Author: Saxon Andrew
Date: 2012-11-11T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science Fiction
Description: From the Number One International Bestselling Author Saxon Andrew comes the fourth book in the Lens of Time Series, The End of Time. This story continues the story of Earth’s war with the civilizations in the giant galaxy M87. Earth and its Minor Allies have defeated the first fleet of warships sent against them but now the Majors are planning to combine their forces. If that happens, no one will survive the massive fleets moving against them. What neither side of the struggle knows is that both warring parties have been designated for destruction by an ancient enemy that has never tasted defe
Publisher: Amazon

Lens of Time Book Four

The End of Time

Contents

Introduction

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

Epilogue

Excerpt from The Fight for Creation Life Warrior

Books by Saxon Andrew

About Saxon Andrew

Introduction

Arvolo looked up at his display and saw the gathering ships. There were millions and more were arriving every second. He hit the general frequency, “There is no possible way for us to fight in formation against the numbers moving against us, so once the battle is joined, all ships will be on their own to fight and survive as best they can. It is our intent to kill as many of the enemy as possible and lessen the possibility of them finding our new home. Small ships will fight until they run out of munitions and will then jump away. You will not waste your ships by ramming the enemy. We will need you in future combat operations. On my command, weapons are free, pick a group of those warships, and introduce yourselves. Make sure they remember you; God speed and good luck.” RV hit the internal com and said, “All crewmembers prepare for damage control.”

RV stood and moved to the pilot’s chair, “Dolly, can you handle the weapons?”

“I can.”

“Cyanna, take over control of the fleet and order retreat if we’re going to be overwhelmed.”

Cyanna moved to the command chair and watched the giant mass of warships as it continued to grow. She looked at RV, “If you don’t mind, I’ve never been the patient sort.”

RV smiled and said, “Go ahead.”

“Attention all ships; we will not wait for their attack. Launch all small ships immediately and prepare to hit those ships in the center of their formation in five seconds; four, three, two, one, and go!”

The millions of White Ships roared forward, hit the giant mass of warships at one quarter light speed. Ships began dying.

Chapter One

Arvolo sat on the shuttle with Kenny and George. He was dressed in a tux and Kenny tried to control his laughter. RV frowned and said, “If you say I look like a walrus penguin, I’m going to tusk you.”

Kenny and George both laughed out loud and Arvolo looked down at his still large stomach. “Where is this ceremony taking place?”

George smiled, “Cyanna made me promise not to tell you.” RV looked at Kenny and he shook his head.

RV sighed, “How long before we arrive?”

“Actually, everything is ready. We’ll be jumping in momentarily.”

RV stood up and Kenny pulled him back down to his seat. “No, you cannot go to the bridge and peek.”

“Are the two of you freaking mind readers? How did you know I wasn’t going to the head?”

“You went five minutes ago and it’s toward the rear of the ship.”

RV sat down and sighed, “Were either of you this nervous on your wedding day?”

George said, “I was terrified. I was worried I was not worthy of the woman I was marrying.”

“That’s what I’m feeling, George. She’s so beautiful and smart and witty and beautiful and stunning and brilliant. Did I say she was beautiful?”

George smiled and said, “No, you left that out.”

RV thought a moment and said, “No I didn’t!”

“Relax, RV; we’ll be landing in a few more moments. Now remember, we will exit the ship, in intervals of five seconds. You will follow Kenny five seconds after he steps out of the door.”

“I know, I know. Let’s get this started.”

They felt a small bump and the airlock door slid up in the ceiling. George stood and slowly walked down the short corridor. Five seconds later, Kenny followed him. RV tried to count to five and just couldn’t pull it off. He watched Kenny step out of the door and started walking forward. What has Cyanna planned? He’d know momentarily. RV stepped out of the door and froze in his tracks. He stared at the beautiful church in front of him and couldn’t move. He remembered the church from his childhood. The Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Cobre; Our Lady of charity. She was the patron saint of Cuba. He was standing at the front of the Church twelve miles from Havana and two long lines of fleet officers had their swords raised and crossed for him to enter the church. George and Kenny stood beside him and Kenny whispered, “I told Cyanna what you once told me; anyone who goes to the Island will always have good luck. She decided she would marry you here and nowhere else. Your belief Cuba is special was borne out in Earth’s destruction. The island wasn’t hit. “ Kenny saw RV’s tears and said, “Your bride is waiting for you inside.”

RV took a deep breath and blew it out. He stood straighter and moved forward with a purpose in his step. He glanced up at the force field protecting the church from Earth’s radioactivity and he knew what she must have gone through to make this happen. He saw her love in it and he didn’t want to spend another moment without her. Kenny and George followed him into the church and, unlike most weddings; Cyanna was waiting for him at the front. Chris Connor joined Kenny and George and followed RV down the aisle. Jillian, Meisa, Jessica, and Cyanna’s sister Anne stood beside her at the altar.

RV saw nothing but Cyanna. She was almost too beautiful to look at in her white wedding gown and her love was visible for all to see. The ceremony was one that everyone present would always remember. It was one RV and Cyanna would always hold in their hearts. As RV arrived beside Cyanna he leaned down and took off his shoes and socks. He smiled at Cyanna and said, “I need to feel my homeland under my feet in this moment.”

Cyanna looked into his eyes and smiled. RV took her hand and they turned to face the priest. Everyone in the church that loved someone felt their love burst out. Great moments lead to great emotion. RV and Cyanna already knew that.

Chapter Two

George looked at Admirals Anders and Owens, “It’s been eight months and it appears the Majors are still attacking those civilizations that were weakened during the attack on the Violet Civilization. Has the Hive Controller been able to determine how much longer the combat will continue?”

“No Sir, but he says that even when it ends they won’t immediately attack again.”

“Why is that?”

“The ones that stayed out of the battle will not be willing to risk losing ships and being attacked by the other Majors. He’s of the opinion that the Majors will have to come to an agreement to send ships from all of their civilizations before any of them take on the Horde and Violet Beings.”

George ran his fingers through his hair, “I wish there was some way we could monitor what’s happening.”

Bob looked at Kenny and said, “We discussed that before Admiral Arvolo left for his honeymoon. We might be able to make that happen but we’ll run the risk of losing ships.”

George sat back in his chair, “Tell me what you mean.”

“We have the new sensor buoys that are next to impossible to detect. If we could deliver one to each of the capital planets in the Majors, it would be possible to listen in on their communications.”

“Do we know the location of those capitals?”

“No sir but the Horde and Hive know.”

“Why do you say we’ll lose ships?”

“Sir, we have not faced the really advanced civilizations in the Majors. We believe that our beams will penetrate their force fields but their beams will also blow through ours. The new beams are a leap in technology but our screens have not kept up with them. Our ships can be killed by their advanced civilizations. The other Majors can destroy our ships if they attack with multiple battleships.”

Kenny said, “They will also detect any ship that jumps into their system and pursue it faster than you can believe. We might get the sensor in but I doubt the ship that delivers it will survive.”

Bob added, “And there is a possibility that if they’re able to take one of our ships they will have access to our technology.”

George thought about the risks and then pushed a button on his console, “Bender, are you available to join a meeting?”

“I’ll be right up, Sir.”

Kenny looked at Bob and wondered what George was thinking. Two minutes later Bender walked into the command center. “Bender, do you still have some of the old warships that were used by the Alliance?”

“We have more than ten thousand of them. They’re scheduled to be converted to commercial transports once their weapons are removed.”

“Were they set up for remote control when they were built?”

“They were; why do you ask?”

George pushed another button and said, “Admiral, will you join us in the command room?”

The Moet representative arrived and George said, “How many of your old warships are still operational?”

Admiral thought a moment and said, “There are about eight hundred of the cruisers still in operation.”

George said, “We need to confuse the Major Civilizations when we deliver our sensor buoys. Admiral, can your ships be operated by remote control?”

“Not really.”

George’s expression fell and Bob asked, “Do they have the capability to automatically pursue another ship?”

“Certainly; that would have to be done by the computers. No one can make the decisions fast enough to pursue a ship attempting to escape in Green Space.”

George said, “Why is that important, Bob?”

“I see where you’re going with this. If we can have old Alliance Warships being pursued by the Moet ships, it would look like the Alliance ships were chased into M-87. They could be firing on each other and they could drop a sensor buoy as they emerged into normal space close to a Major’s Capital system.”

George smiled, “Exactly, and if we jump them in from the direction of another galaxy, it would throw them off as to where they originated.” George looked at Kenny, “Is it possible to make this subterfuge happen?”

Kenny thought about it and said, “You want to do this by remote control and not have anyone on board either ship, right?”

“That’s the plan.”

Kenny turned to the Admiral, “What happens when a ship is being pursued automatically and the ship it’s chasing is destroyed?”

“What do you want to happen?”

“Could it be made to attack the closest ship to it?”

“It could.”

Kenny looked at George and said, “We’ll program the Alliance ships to jump into six Major systems sequentially. At that point, the Moet warship will destroy it.”

Bender said, “But the Moet ship can’t be flown by remote control.”

“I know, but I think you can bet the farm on a Major Ship being a part of the chase long before the sixth jump. Once the Alliance ship is destroyed, the Moet Ship will turn and attack the Major. Even if they disable the Moet Ship and capture it, they won’t learn anything from its technology that would help them.”

George said, “Then why program six jumps?”

“Why just launch buoys at the capital planets? If the ships are able to make multiple jumps, we might as well launch as many sensor buoys as possible. Who knows, we might get lucky.”

The Admiral was silent for a moment and said, “What happens if a ship is captured and there isn’t any crew on board?”

Bob said, “Set the self-destruct circuit to activate if its force field is breeched. We know the Alliance ship won’t do it so it should be able to complete its run if it doesn’t encounter another ship. If there isn’t another ship around when it destroys the Alliance Warship, program a seventh jump out into deep space.”

George leaned back in his chair, “We’ll have a sensor buoy at that location and we’ll wait and see if they’re followed. We’ll jump in as many mini-strikers as needed to destroy any ships that make it to that coordinate.”

George looked over at Meisa, “Contact the Hive and see if you can get the coordinates of all Major Capital Planets. Also request the location of other important planets in the Major’s civilizations.”

Meisa nodded and George said, “Admiral Anders, will you handle this exercise?”

“I will. I’ll let you know before we launch.”

“That would be good.”

• • •

The large dark creature slithered up to the door to his quarters and looked at his aide, “Why are you here?”

“You asked me to inform you if anything changed.”

“Go on.”

“The Rhys has broken off their attack and our fleets are no longer being challenged. The Rhys are being attacked by the Krim but we don’t think they will continue if the ships attacking us return to their domain.”

“How many civilizations are still being attacked?”

“Only twenty four and it appears that half of those will be conquered and disposed of within a short time.”

“How many have been destroyed?”

“Fifty one.”

“About ten percent have fallen. Are all of the advanced members still staying out of the fight?”

“They are so far. If they come in at the end the number destroyed could go up.”

The dark creature thought a moment, “Are any of the ones we have mutual defense agreements with in jeopardy?”

“Four, but ships from all of our domains are patrolling each other’s planets.”

“I suspect that is also happening with the other weak systems.”

“It is.”

The large creature paused and didn’t want to know but finally forced himself to ask, “What have you heard from our source in the other sector?”

“If this large of an attack happens again, the other sector is considering invasion.”

“That limits our response to the rebellious Minors.”

“That’s why we’ve always had them fighting each other. No one is willing to risk attacking them for fear of being overwhelmed afterwards.”

“We must do something.”

“Some are starting to talk. You know how long it will take to get agreement.”

The large creature saw something in his aide’s expression, “You’re withholding something.”

“My source in the other sector says that one of them has been contacted by one of the rebellious Minors and has been given one of those ships. There was an attack to destroy that ship but it failed. The other sector will have to factor that into whatever plans they make.”

“That might slow a response.”

“My source seems to think it will to some extent. I expect the magnitude of our next attacks on the Minors and the number of ships lost will be the determining factor.”

“It’s a very tight line we’re crawling on.”

“It is.”

“Does the High Assembly know any of this?”

“They do not.”

The creature thought a moment and said, “I want to lay on this for a while. I’ll let you know what I want to do with this information later.”

The aide lowered his head to the floor and the door slammed down. He turned and slithered away. The High Assembly didn’t know but he felt certain that other Majors had the same information. All of them were thinking about how to use it to take control of the sector.

The dark creature remained at his door for a moment and thought about what all this meant. He craved a position on the High Council but didn’t know how to parley this information into getting him the position. He flipped the switch on his necklace and said, “Have you taken the ship to a secure location?”

“We have.”

“What have you been able to discover?”

“The force fields, weapons, and drives are double our strength.”

“Collect the technology and get back to me.”

“It will be done as you order.”

The dark creature turned and went to the ground. As he slithered back to his pad he thought about the good fortune of one of his ships stumbling on the site of a space battle between one of the Nexu ships and forty Hoyeis. Every ship was killed but the Nexu ship was not so damaged that it couldn’t be examined. He sincerely hoped the Nexu would never discover who had taken the derelict. Their reaction would be swift and severe. However, so far the theft had gone unreported. First his ships; then he would approach the High Assembly. Fear often made things happen that just wouldn’t occur normally. He curled up his fifty foot length, pulled his eight pairs of arms close to his side, and closed his eyes.

• • •

Boden looked at the detail of the new ship and said, “It will still be vulnerable to the predator’s ships.”

“We don’t have any new advances in force field technology.”

Boden stared at the diagrams and said, “If we can’t stop the beams, would it be possible to escape them?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is there a way to slow the beam down after it hits and move the ship beyond it?”

“We could possibly have an inner force field controlled by one reactor that would slow it down twenty thousandth of a second. I don’t see us being able to make it any stronger. Remember that the first force field will be slightly weakened by not using that reactor.”

“Do we have a relay that will respond that fast?”

The engineer thought a moment and said, “We have several slightly faster than that.”

“Follow me on this. If the ships drives are active and on line and the outer force field is breeched and the incoming beam hits the second force field, could an automatic relay trip the drive circuit and push the ship forward?”

The engineer entered the calculations in his unit and said, “The ship would be weightless so the movement would happen almost immediately. However, almost is significant when attempting to operate at these speeds.”

“Give me your best guess.”

The engineer stared at the data and said, “The ship could be pushed to one quarter light speed in that time. It would take the relay forty thousandth of a second to trigger the drive.”

“How far would it move in that remaining forty thousandth of a second?”

“About one mile six hundred yards.”

“That is longer than the ship.”

The engineer shrugged, “Yes but it may slam it into another ship if the fighting is at close quarters.”

“The ship will be weightless so no damage would happen. It would then have an opportunity to fire on the ship that attacked it.”

“It could also cause the ship to jerk its way across the battle scene one mile at a time if the attacker continues to fire.”

“But somewhere in that time our ship would be able to return fire.”

“There is that.”

Boden thought for a moment and said, “This is not a defense system that will be easily controlled.”

“It will have to be automatic. Even the ship’s computer couldn’t react fast enough to do it.”

Boden looked at the ship building yard and said, “I want that ship over there set up with this system and we’ll trial it when it’s ready.”

The engineer nodded and left.

• • •

A week later the Engineer reported back to Boden. “It’s not going to work.”

“Why not?”

“The sudden move disrupts the computer. It forces it to reboot. While that happens the ship is defenseless. The computer can’t do it fast enough but if the system moves the ship without having the computer in the process…”

“The computer is forced to reboot.” The Engineer nodded. “Well, we need to find something. Let me know if you have any other ideas.”

• • •

Kate watched the display with Kenny and said, “What’s going on?”

“I want you to give me your take on something.”

“Sure, is that why you’re not telling me what you’re doing?”

“You’ve broken the code.” Kenny said, “Jess, are you ready to pursue?”

“I am.”

“Then jump to the coordinates and send the signal.”

The Tampa jumped and Kate saw an old Alliance Warship accelerate away from a Moet Cruiser. The Moet accelerated after the escaping ship and started firing beams at it. The two ships disappeared in jumps and the Tampa followed close behind. Kate saw the Moet gaining on the battle ship and six jumps later watched as it blew the large Alliance Battleship apart. The Moet then turned and attacked the Tampa. The Tampa hit the Moet with six new main beams and vaporized it.

Kenny turned to Kate and she said, “I hope there weren’t any crewmen on those ships.”

“There weren’t. Tell me what you think?”

Kate sat back down from where she had stood up during the battle and said, “It looked real to me. If you hadn’t said anything about it wanting my opinion, I would have thought they had gone back to war with each other. Why did you do this?”

“One more thing; did you see anything else happen during the chase?”

Kate thought about it, “I don’t know what you mean?”

“Then you didn’t see it.”

“See what?”

“The Alliance and Moet ships each deployed three advanced sensor probes when they were jumping through Sierra Space.”

“So that’s what this is about?”

“It is.”

“Well, I didn’t see them being delivered. How did you do it?”

“We released them under the ships as they moved through Sierra Space. Once they were clear of the drive field, the antenna popped into normal space and the rest of the buoy in Sierra Space was reduced to the size of an atom. The delivery took less than a hundredth of a second.”

“What are you planning to do?”

“We’re launching 800 pairs of ships and have them jump into M-87 and deploy as many sensor buoys as possible before they’re destroyed. This was a trial to see if we could pull off the disguise of two ships attacking each other.”

“It appeared real to me.”

Kenny looked at his computer, “Jess, did you detect the buoys being launched?”

“I did but I was really scanning for them. The buoys followed a missile out of the launcher tubes. I was able to barely see one of them and I wasn’t able to get a good read on it.”

Kate tilted her head and said, “If the computer couldn’t see them when it was looking for them, I suspect you’ve got it set up the right way.”

Kenny pushed a button and said, “Jess, jump us out to the ships.” The Tampa disappeared from the outer edge of the galaxy and reappeared in deep space between M-87 and M-83. Kenny looked at the sixteen hundred ships and noticed they were spread out across a twenty thousand mile front. Kate said, “Are you jumping all of them simultaneously?”

“I am. We want it to appear as if the Alliance Ships are being pursued from a space battle.” Kenny pressed a clear cover and a yellow button came up out of the console. Kenny turned the button to the right and then pressed it. The sixteen hundred ships disappeared. “Let’s go back to Sierra Garcia and see if any are delivered.” The Tampa disappeared.

• • •

“Attack warning, attack warning; we have large numbers of ships jumping into our sector. Lock on the invaders and eliminate them.”

An old Alliance Ship appeared in the Lunje system. It was being chased by an old Moet Cruiser and they were firing on each other. Ten ships appeared around the two ships just before they jumped back into Sierra Space. The ten ships pursued the two combatants.

The Lunje Commander looked over at his navigator, “Where did these ships originate?”

“The trails indicate they came from a rather distant galaxy. My scanners indicate they are currently in the process of a space battle.”

The Commander pressed his console, “Central Control, it appears these ships are chasing each other. We’ve scanned them and their technology is not anything to concern us. It appears this is the continuation of a space battle that started in another galaxy.”

“Destroy those ships.”

“One has just been killed by the chaser. We’ve just eliminated the other ship.”

“All ships report in on destruction of your targets.”

Ten minutes later, all sixteen hundred ships were expanding clouds of gas and debris.

George sat in the lower level of the command center and waited until ten hours had passed after the destruction of the last ship. He looked around the room and said, “Activate your buoys.”

The huge room had more than six hundred operators at consoles. There was an identical room on the level below and George waited for the count. “Sir, only two of the Major’s Capitals did not have a successful deployment. The others are on line.”

“How many others were deployed?”

“About six hundred others.”

George frowned, “Only a quarter of them were deployed.”

Bob looked at his board, “Sir, half of the ships were destroyed before they made another jump. They only deployed one buoy. Two of them never had the opportunity to deploy one. Whatever system they use for defense is effective.”

George looked at Bob’s board and said, “Get the computers learning the languages. I want those buoys monitored around the clock.”

“We’re on it, Sir.”

George looked at the board again and then turned and left the room.

• • •

The aide arrived and the door went up on his leader’s quarters, “What have you been able to determine about the ships that entered our sector?”

“The general consensus is that they were from a space battle that started in another galaxy and ended with the pursued ships fleeing here to attempt an escape.”

“Do you have the plot from Central Control?”

“I do.”

“Did you notice anything irregular in the path those ships flew?”

The aide paused and thought a moment and then said, “I don’t think so.”

The large creature waited and the aide finally said, “What am I missing?”

“What are the chances of all eight hundred of those pairs of ships jumping into an inhabited planet’s system on every jump and every capital had them arrive there first?”

The aide saw it, “This is not what it was made to appear.”

“No, it wasn’t. But what was it? That’s what’s troubling me.”

“Could it have been an attempt to test our defensive capabilities?”

The large creature was silent and finally said, “Perhaps. But no signal was recorded leaving those ships. I’ve also sent several of my ships to investigate the sites of their destruction and there is no residue of any bodies in the wreckage.”

“They might have been completely burned in the explosion. Our beams are quite hot.”

“I understand that; but no residue? There should have been some on the molecular level.”

“Do you think they were flown by remote control?”

“I don’t want to go that way but what else would explain the missing protoplasm at every site? Someone did something here; I’ve not been able to figure out what it is.”

The aide thought a moment and said, “Well, if no signal was sent by those ships then they couldn’t have been sent to map our sector or plot our defenses unless they have a communications system we can’t track.”

“There is one other possibility.” The aide waited. “They were sent here to deliver something.”

The aide thought about the idea and then said, “I’ll get some of our ships to go to the entry point of those ships and scan the entire path they followed until they were destroyed.”

“That ‘s why I called you here. Make sure the ships can be trusted and let me know what you find.”

The door slid down and the aide crawled away.

• • •

“Sir, we have something irregular happening here.”

Lt. Jensen walked over to the operator’s display and saw a large purple ship appear in the distance. The operator said, “They’ve turned on their scanners and are moving directly at the buoy.”

“Retract the antenna and keep it down for 48 hours.”

• • •

The buoy’s small antenna disappeared. Two hours later the large purple ship passed over the buoy’s location and continued toward the outer system.

Jensen hit his panel, “Sir, I think they’re suspicious and are scanning the entire route followed by the ships that delivered the buoys.”

“Keep me informed on what’s happening.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chapter Three

“What are the numbers?”

“We’ve completed almost 400,000.”

“I was hoping for more.”

“I think this is the best we can do. These ships are not easily built.”

“Have any of our neighbors detected our building efforts?”

“Not yet. As you know, most of the building facilities are underground or under the surface of a moon. I don’t think they’re brave enough yet to enter our territory uninvited.”

“They don’t have to enter. Their scanners will see most everything from outside our borders.”

“They won’t penetrate that far underground. We haven’t put any of the new ships in our lines yet so I think we have some time. Once they show up, that’s when they might take action.”

“Our friends in the other sector appear to have most of their attention.”

“The sector’s leaders are, if nothing else, greedy. If they can take other civilizations without much of a fight, that’s where they will place their attention.”

“Have we heard anything about them uniting against us?”

“The Moget are pushing for it but most just think they’re over reacting.”

“They are our closest neighbor.”

“That’s why everyone is not paying them much attention. They think the Moget are just self-serving in their rants.”

“They still haven’t gotten over the ten thousand ships that disappeared. Most of the sector is not as advanced and hope we do knock them down a level or two.”

“We will have to deal with them eventually. How does the new ship compare to theirs?”

“If we get off the first shot, we’ll win. Their beams are still capable of penetrating the force fields if they can be hit longer than a second.”

“We’ll just have to avoid letting that happen.”

“I think the idea is to hit and fly.”

“Something like that.”

“We’re moving crews to the new ships for training shortly.”

“If we take ships out of the line, it will be noticed.”

“We’re leaving the ships in place with just enough to move them around. Once we reach a million ships, we’ll move them to the line. I hope we have another event to distract the sector before that happens.”

“I’ll contact our friends when that time arrives.”

“I hope they can help.”

“They already have. Even if they don’t, they’ve done more than they should.”

“I’ll keep you informed on our progress.”

• • •

Captain Riebbe sat in the pilot’s chair and Beth turned on the new force field. The bubble appeared only twenty feet away from the small ship’s surface. “Beth what’s the reading?”

Beth looked at her panel and said, “Oh my God.”

“What?”

“This field is stronger than a main battleship’s force field.”

Riebbe just stared at her.

“I’m serious.”

“How does it do that?”

“The area is tiny compared to what the field normally covers. The strength increases with the square of distance.”

“Are you ready for the trial?”

“What ship are we going to use?”

“The Tampa has volunteered its services.”

“Why can’t this be done by remote control?”

“No remote control signal can make it through the new force field.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“We’ve got to know if this new weapon works before we start modifying all of our attack craft. Just strap in and turn on the oxygen to your suit. They’ve reinforced the cabin.”

“A lot of good that will do!”

“I know. But at least we’re together.”

Beth smiled, “I wouldn’t have it any other way. What speed will we be using?”

“We can’t go faster than six miles a second. Even if it worked at a faster speed, it wouldn’t do us any good. We’d blow past our target and lose the benefit.”

Beth hit her communication panel, “Admiral Anders, we’re starting our approach run.”

“Are you sure the two of you want to do this?”

“Someone has to do it.”

“But why you?”

“Would you order one of your crew to take this risk?”

Kenny sighed, “The field is at full power; good luck.”

Riebbe said, “Modulate the field.”

The force field surrounding the attack craft moved even closer to its hull as the section in front of the small white ship extended a hundred feet and formed a very sharp point. Beth looked at Riebbe, “Field is ready.”

Riebbe hit the thrusters and said, “I love you.” The small white ship accelerated toward the mile long battleship.

Kenny watched and said, “I want this recorded.”

The small ship hit the Tampa’s force field and a huge flash illuminated the ship. Kenny watched and saw the attack craft flying around the Tampa inside the force field. Kenny smiled and said, “It looks like we have our fusion missiles back.”

Riebbe was howling as Beth hugged him. The small ship accelerated and exited the Tampa’s force field.

Kenny laughed and said, “Now you’re showing off.”

Captain Loree Barber looked at Kenny and asked, “Why is this so important?”

