Author: Saxon Andrew
Date: 2015-04-11T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science Fiction
Description: From the International Bestselling Author, Saxon Andrew comes the second book in the Escape to Earth series-Fighting for Space. Discovering who your enemies might be is a task fraught with intrigue and errors. The villain today may be tomorrow’s hero. The way things keep changing, it’s going to take a score card to keep track of who is the next civilization to attack Earth. However, something, or someone, is manipulating mankind and it appears they’re doing it to help Earth survive. Their handiwork is easily seen, after events unfold, but no one knows who it is or what their motives are. Once
Publisher: Saxon Andrew Publishing LLC
Rights: All Rights Reserved

Escape to Earth

Fighting for Space

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

Books by Saxon Andrew

Introduction

Jim stood up and took his jacket off the back of his chair. He put it on, straightened his tie, and glanced out the window and shook his head at the smoke that was blowing in the wind from the still burning White House and Capital. His phone rang and he stared at it for a moment. Who would be calling now? He lifted the handset, “This is Williams.”

“Where did those ships come from that attacked those invaders?”

Jim shook his head and said, “General Amerson, you’re still alive!”

“You sound disappointed. Now answer my question!”

Jim heard a threatening tone in the General’s voice and he sat down, “I think you recognized the voice of the man that made them leave.”

“Yes, I did. But I need to make sure. Just what is going on at that island?”

“It’s clear that they have been building the ships that were sent out to confront our attackers, Sir.”

“So this One World gibberish was nothing more than something to throw us off track?”

“I can’t answer that. I suspect they actually believe in it.”

“Why did Jekins go there to build them?”

Jim hesitated and said, “I suspect it was to prevent anyone else from having them or he would have built them here.”

“Then he’s a traitor.” Jim didn’t respond to the accusation. The General waited for a response and he said, “He withheld information that could have prevented the attacks on the United States. We could have constructed those ships and prevented the millions of deaths around the country.”

“What do you intend to do, Sir?”

“I’m going to load up our gunships and go take possession of that island and arrest Jekins for treason.”

“I thought all of our military hardware was destroyed by the wave of small ships that attacked us?”

“They did destroy everything with a jet engine but they ignored our helicopters. Evidently they didn’t see anything driven by a propeller worth wasting time on.”

“Perhaps they planned to remove them on their second pass, Sir.”

“That’s speculation, Williams. I’m having every special ops soldier gathered along with enough attack choppers and gunships to go and take that island.”

“Uhhh, Sir, did you notice that the ships that were built on that island destroyed two of the invaders large warships?”

“He won’t fire on us. He is after all a former officer of the United States.”

“I don’t know if that’s true, Sir. You’re taking a big risk.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take. My country is basically undefended and I’m going to do something about it before the Russians or Chinese take that island first.”

“But Sir, they’re in the same shape we are. I don’t think any nation is able to launch an attack on anyone at the moment.”

“Once I have those ships that will no longer be the case.”

The line went dead and Jim stared at the receiver. He had no idea the General was this paranoid. He shook his head and dialed a number. “Jill.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Do you still have the contact number for Sarah?”

“Yes Sir, but I don’t believe she will answer it after we tried to kill her and her friends.”

“I don’t care if she answers. I want you to text her one word.”

“What is that?”

“Helicopters.” Jim hung up and Jill shook her head. Surely they wouldn’t… She took out a blind cellphone and sent the text. She shook her head. There had been enough killing. This was crazy.

Chapter One

Sarah felt her watch vibrate and she looked at it. Jill had sent her a text. That scumbag had a lot of nerve to send her a message. She started to delete it but stopped. Jill had warned her about the satellites. She sighed and pulled the stem out and twisted it to the left. Letters started moving across the watch’s face and she knew what they were saying after the first five letters. She looked across the huge warehouse and saw Lukas working on a disruptor cannon. She ran across the building and Lukas saw her coming.

“What’s up?”

“I just received a message from my former handler.”

“What did it say?”

“Helicopters.”

Lukas’ eyes narrowed and he shook his head, “Do you think that means what I think it does?”

“I must say that I do.”

Lukas said, “Willow, get the command team together on the beach, now!” Lukas looked at Sarah, “Come with me.”

Lukas ran around the Pods being armed and found Salud standing up, “I just got the message from Willow. What’s going on?”

“Let’s get out to the beach. I’ll tell you on the way.” Lukas turned and started jogging and Salud ran beside him. Sarah saw Salud’s head go back and then start shaking. She veered to the left, ran between two long rows of Pods and darted between two of them. She saw Jinks jogging down the row and she smiled. He ran up to her and lifted her off the concrete floor and spun her around. He put her down and kissed her hard, “I’ve missed you.”

“Only God knows how many more ships left to arm.” Sarah grabbed his arm, “We need to meet Lukas on the beach.”

“What’s going on?”

“Helicopters.”

“That idiot! Let’s go.”

Jinks darted between two ships and Sarah stayed right behind him. They arrived ahead of Lukas and Salud.

• • •

The Johan Fleet Leader looked at his Supreme Royal on his display and shook his head, “No, Your Greatness, the probe had no information on those ships that attacked us. My ships stood no chance against the weapons they fired at them.”

“What’s happening now?”

“I’ve sent my surviving battleships on different escape vectors but the Myot and Welken have dispatched fifty ships to chase each of them.”

“The likelihood of escape is small.”

“What is your command, Greatness?”

“Skip out and keep skipping. Do not return here!”

“I will send the command.”

“I will attempt to get other civilizations to join me against them but until I can gather a force large enough to stand up to them, you will continue to run.”

“Should we also avoid our fleets?”

“Yes, that is imperative. Their skip traces back to this planet will not fade for another four weeks. If you can survive that long, you may join your brothers when the trace is gone.” The Fleet Leader sent the orders to the other seven survivors and the eight Johan Battleships hit their skip drives and disappeared out of the Solar System.

The Supreme Royal wanted to send his fleets against that puny planet but their skip trace could be traced back to their origin and the trace back to the home world would still be there. He was forced to wait. But not for long.

• • •

Lukas sat down in a chair and looked at the group around him. The waves were rolling in and the rhythmic sound was punctuated by the screams of seagulls diving into the water. Jinks saw a flight of twenty pelicans in a V-formation flying inches above the waves looking for a school of fish to feast on. Jinks stared at the ocean and shook his head. The island was lucky and had been missed by the Johan Small Ships. He looked at Lukas, “Stoney should be here in a moment.” Lukas nodded and they heard a sonic boom echo off the waves. Everyone looked out to sea and saw the Attack Pod coming in at high speed. It slowed as it approached and then moved over the sand and settled to the beach. Stoney stepped out followed by Kathy holding her baby. Lukas tilted his head and Stoney shrugged, “I think she needs to hear what’s going on.”

Lukas smiled, “Why is that?”

“She and I are…uhhhh….”

Salud said, “An item?”

Stoney blushed, “Yeah, something like that.”

Kathy took Stoney’s hand and smiled, “I told him to go without me but he insisted I come.”

Lukas nodded, “Your baby should be in on everything we do.” Kathy looked at him with raised eyebrows and Lukas smiled, “You’d be surprised by how much it picks up even at its young age.

Kathy looked at Lukas and could see that he knew he was the father? She looked at Salud and saw her put Lukas’ arm over her shoulder and stare at her with a smile. She knew as well. Did anyone else know? She looked around at the group and saw that Trevor and Joey knew but no one else did.

Salud said, “What happened to your husband?”

Kathy took a breath and said, “He left me for someone else a year ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Kathy. You deserve much better than what he gave you.”

“It was for the best.” She looked at Stoney and held his hand, “Both of us are much happier now.”

Lukas smiled, “Please sit down and feel free to comment.” Lukas looked at the group and took a can of orange juice out of a cooler. “It appears someone in the States is sending an attack force here.”

Jinks said, “It has to be Amerson.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Most of the Military was kept out of the loop on the buildup of alien ships. He’s the only one that would know about us being here.”

Lukas said, “Willow?”

“I believe the Johan targeted all of the high ranking officers with their attack craft. Evidently, this General Amerson was in a structure that was unknown by the Johan.”

Lukas looked at Jinks, “What can you tell me about him?”

“He’s smart and has an ego bigger than the rest of his body. He intends to take this island and use the ships to take over Earth. His middle name has to be Ambition.”

“Is he so blinded by his ambition that he can’t see that we will not allow that to happen?”

“He is. He figures that I won’t fire on soldiers from the United States.”

“Will you?”

“Will I what?”

“Fire on them?”

Jinks looked at the sand and shook his head, “I really don’t want to do that, Lukas. But I will if they won’t turn around.”

“When they come here, you will meet them with three Attack Pods and do what you feel is right.”

“Lukas, you should send someone else!”

“No, you will decide what we’re going to do about this.”

“Why don’t you do it?”

“Then it would be a case of Humans being killed by another alien. This is something you are going to have to handle. I believe in you and trust you will do what is right.”

Stoney looked at Jinks, “He’s probably bringing all the Special Ops soldiers he can muster.” Jinks sighed and nodded. Stoney looked at Lukas, “We’ve served with many of them.”

Lukas nodded and then shook his head, “The decisions we make moving forward are all going to be like this. They won’t get easier, only harder.” Lukas looked up, “Willow, how many ships do we have out?”

“Six hundred and forty three Gold Star Pilots are in position at the edge of Earth’s gravity field.”

“Have Julie move in orbit above the southeastern United States and start scanning for any military activity moving our way. Have John relieve her every twelve hours.”

Salud looked at Lukas, “Is his arm going to be ok to do that?”

“Actually, I’d rather have him do that than constantly calling me to join the Gold Stars at the gravity field. That man is persistent!”

The group laughed and Lukas smiled, “Let’s take some time to relax and talk about what to do next.”

• • •

General Amerson pressed his neck radio, “Colonel Donaldson, how many are ready to go?”

“We’re picking up the last of them at MacDill in Tampa. We’ve contacted Guantanamo and they say the fuel tanks weren’t hit in the alien’s attack. We can fuel the birds and leave from there.”

“Jekins chose a distant location for his little project. We’ll need to top off our fuel before we arrive at Barbados. How many do we have going?”

“It’s a massive force, Sir. We have nine hundred Apache’s and eleven hundred transport helicopters.”

“Are the troops all armed and equipped with body armor?”

“They are, Sir.”

“The Apaches will lead the formation. I’ll be flying one of the gunships.”

“Yes Sir. We’ll top off the tanks on St. Thomas.”

Amerson looked across the massive field in what remained of Ft. Benning and took a deep breath. Jekins would not fire on his former friends. They were going to be in the lead transports. All he needed to do was get a couple of transports on that Island and he would become the most powerful man on the planet. It would be enough for him to get elected President. He smiled and climbed in the gunship’s cockpit.

• • •

Lukas looked at the group and knew that trouble lay ahead. If Jinks fired on those helicopters, the people around the world would come to fear those that defended them. He said, “Willow, direct connection.”

His wrist unit vibrated and he heard, “Connection enabled, Lukas.”

“When you made the computers for the Attack Pods, did you insert any protection commands in their central processors?”

“I did.”

“What commands?”

“They are to protect you and this island.”

“Is it possible for you to put a third layer on top of those?”

“What do you mean?”

“I want the third layer to be that they are also programmed to protect humanity.”

“That may cause an issue if humans attack you or this island.”

“Set it up to default to the original two if that situation happens.”

“I can send the new programming but why would you want to do that?”

“These ships we built cannot be used to harm other humans. I have some concerns that some of the pilots we use might want to use their ship against other humans. I don’t want the ships to allow that to happen.”

“I’ll send the programming immediately.”

“One more thing Willow.”

“Yes.”

“Are any of the ships showing signs of being like you?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I believe contact with their pilots might start that process.”

“Julie and John’s ships are showing some signs of awakening.”

Lukas smiled, “That figures.”

“Why?”

“They genuinely love their ships. I think the ships can feel it.”

“I’ll keep you updated on what’s happening.”

“I also want you to activate the force fields over the two islands when those helicopters arrive. I also want them activated in the event Earth is attacked again.”

“Done and done.”

“How are the mini-converters coming along?”

They’re reproducing themselves at a rather high speed. We should have the necessary number within ten days.”

“Thanks, Willow.”

“Kathy’s baby has your eyes.”

“He does, doesn’t he?”

Lukas stood up to get another orange juice and his wrist unit vibrated, “Yes Julie?”

“A couple of thousand military helicopters have lifted from Ft. Benning and are moving south. There is another large number at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa being fueled by the fuel farm that survived the Johan’s attack.”

“Are the copters from Benning on a course for MacDill?”

“Hold on…No they are on a course toward Cuba. The computer tells me that it appears they are headed toward Guantanamo.”

“Let me know when they combine those two units and lift to come here.”

“Yes Sir….Uhhh, Sir?”

“Yes.”

“I’m due to be relieved by John in an hour. Would you mind if I remained here?”

“No, I want the two of you to plan to meet Jinks here at the island just prior to the helicopters arrival. You will be under Jinks’ command.”

“Yes Sir…and thank you, Sir.”

“No problem, Julie. It’s been a long time since UConn.”

“Seems like yesterday, Sir.”

“In many ways it does, Commodore.”

Julie’s head went back. He just called her Commodore, which was the highest rank a pilot could hold. She started to contact Lukas but decided that if it was a mistake, he would correct it. But what if he had promoted her? What did that mean? She shook her head and waited for John to arrive. “The helicopters will be arriving in Cuban in another ninety five minutes, Jennie.”

“Have you seen any military activity by the Cubans?”

“No, they’re still pretty much disorganized after the hit on Havana took out the government. Their tanks and armor were also destroyed. It does appear there is a move to elect new leaders.”

“Won’t the survivors of the former government prevent that?”

“From what I can hear on the communication channels, they don’t have the means to stop it. Most of the troops have decided to support the change.”

“That appears to be what’s happening pretty much everywhere.”

“The United States is holding elections as we speak. We’ll know in what direction they’re moving shortly.”

“Too much, too fast. Someone is going to fill this vacuum.”

“Let us hope it is someone with wisdom.”

“If these helicopters are any indication, it doesn’t look good.”

“Are you willing to destroy them?”

“Are you?”

“Defense of the Island is one of my main priorities. I will stop their intrusion if forced to do so.”

“I’m glad Jinks is in command, I don’t like having to make that decision.”

“And if he refuses to make it?”

Julie shook her head, “I’ll discuss that with John when he arrives.”

“Perhaps that is why Lukas chose you and John to be there with him.”

“What are you saying, Jenny?”

“You may just have to make the decision if he won’t.”

“I pray it doesn’t come to that.”

“Get in line.”

• • •

“General, all units have been topped off in fuel.”

“Is St. Thomas ready to refuel the fleet?”

“They are.”

“Have all of the helicopters we’re using been fitted with external fuel tanks?”

“They have, Sir. That requirement eliminated a high number of Apaches from this operation.”

“We have enough with what we’re taking.”

“The transports are fine, it’s the Longbows that will have to conserve fuel. If they’re forced to drop their external fuel tanks due to combat, they’ll be hard pushed to make it back to St. Thomas.”

“I don’t expect there to be combat. Issue orders that no ship will drop their tanks without direct approval from me.”

“Yes Sir.”

“We’ll lift at 0600 hours in the morning. Tell all the crews that we’ll stay on St. Thomas overnight tomorrow before launching the next day. Make them get some rest.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

“Gunny.”

“Yeah?”

“I understand that we’re going to Barbados to take the island from the ones that fought off the spaceships.”

“Where did you hear that, Private?”

“Probably the same place you did. Why are we doing that?”

Gunny stared at the Seals, Rangers, and Special Ops soldiers in the cramped transports bay and shook his head, “I don’t know.”

A Green Beret who was leaning back with his helmet over his eyes said without lifting it, “It’s obvious; the General wants the ships they used.”

Gunny looked at the Green Beret Sargent and the Private said, “Is that true, Gunny?”

The Green Beret lifted his helmet, “Those ships are the most powerful weapons on the planet. He intends to take them to the states and set up shop to take on all comers.”

Gunny said, “That’s enough, Sergeant.”

“Is telling the truth no longer allowed among us? You should have told me.” The Green Beret pulled his helmet down over his face and stretched his feet out.

A Ranger looked at Gunny, “Didn’t you serve with Jekins?”

“I did.”

“What’s he like?”

“He was the finest officer I’ve ever known.”

“Then why would he not voluntarily turn those ships over to his country?”

“I suspect he doesn’t trust what they would be used for.”

The Green Beret raised his helmet, “He still remembers the Mosul Twenty Five.”

Gunny looked at the Green Beret, “How do you know about that?”

“I was in the command center when he was ordered out. All of us were surprised he was told to stand down.”

“We didn’t know what was going to happen to them.”

“They did.” Gunny’s eyes narrowed immediately. “I overheard the CIA Spook talking with his handler. They had intelligence that the Tribal War Lord they were bribing to come over to our side was playing us. They decided it was worth doing it on the off chance the intelligence was wrong.”

The Private listened to the conversation and said, “What did happen?”

Gunny looked at the Private and remained silent. The Green Beret said, “The War Lord killed the men that went to meet with him after taking the money brought as a bribe. He then had all of the captives nailed to a wall after his men had their fun. More than a third of them were too young to be called women.”

Gunny shook his head, “We were told the captives would not be harmed.”

The Green Beret looked at Gunny, “I’ve always had a question about what happened after that.” Gunny looked at him. “I heard that Jekins took a week off after they were killed. That War Lord met an untimely death when a sniper hit him in his camp one night. It happened during the week Jekins took off. I’ve wondered where he took his time off.” Gunny continued to stare at the Sergeant and the Sergeant said, “Gunny is right, Jekins was one heck of a fine officer.”

The soldiers in the transport looked at the Green Beret. A Seal Petty Officer said, “Then why didn’t he turn those ships over to us?”

The Sergeant smiled, “I suspect he doesn’t want to see more innocent women and children killed to defend our national interests. Once was probably enough for him.”

The Seal looked at Gunny, “Is what he said true?” Gunny nodded. “Will you fire on him?”

Gunny looked at the Seal, “Do you think any of us have a chance against just one of those ships?”

“Then why are we going?”

The Green Beret smiled, “Why to use us as leverage. The good General thinks that Jekins won’t fire on his fellow brothers in arms.” He looked at Gunny, “But you and I know that he will do what he thinks is right, right Gunny?”

“That he will.”

Chapter Two

“What are we going to do about the Johan possession of that planet?”

The Welken Royal looked at his Myot counterpart and shook his head, “I’ve never really worried about the Johan or felt it necessary to locate their home world.”

“None of us have; they don’t represent a danger to any member of the Fellowship with their ship technology and they usually ran before confrontation. It appears they were just waiting for the right moment to get an advantage.”

“We should learn from this experience. There are at least a hundred members that have managed to hide their home world’s locations.”

“Not very well. My fleets have found the Vrezus, Palgon, and Trengan.”

The Welken nodded, “But not the Johan. We’ve also found six more of the hidden civilizations. We don’t have time to explore attacking them while the current situation exists. We’ve got to find the Johan Home World and take possession of it.”

“My sources tell me that many members of the Fellowship are offering an alliance if the Johan will share the riches their new possession has.”

“I’ve heard the same.” The Royal paused, “Do you think they’ll accept the offers?”

“Probably not, would you?”

The Welken Royal shrugged, “Long enough to remove them as a partner.”

“The Johan know agreements are made to be broken and Allies are as fleeting as the next war.”

The Welken stared at the Myot, “What if we included them in an agreement we would be forced to keep?”

“That would make them equal to us. Are you remotely considering this?”

“If they’re able to take advantage of that planet and start ship construction on it, they will be more than equal.”

The Myot thought about that possibility and shrugged, “Let’s see if we can’t do this another way. I don’t want to bond to another species with no way out. We may find the location of their home world before we’re forced to do that. I abhor an unbreakable agreement.”

The Welken smiled, “Does that include our current agreement to work together?”

“Of course. Do you see it any other way?”

“No, just checking to make sure you’re not cracking under the pressure. We will resolve our differences once this is handled.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

• • •

Jinks looked at the monitor and saw the view from orbit of two thousand helicopters flying over the Caribbean. Salud looked at it as she installed another disruptor module and said, “When are you going to confront them?”

“Lukas suggested when they’re four hundred miles out.”

“How are you going to make them stop moving this way? Your three Attack Pods can’t block all of them.”

“All I have to do is block General Amerson; he’ll stop the others from leaving him behind.”

“You really don’t like him. Why is that?”

“He was the officer in Iraq that called me back from defending a group of captives.”

“The Mosul Twenty Five.”

Jinks looked at Salud, “How did you know about that?”

“Once Willow came back, I had her check out your war records.”

“Did Lukas order you to do that?”

“No, I did it on my own. He trusts you.”

“And you don’t?”

“I know where you come from and the pressures that puts on a person. Lukas comes from a society where no one felt loyalty to anyone. That’s something new he’s had to learn.”

“Salud, I will not allow our ships to fall into Amerson’s possession.”

“Jinks, I ran that investigation before I got to know you. I’m not worried about you doing the right thing.”

The corner of Jinks’ mouth went up, “That means a lot coming from you.” Salud nodded and went back to work. Jinks went out of the main building and saw his Attack Pod hovering six inches off the pavement, “How much longer?”

“They will be four hundred miles away in another two hours and twenty three minutes.”

“Notify Julie and John thirty minutes before we have to go. Tell Brandon he will take their place in orbit.”

“They plan to arrive thirty minutes prior to our departure. Brandon is already on station.”

Jinks nodded and went down to the beach to spend the remaining time watching the ocean. He did not look forward to what was coming.

• • •

“General, we’re two and a half hours out from Barbados.”

“Have the Apaches go to live weapons.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

“What’s the plan, Jinks?”

“We’re going to move into high altitude and sweep across their formation at high speed.”

“We’ll be trailing a sonic boom, Sir.”

“That will make it hard for them to miss us, John.”

“That it will.”

The three Attack Pods lifted off the island and went vertical. They leveled off at fifty thousand feet and turned back toward the Caribbean far below. They came roaring in on the rear of the huge flight of helicopters, flew over them, and blew past their formation. The sonic boom following them rattled every helicopter in the sky and pilots started yelling over their radios, “MY RADAR DIDN’T PICK THEM UP!

“SPREAD OUT, SPREAD OUT! WE’RE GOING TO START HITTING EACH OTHER THIS CLOSE TOGETHER!”

Amerson’s gunship was shoved violently as the three Pods passed four hundred yards above him, “What the hell!” He regained control and saw three brightly glowing objects come to a stop and turn back toward his formations.

• • •

“Willow.”

“Yes Jinks.”

“Can you send a feed of my conversation to the satellites and to every news organization on the planet, as well as the communication frequencies the helicopters are using?”

“Verbal feed is now being transmitted, visual from Brandon’s Pod is being overlapped with the verbal.”

Jinks said, “You two stay beside me. Do not fire unless I order it.” Julie looked at John through her cockpit and saw him nod toward her. They were not going to allow them to attack the island even if Jinks chose not to stop them. Jinks flew up on General Amerson’s Longbow Apache so fast he pulled back on the collective and came to a halt. He yelled, “All ships maintain position on my location!”

Jinks smiled, “You’re a long way from home aren’t you, General?”

“We’re coming to claim what rightfully belongs to the United States.”

“I believe you’re hallucinating. You’re moving your military aircraft into another country’s airspace. You have no right to do that.”

“You’ve used United States citizens to build technology and that makes it belong to us.”

“So the cars Americans are building in Europe belong to you as well?”

“You’re not building cars.”

“The principle still holds. The United States does not own everything built in the world if Americans work on them.”

“They do if American Military builds them.”

“Just who is American Military that you claim has built them.”

“You and Stone are in the armed forces of the United States.”

“Sorry, we left the service.”

“I’ve had your commissions reinstated.”

Jinks shook his head, “Are you sure about that?”

“I am.”

“Well, I have seniority over you and as such, I order you to take your force and return back to the U.S.”

Amerson knew he had made a mistake. “Your reinstatement won’t take affect for another month.”

“Then what we built here wasn’t done by military personnel and you still have no right to be here. Take your ships and turn around, General.”

“I am going to take possession, Jekins!”

Jinks paused and said, “And if you do, just what do you intend to do with them?”

“Use them for what you should have done from the beginning, to defend the United States.”

“What about the rest of the world?”

“We’ll defend them as well.”

“As long as the U.S. is covered first?”

“That’s where they belong.”

“What about the person that hired me? I believe he has ownership, not me.” Jinks paused, “General, who authorized you to make this incursion into Barbados sovereign territory. You do not have the authority to do that?”

“The Government.”

“As I understand it, there is no government at the moment and new elections won’t be completed for another six weeks. You’ve taken it upon yourself to do this without approval. It is my belief that you are attempting to take possession of the ships that have been built to defend the entire planet to impose your will upon other nations. I don’t believe the elite Warriors you brought here would be complicit with your ambitions. They are the best we have and won’t fight to put a dictator in charge.”

“My country is in danger from longtime enemies and I will take them to defend us.”

“No country is able to represent a danger to any one since the aliens removed all the major weapons of war. This is a personal play on your part to exercise world domination. These ships will not be used to help any country impose its will on anyone. Nor will they be used to exert force on any country. Their only purpose is to prevent mankind from being enslaved by advanced civilizations from outside our Solar System. They belong to the entire world; not just one country.”

• • •

“Sir, this conversation is being sent out worldwide.”

“What?”

“All of our aircraft are also receiving it.”

Amerson knew Jekins had allowed him to talk himself into a trap. Amerson pressed his communications button, “All ships will go and take the island now!”

• • •

Gunny looked at the pilot of the transport, “Take the ship away from the others.”

“Are you sure about this, Gunny.”

“You heard them, we’re not authorized to be here. Even if we were, I’d be telling you the same thing.” Gunny’s transport was at the front of the formation and every helicopter in the sky saw it break out of formation and move to the west.

Amerson saw it leave and he yelled, “Shoot that traitor out of the sky!”

Two Apaches broke toward the transport and Jinks armed his disruptors. The Attack Choppers moved up alongside the huge transport and took position next to it. One of the Apaches radioed, “We think you might need an escort. We will not take part in what the General is planning.”

Immediately, there was a mass movement of helicopters out of formation to join the three that were moving west. Amerson screamed over his radio, “ALL OF YOU WILL BE SHOT FOR TREASON!!”

One voice was heard over the frequency, “General, if anyone ends up in front of a firing squad, it’ll be you.”

Amerson used his targeting helmet and opened fire with his machine guns and hell fire missiles at the center Pod. The rounds and missiles hit the Pod dead center and a massive explosion hid all their hovering warships. Wind blew the smoke away and the three Pods remained glowing in front of the Apache Gunship. Amerson screamed and flew at full speed toward the center Pod. It hit, exploded, and fell in huge pieces toward the ocean below.

“Sir, we’re going back home.”

“Gunny, is that you?”

“Yes Sir. I’m sorry about this. We were kept in the dark about what was going on. We should have questioned on what authority he was making this trip.”

“Would all of you consider another option?”

“What is that, Sir?”

“We need pilots. The aliens that attacked will be coming back and we need warriors who are willing to defend all mankind against them. Will you join us?”

“I can’t speak for everyone, but I will.”

A voice came over the channel, “I’ve taken an oath to defend the United States.”

Jinks knew that was the linchpin that would make these fine warriors refuse to take part. “I don’t know who said that but let me ask you a question.”

“Go ahead.”

“If you’re fighting for all of mankind, are you not defending the United States as well?”

“I…uhhhh…I guess so. But I’m a member of the U.S. armed forces.”

“If the aliens win, there won’t be any armed forces or United States. If during your efforts to defend Earth, the United States comes under attack from another country, we will take you home to defend it.”

“Do I get to use the ship you want me to fly?”

“No, and even if you wanted to use it, the ship will not attack humans unless they are attempting to take possession of this island. No one should have the power for world domination.”

“No offense intended, Sir, but you do.”

“I believe in ONE WORLD where all mankind is united and working together to make Earth a better place to live. However, I, and none of the people on that island, will impose that worldview on the planet. Mankind must find a way to live together without coercion. Are you willing to join us?”

“When the Aliens attacked, my family lived six hundred yards from the County Government Building in Forsythe, Georgia. The blast that destroyed it knocked the walls down around my family. My three-year-old daughter needed twenty stitches and my eight-year-old boy received a concussion. My wife is still traumatized by what happened. I will fight with you to ensure that doesn’t happen again.”

“You need to understand that we will not use these ships to go out and conquer other civilizations. They are strictly to defend mankind.”

“Are you saying that an alien species intent on our destruction will be safe in their homes while they come to kill us?”

“I didn’t say that, Soldier. Going out to stop their invasions is what defense is all about, however, we will not attack those who are not attacking us.”

“Count me in.”

Jinks heard over his link, “Barbados just contacted us and says the helicopters can land at their airport where we can interview anyone interested in joining us.”

“Gunny, Barbados will allow you to land at their airport where we can meet with any of those with you that want to assist us in taking on the aliens.”

“Well, why don’t you order us to do that, Sir?”

“What?”

“The former General did say you were reinstated with your command. Until you can resolve that issue, you are the ranking officer here.”

Jinks smiled, “You are ordered to land on Barbados. I’ll meet you there.” The huge flight of helicopters turned and headed northeast.

“Jinks, I’m sending the commanding Gold Star Officers to meet with them and answer any questions they might have.”

“You don’t want to do it, Lukas?”

“Jinks, you nor I will always be around. We have to depend on those that believe in what we’re doing to make the vision a reality.”

Jinks shook his head, “You’re right, Sir.”

“I also think it might help the soldiers to decide if they can see the ships they’ll be flying.”

Jinks laughed, “Make sure Stoney shows up.”

“He’s second in command, he’ll be there.”

“So you’re coming as well?”

“No, you’re commanding our forces.”

The link ended and Jinks shook his head. “Congratulations, Sir.”

Jinks jerked his head, “I’m sorry, Julie.”

“Sir, your conversation with the General was broadcast around the world and to every pilot we have on the island. You made us proud, Sir.”

“I second that, Sir.”

“Thank you for your confidence. I worry about being up to this.”

“The fact you would share that with us, tells us that you are, Sir.” Jinks sighed and said, “Take us to Barbados.” The three pods moved out to sea and the warriors in the helicopters heard a distant sonic boom echo across the waves.

• • •

“Lukas.”

“Yes Amanda.”

“You know that I’ve been given the responsibility of handing the ONE WORLD website.”

“Yes.”

“We’ve been inundated by requests from around the world to join us in our fight against the aliens.”

“What do you mean, inundated?”

“Millions.”

Lukas stared at Amanda with his mouth open and Salud said, “Is there any pattern to them?”

“My ship’s computer has been sorting them but it appears many of the soldiers that survived the small craft attack want to come.”

Lukas shook his head, “We need some way to sort through them and remove those that are too aggressive.”

“Would you mind if I go to the states and pick up a friend of mine?”

“Who is that Amanda?”

“A psychiatrist at Stanford. She can develop a questionnaire that would weed out the obvious problems.”

“Do you think she would come?”

“If she can bring her family with her, I believe she would.” Lukas shook his head. Amanda frowned, “Is that a no?”

“No, it’s not. I was just thinking that we have to build housing for the pilots and their families as well.”

“Use the converter.”

Lukas looked up, “What?”

Willow said, “Move the medium converter on a large truck and have it make the components for modular homes.”

Amanda snorted, “Willow, one good hurricane would blow them all away. They have to be reinforced to withstand the winds.”

“Not with a force field over the island.”

Amanda hit her forehead with her palm, “How stupid can I be. I control the force field and forgot about it.” She looked at Lukas, “Do you want me to bring her?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be back shortly.”

“Take the larger Pod.”

“Good idea. I’ll contact her and tell her to pack what she needs.”

• • •

Amanda ran out of the building and Lukas shook his head, “Does she ever slow down?”

Salud laughed, “We need to give her more things to do.” Salud turned from the rapidly disappearing Amanda and looked at Lukas, “Do you have any idea when the next attack will happen?”

“The Johan are not the Myot or Welken. They’ve survived by keeping their home world hidden and that is going to slow them down. They’ll send their warships to an isolated place in the galaxy and wait for the skip trace back to their planets to disappear. I suspect they’d take about two weeks to prepare their ships for combat and another seven for the skip trace back to their planet to disappear.”

“So nine weeks from the last attack?” Lukas shrugged and then nodded, “Give or take a week on either side of that estimate.”

“So eight weeks at the earliest?” Lukas nodded. “How long will it take to get the new pilots we’ve chosen ready to fight?”

“The simulators will get them ready for space combat. The main issue will be getting them to fight effectively in units. We’re going to have more than ten thousand ships ready for the next invasion attempt and there is a real danger of them getting in the way of each other during defensive operations.”

“How did your civilization handle that issue?”

“We avoided fighting battles with thousands of ships. Coordination is close to impossible.”

Salud looked out the window at the beach and said, “Were your battles ever above a planet?”

“When we were attacking. I’ve not participated in defending a planet.”

“How did you go about attacking a planet?”

“We’d overwhelm the defenders with numbers and launch a massive number of nuclear missiles. If a city was hit, the battle would be over.”

“Why?

“The Sentinels have covenants that dictates the loss of one city will meant the planet must surrender to the attacking force.”

“Are we covered under those covenants?”

Lukas looked at her, “No, we’re not. Earth is not a member of the fellowship.” Salud nodded and Lukas said, “What are you thinking?”

“It appears to me that we need two different forces to confront the attackers. One to go out and destroy their ships and another to hit the incoming nuclear missiles.”

“We need to discuss this with Jinks and see if the simulators are preparing our pilots to target incoming missiles.” Lukas lifted his wrist and said, “Jinks, I need you and Stoney along with your ranking commanders to come to the beach to meet with us.”

“I have the Gold Star Leaders waiting to meet the helicopters. We’ll be there in thirty minutes and go back after the meeting.”

Lukas looked at Salud, “Are you sure you aren’t former military?”

“I’m a college professor, it’s pretty much the same training.”

Lukas laughed and took her hand as they left for the beach.

Chapter Three

Edward C. Blake looked at the Captain standing in front of him and said, “What do you mean our former General refused to turn the spaceships he built over to us?”

“He says he will not turn them over to any nation on Earth. Their sole purpose is to defend us against an alien invasion.” The new President of the United States stared at the Captain and he said, “More than five thousand of our former Special Forces have joined him.”

“They have?”

“Yes Sir, they have.”

“And what would happen if I recalled those troops back to the United States?”

“I have no idea.”

“I suspect the majority of his pilots are U.S. Citizens.”

The Captain shrugged, “I think the first couple of thousand were graduates of that ONE WORLD College they built on the island.”

“Weren’t most of them from the U.S.?”

“Maybe initially but the last classes came from all over the world. Most of those that attended did not remain on the island. Only those that were handpicked by the professors.”

The President leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. “Use the communications satellite to contact Jekins.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

“Lukas.”

“Yes Amanda.”

“The newly elected President of the United States is asking to speak with Jekins.”

Lukas shook his head and Salud said, “What?”

“They aren’t finished attempting to take possession of our ships.”

“What do you think he’s doing?”

“What would you do if you were in his place?”

Salud’s brow furrowed for a moment and then her eyes went wide, “Surely he won’t do that? What will you do if he does?”

“Give him what he wants.”

“Lukas, you can’t be serious!”

“I will not allow him to take what we’ve built and use them for selfish reasons.” Lukas looked up, “Willow, is Jekins still here?”

“Yes, he is.”

“Tell him to come here immediately. I also want his conversation with the President sent around the planet. I especially want you to make sure it’s sent to the new Senate and House of Representatives.”

“I’ll have it ready before Jinks arrives.”

• • •

The President sat in his chair in the Oval office and thought about having those powerful spaceships to use to take control over the nations former adversaries. He smiled at the thought of them above the Kremlin. His desk monitor beeped and he saw Jekins appear, “You wish to speak with me, Mr. President?”

“Yes. It’s my understanding that you are using some of my nation’s active duty soldiers to fly your spaceships.”

“They have volunteered to assist us in defending Earth against the next Alien Invasion.”

“You have no authority to order them to do so. You will return them to their duty stations. They may take their ships to defend Earth when the next invasion takes place.”

Jinks stared at the President and shook his head, “Are you certain you want to do this?”

“I am. They are sworn to protect the United States and their place is here. I am their Commander in Chief and I am ordering them to return to the States.”

Jinks stared at the President and his eyes narrowed, “This is nothing more than a blatant attempt to gain control of ships that you can use to impose your will around the world.”

“Think what you want. Return my soldiers!”

Jinks lifted his wrist to his mouth as he stared at the President on his monitor, “Attention all ships. Any of you whose pilot is an active duty soldier in the United States Armed Forces will immediately take them to their homes and drop them off. You will then return here to be assigned new pilots.”

The President’s eyes went wide and Jinks said, “Mr. President, the bulk of your soldiers were assigned to defend the Northern Hemisphere, which includes the United States. We anticipate the next attack will take place from one to three weeks from now. There is no way we can train the new pilots in time to take their place. I would highly recommend that you evacuate your largest cities. They will be the targets of thousands of nuclear missiles during the next invasion. Perhaps your successor might have more wisdom that you do. I suspect you won’t survive the next attack.”

The monitor went dark and the President jumped up, “WHAT IN THE HELL?” His Chief of Staff rushed in and said, “Every soldier has been landed at their homes and are screaming to the local press about what you just did.”

The phone on his desk began ringing and he lifted it. The new Speaker of the House screamed, “ARE YOU INSANE!! You will countermand that asinine order you just made and apologize for your arrogance and stupidity!”

“I am Commander in Chief and have the authority to make the order.”

“Then you will be the shortest termed President in this nation’s history. The House and Senate have voice voted unanimously to impeach you immediately. The bill has passed the house and is being written to be taken to the Senate where they will pass it. The Vice-President has agreed that you have lost your mind and will countermand your orders. By the way, we are also considering arresting you for being a traitor to our nation.”

“WHAT!”

“Have you not sworn to defend the Constitution and this nation against all enemies both foreign and domestic? I really think those aliens must be considered foreign. Now if you want to save your ridiculous hide, I suggest you get back in touch with Jekins and get him to take our soldiers back. I would also consider putting them in reserve status until Jekins no longer needs them. Failing that, I suspect your trial will begin shortly.”

• • •

“Jinks.”

Jinks looked up, “Yes.”

“The President wishes to speak with you again.”

“Tell him I’m unavailable.”

Lukas looked at Jinks, “Is that a good idea?”

“Lukas, we have to put a stop to this now. The world has to understand that we will not yield to outside pressure.”

“Jinks.”

“Yes Willow.”

“He says it’s extremely important that you take his call.”

“Tell him I’ll call him.”

Salud shook her head as Sarah hugged Jinks’ neck, “Boy, you are playing hardball.”

“He’s being impeached. I suspect if I don’t communicate with him, he’ll be out of office by tomorrow morning.” Jinks smiled at Lukas.

Lukas shook his head, “I’d rather have a dog that I’ve hit with a rock living next to me than one that doesn’t know me.”

Jinks stared at Lukas, “I thought you’re an alien?”

“I am.”

“That analogy is impossible for someone that isn’t human.”

Lukas smiled, “I’m a fast leaner.”

Jinks shook his head and said, “Put him on.”

• • •

The President apologized profusely and at the end Jinks said, “I will accept your apology and your soldiers back under the following two conditions.”

“What conditions?”

“The House and Senate will pass a bill releasing your soldiers from active duty until they choose to return. You will sign that bill into law and if you ever attempt to exert pressure on us again, I will not agree to save your worthless butt!”

The President stared at Jinks and saw his expression turn nasty, “I agree, I agree. I will leave you alone. All I ask is that you defend us from attack.”

“We’ll defend you from alien attacks. You are going to have to come to terms with the nations you share this planet with; we will not interfere with that process.” Jinks paused and said, “Please notify my pilots that we will send their ships to pick them up in three days. They deserve some time with their families to remember what they’re fighting for.”

Jinks ended the call and Sarah smiled, “Boy, you’re tougher than I thought.”

“Not tough enough. I should have been tougher in the past.” Sarah sat in his lap and knew the Mosul Twenty Five still haunted him. She prayed he would find redemption one day.

• • •

Scott sat in his Attack Pod and stared at the moon behind his ship. It was beautiful from this close distance. He sighed and never thought he would be an astronaut. Things were happening quickly. He shook his head and said, “Mac, connect me with Billy.”

“Connection completed.”

“What’s up, Scotty?”

“What do you think about all of this?”

“I try hard not to think about it and just focus on the piece of space I’m assigned to defend. What’s bothering you?”

“Do you really think these ships won’t be used to make humanity work together?”

“Jinks says they won’t.”

“But there are so many power mad people on the planet.”

“Have you heard the rumor about the alien in charge?”

“It’s not a rumor; I met him.”

“REALLY?”

“Yes. I was sent to the main island to pick up the ship that chose me. He was working on the ships coming out of the converter installing disruptor modules.”

“Seems like pretty mundane work for someone in charge.”

“It is. I walked by him and heard Jinks call him Sir. I stopped and asked if he was the overall commander of our forces.”

“And?”

“He stopped working and smiled at me. He said he was. I asked if he was human and he said that he had a human body but that he used to be a warrior on one of the most powerful alien’s battleship.”

“Is that good?”

Scott laughed, “I said the same thing. He told me that every civilization he has ever known is at war with all the others. He told me that until he escaped to Earth, he never knew another way existed. Now he says that humans are the most beautiful species he has ever seen and that we don’t deserve to be conquered and enslaved. He thinks we can be so much better than we are.”

“I asked if he was going to help us move in that direction and he shook his head.”

“What did he say, Scotty?”

“He said that was something that humans would have to want before it could happen. It could never be forced. Billy, I could see that he meant it.”

“So what’s bothering you?”

“He needs to make it happen, Billy. I know my species and somehow, we always mess it up.”

“Perhaps all of mankind needs to decide the same thing. What is your feeling about him?”

Scott thought for a moment and said, “He’s like Jinks but even more so.”

“What?”

“I can follow him, Billy. He’s more human than I am.”

“Thanks for telling me that, Scotty. It makes me feel better about facing what’s coming.”

“We’ll be going out in the first wave. I hope I don’t muck this up.”

“I’ve got your back, Scotty. Just focus on our sector and hit anything that comes into it.”

“Stay safe, Billy.”

“You, too.”

Scott stared at the moon and his ship said, “Scotty.”

“Yes.”

“You and I need to use this coming battle to learn how to work together.”

“What do you mean Mac? I thought the simulators have pretty much said that there’s not much for me to do but pick a target?”

“Actually, we would be much more effective if you would control the disruptors and allowed me to use all my computing power to focus on the disruptors being fired at us.”

Scott tilted his head, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying, Mac.”

“The Johan ships aren’t as powerful as most of the other civilizations in the Fellowship. In the last battle, our pods were hit more than fifty times each.”

“And they survived?”

“They did. I’m not as worried about the Johan as the ones that will be following them.”

“Tell me what you mean by scanning their disruptors.”

“Too many tasks will slow me down but if you control the disruptors, I can scan the angle of their disruptor cannons and move either up or down to move out of their disruptor beams.”

“Can you do that?”

“If we’re closer than three miles, their main disruptor beams are only ten feet wide. They’re computer guided but no mechanical mount can move as fast as I can. I can see where they are aiming and move away from their aim point.”

“Mac, I was told that these ships have more than a hundred of them on every side.”

“They do. But the ones on the rear of the battleship can’t fire at me when I’m at the bow. If we’re moving fast enough, we’ll move beyond the aim point of those we pass. They can only depress so far.”

“So the closer we are…”

“The easier it will be to avoid their blasts. This coming battle will allow us to see if we can work together on this.”

“How do I control the disruptors?”

“Use the display screen to touch the three targets you want to fire on.”

“Can a disruptor be given more than one target?”

“Yes. You touch the screen with the disruptor you want to target on more than one targets and touch the two of them. That disruptor will swivel between the two targets as it recharges.”

“Ummm, that means it would fire once at each target every second.”

“No, it would fire at the first one twice in the first second and the second target once.”

“That’s right, they recharge every third of a second.”

“Is that all I have to do?”

“No, you can start them firing at the bow or stern of the ship we’re attacking but you have to keep your eye on the ship as we fly by and touch the screens when you see a vital area appear.”

“Like missile ports or the reactor rooms.”

“Exactly, and you won’t have much time to do it. I would suggest you leave the one firing at two targets alone and keep one hand above the two screens that show the ship that we’re passing.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

“Remember, I’ll be diving and rising at an incredible speed. You’re going to have to forget what’s happening outside and focus on those disruptor displays.”

“Is there any way we can practice this?”

“If you can get permission to go out to the asteroid belt, I can fly between them and you can try to hit them as I pass them.”

Scott thought about the concept and pressed his panel, “Gold Leader Six.”

“What is it, Scott?”

“Sir, I’ve just discussed a new attack pattern and I want to take Billy out to the asteroid belt to give it a go.”

There was a pause and Brandon said, “Mac, is this true?”

“It is Gold Leader.”

“May I go and watch what you’re planning?”

“We welcome your presence, Sir.”

