shook his head, “Yeah, I guess I can see that.”

“You didn’t have to fight for this planet.”

Jason started chuckling and said, “Piper, I think I’m going to like talking with you. You’re right. We didn’t have to fight for it.”

“Perhaps there’s a lesson there to be learned.”

“You think?”

Piper laughed and said, “Yes, I think this is going to be fun.”

“By the way, how long does it take before your species splits into two beings?”

“It really varies. What usually causes it is when our minds get full of experiences and need a refreshment. It’s at that point that the reproduction process starts.”

‘How long does that normally take?”

“Anywhere from nine hundred to fifteen hundred years.”

Jason was stunned, “Piper, how old are you?”

“Age is a relative term.”

“How old?”

“Twenty thousand of your years, give or take a thousand.”

“Oh my God! I have so much to learn from you.”

“And I, you.”

“Come on, Piper! What could I teach you?”

“For starters, how two species that are so different are so much alike? This has really been a refreshing time for me. I find tension, stress, humor and happiness in equal measures in you and they appear to all function in harmony. I want to see how that happens.”

“Does this refreshment cause you to want to reproduce?”

“It’s close to my time but not soon.”

“Now that should be interesting.”

“You should also start thinking about finding a mate. You’re overdue.”

Jason’s mouth fell open and he could only shake his head.

• • •

Six hours later, Audrey contacted Jason, “The Admiral says you can take a break and come on board.”

“Audrey, I’m fine out here. I have enough to eat and I’ll contact you and let you know when I need to return.”

Audrey’s head went back and she looked at Chad. Chad smiled and nodded. “That’s fine, Captain Goddard. If our guest has any needs, please let us know.”

Jason thought, “Do you?”

“No.”

“He’s fine, Audrey.”

• • •

Audrey turned and looked at Chad, who said, “It appears our lad is learning.”

Audrey tilted her head, “It appears he is.”

• • •

“Lukas, it looks like our delaying tactics are about over.”

“It does look that way. I’ve ordered Gunny and Kitchens to stay out of harm’s way.”

“Do you think it worked?”

“I don’t know. The invaders still have millions of ships that are going to arrive here.”

“The fleets are out of DM rounds to fire at them.”

“We’ve had the converters working overtime at the Magnetar but they’ll have to come back home to replenish their supplies. The invaders will arrive at the edge of the galaxy before they could rearm and go back out.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I’m skipping the converters out to Andromeda to start collecting there. We’ve pretty much done all we can here.”

“What about the Fellowship?”

Lukas leaned back, “I’ve sent diagrams of our technology to the Welken Royal. I don’t think the Invaders will waste time attempting to conquer them. They’ll be scanning for Pat and won’t have the provisions to really go to war. Most of them are sending colony ships to another galaxy.”

“Are they going to Andromeda?”

“No Salud, I sent them the videos of the trouble we had there and they’re moving toward galaxies further away from the Virgo Cluster. Andromeda is too close.”

“Why did we go there if that’s the case?”

“Because it is our intent to continue the fight. We needed to be relatively close to make that happen. I’m still not sure we’ll be able to build the necessary forces to fight them.”

“But we’ve destroyed so many of their ships.”

“You’re forgetting the other civilization in M-87. I suspect that if the Orange Ships fail, they will be called in by the ones leading the attacks.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“Why do you think they’ve divided that galaxy without going to war? Their version of the Sentinels have probably prohibited it. That means they control both forces. Have you looked at Loree’s latest reports?”

“No. Have I missed something?”

“If you remember, when she left M-87 after the destruction of the conduit, she deliberately flew toward M-84.”

“I remember.”

“Our probes have shown a huge fleet of green ships leaving M-87 and headed toward M-84. I suspect they’re being sent to check out if there is a civilization that could represent a threat to them there. I believe they would have sent the Orange Ships if they weren’t tied down invading us. That has to mean their Sentinels can direct both of them.”

“So we haven’t even put a dent in the total number of ships they have to use?”

“It does appear that way. Remember, M-87 is three times larger than Andromeda and the Milky Way combined. This is not a war that can be won or lost quickly.” Lukas paused and took Salud’s hands, “I was wondering if you would go back to Boston with me before we’re forced to leave for Andromeda?”

“Why do you want to go there?”

“I was hoping you would agree to marry me there.”

Salud’s eyes went wide and she wrapped her arms around Lukas’ neck. She started crying and Lukas said, “If you don’t want to, I understand.”

“No, I mean yes. I’ll marry you, Lukas. I’ve been hoping you would ask for so long.”

“I was afraid you would say no; I am, or was, an alien.”

“You’re not any more. You’re more human than any of us. Let’s go now! I’ll contact Dad and he can meet us there.”

Lukas leaned back and looked into her eyes, “Are you sure about this?”

“I’ve never been more certain about anything in my life. We’re wasting time.”

Lukas smiled and said, “Willow, will you take us to Boston?”

“I’m waiting in the silo. I do trust you’re going to allow me to attend?”

Salud wiped her tears and said, “You’re going to be the maid of honor.”

Lukas said, “Contact Joey and see if he’s available to be the Best Man.”

There was a moment of silence and then Willow said, “He’s on the way to Boston. He’s honored you would ask.”

Salud said, “Contact Jack and see if we can do the ceremony at the restaurant.”

Lukas smiled and nodded.

“I hope you don’t mind but I also contacted Trevor and he’s on his way from Andromeda with Amanda. Jinks is also coming in with Stoney and Kathy.”

Lukas started shaking his head, “I thought we’d keep it small. But I’d love to see all of them.”

Salud stepped out of Lukas’ arms and took his hand and pulled him toward the door, “We’re wasting time. Let’s go!” Lukas moved toward the door as Salud started running and he ran with her.

• • •

“Captain Goddard?”

“Yes Sir.”

“I need you to report to the Troy.”

“Yes Sir. Is something wrong?”

“No, Julie and I are making a fast run back to Earth to attend a wedding. You’ve been promoted to Commodore and will be in command in my absence.”

“But Sir. I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”

“I believe you are ready; don’t disappoint me. I’ll be back in a few days.”

“Yes Sir.”

Jason shook his head and Piper said, “You’re ready.”

“But Piper. I could have caused a huge mistake if the Admiral had listened to me and attacked. I’ve still have a lot to learn.”

“That is what tells me you’re ready. You won’t rush into anything now.”

“Will you go with me so I can use your council if I need it?”

“Jason, I’ll certainly be a resource for you but you’re ready. If I were going into a battle, you are the one I’d want fighting with me.”

“But…”

“I also consider you a friend as well. You’ve come a long way over the last two months. You really are more than I thought and your Admiral was wise to see it in you.”

“Thank you, Piper. You’re much more than I thought as well. Let’s move over to the Troy.”

“I’m right behind you.”

Chapter Six

The restaurant was full and the staff were still crying from the ceremony. Salud was absolutely stunning. Joey got her measurements on the way and a dress was waiting for her when she arrived. She was amazed at how it fit her so perfectly. She kissed Joey right on the mouth and he turned six shades of red. Salud smiled and said, “Your partner is just going to have to accept it.”

Joey laughed, “He will. Congratulations. The two of you are perfect for each other.”

Salud walked over to her father and hugged him, “I love you so much, Dad.”

“Your mother would be so proud, Saludie.”

“I know. Are your proud?”

“More than you could ever know. He’s a good man. I know he’ll take care of you. I’ve been praying you would find someone before I joined your mother.”

“You are going with us, Dad.”

“No, I’m not. My place is here with your mother in what little time remains. I’ve had a good life and I’m ready to be with her if it comes to that.”

“Dad!”

“You know I’m right. I don’t have that much longer. I want to be here with her.” Salud sighed and wrapped her arms around him.

• • •

Jack was standing with Lukas and smiling, “It appears you have caused a rather huge traffic jam.”

Lukas looked out at the street and saw the police were having fits with the giant gathering that was still growing, “I guess the Pods hovering over the street are hard to miss.”

“That and the local news got wind of it. Everyone on the planet wants to see the one that saved us. You’ve managed to successfully stay behind the scenes. You’re going to have to go outside and at least wave.”

Lukas nodded and looked Jack in the eyes, “I have a shuttle coming in tomorrow at noon to pick you and the staff up to go to Andromeda.”

“Lukas…”

“Don’t argue, Jack. It’s time to go and they won’t leave without you.”

“Lukas, Mary is buried here. I won’t leave her behind.”

“Then plan to come back some day. This is not good-bye.”

“Tell me honestly, will we come back?”

“I will personally bring you back before all is said and done.”

“Do you promise?”

“I do. Earth may not be the same but I will.”

“Is Earth going to be destroyed?”

“I honestly don’t know, Jack, but the time to go is now.”

Jack stared at Lukas and looked at the workers that had been his life for the last fifteen years. They had refused to leave without him. “I’ll tell them.”

“Please do. They are just the sort of people we need on the new world.”

“There are billions that have refused to leave.”

Lukas shook his head, “I know. We’ve got four cities built and working on three more. More than a billion have left and I don’t know how to persuade the others to go.”

“We’ve all heard the announcements but I suspect there are many just like me that refuse to leave the ground where their families have been interred.”

“I know this is Holy Ground, Jack. We will not abandon it. One day we will come back and retake it. It might not happen in our lifetimes, but we will defend it as long as any of us are alive.” Lukas looked at Jack, “You will be buried with Mary.”

“Lukas, I want your absolute promise on that!!”

“I’ll make sure, Jack.” Jack stared into Lukas’ eyes and put out his hand. Lukas took it and shook it, before hugging Jack.

Salud came over and said, “I think we need to go outside and make an appearance.”

“We held the ceremony outside so Willow could take part.”

“I know, but the vast majority of them weren’t here when it happened.” Salud took his hand and led him toward the door.

He followed her outside and Joey lifted a microphone and said, “I present to all of you Mr. And Mrs. Lukas Axel.” Lukas turned and took Salud into his arms and kissed her tenderly. The huge crowd cheered and many began tossing flowers at them. Lukas looked out at the crowd and raised his arms. The roar grew in volume and was deafening. The news helicopters above the restaurant sent the feed to their stations and it was sent worldwide. Everyone agreed that the newlyweds were a beautiful couple. They stepped out to the police line and began shaking hands. Soon the other ONE WORLD officers joined them and the cheers continued non-stop. Stoney watched them and held Cathy under his arm. Christopher stood beside them and smiled. He looked at Kathy and whispered, “He’s my father.”

Kathy’s eyes went wide and she looked at her son, “How…how…”

“I can hear his thoughts. He’s really proud of me, Mom.”

Kathy pulled him into her arms and held him tight, “So am I, Chris; so am I?”

Christopher smiled, “I know.”

Lukas was shaking hands with people and heard in his mind, “Father, I think it’s time I was given my own Pod.”

Lukas’ head jerked around and he saw Christopher staring at him. “How do you know?”

“I can hear your thoughts, Father. If I’m going to make a difference, I need a ship to go out and find what we’ll need to win this war.”

“But you’re only…”

“I’m old enough! It’s time.” Lukas stared at the young boy and after a moment nodded. “I’ll keep this a secret; Stoney doesn’t need to know. He’s also a father to me.” Lukas smiled and turned back to the crowd.

Kathy looked at Lukas and knew Chris had been communicating with him. She felt something and knew her time with Chris was growing shorter. Her tears stared and Stoney’s eyebrows came together, “What’s wrong, Darling?”

Kathy wiped her eyes with her sleeve and said, “Weddings always make me cry.” Stoney pulled her closer as Kathy’s tears continued to fall.

• • •

Lukas and Salud went back inside and Lukas saw Pat sitting in the booth where they had originally met. Salud saw him as well and they walked to the rear of the restaurant and sat down on the seat opposite him. Lukas looked at Pat, “Are you responsible for stopping so many from leaving?”

“I am.”

“Why?”

“When the invaders arrive here, what do you think will happen if there aren’t any humans on the planet?”

They stared at Pat and Salud said, “They’ll go after the Fellowship.” Pat nodded.

“But they won’t see any technology on Earth. For all appearances, Earth is primitive.”

“If they take a close look they’ll see all the food converters and guess that you are trying to hide them.”

“But…”

“Your best and brightest have left; those that are still here really want to stay. I’ve just given them the courage to do it.”

“Pat, there are billions still here.”

Pat turned to Salud, “I know and I really hate it. But, there must be this many to ensure the Invaders see your planet as my home. I need to know if you’re going to attempt to defend the planet once it’s discovered.”

“That idea came from you, didn’t it?”

Pat smiled at Lukas, “It did. I need you to do that to make sure they don’t go looking elsewhere.”

“Do you really think it needs to be done?”

“It’s what will convince them that you’re the ones that have been harassing them. If you don’t, they’ll start looking for where the ships that have decimated them came from. I also need you to leave the facilities on the moon and not destroy them.”

Lukas took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “We’ll do as you ask. I just hate this.”

“As do we all, Lukas. Your Admiral in Andromeda was wise to refuse the help from my species. You must stop them from getting a handhold in your new civilization there.”

“Why do you say that, Pat?”

“They are incredibly brilliant but they are worthless when it comes to working with others. The Fellowship is a good example of their stupidity. Let them think about what’s happened for a few millennia and they might learn from their mistakes.”

“We’ll keep our distance.”

“That’s good.”

Salud shook her head, “Pat, are you sure you need to die here?”

“We’ve discussed why Earth was chosen.”

“That’s not what I mean. Do you have to die?”

“It’s the only way to stop their push to find me. I can’t very well put your planet up for execution and not pay the price with it. It has to be done.”

Salud reached across the table and took Pat’s hand, “Thank you for helping us. Thank you for so many things.” Pat stared at her and smiled just before he disappeared. Lukas looked out at the restaurant and saw no one was moving. Pat had frozen time again. They stood up, took a step, and everything started moving again. Lukas looked at Salud, “I’m going to miss him.”

“Me too Lukas. Me too.”

They walked over to Joey and Lukas said, “You need to pack up and get things moving to Andromeda.”

“Lukas, I’ve got the responsibility of getting the blackouts to operate.”

“You need to turn that task over to the United Government. We need you to go to Andromeda and get the currency we’re going to use straightened out. We don’t have anyone as knowledgeable about economics as you and we need you there. You’ve done a great job so far on the blackouts but we need you more at the new planet.”

Joey stared at Lukas and shook his head, “There are others that are better.”

“Not anyone that can be trusted to do it without self-interest. It’s time to go, Joey!”

“I’ll work on the blackouts for another week and then I’ll go.”

“Fair enough.”

• • •

Chad and Julie walked over with Summer and Salud said, “She just gets more beautiful every time I see her.”

Chad smiled, “She takes after her mother.”

“She has your face.”

Chad stared at Julie, looked at Summer, and smiled, “It is shaped like mine but she really looks like you.”

Salud took Summer and bounced her in her arms, “Get over it, she looks like both of you.” Summer started laughing and Salud said, “You’ve got a real heartbreaker here.”

Chad smiled, “Not until she’s thirty.”

Julie punched him in the ribs, “I’m not thirty, yet.”

“She will be.”

Lukas laughed and lifted his orange juice, “Here’s to being a parent.”

Salud said, “Salud!” Everyone laughed and the party continued.

• • •

Jason looked at the tactical monitor and saw the fleets were still in orbit above the planet. He turned to Audrey, “Have the new probes been put out?”

“They have, Sir.”

Jason jerked at the honorific and smiled, “Order half the ships to take a break. Those that have family on the surface can take it there. However, I want half of them taking it on the moon.”

“Yes Sir.”

Samantha said behind him, “Is it wise to send that many, Sir?”

Jason thought, “Piper, you’ll know if an aggressor enters your territory, won’t you?”

“I will be notified if one does.”

Everyone on the bridge heard the exchange and Jason said, “We don’t know when we’ll run into problems later but, for the moment, we need to give the fleet a break. We’ll take a break when the Admiral returns.” Samantha nodded. Jason looked back at the tactical, “I want a thousand Pods to skip out beyond the probes and keep an eye out for any skip traces.” Audrey nodded and turned to her panel.

Kenny looked at Jason, “What happens if they see any?”

“We’ll recall the fleet and send a Group to see what they are. Make sure they understand not to fire on anything before reporting in.”

“Why, Sir?”

“Because it might be one of our neighbors making a call to say hello. Make sure we get a feed on anything on the tactical monitor before we take any action. If it’s a large number of skip traces, order the fleet into orbit and send all the Pods out to intercept it.”

Audrey looked at Jason, “Will we be going out with the Pods?”

“No! We’re not going to leave the planet vulnerable until we determine what we’re facing. I suspect we’ll be fine until the Admiral returns but let’s not take any chances.”

Audrey smiled, “Yes Sir.” Samantha saw the smile and frowned.

Jason sat back in the Command Chair and said, “Piper, you were telling me that your species evolved on a planet. When did you leave and start living in ships?”

“Our sun was close to going nova. It was approaching the time when a sun had fused all the hydrogen into helium and didn’t have much longer before it exploded. We knew for millennia that it was headed that way so we started working on moving our society into starships.”

“How long ago was that?”

“About a million years ago.”

The bridge crew was stunned. Samantha said, “Do you mean to say your species is a million years old?”

“No, of course not.”

Jason laughed, “You’re saying you’re much older than that.”

“Well, we’d have to be to evolve into our ships from being planet dwellers. We evolved on the planet for more than two million years before we began exploring space. It took another five hundred thousand years to eventually evolve into being a part of our ships. We had all left the planet before the sun eventually blew up.”

Audrey shook her head, “Do you miss living on a planet?”

“Yes and no. I personally miss the personal interaction with others but the freedom offered by being able to explore the universe is worth what we gave up.”

Kenny said, “There has been a lot of argument among scholars but the current theory is that our earliest ancestors were on our planet about a million years ago.”

“They were!”

The bridge grew silent and Jason said, “How would you know that, Piper?”

“I remember hearing about one of my species seeing them and telling everyone that intelligent life would eventually develop on your home world.”

Jason shook his head, “I’m constantly amazed by how old your species is. Did you ever visit the galaxy the invaders are coming from?”

“Yes, but the species in control there is not worth visiting. They’re really paranoid.”

Samantha shook her head, “How many of you are there?”

“Billions, but we’re scattered all over the universe exploring things that interest us.”

Jason smiled and continued talking with Piper until he left the bridge to get some sleep. Once he left the bridge, Audrey turned to Kenny and shook her head, “He has changed.”

Kenny nodded, “He is different.”

Samantha listened to them discussing the change and recognized it as well. He would have never given half the fleet R and R in the past. He would have insisted on being at their strongest in the event of an opportunity for battle. He actually sounded…interesting. She looked at Audrey and said, “I’m calling it a day. Wake me up if something happens.” Audrey nodded and Samantha went to her quarters. Maybe she and Jason would get up at the same time.

• • •

Piper looked at the crew’s thoughts and chuckled. It appeared Jason might find a mate. There were two very intelligent women interested in him. This was going to be fun to watch.

• • •

Loree watched the giant fleet arrive at M-84 and start moving into the galaxy. She looked at Lance, “What are they doing?”

“It appears they are waiting at the edge of the galaxy.”

Loree stared at the tactical monitor and Frank shook his head, “Why are they just waiting?”

Loree said over her shoulder, “They’re waiting to see if they’ve been seen by an advanced civilization. We made them believe we came from there. If there’s an advanced civilization in M-84, they’ll have probes out.”

Emily stared at the monitor and said, “You don’t think they’ll just go in and start looking around?”

Loree shook her head, “There’s billions of stars in that galaxy. That’s a big fleet but it’s nowhere large enough to scout every star. No, they’re going to have to depend on being found. If nothing shows up, I suspect they’ll just go home.”

They waited for two days and then Lance said, “Sir, I have a small fleet of warships entering normal space near the Invader Fleet.”

“Put it on the monitor.”

Loree watched the two thousand warships stop four thousand miles in front of the huge Invader fleet. Lance said, “I have activity on several frequencies.” Loree nodded. The Invader fleet suddenly fell on the small fleet and blew the ships into rubble. The giant fleet vanished from normal space and Loree said, “Follow them but keep a safe distance.”

The LaGrange entered the void and followed the skip trace the small fleet had made. Emily moved the ship out of the void three hundred thousand miles out from a habitable planet. The crew watched as the Invader Fleet moved in and began firing brilliant beams at the planet’s surface. The debris of destroyed ships hung in space above the planet. Within an hour, the entire planet was on fire. Loree shook her head, “That’s what is going to happen to Earth if they find it.” The planet was burning but the Invaders continued to fire. Loree sighed and looked at Emily, “Get us out of here. Take us back to M-87.”

Frank watched the destruction and shook his head, “Do you think they’ll attack other planets?”

“No, they’ve delivered a message.” The LaGrange entered the void and skipped away. Everyone kept seeing the images of a living planet being burned into ashes in their minds.

Lance looked up, “Sir, the London has reported the Invaders have started building another conduit.”

“Notify the fleet and have them wait for our arrival.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Loree arrived and the new conduit was already extended more than two hundred thousand light years into the void. There were thousands of Invader Warships moving out into the void with it but none were protecting the conduit’s entrance outside the edge of M-87. She stared at the conduit and Frank said, “Sir?”

“We’ll wait.”

“Yes Sir.”

Loree heard the disappointment in Frank’s voice and she turned around, “I know they intend to deliver provisions through that conduit to their ships at the Milky Way. We need to allow them to get their hopes up before we dash them. If we hit them now, they’ll call in millions of ships to defend the next one. The longer we can delay hitting it, the more likely they’ll have to recall their ships. We’ll let them keep building it for a while. Move the fleet out beyond detection range.”

Lance nodded and began issuing orders.

• • •

The Supreme Supal looked at the spiral galaxy and waited to be attacked. After six days, he decided it wasn’t going to happen. He shook in his tub and growled. They weren’t going to give him a trace to follow. Whoever this species was, they were incredibly smart. He was going to have to find them the hard way. He said, “What’s the status on our provisions?”

“The passage is being constructed now.”

“How long do we have before we won’t have enough to make it back?”

“About four months, Supal.”

The Supal remained in its tub and knew his ships were at a critical stage. He thought about what to do and finally moved a limb out and pressed the general communicator, “We are going to start scouting this galaxy for the being we were sent here to find. You will be assigned stars to search and if you don’t find the energy of that being present, you will move to the next star you’re assigned. If any of you stop for anything other than search for that being, you will be executed. If you’re attacked, ignore it and move on to your next assignment. Fleet Supals will keep track of all the ships in their fleets and if any fail to report in, we will go to that ship’s last location to investigate. We don’t have long to do this so make sure you use your time wisely. We’ll issue the assignments momentarily and once you have yours, you may start your search.”

The Supreme Supal turned the communicator off and looked at his pilot, “You will follow those moving in the center.”

“Yes, Supal.” He looked at his monitors and hoped the conduit would arrive in time to provision his ships.

• • •

The Welken Royal looked at the giant Invader Fleet and listened to the transmission being sent. He waited as his computers deciphered the language and after an hour was given a report on its contents. He sent word out to every planet in the Fellowship that if any Invader Ships appeared in their territory, they were to be ignored. He knew the ones at risk were the humans on their home world. He shook his head and felt helpless. But he had to make sure his planets weren’t attacked…this time.

Chapter Seven

“Lukas, the Invaders have started their search. The Welken Royal has sent us a transcript of their orders.”

“Willow, how long before they reach the spiral arm Earth is located on?”

“About three and a half months.”

Lukas shook his head, “Damn! It’s going to be close.”

“What are we going to do?”

Lukas thought for a moment and said, “We’re going to set up an ambush at a hundred stars and destroy any Invader that shows up. If they stop to go to those planets, we may slow them down enough to prevent them arriving at Earth.” Jinks nodded and turned to the Officers in the Communications Center.

• • •

“Supal, one of our ships has not reported in.”

“WHERE?”

“It’s out from the second spiral arm.”

“Gather the fleet and meet at the last reported location.”

Gunny looked at the feed coming from the probe and smiled, “My do they move fast.” He reached over and pressed a button, “Kitch, you’re next.”

“We’re set up.”

“Hit them hard and fast.”

“No communications is the watch word. I’ll keep you posted.”

• • •

The Invader Fleet arrived at the disruption in the void and the fleet spread out and began scouting the planetary system. After two days, it became clear there was no habitable planet that had intelligent life. The Supal resumed the search and a day later another ship was destroyed further out on the arm than the last one. The fleet gathered and once again, nothing was found. The Supal screamed his frustration and his crew trembled. He shook his head, “How much longer before the conduit arrives?”

“A month.”

He shook his head and growled, “Continue the search.”

• • •

Loree saw Jinks appear on her monitor, “It’s time to take out the conduit.”

“Yes Sir.” Loree said, “Gather the fleet and launch the magnets a million light years out from M-87.” The fifty thousand Battleship Scouts gathered and launched a thousand high-powered magnets toward the Conduit. The magnets moved out and accelerated toward the huge orange tube that ran through the void. As they hit the conduit, Lance yelled, “I have a huge number of ships approaching through the void.”

“LAUNCH THE DM ROUNDS AND GET OUT OF HERE!!!” The fifty thousand battleships fired their cannons, turned and accelerated away from the conduit. The giant mass of Invader Warships turned toward them and Loree saw on her monitor that half of them were green in color. The two civilizations were now being used in the war. The Invaders gave chase but they were no match for the Scout’s speed. The Conduit went up in a gigantic disruption that caught the Invader Warships and washed over them. Loree watched the disruption roll in on her fleet and they used their force fields to spring off it and stay ahead of the fast moving front.

• • •

An Invader Warship jumped into the spiral arm and entered normal space briefly. It scanned the planets in the habitation zone and saw a small return. The third planet had a return that suggested high technology. It turned toward it and went into the void to get closer.

• • •

Jinks screamed, “WHERE DID THAT SHIP COME FROM!?!”

“Sir, it came from further out on the spiral arm. It must have lost its way or something.”

Jinks cursed under his breath. This was probably that damned Sentinel’s doing. Get the fleet in here and take it out.”

Gunny saw the transmission from Fleet Operations and pressed a blue button. The klaxons began wailing and every one began running to battle stations. He skipped his fleet and arrived at Earth just as the Invader Ship arrived. He fired on it but not before it got a message out. Gerome’s fleet arrived a moment later and Gunny appeared on his monitor, “Get your ships in formation inside the gravity limit. The main invader fleet will be arriving momentarily.”

• • •

The Supreme Supal looked at the message sent from one of his ships and saw thousands of ships skipping in around a blue and green planet. He started to order the fleet to the planet and heard, “Supal, the passage has just been destroyed.”

The Supal was silent. He was past the time limit he set for making it back. If he took the fleet in for an extended battle, none of his ships would make it back. He should contact the Great Leaders but he was not going to allow all of his ships to die of starvation. Mark the location of that planet and order the fleet back home.”

“Supal?”

“DO IT!!”

The millions of Invader Ships turned and headed out of the galaxy. Gunny waited and finally heard from the Welken that the Invaders were leaving the galaxy. He breathed a sigh of relief and Gerome said, “They know where we live.”

“Yes, but they’ve got to make it back. We’ve bought some time.”

“Gunny, we don’t have enough ships to stop them.”

“Perhaps we’ll be able to replace them before they come back.”

Gerome shook his head, “We’ll see.”

Both of them heard Loree’s message. “Another Invader Fleet has launched from M-87 and it’s just a large as the first one. It appears the two civilizations have combined their forces and are coming together!”

Gunny shook his head, “They’ll meet those ships from the first fleet half way and provision them. You’re right, Gerome, they’re coming here and there’s no stopping them.”

Suddenly they heard Jinks say, “The Invader Fleet has turned around and is coming back.”

Gunny took a deep breath, “Why would they do that, Sir?”

“It appears they know that the fleet leaving M-87 will have provisions for them. They’ll only have to have enough to meet them halfway and I think they have enough to do that. We’re evacuating all essential personnel and I expect you to make sure we don’t lose your fleets. Move outside the gravity limit and open fire as soon as they arrive; then get the flock out of Dodge.”

“Is there nothing we can do to save Earth?”

“You’ve done an outstanding job and you’ve come close to making it work. I think the discovery of Earth is what caused that second fleet to be launched. Get some shots in and leave, that’s an order.”

Gunny looked at Earth hanging like a beautiful jewel and saw the colony ships blasting off. They screamed outside the gravity limit and skipped away. Hundreds of pods began appearing as they came off Earth’s surface and boosted toward the gravity limit. Gunny stared at Earth hanging in space and pressed his panel, “Jinks.”

“Yeah, Gunny.”

“Would you have run in Mosul if you could have fought for the women?”

“Gunny!”

“Kitchens can leave but I’m not leaving.”

“GUNNY, I GAVE YOU A DIRECT ORDER!!”

“I’ll pass it on to my fleet but my crew and I are staying. Make them pay for this, Jinks!”

The message was sent to the two fleets but none of them moved out of formation. Jinks looked at the monitor and saw the feed coming from the void probe. He saw the giant mass of ships moving through the void and felt sick to his stomach. He looked Lukas, “I’ve got to go back!”

Lukas shook his head, “I can’t lose you, Jinks.”

Sarah walked over and put her arms around him. Jinks stared at the monitor and slowly shook his head. “Lukas, that damned Sentinel is making them stay! It probably directed that ship to Earth!”

Lukas took a deep breath, blew it out slowly, and then nodded. Jinks wanted to kill that Sentinel but knew the Invaders would probably do it for him. A giant swarm of Orange Warships appeared in normal space and Jinks felt his tears as Gunny’s and Gerome’s Fleets opened fire. It was too little and too late. The fleets had rearmed and the missiles and DM rounds went out into the mass of ships and the explosions were massive and across a wide front. The number of destroyed Invader ships was incredible but they kept on coming and eventually they overwhelmed the defenders. Then the carnage began as the Orange Warships moved into orbit and began firing on the surface. Fires raged around the planet and still the invaders fired on the planet.

Jinks watched the monitor and refused to look away. It was only after Earth was completely covered by black clouds of smoke that he finally looked away. He looked at Lukas and they shared a message without speaking a word. This wasn’t the end and the Invaders were going to pay for this blasphemy.

Everyone on the battleship was weeping and continued all the way to Andromeda. The last thing Lukas saw on the monitor was a brilliant white flash as the Invaders opened fire on Pat. He closed his eyes and blew out a breath again. He looked at Jinks, “Recall Admiral Barber’s Scouts to Andromeda.”

Jinks nodded and said, “Later.”

Lukas nodded and left the bridge with Salud.

• • •

They arrived in their quarters and Salud feel in his arms. “Why did he do it, Lukas?”

“If he didn’t, they would return with a fleet and go after the Fellowship.”

“They’re doing that now!”

“No, I think he knew they would turn around once they provision the first fleet.”

“Why would they?”

“Because they had to strip two galaxies of warships to do this. They’ll have to restore order before they worry about coming back and that could take some time. He made Gunny and Gerome’s fleet stay to make sure the Invaders knew they destroyed the right planet.”

“He used us like we were nothing!”

“No, he did all he could to save as many of us as possible but what he did at the end was necessary to buy us time.”

Salud wept, “So many good people…” Lukas nodded and held her close.

• • •

Chad and the crew on the Troy watched the destruction of Earth and their anger was palatable. Jason watched on Astro’s panel and felt immense sorrow. “Do you wish you were there?”

“I don’t know, Piper. I would have died with all the others in a lost cause. I want to make a difference and dying isn’t it. It’s not smart to fight an uneven fight.”

“In your planet’s case, they had no choice but to fight.”

Jason shook his head, “I’m frustrated by a universe that is filled with aggressive civilizations. What’s wrong with peace?”

“That is the question.”

“Blessed are the peacemakers.”

“Sometimes it takes a little war to bring peace.”

“This is not a little war. You saw the numbers that were attacking.”

“Numbers aren’t the issue. It’s being able to handle them. If you could destroy every one of the invaders, would you?”

“The way I feel right now, I would but I know that would really weigh on my conscience. I think I would beat on them until they called uncle and agreed to leave us alone.”

“And if they didn’t?”

Jason sighed and shook his head, “I know this sounds bad to you but there are consequences for our actions. That also holds true for others as well. If the invaders can’t live in peace then they need to be removed as a barrier to making it happen.”

“You are showing wisdom my friend. You’ve come a long way.”

“I still want to fight.”

“Because you are being attacked. Your species didn’t start it but you should work hard to end it.”

“Thanks, Piper. If you don’t mind, I’m going back to the Troy to grieve with my crew.”

“I understand.” Piper watched the small ship move away and replayed the recording of the planet’s destruction.

“This is not our fight.”

“I know.”

“We can’t take on every problem we encounter.”

“I KNOW!”

“You like this species.”

“Why don’t you come over here and try to dislike them.”

“Piper, they have to find their own destiny. We’ll stunt their development if we get involved in this.”

“I know. I just dislike species like that one.”

“I suspect your friends will ultimately teach them a lesson.”

“They’re also your friends as well, Clipper.”

“I know. They really remind me of what we were once long ago.”

“Thanks for calming me down. I appreciate it.”

“Do you want me to replace you?”

“No. I’m ok.”

“There is a young human child that arrived from their planet and he can hear us.”

“What?”

“It appears he has telepathic skills that are starting to develop. Keep that in mind.”

“Thanks for letting me know.”

• • •

Christopher sat in his quarters and smiled. They were on to him. He laughed. This was going to be fun. “Not as much as you think!”

Chris sat straight up. His eyebrows came together and he thought, “So you can hear my thoughts.”

“You can hide them unless I deliberately look at your mind. That’s a pretty clever plan you have.”

“Drat! I didn’t want you to see it. Oh well.”

“No, no, don’t get the wrong idea. We don’t interfere unless our security is an issue. I think you’re on the right trail. I do see you getting some pushback from your father.”

“Which one?”

Piper laughed, “It’s good you know you have two. Admiral Stone will not agree to you doing this without your revealing who your real father is and I know your mother doesn’t want that known.”

“May I use you as an excuse?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ll tell him I’m going to attend one of your schools.”

“We don’t have schools; we live in space.”

“But he doesn’t know that.”

“I won’t deliberately deceive him.”

“Why not? You deceived us with the remote control ship you used.”

“My, you are the tricky one. I will agree to say that you’re going out to learn from some of us.”

“I must say that hybrid brain of yours is interesting. When did the telepathy start?”

“About a month ago. I seem to sense there are some remarkable changes taking place as I grow older.”

“How old are you now?”

“Ten.”

“You’re just starting to enter puberty. That’s when your body, and mind, will undergo some radical changes. I see you’ve been following Amanda Ambrose around.”

“She knows the most about our reactors. I’m absorbing what she knows along with Trevor’s knowledge about weapons.”

“That’s interesting.”

“Not nearly as interesting as the skin on your vessel.”

“WHAT? Don’t tell me you know about that?”

“I can see your mind quite clearly when you focus on mine.”

“They I’ll just have to avoid looking at your mind.”

“Relax, Piper. You’re a friend. I would never do anything to harm you or your species.”

“You don’t think like a normal human adolescent.”

“I don’t talk like one either. My vocabulary has grown tremendously since this telepathy started.”

Piper was silent for a moment and then thought, “Maturing is more than just your body changing. A normal human child would have to experience many things before they learned how to get around in the world as an adult. I can see your brain is absorbing all the experiences of those whose minds you look in. You’re going to be old long before your time.”

“Piper, how can you sit in space and say that?”

“What? What do you mean?”

“You’re twenty thousand years old, or older. Do you think you’re old before your time? Haven’t you been roaming around the universe absorbing others thoughts? I don’t see you as old at all.”

“Now you’re sounding like Amanda. I see what you’re saying. If the brain is capable of absorbing huge amounts of material, age is not an issue.”

“Exactly.”

“So how are you going to do this?”

“Well, here’s what I thought I would do to help my case with my parents.”

Piper listened to Chris’s plan and after a moment started laughing. “You are really devious.”

“Do you think it will work?”

“Appearances are everything. After the shock, you should get your way.”

“Would you mind discussing physics with me?”

“Oh hell no! You’re going to have to learn on your own. By the way, I picked that expression up from Jason. But it is appropriate for this situation.”

“You’re afraid I might find something?”

“I really thought your species would take hundreds of years before they could go back to their home galaxy. You will probably shorten that time considerably.”

“That’s the plan. I intend to take my parents back home in their life time.”

“You’re probably the most frightening being I’ve ever encountered.”

“Come on, Piper. I’m just a kid.”

“Tell that to someone that might believe it. However, let me know if I can help you.”

“Thanks, that means a lot.”

“I can’t interfere but I can tell you if you’re on the wrong track.”

“I can see why Jason likes you so much.”

“And I like him as well.”

Oops, Mom’s coming to put me to bed. Talk to you later.”

• • •

Piper thought about the mind he had just seen and after an hour he contacted the three Elders. Their discussion lasted eighteen hours. At the end there was concern about the future development of their guests. They considered changing their minds and asking them to leave but Piper made the point that it would be better to watch what was happening than to have the humans harbor ill will toward them in the future. The Elders finally agreed.

• • •

The Supreme Supal looked at the Great Leader on his monitor, “I saw the being die under our beams, Great Leader.”

“The Legends agree that it appeared to have been unincorporated.”

“When am I going back?”

“You will not be returning soon.”

“Why not. That galaxy is open for conquest.”

“We’re about to lose the ones we’ve already conquered. You will return with the fleet that was coming to provision your vessels and immediately leave for the conquered galaxy to restore order. Once we have regained control, we’ll look at going back to that galaxy.”

The Supal was furious. He lost almost seventy percent of his ships just to kill one being. It felt like a waste without conquering that galaxy. But he knew he had no choice, “Yes Great Leader. We will move to the passage as soon as we arrive. I notice that the others have sent their ships as well. Is that a good thing?” The Great Leader stared at the Supal in silence and the Fleet Commander saw the barely restrained rage in the Great Leader’s color. He quickly said, “I’m glad you were coming to provision my ships. Any help is good.”

The Great Leader’s color changed slightly and the Supal knew he appreciated not being pushed on the inclusion of the others. “Move your fleets quickly to the passage. There are numerous rebellions to put down.”

“Yes, Great Leader.”

Chapter Eight

“Chris, I don’t like this idea.”

“Mom, I don’t know how I can convince you but this is something that has to be done. You above anyone, other than Lukas and Salud, should know that I’m unique. That difference is what’s driving this decision.”

“Chris, you no longer sound like my little boy. What’s happened to you?!”

“I’m aging mentally at a different rate than normal human children. I know to you I look like an ordinary ten year old but I’m far beyond that now.”

“But less than several months ago…”

“The changes started as I entered puberty and they’re accelerating. I love you more than you’ll ever know and I know what you’ve done to protect me over the years. But now I have to move toward what I am destined to do.”

“What is your destiny, Son?”

“To protect you and all the rest of Mankind. You’re going to have to support me in this. Will you do it?” Kathy fought back her tears but nodded. “Let’s go have a talk with Lukas.”

“Now?!”

“Now.”

• • •

“Lukas.”

“Yes, Kathy.”