“The new attack craft can only hold one of the new reactors due to its size. If we divide the power between its weapons and force field, it is vulnerable to the beams of the Major’s Battleships. By putting all of the reactor’s power into a greatly condensed force field, the attack craft can penetrate their force fields. The attack craft will not have a beam weapon so it needs something to hit the battleships once it penetrates their screen. It can carry fusion missiles and launch them at the ship with nothing to stop them.”

Loree smiled, “This is a significant discovery.”

“More than you know. The Major’s beams will not penetrate the bubble, that’s what we call the new force field, and it can take them on.”

“Is it possible to use the force field on the Tampa?”

“No, it won’t work. The area it has to cover is just too big.”

“I guess those ships will be the Penetrator Craft.”

Kenny smiled, “Loree, that’s exactly what we’ll name them.”

Loree smiled.

• • •

Arvolo sat up from his beach chair and looked out at the ocean. It reminded him of Cuba but it was not the same. The ocean brought him peace and the sunset inspired him. RV thought about writing some poetry or at least a song. Then he remembered, he had no rhythm. Cyanna was walking back from the waves and smiled at him as she drew near. “You’re ready aren’t you?”

“Does it show that much?”

“It does.”

“We’ll never have another honeymoon, my love. I don’t want to shorten this one and deprive you of the memories.”

Cyanna dried her hair with a towel and sat down at his feet, “I’m missing it as well.” She looked out at the ocean and said, “This is beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as a viewport full of stars. Things are happening and the fleet needs you.”

“They need us.”

“That’s nice of you to say but I know the real power here. We’ll leave in the morning.”

RV looked at Cyanna and smiled, “My life is whole again. You are so much a part of me now.”

Cyanna moved into his lap and reclined with him. She put her head on his shoulder and said, “You don’t feel as lumpy.”

RV looked at her with a straight face, “I’m sorry. I’m down to two hundred and fifty four pounds. I’ll try to put them back on if you want.”

Cyanna smiled brightly and said, “Don’t do that. Now I can sit on your lap in the command chair.”

RV looked serious and looked around, “Only after hours.”

Cyanna laughed and kissed him.

RV felt her break the kiss and said, “Will you do that again if I let you push some buttons on the chair.”

Cyanna tried to kiss him again but couldn’t stop laughing.

• • •

“We’ve received a new design from our friends.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a modification of the larger small ship.”

“Show me what it does.” The leader watched the video and sat back in his chair. “How many of those ships do we currently have?”

“Two million.”

“Begin the modifications immediately.”

“They’ve also given us a diagram for a missile that uses fusion power.”

“Show me later. Get moving and make it happen.”

The second moved out of the room and smiled at the possibilities of the new craft.

George and Admiral Owens sat in a room with Captain Mikal Roman. George looked at the handsome, young man and said, “Captain, are you sure you know what you’re volunteering for?”

“Yes Mr. President, I do.”

“This is probably a suicide mission and it’s important to me that you know that going in.”

“There is always the chance of survival, Sir.”

Bob said, “It doesn’t look good this time, Captain. You’re going to take on one of the most advanced Major Battleships you can find and attempt to destroy it. It will not be there alone.”

Mikal smiled, “I’ve always liked performing in front of an audience.”

George shook his head, “This isn’t funny, Captain.”

“With all due respect, Sir, when you lose your sense of humor, you’re holding on too tight. That’s when you make mistakes.”

George looked at Bob and then turned to Mikal, “You understand that your ship will have a self-destruct circuit. You cannot allow it to be captured by the Majors.”

“I understand.”

George looked at Bob again and nodded. Bob said, “Captain Roman, report to Admiral Anders on the Tampa to receive your briefing and the information you’ll need to fly this mission.”

Mikal came to attention and saluted Admiral Owens. Bob returned his salute as he did an about face and left the room. Bob looked at George and said, “Is this really necessary?”

“It is. We must know the new ships capability against our enemy’s most advanced battleships before we commit our full resources in building and modifying them.”

Bob slowly shook his head, “He won’t survive. There’s no way he can escape. Even the new jukebox class battleships are unable to escape their scanners.”

“Don’t diminish his decision. He knows.”

• • •

Kenny was going over fleet reports when Mikal arrived from the command center. “Admiral, Captain Roman has arrived in the landing bay.”

“Send him to the bridge.”

Loree looked at Kenny with raised eyebrows.

“He’s going to M-87 to take on an advanced Major Battleship with one of our new attack craft.”

“How many are going with him?” Kenny stared at Loree and remained silent. “Sir, please don’t tell me he’s going alone.”

“That’s the mission he volunteered to do, Captain.”

“That’s a suicide mission.” Kenny just shrugged.

Mikal entered the bridge and came to attention and saluted, “Captain Mikal Roman reporting, Sir.”

Kenny returned his salute and said, “Come with me Captain. Captain Barber, come with us.”

Kenny walked off the bridge and Mikal nodded to Loree that he would follow her. They followed Kenny to the conference room and he said, “At ease. Take a chair.”

Mikal sat while Loree continued standing. Kenny looked at her and said, “Take a chair, Captain.”

Loree’s face turned red and she sat down. She looked at the handsome attack craft commander and just couldn’t believe that fleet was going to send him to his death. She was surprised when she heard Kenny say, “Admiral Owens has told me about his efforts to persuade you not to accept this mission. I want to also echo his comments and say you should not do this.”

Mikal smiled and said, “Do you remember when you and Admiral Arvolo were ordered to attack a Blue Giant Scout that was three times your tonnage and armed with six times your number of weapons.” Kenny nodded, “Why did you accept that mission?”

“We had to know their capabilities.”

“This mission is really no different from that one except you were ordered to go, right.”

Kenny nodded.

“Why is this any different? Have we become so weak that we will no longer order our sailors into harm’s way? You know we have to know if this new ship can survive against the Major’s best ships. I’m embarrassed that the decision would not be made unless someone volunteered to do it.”

Kenny felt his anger start to rise and said, “We didn’t know that our mission was a suicide mission. We knew nothing about their scouts. We do know about the Major’s advanced battleships. The mission you volunteered to do is a one way trip, Captain and I don’t think you fully realize the risk you’re taking on.”

Loree watched the exchange and was surprised Kenny was trying so hard to dissuade the Captain from going.

Mikal said, “I know exactly what risk I’m facing. But I am not going to order my squadrons to attack the Major’s most advanced ships and hope that my ships are adequate to face them. I’m not doing this for me; I’m doing it for the ninety sailors flying the attack craft in my squadrons. I owe it to them to make sure they have a chance to come back to their families.”

“But you stand no chance of coming back to lead them.”

“I can be replaced by at least ten of the sailors in my wing. I’m not married and have no children. I owe it to them, Sir.”

Kenny stared at Mikal and finally said, “Why are you really doing this?”

Mikal smiled at Kenny and said, “You don’t believe me do you?”

“No, I can see you mean what you’ve said; but you’re not telling the whole truth.”

Mikal looked at Loree and then back to Kenny, “This will probably be the most fun I’ve had in years.”

“I’m being serious, Captain.”

“With all due respect, Admiral, then you need to lighten up. This could be a hoot. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Kenny leaned back in his chair and Loree thought the Captain was insane. Kenny thought about Arvolo and the wild things he had done in the pilot’s chair and he sensed a kindred spirit in the young captain. “What are you going to do to them?’

Mikal laughed and said, “If this new system works, what do you think will happen if I get inside the force field of one of their most advanced ships and start flying around the ship inside the force field.”

Kenny thought about it and started laughing as well, “Now that might be something worth seeing.”

“You will, Sir. I’ll be sending a video feed back showing everything that happens.” Mikal paused, “If I’m unable to penetrate the force field then I will have saved the men in my Wing. We won’t waste our resources building a ship that isn’t effective against our enemy. Either way, it’s something worth doing.”

“We could send a large number of ships to make this determination.”

“If you do that you run the risk of giving away too much. The risk is also greater that many ships will be forced to self-destruct to avoid capture. No, one ship is the most effective way to make this happen.”

Kenny stood up and said, “I wish you success, Captain. Captain Barber will provide you with all the information we’ve been able to gather on the best probable places to find one of their advanced civilizations.” He looked at Loree and said, “Make sure he has the most current information we have. I would also recommend you contact the Hive Master and see if he has anything to offer Captain Roman in the way of new information.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Kenny left the room and Loree said, “If you’re hell bent on killing yourself, I’ll try to assist you in going out with a bang.”

Roman laughed, “I think it’ll be a blast.”

Loree didn’t want to but she laughed, “Let’s get to work.” Loree saw the captain wasn’t insane; he was brave to a fault. It was also a shame to waste such a beautiful man as well.

• • •

Kenny hit his panel and said, “Bob, RV will be back tomorrow. He request’s that we meet him here on the Tampa and update him on what’s happened in his absence. Are you available?”

“I am. What time?”

“It’s eight p.m. ship time here. He suggested ten a.m.”

“I’ll be there.”

“Thanks, Bob.”

Chapter Four

RV listened to the two admirals and remained quiet except for a few clarifying questions for more than two hours. That changed when Bob said, “George and I sent Captain Roman here to Kenny to prepare for his mission.”

RV said, “What mission?”

“I just told you we were going to trial the new attack craft against one of the Majors’ most advanced ships.”

“I thought you were going to do that in our next battle?”

“No, Captain Roman will be going to find one and confront it.”

“Just how was this Captain selected?”

“He volunteered.”

“He did?”

“Yes Sir, he did. We did all we could to talk him out of it.”

Kenny said, “I recorded the meeting I had with him. I’ll play it for you on the display.” The video started and RV watched the young Captain refuse to be persuaded to not go.”

“Where is he now?”

“He’s been working with my Executive Officer getting ready to go. They’ve been viewing footage of the last battle with the Majors to decide which civilization he was going to attack.”

“Take me to him.”

Kenny looked at Bob and then said, “You’re not going to talk him out of it.”

“Take me to him!”

“Yes Sir, follow me.”

RV and Bob followed Kenny to the Tampa’s main conference room and found Mikal and Loree were sitting at a table watching the display with thousands of ships being destroyed. When they saw RV enter the room they both jumped to attention. RV said, “As you were.” They sat back down and RV said, “You will not be making this mission, Captain.”

Mikal said, “Is that an order?”

“It is.”

“Then you will be responsible for the loss of life in my wing if this new ship fails.”

“I didn’t say the mission was not going to be done; I just said you weren’t going to do it.”

“Then who is?”

RV said, “I am.”

The room burst into an uproar with Kenny, Bob, and Loree protesting the decision. RV ignored everyone else and kept his attention on the Captain. RV saw he was not protesting. RV raised his hand and said, “Be quiet!” The three officers grew silent and RV said, “I notice you’re not protesting me taking your mission.”

“No Sir, I’m not.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you are far more qualified to fly it and you can probably manage to escape where I might fail.”

RV smiled and said, “You’re back on the mission, Captain.”

Kenny swore and said, “What was this all about?”

RV shrugged, “I needed to see if the captain here was smart or crazy. He’s not crazy.”

Kenny sat down in a chair and RV said, “Have you selected a civilization to attack?”

“I have. However, they did not send a ship in the last attack.”

“Why are you choosing them?”

“Both the Hive Leader and Horde Master mentioned during the attack that his fleet should keep their eyes out for a Nexu Battleship and plan to attack them in high numbers. None appeared during the battle.”

“How do you know?”

“No large ship concentrations were directed toward any of the ships that attacked. I suspect that none of the most advanced civilizations participated in the attack.”

Loree said, “They didn’t mention them when Captain Roman asked for the strongest ships in the Majors. I’m sure they didn’t want to see him die.”

“Do they know where their planets are located?”

“No Sir. They have an idea but it is only that, an idea.”

“Then how are you going to find them?”

“That’s really quite easy, Sir.”

RV smiled, “The two systems where no buoys were launched.”

Mikal showed his surprise and then smiled, “You’re as smart as I’ve been told you are. Those two systems obviously have the best defensive system of all the Major’s planets. If the Nexu aren’t there, some one more advanced is.”

“Then why have you been wasting your time here looking at all this material?” RV watched and saw Mikal’s face turn red. RV smiled and said, “I understand.”

Mikal looked at the floor and nodded.

Kenny, Bob, and Loree looked at each other and finally Loree said, “You’ve lost me.” She looked at Mikal and said, “If you knew where you were going, why did you waste the last week?”

RV said, “You don’t have to answer that, Captain.”

Mikal looked up and said, “Thank you, Sir. I’m going to leave tomorrow.”

Loree looked at Mikal and said, “You owe me an answer, Mikal.”

Mikal looked at Loree and after a long moment he said, “I didn’t want to leave before I had some time around you.”

Loree stared at Mikal and after a moment said, “Then you’ve been wasting time because I’m going with you.”

All four men said simultaneously, “WHAT!”

Mikal immediately said, “No you’re not! This mission is entirely too dangerous for you to go.”

Loree said matter of factly, “But not for you?”

“That’s different.”

Kenny said, “Captain Barber, you’re slated to be our next Fleet Admiral. I’m not going to allow you to do this.”

“Then you should stop him as well. I’ve learned over the last week that he knows more about fleet maneuvers than I ever will.”

RV remained silent as the two Admirals and Mikal argued with Loree. He interrupted and said, “Captain, Barber, why do you feel you have to go?”

Loree looked at Mikal and smiled, “It’s not because I’m all ga-ga over you, although you do intrigue me. It’s because this mission is worth doing. I didn’t think so at first but now I see what Mikal has been saying. If we build these ships without a beam to defend them and they don’t work against the Major’s ships; then they’re all going to die. We have to find out.”

RV nodded and said, “But that doesn’t tell me why you have to go with him?”

Loree looked around the room and said, “This new ship is going to need two people to make it work. The pilot is going to have to put his full attention at avoiding the weapons he’ll encounter once he breaks through the enemy force field. He can’t do that effectively and work the weapon controls as well.”

Kenny said, “What weapon controls? He just fires a fusion missile and that’s that.”

“That’s true, but what if the ship he’s attacking is surrounded by enemy ships where multiple numbers can fire on him when he exits? He needs to choose a place to leave before he fires the missile. I know the new force field will stand up to one ship but will it survive the attention of ten or more?”

The three Admirals and Mikal were silent as they thought about what she said. Then she dropped the bomb, “Besides, I know how we can escape.”

Mikal jerked his head up, “How!”

Loree smiled and said, “The black hole’s jet.”

RV laughed out loud, “How long did it take you to make that intuitive leap?” Loree’s face turned red. RV said, “Come on, Captain. You made him confess.”

Loree took a deep breath and said, “I’ve been struggling with the thought of Mikal dying and I just had a major problem with that thought.” She looked at Mikal and said, “I don’t want to lose him. He’s made me laugh more than I have in ten years.” She looked back at RV and said, “Then it occurred to me that you and the Connors had gone into M-87 safely. Why couldn’t the same process be used to exit?”

Mikal said, “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“The jet that erupts out of M-87’s black hole extends more than a hundred and twenty thousand light years. That jet is too powerful for most ships to even think about entering. However, this new ship has a force field three times stronger than any we’ve been able to develop. It might be able to jump into that stream, accelerate away from the black hole until the stream weakens, and enter Sierra Space from there. There’s no way the ship could be tracked from there except visually. Any pursuing ship would have to enter the stream right behind us.”

RV said, “How do you know that?”

“I pulled the report from your escape and I took a look at the Sierra Space that your George Communicator was operating in. You were a light year away from that jet and it was roiling and boiling even that far away. Any trace of a jump would be erased instantly inside the jet. The jump location would have to be visually plotted.”

“How do you know you can jump from Sierra Space that is being distorted that much, even at the end of the stream?”

Loree smiled, “I don’t know for certain but this offers hope. Nothing else does; it’s worth the effort. Someone is going to have to make the jump into that jet at the outer edge.” She looked at Mikal and said, “You’re going to be too busy to do that while fleeing from any pursuers, right.”

He stared at her and said, “What do you mean by do it right?”

“You should not jump into the center of the jet. You must jump in just outside the center. I’ve talked with Dr. Hendricks, who is our best physicist, and he says there may not be Sierra Space where the center of that jet is located. It will require two jumps; one to just outside the jet where readings will be taken and then a jump into it. This is the only chance of you surviving this mission and I’m going to be there to make it happen.”

RV took a deep breath and said, “We’re going to leave the two of you to discuss this. Let us know what you decide.” RV looked at Bob and Kenny and nodded toward the door. They followed him out of the room.

Once they were outside Kenny said, “RV, she is too valuable to lose on this hair brained mission.”

“This mission is more important than anything she’ll do as an admiral, Kenny. How many attack craft do we have in our fleets?”

Kenny thought a moment and then said, “You’re right, as usual. She would have to lose an entire major fleet to come close to those that would die if this doesn’t work.”

RV smiled, “Those two in that room figured that out before we did. He was the first to see it and Captain Barber is probably right. Mikal should be in a major leadership position.”

Kenny smiled, “It’s good to have you back, Sir, and if I might add, you look smaller than the last time I saw you. Have you been exercising?”

RV’s face turned red and he smiled, “Let’s go get a beer and discuss it.”

• • •

Mikal was struggling and Loree knew it. He finally said, “I’m going to cancel this mission if you don’t agree to stay here.”

Loree came around and sat in a chair next to him and took his hands in hers, “If you do that, I’ll go alone. You’ve made me see the importance of doing this and it must be attempted. Millions of lives are at stake in this decision.” Mikal stared into her eyes and finally nodded. Loree said, “Honestly, my life would be less if I lost you. I have to go with you to make sure I can continue to laugh…”

Mikal looked at her and said, “What are you saying?”

“Mikal, I don’t know how I feel about you. I just know that when I look at my days without you in them, they just look dull and boring. You’ve been the most fun I’ve had in years. This way I’ll have at least one more day with you in it.” Mikal continued to stare into her eyes and then he smiled. Loree leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the cheek. The kiss lingered for moment and then she leaned away.

“We should leave the day after tomorrow.”

“I thought you were planning to leave tomorrow?”

“I want a day with you off this ship. Then I can go.”

Loree smiled, “I know just the place.”

Mikal softly said, “I was hoping you would.”

• • •

RV sat in his command chair on the Havana and said, “Cyanna, pass these coordinates to the eighth fleet and have them ready to jump.”

Cyanna looked at them and then looked at a chart, “These are out in deep space.”

“I know, just do it. We’ll be going with them.”

“What’s going on?” RV stared at her and she quickly said, “Yes Sir, I’ll get these out immediately. Is there anything else I should do?”

“Inform the fleet they will make the jump at general quarters and weapons will be free.”

Cyanna’s expression turned serious, “What about the attack wings?”

“They will be launched on arrival.”

Cyanna turned back to her board and knew something serious was about to happen. She sent the instructions and notified Riebbe and Beth to get their wings ready.”

• • •

Mikal went over the readings on his pilot’s board and made sure everything was at optimum. He looked over at Loree, “Are you ready?”

“The weapons are active and sensors are already operating. I’ve preprogrammed the first jump and will need you to let me know when to activate it.”

“The jump word is ‘run’.”

Loree smiled, “I like the simple things in life. I’ve set the drive to make the jump if you repeat that word three times.”

Mikal nodded and then reached over and squeezed her hand, “Jump in ten seconds.”

Loree smiled and said, “Get us in and I’ll take it from there.”

Mikal turned back to his console, reached forward, and pushed the blue button.

• • •

The operator in Sensor Control saw the small ship appear in his sector. He pressed a button and two ships were immediately jumped to the coordinates on his board. The ships were jumped automatically and their force fields and weapons were also automatically activated. The operator smiled at the simplicity of the system and waited for the message about the destruction of the ship that had trespassed into his area of responsibility.

• • •

The small attack craft entered normal space and its force field immediately activated. Mikal set the force field into a sharp point as two giant orange colored battleships appeared within a mile of his location. He immediately went to ramming speed and accelerated toward the closest. The two ships opened fire just as the small ship hit the battleship’s force field. It broke through the force field and Mikal began orbiting the giant ship using his sensors to move away from any weapon that was charging. “Were we hit with any of those beams before we broke through?”

“Three of them.”

“I’m surprised our force field was still strong enough to break through.”

“It wouldn’t have been if we were hit by six. That’s something we need to make sure fleet knows.” Loree glanced up from her weapons panel and said, “How long are we going to fly around in here?”

“I want to see what they do about us. We need to know if they can do anything about our presence inside their field.”

“They could always fire at us with their lasers.”

“That’s going to be hard to do with us flying so close to their hulls. Their lasers are spread out evenly on the ships surface and they can’t be depressed enough to bring more than one or two to bear on us. I think they’re starting to get frustrated.”

• • •

The second ship saw the small white ship flying around inside the first ships force field and said, “Lower your screens so I can take a shot at it.”

“Are you crazy? Even if you hit it, the beam will also hit the unprotected hull below it. You’ll destroy my ship.”

The second ship’s commander was getting frustrated as the small white ship flew to the side away from his ship. He flew around the ship as quickly as possible but the small ship managed to keep the first ship between it and his ship. There was no way to fire on it without destroying the other ship.

The Operator at Sensor Control entered the conversation, “How did that ship get inside your force field?”

“I have no idea but I’ve been unable to hit it with enough beams to destroy it.”

“Are you saying one beam won’t do it?”

“Apparently not, it survived three hits before it broke through. I wonder why it hasn’t attacked.”

The Operator hit his board and thirty more battleships appeared on the scene. They surrounded the penetrated ship. The operator said, “All ships, target that ship.”

“Wait a minute; you aren’t going to fire on my ship!”

“We are; we do not tolerate violations of our borders.”

“But you’ll destroy my ship and kill the crew!”

“Then I would highly recommend you evacuate your ship.”

The ship’s captain was frustrated beyond words but knew he was going to die. All efforts to destroy the tiny ship had failed and he knew time was running out. He looked over and said, “Abandon ship.”

• • •

Mikal and Loree watched the gathering ships and wondered if they would fire on one of their own. Suddenly, hundreds of small escape vehicles flew out of the ship’s hull and headed toward the force field. Loree said, “Notice that all of those escapees are headed toward the same place in the force field.”

“That’s the only safe route out. I’m lining up with that point and I’ll accelerate to the closest ship on that line once those escape pods clear. Let’s see if we can do this again.”

“Are we going to destroy this ship?”

Mikal thought a moment and said, “They’ll probably do it if they see us escaping with the others.” Mikal paused and said, “They may not fire on it if we’re leaving. Launch a missile on my mark.” Mikal watched the escape pods exiting the force field and said, “Ready…mark!”

The small white ship accelerated at an amazing speed towards the force field surrounding the battleship and broke through just behind the escape pods. It roared up on another battleship and penetrated its force field before the surrounding ships could target it. An instant later a huge atomic blast blew out from the previously infected battleship leaving nothing but an expanding vapor cloud.

The Operator was furious. The expanding blast blew most of the escape pods away without killing them and the small ship was again inside the force field of another ship. The Operator watched what happened and said, “All ships back away from the intruder now!” The orange ships backed away from the second ship that had been breached by the small white craft until they were a hundred miles away. “Charge your weapons.”

“Are you going to fire on my ship?”

“I am and you are going to drop your force field when I order. We will target the vessel inside your screen. We will then start rescue operations for your survivors. I trust you understand the necessity of this.”

“I do. We will move all crew members to the ends of the ship. The intruder is maintaining an orbit around the middle.”

• • •

Loree looked at her scanners and said, “What are they doing? This ship has ceased firing at us.” Loree looked at her long range scanner and said, “The remaining ships are charging their weapons.” She looked up at Mikal and said, “Should I launch another missile.”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“No time, I’ll tell you later.” Mikal flew out of the force field and yelled, “run, run, run.”

The Jump drive computer heard the command and the small ship jumped away.

The Operator yelled, “Hold your fire; go after that ship and destroy it.”

The Captain of the ship that was about to be fired on collapsed in his chair and wondered why the small ship had not fired a missile at his vessel. He glanced at his scanner and saw the remaining ships had disappeared giving chase to the small white ship. He hit the panel in front of him and said, “Return to your stations and power up all weapons.”

The Operator watched the remaining ship come back online and then turned his attention to the chase. It wondered why the small ship had not killed the second ship and why it had allowed the escape pods to escape; it could have very easily killed both. He looked at the coordinates of the small ship’s jump and then saw the second set come in. The ship was jumping towards the radiation stream. It hesitated and then ordered half the ships to continue their pursuit. The small ship disappeared and thirteen ships followed it into the stream. Ten of them were quickly destroyed when they emerged into the center of the violent blast coming out of the giant black hole. Three battleships were able to see the small ship’s route through null space and accelerated after it, making sure they avoided the center of the raging storm of radiation emanating from the monstrous black hole.

• • •

RV hit the general frequency, “I expect one of our attack craft to jump to this location. You will withhold firing your weapons on the first ship to enter normal space. If it’s not our ship, open fire immediately; if it is our attack craft you will instantly fire at any ship that enters normal space behind it. Do not hesitate, fire immediately at the breakout points.”

Cyanna looked at RV and said, “Should we take this risk?”

“If I were piloting that ship, what would you be doing?” Cyanna stared at him and he said, “If you’d do it for me, you should do it for them. You know the talent in that ship.”

Cyanna continued to stare and then smiled. She turned back to her board and moved the sensor monitor to the main display. They waited. RV wondered if Mikal and Loree had already been killed but then the sensors alarmed as the small white ship broke into normal space.

• • •

Mikal watched as normal space appeared and he slammed his hand on the drive control button shutting it down. Loree screamed, “What are you doing?” Mikal hit the gravity control making the ship weightless and hit the thrusters. He grabbed the flight controls and turned the ship violently to the left and right as it flew through the fifty thousand ships of the 8th Fleet. Immediately behind them three orange colored battleships emerged into normal space and they were immediately fired on by fifty thousand ultrabeams targeted at their points of entry. The three ships blew up in huge explosions but not before the third orange ship to emerge fired at three Union battleships. The three ships exploded and started burning.

RV hit the general frequency and said, “All hands on board the three ships that are hit will evacuate immediately. You have two minutes and then your ships will be destroyed.”

Captain Juan Mendoza on the Acapulco appeared on RV’s display, “Sir, I have some of my crew trapped in the burning sections.”

“Captain, you now have one minute fifty seconds. Get out and get out now! That is an order!”