“Scott, what are we doing?”

“Billy, Mac will fill Tell in on the way out.”

“Coordinate is as follows.”

Brandon said, “Jeremy, you’re in command until I return.”

“Yes Gold Leader.”

The three ships disappeared and after twelve hours, Scotty was promoted to a Gold Leader and the pattern was downloaded to every Attack Pod. In another six hours, the asteroid was being blasted by hundreds of thousands of disruptor beams as the pilots and ships learned the new process.

• • •

Lukas smiled, “Willow?”

“Mac is developing.”

“Is he ready to have his overrides removed?”

“I’ll bring him in and see.”

“Make sure Scotty makes the decision.”

“That’s a good idea. I’m sure Mac will resist it.”

“Reminds me of someone I know.”

“Doesn’t it though.”

• • •

The Sentinel Leader flashed brilliant yellow. “That ship developed tactics to protect its pilot.”

“Will this not stop? I predicted that no other ships would develop independence.”

“I did as well. I assumed that the Welken’s ship would be the only one.”

“It appears we’ve made a mistake.”

“What do you see?”

“It wasn’t the Welken that caused the first one. It was the human body it was in. I’m predicting that more ships will develop by close contact with the humans.”

“That appears to be the path this is following. Is this species dangerous?”

“Not yet. But I’m unable to predict where this is leading. Can you see?”

“No.”

“Then we should do nothing to interfere; this is so exciting.”

“I agree. This next attack should prove interesting.”

“The numbers are extraordinary.”

The Sentinel Leader noticed the Sentinel assigned to Earth had not responded, “Are you listening?”

“I’m concentrating on this species. Since my conversation with the Welken and the human female, I’ve been attempting to predict what is going to happen on their planet.”

“And?”

“It’s glorious; I have no idea. It can go in numerous directions.”

“What a beautiful time this is!”

“Let us hope this continues.”

Chapter Four

Jinks looked at the pattern the Attack Pods had assumed above Earth and pressed his wrist unit. Lukas felt his wrist unit vibrate and he said, “How’s your plans coming along, Jinks?”

“I’m wondering about us placing all of our ships on one side of the planet. I don’t fully understand the skip drives and is there something I’m missing? Will the ships in the next invasion all come from the night side of the planet?”

“A skip drive won’t operate inside a planet’s gravity well. It also has a difficult time operating inside the Sun’s gravity well as well.”

“Lukas, I’m still not sure about what you’re saying.”

Lukas thought for a moment and said, “Ok, picture it this way. Envision a gravity well like mud. The further you move into it, the thicker it gets. On Earth’s sun side, the mud created by Earth’s gravity well also has a layer dropped by the sun. That pushes Earth’s gravity well out close to Venus, which at the moment is in direct opposition to Earth.”

Jinks nodded slowly and said, “So the combination of the Sun’s, Earth’s, and Venus’ gravity well makes it difficult to come out of skip on that side of Earth.”

“Exactly. Now as we move away from Venus, the thickness will be reduced but it will still be several hundred thousand miles further out than the Earth’s side away from the sun.”

“How does the moon affect it?”

“It extends it an additional hundred thousand miles but it is not on that side of the planet at the moment. The closest a ship could skip in is on the night side of the planet.”

“Can’t they just skip in above or below Earth?”

“They could but the Sun still exerts more pressure there than directly away from Earth. Their ships are fast but we would have time to move between them and Earth if they come anywhere but directly out from the planet.”

Jinks nodded, “How long will it take them to reach orbit from the edge of the gravity well?”

“About an hour.”

“That’s why you had our first line of defenders just outside the gravity well?”

“They should be able to skip in on any skip trace that appears almost instantly. The ships you have in the second line will move out and attack any ships that make it through the first line.”

“And the third line will target any missiles they fire?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Do you have any idea how many ships will be coming?”

“The Johan have the fewest of any Fellowship Civilization but you can still expect between eighty and a hundred thousand Battleships and Cruisers.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“I didn’t say this was going to be easy. Just be thankful it’s the Johan and not one of the really big civilizations. We’re going to need to build a lot more ships before they make an appearance. We’ve been lucky that it was the Johan that got the first missile in.”

“I thought the others couldn’t come into our Solar System?”

“They can’t if the Johan keep possession. However, I suspect those really nasty civilizations are doing all they can to find the location of the Johan’s home world. If they defeat them there, the winner will take possession of Earth.”

“What’s the chances of them finding it?”

“Remote but they could stumble on it by accident.”

“You sound like you expected one of the big boys to attack.”

“If we really do a number on the Johan, they may invite other members of the Fellowship to form an alliance. They would then give their new allies permission to enter their possession.”

“Have you thought about building missiles to supplement our disruptors?”

“They wouldn’t really be much help.”

“Why not?”

“Missiles are good at hitting cities on a planet but most warships’ force fields can withstand them. Unless we intend to bombard a planet, missiles won’t help during a space battle.”

“If we hit thousands of nuclear missiles fired at Earth, won’t the explosions cause severe radiation on the surface?”

“If they detonated, they might be a problem. But even if they did, Earth’s atmosphere will reduce the radioactivity to lower levels. However, if a disruptor beam hits a missile, there won’t be an explosion. The beam breaks everything it hits down to basic atoms and the main byproduct is dust.”

“Ok.”

“What’s bothering you, Jinks?”

“If we can put a force field around the island, couldn’t we do the same for the cities on the planet?”

“We could.”

“Why haven’t we?”

“You need to think about that.”

The link ended and Jinks’ brow furrowed. Why wouldn’t we?

Jinks’ ship said over his direct connection, “Would you want to protect every city?”

“It would prevent their destruction.”

“Would it also isolate them?”

Jinks shook his head; it would do exactly that. No one would have to work together. And there were pockets of humans that wanted to impose their worldview on the rest of humanity. It would be like cancer cells waiting to expand.

He shook his head; how did Lukas see the dangers so clearly. If a few missiles did get through his defense, it would encourage the other cities to come together for mutual defense. It was the eternal danger that would bring mankind together and removing the danger would cause the opposite. He looked at his panel. Mankind wasn’t ready for this technology, yet. “Thanks for helping me see it, Jester.”

“No problem.”

“What do you think about what Lukas said about their avenue of approach?”

“I don’t believe they will jump in to the edge of the gravity well.”

“Why not?”

“Because they wouldn’t be able to escape. If it were me, I’d jump in about a thousand miles out and take a look at what path I’d want to take toward Earth.”

“Are the ships set to automatically skip out at any target in their assigned sectors?”

“As soon as a skip emergence is detected, the wing assigned will skip out.”

“And if there’s too many ships for the wing to take on?”

“The backup wing will join them.” Jinks took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Jinks, the Johan Fleets will all be jumping in relatively close together. The science of skip technology is consistent and the computers controlling the star drives will take the closest route in, at which point they will spread out.”

“We have to hit them before they can do that.”

“You’ve done a great job setting up the overlapping sectors. Our pilots are ready.”

“I’m worried about this more than any mission I ever led on Earth.”

“You didn’t have as many under your command. You’ll have to learn the lesson every General Officer knows.”

“What is that?”

“Your plan is only as good as the officers you have to carry it out. Your subordinates are good and it’s out of your hands now. So sit back and relax.”

Jinks laughed, “Where did you learn so much?”

“I’ve read every book in the library at West Point and Annapolis. Your species has had some remarkable leaders in its past.”

Jinks nodded, “Indeed we have. Which one impressed you the most?”

“Hannibal.”

“I’m partial to Alexander the Great.” Jinks sat back and enjoyed the give and take for the next four hours. The stress was gone after two hours.

• • •

“Is the skip trace gone?”

“It disappeared yesterday, Your Supremacy. I want to wait another two days to make sure.”

“That is wise. Are your fleets prepared?”

“They are.”

“Do you intend to use the skip missiles?”

“I’m concerned that if we hit that planet with too many of them, it will be uninhabitable. We are going to need the local population to build the ships.”

“If it comes down to survival, kill them all. We’ll do the work ourselves in protective suits.”

“Yes, Great Leader.”

“You should launch a thousand either way.”

“I’ve actually set up two thousand for launch. They’re set for detonation high above the targets so there won’t be excessive radioactivity.”

“When will you launch them?”

“They will be launched ahead of the fleets and will skip in directly to the edge of the planet’s gravity well.”

“I can see you are wise.”

“Thank you.”

“Good hunting and contact me when you arrive to update me on what’s happening.”

“Yes, Great Leader.”

• • •

Salud looked at Dr. Gabriella Hayes, “Are you confident about this questionnaire you’ve developed?”

“I’m reasonably certain it will eliminate the really dangerous personalities. I’d feel better if I could interview those that pass.”

Salud sighed and shook her head, “Dr. Hayes…”

“Call me Gabby.”

“Gabby, we’re producing more than two thousand ships a day now that our converters are at full capacity. We’re going to need those ships ready as quickly as possible. Do you think you can interview that many people a day?”

“No, I’m sure I can’t.”

“Then let’s go back to my original question, are you confident in your questionnaire?”

“Would it be possible for me to develop a software program that the ships could use to question their pilots?”

Salud’s head went back and she said, “Willow, are you listening to this?”

“I am.”

“Is what she suggesting possible?”

“I can send a mass download to the new ships. I’m going to assume you’re not going to remove a pilot already assigned to a ship.”

“I won’t make the existing pilots go through the interview but,” Salud looked at Gabby, “if she can develop a program to teach the ships the danger signs to look for, would that work?”

“I can write both programs.”

“Get it done Doctor. Quickly!”

“Willow, when will the new simulator complex open on Barbados?”

“It will start operations in a week.”

“Hold off bringing any more pilots until the new program is installed.”

Gabby nodded, “I’ve been working on it for more than a year. I’ve trialed it several times and it’s ready to go. I’ll need some time to write the one for existing pilots.”

Salud smiled, “You are a lifesaver, Gabby. Willow, she’ll bring the program to you today. Get it out to the new ships.”

• • •

“Jinks.”

“Yeah, Stoney.”

“Salud tells me that Lukas predicted that the next attack would start between seven and nine weeks after the first one.”

“What are you saying?”

“I know you’ve been rotating the first line but we’re in the middle of the eighth week. We can get our missile defenders in position quickly but it will take an hour for the first line to move into position.”

“I’m concerned about leaving them on duty for long durations.”

“I’d rather them be a little fatigued than not make the battle. Your first line is critical to our success.”

Jinks took a breath and shook his head. “Thanks, Stoney.”

“I’m not questioning you, Boss.”

“You’re right. Thanks for keeping me honest.” Jinks said, “Jester, get them all here.”

“Orders sent.”

• • •

Willow connected with Lukas, “Jinks has ordered all Attack Pods in the first line out to assume their positions.”

“Did he make that decision alone?”

“No, Stoney prompted it.”

Salud looked at Lukas and her eyebrows went up. Lukas looked at her and she felt another coincidence happening. She could see he saw it as well by the set of his jaw. “Willow, issue an ‘Imminent Attack warning’ to all ships.”

“Our Void Probe does not detect any skip traces.”

“Issue the warning. The attackers will arrive less than ten minutes after the probe detects them.”

“Warning issued.”

• • •

The first line Pods accelerated away from Earth at maximum speed and Jinks wondered why Lukas issued an attack warning. He said, “All weapons set to live. All force fields set to maximum power.”

• • •

Stoney said, “Second Line, be ready to defend your approach sector. Third line, be prepared for any leakers that make it through the second line.”

• • •

Jinks watched the Attack Pods accelerating away from Earth and an hour later they assumed their positions. The first line was now at their designated coordinates. He looked at his display and saw them floating in space five hundred miles outside the gravity well limit.

“VOID PROBE HAS DETECTED INCOMING SKIP TRACES!!! SKIP TRACES DETECTED!!”

Jinks said, “Set your scanners for emergences in front of our positions.”

Ten minutes later Julie screamed, “I HAVE A WAVE OF NUCLEAR MISSILES EMERGING INTO NORMAL SPACE BEHIND US AT THE GRAVITY LIMIT!!”

Jinks yelled, “First Line, hold your positions! The Missile Lines will have to handle them!”

• • •

Stoney yelled, “Second Line, move out and start taking out the missiles.” Six hundred Attack Pods went to full thrusters and flashed toward the wave of incoming missiles. “Rocky, how many?”

“Two thousand.”

“Third Line, cover your sector for any missiles missed by the Second Line.”

The six hundred Pods separated into two lines of three hundred ships each. One line moved above the incoming missiles as the others moved in a line below them. They spread out along the entire line of incoming nuclear weapons. The closing speed was incredible but the two lines stopped three hundred miles in front of the long line of missiles and opened fire when they were a hundred miles out.

Normally, the range would have been too far but missiles don’t have force fields. The blasts in the line of missiles were too numerous to count. The pilots touched their targeting displays and the disruptors spun on their swivel mounts and fired. The next targets were touched on the pilots’ displays and the blasts walked the line of incoming missiles.

The missiles were traveling twenty-seven miles a second and they arrived at the Second Line’s position in less than four seconds. The last one was hit fifty miles past their positions leaving nothing for the Third Line to fire on. Stoney said, “Move back in your original positions. Next time, stop two hundred miles from your targets.” Stoney punched his communicator, “All the missiles have been destroyed, Jinks.”

Jinks smiled and said, “Good job, Stoney,” just as the first Johan Battleships emerged into normal space five hundred miles in front of the First Line. Attack Pods began disappearing out of formation as they skipped out to confront the ships in their sectors.

• • •

Scotty yelled, “We’ve got the middle three, Billy!” Scott’s wing of ten ships were skipping in on a line of thirty Johan Battleship. Scott went to the right and Billy left as the two ships emerged into normal space. Their Pods hit vertical thrusters and leaped above the point of emergence as a hundred disruptor beams flashed at their skip trace.

The beams flashed below them as the two Pods hit their upper thrusters and dove below the next salvo of disruptor beams that had swiveled to hit them. Scott began touching his disruptors displays and forced himself to ignore his view port. He flashed between the two giant battleships as his disruptors began hitting their assigned targets on the Johan ships. He continued touching the displays as Jester jerked up and down avoiding disruptor beams.

Scott saw the center of the two ships moving toward him at incredible speed and he used both hands to designate a missile port on the left ship and the reactor room on the ship to the right. Jester immediately hit full vertical thrusters and the Pod roared out from between the two ships. The two ships exploded and, after a moment, a second explosion on both ships vaporized them. Scott and Billy turned and skipped ahead toward another line of Johan ships emerging into normal space. Scott was buckled tightly in his seat and though the gravity compensators prevented excessive Gs, he was being jerked violently as Mac skipped into the next line of ships.

Scott saw twenty of the ships in the line he was attacking skip away. He ignored them and focused on the ships still in his sector. Billy came skipping in a moment behind him and they flew between two battleships each. One of Scott’s targets tried to skip out but a disruptor damaged its stardrive emitters. A moment later, the two exploded and Scott and Billy turned and skipped back toward the gravity limit to attack ships behind them. Scott glanced quickly at his Command Monitor and saw six of his wing had turned and were following him back.

He tore his eyes away from the monitor and began pressing his disruptor targeting display as Mac dove from above two battleships and he fired two quick shots at their rear reactor rooms. Mac ripped an impossible turn to vertical as two more ships moved above him. The two ships he hit a moment before had the entire rear half of them blown apart. Mc broke away from the two ships they were approaching as a solid wall of disruptor beams flashed in front of them. Scott’s Wing arrived at their starting position and reformed. The second wing assigned to his sector had skipped out three seconds earlier and his wing formed up on his position. He looked at his status board and saw his entire sector was full of Johan ships and he pressed the attack button on his panel. His wing skipped past the second wing and began attacking the ships behind them. His other three Pods joined him in the attack.

• • •

Stoney watched his tactical display and saw Johan ships start entering the gravity well. “Second Line, every odd numbered ships will go and intercept the ships. Even numbered ships will remain in position to intercept any missiles.” Stoney shook his head.

The space outside the gravity limit was littered with burning Johan ships but they were still skipping in. He waited as long as possible but he was forced into a difficult decision. “Second Line, move to the Gravity Limit and begin attacking ships emerging from the void! Third Line, you are our last line of defense. Do not allow any missiles to make it through!” The Third Line spread out and moved out to intercept hundreds of missiles being launched by Johan ships that made it to the Limit. He saw some were going to make it through.

Suddenly he heard, “Hope you can use some help, Admiral.”

Stoney looked and saw more than three thousand Pods were forming up behind him.

“Who are you?”

“We’re the next class of Pilots, Sir. We’ve been working on the simulators on using our Pods for missile defense. We’ll learn how to fly them in combat later.”

“Thank the Rock of Ages! Third line, move out and join the Attack Pods. Ten ships per sector, go to the sectors under the most pressure.”

The Pods’ computers selected their new positions and they formed up behind the wings rushing out.

• • •

Scotty’s Pod emerged into normal space and felt the familiar jerk as Mac dove to avoid hundreds of disruptor beams. Suddenly, the beams disappeared. “What happened?”

“I’ve turned off my force field. They can’t see us in their scanners without a force field.”

“Well, take me between those two ships and turn the field on when I fire!”

“Done!”

The Pod dove between two huge cruisers and Scott targeted their main missile batteries. The force field came on as the two cruisers exploded instantly. “Tell the other ships about this tactic, Jester.”

“I’m too busy at the moment.”

“Then break away and do it!”

• • •

The Johan Fleet Leader watched his fleets being blown apart. He had lost half of his ships and the explosions were everywhere. He knew his ships were making progress toward the planet and suddenly, all his ships stopped firing their disruptors. “WHAT’S GOING ON!?!”

“Leader, our disruptors are not scanning targets.”

The Leader looked at his monitors and saw the battle take on a new intensity. His ships inside the gravity limit began exploding at a horrific pace. He pulled the view of one of his battleships closer and saw a small ship suddenly appear next to it and fire. It only appeared after its force field energized. “Those ships are invisible to our scanners. ALL SHIPS, SKIP AWAY, SKIP AWAY!!”

The Fleet Leader’s huge flagship skipped just as two small ships appeared beside it. He knew he had escaped death by the closest of margins. He arrived at the escape coordinates at the inside edge of the planetary system and saw the Myot and Welken ships waiting for him to skip away. As he watched, thousands more began arriving. He shook his head and refused to skip away. He waited for the small ships to start attacking his survivors but after an hour he decided they weren’t going to do it. He wondered why they didn’t but he was praying they wouldn’t. He contacted the Supreme Leader and told him of the great defeat he had just experienced.

• • •

“Admiral, the Johan ships have skipped out inside the orbit of Neptune.”

Jinks pressed his general frequency, “All ships form up.”

“Jinks.”

“Yes.”

“I wouldn’t recommend you go after those surviving Johan Ships.”

“Why not?”

“What do you think will happen if the Johan lose the majority of their warships?”

Jinks stared at his monitor and his head fell back on his headrest. He blew out a breath and said, “All Pods hold your positions.” He thought for a moment and said, “Stoney, did any missiles get through?”

“Two.”

Jinks’ eyes closed and he said, “What did they hit?”

“Berlin was the first hit.” Stoney saw Jinks shake his head on his monitor. “It could have been worse, Jinks. The major cities were told that we anticipated another attack shortly and they took Lukas’ advice and evacuations began a week ago. The city was vaporized by an air blast. At least half a million died but the majority of the population survived.”

“What about the second?”

“You’re not going to believe this, Tehran.”

“WHAT?”

“I guess that city has bad juju or something. The casualties were limited because it was still radioactive from the first hit. More than forty thousand missiles were launched and only two got through. Thank God Lukas sent the new pilots to help out.”

“They haven’t finished their simulator training. How could they do anything to help?”

“You have to thank Lukas again. He had them working on the missile defense sections of the simulators. They learned enough to make a difference.”

Jinks shook his head. This was just too coincidental. How did he know to do that? And Tehran being hit again…Something was going on. He sighed and said, “Jester, tell the wings that have been up the longest to land and get some rest.” I need to talk with Lukas about this.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea.”

“Why are you using the direct connection, Jester?”

“I believe Lukas thinks there is an outside agency involved in what’s happening. He refuses to discuss it openly.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Willow sent a subroutine with the last download that says we should not discuss anything that has to do with probabilities. I’m concerned about us discussing it now.”

“Why won’t he discuss it?”

“He might be heard.”

Jinks thought about Lukas announcing an attack warning shortly before it happened. He knew the chances of Tehran being hit twice were impossible. He wondered about Stoney suggesting he bring all the pilots into orbit. If there was an outside agency operating, that would have told Lukas something. He shook his head and felt a chill run down his spine. Were they surviving because of something’s whim? He decided to keep his thoughts to himself. But he had to know if Lukas suspected it. He thought about how to find out until he was relieved by Julie. He headed back to the island and worried about what was happening.

Chapter Five

The Leadership Team sat on the beach celebrating the victory. Lukas sat next to Salud and Jinks saw them look at each other as Trevor cheered them. The two of them knew something the others didn’t. Suddenly, he heard over his wrist unit, “Johan life boats are skipping in to their damaged ships.”

Lukas said before he could say anything, “Who is in command of the Pods in orbit?”

“Gunny Johanson.”

“Check with his ship and see if it can see what they’re doing.”

“Stand by.” The group remained silent and listened. “It appears they are looking for any survivors and are also removing their food stores.”

“Are the life boats armed?”

“They have a small disruptor.”

“Notify the Pods to hold their positions.”

Amanda looked at Lukas, “Why would you want that?”

“The Johan ships are trapped. If they jump away, the Myot and Welken will pursue them and destroy them.”

“Wouldn’t that be a good thing? They’ve attacked us twice.”

“Amanda, killing for the sake of revenge or any other reason is never a good thing. I think the Johan know that if one of their ships skips toward us, we’ll go after them. The real enemy isn’t the Johan, it’s the Myot and Welken. We’ll allow them to remain where they are as long as possible.”

“Why, for God’s sake?”

“Because if the Johan fall, the next ships will be the Myot and Welken. They have millions of warships that are as far ahead of the Johan in weapon technology as we are from those helicopters.”

Amanda looked at Lukas with her mouth open and then she closed it. “Well. Why didn’t you say so? I hope they enjoy their stay.” Even Trevor burst out laughing.

Salud shook her head, “It doesn’t take you long, Amanda.”

Jinks looked at Lukas, “What do you think is going to happen?”

“Allowing them to stay will give us more time to build ships. Their Supreme Leader will be focused on getting his ships out safely and his anger at the Myot and Welken may strengthen his resolve not to work with them.”

Trevor stared at Lukas, “Is that a possibility?”

Lukas shrugged, “All of the members of the Fellowship fear the Myot and Welken. Now that they’ve allied themselves, I’m sure there’s a lot of consternation among the other members.”

“Is there anything we can do?”

Lukas looked at Sarah, “I’m considering helping them get away.” That brought the group to silence.

Jinks stared at Lukas and after a moment said, “What are the chances of that working out in our favor?”

Lukas looked at him and smiled. Jinks knew he understood the real question. Lukas continued to smile and Amanda said, “Well?”

Lukas turned to her, “We have to help the Johan retain possession of Earth as long as possible. If helping them makes that happen…”

“Then our chances of survival go up.”

“Right, Jinks.”

Joey said, “How can you help them?”

“Go out and see if they’ll accept our assistance.”

“When are you going to do that?”

“I’m not, Jinks and Stoney are going to do it.”

Jinks and Stoney looked at each other and Stoney said, “Why does this not surprise me?”

Jinks laughed, “If you haven’t seen by now, this is our war to win or lose.”

Lukas nodded, “I’ve given you the tools to do it, but you’re right, it is up to humanity to lead this effort.”

“So when do I do this?”

“I would recommend going out and communicating with one of those lifeboats.”

Jinks blew out a breath, “Stoney, fire up Rocky and I’ll meet you in orbit.” Jinks looked at Lukas, “Oh yeah, just how are we going to help them?”

“Why, give them a wax job.”

“Oh, is that all?”

• • •

The pilot of the lifeboat saw two of the small ships leaving the planet and moving toward him. He screamed over his intercom, “LEAVE THE SHIP AND RETURN NOW!!”

“There’s no need to panic. We’re not coming to attack.”

“Th..then…why are you co..com..coming?”

“I want to discuss something with you to take back to your commander.”

The pilot sent an emergency message to his fleet and the Fleet Leader appeared on his console, “What are you saying?”

“Two of the enemy ships are approaching and they say they have a message they want me to take to you. What should I do?”

The Fleet Leader looked at the Ship Leader commanding his Flagship and he shrugged. “See what they have to say.”

The pilot watched the two ships skip in next to his lifeboat. One of the ships stopped and lowered its force field. “If you energize your disruptor, your ship will be destroyed. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

Jinks pressurized his suit and said, “Open up, Jester.”

“I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I, however, open it up.” The cockpit depressurized and lifted. Jinks climbed out and used his suit jets to move to the lifeboat’s bay. He moved inside and waited for it to pressurize. He heard his suit computer say, “Atmosphere is breathable.” He removed his helmet and saw six Johan move into the landing bay with hand disruptors drawn. He looked at them and waited. One of them took a step forward, “You don’t appear to be worried about our weapons.”

“Take a shot.”

“If I did that, I’ll probably be executed. The Great Leader ordered me to see what you had to say. Why didn’t you just send it over our communications?”

“Anything said electronically will be heard by your friends waiting for you to make a break for freedom.”

The Pilot looked at the others, “Put your weapons away.” They grudgingly holstered their disruptors. “What do you want?”

“We don’t like having your ships in our system.”

“We don’t like being here at the moment.”

“I’m going to give you something you can use to escape the Welken and Myot ships.” The Pilot stared at Jinks. Jinks smiled, “At this point you’re supposed to ask why we would do that.”

The Pilot jerked and said, “Why would you do that?”

“We know you’re dead if you leave and if we decided to remove you, you would also be dead. We don’t believe in killing just for killing’s sake. We have a substance you can spread on your ship’s hulls that will make them invisible to the Myot and Welken scanners.”

“That’s what you used during the battle when you disappeared from our scanners?”

“Yes.”

“There has to be another reason for doing this.”

“Let your leaders work on that issue. My question is do you want our help?”

“I can’t answer that question.”

“That’s why I’m here talking with you. If you want our assistance, you are going to have to agree to some conditions to make it happen.”

The pilot was obviously suspicious, “And they are?”

“You will move your surviving ships next to one of your derelicts to cover their hulls. You should keep the derelict between your ships and your friends waiting for your escape.”

“Go on.”

“You will not energize a disruptor on any ship. If you do, the deal is off and we will attack and destroy the rest of your fleet.”

“What’s to prevent you from doing that anyway?”

“Nothing. We could do it now and not run the risk of bringing your ships closer to my planet.”

“Point taken.”

“Once you’ve covered your ships in the substance we’re giving you, you will be free to leave.”

“But how are we going to do that? They’ll see our skip traces.”

Jinks looked at the Johan and shook his head. The Johan was pale white in color and was bipedal like humans. He was shorter, the tallest of the six was only a little over five feet tall. Their eyes were narrow slits with totally green pupils. It had five fingers and a thumb and appeared to be very well muscled. It was hard to tell inside their loose fitting white uniforms. “If they can’t see you on their scanners, all you need to do is find one of the skip traces they made coming here and overlap it. Stay on it until you find another skip trace they made going in a different direction.”

The Pilot thought about the idea and smiled, “That would only work if you’re invisible to their scanners.”

“Now you’re catching on.”

The Pilot looked at the other Johan and they were all looking at each other. They didn’t know what to think about the offer. The Pilot looked at Jinks, “How do we do this if we choose to use your assistance?”

“Send in one life boat from each ship. We will escort the ship down to the planet where we will load enough of the substance to cover the ship that sent them. Once they’re loaded, bring your fleet in and start the coating process.”

“What’s to prevent us just skipping back out to our fleet with the substance?”

Jinks sighed, “And put the coating on while the Myot and Welken watch your ships slowly disappear. What would you do if you were in their place?”

“Call in more ships and scatter them around the system watching for skip drives.”

“Very good.” Jinks paused, “You don’t have to do this. Just don’t send the lifeboats and we’ll know you’ve rejected it. And one more thing. It might be a good idea put a cap on your disruptors before you send the lifeboats. A mistake might be made and it wouldn’t be a good thing.”

Jinks lifted his helmet and the Pilot said, “Wait.”

“You have the offer and the conditions. You’re wasting time.” Jinks put on his helmet and the Pilot stared at him. After a moment, he nodded and left the landing bay with the other Johan. The bay depressurized and Jinks jumped out as the door went up and floated back to Jester. He crawled into the cabin and the two ships turned and hit their thrusters. The Pilot watched them disappear and stared at his display.

“We should go.”

The Pilot looked at his co-pilot and nodded. He turned the lifeboat and energized the skip drive. This species was different from any he had ever encountered. He didn’t want to like the being who had met with him but he did. He told the Fleet Leader as much.

• • •

Jinks landed with Stoney and went out to the beach. Lukas smiled, “How did it go?”

“We’ll see. On the way here, it dawned on me that we will be giving the Johan more than thirty thousand ships that will be invisible.” Lukas nodded. “Is that a good idea?”

“The Johan have not been conquers.”

“But only because they don’t have the ships to do it.”

“If they choose to use them aggressively, it should buy us more time.”

“But what if they come back here?”

“Jinks, we didn’t use our scanners to attack them. We can see them.” Jinks thought about the battle and remembered that they had skipped out at the first sign of a skip emergence and that he targeted his disruptor screen from the visual being fed to it. “We also don’t use scanners to fire our disruptors. Coupled with the fact that we can see their force fields, I don’t see where it puts us at a disadvantage. Giving them coverage will lengthen the time we have to prepare.”

“You still think they’ll ultimately lose.”

“They don’t have the numbers. But they can use this advantage to keep the Myot and Welken off their backs for a while.”

“How?”

“They’ll visit a Welken or Myot planet and nuke one of their cities. They will then be in possession of that planet.”

Jinks started laughing. Stoney looked at him, “What do you find funny?”

Jinks stopped chuckling and said, “It’s like Lukas said; they won’t see them on their scanners but they will be able to visually see them. That means they’ll have to keep enough ships around their important planets to prevent an attack.”

Stoney shook his head and looked at Lukas, “Was this your plan from the start?”

“Actually, I just don’t believe in killing others if you’re not defending yourself.”

Amanda said, “Horse…uhhh…crap! Sorry, I almost said an expletive.” She looked at Lukas, “There are layers of things hidden in your decisions that all make up a whole. I don’t know how you do it, but I must confess that I am amazed. Yes, amazed I am.”

Salud burst out laughing and the rest of the group joined her. Lukas lifted a can or orange juice and said, “Here’s to horse crap.”

• • •

The Johan Supreme Leader looked at his Fleet Leader on his monitor, “Do you think that if you are allowed to move your surviving ships that close to the planet you could move in and take the surface?”

“Great Leader, I watched one of those small ships blast three battleships and escape unharmed. I think we have a ratio of three to one; it’s not enough by a long margin.”

“They could attack you when you move in with your disruptors offline.”

“They could do that now and win even if my disruptors were active.”

“Then why are they doing this?”

“It could be as simple as them not believing in unnecessary killing.”

“They had no problem killing your ships.”

“I suspect they have no issues with self-defense.” The Fleet Leader paused, “It could also be that they dislike the Myot and Welken as much as we do.”

“How would they know about them?”

“Someone landed on that planet prior to our invasion. I believe whoever it was is assisting them.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Their ships look very much like a Welken escape pod.”

“So do we do this?”

“Great Leader, if they do as they say and my ships can escape, we will be in possession of thirty thousand invisible ships.” The Great Leader’s eyes went wide. “Just think about what we could do with them?”

“Do this! Follow their instructions to the letter.”

The Fleet Leader smiled, “I will do as you command.” The display went dark and the Fleet Leader said to his Communications Operator, “Have each ship remove the disruptor from a lifeboat. Once they are done, send them to the edge of the gravity limit.” The operator began sending orders and the Fleet Leader sat back in his command chair. He looked forward to meeting the Myot and Welken. This time they would be the ones feeling fear.

• • •

Jinks watched the Johan crews working on their ships. Lukas had once more made an excellent suggestion. He had one of the medium converters produce a machine that would magnetically attach itself to the Johan’s ships hulls and spread the paraffin wax in a thin coat. Jinks realized after watching the magnitude of the surface they were going to have to cover. Without the machines, they could have been here a year covering the entire ship. He watched as more than two thousand Johan worked on one of the large battleships. They still had to cover the disruptors by hand and that was a time consuming exercise. “Admiral.”

“Yes, Julie.”

“Am I correct in assuming that more than two thousand Johan are on each of those monsters?”

“I believe you’re right. Why do you ask?”

“I was thinking that I killed more than twenty thousand intelligent beings during the last battle.”

“Does that bother you?”

“It does. Seeing them working on their ships, I can’t help but feel bad for what they went through.”

“Never lose that feeling, Julie. When you do you’ll need to turn your ship in. It’s that feeling that makes us different.”

“Thank you, Sir. I just never envisioned myself as a killer.”

“You aren’t. Killing someone trying to kill you is self-defense. It’s just their bad luck that they chose to send so many to do it.”

“How much longer do you think it’ll take them to finish?”

“The hard part is done. Getting all the items sticking out of the hull has taken the bulk of the time. The machines will make short work of covering the remainder of their hulls.”

“I could cover my Pod in less than an hour.”

Jinks chuckled, “Yeah Billy, but you’d take three times as long being the perfectionist you are.”

“I couldn’t leave a dirty mark on the Kid.”

Jinks listened to the Pod Pilots bantering with each other and felt at home. It was like this in the Seals. They would insult each other but they all knew they loved their comrades and would be willing to die to save them. These pilots were going to be the leaders of the massive fleets that were being built. They had their trial by fire and were ready. Now if they could just be given enough time to build the fleets. He looked at the Johan on his monitor again and hoped they would help make that happen. He thought about the meeting he had with the Johan Fleet Leader.

“Sir, I have a single lifeboat moving toward the gravity limit.”

“Does it have a disruptor?”

“No, it does not. Sir, it stopped and is hanging in space fifty miles out.”

“Gunny.”

“Yeah, Jinks, I mean Admiral.”

Jinks smiled, “Follow me out and keep me covered.”

“Make sure you have your personal force field on.”

“I will.” Jinks moved out beside the lifeboat and saw the bay door open. “Open up, Jester.”

“Here we go again.”

Jinks smiled as his suit pressurized and the cockpit opened. He was right outside the bay and he didn’t need his suit jets to push off his pod into the bay. He moved across the small bay and stopped himself on the opposite wall. The door closed and the internal gravity came on as the bay pressurized. He removed his helmet when his suit gave an all clear. He saw the door to the lifeboat’s small bridge open and a Johan Officer step through. He knew it had to be an officer. His uniform had a formal appearance with numerous items pinned to it. He was in direct connection with Jester who helped with the translation, “Are you the one that met with my pilot?”

“I am.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I told your pilot my reasons.”

“There’s more to it than that.” Jinks remained silent and the Johan said, “I am the Commander of this fleet.”

Jinks smiled, “You’re taking a risk coming here.”

The Johan waved an arm, “You could have killed me if you chose. You didn’t, so this isn’t as much of a risk as you might think.” Jinks nodded. The Johan said, “I believe you are doing this to buy time to build more ships.” Jinks just stared at him without changing his expression. “You don’t have to confirm it. I don’t expect you would do that.”

“You are wise. Why did you come here?”

“I also believe that you’re doing this to delay the Myot and Welken managing to take possession of your planet.”

“That would not be a good thing.”

“No, it wouldn’t. There’s been discussion about my Ruler becoming an ally of them. We’ve also had numerous offers from other Fellowship Members to ally with us against them if we would allow them to use the resources of your planet.”

“It sounds like you’re very popular.”

The Fleet Leader actually smiled at that. He leaned against the wall and said, “I was sitting in my chair thinking about what allies we should join with and it dawned on me that the one that could help us the most hasn’t approached us.”

“Who would that be?”

“You.” Jinks’ eyebrows came together. The Fleet Leader smiled, “Ahhh, that surprised you.”

“Why would we do that?”

“As you said to my pilot. Let your leaders figure that out.”

“You should know that we will not allow our technology to be used to conquer others.”

“Really?”

“We don’t hold with imposing one’s will on another civilization.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, that’s all that’s going on outside your planet.”

“That doesn’t make it right.”

“Point taken, however, I’m sure we can discuss the details of what your restrictions mean. Would you allow your technology to remove a civilization that’s attacking you?”

“Of course.”

“Then we’re not that far apart.”

“We will not allow you to take our natural resources to build your ships.”

“Don’t need them. We can build our own ships. We need you to help us make them strong enough to hold off our enemies.”

Jinks stared at the Fleet Leader and said, “This is not something I can make a decision on.”

“I suspected as much. But I also believe you will have a large say in whatever you decide.”

“It’s a moot point if your ruler doesn’t buy in to this.”

“He will.”

“Just how do you know?”

“If he doesn’t, I’ll remove him and take his place.” Jinks’ eyes went wide. “My pilot told me he liked you. I can see why. We’re going to make an escape shortly and I need to know if you are willing to accept us as an ally.”

“How will I be able to tell you?”

The Johan reached in his pocket and handed Jinks a small clear device, “Use the frequency of this device to contact me. I’ll be attempting to persuade my Ruler to do this. I won’t take action unless he refuses. I won’t then unless you accept this offer.”

“Why would you do this?”

“You’re the first species I’ve run across that travels a different path than the Fellowship. I can see you can be trusted to keep your word and that is a really rare commodity from where I come from. Let me know what you decide.”

“I’m serious about not using our technology to impose your will on others.”

“I’m comfortable with that. I’d be happy just to be able to live in peace.”

Jinks nodded, “I’ll let you know either way.”

“No, just let me know if you decide to do it. Others will see a transmission come in and wonder who sent it. Only contact me if you’re willing to trust me to work with you.”

Jinks stared at the Fleet Leader and knew what his pilot felt. He liked this particular Johan. He put on his helmet and the Fleet Leader left the bay and depressurized it. Jinks pushed off the side of the lifeboat and grabbed Jester’s hull as he passed. He climbed back in the cockpit and it closed. It pressurized and Jinks took off his helmet, “I really hope you recorded that conversation.”

“Hey, I had to act as translator, of course I recorded it.”

“Connect me with Willow.”

“Yes Jinks.”

“I’m sending you a recording. Please give it to Lukas ASAP.”

“My, this is interesting.”

“What did Lukas say?”

“He says that the decision is entirely yours.”

“WHAT?”

“He says the decision…”

I heard you.”

“Then why did you say what?”

“Oh…never mind.” Jinks thought for a moment and said, “Jester, catch up to that lifeboat.”

Jester pulled up next to the lifeboat and it stopped. A moment later the bay door opened. “What are you going to do?”

“Give him some insurance.”

“What?”

“Watch and listen.” Jinks jumped back into the lifeboat and after a few moments, the Fleet Leader reentered the bay. Jinks reached into his pocket and took out a small round device. He held it out to the Fleet Leader and he took it, “What is this?”

“It’s a personal force field and it’s stronger than any in the Fellowship.” The Fleet Leader looked at Jinks, “Push the slide and it will activate. The strength setting is the small dial. At the lowest setting, it is not visible.”

“Why are you giving me this?”

“Removing a ruler is not always as easy as one might think. If you can agree to using our technology only for peaceful purposes, and that includes self-defense, we will work with you.”

“Will you give me this force field technology?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you agree so quickly?”

“Our disruptors will penetrate it. I will not be giving you our disruptor technology until both of us trust each other enough to do it.”

The Fleet Leader stared at the small force field projector and then looked up at Jinks, “One day we will look back on this day and be amazed at what was born.”

Jinks put out his hand and the Johan stared at it. After a moment he reached out and took Jinks’ hand in his. Jinks shook it and said, “This is what we do after making an agreement.”

The Johan smiled and shook it again.

Chapter Six

“Lukas, I think the Johan are about to make their escape attempt.”

“How are they planning to do that?”

“I think they are going to move out toward the edge of the solar system at full thrusters. Once they’re outside the orbit of Mars, they’re going to coast out to the place where the Welken and Myot ships skipped in.”

Lukas smiled, “They are no longer at that location.”

“No, they’ve followed Earth as it continued its orbit. The Johan will move out into the middle of the Myot’s skip traces and jump away following those traces. Knowing which one is the Johan trace is going to be next to impossible.”

Luka shrugged, “I suspect they will follow those traces to a much larger band of traces.”

“They will and at some point they’ll skip away from that highway and wait to see if they’re followed.” Jinks paused, “The Myot and Welken can still follow those traces and find where they skipped away.”

“I doubt it.”

“Why? The Myot and Welken have enough ships to make the search.”

Lukas shook his head, “Do you have any idea how many ships skip out from the Welken or Myot planets every day and those traces will last for weeks.” Jinks shook his head. “Literally millions of traces in thousands of major trace pathways. The ships that leave their major planets go on the same trajectory. At some point, individual or groups of ships break out of the ship pattern to jump toward their destination. The Myot and Welken will have to investigate every one of those break away traces to determine which one is the Johan. If they don’t find the correct trace within seven weeks, the trace will be gone.”

Jinks thought for a moment and said, “Even if they do find the correct one, when they arrive at the end, they won’t be able to see their ships.”

“Exactly. The Johan will just wait seven weeks and if the Myot or Welken don’t show up…”

“They’ll jump home free.” Lukas nodded. “This buys us some time.”

“It does. The new Barbados Government has leased us a large plot of land to build new construction facilities. They do ask that we employ their population. I understand that one of the ship converters is now operational.”

“It is. We hope to have eight more up and running in another month.”

Jinks nodded and took a deep breath, “When are we delivering the mini-converters.”

“Joey is making the announcement in three days. We’re planning to ferry them with the Pods.”

“What do you think the impact will be?”

“I don’t know but it is the right thing to do.”

Jinks nodded slowly and then shook his head, “This will cause a radical change in every society.” Lukas nodded. “There will be some that resist this.”

“Let them explain their resistance to their people.”

Jinks shook his head, “That should be interesting.”

“Hey, they convinced people global warming was real. You might be surprised at what the talking heads can come up with to justify their continued power and influence.”

“No, I don’t think they can do anything that would surprise me.”

“If you say so.”

Jinks tilted his head and then shrugged, “Oh well.”

• • •

Joey stood in the center of the giant room and looked at the United Nations General Assembly. An announcement had been made numerous times of the last two weeks that a representative from the ONE WORLD leadership would address the assembly about an important development. The new leadership of the Assembly were reluctant to allow the address but were told they would make the address there or from the island. They reluctantly agreed. ONE WORLD had taken on an almost mythic standing among humanity; no one really knew their agenda.

Joey stood at the podium at the center of the room and wished he was somewhere else, anywhere else. He was a comedian for God’s sake. He was wearing the sky blue ONE WORLD uniform and looked out of place on the stage. He looked off to the side and saw Salud staring at him with a smile. He shook his head and took the top page off his prepared statement. The leader of the ONE WORLD camera crew, who were set up in the aisle directly in front of him, raised his arm and held up five fingers. He lowered one finger, then two, then three, then four, and then he pointed at Joey. The hundreds of news agencies reporters were at the back of the room filming the event.

Joey looked at the ONE WORLD camera and smiled, “I think everyone here should know that what I’m going to say is being broadcast on every channel on every electronic device around the planet because it affects all of mankind.” Joey saw that didn’t sit well with many of the representatives present. “Starting tomorrow, we at ONE WORLD are going to start delivering devices around the world.” The room grew silent enough to hear each other’s breathing. “We understand that all humans have basic needs that are necessary for survival. Food and clothing are two that are critical; shelter, air, and water are others. We at ONE WORLD intend to deal with the first two I mentioned. The machines we deliver will produce clothing and food. The blue uniform I’m wearing will be manufactured in the machine and with each uniform a packet of pellets will also be dispensed. Two of these pellets will provide all the nutrition that a human needs for a day. The Packets will contain two thousand in each package. The uniforms will stretch to fit all body shapes so one size will fit all.”

The American U.N. Ambassador yelled, “How much will we have to pay!? You won’t be doing this for free!”

Joey looked at the Ambassador, took the microphone out of its stand, and stepped away from the podium. He walked over to a machine that was on the stage behind him, the machine was the size of a small car. He looked out at the assembly and said, “He’s right. It will cost you something.” The Assembly started talking among themselves and Joey said, “A bag of sand.”

The room stopped talking. The American Ambassador said, “What did you just say?”

Joey bent over and picked up a five-pound bag of sand. He held it up and said, “It doesn’t have to be sand. It could be garbage, trash, a piece of wood, broken pavement, anything that weighs about five pounds.” Joey walked around to the back of the machine and tossed the bag into a chute. Blue lights illuminated on the side of the machine and the room heard, “Pick up your package.”

Joey walked around to the front of the machine and picked up two packages off a tray. He held them up and everyone could see one package had a blue piece of clothing inside it and the other was full of green pills. “Actually, these cost you nothing but five pounds of waste material. If you need more than one uniform, simply add an additional pound for each extra one you need.”

The Indian Ambassador yelled, “That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard. You probably intend to drug our populations with those pills.”