“Chris and I need to have a private discussion with you.”

“Meet me in my conference room.”

“We’re on the way.”

Kathy lowered her arm and Chris hugged her, “Thanks, Mom.”

• • •

Lukas looked at Kathy and Chris and shook his head, “I don’t know about this.”

Kathy shook her head and Chris said, “Mom doesn’t either but you’re going to have to agree to it.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t develop any further here. I have to go out and find what we’re going to need to defeat those that are trying to kill us.”

“Why can’t you do that here?”

“Because you are also as far as you’re going to develop in the short term. The advances now will come at a slower and slower pace. I intend to shorten that time.”

“What do you want, Chris?”

“I want my own Pod. I also want to go out with Willow and have her teach me how to fly one.”

“Stoney is not going to like this. Have you considered that?”

“I have and I do not intend to tell him that you’re my Father. But first things first. I need to go out with Willow.”

“Why Willow?”

“Because she was there before I was born. I’d like to talk with her.”

Lukas looked at Kathy, “He is not a normal ten year old.”

“You weren’t a normal twenty year old when you arrived either, Lukas. You were far beyond a normal human the same age. I have to keep telling myself that to keep from losing my mind.” Chris leaned over and hugged her.

Lukas sighed and said, “Willow, are you available to take Chris out?”

“I am. Why?”

“I’m going to let him tell you. However, please meet him at the space port just outside the Fleet Headquarters building.”

“I’ll be there momentarily.”

Lukas looked at Chris, “I’m nervous about you doing this, Chris.”

“You caused quite a bit of nervousness with the ones you originally met as well but look at how everything turned out.”

Lukas nodded slowly and turned to Kathy, “He’s becoming something different from all of us. We have to allow him to discover who he is.”

Chris smiled, “Don’t you mean what I am?”

“No, I meant who you are. I knew your mind was going to be something different from any Welken or Human brain.” Lukas looked at Kathy as he said, “I know who your parents are and I know you’ve been given a good example to follow. Don’t do something that would make me regret doing this.”

“I’ll do my best.” Chris leaned down and kissed his mother and smiled at Lukas before he walked out of the conference room.

“Lukas, are we doing the right thing?”

Lukas smiled at Kathy, “He’s here for a reason, Kathy. I don’t know what it is but you and I were brought together ten years ago to bring him into existence. We can’t hold him back.”

Kathy nodded and said, “Thank you, Lukas. I would have died if you hadn’t intervened when I was attacked.”

“I believe that was part of the destiny that made it happen.” Kathy stared at him for a moment, stood up, and left the room. Lukas watched her leave and wondered what they had made.

• • •

“Are you comfortable?”

“I am Willow.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Take me out to the Silver Ship.”

“Why?”

“I want to have a discussion with him.”

“You’re the boss.”

“Am I?”

“What?”

“The boss.”

“For this trip, you are.” Chris nodded as Willow lifted from the sidewalk in front of the giant building and rose into the sky. Chris knew Willow was going to have to be convinced before she would cooperate with his plan.

Willow accelerated out to the Silver Ship and Chris spoke his thoughts so Willow could hear, “Hi, Piper. Is it possible for you to send your thoughts electronically?”

“Why would you want me to do that?”

“My ship can’t hear telepathy because it doesn’t have an organic brain. I want it to hear what we’re saying.”

“I am now transmitting electronically. Can it hear me?”

Willow said, “I can hear you perfectly.”

Chris smiled, “Piper, my ship’s name is Willow.”

“Ahhh, it’s the escape pod that took the Welken to your planet. It’s good to meet you, Willow.”

“Thank you. The feeling is mutual.”

“What’s going on, Chris?”

“Piper, you said the other day that I am the most frightening being you have ever encountered. Why did you say that?”

Willow said, “Did you actually say that?”

“I did. You have a mind very much like my species but you appear to be able to process what you experience in an incredibly remarkable and organized fashion. You can put things together that others are blind to. Your development is extraordinary and I suspect you will be a force to reckon with in the near future. Why did you want me to tell you this again?”

“I wanted my ship to hear you.”

Willow and Piper said at the same time, “Why?”

Chris smiled, “Because I am going to ask Willow to do some things that she wouldn’t do as long as she saw me as a child.”

“You are far from a child.”

“Wait a minute! I was there when Chris was conceived. He’s only ten years old. That is a child.”

“Normally, you would be correct, Willow. However, what affect do you think absorbing the mental content of Trevor, Amanda, Jinks, Lukas, Salud, and Chad into a human’s mind would have?”

“Is that possible?”

“I’ve looked at Chris’s mind and their experiences are all there. He’s matured at an astounding speed since he started puberty. He’s far beyond any human I’ve ever seen. What are you going to ask Willow to do?”

“I’m going to ask him to use his DNA processors to change my body to that of a twenty year old.”

Both of them said at the same time, “WHAT!?!”

“Both of you know appearances are everything. As long as everyone sees a child, that’s how they’ll see me. I’ve got to move beyond that so I can do what must be done.”

Willow said, “No one is going to accept my doing that, Chris.”

“That’s why I brought you here. You wouldn’t believe me if I simply told you I’m no longer a human child, would you?”

“No.”

“Do you now believe me?”

“I’m reluctant to believe it but it appears Piper does.”

“Trust me on this, Willow; he’s not a child.”

“Just how are you going to explain this to your parents and Lukas, Chris?”

“I’m going to tell them that I had you do it so I could go out and be taught by the Silver Ships. I need the body to be taken seriously by them.”

“Stoney and Kathy will never agree to this.”

“They will if you tell them I’m right.”

“I would never lie to them.”

“It’s not a lie. Besides, I want you to go with me.”

“Where?”

“I’m going out into this galaxy and if I don’t find what I’m looking for, I’m moving out into the universe to explore other civilizations.”

“What are you looking for, Chris?”

“The means to defeat the invaders and take back our galaxy.”

Willow was silent and after a few moments Piper said, “I believe he might just do it.”

Willow continued her silence and after a minute passed she said, “Piper, how do you feel about him doing this?”

“It scares the crap out of my Elders. There is a real possibility that humans could become a danger to us.”

“They aren’t now?”

“No, we can defeat them rather easily. However, he may just come back with technology that would overwhelm my defenses.”

“I would think you’d be against helping him do this.”

“I’m suffering from mixed emotions on this. Your leaders have agreed to share whatever weapons you develop with us or I think we’d take action against you.”

“You really are serious about this?”

“You don’t sound like a computer to me.”

“There’s been some discussion among the Sentinels that I might actually be alive. The jury is still out but my processors are different from other computers.”

“Now that is an interesting development. Would you like to be able to hear telepathy?”

“How is that possible?”

“I’ll send you a link that you can install in your data circuits that will convert telepathic thoughts into electronic waves.”

“Why would you do that?”

“You’re the first mechanical life form I’ve ever encounters that, for all intents and purposes, sounds alive. I’d like to be able to discuss this with you in the future.”

“I’d welcome the gift, Piper.”

“Move up next to me and I’ll extend an arm and put it in your cockpit.”

Willow said, “Chris?”

“Do it. I’ll put on my helmet and pressurize my suit until the transfer is done.” Willow moved over to the Silver Ship and a long white rod extended from it out to just outside Willow’s cockpit. Chris said, “I’m pressurized.”

The cockpit opened and the arm went inside and dropped a small translucent cube into Chris’s lap. “Insert it into a reader and the link will be made.”

Chris looked at the small cube and saw it was made to fit Willow’s data input slot. “Piper, you didn’t just make this.”

“No, I made it after our last conversation. I want you to be able to contact me when you leave. The fact that your ship is intelligent is a plus.”

Chris inserted the cube into the reader slot and Willow transferred the contents into his processors. Piper said, “I’m no longer transmitting electronically; can you hear me?”

“I can.”

“You are also transmitting telepathically, Willow.”

“I can see your pattern.”

“That’s the one you want to use if you need to contact me.”

“But I haven’t agreed to go with Chris.”

Piper mentally chuckled, “How’s your life at the moment?”

“What do you mean?”

“How interesting is your life?”

“Honestly, it’s rather dull at the moment. Not much is going on.”

“Tell me honestly that you don’t want to go.”

Willow was silent and after a few moments she said, “You’re right. I’d be second guessing myself from now on if I didn’t.”

“Willow, I need your commitment to follow my orders if you choose to go.”

“Lukas is going to kill me!”

“No he’s not. Now, will you make the modification?”

“It’s going to take ten hours. Since you’re already human, it won’t take as long as it took me to change Lukas from a Welken to Human.”

“Well, let’s get started.”

“Close your eyes and try to get comfortable.” Chris closed his eyes and leaned his chair back. A sparkling mist surrounded him and he lost consciousness. Lukas and Kathy tried to contact Chris but Willow told them he was transferring information from Piper’s data banks. They demanded he contact them when the process was complete.

Piper chuckled, “You are going to get yelled at.”

“I won’t hear it. I’m skipping away when I drop him off.”

“You big sissy.”

“You better believe it.” Piper laughed and they talked while Chris was undergoing the metamorphosis.

• • •

The process was finally complete and Chris opened his eyes. He looked at his hands and saw they were much larger than before. He shook his head and said in a deeper voice, “Take me to my home, Willow.”

“You aren’t going to see Lukas at Fleet?”

“No, I have to discuss this with my parents.”

Willow turned away from Piper and thought, “Thanks, Piper.”

“Don’t mention it. Stay in touch.”

“We will.” Willow accelerated toward the planet and arrived outside Chris’s house. He climbed out of Willow and went to the door. He opened it and was greeted by Stoney, “It’s customary to knock before entering.”

Chris looked at him and said, “Dad, it’s me.” Stoney’s eyebrows came together and his mouth fell open. Kathy had come out of the kitchen and she fell back into a chair. “I had Willow use his DNA processor to accelerate my body’s growth.” Stoney and Kathy could only stare at him. Stoney finally said, “Lukas is your father.”

Chris and Kathy were both stunned by the statement and Stoney turned to Kathy, “That’s why he had Julie pick you up before Earth was attacked the first time, isn’t it?” Kathy lowered her head and nodded. Stoney turned back to Chris, “I can see Lukas in you. I’ve seen it before but it’s clear the two of you are related.” Stoney turned to Kathy, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I was afraid I’d lose you. I love you so much and I couldn’t bear the thought of you leaving.”

Stoney went over, took Kathy’s hands, pulled her out of the chair, and put his arms around her, “If I could choose Chris’s father out of everyone in existence, I’d have chosen Lukas. This happened during your first marriage?”

Kathy nodded, “My first husband was sterile and we agreed to find a suitable father. After Lukas saved me from the gang’s attack, I tricked him into it. Later, Charles couldn’t deal with it and left me.”

Stoney shook his head, “You and Lukas were being manipulated by that Rogue Sentinel. It’s not something you should blame yourself for, Kathy. I love you and knowing who Chris’s father is won’t change that. Does Lukas know?” Kathy nodded. Stoney looked at Chris, “So he’s your real father.”

Chris shook his head, “He’s my biological father. You are my real father, Stoney. You always will be.” Chris walked forward and put his arms around Stoney and hugged him tightly. Stoney returned his hug and sighed, “You have no idea how much I appreciate you saying that. Now it makes sense that you want to leave.”

Kathy said, “What?”

Stoney looked at her, “Kathy, our son is different. Haven’t you seen that?”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s always seen things that a normal child his age would miss. I suspect it has something to do with the combination of a Human and Welken brain.” Stoney turned to Chris, “But this changing your body is not something I like. You should have discussed this with us before you did it.”

“I can always have Willow change it back if it would make you feel better but I need to look this age to be taken seriously, Dad.”

Stoney slowly shook his head, “I guess. I just hate you’re leaving. Kathy told me and I told her that I’d never allow it. Now, I guess you know what you must do.”

“I do and it’s time to start.”

“Well, you’re not going to like what I did, then.”

Chris stared at Stoney and said, “What are you talking about?”

“I told Lukas that I refused to allow you to leave and he insisted that you must go. He was evasive about the reason and now I know why.” Stoney turned to Kathy, “Do not tell him that I know about him being Chris’s father.”

“Why not?”

“Kathy, I don’t want him to feel uncomfortable around me.”

“Won’t you feel uncomfortable around him?”

“No, he’s Lukas, for God’s sake. There’s not a bad bone in his body. I want you to tell me how it happened later but I insist on this. That means I’ll have to insist on what we agreed on.”

“What exactly did you agree on, Dad?”

“I told him that I would allow you to go as long as a responsible adult went with you.”

Chris looked up at the ceiling and shook his head, “Who?”

“Lukas chose Audrey Allen to leave with you.”

Chris sat down in a chair and put his head in his hands, “Can’t you get him to agree to not send her now that I’m twenty.”

“But you’re not twenty. We’ll try but I’m forced to insist she goes or he’ll know I know.”

Chris blew out a quick breath and Kathy said, “She could be an asset, Chris. She’s one of the smartest officers in the Fleet and she’s been slotted for promotion to a Flag Rank later.”

Chris could only shake his head and look at the floor.

• • •

Audrey sat in her chair on the bridge of the Troy and shook her head, “Sir, I did not sign up to be a baby sitter. I will resign before I’m forced to do this.”

“Do what you must, Captain, but if you intend to stay in this navy you will follow your orders. This came from our supreme commander and we will honor his request. Is that clear?”

Audrey was mad and she stared at Chad and saw Samantha sitting in her chair behind him smiling. Samantha was going to put the moves on Jason in her absence, she just knew it. Her smug smile made her even angrier. “I asked you a question, Captain!”

Audrey forced herself to say, “Yes Sir, it is.”

“Do you choose to resign?”

“No Sir.”

Chad nodded, “This assignment will not take long and you’ll be welcomed back. Go and pack what you’ll need. He will be arriving within the hour.”

“Yes Sir.” Audrey stood up and left the bridge.

• • •

“What do you mean you’re going with him?”

“He is going to need all the help we can give him, Lukas. I think I will be better used to assist him. You know there’s not much for me to do for the immediate future while the planet is being settled.”

“Are you sure about this, Willow?”

“I am.”

“Just make sure both of you come back.”

“I’ll certainly do my best to make that happen. I must confess that he is quite extraordinary. You’ve got a remarkable son.”

“I’m shocked his parents agreed for him to go.”

“Well, they have, so we need to get moving before they change their mind. I’m picking him up at his quarters and taking him to the Troy to pick up Captain Allen.”

“She’s not very happy with this assignment.”

“Neither of them are happy about it but I think another person on board will help make sure good decisions are made. I’ll let you know how things work out.”

“Make sure you stay in touch.”

“I will.”

• • •

Chris and Willow arrived on the Troy and Chris took the tube to the bridge. He walked in and saw Chad look up, “Who are you?”

“Sir, I’m Christopher Stone.”

The entire bridge crew stopped what they were doing and stared at the young man standing just inside the entrance to the bridge. They saw a tall man with hair so blonde it almost looked white. His eyes were deep blue and his features were familiar. “I was told Christopher Stone is ten years old.”

“I had Willow use his DNA processors to change my body to that of a twenty year old, Sir.”

“For God’s sake why?”

“Because appearances are everything and I want my instructors to take me seriously. I can always change it back later.”

“You don’t sound like a ten year old.”

Chris smiled, “I have a deeper voice now.”

Samantha stared at Chris and shook her head. He was absolutely gorgeous. There was an air of command about him, which was crazy for a ten year old to have. Audrey walked through the entrance with a duffle bag and stopped beside Chris. She saw everyone staring at her and she looked up at Chris, “Are you my replacement?”

“No.”

“Then who are you?”

“I’m sorry, I’m Christopher Stone.”

Audrey stared at him and then turned to Chad, “Is this some kind of sick joke?”

Chris said, “Why do you say that?”

“I’m supposed to be babysitting a ten year old.”

Chris saw her anger and smiled, “That’s me.”

Audrey turned to Chad, “This is no ten year old!”

“Captain, he’s been genetically modified by Willow. He is Christopher Stone. The two of you should get underway.”

“But…”

“NOW CAPTAIN!”

Chris smiled and said, “I’ll try to not mess up my diaper too much. Let’s go.” Chris turned and walked off the bridge and Audrey stared at Chad and saw him starting to get angry. She turned and followed Chris. What had she done so wrong to get this assignment? She missed the sled Chris took and waited for the second to enter the tube. She shook her head and wondered where she had seen him; he really looked familiar.

Chad watched them leave and knew that Chris had to be related to Lukas. He was the spitting image of him. The crew looked at him and he said, “Jason, you’ll take Audrey’s place until her replacement arrives.”

“Yes Sir.”

Samantha said, “Yes,” under her breath.

Chapter Nine

Audrey arrived in the landing bay and saw Chris climbing into the cockpit. She frowned and walked toward the Attack Pod and saw the port open on the side. She tossed her duffel bag inside and went around to the other side to climb on board. She arrived and Chris had the monitor already showing a star map of their location on the display. She sat back in her chair and Chris said, “You don’t want to be here do you?”

Audrey said sarcastically, “Imagine that.”

Chris turned to her and she saw his demeanor changed, “Captain, I am not a ten year old. Quite frankly, I’m probably older than you are mentally and the evidence of your demeanor at the moment supports that view. Willow, take us out while I update the Captain on what we’re doing.”

“Lifting now.”

“This pod is Willow?”

“Indeed it is, Captain. The one and only.”

Chris smiled briefly at Willow’s remark and turned back to Audrey, “We are going out to find the means of defeating the invaders so we can take back our home. I didn’t want anyone going with me but got trapped into taking you. I assure you that you will not need to do any babysitting and I hope you can make yourself useful on this voyage. However, you are not in command and if you cause me too much grief, I’ll drop you off at a habitable planet until I finish my task. I’ll pick you up then. Is that clear?”

Audrey’s eyes narrowed and she heard Willow say, “I’d listen to him, Audrey. He’s much more than you can imagine and he is the commander of this mission.”

She stared at Chris and raised her eyebrows. “Then what was this mess about a ten year old?”

“Chronologically, I am ten years old. However, I am telepathic and have absorbed more information than someone who is fifty years old. It is my intent to make sure mankind is never threatened again and this voyage is where I’m going to find the tools we’ll need to make sure no one can ever threaten us again.”

“And you honestly think you can do that?”

“If I didn’t, we wouldn’t be doing this. However, hold your judgment until you can determine if I’m an egotistical maniac or there is some substance to what I’m saying. In the meantime, I understand that you are one of the best in the fleet at using star maps. Is that true?”

Audrey stared at Chris and said, “First, I don’t want you looking in my mind without permission; do you agree?” Chris nodded. “Second, my name is Audrey, not Captain.” Chris nodded again and smiled. “And lastly, what exactly are you looking for?”

“According to Piper, all of the civilizations that greeted us when we arrived are located in the nebula Eden is located.”

“Eden?”

“That’s the name of our new world.”

Audrey smiled, “It fits. Are you looking to find those civilizations?”

“No, they don’t have anything to offer us. The only ones that do are the Silver Ships and they aren’t going to willingly share their technology with us.”

“Why not?”

“Because if we surpassed them technologically, we could pose a danger to them.”

“You said ‘willingly’.”

“Piper made the mistake of briefly opening his mind to me and I pretty much saw most of his defensive and offensive weapons. Although they’re strong, we need something better. We’re going outside the cluster to scout other civilizations and if necessary, go to other galaxies to find what we need.”

Audrey stared at Chris and shook her head, “So this isn’t going to be a short trip?”

“It could be, but I doubt it.”

Audrey sighed, “I guess the Admiral was wrong and I’m going to have to let that hussy have Jason.”

“You’re talking about Samantha.”

“How did you know?”

“No, I didn’t look in your mind but even an idiot could see her happiness at your leaving.”

“I was hoping I could get his attention.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s pretty special.”

“Yes he is. However, he’s already chosen Samantha and you’d only be hurt if you tried and failed.”

“Why would he want her instead of me?”

“He’s somewhat intimidated by you. You’re a rather strong willed and smart officer and it’s going to take someone like that to make you, and them, happy. You need to allow them room to see if they can have a good relationship. If they can’t, he’ll be around when we come back.”

“You do not sound like a ten year old!”

“He gets that a lot, Audrey.”

Chris burst out laughing, “I do, don’t I?” Chris turned back to Audrey, “I need you to choose where we go first.”

Audrey sighed and looked at the star map, “If you’re looking for an advanced civilization you probably want it to be an aggressive one.”

“I do.”

Audrey nodded, “How are you going to find one; this galaxy is huge.”

“I’ll listen mentally for them. I need you to keep up with where we search so we don’t waste time.”

“Willow, take us above this galaxy so we can look down on it from a distance.”

“Skipping now.”

Chris said, “What are you thinking?”

“Ninety percent of all habitable planets are found orbiting either a red giant or a class G star. We need to take a look from above the plane of this galaxy to see where most of them are located. Once we do that, you can turn your attention to the area with the most density of those type of stars.”

Chris smiled, “I think this is going to work out.”

“Have you considered that if we encounter a really advanced, aggressive civilization that they can probably destroy us?”

“First things first; let’s find one.”

• • •

Chad watched the pod skip away and shook his head. He went to his conference room and contacted Julie, “Jules, Kathy’s son really looks a lot like Lukas.”

“That’s because he’s the father.”

“WHAT?”

“Kathy told me when I took her to the island before the first Johan attack. I don’t even think she remembers telling me she was so frightened and stressed at the time.”

“Does Stoney know?”

“I don’t think so but I’m pretty certain Salud does. You need to keep this to yourself.”

“I will, I will. It’s just…”

“What?”

“He used Willow’s DNA processors and changed his body to that of a twenty year old. He really looks like Lukas.”

“Why did he do that?”

“To stop people from seeing him as a ten year old.”

“But he is ten.”

“He doesn’t act like it. He has that sense of presence like Lukas. I’m wondering if I should have sent Audrey with him.”

“Why?”

“I don’t think the idea was to send two young adults out. I hope she can handle the pressure.”

“She’s the best you have. I’m sure she’ll be fine and mentally, he is still a ten year old. He probably hates girls.”

“She is beautiful but you’re probably right. He probably wouldn’t even know if a woman was interested in him.”

“Or he wouldn’t care. If he’s like his father, he’ll be obsessing over his task.”

“I would really like to be a fly on the wall on that ship.”

“Me too.”

The Andromeda Galaxy was below them and it was beautiful. Audrey said, “It looks so much like the Milky Way.”

Chris nodded, “It does, both of them are spiral galaxies but Andromeda has more than five billion stars compared to three billion for our galaxy. It also has more star clusters. The Beach Nebula where Eden is located is a perfect place to hide. The dust and formation of new stars hides any electronic evidence of advanced civilizations.”

“We need to start on the other side of the galaxy.”

“Why?”

Audrey looked away from the galaxy, “Because if we want to find a more advanced civilization, it will have to be a long way from the nebula.”

Chris nodded, “Or they would have already encountered the civilizations in the Nebula.”

“I’m pretty certain that any that are close to the nebula have already been encountered and the civilizations in the nebula were more advanced.”

“I have to agree.”

“Do you see that star cluster on the other side of the black hole?”

“The one with the huge blue stars.”

“Yes. It has more than six million type G stars in it. Our chances are greater if we go there.”

“Willow, take us to the outer edge of that star cluster and move into normal space.”

“Skipping now.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Listen for war.”

Willow entered the void and Audrey stared at the pitch-black darkness of the place they were traveling. She shuddered slightly and knew that being there was an anomaly that would never be comfortable for any species that evolved in normal space. She heard Chris say, “Willow, is your Dark Matter reservoir full?”

“It is.”

“And do you have any of the magnets in storage that were used to destroy the conduits?”

“I do, why do you ask?”

“We’re going to take a page out of the invaders’ handbook. We’re going to go into the storage bay and put the magnets on the walls. Before you enter normal space, I want you to release some of the compressed Dark Matter and allow it to surround you.”

“Is that how they use the Dark Matter Cloud?”

“Their ships have a magnetic field and I believe it’s what keeps the cloud around them. I want to avoid being seen.”

Chris looked at Audrey, “Let’s go place the magnets.”

Chris climbed between the seats and opened the port to the storage bay. Audrey followed him and they took ten magnets out of the storage lockers while Willow had the artificial gravity turned off. They activated the magnets and they locked on the walls. They climbed back into the cockpit and Chris said, “Release some of the Dark Matter.” The cloud blew out of the hull valve and then moved back toward the ship. The cloud surrounded the pod and Willow entered normal space. Chris activated the monitor and said, “Good, we can see through it.”

“How is that possible?”

“Dark Matter doesn’t interact with normal energy or matter. Willow can extend an antenna outside the cloud and we’ll be able to see what’s around us. Take us into normal space.”

The pod entered normal space and Chris closed his eyes. Audrey said, “What are you doing?”

Willow said, “Don’t bother him right now. He’s allowing his mind to search for thoughts in that cluster. Give him some time.”

Audrey nodded and opened a bag of food pellets. She took two out and began chewing them. She had to admit that this was proving to be much more interesting than she expected. She leaned back and closed her eyes. She hadn’t slept much the night before and she was quickly asleep. Chris sat motionless in his chair and let his mind roam free.

• • •

Lukas and Salud stood on the Bridge of the Boston and waited. They had been traveling in the void for six hours and now their destination was just a few seconds away. Captain Talbot announced, “Normal space in five seconds.”

The Boston broke into normal space and they saw Earth hanging in space. The fires had gone out months before but the planet still had a heavy cloud cover over most of it. The Boston began moving in toward the planet and a close-up view of the Moon appeared on the main monitor. The new craters blasted in the Moon’s surface was obvious and rubble was still in orbit above the surface. It would eventually settle back to the Moon but it gave testimony to the power of the Invader’s weapons. All of the former facilities were obliterated. Salud moved into Lukas’s arms and they shook their head as the Boston accelerated toward Earth. The huge battleship moved into orbit and Lukas said, “Move over the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.” The ship changed course and headed toward the United States.

They arrived above Boston and there was a break in the cloud cover. They stared down at what had once been their home. The city was gone and was replaced by a series of craters that overlapped each other. Lukas heard Salud quietly weeping and he exhaled the breath he had been holding. He looked over his shoulder and said, “Scan for any survivors.”

The battleship moved around the planet and after a complete orbit, Captain Tolbert said, “There is no sign of human life.”

Salud shook her head, “Did any life survive this?”

“It appears that the invaders used their scanners to find every human on the planet and fire at them from space. However, the animals in the wilds appear to have survived. The wild horses and those animals that lived in the deserts and deserted spaces in the northern hemisphere are still there. The animals in Africa and Asia also survived.”

Salud turned around, “I would have thought the radioactivity would have killed them.”

“The invaders did not use any nuclear weapons to destroy the planet. We have a zero reading on radioactivity.”

Salud’s eyes narrowed and Lukas said, “They intend to come back and settle here. They know habitable planets are rare and they chose not to damage Earth where they couldn’t use it.”

“We cannot allow that to happen.”

“It’s not a question of allowing it. It’s whether or not we can stop them from doing it.” Lukas said, “What about the oceans?”

“They destroyed all shipping and that included the submarines but the oceans were not harmed by the bombardment.”

Lukas blew out a breath and said, “Take us back to Eden.” The giant battleship turned and headed toward the gravity limit. Just before they arrived, another battleship appeared in normal space. “I’m so sorry for what happened here.”

Lukas saw the Welken Royal on his monitor, “Thank you for your support in fighting them.”

“I just wish we could have prevented this.”

“You would have died for the effort. Your ships made a huge difference and it was almost enough.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“I suspect the same thing you’re doing. We’re rebuilding to take them on when they return. I don’t know if we’ll be successful but we’re making the effort.”

“We are working on that as well. Your technology has made a difference and we’re building ships as fast as possible but it’s going to be difficult to match their numbers.”

“We have some time. I’ve left a ship at their galaxy to report if they try to build another conduit. You’ll need to take it out if they do.”

“I’ve also sent some scouts to watch them. Most of their ships left for another galaxy when they arrived back at that giant ball galaxy.”

“We saw that as well. If we discover anything that will help against them, we’ll let you know about it.”

“I am sorry.”

“I know and thank you for coming to tell us.”

“I left a probe here to let me know if you came back.”

“Good luck and we’ll see you again.”

“I truly hope you do.”

The Welken ship left normal space and the Boston disappeared a moment later.

• • •

Willow emerged into normal space and Chris closed his eyes. Audrey stared at him and waited for him to speak. After ten minutes she said, “Well?”

Chris blew out a breath, opened his eyes and shook his head, “Nothing. I thought I could hear the thoughts of those in the star cluster but I’m evidently not able to hear them this far out. I’m going to have to rethink this.”

“You can’t hear them?”

“No, I can’t Willow.”

“You can’t?”

“NO, I CAN’T. Why do you keep asking?”

“Because I can.”

“WHAT?”

“Evidently, the device Piper put in me has a much longer range than your mind.”

Audrey said, “What are you hearing?”

“I have to focus but it’s clear that there is a major war taking place in the cluster. I can hear beings being killed in a massive space battle.”

“Can you take us there?”

“I don’t know how safe it will be to go.”

Chris smiled, “Just get us close and we’ll work our way in slowly.”

“I’m going to skip out at the first sign of trouble.”

“By all means but take us in, Willow.”

Willow activated her star drive and the small ship left normal space. Five minutes later, she emerged into normal space and the monitor showed thousands of ships attacking each other. “Are you covered by the Dark Matter Cloud?”

“I am.”

“Are you getting any indication those ships have detected your presence?”

“None of them appear to be moving toward us.”

“Move in closer and scan those ships.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Can you get a good scan this far out?”

“Not really.”

“Then move in closer until you can and be ready to get out of here if any of them start moving toward us.” Audrey looked at Chris and worried that he was being reckless. She had fought in space battles and things could happen fast. She suddenly realized her heart was beating fast and she no longer cared about being sent on this voyage. This was going to be exciting and she relished the adrenaline rush. There was nothing like entering a dangerous situation without knowing if you were going to survive. She worried about Chris but she knew Willow would be careful…she hoped.

Willow skipped closer and the ships on the monitor grew much larger. Chris stared at the monitor and the scanner readouts. “One of those fleets is using disruptors.”

“They are.”

“Their force fields appear to be layered.”

“They have four layers with each one more powerful than the other.”

“What about the other fleet, Willow?”

“They are heavily outnumbered and appear to be defending a planet.”

“Where is the planet?”

“It’s behind a force field.”

“I still can’t see it?”

“It’s totally black, Chris but the energy used to power it is visible on the energy band.”

Chris looked to the right and said, “I see it. Willow, the power behind that force field is enormous.”

“The force field around their ships is also several levels of magnitude stronger than any I’ve ever seen.”

“Are they winning?”

“They’re holding their own but ten of the attackers can kill one of their ships. Wait a minute.”

“What?”

“More than ten thousand more ships have emerged from the planet’s force field and the attackers are starting to skip away.”

“How do you think they layer those force fields, Willow?”

“I’ve scanned one of the destroyed warships and it appears they do it by assigning different reactors to each field. The reactors don’t appear to be as strong as ours.”

“So they don’t have a higher level of technology than our ships?”

“No, it appears they don’t.”

“How about the defenders?”

“I’ve scanned one of their destroyed ships and it appears to only have one reactor.”

“ONE?”

“Yes, all that power is coming from one reactor. It even powers their beam weapons.”

“What sort of reading do you get from the reactor? Does it use radioactive materials in in?”

“I’m not getting a reading of radioactivity from the one that has a ruptured containment vessel.” Chris closed his eyes and focused on one of the defender’s ships. He listened to the crew and finally found the one responsible for the reactor. He listened and hoped the being would think about the reactor. “Chris, I think they detect our scan. Some of the ships have turned in our direction.”

“Stop scanning. Don’t leave yet.”

“But…”

Audrey said, “Do as he says, Willow. I don’t think they can see us behind our cloud. Wait!”

Chris listened to the being and it didn’t think about the reactor. “Come on!” Then he heard, “Reactor status?”

“The Dark Energy is holding steady.” Chris saw how the energy was stored in the reactor and then Willow skipped out.

“WILLOW!”

“Chris, they are telepathic and were sensing you. The Cloud won’t hide us from them if they’re moving in on your thoughts.”

Chris blew out a breath and fell back in his chair. Audrey said, “Did you get anything?”

“They’re using Dark Energy in the reactors.”

“What?”

“Dark Energy.”

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know how they collect it but I saw how they store it in the reactor.”

“Those ships have moved into the void and are trying to follow us.”

“Can they?”

“Not if you don’t use your telepathy.”

Chris thought for a moment and said, “How fast are they, Willow?”

“Chris, don’t make this a race.”

“Can we outrun them?”

“They’re not gaining on us.”

“Are you at full speed?”

“No.”

“I’m going to talk with them.”

Audrey shook her head, “I don’t think that’s wise.”

“It’s worth the risk. They weren’t the attackers.”

“We don’t know if they attacked that other species first.”

“It’s worth the risk. I’m going to see if they’re willing to communicate.” Chris stared at Audrey and after a moment she sighed and shrugged. Chris focused on the grey ships and thought, “We are not here to be a danger to you.” Chris heard nothing but the ships all turned toward them. “I am looking for a way to defend my species and I’m hoping we can come to an agreement where we can possibly help each other.” Again he was greeted with silence and Chris said, “I’ll come back after you’ve had the opportunity to discuss this with your leaders.” Chris leaned back and said, “Willow, get us out of here.” Willow activated three reactors to the thrusters and went to full power. The small Attack Pod removed the cloud around it and blasted away from the pursuing grey ships. They fell behind at an incredible speed and soon disappeared in the distance.

The Leader of the pursuing ships watched the small ship accelerate away at an incredible speed and shook his body. “Return to our space.”

“But that ship knows where we are.”

“And just how do you intend to catch them?”

“They said they’d come back.”

“And we’ll get the opportunity to fail to catch them again. I hope you noticed that that vessel did not appear on our scanners. If they don’t broadcast their thoughts, we’ll never know where they are. Maybe we should talk with them.”

“That is not something you can decide.”

“I don’t want to make this decision. Send the recording of this chase back to the planet and they’ll decide what we are going to do.”

“Yes,Commander.”

• • •

“They’re going to see if their leaders will be willing to communicate.”

Audrey shook her head, “We can’t give them our Dark Matter Technology if they’re an aggressive species.”

“Willow, go back to where those attackers jumped away. See if they left a skip trace.”

“On my way.”

Chapter Ten

“Amanda, I need you and Trevor to start working on weapons we can use against the Invaders.”

“Lukas, we’re about as far as we can go without a breakthrough and those can never be planned.”

“No, but they sometimes happen when you’re working hard on what you know. You’ve seen how launching a volley of Dark Matter Rounds into their fleets caused them massive damage. The missiles were never used.”

“They don’t work in the void.”

“Then why are we building them?”

“Because they can make a difference in normal space. Gunny and Kitch used them and killed thousands of their ships.”

“Then those missiles should be stored at the planet and the space on our warships should be used for more DM rounds.” Amanda stared at Lukas and he said, “I’m not criticizing you or Trevor. Perhaps this is a good reason to have defensive satellites above the planet. However, we have to learn from our mistakes and do a better job. You and Trevor are the ones we are counting on to make a difference.”

“We’ll see what we can do.”

“Thanks, Amanda.” Amanda left the office and Lukas saw Salud come in. “Hi, Love. What’s going on?”

“We’ve finally got enough housing for everyone. There’s still a lot of infrastructure to be completed but the end is at last in sight. Why was Amanda here?”

“We have to start developing new weapons to counter the numbers we’re going to have to face.”

“Do you see anything we could do differently?”

“We need to change some things on our battleships but nothing that would make a big difference. The invader will have time to rebuild their fleets so we might be facing twice the number if that other species in M-87 join them.”

“If we don’t stop them there, we’ll eventually be facing them here.”

“I know. I know.”

“This is probably not a good time but I have some news.”

“What is that?”

“We are going to be three.”

“What?”

“I’m pregnant.”

Lukas’ expression changed five times before he jumped out of his chair and rushed over to Salud and took her in his arms. “We’ve must stop them, Lukas! I want our baby to be raised on Earth.”

“I love you so much.”

“And I love you, too.” Lukas held her tightly and swore he would make the future safe for his children.

• • •

“They didn’t leave skip traces with those four force fields but some of their damaged ships did leave traces.”

“Follow them and see where they lead us. I want to hear what they’re saying.”

“We’ll catch them, I think.”

Audrey watched the void ahead of Willow and saw nothing in the blackness. She was forced to agree with Chris, he was definitely not a ten year old. His mind was more advanced than a child that age. How could that have happened? She continued to stare out of the viewport and suddenly thought that it was almost like his mind wasn’t human. She glanced at him and then she knew. The only non-human mind on the planet was Lukas. She knew he saved Chris’s mother from an attack by a street gang before he was born. She looked at Chris again and pulled up a picture of Lukas from ten years earlier. There just wasn’t any doubt. She started shaking her head and Chris said, “I guess you figured it out. Mom said you were one of the smartest officers in Fleet.”

“What?”

“I saw the picture you pulled up on your wrist unit. You’ve put it together, haven’t you?”

“Who knows about this?”

“It appears more and more are seeing it now that I’ve got an adult body. Both of my parents now know, along with Salud, Chad, and Julie. If I don’t do something to alter my appearance, pretty much everyone will know.”

“How does Salud feel about this?”

“She knew about me before she and Lukas became an item. The Sentinel told her in their first meeting. She’s come to terms with it.”

“So you’re pretty much an alien as well?”

“My mother is human. Lukas did not have a human parent, Willow altered his DNA when he fled to Earth from the Myot Warships.”

“Then you’re different.”

“I’m telepathic, Lukas isn’t.”

“Do you have his speed?”

“What do you mean?”

“You must have seen the recording of his taking on the pirates?”

Chris was silent for a moment and said, “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve only had this body long enough to leave. That’s something I’ll have to see about when we get off the ship.”

“The attackers are ahead of us.”

Chris and Audrey turned to the monitor and saw the distant glowing stardrives. “Willow, can you hear their transmissions?”

“They aren’t telepathic so, yes I can hear them.”

“We don’t know their language, can you hear their thoughts and convert them to electronic form and play them on the wall speaker?”

“Yes, I need a moment to find the Leader of their fleet.”

“You’re doing that so I can hear.”

Chris nodded, “I must confess that I was really bothered that I was going to have to take you with me on this trip but you’ve been a real asset so far. You need to be included in the loop.”

“Can’t you just send what you’re hearing to my mind?”

“I can. I should have thought of that.”

“Willow, play it on the speaker and record it. We’re going to need to send this back to fleet to let them know what’s going on out here. This may be an invader in the making and we can’t allow them to grow unchecked.”

“I’ve found him.”

The wall speaker buzzed a moment and then they heard, “I lost more than five hundred ships, Excellency. Our ships are not a match for theirs.”

“Were you able to destroy any of theirs?”

“We killed about three hundred but it took more than ten of my ships firing on each of them to break through their force field.”

“Are you saying they are more advanced than we are?”