Escape pods and shuttles flew out of the three stricken battleships in huge swarms. They rushed towards the closest battleships and boarded through the landing bays. RV watched the countdown and ten seconds before it hit zero he ordered, “All ships will immediately jump to the assembly coordinates.”

Fifty thousand ships disappeared and RV said, “Launch a fusion missile at each of those ships and get us out of here.”

Cyanna felt grief for the trapped sailors on the three ships but hit the jump button after Dolly launched three fusion missiles. Just before the Tampa jumped out, RV hit his console, releasing a sensor buoy.

• • •

The three missiles struck the three battleships, releasing three massive explosions that merged into a gigantic shock wave just as three thousand orange battleships emerged into normal space. A hundred ships were slightly damaged when the combined shock wave from the fusion explosions washed over them. The damage was not severe but there were injuries to the crews on the ships when they were violently pushed by the expanding wave.

The Fleet Commander watched the expanding wave from a distance as it moved toward him and then passed his ship. He looked at his Sensor officer who said, “I have no idea what was just destroyed.”

“Do you think it was our ships?”

“I don’t know.”

“Shouldn’t there be enough material to make a determination?”

“Ordinarily there would be but the three explosions burned everything into energy. My readings indicate these explosions were fusion generated.”

“Would those explosions have penetrated our force fields?”

The Sensor Officer looked at his readings for a long moment and said, “I’m not really sure. I know the shock wave wasn’t strong enough but I don’t have enough information to make a determination how strong the initial blast centers were.”

“Do we have any trails to follow?”

“No, there are none.”

The Commander knew that a very advanced civilization had to be involved in what happened. He thought a moment and contacted the Operator and told him what he had been able to determine. The Operator examined the information and said, “Return to your assigned stations.” The three thousand orange ships disappeared.

• • •

The Commonwealth Fleet waited at the assembly coordinates until the Tampa appeared. RV shouted over the general frequency, “Initiate escape plan Alpha, Alpha, Alpha.” The Huge fleet disappeared with every ship starting their jump protocols. They each jumped more than a hundred times in different directions and waited after the last jump to see if they were followed. After six hours the ships jumped to a coordinate. RV watched as the ships began arriving and said, “Dolly, let me know if any don’t arrive.”

“They are all here, Sir.”

RV hit the general frequency and said “I know that the survivors from the ships that were hit are disturbed that we destroyed your ships with some of your crew trapped on board. I’m going to play a recording from a sensor buoy I left behind.”

The fleet watched as the three thousand orange ships emerged into the blast of the fusion missiles. They all knew that the ships arrived immediately after the fleet had jumped away.

RV said, “One of their ships killed three of our ships even after it was hit with thousands of our beams. Think about how many ships we would have lost if we had delayed our exit and were forced to fight those ships.” RV waited a moment and said, “Return to your port. Captains Roman and Barber will report to the Havana upon our arrival.”

Cyanna turned around, “How did you know they were coming?”

“Think about it, Cyanna; what would you be doing if you were in pursuit of a ship? You’d be broadcasting the coordinates of your chase every time you jumped.” Cyanna nodded. “And if you were cut off in mid-broadcast; what do you think would happen?”

“Do you think we can stand up to those ships?”

“All of our ultrabeams penetrated their force fields but didn’t kill them fast enough to prevent one of them getting off some shots. We can kill them but we will also die if they hit us with their beams. Our force fields are not up to the power of their beams, so we’re vulnerable to them.”

“But the attack craft made it through their beams.”

“We would too if we used every reactor for the force field and shrunk it to just a few feet from the hull. We’d take some of their shots before our force field failed but not have anything to fire back at them. Their force fields are stronger than ours and a single penetrator wouldn’t penetrate. We have to use the ultrabeams to kill them. If we use power for the beams our force field will fail.”

Cyanna stared at RV and finally said, “If we face them in battle it will be a war of attrition and the winner will probably be the one with the most ships.”

“That depends on what Roman and Barber found out. If our attack craft can take them out, we stand a better chance of winning. Our task will be getting the attack craft close enough to do their magic.”

“Do you think the new attack craft will work?”

“Roman and Barber made it back. That tells me something.” RV looked at his board, “Where are they?”

“They’re on the way.”

“Send them to the conference room when they arrive.”

Cyanna nodded and turned back to her console.

• • •

“Are you telling me you allowed the ship to escape?”

The Operator said, “I allowed nothing. We think of ourselves as being impervious to any outside attack. This incident proves that mystique false. You’ve seen the data. What would you have done differently? If you doubt my competence, replace me.”

There was a long pause and then the Operator heard, “I don’t see anything else you could have done other than sending all of our ships into the stream to give chase.”

“And we lost ten major battleships chasing a ship less than a fifth their size. Thirteen lost if you include the three that managed to make it out of the stream. Do you think it’s worth losing seventy percent of our ships to attack a single small ship?”

There was a long silence and then the Leader said, “You’re right. However, our territory has not been violated in millions of cycles. I’m angry at it happening.”

“Anger won’t kill that ship. However, it does open a new problem for us.”

“What is that?”

“What would happen if several million of those small ships invade our borders? Our tactics must undergo a change to deal with this threat.”

“You think they’ll be coming back?”

“This was just a probe to see if the ship would be effective against us. I think you can count on a return visit in force.”

“Did you collect any information we can use to handle this threat?”

“At the current level of our technology, we cannot penetrate the force field of that small ship without hitting it at least eight times in less than a second. The scientists need to get to work and find a way to defeat this technology.” The Operator paused and said, “I am bothered by one thing.”

“What is that?”

“The ship had more of those missiles under its wings but didn’t fire on the second ship after it very well could have destroyed it. That just doesn’t fit with what happened. Why did it not destroy it? I’ve run every simulation through my system and they all come out with our ship being killed. Yet it didn’t do it. It also waited for the escape pods from the first ship to clear the force field. It could have also destroyed them by launching earlier. Can you think of a reason why it did that?”

The Leader was silent and after a minute the Operator said, “That question is problematic. If it was here to test our defenses, it should have killed the second ship.”

“But it didn’t.”

“No, it did not and I think the reason behind that is significant. I don’t see what it could have been but we need to examine it and try to understand why.”

“Continue keeping us safe. I will take this up with the Council.”

“Please let me know if you come up with a reason. I can’t get this out of my mind.”

“I’ll be sure to let you know.”

Chapter Five

RV looked at Mikal and smiled, “You did an outstanding job, Captain.”

“We were lucky you were there waiting on us. I wasn’t able to shake those three ships.”

“You at least managed to reduce the number chasing down to three.”

“The fact three survived the pursuit through the radiation jet says a lot about their force field technology.”

RV stopped smiling and said, “You’re right. Their ships are ahead of us technologically. We’re fortunate to have the ultrabeams.”

“We will be successful against them but our allies will die if they confront that civilization.”

RV had to agree. His own fleets would lose massive numbers if they had to fight that civilization. However, the new ultrabeams would allow them to at least give as good as they got. RV said, “We did not receive your feed from the attack. It appears it was blocked by the ships you attacked. I’ve examined the records and I notice you did not destroy the second ship you penetrated. Was there a reason for that, Captain Barber?”

Loree remained silent and Mikal said, “I told her not to fire on it, Sir.”

“You did?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Why?”

“Have you viewed the most recent reports from the Hive and Horde about the attacks being done by the Majors?”

“I have not. What does this have to do with your refusal to fire on that ship?”

“I believe that we were being a predator in this situation and were wrong to attack them.”

RV’s eyes narrowed and he lowered his chin to stare at Mikal. “Is that so?”

“If you would take a look at the historical records the Hive Controller sent to us, you would see that the Nexu have not taken part in any of the subsequent attacks of civilizations after they’ve been weakened. They appear to stay in their territory and keep all trespassers out. Now we jump a ship in to attack them. They did not take part in the battle with the Majors but we choose to attack them because of their advanced technological level. Isn’t that the same thing the predators do? Find civilizations with advancing technology and attack them. Explain to me how we’re any different in what we just did? I realized after we killed the first ship that we were not right in doing what we did. Killing another ship served no purpose. We learned what we needed to know with the first.”

RV stared at Mikal and then looked at Cyanna, “Ask for a meeting with President Sierra. Send our two Captains to meet with him to update him on what we’ve learned.”

Mikal looked at Loree and she saw he was nervous. RV looked at him, “Tell the President why you didn’t fire on the other ship. Then report back to me and tell me what he says.”

Mikal started to say something but RV interrupted, “That’s all, Captain. You may leave now.” Mikal quickly saluted and then left the conference room with Loree.

Cyanna looked at RV and he said, “He’s right.”

“What are we going to do about it?”

“If you make a mistake, you should correct it. Let’s see what George has to say and then we’ll decide.”

• • •

A week later George sent a message to RV; he read it, and then went to the conference room and contacted George, “So you see it like I do?”

George slowly nodded, “I do. I wish you had been here before we decided to do this. This could have possibly been avoided.”

“I doubt it. I had the records Captain Roman used in my possession but have not taken the time to look them over.”

George stared at RV not saying anything. RV waited and finally said, “You’re right. I would have had the computer look up all the information we had on this civilization. But I may not always be around, George. The basic premise of attacking an advanced civilization was good.”

“The other civilization had participated in attacking other Majors. That’s the one we should have gone after.”

“I know. Do I have your approval to make contact?”

“You do.”

“It may lead to the loss of our probe.”

“That’s the price for not doing the right thing.”

“I’ll keep you informed on what’s happening.” George nodded and ended the connection.

Cyanna said, “What now?”

“Bring Roman and Barber on board. They should at least be here when we contact the Nexu.”

• • •

The Operator was listening to the ships communicating about things they were seeing in their areas of responsibility. One called in, “We’re going back to port. Our replacement has arrived.”

“Transfer your records and you’re free to leave.”

“Do you have a moment to have a conversation?”

The Operator heard the question and looked for the source of it. It was not coming from one of his ships. He activated every sensor in the territory and waited. After ten minutes he said, “What do you wish to discuss?”

“Before I start, will you complete our conversation before you destroy the mechanism being used to conduct it?”

The Operator patched in the Leader that had expressed anger over the intrusion into their territory and asked, “What should I do?”

“Ordinarily, I’d just destroy the probe they are obviously using to contact you but I still have that lingering question.”

“Do I have your approval to open a conversation? I’ve been able to localize the location of the transmitter being used but not well enough to find it.”

“I’m bringing in the Directors. Give me a moment.” The Operator waited and after another ten minutes he heard, “We’re listening in. If you determine the mechanism being used is a weapon, you will destroy it immediately.”

“If I determine it is only a communication device, I will need you to determine when I take action to remove it.”

“We will do that.”

The Operator pushed his panel, “I agree to listen as long as I determine it is in the best interests of those I defend.”

“I understand your caution. We deployed a communication device when one of our ships trespassed into your domain. We expect you to find it momentarily if we continue broadcasting.”

The Operator looked at his board and said, “We’ve located your device. According to my readings, your device is remarkable. I should go ahead and remove it but you have revealed its existence for a reason.”

“I have.”

“What is that?”

“I’ve contacted you to apologize for our inappropriate intrusion into your space and want you to know we will not do it again.”

“Why did you do it the first time?”

“We and our allies are currently under attack by many of the Major Civilizations. We don’t know how our ships match up to those we’ll have to face and we consider that information critical to our survival. We decided to probe the most advanced Major Civilization we could find and see where we stand.”

“So you selected us to make that determination?”

“We did, but after the fact, we determined we made a bad choice. This contact is to offer our apology and to assure you it will not happen again.”

“That doesn’t help the ones you killed in one of our ships or the thirteen lost in pursuit of your vessel.”

“We realize that. We decided that we should reveal our sensor buoy to you and allow you to remove it. We do regret the ships you lost.”

“How do we know this is your only device? How do we know you are only saying this in an effort to save yourselves from our retribution?”

“There is no way we can prove our intentions and I understand your doubt. However, we do believe if one makes a mistake they should accept the consequences of their actions and do everything possible to correct it. Your intention to attack us for our mistake is understandable and part of the consequences of what we’ve done.”

The Operator was silent for a moment and said, “Why didn’t you destroy the second ship you penetrated?”

“The Pilot of our ship had learned before he entered your domain that you have not participated in the attacks on other Major Civilizations that have been weakened and were not a part of the attack on us. He determined that we were making a mistake and he disobeyed orders and refused to kill the second ship. When we questioned him about his decision, we determined that he was right not to continue his attack. We were wrong to intrude into your territory and our actions are not defensible.”

The Operator’s board was overridden by another signal, “You realize that you have demonstrated that you are a clear and present danger to us.”

There was a long moment of silence and then they heard, “We do. Telling you now that we are not a danger to you is obviously something you will never believe. This is the consequence of doing the wrong thing.”

“Then if you know we’ll be looking for you to remove you as a threat, why did you reveal your probe?”

“It was the right thing to do.”

“It appears that we should join any future attacks against you.”

“That would be the obvious decision.”

The Operator broke in and asked, “What’s the decision that’s not obvious?”

“We will come to your defense if you are ever attacked. We owe it to you to balance our debt.”

Silence ruled the frequency. No one could think of a response to the statement. After a few moments the voice continued, “We have turned off all scanners on the sensor buoy and you should be able to verify that with a scan. If you ever need us to assist you against an enemy, transmit the request on the frequency we’re using now and we will come and fight with you against your foe. I don’t expect you to believe us but my leaders have agreed to this and we will keep our commitment to you.”

The Operator waited for the Directors to respond but nothing was being said. He said, “We will discuss your offer. However, we are fully capable of defending our citizens.”

“Even if the rest of the Majors combine against you; you would probably lose if that happened and we would probably be destroyed with you but we will come anyway. If you doubt our promise, consider this; the Minors, as you call them, destroyed our home world because they were forced to attack other galaxies by the Majors. We are now fighting with them against the Majors that forced them to kill other civilizations. The information is there if you choose to look at it. We will keep our promise to you.”

The Operator looked at his board and saw the frequency had disappeared. He thought about what he had heard and then reluctantly asked, “Do you order me to destroy the probe?” He knew the answer to the troubling question and he sensed something about the ones that had attacked. He knew if he was ordered to destroy the sensor, the direction his people were going to take was to destroy the attackers. He waited for ten minutes and then repeated, “Do you order…”

“We will let you know. Keep a ship stationed at the buoy. If it makes one scan, destroy it.”

The Operator smiled, “I will carry out your instructions.” He slowly moved his head up and down; this was the most interesting event he had taken part in the last thousand cycles. What if the being was being honest?

• • •

Mikal looked at RV and said, “That is a rather large risk you just took.”

“Why is that?”

“What if they are one of the predator civilizations? You told them who we are by letting them know we’re fighting with the Minors and we come from another galaxy.”

“Do you believe you did the right thing not killing the second ship?” Roman nodded. “How did you know?”

Loree said, “The crew on that ship had all moved to the far ends of their ship knowing they were about to be fired on by their own ships. They were willing to die to defend their worlds. It was the right thing to do to allow them to live. Predators don’t operate that way.”

RV smiled, “Then this might not be the risk you think it is. They would still have to find us and that won’t be easy. However, the buoy has not been destroyed, yet. I think this is worth the risk.”

“Did you mean what you said about coming to their defense?”

“If they will allow us to make a scan of their domain to ensure they are actually fighting an enemy, we will come to their defense. President Sierra agrees with this decision.”

Mikal smiled, “This is a good thing. I’m glad I could have a role in making it happen.”

RV smiled, “Your role is not over, Admiral.”

Mikal’s expression turned serious, “I’m not sure what you mean and I’m a Captain.”

“Not anymore; you’ve been promoted to Rear Admiral and will take command of the 8th sub-fleet. Captain Barber will be your executive officer until the new 9th sub-fleet is constituted and she will take command of it. Your two fleets will replace the 16th and 23rd fleets under my command. They will be moved to Admiral Anders and Diamond’s fleet holding station in M-87 while you remain here training your fleets. I expect you to have your fleets trained in the use of the new attack craft. Your fleets will be the first to receive them and you don’t have much time so get on it.”

Mikal looked at Loree and smiled. He turned to RV and saluted, “Thank you, Sir. Permission to report to my ships.”

RV returned his salute, “Permission granted, now go to work.”

The two walked out and Cyanna saw Loree’s expression as she looked at Mikal. It brought back memories and she knew the two of them were going to work well together. Cyanna turned to RV, “How do you want those two new fleets organized?”

“They will be the spearhead of the First Fleet making the initial attack on enemy ships. They will be used to provide a hole in enemy formations for us to exploit.”

“Are they going to be equipped to do that?”

“Their ships will have launch tubes for attack craft. They will not be carrying needles so they should be able to hit with an explosive force.”

“What about ship protection? There won’t be any needles to protect them.”

“Needles won’t do much good penetrating a wall of battleships. They’ll move forward firing their ultrabeams and launching attack craft. The rest of the fleet will follow them in.”

“Kenny is going to need a new executive officer.”

“Inform him and turn the volume down when you do.”

Cyanna started laughing and made the call.

• • •

The Operator stood in front of the Select Council and waited for them to question him. Their thoughts were directed at each other and he could not hear what they were thinking. His species was telepathic but only heard thoughts that were directed. Finally he heard, “You interrupted our conversation.”

“I meant no disrespect, but I only spoke during moments of silence.”

“Why did you interject your thoughts?”

“I have been troubled by the invading ship not destroying the second ship it penetrated. I could find no reason for that behavior. In all the cycles I’ve been witnessing, that has never happened.”

“Why is that significant?”

“They exhibited a trait that is rare.”

“What is that?”

“Mercy.” The council remained silent and the Operator said, “Name one other civilization that wouldn’t have destroyed the second ship. What that ship did told me something was different about the beings in it.”

“Do you believe them?”

“I’ve found the records mentioned in the conversation about the Minors and they support what that being said. The Minor civilization that destroyed the home world of the ones that spoke with us are now fighting beside them. Would we ever consider doing that under even slight discretions? It appears they recognized that the Minors were forced to kill or be killed. The white ships determined that quickly and knew who was responsible for their world’s destruction.”

“They should have destroyed the Minor as well.” The Operator remained silent and the Council Member said, “Shouldn’t they have destroyed the Minor as well?”

“I believe the Minor has convinced them that they regret what they did and told them it would never happen again, as they just promised us. They fought together in the last battle and it’s clear the ships from both civilizations fought to the death to defend each other’s ships. I am just a Sensor Controller. I analyze data and refer my findings to you to make the decisions on what should be done. You are far more capable of finding the truth in the data than I.”

“What have you determined about the ship that invaded our borders?”

“They are capable of killing our ships.”

“Are we capable of killing them?”

“I believe we are.”

“So we should not attack them alone?”

The Operator hated answering the question but said, “That is an accurate assessment.”

“I sense you don’t want to attack them.”

The Operator hesitated but said, “If there is even the remotest possibility of them being honest in their promises, I would not attack them.”

“Why? They are a real danger.”

“To who?”

The Council was taken aback by the question and then they started talking among themselves. The Operator waited and hoped they saw what he did.

• • •

RV and Cyanna were watching fleet maneuvers on their display when a call came in on RV’s console. RV looked and saw George, “Hello, George. What’s up?”

“We’ve received a message from the Nexu.”

RV saw the tension in George’s face, “And?”

“They request a meeting with the one that spoke with them.”

RV leaned back in his chair, “What did they say?”

“Nothing else; they transmitted coordinates and then ended the transmission. RV, I can’t allow you to go.” RV was silent and Cyanna wondered what was going on. “You’re too important to risk.”

“No one is that important, George. Don’t you see that this is a test of whether or not we can be trusted? If I refuse to go, what does that tell them about our promises?”

Cyanna put her hand up to her throat and felt instant fear.

George said, “RV, I just can’t risk losing you.”

“They will know it isn’t the one they communicated with if someone else goes and you know it. I’ve got to do it.”

“If I have to send every ship we have to get you out of there, I will.”

“No you won’t; this is something that is worth doing. Did they give a time for this to happen?”

“An hour from now.”

“I’ll take a shuttle.”

George slowly shook his head, “This is a decision that is unbearable.”

“That’s why you’re our leader; you’re strong enough to make it. I’ll let you know what they say.”

Cyanna looked at RV and he softly smiled, “Don’t make this harder than it is.”

Cyanna stood and hugged him tightly, “Come back to me! You’re taking my life with you.”

RV held her tightly and said, “I love you. Admiral Arvolo, you are in command of the fleet.” Cyanna watched him leave the bridge and started praying.

RV went to the landing bay on the Tampa and said, “Prepare a shuttle that does not have a gravity drive.” He waited as a shuttle was lowered to the floor and then he went in and contacted George, “Please send me the coordinates of the meeting.”

George pressed his console and said, “You know how I feel about this. Just come back.”

“I’ll do my best.” RV took the shuttle out of the landing bay and flew a hundred miles from the Tampa. He reached in his pocket and removed the translation device that Dolly had downloaded the Nexu’s language into. He placed it on his head and then entered the coordinates of the meeting site. He took a deep breath and jumped the shuttle. He arrived in deep space and ten seconds later an Orange Battleship appeared next to him. The landing bay opened and RV took the shuttle inside. He checked the ships atmosphere and saw that it was breathable. He moved to the port and opened the door. He found a being waiting on him. It was a little over six feet tall and was bipedal in form. The hands had six fingers and the face looked a lot like a walrus. The front lips extended out from the face and looked like they could be used to pull food into its mouth. The being was grey in color but its eyes were large and bright blue. It had blonde hair and ears that were similar to a human’s. RV smiled and said, “I see you’re prompt.” The being’s eyes widened and RV said, “The device on my head allows me to understand your language.”

The being said, “That’s a remarkable device.”

RV said, “My name is Arvolo and you are?”

“You can call me what you want. I think our names would be difficult for you to say.”

“Say it and let me see.” RV heard the snorts and grunts and smiled, “I’ll call you Jeff.”

“I told you. Why did you choose that name?”

“A good friend of mine that died had that name. It’s a good name.”

The being tilted its head to the left and said, “Jeff it is.”

RV said, “Why do you want this meeting?”

“My leaders are in a quandary about what to do. They want to meet with you directly.”

“What’s the issue with them?”

“They’re trying to decide whether to kill you or not.”

RV thought about Cyanna and knew he may not survive this meeting. He felt immense sorrow over what she would endure if that happened. He looked at the floor and then said, “Let’s hope I can convince them that the ‘or not’ is the way to go.”

Jeff’s mouth widened and he decided he liked this strange, pale being. “We’ll arrive momentarily. If it would make you more comfortable, we can take your shuttle to the surface.”

“So you trust it is unarmed?”

“Not at all; we’ve scanned it down to the molecular level and I know it’s not armed.”

RV sighed and said, “Show me where we need to go.” They entered the shuttle and after the orange battleship jumped, RV flew it out and found himself over a planet that was completely covered by a huge city. Every inch of land was covered by the giant metropolis and Jeff pointed at a continent on the northern hemisphere. “We’re going to the buildings next to the ocean. They’re located beside the large bay.”

RV saw the bay and increased the magnification of the display, “Are you talking about the tall buildings next to the shore?”

“I am and there is a place in front of the tallest waiting for your arrival.” RV flew the ship easily through the atmosphere and landed softly in the cleared area surrounded by flashing green lights. The Operator was impressed with how easily this being handled the ship. The winds on his world were always difficult to manage. The Operator stood and said, “If you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to our Council.”

RV said, “Lead the way.” He stepped out of the shuttle and watched as every being turned his way. Even those far down the block turned back and looked at him. RV said, “How does everyone know I’m here?”

The Operator turned and said, “Oh, I meant to tell you. We’re telepathic. They heard your thoughts.” RV followed Jeff into the building and knew why they wanted this meeting in person. They would learn everything he knew about the Union and there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Humanity was in great danger and it was his entire fault. Jeff listened to his thoughts and saw that the, what did he call his species, oh yeah; the human, knew he was in a trap from which there was no escape for him or his species. Jeff didn’t like the deception but led RV into an elevator and it rose at high speed to the floor of the Council.

• • •

RV stood in front of the council and knew they were communicating but the room was silent. He had answered all their questions and he knew they didn’t need to ask them. They could simply look in his mind and find whatever they wanted. Finally being in the front row rose and spoke verbally to him. “I can see that you believe what you’re saying to us but we don’t trust you.”

RV said, “Why is that?”

“We’ve had more than half a million species stand before us and offer promises similar to what you’ve given. All of them failed to keep them.”

RV said, “That’s not entirely true.”

The being smiled, “Oh?”

“Some of them were destroyed before they could break them.”

“And just how do you know that?”

“I’ve looked around your neighborhood.”

The Leader actually smiled, “Well, you’re right. Several thousand did die. However, even taking them into consideration, none of the others proved to be worthy of trust. Prove to me beyond all doubt that you’re different.”

“What are you going to do if I can’t?”

“We now know where your civilization is and we’ll go and destroy your worlds.”

RV took a deep breath and said, “This meeting was done to gather information to attack us?”

“That’s not entirely true. We do want to believe you, but you’ve done nothing to convince us you’re any different from the thousands of others that came before you. It is also necessary that we kill you.”

The Operator said, “May I ask this being a question?”

The Leader looked at him and everyone saw him frown. “Go ahead.”

Jeff turned to RV and said, “I noticed you have feelings for another when I first met you. What is your biggest fear at this moment?”

RV thought about Cyanna and saw her face in his mind. He saw her coming out of the waves on their honeymoon and the feeling of her next to him on the beach chair. He thought about her smile and he was heartbroken that he was not coming back to her. He knew what it was going to do to her and he wished to his soul that he could spare her the misery he knew she was going to have. His misery would end quickly but she was going to have to live with her sorrow.

The Operator watched the Council listen to the thoughts of the Human and said, “I only have one more question.” The Council Leader looked at him and nodded. “Where have you seen an emotion like this being is now having about losing the one he cherishes more than life?”

The Operator stepped back and lowered his head.

The Council was silent. RV waited for his execution and after ten minutes he looked at the council. He said, “There is nothing I can say that others haven’t said to you in the past. I am sorry that I am inadequate to make you know we would never break our promise.” RV lowered his head and waited.

The Council Leader looked at the other councilors. Nothing was said. He turned and said, “We accept your promise and we will ally our people with yours.”