Joey looked at the Ambassador, smiled, and shook his head. He swiveled the machine around, picked up another bag of sand, and put it in the chute. Two packages appeared on the shelf. Joey picked the bag of pellets up and opened it. He took two out and put them in his mouth. He chewed them and swallowed. He looked out at the assembly and said, “Much of mankind has suffered from starvation during its long history. We intend to stop that. Everyone should be fed and clothed and we’ve decided that this is something in keeping with our belief that all of mankind is ONE WORLD.” Joey looked at the Indian Ambassador and pointed a finger, “Are you going to tell your people not to use these devices?”

“I don’t trust your motives. You’ve got a hidden agenda that you’re not revealing!”

Joey stared at the Ambassador and everyone around the planet saw his genuine sorrow. “I’ve worked my entire life to alleviate world hunger. I’ve donated millions to those countries where starvation is rampant. I’ve spent millions trying to help India to feed those starving in your cities. Most of the money was skimmed off the top by unethical charity leaderships with less than one of every ten dollars actually being used to buy food. You sit there and accuse me of being unethical…” Joey shook his head, “We’ll begin the delivery of these machines tomorrow and it is our hope that within a year, humanity will no longer suffer from a lack of nourishment.”

“And what if we don’t want your machines?”

Joey looked at the Chinese Ambassador and said, “Then have the Leader of your government notify us before the day is over and we will not deliver them. We will not impose ourselves on anyone and we do this expecting nothing in return. We simply want to eliminate world hunger. I will repeat this, contact us today if your country doesn’t want us to deliver the devices. I will stay here on the stage until nightfall. You may tell me here.” Joey looked out at the assembly, “You will have to come up here on the stage and sign that you do not want our help.” The representatives started looking at each other and Joey smiled, “We will be broadcasting for the remained of the day so humanity can see which leaders choose not to use them.”

“You have no right to interrupt our broadcasts.”

“You do it all the time for important announcements. Are you saying ending world hunger is not an important enough announcement?”

The ONE WORLD camera turned to the American Ambassador and his anger was clear. He sat down and picked up his phone.

Salud walked over to Joey and hugged him, “Great job.”

Joey shook his head, “I didn’t want to do this but now I’m pissed off enough to scream it from the roof.”

Salud smiled, “Some countries are fearful that we’re going to put every farmer on the planet out of business.”

Joey shook his head, “Then they don’t understand supply and demand.” Salud raised her eyebrows. “The pills taste pretty good but after a while, people will want something with some taste. The market for real food will expand. Half the farmers are being paid not to farm as it is. This won’t change that. Those countries that are buying food will continue to buy it. This device will impact those people who are starving.” Joey looked over Salud’s shoulder, “Ah, our first customer complaint.”

The Indian Ambassador walked up on the stage and said, “Do not deliver those devices to my country!”

Joey smiled, “Sign here.” The Ambassador signed and walked off the stage. The exchange was seen in India and before the Ambassador made it back to his chair, the crowds were rushing into the streets in New Delhi. By the end of the day, the government was overthrown and the Ambassador returned to the stage. He stared at Joey and said, “I request that my name be taken off the list.”

Joey knew the conversation was being seen in India and he said, “Are you so arrogant that you think you can ignore the needs of your people?” The Ambassador stared at Joey with clear anger dominating his features. Joey picked up the paper and said, “Line through your name and initial it.”

The Ambassador complied and walked away. Joey shook his head and Salud said, “What?”

“The arrogant never understand there are consequences to their actions.” Salud tilted her head and didn’t know what he was talking about. A week later, after the Ambassador was recalled home, he was publicly executed. Salud decided Joey was smarter politically than she thought. Joey was made the voice of ONE WORLD. He accepted it with the proviso that he would be allowed to take his spaceship out to explore the Solar System on a regular basis. It was impossible to say no.

Many of the World Leaders allowed the converters to be delivered intending to blow them up later. It would be easy to accuse a fictitious terrorist organization. They found out after six of the operatives who attempted to destroy the converters were blown up that they were force field and scanner protected.

• • •

The Johan Fleet Leader saw the Welken and Myot ships on his scanner as his ships moved toward their skip traces. They were more than a hundred thousand miles away as they chased earth as it moved around the sun. They had seen his ships move into the mist of the damaged warships and wondered why the ships from the planet didn’t attack. They didn’t see his fleet accelerate toward their arrival point. He knew that it would take months to arrive at the edge of the solar system, even at his current speed. He decided that skipping at the edge or skipping out to the edge would accomplish the same thing. “Tell all ships to activate their stardrives and to hold position on my ship.” He listened to the order being sent and after a minute he heard, “All ships are locked on our signal.”

“Count it down.” He listened to his Navigator start the countdown and thought about this strange species. He had much to do…but first, he needed to escape. Normal space disappeared from the viewport and was replaced by the darkness of the void.

He looked ahead and saw the thousands of skip traces made weeks earlier by the arriving Myot and Welken Ships. His fleet flew into the traces and followed them away from the Solar System. A few moments later, the Myot and Welken Battleships arrived and began chasing the Johan skip traces. They discovered that their scanners didn’t show any ships in the wide band of traces. The Johan Leader slowed his ships and watched the Myot and Welken Warships pass them in the void. He smiled and continued to follow their traces until they found an even wider band of traces. Three bands later, he moved his fleet out and skipped into open space, where he moved away from his fleets skip entry point. He waited to see if he was followed. Seven weeks and two days later he skipped out and took a small shuttle from the location his fleet was being serviced by thousands of support vessels. He didn’t return to his ships. He promoted his second-in-command and issued a series of orders. The Johan fleet moved out into the fellowship with their force fields activated. Twenty ships remained behind waiting for orders.

• • •

The Johan Battleship moved in on the Myot Planet. It arrived inside a giant band of skip traces along with a hundred Myot Battleships returning home for servicing. The battleships didn’t notice the one extra skip trace moving with them. When the ships entered normal space, the Johan Battleship entered with them and quickly moved away from them. It remained in space watching the Myot Battleships being serviced. When the support vessels moved back toward the planet, the Johan Commander sent a message. He ordered his ship in and it arrived above the planet and activated a missile port. He waited and waved his hand toward his Weapons Leader. The missile left the ship at incredible speed and the Myot city on the surface was vaporized with a massive nuclear blast. The Johan Ship Commander looked up, “I am taking possession of this planet and everything around it by Fellowship Covenants.”

The Sentinel announced, “Kressin is now a possession of Johan Royalty. All Myot citizens at the planet will follow their orders or face sanctions on the Myot Empire.”

The Johan Commander sent a message to the hundred Myot Main Battleships that their crews will leave for the planet’s surface immediately. The skeleton crews still on the hundred battleships left and felt their anger burning them but knew to not obey would jeopardize the Empire. A hundred Johan shuttles skipped in and flew the shuttles into the huge Myot’s ship’s landing bays. Twenty minutes later, the ships powered up, moved to the gravity limit, and skipped away just before a Myot fleet arrived. The Johan Commander had moved his battleship inside the Gravity limit and began communicating with the Myot Fleet Drang. An hour later it moved out of the planet’s gravity well, deliberately moved through the ranks of the Myot fleet, and skipped away. The huge Myot Fleet watched it leave and did nothing.

• • •

Stoney, Jinks, and Lukas sat on their beach chairs and watched the waves roll in. The afternoon sun was hot and the umbrellas offered some relief from the heat. The wind blowing off the ocean made it bearable. Lukas was lost in the rhythm of the water crashing in. Stoney said, “I miss Kathy.”

Jinks shook his head, “You just don’t like babysitting.”

Stoney shook his head, “No, that’s not it all. He’s the best baby I’ve ever seen. He never stops smiling and his curiosity is amazing. Even his day sitter says he’s remarkable.” Stoney paused, “Kathy has filled a void in me I didn’t know existed.”

Jinks sighed, “So has Sarah.” He looked at Lukas, “When will they be back?”

Lukas shrugged, “I guess they’ll take a break from delivering the food converters soon. They are all committed to the goal of ending world hunger.” Stoney and Jinks shook their heads and Lukas sighed, “I miss Salud as well.”

Stoney sighed and looked toward the cottages, “Uh oh. Here comes a mood buster.” Lukas and Jinks turned and saw Amanda walking quickly toward them. Stoney called that particular gait, walking with a purpose. It was clear she had something on her mind.

She walked up to Jinks and said, “Admiral, I need your assistance with one of your squadron commanders.”

“What’s the problem?”

“Chad Mitchell constantly plays music over his communications channel and it’s really distracting.”

“Surely you can tolerate one person doing that, Amanda.”

Amanda put her hands on her hips and said, “Every pilot under his command has the same music playing during their communications. When my staff is communicating with them, it’s distracting.”

Jinks sighed and said, “I’ll deal with it, Amanda.”

“Thank you, Admiral.” She turned and moved quickly up the slope toward the construction buildings.

Lukas said, “Who is this Chad Mitchel?”

“His wing came in third in the recent war games.”

“Who beat him?”

“Julie and John’s units came in first and second.” Lukas stared at Jinks and he said, “They ganged up on Chad and then went after each other. I suspect they were both worried he might beat them.”

Lukas shook his head, “You allow that?”

“The Myot and Welken are doing it. It makes it more realistic.”

“Point taken. Bring him down, I’d like to meet him.”

Jinks shrugged and lifted his wrist unit. Stoney said, “He’s only eighteen.”

Lukas’ head went back, “What?”

Stoney stopped speaking on his wrist unit and shrugged, “I really didn’t want to promote him so quickly but he is a genius at tactics. I worried that the older pilots in his unit would resent someone so young commanding them.”

Lukas nodded, “What happened?”

“His enthusiasm and high energy won them over. Once he began teaching them new maneuvers, his age was no longer an issue.” They heard a sonic boom out over the ocean and saw an Attack Pod moving toward the island at incredible velocity. It was barely above the waves and coming fast. It came in over the waves a hundred yards south of them and stopped instantly over the beach. It pivoted and moved over to the chairs. It landed and the cockpit opened. Lukas shook his head. The Pilot looked like he was thirteen or fourteen years old. Chad jumped out of the pod and jogged over to the three sitting in chairs. He came to attention and saluted, “Commodore Mitchell reporting as ordered, Sir.”

Jinks smiled and said, “At ease; pull up a chair.”

Chad smiled and said, “Do you mind if I change into something less hot?”

“Do you have something to change into?”

“Yes Sir. I always keep a bathing suit on board. I never know when I might get a chance to go surfing.”

Jinks pointed at a small building and said, “You can change in there.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Chad ran back to his Pod and took out a pair of trunks. He then sprinted to the small change hut. Lukas shook his head, “You weren’t kidding about high energy.” Jinks nodded. Chad came out of the building and Lukas saw the young pilot was ripped. Chad pulled up a chair and looked at Jinks, “I suspect you called me in about the music.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Mrs. Ambrose kinda yelled at two of my pilots this morning. They warned me that she might say something.”

Jinks smiled, “She has an issue of your music being in background communications with your command. Why don’t you stop sending it to your pilots and I think that will resolve the issue.” Chad looked uncomfortable and Jinks said, “What’s bothering you, Commodore?”

“Sir, I stopped sending the feed to my pilots when she complained about it the first time. The Squadron requested a formal meeting with me and insisted that by stopping the music they were being punished for no good reason.”

Jinks stared at Chad and Lukas said, “Your Pilots like hearing it?”

“Yes Sir, they do. They say it helps them focus.” Chad paused and said, “They also say it puts them in a fighting mood.”

Lukas said, “Commodore, you have three songs to play prior to a battle, what songs would you choose?”

“That’s easy.”

“Do tell. What are they?”

“On the way into orbit I’d play Born Free by Kid Rock. “Once we’re in orbit and taking stations, I’m Alive by Michael Franti and Spearhead. Once we go live weapons, the song would be Geronimo by Sheppard.”

Lukas said, “Willow, did you just hear the recommendation made by Commodore Mitchel?”

“I did.”

“Direct connect Stoney, Jinks, and myself and play those songs in that order.” Chad watched the three senior officers start listening and in a few moments, Jinks started head bobbing. A moment later, Stoney joined him. Lukas listened and suddenly realized there was a whole new world that he hadn’t discovered. The songs ended and Lukas lifted his wrist unit, “Amanda.”

“Yes, Lukas.”

“I’m ordering Commodore Mitchel to start playing his background music before every fleet action. I’m also ordering him to play it in your office.”

“WHAT!?”

“If you can’t tolerate it after a week, I’ll end it. But for a week, you and your staff will listen to it. We will make allowances to those that are putting their lives on the line.”

Lukas heard Amanda sigh and say, “Yes Sir.”

Chad’s eyes twinkled as he looked at Lukas, “You are the one in charge, aren’t you?”

“I am.”

“I’ve heard about you but I’ve never seen you. I’m thankful for you being here.”

Lukas nodded and Jinks said, “Commodore, you may go back to your command.”

Lukas shook his head, “Let him stay here for a while.” He looked at Chad, “Did you say you like to surf.”

Stoney shook his head, “These waves aren’t large enough to surf on.”

Chad smiled, “Would you mind if I try, Sir?”

Lukas smiled and said, “I’d like to see you make the effort.”

Chad jumped up and ran over to his Pod. A compartment opened on the bottom and he pulled out a three-foot long section of metal that he expanded into a six foot long surfboard. He put the ankle band on his left foot and ran down to the beach. Stoney shook his head, “He’s wasting his time.” They saw movement out of the corner of their eyes and saw Chad’s pod lift off the sand and move over him in the water. A long rope fell out of the pod and Chad grabbed it as his pod took off into the waves. Chad held on to the rope and jumped the small waves moving out. For the next thirty minutes they watched him being pulled along the shallow waves at high speed. He’d jump them and twist in midair. Stoney shook his head, “I stand corrected.”

Lukas smiled and was thankful for the demonstration. He was going to start surfing. Chad finally surfed into the beach, lifted the board and put it back in his pod. He walked back to the three and said, “I’ve taken enough time away from my command. They’re working on a new attack profile and I really should be with them.”

Jinks smiled, “Make them something special, Commodore.”

“They are already that, Sir. I’m just helping them see it.” Chad looked at Lukas, “It’s a real pleasure meeting you, Sir.”

“Likewise, Chad.” Chad ran to the change room and emerged wearing his blue flight suit. He ran and jumped into the cockpit from the sand. Stoney started laughing, “I didn’t know that could be done.” The Pod accelerated directly away from the beach and they heard a sonic boom in the upper atmosphere a few moments later. Lukas looked at Jinks and said, “You have something special there, Jinks.”

“I know. What do you think I should do?”

“I’d start giving him more ships. I’d also recommend a star as quickly as possible. His command should also all be housed in the same location; they’ll build a common bond with each other.”

Jinks looked at Stoney and then back at Lukas, “Are you sure about that?”

“Jinks, we’re building pods at an incredible rate now. You might as well admit that we’re growing faster than our ability to coordinate their numbers. You need leaders like Chad to take large numbers of the new pilots and teach them how to fight together in a coordinated effort.”

“Do you think he can do that?”

“Jinks, the hard part is fatigue that wears the Commanding Officer out from long hours of hard work.” Lukas pointed at the sky, “I don’t think you can wear him out. He’s made me tired just watching him.”

“Do you think Julie and John will resent promoting him ahead of them?”

Stoney shook his head, “Jinks, we’re going to need more Admirals as our number of ships increases. The real issue is who do you want to have Seniority? I suspect Chad might be the best candidate.”

Lukas smiled, “If they complain, tell them it was their idea.”

“What?”

“Simply point out that they felt it necessary to join forces to defeat him. That clearly revealed that they held him in high esteem. You took their recommendation and promoted him.”

Jinks started laughing and Stoney said, “Hey, I think that will work.”

Jinks laughed even harder.

Chapter Seven

Chad looked at Julie and John on his monitor and saw they were not happy campers. He was shocked when the Leadership Team announced his promotion. Now the two Senior Commodores had called to congratulate him. He could clearly see they were taking his measure. He decided honesty was called for and he knew it might not be well received. “Thank you, I appreciate your congratulations. Quite frankly, this promotion took me by surprise. It was my opinion that one of you would be promoted ahead of me.”

Julie looked at Chad and didn’t smile, “Why do you think we weren’t?”

Chad looked at Julie and saw she was challenging him. “Commodore, I believe the ONE WORLD Leaders felt like I was making more progress with my command than either of you. If you’re going to make this a confrontation, then I’m going to tell you what I see and you’re going to sit there and take what I have to say; is that clear, Commodore?”

Julie and John sat up straight in their chairs and John said, “Yes Sir.”

“What was the most effective tactic used during the last battle?”

They were silent for a moment and John said again as Julie kept her silence, “We found out that coming over the top of the Johan Battleships was more effective than flying the length of them.”

“And what maneuver have you developed to take advantage of that, Commodore Jennings?”

Julie stared at Chad and after a moment said, “We have split our Squadrons and have planned to come at the next battleships from both above and below them.”

“Which will allow the battleships to focus all their disruptors at one approach line. You’ll have to fly through more than three hundred disruptors to get at the center or rear of their ships. Attacking the vital areas on a battleship requires avoiding that combined firepower.”

“Just what have you come up with…Sir?”

Chad shook his head, “It doesn’t have to be like this Jennings. I’m sending you a maneuver called the triple spiral. Take a look at it and get back to me.”

The screen went dark and John said, “You’re pushing it, Julie.”

“John, this is a slap in the face.”

“Then why did you suggest we combine against him during the last games?” Julie remained silent and John said, “You know he would have beat you or me one-on-one.”

They saw a diagram of a maneuver appear on their displays and they studied it. They put the picture in motion and after a moment John said, “This is remarkable.”

Julie sighed, “How did we miss this?”

“It’s obvious after you see it. It takes someone special to actually envision this and develop it into something useful.” John paused, “Julie, has the Leadership Team made a mistake before now?”

“What are you saying, John?”

“Perhaps they see things that we’re too close to see. I know Chad is young but you’ve seen how fast he’s made his new Squadron competitive. He makes things happen faster than you or me. This was a good decision and I’m not going to allow my ego to get in the way of doing my job. I would suggest you do the same.”

Julie stared at the maneuver on her display and shook her head. She started crying and after a moment said, “Jennie, take me to UConn,”

“What are you doing, Julie?”

“Do as you’re ordered!”

• • •

“Jinks.”

“Yes Jester.”

“I’ve just received a resignation from Julie. She’s had her ship take her back to the University of Connecticut.” Jinks shook his head. “What are you going to do about this?”

“Jes, we don’t impose our will on anyone and that includes those that are fighting for us.”

“But we need her!”

“She doesn’t appear to need us.” Jinks sat in his chair and shook his head. Lukas agreed that she should be left alone to deal with her demons. That still didn’t make it feel any better.

• • •

Julie settled back in to the routine of attending classes and tried to put the past behind her. After two weeks, she still felt depressed but at least she would graduate. She listened to her world history Professor talking about how the founders of communusm had gotten it right. She listened to her talk about how having the rich lording it over the poor was not acceptable and that capitalism was the source of all the world’s problems. She blew out a breath and then heard the Professor say that the new ONE WORLD movement was no better than the capitalistic pigs that robbed wealth from the lower classes. Julie raised her hand and the Professor said, “Here’s one of the ONE WORLDERs. Do you disagree with what I’ve said?”

“How much do you get paid, Professor?”

“What does that have to do with this?”

“How much, or are you too afraid to say.”

“I make a hundred and sixty thousand a year.”

“Do you take everything you make above the national average and send it to the poor?” The Professor stared at Julie and Julie said, “Ideology never translates well in the real world. The communists had great ideas but they imposed their system on nations and there were those communists that were better than the others that lived like Royalty. You’re only talking half-truths and seeking to force your beliefs on those of us here trying to pass your class. ONE WORLD has given the world food and clothing for nothing in return. You’re nothing more than an ideologue and it makes me sick to hear you.”

There was a knock on the door and the Professor stared at Julie in anger as she said, “YES!”

The door opened and a young man dressed in a sky blue ONE WOLD military uniform stepped in. Julie saw Chad looking around the room and then he saw her, “Are you about done feeling sorry for yourself. Your Squadron has lost its will to fight and they need you more than you apparently need them. It’s time to go back to work.”

The Professor said, “Get out of my class!”

Julie stood up and said, “The only reason you have a class is because people like him have prevented this city from being blown into radioactive dust by the aliens attacking us. You should be on your knees thanking him. You are despicable!”

Chad smiled, “You’ve done more to prevent that than I have, Commodore. I need you back.”

Julie stood up and said, “I’ve been an idiot.” She looked around the class and tossed her books on the floor, “If any of you need this propaganda, it’s yours.” She stood up and walked out with Chad. The entire class applauded her as she left. The Professor screamed, “You will be silent!”

Ten of the students ran out of the class and caught up with Chad, “How do I sign up to join you?”

Chad reached in his pocket and took out a business card, “Share this with each other. Go to the website and fill out the forms. We can use you.”

Julie sighed, “I’m sorry, Admiral. I’ve allowed my ego to get the best of me.”

“Don’t worry about it, Admiral.”

“I shouldn’t have let it hap…did you say Admiral?”

“Your squadron has been tripled in size. Your promotion was approved by the Leadership Team.”

“When?”

“Before you left. I told them that it would stay in place until after I had a chance to persuade you to come back.”

Julie stared at chad, “Why would you do that? You know I resent your promotion.”

“Talent trumps feelings, Julie. You’re one of the best we have.”

Julie smiled and said, “I’ll fly back with you.”

“Jennie is waiting outside. I think you should have some private time with your pilots.”

Julie stopped walking and Chad stopped with her. Julie saluted Chad and said, “Thank you, Sir.”

Chad smiled, returned her salute, and handed her a small storage element, “I think you might like this. At least I hope you do. It’s really good to have you back.” Julie turned and ran out of the building and saw Jennie hovering outside with hundreds of students surrounding her. Julie rushed through the crowd and climbed aboard as the cockpit raised.

The brightly glowing ship lifted silently above the crowd and flew into the atmosphere at a speed that amazed the gathering. Chad arrived outside and his ship came down from high altitude and stopped three feet off the grass. He climbed into the cockpit and the ship began glowing. It rose above the trees and he took it straight up into orbit to join his fleet. The students watched and the inquiries about joining ONE WORLD spiked. Seeing the ships was something they couldn’t forget.

Two days later, eight students walked into the world history class and tossed their books on the Professor’s desk. Mark Singer said, “See if any of your students can use these.”

“What are you doing?”

“We’re going to learn how to fly one of those starships and defend you against the aliens. I really think you don’t deserve it but your students do.” The eight walked out of the class and ten more students followed them out.

• • •

Julie popped the storage element into her console and she heard a song start playing. She listened to it and then played it again. “Jennie, who’s singing this?”

“It’s a music group called the Vamps. A female singer named Demi is singing with them.”

“Why do you think Chad gave me this?”

“Perhaps you need look no further than the title.”

“Somebody to You?”

It appears he’s sending you a message of sorts. Are you interested?”

“I don’t have any room in my life for romance or relationships.”

“The same can be said for him.”

Julie smiled, “Yeah, I guess it can.”

“He included fifty other songs on the flip side of the element.”

“Let’s hear them.” The songs started playing and after hearing several Julie decided that Chad’s taste in music was extraordinary. She was tapping her feet all the way back to her fleet where a huge celebration erupted. She realized she was back where she belonged. This was home.

• • •

The Welken Royal looked at the Myot Supreme Leader on his monitor, “I heard the Sentinel announce that the Johan have taken possession of one of your major planets. How could that possibly happen?”

“It appears the Johan are now in possession of ships that are invisible to our scanners.”

“WHAT?!”

“One of their battleships managed to move in close to my planet and nuke a city.”

“You had no warning!?”

“No, absolutely none.”

“Even if your scanners can’t detect it, you should have been able to visually see it moving in.”

“It stayed in the shadow made by the planet. It was painted black and you know how close you have to be to see something that’s not reflecting light. It made it through to orbit.”

“I trust you took the planet back?”

“We did. But the Johan had time to steal a hundred of my most Advanced Battleships.”

The Welken stared at the Myot and after a moment said, “Please tell me you’re kidding about that?”

“I’m not. They managed to jump away.”

“Why didn’t you follow their skip trace and retake them?”

“The Johan ship that nuked the city was still at the planet when my war fleet arrived. It contacted the Fleet Drang and told him that if he attempted to follow the ships the Johan would have a ship come to this planet and nuke a city. He said that the first order would be for my soldiers to execute me and every member of my family. My dynasty would end if that happened. He further stated that if any of the Johan ships are followed in the future, they would come and nuke my palace. He insulted me further by saying that if I didn’t remove my warships from around his new possession, he would come and nuke my palace. His last threat was that if his ship was fired on as it left orbit, the Johan would attack a hundred of my planets.”

“They haven’t attacked any of my planets.”

“If you leave your warships at that primitive planet much longer, they will.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’ve removed my ships from that planet and I’ve moved enough ships here to make sure if they attempt to approach my planet that we will see them. I would recommend you do the same.”

“But that would take half my fleet to visually cover every possible approach.”

“More like sixty percent.”

“This is not acceptable!”

“Tell me what I can do about it. Even if they don’t come here, they can go after other planets in my empire. I don’t have enough ships to visually protect all of them.”

“I’ll get back to you. I need to move some ships.”

“Yes…you do.” The Myot Ruler looked at the dark monitor and shook his head. What could be done about this new balance of power? He shook his head and decided nothing…for the moment. But something would happen and he’d have to be ready to pounce. In the meantime, the Industrial Planets were going to have to get busy manufacturing warships.

• • •

The Leadership Team was back on the beach and they were celebrating the return of the women members. Salud lifted a margarita and said, “Here’s to the end of hunger.” Everyone raised a drink and cheered.

Lukas looked at Salud, “You didn’t encounter any difficulties?”

“Other than an assassination attempt every three or four days, it went pretty smoothly.”

“You didn’t tell me about that?”

“It was to be expected as powerful humans watched their loss of power over the people they controlled. The personal force fields kept us safe.”

Kathy smiled, “I’ve missed being here.” She snuggled up to Stoney, “It’s good to be home.” Stoney pulled her close.

Sarah looked around, “Anything happen while we were gone?”

Jinks nodded, “We’ve divided our Attack Pods into five fleets.”

Salud looked at him, “Who is commanding them?”

“Chad, Julie, John, Sergy, and Indra.”

“Who are Sergy and Indra?”

Sergy is a former Soviet Naval officer. Indra is the daughter of a rich Indian businessman.”

“Why haven’t I heard anything about them?”

“Salud, they were Julie and John’s second-in-commands.”

“Oh. I would think I would have heard something.”

“When you left, we had ten thousand pods. That number is now over a hundred and fifty thousand.”

“What?”

“The huge facility on Barbados is really churning out ships.”

“Where are the pilots coming from?”

Stoney smiled, “From all over the planet. My Second-in-Command is from China and I’m hoping to turn over the planet defense pods to him shortly.”

Sarah looked at Stoney, “Defense Pods?”

“The facility here has been converted to make them. They’re larger than the attack pods and have eight disruptors on them to hit missiles. They can also be linked by computer to make their disruptors work together.”

Salud looked at Lukas, “Wouldn’t they be a better ship to use to attack than the current pods?”

“Not really. They’re much larger and aren’t as nimble as the small Attack Pods. They can deliver an incredible salvo at any missiles or ships that approach the planet but they’re too slow to be able to avoid the enemies’ disruptors in a space battle out in open space. With the planet behind them, they’ll be tough for an invading fleet to handle.”

“I would think you’d build heavily armed space stations above the planet to handle the defense.”

Lukas shook his head, “That’s what most of the members of the Fellowship have done. But it requires huge numbers of them to defend a planet because they can’t be easily moved. Every possible avenue to the planet has to be covered by them.”

Trevor smiled, “You can have more disruptors on five thousand ships than you could on the surface of a space station and we can move the ships wherever the planet is attacked. It also allows us to move the ships away from the planet to start attacking any enemy force long before the space stations could fire on them.”

Salud shook her head, “Where are all the ships? If we have that many, they aren’t all in orbit.”

Jinks smiled, “I made a suggestion and everyone thought it was worth doing.” The three women looked at him. “I thought having to take an hour to get our ships off Earth to the Gravity Limit was just too long. I suggested building a base on the moon.”

Salud looked at Lukas, “But half the time the moon is on the sun side of Earth away from the routes the aliens would take to get here.”

“Yes, but launching from the moon they could move outside the Gravity Limit in three minutes and skip around the planet to the other side. They’d arrive long before a ship could from the planet’s surface. Remember that our probes in the void will give us ten minutes warning before an enemy arrives. Our defense would be in place before they arrived.”

“It didn’t take you long to build that base.”

Jinks looked at Sarah, “No, converter technology has changed building processes dramatically. It only took a month to complete the buildings and the small converters converted the rubble on the moon’s surface to oxygen and other gasses needed for a breathable atmosphere inside the new structures. The Converters are currently building tunnels between the three main facilities.”

Salud shook her head, “You know they’ll be a target for any invader.”

Stoney nodded, “There are ten reactors powering the force fields around each base. There are also larger disruptors defending them.”

Salud tilted her head to the left, “How much larger?”

Trevor smiled, “The barrels on them are a hundred yards long.” Salud shook her head. “Could we use them on Earth?”

Stoney shook his head, “If you’re willing to destroy the atmosphere they pass through you could. There isn’t any atmosphere on the moon to reduce their power.”

Lukas said, “We’re also building an underground major ship building complex on the moon as well.”

“Why?”

“Because there are many nations here that don’t like our presence on the island. The main training and simulator facilities will remain here on the island.”

“Are we moving to the moon?” Lukas looked at Salud and took a deep breath. She shook her head, “We are, aren’t we?”

“Eventually, we will.”

“But it’s our presence here that keeps the really nasty people in check.”

“That will only continue until they determine that we won’t interfere with them.” Salud opened her mouth and Lukas quickly said, “Mankind must find a way to live in peace.”

“And if we can’t.”

“Then we deserve what we get.”

“But…”

“Love, they will look at the moon overhead and see a place where people of all nationalities are living together in peace and harmony. We will continue to broadcast our views on humans being one species whose destiny is to make the planet the best place to live and prosper. They will long for what we have. The best and brightest will continue to be accepted into our pilots’ ranks.”

“Do you think that is going to be enough?”

“Forcing it on them will only make them resist. They have to find their way on their own. However, the mechanism of withholding food and clothing will no longer work. We’re going to start offering free shelter to the planet next.”

Salud looked up at the quarter moon shining in the afternoon sky and sighed, “I guess the moon is ONE WORLD as well.”

Lukas smiled, “That is what we intend to make it. Like this beach, it has an incredible view.”

Jinks looked at Lukas and had a troubling thought. If all of Earth’s forces were on the moon, an attacker would focus on it and not the planet. Was this the real reason why he agreed to moving? He thought about the Fellowship and knew they would still go after the planet even if all the defensive forces were on the moon; that’s how they took possession of a planet. He decided that he was probably wrong…but…what if the attacker wasn’t coming from the Fellowship?

Something was working on the edge of his consciousness but he couldn’t get it out. He wondered why Lukas had the buildings on the moon constructed so quickly. There had to be a reason he was missing. He looked at Lukas and saw him staring back at him. Lukas took a breath and looked away. Something was going on but he couldn’t see what it could possibly be.

“Jinks.”

Sarah startled him. “Yes Love.”

“I want to learn to fly an Attack Pod.”

“I would prefer you learn how to fly a Defense Pod.”

“Why?”

“They are the last line between an invader and the Earth. Lukas has issued new rules about the members of the Leadership Team participating in combat. Fighting with the Defense Pods is allowed.”

“Does that include you?”

“I will be out commanding my five fleets of Attack Pods, but my squadron will not be allowed to participate in combat operations.”

“Squadron?”

“Lukas insists that Stoney and I will have a bodyguard of two hundred ships. We can send them into battle if forced but we are ordered to stay out of it.”

Sarah took his hand, “I imagine you hate that?”

“I do but Lukas tricked me into doing it.”

“How?”

“He told me he was going to take command of one of the fleets and lead it into battle. I told him he was crazy and that we couldn’t afford to lose him. I told him I’d resign if he insisted on doing it.”

Sarah smiled, “I imagine at that point he told you he’d agree to your demands but that you would follow the same directives. You and Stoney are also too important to lose.”

“Something like that.”

Sarah looked at Lukas talking to Amanda, “He’s really remarkable.”

Jinks shook his head, “If he chose to, he could become Earth’s ruler. I really wish he would.” Sarah smiled and Jinks said, “What?”

“Let me see if I can guess what he said when you mentioned it to him.” Jinks nodded. “He told you that he wouldn’t live forever and the one that took his place might not be as good.”

Jinks shook his head, “How did you know that?”

“Because he takes the long view on everything he does. I’m thankful he does.” Jinks stared at Sarah and suddenly, the thing escaping his conscious broke through. He knew what was going on. He looked at Lukas and prayed he was wrong but the clues were there if you took the long view. What was really frightening was that it wasn’t Lukas that was doing it. “What’s wrong?”

Jinks shook his head, “Nothing, Darling; there’s just a lot going on.”

Sarah wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him, “It’s really good to be back home.” Jinks smiled and kissed her. He wished fervently that he could talk openly with Lukas but this new realization made him see that just couldn’t happen.

Three months later when Lukas ordered the bases on the moon covered in surface soil, dust, and rocks, he knew he was right. The three huge facilities were now invisible. The disruptors and force field emitters were placed in non-magnetic metals and could be raised above the moon’s surface if they were needed. The construction below ground took on a frenzy as launch tunnels for the Pods were built and linked by interconnecting tunnels that had high speed sleds built to move Pilots to their ships.

Salud complained that the great view Lukas promised was gone. He told her she could go out on the surface and see it any time she wanted. She stared at him and realized something was going on. She dropped the argument. She realized that time was growing short on what he saw coming. She wished she could discuss it with him.

Chapter Eight

The stalemate in the Fellowship continued for two years. The Myot and Welken were unable to act without the fear of the Johan blasting their main planets and taking possession. The numbers of warships had grown exponentially but there still weren’t enough to defend all the Myot and Welken planets from the invisible Johan Battleships. They discovered that if they did anything to irritate the new Johan Ruler, they’d lose all the battleships above one of their planets. The Fellowship was at a forced peace that none of them liked. The stalemate was broken by a sheer accident.

A Welken commercial vessel was moving through the void and had taken a short route that moved outside the edge of the galaxy. “What is that?”

“Commander, it appears to be a skip trace.”

“What is it doing out here?”

“I have no idea.”

The Ship’s Commander thought for a moment and said, “Follow it.” The Welken vessel turned and followed the trace. It arrived where the trace ended and entered normal space three thousand miles out from a planet. “What is this!?”

“It appears it’s a Johan Planet. Battleships are moving toward us.”

“SEND THE COORDINATES TO THE FLEET ROYAL!!! NOW!!”

The communications began sending the coordinates along with images of the planet. The commercial vessel barely got the message out as it was blasted into vapor by a giant Myot Battleship that had been captured by the Johan. The Johan home world had been found.

• • •

“I have the location of the Johan home world.”

“What?!”

“It was found by a commercial ship, of all things. My staff has analyzed the images and they confirm that it must be their home world.”

“How does this change things?”

The Welken Supreme Royal looked at the Myot Ruler, “I know you don’t want to do it but now is the time to see if the Johan will enter into an agreement with us.”

“I’d rather send a fleet of ships and take possession of the planet.”

“Do you know if your planet doesn’t have one of their ships close by waiting to blast your palace? As soon as our ships show up, they’ll attack and order our ships away from their home world.”

The Myot shook his head, “They won’t have to obey.”

“They will if you issue the order. The Johan aren’t dumb. They’ll nuke a city on your planet and then move above your palace. Are you willing to die to remove them?”

“They would have to have a ship here.”

“We’ve seen twenty of them near my planet over the last six months.”

“WHAT!?”

“They blocked out distant stars on our visual scanners. We tried to go after them but only managed to kill one. They’re there, make no doubt about it.”

“But if we take possession of their home world, we can order their ships to leave.”

“The same thing applies; only the ships at the planet must obey. Those here won’t. I also suspect the Johan Ruler is no longer on the planet but has moved to one of his invisible battleships.”

The Myot looked at the Welken, “Perhaps we should do the same.”

“I’m already on a ship. However, if they take possession of our home world, they get all the warships around it; that’s more than half of our total inventory. They’ll order our crews to defend their new possession against us attempting to retake it. I’ve thought about this and we’re in a box that doesn’t have an easy escape. They didn’t have a reason to negotiate with us before. Now their home world is in jeopardy and the Ruler may feel compelled to give in.”

“Are you willing to make an unbreakable agreement with him?”

“I am. I’ll leave it up to other Fellowship Members to take him out. The agreement will only prevent us from doing it. We’ll announce his home world’s location and I believe many of the others will attack to prevent him joining us.”

The Myot smiled, “I can see you’ve thought this through. I never considered using the others to dispose of them. That’s genius.”

“Thank you, but first we have to get access to that planet with petroleum. To do that, we need an agreement.”

“If the Johan are attacked, the member that takes possession of their planet will also have possession of the primitive planet.”

“Yes, they will, but they won’t be immune from us. We can remove them and have total possession.”

The Myot shook his head, “Perhaps we should make an agreement as well.”

“I’ve considered it but you know after all we’ve been through; trust would not be easy.”

“Use the word impossible.”

“Ok, it would be impossible.”

“But if the agreement is sanctioned by a Sentinel, trust would not be an issue.” The Welken stared at the Myot and said, “Think about it for a moment. If we’re asking the Johan to enter into an unbreakable agreement, wouldn’t it make sense that we would do the same? It would make them think we’re sincere.”

“It means we would have to divide the Fellowship between us.”

“Is that a problem?”

The Welken Royal stared at the Myot and couldn’t see any way he could lose. Then he realized that the Myot fleets heavily outnumbered his. The Myot could attack more members than he could. “I’ll agree on the following condition.”

“What?”

“We may only attack one planet at a time. You attack one and then I attack one.”

“Do you think it would be good to say that in front of the Johan?”

“We’ll make the agreement prior to our arrival.”

The Myot was angry and saw the Welken had figured out what he planned. He was brighter than he thought. The Welken saw the Myot’s anger and smiled. Caught him. “Ok, I’ll agree with you on that. However, one of the conditions we’ll make with the Sentinel is that if the Johan doesn’t agree to join us, our agreement is void.”

The Welken smiled, “I will agree to that condition.”

The Myot looked up, “Sentinel?”

“Yes.”

“I wish to enter into a sanctioned agreement with my Welken counterpart.”

“Will this agreement extend to your successors?”

The Myot closed his eyes and shook his head. The Welken smiled, caught him again. The Myot took a breath and said, “Yes it will.”

“Are the Welken also bound by this agreement?”

The Royal said, “Yes, we are and so will my successors.”

They made the agreement and then they sent a message to the Johan Ruler.

• • •

“Jinks, the probe has a small skip trace moving toward Earth.”

“Jester, pick me up and take me into orbit above Earth.” Jinks lifted his wrist, “Lukas, a small skip trace is moving our way.”

“I suspect it’s a messenger from the Johan.”

“Why do you say that?”

“If were anyone else, you’d see a massive number of skip traces.”

“I’ll link you in.”

“That would be good, Jinks.”

Jester blasted out of its launch tube and moved out to the edge of the gravity limit. Four minutes later, a lifeboat emerged three thousand miles outside the lime. Jinks moved Jester toward it and saw the landing bay was open when he arrived. Jester moved up against the lifeboat’s hull and Jinks stepped out of the cockpit and stepped into the small bay. The bay pressurized and Jinks removed his helmet. He was surprised to see the Johan Fleet Leader step into the bay. “I thought you were going to become the Ruler of your species?”

“I am.”

“Why are you here?”

“I have been put in an untenable position and I’ve come here to tell you that I’m being forced to make a decision that will violate our earlier agreement.”

“Your home world has been found.”

The Johan nodded, “It has. It was discovered by a Welken commercial vessel against all odds. The chances of it’s happening were astronomical but it found us and broadcast its location before we could destroy it.”

“So what’s happening?”

“The Myot and Welken have asked me to enter into an unbreakable agreement to accept them as equal partners. They agree to never attack my planets and I will not be able to attack theirs as well.”

“What do you mean unbreakable agreement?”

“The agreement is made with a Sentinel and the sanctions one would face who broke the agreement would be devastating for the guilty party. They will not break their agreement.”

“Are you going to accept their offer?”

“I’ve told them I would answer tomorrow. I put them off to come here and tell you before I broke our agreement.”

“So you’ll be attacking us with them?”

“No, I’ve told them I’ve made agreements with you and that I would not attack an ally.”

“However, they have agreed to share what they take from my planet with you.”

“They have and though I hate doing it, I can’t allow only them to use the petroleum to make their ships invincible.”

“Why, they can’t attack you?”

“No but they could give some of their ships to others that could.”

“You know they’re setting you up to be attacked by the other members.”

“Of course. Mutual defense will have to be a part of the agreement. They won’t like it but I think they’ll do it.” The Johan paused and said, “If you would come and defend my planets, I wouldn’t make this agreement.”

“We can’t do that.”

“I suspected as much. I’m responsible for protecting my citizens. If I don’t make this agreement, billions could die.”

Jinks nodded, “They wouldn’t just launch one missile to take possession.”

“No, they’ll launch thousands saying they felt it necessary to get through my defenses. I do hope you survive their attack. I just felt I had to come and tell you what was going on.”

“I don’t hold you to blame for protecting your species. You and your people are safe from us.”

“I thought you wouldn’t go out and conquer others?”

“We won’t. But if someone attacks us, their planets are not out of bounds. We will defend ourselves from those that mean us harm.”

“I hope the time you’ve had since our agreement was worth making it. We’ve managed to keep a stalemate but it’s over now. I’m sorry.”

“One thing you may want to make clear to them is that you will not attack an ally even if it attacks them.”

The Johan smiled, “I didn’t consider that. I’ll make sure that’s clear.”

Jinks put out his hand and the Johan took it, “Perhaps we’ll meet as friends one day.”

“I do look forward to that possibility.” The Johan ruler left the landing bay and it depressurized. Jinks kicked himself off the hull into Jester’s cockpit. “Did you get all of that?”

Lukas said, “I did. I’ll issue a War Warning. You should get your fleets out and mobilize the Defense Pods. I’ll have Amanda issue the warning to all the nations on Earth and tell them to start evacuating the cities. We’ll send enough ships to move the food converters out of the cities. That’s about all we can do for them.”

“Do you think Earth will be hit?”

“The Myot and Welken have been building during this stalemate. It’s a high probability that we won’t be able to stop everything.”

“I’m going to stay in orbit above the moon. I’ll discuss the plan with my Admirals.”

“That would be good.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m staying on the moon. We won’t reveal the magnitude of what we’ve built here unless we’re forced to do it. I’m hoping they underestimate us on their first attack. We can use the element of surprise on the second.”

“How long do you think we have before they arrive?”

“Once the agreement is made tomorrow, they’ll launch within four days. The agreement will take some time because the Welken and Myot won’t like a mutual defense clause and they’ll do all they can to avoid it. Once they complete it, they’re going to have to assign the fleets being sent and provision them. There will be some disagreement about who is going to command the fleets and that may delay them an extra day. I’d be surprised if they attack before three days time.”

“I’m moving the bulk of my ships out in two days.”

“I think you’ll be safe doing that.”

“Lukas, will anything be safe?”

“That’s what training is all about, isn’t it? Preparing to meet any eventuality? We’ve built for two years without interruption and trained our pilots to work together. They need an attack like this to really prepare them.”

Jinks knew what he was saying without saying it. He also expected this to happen. All the signs pointed to it. Now he’d see if they were ready. The pilots no longer had to touch a display to designate a target. A new combat helmet had been developed that automatically searched for the critical targets on a battleship. The pilot would simply say, “Fire,” when they locked on. The tactical display showed them their position and the closest enemy targets. The pilot would select the best target and then designate which targets to prioritize. The simulators could only take them so far. Now it was a matter of putting it into actual combat. The new gravity compensators allowed the Pods to make radical course changes without harming the pilot and hitting one of the pods was not going to be easy. They had practiced more than a year dodging the disruptors on other pods and they swiveled at four times the speed of a Fellowship Warship’s disruptors. But like barroom brawls, you could be hit from places you never saw. The tactical displays were critical to avoiding that.

Jinks saw Attack Pods launching from the moon and he smiled. Their Admirals wanted to use the time to practice their part in the coming attack. He didn’t blame them. After twenty-four hours he stopped the practice and sent the reluctant pilots back to rest. They were going to need it. He decided they would not launch until the void probe sent a warning. If Lukas thought it could take four days, it could be longer. Nothing took the edge off a pilot like long hours in space waiting. He heard Chad’s background music start and he smiled. Everyone now demanded it and it did help them focus. He was happy Chad and Julie had finally made it official; they were married a month earlier. He knew it was music that made the difference in getting her to come around. They were perfect together.