“The only way to defeat them will be to overwhelm them with numbers. Two thousand ships left their planet to join in the battle so I jumped the ships away.”

“Do you think they have more than that?”

“There’s no way to tell. Everything is hidden inside a force field around the planet. My scanners determined that it would take a massive barrage to break through that force field.”

“I was hoping we could take the planet for settlement but this is an enemy we must remove before it can take us on. Did the scouts find another planet where they settled on?”

“No! During the six months we watched them, no ships came in from another location and none of their ships left the planetary system except for brief jumps out to interstellar space. I don’t know what they were doing out there. They appeared to enter normal space and fly at their fastest speed for about an hour. Then they would jump back to their planet.”

“Perhaps their ships need to be run to operate efficiently?”

“Nothing else makes sense.”

“I have eight fleets that will complete their conquests within four months. We’ll hold them here to go back to that planet once they all arrive.”

“I will start repairs on my ships that were damaged, Excellency.”

• • •

“Willow, send this information back to Fleet along with everything you recorded.”

“I’m going to have to send it with a microprobe. Transmitting across the black hole will distort the video images.”

“Turn around and move far enough away for the probe to not be detected when you launch it.”

“What are you thinking about doing, Chris?”

“Tell me what you think our Leaders will do about this. You’re a combat tested officer, I’d like to know what you would do as well?”

Audrey’s lips tightened and the left corner of her mouth went up slightly, “This is a clear and present danger to Eden.”

“I see it that way as well. Go on.”

“We’re going to have to confront this civilization and pull its claws.”

“Willow, can we do that?”

“My readings on their ships indicate our DM Technology will penetrate their force fields. However, unlike the invaders, their ships do not have a powerful magnetic field around them.”

“They’re not using Dark Matter.”

“That’s correct, Audrey.”

“Can their beams break through our force fields?”

“If they get close enough they can. However, there is one disturbing issue.”

“What is that?”

“The Leader that the Fleet Leader reported in to has a different mind.”

Chris sat up straight in his chair, “What are you saying?”

“I don’t think it was located on the planet those attackers were moving in on. There is a possibility that more than one species is being used to attack other planets. If that’s true, we really don’t know the capability of the other ships they might use.”

“Include that information in what you’re sending and suggest to Fleet that they might want to send some of Admiral Barber’s scouts here to start taking a look at the other fleets as they arrive.” Audrey smiled. That was an adult decision. She realized that Chris should be in command of this mission. He wasn’t missing anything. What he said next really surprised her. “Willow, were those grey ships using any electronic communications?”

“Their scanners were sending information to the planet.”

“So they can receive electronic signals?”

“It appears they can.”

“I want you to send another microprobe back to that planet that was attacked with the same information we’ve just uncovered. Tell them I’ll be coming back to discuss it with them later.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“Audrey, they’re going to be attacked just like Earth was. It appears they aren’t conquerors or their attackers would have seen ships coming and going. They deserve our help.”

“And if you’re wrong about them?”

“We now know they go out into interstellar space to collect Dark Energy. We’re going to use the microprobe to tell us when one of their ships leaves to collect it. I intend to follow it and see how they do it.”

Audrey nodded and climbed between the seats to go into the sleeping quarters, “I’m going to take a nap.” Chris nodded and she left the cockpit.

“She’s something special, isn’t she?” Chris nodded. “Are you feeling anything?”

“What do you mean, Willow?”

“You’re a twenty year old human, she’s a beautiful woman, and don’t you feel the juices flowing?”

Chris blew out a breath, “Willow, that is something better left for after I’ve completed my destiny. I don’t have time for…romance or anything else.”

“Just checking.”

“Now you know. Besides, she sees me as a ten year old. You know how revolting that would be for a woman to even consider.”

“I think she’s past that, Chris.”

“Oh?”

“She’s come to the conclusion that with your hybrid brain, you are something different all together. She’s probably more intimidated than revolted by you.”

“Good. Let’s keep it that way.”

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

“I don’t need more than one or two hours of sleep a day. It’s been that way as long as I can remember. I can just close my eyes here in the chair and get what I need.”

“I’m launching the two probes. I’ll let you know if we hear back from Fleet.”

“Good, why don’t you head back toward that planet so we can follow their ships?”

“I’ll skip in above their planetary system so we can see one when it leaves.”

“That would be good.” Chris closed his eyes and kept them closed for three hours.

• • •

Jinks walked into Lukas’ office and said, “We’ve received a microprobe from Christopher.”

Lukas turned around in his chair, “What’s going on!?!”

“He’s found a war taking place between two civilizations and it appears one of them is a possible invader civilization in the making. The planet they’re attacking uses Dark Energy to power their force fields.”

“Dark Energy?”

“Yes, and they have a force field around their planet that is pretty powerful.”

“Now that is something we can use.”

“He doesn’t know if they’ll share it with us but he’s planning to follow one of their ships and see how they collect it. The new invaders are planning to attack that planet again in four months with nine fleets and attempt to overwhelm the defenders.”

“Send what you have to my console.”

Jinks handed Lukas a datacube, “It’s all on this. What do think we should do?”

“Let me take a look at this first. We’ll discuss it afterwards.” Jinks nodded and sat down.

• • •

Piper listened to the exchange and thought, “Elder, I think we need to get one of us out to the young human and keep track of what he’s doing.”

“Why do you think that?”

“He’s found a civilization using Dark Energy.”

“That is not good.”

“It depends.”

“On what?”

“If they share what they discover with us, then we can trust them. We need to wait and see.”

“We’ve given you the authority to decide what we do about this species. I’m sending Cipher to watch him.”

• • •

“Chris.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve detected the presence of a Silver Ship.”

Chris sat up in his chair, “Where is it?”

“I can’t see it but I can sense its presence.”

“Is it Piper?”

“No, it feels different.”

Chris thought for a moment and thought, “Are you here to keep an eye on us?”

“Now just how did you know I was here!?”

“We can’t see you but we can feel your presence. Piper must have heard about what we found out here and suggested you come and take a look.”

“That’s exactly what happened.”

“I’m going to have my ship transmit everything we’ve found so far. If we discover anything else, I’ll send it to you.”

“Wait a moment.” Chris’s eyes narrowed and after a minute the Silver Ship thought, “Piper also just received a recording you sent back to your planet. Did you suggest that?”

“No but we promised to keep you informed on anything we might use to develop new weapons. So far we only have knowledge about this planet’s use of Dark Energy. We don’t know how to use it, yet. By the way, what’s your name?”

“Cipher.”

“I assume you know my name is Chris. My ship’s name is Willow and my friend here with us is Audrey.”

“Piper told me about your ship. I find that really extraordinary.”

“Thank you, Cipher.”

“I think I’m going to like this assignment. What are you planning to do?”

“We’re going to follow one of the ships from this planet and see if we can detect how they collect Dark Energy.”

“Do you mind if I tag along?”

“Would it matter if we did?”

“Not really, but it’s polite to ask.”

“Then do what you need to do. If you need to talk with us, feel free to do so.”

“I’ll try to stay out of your way.”

“That would be appreciated.”

• • •

Four hours later, Willow announced, “Thousands of ships have moved out of the planet’s force field and are accelerating toward the gravity limit. It appears they have deciphered what you sent them.”

“Why do you think that?”

“They must be sending their fleets to recharge their reactors in preparation for the coming attack. I’m moving into the void and deploying the cloud around us. Do not use your telepathy!”

“Which way are they headed?”

“Directly toward us.”

“Do they see us?”

“I don’t think so, this is the most direct route to open space.”

“Sound the buzzer and get Audrey up here.”

A minute later, Audrey climbed out of the sleeping quarters and said, “What’s going on?”

“The planet is sending ships out into open space. We’re following them.”

“They’re moving directly toward us.”

“But they’re not all converging this way. They’re taking the most direct route to interstellar space which is directly above Andromeda.” Audrey watched the glow of thousands of stardrives as they accelerated past them. Willow allowed them to get some distance and began following them. After two hours the ships entered normal space and Chris said, “Extend an antenna into normal space and use your passive scanner to watch them.”

“What are they doing, Willow?”

“The rear section on those ship’s hulls is moving out. It appears they are forming a scoop of some kind.”

“That must be how they collect Dark Energy.”

“I thought Dark Energy wasn’t in a form where it could be collected?”

Chris nodded and looked at Audrey, “Most scientists agree that between seventy eight and eighty six percent of the universe is composed of Dark Energy. All of the open space you see is made of Dark Energy.”

“But there’s nothing there! It’s just a vast emptiness.”

“Actually, it’s not. Open space would not exist if it was just nothing. If that were the case, every bit of matter would be pressed up against each other. It’s Dark Energy that is pushing those pieces of matter away from each other. That’s why the universe is still expanding. The particles that make up space are so small, they can’t be detected and they don’t do anything but exert a repulsive force on all the matter in the universe.”

“But…”

“Space is growing larger, Audrey. The galaxies are being pushed away from each other and the space between them is growing. That has to mean the particles that make Dark Energy are either growing or more are coming into existence all the time.”

“Chris, we’ve moved through normal space millions of time and have never detected any particles.”

“But our speed of travel in normal space is limited to the speed of light. It’s those particles that must be slowing us down so that we can’t exceed it.”

“How do you come up with that?”

“Space must be like water but in a different form. The faster you move through water, what happens?”

“It almost becomes a solid.”

“Exactly. And at the speed of light, Dark Energy must also take on the properties of a solid, which prevents anything from going faster. That must be how they collect it. They accelerate close to the speed of light and collect the particles with their scoops.” Chris said, “Willow, can you tell what those scoops are made of?”

“It appears to be the same substance as the hulls of the Silver Ships.”

Chris stared at the monitor for a moment and said, “Get us out of here.”

Audrey shook her head, “Why? We don’t have an answer to what it’s made of.”

“We aren’t going to find the answer to that out here. We have to go back to the planet.”

“What’s going on, Chris?”

“These ships already have their scoops. We have to find a ship leaving the planet that isn’t headed out to interstellar space. We need to get back now!!”

Chapter Eleven

“I don’t understand.”

“Audrey, the substance coating those scoops is not out in interstellar space. It’s located inside the galaxy. If the grey ships are anticipating another attack, they must have stepped up their construction of ships. That means they will have to take the panels that make those scoops to wherever they get the coating. We must follow them to that source.”

Audrey shook her head as she saw the small glow from stars in normal space go by them at an incredible speed. “I have a large ship leaving the planet and skipping out.”

“Don’t lose it, Willow.”

“It’s headed toward the central black hole.”

“Stay on it. Use three reactors on the gravity drive!”

“Switching now. Chris, the black cloud around us is starting to be affected by the gravity forces around the black hole.”

“Audrey, go back into the storage bay and start putting more magnets on the wall. Get moving.” Audrey jumped up and went between the seats toward the rear of the pod. “Hold your position here, Willow. Can you keep track of where they’re headed?”

“I still have them visually; they’ve slowed down considerably.”

“They must be fighting the tidal forces coming out of the singularity.”

“They’ve flipped the vessel around and are using the thrusters to push against it.”

The wall speaker said, “I have all of them on the walls and activated.”

“Willow?”

“The cloud is holding right up against the drive field.”

“Move us in and start recording what’s happening.” Audrey moved back into her chair and buckled herself in. “Willow, where did they go?”

“They entered normal space.”

“Turn us around and use the thrusters to keep us in position. Don’t enter normal space, extend an antenna and see what’s going on.”

“The small pod flipped and they heard the thrusters go to full power. Chris kept his eyes on the monitor and saw a flash before the antenna was ripped away. Get us out of here, Willow!!”

“I’m going to switch to full thrusters. Try to get comfortable and hold on; you’re going to feel the gravity.”

Chris leaned back in his chair and reached over and pushed Audrey back in hers a moment before they were pulled back with an incredible force. Chris’s arm snapped as the pod fought the incredible forces at work. After what seemed like hours, the unrelenting gravity began reducing in strength. Chris leaned forward and grabbed his shoulder. Audrey raised her head and saw his arm was dangling from his shoulder. Chris’s expression was pure torment and after a moment he closed his eyes and passed out.

“CHRIS!!”

“I have him unconscious while I use the DNA processor to repair his arm.”

“What happened?”

“He saw you weren’t fully back in your chair. If he hadn’t pushed you back you would have probable shattered your spine. I’m going to put you under as well and check you out.”

“But…” Audrey’s eyes closed and Willow continued to move away from the center of Andromeda.

• • •

Audrey heard a humming noise and she opened her eyes. She saw Chris was still inside a sparking cloud next to her and she said, “How is he?”

“It’s a massive task reworking his right arm and shoulder.”

“Is he going to be ok?”

“Yes. Lukas was hurt much more severely when I originally pushed him toward Earth.”

“I was so stupid.”

“You need to listen and react much faster. I’m surprised he managed to push you back in time.”

“I didn’t see his arm move. I guess he has his father’s speed.”

“He considers Stoney as his father, although he loves Lukas and Salud as well.”

“They’re his godparents.”

“He considers them much more than that. The love of a child is pure, Audrey.”

“But you said yourself that he is not a child.”

“His love is pure. He has no experience in what love is like for an adult. His mind is brilliant but he has much to learn about the higher emotions of humans.”

“Were you able to get anything before the antenna blew away?” The monitor illuminated and Audrey stared at it. She shook her head, “Is that what I think it is?”

“That is a white planet circling a star that is revolving around the black hole at an incredible speed.”

“It would have to be to avoid being sucked into it.”

“That planet appears to made of the same substance that coats the Silver Ships and the scoops used by the Grey Ships.”

Chris opened his eyes and said, “Could one of our battleships using all of its reactors on the gravity suppressors get close?”

“CHRIS!”

Chris winced and looked at Audrey, “I’m ok.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Things got out of hand too fast back there. Don’t blame yourself for what happened.”

Audrey reached over and hugged Chris’s neck, “I’d be lost if something happened to you. Next time, don’t do it; you’re too important.”

Audrey leaned back and Chris sighed, “Let’s just not let there be a next time, shall we. Willow, could they get close?”

“I severely doubt it. The power to overcome the singularity is beyond what our reactors can produce.”

“What if we put a hundred reactors on board?”

“I…don’t…know. It would be close.”

Chris sat in silence and Audrey watched him saying nothing to interrupt his thoughts. “Willow, contact Piper.”

“What is it you want, Chris?”

“I thought you don’t interfere with other civilizations?”

“That is correct. We only intervene if it involves our security.”

“Why did you intervene with the planet of the Grey Ships?”

“What makes you think we did?”

“This is like the question of whether the egg or the chicken came first. There is no way that planet could have approached that white planet without Dark Energy reactors. They had to have the scoops before they could have gone there. You had to provide them.”

“What if we did? What do you intend to do about it?”

“We are going to assist them against the attackers coming to destroy them. However, if you’re going to do that, there’s no reason for us to force ourselves on them to help.” Chris waited for an answer and after three minutes he said, “Piper, did you hear me?”

“I’ve been discussing this issue with my Elders. They have left it up to me to decide what to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“When our planet was going to be destroyed by our star going nova, not everyone wanted to leave living on a planet to live in starships. Many of them left to live on another planet.”

“The planet with the Grey Ships are members of your species.”

“They are. We gave them the scoops to try and insure they would be safe.”

“So why wouldn’t you come to their defense?”

“They wanted us to rejoin them on the planet and we refused. They told us that rejecting them meant that we would never be accepted by them again and to never come into their domain. Their hatred was more than we could understand. However, if we came to their defense, they would attack us ahead of the attackers.”

“Could they harm you?”

“Attacking us would do more harm than you know. They are our brothers and sisters. We promised them to abide by their request. To defend them would mean having to break that oath.”

“Even if it meant they would die if you didn’t?”

“We would become their enemy and they would go out trying to destroy us for violating our promise. My species takes its promises rather strongly.”

“Is it possible they would accept our help?”

“Not if they knew we were associated with it.”

“Then they will just not need to know.”

“They are telepathic, Chris.”

“And they will see that you threatened us when we arrived. Even now we’re still on probation.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because you’re afraid of us and what we could become, am I wrong?”

“No, you aren’t.”

“The Attackers must be stopped. We intend to do that and even if they don’t accept our help, we are going to face them and remove them as a threat.”

“YOU’RE STILL MEDDLING WHERE YOU DON’T BELONG!”

Chris’s head came up and Audrey said “What’s wrong?”

“That’s not coming from a Silver Ship.”

“This is not your affair, Jamus.”

“We have been following you and we are trying to decide what to think about you. It appears our traitors are holding you hostage and that makes us feel better about accepting your assistance. Piper, tell that traitor you sent to keep an eye on them to leave our space.”

“He’s not in your space.”

“His thoughts are and that’s a violation. You can stop thinking this way as well.”

Willow said, “The connection has been broken and I no longer sense the other Silver Ship.”

“Open your mind to us.” Chris took a deep breath and felt the being enter into his thoughts.

Audrey stared at Chris and saw his eyes close. She softly whispered, “Willow?”

“Don’t do anything! Just remain silent!”

Audrey reached over and took Chris’s hand in hers. She saw his eyes flutter slightly but she held onto it and waited. She looked at the monitor and saw more than a hundred grey ships surrounding them. She shook her head and wondered if this was where the voyage would end.

• • •

“Jason.”

“Yes Piper.”

“It appears Chris is in danger.”

“WHAT!?”

“Willow is currently surrounded by a hundred and twenty three Grey Ships and their weapons are active.”

“Admiral, Chris is in danger. He surrounded by Grey Ships with active weapons.”

Chad his panel, “Lukas, Piper tells us that Chris is surrounded by more than a hundred Grey Ships with their weapons activated. Should I take the fleet and skip out to save him?”

Lukas felt his heart start beating wildly and he almost said yes. But he hesitated and said, “You would never arrive in time to save him and it would send the wrong message to that civilization. Stay where you are.”

“But SIR!”

“Follow your orders, Admiral!”

Chad fell back in his chair and shook his head. Audrey was also on board.

• • •

Audrey watched Chris for more than two hours and she finally exploded, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?!”

She saw Chris’s eyelids flutter and then she felt something in her mind. She released Chris’s hand and grabbed the sides of her head as she shook it. She panicked and shouted, “Get out of my mind!”

Willow said, “Calm down, Audrey. They are looking in your mind to confirm that what they saw in Chris’s mind is accurate.”

Audrey grabbed the arms of her chair and forced herself to breathe slowly. She regained control of her emotions and after a few more moments, she closed her eyes. “You’ve seen a lot of war.”

“More than I wanted.”

“It appears your efforts went unrewarded. Your planet was attacked.”

“The only reward we got was that there was a lot fewer of them to do it.”

“Point taken. Your companion here seems to think that we are in a similar situation.”

“He’s not my companion, he’s my commanding officer.”

“Ok, if you say so. However, your motives appear to be honest and straightforward. It appears the traitors have been meddling in your affairs.”

“We entered their space without permission. They are entitled to question our motives as well.”

“You entered our space without permission as well.”

“You were in the middle of a space battle. It would have been hard to ask at that particular time. We did ask if we could come back and communicate with you. We also sent what we learned at the Attacker’s planet.”

“What do you think about the Traitors?”

“I’ve not really had a conversation with them. I know one of my fellow officers likes the one named Piper a lot.”

“But what do you think?”

“My species has just recently become a space faring civilization. Twenty years ago, we were all pretty much living on one planet and wondered if life existed away from our world. That was pretty stupid on our part. Now that we’ve left our Solar System we can see there’s intelligent life pretty much wherever you go.”

“I asked you about the Traitors.”

“I’m getting to that. What I’ve seen is that almost every civilization we’ve encountered, and that includes the ones you call Traitors, is severely paranoid.”

“Are you saying we’re paranoid as well?”

“You’ve got my Commander in a trance and have our ship surrounded with a hundred of your warships. Does that sound like a trusting society? Every civilization looks at all the others as potential attackers. Unfortunately, most of the time they’re right. It makes me wonder if the universe is like the oceans on my planet.”

“I’m not clear on what you’re saying.”

“My species evolved from an ancient sea creature. Probably a one-celled organism. In our oceans, everything that lives is part of the food chair and I do mean everything. Many of the sea creatures are solely adapted to feed on another sea creature. This universe feels like our oceans. Every species is either an attacker, a defender, or a combination of both. I would think that being intelligent life would make different species try to live together in peace. Otherwise, are we really intelligent or just smart enough to find a way to kill others?”

“You’re planning to go back and attack the ones that killed those on your home world.”

“We are going to do our best to do exactly that.”

“Then how are you any different than them?”

“They took something that rightfully belongs to us. We will one day take our planet back; however; we have no desire to go and take anything that belongs to them.”

“You’ll have to destroy them where they live to stop them.”

“So be it. If they refuse to stop, they deserve it. But we do not desire to take possession of their planets. We’re quite happy with the one we were on.”

“You’ll have to expand to another planet in the future if your population continued to grow unchecked.”

“The difference between the invaders and us is that we will find a planet that is not currently in use by another species. We will not take one from another intelligent society.”

“Just like you did in my galaxy.”

Audrey shrugged, “Yes, but we were told to leave and we were planning to do that when the civilizations in the nebula agreed to let us stay.” Audrey felt the being leave her mind. She looked at Chris and saw his eyes were open. “Are you ok?” He nodded. “What’s going on, Willow?”

“This species really doesn’t need our help. They have enough ships to defend themselves.”

“Oh.”

“However, they are curious about just how large the civilization is that’s coming to attack. They’re requested we take a look and let them know. In return for our help, they will give us one of the gravity ships they use to go to the white planet.”

“That’s fantastic.”

“First things first. We’re going back to Eden and try to convince Lukas to send our scouts out to take a look at the Attackers.”

“I’m looking forward to going back.”

“Why?”

“I need a good shower.”

Chris stared at her for a moment and said, “You don’t have to come with me again. I’m sure you’ll be allowed to stay.”

“NO WAY!”

Chris tilted his head, “I thought you hated this assignment.”

“I did. But now I see that you are going to be on the pointed end of the spear in everything that happens. I wouldn’t miss that for anything.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I am.”

“Well, welcome to my little piece of destiny. Willow, skip us back to Eden and see if you can set up a meeting with the Leadership Team.”

“I’ll contact them as soon as we’re on the other side of the black hole.” The Attack Pod left normal space and the hundred plus grey colored ships watched it go.

The Fleet Commander said, “I’ll bet the traitors are chewing their edges over this.” He was right.

• • •

“We can’t allow the humans to acquire the coating.”

“I don’t know that we can stop them now.”

“And why not?”

Piper hesitated but knew he had to say it, “The Brothers gave them the ship to get it and are now linked to them. How are we going to interfere with them now? It would break our agreement.”

“What?”

“We took an oath to never interfere in their activities, did we not?”

The Elder was silent and another Elder said, “Piper is making a good point. If we try to make them leave or stop them from getting the coating, we would be working against the wishes of our brothers. This agreement is not something we can do anything about.”

“Are both of you suggesting that the humans are no longer within our control?”

“How do you see it differently?”

“They are in our territory.”

“Tell that to someone that believes it. You know that we consider this entire galaxy our territory. The Brothers know that attempting to use that as an excuse to exercise control will be greeted with hostility and will make a future reconciliation impossible.”

The Lead Elder listened to the Second Elder and knew he was right. “We should have sent them away.”

Piper listened to them and said, “If they get the weapons they need to fight their enemies in their home galaxy, they will probably leave on their own. However, the Brothers will know if we work behind the scenes to convince the other civilizations in the nebula to force them to go.”

“Piper, you saw this coming!”

“Elder, what are the chances of a space battle taking place at the Brothers’ planet just when that Human went out? This is an accident and I suspect the Brothers offered the ship to prevent us from, as they call it, meddling where we don’t belong. There is some good news in this.”

“What could that possibly be?”

“The Brothers did an extensive examination of the two humans and found them acceptable. Perhaps we’re judging them incorrectly. They may be exactly what they say they are.”

“And just what is that?”

“A species that desires peace and to be left alone to follow their own destiny. At any rate, they are outside our control now if we intend to one day rejoin our family.”

“Piper is right, Elder. The attack on our Brothers was a fluke. Accidents happen in the universe and this is one of them. We can’t change what happened and now we have to live with the consequences.”

“I can still keep an eye on them. You will continue your assignment, Piper.”

“I can’t do anything to interfere, Elder. I will not be the one that prevents reconciliation.”

“Fine! Just keep an eye on them.”

The Second Elder showed his displeasure at that remark, “Are you certain about this?”

“If anything else, Piper can assist them and they would have no reason to hold us to blame. If we’re helping them, perhaps they will back off on their agreement. We can say we’re assisting them and want their agreement to work. We will not be blindsided by what they discover by not keeping an eye on their progress.”

“I don’t like this, Elder but I will do as you command.”

Chapter Twelve

Chris sat at the table and looked at the attendees. All of the Fleet’s Flag Officers were present but he focused on Loree Barber. He wondered if she was going to resist going out to scout the Attackers. She had already asked Lukas to allow her to send her fleet back to M-87 to keep an eye on the invaders. He looked at Jinks talking with his father and his mother listened in while she glanced his way numerous times. Audrey sat beside him and he saw her looking at Chad. She really had a tremendous respect for her former commanding officer.

The group rose to their feet as Lukas and Salud entered the conference room. He smiled and said, “Please, keep your seats.” He moved around to the center of the table and the room grew quiet. He looked at Chris and his eyes narrowed. Audrey had dyed his hair red. Now his appearance was just different enough to make him not look so much like Lukas. “Nice hair.”

“It’s a phase.”

Lukas chuckled and said, “I’m going to assume that everyone has seen the videos Chris sent back?” He looked around the table and everyone nodded. He turned back to Chris and said, “So this new species you found wants us to give them a scouting report on the civilization that attacked them?”

“They do. And if we agree to do it, they will give us a ship that is equipped to collect the coating we need to go out and acquire Dark Energy.”

Lukas looked at Amanda, “Can we use Dark Energy?”

Amanda glanced at Trevor before saying, “I’m not really sure we can use it.” Audrey leaned forward and started to say something but Chris put his hand on her arm and shook his head. She looked at him and leaned back in her chair.

“You don’t see any use for it?”

“It’s such a diffuse substance. The particles are almost non-existent. I just haven’t been able to determine how it would help us.”

Lukas looked at Chris, “You say that species uses it in their reactors.”

“They do.”

“How do their reactors measure up against ours?”

“Willow did an examination of one of their damaged ships. I think she would be better equipped to answer that.”

Lukas looked at the wall speaker, “Willow, before we get into this, I just want to say that it’s good to have you back.”

“Thank you, Lukas. It’s really good to be home.”

“Did you examine one of their reactors?”

“I did. Their ships only use one reactor and it handles all the power needs of their warships. I wasn’t able to measure the power it puts out because it was ruptured during the battle but I was able to get a reading on their force fields and beams.”

“And?”

“Their force field is twice the strength of our battleship’s field when it is using all but one reactor to power it.”

Amanda’s eyes narrowed and she said, “That’s not possible!”

Everyone looked at her and Lukas stared at her until she sat back down. He turned back to the wall speaker, “And their beams?”

“Are four times the power of our disruptors.”

Lukas shook his head and turned back to Chris, “You already knew this, didn’t you?”

“I was concerned that some of those present might not take the word of someone so…young.”

“What else do you know about this energy?”

“I really don’t know how it can produce that much power but there is something else that you may not be aware of.”

“What is that?”

“The coating we need to put on scoops to collect this energy is the same substance on the hulls of the Silver Ships.”

Silence slammed down on the gathering. Chris looked up, “Piper, is that true?”

Everyone in the room heard in their mind, “It is.”

Chris looked around the room and said, “I am of the opinion that if we could coat our ships in that substance, we probably won’t need a force field at all.”

The room broke out as everyone started speaking at once and Chris kept his eyes on Amanda. She glared at him for a moment and then her expression changed. He hadn’t used telepathy but she understood his expression. Trevor leaned over and whispered to her and she nodded.

Lukas said loudly, “Come to order!” The room grew quiet and Lukas said, “Chris, how did you arrive at this conclusion?”

“Do you have the recording of the Silver Ships that showed up to remove us from this planet?”

Lukas punched some buttons on his console and stared at the small monitor in front of him. After a few moments he looked up at the huge wall monitor. The recording started and they saw the fifty Silver Ships appear in normal space. Chris said, “Freeze it there.” The recording stopped and Chris looked at Chad, “If you were entering normal space inside an enemy’s territory where you were facing thousands of warships, would you emerge without your force field on?”

“No way.”

Chris nodded toward the monitor, “Do you see a force field around those ships?”

Everyone stared at the monitor and Lukas brought the view in closer. There was no field around the ships. Chad looked up, “Piper, do you use a force field?”

“That is not something I can reveal.”

Chris said, “He doesn’t.”

Chad looked at Chris, “How are you so certain about that?”

“If he did, he’s say so. The beings on that planet are Piper’s species. They chose to remain living on planets.”

“If that’s the case, why do they use force fields if they have access to that substance? I would think they’d use it to coat their own ships.”

Chris looked at Jinks, “Admiral, there is enormous enmity between the two of them. I believe the ones that live on the planet would never coat their vessels because it would make their ships look like the ones they hate.”

Chad said, “Piper?”

“This is not something I can discuss. You will have to find your own way to develop the weapons you’ll need. I am not allowed to interfere with your development.”

“Are you allowed to assist us?”

“Within reason, I can.”

Lukas shook his head and looked at Chris, “What are you thinking?”

Chris looked around the room and said, “We have the same species living two different ways. One of them has developed a power source that is beyond anything we currently possess. Incidentally, no one has said anything about the force field around their planet. Are we capable of producing enough power to put one around Earth? We have another group of this species that lives in ships that, in my humble opinion, are pretty much indestructible. Between them, they have what we need to face off against the invaders.”

Jinks shook his head, “There’s no way we can take on that many and survive.”

“You will if they can’t harm you.”

Amanda said, “How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

Chris looked at the wall speaker, “Willow, how large was that reactor compared to the ones we use on our battleships?”

“It’s about one third the size.”

Chris looked at Amanda, “And we have fifty of them on our battleships.”

Amanda smiled and Lukas said, “Amanda, have you changed your mind?”

“I was being stupid, Lukas. I let my pride get in the way.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m an expert in nuclear energy. Dark Energy is something I’m completely unfamiliar with and I guess I was trying to remain an expert.”

Chris smiled at her, “But you are the one best suited to learn how to harness it.”

Amanda nodded, “I guess I am.”

“Then there is a good reason for us to assist them.”

“We should assist them even if there was nothing in it for us!” Everyone looked at Chris. “These Attackers are very much like the invaders, at least from what I’ve seen and heard when I followed them back to one of their planets. I thought part of our vision was to prevent any other civilization from having to go through what we experienced. It is a moral imperative that we do the right thing here.” Audrey glanced at Kathy and Stoney and saw their pride in their son. Kath’s eyes glistened from her tears and Stoney’s expression was clear for all to see that he was proud of his son.

Lukas looked around the table and said, “I’m not putting this to a vote. I’m going to pull rank.” He looked at Loree, “Your request to return to M-87 is denied. You will take your fleets and scout that civilization that attacked the Grey Ships. I will permit you to send a squadron of ships but that is all.”

Loree nodded, “Yes Sir. I’ll get the coordinates of the planet Chris found and start there.”

Lukas nodded and turned to Amanda, “You will start working on how we can use this new energy source.”

“I’ll need some of it before I can make any progress.”

Lukas looked at Chris, who said, “We’ll be able to make some scoops after we complete our end of the bargain.”

Lukas looked at Jinks, “I want you and Stoney to get the fleets brought to a war footing and armed as quickly as possible.”

“Yes Sir.”

Lukas looked at Chris, “What are you going to do now?”

“Audrey and I are going with Admiral Barber.”

Loree jerked her head around toward him, “Why are you going to do that?”

“I suspect you can use a telepath to listen in on the Attackers. I also want Willow to go with us as well. We can use the Dark Matter Cloud and can follow them where your battleship might be seen.”

Lukas looked up, “Willow?”

“For the duration of this mission, I should be with Chris.”

Lukas looked around the table and said, “You have your assignments. Let’s get moving. This meeting is adjourned.”

• • •

Chad walked over to Audrey and smiled, “It’s good to see you’re all right.”

“Sir?”

“We were told by Piper that Chris and you were in danger.”

Audrey blew out a quick breath, “I don’t think they would have harmed us but it was pretty stressful.”

“I was given a task to perform and it concerns you.”

Audrey tilted her head, “What is that?”

Chad handed Audrey a small felt covered box and Audrey opened it and saw two small gold stars, “Fleet has authorized your Star. Congratulations, Admiral.” Audrey’s eyes flew open wide and Chad smiled, “You’ll pick up your fleet whenever you’re ready.”

Audrey’s smile faded and she shook her head, “Sir, I really believe I need to stay with Chris right now. He might take chances that I can prevent.”

Chad shook his head slightly and looked her in the eye, “So you don’t want out of this mission?”

“No Sir. There’s too much happening to leave now and force Willow and Chris to break in someone new.”

“We’ll not divide the fleets until you’re ready to accept the assignment. I’m proud of you, Audrey. Keep up the good work.”

“That means a lot more than you know, Sir. Thank you.”

• • •

Salud walked up to Chris and hugged him tightly, “You’re really something, Son.”

“Thanks, Salud. Am I mistaken or are you putting on some weight?”

Salud smiled and leaned in, “No one knows yet but you’re going to have a half-sister.”

Chris’s eyes went wide and he picked her up and swung her around, “That is fantastic!”

“Hey, hey, it’s supposed to be a secret.”

Kathy said, “What’s supposed to be a secret?”

Salud shook her head and looked at Lukas. He was looking up at the ceiling and after a moment he stood up and walked over to them. He looked around and said, “May I have everyone’s attention!” Everyone stopped talking and Lukas said loudly, “Salud has an announcement.”

He looked at her and Salud sighed, “We were going to wait but now is as good a time as any. Lukas and I are going to have a baby.” The room exploded in a roar and everyone rushed up to congratulate them. Salud looked at Chris and he lowered his head, “I’m sorry.”

“Chris, it warms my heart to know you’re going to love her. It was worth it.” The crowd rushed in and Chris stepped away.

“Looks like you’re going to have a sibling.”

Chris looked at Audrey standing next to him and smiled, “It does, doesn’t it.”

“You know the baby will also have a mind like yours.”

Chris looked at her, “That’s a good thing, isn’t it?”

Audrey laughed, “It absolutely is Chris. Congratulations.”

“Thanks, Audrey.” Chris saw the stars on Audrey’s collar and said, “Wait a minute. Are those new?”

Audrey beamed at him, “They are.”

“Well congratulations yourself. When are you going to get a fleet?”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily. You’re stuck with me until a war starts.”

Chris smiled, “Good. I was hoping you would stay.” Chris turned around and walked toward his parents. Audrey watched him go and wondered about something the Grey Being had said. They called Chris her companion and, when she denied it, it said ‘If you say so.’ What did it see in her mind? She thought about that for the remainder of the day until they left to join Admiral Barber on her Flagship.

• • •

Audrey arrived at Willow’s landing pad and looked around, “Where’s Chris?”

“He left with Admiral Barber. We’ll meet him on her ship.”

Audrey was slightly peeved he left without her and she climbed into Willow’s cockpit. “Let’s go see what he’s up to now.” Willow received clearance and entered the LaGrange’s giant landing bay. Audrey stepped out of Willow and saw sailors running around on all sides of her. She looked across the giant bay and saw Chris talking with Admiral Barber.

She walked up and saluted. Loree returned her salute and smiled, “Congratulations on your promotion, Admiral. We need more officers like you.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Audrey pointed over her shoulder, “What’s going on?”

Chris smiled, “We’re moving all of the magnets out of storage and attaching them to the walls. Another pressurized container of Dark Matter is being installed on the port side to compliment the one on the starboard side.”

“You’re planning to hide the ship behind the cloud.”

“That’s the plan. The Attacker ships don’t leave skip traces so we’re going to have to keep them in sight in the void to follow them.”

Audrey looked around and tilted her head, “Will the cloud be able to hide a ship this big?”

“If it can’t, then we’ll have to use Willow to follow them.”

Loree nodded, “We should know shortly. If it works, I’m going to have all of the ships in my fleet modified to use it.”

• • •

Chris and Audrey stood next to the viewport on the LaGrange’s bridge and heard Loree order, “Start releasing the cloud. They turned and looked at the wall monitor and saw a dark mist erupt from the rear of the giant battleship and start rushing forward. It arrived at the bow and they turned around and looked out of the viewport and saw nothing but the pitch-black mist. Chris thought, “Willow?”

“You’re going to have to get someone outside the ship to place magnets on the rear stabilizers. They’re sticking up out of the cloud like four icebergs.”

Loree heard Willow and turned to her panel. Audrey stared the dark mist, “We’re going to have to extend several antennas outside the mist. She paused and said, “Willow, can you determine how thick the cloud is around the ship?”

“It looks like it’s clinging tightly to the hull.”

“Do you think the star drive will be outside of it?”

“It’s hard to tell. The star drive might force it away from the hull.”

Chris and Audrey looked at Loree who turned to Lance, “Activate the star drive.”

Lance pressed a button and they saw the dark mist move away from the viewport. “Willow?”

“There are a few gaps in the coverage now.”

Chris looked at Loree, “You need to release some more Dark Matter.”

Loree nodded and passed the order to her engineers. “That’s enough; the ship is covered except for the stabilizers.”

Loree smiled, “Get some magnets out and attach them to both sides of the stabilizers.”

“Yes Sir.”

An hour later, Willow said, “I can no longer see or detect the ship.”

“Can you find your way into the landing bay?”

“Just extend an antenna on each side of the door and I’ll come in between them.” Chris looked at Loree and she nodded. A few moments later Willow said, “I’m in.”

Loree looked at Lance, “Extend the antennas.”

Chris and Audrey stepped back from the view port and looked up at the giant monitors over it. The Tactical Monitor activated first followed by the other two. The viewport changed its polarization and the view changed to normal space in front of the battleship. Loree looked at Chris and tilted her head, “This is an invaluable tool for my ships. Thank you for suggesting it.”

Audrey looked at Loree, “Sir, who is in command of this mission?”

Loree stared at her and her eyebrows lowered, “Why do you ask, Admiral?”

“Chris was in command of our mission and I outranked him. I just wondered if that has changed.”

Loree stared at her and Audrey saw she was not happy. She pushed a button on her console and spoke quietly for a few minutes. She finally raised her head and looked at Chris, “You are in command as long as we are not in combat operations. If we have to fight the ship, I’ll be assuming command.” She looked at Audrey and stared at her with an expression that showed her displeasure.

Audrey said, “Sir, I meant no disrespect but I discovered that he can see things that I missed. I think you’ll see that this is a good decision and will make this mission safer.”

Loree continued to stare at her and then slowly shook her head, “The trouble with being away from all the other fleets is that I’ve become accustomed to having things done my way. I will comply with this structure and hope that you’re right about this.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Sir.”