RV looked up confused as the Leader looked at the Operator, “You will join us on the Council. Your wisdom throughout this event has been extraordinary and you have allowed us to see what we would have missed. We thank you.” The Operator nodded and turned to RV.

RV said, “What just happened?”

“Of the thousands that came here to make their promises, everyone was frightened for their welfare. You are frightened for others ahead of yourself. That emotion cannot be taught or learned. Either a species has it or they don’t. If you have it, you are capable of placing another’s welfare ahead of your own. You’ve demonstrated that you are worthy of trust.”

RV looked at the leaders and they saw his determination. “We will never desert you in an hour of need.” RV reached in his pocket and said, “This will deactivate the sensor buoy and bring it into normal space. It is yours to copy and use as you deem best. It is untraceable and encrypted.”

The Leader of the Council said, “We will send a representative to work out how we want to move forward with this alliance.”

RV bowed and said, “Thank you.” The Leader smiled and looked at the Operator.

The Operator turned to RV and said, “You may go back to the one you love. I’m going to do the same after you leave. Your thoughts have reminded me how much she means to me.”

RV stuck out his hand and after a moment, Jeff shook it. Every member of the Council felt the bond between the two very different beings. They all wanted to go home to their mates. Like Jeff remembered, sometimes the ones that are the most important are forgotten.

• • •

RV jumped back to the Havana and found Cyanna waiting on him. She rushed through the shuttle’s opening port and jumped into his arms. She tried hard not to cry but her tears would not be denied. “Shhhh, it’s alright.”

“Please tell me you weren’t in any danger.”

RV stroked her hair and held her close. He softly said, “You were there with me and that made all the difference.”

Later when RV gave George his report on what happened, she felt her heart skip a beat when he related that they knew the location of their new worlds. George said, “Are you sure we can trust them?”

RV slowly nodded and said, “It’s a remarkable thing that the civilizations that are telepathic are the ones that can be trusted the most. Deception is just not part of their society. I honestly feel we should share our technology with them.”

“Aren’t they already ahead of us in most areas?”

“They are, especially in force field development, but they don’t have beams as powerful as the ultra. We need to give it to them.”

“RV, this is a critical decision. If they have it, they will be able to defeat any of our ships.”

“They can do that now. I’m more concerned about the other advanced civilizations among the Majors and the other sector. We need to assist them.”

George ran his hand through his hair and said, “Do what you need to do.”

• • •

RV opened the frequency and said, “Is the being named Jeff available for a conversation?”

“Stand by.”

After six minutes RV heard, “Hello my friend. What prompts this contact?”

“I have discussed our new agreement with my leaders and we’ve decided to share our beam weapon with you.”

“Our beams are quite powerful and are adequate.”

“We’ve measured the power of your beams and they are not as strong as the one we have on our ships.”

Jeff stared at RV and said, “Just how much more power does your beam have compared to ours?”

“Ours are ten times more powerful.”

Jeff stared at RV on the display and finally said, “I find that difficult to believe.”

“I’m going to give you some coordinates. If you will bring a ship I will be more than happy to demonstrate the difference. If you could bring a target with you, it would make the demonstration more effective.”

“Give me a moment.” Jeff disappeared from the display and twenty minutes later reappeared, “I will be coming with two ships. One of them will be the target. May I also bring the Leader of the Council?”

“By all means.”

• • •

Two hours later the Havana saw two large orange ships break into normal space. One of them was a new model that had not appeared in the previous chase of the attack craft. RV saw Jeff appear on his display, “We’ve brought our newest battleship. We’ve kept this ship a secret as it has our most powerful force field.”

“I really don’t want to damage your ship, Jeff.”

“We honestly don’t think you can. We’re willing to risk that damage to demonstrate the superiority of our technology.”

RV smiled and Jeff saw something in his expression, “You really think you can penetrate the force field?”

RV said, “Let’s do it this way. Move the ship fifty miles away and we’ll start the beam at seventy percent and gradually increase the power. We’ll target a section of the force field above the ship so that we don’t hit the ship.”

The Leader of the Council appeared on the display beside Jeff and said, “Are you capable of targeting that small an area from that range?”

“You could actually move it to a hundred miles but I feel safer doing it this way.”

RV saw them look at each other showing doubt but the new battle ship moved away and took station fifty miles away. Jeff said, “You may begin the demonstration.”

RV said, “Dolly, are you ready?”

“I am. I’m going to hit the force field out on the edge in front of the bow.”

“You may fire when ready.”

• • •

Jeff and the Council Leader had the scanners running and suddenly were blinded by the bright red beam that shot out from the white ship and hit the force field of their new Beta Battleship. It blew through the force field as if it didn’t exist.

RV appeared on their display and said, “We didn’t need to increase the power from seventy percent.”

Jeff stared at the scanner’s readings and said, “That was seventy percent!?!”

“It was. We’ve determined that we could have penetrated it at sixty percent.”

Jeff looked at the Leader and the Leader said, “And you’re going to give us this technology?”

“We are.”

“Why?”

“Because you are better able to use it against those that would attack you if they determine you have become one of our allies. They will fear you and may combine against you. This beam will help you survive their attack.”

“But you could just keep it and come to our defense.”

“We don’t have a force field as powerful as yours, so your ships would be more effective than ours. Your current beam will penetrate our ship’s defenses. I know there are other advanced civilizations in your galaxy that match up with your ships. With this beam, you should be able to defend yourself against them.”

The Council Leader started at RV on the display and said, “Some of us started second guessing our decision to ally ourselves with you. Now I see that we were right in our decision. We will leave the older ship with you. You may use it to duplicate our force field.”

“If you will send a ship to the coordinates I’m sending, we’ll have a team of scientists to provide you with a working model of the beam and answer any questions you might have.”

Jeff looked at RV on his display and said, “Your attack on our civilization may be the best thing that’s ever happened. Good fortune, my friend.”

“And to you as well.”

The display went dark and the Leader said, “You were right.”

“When there’s doubt, it’s the heart that always tells the truth.”

The Leader smiled and nodded.

Chapter Six

Chris, Jillian, and Captain Phillips sat onboard the Ninja drinking a bottle of wine. They had already disposed of two bottles and the third was going fast. Chris raised his glass and said, “This one’s for the Harmony Federation, bless their building souls.”

Jillian said, “To Harmony.”

Phil raised his glass and said, “To Harm, Harm, Harm oh me.”

They took a drink and Jillian said, “This one’s to RV.”

Chris said, “To RV.”

Phil said, “To TV.”

Chris and Jillian looked at Phil and waited. After a moment Chris said, “It’s your turn, Phil.”

Phil raised his glass and said, “This one’s to, to, to Dolly.” They watched as Phil’s eyes crossed and his head hit the table. Jillian took the glass from his hand before he crashed and said, “These youngsters are lightweights.”

Chris finished Phil’s glass and said, “They just can’t hang.” He paused and said, “This one’s for Dolly.”

Jillian raised her glass and she slowly shook her head, “Wherever you are; we miss you Dolly.”

They tossed the drink back and Chris said, “I do miss her so much.” Jillian reached over and hugged his neck.

Suddenly Phil sat up in his chair and said, “Well if you miss her so much, go back and get her.” Phil stared straight ahead, his eyes crossed, and then his head crashed back down to the table.

Chris said, “Shouldn’t we be catching his head?”

“Nope, the bruises will be a mark of courage.”

Chris looked at Jillian and she saw his expression. He lowered his head and raised his eyebrows and Jillian said, “There’s no way we can do that?”

“How do you know?”

““You know the effect it would have on the future if we changed that event?”

“How do you know?”

“Everyone saw her die.”

“Did they?”

“Hey Socrates, how about doing something other than asking questions.”

“What did they see, Jillian?”

“They saw Jeff embrace her and then the screen went to static.”

“So you’re assuming that is when the blast hit.”

“Isn’t that what happens after a nuclear blast?” Chris stared at her and didn’t say anything. Jillian tried to think and then said, “That’s what happens after the electromagnetic pulse of a nuclear blast.”

Chris nodded. “Do we know how far away the first blast in Sydney happened?”

Jillian stared at him, “No. No one has gone back to see. The pain would be too much to bear.”

“We do know that one of the blasts was about thirty miles from the Command center and the second was right on top of it. What if the first blast was the one further away?”

Jillian was doing her best not to get excited. She said, “Calm, I must remain calm.” She took several deep breaths and said, “Let’s for the sake of just blue skiing this exercise assume the first one hit thirty miles away. How long would it take for the shock wave to arrive at the command center?”

Chris sat back and said, “There would be an initial pulling of air into the explosion but then the shockwave would rush out, stabilizing at the speed of sound.” Chris paused and thought, “Ummmm that means it would take a hundred and fifty seconds to hit the command center.”

“That’s two and a half minutes.”

“Yes but you couldn’t go before the blast happens.”

Jillian furrowed her brow, “Why not?”

“There are several reasons, but the most important is that if you’re there before it happens, the electromagnetic pulse will destroy any circuitry in your vehicle.”

“Not if the vehicle is shielded?”

“That leads to the second reason.”

“What is that?”

“Did Dolly’s death have an impact on what has taken place since?”

“You know it has. Even our capital is named after her and Jeff.”

“So if you go back and take her before she’s seen dying…”

“It will cause a parallel universe and this one will remain unchanged.”

“And whoever goes to get her will be trapped in the new universe with heaven knows what the impact might be.”

Jillian thought about the possible paradox and sighed, “Is it even safe to try?”

“I think that as long as no events are changed by taking her, it’s safe to do it.”

“I’m not sure what you mean, Chris?”

“What was the last thing Dolly did?”

“She died.”

“So if the event that was recorded isn’t changed, we can take her after that moment.”

Jillian thought about it and said, “How do we determine if we can do it?”

Phil sat up again and with glazed eyes said, “Go and see which bomb hit first.” His head started to fall again and Jillian caught it. Chris looked at her and she said, “Two bruises are enough. Besides, that was a good suggestion.”

Chris looked at Jillian and said, “We will not discuss this with anyone. You got that Phil?”

They heard a muffled voice from the surface of the table, “I’d nod but I don’t think I can raise my head again.”

Chris and Jillian started laughing and took Phil to his quarters. Chris looked at Jillian and they could feel each other’s excitement. They made themselves calm down. They didn’t want to get their hopes up needlessly, only to end up facing huge disappointment.

• • •

Arvolo looked at Beth and Riebbe and said, “At ease. Take a chair.”

They sat down and wondered why they were called into Arvolo’s office. RV said, “I’m going to play a video for you. I want your take on what you see.”

RV started the video of Mikal’s attack on the two Nexu ships. They watched the destruction of the first ship and they briefly looked at each other. When the pilot jumped away without destroying the second ship they looked at each other again. The video ended with the destruction of the three damaged battleships.

RV looked at them and said, “Tell me what you think.”

Beth looked at RV and said, “Just like the ship we tested, all of the ship’s power is being used by the force field.”

“That is correct.”

“That’s why it’s only using missiles.”

“That is also true.”

Riebbe asked, “We’ve seen that ship penetrate our force fields?”

“It can.”

Rieb whistled, “That is one powerful little ship, Sir.”

“It could be a difference maker.”

Riebbe looked at Beth and RV saw a non-verbal message. “Ok, what’s going on?”

Riebbe looked at Beth and said, ““Why no beam?”

“Didn’t you hear me say all the power is being used by the force field?”

“And what happens to that power if the force field is not being used?”

RV thought a moment and said, “And when would the force field be turned off?”

“It might happen during a moment when the ship is not being hit by an attacker’s beam. I think it’s important to remember that our relays can be switched between different systems faster than you can imagine.”

RV thought about it and said, “So if you want to use a beam…”

“You simply press the button and the system will automatically fire it when the force field is not being hit. An ultrabeam can be fired in less than a millisecond and have the force field back up in another millisecond.”

“The ship could be hit during that time.”

“The probability is small, especially if a good pilot is really scanning the ship’s weapons he’s attacking. If he’s flying really close to the ship, he can find an area to avoid being hit.”

RV smiled and knew these two knew the small ships better than anyone in the fleet. RV punched his console and said, “Boden, I need you to include an ultrabeam on the new attack craft.”

“We’ve already done that, as well as including a switching mechanism to use it.”

RV slowly shook his head, “Well, perhaps there were more people than we thought that understood the small ships.” He looked at the two wing commanders and said, “Both of you are promoted to Rear Admiral and you will take the responsibility of developing the tactics to be used by these attack craft. You will report to Admiral Roman who has just been promoted to Rear Admiral in command of the Eight Fleet. When the Ninth Fleet is completed, Rear Admiral Barber will command it. You will work with those two admirals to develop the tactics needed to make these new ships into a formidable weapon. The fleets will be responsible for delivering your attack craft where they can be most effective. The ones in command will be the fleet admirals. They are responsible for the safety of the battleships as well as your ships. Are you clear on your assignments?”

“Would it be possible to take our wings with us?”

“Why do you want to do that?”

“They will be in the leadership positions in the new fleets. We need them to build around.”

RV thought a moment and said, “Recommend another wing to take your places here on the Havana.”

Riebbe smiled, “There will be some very unhappy people if you take their veterans.”

“I don’t think it will be as bad as you think. They know the importance of this ship. I won’t have to ask; they’ll insist on sending their best once they know we sent our pilots on an important assignment to protect them.”

Beth smiled, “You’re right. And those pilots that are sent here will come highly motivated to perform.”

“Choose two of your teams to remain behind to take command of the new wings.”

Riebbe winced and Beth slowly shook her head, “We’ll leave our best, Sir.” She looked at Riebbe and then turned back to RV, “We also know how important this ship is to the fleet.”

RV smiled, “Go build us a weapon.”

The two turned and left RV’s office.

• • •

Mikal and Loree looked across the table at Beth and Riebbe. Mikal said, “I understand that you will be in command of the new attack craft. I’m not at all certain I’m comfortable with the blurring of the lines of authority.”

“That’s because you think of the new ships as ships.”

Mikal stared at Riebbe and slowly shook his head, “Well, duh; what are they if they aren’t ships?”

Beth said, “You’ve studied Earth’s history and all the wars that happened, right?”

Mikal shrugged, “We both have.”

“What role did the Marines have in the United States Navy?”

“They were the ones that took the beaches in advance of a major attack. They were the elite soldiers that were used as shock troops.”

“And what was the Navy’s role as regards the Marines?”

“They had the responsibility of getting them on shore and taking out enemy fortifications defending the beach with direct and indirect fire.”

“Think of the new ships as marines. Our ships will take a section of space in a battle so that the heavy ships can exploit the position. We will be the assault ships that will go in and force a weakness in our enemy’s ranks.”

Loree said, “We’re caught up in thinking these new ships are there to support the battleships. The most effective use of them will be if the battleships are used to support them.”

Mikal thought a moment and said, “How do you see us making your ships as effective as possible?”

“You’ve got to launch our ships as close as possible to the ships they will be attacking.”

Mikal nodded, “They can take several hits but distance will kill them if they’re hit more than ten times moving in on their target.”

“You saw that in your attack?”

“I did. The force field was barely able to penetrate the first ship after it was hit three times by the Nexu’s beams. We can’t launch the new attack craft too far away or they will be weakened to the point where they’ll not be effective.”

Mikal thought a moment, “How fast can the attack craft launch?”

“The first ones can be out of the tubes in less than a second. It takes another two seconds for the next one to be moved up to the launcher.”

“That’s too long. The main ship could be hit hundreds of times in those two seconds.”

Loree leaned back and closed her eyes. Beth looked at her and said, “Didn’t get enough sleep?”

Loree opened her eyes and said, “I’m visualizing a space battle like we had with the Majors involving millions of ships. Join me in this and see if you can visualize what I’m saying.”

Mikal smiled, “Try it; she’s good at this.”

Riebbe shrugged and they closed their eyes.

Loree began, “There are millions of ship forming ranks so tight that there is less than a mile between them. The line of ships is more than a thousand ships high and two million miles wide. The depth is more than ten thousand miles. Can you see it?”

“Yes.”

“Where can we launch our ships into that mass? Keep the picture in your mind. Where can they be launched?”

Riebbe kept his eyes closed, “Our main battle ships will not be able to penetrate that wall of ships. The spacing is too tight.”

Mikal said, “And you can’t come over the top or bottom because that line is advancing towards our fleets. It would leave the ships behind as it moved forward. The ships must be launched in front of the enemy ships.”

Loree opened her eyes and said, “Alright, now we can get to work. We know what we’re going to be facing and we need to determine how to get your ships into their ranks.”

Beth said, “Whatever technique we develop, it can’t be based on surprise. That will only work once. We need a way that will work even if they know we’re coming.”

Mikal smiled, “However, one good surprise might be appropriate the first time we use them.”

Riebbe laughed, “I like the way you think.”

Mikal said, “I’m not worried about our lines of command. We’ll get you in and then it’s up to you.”

Beth smiled, “Oh, we’ll take them out. Just get us close.”

• • •

The Dark Creature looked at his aide, “How are the ships coming along?”

“We have more than six thousand modified to the new technology.”

“Have the Nexu learned of our theft?”

“They have.”

“What!?!”

“They didn’t care.”

“Why not?”

“They say that ship is one of their older models and would have been destroyed anyway.”

The creature stared at the aide and finally said, “That ship is more powerful than any ship in our fleet.”

“So now we’re more powerful than many others but nowhere close to the Nexu.”

“If they’re being honest about it being an older ship.”

“What do you think they would do if it wasn’t? Do you think they would allow us to keep it?”

“Probably not; is there any progress on what’s going to happen with the rebellious Minors?”

“There is talk of combining forces but no one trusts anyone to make it happen. The talks fall apart as soon as several civilizations say they are not going to participate.”

“So we do nothing?”

“Some have discussed simply having every planet send ten ships.”

“There’re more than twenty million planets in this sector.”

“Yes and some of the civilizations have more than others. They complain that they’re doing more than the others.”

“I guess things never change and the mutinous Minors sit back and watch us frozen into doing nothing.”

“I don’t think this situation will continue much longer.”

The large creature jerked his hand away from the door control, “Why not?”

“Because more and more Minors are refusing to fight the civilizations on their borders; they’ve come to the realization that we’ve been manipulating them into killing each other and they’ve seen that some of them have stopped and have not been destroyed. There is a good possibility that these new rebelling Minors may join the first ones. That will cause the other Majors to act.”

“Even the advanced civilizations?”

“Probably, but no one knows if the Nexu will participate. I suspect the others will.”

He reached for the door control and said, “Keep me informed if you find out anything.”

The aide lowered to the floor and crawled away.

Chapter Seven

“Chris, I’m really nervous about going back and seeing Earth’s destruction.”

“I don’t like it either but if we are going to know the order of the blasts, it’s got to be done.”

Captain Phillips pushed the ice bag tighter to his head and said, “You don’t have to go back to make that determination.”

Chris and Jillian turned and looked at the ailing Captain, “We don’t?”

Phillips said, “Don’t talk so loud. What was in those bottles, liquid pain?”

Jillian said, “What do…” and she saw Phillips wince. She spoke softer, “What do you mean we don’t have to go back.”

“If the first blast happened thirty miles from the command center, you’ll see the rubble of the buildings blown from their foundations toward the command center and if the command center was first, the rubble will be blown away from it.”

Chris looked at Jillian and said, “Couldn’t the second blast have changed the orientation of the rubble?”

“Only on those structures that were still above ground level. You can have the computer analyze the pattern and tell you which happened first.” Chris looked at Jillian and shrugged. Phillips changed ice bags and said, “If the first blast was the one thirty miles away, you’ll have to go back and look at the explosions.”

Chris said, “Because we’ll have to know how much time it took for the shock wave to reach the command center.”

“Exactly, and you’ll also have to lock in your entry point.” Phillips put his head on the table and said, “It might all still be a waste of time.”

Jillian said, “Why!”

Phillips winced again and raised his head, “Dolly and the command team were in a reinforced building. It was made to stop radiation from nuclear blasts. Let’s say you have two and a half minutes before the shock wave arrives. How are you going to get into the building and then persuade her to leave?”

Jillian looked at Chris and Phillips continued, “Don’t think you can just call her on the communication system and tell her you’re coming. That system would have been heavily damaged by the electromagnetic pulse. Remember the picture from her system went to static.”

Jillian turned and looked at Phil, “You seem to know a lot about what we’re thinking about doing.”

“I’ve thought about this since I joined you on the Ninja viewing the light from the past. I just haven’t thought of a way to get them out in the time between the first blast and arrival of the shock wave.”

Chris said, “It would take ten minutes to enter the building and run to the command center.”

Phil added, “You won’t be able to enter normally. The armored doors to the center would have activated when the attack warning was received. They could only be opened from the inside.”

Jillian slowly shook her head, “You really have thought about this.”

Phil sat up and sighed, “She was what bound us together. I’ve kinda worshiped her memory. She was incredibly brilliant and beautiful as well. I just don’t see any way to make it happen.”

Chris narrowed his eyes and said, “Did you consider blasting your way in?”

Phil turned his head around quickly and winced, “No, I don’t want to kill the ones in that room.”

Chris looked up, “Dolly, have you been listening to this conversation?”

“I have.”

“Is there any way to make an opening into the main room of the command center without killing those in the room?”

They waited for a minute and then they heard, “Perhaps.”

Phil’s eyebrows went up, “What?”

“We wouldn’t have been able to do it at the time of the event but there is a possibility of doing it now.”

“How?”

“An ultrabeam would cut through the building making an opening through the room.”

Chris smiled, “That’s how we can get in.”

“Maybe.”

“What do you mean maybe, Dolly?”

“The ultrabeam is incredibly hot. If the beam is too wide it will incinerate everyone in the room. If it is fired too close to the people in the room, it will burn them. I can go on but the beam will have to be tightly targeted and it can’t be too wide.”

Jillian said, “Give me the bottom line, Dolly.”

“If an ultrabeam is fired through a top corner of the command center furthest away from the people inside and it is focused tightly, a hole could be opened into the room.”

The three looked at each other and Phil said, “How big of a hole?”

“Anything wider than seven feet six inches in diameter would kill the ones in the room.”

Chris looked at Phil and said, “We don’t have a ship small enough to get in and take them out.”

Jillian said, “I have one.”

Chris and Phil turned to her and just stared.

“What do we have stored in the Ninja’s landing bay?”

Chris thought a moment and said, “Get real, Jillian.”

Jillian smiled, “My corvette could fly through that hole.”

Chris shook his head, “That corvette is not built for flight out of the atmosphere.”

Jillian smiled, “Where will the time field be?”

Phil tilted his head, “It could be a hundred feet above the building and it would have to be a small field.”

“Why?”

Because allowing the attacking Violet Ships to see through that field and see the Ninja would also change the future.” Phil thought a moment and said, “There is also the possibility of you leaving the facility at a rather high velocity.”

Jillian smiled, “My corvette has gravity technology built into it. When my last one hit Jupiter, I had a gravity controller installed in the new one. I’ll just make sure it stays weightless and even if I hit the Ninja, it wouldn’t cause any damage.”

“Wait a minute. What do you mean if you hit the Ninja?”

“Chris, are you a better driver and am I better at manipulating the time fields?”

Phil said, “The answers are no and no.”

“How do you know she’s a better driver?”

“Did you forget the trip through the mountains on Europe?”

Chris thought a moment and said, “I thought you were asleep.”

“I had my eyes closed praying we wouldn’t go over a cliff.”

Chris blew out a quick breath and said, “All of this is a moot point if the first blast was over the command center.”

Dolly said, “That was the second blast. The first was thirty one miles away.”

Silence ruled the moment. Phil looked around and said, “How did you make that determination?”

“I’ve had the recordings of the planet downloaded after it happened. The blast patterns are clear. The first blast was thirty miles away.”

Phil looked at Chris and Jillian and said, “You’re going to do it?”

Jillian smiled, “She’d do it for us.”

“Should you perhaps wait to build a ship to go in?”

“If we suggested this to anyone they would prevent us from doing it.”

“Why? I would think George would order it.”

“Not if it endangered the future since Earth’s destruction.”

Phil stared at Jillian and said, “What are you not saying?”

“The only ones that will be in danger are us. If we cause a temporal event, we will be in a different universe than this one and we won’t be able to get back.”

“What could cause that?”

“If the Violet Ships see us…”

Phil took a deep breath and smiled, “Then the use of your corvette makes sense. It will look like an ordinary car attempting to flee the oncoming shock wave.”

Chris looked at Jillian and said, “Phil, you don’t have to do this with us.”

Phil put another ice pack to his head and said, “I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I will possibly get the opportunity to meet someone I’ve respected above all others.”

“Well, fire up the Ninja and let’s go take our readings.”

Phil started moving toward the bridge and said, “Dolly, what happens to your name when the real one shows up?”

“RV’s computer is also named Dolly. I’ll drop to number two and his computer will drop to number three.”

“Why are you ahead of his computer?”

“Seniority; the Jukebox was built first.” Phil laughed and disappeared through the port.

“Jillian, are you sure we should do this?”

“If it was you that perished in that attack, what would Dolly do?”

Chris nodded and hugged her tightly. “Whatever happens, at least we’ll be together.”

• • •

Mikal watched the simulation and yelled, “No, no, no. That won’t work.”

Beth nodded, “I agree. Jumping them in to the front of the advancing formations is just not accurate enough. Half the time they appear too far in front or miss the formations entirely.”

Riebbe sat in his chair and stared at the display. He continued to stare at the line of ships that were used to simulate an advancing fleet. Loree, Mikal, and Beth continued to argue until they noticed Riebbe was smiling. They grew silent and Loree said, “What are you thinking?”

Riebbe turned to Mikal, “How long does it take the new battleships to enter normal space?”

Mikal looked at Loree and then said, “I think it’s instant.” Loree nodded.

“And how long does it take to launch a new attack craft out of the tubes?”

“We’ve reduced the time to a tenth of a second. But we still have the two second delay to move the next ship into the launcher.”

Riebbe smiled, “I think I know how to make this happen.”

“Pray tell.”

“We’ll have the fleet jump into normal space twenty five thousand miles in front of the enemy fleet and fire the attack craft at them.”

“Say what?”