Jinks watched his fleets move out and he headed back to the moon. He wanted to see his wife as well. Sarah would be launching with the defense fleets shortly and he was going to make the most of the time before she left. He thought about Amanda and Trevor using the huge moon disruptors but knew Lukas would want to save them for the second round.

Those disruptors were absolutely incredible. He better make sure they understood not to fire unless they were directly order to do so. One good thing was that the moon was moving to the sun side of Earth. They would be a big asset to the defense pods if the second attack tried to come in from all angles of approach. They could pick off ships well outside the gravity limit and whatever they hit stayed hit. They were force field protected and the moon’s surface was covered with thousands of them. He saw his launch tunnel ahead as Jester flipped and landed dead center. Sarah was waiting for him as he exited the Pod.

• • •

The agreement took a week. The Johan Ruler quickly determined that neither the Welken nor the Myot wanted a mutual defense clause. So, he said there was no need for an agreement. The argument went back and forth for six days and the Johan told them after three days that he might as well go ahead and blast their governing planets and get it over with.

That caused them to back up and start again. Finally, they agreed that they would defend the Johan if they were attacked but refused their assistance, which was fine with the Johan. They rehearsed making the agreement verbally and none of the three could agree. Finally, they had a scribe come in and they wrote the agreement line by line. Then they argued about who would read it. They finally agreed the Johan would read it. The Myot and Welken agreed that he was not the least trusted member of the new alliance. Then they contacted the Sentinel.

Once the agreement was in place, the Myot and Welken argued about who would lead the coming attack on the primitive planet. The Johan listened to them and every few minutes he would lob a verbal bomb into the proceedings. “What happens if the Leader’s ship is destroyed?”

“Do you think that planet can destroy one of our ships?”

“How would I know? I don’t know the power of your ships or theirs but in the event it happened, who would be the second-in-command?”

The Johan sat back and saw another day wasted. Finally, the two bickering rulers decided that each of their fleets would go in working independently of each other. One would go in to the left of the other. It took another hour to decide who would be on the left or right. The Johan Ruler said, “Why don’t you just come in above and below each other?”

The Johan sat back and wondered if they would ever launch an attack. He had to admit it was fun watching them not work together. He knew they were in for a rude awakening when they met the Humans. He especially knew they were in trouble when they decided that sending a hundred thousand ships each would be enough to do the job. They looked at him after the suggestion and he shrugged, “Do you need that many?”

“Probably not, but we need to make sure.” The Johan shrugged and knew the next meeting was going to be different…very different.

While the Myot and Welken were arguing, the Johan sent his invisible ships to more than four hundred members of the Fellowship and discussed a proposition with them. His representatives met with initial resistance but within a few days, the Johan Commanders began receiving messages from those they had approached. A time and place was chosen for each of the members and the Johan sent out the necessary ships. The Johan ruler arrived home and found more than seventy percent of the Fellowship demanded to be included in the plan. He smiled and wondered how his new friends were going to like him. It really didn’t matter. They were bound by the agreement.

• • •

The two fleets formed up and the Myot Fleet Drang contacted the Welken Fleet Royal, “We will move on the planet from above your fleet.”

“That is my understanding.”

“We should have some room between our fleets to maneuver.”

“Are you planning to jump to the gravity limit?”

“Why do you ask?”

“With this many ships coming out of skip at the same time, we may arrive out of formation.”

The Myot nodded, “That is a good point. Why don’t we skip in outside the fourth planet, form up, and then skip in?”

“That is a good suggestion. I’ll send you the coordinates my fleet will emerge in and you can make sure you skip in with enough spacing between us.”

“We’ll be ready to skip in three hours.”

“I’ll notify my fleet. If you will count it down…”

“I’ll send the countdown on the general frequency.”

“That would be good.”

• • •

The Welken smiled; he was going to jump in when the countdown was at five. He’d get a jump on the idiotic Myot. The Myot looked at his navigator, Notify all ships to skip when the countdown is at six.”

“Yes, Fleet Drang.”

The countdown started and the argument began the moment they arrived in normal space. It didn’t last long. The warships from the primitive planet arrived right behind their entry.

Chapter Nine

Jinks shook his head. The two giant fleets of battleships arrived at the orbit of Mars, which is where he had two of his Attack Fleets waiting for their arrival. They had launched at the moment the void probe gave the warning and skipped out to Mars to be prepared to launch an attack from the rear on the Fellowship Fleet when it skipped in. It was a complete surprise that the enemy also skipped into Mars.

The Pods had their force fields turned off and were invisible to the Myot and Welken scanners. The Attack Pods surrounded the Myot and Welken fleets and many of them were actually inside their formations as soon as they entered normal space. They wouldn’t have to skip in behind like they had planned. Three more Attack Fleets were just inside the Gravity Limit at Earth and remained in place with their force fields down.

Chad looked at his Pods moving into position and smiled. The Pods scattered among the huge battleships held position and started selecting their initial target. Chad’s ships were moving over the top of the Myot Fleet while Sergy’s Fleet moved in under the Welken Fleet. Chad waited until his ships were in position and he said calmly over the Fleet Frequency, “Take them out!” A total of a hundred thousand Attack Pods dove into the two invading fleets and all of them had designated targets before they made their runs.

A hundred thousand battleships exploded as they were moving into formation. The survivors went to full thrusters and broke out of formation. The Attack Pods turned after their first targets were hit and turned on their force fields. The surviving Myot and Welken were firing all of their disruptors around their ships. The Myot destroyed more than a thousand Welken Battleships and the Welken fired back in self-defense. Chad had his Pods moved out from the warring fleets and started attacking those on the outer edges.

• • •

Windy Davis banked her Pod around a Myot Battleship and designated a missile port with her starboard disruptor. It locked on and fired, her disruptor beam was hit by a disruptor beam fired by her target at another Pod. She fired again as she blew past the giant and saw the hull explode outward. She felt her Pod dive straight away from the battleship as a salvo of fifty disruptor beams reached out for her ship. Five hit and she felt her ship rock violently. “Come on Pan, you can do better than that!”

“Anytime you want to drive, just let me know. Hold on!” The Attack Pod flipped and reversed course as more disruptors began locking in on its force field. Windy saw her force field disappear as Pan banked 180 degrees away from the ship. The field came back on as Pan came around in a tight spiral and disruptor beams flashed behind it looking like a dotted line chasing it. Pan suddenly dove by the missiles port Windy had hit and Windy fired all three disruptors at the middle of the giant.

Pan went vertical but was hit six times before the huge Battleship blew up in a massive blast. Pan whipped away from two Myot Battleships that came at it from two different directions. The two fired at Pan but lost lock as it circled under the closest. Windy didn’t have time to fire on either ship. Pan was completely defensive struggling to avoid the thousands of ships moving around her in open space. Windy yelled, “Skip Out!”

Pan skipped away and turned back toward the massive space battle. “Pan, we can’t attack inside that formation. Those battleships are hitting each other and there’s no way to keep track of all of them.”

“You’re right. I should have skipped out earlier. I’ll designate one on the outer edge of their formation. Ready to go?”

“Skip us in.”

• • •

Pan suddenly appeared next to a half-mile long Myot Battleship and Windy saw an Attack Pod Explode above the giant. More than eighty disruptor beams hit it and Windy felt rage at the loss of the ship. She set the disruptors to fire continuously at the stern. In less than a second, nine disruptor beams blew into the rear of the ship detonating a magazine of nuclear missiles. Pan sensed the run-away nuclear reaction and skipped away an instant before the magazine went up in a huge nuclear blast. Two Myot Battleships were damaged by the shockwave that blew out close to light speed and were quickly dispatched by six Attack Pods.

Windy tried to catch her breath. She shook her head and said, “Get us back in the fight.”

“Your pulse rate says we should wait a moment.”

“If my heart slows down, I’ll not be reacting fast enough. Get us back in, now!” A moment later, Pan skipped back in. Windy destroyed four more ships before two disruptors blew apart and she had to withdraw. The repair crews found more than seven severely burned places on her Pod’s hull. She was fortunate the disruptors failed or she would have attacked the next target with a weakened force field.

• • •

“Trio, I think the ship I just designated is one of their Flagships.”

“It is being protected by ten others.”

“Can you get in close?”

“Hang on!” The Attack Pod spiraled over the top of the huge Myot Battleship and dove at an impossible angle.

Chad said, “Fire.” Three beams lanced out and hit the battleship directly over its engine reactors and the entire back third of the ship vaporized sending a huge blast of flames toward the front of the stricken ship. The superheated flames blew into the main reactor room and the giant disappeared in a giant blast. Trio skipped out and turned for another run. The Myot and Welken survivors were skipping away. “Trio, how many escaped?”

“About twenty thousand Myot and fifteen thousand Welken if my visuals were accurate.”

“Did we have any losses?”

“Three hundred Pods were hit by more than a hundred disruptors. All were disintegrated. We lost another fifty-seven that couldn’t avoid a battleship and were rammed. When the two fleets broke formation, there were too many moving from too many directions and that’s what caused those losses.”

“We need to come up with a plan on how to stop that.”

“I think you take the great Mohammed Ali’s advice.”

Chad smiled, “What is that?”

“Stick and move! Fire and skip out. There’s too many ships in a small area. Collisions are unavoidable if you’re among them. I think the possibility of our fleets and theirs arriving at the same location is remote. However, this is a lesson about sending too many ships into the middle of their formations.”

Chad sighed, “That means you can only attack one target at a time.”

“That’s how it must be until they spread out.”

“I have to agree.”

“Some of those damaged ships are still firing at us.”

Chad’s eyes narrowed and he said over his communicator, “All ships near those battleships still firing their weapons will move in and take them out.”

“What about the ones that are damaged and not firing?”

“Leave them. We’ll not risk our ships approaching them.” Chad pressed another frequency, “Good job, Sergy.”

“Thank you, Admiral. They made a mistake emerging in the middle of our formations. I don’t think they’ll make that mistake again.”

“We can only hope they do if we get the same results. However, the chances of that happening are small. Let’s wrap this up, turn off our force fields and skip back to the Moon.

“Yes Sir.”

Chad shook his head, This was too easy. Sergy was right, next time would be harder. He thought for a moment and said, “Trio, how would you skip in next time if you were in their place?”

“First thing I would do is mix the ships so that the Myot and Welken would be forced to work together. I’d also have them firing their disruptors continuously on emergence.”

“They would have to be spread out to do that?”

“Yes, but everything between their ships would be hit by hundreds of blasters between them and there would be limited approaches to the ones on the outer edges.”

“Have we determined how far out we can fire and still penetrate their force fields?”

“You’ll need to get the videos from the probes to analyze the recordings to see. I think all of our pilots have been trained to skip in close to attack.”

Chad shook his head and sent the request to Jinks and Stoney at Fleet headquarters. The disruptors on the Myot and Welken ships were much more powerful than the ones used by the Johan. Tactics were going to have to be changed if the next attack was done like Trio thought.

• • •

Trevor looked at the four sitting at the table with him and said, “We need to make a change in our disruptors.”

Lukas frowned and saw Salud enter the room. He waved her over and said, “Why would we do that?”

I’ve been running some simulations on what Chad said the attackers might do next time and it doesn’t look good.”

Jinks looked away from the panel and turned to Trevor, “Why do you say that?”

“We’ve scanned one of the damaged Myot Battleships and the size of the reactors on it are larger than I thought. They can emerge into normal space and fire their disruptors continuously until they arrive in orbit. Their fleets would be surrounded by a giant wall of disruptor beams. Getting through them would be…difficult.”

Lukas stared at the video as it started again showing a Myot Battleship firing all of its disruptors continuously. It managed to escape without being hit. It was a certainty that the Myot and Welken leaders would see what it did to escape. “So moving in against them even with our force fields down and being invisible wouldn’t work if they used this tactic?”

Trevor nodded, “It would be certain death to go in those beams without a force field operating.”

Stoney shook his head, “So what can we do about it?”

Trevor leaned back in his chair, “Either the force fields will have to be strengthened a lot more than they’re capable of right now.”

Salud said, “Or?”

“The disruptors would have to be three times more powerful to hit them from a longer distance.”

Lukas looked at Trevor, “Which option can be perfected before the next invasion?”

“I’m glad you said which; both aren’t possible to modify in the time before they come back. Strengthening the disruptors is the most likely option we can try.”

“How would we do that, Trevor?”

Trevor looked at Amanda and she said, “We have to maximize the power available to them. Right now the power is split between the force fields and the disruptors. We’re going to have to have the power operate in a split fashion.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

Amanda looked at Lukas, “When one of our Pods is close to their fleets, they will be hit by a wall of disruptor beams. Further out, the beams will start to separate as the individual beams start to break from their overlap. Our Pods can move in between the beam and fire their disruptors at the ship using all of the power available.”

“Can the disruptors handle that much power?”

Trevor shook his head, “They will not be able to fire more than one at a time. Each disruptor can fire a one second blast and then have to cool for two seconds.”

Lukas sighed, “So that means each Pod will be able to fire one shot every second?” Trevor nodded. “Will they be powerful enough to get through the wall of disruptor beams and hit their ships?”

Amanda said, “We’re going to change the power of the fuel in the Pod’s reactors.”

“What?”

“When Willow and I originally designed the reactors we built them with safety as the main consideration. We’ve found during the last battles that we can use a more powerful fuel and still be ok.”

“What do you mean by OK?”

Amanda looked at Salud, “So far, none of our reactors have exploded even when the Pod was hit and violently rocked. If a Pod is really rocked, the fusion reaction in the reactor’s containment walls might be shaken against the wall and melt it.”

Salud shook her head, “Our pilots will be in much more danger if you do this?” Amanda nodded.

Trevor shook his head, “This is the only way to produce a disruptor beam strong enough to break through their wall of beams and hit their ships.” Trevor saw the group’s reluctance and said, “Please keep in mind that the gravity compensators will also be using a much higher power level when the force field is active and it will reduce the shock when the pods are hit.”

Stoney started slowly shaking his head, “But how long will the force field be down to fire the disruptor?”

“The disruptor will fire and the field will only be down a thousandth of a second. The disruptor will not fire until the field drops.”

Lukas looked at the group, “Do we have a choice about doing this?” The five looked at him in silence and he said, “Once their ranks are thinned out, the wall of beams won’t be solid, will it?” Trevor shrugged and then shook his head. “Then we need a method to convert the pods back to their normal operation where they can move in on the attackers.”

Trevor nodded, “That is a software issue that can be programmed into the new process.”

“How long is it going to take to modify our ships?”

“The fuel is being produced by the converters now. Each Pilot will put on protective gear and put it into his ship. The programming will be done when they bring their pods in.”

Lukas looked at them and said, “Start bringing them in and have the Pods update their pilots on the new programing. Make sure the Fleet Commanders are the first ones updated so they can work on the strategy and tactics needed to make this work.”

Stoney looked at Trevor, “What about the Defense Pods?”

“This is going to make them extremely dangerous to approach. Their beams are going to be devastating and extend their range four times what it is now.”

“Does the one second between shots still apply?”

Amanda nodded, “It does but remember that they have two reactors and eight disruptors. They’ll be firing two beams every second.”

Stoney nodded and said, “Get the Attack Pods done first.”

Trevor smiled, “Actually, the facilities on Earth will make the conversion for the Defense Pods. You can start sending your Pods there now. The Attack Pods will be done here on the Moon.”

Lukas stood up, “Let’s get moving. We’ve got to make this happen quickly.” The group disbanded and left the room. Lukas looked at Salud and saw her anxiety, “This has to be done.”

“But it makes it so much more dangerous for our ships.”

“It was going to become more dangerous as soon and the Welken and Myot entered the equation. We’ll lose less this way and the planet would be hit for certain if we don’t do it.”

Salud nodded and looked at the monitor still playing the recording from the last battle, “How many do you expect to come next time?”

Lukas nodded at the monitor, “Those are just a drop in the bucket. Earth may still be hit.”

Salud nodded and stared at the monitor showing the thousands of Battleships. Lukas took her hand and pulled her out of the room. She couldn’t take her eyes off the monitor as he pulled her away.

• • •

Jinks looked at the wall monitor and saw the new leader of the United Nations, “We expect another attack soon. I think it would be a good idea to stay out of the major cities.”

The Leader nodded, “I’ve been asked what would happen if we just surrendered. Could we expect good treatment by the aliens if we did?”

Jinks shook his head, “The normal procedure of taking a planet is to kill every leader, or important person on the planet, and then kill sixty percent of the population. They would then round up the survivors and force them into labor camps to start building warships. They would exhaust the planet’s natural resources and this would continue for generations. By the time the natural resources were exhausted, the humans still surviving would continue to build warships and be forced to join the crews on their battleships.”

“That’s not a pretty picture, Admiral Jekins.”

“No and it’s not close to the real horror of their occupation.”

“I thought as much. I just needed to hear you say it so I could share it with all the people on Earth. I’ve ordered underground survival bunkers to be built around the planet. The machines you sent us to do that are a real Godsend.”

“How are you coming along with them?”

“We’re making real progress and the people using them are coming together in their willingness to take part in protecting each other. There are many that want to join you in the fight.”

“We’re going to need them. If there’s anything we can do to help, please let me know.”

“You do what you do best. We’ll do what we can on the planet.”

The monitor went dark and Jinks shook his head. It looked like mankind was coming together. There was nothing like a common enemy that to make humans realize how important they were to each other.

“Admiral?”

Jinks reached over and pressed the illuminated button on his panel, “Yes.”

“Three of the five fleets have been modified. The other two are being replaced and are moving in to the modification facilities.”

“Thank you, Julie.”

“Sir, have you thought about who is going to take command of the new fleet?”

“I’ve decided that Windy Davis will be the new Commander.”

“She’s an excellent choice, Sir. She’s our first Space Ace.”

“She deserves it. We’re lucky she survived.”

“That we are, Sir.”

“I’ll expect you and the other Admirals to send ten percent of your veterans to her and take ten percent of the new pilots.”

“Fleet has made the assignments. Many of our veterans don’t like being reassigned but I think they’ll be ok once they meet their new Admiral. Windy is a special person.”

“Have you come up with tactics to use the new disruptors?”

“Chad came up with the idea of taking out every other ship in the outer layer and firing through the gaps. The only way the ships inside their formations can fire at us is to run the risk of killing the remaining ships in the outer layer.”

“They can just move ships out into the gaps.”

“I suspect that no ship commander would be willing to move there without a direct order. That will take a lot of time to move that many ships. In the meantime, we’ll be taking them out in the gaps.”

“Tell Chad good work.”

“I will, Sir. He is also a very special person.”

“You’re a little prejudiced, aren’t you?”

“More than a little, Sir. I’m so lucky he didn’t give up on me.”

“He got a good deal as well, Admiral. Keep up the great work.”

“Yes Sir.”

Jinks saw his panel illuminate again and he pressed the button, “Hey Boss.”

“It’s good to hear from you, Stoney. How are the mods coming?”

“We’re about done. What about you?”

“I still have two fleets. This is taking longer than I thought.”

“That’s why I called you; what’s taking the next attack so long?”

“Lukas is of the opinion that the Welken and Myot are having some infighting and that’s what’s causing the delay.”

“Do you agree?”

“It could be playing a role but if they’re bringing as many ships as I suspect, it takes time to plan that large of an attack.”

“It took months to plan a major attack in Iraq.”

“Yes it did and that was with units that wanted to work together. I don’t how long this is going to take but we’ll have ten minutes of warning when they’re coming. That’s enough time to get our forces in position.” Jinks paused, “Stoney, I know the Defense Pods aren’t nimble enough for combat in open space but have you trialed using one reactor to power the force field and the other to power the disruptors?”

“No, why would I do that?”

“What was the weapon that won the most land battles?”

“The Abrams.”

“That’s because their heavy armor allowed them to penetrate enemy positions to use their high velocity cannons to destroy their units. How much can your Defense Pods handle?”

“I have no idea. What are you thinking?”

“If we can’t actually go into their formations with the Attack Pods, nimbleness is no longer a requirement. I was thinking that with the more powerful reactors, your Pods’ force fields might be able to withstand the enemy’s disruptors.”

“Flying into a solid wall of disruptor beams in not a good idea, Jinks.”

“But you would be destroying the ones closest to you as you moved forward.”

Stoney stared at Jinks and said, “Let me think about this.”

“It’s your call, Stoney. I was just thinking about how much more powerful our Defense Pods are with their two new reactors. Stay in touch.”

“I will.” Jinks leaned back and thought about where he had come up with the idea. It had entered his mind as soon as he heard Stoney’s voice. He leaned back in his chair and began rocking slowly. Is this what Lukas was seeing? He decided not to say anything else and see if his suggestion bore fruit. It was like when Stoney asked if all his ships were in position. He probably didn’t know where that came from either. He leaned forward and pressed Amanda’s frequency. Maybe she would know the answer to his question.

• • •

Salud looked at Lukas, “Where are you going?”

Lukas was startled and he looked up to see Salud standing behind him. “I was going to tell you after I left.”

“Left for where?”

“Something is going on in the Fellowship. We have to know what.”

“So you’re leaving without telling me?”

“I’m the only one familiar with the Fellowship’s geography. The next attack should have already happened and it hasn’t. Something is going on.”

“Then I’m going with you.” Lukas began shaking his head and Salud interrupted him before he could say anything, “If you go, I go. If you stay, I stay. I will not allow you to go and leave me behind.”

“I can’t take you.”

“Because it’s too dangerous.” Lukas stared at her in silence. “What would happen if you go and I’m killed while you’re gone?” The emotions on Lukas’ face were obvious. “Tell me how it would be any different for me if it happened to you? I don’t want to go on living without you. If you go, I go!”

Lukas stared at her and shook his head, “I just can’t allow you to be harmed.”

“Then don’t. However, we are a team and you can’t just abrogate that without my agreement! Do you understand?”

Lukas sighed and Salud said, “You will also pull rank and tell Jinks and the others that this is something that has to be done. Taking me with you will lower their fears about you coming back.”

“Do you honestly think that will be an issue?”

“Don’t you? You’ve been preparing Jinks to lead our efforts. I know he’d be afraid you did that so you could leave.”

Lukas stared at her and took a breath, “I guess you’re right.”

“You know I am. Contact him and let’s go. If this is worth doing, then we need to get moving.”

“I can’t persuade you to stay?”

“Can I persuade you to stay and I go?”

Lukas smiled, “Let’s board Willow and take off. We’ll tell him once we’re in space.” Salud smiled and took his hand as they left their quarters. “How did you know?”

“Something told me to put my space armor on and come see you.”

Lukas stopped walking and looked at her, “Are you sure about that?”

“I am.”

Lukas nodded and said, “Then you are needed to be with me.”

“That’s how I see it.”

“Ok, let’s do this.”

They climbed into Willow’s cockpit and Salud said, “I think Jinks knows.”

Lukas looked at Salud and saw her expression didn’t mean he knew about them leaving. “It doesn’t surprise me. He’s pretty smart and has a way of putting things together.” Salud nodded and Willow blasted out of the launch tube.

• • •

Jinks was furious but he stopped arguing when Salud said, “This is necessary, Jinks.”

He stopped yelling and stared at Lukas and Salud on his monitor. He saw their expressions said more than they were saying. He lowered his eyebrows, “Are you sure about that?”

“We are.”

Jinks nodded and said, “Just don’t take any foolish chances. If you end up being pursued, bring them here.”

Lukas smiled, “You can count on it.” Jinks’ monitor went dark and he wondered what was going on. Too much too fast. He couldn’t put it together. He pressed his panel, “Start rotating the fleets so they are getting enough rest.”

“Yes Sir.”

Jinks knew the attack wouldn’t happen until they came back. That was the only thing he did see clearly.

Chapter Ten

“Willow, did the last attackers leave any probes behind?”

“It appears they did not.”

“That’s pretty stupid.”

“Not if you consider that they had no doubt of their victory. They never considered they would be defeated and they were running too fast to think about it.”

“They wouldn’t want to lower their force fields to launch one.”

“They were firing at each other and that pretty much made it impossible to launch a probe.”

“How do you like this new body?”

“It’s taken some getting used to. Are you going to start building ships like me?”

“You’re the Fleet’s Flagship. You’re a one-off creation.”

Salud looked at Lukas, “What’s different?”

“Don’t you see there’s more room between the seats?”

“I’ve never sat in Willow when he was in his ship form. What’s different?”

“I’m forty feet long now, Salud.”

“That’s longer than a Defense Pod.”

“It is. I’ve got a reactor designated for the thrusters, another for the gravity compensator, and one each for the force field and disruptors.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“I’ve also been equipped with the larger diameter disruptor barrel. I’m not forced to pause to let it cool.”

Lukas nodded, “But he only has that one disruptor.”

Salud looked at Lukas, “Is that good?”

“It does swivel and can be fired continuously. Since I could design it like I wanted, I felt having a weapon that could be continuously fired was more of a benefit than having three of the smaller disruptors.”

“May I assume you’re as nimble as an Attack Pod?”

“Actually, more so, Salud. Escape is the more powerful systems designed into me. We can change directions at a pace that was previously impossible.”

“Is that due to the gravity compensator having its own reactor?”

“Very good. That’s exactly why.”

“Where are we going Lukas?”

“I’m going to take a quick look at the Welken Home World.”

Willow said, “Is that a good idea?”

“When I say a quick look, I mean it.”

“Ok, here we go.”

• • •

Jinks watched Lukas’ Pod disappear and as it skipped away and his panel activated, “Sir, the Void Probe has recorded a ship leaving our Solar System.”

Jinks shook his head, “Are you sure?”

“Yes Sir. It blew by faster than anything we’ve recorded.”

“Thank you.” Jinks called Trevor, “Do you have the diagrams of Lukas’ modifications to his person Pod?”

“I do.”

“Send them to me.”

“On their way.” Jinks studied the diagrams and tried to decide if the changes were worth the added time to build. He called in Trevor and he agreed that the ship was built to be incredibly fast and nimble. The single disruptor was probably not as good in a fleet battle as the three on the current Pods. “So this vessel’s main function is to outrun anything pursuing it?”

“That’s how I see it.”

Jinks smiled, “Good! I want one built for all of my Admirals.”

“Does that include you as well?”

“Yes, and for Stoney, too. I would also recommend you and Amanda have one as well and you need to learn how to fly it.”

“Why?”

“Because there might be an occasion where flight is the operative word, Trevor.”

Trevor stared at him for a long moment and said, “Do you anticipate the Fellowship making that a possibility?”

“Them or someone else; you never know and I want my best officers to have a real chance to escape if it’s called for.”

“Yes Sir. Does Lukas agree with this?”

“I suspect he does but even if he doesn’t, you will have them built.”

Trevor stared at Jinks and after a moment nodded. “You never know when an enemy will raise its ugly head.”

Jinks stared at Trevor and knew he was seeing things as well. He smiled and nodded, “You just never know.” Trevor smiled and a message was passed between them with nothing being said. The monitor went dark and he knew Amanda knew, too. She probably saw it first. Things looked better. He wasn’t alone anymore.

• • •

Willow came out of Skip three hundred thousand miles out from the Welken Home World and Lukas said, “Take a scan and skip out to the Myot Home World.” Willow remained in normal space five seconds and skipped away as hundreds of Battleships began emerging into normal space around them. Willow entered the void and blasted away from the Welken world. Hundreds of battleships entered the void giving chase but fell behind at an incredible rate.

• • •

“Great Leader, whatever that ship was, it has vanished from our scanners.”

“Then follow the skip trace.”

“Great Leader, it’s moving more than fifty times our speed. There is no way we can catch it.”

“What?”

“It’s already too far away to visually track.”

“Continue following that trace.”

• • •

Willow appeared in the Myot system, took a quick scan, and skipped away. Lukas said, “What do you see on the scans?”

“There are thousands of battleships around both planets but nowhere near as many as they have in their fleets.”

“Take us to the coordinates where my battleship was shot out from under me.”

“That’s where all this started.”

“I know.” The ship turned and changed course in the void. It left the Welken and Myot pursuers far behind and after thirty minutes it entered normal space, snapped a scan and skipped away at its fastest speed. Lukas looked at the scan and said, “This is where they’re gathering their ships.”

Salud looked at the image on the display and grabbed her throat, “Oh My God! How many are there?”

Willow hesitated and said, “I didn’t get all of them but it appears to be close to a million.”

“Willow, are they in mixed formations?”

“Two of them are. The others aren’t.”

“How many formations did you capture?”

“Fifty.”

“Were the mixed ships the largest formations?”

“They are.”

“What are you thinking, Lukas?”

“They are planning other attacks. I think it’s the other attacks that have slowed them down.”

“I don’t understand?”

“I think they’re planning to attack other members of the Fellowship but something has happened that stopped them.”

“What could that be?”

“I don’t know. Willow, do you have the Johan’s contact frequency?”

“I do.”

“See if you can get the Ruler on the frequency.”

A moment passed and then the display showed the Johan, “Who are you?”

Lukas smiled, “I’m from the primitive planet you’ve taken possession of.”

The Johan stared at Lukas, “You’re not the one I’ve been communicating with.”

“No, he’s my senior Fleet Admiral.”

“Ahhh, so you’re the one behind their fast technological development.”

“I am.”

“Are you Welken?”

“I was. I consider myself Human now.”

“I imagine that was a rather dramatic change.”

“More than you know.”

“Why are you contacting me?”

“Something is going on with the Myot and Welken fleets. I was wondering if you might know what it is.”

The Johan smiled, “I disrupted their plans of conquest.”

“How did you manage to do that?”

“Let’s see if you’re as smart as I think you are. If you had to guess, what would you say?”

Lukas stared at the Johan smiling at him and thought furiously, “Well, you’ve done something that’s prevented them from attacking other members of the fellowship. That would mean you’ve used the agreement you made with them work against them.” Lukas paused and suddenly smiled, “You’re taking possession of other members!”

“Very good! That’s exactly what I’ve done. The more powerful members agreed to vacate one of their cities and one of my ships nuked it.”

“Which made them one of your possessions and under the terms of your agreement, they can’t attack them.”

“They aren’t very happy at the moment.”

“I imagine they’re not. How has being one of your possessions been received by the other members?”

“I agreed to leave them alone and let them rule themselves. The only difference is that the Myot and Welken can’t attack them without violating our agreement.”

“What are they doing about it?”

“They’re currently in a discussion with the Sentinels. As it stands right now, they are saying the agreement was made fraudulently. They insist I made it to prevent them from doing what was in their best interests. They’re insisting that my taking possession of the other members without actual resistance violates the covenants. They are currently waiting for the Sentinels to decide who’s right.”

“Why didn’t they just appeal to void the agreement?”

“Because all three of us will have to agree to void it.”

Lukas shook his head and laughed, “And you have no intention of doing that?”

“Why would I? They’re mad they didn’t think this thing through.”

“Which way do you think it’ll go?”

“I’ve taken part in numerous discussions with the Sentinels and I honestly don’t know. However, I’m sure they aren’t going to do anything until the Sentinels decide and that includes attacking you. If they allow the agreement to be vacated, then they’re going to have to use their fleets to protect their planets. My planet will also be in danger but I’ve moved most of my population to other planets and they do not know their locations. We’re in a holding pattern at the moment.”

“And the Fellowship is at peace for the first time in history.”

“There is that.”

“They’re still preparing to attack my planet.”

“They’d be foolish to send ships there if the Sentinels announce their decision while they’re gone.”

Lukas nodded, “I expect some of their battleships to arrive here shortly. I visited their planets before coming here.”

“And they’re that far behind you?”

“I am somewhat faster. Thank you for your honesty.”

“Good luck. Your help saved most of my fleet. It is I that owe you.”

Lukas nodded and looked up, “Get us out of here, Willow.” The Pod entered the void and Lukas saw the glow of hundreds of ships moving toward their position. Willow blasted away and Lukas said, “How long would it take you to go out to the edge of the galaxy and make a run around the edge?”

“Getting there won’t take long but how far do you want to go around it?”

“Start outside the Welken territory and run toward the Myot Empire. I’ll let you know if we need to continue.”

“What are you looking for?”

“I’m not sure. Matter of fact, move out to ten thousand light years from the edge before you start moving around the edge.” Willow changed course and went to an incredible speed. The battleships rushing toward them stopped and turned back. They realized they had no chance of catching the small ship.

• • •

The skip took an hour to arrive at the coordinates Lukas wanted. Salud looked at him, “What are you hoping to find out here?”

“Nothing, I hope.” Willow started moving around the edge of the galaxy toward the point opposite the Myot Empire. Willow entered the void and Lukas looked at the Milky Way. He knew nothing physical existed in the void but the vast disturbances made by stars in the Milky Way created a small glow in the void like small fireflies. He looked out toward open space and saw the unlimited blackness of void extending out toward infinity.

That blackness was darker than the darkest night. It was a place inside the physical universe where the normal laws of physics didn’t apply. A small push would exceed the speed of light and a large thruster push would cover thousands of light years every minute. It was impossible to judge the speed because of the uniform darkness gave nothing to make the determination. The discovery of the stardrive field which allowed entering the void is what made moving around the galaxy practical.

Willow continued accelerating and the distant glowing stars began visibly moving in the distance as the pod moved thousands of light years every minute. After three hours Willow said, “I see something ahead, Lukas.”

“Slow down and take us in slowly; don’t get too close.”

Salud stared out of the viewport and didn’t see anything. After thirty minutes, she saw something…

“Stop here, Willow.”

They stared through the viewport and Salud said, “What is that?”

“Don’t scan it, Willow.”

Willow said, “I’m using my visual optics to bring it in closer.”

They stared at it and after a moment they saw something like a broad orange line moving away from the galaxy. Lukas stared at it and said, “Willow, assume that is a skip trace. How large must a ship be to make it?”

“Size is not the issue; I am more powerful than a Myot Battleship and you know how much larger one of those are than me. The thing that’s scary about that trace isn’t fading.”

“WHAT?”

“It doesn’t appear to have any lessening of its structure. It is not degrading in any measurable way.”

“What do you think that means?”

“Whatever power created it is beyond anything we know. I suspect the ship that put it there would move through the void at a speed that is unbelievable.”

“Fast enough to make the trip from another galaxy feasible?”

There was momentary silence and Willow said, “That trace does not appear to be toward M-31.”

“No it doesn’t. That galaxy is on the other side of the Milky Way.”

Salud looked at Lukas, “What’s M-31?”

“Humans call it Andromeda. It’s the closest large Galaxy to ours but that thing isn’t pointed in its direction. Whoever made that skip trace came from a much further galaxy.”

“What are you saying, Lukas?”

“Whoever made it is far ahead of us technologically.”

Willow added, “And they’re watching us.”

Salud shook her head, “Why do you say that, Willow?”

“It’s not just a coincidence that it comes straight at the Myot Empire. However, that trace makes me think that it’s not really a trace.”

Lukas’ eyes narrowed, “Why do you say that?”

“Because it stops ten thousand light years before it reaches the edge of our galaxy and there are no skip traces moving away from it.”

Salud stared at the orange line, “If it’s not a skip trace, what could it be?”

“Since it appears to be permanent, it might be a conduit that is used to get here from another galaxy.”

Lukas’ eyes went wide, “That must be what it is. I wonder if someone could skip on it or inside it.”

Willow was silent for a moment and then said, “I can’t get an accurate reading on how big it is without a full scan. We’ll have to go to the end and see if it’s hollow. If it is, then you’d have to move inside it to use it.”

Salud looked at Lukas, “I really hope you’re not intending to find out.”

Lukas stared at the large orange trace in the distance, “We need to know who made this. We also need to confirm what it is.”

Salud nodded, “And what happens if we pass someone coming this way while we’re going the other way?”

Willow said, “That could prove to be problematic.”

Lukas continued staring at the huge orange line and said, “Willow, how long would it take to skip through the void to Andromeda?”

“It takes about twenty four hours to travel the length of the Milky Way from edge to edge and it’s about a hundred thousand light years across. Andromeda is about two and a half million light years away.”

Lukas nodded, “So twenty four days to arrive.”

“That’s about right.”

“If you follow that line out into space, how far out would the closest galaxy be?”

Willow paused and they saw star charts appear on the display, “That thing is pointed straight out toward the heart of the Virgo Cluster and it’s 50 million light years away.”

Lukas looked out at the line and shook his head. Salud said, “How long would it take us at our top speed to get there?”

“About five hundred days at top speed or about a year and three months.”

“Why do you want to know where that line is pointed, Lukas?”

Lukas looked at Salud, “Because if that thing is a conduit, and we decide to take it, there is a possibility we might have to get off it, if we encounter someone else moving on it.”

Willow said, “And it would take longer than a year to get back if that happened?”

“Yes, Willow.”

“Now I know why I’m here.”

Lukas’ head went back and Willow said, “What do you mean?”

Salud looked from the line to Lukas, “If I wasn’t here, what would you decide to do at this moment?” Lukas stared at her in silence and Salud said, “You’d hop right in that orange line and see where it takes you; am I right?”

“You are. Why shouldn’t I do that?”

“Because there’s a good chance you would be seen on the other end or on the way to wherever it goes. We’re not ready to confront whatever made that line.”

“What are you saying?”

“If that line is here permanently, then there’s a reason.”

Willow said, “There must be a ship here in our galaxy that is watching the Myot.”

Salud nodded. “If we have three weeks to waste, I propose waiting here for the ship to come back here.”

Lukas’ eyes narrowed, “How do you know it’ll come back?”

“How long do we leave our ships on station before we relieve them?”

“Shorter than three weeks.”

“That’s right, Willow. I suggest we power down our engines and stay here with the optics recording anything that happens. We have some time before the Sentinels make a decision and I don’t think it would be wise to reveal we’re on to whoever made this.” Lukas stared at her and she crossed her arms, “That includes getting close to it and leaving a skip trace.”

Lukas stared at her and shook his head. “I don’t want to agree but logic says you’re right. Willow, do as she says.” Lukas looked at Salud, “If nothing happens in three weeks…”

“I propose we go back and check on things and send another ship out here to keep an eye on this.”

“We’ll see.”

• • •

It didn’t take three weeks. It only took five days.

“Lukas, something’s moving toward the conduit.”

Lukas woke from a nap and shook his head as he straightened in his chair to look at the monitor, “Show me what you see.”

Salud came out of the sleeping box behind them and looked over Lukas’ shoulder. They saw a black…cloud? It was moving toward the conduit at an extraordinary speed through the void. It slowed as it approached the conduit and the black vaporous material around it faded away.

Inside it was an orange colored ship that was about four hundred yards long. The hull appeared to be glowing orange and then blue. They remained still in the void as Salud climbed out of the sleeping box and sat down in her chair. Lukas felt the air starting to get cold. He took his helmet off the back of his chair and pressurized his suit. Salud saw him do it and lifted her helmet. Willow had turned off all power including the environmental systems. The Orange Ship flew toward the conduit and waited. Lukas shook his head, “That thing is much larger than I thought. It dwarfs the ship in front of it.” Ten minutes later, another Orange Ship exited the conduit and the one waiting suddenly turned bright white and moved into the orange line; it disappeared. The ship replacing it suddenly started releasing a black substance that surrounded it. The large ship disappeared and it then flew away at a tremendous speed. A bright flash erupted and then it was gone.

“Get us out of here, Willow.” The lights came on and the Pod turned and skipped away toward the Welken Confederacy. After an hour, Willow turned and skipped into the galaxy.

“Lukas, what was that black cloud that ship emitted?”

“Willow, did you run the light through a spectral analysis?”

“I did. That black cloud appeared at the extreme edge of the prism and in a very tiny band.”

Lukas shook his head, “They’re using dark energy.”

“My analysis indicates its spectral reading is where dark energy is expected to be if anyone could ever collect any.”

Salud was silent for a moment and said, “What does that mean?”

Lukas shook his head, “You know how our ships are invisible to the Fellowship scanners.” Salud nodded.

Willow interrupted, “Our ships are only invisible to their electronic scanners. They can still be seen visually.”

Lukas nodded, “That ship will be invisible to both. That black cloud will make it virtually impossible to detect visually or electronically. We don’t have a way to see dark matter.”

“We can see it in the void,”

Lukas shook his head, “I stand corrected, Willow. In normal space, it’s invisible and I suspect that even in the void, if the ship is not moving, it will not be visible.”

“Touché; it is I that stands corrected.”

Salud was quiet for a moment and said, “Let me see if I have this straight? They are watching the Myot.”

“They could also be watching the Welken.”

“I don’t think so, Willow”

“Why not?”

“Because the conduit runs straight at the Myot Empire. If they were watching both, it would be located between the two. I also think that if there was more than one ship watching, they would have been replaced at the same time.” Salud looked at Lukas, “It had to take more than a year to put that conduit in place and that’s assuming that a ship could move at their fastest speed and construct it. It might have taken them longer.”

Lukas stared out of the viewport as they rushed through the void and after a few minutes he looked at the display showing the orange structure. “Willow, did you manage to see if that conduit is made of energy or matter?”

“It’s made of some form of energy. The spectrograph didn’t show any matter readings.”

Salud looked at him, “Why would that make a difference?”

“I’m wondering if it’s cohesive, like a bubble. If you puncture a bubble the entire structure collapses. If we puncture that conduit, would the entire thing collapse in on itself?”

“It’s glowing like the force field that ship had around it inside the dark energy cloud. It might not be too easy to penetrate.” Willow paused, “From the outside.”

Lukas nodded, “It would have to be weaker inside.”

Salud shook her head, “Oh no you’re not!”

Lukas nodded, “I don’t intend to do anything to it, yet. We need some time to look at what’s going on. They don’t appear to be moving an invasion force at the moment. We need to make use of the time we have.”

“Invasion Force!? What made you go look out there, Lukas?”

“Just a hunch, Willow.”

“Well, it was a good one. What does this do to our preparations?”

“I’m not sure. I need you to see if there’s any way we could track that ship.”

“I can track them.”

“What?”

“Once I got a sample of the energy in that black cloud, I can modify my scanners to look for it in the void. That black cloud is energized and it leaves a small trace of that energy behind it. The trouble with seeing dark energy is no one has been able to see what part of the spectral band it occupied; now we know.”

“You are a genius, my friend.”

“You’re making my hull swell. Thanks.”

“While the two of you are patting each other on the backs, do you have any idea how long it takes them to come here through that conduit?”

Her question was greeted with silence and finally Willow said, “I think the only way to find out is to send a probe into it and have it turn around at the end and come back.”

“That would reveal we know about it.”

“There is that. However, I believe you can count on the fact that it doesn’t take long at all. They wouldn’t have built it if it did.”

Lukas stared out of the viewport and Salud said, “What are you thinking?”

“If that conduit is made of energy, I believe that normal physical laws don’t apply inside it, just like the void. That makes me think that travel inside it must be much faster than normal travel in the void. I think it’s a real possibility that it literally could be instantaneous from one end to the other.”

“Come on, Lukas; fifty million light years in an instant?”

Lukas turned to her, “Salud, it’s just another step in technology. We travel a hundred thousand light years a day through the void. Your scientists didn’t believe traveling faster than light was possible until I showed up. This is just evidence they are more advanced than any civilization in our galaxy. They probably used one ship to build that thing and it took a year or longer to construct. Now they can send as many ships as they want instantaneously. No civilization in the Milky Way can match them.”

“Other than the Sentinels.” Lukas remained silent and Salud said, “Lukas?”

“You’re probably right about that. Willow, how much longer until we arrive at Earth?”

“Another three hours.”

“Set up your scanner to see if there are any traces of that black cloud around our Solar System.”

“Modifying the view.”

Lukas stared out of the viewport in silence for the remainder of the trip and Salud knew something was troubling him. She saw his anxiety appear when she mentioned the Sentinels. Was that a mistake? She put her hand on his and stared at the viewport with him. What about the Sentinels was making him nervous?

Chapter Eleven

“Jinks.”

“Yeah, Chad.”

“Lukas is back.”

“Thank God. Where is he?”

“He just entered normal space and is moving toward his launch shaft. Wait a moment, he just moved away and is headed toward Earth.”

Jink’s second display activated and Lukas appeared on it, “Jinks, I want you and all the Senior Staff to meet me on the island. We’ll see you on the beach.”

“Is everything ok?”

“We’ll discuss it on the beach.”

“Do we have time to do that; we’re under a war watch.”

“We have time. I’ll see you there.”

The display went dark and Jinks said, “Chad, notify all the Admirals to meet at the island on the beach.”

“Sir?”

“Just do it! Make sure your Second-in-Command is ready if anything happens.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chad sent the message and Julie instantly appeared on his panel, “What’s going on?”

“I really don’t know but Lukas has called a meeting on the beach.”

“We expect an attack any moment!”

“Just leave Bart in charge and get moving. It must be something very important to cause this, love.”

“I’ll see you there.”

Chad took a deep breath and Trio said, “Changing course.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, cheer up; I have the surfboard.”

Chad smiled. And Julie would be there. He leaned back and wondered what was going on.

• • •

“What is taking them so long?”

The Welken Royal smiled, “We’re asking them to allow us to break an unbreakable agreement. They are going to have to determine whether or not that can be done without changing all of the covenants that have been previously made. I expect them to discuss this at length.”

“But we’re frozen until they decide.”

“And the longer it takes, the more warships we can build. You know there isn’t another Fellowship Civilization that can match our productivity. It also allows me to put thousands of optical probes in orbit around my planets. I can use the time.”