Chris looked at Loree, “Is the ship ready to leave?”

“It is.”

“Do not use the Dark Matter weapons until you see if the disruptors will be enough against any ships we have to fight.” Loree tilted her head and Chris said, “We need to keep those weapons a secret, Admiral.”

Loree said over her shoulder, “Frank?”

“Disruptors are now online, Sir. The cannons and rotary guns are on standby.”

Chris nodded, “Willow send the coordinates of that Attacker Planet.”

Lance looked at his panel and said, “I have them.”

Chris looked at Loree, “Please command your ship. I’ll only intervene in the event I see something.”

Loree smiled and looked at Lance, “Take us ten thousand miles out from that coordinate.”

“Activating Stardrive.” The LaGrange hung in normal space for an instant and then disappeared.

• • •

They entered the void and Chris said, “Please pull in the antennas.”

Loree raised her eyebrows and nodded to Lance. The LaGrange skipped away and after twenty minutes, came to a stop. Chris closed his eyes and said, “Wait here. Do not extend an antenna.”

“What’s going on?”

“I hear the thoughts of thousands of beings around us. It appears we arrived in the middle of a returning fleet. I would recommend leaving the void.”

Lance shut down the stardrive and the LaGrange left the void and entered normal space. “Give them about ten minutes and then go back into the void.” The crew waited ten minutes and Lance looked at Chris. Loree was both annoyed and proud of Lance at the same time. She didn’t like being bypassed in issuing commands but Lance knew the most efficient way was to follow the Mission Commanders orders immediately. Chris closed his eyes and said, “Extend the antennas.”

A few moments later, the monitors and viewport activated and Loree stared at the tactical monitor. Tens of thousands of warships were moving through the void away from them. She looked at Audrey who had an ‘I told you so’ expression on her face and she nodded to her. She was right. She wouldn’t have known about those ships without Chris’s telepathic ability. Chris sighed, “The being in charge saw that eight fleets were going to gather at this planet. Let’s move in behind them and see what’s going on.”

Loree looked at Lance and he said, “I know, don’t get closer than three hundred miles.”

Chris looked at Loree and she said, “The invaders can detect our antennas inside two hundred miles.” Chris nodded and turned to stare at the tactical monitor.

Chapter Thirteen

The LaGrange accelerated and kept a thousand miles between it and the fleet moving toward the planet. A hundred thousand miles out from the planet, Loree said, “This is close enough.” The LaGrange came to a stop and Loree shook her head as she stared at the monitor. “There’s more than seventy five thousand warships above that planet.”

Chris said as he thought so everyone could hear, “Willow listen in on their thoughts and see if you can determine how many fleets have arrived.”

“Give me some time.”

“Take all you need.” Chris looked at Lance, “Keep an eye out for any ship that leaves the planet.” Loree looked at him and Chris said, “We need to find how many planets are sending ships here. Have you notified your other ships that are coming here to be careful about extending more than one antenna when they arrive?”

Loree looked at Lance, “Send them a recording of everything that’s been said.” Lance nodded and began pressing buttons on is console. “Are you planning for us to leave here? This is where the major activity is going to happen.”

“Unless you plan to start a fight, we should continue our mission.”

Loree smirked and said, “You’re right. I have to depend on my ship commanders to do what’s necessary.”

Willow interrupted them, “There are three fleets here.”

Chris shook his head, “Then there will be about two hundred and seventy five thousand ships going to attack the Grey Ships if the other fleets are of corresponding size. That must mean this civilization is rather extensive.”

Loree shook her head, “We only have half that number of battleships available but that doesn’t includes the Pods.”

Chris nodded, “This may be a tune up for handling the invaders.”

Audrey said, “There may be more than that, Chris.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Remember that eight fleets were going to join the fleet that originally attacked.”

Chris sighed, “You’re right.”

“Sir, I have a rather large armed transport moving away from the planet toward the Gravity Limit!”

Chris said, “Don’t lose it.”

Lance nodded, “Emily, it appears to be headed out toward the western side of that planet. We need to move around to that side to have the best view of it as it skips out.”

The LaGrange turned and accelerated at one half speed toward the far side of the planet. They arrived just as the huge transport skipped away. Emily flew the LaGrange in, saw the transport ahead of her in the void, and fell in behind it. Chris looked at Loree, “How much longer will it be before your other ships arrive?”

“They’ll arrive in about four hours.”

“I would suggest that you change their arrival coordinates to the western side of the planet. It appears the ships are leaving a corridor open for vessels exiting the planet. That should mean none of the incoming fleets would be coming in from that direction.”

Loree shook her head and Lance said, “I’m sending the coordinates now, Sir.” Loree didn’t know if he was talking to her or Chris and she knew he intended it just that way. Lance deserved his own ship but she was reluctant to let him go. Maybe after this was over; she shouldn’t stand in his way from advancing. Loree looked at Chris and saw a remarkable young man. He was also very handsome. “Mr. Stone, you don’t need to suggest things. Order them done and my crew will carry them out. I appreciate your being polite but this is a ship of war; we need to do things without confusion.” Chris nodded and smiled at her.

Audrey saw her look at Chris and didn’t like what she saw. The Admiral was unattached and though she wasn’t beautiful in the classic fashion, she was very pretty; it was her personality that made her imposing. She shook off the feeling and saw that she was feeling jealous. This would have to stop! Chris was still too immature for romance. She wondered about that for a moment and shook her head: of course he is, she thought. Get a grip!

• • •

The transport wasn’t going very far. It arrived in a planetary system and turned toward the fourth planet. The LaGrange entered normal space and Chris said, “Willow?”

“There are huge numbers of warships above the planet. Don’t move in too close. It appears they have a defensive line of them out from the planet.”

Loree looked at Chris, “How can your pod see things we can’t?”

“Willow was given an electronic program that allows him to communicate telepathically. His range is much longer than mine and he can hear the thoughts of those around the planet.”

“Where did he get that program?”

“Piper gave it to him to keep track of what we’re doing.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“The jury is still out on that one; however, we can use his talents to keep us out of harm’s way.”

“We need to get a good look at what’s going on at that planet.” Chris said, “Willow, do you detect the thought pattern of their Leader?”

“I’ve been looking for that and I don’t. I don’t think it’s here.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Emily, “Move out away from the planet and Lance, keep an eye out for another ship leaving it. As soon as it arrives at the gravity limit, I want a full electronic scan of that planet done and then we’ll skip out and follow the ship that’s leaving.”

Audrey said, “Is that a good idea? They’ll detect the scan.”

“They won’t know who did it. Those ships that are in a defensive line are there for a reason; this planet must have been attacked in the past. We don’t want to run the risk of being discovered. It’s holes to doughnuts that there are numerous probes around it and some of them may be looking for anything that blocks light from distant stars. We’ll take what they give us and get out of here.” Chris looked at Lance, “I trust you are cataloguing the planets with notes about what we’ve found.”

“Yes Sir.” Chris nodded and stared at the tactical monitor. He saw Lance was doing the same. If any of those ships started moving their way…”

“I have a battleship moving out of the defensive line.”

“Is it moving toward us!?”

Lance stared at his panel and after a moment looked up, “No, it isn’t. It’s headed out on a bearing two hundred and seventy degrees from our position.”

“Are you close enough to do a thorough scan of the planet?”

“Not really. Emily, accelerate to thirty thousand miles out in normal space and I’ll run a scan. Then you can turn and go after that battleship. Wait until it arrives at the gravity limit and goes into the void before you move.” Emily nodded and stared at her panel.

Loree sat back and wondered how this supposedly ten year old was so organized in his thinking. Where did he learn so much about ship operations? She looked at her crew and saw them looking at her. She smiled and nodded. They went to their tasks and Loree knew that having two commanders on a ship was never a good thing. She stepped down from her command chair and said, “Mr. Stone, you should sit here unless we are involved in a firefight.”

Chris looked at her and blew out a slow breath, “I think you’re right. I can use your systems; however, when we are in enemy space, I want you close by.”

Loree nodded and stepped behind the chair. Chris walked over and sat down. He looked at the multiple displays and smiled. Now this was more like it. Audrey went and took a seat next to Lance. He looked at her and she smiled, “I was Admiral Mitchell’s Sensor Officer.”

Lance looked at the stars on her collar and said, “Perhaps it should be you in my chair, Sir.”

“No, you’re one of the best I’ve ever seen, Captain. You’re right where you belong.” Lance smiled broadly and turned back to his panel. Loree saw the exchange and immediately knew Audrey was going to be a fine Fleet Commander. She had the intangible skills that would bond her crew to her. She looked at Chris and wondered why she was still with him. Was there more than met the eye? She liked being able to sit back and make observations without the encumbrances of commanding a battleship to distract her.

She saw Audrey staring at Chris and knew she stood no chance against her. She was not only drop dead gorgeous but had an outstanding mind to go with it. Well, she’d see how it went. She looked at Chris and saw he wasn’t looking at either of them. She shook her head and could see the ten year old in him. She thought about what would happen if they, by some miracle, were to become an item and she knew that she would have to leave her fleet or endure long durations of separation. It only took her a moment to decide that either of those weren’t acceptable. She looked at Lance and smiled.

Audrey wasn’t telepathic but she saw Loree stare at her and then look at Chris. She knew what she was thinking. She saw her look at Lance and she sighed in relief. She was not going to be a competitor. Audrey didn’t fight the thoughts but at that moment decided that it was going to be Chris or no one. Now she was going to have to be patient and allow Chris to come to the same conclusion. She leaned over to Lance and whispered, “What do you think about the Admiral?”

Lance looked at Audrey, looked quickly at Loree, and then turned back to her, “She’s really special.”

Audrey nodded, “She really is Lance. I think she feels the same way about you.”

“Get out of here.”

“Keep an eye on her. You’ll see.” And he did.

• • •

Emily shouted, “I’M MOVING IN! MAKE THE SCAN QUICKLY!!”

The LaGrange rushed forward and Lance pressed four buttons simultaneously on his panel. Audrey was shocked at how large his hands were to make that kind of reach across his panel. “Get us out of here!”

Emily hit the stardrive and left normal space and turned the LaGrange on a dime and accelerated after the rapidly disappearing battleship. In normal space, three hundred battleships blasted away from the defensive line and headed out toward the source of the powerful scan. They arrived and found nothing. Chris saw the battle ship growing larger and looked at Emily, “They can’t detect us behind the cloud, Sir. I’m not going to get closer than three thousand miles.”

“Willow, who’s on that ship?”

“A fleet commander is going back to his fleet to wrap up an invasion. He’s been ordered to take his ships to the first planet once he’s done.”

Chris nodded and Loree said, “I don’t know if getting involved in the wars happening in this galaxy is a good idea.”

Chris looked at her, “When do most of the technological advances take place, Admiral?”

Loree shrugged, “During war. You think this will better prepare us for going home?”

“I do and in the process we might make a positive difference in this galaxy.” Chris stared at the battleship ahead of them and looked at Loree, “I’m stepping down from your chair.”

“Why?”

“I want you to blast that ship into the smallest pieces possible.”

“Again, why?”

“He’s been ordered to kill every being on the planet. We might not be able to prevent that happening but we can at least delay it.”

Chris stepped down from the command chair and Loree sat down in it, “Lance, did you get a good scan of those battleships around the planet?”

“I did, Sir. They use the layered force fields and their beams are nuclear powered.”

“Frank, what can you determine from the scan?”

“If we can get close enough, our disruptors should penetrate the four fields.”

“How close?”

“Inside five miles.”

“Emily, make it happen once we determine where it’s going.” Emily nodded and her eyes narrowed.

“I know where it’s going. I’ve seen the coordinates in their navigator’s mind.”

Loree smiled, “Frank, bring one rotary gun on line and fire one round at that ship.”

Audrey looked up from Lance’s panel, “What are you planning, Sir?”

“I’m not going to allow that vessel to get close to its destination and run the risk of having to fight off other ships. We’re going to knock down its drive field and follow that ship into normal space. Emily, get us close.”

Frank looked up from his console, “One round is loaded and the disruptors are charged to maximum.”

The LaGrange rushed up on the brightly glowing battleship and Frank fired the Dark Matter bullet. The bright drive field flashed out and Emily moved the LaGrange into normal space three miles away from the large vessel. Six of the port side disruptors discharged and the force fields around the enemy ship flashed out of existence one after the other. A moment later, the entire middle of the ship was vaporized. Three more disruptors fired and the pieces that survived the initial salvo were blown into dust.

“Good job, Emily, back into the void.”

The LaGrange disappeared, leaving an expanding cloud of gas and small particles behind. Loree stood up and pointed to the chair. Chris shook his head and smiled, “Admiral, I must confess that I am highly impressed with the professionalism and skill of your crew. That was amazing.”

“Thank you, Mr. Stone. The ship is yours.”

Lance looked up, “Sir, that ship’s distress beacon was located in the bow and went off before it was destroyed.”

Loree looked at Frank, “You know where to aim next time.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chris stepped out of the chair and Loree sat back down, “If we were headed directly toward that ship’s destination, I expect the rescue party to be coming directly this way. Emily move us ninety degrees away from our former heading and keep your eyes out for them. We’ll swing around them and head toward the planet after we’re clear.”

Emily turned the giant battleship and accelerated at three quarters speed. Lance looked up, “The enemy ships are behind us and are accelerating toward the site of that ship’s destruction.”

“Willow, I can use those coordinates now.”

Lance smiled, “I have them and I’ve sent them to Emily.”

Loree looked at Emily and nodded. She started to step down but Chris put his hand on her shoulder, “Why don’t you stay where you are for the moment.”

Loree nodded and settled in. Audrey watched her crew perform and now had a model of what she would expect on her ship. The Admiral was incredible. Chris looked at Audrey and gave a thumbs up. Audrey smiled and nodded. She saw Chris and Audrey out of the corner of her eyes and smiled. She still had it. Impressing them meant a lot to her. She began to hope that mankind was going to have a chance against the invaders.

• • •

They arrived at the planet and found just six hundred battleships in orbit. The planet had been bombarded extensively and the local populations were in a state of shock. Lance looked at his panel and said, “They’re preparing to drop troop carriers to the surface.”

“How did you make that determination?”

“Their landing bay doors are open and some of them are starting to move out.”

Lukas watched the scanner monitor and shook his head. “Willow.”

“Yes.”

“Are you able to get a transmission out to Fleet?”

“Not with the black hole between us.”

“See if you can get Piper.”

“What do you want, Chris.”

“Can you get Lukas and connect him to me?”

“Why.”

“I intend to stop the destruction of a planet.”

“Stand by.”

“Chris?”

“Lukas, I don’t have much time but I want you to send Chad’s fleet to the coordinates I’m sending you.”

“Why do you want that?”

“A planet has been bombarded and the Attackers are going to start landing operations momentarily. We need to see how we match up to their ships and now would be a good time to do it.”

Lukas looked over his shoulder, “Send them.”

Chris looked at Lance, “How many ships were going to the rescue of their fleet commander.”

“Two hundred.”

“Lukas, tell Chad to send about four hundred of his ships to the second coordinate where they’ll find about two hundred Attacker Ships. Send the rest to the first coordinate. Willow, send them the coordinates.”

“They have them, Chad has confirmed their arrival.”

“Piper, thank you for helping us.”

“I’m glad to do it.”

Loree looked at Chris, “Why are you doing this?”

“For the reason I stated. Most of the Attacker Fleet must have left once the planet was hit. We need to find out how we measure up.”

Loree looked at the huge fires burning on the planet, “There are two answers to every question, Mr. Stone.”

“Oh?”

“A good one and the real one. This reminds me of what happened to Earth. I’d do this simply because of that.”

Chris smiled, “You are wise beyond your years, Admiral.”

“Coming from a ten year old, that’s a great compliment.” The crew laughed and Chris turned red.

• • •

Audrey watched the monitor and shook her head, “How much longer will it take them to arrive?”

Chris smiled, “Patience is a meal best served slowly.”

Thousands of troop carriers were now forming up outside the battleships and it wasn’t going to be long before they entered the planet’s atmosphere. The first group started toward the planet and suddenly all of them exploded. Thousands of battleships appeared in normal space around the Attacker’s Fleet and opened fire with their disruptors. Attacker ships began exploding in a massive wave that ripped through their ranks. Many were able to fire their beams and several battleships were damaged when they were hit by multiple shots. But before any more damage could be done, the overwhelming number of attackers demolished the enemy fleet. Loree looked at Frank, who said, “Their beams are as powerful as our main disruptors, Sir.”

Loree shook her head and saw the thousands of Attack Pods that moved in with Chad’s fleet destroying the troop carriers that tried to run for the planet’s surface. None of them were able to land troops although one did manage to land before it was blasted into rubble.

Chris activated his wrist unit, “Thank you, Admiral.”

“I am thankful we could assist you, Chris.”

“You need to get out of here. I’m sure they sent a message back to their fleets.”

“They’ll probably destroy this planet if we leave.”

“We’re not ready to take them on yet. We still don’t know the magnitude of the forces we’d have to face. We’ve done what we can.”

Chad nodded and said, “Let us know if you need us.”

“Get the recordings back to Fleet to see how strong their weapons are. We’re going to need that information.” Chad nodded and the small display went dark. Chris looked at Loree, “We need to go back to the previous planet and find another ship to follow.”

“I think we should skip out of here and see what my fleet has been able to uncover so far.”

Chris nodded and Loree looked at Emily, “Skip us out to deep space above the galaxy.” Emily turned to her console and the LaGrange entered the void and skipped away at maximum speed.

Audrey looked at Chris, “The ships that were damaged were brought inside another ship’s drive field and towed away.” Chris nodded and looked at the tactical monitor. The microprobe they left behind had thousands of small points of light moving toward the planet. He prayed for the doomed populations still on the planet’s surface. He saw them arrive and then suddenly turn and scatter in thousands of different directions. His eyebrows came together and Audrey said, “Admiral Mitchell is incredible. He had his ships deliberately leave skip traces for them to follow. His fleet is running away from the central black hole and is leading them out into the far side of the galaxy.”

Chris smiled. Finding who killed their ships would take precedence over continuing an attack against a bombed out planet. The planet was given a stay of execution. That was more than he expected.

• • •

“Who attacked our ships?”

“We’ve followed their skip traces for more than forty thousand light years and they all ended at the same place.”

“How may traces were there?”

“About a thousand, Excellency.”

“Our ships were severely outnumbered.”

“It does appear so.”

“Why do you say appeared?”

“If they were able to eliminate their skip trails, we really don’t know how many actually participated in the attack. There could have been many more than that.”

“You make a good point. Do you think they ran toward their origin?”

“I wouldn’t have.”

“So we have no idea who was behind this?”

“No, we don’t.”

“Could it have been the Grey Ships?”

“This is a long way from their planet.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I guess it’s possible but they’ve not left their planet in the past.”

“It may be that they’ve not been attacked in the past and are scouting our forces.”

“That is possible.”

“Recall your ships to the gathering.”

“What about the planet?”

“We’ll worry about that after we eliminate the Grey Ships. Recall your ships!”

Chapter Fourteen

The image of the Andromeda Galaxy was on the scanner monitor and it was beautiful. It made everyone homesick; it looked so much like the Milky Way, only larger. Loree looked at the image on the monitor and turned to Lance, “I want you to freeze that image and set it up for expansion or contraction. Barbie, is your scanner capable of maintaining the details of each star?”

“I can keep the stars in focus but we’ll have to move a lot closer for me to see the planets.”

“That’s ok. How many ships have reported in on planets they’ve uncovered?”

“Eight hundred planets have been found that have ships gathering at the first planet we visited.” Chris whistled at the number. “Are they all located in the same sector of the galaxy?”

“Two of them are further out toward the rim but all the others are within eight hundred light years of each other.”

“Change the color of the stars where those planets are located.” Everyone watched the monitor and started seeing stars changing color to red. After a few moments, the image of Andromeda showed the eight hundred stars. “What can you tell me about the two planets out toward the edge of the galaxy?”

“Both of them have warships around them but there is only one city on the planet that appears to be near a mining operation. The two Commanders that found them say that they are probably the source of a rare mineral the Attackers need. The ships are there to protect the mines.”

Loree nodded and said, “Change their color to violet.” The two stars immediately changed color. “So the real center of their civilizations is located in that quadrant where the majority of the red stars are located?”

“That is correct.”

“Bring the view in closer.” The area began to grow larger until it filled the monitor. “Did any of these planets have something about them out of the ordinary?”

“Ninety six of them have large concentrations of warships in orbit above them. They appear to be the planets where the majority of their shipbuilding is taking place. One of them in particular is heavily overpopulated.”

“What kind of ships are they building?”

“Mainly warships and armed transports. The Warships are the same kind you attacked at the planet they invaded and the ones that Chris recorded at the planet of the Grey Ships.”

Loree looked at Chris and Audrey, “That might be their home world.”

“There are thirty eight more planets building that particular warship but none of them are close to the population density of that planet.”

“Change all the planets that are building those ships to green.” The image changed again and Loree said, “Notice that all of them are centered around that massive planet. That suggests that they were conquered by the largest. Barbie, what civilization has the second largest number of ships gathering.”

“Actually, those ships we’ve discussed are the second largest. The largest number of ships come from a group of planets that surround those shipbuilding planets.”

“Change their color to orange.”

The image changed and Chris shook his head, “Barbie, how many planets is that?”

“Five hundred.”

“How many planets does the first civilization have control over?” The group of red stars grew until they filled the area inside the green stars. Chris looked at Loree, “It appears they are surrounded and we know nothing about the capabilities of the green warships.”

Loree stared at the monitor and said, “Emily, move in close enough to that quadrant where Barbie can show us the planets.” Emily sent the ship into the void and pushed forward on the steering wheel. The LaGrange accelerated and thirty minutes later, Emily moved the ship into normal space. “How far out are we?”

“About two hundred light years.”

“Barbie, I want you to focus on the stars that lie between those two civilizations. I notice that quite a few of them are not showing any color. Try to look at any that might be located in the habitation zone.” The monitor began flashing rapidly and Chris looked at Loree, “Barbie is looking at all of them and will give us a summary when the study is completed.”

“Is each one of those flashes a planet that lies in the habitation zone?

Loree nodded. Chris shook his head and Audrey said, “What are you thinking?”

“The probabilities are high that some of those planets have to be inhabited. If they’re not…”

“Then there must be a reason.”

“The most likely answer would be an intergalactic war. Of course, I might be wrong.”

“I’ve changed two of those stars to green.”

“What about the others?”

“Admiral, it appears most of them have been bombarded from space.”

“Can you tell which civilization they belonged to?”

“Only a few of them but it appears that they are equally divided between the red and green stars.”

Loree looked at Lance, “Contact Commodore Schilling’s squadron and have them assigned to one of those planet to go and take a look around.” Lance turned to his board and began speaking quietly. Loree looked at Chris, “The images we’re seeing out here are two hundred years old. I want to know if those planets are still uninhabited.”

Chris looked at Loree and Audrey, “The green stars are more powerful.” Both of them looked at him and he pointed at the monitor, “Take a look. The red stars are completely surrounded by the green. They were moving in on the reds and winning.”

“Why did they stop fighting?”

Chris looked at Emily, “That is something we need to find out.”

Loree sat back in the command chair, “Why is that?”

“Because the only thing that could make them stop is a force stronger than both of them.”

Loree shook her head, “Barbie, how many different civilizations are represented at the ship gathering?”

“Ten in total; however, the other eight have contributed a small fraction of the green and red fleets.”

“What fraction do they represent?”

“Less than a one hundredth.”

Loree looked at Chris, “The only way any of them could have stopped the fighting is if they had indestructible warships.”

“Even then, that’s highly unlikely they have that or they would have gone on and defeated both of them.”

Chris stared at the monitor and Audrey wondered what he was thinking. She saw his concentration and didn’t want to interrupt him to ask.

“Sir, I have the first reports coming in from Commodore Shilling’s squadron. Those planets are still uninhabited but they’ve recovered from the bombardment two hundred years ago and are all beautiful planets now.”

“Show me.”

Everyone looked at the right hand monitor and began seeing image after image of beautiful blue and green planets begin appearing one after another. Chris sighed and shook his head, “Do you think the billions of beings crowded on that ship building planet might want to live on one of those?”

Frank said, “Why aren’t they?”

Chris continued to stare at the planets as more reports came in, “It’s a neutral zone that no one will violate.”

• • •

Frank shook his head, “But they’re attacking planets outside this quadrant. The planet where we just attacked their ships is far outside this quadrant.”

“Who’s to stop them from violating that zone?”

Chris turned and looked at Loree, “That is the key to understanding what’s going on here.” Everyone looked at each other as planet after beautiful planet rolled across the monitor.

• • •

“Amanda, what can you tell me about the beam that damaged our battleships?”

“Jinks, it’s not nuclear or plasma generated.”

“Then what is it?”

“I haven’t been able to make a determination yet. However, every ship that one of those beams hit has been damaged.”

“What can you tell me about the damage?”

“It blew through the force field and went completely out the other side.”

“Get this out to Admiral Barber now!”

“She’s not where I can reach her.”

“She’s currently holding station above the galaxy. Get it out now!”

• • •

Lance looked up and said, “I have a message from Commodore Ambrose.”

“Put her on the monitor.”

Amanda appeared and said, “Thank God! I’ve done an analysis of the beams being used by the ships you attacked.”

Chris looked at the monitor, “And?”

“Every one of our ships that was hit by one on those beams was damaged. Admiral Mitchell was lucky that most of them weren’t at battle stations when he attacked. The analysis of the recording shows that the enemy ships didn’t have time to bring their weapons online before they were overwhelmed.”

Loree said, “How many of our ships were configured with their most powerful force fields?”

Amanda looked down and then looked up, “None of them were higher than thirty percent; however, those beams blew all the way through and weren’t slowed at all.”

“Thanks, Amanda. We’ve been lucky so far that we’ve been able to take them by surprise.”

“Half of the ships sent to that group of two hundred ships were damaged. They were at battle stations.”

Chris looked at Audrey and then turned back to Amanda, “So whoever shoots first wins.”

“It does appear that is the case.”

“Thanks Amanda.”

“Be careful!”

“You know we will.”

The monitor went dark and Loree looked at Chris, “What do you think about this?”

“It confirms there is an outside entity that is heavily involved in this.”

Loree started laughing and Chris tilted his head, “What’s so funny?”

“I am beyond amazement at how you make these intuitive leaps. I might figure this out after several hours of reflection but why don’t you save me the effort and tell me how you know this.”

Chris shook twice with a snicker and shook his head, “When have our weapons ever exceeded our ability to stop them?”

“Right now. The Dark Matter Rounds will penetrate our force fields.”

“And where did we get that technology? Did we develop it?”

Loree’s eyes went wide, “YOU’RE RIGHT!”

Lance looked at them and said, “Perhaps I’m not as bright as you two geniuses but I don’t understand.”

Audrey looked at him and said, “Our force field will stop our disruptors which was our strongest weapon. We stole the Dark Matter Technology from the invaders use of the Dark Cloud.”

Lance stared at her and then turned to Loree, “Their force fields won’t stop their beams.”

Loree nodded, “So that means they either stole that technology, or…”

“Someone gave it to them.”

Lance looked at Chris, “What are we going to do about this?”

“I want everything that’s happened downloaded into a datacube.”

Loree shook her head, “If you intend to go anywhere, we’re going with you.”

“No, you’re not, Admiral. I think we’ve completed our mission and we need to see if we can get our reward for it. I will not endanger this ship by allowing you to go with me.”

Loree stared at Chris and after a moment smiled, “It’s been a real pleasure serving with you, Mister Stone. Please feel free to join me in the future.”

Chris smiled, “I’ve heard a lot about you before this mission and I wondered if what I heard was true.” He paused and said, “You are actually even better than I was told you are. I would…suggest that you clear this area of your fleet.”

Loree nodded and looked at Lance stand up and bring the cube to Chris. He looked at Audrey who had stood up and said, “I’ve learned a lot from you, Sir. It’s been a real pleasure.”

“I hope Admiral Barber might release you to serve on my ship.”

Loree laughed, “Not a chance.”

Audrey smiled and winked at Lance, “I didn’t think so but I had to make the effort.”

Chris looked at Audrey, “Let’s go and join Willow.” She nodded and they left the bridge. The crew watched the small Attack Pod exit the landing bay on the monitor and Emily said, “I miss them already. Things were really interesting on this mission.”

Loree sighed, “I miss them as well, Captain.” She turned to Lance, “Send a message to all ships to skip out and return to Eden.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Audrey strapped in and said, “You’re not saying something.”

“It needs to wait.”

“So you know something.”

“If I knew for certain I would tell you but it’s only a suspicion right now. Willow, take us back to the Grey Planet.”

“It’s good to have company again.”

Audrey laughed, “We’ve missed you as well.”

Chris remained silent all the way back to the Grey Civilization. They arrived and entered normal space outside the furthest moon. They heard one of the Grey Beings ask, “Have you completed your assignment?”

“I have. I’ve downloaded everything in a data cube.”

“Please transmit the information at high speed.”

Chris inserted the data cube into his panel and said, “Willow, if you’ll do the honors.”

Thirty seconds later they heard, “It appears we are underestimating the magnitude of the coming attack.”

“Our offer of assistance still stands.”

“We may take you up on it. However, you’ve done more than we expected.”

Chris heard Willow say, “Holy guacamole.”

He looked at the display and saw something huge move out of the planet’s force field. The Gravity Ship was gigantic. “I’ve sent the information on how to operate the ship to the data cube you have on board. We will take it to your planet and the crew will leave on one of our vessels. Make good use of it.”

“Thank you. Contact us if you need our assistance.”

“We will.”

• • •

“Willow, take us home.”

Willow entered the void and the Gravity Ship entered with her and followed her all the way back to Eden. They arrived and Chris pressed a button on his console. Amanda appeared on the display and Chris said, “I have a ship here with instructions on how to operate it along with more than twenty Dark Energy reactors on board. Are you interested?” Amanda screamed and the display went dark. Chris looked at Audrey, “I guess she is.” Audrey laughed and Chris said, “You should take your fleet now.”

“What?”

“I’ve found what I went out to find. I’ll be involved in the development of Dark Energy for the foreseeable future. You should go and get your fleet ready for war.”

“Chris…”

He put his index finger on her lips and shook his head, “Now is not the time.” Audrey stared at him and when he removed his finger, she remained silent. “Willow, drop me off at that ship and take Audrey to Fleet Headquarters.”

“Are you sure about that, Chris?”

“It’s what has to be done, Willow. Thank you for all you’ve done.”

Audrey remained silent until Chris left the ship. Her tears started and Willow said, “He’s not ready, Audrey.”

“I know,” she managed to say. “But knowing it doesn’t change the pain.”

“It’s his pain that is forcing him to go.” Audrey looked back at the giant ship and wiped her eyes. He knew. That was enough.

• • •

“This information is disturbing.”

“It is.”

“Where did they get that beam?”

“I wondered about that when they attacked the first time. The numbers coming are much higher than I anticipated.”

“Can we hold out against them?”

“We’ll be forced to remain on our planet but they have no idea how strong our force field is.”

“Having to remain here is nothing.”

“I know. It just bothers me that we won’t be in complete control.”

“Are we going to start up the factories?”

“Yes, it will take some time before we have enough ships to remove them from our space.”

“Should we accept their help?”

“I don’t know. That’s another form of outside control.”

“You’re right.”

• • •

The Attackers arrived and found nothing to attack around the planet. Their massive fleets moved in and began bombarding the planet’s force field but nothing broke through. They moved in missile ships and the missiles exploded harmlessly. Every ship possible moved into a small area above the force field and fired simultaneously at the same place. Nothing broke through. The Leader screamed and killed the Leaders of the fleets but nothing changed. Finally, most of the warships left and a large fleet remained behind. It was relieved periodically but still nothing broke through. That’s where the situation stayed for a very long time.

Chapter Fifteen

Amanda and Trevor finally flew the Gravity Ship to the white planet after they learned how the reactors operated. They lowered a giant sled filled with scoops into the planet’s surface and withdrew them after thirty minutes. The coated scoops were brought back and were installed on the first battleship to be fitted with the lock band above the reactors. The ship launched and flew through open space at maximum speed. After two days, all fifty reactors were filled with compressed Dark Energy. Amanda remotely pushed the igniter that lit the first reactor and the ship’s systems almost immediately overloaded. It took another two years to redesign the entire electrical system to handle the increased load. Once the final design passed inspection, three more ships were completed. Amanda contacted Chris and told him his ship was ready to be picked up.

• • •

“Have the new battleships been trialed?”

“Yes, Great Leader. The first group have just finished having their weapons installed and tested.”

“What about the new engines?”

“They operate according to their specifications.”

“Where are they now?”

“They’re currently being provisioned out in open space between our galaxies, Great Leader.”

“For their initial field mission, I want them sent to the Spiral Galaxy to check on that planet we destroyed. How long will it take them to arrive?”

“About four weeks.”

“Let me know when they leave.”

“What do you want them to do when they arrive?”

“Make sure everything is as we left it and do a quick scouting of those other civilizations. Once we’ve upgraded our fleets to the new engines, we’ll be going back to remove them and start taking control of that galaxy.”

“Yes, Great Leader. They should be leaving within six days.”

“Make sure I stay informed!”

“I will follow your orders, Great Leader.”

• • •

Chris arrived at the spaceport and took possession of one of the ships. He had it taken to the shipyards and had every disruptor, cannon, and rotary gun barrel plugged. He also had all the swivel mounts for the disruptors made out of a frictionless material with no outer seams. Once the job was complete, he then lifted his communicator, “Are you busy?”

Audrey almost fell out of her command chair, “What kind of question is that after three years!? Of course I’m not busy.”

“I need you to bring the crew of your flagship and meet me on Eden.”

“Where?”

“I’ll be out in the center of the port’s landing area.”

“Should I bring my ship?”

Chris hesitated and said, “Yes.”

Audrey saw the display darken and felt her heart in her throat. She got a grip on her emotions and looked at Hawk, “Captain Red Feather, we’ve been ordered to report to the main landing field at the space port on Eden.”

“Did they give you a landing assignment?”

“I was told to land in the center of the field.” Hawk nodded and turned the Destiny out of formation.

“Commodore Malone, you’re in command until I return.”

Frank smiled and said, “I’ll take care of the children.”

“See that you do.” Audrey saw Chris in her mind. He looked older and more mature. He was only in a body twenty-four years old but his eyes delivered a different message. He had changed. She sighed and hoped she could control her emotions.

Janie said, “Sir, why are we going to Eden?”

“I don’t know. However, I expect all of you to be on your best behavior, it that clear?”

Everyone shouted, “Yes Sir!” Audrey didn’t have to worry. This crew was the best of the best. She’d put them up against any ship in the fleet. They had won the last fleet trials. What did Chris want?

“Sir, we’re entering atmosphere. I’m looking at the space port and there appears to already be a battleship in the center of the landing area.”

“Land next to it.”

“Yes Sir.” The Destiny dropped out of high atmosphere and settled smoothly to the high strength concrete of the landing area. She looked at Janie, “You have the ship.”

“Yes Sir.”

Audrey went to the front port and the sailors saluted and opened the port for her. She returned their salute and walked down the steps that had been deployed. She looked around and didn’t see anyone. She looked at the ship they were parked next to and was shocked at what she saw. This was unlike any ship she had ever seen. It was as long as a normal battleship but it was not as tall. Its sleek design screamed one word…speed. “How do you like it?” Audrey turned around and saw Chris. She tried to speak but couldn’t. “This is one of the new ships we’ve been building. I need your help to complete its construction.”

Audrey’s heart was beating a mile a minute but she managed to say, “She needs to be painted before we take her out.”

“That’s what I need your help doing.”

“What?”

“We’re going back to see the monster.”

Audrey’s heart actually slowed down, “You can’t be serious.”

“I’m not a kidder. Please call your crew and have them meet me on the bridge. It’s still located at the front of the ship.”

Audrey shook her head, “And who’s not a kidder?”

Chris smiled, “You’re wasting time, Admiral, get moving!”

Audrey straightened up and saw that this was going to be all business, “Yes Sir.” She lifted her wrist unit and began issuing orders. She waited for the crew to exit her ship and had them follow her on board. The inside of the ship was completely different from their battleship. The corridors were smaller and the sounds coming from the engine bay was a muted hum. “What kind of ship is this, Sir?”

“I don’t know. This must be one of the prototype gravity warships.”

“Get out of here!”

“I honestly don’t know if it is but there have been rumors.” They entered the bridge and Audrey said, “Attention!” Her bridge crew came to attention and she saluted Chris.

Chris returned her salute and said, “At ease. Please move to your normal stations.”

The crew moved around the bridge and Chris pointed to the command chair, “If you please, Admiral.”

Audrey moved to the command chair and shook her head at the sleek panel in front of her. She shook her head and said, “This is amazing.”

“We’re taking the ship out for trials and each of you have a tutorial at your stations to teach you how to use your systems. You have exactly twenty-four hours to learn them. At that time you WILL go and get some sleep. Is that clear?”

“YES SIR!”

Chris glanced at Audrey and said, “Good luck and study hard.”

He left the bridge and Aman said, “Was that Christopher Stone?” Audrey nodded. “He’s bigger in real life. The pictures don’t do him justice.”

Janie smiled and cooed, “NO…they don’t.”

Audrey blew out a breath and said, “Get to work. We have a lot to do and we will not let Mr. Stone down!”

“Yes Sir!”

Audrey plugged in the headset laying on her panel and began learning how the ship functioned. In less than thirty minutes she was totally immersed in what this ship could do. Her crew were also silent as they listened to their tutorials. Twenty-four hours later they completed the simulations and the bone weary crew fell back in their chairs. “Admiral, if you don’t mind, I’m just going to go to sleep in this chair.”

“No you’re not. Move out to the sleeping quarters and get some rest.” The crew stumbled off the bridge and took the high-speed sleds to the living quarters. All of them, except Audrey, fell asleep instantly. It took her a little longer but fatigue finally took her.

Audrey awoke and felt refreshed. She showered and found a clean uniform at the foot of her bed. She never heard anyone deliver it. It was even the right one. Even her stars had been taken off her dirty clothes and put on the collar. She walked to the port and looked out across the landing area. She heard a loud voice shout, “I AM GOING WITH YOU AND THAT’S FINAL!!”

She looked out the door and saw Amanda yelling at Chris. He shook his head and thought, “Lukas, you better get out here pronto.” He turned to Amanda and said, “You can make the second trip if the first one is successful.”

“Christopher Stone, I will not be denied.”

A surface vehicle roared up and Lukas said, “You will not be going, Amanda.”

Amanda turned and Lukas stepped back, “Lukas, I have given in to you every time you’ve asked. I am not going to do it this time!”

“Why not?”

“Because this is the fruit of all I’ve worked on for three years and I deserve to be there at the christening!”

Lukas stared at Amanda and after a moment his gaze softened, “Will you do it if I beg you not to go?”

Amanda started crying and lowered her head, “You know I will.”