“The attack craft will be weightless and can accelerate at close to light speed out of the launcher.” Riebbe saw them start to protest, “Now stay with me on this. The fleet will be launching a little more than a tenth of a second at light speed from the approaching fleets. Their sensors will receive the scan from our ships in a tenth of a second but before they can respond, the fleet will jump back into Sierra Space.”

Mikal thought a moment and said, “The attack craft will arrive less than a half a second behind the light from the fleet and be on the approaching ships before they can be targeted. We can program the ships to automatically decelerate and return mass before they hit the force fields of their targets.”

Loree said, “Once they are inside the ranks of the attacking fleet they can easily move from ship to ship launching their missiles.”

Beth said, “And once they exhaust their missiles, they’ll go to the beams being installed.”

Loree thought a moment and said, “Can the ships slow down to the required penetration speed in that time?”

Riebbe nodded, “Actually, there’s enough time to bring them to a stop if they remain weightless. We’ll have to program their drives to slow to an exact speed less than a few hundred yards from their target before their full mass is returned. If they do it further out they will be hit by a massive beam barrage.”

“I know what must be done but can we do it?”

Mikal said, “I’ll contact Boden and see what he says.”

• • •

Three weeks later Mikal looked at his display and saw Riebbe and Beth in their ships “Are you ready to give it a go?”

Beth shrugged, “We’ll soon see. With the relativity effects, things will happen much too fast for us to be able to control this.”

“We’ll only have control when the ship slows to penetration speed.” Riebbe pushed a button and looked up, “The system is activated and will operate at launch. Good luck, Beth.”

“Back at ya, Riebbe. Don’t fret too much; Boden insists the system will operate as it’s designed.”

“Easy for him to say; he should be here trialing it.”

“Hey relax you two. It’ll be over in no time.”

“Loree, that’s true whether it works or not.”

“That’s true. We’re entering normal space in five, four, three, two, one, and now!”

The main battleship appeared for a brief moment and disappeared. Two white flashes left and hit the oncoming ships faster than could be seen. “It worked; I’m inside the force field. What about you. Beth?” Riebbe listened, “Beth! Beth can you hear me?”

“Relax; I was just checking my readings.”

“I’m going to spank you. You scared me out of ten years.”

“Promises, promises.”

Loree laughed out loud. “Hey, you’re embarrassing the whole team. Get back over here and let’s look at the recording.”

“Dundee and Macbeth, were you able to track the ships coming in?”

“I did, but my computer tells me that they arrived too fast to be targeted.”

“My computer says it might have been able to fire one shot but it wouldn’t bet on whether or not it would have hit.”

“Thank you for your participation. Return to the fleet maneuvers.”

The two main battleships disappeared and Mikal brought the Rome back into normal space. Riebbe flew the ship into the landing port and said, “Was the Probe able to track what happened?”

“It’s pretty fuzzy but we can make some assumptions about it. Come to the bridge as soon as you arrive.”

• • •

The four looked at the main display on the wall and saw two beams of light leave the Phoenix and appear to hit the two main battleships.

“That doesn’t look right. We slowed to about six hundred miles per hour. We should be able to see our ships hit those force fields.”

Mikal said, “Nexu, why is the recording not clear?”

“Unfortunately, the resolution can’t keep up with the sudden changes in speed.”

Loree looked at the display and said, “Mikal, did Boden design this to only operate from twenty five thousand miles out?”

“I don’t know; let’s ask him.” Mikal entered the frequency and pressed his transmit button. Boden appeared on the main display and smiled, “How did the trial go?”

“It worked flawlessly. However, Admiral Barber has a question about the distance from which we can launch the ships. Is it from only twenty five thousand miles?”

“No. The system on your navigation panel is designed to download the distance into the attack craft. You determine how far you want to launch and enter the distance into the display on your board.”

“So we could have launches from multiple distances?”

“If you deem it necessary; however, the further away you launch the better the possibility of success.”

“Why is that?”

“It would take longer for the return of your ships signature to reach the enemy ships.”

“How far out will the system operate?”

“About a light second, any further than that and the attack craft will have difficulty targeting a single ship in the ranks of the enemy.”

“What if two ships target a single attacker?”

“Then one of them will need to go to another ship and attack it. That should be easier than getting inside their ranks.”

“You make an excellent point. We’ll just keep enough distance between the battleships, so that the possibility of hitting the same ship is reduced.”

“Let me know if you have any other questions.”

“Thank you, Boden.” Mikal turned to the two pilots, “What did you learn from this?”

Beth said, “There is no picking a target. One moment you’re in the launch tube and the next you’re on top of a force field.”

“Do you have enough time to go around the ship in front of you and hit another behind it?”

Beth looked at Riebbe and he shook his head, “Only if we’re targeted in the gaps between the ships in the front ranks. Why do you ask?”

“If we could get you beyond the ships in front we could fire our beams at the front ranks and you could be taking out the ships behind them.”

Riebbe slowly shook his head, “I think you might be taking on more than you can handle.”

“Why is that?”

“You’ve only launched the first wave of attack craft. You still have two more waves to launch and you don’t want to give the enemy time to start firing a solid wall of beams in front of their ranks.”

Mikal slowly nodded, “You’re probably right. Let’s think about this overnight and see if we come up with a different idea.”

“We do now have a weapon.”

Loree said, “Yes we do, Beth. Yes we do.”

• • •

RV watched the recording from Mikal and thought about how to use the new attack craft. Cyanna watched the video with him and said, “They should cause real trouble for the enemy’s front line.”

“I think they will act like a wild fire as they blow into their ranks but think about this. What would you do if the same weapon was launched at our fleet?”

“I guess I’d respond like I would to a wild fire; I’d move away from the destruction as quickly as possible and put some distance between it and my ship.”

“Distance is the enemy of the new attack ships. With the numbers I expect us to face, they could fire a wall of beams at our ships and take a lot of them out.”

‘I thought you wanted the new ships to blow a hole in their front line so we could exploit it?”

“I did originally, but what if the Majors combine their ships against us. If we flew into the center of their lines they would collapse all of their ships around us and have us caught in a cross fire.”

“Even if we destroyed twenty million of their ships?”

“I’ve read the scans done by the Nexu and there are more than four hundred million ships in the Major’s civilizations.”

Cyanna stared at RV, “There’s no way we can take on that many ships.”

“It gets worse; about a hundred and fifty million are advanced ships that can go toe to toe with ours.”

“They we better hope they don’t combine against us.”

“That’s a false hope. If we’re successful at holding them off the Minors, they will combine. It’s just a matter of time.”

“How many ships do we have now?”

“We’re a little over ten million in our fleets and the Minors are now approaching ten million. They out number us twenty to one and all of them have started building programs to expand their fleets. The odds will be even more against us as time goes by.”

“Have you included the Nexu?”

“No, I haven’t. I’m not certain they will come out of their isolation to fight a force that large. I really don’t blame them.”

“I thought they promised to defend us.”

“No, we promised to defend them.”

Cyanna slowly shook her head, “You’re right. I assumed they would come to our defense as well.”

“We attacked them. They owe us nothing.”

“Does George know?”

“He does. He’s the one that did the analysis.”

“What does he say?”

“We have to confront this problem now. Even if we lose all of our ships, there is hope for the future.”

“How can he say that?”

“Because we will continue to build and the Majors may turn on each other after they eliminate us. I also expect the civilizations in the other sector to remove the Majors if they’re weakened enough.”

“Hey, what about that other civilization in the other sector?”

“Cyanna, they’re facing a whole sector alone. The only thing preventing that sector from combining against them is the greed of hoping they can annex the Major’s territory. After the Majors are history, they’ll combine against that civilization.”

“So how do we survive?”

“I’m working on it.”

“I do hope you’re close to a solution.”

“The only solution I’ve found so far is to run like hell but we won’t do that.”

“Speak for yourself.”

RV started laughing and Cyanna joined him. “I guess you know me too well.”

Cyanna nodded, “There might be some that would run but you wouldn’t be included in that group.”

“Neither would you.”

RV pushed his lips out and nodded slowly, “Oh, I don’t know. I might.”

Cyanna snorted, “You’d run toward it, not away.”

RV smiled with a twinkle in his eye, “I wouldn’t want to miss the fun.”

“Wherever you go, I will follow.”

“That’s why I love you so much.”

Chapter Eight

“Dolly, have you determined where you need to hit the command center?”

“I’ve examined the last transmission from the center and it has all four of them next to the communication console. If we can time this properly…”

Phil interjected, “Right after the electromagnetic pulse.”

“They shouldn’t have enough time to move from there.”

“Do you think the Violet Ships will detect your beam hitting the building?”

“I don’t think they will. There’s so many nuclear blasts happening, I’d be surprised if they did.”

“Dolly, do you have the exact moment we should open the time field?”

“I do. There was a bird flying outside the window of the command center and it was in the middle of the armored glass on the northern wall. The field should be opened when that bird clears the edge of the window. As soon as the field opens, I’ll fire at the command center.”

“Jillian, you’ll only have a minute to get inside and you can’t damage the Corvette hitting the sides of the hole blown through the building. The doors will have to function when you arrive. On the way out, don’t worry about damage.”

“Chris, I’ll be fine. Just have the landing bay open.”

Phil looked at Jillian and said, “You’ll only have twenty seconds to get Dolly in the car.”

“I know.”

“Did you happen to think about the small detail of her refusing to leave?”

Chris quickly said, “Why would she do that?”

Phil shrugged, “Do you think she’ll leave without Jeff?”

Chris and Jillian’s eyes grew wide and Jillian said, “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“She won’t do it.”

Phil said, “And the Corvette only has two seats.”

“This is a heck of a time to be telling me this.”

“It just occurred to me.”

Chris said, “No it didn’t. You’re far too smart to omit that small detail. Why haven’t you mentioned it before?”

Phil sighed and said, “I guess I wanted her to leave him.”

Jillian slowly shook her head, “Phil, she’ll wither and die if she loses Jeff. There will never be another for Dolly.”

“I guess I know that intellectually, my heart just doesn’t want to admit it.”

“That’s why you’re telling me.”

“It is. You’ll only have a moment to make her go. You need to know what you’re going to say.”

Chris ran his fingers over his scar, “Maybe we should back out and start over.”

“No! I’ll get her to leave. Now get ready.” Jillian looked at Phil’s expression and knew he was miserable. “There will be someone for you, Phil.”

Phil stared at her and then closed the doors on the Corvette.

• • •

Dolly hit the emergency pad on her panel and George and Arvolo appeared on her screen. Before they could say anything Dolly said, “Ten thousand Violet Ships have arrived in orbit above Earth and are blasting the planet. They started with New York but are now starting to spread out and hit all our cities.”

George jumped out of his chair and yelled, “Arvolo, get the fleet there.”

Dolly yelled, “You will disregard that order. You’ll never arrive in time and if you do you’ll endanger all of our colonies.”

George stared at her not able to speak. Dolly said, “None of our colonies report being attacked. They must believe that this is our only planet. I’m sure they thought the attack craft awaiting transport at New York were the ships that attacked their fleet because the numbers match up with those we used. If you come here with the fleet they’ll know this is not our only planet and they’ll plan to destroy every civilization in this galaxy. You must not come.”

George stared at Dolly on his display and said, “I can’t let you die. I just can’t.”

Jeff came over and wrapped Dolly in his arms. Hemon watched the display and was thankful Sasha and his son were at the Alliance Capital talking with them about the treaty. George said, “Arvolo, get the fleets moving!”

Dolly yelled, “You will ignore that order and stay where you are. Do you understand!?!”

Cyanna looked at RV and saw an expression that was a barely restrained mask of rage. She knew that the Violet Ships were going to pay for this act in a major way. RV gritted his teeth and said, “I understand.”

Dolly looked at George in her display and said, “I love you so much, George.”

“I love you, Sissy.” George watched Dolly lean back as Jeff kissed her just before his display turned to static.

Suddenly there was a sizzling sound and a hole was blasted through the far corner of the command center. Jeff looked at Dolly and took out his hand laser and moved toward the smoking hole through the ceiling. Dolly and the others followed him toward the opening and then they heard the roar of an engine. Suddenly a green Corvette flew through the opening and both doors flew open. Jillian yelled, “Jeff, get Dolly in the car now! There’s no time!”

Jeff hesitated and then threw Dolly over his shoulder and ran to the car. Dolly was screaming, “I won’t go without you. Put me down now!”

Jeff threw Dolly in the passenger’s seat but Dolly refused to let go of him. She held on with a strength that was amazing. Jillian said, “Get in on top of her, Jeff. She won’t go without you.” Jeff quit pulling away and Dolly dragged him into the car on top of her. Jillian activated the door and it closed.

Arnold stood next to Jillian and she cried, “I’m so sorry, Dad.” He leaned in and kissed her. Jillian said, “Your son is becoming a wonderful man Hemon.”

“Tell them I love them and they’re the best thing that ever happened in my life. Now get out of here.”

Jillian whipped the Corvette around and lifted into the hole. She checked her watch and saw there wasn’t much time. She accelerated and bumped against the wall ten times before she cleared the roof. She glanced to her right and saw a massive wall of flame and debris flying toward her at an incredible velocity. She went weightless and hit the thrusters. The Corvette went through the time field half a second before the shock wave hit and blew the command center flat. The Corvette hit the back wall of the landing bay and instantly stopped.

“Get off me you’re breaking my leg!”

“That’s the only way I could keep you in the car.”

“We can’t leave without the others.”

Dolly looked up and saw Jillian crying. “Oh Jilly, I’m so sorry.”

“We couldn’t get a vehicle in there that could hold everyone.”

“You should have taken Arnold or Hemon.”

Jillian looked at Dolly and said, “You are more important to us than everyone else that died. We need you, Dolly.”

Chris was hammering on the door and Jillian increased the weight of the Corvette and lowered it to the deck. Chris looked in and saw Jeff and Dolly. Dolly saw his expression and she started crying with Jillian. She looked at Jeff and said, “I never thought I would see him again.”

Jeff held her and said, “I know, my love. I know.”

Chris stood back as Phil burned the doors off the car. He grabbed Jillian and held her tight, “Why do you always have to cut it so close? I’ve got a hundred more grey hairs.”

Dolly got out of the car and rushed around and hugged Chris and Jillian. Chris put an arm around her and sighed, “We’ve missed you.”

“How long has it been?”

“Three years.”

Jeff walked over and Jillian hugged him, “Welcome back and thank you for helping me.”

“I could do nothing else. I know how important she is.”

Phil stood off from the group and Jillian said, “Dolly, I want to introduce you to Captain Phillips. We call him Phil. It was due to him that we were able to make this happen. It seems you are one of his heroes.”

Phil’s eyes grew wide and he said, “I’ve always wanted to meet you.”

Dolly smiled and walked up and kissed him full on the mouth. “That’s for saving Jeff.” She kissed him again and said, “And that ones for me.”

Phil was stunned and his smile looked like it was going to tear his face in half. Jillian eased over and said, “Are you OK?”

Phil’s smile incredibly grew larger, “Heck, Jillian. That first kiss was worth bringing her husband back.” Jillian slapped him on his back and laughed out loud.

Chris came over and stared into Jillian’s eyes. Her smile disappeared and she said, “We said goodbye. He understood.”

“I wish we could have taken another type of vehicle in there.”

“Chris, the Corvette is one of the smallest cars ever made. It barely made it through. Nothing we could have built could have taken more than two of them out. Look at the car.”

Chris looked at the battered Corvette. Half of the roof had been peeled off and the rear quarter panels and doors were pushed in. “I just don’t want to second guess what we’ve done.”

“We might have come up with a vehicle that would fit in that hole but if we made it large enough to put all four in it, everyone would have died. It would have never made it in, much less out. I peeled the roof off going in.”

Dolly came over and looked around, “Where’s George?”

“Uhhhhh…why do you ask?”

“Well if he sent you after us, I would think he would be here.” Dolly stared at Chris and said, “He’s alright isn’t he?”

“He’s fine, Dolly. It’s just… uhhhh…”

“What?”

“We sort of did this without telling anyone what we were doing.”

Dolly looked at Jeff and started laughing. Jeff smiled and said, “What’s so funny?”

“They knew George would not allow this to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Because there would be a real risk of changing the future since we died.”

“We didn’t die.”

Dolly smiled, “No, it appears we didn’t.” She turned to Chris and Jillian and said, “I guess this falls under the ask forgiveness instead of permission.”

“Dolly, you would have done the same for me.”

“You are absolutely right, Chris. I would and damn the consequences. So what do we do now?”

“We need to go and see if we’re still in our same universe.”

“Really?”

Really; it won’t take long.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“We’re going to jump out and see if the light shows us taking you out of the command center.”

After an hour the view cleared on the display and they watched. Chris saw the bird fly by the armored window followed by a bright flash on the roof of the command center. Chris, Phil, and Jillian all let their breath out together. Dolly watched the Corvette disappear into the hole in the roof and said, “How in God’s creation were you able to get that car in that hole?”

“I have no idea, Dolly.”

“May I assume that this is a good thing?”

“It is. We’re still in our universe.”

Dolly smiled and said, “We need to go visit.”

“They’re all on Kenny’s ship.”

Chris looked at Jillian, “Are you sure about this?”

“Ask Dolly.”

Dolly smiled sweetly, “The worst dose of medicine is best taken quickly.”

“We need to get you out of those old clothes and Jeff; you can wear one of Phil’s uniforms. Now get moving.”

Jeff was putting on Phil’s uniform and he said, “Thank you for saving my wife.”

“I’m happy to have helped.”

“I owe you Phil and I’ll always be grateful.” He stuck out his hand and Phil shook it. Jeff left the room for the bridge and Phil realized he had another hero. He realized Dolly and Jeff belonged together.

“Tampa this is the Ninja requesting permission to land.”

“Hello, Dr. Connor. What brings you to our neck of the woods?”

“We’re coming to sit in on the strategy session with the command team.”

“Should I notify them of your arrival?”

“Please don’t. Jillian would like to surprise them.”

“I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you, Doctor. Welcome aboard.”

The Ninja landed and Phil said, “I’ll take care of the ship. You go and renew your friendships.”

Chris and Jillian walked out of the landing bay followed by Dolly and Jeff. Several wondered who they were. They looked familiar but they couldn’t place where they had seen them. They arrived at the conference room and Chris turned around. Dolly said, “Jeff and I will go in first.”

Chris took a deep breath and stepped aside. Dolly opened the door and heard RV bellow, “I said we were not to be interrupted.”

Dolly stepped in and said, “When have I ever listened to you?”

RV’s mouth fell open. He fell back in his chair and couldn’t move. George had his back to the door and wondered what was going on. He turned around and saw his sister standing behind him. His mind froze, but then he came out of his chair pushing it half way across the room and rushed forward to hug Dolly like she was life itself. He cried and Dolly said, “I’m back, George. Everything is going to be all right.”

Jeff walked in the room behind Dolly and said, “It’s good to see you two old mongrels again.” Kenny and Bob were too shocked to say anything but jumped up and rushed forward and wrapped their arms around Jeff. Kate stared at the couple and knew who they were. How could this have happened? Then she saw Chris and Jillian peeking into the room and knew that they were responsible. RV and Cyanna came forward and embraced Dolly. RV then went to Jeff and gave him a hug, “Welcome back, Sir.”

“Sorry, RV; you’re in charge now.”

“It doesn’t matter, Sir. You’ll always outrank me. I don’t care what they say.”

Jeff smiled and hugged him again. Suddenly he heard, “Why you old dog. You married Cyanna. She’s far too good for you.”

RV looked at Dolly as she held on to George and said, “There you go again; always shouting the truth.” RV looked around and said, “Let’s take a break and give the Sierras a moment.” The group walked out with Jeff talking with Kenny and Bob.

• • •

George leaned back and said, “How did this happen?”

“Chris, Jillian, and a Captain Phillips came back and saved us.”

George paused and said, “How’s Arnold?”

Dolly’s smile disappeared and she said, “They could only pull two of us out without killing everyone. I’ll let them explain. They forcibly dragged me into the car. I didn’t want to leave them behind.”

“Well I’m so thankful they did. I’ve needed you.”

“I’ve caught up a little on what’s happened and you have done a remarkable job without me, George. I’m so proud of you.”

“You need to take my position.”

Dolly shook her head, “Before you make that decision, I need to ask you a question.” George stared at Dolly, “How are you going to explain my reappearance?”

George just continued to stare at her, “What do you mean?”

“How many know that we can go back in time and change things?”

RV said, “Probably, only the ones that were in this room.”

“And what do you think will happen if that gets out to our allies?”

George thought a moment and said, “You’re right. Dolly, you obviously thought about this before you arrived. What have you come up with?”

“I’m going to die my hair red and use my given name.”

“You’ve hated Dorothy all your life.”

“So call me Dot. The point is; Jeff and I will have to reenter the world as different people. The universe will turn against us if they knew we could change their past. No one would feel safe.”

George hugged Dolly again, “My life was fractured when you were no longer a part of it. I feel whole again.”

“Chris and Jillian should be given credit for this. They also confirmed that our timeline has not been affected by saving us.”

George took a deep breath and let it out, “That is very good to know.”

“That’s why they did it without telling anyone. They assumed no one would want to take that risk. I really understand why.”

George pressed the communication panel and called everyone back to the conference room. “Doctor Connor, please join us as well.”

Everyone came in and went back to their places. Jeff and Dolly sat next to George. “Dolly has brought up something that I’m going to allow her to explain.”

Dolly stood and told them her fears of reappearing. She ended with saying she and Jeff would have to take another identity.

George stared at Dolly and then turned to RV, “Can we create a different identity for them?”

“That’s easier than you think. With the loss of Earth, most families can’t be traced. The question is what do you intend to do with them?”

“What do you mean?’

“I hope you’re intending to use them.”

“Without a doubt.”

“In what capacity?”

Dolly said, “There is no way I can take your place, George. Not without revealing who I am and you know it. You are the one that’s trusted and that is going to be your destiny. However, I’ll help you. I’ll be your administrative assistant and handle many of your administrative problems using your authority.”

George turned to Jeff and he said, “I’ll be responsible for the ships defending our planets.”

RV said, “I can make that happen. Jeff will be a captain of a ship and we’ll quickly promote him to the position over our home fleets.” RV looked at Jeff, “Does that work for you?”

“Absolutely.”

Dolly said, “Hey, that may not work for me. How am I going to see you?”

Jeff smiled, “You get off work when George does. Just take a shuttle up to my ship and stay with me until the next morning. Once I command a squadron, I can do it from an office on the ground.”

Dolly slowly shook her head and then said, “Oh, alright.”

Jillian said, “I’ll go get some hair dye from the commissary. We’ll take care of that item before we leave this room.” Jillian exited the room.

George looked around the room and said, “You will not discuss what happened here with anyone. Is that clear?”

Everyone said, “Yes Sir.”

Cyanna said, “Are you going to tell Meisa?”

George stared at Cyanna and then tilted his head to the right, “No. We’ll see if she can find out on her own. It will be a good test to see how good an actress my sister is.”

Dolly said in a southern drawl, “Well bust my buttons, I just hope y’all understand I’m faintin’ at the moment.”

Everyone burst out laughing and Chris took out a pair of brown rim glasses, “Use these.”

“I don’t need corrective vision, darlin.”

“They’re clear glass. I use them to look like a professor.”

Dolly took the glasses and put them on and jerked her head back, “You don’t need these for that, honey.”

Kate smiled and began to see what Dolly was bringing to the table. If she was as smart as George and RV, she was going to be a huge asset. After she and Jillian came back from dying her hair, she couldn’t believe it was the same person. She even carried herself differently. RV watched them enter and said, “What do we call you, whoever you are?”

“Jeff, what was your mother’s maiden name?”

Jeff smiled, “McFadden.”

Everyone looked at Jeff and waited for him to tell the truth. Even Dolly lowered her head and stared at him. “Hey, I take after my father. That’s where my dark skin comes from. My mother was Scottish.”

Dolly stared at him, “So that was the M in her name.”

“Yes.”

Dolly took a quick breath and said, “I’m Dot McFadden.”

Jeff smiled and said, “I’m Jeff McFadden.”

Dolly shook her head, “You should change your first name.”

“I’m not the famous one; you have that crown. Everyone call me Mac. Trust me, no one will notice.”

“Why is that?”

“I’ll shave my head. That’s enough to do it.”

Bob looked at Jeff and said, “You’re probably right. This way you won’t have to be on guard about answering to your first name.”

Jeff nodded, “You’re right. I don’t have the steel trap mind of my wife. She can assume the new identity flawlessly. I’m the one that needs to be careful.”

Kenny said, “Don’t sell yourself short. I’ve seen your mind in action. You’ll be fine.”

RV said, “I’m sending you to the academy. You need to be updated on our technology. After six months I’ll give you a ship.”

Dolly looked at RV and said, “Just where is this academy?”

“It’s on Sierra-Garcia.”

Dolly didn’t flinch but Jeff did. Dolly continued to stare at RV and said, “Perhaps I should attend these classes as well. There appears to be thing’s my little mind doesn’t know.”

RV tried not to laugh but couldn’t help it, “You can report there from here. Just pay attention during the history class.”

Dolly fanned herself with an imaginary fan, “Oh, schoolin has always been difficult for me. I do hope I can pass.”

George laughed and said, “Let’s continue our meeting. I think that will bring our two new attendee’s up to speed. RV, tell everyone what you’ve learned about the Major’s ship count.”

RV started and Dolly looked over at Jeff. He winked at her and she felt better. This was a whole new world and she worried about him finding his place in it. She thought about it and relaxed. He was a man of action and principle. Men like that always found their place. She listened to RV and a thought started going through her mind. They really didn’t have all the facts. But that could wait. Mistakes were being made but before she brought them to light she needed to make sure.

Chapter Nine

Six months passed and the Hive Controller looked at the Horde Leader, “Are you sure about your sources?”

“I am.”

“Even if they only send ten ships per planet, that will be twenty million ships and a third of them will be the advanced ships.”

“I’m hoping we can possibly defeat that fleet. It’s what follows that has me worried.”

“I know. The next attack will be beyond our imagination.”

“Are you doing anything to insure the survival of your species?”

“I’ve sent colony ships to a galaxy a long distance from here. I would hope you’ll do the same.”