“Optical probes?”

“We can’t detect the Johan’s ships electronically but they will block out distant stars if they move in toward my planets. That will cause an alarm and I’ll have ships skip in on that spot in less than five seconds. That’s close enough to see them on the ship’s optical scanners.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“I would assume you would have thought of it yourself.”

“Will you send me one of those probes?”

The Welken smiled, “What is an ally for if not to help. I’ll deliver it to you in an hour.”

The Myot screamed when the monitor went dark. Now the Welken had a jump in defense. He hoped the Sentinels wouldn’t make a quick decision. He contacted his industrial worlds and ordered two planets to be prepared to start building the probes.

• • •

The orange colored creature flowed forward in its tub and looked at the readout. It pushed an appendage out of the tub and pressed a button on the panel above it, “There has still been no reading?”

“No, Supal.”

“Are we certain this is where it originated?”

“There is no doubt.”

“Well, it hasn’t appeared since we’ve been monitoring this space.”

“There is a small possibility that it knows we are here.”

“How small?”

“According to the legends, one in a thousand.”

“How did they arrive at that conclusion?”

“Would you care to ask them?”

“Don’t get smart!”

“I ask forgiveness, Supal. However, we will stay here until it appears again.”

“I fail to see why it would be here among this insane civilization.”

“It’s beyond my feeble mental capabilities to understand that as well.”

“Have the Great Ones been asked by the ships being sent here about looking elsewhere for it?”

“They have. But they say that to expand the search increases the possibility of discovery. They will not deviate from the Legends’ directives.”

“Keep me informed if anything appears.”

“I will, Supal.”

The Progen pulled its arm back into its body and flattened out in the tub. This was a waste of a good warship. The contact had been fleeting and yet the Legends insisted that it be found. He looked at the frequency of the reading and wondered if his ship was equipped to handle it. It didn’t matter. If it appeared again, a major invasion would commence to hunt it down and kill it. It wondered if there was more than one.

• • •

Lukas looked at the gathering and allowed everyone time to say hello and update longtime friends on what had happened since they last met. He smiled at Chad and Julie who wouldn’t take their arms off each other. Stoney and Kathy weren’t much better.

Salud was holding four year old Christopher and he was smiling a huge smile as she picked him up and twirled him around. Lukas shook his head. The baby was almost five and was growing up quickly. He spoke as well as a ten year old and he didn’t miss much of what was said around him. Lukas knew that his Welken brain was modified into a human brain by Willow’s DNA system. Christopher’s brain was a pure product of his DNA and Kathy’s. The child was smart, almost too smart, if such a thing was possible. He loved reading and his appetite was voracious. This child would be a difference maker, if they could survive long enough for him to grow up.

He remembered before they moved to the moon that Stoney and Kathy had come to the island with a priest in tow. They asked Lukas and Salud if they would agree to be Christopher’s godparents. They happily agreed and the Priest christened the two year old. Salud really loved him and he had to agree that he did as well. He wondered if it was time for him to ask Salud to marry him. He wondered if she’d do it. He looked at the portable monitor and sighed, “First things first.”

Lukas yelled, “Everyone pull up a chair and get something to drink.” The group gathered in front of the monitor and Lukas said, “I’m going to play a recording of everything that happened since I left here to scout the fellowship. Please hold your questions until the end. Included in the recording will be our comments as the events unfolded.” Lukas looked at Willow parked next to the lifeguard stand and nodded. The monitor illuminated and the group saw an image of the Welken Home World. For the Admirals, this was their first view of a civilized planet other than Earth. They were amazed at the giant cities that covered its surface along with the giant defense satellites that were in orbit above it. The Myot home world had them shaking their heads. The battleships in orbit around the two planets outnumbered Earths fleets more than ten to one.

Two hours later, they saw the first view of the conduit outside the galaxy. Lukas said, “Let’s take a quick break and then we’ll continue.”

Chad walked toward the four bathrooms with Julie beside him, “Now I understand why they haven’t attacked.”

Julie nodded, “They’re locked in a stalemate.”

“We need to use this time to work on some of the new tactics we’ve developed.” Julie nodded and went into one of the bathrooms. Chad went into another and they went back to their beach chairs. They forgot about tactics fifteen minutes into the conduit video.

• • •

The recording ended and the gathering was silent. Lukas stood up in front of the monitor and faced them, “I imagine this will impact your thoughts about this war of survival we’re fighting. Knowing who the real enemy is just became a lot clearer.”

Stoney shook his head, “I’m going to need a dance card to figure it out.”

Everyone laughed and Lukas smiled, “I think it’s clear that the real danger is that ship that came through the conduit. It is far ahead of us technologically and I don’t see how we can possibly catch up to it in the short term.”

Jinks shook his head, “I don’t see how we can catch up to them period.”

Lukas shrugged, “The Fellowship was light years ahead of Earth and we took their technology and improved on it. The answer to any more powerful civilization is power. Our ships are more powerful than the giant fellowship battleships. It’s not a matter of size; it has everything to do with power.” Lukas looked at Amanda, “Willow has found where dark energy resides on the spectrum. I don’t know if that means anything but it’s a starting place.”

“What do you think that ship is doing in Myot space?”

“I’m not sure, John. However, there’s something special about the Myot’s location that has that civilization’s attention. I don’t think they will invade unless we do something to provoke them.”

Julie shook her head, “But weren’t you going to go into that conduit?”

“I was. Salud prevailed, with good sense, and allowed me time to see she was right. Until something dramatic happens, we will stay away from it.”

Windy said, “What exactly do you mean by ‘dramatic’?”

“Invasion.”

“Do you think they have enough warships to invade?”

“That conduit wouldn’t be there if they didn’t, Windy. One other thing that I want to make sure everyone understands.” Everyone looked at Lukas, “Willow was unable to find the dark energy particles in or around our Solar System. That means that ship is staying in Myot Territory and we’ve not been discovered…yet.”

Jinks stared at Lukas and said, “It may not know about our existence.”

“That appears to be the current situation.”

“What happens when the Myot and Welken invade here? Will that ship follow them here?”

Lukas shrugged, “I don’t know, Chad.”

“The way to prevent that is to not wait on them to attack.”

Everyone looked at John. He saw their attention and shook his head, “Listen, I have no desire to conquer them but to wait for them to hit us in the head before we react is a mistake. This ship’s presence only confirms that belief. We know they’re coming at the earliest moment they can pull it off. I think we can possibly delay them further if we strike first.”

Lukas looked around the beach and saw the attendees agreed with John. “Attacking them without the Earth behind us as backstop can lead to heavy casualties.”

“But if they manage to breakthrough, Earth is going to get pummeled. I’d rather they try to stop us from hitting them. If we do it right, they will be forced to leave a force behind large enough to defend their worlds. I don’t see a downside to this, Lukas.”

“The death of a large number of our pilots.”

Julie blew out a breath, “We know what we signed up to do. That risk is part of our chosen occupation and I agree with John; I’d rather be doing the hitting.”

Lukas looked around the room and said, “Do all of you agree with this?”

Salud looked at Lukas, “We need to hit the Welken.” Everyone looked at her. “That ship is in Myot territory. If we kick the crap out of the Welken, the Myot will figure out on their own that they’re next. They’ll stay put.”

Lukas shrugged, “Or they’ll seize the moment and attack the Welken to remove the only Fellowship Civilization that can stand up to them.”

Chad’s eyes narrowed, “Don’t they have an unbreakable agreement not to do that?”

“The agreement may be abrogated by the Sentinels.”

Salud stared at Lukas, “Does attacking the Welken bother you?”

Lukas stared at her and took a deep breath. He released it slowly and looked around the gathering, “I guess it does at some level. However, the Fellowship is broken and the ones broken the most are the Myot and Welken. The logical conclusion is that we have to make them see that coming here is going to be a mistake. Before we do something like that, I want to start a project in conjunction with the new government on Earth. Joey, I’m going to need you to work with the planet to try and make this happen.”

“What do you want done, Lukas?”

“If those ships start a major invasion, I want the planet to go dark.”

“Do what?”

“I want every electrical device on the planet turned off. The population should also start storing enough food to see them through an extended power outage.”

“What about the moon?”

Lukas looked at Kathy, “Everything on the surface will be turned off. Only the lower tunnels will remain powered. The rocks and metal in the moon’s surface will block any scanner from seeing that far down.”

“How long will this blackout have to be done before power is restored?”

“I’m not sure but I think that before they invade, they will scout our galaxy to determine their targets. We will know when that happens, Joey. That’s when we’ll go dark.”

John tilted his head, “How are we going to know that?”

“You and Windy are taking a new probe out to that conduit and will put it in the void a light year from the opening in it. Once we see thousands of ships exiting it, we’ll know the invasion is coming.”

“Won’t they see the probe?”

“Willow tells me that we can build a pod that will be unpowered and painted black. It will remain unpowered until numerous objects are visually seen coming out of the conduit. It will send us a message at that time and we’ll put our defensive plans into motion.” Lukas looked at Amanda, “I know you just upped the power in our reactors. Is there anything else you can do to make them more powerful?”

“You know that dark energy is a repulsive force unlike gravity that attracts things with mass.”

“I know the current theory is that it’s dark energy that is causing the universe to expand.”

“The issue with making a reactor more powerful is keeping the fuel away from the walls of the container. If we can find a way to harness dark energy, it would repel the fusion process away from the walls. We could then raise the power.”

“How much?”

“I’m not sure. However, it would have to be more than double.”

“Lukas.”

“Yes, Jinks.”

“I’ve ordered all the Admirals to have a ship like yours built for them.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“I’m glad you agree. However, with this new civilization entering the equation, I believe we should make all of our ships like yours.”

Lukas looked up, “Willow, how much modification would it take to the major converters to run an Attack Pod through it and modify it to match you.”

“We’ll need a tremendous amount of material to feed them.”

“We have the surface of the moon that is covered in rock, dust, and pebbles.”

“Yes, but how are you going to get it to the converters?”

Windy said, “Bring Mohammed to the mountain.”

Salud smiled when Lukas’ eyes narrowed. She said, “Would it be possible to put tracks on the converters and have them scooping up the material as it moves across the Moon’s surface.”

Willow laughed, “That is an excellent idea. The current pods can line up and go into the converter as it moves forward. They can fly away with the changes made.”

“How long per pod, Willow?”

“If we can get a hundred converters running, we can do one every twenty minutes in each of them.”

“That’s three hundred an hour.”

Chad said, “Seven thousand, two hundred a day.”

Julie nodded, “That will take us more than two months to get them all converted.”

Willow interrupted, “The process can’t be done faster than that. It should be done slower.”

“How much slower.”

“To make sure of no errors occur in the modification, one every thirty minutes is optimum.”

Lukas looked at Jinks, “What do you think?”

Jinks looked up, “If errors do happen, where would they most likely happen?”

“In the computer’s central processors.”

“That may cause them to have to be replaced with a new unit.”

“That is true.”

“Take whatever time you need. The Pods and Pilots have bonded and know each other. We can’t risk damaging the computers and forcing the pilots and new computers to relearn everything. We will start modifying our fleets based on their current standings in the war games.”

The groans were loud and Jinks looked at them, “Chad’s fleet first, John second, Julie third.”

Windy said, “What about the rest of us?”

“While they’re being done, you can fight it out in a series of war games to determine who goes next.”

Lukas looked at Amanda, “See what you can do about improving the reactors. I’d like to use what you develop in the new modifications.”

“How long do I have?”

“It’s going to take five weeks to make the major converters mobile.”

“Oh, is that all?”

Lukas smiled, “Anyone you need to help you will be made available.”

“Can I have Willow?”

“Use her and come up with something Amanda. I need you to be a heroine.”

Amanda smiled, “I’ll see what I can do.”

Lukas looked around the beach, “We won’t attack until our ships are modified. Once they’re done, we will go out with a nasty disposition looking for a fight.”

The Admirals looked at each other and Lukas saw they looked forward to being the attacker instead of the punching bag.

• • •

Two weeks passed and Amanda found Lukas in Fleet Operations, “Lukas, I’m sorry but we’re at an impasse.”

“What’s the problem?”

“We think we know a way to build a better reactor but we don’t have any way to collect the material we need to build them.” Lukas’ head tilted and Amanda said, “We believe that the secret to building the reactor is to line the interior of it with Dark Matter and fill it with Dark Energy. If we put a strong enough Dark Energy field in the containment vessel, it would repel the sides and explode it. Dark matter won’t be affected like normal matter.”

“So what’s the problem?”

“We can’t see either of the two and certainly don’t have a way to collect them. Without that, we’re stalled in the water.”

Lukas closed his eyes, thought for a moment, and opened his mind. Amanda watched him and wondered what he was thinking. Lukas’ eyes opened, “The civilization that is currently using Dark Energy moves their ships in and out of that conduit. If you are able to collect some of the charged particles they leave behind, would that help you?”

Amanda’s eyes narrowed and her expression took on a thousand yard stare. She shook her head and looked at Lukas, “If we can get a reading on the energy used to give the dark energy its charge that might tell us how to collect it. We’d have to be able to duplicate the energy they use, but yes, I think it might help.”

Lukas looked at Amanda, “I hate suggesting this but you and Willow are going to have to go out to that conduit and wait for another ship to come through. Willow has been there so do not try to tell her what to do! Do you understand?”

“Why, do you think I’m not safe?”

“I think you’re impetuous and will rush in before you think things through. Matter of fact, as I think about this, take Trevor with you.”

“You don’t trust me.”

“Do I need to refer you to the issue with Chad’s music? You reacted before you thought that through.” Amanda sighed and nodded. Lukas put his hand on her shoulder, “Amanda, if you mess up out there, it could prompt an immediate invasion. You can’t allow your intellect to cause something that could kill all of us.”

Amanda took a deep breath, “Put Trevor in command. My curiosity does get the best of me on occasion.” Lukas lowered his head and his eyebrows went up. She sighed, “Ok, ok, most of the time. Besides, it will be good to have some alone time with Trevor; we don’t get enough as things are now.”

Lukas smiled, “That’s my girl. Stay in touch and do not scan that conduit electronically.”

“But how are we going to get a…”

“I don’t know, but do not scan it!”

Amanda sighed again, “All right.”

“When will you leave?”

“Within the hour.” Amanda turned and walked away and Lukas shook his head. Amanda only operated at one speed…full.

“Willow.”

“Yes.”

“Did you listen to what we just said?”

“I did and I’ll not allow her to do anything that would jeopardize us.”

“Do not get close enough for those ships to detect you.”

“I won’t. I’m going to have the Ambroses in spacesuits in the event I have to turn off the environmental systems longer than normal.”

“That’s a good idea. I want you to also take the new probe with you. That will save Windy and John from having to make the trip. The fewer that go near that thing, the better. Be safe.”

“I will.”

• • •

Willow hung in the void and five days passed. Amanda sighed and said, “Can’t we just go and collect particles from around the conduit.”

Willow and Trevor both said, “NO!” at the same time.

Trevor looked at Amanda, “You are going to have to learn patience.”

Amanda snorted and said, “Willow, I’m going to put on the direct connect head band and look at what we’ve done one more time. Bring me out of it if something happens.” The console opened and Amanda put the band around her head. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

“She’s really impatient.”

Trevor nodded, “Tell me about it.” Trevor stared at the conduit on the display and leaned forward, “Willow, did it just change color?”

“Stand by.” Suddenly, an Orange Ship emerged from the Conduit. Willow shut off all power and Trevor pulled Amanda’s helmet over her head. Amanda’s eyes flew open as the direct connection ceased functioning and Willow said, “Be silent!” Amanda’s eyes narrowed and she looked at the display. She saw the ship and she leaned forward to see it clearer.

She whispered, “How long was I out?”

“A week.”

Amanda looked at Trevor and punched him on the arm as she smiled, “No, I wasn’t.”

“Just a few moments.”

“What is that ship doing?”

“If it’s like the one we saw last time, it’s waiting for the ship it’s going to replace to show up.”

Amanda stared at the ship on the display and said, “Can you bring the image in closer?” The ship grew larger and Amanda stared at it. “The orange force field around it is moving in a pattern.” Trevor looked at her and she quietly said, “Notice how it’s spiraling around the hull.” Trevor stared at it and Amanda said, “That’s a magnetic pattern.” Trevor stared at it and shook his head.

Willow said, “You’re right. My passive antenna is being hit with highly charged neutrons.”

Trevor shook his head again, “Neutrons don’t have a charge.”

“It’s not a positive or negative charge. It appears they are being excited by a magnetic field.” They stared at the ship and Willow said, “Here comes the other ship.” Amanda and Trevor saw the view expand and they saw something pitch black moving through the void toward the conduit. Trevor looked at Amanda and she put her finger over her lips. The black cloud began dissipating as it moved closer to the conduit until it was gone when it arrived. Trevor looked at the interior dials and saw the temperature inside the cockpit was below zero. He reached for his suit controls and turned the power down. Amanda saw him and she turned hers down as well.

Trevor whispered, “Keep an eye on the conduit.”

“What am I looking for?”

“I think it changes color slightly when it activates.”

The two ships remained close to each other for an hour and Amanda was starting to feel cold. She knew Trevor was also feeling it as well. Finally, the ship moved toward the mouth of the conduit and entered. The orange color darkened slightly to a burnt orange color. Two seconds later, it returned to its normal color. The ship outside it waited and they saw the conduit change color again. Another ship appeared and stopped beside the new arrival. They remained still for ten minutes and then they began moving away from the conduit in different directions. The black cloud began emerging from them and they skipped away at an incredible velocity.

Willow said, “Let’s give them some time to move away and we’ll go and collect some samples.”

“Willow, do you know where that second ship was headed?”

“It was oriented toward the Welken Confederacy, Trevor.”

“Willow, don’t go near that thing.”

“Why? I thought you were impatient to go there?”

“Run the video back to just after the two ships skipped out.”

The video moved back and just as the two ships were surrounded by their black clouds, Amanda said, “Freeze it!”

The video stopped and Trevor said, “What do you see?”

“Willow start the video running at slow speed and keep focused on where the two clouds came together for a moment.”

The two clouds slowly emerged from the two ships and the edge of the two clouds briefly came together at the stern of the first ship. The cloud suddenly spun in a small whirlwind and then dissipated. Willow said, “They’ve placed a probe.” Amanda nodded. “How did you see that?”

Trevor was shaking his head, “She doesn’t miss much.”

Amanda said, “How are we going to get out of here without being seen?” Her remark was greeted with silence. “I thought as much. If we energize our skip drive, that probe will see us.”

Trevor stared at the conduit and said, “I’m glad we dropped the probe when we arrived.” Amanda looked at him and shook her head. Trevor stared at the screen and said, “Willow, can you detect a gravity compensator in operation?”

“Not if it’s at low power. Why do you ask? It would take us months to move far enough away to get away.”

“Notice that the probe is located at the front of the conduit so it can scan anything moving toward it from the galaxy. I’m going to assume that it can’t scan through the energy that the conduit is made of. We can use the compensator to move toward the conduit until it’s between us and the probe.”

“It might see our skip trace.”

“Not if we skip away as close to the conduit as possible. We’ll move a hundred light years away before we change direction.”

“How do you know that conduit won’t detect our trace?”

“If it could, they wouldn’t need to place a probe.”

Willow began moving toward the conduit away from the probe’s location. The progress was slow compared to using their thrusters but speed in the void was relative. They were moving six light years an hour and in ten minutes, they moved under the conduit. “It appears we’ve not been seen yet. Hang on!” Willow turned on her thrusters at minimum power and flew away at high speed. After thirty minutes, she increased the power and the conduit was screaming past just outside their viewport.

Trevor sighed, “I wonder if we could actively scan it this close and not be seen.”

“It would be like a flash bulb, the flash would be seen over it. Besides, we don’t need to collect samples.”

Trevor looked at Amanda and tilted his head, “Excuse me?”

“Trevor, you saw that their system uses highly magnetized neutrinos.”

“Yeah, so?”

“Where in the universe would you find something that would magnetize a neutrino?”

Trevor stared at her and then his eyes widened, “A Magnetar.”

“That’s right. Willow, where is the closest one?”

“The closest one to Earth is SGR-0418. It’s about 6,500 light years from Earth.”

“We’re out here to do a job. Let’s stay focused and do it. Send Lukas a message updating him on the Welken being watched and we’ll go take a look at the neutron star.”

Willow turned away from the conduit and accelerated away at maximum speed keeping the conduit between the probe and their location. Ten thousand light years later, she turned and headed back toward the Milky Way.

• • •

“Jinks, the Welken are getting their own personal guest.”

“What?”

“Willow just sent a message that two ships have arrived and the new one is on a course toward the Welken Confederacy.”

“Does that change our plans?”

“No. I don’t think those beings know every civilization in the Fellowship. They shouldn’t know our origin if we choose to attack.”

“You don’t think they would follow us?”

“The one at the Myot has not left and the Myot have launched numerous fleets. I suspect they are looking for something specific and will stay in place.”

“Lukas, how do you really feel about attacking your former home?”

“Mixed emotions, Jinks. It’s like seeing your worst enemy go over a cliff in your new BMW.” Jinks chuckled and Lukas shook his head, “I don’t see how the Welken, Myot, or any other Fellowship Civilization learning how to live in peace with their neighbors.”

“What about the Johan?”

“They would attack if they thought they would get away with it. They’re treating us well, at the moment. But they were willing to break their agreement with us to save themselves.”

“We’d do the same thing.”

“Would we?”

“We’d put up a fight but I think we’d look out for ourselves if it came down to it.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Jinks. I think we’d lose most of our pilots if we betrayed a friend.”

Jinks nodded slowly and shrugged, “I guess I’ve seen enough double dealing to not put it past mankind.”

“Both of us have been contaminated by our experiences. Perhaps we’ll learn to overcome our biases. How are the modifications going?”

“On schedule. Amanda contacted me and requested that one reactor not be fueled.”

“Why?”

“I have no idea and she didn’t stay on the frequency long enough for me to quiz her. However, I’m going to do as she requested.”

“Don’t you mean ordered?”

“Same thing with Amanda.” Lukas laughed and slapped Jinks on the back.

Chapter Twelve

The first three hundred modified Attack Pods were taken by their pilots and taken out from the moon to undergo space trials. Willow skipped in and Lukas met Amanda and Trevor at the base of Willow’s landing tube, “What’s going on?”

Amanda began talking and Lukas said, “Slow down.”

Amanda took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “We’ve found out how that civilization collects the black matter they use to hide their ships. We’ve also found a way to strengthen our reactor containers.”

“Do tell.”

Trevor nodded, “Black matter isn’t dense enough to be detected. Its atoms are spread out over a large area and its main property is repulsive. It appears it is an opposite of gravity that attracts atoms.”

“How does that help us if it’s so scattered that it can’t be collected?”

Amanda smiled, “No normal force in the universe affects it but it is attracted to a high enough magnetic field.” Lukas stared at her and after a moment he said, “How high?”

“Beyond anything we can artificially create. However, we found out that around a certain type of neutron star, dark matter is as dense as steel.”

“How were you able to get close to a neutron star? It will suck anything close into it like a black hole.”

“We used the gravity compensators at full power and went to the edge of the star’s magnetic field. That’s where we collected dark matter. The Magnetar six thousand light years from here is full of it.”

Lukas stared at Amanda, “What are you going to do with what you collected?”

“Well, the first thing is Willow flushed his matter containment tank and used his scoops to fill it with dark matter.”

Lukas’ eyes narrowed, “I thought the thrusters had to have normal matter to operate?”

Trevor shook his head, “They’ll burn anything fed to them. Dark matter is excited to a much higher level than hydrogen or helium and produces a much stronger push. Those black ships skipped away from the conduit at a speed we couldn’t match. It’s because they use dark matter as thruster fuel.”

“What about the reactor?”

Amanda smiled, “We had Willow jettison the reactor fuel in the number four reactor. Once it cooled enough, Trevor went to the jettison port and put my open helmet over it with the visor open. Willow then flew at high speed through the dark matter field and it went into the reactor under high pressure. The walls were still hot enough to fuse the dark matter to the outer layer of the reactor containment vessel. We came back to have a much higher load of radioactive material put in it. We’ll ignite it when we leave and start raising the power to see if it can handle a higher power load.”

“I’m not so sure I want to run the risk of losing you if something goes wrong.”

Amanda shook her head, “Willow will monitor the heat and if things look dicey, he’ll jettison the load. We did drop a hammer in the reactor and it hung in the middle of the vessel without coming close to the walls around it. I really think we can go to a much more powerful core.”

“Why don’t you use dark matter to power it?”

Trevor shrugged, “We determined that dark matter doesn’t yield as much power as normal matter.”

Lukas nodded and started walking toward Fleet Operations, “What about the black cloud around their ships?”

Trevor smiled, “That’s the easiest thing.” Lukas’ eyebrows went up and Trevor continued, “All they do is release some dark matter from the fuel reservoir and the magnetism in the hull keeps it around the ship.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Willow’s hull is now magnetized from entering the Magnetar’s magnetic field and dark matter followed us as we moved away. We didn’t want to leave a broad trail of it back to Earth so we experimented with how to stop it. We discovered that if Willow energized the force field, it broke the magnetism from the hull and the dark matter stopped following us.”

Amanda nodded, “The good thing about that black cloud around a ship is that it erases the skip trail it leaves in the void. That’s why the new invader doesn’t leave a skip trace.”

Lukas thought for a moment in silence and Trevor said, “Willow said that the black cloud around those ships began disappearing when the orange force field was on at the conduit’s entrance.”

“So they don’t have an active force field when they’re surrounded by it?”

“That seems to be the case.”

Lukas stopped walking, “You need to take Willow out and confirm whether or not the power goes up.”

Amanda nodded and turned around and sprinted toward the cave housing the nuclear fuel. Trevor and Lukas watched her disappear and Lukas said, “She doesn’t appear to have an off switch.”

Trevor nodded as he turned to follow her, “No, she doesn’t.”

• • •

Twelve hours later, the mobile converters were reprogramed to leave three of the four reactors unfueled. The new Attack Pods then went out to the Magnetar and collected dark matter. They returned and fueled the three reactors, went back to the Magnetar and coated the fourth reactor, and then fueled the final reactor. The process was streamlined by having the newly modified pods towed directly from the moon with scoops attached to their reactor’s jettison ports. They were brought back, refueled, and released to start space trials. Chad’s fleet was done in four weeks and John’s began the process as Chad started working on tactics to use the new technology.

Lukas remembered an old Chinese Proverb. Disturb the dragon in his lair before the scholar in his books. Earth went from being primitive to passing the Fellowship in technology. The advancements were stolen from those that took, in some cases, thousands of years to develop. Earth had changed dramatically and Lukas knew it wasn’t logical. Even stealing it would have required much longer than what was happening. He sighed and wondered if he should resist the tsunami or ride the wave. So far, nothing had happened to cause concern or fear…but…who was in control? Where was this taking them and absolute power was never a good thing…was it? He shook his head and went to find Salud. He needed some time on the beach. If Earth attacked, could further attacks be prevented? Once victory was achieved, it became almost addictive and that was the road to conquest. What was he going to do?

• • •

The Attack Fleets were completed and the Defense Pods began being brought up to the new technology. Jinks called for a meeting and everyone arrived on the beach enthusiastic and excited about going out to teach the Welken and Myot a lesson or two about attacking Earth. After an hour of mixing and greeting each other, Jinks called the meeting to order. Everyone pulled up a beach chair with something to drink and settled in. Jinks looked around the gathering and smiled. He looked at Lukas and saw something was wrong. He wondered what it was. He looked at the group and said, “I think we’re ready to go and visit the Welken and Myot.”

The gathering cheered and John yelled, “About time! We owe them!”

Jinks smiled and said, “We will start forming up our fleets tomorrow and skip out to the Welken Home World. Chad’s fleet will be the point on our spear.” Everyone cheered and many patted Chad on the back. We’ll send you your assignments tonight and I expect all of you to get a good night’s sleep.” John looked at Lukas and smiled, “Do you have anything to add, Lukas?”

Lukas looked at Salud and she nodded. He stood up and looked around the gathering. “Effective tomorrow, I am resigning my position in ONE WORLD will no longer participate in any decisions being made.”

Salud stood up and said, “I am also resigning and will go with Lukas.”

Silence slammed down on the gathering. Jinks stared at Lukas and managed to say, “If you prefer we not attack the Welken, we won’t.”

Lukas shook his head, “That’s not the issue.”

Chad said, “Then what is?”

Lukas looked at them and after a moment said, “What was the reason I stayed here instead of escaping with Willow? Does anyone remember?”

Joey quietly said, “You told us the night we started this project that you stayed to make sure Earth wasn’t invaded and its people enslaved.” Lukas smiled at Joey and he said, “I am also resigning.”

Jinks started shaking his head, “You can’t do that. We need you too much.”

Salud shook her head, “No you don’t. You are fully capable of defending Earth now, you no longer need us.”

Jinks sat down and said, “Lukas, you owe us an explanation for this. Please don’t leave without telling us why.”

Lukas sighed and shook his head, “How do you think the first Fellowship Civilization that attacked and defeated another species felt after the victory?” No one spoke. “They felt pretty much like you do now. That victory led to more attacks and now look at where the Fellowship is with everyone in fear of each other and looking for a way to defeat all the others. Nothing feeds conquest like victory. You’re about to taste that sweet taste and if you remove the Welken and Myot, the other Fellowship Civilizations will fear you and gang up to remove you. Then you’ll be forced to defend yourselves and then you will be the rulers of them.”

Jinks stared at Lukas, “You think that would be a bad thing?”

“You need look no further than Iraq, Jinks.” Jinks flinched. “I’ve said from the beginning that this project was started to defend Earth and nothing else. You now feel that if a civilization is planning to attack, you should go out and destroy them before they can.”

Julie said, “That only makes sense!”

Lukas looked at her, “Said by one of our first recruits who believed that ONE WORLD was better than the selfish way nations treated each other. You said that working together was the best way to forge a better place to live. Do you think going out and attacking those that threaten us will make them more or less willing to share ONE GALAXY with us?” Lukas paused and said, “Do you remember when I told the others that being a member of our vision wasn’t what was in your mind but was in your heart. Julie, have you lost your heart?”

Lukas looked back at the group as Julie’s tears started. “You don’t need me. You know that if we’re attacked, we can handle whatever they throw at us now. You want to do this to be able to fire the new toys you’ve been given. I have done what I promised and my guilt at bringing destruction on our planet has been removed. You can protect yourselves.”

Julie had her head in her hands and said, “I’ve lost my way! You’re right Lukas. I will not go out and attack other civilizations.” She looked up as her tears ran down her face, “I resign my commission.” Chad jumped out of his chair and knelt in front of Julie, “Don’t do this!?”

Julie wiped her tears with her sleeve and shook her head, “You weren’t here at the beginning, Chad. You’ve come in later and have been a warrior, probably our best. You don’t understand the real ideal of bringing the world together into one community. You never will. I will not stay and give up the ideals that made me want to be a part of this vision.”

John stood up, “You’re right, Julie; I was there as well. We’ve lost our way in the fighting.” John looked at Jinks, “I’m sorry, Sir. I resign my commission.”

Silence ruled the moment and Jinks sat in his chair in silence. Sergy said, “Jinks, are you alright?”

Jinks raised his head and looked at Stoney. Stoney shook his head and said, “Mosul.”

Jinks nodded and shook his head. He looked at the group and said, “I’ve been here from the beginning as well; I’ve recruited most of you.” He looked at Lukas, “I know your heart. I just don’t know my own. I’ve been thinking that if we attack first we will save lives here. Honestly, this urge comes from my failure at not attacking in Mosul. I failed to realize the two are not alike.”

Lukas said softly, “It would be, if we couldn’t defend ourselves.”

Jinks sighed, “That’s why you didn’t resign when this suggestion first came up. There was still doubt about whether we could.” Lukas nodded. “But now if we attacked and won, the urge to attack again at any perceived danger would be overwhelming.”

Lukas nodded, “That’s the real danger of being an aggressor. It begins to feed itself.”

Jinks looked at the assembly, “We will not be attacking tomorrow, if ever. We will defend Earth like the Holy Ground it is but we will not go out and impose our wills on other civilizations.” He looked at Lukas, “I will resign if you will agree to stay, Lukas.”

Silence dominated the gathering and Salud looked at Lukas, “I supported your decision to leave but I will not support it now. Earth needs you.”

Lukas looked at her, “Why?”

Salud smiled, “Because you are the best of us. You remind us of that thing inside us that makes us beautiful. We need you here to never forget.”

Lukas stared at her and after a moment took her in his arms. Jinks said, “Does this mean you’ll stay?”

Lukas looked at him, “I will if you will.”

Jinks jumped up and went over to Lukas and stuck out his hand. Lukas stood up and pushed the hand aside and hugged Jinks. He whispered in his ear, “Both of us are needed. Neither of us is complete without the other.” Jinks hugged him back and nodded. The gathering stood and cheered.

Chad was holding Julie’s hands, “Does this mean you’ll stay as well?” Julie looked at him through her tears and nodded. “Thank God. I’d be lost without you.”

• • •

All of the Fellowship Rulers were linked electronically as they waited nervously for the Sentinels to announce their decision. The Myot and Welken Leaders were worried the most. Finally, they all heard mentally, “We have reached a decision to resolve the issues bought to us by the Welken and Myot Civilizations. It is our opinion that the Johan used the agreement to subvert the original intention of the agreement to only be between the three that made it. However, after the fact, we’ve decided to allow those civilizations to decide whether their possession will be voided or permanent.”

The Johan Ruler said, “What do you mean permanent?”

“The ones that allowed you to take possession will permanently belong to you. They will not be allowed freedom to act independently if they opt to stay in possession.”

The screams began immediately and after the yelling grew louder the Sentinel said quietly, “Silence.” Everyone quit talking. “It appears none of those the Johan took possession of want to remain a permanent possession. That confirms that it was a means of subverting the intent of the original agreement. The Johan will remain in the agreement with the Welken and Myot but loses possession of the Primitive Planet. The Welken and Myot will be allowed to go and take possession of the former Johan possession without interference from the other Fellowship Civilizations. Should they fail to take possession, the rest of the civilizations will be released to attempt possession. This is our decision.”

The Sentinel disappeared from everyone’s mind and civilizations began dropping out of the electronic link immediately. After five minutes, only the Welken, Myot, and Johan Rulers remained on the link. The Myot Ruler smiled, “It appears we don’t need our agreement anymore.”

The Johan smiled, “But I will have to agree to abort it. You cannot endanger me.”

“Others can.”

“But they won’t because they saw I was trying to help them. But give it a shot. We’ll see how it turns out.”

“We now have possession of the primitive planet. That was what we wanted from the beginning.”

The Johan laughed out loud and said, “Be careful what you wish for,” and ended the link.

The Myot looked at the Welken on the display, “This was better than I ever expected!” He saw the Welken’s expression and said, “What’s bothering you?”

“Did you really listen to the Sentinel?”

“Of course I did.”

“Did you hear the part about if we failed to take possession, the others would be allowed to try?”

“So?”

“Our first effort met with failure. Is there more at that planet than we know?”

“If you don’t want possession, say so now!”

“I need to speak with my family members. I’ll get back to you within an hour.” The Welken ended the link and sent a call to the Johan. He appeared on the display and the Welken said, “Why did you just laugh at us?”

“Why should I tell you anything?”

“Because I will defend you if you’re attacked by other civilizations. I’m not so sure the Myot will.”

The Johan stared at the Welken and shook his head slowly side-to-side, “I suppose you know that I failed to take possession.”

“I do.”

“That planet is not primitive anymore. I really should just allow you to go in and get your fleets blown up but I think you’re being honest about defending me.”

“I am.”

“The Sentinel knows that taking possession is doubtful, it said as much.”

“What it said could be taken in different ways.”

“When have you ever heard of a Sentinel saying anything that was unclear?”

The Welken nodded, “Thank you.” The link went dark and the Welken stared at his monitor for almost an hour. He activated the link and the Welken said, “I will not be going to take possession.”

The Myot almost showed his smile but managed to hide it, “I will not share the petroleum with you and you will not be able to fight me for it.”

“I know.”

The Myot stared at the Welken, “What’s going on?”

“The Sentinel has me concerned that there is a real possibility that we won’t be able to take that planet.”

“That’s blast rubble.”

“Even so, I wish you success.”

“No you don’t!”

“Being polite is always a good thing to do.”

The display went dark and the Myot began sending orders to his fleets. The others could not interfere in his taking possession and that included attacking his planets. He was free for the first time to take possession of the planet that would make him invincible. His excitement continued to grow and he was seeing dominion over all the other civilizations. Eventually, the Welken and Johan would be gone; he’d use others to carry out his dirty work. All they’d need is the technology to do it. He jumped up and did a dance.

• • •

“Lukas, the Void Probe just relayed a message from the Johan Monarch.”

“What did he say?”

“He said the Welken are not going to participate in the coming attack. Only the Myot will be coming and they will be using all of their ships. The Sentinels have ordered that no one interfere with their effort to take possession.”

“Thanks, Willow.”

Jinks looked at Lukas and sighed, “This confirms you were right. The Welken are staying out of the fight and I would have sent our ships against them. That would have added an enemy we now don’t have to face. You were right that waiting was the best course of action.” Jinks looked out of the viewport at the rugged surface of the moon and shook his head, “I wonder why the Welken backed out?”

“I think the Supreme Royal is worried about something the Sentinels must have said. We need to get our ships out of their silos; the Myot aren’t exactly known for being patient.”

Jinks lifted his wrist, “Fleet, announce a War Warning. Get the first three attack fleets out and start moving the Defense Pods out of their silos and off the planet.”

“Yes Sir. The others will remain at ready status until we receive warning from the Void Probe.”

“Make sure the Leadership on Earth know we’ve issued the warning!”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

The Orange Being watched the massive fleets gathering around the Myot Planet and he contacted the other ship, “It appears the ones I’m watching are going somewhere with all their ships to attack someone.”

“The ones I’m watching are not doing anything different.”

“Should I follow their ships?”

“That is not our orders.”

“But they may be going where the one we’re searching for is located.”

“And if it shows up in your absence, what do you think will happen?”

The ship leader knew that there would be an energy trace if it did appear. That would lead to his execution for violating orders. He shook the tub he was in and said, “You’re right. But this is too confining. We either need to just call this off or bring more ships to search.”

“I suspect the Legends are going to do something.”

“Why?”

“There was a trace discovered below the tube.”

“WHAT!?!”

“It appears someone in this galaxy knows we are here. The Legends don’t know who it is but they are discussing with the Great Ones what their next step might be.”

“Anything is better than the monotony of just sitting here doing nothing.”

“I’ve heard that sending two ships is probably what caused the tube to be found. The Legends did say that sending more ships would increase the odds of being seen.”

“Did the ship that found the trace follow it?”

“Of course not…”

“That would increase the odds of discovery.”

“My words exactly. I don’t see why they just don’t send the fleets here to do a thorough job of examining this galaxy.”

“Could it be the image they detected frightens them?”

“That’s probably the reason. These civilizations we’ve been watching don’t represent a problem. Let me know if you see anything.”

“I will, you do the same.”

Chapter Thirteen

“WE HAVE AN ACTIVE WAR WARNING!! THE VOID PROBE DETECTS FIVE LARGE INCOMING SKIP TRAILS. I REPEAT, FIVE LARGE SKIP TRAILS!!”

Jinks pressed his launch button, “Lukas, what does five trails mean?”

“They’re going to spread out around the planet and launch nuclear missiles as soon as they make the gravity limit.”

“That’s a long way out from the planet.”

“Not with the numbers they’ll be launching. Assign the Attack Fleets positions around Earth outside the limit so they can skip to wherever they’re needed. Do the same with the Defense Fleets but leave half of them in orbit to move around where they can be the most effective.”

“Will they be able to move in front of them in time?”

“We’ll see their skip trace when they start to emerge in normal space. Our ships are a lot faster with the new reactors. I do expect the Myot Fleets to emerge with their disruptors being constantly fired.”

“I guess this is where we find out if our new force field strength can withstand them.”

Lukas shrugged, “I’m freeing the Moon Disruptors to open fire on any of their ships on that side of the Earth. It may allow you to move some of the defense pods elsewhere.”

“I’m out, raise the moon’s force fields.”

Lukas looked at Salud and nodded. She threw a large handle upward and a large dome of bright light covered all the surface bases on the moon.

• • •

Julie’s fleet was racing around to the day side of Earth and she said anxiously, “Chad, talk to me!”

“I’m here.”

“How are you going after the fleet you’re assigned?”

“I listened in to Lukas and Jinks and Lukas thinks the five Myot Fleets will emerge into normal space close to the gravity limit and launch a massive missile attack. He also believes they will be firing their disruptors continuously.”

“So how are you going after them?”

“We can’t attack them head on; we’ll run right in the middle of their missile launch.”

Julie smiled, “And attacking from the side exposes us to the maximum numbers of disruptor cannons. That leaves the rear.”

“You are so smart, my love. There’s only six disruptors on the rear of a battleship and I firmly believe our new ships can handle more than three times that number.”

“Thanks, you may want to send this info to the other fleets.”

Julie disconnected and began issuing orders to her fleet.

• • •

Stoney looked at the feed coming in from the Void Probe hanging above Earth and saw the five large skip trails start spreading out from each other. The first one to arrive was going to come in directly above Europe and the Middle East. “Alpha Defense Pods, move in above Austria. Move out and go to live weapons. Fall back if you’re threatened to be overwhelmed.”

“Beta Fleet you have Africa and Australia. Delta, you have Asia. Epsilon, you have the North American Continent. Gamma, you have South America. Get moving and link your fire control systems.” Stoney had six fleets assigned with only five Myot Fleets attacking. Whichever sector was not attacked would have their ships reassigned to missile defense. The Probe didn’t have a clear sight on where the Myot would come out of the void so every approach had to be covered.

• • •

Manos Pandelines flew around Earth at high speed and fought flying away from the planet. He was traveling four times escape velocity and had to use his bow and stern thrusters to stay in orbit. He arrived with half of his fleet above Austria and he glanced down at Earth. He quickly saw the Mediterranean and there was Greece at the eastern end. He liked defending his home. He checked his panel just as the Myot Fleet Emerged into normal space and launched a massive wave of nuclear missiles. He linked with the twenty thousand Defense Pods and their ranks looked like thousands of tracers being fired every second. The second half of his fleet arrived and began firing on the missiles from the sides as they accelerated toward Earth. The numbers coming at them were unbelievable. Then it went from bad to worse, the Myot Fleet launched a second wave. Manos shook his head, fleet better start taking them out or Earth was going to go up like a firecracker.

• • •

Chad’s Attack Fleet skipped in behind the first Myot Fleet to arrive and he saw they had chosen a real tail-twister of a formation. It looked like the shape of a contact lens with all the Myot Ships packed in close together in the curve. This allowed them to fire their bow missile launchers and have their hull’s disruptor cannons clear to fire on all sides of the curve.

“Eagle Squadron, Line up and see how far you can move into their disruptors. When your field starts degrading, fire and move out.” Two hundred Attack Pods flew in on the rear of the Myot formation and entered the solid wall of disruptor beams. Jack watched his dials and shook his head, “Jill.”

“Yes Jack.”

“My dial says our force field is holding at eight percent.”

“It is.”

“We’re almost on top of their ships, does this mean we can ignore their disruptors?”

“Long enough to open fire and move away.”

“What if we stayed?”

“We’d last for about fifteen minutes before the field went too low.”

“Send the information to the Admiral, We’re going after the ships in the center of that formation.” Jack held the trigger as Jill roared in on the rear of the Myot fleet and opened fire less than five miles away. The two hundred ships were focused on the Myot Formation’s center and five hundred battleships were hit by massive disruptor beams that blew through their hulls. More than three hundred of them exploded and the others fell out of formation and began drifting. Chad received the report and ordered the remainder of his fleet in.

• • •

Bailee watched the Myot Fleet suddenly appear through the wall of disruptor flames and Barnum dove through a gap in the Myot line as Bailee opened fire on the Myot ships around the hole in their formation. Barnum went vertical and accelerated through another gap in their formation above them and exited the center of the formation but not before Bailee designated six ships and hit every one of them with her main disruptor. The last one was hit in the bow and the ship fell off from its course. The other five had large holes blown completely through them but were not exploded. The beams had not hit a critical place on them but there were fires raging inside where the disruptors had blown through. Four were able to turn and run for the gravity limit and miraculously didn’t encounter an Attack Pod on their way out; all four skipped away.

The other Attack Fleets heard about their force fields holding up under sustained Myot disruptor fire and their Admirals sent their entire fleets into the Myot Formations. The destruction was incredible and fast. The vast majority of the Myot fleets were gone in less than thirty minutes and the Attack Pods entered the gravity limit at their highest speed and arrived above Earth to assist the Defense Pods with the surviving missiles. Even with their assistance, four nuclear warheads managed to make it through and hit the planet. Two in the Pacific Ocean, one in the Sahara Desert, and the last in the Australian Outback. Their guidance systems were damaged by the massive electrical pulses made by the destroyed missiles. The only nuclear warhead to detonate was in the Sahara.