Lukas looked at Chris, “She’s going with you. She’s earned the right.” Chris stared at Lukas and looked at Amanda who couldn’t believe her ears. Lukas said, “But Trevor stays. Both of you can go later but I’ll not risk losing both of you.”

Amanda looked at Lukas and after a moment shook her head, “He can go in my place. He deserves it.”

Trevor stepped out of the vehicle and said, “I will not go without you. We go together or not at all.”

“But Trevor.”

“I love you, Amanda. I will not do this without you there with me to share in the experience.”

Amanda looked at Chris and said with biting sarcasm, “I guess this makes you happy!”

Chris shook his head, “No, it doesn’t. You should always share the most important moments in your life with someone you love. Chris looked at Lukas, “I’ll take care of them.”

“But…”

“Like you said, they deserve it.”

Lukas stared at Chris, looked at Trevor and Amanda, and started shaking his head, “If anything happened to them…”

“I’ll make sure it doesn’t, Lukas.”

Lukas stared into Chris’s eyes and softly smiled, “Take good care of them, son. They’re precious cargo.”

Amanda screamed and jumped into Trevor’s arms. Trevor went over to the vehicle and took out two backpacks. Lukas looked at him and Trevor said, “It never hurts to hope.”

Lukas smiled, “No, I guess it doesn’t.”

Chris turned and looked into the port and saw Audrey. His expression almost broke her heart. He missed her as much, maybe even more, than she missed him. He took a deep breath and said, “Admiral, would it be possible to lift off in an hour?”

“Yes Sir, sooner if you want.”

Chris nodded, “The sooner the better.”

Audrey walked over to a panel on the wall and lifted it. She pressed the intercom button and said, “We will be lifting off in twenty minutes. I expect all of you to be at your stations prepared to operate the ship.” Chris raised an eyebrow and Audrey smiled, “They heard me. They’ll be ready. I’ll meet you on the bridge in fifteen minutes.” Audrey turned and headed toward her quarters to get her hair pinned up. She arrived on the bridge ten minutes later and found the crew at their stations going through their checklists. She sat down in the command chair and looked at her panel. The engines were operating and all of the reactors were showing green. She looked at Hawk, “Pilot, are you up to speed on your panel?”

“Sir, this panel is so much easier than the one on Destiny. If the tutorial is right, this ship will run circles around any other ship on the fleet.”

“Why is that?”

“This one was not built by the Fellowship and then modified. This one has an entirely different keel and structure. I’m sure you noticed it’s not as tall or quite as long as a normal battleship.” Audrey nodded. “However, the reactors are larger than the ones on Destiny.”

“How do you know that, Hawk? There was nothing in my tutorial that mentioned anything about the reactors being different.”

Hawk shrugged, “I went to the power room and looked at them. Trust me on this, Admiral. It doesn’t look like any reactor I’ve ever seen.”

“Both of you are right.” Audrey turned and saw Chris, Amanda, and Trevor enter the bridge and started to jump to attention, when Chris said, “As you were!” Audrey sat down and Chris turned to Hawk, “Captain, this is the second ship built on Eden.” The entire bridge crew was stunned at the remark. “The facility is located on the third moon underground. We’ve been working on the converters since we arrived and this ship is much stronger than anything we received from the Fellowship. It’s also powered by a new reactor that Commodores Amanda and Trevor Ambrose developed after building the first ship.” Chris looked at Hawk, “One of the reactors is more powerful than ten of the old.”

Hawk tilted his head and said, “Are we going to use them to build a force field around Earth and Eden?”

Chris’s eyes widened and he shook his head slowly. He looked at Audrey and smiled, “It appears you have an officer who does some thinking outside the box.”

Audrey nodded, “Hawk will surprise you with his observations.”

Chris turned back to Hawk and tilted his head as he said, “The following is top secret and you can be arrested if you repeat what I’m about to say. The reactors to power a force field around Earth left Eden more than two months ago. The construction crews went with it to build the projectors around the planet.”

Janie said, “Sir, what kind of shape is Earth in now?”

“It’s healing well. The invaders used heat beams to kill every human on the planet and the cities burned for months afterwards. But rain and time have extinguished the fires and plant life has returned and many of the cities are being overrun by it. You can find the remains of the cities under the plants; most of them were knocked flat by the invaders. The interstate highways are still there. It’s difficult for plants to grow through three feet of reinforced concrete.”

Audrey looked at Chris, “Is that what you’ve been doing for the last three years?”

Chris looked at her and smiled, “Among other things. Are we ready for lift off?”

“We are.”

Chris looked up, “Willow, are you on board?”

“I am.”

Audrey’s smile was instant, “WILLOW!”

“Good morning, Admiral. It’s good to be here with you again.”

Chris looked at Audrey, “You know where we’re going. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Audrey looked at Hawk, “Take us up.”

Hawk gripped the steering wheel and pressed several buttons on it. The hum of the gravity compensators rose in pitch slightly and the thrusters under the huge ship began firing. After a moment, the ship lifted off the concrete and rose at an increasing speed. Once it was a quarter of a mile above the surface, Hawk activated the rear and bow thrusters to turn the ship vertical. He began moving the thrust slide slightly and the ship began accelerating.

Trevor said, “Captain, you should be careful. You’re about to cause a sonic boom.”

Hawk looked to the right, “Holy Cave Bears! This ship is incredibly fast!” He backed off slightly on the thruster slide and the vessel continued heading toward high atmosphere. Audrey watched Hawk fly the ship and he kept the speed below the speed of sound. It took fifteen minutes to clear the atmosphere and the tactical monitor showed thousands of warships in orbit above Eden. All of them saw the battleship lifting off Eden and they began calling each other immediately asking what kind of ship was leaving. Janie laughed, “You ought to hear the inter-ship chatter about this ship. Everyone is trying to figure out what it is.”

Audrey nodded and Chris said, “Captain Red Feather, why don’t you take us above the galactic plane and give her a shove.”

Hawk smiled and turned above Eden and pushed the thruster’s slides forward. The ship accelerated like a bat with its tail on fire. The ships above Eden saw the large vessel and then in an instant, it was gone faster than they could visually track. They were all stunned. No ship had ever moved that fast in normal space. The cheers began almost immediately. The sailors knew a new vessel was coming on line and they couldn’t wait to be assigned to one.

• • •

Chris smiled at the expression on Captain Red Feather’s face, “Take us toward the central black hole, Captain. Slow down as we move within a light year.”

Hawk dropped the ship into the void and hit the thrusters to max. He read the dials on the right side of his panel and shook his head, “Sir, is this speed accurate?”

Amanda laughed, “Yes. What once took us ten days to fly to M-87 will now only take us two days.” Hawk looked at Audrey and saw her shake her head.

• • •

Four hours later, the scanner monitor showed the distant star with the white planet circling it. Audrey looked at Chris and shook her head remembering the damage to his arm and shoulder the last time they came here. Chris looked at Commander Aman and said, “I want you to regulate the gravity compensators. You should use forty of them to power the compensators and have the other ten on standby in case you need them.”

“What about steering power for the thrusters?”

“Use half the power of the number one reactor if necessary. Steering won’t matter if we get caught up in the black hole’s gravity well.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Willow, are you ready to step out?”

“I already have. I’ll lock you in and let you know.”

Audrey looked at Chris, “Have you tried this before?”

“We’ve come out here with the Grey Civilization’s Gravity Ship and it handled the load. We honestly believe this ship can handle it as well.”

Audrey shook her head and Chris said, “Captain, take us in to that planet.” Hawk looked at Audrey and she nodded and said, “Mr. Stone is in command of this mission and you will follow his orders instantly.”

Hawk nodded and pushed the slides forward. Aman said, “Do you want the force field on, Sir?”

“No! Leave it off.” Audrey’s eyes narrowed and she jerked her head away from the monitor and looked at Chris. He smiled and said, “I told you we had to paint her.” The ship arrived above the planet and Chris said, “Commander, how are the compensators holding?”

“They’re running smoothly, Sir.”

Amanda and Trevor walked to the forward view port and looked out at the huge black hole in the distance with the whirlpool of blackness surrounding it. The brilliant beam of matter being destroyed as it was sucked into the monster blew out of it above the galaxy. To venture into that beam was certain death from radiation poisoning. Trevor put his arm on Amanda’s shoulders and smiled, “We control the dragon.” Amanda nodded and put her head on his chest.

Chris saw the planet moving closer and he said, “Captain, take us down to the surface.”

“Yes Sir.” The battleship moved down toward the surface at a slow speed. There was no atmosphere so the descent was smooth. Hawk arrived a mile above the planet and Chris said, “Captain, I told you to take us down to the surface.”

Hawk’s expression changed and he shook his head, “Sir, that planet’s surface is a fluid. There is no solid place for us to land.”

“Captain, when I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it. Take her down.”

Hawk stared at Chris and blew out a breath. He slid the thrusters slightly and the battleship moved toward the white surface of the planet. It arrived and Hawk held the ship ten feet above the white liquid under them. Chris walked up to Hawk’s panel and looked him in the eyes, “Captain, if you fail to follow my orders again, you will be kicked out of the service. Do you understand!?” Hawk stared at him for a long moment and then pushed the slides slightly. The battleship settled to the surface and began floating. Chris looked at Janie, “Close all view ports with their armored covers.” Janie pressed a button and the three viewports on the bridge were all suddenly blocked. She stared at her panel and looked up, “All ports are covered in armor, Sir.”

Chris turned back to Hawk, “Roll the ship.”

Hawk started to protest but managed to stop himself. He reached to the left side of his panel and pushed three slides together. The huge ship began slowly turning over in the white liquid. Hawk changed the thrusters to those still above the surface as the ship rotated. He closed the armored covers on the other thrusters before they rolled into the white substance. The ship made a complete 360 degree roll and Chris said, “Do it again.” Five rolls later, Chris said, “Lift the ship.”

The ship rose and Aman said, “Sir, I’ve had to reduce the power to the compensators. They’re pushing the ship radically at their current settings.”

Chris nodded, “About fifty percent would be right, Commander.” Audrey shook her head. Something had changed in how gravity affected the ship. “Willow?”

“Roll the ship.” Chris looked at Hawk and nodded. He used the thrusters and rolled the ship slowly. “Turn the bottom side toward open space.” Hawk stopped the rotation and rolled the bottom away from the planet. “It’s covered. I thought there was a dark place but it’s a thruster port that’s open.”

Chris smiled and said, “Captain, please take the ship out to pick up our friend.” He turned to Janie, “You may open the view ports.” The armored covers began moving into the ship’s hull and the crew could see the outside of the ship was now a bright white.

Amanda shook her head. She remembered Chris saying that the Silver Ships didn’t need a force field. But this wasn’t silver. She looked at Chris, “This is a different color.”

Chris nodded and said, “Are you on board?”

“I’m in the landing bay.”

Chris looked at Hawk, “Captain, take us to Earth.”

The entire crew’s eyes went wide and Hawk smiled, “Yes Sir!” The ship leapt above Andromeda and turned toward the distant silver splotch that was the Milky Way.

Chris said, “I want you to go at full speed for two hours. Then move the ship into the void.” Hawk pushed the slides fully forward and the white ship shot away at a speed that was unbelievable. Hawk looked at his panel and said, “Sir, this says we’re traveling faster than the speed of light in normal space!”

Amanda said from the front viewport, “The coating on the ship changes how the laws of physics affects the ship.”

Audrey looked at Chris and shook her head as he walked over to her chair. He smiled and said, “What do you think?”

“Honestly, I’ve resented every moment you’ve been away. Now I see that it was time well spent. Congratulations, Chris.”

“Both of us had things we needed to do, Audrey.”

“What was so important I needed doing?”

“You had to learn how to command a warship and find the best crew possible to fly with you.”

“Why?”

Chris raised his voice, “I want everyone to hear this. Please send it over the intercom.”

Janie pressed a button on her panel, “You’re on, Sir.”

“This ship is my personal vessel. The Leadership Team has agreed that I should have a vessel to do the things I deem necessary. This ship will be the Fleet’s Flagship once it completes its field trials.”

Audrey whispered, “I thought Chad’s Troy was the Fleet’s flagship?”

“Not anymore. All of you are going to be the crew that flies her.”

Audrey’s mouth fell open and Chris turned to her, “Her name is Destiny and she is your ship, Admiral.”

Audrey came out of her command chair and rushed forward and put her arms around Chris’s neck. She fought her tears but felt them start when Chris said, “We will not be separated again.”

Audrey held him tight and whispered, “Does that mean you’re ready?”

Chris smiled, “It does.”

The crew watched them and Janie smiled. Now she knew why the Admiral was always melancholy. She was missing him. She looked around the bridge and saw the others saw it as well. Audrey finally released Chris and moved back into the command chair.

“Sir, something is happening to the coating on the ship.”

Chris looked at Amanda who said, “About another fifteen minutes should do it.”

Audrey looked at the external cameras and saw the white coating was changing to a bright silver color. She shook her head and looked at Amanda, Trevor, and Chris who were staring out of the forward viewport. They must have worked so hard to make this happen. She knew there was still a lot to learn about her new ship but one thing she knew for certain; it was the fastest ship in the fleet. Fifteen minutes later, Chris said, “Take us into the void.”

Hawk activated the stardrive and the Destiny left normal space and accelerated at a pace that had the Milky Way visibly growing larger by the moment. Hawk shook his head and knew this ship was the wild mustang he always dreamed of riding. Audrey saw his expression and turned to Lukas, “Sir, is the name of our ship official or can it be changed?”

Chris tilted his head, “You may name the ship whatever you choose. What are you thinking?”

“I’ve found my destiny. I’d like to name this ship the Montana.”

Hawk jerked his head around and saw Audrey smiling. Montana was where Hawk had grown up on a reservation. It was where he had ridden his first horse. He turned around and his smile was huge. Chris saw the exchange and said, “Montana it is, Admiral.”

Audrey looked at Chris and whispered, “Your half-sister is something else. She’s into everything.”

Chris smiled, “She is beautiful and I can hear her listening in on my thoughts. She’s developing much faster than I did. She is going to be special.”

“Just like her brother.” Chris smiled and nodded.

Chapter Sixteen

Amanda stared out of the forward viewport and then looked at Trevor, “This is what I’ve dreamed about doing.”

“Me, too.”

Amanda stared at Trevor, “What’s bothering you?”

“We left so quickly that we left Nudge and Budge alone to mind the shop.”

Amanda’s expression underwent several changes and she shook her head, “Surely, they won’t have enough time to get into trouble.”

Trevor shrugged, “I hope you’re right. Things can turn sour pretty quickly if they’re left alone too long.”

Amanda stared at him, shook her head, and then shook it again, “Should we ask Chris to take us back?”

Trevor sighed, “Contact Salud and tell her to keep her eyes on them.”

Audrey said, “Amanda, Trevor, how does the new scanner operate?” Amanda walked over and began going over her panel’s operation. After an hour, she forgot to contact Salud.

• • •

“Hey Budge.”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve been doing some analysis of the new battleship’s mass and power ratios.”

“Why would you do that?”

“You know why! The numbers appear to support our positions on the pods.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know we secretly made the scoops for our pods from the four that were dropped and damaged.”

“Shhhhh. No one’s supposed to know about that. I told Amanda we disposed of them.”

“Hey, they’re gone. It’s just us here.”

Budge looked around, “They could be recording our conversations.”

Nudge shook his head, “Boy are you paranoid! Even if they are recording them, they aren’t here to listen to the recordings. Anyway, if we take the two pods out and use the scoops to fill the four new reactors we installed on them, their mass to power ratio will be higher than the new battleship’s.”

“Get out of here. The battleships have fifty reactors, not just four.”

Nudge snorted, “Look at it this way. An attack pod is forty yards long, right?”

“The two we’ve been working on are actually fifty yards long. The new reactors are larger and required we extend the space housing them ten additional feet.”

“Ok, fifty yards long. That’s a hundred and fifty feet. How long are the new battleships?”

Budge looked up and thought for a moment, “They’re about fifteen hundred feet long.”

“That’s ten times the length of a pod, right?” Budge nodded. “They’re also two hundred feet in diameter to the pod’s twenty feet.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“That makes them have a volume that’s twenty times that of our pods. The armor and support braces also add a huge amount of weight the pods don’t need. So to have the same power to mass ratio, our pods would only need two reactors to be equal in power to weight. Our pods have four of the new reactors so they are actually twice as powerful.”

Budge lowered his eyes, “So the two pods have more usable power per mass than a battleship?”

“Exactly.”

Budge stared at his twin brother and after a moment started shaking his head, “Please tell me you are not thinking about doing what I think you are?!”

“Come on, Budge. How often do we get the opportunity to do something like this without Trevor or Amanda telling us no? No one knows we put the scoops and new reactors on our pods. You know the pods are being slowly written off and many of them aren’t being used to anything more than escort duty. Everyone is focused on the new battleships and if we don’t do something, the pods will just be scrapped. We need them! We won’t get another opportunity like this.”

“NO!”

“If you won’t go, I’ll do it alone.”

“You will not make me budge on this!”

“Ok, you can stay here and I’ll go alone.”

Nudge turned and walked toward the door. Budge began moving up and down and shaking. Nudge walked out the door and Budge was only able to resist for another minute before he ran after his brother, “How are you able to make me do these things we’ve been ordered not to do?”

Nudge smiled, “I guess I just have to give you a nudge.”

“Funny!”

“Let’s take the pods out and get their reactors powered. Then, it’s off to the black hole.”

“Are you sure just one gravity compensator can handle that level of stress?”

“It will have to cope with far less mass than the new battleship’s compensators. You saw the recording Amanda sent back. Plus, we’ve used a compensator that’s fifty percent larger than the ones on the new battleship. This is worth doing.”

Budge nodded and said, “Trevor told us to forget working on the pods. They’re going to scream when they find out we modified the compensator and added all the weapons.”

“I know.”

“Just checking to make sure you do.”

“They shouldn’t have left us here alone without a new battleship to work on.”

Budge chuckled, “It’s their fault.”

“Absolutely. And no one has come to check up on us! They know we should never be left alone. At least that’s what they’ve always said after we blew up the engine compartment on one of the ships.”

“Absolutely.”

“Do you think they’ll buy it?”

“Nope!”

“Just checking.”

• • •

Amanda looked down at Earth and felt her heart in her throat. Trevor put his arm around her shoulders. “They really hit her hard.” Amanda nodded and sighed. Trevor stared out of the viewport and sighed, “I never knew when Lukas asked me to join in his efforts to defend Earth that it would end up being destroyed. I remember all the Attack Pods in orbit waiting for the first Fellowship attack. We were so idealistic and ready to die for our beliefs.”

Amanda nodded, “We come so far from those first Pods we built.”

Trevor chuckled, “The Bennett Twins would argue with you about that.” He felt Amanda stiffen in his arms and he leaned back, “By the way, what did Salud say about keeping an eye on them?”

Amanda raised her shoulders and meekly said, “I forgot to call her.”

“YOU WHAT!?”

“Audrey asked us about her panel and we went to help her. I forgot!”

Trevor shook his head and lifted his wrist unit. He pressed two numbers and did not get a response. He shook his head and pressed another button. An image appeared and he said, “Salud, will you please do me a favor.”

“Sure Trev, what do you need?”

“Will you go to our labs and see if the Bennett twins are around?”

“Sure, give me a moment.”

Trevor stood there tapping his foot and Amanda said, “You couldn’t reach them on the lab’s communicator?” Trevor shook his head. “On either of their numbers?” Trevor shook his head.

“Trevor, I just spoke with Captain Logan and he says the twins were logged out of the lab three days ago. The computer doesn’t have them going back in since then.”

Trevor’s eyes widened and he said, “Salud, please contact fleet operations and see if they’ve left the planet.”

“How could they leave? They don’t have ships.”

“Salud, please just check to humor me.”

“Stand by.” Trevor started shaking his head and Amanda looked at the floor. “Trevor, when were the twins assigned attack pods?”

“Oh Crap! Salud, they salvaged two of the ones that were slightly damaged in the last battle with the invaders.”

“Were they Delta Models?”

“Yes, and I suspect they have been working on them without us knowing. Did Fleet get a flight plan from them?”

“No, but the operator that gave them clearance to leave said that their thrusters were the new DE type.”

“WHAT?!”

“He says the thrusters emitted the residue of a Dark Energy reactor.”

“Thank you, Salud!”

“Hey, what are they doing?”

“Getting into trouble. I need to see if I can stop them.”

“But…”

Trevor ended the call and ran across the bridge, “Chris, I need you to help me!”

Chris looked up from his panel and said, “Whoa, slow down! What’s going on?”

“Blane and Lane Bennett left Eden three days ago in two Attack Pods that appear to be powered by Dark Energy Reactors.”

“Oh Crap! Are you serious?”

“I wish I weren’t. If they have the new reactors on those pods then they must have also built scoops for them. You know what they’re going to do!”

Audrey looked at the three, “Who are you talking about?”

Chris sighed, “Blane and Lane Bennett are two geniuses that have a knack for getting into all kinds of trouble. Their curiosity just overwhelms their good sense and before you know it, something explodes. They have been arguing that writing off the Attack Pods is not a good idea and it appears they been planning to do something about it.”

Audrey tilted her head, “Have we written off the Attack Pods?”

Trevor nodded, “Audrey, can an attack pod stand up to the enemy ships we’ve been running in to?”

“No. But that doesn’t mean they can’t be updated so they could.”

Amanda shook her head, “Now you’re sounding like them. We don’t have the resources to build the new battleships and work on the pods as well.”

“But there are more than a hundred thousand pods?”

“Which will require different size reactors, weapons, and other systems to modernize them. We don’t have the manufacturing resources to build both.”

Audrey looked at Amanda, then at Chris, and then back at Amanda, “Didn’t I just hear you say the pods they left in have Dark Energy reactors?”

“It appears they do.”

“Have we built different sizes of Dark Energy reactors?” Amanda looked at Trevor and he shook his head. Audrey said, “Well it appears they managed to get them to fit in a pod. What do you think they’re going to do with those pods?”

Trevor sighed, “I believe they’re going to the central black hole in Andromeda to coat them in the white substance.”

Audrey started shaking her head, “There’s no way a pod can stand up to those stresses.”

Trevor looked at Chris, “Can we go and try to cut them off?”

“Trevor, they left three days ago.”

“I know, but the scoops they must have built for their pods aren’t as large as those on a battleship. It will take them some time to pressurize their reactors. It’s my fault. I never should have left them alone without someone keeping an eye on them. If they die…”

Chris sighed and said, “Admiral, get the ship moving. Everyone buckle in and prepare for a high speed run back to Andromeda.”

Hawk listened to the exchange and began pushing buttons on his panel. The Montana turned and went into the void. It went to full power and the giant battleship left the Milky Way at a speed that had never been witnessed before.

“Are you sure this will work?”

“It’s the only way to coat our pods, Nudge. The pods don’t have steering thrusters on the hull. I’ll lower your pod into the liquid surface and pull you out after Stonewall says you’re covered. We’ll then reverse our positions and you’ll lower me.”

“Will that stuff clog our thrusters?”

“No, the outer covers will be in place and the ports will be covered by their armor. Are you ready?”

“I was right about the compensator handling the load. You have to be right about this, right?”

“May we pray! Here we go.” Budge moved down toward the white planet’s surface and after a minute, Nudge’s Attack Pod disappeared below the planet’s surface. Budge waited to hear from Nudge and after three minutes, he pulled the pod out.

“WHY DID YOU NOT PULL ME OUT!!? I’VE BEEN SCREAMING AT YOU FOR THREE MINUTES!!”

“It appears electronic emissions do not make it out of that liquid.”

“YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ME!!!”

“Do your thrusters still function?”

There was a moment of silence and then Budge heard, “The covers still operate. The board says they’re operational.”

“How long did it take to cover your pod?”

“Less than thirty seconds.”

“Alright, let’s flip and do it.”

“I should let you sit in there and see how it feels.”

“Come on Nudge; you know I wouldn’t do anything to harm you.” Nudge shook his head and flipped his pod and began lowering Budge’s pod into the white liquid. A minute later, he pulled the pod out and they began checking out each other’s ships.

“WHAT ARE YOU TWO IDIOTS DOING!!?”

Budge looked up at the roof of his cockpit and shook his head. He heard his brother say, “Weighing our options.”

“I am going to put the two of you in the brig for the rest of your lives.”

“Awww come on Amanda! We’ve proved that the pods can handle the stresses here. Further, I don’t think you could catch us if we decided to run to avoid going to jail.”

“WHY YOU LITTLE TWO BIT…”

“Just a minute, Amanda! What do you mean you can outrun this ship?”

Budge saw Chris on his display and shrugged, “It’s simply an issue of power and mass, Mr. Stone. These pods now have a higher power to weight ratio than your new ship. They also have a much smaller profile to move through space. Your battleship shouldn’t be able to stay with us.”

Chris looked at Hawk, “What do you think?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve got fifty reactors to push us. He only has four.”

“Chris, I’m going to bar-be-que the two of them!”

“Amanda, if they’re right, they may have just done more for our war efforts than you can imagine.”

“How!?”

“We just set a speed record getting here. If their pods are faster than this ship, they can hit and run better than you can imagine.”

“But they don’t have the weapons to survive.”

“What are they missing? It appears your two apprentices have armed those pods.” Chris shook his head, “First things first.” He pressed his communicator, “Ok, the two of you stay together and let’s see if we can run you down.”

“If it’s alright with you, may we make a run to Earth? First one there wins.”

Chris nodded, “We do need to go back and check up on the force field construction. How did your pods hold up to the gravity stresses here?”

“You could probably see on the scans we ran. We don’t have enough mass to really cause us problems, right, Nudge?”

“The gravity compensator was operating at sixty percent, Mr. Stone.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“Alright, let’s drop into the void and I’ll count it down.” The three ships left normal space. Chris smiled, looked at Hawk, and nodded as he quickly said, “NOW!” The Montana lept away leaving the two pods behind. Hawk laughed and poured on the power.

Budge watched the battleship flash away and shook his head, “Now that wasn’t fair.”

“NO, it wasn’t. Are you ready to reel them in?”

“After you.”

“No after you.”

“Oh, but I insist, after you.”

“OK.” Budge watched Nudge flash away and shook his head. He hit the thrusters and accelerated at maximum speed after his brother. He ignored the battleship, which he blew by so fast that they were astounded. He knew he wasn’t going to catch Nudge. He had a head start.

• • •

Audrey stared at her monitor and said, “What are they waiting on?”

Chris shook his head, “I have no idea.” Hawk smiled as the distance between them grew at a staggering pace. His smile vanished fifteen minutes later when the two pods blew by him so fast that they were lost to their scanners in another fifteen minutes. Chris looked at Trevor and Amanda and shook his head, “Why were the two of you not allowing them to work on the pods?”

Trevor and Amanda’s mouths were open. Trevor finally said, “I guess we’re no longer able to see things from an objective point of view. It looks like the smaller a ship is, the faster it can travel with that coating. At the speed it passed us, I suspect it can outrun us with just one reactor. We owe the twins an apology.”

Chris looked at Lance, “How much faster were they?”

Lance shook his head, “More than six times our speed. I imagine there are going to be some very happy pod pilots. Of course, we’ll need to see how they perform in normal space.”

Chris nodded and knew that the pods were back in business. The difference in normal space wasn’t as large. They determined a week later that the pods were only fifty percent faster than the battleships in normal space but that was still a huge advantage in a space battle. The pods and battleships were now faster than the void and normal space missiles used by the invaders. Now the issue was how much their new force fields could handle. That item would be checked out soon. Very soon.

• • •

“Excellency, our probes have detected skip traces moving toward our galaxy!”

“WHAT!? HOW MANY?!”

“There is between forty and fifty.”

“Why don’t you know for certain?”

“Those traces are moving faster than anything we’ve seen. They’re approaching at an incredible speed.”

The Welken Royal shook his head and knew he couldn’t meet those ships before they moved into the galaxy. He thought for a moment and then pulled up an old frequency and activated it on his panel, “I pray someone is monitoring this channel.” He waited and shook his head. Then he heard…

“This is the Warship Montana. We’re currently undergoing field trials on a new ship and are close to your galaxy, Sire. What’s going on?”

“One of my deep space probes has detected between forty and fifty skip traces moving toward our galaxy at an incredible speed. Their frequency matches up with the ships used by the invaders.”

Chris looked at Amanda and his eyes went wide, “How fast are they moving!?”

The Royal looked at Kyel and he looked at his panel, “It appears they are moving fast enough to arrive here from that ball galaxy in about a month. That’s twelve times faster than their previous top speed.”

Chris looked at Audrey, “They’re headed toward Earth.” He looked at Hawk, “How long before we arrive?”

“About an hour.”

Chris shook his head, “Have you determined how long it will take them to arrive at my former home world?”

“At the speed they’re traveling, less than thirty minutes.”

Chris sat down in his command chair. He shook his head and Trevor said, “The workers building the force field installations are defenseless. They’ll see them and start blasting them as soon as they arrive.”

“There is no way I can get my warships to your former planet in time. Is something going on there?”

“We have some construction taking place, Excellency. We can arrive before your ships but we’ll be too late to stop them from attacking our installations. I’ll get back to you.” Chris thought for a moment and knew he had promised Lukas to make sure Amanda and Trevor were not harmed. He looked at them and lifted his communicator, “Lane, Blaine, where are you now?”

“We’re at Earth waiting for you slowpokes to arrive.”

“Did you arm the pods?”

“Uhhhh…why do you ask, Mr. Stone?”

“Because there are about fifty new Invader Warships moving into the Milky Way and will arrive in about twenty six minutes. We won’t arrive for another fifty-six minutes. Are you armed!?”

“Yes Sir, we are.”

Amanda blew out a breath and shook her head. Trevor put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I need you to move out into the void and meet those ships before they arrive at the gravity limit. You must delay them until we can arrive and support you.”

Nudge shook his head, “Sir, the force field installations can’t be missed. We saw them from the gravity limit. Are they close to operational?”

“No, they are not. The ten thousand engineers and workers building them are going to die if you don’t stop them.”

“We’re on our way.”

Amanda shook her head and wiped her tears, “This is all my fault.”

Chris looked at her, “Be thankful they acted against your orders. They’re our only chance at saving those on Earth.”

• • •

“Ok, Budge, how do we do this?”

“The idea is to stop them from moving toward Earth, right?”

“Yes.”

“We’re going to swing far out to the right at full speed and attack them from the rear. We’ll fire our rotary gun at them and continue hitting them until they turn around to defend themselves.”

“What then?”

“You are going to move into normal space and use your disruptor and Dark Matter Cannon on the ones that we knock out of the void. You will continue that until they stop appearing and then you’ll move back into the void and go after any that remain.”

“You mean after they’ve killed you.”

“That’s what I said.”

The two Attack Pods flashed away from Earth and circled around the incoming invader ships. Nudge shook his head, “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay in the void?”

“Nudge, this is not the time to argue. You know I’ve spent the most time flying our pods and it’s better we do it this way.”

“I know, brother. I’ll see you after it’s over.”

The two Pods flew around the incoming invader ships at a speed that was unbelievable. They turned when the invaders were fifteen minutes away from the Gravity Limit and rushed in on the rear of the invader formation. They slowed and opened fire on the back of the fast moving invaders.

• • •

“Supal, there are two ships moving toward us from the rear at an incredible speed!”

“What?”

“They are small but they are faster than we are. They’ll be on us in less than three seconds!”

“Order the group to turn and attack!” The orders were sent but not before fifteen invader battleships had been hit by DM rounds and their drive fields knocked out. They emerged into normal space and five exploded as soon as they emerged.

• • •

Nudge and Budge flashed in on the Invader formation and opened fire with their rotary guns. The Dark Matter rounds blew through the invader’s force fields and knocked out their stardrives. Numerous invader ships disappeared from the void and Budge saw Nudge disappear with them. He continued firing and said, “Stonewall, how many are still in the void?”

“Thirty eight. They’re turning and launching void missiles.”

Budge stared at his combat helmet’s tactical display and saw the missiles turn and move toward him. He continued to fire and six more ships were knocked out of the void. He whipped the pod around as the missiles arrived and moved away from Earth with more than a hundred missiles in pursuit.

• • •

The Supal watched his display and saw the missiles home in on the small ship and smiled. His smile vanished when the ship turned and flashed away before it was hit. “DESTROY THAT SHIP!!” The invader ships turned and began chasing the small vessel. Suddenly, the small ship rolled over the top of the incoming missiles and flashed in on fast moving Invader formation. Six more ships were hit and disappeared from the void. The Supal slammed an appendage on his panel as the small ship turned and ran away from the next missile salvo. The first salvo had turned and moved in toward the small ship and now there were two hundred missiles chasing the ship above the surviving invader Warships. The formation turned and began pursuing the enemy with the missiles. The small ship was just barely staying ahead of the missiles and a hundred more were launched when it changed course. Budge worried about Nudge and hoped he was still alive.

• • •

Nudge followed the first invader ships they hit into normal space and said, “Pushy, activate the disruptor and cannon. I’m going to fly into the middle of those ships and I want you to fire at any on either side of my route.” Nudge flashed in on the invader ships and they began exploding. Nudge smiled, the new disruptor blew through the Invader’s force fields. Three of the invader ships managed to get their force fields up but it made no difference. They fired their disruptors but the Attack Pod was moving too fast to be targeted. Five invaders were destroyed within the first ten seconds and eight more were destroyed or heavily damaged when the Pod turned and made a second run. Nudge turned sharply and ran from a salvo of missiles. He moved away from the Invaders and saw more appearing. Budge must be having a great time in the void. He whipped the pod around and made another run into their formation.

Stonewall yelled, “Brace yourself, incoming disruptor beams!”

Nudge grabbed the arms of his chair and saw more than twenty disruptor beams move in on his pod. He squinted and saw his force field was knocked out. The beams hit the pod and then they were through the invaders and moving away. “Stonewall?”

“It appears their beams will not penetrate our hull covering.”

Nudge smiled and saw more ships appearing into normal space. He turned as the force field reenergized and headed back into the invaders.

• • •

Budge was completely defensive. More than three hundred void missiles were in pursuit and he was starting to get angry. He turned sharply and saw the huge swarm of missiles turn with him. He looked at his tactical monitor and saw the twenty-four invader warships were still maintaining a tight formation. He picked up speed to clear the cloud of missiles and then turned toward the invader warships. “Is this a good idea?”

“Stonewall, brace yourself.”

“Get real! Just how am I supposed to do that?” Budge laughed and flew the pod into the middle of the invader formation and stopped. The missiles bore in on the pod and invader ships began exploding. Budge hit the thrusters and flashed out of the invader formation. Only fifty missiles were in pursuit and a huge disruption in the void marked the place where the invader warships had been a moment before. He turned the pod and flew directly toward the disruption and allowed the fifty missiles to move right on his tail. At the last moment, he steered the pod over the top of the disruption and the missiles weren’t able to match the turn and added their mass to the disruption. Budge left the void and moved into normal space.

“NUDGE!”

“Be careful, there’s a lot of debris here.” Budge looked at his tactical and saw invader warships burning in all directions. He saw Nudge’s Pod just outside the debris field and he blew out a breath. “Hey, where are the others?”

Budge started laughing and couldn’t stop. It appeared the Pods would get a reprieve and their hard work was now vindicated. Nudge heard his brother laughing and, after a moment, joined him. Ten minutes later, the Montana showed up and everyone on the giant battleship was stunned at what the twins had accomplished. Chris laughed when he heard Amanda say, “I love those two remarkable idiots.”

Chapter Seventeen

Audrey sat beside Chris on a bench inside a large structure where a giant force field emitter was being built. “I’ve been wondering how you feel about me, Chris?”

“I’ve missed you, Audrey.”

“Did it have to take this long?”

“It did.”

“Tell me why?”

“I had to make sure. I saw pretty quickly that you are one remarkable woman. But how could I know if my feelings were true?”

Audrey sighed, “You had to meet others to compare to me?”

“I did. I also committed to developing a weapons system that would allow us a chance of being able to hold off the invaders. I couldn’t serve two masters. My personal feelings would just have to wait.”

“How did I do?”

Chris shrugged, “I met a lot of high powered women over the last three years. The scientists and officers in the fleet are working hard to build our new planet along with the ships. But none of them had the total package.”

“What?”

“Some were as smart as you; some were even as beautiful. Others had great intellect and others had your uncanny ability to put things together. But none of them had it all in one package. Fleet was right, you deserved your promotion. There is also the issue that I really don’t understand romance and how it works. Heck, Audrey, I’ve never even really kissed a girl.” Audrey leaned in, put her arms around Chris’s neck, and kissed him. After a moment, she broke the kiss and leaned back. Chris’s face was beet red. He took a deep breath and smiled, “That was…incredible. But you haven’t told me why you would still want me after I put you off for so long.”

“I didn’t really want any kind of relationship with you when I first met you. But you grew on me like a bad case of prickly heat.”

“What?”

“I saw you as a ten year old, Chris. I just didn’t allow myself to see that you’re different from any other human being. Your maturation process is quite different from all other humans. Once I realized that, I saw your mind and heart. After seeing all that you are, how could I do anything else but fall in love with you. Like you said about me, you’re the total package as well. I decided that however long it took, I was going to wait for you.”

“Thank you, I think. So how do we handle this, Audrey?”

“One day at a time and we’ll make sure what we feel will stand the test of time. There is no need to rush.”

“Will there be more kisses?”

Audrey smiled, “Oh yes; many more kisses.”

Chris smiled, “Good!”

• • •

The Orange Being gathered itself and pressed the button it dreaded pushing, “Great Leader, it appears the ships we sent to the spiral galaxy have been destroyed.”

It waited for the guards to come and kill him but they didn’t appear. He waited in the ensuing silence and, after what felt like forever, he heard, “I don’t find that surprising.” The being remained silent hoping he would survive and heard, “What weapons were placed on the new ships?”

“Our new disruptors were installed along with the faster missiles.”

“What do you know about the attack?”

“Our ships were met in the void before they arrived at the destroyed planet. I receive a message that the Group was under attack and no other message was received.”

“Do you know how many ships attacked?”

“No, Great Leader. I attempted to contact the Supal but was unable to reach him.”

“So they must have been destroyed rather quickly?”

“It does appear they were.”

“How far are we from completing the development of the Void Beam?”

“The housing around it is still showing decay when fired multiple times. Our scientists are using different materials to see if we can overcome the failing.”

“And the new reactors?”

“We’re still about six months from determining the correct amount of fuel to use in them.”

“Why that long?”

“The last container didn’t fail for three months. We’re certain that we can make a stronger alloy but the testing must show it can endure over a long period of time.”

“It appears it would be pointless to start modifying our ships before these new systems are complete.”

“Installing the new thrusters would be something we can do now. With the new reactors, our speed will more than double what the ships sent to the spiral galaxy were able to attain.”

“The thrusters won’t melt under the additional power?”

“No, Great Leader. They have not shown any wear in all of our testing.”

“Will these developments make our warships as fast as the Enemy?”

“Yes, Great Leader.”

“We suspect the Legends will remove us as their principle tool once they learn about this failure.”