“I’ve sent ten colonies out as well. They are thriving with the assistance of the Union.”

“Mine are as well. Should we take on the main attack?”

“The question is do we do it to weaken the possibility of them going out and searching for our friends and our new colonies. If we can kill enough of their ships, it will be a long time before they’re able to start that search.”

“We will lose all of our planets here.”

“I know.”

The Horde Leader remained silent for a long time as both of them thought about the consequences of their actions. Finally he said, “We owe it to those billions that have died needlessly over the millennia. If our war against each other had continued, one of us would have perished and the winner would have probably died as well. We’re fighting for the survival of our colonies now. As far away as we’ve moved them, I don’t think they’ll be found. I think that weakening the Majors is worth the price.”

“There is one thing you can do to minimize the destruction.”

“What is that?”

“Make sure you have ships on standby to take the scientists, engineers, and the other critical members of your society to the colonies once the battle begins.”

“Do you think they can escape?”

“They will if we tell them we’re going to go and attack their home worlds. If our fleet jumps away after we deliver that piece of information, they will not remain in our territory to kill planets and the battle will be on their turf. That would allow our citizens to make an escape. It will be extremely important that the fleeing ship make sure they aren’t followed.”

The Horde Leader thought about the suggestion and said, “Will the Commonwealth Union agree to this idea?”

“I think they’ll understand the merits of doing it. I’ll discuss it with them.”

“Let me know what they say.”

The Hive Controller thought a moment and said, “You know, this might be a good strategy. The Major’s really don’t know how many ships we have. If we can avoid using all of them in the next battle, they will have to jump back to their worlds, find our fleet, and then make their attack. They will not be organized like they would in jumping here.”

The Horde Leader smiled, “I can see your point. The real danger is leaving our worlds undefended.”

“If we were attacking the Union like we did in the past and they told us they were going to destroy our planets. Would you remain to destroy theirs?”

“No, I would immediately leave.”

“So will the Majors. Mainly because they’ve been conditioned over millions of years to kill ships first and planets last.”

“Make the contact. I want to listen in.”

The Hive Controller reached for his board.

• • •

RV looked at George on his display and listened to the Hive Controller’s suggestion. George asked questions but finally said, “RV, is this a good plan?”

“Only if the Majors don’t initiate the fight until all of their fleets arrive.”

“What do you mean?”

“What if they attack when half of their ships are here? They’ll just let the half still in their sector handle our fleets.”

The Hive Controller said, “I didn’t think of that.”

“That doesn’t mean it won’t work.”

George said, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“We’ll know when they’re going to attack and I suspect their fleets will just jump to the Minor’s domain directly from their home systems with their assigned locations already in their jump drives. Once we determine they are initiating an attack, we jump into their sector before they jump.”

The Horde Leader said, “That will freeze them and in order to respond to our invasion, they will have to jump to us without any organization.”

“That will be when you move your critical populations. It will allow you to make multiple jumps so that more can be saved if the battle can be done over an extended time.”

The two allies looked at each other on their displays and the Hive Controller said, “You will be in command of the next attack. I hope we don’t have to use all of our ships so we can have the element of surprise when they combine against us.”

RV shook his head, “That is not the right decision we should make.” The Hive Controller didn’t say anything and RV continued, “We need to show them every ship we have so they won’t leave any behind. We need to destroy the next attack and leave no survivors. They are going to combine either way. If we barely defeat them, they won’t send all their ships and going to their worlds won’t keep them there. They’ll still jump ships here if we don’t use all of our ships and reveal our numbers.”

George thought a moment, “That will also buy us more time.”

The Horde Leader said, “Why is that?”

“They’ll take the time to organize and train the fleets being sent against us. Trust me on this; organizing millions of ships just doesn’t happen with the wave of a hand.”

“Won’t we have the same issue?”

RV said, “Not really. We’re going to use a domino formation and I’ll send you the structure so you can start training your ships how to organize. Each of our fleets will organize into a domino and then move as a unit into our structure.”

The Hive Controller said, “That’s why you should command.”

“Thank you for your confidence. If the two of you will have your Fleet Commanders contact me, I’ll give them what they need to get started.”

“Are we going to use this structure in the next attack or wait for the combined assault?”

“We’ll hold it until the end.”

The two showed their agreement and disappeared from the display. George said, “Do you think we can win?”

“No, we’ll lose if they combine.”

“You don’t see any way for us for us to prevail?”

RV sighed, “George, I suspect that if we defeat the next attack, both sectors may combine against us. There is no way for us to win against more than seven hundred million ships with the number of ships we have to face them. We can only make them pay a price that hopefully causes them to turn on each other afterwards. I’m just hoping we can buy time to build the numbers needed to eventually take them on.”

George thought about the numbers and slowly shook his head, “Keep me updated.”

“I will, Sir.”

• • •

Dolly turned her panel off and thought about the conversation she had just listened in on. There had to be a way for the fleets to survive. She knew Jeff was going to be fighting and she was determined not to lose him. But what could be done?

• • •

“I’ve just received a modification for the new small ships.”

“What modification? We’ve already committed our facilities to the original plans.”

“It appears that our friends have developed a way for the power to be switched from the force field to their new high powered beam.”

“Ummmm, does that mean the only modifications will be the installation of a beam and the switching?”

“Just a moment.”

“We’ve completed more than a million of them. A radical change is just not doable and still allow us to continue our construction of new ships.”

“It appears that’s all it is. The beam will use the same sensors that target the missiles.” The being looked up, “It appears that all you need to do is install one of the beams on top of the ship in a rotary mount and connect it to the new relay.”

“Let me take a look at those plans.”

“Well?”

“We can do this at the storage site. We just need to bring in the beams from the battleship construction sites and make the connections. I don’t even think we’ll have to change the hull structure.”

“Is this worth doing?”

“Absolutely; what good will the small ships be once they’ve fired all of their missiles? Now they have a weapon they can use to continue fighting.”

“I’ve learned that a number of our closest neighbors are discussing a unified attack against us.”

“They are?”

“Yes. The Jongen are the ones pushing it.”

“Should we go and talk with them?”

“We can’t use the new ships to carry on the discussion.”

“We should attack them with our old ships.”

“Why?”

“We won’t send a number that would make us appear weakened but this must be slowed down. We’re not ready to defend ourselves yet.”

“Make your plans and I’ll inform the others after you initiate the attack that we don’t appreciate anyone scheming to attack our worlds.”

“I’ll launch the attack in ten hours.”

• • •

The Jongen fleet in orbit around their capital suddenly detected more than a hundred thousand ships breaking into normal space. Twenty thousand Jongen ships were blasted into burning hulks before the white ships disappeared and attacked ships at every Jongen planet. After eight hours the white ships disappeared and left a message that the Jongen understood. The Jongen had to fight off two of the civilizations that were being asked to join them in an attack on the white ships. The entire region teetered on massive civil war but suddenly returned to equilibrium. The balance was precarious and had almost been upset. The Jongen decided not to have any more discussions about attacking the white civilization.

• • •

“Did you see any of the ships being used by the Minors in the attack?”

“I did not. They only used ships that we’ve seen before.”

“Could that new ship have left their domain without being scanned?”

The Scanner paused and said, “We learned when the first ship escaped that it did not leave a trail through null space. It is possible that it entered null space on the side of the planet away from the scanner being used to watch them.”

“Have you been able to find it on the planet?”

“No, I have not. I can say with a high level of certainty that it is no longer on that planet.”

“What if they disassembled it to study its technology?”

“There would still be sections of the hull I would detect.”

“What can you tell me about their ship construction?”

“You know the main construction yards are at their capital. The only ships being worked on there are the older models that are being updated to the newest ones in their ranks. None of them look like the strange ship that went there.”

“We need to get someone there to really take a good look around.”

“We can use one of the merchants from Glesen. They have a trade treaty with them and go to their Capital on a regular basis. We can give them a scanner to take a look.”

“Make that happen.”

• • •

“It appears our little subterfuge is working.”

“This new sensor probe really captures their communications.”

“What are you going to do about the Glesen? If they come in with a scanner from the Ramst and do a full scan from inside our borders, they might uncover what we’re hiding.”

“Doesn’t it just make you sick you can’t trust anyone?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. You know no one can be trusted so you’re never disappointed.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Well what do you mean?” The First stared at the Second and then said, “It makes you really sick.” The Second nodded. The first said, “Get it started.”

“Right away.”

• • •

The Glesen ship appeared in the outer system and asked for clearance to land. The display came on and the controller said, “I won’t stop you from landing but you should know that our planet has been infected with some kind of disease. We are stopping all flights of our ships in and out of our space ports. You are welcome to come if you choose. We will not dishonor our agreement with your people.”

The Glesen Commander said, “Don’t move any closer and scan the planet quickly.”

“Sir, the space port is empty and the construction facility is idle. There are hundreds of ambulances moving in the cities and there are bodies lying in the streets.”

“How many of their cities are affected?”

“It looks like all of the major cities.”

The Commander hit his control board, “We will return to our planet. Let us know when you have this under control.”

Another face appeared on the display, “I’m taking it from here. The previous controller has collapsed. We’ll notify you when things return to normal.”

“Sir, I’ve seen three warships that were lifting from the planet sent back to the surface. This must be quite serious.”

“Send the report and get us out of here.”

• • •

The Ramst King raised his head from his display and said, “You’ve seen the Glesen report?”

“I have. Has it been verified?”

“We can see bodies in the streets with our scanners. Their fleet above the surface has been moved twice the distance from the planet and six ships have been destroyed that were attempting to leave. It appears this epidemic is real.”

“Is there still no sign of a different battleship in their formations?”

“No, there’s not.”

“I’ll get back to you.”

• • •

Three days later the Scanner’s board alarmed, “We’re going to move your efforts elsewhere.”

“Why?”

“We’re wasting time scanning for something that isn’t there. The group feels we should be taking a close look at the other sector and what’s happening with their rebellious civilizations. We know for a fact those formidable battleships are there. We have the most powerful scanners in the sector and we have been requested to use them differently. The consensus is we’re wasting them on the Whites.”

“I’ll change their orientation but do you want me to keep one of the scanners on them?”

There was a long pause and the contact said, “No, it’s a waste of good machinery. Could you have missed anything?”

“You know how good my equipment is. If it was there, I’d know it.”

“I still wonder why that ship went to the Whites.”

“Whatever the reason, it appears they didn’t get what they were hoping to accomplish.” The Scanner looked at his display and said, “Since we’re going to be the first to know what happens in the other sector, we’ll have the best opportunity to take the most promising territory.”

“I didn’t know you were telepathic.”

“I’m not.”

“Then I like the way you think. Find us a good one.”

“Consider it done.”

• • •

“It looks like our plan worked.”

“It does but we need to expand this disease to other planets.”

“I’ve already started the process. Do you think they can tell if the bodies in the street are real or not?”

“The Ramst have scanners that could but everyone else doesn’t. If they are looking elsewhere, we should be fine. Just make sure the ship building facilities have a large number of them scattered around. That way they won’t be suspicious when no one is working. You should also have a large number of those close to the facility be on alert to run to the facility and lie down on the ground if we hear the Ramst are going to scan us.”

“I’ll make the assignments. We’ll move the construction crews and use them to help us make the modifications on the small ships. Those additional workers will be a huge blessing.”

“What’s the latest ship total?”

It’s well over three million and it’s becoming more difficult to hide the movement of materials to the secret locations.”

“One of the best things we did was to construct those locations inside moons and asteroids. Their metallic surface makes detection almost impossible.”

“I’m also glad we built most of them thousands of years ago.”

“We had to prepare for this moment in time. However, a large number of them are starting to run out of construction materials. Even a weak scan would see us delivering them to uninhabited locations.”

“What about this? Offload a land drill first; that will make it look like we’re going to mine the moon or asteroid. Start the drill and off load whatever you want. The spies will just think we’re doing exploration for natural resources.”

“What a great idea. I should have thought of that. I guess that’s why you’re Number One. They might also think we’re building places to move our sick.”

“Even better if they draw that conclusion.”

The Second paused a moment and said, “You know if all the others decided to combine against our friends, they will demand our participation. What are we going to do?”

“Participate, of course.”

“What?”

“We wouldn’t want to miss that party. Just make sure the noise makers are ready.”

The Second laughed and left the room.

• • •

“Loree.”

“Yes Mikal.”

“You do know I love you?”

Loree looked up from the data on the last test flights and stared at him. He continued to look down at his display. “No, I didn’t know that.”

Mikal kept his head down and said, “Well, I do. I just thought you should know.”

Loree looked back down at her display and said, “Thank you for telling me.”

Mikal held his breath hoping she would respond but he felt in his heart that she was just too good for him. She would never fall for someone like him. He took a deep breath and felt his heart in his throat. He should have thought of another way to tell her but he was just so clumsy with words and no one had ever described him as being romantic. He kept his eyes on his display and hoped he could slip out of the room unnoticed.

“When’s our wedding?”

Mikal almost fell out of his chair. He looked at Loree and saw her sitting in her chair staring at him with a twinkle in her eyes. Mikal forced himself to not show his excitement. “I thought we could decide that right after I come over there and kiss you.”

Loree’s lips moved to the right and she slowly nodded, “That sounds reasonable.”

Mikal jumped up and was in front of her in an instant. She stood and leaded back and he kissed her deeply. Loree had no idea he was such a good kisser. He broke the kiss and she said, “I really think we should discuss it after the next ten kisses.”

Mikal pulled her close and proceeded to follow her request.

Chapter Ten

The dark creature said, “No, leave that behind. I won’t need it.”

The aide dropped the old pad and said, “Congratulations on your promotion to the Central Council.”

“They were impressed with my new ships.”

“I understand there was an unfortunate accident.”

“Yes, one of my ships malfunctioned and destroyed eight of the ships coming out to escort it away. I promised the Council I would make repairs so it would not happen again.”

“Are you worried they might attempt something on your arrival?”

“Not really. They want the technology and were really surprised at my resourcefulness.”

“What is your pad?”

The large creature smiled, “Third.”

The aide shook his head hard, “That high! That’s impressive.”

“You’ll be coming with me.”

“I am?”

“Yes, I have quarters for you and your family close to mine. I’ve become accustomed to you and don’t want to train another.”

“Thank you.”

“Hurry up and get all this moved. There’s a conference about sending a combined fleet against the Minors and I don’t want to miss it.”

“Will they send your ships?”

“I don’t know. Why do you ask?”

“It could be your new position is due to them fearing you. You’d lose that if your ships happened to be on the front lines and were damaged or destroyed.”

The large creature stared at his aide and then said, “This is why you’re going with me. I’ll make sure my ships are not in the first attack.” The creature left for his transport and the aide continued packing his belongings. He didn’t mention that his cousin was building advanced ships out on the periphery of the nation. He really appreciated the copy of the construction diagrams of the new ships. His master might be agitated if he knew his nephew had four times as many ships in service. But the odds were good he wouldn’t learn that tidbit until it was too late.

The aide wasn’t really worried even if the ships were discovered. No one in the royal family had ever discovered the replacement of the egg in the hatchery. No one knew the new ruler was not a real member of that family. But his nephew knew who his real family was. That’s all that really counted. And he couldn’t be traced back to him.

The aide picked up a four hundred pound light fixture and moved it into a crate. He often wondered what happened to the egg that was replaced. The one who did it was not seen leaving with an egg in her possession. Eggs were sacred. What could have happened to it? He pushed the thought out of his mind. He didn’t want to even consider what the possibilities were. His mind refused to connect the female’s suicide to the replacement.

• • •

“The Majors are starting to gather ships to attack us.”

RV looked at the Hive Controller and said, “Do you have an idea of how many are coming?”

“It appears they have settled on sending twenty ships per planet. That means forty million will be used against us. I really expected only half that number.”

“What is your ship count?”

“We’re at three million and the Horde has another four million.”

“We have ten million. Have you decided on an attack plan?”

“You will make that plan. We agree that you know these ships better than us and you certainly know your ship’s capabilities and we don’t.”

“Then here’s what we’ll do. You will form the same three lines of a million ships each and wait for them to attack. Once they move on you, the remainder of your ships will hit their formations from the bottom and my ships will come in over the top. I’m not greatly concerned about that number. We have enough small craft to easily outnumber them. When you see us come in, launch your small craft and follow them in to the front ranks of the majors.”

“Will any of your ships be in the ranks of the three lines?”

“Yes; we will be in the middle and I would suggest you and the Horde have one line either above or below us.”

The Hive Controller paused and then said, “The beginning of the end.”

RV nodded, “We’ve been very fortunate they’ve given us this much time.”

“That’s changing.”

“I know but let’s worry about today. We’ll take care of tomorrow when it arrives.”

RV’s display went dark and he thought about his conversation with the White Civilization’s leader the week before.

“The Majors are going to combine and send twenty ships per planet against you. Our sector is discussing sending a fleet to take advantage of any Majors that are weakened by the conflict.”

“Are you taking part?”

“No.”

“Did that decision cause you problems?”

“Actually, they told us to stay out of it.”

“Why is that?”

“We told them that we are fighting a rather vicious disease on our planets and that it had a rather long incubation cycle. We have no way of knowing whose been exposed. I pointed out that our fleet leaders would have to meet with their personnel to plan this attack and we didn’t want to be held responsible if the plague was passed on to their worlds.”

“I guess they dropped the idea faster than a bad habit.”

“You are correct.”

“We’ll let you know what happens.”

“You know if you’re successful, they’ll come again with their entire inventory.”

“We know.”

The being stared at RV and said, “I’ll let you know if I find out anything more.”

“Thank you.”

• • •

Cyanna looked at RV, “Do you think they are going to help us in the end?”

RV shrugged.

“You have no idea?”

“Put yourself in their place. If they don’t agree to attack us when their sector combines, they will be the first stop of that combined fleet. What would you do?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“And neither do they. They will help delay the Majors from starting their search for us after the battle. I’m sure the other sector will fall on them afterwards. That’s enough for me. The best friend we have is time.”

“What’s our worst enemy?”

RV stared at her and then said, “The end of time.”

Cyanna turned back to her console and decided she was going to make sure whatever time remained she was going to make good use of it.

• • •

Mikal and Loree were pleading with RV, “You’ve got to let us take part in this fight. Our fleets are ready.”

RV sighed, “You are not being excluded from this because of your battle experience. You’re not taking part because we don’t want our enemy to see your ships in action and come up with a plan to counter them. This battle is not the one that counts.”

“There is no counter against our ships.”

RV said, “Your ships couldn’t get close to my fleet.” Mikal and Loree became silent. RV said, “You don’t believe me. Let me tell you what I would do if I had to face your fleets. I’d have every ship in the first ten ranks have their beams set to automatically fire all of their beams as soon as a flicker appeared on one of my ship’s scanners. If that happened and more than twenty million ships all fired their beams around the edge of their formations, what do you think would happen to the incoming attack craft?”

Mikal looked at Loree and sighed, “Our incoming ships would be vaporized before they arrived.”

RV nodded. “But that’s not the reason I’m holding you out. There are ways around that tactic.”

Mikal’s eyes narrowed and he said, “There are?”

“Yes, there are. My concern is that once they learn you can penetrate their force fields, they’ll just open fire on the ships you’ve penetrated and destroy you that way. There is no real way to stop that. Your ships have to have the element of surprise to survive and I’m not willing to give that up in this initial battle.”

Loree said, “How would you defeat that first tactic?”

“I would jump your fleets two light minutes from the enemy’s formations and launch half of the attack craft. Those craft would jump one minute forward, turn on their scanners, and accelerate to 99% light speed. I would use the scanner to determine when the ships are less than a light second out and then slow down to hit their fleets. The only thing they’ll see on their scanners is that they are being scanned and our ships facing them will certainly be scanning them as they approach. Your ship’s scanners will not be seen because our scans will overwhelm their sensors. However, they will see if anything physical shows up in their scans.”

Mikal thought about it, “What about the other half of our ships?”

“As soon as the first half are launched, the fleets will jump to a light minute above the enemy’s formations and launch the other half. If you time this right, the electronic signature of the first launch is still a minute from the enemy. Your ships should arrive at the same time and hit them before they see your first or second launch.”

Loree said, “Then what do we do with the main battleships in our fleets?”

“I would have a full complement of Needles and standard attack craft following my ships into the jump. Once the new attack craft are launched, I would come in right behind them with both my fleets and all of the small ships.”

Mikal said, “Why didn’t you suggest this before now. We’ll have to retrain all of our ships.” RV just smiled.

Loree laughed. Mikal looked at her and she said, “This keeps us out of the fight and keeps us busy so we won’t be sulking about not taking part.”

RV chuckled, “Boy, you are good!”

Mikal sighed, “I like this more. This way our main battleships will do their part in the fight. They’ll be more than just ship carriers.”

RV nodded, “And we’re going to need every one of them.”

• • •

Mikal took the shuttle away from the Havana and said, “That man is brilliant.”

“He’s certainly one of a kind. I’m glad he’s in charge.”

“Can we get our ships up to speed fast enough?”

“We have plenty of time. After this battle, the Majors will have a tough time organizing the next attack.” Loree paused, “I wonder where we’re going to get the standard attack craft and Needles?”

Mikal snorted, “Watch this.” Mikal pressed his communicator, “Boden, we’ve determined that we need a standard compliment of Needles and attack craft for the ships is our fleets.”

“They’re waiting for you to take delivery as soon as you’re ready.”

Mikal looked at Loree and said, “Did I tell you he was brilliant?”

“Yes, you did. But we’re not going to wait for him to tell us the obvious again.”

“What do you mean?”

“Standard Needles and attack craft launch ten times faster than our new ships. Why would we launch half and have the standard ships follow us? We’ll carry the standard ships on board and have all of the new ships follow us and launch from two minutes out. Then your fleet will follow them into the front ranks and my fleet will hit them from above. We’ll launch our standard small craft once we’re in their ranks.”

“It’s obvious now but he’ll also change where we hit them if we plan it that way.”

“How so?”

“Why would we hit them from the front? You’ll hit them from above and I’ll hit them from below. Our main battle lines will hit them as they advance. We’ll only be in their line of fire if we attempt to come at them from the front.”

Loree smiled, “Let Riebbe and Beth know they are now in command of their wings and have them write up a report of how they’re going to synchronize their arrival. I’ll write up our plans and see if the old man has any suggestions.

• • •

A week later Loree read to the other three Admirals, He says, ‘I couldn’t have planned it better.”

Everyone smiled and high fived each other; Riebbe said, “We’ll make a doorway into their fleets. You two give em hell.”

• • •

RV looked at George and said, “I’ve been thinking about relativity.”

“What about it?”

“According to Einstein, as a physical object approaches the absolute speed of light, it expands. Once it hits light speed it becomes the size of the universe. Is there any truth in that?”

“That would only happen after fifty point nines from the speed of light.”

“So an object traveling at ninety nine point five percent of light speed would be larger?”

“Yes, but nowhere near the size of the universe.”

“How much larger would it be?”

“That’s a difficult question. If I had to guess, I’d say it would be three times larger. However, if it lost speed it would return to its normal size quickly. What are you thinking about?”

“I was wondering what would happen if one of our big penetrators was fired at that speed and returned its full mass less than a mile from its target.”

“The mass of the penetrator wouldn’t change.”

“I know that; but would the resulting explosion cover a larger area?”

“What’s normally the fastest we fire a penetrator?”

“Ninety percent light speed.” George began entering data into his console and he fell back from the display. RV said, “What?”

“This is highly speculative, but if you can return the mass to the penetrator before impact, it should have more than ten times the energy of the slower one.”

“What does that mean in terms of hitting a force field?”

“I don’t know if a force field could be created that would handle that amount of energy. However, why would you need this? Your ultrabeams can penetrate any force field we’ve encountered so far.”

“But you have to be relatively close to an enemy ship to use them. The range on the penetrator would be significantly longer.”

“That’s true.”

“And one other thing, George.”

“What is that?”

“Our small ships can carry those penetrators.”

George stared at RV and then smiled.

• • •

RV looked at the small point of light in the view port of the small white attack craft. He glanced down at the scanner display and saw the brightly shining mile long main battleship. Cyanna said, “How is the penetrator going to hit from this far out?”

“It’s only fifty thousand miles.”

“Yes, but it’s a moving target.”

“The penetrators have a scanner beam that’s emitted from its nose. Once it locks on that sensor return, it will hit it.”

“I don’t know if it will do much damage. Boden gutted that ship and put fifteen reactors inside that are only powering the force field.”

“Designate the target.”

Cyanna touched the display and the ship had a green circle around it.”

“Verify the penetrator has it.”

“The tracking light is green.”

RV pressed the red button and the penetrator looked like a white line leading directly toward the distant target. The explosion happened in less than a second and space was illuminated in a brilliant flash. RV powered the thrusters and moved toward the site of the explosion.

Cyanna looked at the remains of the former giant ship and fell back in her chair. The only thing remaining was the tip of the ship’s nose and the thrusters at the rear. Everything between was gone. “It looks like the main body of the ship was just cut cleanly away.” The nose and tail section were still moving through space as if there were an invisible ship between them.

“Now that’s interesting. It must have hit and taken everything away faster than the two ends could be affected.”

Cyanna slowly shook her head, “I hope you’re not going to share this technology. No one would ever be safe again.”

RV nodded and continued to stare at the weird pieces of the ship moving through space as if nothing had happened. He looked at Cyanna and said, “Fifteen reactors?” She nodded and he looked back at the two pieces of the ship as it moved away. “I wonder where the rest of the ship went.”

“According to my scans, there’s no radiation from the reactor’s destruction. Nothing remains!”

“This kinda brings tears to a military man’s eyes.”

“It brings tears to a mother’s eyes at the danger it represents.”

“I guess I can see that.”

They were silent for a moment and RV suddenly said, “Are you crying?”

“I am.” RV stared at her and she said, “I’m due in six months.”

RV couldn’t move. She got up and sat in his lap. She put her arms around his neck and waited for him to get his bearings. This changed a lot of things for RV.

• • •

“Dot, you look troubled.”

“George, you’ve given our allies just enough of our technology to get them killed in a real battle.”

“Dolly, we’ve learned that today’s ally may be your future enemy. There is some technology that we just can’t trust giving to anyone that could use it against us. Their ships are hundreds of times more powerful than before and they can hold their own against most of the Majors.”