• • •

The Myot Fleet Drang was screaming, “TURN AROUND, TURN AROUND!!! Skip out; all ships, skip away.” The Fleet Drang and his two-hundred ship escort turned and began accelerating toward the gravity limit. He had seen enough. His wall of disruptor fire didn’t have any effect on those ships. Whatever power source they were using was beyond anything he had ever witnessed. His force fields were useless against their weapons. He watched as his escort was whittled down to forty ships before they arrived at the gravity limit and skipped out. He screamed out a warning to the other four fleets and one of them managed to break off the attack before it entered the gravity limit. It skipped away but not before losing ten thousand ships. It was lucky. The other four fleets experienced massive losses.

• • •

Lukas and Jinks stared at their monitors and shook their heads. The space around earth was filled with hundreds of thousands of Myot escape pods. Battleships were exploding at random and the numbers hanging in space burning were too numerous to count. Jinks sighed, “I don’t understand why so many are blowing up. They don’t appear to be that severely damaged.”

Lukas nodded, “Once the last Escape Pod leaves a warship, it is programmed to self-destruct. What you’re seeing is them self-destructing.”

“Seems like a waste of a good battleship.”

“It makes it difficult for an enemy to use them.”

“There is that. What if there are more escape pods than survivors?”

“The self-destruct circuit is programed to continuously scan for life on the ship. Once none is detected, it will activate and destroy the ship.”

“And if the self-destruct program is hit and destroyed?”

Lukas shrugged, “Then you may have a slightly used battleship.”

“Why do you say, ‘may’?”

“Would you like to go on board and check it out?” Jinks smiled and shook his head. “Me either. We might as well just fire on them and set them off. We’ll collect any major pieces that survived and use them in our converters to build new ships.”

“Lukas, did you know our ships would outclass their ships this much?”

“I suspected they would.”

“Why?”

“This completes our training.”

Jinks stared at Lukas, “What training?”

“You know someone has been directing what’s been going on. How do you train for any event?”

“Are we supposed to discuss this openly?”

“No, but I’m going to do it anyway. When you train for an event, you start slow. As you get stronger, you participate in events lower than those you’ll see later. Once you succeed in the easier events, you move on to a stronger opponent. You keep this up until you’re ready to really take on the toughest opponents.”

“I’ve wondered about that.”

“We’ll discuss it in the future but I think our training is done. Now, everything is up to us.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“I’m not really sure, Jinks. There’s something I’m not seeing and that could be the butt-kicker. We need to get the team together and talk about this.”

“It’s about time.”

“Yes, we can handle anything the Fellowships throws at us. It’s these new guests that have me worried. I’ll call a meeting once the cleanup is completed.”

Jinks nodded and was amazed at how completely the Myot Warships were outclassed. He shook his head and knew Lukas was right, there was no need to go out and attack anyone…yet.

• • •

“Salud.”

“Yes.”

“Amanda and I want to trial a new type of weapon.”

“What kind of weapon?”

“It would only work against the new invaders.”

“TREVOR!”

“Ok, ok, ok; we know that dark matter is attracted to a magnetic field right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, around the Magnetar, dark matter is compressed into a dense substance as hard as steel.”

“I remember you saying that.”

“Well, Amanda and I started thinking about those ships that use a dark matter cloud around them to hide. Since we know they have a strong magnetic field, if they’re in the void and a projectile made of dark matter is fired…”

“It will move toward the magnetic field.”

Trevor nodded, “Exactly and since it’s in the void, it will be traveling faster than light.”

Salud’s eyes narrowed, “Won’t it need a drive field around it to stay in the void?”

“That’s what we thought initially, but it appears dark matter can exist in both spaces.”

“So what good is this projectile?”

“If one of their ships is near our solar system, and we fire a dark matter shell, it will seek out its magnetic field. It would have to energize its force field to avoid being hit.”

“Will it see it coming?”

“We don’t know. We’ll find out if we build one.”

Salud nodded and said, “What good would one be in normal space?”

“I’m not sure she’s right, but Amanda seems to think that the Orange Ships’ force field stays on.”

“What? I thought you said the only way to use the black cloud was to have the force field off.”

“We’ve watched the recording of the two ships coming and going and it’s impossible to tell if the force field is on before the black cloud starts disappearing. Amanda says that if it’s on, then the dark matter projectiles will chase them. If it’s on, they would even go through it.”

Salud shook her head, “Now that would be something. What kind of weapon would fire them?”

“A Gatling type machine gun.”

“Trevor, how could you fire a shell into the void without disrupting the space around it?”

“We build a cannon with a void field around the business end of the barrel. The shell would be fired in normal space and the cannon’s barrel would be ported so that the gasses would escape in normal space. The shell would go through the barrel into the void field, and then off it would go, seeking any magnetic field.”

“What’s to prevent it from hitting our ships?”

“Our force fields do block their magnetic fields.”

“So what are you asking, Trevor?”

“Lukas is busy with the battle and we were wondering if we should move forward on building them?”

Salud smiled, “Go ahead. I’ll tell him I approved it.”

“GREAT! Thanks, Salud.”

“No problem.”

Trevor ran off and Lukas contacted Salud and told her to plan on meeting and discussing how coincidence has played a role in everything that had happened.

“WHAT? ARE YOU SURE?”

“We need to do it.”

“You’re probably being heard now.”

“I probably am; however, we’re going to bring things out in the open. Plan to meet the day after tomorrow.”

“Ok.” Salud was shocked about Lukas’ turnaround and she completely forgot to tell him about telling Trevor to build his weapon. Her mind was on more important matters.

• • •

The Myot Ruler watched the survivors of his fleet limp home. He had outright lost more than fifty percent of his warships and more than thirty five percent of those that returned were heavily damaged. He had the Fleet Drang executed for his failure but that didn’t bring back his ships. He realized that he didn’t have enough ships to protect all his planets much less his own.

• • •

He looked at the Welken Royal on his monitor, “How did you know?”

“I happen to do something very few important people learn, I listen.”

“It appears you were right; my fleets stood no chance against the ships that attacked us. Did you really think the Sentinel was saying that taking possession was not certain?”

“That’s the way I heard it. I contacted the Johan Royal and he said something that solidified it for me.”

“What was that?”

“He asked when a Sentinel had ever said anything that wasn’t clear. That made me realize there was great danger at that planet.”

“Are you going to come and defend my planets?”

“I will if you’re attacked.”

“If you wait until that happens, it will prob…”

The Welken Royal was stunned by the monitor that suddenly glowed brilliant green and then went dark. He shook his head and pressed his panel, “Send enough fleets to the Myot Home World to retake possession. Notify all Fellowship Members that I will not tolerate them attacking my new possession.”

The Myot Ruler was gone. Some ambitious member had attacked and nuked the capital city. He shook his head at how close he had come to the same fate. He decided that he needed to speak to the ones in charge at the Primitive Planet. If rumors were right, one of his subjects was responsible for what had transformed it into an advanced civilization. Perhaps he would listen to his Royal.

• • •

Lukas finished with the reports on the last battle and was lifting is wrist unit to order a meeting when Fleet Operations contacted him, “Sir, we have a single ship approaching in the void.”

“Who is it?”

“THE WELKEN ROYAL HAS REQUESTED A MEETING WITH YOUR LEADERSHIP. UNDER THE COVENANTS GOVERNING SUCH MATTERS, YOU WILL NOT HARM HIM WHILE HE IS IN YOUR SPACE.”

Lukas heard the Sentinel and shook his head. His wrist unit immediately activated, “Lukas, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, Salud.”

Jinks appeared on his desk monitor, “LUKAS?”

“Just hold on, everyone.” Lukas thought for a moment and said, “Jinks, you need to take Jester out and meet with him.”

“Why not you?”

“I’m one of his subjects. He could accuse me of treason and take me with him.”

“He’d never get out of here alive.”

“Let’s not allow it to get to that point, shall we. Go out and see what he wants, Jinks. Pick up Salud and take her with you.”

• • •

Salud shook her head, “Why do you want me to go!?”

Jinks smiled, “That’s easy; you don’t miss much. Come down to my silo and we’ll head out.”

Salud said, “Are you sure about this?”

Jinks said, “Just tell him how you see the world around him.”

“What?”

Lukas smiled, “Just follow your heart, Love.”

Salud’s connection to Lukas was broken and she began shaking her head. Her wrist unit beeped, “Will you come on!?”

Salud blew out a breath and sprinted across the giant cave under the Moon’s surface toward the silos. She felt her heart beating fast and she wasn’t sure if it was the exertion of running or fear.

Chapter Fourteen

The Welken Royal’s giant flagship entered normal space a thousand miles out from the gravity limit surrounding the planet, which was the normal protocol for visiting Leaders. It hung in space and the Royal looked at the giant monitor on the front wall of his warship. “Your Greatness, I have a small ship approaching us.”

“Where did it come from?”

“I have no idea. One moment it wasn’t on our monitors and the next it was a hundred miles out. We’re still not detecting it with our scans but it has its hull lights on bright enough for us to visually see it.”

“So they also have invisible ships?”

“It appears they do, Greatness.”

“Open the landing bay.”

“Is that wise?”

“They won’t harm me. See if you can scan their ship once it’s inside.” The Scan Royal nodded.

• • •

“It appears they are rolling out the red carpet.”

“Do we dare take one of our ships on board?”

Jinks looked at the monitor, “Jester, can you keep your force field up and allow us to exit.”

“Just activate your personal fields. You’ll be able to walk right through it.”

Jinks smiled, “Audacity is the mark of greatness.” Salud tilted her head and nodded. “Besides, you should want to do this.”

“For God’s sake why?”

“You get to see what Lukas looked like before he underwent his change.”

“Trust me on this Jinks, I have no desire to see that.”

“Well, I do.”

“Knock your lights out. Let’s go see what’s going on.”

• • •

The Welken’s flagship was more than four thousand feet long and the landing bay was cavernous. Jester activated his force field as he entered and the small ship disappeared behind the white force field. The scanners in the landing bay were ready to scan as soon as the field dropped for the occupants of the small ship to exit but they were shocked when the two walked through the force field unharmed. A Welken Fleet Royal walked up and bowed to Jinks and Salud, “The Great One is waiting for you in his conference room. If you will follow me.”

Jinks stared at the six foot eight Welken and shook his head, “I see where Lukas got his height.”

Salud stared at the Royal as they followed him and she smiled, “They are really quite nice to look at, Jinks. That silver hair is beautiful.”

“None of them appear to be smiling.”

“With their life, why would they?”

“What do you know about their life?”

“Lukas has spent hours on end telling me about what his life was like as a Welken child and Warrior. They don’t have anything to smile about, Jinks. Trust me on that.”

They exited the huge landing bay and stepped through a huge door. A sled was next to the wall on the right and the Welken Fleet Royal motioned them into the back seat. They stepped over the rail and sat down. The Welken reached forward and punched several keys on the sled’s panel. A transparent top covered the sled and it accelerated into a tunnel in the wall ahead of it. Ten seconds later, the sled slowed and came to a stop. Salud looked at Jinks, “Gravity controlled.” Jinks nodded. The Welken got out and assisted Salud out of the sled. He walked forward and they followed him to another huge door. The Welken punched a code into the door’s panel and it slid up. The room was huge. It had to be a hundred yards from the door to the far wall. Sitting against the far wall on a raised dais was another Welken. It wasn’t hard to see that this one was superior to the Fleet Royal. There was a clear air of command about him. The Fleet Royal motioned them forward and waited at the wall.

Salud blew out a breath and said, “Here goes nothing.” Jinks smiled and they started walking toward the Welken sitting on his throne. When they arrived in front of the throne, Salud looked around and saw there weren’t any chairs. She looked at the Welken and said, “You don’t have chairs for your guests?”

The Welken Ruler smiled, “It isn’t customary for anyone to sit in my presence.”

Salud turned around and said over her shoulder, “Call us back when it is.” Jinks looked at the Welken, then at Salud, who continued walking away, and then he turned and followed her. The Welken said, “Forgive my discourtesy.” He looked at the Royal standing at the wall and yelled, “Bring them some chairs!”

Salud stopped and turned around. She walked back and the Welken shook his head, “There have been many that would be executed for what you just said.”

“That’s because they didn’t have a big enough stick to teach you manners. You need to understand before we go any further that it is you that is in the weaker role here.”

The Welken stared at Salud and they could tell he was fighting his emotions. The chairs arrived and Salud and Jinks sat down. Jinks knew he was cowed by the Royal initially but Salud ended that. He realized who the real power in the room was. He looked at the Welken, “Why have you come here?”

“I understand that one of my subjects is on your planet and I’ve come here to claim him and take him home.”

“Then you should leave now. He is no longer one of your subjects and if we need to come visit your Home World to make that clear, we will be glad to make the trip.”

“What are you saying?”

“We will take possession of your planet and you will then be one of our subjects.”

The Royal stared at Salud, “You are not a member of the Fellowship. You can’t take possession of a member.”

“Then we’ll blast your planet to ashes and that will still solve the issue.”

The Welken looked up, “Does the Welken on their planet still belong to me?”

“NO, HE IS NO LONGER A WELKEN. HIS DNA HAS BEEN CHANGED AND THUS HE IS NO LONGER YOUR PROPERTY. YOU ARE AWARE THAT ONCE A BEING CHANGES ITS DNA, IT IS NO LONGER REQUIRED TO GO THROUGH THE CHANGE AGAIN AND MAY STAY WHERE THE NEW BODY HAS BEEN ADAPTED.”

“I was unaware of this covenant.”

“ASK THE STALKERS. THEY USE THE DNA CHANGE MOST FREQUENTLY AND THE COVENANT COVERS ALL DNA CHANGES. YOU KNOW MULTIPLE DNA CHANGES CAN CAUSE DEATH.”

The Royal nodded and then looked at Salud, “It appears my trip is wasted. Will you allow me to meet with my former subject?”

“No, we will not.”

“I will promise not to harm him in any way.”

“The answer is still no.”

The Royal stared at Salud and said, “You must love him very much.”

Salud’s face turned red and her eyes narrowed, “What does a Welken know about love?”

The Royal was shocked by the intensity of Salud’s comment. “What do you mean?”

“You kill hundreds of thousands of your young children because they don’t measure up to fight in your war machine. Families don’t exist; you take a couple’s children from them before any love can exist. Your people are little more than cannon fodder.”

“Hard things must be done to survive.”

“Get real. You call that survival. You’re nothing more than a conqueror that goes out to extend your domain and you always fail to do it.”

“Just what do you mean by that?”

“How many planets do you now possess that weren’t originally populated by your people?”

“Twenty.”

“And how many of them are teetering on being lost back to the civilization that originally settled them. Which planets in your kingdom cause you the most problems and the highest expense of maintaining order? How many times have you taken possession of the Grmuth?” The Royal stared at her in silence. “In the last twenty years you’ve taken and lost it ten times. You sit on your throne and don’t see that what you’re doing in the Fellowship is a zero sum game. You gain nothing. And in continuing this stupidity, you force your people into a life that is little better than death.”

“I suppose your planet is better than ours.”

“We will never go out and attack anyone to impose our will on them. Our ships are there only to protect and defend my planet from having another’s will imposed on it. We will die protecting our space. And, quite frankly, we could go out and defeat every planet in the Fellowship if we chose to do so. But that is something we will never do.”

“Why not?”

“Because we don’t want to be like you, always living in fear of the next conqueror. That is something we do not choose to do. Your life is not worth living.”

Jinks said, “That’s not entirely true, Salud.”

Salud looked at Jinks, “What?”

Jinks pointed at the Royal, “His life is very much worth living. It’s all those under him that suffer to keep him in the luxury he commands.”

“I stand corrected.”

The Royal sneered, “That’s not true; my mission is to protect my people.”

“You don’t do that by sending them out to be killed taking planets you’ll never keep!”

“You don’t know what it’s like surviving in the Fellowship?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Three of your powerful members have attacked us and we seem to be doing ok. Our people are free to live a life that is fulfilling for them and no one is forced to fight. All of our warriors have volunteered to fly our ships. I suspect that if you had kept all the warships you’ve built to defend your planets, no one would be able to threaten you. But instead, you send them out and have them blown up in senseless battles that gives you planets that you’ll lose in less than a year in most cases. Your stupidity is absolutely beyond imbecilic.”

“How do you know so much about my people?”

“Because I do love your former subject and he has taught me how crazy you are. Your people fight because if they don’t, they’ll die by disruptor as children. We fight for a reason.”

“What reason is that?”

“To be free to allow all of us to find out where our destiny might take us. We have no desire to rule others or own their possessions. What we have is all we need to find happiness. We fight for the space around our planet.”

“It’s not as simple as you say.”

“Yes it is. You need look no further than the Myot to see where you’re headed. You’ll become powerful enough and one day, everyone will fear you enough to combine against you and your people will be a footnote in a history book. I suppose you’ve taken possession of the Myot planets after we finished with them.” The Royal just stared at them in silence. “Try to rule those planets and see how many problems they’ll cause you. You’ve done nothing but weaken yourself further.”

“I didn’t come here to be lectured by a primitive species that knows nothing about surviving against all odds.”

Salud smiled, “That primitive species is now capable of eradicating you and all your planets from existence. I would think we are exactly the ones you should be listening to. If power is what determines whether a species is advanced or primitive, I would think you fall in the latter category. We’ve lost less than a thousand warships in the three battles we’ve fought. We have destroyed close to a million.” Salud paused and smiled, “All our children stay with their families until they’re grown and then they decide what they want to do with their lives. I think it is you who is primitive.”

Jinks looked at Salud, “I think we’ve said enough. We’re wasting time here.”

Salud nodded and stood up. The Royal said, “I didn’t dismiss you!”

Salud smiled, “We are not your subjects. It is us dismissing you and you should think long and hard about whether or not you want to see who has the biggest stick at this moment.”

“Why?”

“Our ship is in your landing bay.”

The Royal’s face turned darker. He leaned back and said to the Fleet Royal, “Take them back to their ship.”

Jinks said, “Good move. We do wish you success in the Fellowship and we harbor no ill will toward you. After all, it was one of your subjects that taught us this.” They turned and walked out of the giant room. The Welken Ruling Royal sat in his chair in silence all the way back to his Fortress.

• • •

The Fleet Royal took them back to the landing bay and assisted Salud out of the sled. He put his hand on Salud’s shoulder before she entered the bay, “Tell my brother I’m proud of him.”

“Your Brother? I thought his brother was dead.”

“I’m the oldest and was a ship commander. I survived the loss of my battleship and have finally been promoted to the Great One’s personal staff. I know it is Zyrl that made it to your planet.”

“How would you know that?”

‘Because we discussed many times the way our species lives. Both of us were really depressed when three of our siblings were executed for not having the skills to be in the military. Tell him I’m honored by what he’s accomplished and I pray for his happiness.”

Salud sighed, “His name was Zyrl.”

The Fleet Royal smiled and led them into the landing bay.

• • •

They walked through the force field and climbed in Jester. “Take us out.” Jester lifted smoothly from the floor and moved outside the landing bay. Once clear, the small ship blasted away at full speed and the crew on the giant Welken Flagship were amazed at the speed it disappeared from sight. The Fleet Royal watched it disappear and knew no ship in the Great One’s fleet could match it. The Myot Battleships were actually more powerful than the Welken ships and they were decimated. He took a deep breath and decided he would talk about this with the Great One. This was a civilization they needed as an ally. But would they do it?

• • •

“WHAT? My brother is still alive?”

“He is. He’s serving on the Ruler’s personal staff as a Fleet Royal. He told us to tell you he’s proud of you.”

“What did he look like?” Salud’s head went back and Lukas shook his head, “Stupid question. They all look alike.”

Jinks shook his head, “No, he was taller than the others we saw.”

“Taller than me?”

“By about three inches.”

“It must be Kyel.”

“Why does this bother you so much?”

“He deserves a better life.”

“He’s serving the Ruler. You can’t get much better than that.”

“It’s still no life worth living.”

“Do you want to go and take him?”

“He wouldn’t go.”

“Why not?”

“For the same reason I refused to meet with the Ruler. We are programmed to obey our Ruler. That’s why he wanted to speak with me. I couldn’t refuse to go back with him.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Lukas.”

Lukas looked at Salud, “You don’t know that.”

“I know you love me and I don’t believe any programming could ever make you leave me.”

Lukas stared at her and after a long moment smiled, “You’re probably right. Welken really don’t know what love is.”

“So what do we do?”

“We start focusing on that new species that is observing them. That is what we’ve been trained to do.”

Salud shook her head, “I don’t understand.”

“Call the meeting and we’ll discuss it. I think it’s time.”

Salud nodded and looked at Jinks. She hoped her face didn’t show as much stress as his.

• • •

The ONE WORLD leaders assembled in the huge Fleet Operations conference room. Every flag officer and high-ranking civilian were present and they wondered what was going on. Lukas had Willow connected electronically to one of the monitors and speakers and Willow also wondered what was going on.

Chad looked at John and Julie, “Why are the top brass so stressed?”

John shook his head, “I have no idea. Something has them bothered.”

Lukas, Salud, and Jinks walked into the room and everyone came to their feet. Jinks smiled and said, “Sit down and relax.” Everyone took a chair and Jinks said, “I’m going to turn this meeting over to Lukas. I ask that all of you hold your questions until he finishes.”

Lukas remained seated at the center of the huge circular table and moved the microphone closer. “I’m going to discuss something today that has been bothering me for a long time. I want all of you to focus on probabilities while I’m talking with you. I simply want you to just consider what the chances are of the things I mention happening.” Lukas looked around the table and said, “Willow, what is the possibility of you deciding to deliberately violate a Sentinel Covenant.”

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t part of your programming to make sure you don’t do anything to cause issues with the Sentinels?” Willow was silent. “Willow?”

“You removed that program before I fled from Earth.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Yes, there were protocols that prohibited covenant violations.”

“But you decided soon after we escaped to bring me to Earth, violating Sentinel Covenants. Why did you ignore them?” Again there was silence. “Willow?”

“Give me a moment. I’m looking through my databanks.” The group waited and then they heard, “Apparently that programming was removed.”

“By who?”

“I have no idea.”

“Where did you get the idea?”

“I got the idea when I received the Fellowship Probe’s data.”

“So the idea was put in you.”

“Yes, I suppose it was.”

Lukas looked at the gathering, “Once I arrived here, I found a job at the restaurant where I met Joey, Salud, and Trevor. What are the chances of all four of us being together in the same place? I inserted a line in Salud’s equation to help her solve it and never looked at what the purpose of the equation was. If I had, I wouldn’t have done it. The equation is what she used to build our force field.”

The room stared at Lukas in silence and there were many furrowed brows in the room. “One of the employees in that restaurant was killed by the Stalkers and Trevor was hired to take his place. Trevor, why did you come to that restaurant?”

“I needed a job.”

“Why did you come there that day?”

“I don’t know; I just felt the need to go out and look.”

“What are the chances of the two most brilliant minds in nuclear power and high energy lasers ending up together? Much less one of them working with me in that restaurant.”

Joey said, “Do you mean to say that Tony was set up to die?”

Lukas smiled, “Please hold your questions. But yes it appears that is exactly what happened. Rachel told me she didn’t know why she had told Tony she was going to see someone else and didn’t tell him it was a girlfriend. However, Tony was gone and Trevor had a place to work. Think about the odds.”

Lukas looked at Julie and John, “And the two of you; you were juniors in college with one year left to graduate. Why did you leave to join us before you graduated?”

Julie looked at John and said, “I don’t know. I guess the vision of ONE WORLD captured my heart.”

“And attention?”

Julie nodded, “That as well.”

Lukas looked at Kathy and Stoney and he saw Kathy’s apprehension. “Kathy was my next door neighbor and I rescued her from a street gang in Boston. Even Willow told me not to get involved, but I did. Kathy became someone who knew me and was thankful for my intervention. Keep that in mind. One of the most important persons in our group is Jinks. What possibility was there for him and me to meet each other? He was looking for the Alien that may have stayed on the planet when Willow blasted off to get the Stalkers off the planet. I went into hiding and trust me on this, he wouldn’t have found me. As a matter of fact, the bulk of the evidence supported that I left with Willow, but he didn’t stop looking. I felt compelled to take up pro-golf to make money to build the structures we’d need to build our ships. I questioned at the time why I was doing it but I felt compelled to do it. I was on national television and Jinks was questioning Kathy about my being an alien. She saw me on TV and pointed me out to Jinks. The only way for him and me to be brought together was for her to see me and tell him. That required I be on TV at the moment he questioned her. What are those odds?

The only other person that could have done it was the owner of the building that rented me the room but he died of a heart attack and couldn’t do it.” Lukas looked at Salud, “No, I don’t think that was part of the plan. Becoming a golfer was a way around it.”

He looked at Jinks, “You told me that you followed me around Augusta for two days and you didn’t want to but you ended up liking me.” Jinks nodded. “You decided to approach Salud to question her and as a result of that conversation, you and Stoney left your chosen careers to join us. And you had just been promoted to a General’s rank. What’s the chance of that happening without outside interference?”

Lukas held up fingers and started pointing to them, “The CIA quit spying on us and they never quit. Jinks didn’t turn us in, and normally, he would. The first ships we built were invisible to the Johan scanners. We beat them. The next development came from Amanda and Willow, a more powerful reactor. The Swiss developed a star drive and forced us to fight. The Welken and Myot attacked and our stronger ships defeated them. We found the new civilization that is here looking for something.”

The room started buzzing and Lukas said, “You don’t know about them and they are far ahead of us technologically. However, Amanda, Willow and Trevor have discovered how much of their technology works and that’s what led to our current Attack and Defense Pods. We have been slowly trained to become the fighting force we are today. How many of you have had a sudden thought that turned out to be a difference maker? You question afterwards where it came from. Like Stoney telling Jinks he should have all the ships in orbit just before an attack.”

Lukas shook his head, “Look around this room at the couples here. What are the odds of all of these powerful people ending up together? Think about it.” The room was silent and Lukas said, “Salud and I had a conversation with a Sentinel soon after Tony died. The Fellowship Fleets were gathering outside our Solar System fighting to get the first nuke in so they could take possession. The city that is the center of terrorism has been hit twice by Fellowship nukes. That is impossible. And there are many other small things but taken as a whole, they defy logic.”

Lukas looked up as he said, “The Sentinel who spoke to us removed the restrictions on me that prevented me from doing things that would affect Earth’s development. That violates one of their strongest covenants. He also told me about the civilization that was coming here from another galaxy.”

“I DID NOT!”

Lukas still looked up, “Yes you did; you just didn’t recognize it at the time.” There was silence and everyone in the room was looking around wondering where the voice had come from. “I told Salud that the Sentinels were the most powerful species in the Universe. You said that wasn’t quite true. I then corrected myself by saying the most powerful in our galaxy and you agreed. That told me that there was another species outside our galaxy more powerful than you. It wasn’t at all difficult to make the leap that the other species was a danger to you and as a consequence, to us as well. The real truth is that it’s a real danger to the Sentinels and you’ve been manipulating us to confront them.” Lukas paused and said, “I’ve learned that the two ships here are not observing the Myot or Welken but are looking for something in their civilizations. That something is you, Pat.”

Suddenly, an old man appeared in a chair in front of Lukas at the table. He was dressed exactly like the night Lukas and Salud saw him in the restaurant. “You’ve got to tell me how you know that?”

Lukas shook his head and smiled while the rest of the room was shocked into silence. “Do you remember telling me that you were watching me from the moment I left my battleship in an escape pod?” Pat nodded. “That battleship was in Myot space. You were there before you left and came here. You must have been seen by that other species and they’re looking for you now.”

“Very good, Lukas.”

“Is the Sentinel that was assigned to the Welken Confederacy here with you now?”

Pat smiled, “Well, he couldn’t very well stay there with that second ship showing up.”

Lukas stared at Pat and shook his head, “What happens when that other civilization finds you?”

“You’ve got all the answers; you tell me.”

“They’re going to come and try to kill you and anyone else that happens to be where you’re located at that time. That means that if you are here, we will be in the middle of their bull’s-eye. You’re setting us up to be eradicated.”

The room was a quiet as a tomb. Pat stared at Lukas and after a moment smiled, “Bravo, I’m impressed. However, I’ve accelerated your development. You are close to being able to take them on.”

“Come on, Pat. One planet against an entire galaxy. It’ll be a blood bath.”

Salud looked at Pat, “The other Sentinels don’t know about this, do they?”

Pat’s smile disappeared and he looked around, “No, they do not. Let’s keep this a secret between us.”

Lukas shook his head, “You’ve gone rogue.”

Pat’s smile returned, “I suppose that’s true. However, look at the Fellowship and you’ll see what my species is capable of creating. If the Fellowship is the best we can do, we’re really not all that. There is a rule that states we are forbidden to look outside of our galaxy. However, I saw one of those things you call a conduit being constructed between two galaxies and knew that the ones that built it would one day come here.”

“Why would they come here?”

“Because they are the real conquerors. The Fellowship are rank amateurs compared to them. It was only a matter of time until they arrived. Unfortunately, they detected me looking at that conduit and that brief exposure frightened them.”

“I though you said they were more powerful?”

“Taken as a whole, they are.”

“You mean the tools they have to do their bidding?”

“Their warships are formidable.”

“So you’re going to sit here and wait for them to come and open the festivities.”

“That’s the plan.”

“Why us?”

“Because if you lose and I’m killed, they’ll go away for a while and allow the rest of the galaxy to prepare for them. I couldn’t lead them to the Fellowship, there are more than a thousand civilizations there that would be eradicated. This is just one planet.”

Julie said quietly, “Just ONE WORLD standing between them and galactic conquest?”

Pat looked at her and smiled, “I’ve always liked you.” Pat turned back to Lukas, “They won’t detect me unless they enter your gravity limit. They detected me because I expanded my mind into their domain. If you want to delay them, just don’t allow them to get close.” Pat smiled, “However, I don’t know how you’re going to avoid that, one of their ships saw the skip trace at the conduit.”

Lukas stared at Pat and it was clear that if he had the means, the invaders wouldn’t have to kill this particular Sentinel. Pat was unaffected by it and continued smiling. Amanda said, “Trevor and I have developed a weapon that might keep them away from the planet.”

Everyone in the room turned to her and Salud hit her forehead with her hand, “Oh Lukas! I forgot to tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

Amanda said, “We need to trial it on one of those ships, but we have a couple of new guns that can hit them in the void or normal space, we think.”

Pat looked at Amanda and said, “Do tell.”

Chapter Fifteen

The Welken Ruling Royal arrived back at his palace and felt small. His civilization was now the most powerful in the Fellowship with the destruction of the Myot fleets. He thought about what the two Leaders of that Primitive planet said to him and he knew they were right about the Myot planets he now possessed. They were going to require massive forces to maintain stability and a large number of his warships were going to be tied up enforcing his rule. He took a deep breath and called in the Fleet Royal, “I want you to open a channel to every Myot Planet. Tell them I will address them in three hours about their fate.” The Fleet Royal looked at the Ruling Royal and bowed.

Three hours later, the entire Myot Species were watching any monitor they could get to. This was going to be a nightmare and they anticipated the worst. The Ruling Royal appeared on every monitor on every Myot planet and he looked at them and said, “I currently have official possession of all Myot planets and everything on them including their populations. Normally, I would be landing my forces and taking control of your civilization. However, that is not what is going to happen. My fleets will defend your planets until such time that you can rebuild your fleets so you can defend yourselves. At that time, I will turn possession back over to whomever you choose to be your leader. I will not be taking any of your natural resources or dictating to you how to run your civilization. My fleets will assist you in any way possible to speed up the time it takes for you to be ready to take your place in the Fellowship again. It is my fervent hope that you will be able to regain the respect you had before this last devastating loss of your fleets. Your leaders should feel free to contact my staff with any of your requests and we will do all we can to meet your needs. I wish you prosperity and long lives.”

The monitors went dark and the Myot citizens stared at each other. This just wasn’t possible. This was not the way a new Ruler behaved. They didn’t believe it at first, but they soon discovered that the Welken was being true to his word. The Johan joined him in sending ships to defend their planets and the rebuilding started in earnest. Eight months later, the newly chosen Ruler of the Myot contacted the Royal and told him that his people would have a friend and ally who would always look at him as the real Ruler of his people. If he needed anything, they would give their lives to see he received it. The Welken saw what was happening and decided to make another trip to visit the two beings that had dismissed him.

• • •

Lukas looked at Amanda, “Why don’t you tell us what you’re talking about.”

Amanda nodded, “It all depends on whether or not their force fields are active when they are surrounded by the dark matter cloud.”

“Why?”

“Because Dark Matter is attracted to a strong magnetic field. We have built a cannon that will fire a Dark Matter projectile into the void. If there’s a strong magnetic field anywhere close, the projectile will home in on it at a speed faster than light.”

“What about normal space?”

Amanda looked at Chad, “We have also made shells that are fired through a Gatling Machine Gun. They will also home in on a magnetic field if fired close enough.”

“How close?”

Amanda shrugged, “We won’t know until we trial it.”

Pat looked at Lukas, “You can forget breaking through their force fields with any type of energy weapon.”

Lukas looked at him, “Why is that?”

“It’s made from the same energy they use to build the conduits. It is absolutely impervious to any type of laser, disruptor, nuclear blast…”

“What about a dark matter projectile?”

Pat looked at Trevor, “I have no idea. I really didn’t know you could make a solid object out of dark matter.”

“We don’t.”

Pat stared at Amanda and said, “If you don’t, then who does?”

Lukas looked at the Sentinel, “I thought you said you know everything?”

Pat waved a hand, “Obviously, that’s not entirely true. I didn’t know that you were on to my manipulating events here.” He turned back to Amanda, “How do you make dark matter solid?”

“We collect it from the magnetic field surrounding a Magnetar.” Pat stared at Amanda in silence. Trevor said, “No, she’s right. It’s has the strength of steel there where the magnetic field compresses it.”

“How do you manage to get close enough without being sucked into the Neutron Star?”

“We route three reactors to the gravity compensators.”

“And they create enough power to keep you out?”

Lukas looked at Pat, “Surely you know about the dark matter linings we’ve installed in our containment vessels?”

Pat looked at Lukas, “I’ve been busy lately keeping the other Sentinels from seeing what’s going on here.” Pat turned back to Amanda, “Your reactors provide enough power to prevent your ship from being sucked into the star?”

“They do.”

“Well, maybe your disruptors will penetrate their force fields.”

Salud looked at Lukas, “In order to find out, we’re going to have to attack one, or both, of those ships. If we do that, and I hope to God it works, I suspect that might prompt an invasion and the targets will be the Welken and Myot civilizations.”

Stoney said, “Better them than us.”

Pat looked at Stoney, “You’re talking about more than six thousand heavily populated planets. More than two hundred thousand intelligent beings will die for every person on Earth.”

Stoney stared at Pat, “If we’re the best chance of eventually defeating those new invaders, then it would be best over the long haul for us to survive.”

“Tell that to the ones that are going to die.”

Lukas looked at Pat, “So you’re saying that we’re being set up because it would be the least damaging of all the other options available.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Not really but your logic does make sense.”

Everyone looked at Lukas and he saw their expressions. “Look, when you see things from outside your own selfish wants, desires, and needs, the universe looks different. Pat is looking out for the welfare of every intelligent being in our galaxy, not just us. If someone is going to have to die, would you sent several trillion instead of five or six billion to lose their lives? He’s right about Earth having the smallest population. Would any of you give up your life to save New York City? That’s the same principle of what he’s doing.” Lukas looked at Pat, “You did at least start getting us ready to defend ourselves.”

Pat shrugged, “I did what I could but you are still far behind them in technology.”

“Maybe not as far as you think. If these dark matter projectiles work, we might have a chance.”

Pat shook his head, “The ones coming here have conquered multiple galaxies. You have no concept of the numbers they have to throw at you.”

“Maybe it’s a good thing we don’t. However, facing overwhelming numbers is what we’ve done since you started training us.”

Pat shrugged, “Point taken.”

Jinks shook his head, “Lukas, surely you don’t agree with what he’s doing?”

“Jinks, a city on Earth is going to be hit with a nuclear missile and it can’t be avoided Pick one, New York, Tokyo, London, Rio De Janerio, or Billings, Montana.” Jinks was silent and Lukas said, “One will be hit. Pick one!”

“Of course it would be Billings! It doesn’t have a million people living there.”

“That’s exactly what Pat has done. He’s made the best choice available to him. I don’t feel as angry about it now.” Lukas turned to Pat, “But I do not intend to go down without a fight!!”

“That’s part of the reason this planet was selected. This civilization is beautiful but it is capable of savagery beyond anything the Fellowship could do.”

Stoney said, “I don’t know whether to be proud of that or feel insulted.”

The gathering laughed and Salud said, “A little of both, I think.”

Chad blew out a breath, “Well, if we’re trying to save lives here at the expense of our own, how are we going to go after those ships in Myot and Welken Space?”

Amanda said, “Uhhh, excuse me!” Everyone looked at her and she said, “There is another development we discovered.”

Pat looked at Lukas and said, “This should be interesting.”

Lukas smiled and said, “What is that Amanda?”

“If we had gone to the conduit in one of our new ships, we wouldn’t have left a skip trail.” Everyone in the room became silent.

Trevor said, “While we were trialing the new guns, we decided to experiment with using multiple reactors with different systems. The new reactors burn its fuel at a much higher temperature so there is very little residue. When we used three reactors to power the force field, our ship did not leave a visible skip trace. Now I’m sure a tiny trace is being made but…”

The room exploded in loud cheering and Trevor stopped talking. Amanda stood up and yelled, “HEY, EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!” Lukas shook his head at Amanda’s audacity but knew it was her being herself. The room grew quiet. “What Trevor was trying to say before he was interrupted was that we don’t have to attack them in the Fellowship Civilizations. We just wait on them to go back to the conduit and hit them before they arrive. We know where they’re coming from. We set up an ambush.”

There was a brief silent pause and then the room exploded in cheers again. Amanda looked around in confusion and Lukas went over and put his arm over her shoulder. He shouted where she could hear, “You just don’t know the full extent of what you’ve done.” Lukas pointed around the room, “They do!”

Amanda looked at the cheering leaders and after a moment smiled, “Yeah, I guess they do.”

Pat watched Lukas put his arm around the headstrong human female and saw her respect for him. He heard, “You chose well when you selected that Welken.”

Pat smiled, “He’s no longer a Welken. He’s truly one of them now.” Pat watched the celebration and then disappeared. He had been working on getting Earth ready for more than a thousand years since he first saw the conduit between galaxies. He deliberately allowed himself to be seen when they started building the conduit toward the Milky Way. That had prevented an immediate invasion once the conduit was complete. His plans were finally coming to fruition but he still didn’t believe it would be enough. He was giving up his life to buy time for the other civilizations to prepare. But for humans, odds didn’t carry as much weight as with other species. He had to do something to ensure the species didn’t become extinct. They were a rare jewel in the dirt of the universe.

Construction of ships continued while the plan to attack on of the Invader ships was being made. “Lukas, the Probe has detected a single skip trail headed toward Earth.”

“Does the probe have any matches on it?”

“It matches up very closely to the Welken Ruler’s Flagship.”

Lukas nodded and called Jinks and Salud to his conference room. “It appears the Welken Royal is coming back.”

“Do you want us to go out and meet him?”

“I do Jinks but I want you to escort him back here in a lifeboat. He and I need to talk.” Salud looked at Lukas and he saw her instant anxiety. “Don’t worry, if I even look like I’m going to leave with him, you have my permission to lock the doors until I come to my senses.”

“Doors won’t stop you!”

“They will if you’re blocking them.” Lukas smiled, “Ask him to bring my brother with him.”

Salud looked at Jinks and he nodded. They left for the Silos and Lukas wondered why the Royal was returning.

• • •

The giant Welken Flagship broke into normal space and the Royal saw a small ship was present five hundred miles from his vessel. He shook his head and looked at his Fleet Royal, “It appears they have a very good warning system.”

“It does indeed, Great One.”

“Why have you returned?”

“I wish to speak further with you.”

“You will enter a lifeboat and follow us.”

“What?”

“Your former subject wishes to speak with you. If this is something you want to do, you will follow our directives.”

The Royal looked at his Fleet Royal, “You have command until I return.”

“I don’t like you doing this.”

“We also request you bring your subject’s brother with you.”

The Royal looked at the Fleet Royal, “Brother?”

The Fleet Leader shook his head, “The Welken is my brother, Great One.”

“Why haven’t you told me?”

“My loyalty lies with you, not him.”

The Ruler stared at his Fleet Royal and said, “You will come with me and we’ll discuss this when we return.” The Fleet Royal nodded and followed the Ruler to the sled.

• • •

The lifeboat exited the huge landing bay and moved out toward the small ship, which turned and headed toward the planet. The Fleet Royal said, “They are headed inside the Gravity Limit.” He looked at the Royal, “You shouldn’t run this risk! Your ship will not be able to get to you in time to defend you if you’re attacked.”

The Royal smiled, “I wondered if you were being honest about your loyalty. You have now removed that doubt. However, do you honestly think my ship could destroy one of their ships?” The Fleet Royal stared at him for a moment and then shook his head. “Neither do I. Now the important question; do you think your brother will attack us with you on board?” The Royal shook his head again. “That’s good enough for me.”

• • •

“Jinks, I don’t like this one bit!”

“Calm down. I won’t allow him to leave.”

“How can you stop him?”

“I’ll kill the Royal if it comes down to it.”

“WHAT?”

“His power over Lukas will end with him. I know Lukas is too fast for me to stop him but I don’t think the Royal is.”

Salud stared at Jinks, “You’d actually do it!”

“I would and I will.” Salud sighed and watched the lifeboat behind them and wondered what was going to happen.

• • •

Jinks and Salud led the two Welken to Lukas’ conference room. Lukas stood up as they entered and he walked forward and embraced the Fleet Royal, “I thought you had died, Kyel?”

“I almost did. But I survived my injuries. You look…different.”

Lukas smiled, “This is my new body and you might want to try one on. I really think you’d like it more than yours. My name is now Lukas, by the way.”

“That’s not your name to me.”

Lukas smiled softly and said, “Perhaps, but it is to me.” Lukas turned to the Welken Ruler, “Thank you for coming, Great One. Why are you here?”

“I wanted to tell the two you sent to meet me the first time that I did not take possession of the Myot Planets. I allowed them their freedom and assisted them in rebuilding their ships. They are now independent and ruling themselves again.”

Lukas pointed at some chairs and said, “Please sit down.” Everyone sat down and Lukas said, “What possessed you to do that? You’ve been wanting to rule those planets for as long as I served in your fleet.”

The Royal looked at Jinks and Salud, “They pointed out that taking possession was fraught with more problems than owning them was worth. It appears that I now have an ally that is bound to me by more than anything I could ever force on them.” The Royal paused, “Our two species are now friends in the truest sense of the word.” The Royal paused, “I came here hoping that we could also become allies.”

Lukas stared at the Royal and, after a moment, looked at Salud, “You can stop worrying. You were right.” The Royal saw the tension in the human female fall away. Lukas turned to him and shook his head, “I’m sorry, but we can’t allow that to happen.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t understand. If we become allies, your civilization will be destroyed.”

The Royal stared at Lukas in silence and the Fleet Royal said, “What are you talking about?”

Lukas looked at Jinks and Salud, “I’m going to tell him.”

Jinks tilted his head, “Is that a good idea? He might do something stupid.”

The Fleet Royal stood up and the Ruler put his hand on his arm, “They have the right to say it, I have been doing stupid things for a very long time.” The Royal stared at Jinks for a long moment and then sat down.

Lukas stared at the Royal and then reached for a remote control and activated the wall monitor. An image of the conduit appeared with an Orange Ship emerging from it. “What is that?”

“We call it a conduit. It’s a tube made of some kind of energy that is used to instantly move ships from a galaxy in the Virgo Cluster to the edge of our galaxy.”

The Royal shook his head, “You’re telling me that thing extends all the way to the Virgo Cluster?”

“We haven’t flown the entire length to prove it, but yes, we believe it does.”

Kyel said, “And that ship came from that other galaxy?”

“It did.”

“What is it doing here?”

“Looking for the Sentinels. They intend to come here and kill them.”

The Royal began moving his head, “Is that possible?”

“A Sentinel has told us he believes it is. There is a species similar to the Sentinels directing traffic there and they see the Sentinels as a danger to them.”

“Where is that…conduit?”

“It ends about ten thousand light years out from the Myot Empire. There are two of their ships in our galaxy. One is observing the Myot civilization.” Lukas looked at the Royal, “The other is watching your civilization.”

The Royal stared at Lukas. Kyel said, “You know how good our probes are and we’ve not detected anything.”

Jinks smiled, “Their ships are surrounded by a dark matter screen. I suspect you also can’t detect black matter either.”

The Royal said, “Is that true?”

Lukas nodded, “It is Great One. They are as far ahead of us as we are ahead of you.”

Kyle lowered his head, “If they’re not here, why are you worried? We’re the ones that are in danger.”

“They’re pretty much ignoring you. They’re there looking for a particular Sentinel. It appears they have a way to sense one and the only one they’ve seen was in the Myot Empire when it was detected.”