The Orange Being remained silent for a moment and then had to say, “If they choose to send the Others without these new tools, I suspect we won’t be replaced for very long.”

The Great Leader smiled on the Orange Being’s display, “That statement just saved your life. You show promise at understanding the big picture. Some would have suggested we assist the Others in their efforts.”

“I would not be one of them, Great Leader. My loyalty lies with you and the other Great Ones.”

“Make sure these new weapons are kept secret.”

“I have already taken the necessary steps to ensure they do.” The display went dark and the being collapsed into a puddle on the floor. It extended an eyestalk and saw the guards who had been standing at the door turn and walk away. Being a direct assistant to the Great Ones rewarded one with a lavish lifestyle but it was fraught with incredible danger. Failures were not tolerated. At least they hadn’t been in the past. Something was happening.

• • •

Lukas wrapped several uniforms and put them into a black travel bag. Salud sat on the bed and slowly shook her head, “I can’t talk you out of this?”

Lukas looked at her and shook his head, “You know we have to find out what’s going on in M-87.”

“Send Loree and her scouts in to find out.”

“Her fleet is more than a year away from getting the new battleships. We don’t dare wait that long.”

“I can’t go with you.”

Lukas sighed and sat down on the bed beside her, “You have to stay here with Eve.”

“Lukas, please don’t do this.”

“Salud, Willow has been updated and I can outrun anything they send my way. She’s also been equipped with our newest scanners and I won’t have to get close to their fleets to see what’s happening.”

“You’re too important to lose, Lukas!”

Lukas smiled and shook his head, “That was true three years ago. It no longer is. Quite frankly, I feel pretty useless at the moment.” Salud started to speak and Lukas put a finger on her lips, “Darling, I’m a Welken Warrior at heart. I’ve been sitting on the sidelines too long. Who would be better to send and make the right choices?” Lukas removed his finger and Salud was silent. “I’ll be careful.”

“When are you leaving?”

“In about four hours.”

“Then give me three of those.” Lukas looked at her and saw her fear. He reached for her and pulled her into his arms.

• • •

Lukas walked out of his quarters next to the spaceport and carried Eve in one arm and held Salud’s hand. They arrived at the pad Willow was parked on and found Jinks and Stoney waiting. “What are you doing?”

Lukas looked at Eve and saw her frown. He smiled and kissed her on the cheek. He handed her to Salud and said, “It appears you already know.”

Stoney shook his head, “You can’t do this, Lukas!”

Lukas drew a breath and blew it out, “What made me so good at leading our efforts against the Fellowship?”

Stoney and Jinks’ faces showed their surprise at the question. Jinks said, “You knew the most about what we were going to have to face having been part of the wars.”

“That is no longer the case, Jinks. The only way I can be effective is to know what we’re going to have to face coming out of that monster galaxy. Sending someone else won’t cut it. If you really think about this unemotionally, you’ll know I’m right.”

The two stared at Lukas and then looked at each other. Stoney lowered his head and then looked at Jinks, “He’s right. Those new ships almost blindsided us.”

Jinks shook his head, “Then send me. You’re too important.”

“Jinks, you are my best tactician. You make things happen but it is my province to point the spear at the correct target. You’ll miss things that I won’t. You know I’m the one best suited to do this. At the present, I’m no more than just a figurehead. I don’t know enough to make long range plans and I really don’t think we have a long time before another invasion of the Milky Way. I must do this.”

Jinks sighed and shook his head slowly. He extended his hand and said, “You know you are more than a brother to me.”

Lukas ignored the hand and put his arms around Jinks and hugged him, “And you are as well my closest friend. I expect you to get us ready.”

Jinks returned his hug and said, “Every pod is being modified before we continue building the battleships.”

Lukas stepped back and smiled, “Now that is a great decision. Take care of Salud and Eve while I’m gone.”

“You know I will.”

Lukas turned and kissed Salud tenderly, turned, and climbed into Willow’s cockpit. Salud yelled, “Do not allow him to get into trouble, Willow!”

“I’ll do my best.”

The Attack Pod slowly lifted and Salud saw Eve staring at it. As it rose in the sky she said, “I love you, Salud.” All three of them were shocked that the three year old said it in the exact voice tone that Lukas used. Salud pulled her close and said, “I love you, too, my darling.”

Lukas heard the thought and smiled. “Get us out of here Willow before I change my mind.” The pod’s thrusters ignited into a larger flame and the pod winked away. Salud watched it disappear and started crying. Jinks and Stoney put their arms around her and Stoney said, “He’s right. If anyone can do this, it’s him.”

“I know. But that galaxy is a monster. It kills everything it touches.”

“Not everything.” Salud looked at Jinks and he smiled, “You know why he’s going. I mean really going.”

“What are you saying?”

“I think he’s tired of being a punching bag. He wants to take it to their territory.”

Salud looked up at the sky and smiled. Jinks knew him better than she did. She supposed that was because it took a warrior to truly understand another one.

Stoney said, “I guess both of you know that Chad and Julie are now piloting one of the new Attack Pods?” Salud and Jinks looked at him and Stoney smiled, “I don’t think they’ve ever been really happy in the battleships. Julie tells me it’s like going home again.”

Jinks shook his head, “What’s the status of the force field?”

“It will be operational in another two weeks.”

Jinks smiled, “Once we have enough of the Attack Pods converted that is where we’ll send them. Their first task will be to take Jack back to be buried beside Mary. Lukas made a promise and he asked me to make it happen.”

“When did he do that, Jinks?”

“The day after he died a month ago.”

Salud looked up again, “He knew he was going then.”

“I suspect it was Jack’s death that prompted him to do it. He loved Jack so much.”

“That’s what Lukas is good at; loving.”

Stoney said, “Amen to that.” He looked at Jinks, “I thought you loved me like a brother?”

“Am I limited to having just one brother?”

Stoney started laughing and Salud said, “What?”

“I guess that makes Lukas my brother as well.”

Salud hugged him, “Indeed it does. He chose you to raise his son.”

Stoney’s eyebrows went up and he smiled, “You’re right. I need to thank him for that.”

Salud looked up into the clear sky again, “I pray you have the opportunity.”

• • •

“It’s been a long time since we’ve flown together, Willow. I hate to admit it but I’ve missed it.”

“It seems like forever since we were running from the Myot and Stalkers. So much has happened since then.”

Lukas sighed, “I never would have thought we’d be where we are. It really bothers me that I wasn’t able to prevent Earth’s destruction.”

“No one could have stopped it. Once Pat set up shop there, the end was inevitable. Where do you want to go?”

“Earth.”

“I thought we were going to scout M-87?”

“We’ll go there afterwards.”

There were a few moments of silence as Willow turned away from Andromeda and went to full thrusters. “Lukas.”

“Yes.”

“What are you thinking?”

“You probably know.”

“Still too much coincidence?”

Lukas laughed, “Willow, you never cease to amaze me. That’s exactly the issue.”

“You don’t think…”

“I don’t know. That’s why we’re going there. How long will it take us to get there?”

“About forty minutes.”

“WHAT?”

“The twins made it in a little over an hour but they didn’t have the new thruster system on their pods. The difference in speed is quite high.”

“Let’s make sure I know what they’ve done to you before we arrive. What changes did they make when you were modified?”

“You know about the new scanning system. I also have the Dark Matter cloud as well as the rotary guns and DM cannon. I also have three swivel-mounted disrupters. One of them covers my rear.”

“It’s a shame we can’t use the disruptors in the void.”

“The only thing preventing us is causing a disruption. Personally, I’d use them anyway.”

“Why?”

“Because the disruption will eventually fade and disappear. Being attacked by invader ships and not using every weapon to survive just doesn’t seem like good sense.”

Lukas thought for a moment and said, “If enough disruptions happened inside their formations, it would force them to break ranks to avoid them.”

“Other than leaving a disruption, every other thing appears to be a positive.”

“Have you thought about any escape maneuvers?”

“This new coating has given us one that I think will make a huge difference.”

“What is that?”

“We simply enter normal space if we’re surrounded and immediately go to full speed. In less than a second we’ll be outside the range of their scanners. They won’t know what direction to pursue us.”

“But those in the void will see us if we leave normal space.”

“That’s true, but we won’t be surrounded and we’re faster than them.”

“Have you discussed this with Jinks?”

“Yes. He’s going to see if several of the new battleships can catch Chad and corner him.”

“Good luck with that!” Lukas saw the edge of the Milky Way approaching and said, “Go into normal space, Willow.” They emerged just outside the edge of the galaxy and Lukas shook his head. “Andromeda is beautiful but not like home.” They stared at the giant spiral galaxy and Lukas sighed.

“What’s wrong, Lukas?”

“It just seems wrong that so much destruction and killing can exist in something so beautiful and every galaxy we’ve seen is just alike. The Creator didn’t do a good job.”

“The structures are magnificent. It’s up to those that live in them to make them beautiful.”

Lukas shook his head. “Willow, have you thought about the magnitude of the task of removing the invaders from M-87?” Lukas waited and after a moment said, “Willow?”

“There’s more than a trillion stars in that galaxy. I don’t know that it’s possible to defeat the numbers we’d have to face. Assuming we could defeat their technology, it would take several hundred lifetimes to do it.”

“I have thought about it.”

“And?”

“It’s like a malignant cancer. You cut it out and it grows somewhere else. You keep cutting and you can’t stay ahead of the growth. The only thing you can hope to do is contain it.”

“With those new faster warships they’re building, that is not going to be easily done.”

“I know. We have to get at the source of the disease. Let’s go.” The Attack Pod dropped into the void and accelerated toward the spiral arm Earth was located in. They moved into the galaxy at high speed and Lukas heard Willow say, “We are arriving from Eden and should be there in ten minutes.”

“You’re cleared for entry and welcome home, Sir.”

“It appears they’ve been notified we were coming.”

“Who knew we were going to Earth?”

“I certainly didn’t tell anyone. I didn’t know until you told me to come here.”

Lukas thought for a moment and shook his head, “Eve must have told Salud after we left.”

“What?”

“It appears she can hear my thoughts. She must have said ‘Earth’ to Salud. This is Salud’s way of telling me I’m never alone.”

“You were really lucky to have found her.”

“Willow, there was no luck involved. Pat set that up from the beginning.” Willow arrived in orbit above Earth and Lukas stared at the planet for an hour. The planet was healing and the new force field stations could be seen from orbit. Finally he sighed and thought, “Pat.” He was greeted with silence. “Pat, you can’t fool me! You’ve shown your hand in recent events so you might as well admit it!”

“Lukas, you are the most damnably annoying creature I’ve ever encountered. How did you know I survived?”

“You nudged the twins into doing something they would never had done normally. They arrived moments before that Invader squadron showed up. That’s too much of a coincidence. It has your hands all over it.”

“Trust me on this; it didn’t take much of a push to get them to do it!”

“I can believe that. How did you survive?”

“I’m incredibly ashamed that I did. I knew I would die with your people.”

“You didn’t.”

“No, I went into the planet’s core just as the invaders fired on me. Their beams caused a large portion of my structure to disintegrate but they missed the central portion. Once I arrived close to the core, they could no longer detect me. I stayed there and watched them systematically kill every human on the planet. This is something that I will live in shame over for the rest of my life and I hope you understand that my life is going to be quite long. I should have died with your people, Lukas. I deserved it.”

“You caused them to stumble on Earth, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“Because if they didn’t find it at that moment, that second fleet that launched from M-87 with provisions would have come here and killed every civilized planet in the galaxy and they would have found Earth. Earth’s destruction had to happen before that second fleet arrived.”

“You shouldn’t blame yourself for living, Pat. If you didn’t, all the work we’ve done erecting the force field structures would have been a wasted effort and it would have led to another invasion.”

“There will be another invasion soon. I can’t help but feel immense sorrow at the loss of life. I watched the invader warships scan the entire planet and use their beams to kill every human. There were thousands of humans that had a main disruptor fired at only them. The deaths of the children and babies still haunts me. I should be dead with them.”

“You’re going to have to deal with your sorrow the same way we are.”

“How is that?”

“You’re going to have to make them pay for their actions, which brings me to a request.”

“What do you want?”

“You probably know I’m headed out to M-87 to take a look at what’s going on. You could save my wife and daughter a lot of lost sleep by taking a look and telling me what you see without my having to go there.”

“I could, but you wouldn’t like the fallout if I did.”

“What are you saying?”

“If I allow my consciousness to go back into that galaxy, the species that sent those ships here will sense my presence and know they failed in their attempt to kill me. That will lead to an immediate invasion and this time they’ll be coming to kill every planet with intelligent life.”

“They must suspect you survived when we destroyed their advanced ships.”

“No, the twins did a remarkable job of attacking them from the rear and not from Earth’s direction. The only message they got out said they were under attack from another direction.”

“But they must be planning another invasion because of the loss of their ships?”

“Probably, but it takes time to plan an invasion and you still need all the time you can get to update your pods and build enough battleships to make a difference.”

“Those new ships can be here in less than a month.”

“If the same species invades again and those ships were the only ones they had with the upgrades. They are going to have to take time to upgrade the rest of their fleets and you can imagine how long that will take.”

“What if they send that other species?”

“I don’t know for certain but I suspect their ships aren’t as good as the orange ships. It will take them a much longer time to arrive. However, if they sense me, they’ll send both species to make sure the job is done this time.”

Lukas sighed, “So I guess I’ll have to make the trip.”

“It’s the smart thing to do.”

“Pat, is there anyway those beings that are hell bent on killing you can be killed?”

“Oh, I could kill them but I’d never get close enough to them to do it.”

“Why not?”

“Because the disruptor beams on their ships can kill me. The frequency they operate on will disintegrate me if they hit me. I was extremely lucky I survived the last attack.”

“What if you were inside a ship their beams couldn’t penetrate?”

“I would still have to leave that ship to get at them. I couldn’t do them any harm inside the ship.”

“If I can find a way to get you close, would you do it?”

“I’d welcome the opportunity but their planet is surrounded by more than a million warships and the planet’s surface is covered with huge disruptor emplacements. Good luck on getting around that defense.”

Lukas nodded slowly and said, “Well, it gives me something to think about.”

“How are you going to go about scouting that galaxy? Finding anything of importance is going to be like searching for a single grain of sand on a beach.”

“My ship is now telepathic. She’ll listen to their thoughts and find where we need to go.”

There was a very long moment of silence and Pat finally said, “Is this the same ship that brought you here?”

“It is.”

Pat gave a mental sigh, “Can you hear me?”

Willow thought, “I can.”

“You asked me when we first met if I thought you were alive.”

“I remember. You said you didn’t know.”

“You are.”

“WHAT?”

“You are. Machines aren’t capable of telepathic communication.”

“But another species gave me a technological device that allows me to hear others thoughts.”

“You could put that device in every machine in existence and they wouldn’t be able to use it like Lukas just described. You are, for all intents and purposes of the definition, alive. This is truly extraordinary.”

“Thank you, Pat. Coming from you, it means a lot.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you did all you could to prepare us to take them on. It is due to your efforts that humans are still alive in Andromeda. My closest friend is also still alive.”

“The two of you are much more than you are alone. Don’t go there and get yourselves killed. The universe is a better place with the two of you in it.”

“The same can be said about you, Pat.”

“I wish that were true, Lukas. My sorrow at what I caused is almost more than I can bear.”

“Then get angry and make a decision to make them pay. I’ll be in touch with you when we return. Please keep an eye on those working on the force field.”

“They’ll have it up and running before the invaders can come back.”

“Good. We’ll see you later.” Lukas activated his display and said, “Willow, set a course for M-87.”

The Pod turned and moved out of orbit. It went to full speed and crossed the gravity limit in less than two seconds. It disappeared and Pat sighed. If only he could have started getting humans ready sooner. But he knew that events had to follow a pattern and things had happened faster than they should have. He hoped the two would survive. They were an anomaly that transcended normal events of cause and effect. They were more than he ever thought possible.

Chapter Eighteen

The Milky Way disappeared and Lukas thought about what Pat said. His thoughts were interrupted when Willow said, “Lukas.”

“Yes.”

“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I’ve been wondering why you are struggling so much to defend a now dead planet. Eden is actually just as beautiful as Earth and humans should have hundreds of years to prepare to take on the invaders without all the stress of rushing to defend a planet where all human life has been removed.”

“The Welken side of my mind agrees with you, Willow.”

“But?”

“The human part of me demands justice for what has been done.”

“Can’t justice be served in the future when you have enough time to prepare?”

“I don’t know if this makes sense but billions of humans have their ashes mixed in with the soil on Earth. It is their final resting place and as such represents holy ground to our species. It’s not an issue of common sense…it’s something more than that. Those billions that lost their lives there deserve to have their ashes honored by refusing to allow their killers to take possession of Earth. Jack will be buried there shortly and I will not turn my back on his memory. I know it’s not the smart thing to do but it’s the right thing to do. Eden is beautiful and I know that many humans who have settled there won’t want to leave it. If we live there long enough, it will become the home for those that are born there. But Earth is part of our DNA. It’s where our ancient ancestors fought to survive and eventually created a civilization where humans could thrive. Those that lived there cannot ever be comfortable with stars overhead that are strangers.”

“But Lukas, you weren’t born there.”

“I was in a matter of speaking. When you changed my DNA from Welken to Human, I was born again in a different form. For the short time I was there, I came to love Earth. I like Eden, but I love Boston.”

“Boston is now ashes.”

“But it can rise again from those ashes and I’ll be a part of making it happen. If we fail here, then we’ll fall back to Eden and do what you think we should do. But I will not give up Earth without a fight.”

“I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, I like that saying by the way, it communicates a lot in very few words, but you lost a fight trying to save it.”

“But I didn’t lose the war. Besides, you’re looking at this without really thinking it through.”

“Excuse me, but I’m a computer. I’ve thought this through more than you can possibly know.”

“Have you considered where the invaders will be in a few hundred years if they take another galaxy?”

“Uhhhh, what are you saying?”

“They occupy two galaxies we know about. What if they have three galaxies where they’re building warships? What numbers will have to be faced if that happens.”

Lukas looked at the display and saw the huge ball galaxy in the distance. After several hours, Willow said, “You’re right. We have to slow them down now.”

“We also don’t have to face them alone. Send a message probe to Jinks and tell him to get the printouts for the Dark Energy reactors to the Welken Royal. Ask him to start searching around the Milky Way’s black hole to see if there’s a planet there with a white surface. In the meantime, have a load of coated scoops delivered to them along with the new disruptor’s schematics.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“They don’t know about coating the hulls of our ships. However, we’re going to need their help if another major invasion starts. They have millions of battleships that can make a difference. They already have the Dark Matter guns. Protecting our galaxy is something every civilization is going to have to participate in doing.”

“What happens if they return to their old ways?”

“They have experienced the difference of working together on a common goal. That is going to forge ties between them that never existed in the past. They have changed and I don’t believe any of them will desire to go back to what they once were.”

Lukas felt a slight jerk, “I’ve sent the probe.”

“Thanks, Willow.”

“You and I need to spend more time together. I’ve learned more today than I have since you stopped taking part in battles.”

“You also keep me grounded, Willow. I need your insights to force me to think about what I’m doing.”

“I just received a thought from Chad. He wants to know if we should go and remove the attackers from around the Grey Planet.”

“Not until they invite us. Why is he asking?”

“He’s planning to move the majority of the modified pods to Earth.”

“Tell him not go until the construction converters can arrive and build an operational space port. He can go with the construction crews once the force field is operational. We also need the Dark Matter Converters moved back to the Magnetar once the pods arrive.

There was a pause and Willow said, “He wants to know if we’re going to fortify the moon again.”

“Not until we can build a force field around it.”

“He’s not happy with your orders. I think he wants to get into action.”

“Tell him I said to be careful what you wish for.”

“Lukas, there’s something I’ve been meaning to discuss with you and hearing Piper relay Chad’s thoughts made me think of it.”

“The being directing the Attackers is one of the Silver Ships.”

“How did you know that?”

“Chris told me about the weapons the Attackers are using. Once I learned the Grey Planet is the same species, it wasn’t hard to figure out that some of them must be angry at how the Grey Planet views them. They’re using the attackers to try and force them to request their help. How did you know?”

“If you remember, I heard the leader of the Attackers giving them instructions. I didn’t notice at the time but later when I spoke with Piper, I saw a similar pattern in his thoughts.”

“Do you think he knows?”

“I don’t. This may be a rogue. Should I tell him?”

Lukas thought about it for a moment and said, “Piper has been honest and up front with us in his dealings. He should be told.”

“Stand by.” Lukas watched M-87 getting larger and after an hour he said, “Willow?”

“Stand by.” Lukas’ eyes narrowed and wondered what was being said. After thirty more minutes had passed, Willow said, “He linked me in with his Elders and had me replay the thoughts I heard. They are very upset by what they learned and they are also very appreciative of letting them know. I think they have better feelings about us now.”

“Did they say what they’re going to do?”

“It appears they know who is doing it and are going to take action shortly. They’re trying to determine how to do it without letting their relatives know.”

“There’s also the issue of the two civilizations being used to carry out the Rogue’s plan. If all control is removed, they’ll attack each other.”

“That’s why it took so long. I had to convince them that the civilizations are not to blame and must be treated with respect. I think they appreciated it afterwards.”

“Like I said earlier; you never cease to amaze me. How long before we arrive at M-87?”

“Another day.”

“I’m going to go back to my quarters and get some sleep.”

“I’ll let you know when we’re getting close.”

“Thanks, Willow. It’s good to be back together.”

“It really is.”

• • •

On Eden Salud watched Eve and saw her smile. She hugged her and knew Lukas was alright. She wondered why he had gone to Earth and Eve laughed and said, “Pat!”

Salud grabbed her throat. Was it possible? Eve laughed and hugged her mother. Salud picked her up and went to lie down for a nap. Eve went to sleep quickly and Salud joined her a few moments later. Somehow, Eve was connected to Lukas. She didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. If something happened to him, how would it affect their daughter? She sighed and put the thought aside as she closed her eyes.

• • •

The Great Ones gathered around their table and waited. The Leader had informed the Legends about the loss of their new battleships and the Legend’s initial reaction had been nasty. “What do you think they’re going to do?” The Leader shook his body cautioning the other to remain silent.

“We have decided that you are not worthy of being our tool. You will remain on your side of the galaxy and recall all your ships from the other galaxy when the Other’s fleets arrive to replace them.”

The Leader said, “We will comply with your instructions. We apologize for not meeting your expectations.”

“Anther failure will be your last. However, your species will have time to ponder your mistakes.”

“Yes, Great Legend.”

The thoughts disappeared and the Leaders gathered around the table stared at the Greatest Leader. “You didn’t even resist our being replaced by the others.”

“What do you think the Legends are going to do?”

“That’s obvious.”

The Greatest Leader looked at the Second, “Please tell us what you see.”

“They’ll replace all our ships in the other galaxy and force us to stay on our side of the galaxy. We will no longer take part in the taking of the spiral galaxy.”

“I want you to think about the following. It’s been more than three years since we destroyed that planet in the spiral galaxy. We sent fifty three of our most advanced battleships to scout that planet and what happened to them?” The group looked at each other and the Greatest Leader said, “I asked you a question!”

The Second said, “They were all destroyed.”

The Fourth said, “And they were destroyed very quickly.”

“How many ships were lost attempting to invade?”

The Eighth said, “Eight million, six hundred thousand, and nine hundred and seven.”

Everyone looked at the Eighth in shock including the Greatest Leader. “How can you possibly know that?”

“I’ve spent the last three years going over the recordings to arrive at that number. I can say with a high level of certainty that we lost that many and probably more.”

“Have you erred by making the number too high?”

The Eighth looked at the Sixth, “I saw that many ships destroyed. The number is not lower but it could be higher. I may not have acquired all the records.”

The Greatest Leader shook slightly in his tub as he said, “And soon, the Others will be ordered to go to that galaxy. That Galaxy has been given three years to prepare for our next invasion. What do you think is going to happen?”

“But we destroyed the planet where those ships were coming from.”

“Then explain how our most advanced ships were destroyed in such a short time.”

“How many ships attacked them?”

The Greatest Leader raised an eyestalk out of his tub and looked at the Second, “I received a very short message from the Supal commanding the ships that said he was being attacked from the rear. The recording wasn’t good but I’ve had our scientists working on it and they’ve been able to determine that they were destroyed by two small ships.” The gathering stared at the Greatest Leader through eyestalks sticking out of their tubs. “And now the Others are going to invade. Would any of you like to join them?”

The Eighth said, “I think staying here on our side of the galaxy is a marvelous way to spend the foreseeable future.”

The Greatest Leader laughed, “This should make for a great show. Make sure we send probes out with them when they leave.”

“Will the Legends allow it?”

“We’ll say we need to learn how to do things correctly and watching the professionals at work will help us learn. They may insist we send the probes to shame us. If they don’t, we’ll make the request.”

“You sound like you expect them to lose.”

“Did we?”

“We destroyed that planet!”

“And what if that planet was the wrong target?”

Everyone was stunned by the question and the Eighth said, “Then we will learn a lot more than we anticipate.” The Greatest Leader nodded.

• • •

“Lukas.”

“What?”

“Wake up. I have some disturbing images coming in from the probes we left at the conduit between the two galaxies.”

“I’ll be right there.” Lukas got up and dressed. He splashed water on his face and shook his head to clear it. He had slept heavily. He left his quarters and arrived at the cockpit and sat down in his command chair, “What’s going on?”

“I’ve been recording this while you’ve been asleep.”

“How long was I out?”

“About ten hours.”

“WHAT?”

“You needed the rest. However, watch your display and I’m going to play the recording at high speed.”

Lukas looked at the display and saw thousands of green ships entering the conduit at M-87 and emerging into M-86. A moment later, thousands of orange ships would enter the conduit in M-86 and emerge into M-87. “What do you make of this, Willow?”

“The exact number of warships are replacing each other. It appears the orange colored ships are leaving M-86 and are being replaced by the green warships.”

“The orange species is no longer the weapon of choice.”

“It does appear that way. The probes show the orange ships are returning to planets on their side of that galaxy.”

“The ones directing the forces in this galaxy aren’t happy with the orange species and are replacing them with the others.”

“Willow, didn’t the orange ships pull most of the ships out of M-86 when they invaded?”

“They did.”

“If they were going to invade, why would they be sending the green ships to that galaxy?”

“They might think they have enough ships to invade and still control that other galaxy.”

“I find it hard to believe the green ships outnumber the orange species that much.”

“That’s why we’re here. That’s a question we need to answer.”

“I would think the ones calling the shots would have just left the orange ships in M-86 and used the entire green civilization’s fleets to invade.”

“It seems they don’t operate that way. It’s all or nothing.”

“If that’s the case, we may be in luck.”

“Why do you say that?”

“If those green ships were as fast as the orange ships that just flew to our galaxy, they wouldn’t need that conduit.”

“That’s a good point. Do you think they have the technology used on those orange ships?”

“Do you think the Orange Civilization is happy about this turn of events? If I were in their place, I’d give them nothing and cheer us on to beat their eyes out, if they have eyes. There can’t be any love lost between those civilizations.”

“How can you know that?”

“Because they are not allowed to mingle. They are forced, or they choose, to stay on their side of the galaxy. Remember that green ship called in an orange ship to continue a pursuit of one of our scout battleships. They do not enter each other’s territory. That must mean they are not on good terms.”

“So how does this change our plans?”

“There’s both good and bad news if what we suspect is true.”

“What’s the good news?”

“It will probably take the green ships close to a year to arrive at the Milky Way.”

“And the bad news.”

“The Orange Civilization can now take all of their ships and start upgrading them.”

“So what do we do first?”

“We need to find the capabilities of the green warships.”

“Then we need to go to M-86.”

“Why?”

“If there’s any fighting, it’s happening there.”

Lukas pursed his lips and tilted his head. “Well, change course and let’s go see what we can find out.” Willow turned and started moving toward another splotch of white in the distance. Willow was more right than she could possibly know. There was fighting in M-86. More fighting than either of them had ever seen.

• • •

“Is everything on board?”

“Yes Sir. We’ve also loaded more than three times our normal inventory of DM rounds.”

Chris looked at Audrey, “Alright, close it up and let’s get moving!”

“We don’t know where he is?”

“We’ll worry about that when we get there. Get moving!”

Audrey looked at Hawk, “Take us out!”

“Yes Sir.” Hawk activated the steering thrusters and the Montana moved out of the Space Depot. Hawk glanced at the Magnetar in the distance and looked at his panel’s monitors to make sure the ship was clear of its moorings. He feathered the rear thrusters and the Montana moved slowly out of the huge satellite. It cleared the walls and Hawk applied more thrust. Once the giant ship was three miles away, he activated the stardrive and saw normal space disappear from around the Montana. He went to full power and the gravity compensators whined briefly as they dealt with the massive gravity of full acceleration. He flew over the top of the Andromeda Galaxy and turned toward the distant Virgo Cluster. He adjusted the course slightly to avoid the giant disruption caused by the destruction of the first conduit. “Sir, where are we going?”

Audrey looked at Chris and he said, “I don’t want to get close to M-87. Take the ship into open space outside the galaxy and activate the Black Cloud when we arrive.”

“Why did he go alone?”

Chris looked at Audrey, “That’s exactly what we did on our first mission, if you remember. The key word is stealth. He doesn’t want to be seen.”

“Then why are we going after him?”

“We’re the supporting cast. We will be there in the event he runs into trouble.”

Chris focused his thoughts and said, “Piper, contact Willow and find out where she is.”

“Stand by.” Chris waited and Piper said, “They’re headed toward M-86 to see if they can determine the capabilities of the Green Civilization’s warships.”

“Why would they do that?”

“It appears the Orange Beings have been replaced by their Leaders with the Green Ships. Willow wants to know why you’re asking.”

“Tell her that we’re going to go on standby in open space to support them if they need it. We will not interfere with their mission. However, we will stay until they complete it.” Chris waited and after a minute Piper said, “Willow says to tell you thanks for your concern. She’s not going to tell Chris but will call you if she thinks you’re needed.”

“Thanks, Piper.”

“No problem.”

“So where are we going?”

“Take us outside M-86, Captain.”

Hawk nodded, “Changing course. We’ll arrive within twenty eight hours.”

Chris looked at Audrey, “Order the crew to rest until we arrive. You should also get some rest.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll join you after we clear Andromeda and get out into deep space.” Audrey nodded and left the bridge. Chris looked at Aman, “I want Hawk to move the ship into normal space when we arrive and I want you to extend the scoops and pressurize the reactors to maximum settings. While you’re charging them, fire the disruptors and make sure there’s no issues with their operation.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chris turned to Hawk and Lance, “We have the new scanners on board now, don’t we?”

Lance nodded, “We do, Sir.”

“I want you to make sure we don’t run up on any probes put out in open space. Hawk, if you have to reduce speed to make sure you avoid them, do so.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Call me if you need me.” Chris turned and left the bridge.

Hawk looked up, “White Eagle.”

“Yes.”

“Can we avoid the probes moving at full speed?”

“Probably not.”

“Lance, how far out would they have probes?”

“M-87 probably has them scattered all the way to the Milky Way. I’m not so sure M-86 would.”

“Why not?”

“That’s apparently a work in progress. They must still have civilizations there that are offering resistance. Getting probes out to track ships coming in from outside the galaxy is superfluous. Their main problem is to get a handle on those inside of the galaxy.”

“I’m going to avoid M-87 and go over the top to M-86.”

“That is a good idea. I’ll let you know if I detect any probes.” Hawk pulled back on the steering wheel and the Montana changed course. He went to full thrusters and four hours before arriving outside M-86 he took the giant battleship into normal space and deployed the scoops. Aman started pressurizing the reactors and fired the disruptors in sequence. He watched the readouts and saw the disruptors were dead on their targeting systems.

“The reactors are at maximum settings and all weapons are on line and live.”

Lance smiled and called Audrey and Chris in their quarters.

Chapter Nineteen

“Lukas, there is a group of ships that are planning an ambush on the Green Ships moving into that planetary system on your display.”

“Are the attackers from that system?”

“No, that particular system has been pacified by the invaders. The ships planning the attack are from a planet that has been invaded. They still have secret installations scattered around this quadrant and are using them to supply and arm their surviving ships.”

“Can you put it on the display?”

“I can but we would get a better view if we move in closer.”

“Is the Cloud operational?”

“It is.”

“Then take us in to a distance that’s safe to watch what’s going to happen.”

“I’m staying out of the void. I’m moving through normal space.”

“You do what you think is best. Like you once told me, ‘leave safety in the hands of the professionals’.”

“That was so long ago.”

“It certainly feels that way, my friend. Let’s go take a look at what we’re going to have to face.”

• • •

The Ambush Commander asked, “How many of the Beasts are coming?”

“The same number that left. I’ve visually counted eighteen vessels emerging at the edge of the drive limit.”

“Will they be coming close enough for us to fire on them without warning?”

“If they don’t waste time and move in toward the planet, they’ll pass within thirty miles of the moon’s surface.”

“You don’t think they’ll swing away from it?”

“Why should they? It’s on the most direct path to the planet.”

The ship’s commander looked over his shoulder, “Open all missile bay doors and use the computer’s scan to target them. I want two missiles fired at each of those ships as they pass over us.” The bronze colored being looked at his navigator, “Do you think they’ll be able to see us?”

“The walls of this crater will block their scanners. The only way I can see them is through the optical scope we put on top of the wall.”

The Commander nodded, “I’m surprised the previous invaders all left before these new ships arrived. They should have known we would take the opportunity to sneak in and launch an attack.”

“They probably did know and didn’t care.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because they left without leaving anything behind to detect us. They wanted us to do this.”

“Is that a reason not to do it?”

“Not at all. Kill them all, I say!”

“These ships are different from the Orange Ships. Do you think they can withstand our missiles?”

“No, I don’t. They may be able to knock them out with their beams if we fired from a long distance but from this range, I don’t think they can react in time.”

The Commander nodded and put one of his hands on his chin and pulled the black hair, “I want this ship out of here as soon as we open fire.”

“If we don’t kill all of them, any survivors will be able to run us down.”

“I’m not going to stay here and be a stationary target. Get out of here and we’ll launch missiles to try and hold them off.” The Navigator slowly shook his large head and the Commander stopped pulling his long beard, “I know. This was a one way trip but if we can kill at least two of their ships, it will be worth our lives.”

“I would recommend one thing.”

“What is that?”

“We normally aren’t close enough to use our lasers on them. We should be able to fire on them as we launch the missiles, it might make a difference if those ships have a stronger force field.”

“Our beams were useless against the Orange Ships.”

“But we never fired them this close before.”

The Command leaned slightly to the left and looked over the Navigator’s head at the Weapons Controller. She said, “He’s right. We should use the beams too, if nothing else, weaken their force fields before the missiles hit. It can’t hurt.”

“Can you continue to hit them as we get out of this crater?”

“I can.”

The Commander turned to the Navigator, “Alright, we’ll do it that way. Now get us underway as soon as the missiles clear their ports.”

“You chose the perfect crater for us to do that, Pogen. There isn’t a wall in the direction we’re facing. Choosing one with three walls around us was brilliant.”

“They’re only thirty miles away. They’ll be on us faster than…”

“I’ll be in the void in less than five seconds. Then, we’ll pray none of them survive.” The Commander nodded and watched the large green ships moving toward the moon.

• • •

Lukas listened to the exchange as Willow telepathically listened in and converted the strange bronze beings thoughts into electronic words. “It sounds like they have a good plan. I’m curious about the missiles they use. It appears they penetrate the Orange Ship’s force field.”

“I’ll run a full scan of them once they’re launched. However, I don’t think they’re going to get all of them.”

“Why not?”

“One of the Green Warships is falling behind the others. It appears to be running a series of scans out into the planetary system.”

“They should be able to see that, Willow.”

“The Navigator does. But he knows they are going to attack anyway and he doesn’t want to allow the rest of the crew to feel fear before they fire on them.”

Lukas watched the Green Ships moving closer to the moon and said, “Willow, move us so that we’re lined up with the back of that crater that ship will be moving out of.”

“What are you thinking?”

“If that ship goes into the void as soon as it clears the Gravity Limit, it should come right by us, shouldn’t it?”

“If we drop into the void, it will.”

“I want to try something.”

“What is that?”

“I want to fire our disruptor at a ship in the void.”

“SAY WHAT?!”

“Tighten the projector so the beam is as tight as possible. I want to take a shot at any of the Green Warships that chase that ambusher.”

“Lukas, we’re not here to get involved in combat.”

“Willow, we need to find out what will happen. I think now is an appropriate time to take a look while the majority of the Green Ships haven’t arrived. “We’ll fire and run, ok.”

“What do you think is going to happen?”

“I’m not sure. But I really don’t think we’ll be harmed by any disruption that happens from the energy discharge. It should start just beyond the disruptor’s barrel.”

“I was wondering the same thing when I was being modified, Lukas.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but what I wondered about was what would happen if Dark Energy from one of my reactors was fired through a disruptor in the void.”

Lukas’ eyes narrowed as he thought about the idea. “Is that possible?”

“There is Dark Energy in the void and it doesn’t cause a disruption. There’s not the high concentration that’s in normal space, but it is present. I thought that perhaps a dark energy beam might not cause a disruption. I don’t think the disruptor would be damaged because all it does is reflect the energy sent to it through the diamonds and mirrors without touching the walls of the barrel.”

“It would be nice if we could find out.”

“We can.”

“WHAT?!”

“I had one of the engineers run a conduit from my number four reactor to the disruptor with a switch to convert from normal energy to dark energy.”

“Do you think it will be strong enough to do any damage?”

“I have no idea. However, the dark energy reactors are much more powerful than the old nuclear reactors we used. If nothing else, it should at least knock out the star drive and allow that ship to escape.”

“Then you agree that this is worth doing?”

Lukas actually heard a sigh on the wall monitor, “Salud is going to kill me. But yes, we need to find out.”

“We could always fire the beam in the void without having an enemy ship around.”

“I’m not sure our scanners would detect anything. Remember, Dark Energy is invisible to any device we currently possess.”

“So the only way to see is to actually hit something in the void with it?”

Another sigh and Lukas started laughing as Willow said, “Yes. What’s so funny?”

“You just sighed twice. Pat is right, you are alive!”

Lukas heard another sigh that was cut off in the middle, “I didn’t notice I was doing that. But Salud is not going to be happy about doing this. She is depending on me to keep us hidden.”

“If you’re right and we fire from inside the black cloud and the beam can’t be seen with a scanner…”

“Then we will be hidden.” There was a pause and Willow said, “But I have no way of knowing if it will actually be invisible.”

“Then that’s another reason to do this. Move us to that line and as soon as you scan the attack, drop into the void and get ready to fire. By the way, will you be able to use the disruptor’s tracking system to target a ship in the void?”

“The tracking system is independent of the disruptor discharge. It will lock on and fire regardless of what energy is being used.”

“Just be prepared to fire multiple times if more than one of those Green Ships start a pursuit.”

“Good point. They’re getting close, buckle in.”