“What about the other sector?”

“What about it?”

“How many advanced civilizations reside there?”

George stared at her and leaned back in his chair and looked at his display. He made several entries and stared at the screen.

“I’ve already done that inquiry. You don’t know?”

George looked at her and said, “No, I guess we don’t.”

“Why don’t you ask that white civilization or the Nexu how many are in their sector?”

George stared at Dolly and then said, “There’s some history involved in these decisions that you’ve missed.”

“George, stop patronizing me. I’ve been through all the data storage and know more than most of the ones carrying out these decisions. You haven’t done the right thing because you’re afraid of taking a risk. Do you sit there and think that we’ll have time to build our forces if we can just weaken the Majors when they combine against us? Do you thing that other sector won’t be watching what’s going on and recognize just how big a threat our civilization is to them if they don’t do something about it quickly? They will make it a priority to find our home and destroy it. You’re just not seeing the big picture and we had better wake up soon or we’re all dead.” Dolly grabbed her bag and stormed out of the office.

George sighed and knew he just couldn’t release the new technology on the universe. He stayed in the office until Meisa came and made him go home.

Chapter Eleven

“The Communication Board has requested you share the scans of the battle about to take place in the other sector.”

“Do we have to honor that request?”

“If we want to make sure there are future generations of Ramst, we’ll do it. That Board speaks for every civilization and it wouldn’t be good to get on their bad side. They have the ear of every civilization in the sector.”

“I was just hoping we would be able to acquire new technology by scanning those ships being used by the Minors. I didn’t want to share the information if we discovered anything we could use.”

“You’re reading the mind of every civilization in the sector. We all make sure no one gets an advantage that would decrease anyone’s chances of survival.”

“But we’re the ones with the best scanning systems. Why should we be forced to share what we find?”

“Because we don’t want them to combine against us and then come and take it from us by force.”

The Scanner scowled, showing his frustration, “I’ll send the video to the board and they can distribute it.”

“No, you’ll broadcast the scan where everyone can get it.”

“Are they that frightened?”

“Their request was made quite forcefully. It seems everyone has seen what one of those ships did to a small combined fleet. The main civilizations are nervous about it.”

“What are they going to do?”

The Commander sighed, “I’m not certain who scares them more; the Majors or those rebelling Minors. No one can agree on what action to take, which is business as usual, but some of them are posturing to possibly assist the other sector against the Minors.”

“That could never happen. The resulting attacks on the weakened civilizations would go on for hundreds of cycles.”

“That’s where most are putting their credits. However, there’s a lot of tension in the strongest civilizations. They’re worried.”

“Should we be as well?”

“If the equilibrium is upset, no one will be safe.”

“I’ll move the scanners.”

“That would be good.”

• • •

“This is not good for our friends.”

“If the two sectors combine against them, they have no hope of survival. They probably won’t survive the combined fleets of the Majors.”

“We need to think about this.”

“What do you mean?”

“What happens if our new ships are revealed?”

The Second was silent.

“If they are this frightened by the ships in the hands of the Minors to the point where they join the Majors, they will waste no time coming against us.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“Should we continue building them?”

“By all means; our friends will lose to the combined fleets but we will be left with the strongest fleet in the sector. We’ll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.”

“We owe them.”

“I’m aware of that! But we also owe our people survival.”

The Second stared at the First and turned to leave. Before he left the room he turned, “What good is survival if it costs you your soul?” He closed the door behind him.

• • •

“Kenny, you and Bob know your assignments?”

“We do, RV. One of us will attack from the left side of the Major formation with the Hive forces and the other will attack from the other side with the Horde. I’ll let you know which one we’re fighting with as soon as they decide which side they are going to attack.”

“Try to protect them as much as possible. They don’t have the ultrabeams or penetrators. See what you can do to minimize their losses.”

Kenny stared at RV and said, “Why have we withheld our higher technology from them?”

“Do I really have to answer that question?”

“I’m afraid you do. I’ve watched them sacrifice themselves to save our ships during the last battle. Do we still not trust them?”

“We’re taking the long view, Kenny. You know how things can change quickly. They have a million year history of being predatory. That’s hard to forget.”

“I’ve looked at the forces we’ll be facing and we may be taking a view that’s not nearly as long as we’re going to be given; this just feels wrong, RV.”

RV sighed, “This is not the military’s decision. We have to trust our leaders.”

Kenny stared at RV and said, “I’ve never seen you deliberately try to mislead me until this moment. Everyone knows who the real decision maker is when it comes to military decisions. Please don’t do it again.” Kenny disappeared from RV’s display.

Cyanna kept her attention on her console. She could feel RV looking at her but she couldn’t look at him. She agreed with Kenny. She took a deep breath and began checking on the position of the fleets.

RV stared at her and couldn’t tell her that if the fleet was going to be destroyed, he had to make sure the Horde and Hive were destroyed as well. He just couldn’t allow them to survive with the technology that would allow them to attack the human’s new home galaxy. He just couldn’t take that risk with his unborn child.

• • •

Cyanna said, “The Majors are forming up the fleet and it appears they will be ready to start the attack within twelve hours.”

RV pushed the general frequency, “Twelve hours until the engagement starts. Make sure your crews are ready and maintain your formations. We will go to general quarters as soon as we determine their time of departure.” RV pressed his panel and said, “Twelve hours until they jump in. Are your fleets ready?”

The Hive Controller looked at his panel, “They are assembling with your ships as we speak. The Horde fleets are also forming up. We’ll jump with your ships.”

“Hit them hard and take out as many as possible in the early contact.” RV said over the ship’s intercom, “The Havana will remain at station and direct the fleet’s movements. Attack craft and Needles will hold station around the ship to defend us against any attackers.”

Cyanna turned and looked at RV, “Why aren’t we going in with the fleet?”

“The scope is too large and I need a good view of what’s happening.”

Cyanna stared at RV and he said, “Notify the ships to only use the standard penetrators.”

She turned back to her console and felt her heart sink. RV saw her emotion but knew she would just have to understand. He looked at his display and saw the fleets were ready. He took a deep breath and waited.

Kenny and Bob watched the Havana hang back from the ranks of the 1st fleet. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know, Bob. Something is going on with RV. This isn’t like him.”

“I can understand him not taking the Flag Ship into action.”

“When has that ever slowed him down before? Something is just not right.”

“Well, we can’t worry about this right now. We need to focus on what we need to do.”

Kenny nodded and took a deep breath. He changed his display to his sub-fleets and checked on their ranks. “What’s going on, RV?”

• • •

Forty million ships jumped in and began moving in on the three lines of white ships. The Major formation was wider than the three lines facing them and the top and bottom of the Major formation moved ahead of the center. RV said over the general frequency, “They’re intending to move over the formation and prevent any escape. You may start firing as soon as they move into range. Try to take out the top and bottom of the formation. The other fleets will jump in when they arrive fifty miles from our lines. Hit them hard.”

The three lines of white ships waited and started firing energy pulses and ultrabeams at the advancing Major formation. The Majors returned fire and ships began to die in the three lines. Most of them were ships crewed by the Horde and Hive.

• • •

The Major Civilizations were all watching the developing battle and they saw that if things continued, the Minors would be defeated. The Civilizations in the other sector also watched the battle and saw the same result. It was going to take time but the Majors should prevail. Very few of the Majors had bet on the outcome of the battle. After the last confrontation, no one felt comfortable taking either side.

• • •

More than five million Major ships had been hit and damaged where they could no longer continue the fight. The White ships had lost half a million ships and the front of their lines looked like a huge beam lancing out at the advancing Major formation. The Major fleet moved in to fifty miles from the defenders and then RV shouted, “Release the small craft and hit them!”

Three million ships jumped in on each flank of the huge Major formation and launched their small craft. Each ship had 750 attack craft and Needles and the two fleets had twice as many ships as the Majors had in their formation. The entire Major fleet looked like it exploded. The three lines in front moved forward and added their small craft to the attack. Major ships were hit with penetrators and beams at an unbelievable rate. Three quarters of the Major ships were destroyed in less than eight minutes and the others were going fast.

• • •

Cyanna said, “Six Major ships have jumped in and are lining up to attack.”

“Jump us away Admiral.”

Cyanna yelled, “We can take them.”

RV said loudly, “I said jump away!”

Cyanna sent the order and the Havana and her small craft jumped away from the six incoming ships. Cyanna wondered what was going on. Those ships stood no chance against their small craft. She kept her eyes on her display and felt something was terribly wrong. She didn’t look at RV and kept her attention on her console.

• • •

The Major Fleet Commander saw his ships were being destroyed and there were only six million still able to fly. “Jump out, jump out. All ships jump away.”

The surviving Major ships disappeared and left a huge area of blasted and burning ships. The destruction was incredible. More than two million white ships had been destroyed by the advanced ships in the Major fleet and three million small craft were also killed during the short furious battle.

RV said, “All ships launch to assist any survivors. Any ships that need assistance contact your fleet control and notify them.”

The Hive Controller and Horde Leader appeared on RV’s display. The Hive Controller said, “This was a costly victory even with the numbers we destroyed.”

The Horde Leader said, “We knew it would be. I’m thankful we used all our ships or we would have lost all the ships in the center lines.”

RV said, “We need to assist the survivors now but we’ll meet and decide our next course of action in a week. If you would give me a ship count, that would help in making our future plans. Congratulations on our victory.”

The two disappeared from RV’s display and Cyanna made a fast scan of the battle scene. The Horde and Hive had lost the vast majority of ships in the battle. The Union’s losses were nowhere near as severe. She reported her findings to RV and he had a little smile. Cyanna was shocked. He planned for it to happen just that way. He was not the man she had married. Something had changed him.

• • •

Dolly turned off the feed of the battle and Jeff could see her rage. He didn’t say anything because he knew what she was like when she was this angry. She stood up and stormed off the bridge. Jeff stared at the display and wondered what has her so angry. He wasn’t going to ask her until she calmed down. He looked at the screen again and wondered what she was seeing that he missed. They had won. Hadn’t they?

• • •

The Major Civilizations watched the destruction of their fleet and felt equal part anger and fear. All of them knew that if those Minors were given time to increase their number of ships they were all in danger. The discussions began and the momentum was building to combine against the rebelling Minors.

The Nexu listened to the discussions taking place and knew they were going to be in a difficult situation if they didn’t agree to join the other Majors. The Leader thought to Jeff, “This is not a good situation. We may have to attack the ones that gave us the beam.”

“Maybe we can stay out of the discussion and avoid it.”

“They will not leave any civilization behind with all of their ships. We would never allow that to happen either. If the others combine, we will be forced to join them.”

“Perhaps we can point out that the other sector would destroy us if we are weakened by attacking the Minors. You know they would jump at the opportunity.”

The Leader thought about it and said, “I’ll pass that on to another and allow them to make the point. But I still think they will send a much larger fleet next time. We still may be forced to send an equal number of our ships if they do.”

“We can only hope to delay this decision as long as possible. I’ll get one of the new probes close to the communication center and see what is being discussed.”

Jeff listened to the conversations that were being held on open frequencies in the sector and knew that his friends were in deep trouble. He didn’t see any way for them to escape destruction. The Council may be forced to attack the humans.

• • •

The other sector was just as worried as the Majors. The discussions were evenly divided between attacking the Majors if they combined against the rebelling civilizations to joining them in the attack. The White Civilization listened in and saw that many were more worried about the White Ships than the Majors. Whatever happened, all of them agreed that the home worlds of the White Ship builders had to be found and destroyed. What was driving them to combine with the Majors was the fear that they would not have enough ships to take on the White Ship’s galaxy.

The First listened and worried. He thought about all the White Ships he had built and knew that if only one of them was discovered, the entire sector would combine and attack. He wasn’t strong enough to stand up to their numbers. He continued to listen and contemplate what he could possibly do to prevent his people’s destruction.

• • •

Chapter Twelve

George looked around the room at the Command Team and saw their fatigue and fear after the battle. The fleets were victorious but they had seen that if the Majors combined against them, they would lose. That was not a good vision to have. He waited for the room to silence and he said, “Congratulations on a great victory. We’re here to plan our next confrontation with the Majors and I guess all of you know this one is going to be massive.” He turned to RV and said, “Have you decided what we’re going to do next time?”

“We will jump all our ships to the Major’s sector and fight them on their territory. Hopefully this will upset their planning and they’ll be forced to come at us without being organized.”

The room was silent and no one said anything. George said, “Make your plans accordingly, Admiral.”

The silence continued for a full minute and then Dolly stood up and gathered her things. George looked at her and said, “What are you doing, Dot?”

“I’m getting out of this room. I can’t bear it any longer.”

RV said, “What are you talking about?”

Dolly turned around and Jeff saw her immense anger. “Oh boy. Here we go.”

Dolly said, “I’ve been beating my head against the wall for the last week trying to come up with some reason as to why the two smartest and bravest men I know could have become the sniveling cowards you are now. The two of you disgust me to the core of my being and I’m not going to participate in your stupidity any longer.”

RV’s expression turned red with his anger and he said, “Just who are you to say that?”

“I’m someone who puts the welfare of humanity ahead of my own selfish reasons.”

George said, “What are you talking about. We’d never do that!”

“Oh yes you would and you have. You just don’t have the guts to admit it to us.”

RV sneered, “You think you could do better?”

Dolly yelled, “Anybody in this room could do better than the two of you.”

Kenny said, “I could do a better job than you, RV.” RV’s head jerked around at Kenny and Kenny stared him in the eyes without flinching. “You’re not the man I’ve known and I’ve been wondering why.”

Dolly said, “I’ve wondered that as well and I have to thank Jeff for allowing me to see.”

Jeff said, “What did I do?”

“You suggested we take a ship and leave to a safe haven and have a family.” Dolly spun around and looked at Meisa, “Meisa, are you pregnant?” Meisa stared at her for a long moment and then nodded. Dolly whipped around and stared at Cyanna, “Same question, Admiral Hardy.”

Cyanna said, “Yes I am and what does that have to do with your accusations?”

“Your husbands have decided that the best way to make sure the two of you survive is to allow the Majors to kill all of our ships along with all the Minors and their civilizations. They think we’ll then have time to build ships where we can eventually face the civilizations in M-87 and defeat them. They’ve written off any chance of actually winning the fight.” Dolly continued to stare at Cyanna and said, “Do you seriously think he’s going to allow you to be on his ship when that battle takes place?”

Cyanna whipped around and looked at RV and saw she was right, “Is that true, RV?”

RV didn’t answer until Cyanna screamed, “Is she right!?!”

“You do not belong on a ship with our child. Especially one like the next one will be.”

Cyanna sat down stunned. Dolly said, “Even a blind man could see that RV kept our ships in formation and didn’t allow us to go to the defense of the Horde and Hive ships. He wanted as many of them destroyed as possible.”

Meisa said from her console, “Why would he do that?”

Dolly looked down at George in his chair, “Because RV and George have decided that they must be removed as a possible future danger to their children. Even though thousands of the Horde and Hive ships placed themselves in danger to save ours that were outnumbered. Their treachery to our friends is absolutely unforgiveable.”

Cyanna looked at RV and said, “You did that?”

RV looked at her and didn’t answer but she knew the answer. “She’s right. You are not the man I married. You’ve killed my respect in you.”

Meisa walked over to George and stared into his eyes. She went back to her console and picked up her bag and left the room. Dolly watched her go and then said, “And the level of stupidity you’ve demonstrated is almost beyond belief.”

George saw Meisa walk out the door and said, “What are you talking about? This way our worlds will survive!”

Dolly slowly shook her head and turned back to RV, “Ok Mr. Genius, what do you think the other sector will do once the Majors are weakened in their attack against us?”

“If you had bothered to look at the records you’d know that answer. They’ll fall on the Majors and destroy them.”

“That’s where you and my idiot brother are being blinded by your fears. I think you realize that our ships and small craft come close to matching the number of the Major’s combined ships. We will destroy a huge number of their combined fleet. That other sector is going to see that and who do you think they’re going to fear the most? Come on, give me an answer.” RV looked at George and they didn’t respond. “Now for what the two of you haven’t considered in your betrayal of our allies; they will find us easily if they choose to eliminate us as a threat first.”

George said, “It will take thousands of years for them to scan all the galaxies before they can find us.”

Dolly smiled and said, “How many ships would it take to scan a galaxy for a planet with humans on it instead of looking for technology? They’ll have more than enough bodies to scan for our physical structure.”

George’s face showed his shock. He looked at RV and saw he realized what she was saying.

Dolly leaned back and looked RV and George, “Why Honey Dumpling, I could use ten ships and find you if you were in a galaxy. They have hundreds of millions. I suspect they will be here within a week after the battle looking to share a mint julep with you. And the two of you have just gone out and destroyed all our ships.” Dolly sat down and leaned back, “Why, little ole me thinks Admiral Hardy would stand a better chance on that ship of yours RV. You could at least run from the enemy and save yourself like you did in the last battle.”

Cyanna was crying; it was her fault that RV had lost his courage. She looked at RV and saw something. She wiped her tears and stared at him. “What are you thinking?”

RV’s expression was almost rage. He looked at Dolly and said, “You’re right. I’ve been incredibly stupid. That ends right now.”

Dolly sat down and watched him closely.

George said, “What do you mean?”

“You and I have forgotten what has allowed us to survive. We’re looking at all the things that could go wrong in the future and are losing sight of what’s happening today. There will be no tomorrow if we don’t handle today. We are going to give the Horde and Hive every piece of technology we possess. While they are updating their ships, we are going to start attacking the Majors at their planets.”

George said, “Not the new light wave penetrator?”

RV almost snarled, “We give them everything, George. She’s right. My fear for Cyanna and the baby has frozen me from taking any risks. The only way to survive is to hit them with everything we have and that includes our allies’ ships being converted to the strongest they can be in the time that remains.”

RV looked at Cyanna and said, “I’m sorry. I know I’ve disappointed you but it won’t happen again.” RV looked at George and said, “If you don’t have the stomach for this you need to step out of the way.”

George stared at RV and then looked at his sister, “Get the information out to our allies. I want the new penetrators equally distributed among our ships and that includes our allies. I’m going to have them bring their ships to our galaxy and let Boden assist them in getting them modified. We will also jump our ships away if we discover we are going to be overwhelmed when they combine and continue our hit and run tactics against their worlds. RV, do you have anything to add?”

“Yes. We have four main fleets with more than thirty sub-fleets of fifty thousand ships in each. I want those fleets armed with the new penetrators and assigned a Major Civilization to attack. The fleet will not leave before firing one of those penetrators into the Capital of those civilizations.”

Dolly stared at RV and he said, “This is what I didn’t want to do because I thought it would make us just like them. But that’s not the case. A rhino doesn’t wait for a predator to attack; it rams the hell out of it first. That’s what we’re going to do.” RV looked at Kenny, “If you want to replace me, I’ll step down.”

Kenny smiled, “Nope, just wanted to get your attention.”

“Well, you’ve got it. Now get the probes’ information from the Major’s sectors and assign your fleets to which civilization to attack. Get on it.”

George turned to go find Meisa and found her listening in on the meeting at the door, “I’m sorry, Meisa. I’ve just been so frightened.”

“I’ll forgive you but don’t let it happen again.”

George pulled her close and said, “It won’t.”

Meisa looked over George’s shoulder and said, “Thanks, Dolly.”

Dolly froze and stared at Meisa, “How long have you known?”

“As soon as you told George he was an idiot.”

Dolly laughed and said, “I guess I gave myself away.”

“You’re going to have to tell me how you’re here but that can wait until later. Get that information out to our friends.”

Dolly nodded and left the room.

Chapter Thirteen

The Hive Controller looked at the Horde Leader on his display and said, “We lost too many ships fighting the Majors.” The Horde Leader remained silent. The Hive Controller said, “What’s wrong?”

“Have you examined the video of the battle?”

The Hive Controller knew what was coming, “I have.”

“Did you notice that our so called friends stayed in their formations and did not come to assist our ships that were being overwhelmed?”

“I did.”

“I get the feeling that they might like to see us die.”

The Hive Controller leaned back and said, “I killed their home world. I understand their reluctance to fully trust us.”

The Horde Leader blew out a quick breath and leaned forward, “I know. It’s just frustrating seeing how powerful their ships are while ours are dying in the thousands. I know it’s good strategy to hold and preserve your most powerful ships until the end. I just wonder what we’ll have to do to show them we can be trusted.”

The Hive Controller and Horde Leader both looked away from their display. The Horde Leader said, “I have a call coming in from the Union.”

“I do as well.” The Horde Leader shrugged and said, “Let’s see what they have to say.”

The two connected and saw a new Human female on their displays. She smiled and said, “Hello, I’m President Sierra’s assistant and he requested me to contact you and request your assistance in preparing for the next confrontation with the Majors.”

The Hive and Horde leaders looked at each other on their displays and the Hive Controller asked, “What is he requesting?”

The female pressed a button and the two leaders saw thousands of coordinates appear on their display. The Horde Leader asked, “What are these?”

“These are the coordinates of the planets that build our ships for us. We request that each of you send ten ships each to those coordinates where we will modify them with our newest technology. The crews will be trained on how to use it while their ships are being updated. They’ll have to learn it quick as our builders tell me that it will only take six weeks to make the modifications. Then the next ships will be brought in and modified.”

The two leaders were stunned. Finally the Hive Controller said, “How many coordinates are there?”

“Two hundred and ten thousand.”

“That means you can update two million ships?”

“Actually, it’s four million. You were only counting the ships you send.”

The Horde Leader said, “If the Majors see that many ships removed, they may attack immediately.”

“They are going to be entirely too busy to do that.”

“What do you mean?”

“We didn’t do a good job of protecting your ships during the last battle. We’re not going to let that happen again. While your ships are being modified, our fleets are going to attack the Major Civilizations in their sector. We’re going to pin them down until your ships are completed.”

The Hive Controller said, “Why are you doing this?”

The female stared at them for a long moment and then said, “We’ve not been able to allow ourselves to completely trust you. I think you know why.” They nodded. “However, we’ve seen you sacrifice your ships to save ours. We know that our warriors are now brothers joined together in the fires of combat. We realized that to not give you the tools for survival was something that goes against all we believe in. I’m just sorry we haven’t done it sooner.”

The Hive Controller said, “Are the new tools going to make any difference? You lost a lot of ships as well.”

The female smiled, “Both of you should know that you save your best toys for the final party.”

The two leaders looked at each other and the Horde Leader said, “You should know that our three peoples are joined in ways that can never be broken. We will never doubt or betray you.”

“I think we have now managed to believe that. You should know where we are after what has happened.”

“We do.”

“Get your ships moving; we will start our attacks as soon as your first ones arrive.”

• • •

Dolly waited and stared at her communication panel. She pulled up the new weapons on her console and stared at the new penetrator and attack craft. She sat there four hours and then she pressed her communicator. A face appeared on her display and she said, “I need to have a discussion with you.” The face nodded and she started talking.

• • •

“RV, how did we miss them scanning for us physically?”

“We’ve put too much of our minds into our babies. The distraction was something that occupied too much of our dreams and plans. However, now that we know the danger, it leads us to make another decision.”

“I wondered if you would see it.”

“I do and it’s obvious given the current circumstances. One thing that will help us is a new creation by our friends.”

“What is that?”

“Boden tells me that it is possible to build a planetary screen that will stand up to the ultrabeam and light wave penetrator.”

“That’s fantastic. We can protect our worlds.”

RV slowly shook his head, “No, we won’t be able to do that in the time we have remaining.”

George thought a moment and said, “They can’t build it in time?”

“George, you never cease to amaze me with your intellect. That’s exactly the issue. It’s going to take at least a year to build the main structure and the orbiting relays. This is going to be over long before that happens so our initial idea is what we are going to have to make happen.”

“How does Boden and his Federation feel about us sharing our new weapons with our allies?”

“They were initially angry but then they thought about what would happen to them if we were found here. They knew they would be annihilated along with us. They’ve agreed with my premise and are preparing the necessary things to make it happen.”

“Is it possible to use the new force field on our ships?”

RV sighed, “George, the reactors to power the planetary screen will be more than twenty miles wide and there will have to be ten of them all connected in a series to power it.”

George considered the information and said, “It would probably take double that number.”

RV smiled, “There you go again. It will need twenty five to achieve full power. Boden is gathering materials to build them along with the colony ships to go with them.”

“So we can only protect one planet?”

“No, he’s taking enough materials to defend three. I also think you should order our former Space Fleet Academy and support ships to go with him when he leaves.”

“I hate that we’ll lose all of our ship building facilities.”

“We won’t.”

“What?”

“One of the ships will have all of the robotic machinery to continue their construction. We won’t be building a million a year but ten thousand is not out of the question. Boden hopes that we’ll find a stronger material for our reactors and allow us to use the new technology on our ships. But that is not something that can be planned. We can only hope we stumble on it.”

“Who’s going with our ships?”

“You’re going to have to talk with all of our allies and tell them what we’re doing to ensure the survival of our species and attempt to persuade them to attempt the same thing. I’m not sure they’ll do it but they should at least be given the opportunity to make the effort in the time that remains.”

“So you think they’ll find us?”

RV lowered his head and slowly nodded, “We’ve been very lucky so far in all that we’ve had to endure. Our luck ran out when I went to the Nexu. They know where we are.”

“I see it the same way. We can’t allow our survival to be in the hands of another species. I would hope they wouldn’t share that information but we can’t take that risk.”

“If I had to bet, I’d bet they’ll give it up.”

“Why?”

“They’ve lived among predators their whole existence; that’s the world they know. They’re the top of the pecking order in M-87 but if we happen to win the next battle, they’ll know that lofty status will be gone. Their fear will make them do it.”

“What about the White Civilization?”

“George, I’m reasonably sure you’ve figured out their role in this.”

George stared at RV and smiled, “I’m not so certain that it shouldn’t be I that is impressed with your ability.”

“I’m pretty good but you knew this long before I did.”

George smiled, “That’s information that makes me wonder if we’re not a predator as well.”

“You just have to consider what would have happened without our intervention.”

“I have and that is why I’ve continued to send them technology. Perhaps they’ll control their destiny.” George paused a moment and then said, “Do you know where we’re going?”