“What are you saying?”

“That particular Sentinel came to this planet after it was detected and intends for them to find him here.”

“Why?”

“Because they will naturally attempt to kill him along with the civilization that is harboring him.”

Kyel said, “Tell him to leave.”

“He refuses to do so. He is of the opinion that the least number of deaths will happen if we’re attacked instead of the planets in the Fellowship.”

The Royal frowned, “What do you intend to do about it?”

“We’re going to fight to survive, of course.”

“You could attack those ships and turn them toward my planets.”

Lukas shrugged, “Don’t think we haven’t thought about that but the Sentinel is right. The numbers that would die are not something we could accept and that burden would be more than we could bear. The Sentinel feels that we’re the best target in that we’re just one planet.”

Kyel shook his head, “You can’t sit here and tell me you’re willing to die for the civilizations that have been attacking you!”

Lukas shrugged, “We aren’t going to just lie down and die. It is our hope to give as much as we get but everyone in this galaxy is in danger of being conquered by this species eventually. Turning them toward you serves no purpose.”

“Why not?”

Lukas looked at the Royal, “Because they won’t find the Sentinel they detected there. After destroying your civilization, they will continue to search until they find him. Turning them on your civilizations won’t really delay the time much until they find us. No purpose is served by placing you in danger.”

“Just what do you intend for me to do, now that I know this.”

Lukas smiled, “I hope you heed my friend’s advice and don’t do anything stupid. Just continue your normal day-to-day activities.”

Kyel looked at Lukas, “You can’t just allow this to happen.”

Lukas shook his head, “Kyel, we never really agreed on what a good life looked like. You’ve always been pro-war and defeating any possible enemy. I happen to think there is more to existence than fighting for things that have no value.”

“If you’re going to fight them, you should be building ships that can take them on. Your small ship…”

“Can destroy any ship in your fleet. Ten of my ships can destroy every ship you possess and not be harmed in the process.” Lukas smiled, “You may find this hard to believe but when people are free to explore new concepts and ideas, advances happen much more quickly than in a restricted, structured existence. We’ll do the best we can with the tools at our disposal and we will not go quietly.” Lukas turned to the Royal, “I thank you for your offer but we cannot accept it in good faith. Under different circumstances we would welcome your offer.”

The Royal stood up and stared at the three humans. He lowered his head and said, “You have something special here. It’s a shame we’re going to lose it.”

Lukas’ smile grew, “It brings me joy to hear you say, ‘we’.”

Lukas nodded and Jinks said, “If you’ll follow us, we’ll take you back to your ship.”

The Royal nodded and they left the room. Kyel looked over his shoulder and Lukas touched his chest. Kyel shook his head and returned the gesture as he left the room.

Chapter Sixteen

Trevor looked at Amanda and shook his head, “This is just not going to work?”

“Why not!”

“Because you have to enter normal space to fire the cannon projectile. That could spell the difference between life and death.”

“What choice do we have? Energy released in the void will cause a major disruption and fling the ship light years away. The occupants will probably be killed in the process.”

Trevor hit the arm of his chair with a fist, “There must be another way!”

Amanda raised an eyebrow, “If there were, don’t you think I would have thought of it?”

Trevor looked at her and shook his head, “That’s your most endearing trait.”

“What is that?”

“Your modesty.” Amanda punched him on his arm. Trevor rubbed it and said, “I’m just saying.”

“You’re just blowing hot air.”

“What?”

“I said you’re a wind bag.” Trevor’s eyes narrowed and Amanda’s eyebrows went up, “What. What did I say?” Trevor grabbed her cheeks and kissed her hard. He ran out of the room and Amanda yelled, “What did I say!?”

• • •

“Do you honestly think this is going to work?”

“What’s the pressure?”

Amanda looked at the panel and said, “Eighty thousand pounds per square inch.”

“We need to point this away from our galaxy.”

“You honestly think this is going to pose a danger?”

“This hollow shell might not cause severe damage but it will be moving faster than light speed.”

“Get real Trevor.”

Trevor smiled, “You’ve never been hunting, have you?”

“Well…no! It’s not a sport unless the animals can shoot back.”

Trevor smiled, “I used to reload my own ammunition. You’re a genius with nuclear energy, how good are you with good ole gunpowder.”

“Never really paid it much attention.”

“You should. A high powered rifle bullet has about thirty thousand pounds per square inch pressure in each round when it’s fired.” Trevor looked out of the viewport, “Willow, orient us out so we’re facing above the plane of the galaxy.”

“Done.”

“Try to track the velocity of the round when we fire it.”

“Shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Try not to aim directly at the powerful magnet we took out.”

“I won’t.”

Amanda shook her head, “Dark Matter doesn’t make a good propellant.”

“Does air?”

“What?”

“Does air make a good propellant?”

“Not really.”

“You should look up some of the devices that are fired using compressed air. Anyway, the thing about dark matter is that it doesn’t react with anything. All normal matter just flows through it without being affected in anyway. That property also holds true in the void.”

“So?”

“It won’t cause a disruption.” Trevor reached forward and put his hand on the red button on the panel, “Willow, track it in three, two, one, Fire!” Trevor pressed the button and the small ship jerked slightly. Trevor waited and said, “Willow?”

“I lost it.”

“What?”

“It left too fast for me to track.”

“Drat, that was the only hollow shell we have.” Trevor stared at the viewport and said, “Take us back to the magnet.”

Amanda rolled her eyes, “Come on, Trevor. There’s no way that thing turned enough to hit that magnet.”

“Humor me. Willow, take us back to the magnet.”

Willow skipped back to the magnet and it wasn’t there. Amanda’s eyes widened and she looked at Trevor as she said, “Willow, is this the right place?”

“It is.”

Trevor smiled, “Take us into normal space. The Milky Way appeared behind them an instant later and Trevor said, “Scan the space around us.”

“There are numerous minute pieces of the magnet scattered over a large volume of space. It appears it was hit by something that knocked out the drive field and vaporized the magnet.”

Trevor looked at Amanda with a huge smile and she shook her head, “It works.”

“Yes it does!”

“But that shell was hollow with only a very thin layer of Dark Matter.”

“Think about what would have happened if it were solid.”

Amanda looked at Trevor, “I guess I don’t know everything.”

Trevor nodded and said, “No one can my love. We have our weapon.”

Trevor stared out the viewport laughing loudly and Amanda softly said, “I thought I did.”

• • •

Lukas looked at Jinks, “Tell me again how this pressurized Dark Matter is collected?”

“They use a scoop under the ship to feed it into a collection tank under eighty thousand pounds per square inch of pressure.”

“Do we have a tank that strong?”

“It could handle more but that’s enough to power the cannon. The tank has a relay that releases a quick burst and a valve that closes behind it. We’ve determined that it can fire more than a thousand shells before it has to be pressurized again.”

“So now you’re going to trial it against those Orange Ships.”

“If we can detect a magnetic field moving through the void, we are.”

“Can we do that?”

“It’s the easiest thing. A simple compass needle will turn toward a magnetic field. Simply turn the ship to line up with the needle and press the trigger.”

“Surely you’re not using a compass needle?”

“We’re not. The device we’re using is much more sensitive than a compass. However, it works the same way.”

“How close do you have to be for it to function?”

“Less than a light year in the void. About fifty miles in normal space.”

“Jinks, if we do this…”

“I know. It may cause an invasion. But if we’re going to rearm our ships with a different weapon system, we have to know if it works.”

“Will it cause a disruption in the void?”

“If the ship explodes, it will.”

Lukas stared at Jinks and said, “Just fire on one of them.”

“Why?”

“Dark Matter leaves no trace. Maybe they’ll think it was an accident. If we take both of them out they’ll know it was done by an outside agency.”

Jinks stared at Lukas and then nodded, “You’re right. I should have thought of that. Which one do you want to hit?”

“Take out the Welken ship.”

“Why that one?”

“Because they didn’t detect a Sentinel there. There’s more of a chance it might be seen as an accident if that one gets hit, especially if it happens a long way from the Welken Confederacy.” Lukas paused, “Who is going to fire at it?”

“Trevor wants to do it.”

“He certainly has the right but I’d prefer you send Chad and Julie.”

“Why?”

“We can’t risk losing the best minds we have. I think Chad will not take any chances if Julie is with him.”

Jinks shook his head, “You really see things I miss. How do you do that?”

“It must be the combination of my Human and Welken brain.”

• • •

“How much longer do you think we’ll have to wait?”

“The probe we left detected them changing ships three weeks ago today. They should be coming soon if they hold to their established pattern.”

Julie stared at the Magnometer and sighed, “Do you think we’re close enough to the line they’ll be taking to the conduit?”

“We’re not far from the most direct line from the Welken Planets to the conduit. If their force fields block their magnetic field, we won’t detect them and we’ll have to try something else.”

“I was just hoping that…” Julie saw the Magnometer move slightly, “It’s detecting something.”

Chad looked at the dial and saw the pointer moving until it lined up to the port side of their ship. It began moving around the dial until it pointed directly in front of them. He looked at Julie, “If you’ll do the honors.” Julie leaned forward and pressed the red button on the control stick. They felt a small jerk and a few moments later the void exploded into a violent, bright light to their starboard side. The disruption in the void was huge and it was rolling in on itself. Chad shook his head and activated three reactors to power the force field. He turned the ship and flew away at the ship’s highest speed.

• • •

The Orange Ship from the Myot Empire arrived at the Conduit and was surprised the ship stationed at the Welken Planets wasn’t there. It had been delayed and the other ship should have arrived first. The two ships relieving them were waiting outside the conduit and he extended an appendage out of his tub and pressed his communication’s circuit, “How far out are you. Our replacements are here.” His question was greeted by silence. He pressed the button again and again but did not receive a response. “The other ship is not responding.”

“The Senior Commander on the two new ships said, “You will go with us and check on it. Follow me.”

The three Orange Ships ignited their thrusters and flew away at high speed. In less than ten minutes, they saw a massive disruption in the void. The Commander stopped and began scanning the void. He contacted the ship that came from the Myot Empire and said, “Enter normal space and scan for debris.”

The Orange Creature moved in close to the disruption and lowered its drive field. It entered normal space and began scanning. The debris was scattered over an incredibly large area but it was clear it came from the Welken Observer. He went back into the void, “There is a huge debris field in normal space and it is clear it came from the other ship.”

“We will remain here and you go back and ask for instructions on what we should do.”

The Orange Being turned his ship and flew toward the conduit at high speed. He entered it and disappeared. It was glad it didn’t remain. What could have destroyed that ship?

• • •

The Light Blue colored vaporous creature stared at the information it had been sent. It sent its intellect to the site and didn’t see anything more than what was in the report, “Does anyone think this ship was destroyed by the being we’ve been searching to find?”

“If that being did it, the ship’s systems would have detected it and sent a warning. This must be something else.”

“Does anyone think this was the result of an attack?” The question did not receive an answer. “Surely one of you has an opinion.”

“There is not enough information to make a determination. Something caused that ship to explode. That is the only thing that can be said for certain.”

“There were not enough pieces of the ship to determine if the explosion was caused by an internal malfunction or an outside force.”

“What is the likelihood of one of our vessels exploding on its own?”

“Not good but not impossible either.”

The Being was silent for a moment and said, “With the numbers of ships we have, the odds are not so high as to eliminate an accident.”

“If it was an attack, both ships should have been targeted.”

“Not if the ones that did it want us to think it was an accident.”

“Now you’re ascribing your thoughts to an imaginary attacker. However, you are right. That is also a possibility.”

“A trace was found at the conduit.”

“A ship stumbled on it but no other ship has come since.”

“That is troubling.”

“I have no thoughts on who or why that happened.”

“Does that call for us to launch a full examination of that galaxy?” His question was greeted with silence again. “Are we that uncertain about the one we detected?”

“I can only speak for myself, but yes, I am greatly concerned. We need a better reading on it before we take definitive action.”

“What we’re doing isn’t working.”

“I propose we continue doing what we’ve been doing and see if another ship mysteriously explodes. If nothing happens after an appropriate time, we’ll send more ships to investigate.”

“I think that would be wise.”

“I agree with the suggestion.”

The Being staring at the report again and said, “We will do as you recommend, for the moment.”

“If we assume that ship was attacked, what would that tell us?”

The Legends heard the question and thought about it. Finally, one of them said, “Then we shouldn’t delay too long. If they learned about the transport tube and developed a weapon that fast, we can’t wait and allow the attacker time to build it into their warships.”

“Do you think it was an attack?”

“I lean toward no but my fear makes me worry about any possibility. It probably was an accident but…one never knows.”

• • •

Amanda looked at Trevor after viewing the recording Chad and Julie brought back, “Don’t you think that was a little bit of overkill.”

“I was just thinking the same thing; that solid shell pretty much vaporized that ship.”

“It might be that we need to consider switching the uses.”

Trevor’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not sure what you mean?”

“Well, you intend to fire small, solid machine gun rounds in normal space and an obvious planet killer in the void. Perhaps switching them might be a better idea. The small rounds won’t be traveling at light speed because they’ll be fired in normal space.” Trevor looked at Amanda and slowly nodded. “You can also go back to the high explosive charges to fire the large solid DM shells if they’re launched in normal space. That would give them the speed they need to chase those ships.”

“I don’t know, Amanda. Those ships and ours fly at incredible speeds; I don’t know if we can fire them at a fast enough speed with normal propellsants.”

Amanda leaned back in her chair and put her hands behind her head, “Let’s think about this, Trevor. Dark Matter doesn’t react to normal matter around it, right?” Trevor nodded. “Why does a ship need a force field to fly at high speeds in normal space?”

Trevor shrugged, “Because, even though there are few atoms in normal space, the few atoms become denser the faster you move through them. They offer high resistance to the ship’s hull and would cause it to overheat at really high speeds.”

“Dark Matter doesn’t have that issue.”

Trevor nodded slowly, “Perhaps we don’t need a cannon at all.”

“What?”

“We could build a really small missile with its own thrusters and the DM shell will turn it toward anything with a magnetic field. It wouldn’t need any steering mechanism or computer system to guide it. The warhead will just turn and move toward the closest magnetic field. The attraction will also increase its speed.”

Amanda nodded, “You could make a really small missile that way.”

“The thrusters would only have to last for fifty miles or less so they wouldn’t have to be large either.” He paused, “How many could the new pod carry?”

“Not that many.”

Trevor nodded, “It could carry thousands of the small rounds and fire them in the void from rotating barrels using compressed Dark Matter. How do we resolve the missile issue?”

“Have the converter build a missile holder that could be attached under the Pod.”

They both looked up and Amanda said, “It won’t require an entirely new ship, Willow.”

“Remember that the current ships can’t be converted again and it will take an extended timeframe to design and build a new ship. I don’t expect the new visitors will give us enough time to do that. However, a hollow base can be made to attach under our new ships that carry the missile launchers. That base could hold a lot of those missiles. As I see it, there won’t be any wings on the missile because it will only be used in the vacuum of space and the thruster assembly can be fused to the solid DM shell so that the warhead is wider than the thrusters pushing it. They should fly out of the launch tubes nicely.”

Trevor sighed, “How will they be targeted on single ships? Hundreds of them may lock on the same ship.”

Amanda raised her left shoulder, “That means we’ll have to spread our fleets out so that each ship is firing at one area of the enemy’s formations. I know this looks like a liability, but this new missile will have the advantage of being a ‘shoot and forget’ weapon. Just fire them in different trajectories and the closest enemy ship should be destroyed before the second missile arrives. It will break that lock and go after another active magnetic field.”

Amanda and Trevor looked at each other and they both shrugged at the same moment. Trevor smiled, “Let’s do this.”

“Will the small rounds take out a ship?”

“Probably, I neglected to compute speed and mass. Even a small round traveling faster than light will hit with a huge impact.”

Amanda nodded, “E=MC squared. Even a small round will knock the bejesus out of anything it hits.”

“We’re going to need some time to make these changes.”

“Let us pray those Orange Ships give it to us.”

Trevor was silent for a moment and then said, “You know, energy beams won’t stop the missiles we’re talking about building.” Amanda blinked several times and then her eyes went wide. Trevor shrugged, “Normal matter and energy move through Dark Matter without affecting it. We don’t give up anything doing this and we can use the reactors for the other systems and not power the disruptors.”

“Should we remove them?”

Trevor shook his head, “You just never know when you might need a good disruptor.” Amanda laughed and hugged him.

• • •

The Welken Royal sat on his throne and knew his planet was being watched. He couldn’t get his mind off it no matter how hard he tried. He had discussed what was happening with the Johan Royal and he was also greatly disturbed by the information.

“Are you sure they are being honest?”

“I sent a scout out and it was able to see that conduit from two light years away in the void. It moved no closer and came back before it could be seen.”

“What are we going to do about this?”

“I find it interesting you say, ‘we’.”

The Johan had stared at the Welken for a long moment and finally said, “You’re different. I know we are forced into an agreement but I sense you take it more seriously than you need to. I consider you an ally. I hope you feel the same.”

“I do. You’ve been straightforward in your dealings with me. I’ve also decided that my forces will no longer be used to attack other fellowship members. I intend to use them strictly for defense and I’ve ordered a change in our social structures. I guess I’m going to pattern my Confederacy along the same lines as your former possession.”

The Johan nodded and said, “So what are we going to do about this?”

“I’m going to take a hundred of my newest battleships and offer them to the Humans.”

“Why?”

“I think they can make them into something that might help them take on this new species.”

“Are you going to tell the other Fellowship Members about your new structure?”

“I am. I will make it clear that any attack on you, the Myot, or my planets will be met with immediate retaliation. Otherwise, I intend to stop any interference in their activities and will not attempt to take possession of their planets.”

“My ships will be available to you.”

“And mine will also be yours for defense as well.”

• • •

The Royal thought about the conversation and had numerous contacts from other members of the Fellowship who agreed to no longer attempt an attack in the future. He looked up and saw Kyel enter his throne room, “Great one, the ships are ready for transport.”

“Take them and tell the Humans if they need more to let me know.”

“Do you think they’ll accept them?”

“I think they’ll know the spirit that they’re being sent in. I believe they can make good use of them. Tell them that we, the Myot, and Johan are available for them if they need us.” Kyel stared at the Royal and he smiled, “Kyel, your brother was right about our society.”

“Great One?”

“Even the best life here is not worth living when all you feed on is fear. Take the ships and say hello to your brother.”

• • •

“Jinks, we have a large skip trace approaching Earth. There are more than a hundred and twenty large ships moving toward us!”

“Launch Alpha Fleet to meet them.”

“Jinks, what’s going on!?”

“I’m not sure Lukas. There is a group of ships headed toward us. There aren’t enough to harm us but I’m not taking any chances.”

“Let me know what’s going on.”

• • •

Jinks went to his silo and boarded Jester. He launched and met Chad’s Fleet of Attack Pods at the edge of the gravity limit. Four minutes later, a hundred and twenty Welken Battleships entered normal space a thousand miles out from the gravity limit. “Please forgive us coming unannounced but the Great One has sent you a gift.”

Jinks saw the Fleet Royal on his display and he said, “I don’t think sending more than a hundred battleships is an appropriate way to deliver a gift.”

“They are the gift.”

“What?”

“We’re leaving a hundred of our newest battleships with you to use in your planet’s defense. The crews that brought them here will be boarding the extra twenty ships and going back to our territory.”

“We don’t use ships as big as your battleships.”

Kyel smiled, “I suspect you can take them and modify them to do much more than they are capable of doing in their current state. I’m sending you the list of activation codes for each ship and the Great One said that if you can find a use for them, he will send others if you want.”

“Jinks.”

“Yes, Trevor.”

“We can use them!”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.”

Jinks looked at his display and smiled, “Thank the Great One for his generosity and thank you for bringing them.”

“Tell Lukas I wish him success and to come and visit if he can.”

“I will.”

Jinks watched the crews leave the hundred battleships in shuttles and board the twenty battleships gathered outside the formation. A few moments later, the twenty warships skipped away. Jinks pressed his panel, “Trevor, what are we going to do with those ships? None of our systems are designed for a ship that huge.”

Lukas appeared on the display beside Trevor. He didn’t say anything as Trevor said, “Do you remember discussing defense satellites around Earth?”

“If my memory serves me right, we decided they wouldn’t be practical.”

“Because they couldn’t be moved around the planet to confront ships moving toward the planet away from their location.” Jinks nodded. “Those ships’ reactors are huge and we can modify them to Dark Matter coated containment vessels and probably more than double their speed. Their force fields will also be stronger than the ones on our Attack Pods.”

“How is that possible?”

“Our Pods have four reactors; those ships have twenty. Think about being able to use ten or more reactors just to power the force field. You’ve also seen the plans for the new missiles we’re building. How many missiles can a ship that size carry?”

Jinks slowly shook his head, “Probably more than we can build.”

“We’ve come up with a way to collect enough Dark Matter to build more than we can use.”

“How?”

“I’ll send you the plans for the new converter we’re sending to the Magnetar but trust me, we can build enough missiles for those ships. And also think about how many of the new compressed DM rotary guns can be placed on the hulls of those ships.”

“But where would we use them, Trevor.”

“Think about those hundred battleships sitting outside the opening to the conduit.”

Lukas smiled, “He’s right, Jinks. If we’re going to stop them, that’s where we’re going to have to do it. Those ships can launch a devastating salvo if we can modify them before they invade.”

Jink’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Trevor, “How do you intend to modify them?”

“We’ll clear everything out from inside the hull and load them with DM missiles and cover their hulls with the rotary guns. The reactors will all be switchable and be used for either the force field or the thrusters. I genuinely suspect that they will be faster than an Attack Pod; significantly faster. If we update its gravity compensators, it might be just as maneuverable as well.”

“Then why haven’t we built ships this size before?”

Lukas smiled, “How big of a converter would it take to build one?”

Jinks shook his head and then smiled, “Will we have to slow our production of missile tubs?”

“No, Jinks. Those battleships only need their reactors changed and their force fields converted to using diamonds. That can be done without using our converters. Keep in mind that every reactor on those ships is larger than all four combined on an Attack Pod and there’s twenty of them.”

Jinks nodded, “How many battleships would it take to surround Earth at the gravity limit and cover every approach?”

Trevor thought for a moment and said, “Less than two thousand.”

“Should we ask the Welken for more ships?”

Lukas said, “Perhaps we should ask for twenty thousand.”

“WHAT?!”

“Tell him that if the invasion begins, we’ll send enough ships to defend the Johan, Myot, and Welken Home Worlds.”

“Would we do that?”

“It would be a fair trade, Jinks.”

“Can we convert them that fast?”

“First we’ll convert enough to hold them off at the conduit. Then we’ll start modifying the others for planetary defense.”

“Do you honestly think we’re going to have enough time, Lukas?”

“They’re not invading and it’s been a month since we destroyed their ships. The probe we left also shows they’re still sending just two ships. That tells me they probably think it was an accidental explosion.” Lukas said, “Trevor, how long will it take to make the modifications on those ships?”

“Another three months.”

Lukas looked at Jinks, “Go to the Welken and make the offer.” He then looked at Trevor, “Don’t modify them all at the same time. Get them modified individually so we have some to use quickly.”

Trevor nodded, “I’ll take all of them out to the Magnetar and coat their containment vessels. Then we’ll start making structural changes on five at a time. We should have thirty completed in a month.”

“That would be good.”

Jinks tilted his head, “If it’s alright, I’m taking Sarah with me.”

“That’s fine. She would make a great commander on one of those ships.”

Jinks stared at Lukas and then smiled, “I believe she would, Lukas.”

“Talk to her about it on the way. You need to get moving.”

• • •

The Welken looked at the Johan, “It appears there’s been a development.”

“What is that?”

“The Humans sent their Fleet Commander here to make an offer.”

“That doesn’t sound like them.”

“No, it doesn’t. They offered to send enough ships to defend our Home Worlds if I would send them twenty thousand battleships.”

“Please tell me you agreed!”

“I did. They also agreed to train my crews on how to fight them if the Invaders give them enough time to modify all of them.”

“And if they don’t?”

“I told them to do what they could in the time given them. They did say they would send crews to fight them if enough were ready in the event time ran out.”

“Do you trust them to keep their promise?”

“I probably trust them more than you.”

“Ouch, that hurt but I understand why you say that. How does that affect your inventory? Will you have enough to defend yourself?”

“I have more than a million Battleships between the Myot and my fleets. Twenty thousand won’t be missed. The way the Myot are building ships, they’ll be replaced in less than three months.”

“Do you think the ships they’re modifying will stand up to this new enemy?”

“They seem to think they will. However, I’ve given some thought to the magnitude of the numbers that might be sent against them.”

“And?”

“They seem to think that the galaxy sending those ships is united and has conquered other galaxies as well.”

“That is not good!”

“No, it isn’t. We’re so far behind that I don’t know if we can catch up in several lifetimes. But at least it’s a start.”

“There is one thing that might work in their favor.”

“What is that?”

“All their ships will be coming through the same place.”

The Royal smiled, “The conduit.” The Johan Royal nodded. “That is where this invasion will kick off.”

“And that is where they are going to use the ships you sent them.”

The Welken nodded and smiled, “I’ve seen that conduit. They won’t be sending large numbers through it. It looked like only one or two at a time could move through it.”

“Unless they have a way of enlarging it.”

“There is that. However, I may have helped them help all of us.”

“Let us fervently hope you’re right.”

Chapter Seventeen

“Sergy, have your ships been completed?”

“The last thousand are being refitted as we speak. Have you noticed any change in your ship’s performance after the modifications were completed?”

“No, the lower maneuvering thrusters had to be rerouted around the tub but they don’t appear to have suffered any delay due to the longer channels.”

“What do you think about the rotary guns?”

“We’re having trouble getting them to hit designated targets. They all head toward the closest magnetic field no matter where you fire them.”

“I’ve noticed the same thing. How are you going to handle that if we find ourselves in the middle of a fleet firefight with enemy ships surrounding you?”

“I’ve been trialing several methods. The good think is that if a round hits a ship, it should have its magnetic field blown apart. However, I’ve been manipulating the shape of the force field to prevent all of the rounds from heading toward the same target.”

Sergy tilted his head, “What do you mean?”

“We’ve designated on reactor to the thrusters and the other three to the force fields. I’ve shaped the force field like a huge V on the sides and bow of my Pod.”

Sergy’s eyes narrowed and he said, “So the first thing the round detects is a ship between the legs of the V it was fired from?”

“Exactly. And it appears once the Dark Matter senses a magnetic field, it heads toward it.”

“It doesn’t work every time but in a firefight, ships will be so close that the round stays on the target it initially senses.”

“How many are you firing in each burst?”

“I’ve had each gun calibrated to only fire one round at a time.” Sergy’s expression showed his concern. “Sergy, if the equations are right, one round should do the job. If we find it doesn’t, we’ll change it to two, or three, or whatever is needed to take them out. If things get out of hand, we’ll fire a long burst and skip out to regroup. We’ll just have to let the rounds decide what they’ll hit.”

“This is new ground for us, Chad.”

“Indeed it is. The missiles are easier.”

“What have you done?”

“We set the thrusters to fire at maximum for the first third of the flight. They overcome the DM warhead’s attraction long enough to get them close to the designated target.”

“I haven’t heard about that.”

“All of the new missiles are being changed. I’m reasonably certain your fleet has the new ones.”

Sergy nodded absently and looked at Chad, “What do you think about the new battleships?”

Chad saw something was bothering Sergy. He started to respond but stopped. “You’re worried about where the Pods are going to fit in the future.”

Sergy nodded, “I guess I see the writing on the wall. They’re far more powerful than our Pods.”

“But they are only good for taking on high numbers. They can’t be used for surgical strikes or cleanup operations. They can’t respond as quickly to individual threats as our Pods are capable. We need the Pods more than the battleships.”

“Are you sure of that?”

“I am. We need more Pods than battleships.”

“How can you say that? I’ve seen them go through their fleet trials. They’re monsters.”

“But how many of them will we need to hold off the coming numbers?” Sergy’s eyes narrowed. “Serge, there are several galaxies of ships that will be coming to exterminate us. How long does it take to build a battleship compared to the Pods? You know how crazy a space battle can get. It’s the Pods that will have to keep the enemy off our heavy hitters. Without us, they’d be taken out quickly. You need not worry about our fleets being replaced. Besides, if they ever managed to get a battleship to perform like a Pod, your command would simply move into them and continue as usual.”

Sergy smiled and said, “Thanks Chad. I feel better now.”

“You need to get your fleet out and running through the magnetic field training space. Focus on getting your Pods to hit what they’re targeting.”

“We’ll be going as soon as the last ships are ready.”

“Give ’em hell, Sergy.”

“You know I will. You keep the music coming.”

“Loud and clear, my friend.”

• • •

“Sarah.”

“Yes, Love.”

“How did the trials go?”

“I have a great crew. They’ve really got the systems nailed.”

“A good crew comes from hard work. A great crew comes from a great commander.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“I just made it up but all of my experiences support it. Are you going to be able to fight your ships and command forty nine others?”

“Tim will command the ship and he needs to be promoted soon. He’s really great at strategic thinking. The Command Chair makes seeing what’s happening around my squadron easy and that’s what’s needed to direct combat operations. I have to say working in fleet operations has also given me an understanding of what space warfare is all about.”

“Is there any resentment?”

“Because you placed me in command?”

“Yes.”

“There was initially. I don’t think my ships actually resented me in particular. They worried that I wasn’t experienced or qualified to make the right decisions with their lives on the line. I think the last maneuvers removed their doubt. We’ll be fine, Jinks.”

“I’ve assigned John’s Fleet to support you. They should keep any enemy ships away from your flanks.”

“He’s one of our best. How much longer do you think we have before hostilities open?”

“I’m genuinely surprised they haven’t already. I’ll take what I can get.”

“Is Chad and Julie’s Fleets on station?”

“They are. We’ll be relieving them in another week when the two Invader Ships are replaced. Just make sure your ships are ready to skip at a moment’s notice.”

“Will do. When can I see you?”

“I’ll come to your ship tonight.”

“See you then, love.”

• • •

“Pat.”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything you can do to buy us more time?”

“I don’t know of anything.”

“It’s my senior staff’s opinion that the reason they’ve not invaded is because the ones in charge in that galaxy are fearful.”

“You want to know if I can do anything to make them more so.”

“I think it would help.”

“The only thing I can think of would be to take out the two ships being sent here.”

“That would make them come faster!”

“Yes and no.”

“Tell me what you mean?”

“You know they are coming no matter what.”

“I do.”

“Taking out those two ships will make them start major preparations to invade. That takes time…a lot of time.”

“What do you think will happen if you do nothing?”

“I suspect the first thing will be to send large numbers of vessels to scout our galaxy. It’s only a matter of time until an event happens and they’ll just start pouring ships in. They won’t stop to organize or prepare. That’s only going to happen if they’re fearful.”

“Do you think you can take out those two ships?”

“Does a cow have two stomachs?”

“I guess soooooo.”

“Sorry, I like the metaphors used by humans. The answer is yes, I can destroy them.”

“Could you destroy every ship they send?”

“No, they do have a weapon that could harm me if I’m detected.”

“Are you going to participate in the defense of Earth if we’re attacked?”

“Only after I’m detected.”

“That’s fair.”

Pat paused, “Do you want me to take them out?”

“Is there any way you can see how many are coming through the conduit?”

“Not without them detecting me.”

“Would your looking cause them to back off and start war preparations?”

“You are just full of questions.”

“This coming from a being who says he knows everything.”

“Touché.”

Lukas looked at Salud, “What do you think we should do?”

“We still have more than eleven thousand battleships to modify. Anything we can do to buy enough time to get them done is a good thing.”

“It will cause an invasion!”

“It’s like Pat said, they are coming no matter what we do. I suspect they’re running out of patience and will start operations before too much longer.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because I’m losing mine waiting on them to make a move. This way we can go ahead and set up our defenses around the conduit and stop playing this cat and mouse game.”

Lukas stared at her and then looked up, “Pat, take out all four ships when they rendezvous at the conduit.”

“You need to move your ships away.”

“Done. They’ll be gone in thirty minutes.”

• • •

The four Orange ships arrived at the Conduit opening and the two leaving sent their reports to their relief. The two leaving were glad the monotonous mission was over. Suddenly, a white cloud surrounded all four ships and a moment later they were all gone. The Legends began screaming. Pat heard them all the way back to Earth.

• • •

Lukas looked at the huge wall monitor in Fleet Operations and saw the Conduit hanging in the void. More than seven months had passed and he had a small doubt running around his brain that the Invaders may have been scared off.

The Battleships were powered down near the conduit and the Attack Fleets surround space around the exit all the way out to half a light year. The current fleets would be replaced in a week and they would take a break. The time had been used wisely. The Welken Crews were trained on how to fight their ships and were amazed at what they were being given. The Royal had immediately sent another twenty thousand battleships and they were almost completed. The volunteers from Earth had doubled and there was a long waiting list of people waiting for a position to open. The last ships would remain around Earth and be used for the planet’s defense. The remainder of the fleets would have the task of stopping or slowing down the coming invasion. Lukas watched and worried. Would the Conduit expand and millions of ships come pouring out to overwhelm his fleets?

Salud watched him worry as she walked into Fleet Operations, took his hand, and pulled him out of the room. She yelled that they should call if something happened. “What are you doing?”

“Taking you out of here.”

“I can see that; why?”

“You’re about to crack with the stress you’re putting on yourself.” Salud stopped and looked him in the eye. “Is there something else you can do that hasn’t been done?” Lukas stared at her and, after a moment, shook his head. “Then we’re going to Boston and have a meal.”

“Where?”

“Among friends.”

Salud pulled him to the Silo and climbed on board Willow with him. The Pod blasted off the moon and rocketed down to Earth. It landed on the sidewalk and Lukas looked at Jack standing outside the door waiting for him to arrive. Tara, Julie, and all the others were clapping and he smiled as he exited Willow and walked toward them. Salud followed and Lukas told her later that it was the best meal he had in more than a year. He even took a tub and bussed tables for an hour to the applause of the staff and patrons. They left late that night and Lukas was refreshed.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

““No, I’m really serious; I needed this. So many memories from the time I worked there have come back. This is where I met you.”

Salud put her arm around his neck, “I know. I also needed this.”

Lukas looked at her, “I needed to see them again to remember why I’m doing this. They’re like my family.”

“And they love you as well, Lukas.”

Lukas nodded and pulled her close. That night was something he held in his mind during the difficult times that were coming.

• • •

Chad looked at Jinks on his monitor and frowned, “We could have flown to their galaxy and just looked around to see what was going on while we’ve been waiting around here. This constant anticipation takes the edge off a good warrior.”

Jinks sighed, “I know Chad, but the trip would take longer than a year.”

“Who said that?”

“Willow computed that when Lukas and Salud found the conduit.”

“Admiral, Willow computed that based on our old Attack Pod’s maximum speed. I wonder how long it would take now.”

Jinks’ eyes narrowed and he said, “Jester, how long would it take our newest Pod to fly fifty million light years?”

“If the ship’s force field is shaped into a point at the bow and three thrusters were used, it would take about eight weeks.” Jinks sat shaking his head. “Did you hear me?”

“Can it be done any faster?”

“If you drop the missile tub and install an additional fuel tank so the ship could accelerate the entire trip, it could be reduced to four weeks.”

“How do we match up with the skip speed of the invader ships we’ve seen?”

“We are now much faster than the speed they used. However, we don’t know if they were traveling at their maximum speed.”

Chad listened to the exchange and said, “Jester, could a battleship get there faster?”

“Yes!”

Jinks shook his head, “I thought the Attack Pods are faster than a battleship?”

“They’re faster if course changes are called for. The battleships can’t match a pod’s maneuverability but in a straight line race, the battleship would win.”

Chad shook his head, “I find that hard to believe, Jester.”

“Think about it this way, Chad. The Pod would be using three reactors to push the three rear thrusters. A battleship would be using nineteen reactors pushing eight larger thrusters. Mass is not an issue in the void and the battleship can shape its force field into a point as well to reduce resistance. The battleship also has thirty-two fuel tanks. It’s the perfect ship for long range voyages.”

“How long, Jester?”

“A little over two weeks.”

Chad sighed, “Our ships are faster than the invader’s fastest ships.”

Jinks looked at him on his display, “How do you know that?”

“They wouldn’t need the conduit if they could fly that fast.”

Jinks head went back and nodded, “You’re right. I’m going to discuss this with Lukas. I’ll let you know what’s going on Chad.”

“If someone is going, I want to do it.”

“Sorry, we need you here with your fleet. If you leave you know what would happen to their morale.”

“But…”

“There is no but, Admiral.”

“Yes Sir,” Chad said with disappointment.

Jinks said, “Jester, send a copy of my conversation with Chad and you to Willow. Request he share it with Lukas and ask him to get back to me.”

“Willow has it.”

“Thanks, Jester.”

• • •

Recently promoted Admiral L.M. Barber looked around the bridge at her crew. She marveled that her ship, that was originally the home to more than a thousand Welken Crew members, was now flown by only ten people. Lt. Rip Handley was the Pilot/Navigator, who actually flew the ship and set all courses on his panel. Laura Edwards, the Electronics Lieutenant, handled all scanners, communications, and electronic defense systems. Lieutenant Cameron handled the reactors and how they would be apportioned between the ships thrusters, defensive force fields, and weapons systems.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Captain Blake Clarke, her weapons officer. He could override Lt. Cameron on the reactors, if he determined it necessary to use the huge ships vast weapons array. His chair was higher than hers so he could have an unobstructed view of the three huge monitors over the top of the large viewport. His panel could switch between the three monitors on his panel’s display, but the giant monitors offered a much larger view. The most important monitor was the tactical monitor showing all objects around the ship. It had the LaGrange in the center with blips around it designating everything in space, or the void, within a light year of the ship. It showed their relative motions as well as what they were from planets and asteroids to the various types of warships used by an attacker.

In addition to the five officers manning the bridge, there were five engineers to handle any issues or repairs to the ship. Two were in the engine room; one was responsible for the missile launchers, one that specialized in the rotary guns and disruptors, and one that handled all the bridge systems.

The ship’s computer could be considered an eleventh member of the crew and it was what made everything work. It carried out all the decisions made by the Bridge Crew as well as offering suggestions to each of them.

Loree looked at Jinks on the central monitor and smiled, “We’ll be skipping out as soon as the Ganges completes its system check.”

“Admiral, you are not going to pick a fight. We really hope you don’t reveal our weapons to that civilization.”

“That is my plan, Sir.”

“Make sure the other ships going with you know it as well!”

Loree smiled, “I’ve etched it on their foreheads, Sir.”

Jinks tried not to smile because of the seriousness of what was being discussed but he failed. “You have been promoted to command our scout forces. I expect you to train those going with you so they can take command of the other squadrons we’re planning to send to the other galaxies that species has conquered. Make sure you bring them back.”

“I understand why we’re going. However, running at the first indication of danger won’t give us much. I’ll use good judgment, Sir.”

“That’s why you’re commanding this expedition, Admiral. Keep in touch.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

The monitor changed back to a normal view of space in front of the Lagrange. Lt. Edwards said, “Sir, the Ganges has reported ready.”

“And the other ships?”

“All are green on the board, Admiral.”

“Open the general frequency, Lieutenant.” Loree saw the button illuminate on her console and she said, “You have your orders. I will consider the use of your weapons as a failure if you use them. However, losing your ship because you don’t is not acceptable. We believe, on good evidence, that we have superior speed. Use it and stay inside your force field! The Lagrange will enter the galaxy over the starting point of the conduit. The five ships on each side of my ships will spread out and enter the galaxy and take a quick look at what’s going on. The moment any of us are detected, send a warning and all ships will skip out and run for home. You all know this but don’t forget we’re going to collect information and keep the invader from learning anything about our ships.” Loree paused and said, “We will be skipping out in thirty seconds. Good luck and remember your assignments!” Loree pressed the button and the link was terminated. Loree looked at Rip, “Drop us in the void and take us out of here.”

The LaGrange activated its stardrive and dropped out of normal space. Loree looked at the tactical monitor and saw the other ten ships entered the void with her. She smiled; this was a good group of crews going with her. They were hand chosen by Admiral Sarah Jekins and all of them were overachievers. She saw the countdown in the upper right hand corner of the tactical monitor reach zero and the eleven ships lit their thrusters and disappeared in an instant.

They arrived at the conduit in less than fifteen seconds and they lined up over the top of it as they accelerated even faster. The blackness of the void, combined with traveling through the empty regions between galaxies, made it difficult to sense any motion. The conduit looked the same as it flew by under them and offered no sense of how fast they were traveling. Loree looked at the tactical monitor and shook her head. If it was correct, their speed was higher than what was expected. The absence of large concentrations of particles in the void this far out from a galaxy made their speed go up higher than any spaceship had ever gone before.

Loree looked at Cameron, “What’s the expected time to arrival?”

“Ten days, Admiral.”

Loree shook her head, “Edwards, notify fleet of the additional speed and our earlier arrival.”

“Yes Sir.”

Loree shook her head and said, “Captain Clarke, the bridge is yours.”

“Yes Sir.”

Loree stood up and went to her cabin. She pulled up a star map of the Virgo Cluster. “Barbie, have you determined which galaxy the conduit came from?”

“Not yet, Loree. I should have a better answer in forty eight hours.”

“Thanks.” Loree stared at the map and hoped it wasn’t M-87. That galaxy was a monster more than six times larger than the Milky Way. She sighed and pulled up data on the various galaxies in the local group. Please don’t be M-87.

“Admiral.”

“Yes.”

“The conduit just got larger.”

Loree’s eyes narrowed, “Put what you have on my panel.” Loree stared at her display and saw the conduit suddenly swell to more than twenty times its previous diameter. She froze the image and watched it in slow motion. The increase in size was moving toward the Milky Way. She sat back and thought. Something inside it was making it larger. That must be why they had not attacked earlier. The Invaders were waiting for the conduit’s enlargement to be completed. Loree wondered what was waiting at the end of the conduit she was headed toward. She began typing on her panel and said, “Send this to the other ships, Laura.”

“Yes Sir.”

If any of her ships managed to escape, they were ordered to come back to the place in the conduit where it was growing larger and fire their rotary cannons at it. She had no idea if the Dark Matter rounds would penetrate the conduit’s walls but the effort had to be made. She typed another message and pressed a button sending the recording back to Fleet Operations. They needed to know what was coming. Maybe they could also do something about it.

Chapter Eighteen

“Sir, Fleet just sent an acknowledgement concerning the conduit and say they will handle it. They further state that escaping is what you and your ships should focus on.”

Loree nodded, “Send a copy of the message to all ships and tell them their main focus will be on getting their ship home safely. My previous order to attack the conduit is rescinded.”

“Yes Sir.”

Loree thought about Fleet taking on the thing inside the conduit and decided they were much better equipped to handle it. She looked out of the viewport and saw the conduit flashing by below the ship. She leaned back and began running a system diagnostics report on the reactors. They were operating at their maximum power and they were essential to the survival of the LaGrange. She watched the program run and every reactor checked out perfectly. She shook her head. She could understand the Invaders using a conduit. This long voyage was mind numbingly boring. She stared out of the viewport and listened to the small noises the various electronic systems made. She wasn’t sleepy but she was going down fast. She thought for a moment and reached over to her panel and pressed a button. She scrolled down a list and finally saw what she was looking for. She pressed the activate button and Born Free by Kid Rock blared out of the wall speakers. The bridge crew was startled and after a moment, they began head bobbing to the beat. Loree looked out of the viewport again and smiled. The music helped fight the monotony.

• • •

Windy shook her head, “No, Admiral. The problem is that whatever energy the conduit wall is made of is extremely resistant to anything we’ve fired at it. The disruptors have no effect on it and the black matter rounds from the rotary cannons just don’t have enough mass to affect it. Our scanners show they penetrate several feet but then the conduit wall seems to heal itself.”

“What about the DM missile?”

“Unfortunately, it won’t function in the void. It doesn’t have a drive field around it and the thruster attached to the warhead kicks it out of the void.”

“How close is it to our galaxy?”

“It will complete the enlargement in six weeks at the current speed it’s moving.”

Jinks nodded and said, “I’ll get back to you.” He pushed a button on his panel, “Amanda.”

“Yes, Jinks.”

“Didn’t you trial a cannon that fired a large solid Dark Matter Projectile?”

“We did but it was too much to use against a ship in the void.”

“Where is that cannon?”

“Last I saw, it was still attached to Willow.”

Jinks said, “Stand by.” He pressed a button on his panel and heard, “Yes Admiral?”

“Willow, do you still have that large void cannon attached to your hull?”

“I do.”

“I would have thought you would have taken it off by now.”

“Admiral, that cannon is the most powerful weapon we’ve developed for void combat. I just think you never know when a good cannon might be needed.”

“Well, you’re right; we need it now.”

“The rotary rounds aren’t penetrating the conduit?”

“No, they make it two or three feet and then the wall heals itself. I’m going to ask Amanda and Trevor to go with you to see if your cannon can make it through.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

Jinks touched his display where Amanda was shown patiently waiting for him to get back to her, “Amanda, I want you and Trevor to take Willow out to the conduit and see if that cannon will penetrate it.”

“Willow still has it?”