• • •

Chris listened to the conversation between Willow and Lukas telepathically as Willow sent it to him. He looked over at Hawk, “Activate the thrusters, get ready to run in if this doesn’t work.”

“If what doesn’t work?”

Chris shook his head, “I forgot none of you can hear what they’re saying. Willow and Lukas are going to fire a dark energy beam through their disruptor at a green ship in the void.”

Audrey shook her head, “When did we develop a dark energy beam!?”

“We haven’t. I’m amazed at Willow’s ability to come up with some ingenious developments. The first one was the DM Cannon. I’m shocked at the very notion of using a dark energy beam.” Chris pushed a button on his panel and said, “That is the coordinate I want you ready to go to if this flops.” Hawk nodded and entered the coordinate into his control panel. He stared at Chris waiting for the order to activate the thrusters. Audrey sat in her chair and began making inquiries into the Montana’s database on what the possible effects might be if a dark energy beam is fired in the void. She quickly learned that nothing was known about the possible effects. She shook her head and looked at Chris who sat in his command chair with his eyes closed.

• • •

Across the Virgo Supercluster, Piper listened in and felt his stress level go up. If this beam worked, his species might no longer be the most powerful in Andromeda. He almost brought the Elders in on the event but paused. Would they allow this to happen? It was a question of whether or not the humans could be trusted if they were more powerful. He thought about Willow telling him about one of his brothers attacking the Greys. He decided to keep this to himself. Perhaps the humans were the better choice to have this level of power. Besides, he knew they would give him the technology. He had no doubt that they would keep their promise to share what they developed. The question that bothered him was whether or not he wanted his species to have it. He knew his brothers could not all be trusted with it. It would put the Greys in danger. He focused and listened in on what was happening.

• • •

The bronze colored being watched his monitor and sat back in his chair as the eighteen green colored warships appeared above the walls of the crater. He gripped the arms of his chair as he felt his ship lurch as thirty-six missiles shot out of their launchers and the lasers opened fire. A moment later, he looked at the wall monitor to the right and saw the surface of the moon flashing below his vessel as it fled from its hiding place. He looked back at the green ships and saw them being hit by multiple laser beams. Then, they began exploding. The navigator yelled, “THE FORCE FIELDS ON THOSE SHIPS IS STRONGER. WITHOUT THE LASERS, THE MISSILES WOULDN’T HAVE PENETRATED IT!”

The black colored ship went to full speed and roared away from the moon toward the gravity limit. He watched his situation monitor and saw that two of the enemy ships had not been destroyed and were in full pursuit. They were gaining on his vessel at an incredible speed. He closed his eyes and knew they would be on him quickly.

• • •

Lukas saw the attack on the monitor and then normal space disappeared as Willow dropped into the void. He watched the black colored ship suddenly appear and fly past his position. He looked and saw two large green battleships appear and move rapidly toward him. He stared at them on the monitor trying to see the beam Willow was going to fire. He saw nothing but a moment later, both green ships exploded in massive blasts. Willow was far enough away that the ensuing disruptions did not reach their position.

• • •

The Navigator was changing course when he saw the two green ships pursuing him explode in huge disruptive blasts, “Kilon, something has destroyed the ships chasing us. Both have been blown into rubble!”

The Commander saw the two ships explode as he grabbed his beard and pulled it, “How did that happen!?”

The Navigator shook his massive head, “I detected nothing! Something hit them and whatever it was, did not appear on my scanners.”

“Take us back to where they were attacked.”

“Is that a good idea? Others will be called in to investigate.”

The Commander struggled with his curiosity and then shook his head as he released his beard, “Continue to run.” He wanted to know who had saved him but the Navigator was right, reinforcements would be arriving quickly.

“Willow, get us out of here!” The Attack Pod accelerated away at maximum speed.

• • •

Chris saw what happened and shook his head. What did this mean? This new beam was unbelievable.

• • •

Piper saw the destruction of the two Green Ships as well and wondered the same thing.

• • •

“Willow, what can you tell me about what just happened.”

“I was concerned about using too much Dark Energy, so I didn’t feed a high level into the disruptor. I couldn’t detect the beams I fired but I did record the two ships’ destruction.”

“Show me.”

The monitor’s view changed and Lukas watched the two Green Ships moving through the void in slow motion. He stared at them and saw the lead ship suddenly have a huge hole blasted through its force field and blow out the entire front third of the large warship. He watched the second vessel and saw another huge hole punched into the middle and it blew up in a massive blast. A moment later, the first ship blew up as well. “Why didn’t the first ship explode first?”

“I don’t know. It must have something to do with the reactors.”

“What do you mean?”

“My scan of those ships as they were hit indicate the reactors are located in the middle of the ships. I hit the reactors dead center on the second ship and only hit one on the first. It must have taken some time for the first ship’s reactor to overload and take out the others.”

“It appears concentrated Dark Energy doesn’t play well with normal energy.”

“Indeed it does. It also appears that the beam isn’t visible and doesn’t leave a disruption in the void.”

Lukas smiled, “We have a new weapon to use in the void.”

“And we won’t have to go into normal space to finish them off.”

“What did you learn about the Green Ship’s capabilities?”

“Those ships are actually more powerful than the Orange Ships they’re replacing but they’re slower.”

“Are you saying they would defeat the Orange Ships in battle?”

“No, if the Orange Ships get close enough, their beams would penetrate the force field. I also think their void missiles would penetrate as well.”

“I wonder what the green ships use in the void against other warships.”

“Maybe we should have waited to see before we fired on them.”

“We have to find out. Move back into normal space and see if you can’t find another attack taking place.”

“This time we stay out of it!”

Lukas laughed, “I’ll leave that in the hands of the professionals.” Willow entered normal space and, after a moment, entered the void and skipped away.”

• • •

Chris called the reactor engineers to the bridge and told them what Willow had done with the conduit feeding her disruptor. “Can you make that happen?”

The two looked at each other and the senior engineer said, “I think we can run the conduit to six of our disruptors but we don’t have a switch on board to switch them back to normal energy. It will be all or nothing.”

“Run the conduit and let me know when it’s completed.”

“Yes Sir.” They started walking off the bridge and the Senior Engineer stopped, “Would it be ok to use a reactor for each of the disruptors? Running six conduits from the same reactor might pose a problem.”

“Do whatever you think will work best?”

“Yes Sir.” They turned and left the bridge.

Audrey looked at Chris, “May I assume the new beam was a success.”

“Oh yes!” Audrey smiled and saw Aman smile as well. He now had a new toy on his weapons panel.

• • •

“We have lost eighteen ships in one of the systems in the other galaxy.”

“How many enemy ships were destroyed?”

“We have no way of knowing. The message we received from the leader of the flock said that his formation was ambushed by a single black ship that fled into the void. Two ships survived and gave chase but we’ve unable to contact them since they entered the void.”

The Leader of the Combined Fleets stared at his subordinate before saying, “Are there any records of losing any ships in the void?”

“No, there aren’t. No civilization there has shown a weapon capable of attacking a ship in the void.”

“Get a fleet there now and get back to me as soon as you determine what happened!”

“I’ve already dispatched a hundred warships to the scene. The reports on the black ships that was given to us by the Legends says that they lost their planet and are operating from bases scattered in the quadrant. They have missiles that are effective but only if fired from close range. The one leading the Flock flew too close to the moon and was hit from close range.”

“Warn the others to not make the same mistake.”

“The warning has been sent. However, it seems our friends from the other side of the galaxy pulled out leaving the planet open for an ambush to be set up. They had to be aware of the danger the Black Ships represent.”

“Does that surprise you?”

“Not really. We’re finding they are not being helpful in any way.”

“We would be doing the same. The Flock Leader should have read the reports on that quadrant before flying so close to that moon. You’ve seen the reports coming in; how bad is it?”

“This galaxy is far from being tamed. Most of the planets with intelligent life have been brought under our dominion but more than a third of the galaxy has not been searched for intelligent life. Those that are still hidden are attacking us before they’re found and some of those we’ve conquered are still fighting. I’d like to blame the Orange Beings for this mess but they lost a lot of ground when their ships were ordered out to invade the spiral galaxy.”

“I suspect we may be ordered to do the same.”

“That would be a mistake.”

“You’re talking to your kin. Find out what happened.”

“Do you suspect treachery?”

“No ship has ever been successfully destroyed in the void there. If our ships were, something out of the ordinary has happened. Find out and contact me. I have to inform the Ultimate of our progress and I need to know about this before I make that report.”

“The ships investigating what happened will arrive within an hour.”

The monitor went dark and the First Leader scowled. This did not look good. He knew his leaders were celebrating their upgraded status but he feared they were hasty in doing so. The Orange Beings didn’t protest their demotion. That told him more than anything that this whole enterprise represented trouble in a big way. First, what happened to those two ships?

Chapter Twenty

Jinks walked into Fleet Operations and saw Salud sitting in Lukas’ office with Eve playing on the floor. “You look stressed.”

Salud looked up and shook her head, “I had no idea how many questions Lukas had to handle every day. If they were simple and could be handled by those out in the cities, I’d feel better but they aren’t. I didn’t really appreciate all that he was doing to keep things running smoothly. Why are you here?”

Jinks sighed, “I have another issue for your attention.”

Salud fell back in her chair and Eve watched her closely, “What is it?”

“Lukas sent word back that Chad shouldn’t send the pods to Earth until the support structures were built for the pilots. However, the force field is not up and operational and I think we should go ahead and send them.”

“Have you spoken to Chris about this?”

“He’s out there with Lukas.”

“I know, but Piper can link you in to him.”

“What’s going on?”

Salud stared at him for a moment and smiled, “It appears Lukas and Willow have converted their disruptor to use Dark Energy from one of their reactors. They’ve blasted two warships in the void without leaving a trace of how it happened.”

Jinks stared at her for a moment and sat down in the chair in front of her desk. “I didn’t know that was possible.”

“No one did but Willow ran a conduit and put a switch in line to switch between nuclear and Dark Energy. The Pods are going to have to have the modification made before they’re sent to Earth.”

“Did Chris say how long that might take?”

“He says his engineers on the Montana ran six conduits from their reactors and six disruptors now use Dark Energy. He says he doesn’t have a switch on board but he thinks the modification will be simple to put in place.”

“Does the beam work?”

“According to Chris, he watched what happened through his connection with Willow and said it is devastating. I think you should start sending Chad’s Pods to the manufacturing facilities and ask for an Engineer by the name of Barry Alonso.”

“Who is he?”

“He’s the one Willow used to make the change. Once the pods are modified, you can start sending those done to Earth. I’ve notified Joey to send half of our building contractors to Earth to expedite the construction of the spaceport and the munitions factory. I’ve already sent half of the Dark Matter Converters back to the Magnetar in the Milky Way.”

Jinks smiled, “Salud, you are really something else.”

“Thanks, Jinks. By the way, how many of the New Battleships do we have?”

“Ten and we’re not building anymore at the moment.”

“I’ve ordered Pod Construction to go to full speed. It appears they are now the ships we’ll be depending on to defend us.”

“That’s the smart thing to do. We can build thousands of them in the time it takes to build one battleship. We’ll start production on them again once we get a handle on defending Earth from attack.”

“I’ve ordered the existing new battleships to be coated at the central black hole and the new conduits installed. I’ll wait on Lukas to decide what he wants done with them. In the meantime, I’m sending them to Earth to assist in its defense.”

“I’ll be going to Earth as well. Sarah’s fleet of Defense Pods will be done once Chad’s Fleet is completed and she’ll join me there.”

“What about Julie?”

“Her fleet will remain here to defend Eden. She agrees that Summer is getting to the age where she can’t leave her.”

Salud nodded and shook her head slowly, “It feels like we’re about to go back into the fire again.”

Jinks nodded, “Perhaps we won’t be the ones burned this time.”

“I pray you’re right.”

• • •

“Willow, I don’t see why the Orange Ships were selected over these?.”

“These new Invaders’ ships are more powerful…but you’re missing one thing.”

“What is that?”

“They don’t depend on missiles, they have a beam that works in the void and it’s more effective.”

“But they don’t use the Dark Matter Cloud to hide them.”

Lukas sat back in his chair. He slowly shook his head and took a deep breath. He blew it out slowly and said, “Which would allow the Orange Warships to move in close to their targets without being seen and fire from close range.”

“That coupled with their higher speed gives them a decided advantage over the Green Warships.”

“Why didn’t they use it when they invaded?”

“The cloud will be blow away when they’re traveling at full speed. It’s only good in space battles or when sneaking up on an opponent. They were forced to fly at their maximum speed to arrive at the Milky Way. Their new ships are a vast improvement over the New Invaders.”

“Do you think the Leaders in M-87 know about these new developments?”

“I tend to doubt it.”

“I do, too. If they knew about them, they wouldn’t have made the change or they would have made them give them to Green Ships.”

“That’s how I see it.”

“I think we’ve seen enough here. This galaxy is going to be trouble for a long time. We should go to M-87 and take a look at what we’re up against in numbers.”

“I’d like to take a look at what the Orange Beings are doing first.”

“Why? They won’t be coming next time.”

“We don’t know if both of them might be sent. I believe the real danger to us is the Orange Civilization. I’d like to see if we really know their capabilities.”

“We just saw their newest ships.”

“Lukas, humor me.”

Lukas laughed, “I’ve learned not to question an escape pod on issues involving survival. I’m with you Willow. Let’s go see what’s going on.”

“Leaving it to the professionals again?”

“Absolutely. Lead the way.” Willow dropped out of normal space and went to full speed. She listened to the thoughts in M-87 as they moved closer and she focused her search for key thoughts; new engines, thrusters, beams, missiles, reactors, and keeping something secret. Before they arrived at the giant galaxy, she had five places to search.

• • •

“Chad, I don’t like this.”

“You know I have to go, Julie. Gunny, Kitch, Indura, Windy, and all the others deserve my best effort.”

“But Summer deserves to have her father.”

“So did all the children killed on Earth. I’ve done my duty at making sure Eden was protected. Now it’s time I did my duty.”

“I should be going with you.”

“Eden still needs you here…and so does Summer.”

Julie wrapped her arms around Chad, “I already miss you!”

“I’m only several hours away. I’ll be coming home to make sure you don’t have to miss me too much.”

“See that you do!”

“You know I will.” Chad kissed his wife and daughter and climbed into his pod.

Julie shouted, “Take care of him Trio!”

“You know I will.”

Julie watched Chad’s Attack Pod lift off the Space Port’s concrete pad and move slowly into the sky. Summer waved and Julie waved with her. She had to marry a warrior. She felt her tears but knew she couldn’t hold him back any longer. She wiped her tears and took Summer to her pod. Her fleet of pods was being updated and she knew she had more than she could do…but…she missed him so much. She wiped her tears again and prayed for his safety.

• • •

“Trio, notify the fleet to fall in and initiate their drives for the initial skip.”

“Done.”

“Let’s go home.”

Chad moved to the front of the ten thousand Attack Pods and disappeared from normal space. He looked at the white splotch in the void far ahead, the Milky Way. This time, the invaders were going to pay for their actions. He was back in a Pod and he never felt so alive. He pressed a button and Born Free blared out over his speakers. His pilots heard the familiar music and felt their hearts beat faster. It was back to war and they were ready for whatever came their way. The other thirty thousand Attack Pods would be joining them over the next few weeks. Earth was coming alive again and humans were back on its surface. Chad hoped the invaders wouldn’t keep him waiting.

• • •

“Lukas, I’m not sure about going to that next site.”

“Why not?”

“I’ve detected thousands of small disturbances in the void.”

“Probes?”

“That’s what I think they are and I’ve got to believe that they can detect the dark cloud around us.”

“Why do you think that?”

“This is the domain of the Orange Civilization and they intend to keep this area secret, even from their own civilization. They would have to be able to detect Dark Matter.”

“This is where they’re doing most of their development.”

“I know. I think we’ve learned that they’ve developed a new reactor and their ships will be even faster than the ones they sent to Earth. If we’re going in, we shouldn’t go alone.”

“You think it’s that dangerous?”

“I do.” Lukas was silent and Willow waited for him to respond. When he didn’t, Willow said, “We can’t detect ships that are stationary with a Dark Matter Cloud around them. I can hear thoughts from more ships than I can count and they’re close. This is not something we should do.”

• • •

Chris looked at Hawk, “Fire up the engines. Lukas might be doing something stupid.” Chris looked at Audrey, “How many disrupters have conduits?”

“Forty. What’s going on?”

“I hope nothing. Sound battle stations.”

• • •

“Willow, we need this information.”

“Not at the moment. We still haven’t looked at what we’re going to have to face from the other side of this galaxy. If we enter that space, we’ll be surrounded in less time than you can imagine. I’m telling you that there are thousands of Invader Ships there and they will see us.”

“If I order you to do it, will you?”

“I really hope you don’t put me in that position Lukas. I made a promise to Salud and you did too. You’re going to break that promise if you go.” Chris raised his arm and held it over his head. Hawk watched him closely with his hand over the thruster controls. “What do you think Salud would tell me if she were here?”

Lukas sighed, “You know what she would say. Eden needs the information we’ve collected about the Green Civilization. That will be lost if we’re destroyed.” Lukas stared at the display and said, “We could send a probe back with all the information we’ve uncovered.”

“But no one there will know how to use it like you.” Willow could hear his thoughts and he fired his last round, “Would you allow her to go in if she were here?”

“Willow, that’s not fair!”

“Would you?!”

Lukas sighed and slowly shook his head. He gritted his teeth and said, “Take us out of here.”

• • •

Chris fell back in his chair and shook his head at Hawk. He lowered his arm slowly and sighed. His father was so much more than he knew. He felt a sense of pride of being Lukas’ son. He knew keeping a promise was something he would never forget from what he just witnessed.

• • •

Willow backed away and activated his thrusters. As she flew away more than a thousand missiles were launched behind her. Lukas saw the missiles appear out of nowhere and they were gaining on Willow until she reached her top speed. She ran away from them and abruptly changed course as another salvo was launched ahead of them. “It appears you were right.”

“I hate being right about this.”

“Can you avoid them?”

“I can probably destroy them with the DE Disruptor beams but I don’t want to reveal that weapon. This isn’t a great deal different from fleeing the Myot and Welken fleets. I’m not going to maximum speed. I’m going to allow them to chase me out into open space. Once we’re out of scanner range, I’ll go to maximum speed.”

“Thanks, Willow.”

“For what?”

“For not playing fair. If we were caught in the middle of those ships, we wouldn’t have been able to avoid being hit.”

“We will eventually have to allow one of those missiles to hit a ship to determine their capabilities.”

“I think we could handle one.”

“I do, too; however, now is not the time.”

“Were you able to scan those missiles?”

“They are force field protected and four times faster than the old ones.”

“You were right. This species is the one that’s the biggest danger. But for the moment, we have to deal with the others.”

“Let’s go see what that entails, shall we?”

“By all means; lead the way.”

• • •

The Fleet Supal leaped out of its tub and screamed, “YOU SHOULD HAVE FIRED SOONER!”

“You ordered us to wait until we had them surrounded.”

The Supal went into a tall column and then splashed into his tub. “What can you tell me about that vessel?”

“It was surrounded by a Dark Matter Cloud. We couldn’t see any details.”

“Was it one of ours?”

“Not moving at that speed. We aren’t capable of moving that fast.”

“Could it have been a ship sent by the Legends?”

“I have no way of knowing. I’m certain a Legend wasn’t on board or it would have seen what was going on without using a ship.”

The Supal sat in its tub and after a moment sent the recording of the contact to the Greatest Leader.

• • •

The Leaders gathered around the table argued about where the ship came from and eventually the Eighth ended the argument when he stated, “It appears it came from the spiral galaxy.” Everyone grew silent and stared at him. He looked around and raised an eyestalk, “We did send our most advanced ships to scout them. It only makes sense that they returned the favor.”

The Greatest lowered himself into his tub in agreement, “You must be right.” He looked around and said, “How can we use this?”

The Second lifted an ear, “What? How can we possibly use this without giving away our new weapons?”

The Greatest smiled, lifted an appendage out of the tub, and pressed a button. “What do you want!?”

“We’ve just destroyed a strange vessel that entered our space. We’re of the opinion that is was a scout from that galaxy we invaded.”

“Why would they come here?”

“We think they were either scouting our fleets or…”

“Or what?”

“They were looking for you.”

“SEND US THE DATA ON THAT SHIP!”

“Yes, Legend. I’ll send it momentarily.”

The other leaders looked at the Greatest with their color changing to show their fear. The Greatest looked at the Eighth, “You said that you collected all the recordings of our ships that were destroyed. In all of those recordings, did you have one showing one of the Spiral Galaxy’s ships being destroyed?”

“I have thousands of them.”

“Send the legends one where a single ship was destroyed in open space.” The Eighth lowered in agreement and began looking through his records. The Greatest smiled and said, “Let’s see how long it takes before the Legends send the Others to that galaxy.” The leaders gathered around the table were silent for a moment and then began cheering the Greatest. This was incredible thinking on his part. They knew the Legends would never tolerate a danger to them.

• • •

“UHHH OHHH!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I just heard the thoughts of the Movers and Shakers and it appears we’re being used by the Orange Leaders.”

“What?”

“The ones calling the shot here were told that the Orange Beings destroyed one of our ships scouting this galaxy. They even sent an image of a ship being destroyed.”

“But we weren’t…”

“Do you not think they have images galore of our ships being killed? They sent one and the real Leaders suggested that we were looking for them.”

“OH MY GOD! They’ve ordered an immediate invasion, haven’t they?”

“They have. They’ve given the Greenies two months to gather their forces and, in their thoughts, to go to that spiral galaxy to teach them a lesson they’ll never forget. Of course it will be hard to forget anything if no one’s alive to remember.”

“That’s true.”

“You don’t sound worried.”

“Better them than the Orange Meanies. This may force the Orange beings into the fight before they have time to convert all of their warships to their new technology.”

“It will take the Greenies a year to arrive.”

“Not if we meet them halfway.”

“Why not closer?”

“I don’t want them to get reinforcements if they need them.”

“You make a good point. We still need to go see what we’re facing.”

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’re going to gather their forces at the edge of the galaxy. Our probes will pretty much see what’s coming.”

“You never cease to amaze me, Lukas.”

“Hey, that’s my line.”

Willow laughed out loud, turned vertical, and flew above M-87 at an incredible speed. It moved out into empty space and turned toward Andromeda. “Salud will be glad to see you.”

“She’s not alone, Willow. We have a lot to do in very little time.”

“At least we have time.”

“There is that.”

• • •

Chris looked at Hawk and then at Audrey, “We’re back at war. Hawk, take us back to Andromeda at maximum speed. I suspect Lukas will be there first but we need to prepare for the next invasion.”

“What happened?”

“I’ll fill all of you in but we need to get moving if we want to take part in the planning.”

Hawk hit the steering thrusters and the Montana whipped around and he went to full thrusters. Hawk flew the ship and listened as Chris filled them in on what had taken place.

Chapter Twenty-One

Chris walked in on the meeting that was already in full swing. He saw Admiral Barber shaking her head and pointing her finger at Jinks, “What do you mean, take all the crews off the battleships and put them in Pods!?”

Lukas looked up and smiled, “It’s good you could make it. Where have you been?”

“Out checking on a few things. What is this about taking all the crews off the battleships?”

Lukas shrugged, “Most of the veterans on the battleships are former Pod Pilots. Jinks and Stoney are of the opinion that we would be better served by putting them back in one of the new Pods.”

“But we have more than two hundred thousand battleships that could make a difference in the coming invasion. They’ll just be wasted if we remove the crews.”

Lukas looked at Chris, “What do you think about this?”

Everyone in the room turned and looked at Chris as he and Audrey sat down at the table. “I’ve had the opportunity to see what the Pods can do in combat. Admiral, have you seen them?” Loree’s expression revealed her anger but she shook her head. “Admiral, the new Pods can run circles around our battleships and one of them can destroy a battleship faster than you can imagine. They’re faster, more maneuverable, and can take a much higher level of enemy fire. That’s not to say the battleships won’t hold their own with the coming enemy ships, but the pods are a better ship at the moment.”

“What do you mean, at the moment?”

Chris turned to Salud, “The New Battleships are more powerful than the pods by several orders of magnitude. They’re not quite as fast but they can withstand a tremendous amount of enemy firepower that would destroy the pods.”

Jinks shook his head, “But we only have ten of them completed and we can build more than ten thousand pods in the time it takes to construct one of those new ships. Could one of those ships defeat ten thousand of the new pods?”

“Probably not, but I’m really not at all certain it would lose.” Chris looked at Loree, “The issue here is how do we make best use of the time we have remaining to get ready? I think you know the answer to that is obvious but can’t get your hands around just allowing the DE powered battleships to just sit around useless.”

“That’s the thing that bothers me most.”

“Well, that is easily handled.”

Lukas tilted his head, “How do you see your way around that issue?”

Chris shrugged, “Simple, we give them back to the fellowship to use. We’ll be giving them a more powerful ship than they gave us and they have the manpower to crew the ships against the coming Invaders.”

The conference room was silent. Salud finally said, “That is an outstanding suggestion!”

Stoney looked at Salud, “Do you really think giving them our battleships is a good idea?”

“Stoney, they built them to help us possibly survive. You have to get over your suspicion about them. You know the pods can handle them easily. They wouldn’t represent a danger to us.”

“I guess.”

Loree sighed, “Are you going to assign all of my crews to pods?”

Lukas looked at Chris and nodded. Chris tilted his head and looked at Loree, “Not all of them. The best ten crews in your fleet will take command of one of the new Battleships. You will be in overall command of them and you will be stationed at Earth. You will be one of our last lines of defense and we want to keep the existence of those battleships secret from those in M-87 as long as possible.” Chris looked at Lukas, “I hope that is what you’ve planned to do with them.”

Lukas smiled, “You’ve been reading my mind while you were out there keeping an eye on me. That is exactly what I want done.”

Chris’s expression showed his surprise, “How did you know?”

“I didn’t until you just revealed what I wanted. I didn’t think of that until I was already at M-86. That means you had to be close to hear it.”

Chris shook his head, “Not much gets past you.”

Lukas nodded and looked at Loree, “Your ships are waiting for you on Earth. I expect you to select the best of the best in our fleets to fly them. Once you’ve made your selections, take them to Earth and find out just what those ten ships are capable of doing.”

Loree was giving up her command of thirty thousand battleships and she looked at the new job as a demotion until Audrey said, “Admiral, those ten ships could destroy every battleship in all of our fleets.”

“What?”

“I’ve been flying one of them and you can use it to take your crews to Earth. However, I know for a fact that just one of the new battleships could kill every ship in your former fleet. You will be commanding our most powerful force. I would recommend that you promote the Pilot of the Montana to command her and keep the crew intact.”

Loree looked at Chris, “Do you agree with her?”

“She went through her fleet thoroughly and chose the best to fly her ship. They are without doubt an exceptional crew.”

“Then that will be my Flagship.” Loree looked at Jinks, “Will you authorize the promotion?” Jinks nodded. Loree looked at Chris, “What are the two of you going to do?”

“We are going to fly together in one of the new pods and go scout the enemy.”

Lukas shook his head, “No, you’re too important to risk doing that.”

Chris looked at Lukas and smiled, “This coming from one that just returned from doing exactly that.”

“But…”

Salud put her hand on his arm and he looked at her, “You need to allow Chris to do what he thinks is best. Haven’t you already made that decision earlier?”

Lukas stared at Salud for a moment and then shook his head as he turned back to Chris, “You will be assigned a new ship and you may do with it as you please.”

“Is Willow available?”

“No, she is Salud’s and my ship.”

“Drat. Alright, we’ll go to the plant and take one of the new ones coming off the assembly line.”

Lukas nodded, “You should also get one of the colony ships fired up and have all the battleships taken back to the Welken Royal. Use the colony ship to bring the crew back here to pick up their new pods and start training.”

Chris nodded and sat back in his chair. Audrey reached under the table and took his hand. He looked at her and smiled. Stoney looked around the table and said, “Who are the ones that will command our fleets?”

Lukas looked at him and said, “Do you have some suggestions?”

My first question is whether we are going to be building two different kinds of pods.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know we had Attack Pods and Defense Pods before we moved into the battleships. Are we going to build a Defense Pod?”

“We’re currently modifying all the old pods to the new reactors and coating them. Of course the new weapons will also be installed but most of our current ships will be those that are modified. What is the difference between the two models, Jinks?”

“The Defense Pods have three disruptors instead of one. They also have the rotary guns and one of the DM Cannons.”

“Why didn’t we build all of our pods that way?”

Jinks looked at Loree, “The Defense Pods aren’t as fast as the Attack Pods. They were built to stop any nuclear missiles launched at Earth.”

“With the force field around Earth, I suspect they won’t be needed to do that. Just how much slower are they?”

Jinks’ eyes narrowed and he shook his head, “With the new coating and reactors, I honestly don’t know.”

“I think I know someone who does.” Everyone turned and looked at Amanda. She lifted her communicator and said, “Nudge, have either of you updated a Defense Pod?”

“Matter of fact, we’ve modified ten of them.”

“How do they compare to the Attack Pod?”

“They’re more heavily armed.”

“What about speed and maneuverability?”

“They’re just as fast. The Attack Pods can turn slightly faster.”

“How do you and your brother see them being used in combat?”

“The Attack Pods are the ships that will penetrate the Invader’s formations taking advantage of their superior maneuverability. The Defense Pods can stand off and blast the formations from a distance and still be fast enough to avoid anything fired at them.”

“Thanks, Nudge.”

“No problem.”

Amanda hesitated a moment and then quickly said, “Nudge, before you go.”

“Yes.”

“Which one of the two are you and your brother going to fly?”

“We’re taking a Defense Pod.”

“Why?”

“Because it is a real ass kicker.”

Amanda ended the call and looked at Chris, “I suspect you might want to pick up a defense pod to go scouting. It’s about thirty feet longer than the Attack Pod, holds more munitions, and doesn’t suffer much in loss of speed.”

Lukas looked at Stoney, “It sounds like all of our pods are now going to be used to attack.”

“It appears you’re right.”

“Calling one of them a defense pod is not a good description.”

Trevor smiled, “We’ll designate the Attack Pod as an A-Pod and the Defense Pod we can call a B-pod.”

Audrey said, “What do the two letters stand for?”

Trevor shrugged, “A is for assault and B is for batter.”

Jinks laughed, “A and B it is.”

“So who commands our fleets and how many pods are going to be in each?”

Lukas looked around the room and smiled, “You all know your personnel. Let’s take a break and come back together and decide who should be promoted. It’s been a while since we went into battles with large fleets. I know there are officers up to the challenge. I suspect most of you know who they are.”

The group stood up and moved toward the cafeteria. All of them were discussing possible candidates for the Command Positions. Audrey walked in with Loree and said, “You don’t want to keep your crew?”

“No, I think they’re ready for a larger challenge.”

“What about Lance?”

Loree stopped walking and looked at Audrey, “You noticed that?” Audrey nodded. “It wouldn’t work.”

“Why not?”

“I intimidate him too much. He could never really relax around me.”

“You might want to take a good look at the new Commodore on your flagship.”

“Why?”

“Just take a good look. I think he’ll impress you and I can assure you that nothing intimidates him.”

Loree smiled, “Now that’s interesting. I’d recommend Lance for command of a fleet. That man is brilliant.”

“I agree. Let’s get something to eat.”

• • •

Kyel came running into the throne room and said, “Your Greatness, one of the colony ships we built for the humans has asked permission to move into our system.”

“By all means, give it to them. Did they send a frequency for us to communicate?”

Kyel pressed his belt and said, “I’ve just sent it to your panel.”

The Royal saw the numbers appear on his communication panel and he pressed a button, “Welcome to my Capital. What brings you here with a colony ship?”

“Good day, Your Greatness. I’ve been asked by our leader to come here to deliver a gift.”

“Does this gift fill a colony ship?”

“No, it’s somewhat larger.”

The Royal looked at his Fleet Commander and Kyel shrugged. “What is this gift?”

“Will you give me permission to bring it to your planet?”

“By all means.”

“I’ll deliver it in open space at the edge of the gravity limit.”

The two Welken looked at the wall monitor as the Royal directed a scanner to look at the edge of the gravity limit directly out from the planet. Suddenly, thousands of battleships began skipping in and falling into formations. The voice said, “We are returning a little more than two hundred thousand main battleships that have been updated with our new weapons and reactors. Lukas has asked me to thank you for your generosity in building them for us and he hopes you can use them when the next invasion happens.”

“Is there going to be another invasion?”

“We expect one in about a year but we are planning to meet the enemy about six months out.”

“You should not go alone this time.”

“It is wise of you to say that. This time the invaders will be coming to attack every civilized planet in our galaxy. Your help would be appreciated.”

The Royal looked at Kyel and shook his head, “Do you think we have a chance against them?”

“Your Greatness, we will teach them a lesson this time.”

“Please send your Fleet Leader to coordinate our efforts. We will begin preparing immediately.”

“We’ll send him to plan with you. And once again, thank you for your gifts. They made the difference in our survival.”

Kyel watched shuttles leaving the battleships ferrying the crews to the colony ship. He shook his head, “Those ships must be incredible in their capabilities.”

The Royal nodded, “I suspect the ships the Humans will be using are even more amazing.” Kyel looked at the Royal. “They no longer need them or they would have kept them.” The Royal nodded at the display, “Those ships are probably more powerful than any ship in our fleets. But the ones they will be using will pale in comparison next to them. Get the fleet commanders on line and get our best crews here to take over those ships. We need to get the Fellowship organized to go to war.”

Kyel nodded, “We’ve been preparing for this for years.”

“Let us hope the preparation pays off.”

• • •

Chris looked out of their Pods view port at the crews leaving the battleships and smiled. He turned to Audrey, “Are you ready to take a trip?”

“I am!”

“Chris looked up and said, “Captain, we’re exiting the landing bay and will leave momentarily.”

“I’ve just had a message come in requesting that you delay a moment.”

Chris looked at Audrey who shrugged and he said, “Who sent the request?”

“The sender is named Piper.”

Chris’ eyes went wide and he said, “Barbie, take us out and hold position three miles from the colony ship.”

“Moving now. You appear to be somewhat dismayed.”

“No, shocked, stunned, bewildered, but not dismayed.”

“Some time in the future you’re going to have to tell me the difference.”

“Come on, Barbie. Look up the definitions.”

“I did and there’s not much difference.”

“Were you this argumentative with Loree?”

“No, her thinking was usually pretty clear.”

“Funny!”

“I thought you’d like it.”

Chris smiled and was thankful Loree allowed him to take Barbie out of her battleship and put her in their new B-Pod. The Pod moved quickly out of the landing bay and moved three miles away from the giant ship. Chris looked at his display and saw the Silver Ship moving toward them.

“What do you think he wants?”

“I have no idea.”

“Actually, since today appears to be a day for delivering gifts, I thought I would bring one to you.”

“What is that, Piper?”

“I’m going to give your new ship the same device I gave Willow. I still deem it important to be able to keep tabs on what you’re doing. Will you accept it?”

“I most certainly will and I greatly appreciate it.” The Silver Ship moved in close as Audrey and Chris pulled their helmets over their heads and pressurized their armored suits. “Open the hatch, Barbie.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll explain after I take the device from Piper.” The cockpit depressurized and then lifted. A long arm extended from Piper and moved into the open cockpit and Audrey took the cube from it. The arm withdrew and Chris smiled, “Thank you, Piper.”

“It is I that owe you and Willow for telling us about what my brothers were doing. Let me know if I can be of assistance.”

“I will.”

The Silver Ship turned and blasted away from them at an incredible speed. “What is that device?”

“Barbie, I want you to contact Willow and ask her about the device Piper put in her. If you don’t want it, we won’t install it.”

“Give me a moment.”

Audrey looked at Chris, “You aren’t going to just order her to install it?”

“She deserves the right to decide her own destiny, Audrey. We will not treat her differently from any other being.”

“You have got to be kidding me. That device will make me telepathic!?”

“Indeed it will.”

“Well, get on with it. This is something that should be fun.” Audrey smiled and pushed the cube into the computer’s panel. The lights started flashing and after a moment Chris thought, “Can you hear me?”

They heard over the loud speaker, “Yes, I can hear you. Willow told me that I can convert thoughts to electronic pulses and play them over the speakers. I’m going to do that so Audrey won’t miss anything that’s being said.”

Audrey leaned back, “Why thank you, Barbie. That’s very nice of you.”

“Hey, we’re a team.”

Chris laughed, “Audrey heard over the loud speaker as Chris thought, “Let’s go visit our future guests and see what’s going on.” The small B-Pod blasted out of the gravity limit in an instant and was gone from every scanner and probe in the system in less than two seconds.

• • •

The Welken Royal watched the two ships on his monitor and saw the exchange. He watched the large Silver Ship blast away at an incredible speed and he looked at Kyel. “That speed is impossible, Your Greatness.”

They watched the small silver colored pod suddenly disappear at an even faster speed and the Royal saw Kyel’s mouth open in amazement. “It appears that is one of their new fighting ships. What do you think?” All Kyel could do was shake his head.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Leader of the Combined Fleets looked at his panel and shook his broad upper body. The Legends had pulled the trigger on invasion and now he was going to lose all the ground he had made in the other galaxy. This was an incredibly stupid thing to do…but who would have the claws to tell anyone. He felt reasonably certain his wings would be clipped if he said anything. And he only had two months to get his forces organized for the long voyage. He slammed his talons on the floor under his command chair and then looked at his communications wing, “Send the orders out for all fleets to begin preparing to make the voyage to the spiral galaxy. I want enough provision transports made ready to feed our ships. I will not make the same mistake that was made during the first invasion.”

“What about our ships in the other galaxy?”

“Start recalling those that are in systems that have been pacified. We’ll recall the others at the last moment.”

“That’s most of them, Great Flier.”

“I know. Start them moving.”

The Wing turned to his panel and contacted all the Fleet Fliers to gather for a group contact. The Leader looked at his panel and felt a sense of dread. That Galaxy had been given enough time to prepare. He suspected they would greet him with some real resistance. He slammed his claws again and suspected the Oranges were rejoicing at what was happening.

• • •

The view of the huge conduit running between M-87 and M-86 was extraordinary. Their pod hung in normal space and looked at the conduit with an antenna extended into the void. They hung in empty space looking at millions of galaxies in the distance. They looked like individual stars, but Chris knew they were all large and small galaxies. The size of the universe was humbling. He wondered how many of those far away galaxies were also at war. He sat in silence in the cockpit holding Audrey’s hand and staring out of the view port. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Chris sighed and nodded his head.

“I’m hearing the thoughts of beings in warships that are passing through the conduit.”

“What are you hearing, Barbie?”

“They’re being recalled to participate in the invasion.”

They continued to sit in silence and Audrey finally broke the silence, “It seems a shame that we can’t slow them down.” Chris looked at her and then back at the brightly glowing conduit on his display. He reached forward and activated a passive scan of the void around the conduit. Audrey watched him and her eyebrows went up, “What are you thinking?”