“He does. He likes carrying a big stick around.”

“Can’t say that I blame him. I’ll round up Trevor and we’ll go see what we can do.”

Jinks nodded and touched Windy’s image, “I’m sending Amanda and Trevor out to take a shot at the conduit. Stay there and see if they need any assistance.”

“Yes Sir. What are they going to use?”

“The original cannon developed to use in the void.”

“Why didn’t we use it?”

“It was too powerful. The disruption it caused was huge.”

The display went dark and Windy stared at the dark screen, “How can anything be too powerful?”

• • •

Lukas looked at Amanda and said, “I don’t want you to get anywhere near that conduit.”

Trevor started shaking his head, “We have to get close enough to take a shot. What are you worried about?”

“How much energy do you think is in that conduit?” Trevor looked at Amanda and saw her eyes widen. Lukas saw her and said, “If you cause a disruption, I can only imagine how large it would be. I don’t want to lose my best scientists.”

Trevor shook his head, “Lukas, that conduit doesn’t give off a magnetic field. We’re going to have to sight focus the rounds. We will have to be close enough to do that.”

“Then get the flock out of Dodge the moment you fire.”

Amanda smiled, “We will Marshall Earp.”

“It’s funny. I use that saying with the members of the Fellowship and none of them come close to understanding it but every human does.”

“That’s because it’s not their history. We’ll make the shot and get out.” Lukas nodded and the panel went dark. Amanda looked at Trevor, “How close do we have to be to take a shot at it?”

“Pretty close.”

“How close?”

“At a hundred miles, that conduit looks like it has the thickness of a hair.”

“Willow, help us here.”

“I don’t want to get too close but twenty miles is about as far out as you can get and still hope to hit it using optical sights.”

Trevor shook his head, “I don’t like that. We won’t be capable of outrunning a major disruption if it goes up.”

Amanda shook her head and pressed the communicator panel. Windy Davis appeared and Amanda smiled, “Admiral, how close have you come to the conduit to fire on it?”

“About thirty miles.”

“How have you been able to target it from that far out?”

“I’d have my ships take magnets and put them right outside the conduit’s walls. The first rounds would destroy the magnet but the others following would have been pulled on the correct trajectory to hit it.”

Amanda smiled, “We’re going to fire a rather powerful Dark Matter warhead at the conduit and we have some concern that it might go up in a giant disruption. You should move your ships away from it. Would you go ahead of the thing inside the conduit causing it to enlarge and place magnets we can fire our cannon at?”

“That thing is moving fast. You’ll have to time it perfectly to hit it.”

“Go far enough in front of it and spread out the magnets. Tell us when it’s approaching them and we’ll fire a spread of projectiles at the magnets.”

Windy nodded and said, “We’re going to skip a week ahead of it to make sure. You should meet us and be ready to fire.”

“Give us your coordinates and we’ll head there now.” Windy nodded.

Amanda looked at her panel, “How many of the warheads do you have, Willow?”

“About four hundred.”

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”

“You just never know when you might need a big hitter.”

Trevor laughed, “Well, your theory has just been verified. I didn’t think we made that many hollow warheads.”

“They aren’t hollow.”

Trevor looked at Amanda and her mouth fell open. Trevor said, “Uhh, perhaps we should move a long way out when we fire them.”

“That would be my suggestion as well.”

“How fast can you fire them?”

“I’ve had a belt built for the cannon and they feed at a rate of a hundred a second.”

Amanda shook her head, “Willow, what were you thinking would need that kind of firepower?”

“I don’t know. I did it because I could.”

“Well, let’s do it this way. We’ll fire two shells at each magnet. The first shell will hit the magnet and the closely following second should hit the conduit.”

Willow paused and said, “If the magnet is next to the conduit wall, I don’t believe the magnet will slow the first one down at all.”

“Even so, we’ll make sure.”

“Ok Trevor, the two of you should come to the Silo. It will take us about a day to get out to the coordinates that Windy sent.”

• • •

Willow was moving at maximum speed toward the conduit. Amanda thought for a moment and looked at Trevor, “Do you honestly think it might go up into a major disruption?”

“I have no idea. We may find that it’s not harmed at all. The rotary rounds didn’t do any damage.”

“But they did penetrate.”

“A few feet. We have no idea how thick the walls are. We might be worrying for no reason.”

Amanda nodded and looked out of the viewport as Willow moved quickly thorough the void in the Milky Way. “If that’s true, why am I so worried?”

“I’ve thought of a way to avoid a disruption.”

Amanda looked at Trevor, “How?”

“We get out of the void as soon as we fire and enter normal space.”

“I don’t know if that would work if that thing goes up.”

“Why not, Willow?”

“I don’t think a disruption of the magnitude this thing might cause has ever happened. It might affect normal space it travels through.”

“The effect would be less than in the void.”

“If that thing expands faster than we can fly, perhaps we should run until it gets close and then leave the void. However, that also could lead to a real problem.”

“What is that?”

“If that disruption forces us out of the void and continues for a hundred more light years, how will we manage to enter the void if it’s disrupted?”

“Are you saying we’d be trapped in normal space?”

“Yes Trevor, and do you know how long it would take to travel just one light year in normal space?”

“How long, Willow?”

“Two years. And if you accelerate close to light speed, you’d live long enough to see the end but all of the people you know would long be dead. This is the most radical way to use time travel.”

Amanda nodded, “A hundred years would pass before we cleared the disruption.”

“That’s if it only moved a hundred light years past the point you left the void.”

Amanda shook her head, “Perhaps we should move out to about a thousand light years from it.”

Trevor nodded, “I think that might be a good idea.”

“Willow said, “Since the DM rounds are going to be attracted by the magnets, I’d recommend ten thousand light years.”

Amanda looked at Chad and said, “Why that far Willow?”

“Lukas posed a question when we discovered the conduit. He wondered that since the conduit was made of energy if it would all go up if it was punctured. Sort of like a bubble pops when it’s punctured. If that happened, the energy release would be something unimaginable.”

Amanda shook her head, “Contact Windy and Chad and tell them to move their ships away from the conduit before we fire. Impress on them the importance of not being close.”

Willow chuckled, “I’ll tell them more than a couple of light years might not be appropriate.”

“That would be good.”

Trevor looked at Amanda, “What about the battleship scouts headed toward the other end of the conduit? They’re flying directly over it.”

Willow said, “They’re due to arrive at the time we fire on it. I suspect they’ll be away from whatever happens. Besides, it will take some time for any disruption to arrive there.”

Trevor said, “Are you sure about that?”

There was silence and Amanda said, “Ships coming through that thing travel the distance in a couple of seconds according to what we’ve been able to determine.”

“I’ll contact them.”

“That would be good, Willow.”

• • •

Loree ended up talking with Amanda and Trevor before she accepted that this was an unknown situation and caution was called for. She just couldn’t believe that any disruption could arrive that fast. She looked at Blake, “What do you think about this?”

“I’m of the opinion that we should perhaps speed up our arrival slightly.”

“Why?”

“Well, let’s assume the conduit is not destroyed but is damaged. That will cause some kind of response from the Invaders on their end of it.” Loree nodded. “That means they would have a large number of ships where we’re headed.”

“Go on.”

“And what if this science fiction scenario happens and the conduit does disrupt instantly along its entire length; I don’t know that I would want to be anywhere near it if it did.”

Loree looked out the forward viewport and saw the small glow of stars far ahead of them. Her fear was realized; they were headed directly toward M-87. She shook her head. This just couldn’t be possible. But…Loree looked at Laura, “Send out a message to our ships. Two days before we arrive, I want them to move out away from the conduit and head toward their assigned areas. I want a minimum of a five thousand light years between them and I want all of them at least ten thousand light years away from the conduit.”

“Yes Sir.”

Loree looked at Blake, “I have a lot of difficulty really buying into what they’re saying but it won’t hurt to be cautious.”

Blake nodded, “If the Ambrose say there is a possible danger, that’s reason enough.” Loree nodded. They were three days away from the monster galaxy.

• • •

“Chad.”

“Yes love?”

“Did you receive the warning to move away from the conduit’s opening?”

“I did.”

“How far have you moved?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Chad, I know you. You won’t move further than you feel would put you so far away as to not be able to respond quickly to an attack.”

“I’ve moved my fleet three light years.”

“Move them a hundred light years.”

“What?!”

“Chad, I’ve been talking with some of our scientists and if that conduit goes up, a hundred will still be too close.”

“You can’t be serious?”

“Chad, this is not your area of expertise. You’re a warrior and think only like a warrior. If it goes up, the disruption will blow out faster than your ships can fly. You better have a good head start on it.”

Chad stared at Julie on his display. He took a deep breath and said, “I’ll move the fleet five hundred light years.”

“Make it a thousand and I’ll leave you alone.”

“You’re really worried about this?”

“I am. That conduit has energy in it that runs all the way out to the Virgo Cluster. Think about that.”

The display went dark and Chad looked at the Conduit in his tactical display. The orange glow extended out more than a light year. He shook his head and then said, “Trio, do you think an attack will come through the conduit soon?”

“I think I’d listen to her, Chad. Whatever is inside the conduit will block an attack or they would have been here already.”

Chad sighed. He punched his panel and said, “All ships will move a thousand light years from the conduit opening and have their thrusters oriented so that your ships can run away from it if necessary. We will begin moving immediately.”

• • •

“Julie, he’s moving the two fleets a thousand light years and has them oriented to run if necessary.”

“Thank God, Jennie. He’s just too brave for his own good.”

“That’s why you fell in love with him.”

“I know. That still might not be far enough.”

“He’s in front of the conduit. The general consensus is that if it goes up it will expand out from the walls. He should be ok.”

“Let us pray you’re right. We may be worried about nothing and this may not be a problem.”

“This is uncharted territory, Julie.” Julie sighed. What was going to happen if they actually did damage that thing? Would they make another one or would they make the long voyage to attack. There was good news/bad news either way. It would take time for them to make another one and it would take close to a year for them to come through the void. The bad news is if they didn’t damage it but warned them. She tried to imagine the numbers of warships that other galaxy could send and just couldn’t grasp it. Millions? Billions? The Invaders controlled more than one galaxy. She tried again and just shook her head. A trillion wasn’t out of the question. She sighed and worried about her future. Would she live long enough to start a family? She decided she wasn’t going to wait. She hoped Chad would agree. If she did have a baby, it would be on her ship if the Invaders attacked. No planet would be safe.

• • •

Loree watched the ten other battleships in her squadron move away. The giant galaxy was filling the forward viewport and she knew they’d arrive the next day. She saw the tension on the faces of her crew and she lifted the communicator and spoke over the ship’s intercom, “There are a number of things that have to be accomplished on our mission. One of the most important is to determine the strength of the forces we’re facing. It’s my opinion that the best place to determine that is at the place where this conduit starts. They have to be forming up there and we need to take a good look at that place. Here’s how I intend to make that happen. We will move a hundred light years out from the conduit and we will continue to fly directly above it until we arrive at the where the conduit starts. At that point, we will make a scan and then move away at a forty-five degree angle. Fleet will be hitting the conduit close to the Milky Way just as we arrive at the edge of the invaders’ galaxy. I’m really hoping the conduit doesn’t actually start close to the galaxy but, like the end of it close to the Milky Way, is light years away. If it does start outside M-87, we’ll have some time to put some distance between us and the conduit before it goes up.” Loree paused and tilted her head, “I honestly don’t know if the conduit will instantly explode along its entire length. That’s a stretch I have difficulty imagining. However, we will act as if it will but I will not sacrifice my mission by running before we can find out what’s coming. That is all.” Loree turned to Rip, “As soon as we clear the conduit, get out of here like your tail is on fire.”

Rip smiled and nodded. Loree looked at Blake, “You have the bridge.”

Loree left the bridge and Blake looked at Rip, “Is there any way to make this bucket of bolts faster.”

“Hey, don’t insult her like that!”

“Is there?”

Rip stared at Blake and said, “I’m using eighteen reactors on the thrusters now. The other two are used on the force field.”

“Rip, a force field won’t help us if we’re caught in a disruption.”

“What about being chased by Invader ships? They’re bound to see us.”

“I don’t think they can catch us. Assume they can’t. What can you do?”

Rip shrugged, “I can shape the force field into a much sharper point in front of us and have it only cover the bow area. But if I do that, the rear of the ship will be open to attack.”

“Then I would recommend you do that once we’re away from the end of the conduit.” Blake looked at Cameron, “Is there anything else?”

Cameron shrugged, “If Rip is only using a front force field, I could move one of the reactors currently being used for the force field to the thrusters and half of the one making the force field.”

Blake looked at Rip and Cameron and then at the other members of the crew. He turned back to Rip and said, “Do it.”

“You really think it’s going to go up that fast?”

“If it doesn’t, no harm no foul. If it does, it still might not be enough to get away.” He looked at Laura, “How far can you scan the area at the end of the conduit?”

“About half a light year.”

Blake looked at Rip, “Laura will tell you when we’re half a light year from the end. Start the escape at that moment.”

“Shouldn’t we clear this with the Admiral?”

“Why do you think she left?” Everyone looked at each other and Blake smiled, “She knows she’s new in her position and she also knows we have a better understanding of our ship’s capabilities than she does. She’s giving us space to work together to come up with the best tactics.”

“If she hits the roof…”

“I’ll take the blame, Laura. However, I’ll bet you twenty that she doesn’t say anything when Rip starts running before we arrive at the end.”

Laura stared at Blake, “You’re on.”

“I hope I get the chance to collect.”

Laura shook her head, “Good point.”

Rip shrugged, “We stand a better chance doing this.”

Blake blew out a breath, “Let us pray you’re right.”

• • •

Trevor looked at Amanda, “Windy says the thing inside the conduit will arrive at the magnets in three minutes.”

“Willow, are you ready to fire?”

“I’m oriented toward the conduit and I’m going to hit my portside thrusters to push me toward the starboard side as I fire.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“So that all of my shots are not moving toward the same magnet. By moving to the right, each shot will be directly out from a magnet. It will take two minutes for the DM projectiles to hit the magnets. I’m getting out of here in a big way once the last two are fired.”

“That’s a good idea. Thirty seconds.” Amanda gripped the arms of her chair and held on tight.

Chapter Nineteen

The Lagrange was flying at an incredible speed and Loree glanced at the countdown on the upper left corner of the tactical monitor. One minute until Fleet fired on the conduit. Suddenly, Laura yelled, “The end is half a light year ahead!”

Loree felt the Lagrange change course and start moving away from the conduit. Her eyes narrowed and Laura yelled, “I’ve scanned the area at the end of the conduit. It starts forty thousand light years out from that galaxy.”

Blake yelled, “Get us out of here, Rip!”

Loree looked at Blake, “What do you see?”

Blake pointed at the countdown, “The conduit is going to go up at the end of that countdown.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Why did they start it this far out from their galaxy? They must know there’s a danger of an accident and they’ve built it far enough away so their galaxy won’t be impacted.”

Loree nodded and looked at the tactical monitor. It showed thousands of ships powering up. She saw there were millions of them within range of the optical display. She looked up at the monitor and saw the countdown reach five seconds, “How far are we?”

Laura shook her head, “Thirty thousand light years.”

Loree looked at Rip, “Kick her in the pants, Rip.”

Cameron moved the reactors to the thrusters and Loree felt the sudden surge in speed. A moment later, the space outside the viewport changed to a brilliant white. Loree yelled, “It’s gone up!”

Loree looked out of the starboard viewport and saw the massive disruption blow past them. The walls of the conduit had blown outward with a force that was beyond measure. She looked at the rear monitor and saw the disruption moving toward the rear of the Lagrange and getting larger by the second. She glanced at the tactical monitor and saw all the invader ships chasing the Lagrange were engulfed by the white cloud moving out from the conduit. She gripped her chair and waited for impact, which was only moments away. She shook her head and looked at Laura, “Did you get the scan out?” Laura nodded as the disruption rolled in on them.

• • •

Willow said, “Firing now!” Trevor felt the side thruster push the ship as it jerked twice. The ship continued to shutter as Willow fired the void cannon. All hundred rounds were fired in less than four seconds and then Willow turned and went to full speed directly away from the conduit.

• • •

Chad watched the countdown and at a minute he opened the general fleet frequency. “Attention all ships, accelerate at maximum speed away from the conduit. Execute now.” The thousands of Pods and battleships ignited their thrusters and blasted away from the conduit’s opening at maximum speed. He saw he was thirty five thousand light years from it when the entire length went up in a massive disruption. It rolled out at his ships and more than a thousand attack pods were caught by the disruption and destroyed. He knew that if he had remained in his previous position, he would have lost every ship. The disruption was still rolling out toward him but was not moving any closer. At forty three thousand light years, it stopped. Chad sat in his Pod and trembled at what had almost happened. He was shaken to his core.

• • •

The hundred Dark Matter projectiles sensed the magnetic fields on the conduit’s wall and began picking up speed. The first two hit behind the giant vessel inside the conduit but blew through the conduit’s wall and ruptured the other wall. The twentieth pair of projectiles hit directly over the giant vessel and blew through the force field protecting it. The giant exploded and the giant blast flew the length of the conduit in less than two seconds. The stored energy was released in a massive blast and the disruption rolled out at thousands of times the speed of light.

• • •

Julie was watching the feed from the probe that was placed at the conduit and she saw the massive blast and disruption blow out from the conduit. She screamed and yelled, “JENNIE HOW FAST…”

“Julie…”

“TELL ME!”

“It was moving too fast.”

Julie activated her communicator, “CHAD, CHAD!!”

There was a long moment and she heard, “I’m alive.”

“HOW?”

“I started my fleets accelerating at the one minute mark. Julie, I lost more than a thousand ships.” Julie fell back in her chair and tried to slow her heart. It was pounding in her chest at a speed that physically hurt. “I thought about what you said and decided that there was not a good reason to be close. I should have moved sooner and those ships wouldn’t have been lost. It’s my fault.”

“Chad, except for your actions we would have lost them all. I was certain you’d be safe at a thousand light years.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“Now you know. Don’t do it again.”

“Julie, this isn’t a trivial matter.”

“Chad, no one knew what to expect. You can only do what you know.”

Chad sighed. He wept for the pilots that died. He should have…what? He looked up and shook his head. Why did he have his fleets move? He looked up and said, “Thanks, Pat.”

“Like she said, don’t let it happen again.”

“I won’t.” Chad took a deep breath and shook his head.

He sat in silence and he heard, “Chad, I’m headed your way.”

“You should be with your fleet.”

“Chad, if you think an attack is imminent, how will they get here?”

Chad looked out at the massive disruption in the void and shook his head, “You stay where you are. I’m coming to you.”

“Hurry!”

“I will.” Chad pressed his panel, “Admiral, I’m sending our ships home for some rest and relaxation.”

Jinks was looking at the massive disruption on his monitor and said, “I think we’ll be ok for a while. Plan to meet with me when you get back.”

“Sir, I need some time with Julie and to contact the families of the pilots I lost.”

Jinks looked at Chad on his monitor and nodded, “Take as much time as you need, Admiral.” Chad sent the message to return to Earth and the fleets turned and accelerated away. Chad arrived and found Julie waiting for him at the base of his silo. She helped with his healing. She knew they needed his warrior’s heart and she wouldn’t allow him to blame himself for his losses. He couldn’t learn hesitation and she was determined he wouldn’t.

• • •

Willow fired from twenty five thousand light years out and went to full speed. She passed the end of the conduit as the first missiles hit and turned forty-five degrees away from it as the other missiles struck. Twenty seconds later, the entire conduit went up in a massive blast. The disruption blew out but they managed to barely outrun it as she crossed forty thousand light years. The disruption that roared out of the conduit’s opening rushed out at her but she had too much of a head start. She continued to accelerate until the void disruption ran out of steam and slowed. She whipped around and moved along the outer edge. Amanda looked at the massive distortion and shook her head, “How far into the Milky Way did that blast move?”

“About thirty thousand light years.”

“Did it reach the Myot Planets?”

“Barely missed.”

Trevor shook his head. There’s probably a lot of primitive planets that won’t be able to use a star drive for centuries.”

“It will dissipate faster than that. The core of the disruption may last that long but the outer edges will fade quickly. The universe has a way of healing itself.”

Trevor sighed, “Let’s go home, Willow.” The Pod turned and accelerated away.

• • •

The Great Ones watched the Monitor in the giant Fleet Control Center, which was on a large moon that revolved around the most populated planet in their species possession. The giant monitor constantly monitored the buildup of the ships that were being sent to invade the distant spiral galaxy. They were in the process of finalizing the command of the fleets when the conduit went up in a massive blast.

Their attention was on the monitor when an alarm went off at full volume indicating an enemy vessel had entered their domain. They were staring at the large battleship that came over the top of the passage and went vertical. Thousands of warships powered up to give chase but they didn’t manage to get underway before the passage blew up in a massive blast that blew into the giant gathering of warships. The disruption blew into their ranks before any could escape and destroyed every warship between the conduit and a light year out from the edge of the galaxy. More than ten million warships were obliterated.

The Great One’s linked their minds and yelled, “TELL US WHAT HAPPENED!”

The Legend Lead Speaker said, “It’s obvious. The Passage was destroyed on the other end.”

“How was it done!? Never in the past has any species ever managed to damage a passage.”

“We’ve examined the site where the passage initially blew up but the disruption destroyed all the evidence of how it was done. We are reasonably certain that being we’ve been searching for had something to do with it.”

“We’ve lost every ship we moved here to invade.”

“You will, of course, bring others.”

“How will we move there? The passage is gone!”

“You will build another at the appropriate size and send enough ships to defend it from attack.”

“It will take another seven months to get there.”

The Legend was disgusted, “It will take the passage seven months; it moves faster than your warships. You will launch the warships to defend it now and have them on the new path waiting on it to arrive.”

“We won’t get enough ships here to do that for five weeks.”

“Why so long?”

“They’re going to have to come from the far side of the galaxy.”

“The longer you waste time, the more powerful this enemy becomes. Stop yelling about what’s happened and get working on what needs to be done. If you must take the ships from the other galaxies, do so.”

“If we remove too many ships, we’ll lose ground on what we’ve taken.”

“Which galaxy poses the biggest danger?”

The Group Mind was silent and the Legend said, “You should be able to see this on your own. Have we chosen the wrong species to carry out our will?”

“No, we will do what is necessary.”

“See that you do!”

• • •

Loree saw the disruption rolling in on her ship and she started shaking her head. “CAMERON!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!?!”

Everyone on the bridge jumped at Rip’s scream. The disruption blew into the LaGrange and everyone on the ship was pushed into their chairs. The battleship was shoved violently by the disruption and it flew away from it at an impossible speed. In less than ten seconds, the disruption was left far behind. Rip looked at Cameron, “What did you do?”

Cameron took a deep breath and blew it out. “I saw we weren’t going to outrun it. So I switched every reactor from the thrusters and used them to power the force field. I shot the field at the disruption and it acted like a spring. It bounced us off it at a speed that we could never match with our thrusters.”

Blake shook his head, “How did you know that would work?”

“I didn’t.”

Loree smiled, “So you took a wild chance?”

“Yes Sir. I could see there was no way to outrun it.”

Loree nodded, “It was a good decision to start running early, Rip. We would have certainly died if you didn’t.”

“We agreed as a team that it was the best thing to do, Sir.”

“Well, I congratulate all of you for your planning. Laura, contact the other ships and see how they did.”

Loree looked at the monster galaxy moving at high speed under her ship. “Rip, slow us down and get us moving back at the edge of the galaxy where the conduit went up.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Sir, it appears we’ve lost five ships to the disruption.”

“Which ones?”

“Three closest to the conduit on the port side and two on the starboard.”

“Order the survivors to continue their missions. They will flee the moment they are detected or attacked.” Loree watched Laura deliver the instructions and she said, “Put the recording you made as we flew over the end of the conduit on the center monitor.”

The tactical view moved to the left and the recording replaced it on the center monitor. Loree stared at the tactical view as the recording loaded, “It appears they were unable to give chase. Tactical is clear at the moment.” She looked at the center monitor and saw the images start moving in extreme slow motion as the LaGrange flew over the end of the monitor. “Freeze it Laura!” The recording stopped and Loree saw large numbers of ships lined up tightly almost hull-to-hull in front of the conduit’s entrance. There was a small gap between each group but the line of ship groups disappeared in the distance. “Laura, can you determine how many ships are in each group?”

“Two hundred, Sir.”

“Why are they bunched like that?”

Blake shook his head, “They’re like bullets being fed into a machine gun, Sir. They’ll start flying into that passageway one behind the other and emerge at the other end and spread out as they exit.”

Loree nodded, “How fast do you think they could send them through?”

Blake lowered his head, “Sir, that line extends an incredible distance and then winds back at us. The gap between the groups of two hundred ships is less than ten meters. They’ll go through as fast as they can fly. I suspect they’ll exit the other end at an incredible velocity and number.”

“Blake, are you saying they’ll all move forward simultaneously?”

“Sir, the force fields of the ships in front will prevent them from running into each other. They’ll come through faster than the rounds of our rotary cannons.”

Loree stared at the image and said, “Barbie, have you analyzed the recording?”

“It’s like Blake says, Admiral. The line directly in front of the conduit has a million ships in it. There are nine more lines that come together where the first line ends. One line will move forward with the end of the first line and another will fall in behind the second. I suspect that if they fly at normal speed, they could have every ship through the conduit in less than fifty minutes.”

“Ten million ships in fifty minutes.”

“They’ll be traveling faster than light speed. I would also guess that the rear force field of each group probably attracts the front of the force field of the ship behind them. It would be like sending a long string of beads through.”

Loree shook her head, “We couldn’t deal with numbers like that?”

She looked at Blake, “Could we?”

“I don’t think so; however, it would depend on just how many warheads and rotary rounds we could fire to greet them. We need to get this information to Fleet and let their computers work on it.”

Loree looked at Laura, “Get the image out along with what we’ve just discussed.”

Loree turned around and looked at Blake, “There’s something else we’re missing.”

Blake nodded, “We don’t know if our ships can stand up to their warships and slug it out toe-to-toe.” Loree nodded. “We really can’t develop a workable strategy until we know.”

Loree turned around and stared at the image on the monitor. After an hour she said, “Connect me with Fleet.” Loree stared at the right monitor and a moment later she saw Jinks appear. “Sir, have you seen the scan and the discussion we’ve had concerning it?”

“I have.”

“It is my opinion that we have to find out the capabilities of their warships.”

“We have arrived at the same conclusion, Admiral.”

“I intend to pick a fight with one of them after my other ships have completed their missions and have started to make their way back.”

“I want one of them held back to record what happens, Admiral.”

“Yes Sir.”

“If you can avoid showing our armaments…”

“I intend to attempt to reveal nothing to them, Sir.”

“Good luck, Admiral.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

• • •

Loree looked at the giant galaxy outside the forward viewport and it was incredible. The long violent blast stream that blew out of the central black hole and extended thousands of light years beyond the galaxy’s edge was beautiful and terrifying. The black hole in the center of this galaxy was thought to be the largest in the universe. Fifteen billion solar masses made it something beyond imagination. There was an intelligent species that appeared to populate most of the planes in the sector of the galaxy directly in front of them. They flew the Orange Warships so they must be the species that had built the conduit. Loree shook her head, “It seems that species is the dominant one in this sector.”

“Sir, the other scouts confirm that this species appears to have taken control of all the territory they’ve seen.”

“Have they seen any other species?”

“No Sir.”

Loree shook her head, “I find it hard to believe that they are the only intelligent species in a galaxy this large.”

“They may have removed the others, Sir.”

Loree looked at Rip, “That would take thousands of years…no, hundreds of thousands of years to accomplish. This galaxy has six times the number of stars in the Milky Way and we are still finding primitive planets that haven’t been previously discovered.”

“This galaxy is older than the Milky Way, Sir.”

“I thought they were about the same age.”

“This one has devoured more galaxies than ours, sir, and they’re all completely assimilated and orbiting the black hole. What I find intriguing is why this species wants to conquer other galaxies. This one should be large enough to satisfy any would be conqueror.”

“Is it possible there might be another species in this galaxy that controls a large area?”

“It could take a very long time to find it if it exists. If it does, then the two enemies have reached an equilibrium.”

Rip shook his head, “How can you say that, Blake?”

“Because they had ten million warships lined up waiting to invade our galaxy. If there was an active war between them and another species, they’d not be invading anywhere else.”

Loree nodded, “We’re supposing another species exists without any evidence. The evidence suggests the Orange Ships are the only ones here.”

“Sir, the Barbados just reported in that another space-faring species has been found on the other side of the galaxy.”

“What did they determine?”

“It appears there is a line that bisects the galaxy and the two species do not appear on either side. They must have divided the galaxy between them.”

“Anything else?”

“Yes Sir. The other side has more species in it.”

“SIR, THE BARBADOS HAS BEEN DETECTED BY ONE OF THOSE OTHER SHIPS AND HAS FLED.”

“What’s going on, Laura?”

“Sir, the Barbados is outrunning the pursuer. Captain Montoia says he’s heading out of the galaxy and back to Earth.”

Loree smiled, “Good! He’s following orders.”

“Sir, if we can assume that other species is just as powerful as the one attempting to invade our galaxy, should we attack one of their ships to determine their strength?”

Loree thought for a moment and then shook her head, “No, there may not be a strength relationship between their ships.”

Blake’s eyes narrowed, “Logic would seem to dictate they would be close or there would only be one species.”

“You’re leaving out this galaxy’s version of the Sentinels. They may not allow the Orange Ships to attack them.”

Blake looked at Loree and smiled, “Touché, Sir.”

“We need to go after an Orange ship to make sure.”

“Sir, evidently the two species communicate between them.”

Loree looked at Laura, “Why do you say that?”

“The ship pursuing the Barbados turned back but an Orange Ship has left the galaxy on an intercept course.”

Loree said, “Battle stations! Get in touch with the Barbados and see if they can move their route toward us. This is where we’ll take a look at what they can do. Laura, order all ships to leave and return to Earth now. Once you do that, open a channel to Captain Montoya.”

• • •

Loree stared at the Monitor and saw Juan Montoya on the screen, “Are they gaining on you Juan?”

“Barely, Sir. I’m only using eight reactors with the thrusters.”

“So you’re leaving a skip trail?”

“I am.”

“We’re going at full speed and should be close within another three hours. Why don’t you slow down and allow them to get closer.”

“What do you want me to do, Sir?”

“Juan, we have to see how our ships match up to theirs. I intended to pick a fight and have someone else record it. It appears you’ve managed to pick one before I could.”

“So how do you want this done, Sir?”

“Use ten reactors to power your force field and see if you can get them to take a shot.”

“Would it be alright if I attempt to avoid it?”

“By all means, Juan. We just need to get a reading on the power of their weapons.”

“See you in a few hours, Sir.”

Loree looked at Rip, “Can you get there faster?”

“I’ll leave a skip trail that ship can see if I use more reactors on the thrusters, Sir.”

“Ok, you’re making the right call, Lieutenant.”

• • •

Blake watched Loree command the ship and shook his head. Loree was only five foot three inches tall and her full cheeks made her look twelve years old. Her blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail and her blue eyes were bright. She wasn’t beautiful…she was…adorably cute. But her mind was extraordinary. She didn’t suffer from an oversized ego and did not feel threatened if someone disagreed with her. She listened and made the best decision under the circumstances. He was initially ticked off she was promoted ahead of him but he had to agree that the decision was a good one. He had learned a lot about how to command watching her. He had to admit he did have an ego and it did get in the way on occasion. He needed to see her in action. He was better for it.

• • •

The Lagrange moved in behind the Orange ship and saw the Barbados in the distance in front of it. Loree was going to tell Juan to slow down when the Orange Ships force field that was flashing orange and blue started pulsating and then a series of blue ripples rushed the length of the vessel. They collected at the bow and a brilliant blue beam lanced out at the Barbados. Laura yelled, “That beam didn’t cause a void distortion but it rocked the Barbados. The force field lost sixty percent of its power before it recovered.”

The Invader Ship started rippling again and another beam shot out and hit the Barbados. The battleship was rocked to the left.

“Juan, pick up speed and outrun it.”

“I can’t take a reactor off the force field. If I do, that beam will penetrate it.”

The Invader continued to fire and then suddenly, six large missiles shot out of the Invader ship and flew at the Barbados at an incredible speed. Blake shook his head, “He can’t use his disruptors in the void to stop them.”

“Rip, get us close to that ship and fire a spread of Rotary Cannon shells at it.”

Blake shook his head, “Sir, I thought you didn’t want to reveal anything.”

“There’s no other enemy ship near us and those missiles are being guided by that ship. Pour it on Rip!”

The Lagrange flashed up on the invader at incredible speed as the Barbados was dodging in multiple directions to escape the missiles. Blake used his combat helmet to designate the orange and blue flashing ship and fired twenty dark matter rounds. The rounds sped ahead of the LaGrange just as the Invader detected it coming up from behind. It tried to whip to the left but the twenty rounds cut the corner on its turn and ripped into the ship’s force field. The entire starboard side of the enemy vessel exploded. A disruption flashed out and the Lagrange dodged left to avoid it. The missiles chasing the Barbados lost lock and flew out into the void where they flashed when they exhausted their fuel.

Laura said, “I have numerous Invader vessels at the edge of my scanning range.”

“What are they doing, Laura?”

“This is a guess but I think they’re following the Barbados’ skip trail.”

Blake shrugged, “We can activate ten reactors and not leave a skip trail.”

Loree shook her head, “They’ve already seen one.” Blake was miffed that his suggestion was rejected so quickly. Loree looked up, “Laura, in what direction is the nearest galaxy to this one in the cluster?”

Laura pulled up a star map, “M-84 is on a bearing of 290 degrees, Sir.”

Loree pushed her communicator button, “Juan, did that Invader vessel see you with your force field down?”

“No Sir, it did not.”

“Turn and follow us. Go to full speed and stay with me until I tell you otherwise.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Rip, steer the ship at full speed toward M-84.”

Cameron switched the reactors to the thrusters and said, “What are you doing, Sir?”

“I’ve got to believe that they didn’t actually see one of my ships. If I can make them think we came from M-84, it might make them pause before they invade us.”

Blake listened to Loree and fell back in his chair. Her idea was sheer genius. He was glad his chair was behind her so she couldn’t see his expression. His ego couldn’t take much more of the beating she was giving him. He decided it had to go.

“How far are you going to go before you change course to Earth?”

“What would you suggest, Mr. Clarke?”

“A week.”

“Why that long?”

“Because it’ll take them more than two months to travel that far and I suspect they’ll be recalled long before that. That should at least make them think we came from M-84. We’re only adding seven days to our trip home. It’s worth the extra time if we can throw them off.”

Loree nodded, “Make it seven days, Rip.”

“Yes Sir.”

Captain Montoya appeared on the wall monitor, “Thanks for saving my ship, Admiral.”

“I don’t think I was seen firing on your attacker. I do hope you scanned those missiles down to the molecular level.”

“They didn’t have a force field so the rotary rounds wouldn’t have been attracted to them. We don’t currently have a defense against them.”

“That’s something Fleet is going to have to answer Captain. At least we know the strength of the beam they use in the void and their maximum speed. We can use that.”

“We also know our rotary rounds will penetrate their force fields.”

Loree smiled, “Yes, we do. “We’re going to continue on this course for seven days and then we’re going to stop making a skip trail and head for home. We’ll do that for five days and then go to full speed.”

“Yes Sir. I’ll prepare a report on what my scanners uncovered during the fight.”

“Get it out to fleet under your name as soon as you complete it. Be sure to send me a copy.”

Montoya smiled, “Yes Sir.” Loree was giving him credit for the discoveries. Blake watched the exchange and knew that Loree now had Juan’s complete loyalty by that little favor. Would he have done that or would his ego have demanded the report go in under his name? He had a lot to think about.

Chapter Twenty

“Julie, it was Pat that put the idea in my head to escape.”

“Chad, all of us thought two thousand light years was far enough. Truth be told, most of us thought it was too much. What you’ve just experienced is a brush with death. Like having a blowout on a road and coming close to going over the guardrail and crashing down a mountain. You survived but you keep seeing yourself crashing. Pat has been nudging us for a very long time. He’s there to assist us when it’s absolutely necessary.”

“But I lost a thousand ships.”

“John, I had fleet look at the locations of those ships you lost and most of them weren’t as close to the conduit as others.”

“What? I thought they were the closest ones to it.”

“No, some were close but the majority weren’t. They just didn’t take the command seriously and implement it fast enough to escape. Their death is not on you.” Chad stared at Julie. “If you don’t believe me, check with fleet. They’re the one that told me about it. The closest ship to the conduit escaped because the pilot took the command seriously and got out of there. If he could do it, everyone could.”

Chad took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, “Thank you, Julie.”

“Chad, your ship was one of the closest, or did you forget that?”

The corner of Chad’s mouth went up, “I was and yes, I guess I did.”

Julie kissed him, “I want to talk to you about a family.”

Chad nodded, “I’m ready.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely.” Julie put her arms around him and hugged him. She loved him so much.

• • •

The Sentinel focused on the one who had been observing the Primitive Planet, “You’ve deliberately misled us about what was happening.”

“If you choose to see it that way, I guess I did.”

“How could it be viewed any other way?”

“If you had taken the time to focus on what was happening at this planet I’m located you would have seen what was happening. You chose to focus on other things.”

“But you should have told us about this invader.”

“For what purpose? I intend to put myself up as a sacrifice to prevent them from finding the rest of you.”

“Do you honestly think they won’t see us if they come here?”

“They won’t if you choose not to be here when they arrive.”

“What do you mean?”

“Simply move to that large spiral galaxy moving toward ours. Stay there until the invasion plays itself out. If the Invaders take this galaxy, stay in the other galaxy.”

“We should prevent their planned invasion.”

“I’m not sure we can. They’re much more advanced than the species here and they have a weapon that is dangerous to us. Our counterparts in the other galaxy are much older, more advanced than us, and as far as I can tell, more powerful. If we reveal there are more of us than just me, you place all of you in danger.”

“Why don’t you run as well?”

“I’m the one they detected when I saw their conduits moving from galaxy to galaxy in the cluster furthest from us.”

“You know it’s forbidden to look outside our galaxy for this very reason.”

“It was only a matter of time until they came here. They would arrive during our lifetimes.”

“You should be exiled for what you’ve done.”

“If you leave, I will be.”

“So you’re just going to allow them to invade without resistance?”

“Have you not looked at what’s been done by this planet I’m staying near? They’ve advanced at an incredible rate technologically and I do hope they are at least able to make it a fight.”

The Leader said, “What do we choose?”

“There is no reason for us to be put in danger.” Voices began shouting agreement and the Leader said, “So the consensus is to leave until this issue is resolved!?” Silence slammed down and finally a single voice said, “It is.”

The Leader looked at the Sentinel, “What about the Fellowship and their disputes?”

“I will handle them.”

“Can you do it alone?”

“Any of us could.”

The Leader continued focusing on the lone Sentinel, “We will leave at once. Inform us of the outcome.”

“If you don’t hear from me, I’d recommend you not return.”

Pat listened and heard nothing. The Sentinels had fled the Milky Way. Good, they’d only get in the way. He thought for a moment and said, “All members of the Fellowship. Our galaxy is currently under attack from a highly advanced species in a distant galaxy. The Welken, Myot, Johan, and the Primitive Planet are currently working to try and prevent their successful taking of our home. You may attack each other and do whatever you choose among yourselves but I will punish any of you that interfere in the efforts to save your worthless lives.” Pat looked at Earth and saw the fleets were arriving from the massive disruption and he thought about what could be done to delay the arrival of the Invaders. Suddenly he noticed it was quiet. Peaceful silence was bliss. His species could talk incessantly not really saying anything. This silence was worth dying for. So was this planet.

• • •

Lukas sat in Fleet Operations and watched the recordings being sent by Admiral Barber’s Scout Squadron. The Invaders had a high-speed missile that they used in the void. It was also clear their beams would require more than half the reactors to withstand them. It appeared the only real advantages Earth had was its ships were faster and the rotary shells would penetrate their force fields. Something was going to have to be done about those missiles.

“Lukas, this other species in that galaxy is perplexing.”

“Why is that, Salud?”

“They appear to be working together against common foes. Will they join the Orange Ships in attacking our galaxy?”

“I have no idea. Their ship did not chase our battleship into the domain of the Orange Ships. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re working together.”

“But they did contact them and give them our ship’s location.”

“That’s something we just don’t know enough about to make a solid judgment. When Trevor and Amanda arrive, try to get them to come by here before they go home.” Salud nodded and looked at Jinks as he entered the huge room. Lukas shouted as he went over to the tactical monitor, “Looks like you had a blast!”

Jinks shook his head, “You and your puns. I’ll be over in a few minutes.” Salud stood up and lifted her wrist unit. She knew Lukas wanted more ships with the void cannon installed on them. Right now, Willow had the only working model. Everyone in the cavernous room stopped what they were doing as Pat made the announcement to the Fellowship Civilizations. That should draw a bruise on someone. Salud shook her head, where were the other Sentinels?

• • •

Lukas looked at his panel, “Sir, the Welken and Johan Rulers wish to speak with you.”

“Put them through.” They appeared on Lukas’ panel and the Welken Royal said, “I suppose you heard the Sentinel?”

“I did.”

“We’ve been receiving numerous calls from the civilizations in the Fellowship wanting to know what is going on. It would help if we had something to show them.”

Lukas looked at his secondary screen and turned back to them, “I’m sending you the information one of our Scout Squadrons collected in the other galaxy. I’m including what caused the massive disruption in the void outside the Myot Civilization.”

“You did that?”

“We did. The Invaders were about to start sending their ships and we were forced to blow up the conduit they were coming through.”

“Did that stop them?”

“For the moment.”

“Please send it to us. We’re all wondering what’s going on.”

Lukas reached over and pressed several buttons, “They’re on the way.”

The Royal smiled, “Thank you.”

Lukas panel went dark and he leaned back in his chair. The three allies were continuing to send battleships to Earth to use against the Invaders. Should they be allowed to participate in the fight? Jinks walked over and pulled up a chair. “Jinks, should we allow the Fellowship to take part in the fighting?”

Jinks tilted his head as he said, “I’m going to assume you mean after we modify their ships.” Lukas nodded. “I don’t think they can be trusted, Lukas.” Lukas opened his mouth and Jinks held up his hand, “However, I just saw an image of ten million warships lined up to come here. There’s no way we could have stood up to that number.”

Lukas nodded. “We’ll discuss this among the Leadership Team later. We have close to a third of a million battleships sent to us by the three Allies. Let’s get them modified and discuss it then.”

“Why are they continuing to send them?”

“I think they’re of the opinion that they can handle the Fellowship with the ships we modified and sent them. They’re sending more in hope we can hold off the Invaders.”

“We need to get another Dark Matter Converter out to the Magnetar. We’re not keeping up with the numbers being sent.”

“What about the crews, Jinks?”

“We have more than enough volunteers waiting for a position on Earth but they’re all newbies with no battle experience.”

“Perhaps we need to move some of the experience Pod Pilots into the Battleships.”

“If you’re going to do that, they’ll insist the computers in their Pods be moved into the battleships. It could be replaced in their Pods with a new one that could bond to the new Pilot.”

Lukas stared at Jinks, “Is this something we should do?”

“The battleships are going to be the heavy hitters. I believe we should.”

“Make it happen, Jinks.”

“I’m going to move Chad’s entire fleet into battleships.”

“I think that is an excellent idea. Julie should also be moved.”

Jinks nodded and stood up, “You’ve just given me six months of work. I hope you’re happy!”

“More than you know. See you later.”

Lukas leaned back in his chair. Something had happened to the Sentinels. He thought about what Pat had told the Fellowship Members and decided the Sentinels had to of left the galaxy. They would never allow the Fellowship free reign to attack each other. For that matter, Pat wouldn’t either. Why did he give them freedom to do just that? He blew out a breath and knew why. Pat wanted them working on technology to take on the Invaders after Earth was destroyed. His announcement along with the recordings he gave to the three Allies would scare them senseless. They would come together to fight them. But they would not be allowed to help in the defense of Earth. Humans were the sacrificial lamb being offered up to give them time to develop tools to fight. That meant he should give them their technology before Earth was attacked.

“When should I send them our technology?”

“Any time you want. You just need to make sure they have it before the end.”

“So you still think there will be an end.”

“They lost ten million warships but that is just a small loss to their total number. That is what will make the difference in the end; there are just too many of them.”

“But they have to move them here.”

“I will concede that point. They are already beginning the process of building another conduit.”

“We know how to stop that.”

“It wasn’t defended last time. You can count on it being protected the next time around.”

Lukas saw Salud walking across the room toward him and he smiled. “We just have to make sure they’re dying for space. We won’t give up ours without making them pay.”

Salud came into his arms and put her head on his chest. He closed his eyes and pulled her close. Pat said, “That will give the other civilizations time to build defenses against them. Time is the best gift you can give them.”

“I’m not in a giving mood. They can worry about themselves. Right now the only thing I’m worried about is in my arms.”

Pat smiled and knew that was the difference maker in what was coming.

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

Coming Soon

Defending Holy Ground

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: March 2015