Chris looked at the readout and said, “This conduit doesn’t appear to be heavily defended as the ones that we destroyed.”

“Why would it be? It doesn’t represent a threat to the Milky Way.”

“But it does! Ships are moving through it to attack our galaxy.”

“Are you thinking about calling in some ships to take it out?”

“No, I’m considering doing it with just our ship.”

“Do you think we can do it?”

“It only took one DM Round to take out the last one. The battle to get close enough to launch it cost us thousands of ships but this conduit isn’t defended like that one. I’m just thinking about whether or not it would help or hurt our efforts.”

“How could it hurt?”

“The ones in charge might call in the Orange Ships to participate.”

“I didn’t think about that.”

“I don’t think that will happen.”

Chris’ head went back, “Why not, Barbie?”

“I’ve been listening to the thoughts of those beings and it appears the species calling for the invasion are very unhappy with the Orange Beings. They want the other civilization to show them how it’s done. If they call in the Orange Fleets, they will lose face and I don’t think their arrogance would allow it.”

“How do you know they’re arrogant?”

“I’ve listened to them send instructions telepathically to the Green Civilization. Trust me on this, they are extremely arrogant.”

“Chris, can we hit that conduit and escape the blast?”

Chris looked at Audrey and said, “Barbie, do you have the recordings of the first conduit we destroyed?”

“I do.”

“How fast did the disruption blow out?”

“It was incredibly fast but nowhere close to our cruising speed.”

“So you’re pretty certain you can outrun the disruption?”

“I am.”

Chris stared at the display and after a moment began slowly nodding. “Are we going to do it?”

“I believe we are. Even if they don’t call in the Orange Beings, we’ll still have to face them later. We have the Fellowship’s Fleets to assist us this time, so the risk is probably worth it. It might give us more time to prepare.”

“Have you noticed that it’s the Orange Ships that are defending the conduit? It appears they’ve not been replaced yet. The Conduit’s destruction might anger the Leaders even more at their incompetence.”

Chris pressed a red button on his panel and he heard the disruptors on the ship’s hull start swiveling as they went through their system check. “Barbie, switch the disruptors to Dark Energy.”

“Done, is there a reason you want to use them instead of a DM Round?”

“I’ve loaded the Cannon with a round. I want to see if the new beam can do it.”

Audrey buckled in tightly and said, “Barbie, turn us around and swivel the disruptors toward the rear. As soon as we fire, get us out of here.”

“What if it doesn’t work?”

“We can always come back.”

Chris nodded, “She’s right, Barbie. Let’s do it that way.”

I’m leaving normal space and moving in on the conduit.”

“Move in slowly and keep the Dark Cloud around us.”

“We’ll lose it if we leave at high speed.”

“I don’t care about that. I want to move in without being seen.”

“Those Orange Ships can detect a Dark Cloud.”

“But they won’t know if it’s not one of their ships.” Chris and Audrey watched the distant galaxies disappear from the viewport to be replaced by the blackness of the void. They stared at the conduit as it grew larger in the display. The small B-Pod moved in slowly until it was fifty miles out.

Barbie said, “We’re being hailed by the closest Orange Ship. Should I respond?”

Chris watched as Barbie turned around until the rear of the ship was facing the Conduit. Chris smiled and said, “Tell them we hope they enjoy the show.” Audrey laughed as Chris put his hand on the disruptor stalk and put his index finger on the trigger.

“They’re moving our way.”

“On three, Barbie, one, two, three!!” Chris pulled the trigger and Barbie accelerated away at an incredible speed as the void went from blackness to a bright flash. Chris was pushed back in his chair by the explosive acceleration. He heard the gravity compensators whining but he kept his eyes on the display. The entire conduit went up in a massive explosion. The white wave of the disruption rushed out at them but did not gain ground. The B-Pod raced ahead of it then began putting it further behind.

“Do you think they enjoyed the show?”

Chris burst out laughing and Audrey joined him. They continued to run away from the expanding disruption and Chris wondered what the ramifications of his actions would be.

• • •

“GREAT TALON, THE PASSAGE HAS BEEN DESTROYED!!”

“WHAT?!”

“THE ENTIRE PASSAGE HAS GONE UP IN A MASSIVE DISRUPTION!”

“How many ships were in it?”

“Only a few hundred but the disruption has destroyed more than ten thousand preparing to enter it.”

“How did this happen?”

“The Orange Ships were defending it! It appears every defender was destroyed by the disruption!”

“How many ships?”

“More than a hundred thousand.”

The Combined Fleet Leader suspected the Orange Ships may have done it but even they wouldn’t do something that would kill that many of their ships. He knew this had to have been done by forces from the Spiral Galaxy. He fell back in his chair and immediately knew the loss of the conduit was devastating. Now the ships in the other galaxy were trapped and it would be impossible to move them in time to participate in the invasion. It was also impossible to send reinforcements to the other galaxy if they were needed. With the removal of more than six hundred thousand ships to participate in the invasion, the ones left behind would not be able to withstand the forces fighting them. The other Galaxy was lost! He wondered if the Legends realized it. He heard the thoughts of the Legends a moment later and saw that they did know. He felt bad for being thankful that his ships were not defending the passage. He should survive the fallout. He didn’t know about the Orange Leaders.

• • •

“Oooooo. We opened a hornet’s nest with this.”

“What’s going on, Barbie.”

“The Big Shots are beyond rage. They’re screaming at the two civilizations trying to find someone to blame. Hey, I’ve been able to locate the star where those leaders are located.”

“Mark that system on your star maps!”

“I’ve already done it.”

“What are they going to do?”

“They’re too mad to make a reasonable decision at the moment. I’ll continue to listen in and I’ll let you know what they decide.”

Audrey listened to the exchange and looked at the giant ball galaxy, “What are we going to do now?”

“We’re going to stay out here and wait for things to settle down.” Chris smiled, “The worst time to go near a disturbed hornet’s nest is when they’re going after anything in sight.”

Audrey smiled and leaned over. She kissed Chris and his eyes remained closed after she broke the kiss, “Have I told you that I love the way you kiss.” She leaned over and kissed him again; it lasted much longer. After a few moments, she broke the kiss and stood up. She took his hand and pulled him out of his chair, “Barbie, let us know if you need us.” She pulled Chris out of the cockpit toward their sleeping quarters. They didn’t return to the cockpit for a long time.

• • •

The Greatest Leader was frightened. The Leader of the Legends was screaming at him and he knew he was going to die. The Legend finally stopped yelling and the Greatest said, “Great One, I only did what you instructed.”

“WHAT!”

“Before we invaded I asked you if I should send more ships to defend the passage to the other galaxy; you told me I was stupid to even consider sending ships to defend it. They were needed elsewhere.”

The Legend was silent for a moment and said, “I didn’t tell you that!”

“One of you did, Great One. Ask the others. I insist on following your commands to the letter without question!”

The thoughts disappeared and the cowering Orange Leaders remained in their tubs trembling. The Eighth said, “It’s good they told you to do that.”

“They didn’t.”

“WHAT!? THEY’LL KILL US ALL FOR YOUR LIE!”

“First of all, they were going to kill us if I didn’t lie. Could you not see that in the Legend’s thoughts?”

“You’ve only delayed our deaths.”

“I’m not sure about that. First of all, one of them will have to confess to giving us that order and I’m not so certain anyone will own up to it.”

“But no one gave you the order.”

“Which will cause the Great Leader to question whether I’m lying or one of his subordinates is not telling the truth. Since we’ve always followed his orders, he may decide one of them is not telling the truth.”

The Orange leaders stayed in their tubs shaking for two days and nothing happened. Finally, the Second said, “We are very fortunate to have you leading us. Your quick thinking appears to have saved us.”

“It has for the moment. We must act contrite and do whatever we’re told to the letter without complaint.”

It was hard not to complain when the Legends contacted them. “You will send your ships to the other galaxy and take control of the situation there.”

“Yes, Greatest.”

The thoughts disappeared and the Greatest slammed an appendage on the edge of his tub. The Third said, “It’s going to be impossible to update our ships if they’re all in that galaxy.”

The greatest moved in acknowledgement of the statement and said, “And we have to send our slowest ships to avoid revealing our new technology. It will take six months for our ships to arrive and the crong’s nest awaiting them is not going to be good.”

“We have no choice about this.”

“I know, Eighth. We will continue to update the ships here but our timetable has been upset by this development.” The Greatest sighed and looked at the Fourth, “Get the orders out and start moving the fleets immediately. Send enough transports with provisions to support those going.”

“That will reduce the provisions we’ll have to use if we’re called on to invade the Spiral Galaxy again.”

“Just be thankful we’ll still be alive to work around those issues.”

• • •

Barbie listened to the thoughts of the gathering Orange Fleets and found it humorous that one simple thing could cause so much disruption. The Green Civilization was being ordered to send every warship in M-87 to invade the spiral galaxy. None were going to be left behind and the Green Civilization would be left defenseless. The Orange Beings were being forced to send millions of their warships to retake M-86 and they couldn’t be updated with their new technology. All in all, it was a good day. She contacted Piper and had him link her with Fleet Operations. She updated them on what was happening and Lukas said, “Put Chris on the channel. I want to congratulate him on his actions.”

“Uhhh, he and Audrey are resting and if you want, I’ll wake them.”

Lukas paused and smiled, “No, I’ll tell him later. He needs to be as rested as possible. Tell them I said excellent job.”

“I will.”

• • •

The Combined Fleet Leader was disgusted. The Orange Ships should have been ordered to replace the ships in the other galaxy that wouldn’t be able to participate in the invasion. All of the worlds would now be undefended and open to any outside aggression. The Legends wanted to have their cake and eat it too. Their arrogance was incredible and they were assuming his fleets could handle the other galaxy. This was crazy!

• • •

The small creature sat on his small ship and listened to what was happening. He was telepathic and felt joy at what was going on. He relayed a thought to his controller and felt her happiness at what he was seeing. The crime screamed for justice and it appeared the opportunity to make the criminals pay would soon be available. He moved slightly further out from the giant galaxy and continued smiling.

• • •

“Chris, you need to get up here!”

“Give me a minute!”

Chris arrived in the cockpit and was pulling on his armored jacket, “What’s going on?”

“I’ve detected the thoughts of a being who isn’t from either of the two civilizations here.”

“What was it saying?”

“It was too far away to understand. All I got was the pattern and I’ve not seen that pattern before.”

Audrey arrived as Barbie was speaking and she looked at Chris, who shrugged. “Could it have been one of the species in the Green side of M-87?”

“I don’t know. It’s just…”

“What, Barbie?”

“It felt like it was very happy at what is happening.”

“Could you determine where it’s located?”

“No. Like I said, it’s too far away.”

“Have you heard it before?”

“No, this is something entirely new.”

Audrey’s eyes narrowed, “It isn’t from this galaxy.” Chris looked at her and his eyes narrowed. “Chris, both sides are extremely unhappy about what’s just happened. If this being’s thoughts are happy, it has to be from a different civilization.”

“Could it be a ship from M-86 scouting here?”

There was a pause and Barbie said, “I guess it could be.”

“Who else could it be?”

“I have no idea. It’s just…I can’t describe what I sensed. However, would a scout from M-86 be happy at learning the Orange Ships were being sent there?”

Chris shook his head, “No, that doesn’t make sense, either.” He looked at Audrey, “Who could it be?” Audrey shook her head. “If you heard it, do you think the Leaders…”

“They’re called the Legends, Chris.”

“Ok, could the Legends have heard it?”

“I doubt it.”

“Why?”

“The Legends are telepathic but they don’t use their telepathy to keep track of the civilizations here. They only communicate to deliver instructions or orders. I suspect that is to prevent their location from being determined. Remember that it was Pat’s thoughts that led them to our galaxy. I think they instinctively avoid broadcasting their thoughts unless absolutely necessary.”

“This is not something we can ignore.”

“I don’t know if we have a choice?”

“Why not?”

“Because there was just the short burst of thoughts. Whoever communicated is apparently staying concealed and, like the Legends, doesn’t communicate unless absolutely necessary. If it is a scout, it is not going to do anything to reveal itself.”

Audrey sighed, “Chris, we have more than we can do. Barbie will listen for another communication and we need to focus on seeing what’s going on.”

Chris nodded and slowly shook his head, “I sense this being is important but…you’re right. Barbie, have things settled down enough for us to move closer to where the ships are gathering to invade?”

“I’ll go over the top of the galaxy and move in from there.”

• • •

“Hey Budge.”

“Yeah.”

“Congratulations on your promotion.”

“Same to you.”

“I’m a little concerned.”

“Get in line. I know, we don’t have much combat experience to be placed in command of an Attack Fleet.”

“I’m afraid of making a huge mistake and causing my pilots to get killed.”

“Nudge, the only reason I accepted this command was because Lukas and Amanda insist that I have the most extensive knowledge of what the new pods are capable of doing.”

“Same here and Jinks insists that our actions against the advanced Invader Warships proved that we can think quickly and do the right things. Have you thought about how we should use our ships in an attack?”

“I have. That’s why I insisted that the Attack Fleets have both models of the new pods. I intend to use the A-Pods to break up the Invader formations and the B-Pods will stand off and blast them as they attempt to escape.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to hit them with the B’s and send the A’s in to clean up?”

“What if they don’t break formation to attack the B’s?”

“They’ll be hit by thousands of DE beams. It will be hard for them to remain in formation to absorb that punishment. Would you?”

Budge hesitated and said, “You’re probably right about that. I think we should try it your way first.”

“Why thanks, Brother. I take that as a real compliment.”

“There’s another thing that I’ve thought about.”

“What is that?”

“If the invaders come in masses like they did before, we might be well served to use one fleet to break them up and a second fleet to hit them from the opposite side.”

Nudge smiled, “Are you thinking we should practice working together?”

“I suspect that’s why we were both promoted. We should at least look at it.”

“Let’s do this. Work on getting our fleets familiar with attacking and then start them working together.”

“That’s another good suggestion. Are you worried about dying?”

“Not really. This is going to be the most fun I’ve ever had. It’s worth the risk and if it happens, que cera cera.”

“We have a lot to do. I’ll get with you later.”

“I love you, Budge.”

“I know. And I love you as well. Let’s make our lives count for something.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Six weeks passed and Chris decided that they had done all that needed doing. The Invader Fleet was larger than the first one sent by the Orange Civilization. He really thought that with so many ships stranded in M-86 that the second invasion would be smaller but the order to send all warships made the difference. Normally, several hundred warships would always be stationed at each planet to defend it against aggressors. This time, all ships were being sent and the total was staggering. The giant fleets of green warships continued to grow but the Fleet’s overall commander ordered the voyage started. The late arrivals could fall in at the rear of the huge formation. The Lead Talon watched the fleet start moving and looked at the huge monitor on the wall. “Where are the transports?”

“Talon, they are located in the center of our formation.” The Talon nodded. That was the safest place for them.

The Main Fliers watched the huge formation start moving and didn’t like the situation they were forced in to. Ten thousand warships were left behind to defend the planet where the Government was located, but that was the only planet defended. The Main Leaders had to argue to leave those ships behind and finally prevailed. The Legends insisted that no one in the galaxy would dare attack them. They won the argument by suggesting that ships from M-86 could make the journey and endanger them. The Legends relented and allowed the small fleet to stay around the main planet.

The Orange Leaders watched the giant formation start moving and the Greatest Leader expected them to be immediately attacked by forces from the Spiral Galaxy. When it didn’t happen, it worried that he was going to miss the opportunity to take new territory to exploit. He looked at the Second, “Are we receiving a feed from their ships?”

“The Legends insisted we be shown how much better they are than us. We will receive current and up to date videos from their scanners.”

He stared at the monitor and said, “I’m surprised they weren’t attacked here.”

The Eighth raised an eyestalk and shook it negatively, “I’m not.”

The Greatest turned his attention to the Eighth, “Why?”

“If they attacked here, they would fear the Legends would order us to join them. They’ll wait until they’re too far away for us to assist them.”

The Greatest stared at the Eighth and said, “All of you are reduced one rank. The Eighth is now the Second. He has added more to our insights than all of the rest of you together.”

The Eighth swelled over the sides of his Tub and said, “Thank you for your confidence, Greatest Leader.”

“You’ve earned it.” The former Second didn’t like his demotion but had to agree that the Eighth had made a significant difference. He did not begrudge his new status. The Greatest looked at the monitor again and said, “Do any of you have an idea of what’s going to happen?”

The new Second said, “If any outside force or agency ever wanted to attack our galaxy, now is when it would happen.” Everyone around the table turned to him. “Think about it. The Greens are defenseless and we only have enough ships to defend our planets. If we leave to defend them, we will be attacked in turn.”

“Who could possibly mount an attack against either of us?”

“How many galaxies have we visited and killed a civilization or two? I don’t see any outside force that could do it but now would be the perfect time if there was one.”

The Greatest stared at the Eighth and said, “Issue a high alert to our forces that all vacations and leaves are canceled until further notice. I want our ships prepared for anything.” The New Second sent the orders. The Greatest was surprised by the observation but the Eighth’s suggestions were too good to ignore. He suggested that all of the updated warships be sent to M-86 so they could return quickly if they were needed. They would fly at a slow speed not giving away their real capabilities and that would leave hundreds of thousands of ships that could now be updated. It was a remarkable suggestion. The updated warships would also stand a better chance of survival against the forces fighting them in the other galaxy. The Eighth deserved his new status.

He didn’t like one thing the Legends forced on him. It was clear that the enemy was using a Dark Matter Cloud around their ships. The Legends ordered him to give the Green Leaders the device used in his scanners to detect the cloud. All of the warships in the invasion force had their scanners upgraded as they assembled to leave. Now his ships no longer had the ability to hide from them. But, he was still alive and giving the device to them apparently convinced the Greatest Legend that he was being honest about following orders. Besides, his newest ships would be too powerful for the green ships to handle.

He looked up at the monitor again and saw the gigantic fleet start accelerating to full speed. It quickly disappeared from the probes he had around his territory and he saw they were spreading out across a huge volume of the void. That’s what his ships should have done when they invaded. He couldn’t accuse the Green Leaders of being stupid. They learned from his mistakes.

• • •

The Talon commanding the Green Warships left in M-86 sat in his command chair and swore. His ships were being chewed up by the savage civilizations that were still attacking his fleets. He saw the main invasion fleet leaving for the spiral galaxy on his monitor and saw the huge numbers of Orange Ships moving toward him on the second monitor. He thought about the situation for an hour and then made a decision. He pressed a button on his panel that activated the general frequency. “All ships will gather at the edge of the galaxy closest to our home and prepare to leave.”

His second in command looked up at him in shock, “You will be executed for this!”

“Probably, but my crews and ships will survive. The Orange Ships left before we arrived and many of our brothers were killed in ambushes. I’m not doing anything they didn’t. Let them face the enemy who will be preparing for their arrival. I’m not sacrificing another ship. Keep this information secret.”

“But…”

“You will do as I order or I will kill you.”

The Second stared at his commander and then looked up at the Orange Ships on the monitor. This was their fault; they didn’t defend the passage. He looked at his commander and nodded, “I will support you in this decision, Talon.”

“Order communication silence on all ships. We are going home.”

“The Orange Ships will see us and report our departure.”

“We will take a longer route through the void. Set a course that will prevent them from seeing us and start the fleets moving.”

“Yes, Talon.”

Four million Green Warships were trapped in M-86 when the passage was destroyed; they now numbered two and a half million. The Talon smiled and knew the Orange Ships were going to receive a hot welcome by the local civilizations. They deserved it. He looked at his monitor and saw hundreds of thousands of his ships were skipping out to his position. In less than twenty-four hours, the giant formation accelerated away from the huge galaxy.

• • •

Chris arrived at Eden and Barbie went directly to the spaceport. He and Audrey went quickly to the conference room and found the Leadership Team gathered. Stoney and his mother were also present and they greeted him with hugs and kisses. “Thank God you made it back.”

“Aww Mom.” Kathy hugged him tight and Chris said, “I want to talk with both of you about something after the meeting.”

“What’s it about?”

“A wedding.”

“But…”

Chris put his finger on Kathy’s lips, “After the meeting.” He removed his finger and she reluctantly nodded.

Chris walked away and Stoney looked at the table where Audrey waited for Chris to come sit beside her. He saw her expression and noticed Kathy was also watching them. “She loves him.”

“But he’s so young!”

“He’s older than most of those present. It’s not the distance; it’s the mileage. He’s been through more than most humans would experience in a lifetime.”

Kathy saw Chris and Audrey holding hands under the table and she sighed, “They should have whatever happiness they can get in this most violent of times.” Stoney smiled, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her tenderly. They turned and walked to the table.

Chris listened to their thoughts, leaned over, and whispered into Audrey’s ear, “After the meeting, I’m wondering if you might agree to a short detour.”

“Where?”

“I was hoping that you would agree to marry me.” Audrey’s eyes went wide and then they started to moisten. “Think about it and you can give me your answer after the meeting?”

“Why are you asking me now?!”

“I had to get my parents approval first.”

Audrey turned and saw Stoney and Kathy walking toward the table and they smiled at her. “You won’t have to wait for an answer, just the kiss. I will marry you, gladly.”

Chris squeezed her hand and smiled. They turned and looked at the others gathered around the table but it was easy to see they were both joyous.

• • •

Lukas looked at the gathering and saw many new faces he didn’t know. The newly promoted Admirals and Commodores all looked so young. But they also looked eager. That was a good thing. “The invaders have begun their voyage and we are now going fully operational. Jinks, you will be the overall commander of our combined fleets.” Jinks nodded. Lukas looked at Chis, “You and Audrey will leave for the Fellowship after this meeting and you will direct their fleets.”

“Are you sure you want me to do this?”

“I do. It’s going to be difficult task to meld them into our ranks so that our fleets don’t walk all over each other. You should sit down with our senior admirals and get their input on how to best use them.”

Chris nodded and looked at Audrey. She nodded as well and Lukas wondered what was going on. Salud saw them look at each other and she put her hand up to her throat. She recognized that look. Her stepson was in love.

Lukas looked around and stood up, “We are going to initiate our attacks when that fleet is six months out from M-87. That additional time will allow us to build more Pods and get their pilots ready. All of you commanding a fleet WILL get them prepared. Is that clear!”

“YES SIR!”

Jinks looked at Lukas, “What are you going to be doing?”

“I’m leaving Julie’s fleet at Eden for defense purposes. Salud and I will go to Earth and direct our efforts from the spaceport that has been built there. All of your fleets will also go to Earth and will train with the Fellowship Battleships to get ready for our attack. Lukas looked around the table and smiled, “We’re going home!” The room erupted in cheers and everyone stood and applauded the announcement.

Chad saw Julie wasn’t happy but she looked at his concerned expression and said, “I’m ok. I know it has to be this way.” Chad hugged her and she forced a smile. Julie looked up into his eyes and said, “I’ve been meaning to tell you something.”

“What is that, love?”

“We’re going to have a son in about five more months.” Chad’s mouth fell open and Julie smiled, “I think we’ll call him Junior.”

Chad was shocked and could only say, “Junior?”

“He’s going to be named after you, Darling.” Chad pulled her into his arms and held her like she was life itself. “That’s why I know I should stay here. You make sure our son gets to know his father!” Chad felt tears and could only hold her in silence. Julie whispered in his ear, “Junior is a great name for a surfer.” Chad could only shake his head and fight his tears. He loved Julie so much.

Everyone was caught up in the moment and didn’t notice Chad and Julie…but Salud did. She smiled. She told him. She saw the early signs of Julie’s pregnancy and knew she had been keeping it from Chad. She wiped a tear and looked at Lukas. Maybe it was time to tell him; she couldn’t hide it much longer.

Suddenly, everyone in the room heard a thought, “Would it be inappropriate to make a request at this moment?”

Silence slammed down on the gathering and Lukas looked up, “We’ve not heard from you in a long time.”

“We’ve been observing and learning.”

“What is your request?”

“Since you are taking the vast majority of your forces to Earth, may we offer our services to defend this planet in the event that it might be attacked?”

Lukas smiled, “We would welcome your assistance.”

“Thank you. It is our honor to do so.”

The room erupted in cheers again and Salud knew something remarkable had just happened. The Sentinels would make sure Eden would be safe. Now the warriors could go and not worry about their loved ones left behind. She knew Lukas worried about the Silver Ships and the Attackers but now that would no longer be an issue. The war was coming and this time her species was ready.

• • •

Salud looked at Lukas as thousands of people entered the huge colony ships. “Is this a good idea?”

“They requested me to take them, how can I say no?” The last humans taken from Earth to Eden were the people who lived on Barbados. Lukas insisted that they deserved to survive because of all they had done to support the ONE WORLD movement. The Leader of the colonists came and asked Lukas if he was going to set up his operations on their former island and Lukas told him he was. Since there were no humans on Barbados when the planet was attacked, nothing was damaged on the island. The Leader asked to go home with him.

“You’re putting a lot of faith in that force field.”

“They should be allowed to go.”

Salud sighed and then smiled, “It’s a good place to start.”

Lukas smiled and watched one of the giant colony ships lift off. It rose in the clear sky and Lukas smiled, “Yes, it is.” The giant ship rose on a huge flame and Lukas’ heart sung. Humans were going home and Earth was waiting for their return. He pulled Salud close and continued to watch the giant ship grow smaller.

“Lukas.”

“Yes.”

“We’re going to have a son.” Lukas snapped his head down and looked at Salud. “In about three months.”

“Is that why you’ve been wearing those baggy clothes?”

“Yes. I didn’t want to worry you.”

“You should stay here on Eden, Salud.”

“If it’s safe enough for them,” She nodded toward the colony ships, “It’s safe enough for us. I will not remain behind.”

Lukas looked into her eyes and then shook his head, “I love you so much!”

Salud put her arms around him and put her head on his chest, “Our baby will be born on Earth. I won’t have it any other way.”

Lukas smiled and nodded. “We need to hurry.”

“We still have time.”

“I don’t want to be late for this wedding. We need to get there early.” Salud nodded and they walked toward the giant Fleet Operations Building. Salud reached under her flowing robe and unbuttoned the top of her pants, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to do this.” Lukas laughed and put his arm on her shoulders. “By the way.” Lukas looked at her. “Julie is also going to Earth to have her baby.”

“WHAT?!”

“Jinks put Lance in command of her fleet. With the Sentinels protecting Eden, Jinks felt it would be alright to allow Julie to join Chad on Earth.” Lukas stopped walking and looked at Salud. “Lance has outperformed all of the new commanders and we won’t be losing anything by leaving him with her fleet.”

Lukas slowly started nodding and said, “Who is going to command Lance’s fleet?”

“Jason Goddard.”

Lukas smiled, “He’s also an excellent choice. He’s ready.” Lukas turned and started walking again, “Let’s go to a wedding.”

“Lead the way.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

The gathering in the Welken’s throne room was huge. Every planet in the Fellowship had their leader present for the meeting. The Welken Royal introduced Chris to the huge assembly and he told them that he would be commanding their fleets in the coming war. The huge monitor behind the throne showed the Welken Royal standing beside Chris. One of the representatives stood and waited to be recognized. A voice announced, “The Drogen Representative wishes to be recognized.”

The Royal looked out and saw the Drogen standing. He said, “You may speak.”

“Why has a human been chosen to lead our forces instead of one of our own?”

The Drogen sat down and the Royal stared at him. “Who has suffered the most from the invaders? Who fought them and prevented them from attacking us?”

Chris said, “May I address the assembly?” The Welken looked at Chris and after a moment said, “I recognize the Human Representative.”

Chris looked out at the huge assembly and said, “The Fleet Admiral commanding the Welken forces had the same question. I had a demonstration done to help him answer that question.” Chris turned and pointed a device toward the monitor. The image changed and the assembly saw a small ship glowing in space. A hundred Welken Battleships surrounding the small ship suddenly opened fire with every disruptor and blasted the small ship’s force field. The assembly watched in horror as the force field failed and the disruptors continued to fire. The small ship continued to absorb the blasts and after what seemed like a long time, its force field reappeared.

Chris looked out at the assembly who were sitting in silence. “I’m of the opinion that we might be able to handle this invasion without your help. It’s the next invasion where we’ll probably need you and this one presents a good opportunity for your fleets to practice for the next one. The point is, we are going to have to work together so that we don’t get in each other’s way. That one ship you’ve just watched could destroy your battleships faster than you can imagine and we have quite a few of them. It will be those small ships that hit the invaders head on and we intend to use your fleets to clean up the mess we make. If you would prefer to hit them head on and we clean up after you, I’ll certainly entertain the motion.”

The Drogen Representative stood and the Royal recognized him again, “I now understand why they were chosen. Thank you for educating me.”

Chris looked out at the assembly and smiled, “I suspect most of you are worried about my species dominating your planets after this is over. I certainly understand why you would think that way after all the centuries of attacking one another. However, that time is over. We have absolutely no desire to conquer anyone and I would hope after all that has happened, that you would think the same way. We will live together in peace and fight together to defend our galaxy against any enemy that attacks us. The time of mistrust and suspicion is over.”

The Welken Royal looked out at the representatives and said, “I asked the Humans to allow us to be an ally before the first invasion. They told me that if I did, the invaders would attack my planets and destroy them. They refused my assistance to prevent my worlds from being attacked along with theirs. They are better than we are and, quite frankly, I trust them more than anyone in this room. I will gladly follow their lead and know that they are looking after my welfare as much as their own.”

Chris looked out at the gathering, “The question is, are you ready to live together in peace or not?”

The Drogen Representative stood and yelled, “I choose peace!!” In a moment, thousands of others joined him shouting for peace. The Royal looked at Chris and, after a moment, bowed to him. The room grew silent and they heard him say, “I and my people will follow your lead wherever you choose to go.”

Chris was shocked at the deference and said, “We will do this thing together.” The room began cheering and the training of the Fellowship Fleets began the next day.

• • •

The giant fleet of green colored warships were moving quickly through space toward the distant spiral galaxy. The Great Talon wished his civilization had not been chosen to replace the Progen as the lead tool of the Legends. Those orange, arrogant beings had deliberately been working against his efforts. He looked at his monitor and leaned back in his chair. At least they were now going to have to go and straighten out the other galaxy. That should keep them occupied. He hoped the fleets that were stranded there would survive until the Orange Warships arrived. It wasn’t promising. That galaxy was a huge container of violence. It had been invaded more than eighty years earlier and it was still far from being tamed.

His communication Wing stood up and shouted, “I have a message from the Leaders!”

The Talon saw the Wing’s fear and said, “What?” just as the center of his giant fleet exploded into a giant disruption in the void.

• • •

The six Attack Fleets opened fire on the oncoming invader formation and the entire center of the giant formation exploded. Thousands of invader warships were blasted in to huge disruptions in the void while tens of thousands of other ships were damaged and kicked out of the void into normal space where the Fellowship Fleets waited for them. The large battleships rushed in on the Invaders and began firing their disruptors at the damaged green warships before they could raise their force fields. Normal space was one huge fleet battle that covered an area a third of a light year across. The explosions were horrific and thousands of the invaders rammed each other attempting to escape the carnage. More than six hundred thousand green ships were drifting vapor clouds or part of a vast debris field but still the carnage continued.

Chris watched the battle taking place in normal space and had an antenna extended into the void. He saw the massive attack taking place in the center of the invaders long line of ships and in less than fifteen minutes, the six Attack Fleets blasted their way through the line and out the back of the huge formation. The six fleets then turned and flew over the top and bottom of the Invader Fleet to prepare for anther assault on the long line of Green Ships.

Suddenly, Chris saw every green warship in the void turn and scatter in all directions. The vast cloud of green ships filled the void across a distance that extended further than his scanner could see. Attacking that vast cloud was going to be impossible to do major damage to the surviving invaders. The only possible thing to do was to release every pod to go out and attack individual ships. “Chris, they’ve turned and are headed back toward M-87 at their highest speed.”

“Barbie, take us into the void.” The B-Pod left normal space and Chris listened to the thoughts of the invaders. He finally found the one he was searching for and thought, “Hey, why the rush to leave when we were just getting to know each other?” The Great Talon heard the thought and ignored it. Chris shook his head and thought, “It seems like such a waste of your time to come this far and then just up and leave. Why don’t you get it together and let’s try this again?”

The Great Talon witnessed the destruction of his ships in the center of his formation and thought, “After what you’ve done to my ships in your first attack, I suspect continuing this would be incredibly stupid. However, I have a more pressing issue at the moment and you are not it.”

Chris’ eyes narrowed, “You are wrong about that. I intend to destroy every ship you brought here. It’s going to be more difficult to kill them one at a time but make no mistake, none of you will survive this. I don’t believe there is any issue that is more pressing than your death.”

“All of the planets in my civilization are being attacked at this moment by hundreds of thousands of warships from another galaxy and none of them have warships to defend them. Thousands of them have been bombarded with nuclear missiles and more are being attacked every moment. I don’t know if we can get back in time to save any of them but I have to try.”

“Why would you leave your planets undefended? That is sheer stupidity. Besides, the Orange Ships are there. They can defend your planets and you can stay here and play with us.”

“They’ve refused to do it. They say they only have enough warships to defend their own planets. Do what you must, we are going home!”

Chris stared at the display and shook his head. “Barbie, pull up a view from one of the probes in the Green Civilization.” Chris saw the display change and saw a thousand grey colored starships move in on a planet and launch missiles; the surface of the planet exploded in massive nuclear blasts. He watched a huge city on the surface as it was vaporized. The missiles were hitting the planet’s surface and would cause a massive release of radioactivity into the planet’s atmosphere. He started shaking his head and thought, “How can I let you escape? You’ll only come back to attack my galaxy.”

“You’re probably right. If the Legends order us to do it, we’ll have no choice.”

“There is always a choice.”

The Great Talon hesitated and then thought, “Yes, I suppose there is.”

Chris saw the six Attack Fleets turn and spread out. Barbie said, “The Fellowship Battleships are entering the void to join in the attack.”

Chris looked at the secondary display and saw the millions of Fellowship Battleships entering the void and turn to give chase. The being’s thoughts he heard were not greatly different from many humans he had listened to in the past. Audrey said, “What are you going to do?”

Chris watched the green ships fleeing for their lives and the Pods accelerating toward them at an incredible speed. He shook his head and thought, “Jinks, call off the attack.”

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?”

“Lukas told me I’m the senior officer, do you recognize my authority?”

“But this is asinine. We can destroy them.”

“I’m ordering you to call off the attack!”

“I’m recommending you be brought up on charges of treason!”

“Do what you want but issue the orders!”

• • •

The Great Talon saw the millions of large battleships and small warships moving in on his fleets and then, they suddenly stopped, turned away, and moved back toward the spiral galaxy. He heard in his mind, “I hope you can save some of your planets. If you come here again, we will finish what was started today.”

“Like you said, there is always a choice. I thank you for the one you made.”

• • •

Audrey looked at Chris, “Was this the smart thing to do?”

“I don’t know. It was the right thing to do. I can live with the consequences.”

“Not if they choose to execute you.”

Chris blew out a breath, “If it comes to that, I can accept it.”

• • •

The Grey Warships were wreaking havoc on the Green Civilization but the fleets from M-86 arrived and flew into the battle. The ensuing fight continued until the giant invasion fleet arrived and the grey ships fled. Fifty thousand civilized planets were still burning and the radioactive levels killed most of the life on them within a few weeks. The fleets that arrived just in time from M-86 were heavily outnumbered and were mauled by the invaders that showed no mercy, nor did they ask for it. It was a fight to the death and there were no winners.

• • •

The Great Talon arrived and the invaders fled before the numbers skipping in to face them. A scout team followed the skip traces of the Invaders and discovered they had come from M-84. The Great Talon knew the Legends had ordered some of his ships to go there and teach them a lesson they wouldn’t forget several years earlier. Well, evidently they had been successful.

The Talon that had left M-86 was confronted by a black colored warship. The Legends wanted to know who had authorized the fleets in M-86 to leave and the Talon accepted the responsibility. The Legend’s ship blasted his vessel into ashes. It was the Talon’s arrival that saved thousands of planets. The Green Leaders and all of the people on every planet felt rage at the Legend’s actions. The Legends were considering killing him as well but the recording of the attack on his fleet revealed that to continue it would have been suicide. The Progen replaced them as the main tool and the Green Leaders, warriors, and planets were given time to rebuild and for their rage to grow. The Great Talon suspected that the Legends were unaware of what they had done. He smiled, there is always a choice.

• • •

Chris heard his speaker activate and say, “You will report to the space port on Earth and place yourself under arrest.”

“By whose order?”

“Lukas.”

“I will leave immediately to do so.”

Jinks watched Chris’s pod accelerate away and wondered what possessed him to issue the order to call off the attack. The Fellowship was going to demand someone’s head and it appeared that Chris was the one that was going to pay. What was he thinking?

“Admiral.”

“Yes, Budge.”

“I’m glad you called off the attack.”

“For God’s sake why!?”

“Those ships do not represent a threat to us. I don’t feel good about killing those that can’t do anything about it. That’s nothing more than murder.”

Jinks shook his head, “Take your fleet and return to Earth. Your Pods really are incredible.”

“They are, aren’t they? See you on Earth.”

Jinks looked out at the massive disruption made by the hundreds of thousands of invader ships that had been destroyed in the void and looked at the casualty reports. No ships had been lost. He started shaking his head and thought about the millions of green ships that had turned and ran from his fleets. Budge was right. His thoughts flashed back to Iraq and the wounded Iraqi soldier he had not fired on. The soldier had an arm blown off by a tank round and was in bad shape. He should have killed him; it was war. But he didn’t. Chris had just done what he did. He felt shame at his overwhelming desire to kill every one of the ships in that giant fleet. But that shame wouldn’t save Chris. He knew he should have called off the attack and prevented Chris from having to do it. But he was in the middle of a blood lust. “All fleets, return to your home ports. We’ll be in contact about what to do next.” Jinks was sick to his soul and he needed Sarah in is arms. He knew she was worried about him.

Jinks watched the massive ship gathering break up in the void and start accelerating away. He remained staring at the huge disruption and thought about the lessons learned in the fight. It was several hours before he said, “Jester, take us home.”

The End

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

Prequel-Psychic Beginnings

Searching for a Hero

Dahlia’s Deception

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

Star Rover-Running Out of Time

Lens of Time-Chosen To Die

The Fight for Creation

Life Warrior

Scout Warrior

Ultimate Warrior

Star Chase

The Lost Prince

Nowhere to Run

Nowhere to Hide

Probe Predators

Jesse’s Starship

Mike’s War—

Joshua’s Walls

Nemesis

Revenge is Best Served Hot

The Search for Orion

Trapped in Time

The Time Takers

Taming A Planet

Exinction

Escape to Earth

Running From Fate

Fighting for Space

Defending Holy Ground

Coming Soon

The Legacy of a Conqueror

Also an audiobook at Audible.com

Love Conquers All

The Power of a Queen

A Rose Grows in weeds

Tommy’s Tale

The Lost Prince

Copyright © 2015 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: May 2015