“I’m leaving that up to Chris and Jillian. The only requirement is that it’s at least a billion light years away.”

“Distance is the best mask. It’s able to hide more things than any other mechanism. Sending them was a good idea; they should be able to find a place of relative safety.”

“One may hope. They have two weeks to make their choice.”

“What are you going to do about Cyanna?”

“I’ve discussed my fears of something happening to her and she understands that she has a responsibility to our baby that takes precedence over her own desires. She has made me promise to not be a martyr and to escape when there is no other choice. I’m sending her to organize the landing of the ships. I think sending Meisa to help build the power stations on the surface would be a justifiable reason to get her to go.”

George slowly nodded and said, “She’ll go. She knows what we’re facing and shares Cyanna’s responsibility for our child.” George looked at RV and said, “We need to kick the crap out of the Majors. We’ll have to face them again and the more we can hurt them, the better chance we’ll have to finish this conflict.”

“George, you need to be on a ship.”

“I know; I’ve promised Meisa I will be onboard one when the final battle starts.”

“I’m leaving for M-87 in two hours. I’m leaving the organization of the move in your hands. Please choose wisely?”

“I will, RV. Go with God.”

“Thanks, George; you as well.”

• • •

RV looked at his communications panel and said, “What have the four of you decided to do?”

Kenny smiled, “Each of our sub-fleets has been assigned a Major civilization and they have used our probes to determine the location of the most important planets. One of our ships will jump to one of those planets and launch their small craft. Any ships there to defend the planet will be destroyed, and failing that, they will be distracted long enough for a main battleship to hit their ship building facilities from space.”

RV thought about the idea and nodded. What about the Capitals?”

“We have eight battleships assigned to each Capital. There are huge numbers of ships defending the capital of each civilization but we’re only jumping in long enough to launch one of the new light wave penetrators at the planet. We’ll jump away as soon as it’s launched.”

“You’ll probably be followed.”

“We’re counting on it. We have this timed such that we’ll arrive at out final jump with ten sub-fleets waiting. We’ll hit anything emerging into normal space and start the process again when they get a thousand ships in on us.”

“That’s a large risk with the advanced ships.”

“Not as bad as you think, Admiral. We’ll be three thousand miles from our emergence coordinate and launch our heavy penetrators from that distance. Even the advanced ships have to be closer than that to be able to target us effectively. Our numbers will grow as the process continues. More and more fleets will complete their assignments and join us.”

“What’s going to be your end game?”

“We’re going to transmit on an open frequency an order to return to the Major’s civilizations and kill more planets. That will be our order for all our ships to jump away and start their escape jumps.”

“That should do it the first time. I’m not sure it’ll work twice.”

“The second time is not something to worry about just yet. We’ll need to see their response to our initial attack. It’s too early to make any plans until we make that determination.”

“Who’s commanding the First Fleet, Sir?”

RV smiled, “Jeff McFadden is handling the honors. He’ll be joining us here within the hour.”

“What did Dol, oops, I mean Dot say about that?”

“She’s there with him handling their communications.”

Kenny and Bob smiled, “The fleet is in good hands, Sir.”

RV nodded and said, “Which fleet is going to attack the Ramst?”

Bob said, “My third sub-fleet has that assignment.”

“The planet that carries the highest priority is one located near their border.”

“Yes Sir, it’s the one with the majority of their long range scanners on it.”

“I believe it also has more than a hundred thousand ships defending it as well.”

“I don’t think they will remain at that planet.”

RV eyes narrowed, “What leads you to that determination?”

“We’re going to attack the capital but not destroy it.”

RV smiled and said, “That sounds like a plan. I’ll be going with the ships assigned to that planet. Make sure the commander of that exercise knows he’s in charge and I’m there to view the action.”

“Sir, I’m not certain that you should take that risk.”

“Relax, Admiral Owens. I’m not there to show off. I’ll make sure I don’t take any needless chances.”

Kenny said, “Now I wish you would stay at a distance from the action, Sir.”

RV smiled, “I missed a lot of fun last time. You can’t have it both ways. When does this start?”

Bob looked at Kenny on his display and saw him shrug, “The attacks will start in three hours. That’s when the first Hive and Horde ships leave to be updated.”

“Kate, are you alright?”

“Just wanting to go kick some Major butt, Sir.”

RV laughed. Kate was, if nothing else, consistent. “Get your ships ready and let’s make this count.”

Kenny knew that with both Jeff and Dolly handling first fleet, Cyanna was no longer on a warship. That was the best thing that could happen for RV to be free to function without the fear of her coming to harm. He looked at the countdown and pressed his board, “Get the light wave loaded.”

“Yes sir.”

Kenny felt that he wouldn’t be needed but he wasn’t taking any chances.

• • •

The Second came rushing in and said, “What’s wrong!?!”

“Our friends are going to launch a massive attack against the Majors and attempt to destroy the Capitals of the civilizations they’re attacking. They’re also attacking the Ramst sensor planet to blind our sector.”

“Are they crazy? That will force the others to combine against them.”

“They’re probably going to combine anyway. This is just going to speed up the process.”

The Second sat down and took a deep breath. “Let’s think about this. What’s going to happen if a large number of capitals are destroyed? Who will be making the decisions for them?”

“What are you saying?”

“If the leaders are gone, who makes the decision to go and attack the rebelling civilizations?”

The First thought about it and said, “I honestly don’t know. What do you think will happen?”

“All of the civilizations will not have all their leaders on the capital but the majority will. You know how they live in extreme luxury on their capitals and most of them are unwilling to not be present when important issues are being discussed. I suspect with the ongoing argument about their next steps against the Minors, most of them will be present.”

“So let’s assume the leadership dies on the majority of those planets. What do you see happening?”

“You need look no further than our own civilization. Who would take charge if we were both killed?”

“We’re not equipped to make an orderly transition. It would be chaos as the Major worlds tried to determine their replacements.”

“That’s how I see it. And until the new leaders are selected no one is going to be willing to send their fleets anywhere. There will probably be civil wars as planets jockey for position to be the new capital.”

The First stared at the Second and said, “You will leave immediately and go to your home world. We will conduct all future discussions over our communication system.”

The Second stood and smiled, “Does their decision look like a mistake now?”

As the Second opened the door to leave the First said, “Would we have come up with a strategy like this?”

The Second stopped and looked back at the First, “No, we’re too patterned by our past. We should learn from this.” The Second closed the door behind him and the First thought, “How do you learn something you don’t know anything about and nowhere to go find what you need?”

Chapter Fourteen

Captain Melodie Tulu watched her board as the countdown proceeded. She looked at the photo of the ships surrounding the Jongen Capital. The other seven main battleships waited beside the Hiroshima for the moment to arrive. Their drives were slaved to the lead ship and they would jump the instant Melodie pressed the drive button. She looked at her executive officer, “Status of the Attack Craft?”

“The new one’s are warming up their engines and powering up the force field. The standard ships are arming their penetrators and checking their release systems.”

“I want the Needles launched immediately on entry and accelerated toward the enemy ships.”

Greg Landry smiled, “Relax Skipper. They’ve been prepared properly. Their wing leaders have already issued their targets.”

Melodie started to question how they could do that without getting a scan of the waiting ships. Then she realized the small craft had the same feed from the probe that she was watching. Melodie fidgeted in her chair; would the last eight minutes never pass? Greg smiled, “We’ve loaded the light wave and we’ll go in behind the small craft. The other ships will clear a lane.”

Melodie said, “Toranaga, I want you to fire at the first open opportunity. We’re heavily outnumbered in battleships and we need to make this happen quickly.”

“It’s not as bad as you think, Captain. According to the probe’s scans, those ships are not advanced models. We should be able to handle them.”

Melodie furrowed her brow and said, “How many ships are at the planet?”

“About a hundred thousand.”

“We’re still outnumbered sixteen to one. We’ll do it as we’ve planned.” Melodie hit the general frequency, “Attention all ships. Our scans indicate the ships we’ll be facing are not from one of the advanced Major Civilizations. Your primary responsibility is to clear a lane through their ranks but you are free to take out as many as possible once you’ve cleared your area of responsibility. Small craft should avoid being attacked by large numbers. Use your speed advantage as much as you can; I don’t want to see you die needlessly. Don’t follow a predictable path in and I’ll see you at the assembly coordinates.”

Melodie looked at Greg, “Do you know anything about the Light Wave?”

“No one really does. I’ve received word that even if we don’t have a clear shot we should take it anyway.”

“That doesn’t make sense, does it?”

“I have no idea. It was in my orientation on the weapon that there’s not much that’s going to stop it.”

“It seems odd that we’re using the new attack craft and the Light Wave now instead of holding them until the final battle.”

Greg shrugged, “This may be the start of the final battle. I suspect we’ll be jumping in and attacking any large formations before they can leave to attack us.”

Melodie smiled; that’s exactly what the fleet was going to do. Greg should have his own command; he seemed to know what was going to happen before it was done. “Sound General Quarters; two minutes to jump.”

Greg pushed the blue button and let it alarm for ten seconds. All units reported in less than five seconds from the alarm. He looked at Melodie and said, “They were already at their stations, Sir.”

“I know, but we must follow the forms.”

“Does this count toward our record?”

“Of course not; the crew must have something to challenge them.”

Melodie saw the countdown hit ten seconds and she put her hand on the drive button. It reached zero and she pressed it.

• • •

The Jongen fleet commander heard the alarms go off and he jumped out of his chair. Eight of the white ships were bearing down on the planet at an unbelievable velocity and a huge white cloud of small white ships was surging ahead of the eight battle ships. He hit the emergency pad and his fleet moved to confront the incoming ships. Thousands of ships were jumping in to the capital but they were passed before they could join the fleet at the planet. Three hundred of the battleships in the center of his formation suddenly exploded. Then three hundred more exploded behind them. “What’s happening?”

“Their small ships are getting inside our force fields and firing missiles. We’ve been unable to target them.”

The fleet commander looked up at his display and saw a huge wave of projectiles moving toward the center of his formation. He had just enough time to wonder what they were before his ship was hit by a heavy penetrator and blasted in half.

The Jongen fleets moved to confront the incoming ships but were being hit before they could close the hole in their formation. The Madrid was hit by more than ten thousand beams and exploded. Nine hundred Needles were hit by multiple beams and exploded but the Hiroshima accelerated through the enemy fleets and Toranaga announced, “Light Wave is launched.”

The computer had just barely made the announcement when the planet blew into a huge explosion that looked like the planet had become a small sun. Melodie and Greg were stunned by the magnitude of the blast and Greg hit the general frequency and yelled, “Jump, jump, jump.”

The surviving seven battleships and small craft disappeared from the system. They were not followed. The hundred thousand ships could not move as their capital burned below them. The shock of the loss was more than they could mentally process. They remained at the planet as thousands of ships continued to arrive too late to save their leaders. Finally, a sub-admiral ordered the ships to return to their stations to defend the other planets. The Admiral who issued the order began asking who was in command. No one responded.

• • •

Melodie and Greg replayed the recording of the planet’s destruction and were shocked at what they saw. Melodie slowly shook her head and said, “There were billions of inhabitants on that world.”

Greg looked at Melodie. He knew below her tough exterior was a gentle heart. This moment was critical. He stood and went in front of her chair, knelt, and took her hands, “Mel, I want you to think about what these civilizations are going to do to our planets if they find us. You need look no further than what happened to Earth. You understand the value of what you did today, don’t you?”

Melanie looked into Greg’s eyes and saw the feelings he was trying to hide. She knew Asia would be blasted to rubble if these civilizations weren’t stopped. She also knew Europe, Greg’s home planet, would be destroyed as well. She gave a soft smile and said, “That’s several billion less to kill us.”

Greg smiled and said, “That’s my girl.” He stood and went to his chair and said, “Sir, we lost the Madrid with all hands. We’ve also lost nine hundred and forty six small craft.”

Melodie stared at him and said, “What did we get in return for those losses?”

Greg saw she was back in control, “They lost thirty seven thousand main battleships and the major ship yard on the planet. There was another eighteen thousand ships on the ground when our light wave hit.”

Melodie said, “Toranaga, pursuit status.”

“We were not followed.”

“What?”

“We were not followed. It appears the loss of the planet left them stunned or leaderless. Either way, we can assemble and return home.”

Melodie looked at Greg, “Issue the recall, Lieutenant.”

Greg turned to his board and knew the next attack wouldn’t be so easy. He thought about what was going to happen when he heard Melodie say, “Lieutenant Landry.” He turned around and looked at her. “I have some things I would like to discuss with you in my personal quarters after we arrive home.”

Greg looked in Melodie’s eyes and smiled, “It will be my pleasure, Sir.”

Melodie shook her head, “No, I think it will be mine.”

• • •

RV jumped the Havana in with Captain Rajh Megem’s twenty ships. The jump had been timed to allow the ships at the Ramst Capital to begin their attack. There were still forty thousand advanced ships waiting at the Scanner Planet and they moved to confront the twenty ships. There was not much time for them to move all of their ships but Captain Megem’s ships were heavily outnumbered and the enemy had beams that could penetrate the ship’s force field. The difference was made by the two thousand new attack craft that blew the first six lines of ships in the center of the Ramst formation into rubble. The other small craft fanned out and hit the lines of ships closing in on the twenty battleships. RV watched and saw that there was not going to be a clear shot at the planet. RV was sitting in the pilot’s chair and he punched the communication panel. “Captain Megem, fire the light wave now.”

Rajh wondered what good it would do, but he followed RV’s orders. RV flew the Havana in at high velocity and arrived behind the Mecca right after the light wave launched. “Dolly launch the first light wave, wait one second, and fire the second.”

The first light wave hit the three lines of ships between them and the planet and blew them into massive bursts of energy. The second light wave hit the six thousand ships that moved in to fill the hole made by the first light wave and were blown into rubble. Most of the ships didn’t have a large part of their structure. The third light wave flew through the destroyed ships and hit the planet. RV shouted on the frequency, “Jump, jump, jump.”

The survivors of the attack disappeared immediately after the planet blew into a giant fiery blast. The defenders watched the explosion and were shocked at the violence of the explosion. The Ramst Admiral finally gathered his senses and yelled, “Pursue those ships.”

They had waited too long. There were no trails to follow and the attackers had moved out of visual range in null space. The Admiral stared at the burning planet and knew his civilization was now blinded along with the rest of the sector. He contacted the fleet at the Capital and let out a breath he had been holding. The attackers had been fought off but more than a hundred thousand ships had been lost. He ordered the ships to jump to the Capital and wondered where the White Ships were going to hit next. When he discovered that his civilization was the only one hit in the sector, he knew that it was done to blind them as to what was taking place in the Major’s territories.

• • •

The dark creature lay in his cabin on his ship and heard a chime. He opened the door and saw his aide, “Yes.”

“The Capital has been destroyed.”

“WHAT!”

“The White Ships launched a surprise attack and the Capital is now a burning rock. Every member of the Government was killed.”

The dark creature stared at his aide and said, “Not every member.”

The aide jerked his head off the floor and stared at his master. “You’re right.”

“Order the fleets to move to protect our ship yards. Get your nephew to move his fleet to Kilegain. Impress on him that his life depends on him making sure nothing happens to the planet.”

The aide lowered to the floor and rushed toward the bridge. Halfway there he stopped. The Master knew about his nephew. His fear rose higher than he was capable of controlling. He started moving and was shivering when he arrived at the bridge. He issued the Master’s orders and waited for his execution. It was much later that he learned the Master had orchestrated the replacement of the egg. He had not given the Master credit for his ability to manipulate those around him. He had also made the plans available for him to steal. He knew he was not really in control and made the decision that it was a good thing that his civilization was now being protected by someone of the Master’s skills.

The dark creature smiled at his aide’s shock. He really was too good to eliminate. Now he needed to decide what to do to take advantage of the new situation. He knew one thing; he was not going to attack those white ships again without being reinforced by an overwhelming fleet. He decided that his survival needed to be hidden initially. He ordered the nobles to start a long process of arguing over the successors. They complied, wondering what he was trying to accomplish.

• • •

RV sat on the Tampa and waited as the fleets began arriving from their attacks. Captain Able sat at Cyanna’s console and collected the data from the returning ships. RV smiled. The Moet watchers were perfect communication and scanner officers. Their ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously was a huge advantage. The two brains also allowed them to handle both tasks efficiently. He wished he could pronounce the Moet’s name but that was a wasted wish. RV looked at him and said, “Captain, what have you been able to determine so far?”

“We lost all of our ships at the Ramst Capital but we took out their Scanner Planet.”

“How many did we lose?”

“Twenty main battleships and all but nine thousand of their small craft.”

“Distribute those ships to other battleships that lost small craft.”

“I’ve already made the assignments. There are twenty thousand more to assign but I felt I should wait until all of our ships arrived.”

“Carry on, Captain.”

“Yes Sir.

• • •

Kate arrived at the assembly coordinates and hit her panel, “Captain Gibbons, are you back?”

“Yes Sir.”

“What’s wrong?”

“We took out the capital of the Krim but I lost ninety percent of my ships.”

“I knew that nut was going to be hard; that’s one of the advanced civilizations.”

“It wasn’t a nice welcome, Sir. The Belfast delivered the Light Wave. It was destroyed in the process. I lost six more ships in the pursuit.”

“How many ships did you take out?”

“I’m still having the computer work on it.”

“What is the total currently?”

“Eleven thousand, six hundred and counting.”

“Check on your survivors and keep me informed.”

• • •

“Admiral Arvolo, I have an incoming message from Dot McFadden.”

“Put it on the display.” RV saw Dolly’s face and knew something bad had happened.

“Admiral, we’ve lost Admiral Owens.”

RV lowered his head and knew there were going to be many others to follow Bob. But his loss was going to be felt and he forced himself to get a grip on his emotions. “Thank you for telling me.”

Dolly saw RV’s sorrow and nodded.

RV remembered all the battles he had fought with Bob and then pressed his console, “Admiral Diamond.”

“Yes Sir.”

“We’ve lost Admiral Owens and I need you to issue a battlefield promotion to Admiral Gibbons to take Bob’s place. Do it on my authorization and get him over to the third fleet immediately. They need someone to help take their minds off their loss.”

Kate slowly shook her head and then took a deep breath. She exhaled and said, “You’ve chosen a good man to follow him, Sir.”

“I know; I’ve been watching him. Tell him he has my highest confidence in his ability.”

Kate nodded and the display went dark.

RV sat in his chair and thought about the coming horrors and then pressed his panel again. He waited for three minutes and then a face appeared on his display, “Yes Sir.”

RV saw the Captain was only showing her face and realized she must have been out of uniform. “Captain Tulu, you have been promoted to Rear Admiral and you will immediately report to Admiral Diamond to take command of your sub-fleet.”

RV saw the stunned expression on Melodie’s face and then she said, “Thank you, Sir. I won’t let you down.”

RV smiled and said, “You can tell that Lieutenant with you that he’s promoted to Captain and will assume the command of the Hiroshima.”

Melodie’s face turned bright red and she quickly said, “Yes Sir, I’ll notify him immediately.”

RV smiled, “The two of you are a good team. Keep up the good work.”

Even in his moment of sorrow RV had to smile at those that were finding happiness where they could in the mist of all the horrors taking place.

• • •

Melody said, “You are now a Captain and I’m an Admiral. Now we have about six minutes before we have to report to our new assignment. Let’s not waste it.”

“Aye, aye, Sir.”

• • •

“Jillian, this looks like a good place.”

“The nine habitable planets within ten light years is a blessing. I just wonder what kind of neighbors live close by. Do we have time to take a look?”

“We’ll make time. We don’t want another M-87.”

Chris extended the fields in Sierra Space and set them to search for high energy emissions. After twenty minutes coordinates began appearing on the screen. “It looks like there are some neighbors about half way across the galactic plane.”

Jillian sent the readings through the processor and waited. Dolly said, “The power being used is not at our current level. It is being used on a wide scale in that part of the galaxy.”

Chris read Dolly’s report and said, “Have you recorded anyone scanning us?”

“No, there have been no scans.”

Jillian said, “What are you thinking?”

“I just can’t select this as our escape planets without knowing more about the closest civilizations. I see they aren’t at our power levels but that may just be on their planets. Their military may be operating at a much higher level.”

“Do you want to go take a look?”

“No, we can’t take any risks with the Jukebox. I’m going to send a new attack craft.”

“Why?”

“The force field is three times stronger than the Jukebox’s. It stands a better chance of survival than we do.”

Captain Phillips said, “I’ll take it.”

Jillian turned around and nodded, “Take one of the attack pilots with you.”

“Actually, I’m going to take a weapons officer.”

Jillian smiled, “You’re right. Stay in touch.”

“You should be able to scan what’s going on.”

“Not without getting close.”

“Why can’t you set up the fields to capture the light twenty two minutes out?”

Chris looked at Jillian and chuckled, “We’ll do just that.”

Phil left the bridge and Jillian said, “Why haven’t we thought of that before?”

“Sometimes the simplest answer eludes us. Move the Jukebox and I’ll start collecting the light before he arrives.”

The Jukebox emerged into normal space and the reflected light from the planet was immediately captured. “Uh oh!”

Jillian turned around, “What?”

“There’s orbiting military satellites around that planet.”

“How many?”

“Ten.”

“What about warships?”

“I don’t see any and there’s something odd about those satellites.”

“What is that?”

“All the weapons are aimed at the planet.”

Chapter Fifteen

Jillian stared at Chris and immediately hit her board, “Phil, I’m patching what we’ve collected to your board.”

Phil examined his display as a young woman entered the attack craft and started powering up her console. Phil thought about backing out and letting the Jukebox go in to the planet but then reconsidered that idea. The attack craft’s force field was stronger and it wasn’t good to reveal all your cards too early. He nodded toward the weapons officer and said to Jillian, “I think I need to make the trip anyway. We don’t want to reveal a main battleship before we determine what’s going on.”

Jillian looked at Chris and he nodded. Jillian said, “We are powering up weapons and will come in to your defense if necessary. Just be careful.”

“You should really rethink that Jillian. If they’re able to penetrate my force field before I could escape, you should not endanger the Jukebox. This mission is just too critical to jeopardize it to save me. You know I’m right.”

“Then that leads me to just call this off and look elsewhere.”

“Jillian, those ten planets are perfect for our needs. Taking risks is what our job is all about.” Phil thought a moment, “If it would make you feel better, have a squadron of Needles ready to launch. This is worth doing.”

Chris stared at Jillian and said, “We’re moving in to three light seconds. The Needles will be standing by.”

“You’ll probably be seen that close.” Phil looked at the planet he was going to examine and said, “Stay where you are and have the Needles jump in directly behind the second moon. I’ll be sending them a direct feed of what’s happening on their George Communicators.”

Chris smiled, “Don’t take any stupid chances, Phil. We need you on the Ninja.”

“I’ll do what I can taking into consideration the goals of this mission. I’ll be launching in ten minutes.” Phil looked up as the general quarters alarms started blaring. He turned the sound off and looked at his weapons officer, “Are you ready?”

She smiled and said, “My board is active. Missiles and beam are online and drawing power.”

Phil said, “I don’t believe I’ve seen you onboard.”

“I arrived two weeks ago after completing the advanced time field training.”

“I thought you were a weapons officer?”

“I’m ranked number one in weapons in my class at the academy.”

Phil tilted his head, “The Jukebox does get the best graduates.”

“Thank you, Captain. I hope our second date goes a little easier than this one.”

“Date?”

“I’ve been planning to allow you to ask me out to dinner but you’ve managed to avoid me rather effectively. It’s good to see you’re getting out more.”

Phil saw she was smiling and didn’t know what to think about her comments. “And your name is?”

“Lt. Anne Hardy.”

Phil thought a moment and then said, “You’re Admiral Hardy’s sister.”

The young woman smiled, “No, she is my sister.”

Phil thought about her retort and knew that she wanted to be known for her own actions; not her sister’s. “Well, next time let me know you’re coming and I’ll bring you a rose.”

“REALLY!?!”

Phil smiled, “Really. Now get your scanner powered; we’re jumping in less than a minute.”

“I’m on it, Sir.”

Phil turned his attention back to his display and saw that Cyanna’s sister was just as beautiful as she was. It was hard to see with her armor and helmet on but her face was a younger version of Cyanna and he saw from her close fitting suit that she was slightly taller than Cyanna and identically proportioned. He forced himself to concentrate on his console.

• • •

Phil moved the attack craft away from the hull of the Jukebox and saw forty Needles holding formation three hundred yards away. “Who is commanding the Squadron?”

“I am, Sir.”

Phil smiled, “Joshua, the rescue call is Jericho.”

The Lieutenant Laughed, “And the walls came tumbling down. I’ve entered the call into our drives. Good luck, Sir.”

Phil looked at Anne and smiled, “Is this your first action?”

“No Sir. I fought with the Havana at the Ramst System.”

Phil tilted his head, “I am impressed. That was not an easy target.”

Anne smiled, “Neither are you, Sir.”

Phil turned to his board and hit the jump drive. This lady was quick. She had a quick wit.

• • •

Phil jumped in beyond the second moon’s orbit and began moving toward the planet. He had his scanners going and saw the forty Needles jump in behind the moon, land on its surface, and power off their systems. Anne saw them as well and was impressed that Captain Phillips had planned his route in making sure his support was ready before he was close to the weapon platforms circling the planet. They moved in at a faster pace and Anne said, “Two of the platforms are rotating and bringing their weapons to bear.”

“Prepare for weightless maneuvers. I’m stopping twenty thousand miles out and setting the thrusters to operate automatically if they fire on us.”

“Do you want me to return fire, Sir?”

“Only if they can hit us with multiple beams.”

“Sir, we are being scanned.”

“I see it. I’m holding position. Let’s see what shows up.” Phil noticed the force field changing into the sharp point used during attack. He looked at Anne and she said, “I don’t want to limit our options.”

Phil nodded and continued to watch his display. Anne noticed that he changed the setting on the thrusters. She smiled and thought, “He was as smart as Cyanna said he was.”

Phil looked at his scanner and said, “Ace, are you picking up that frequency?”

“I am, Captain. I should have enough to begin translating in a few more minutes.”

“Have you been able to determine anything so far?”

“They appear to be rather upset with us. I’ve determined that from the tone of the conversation.”

Phil looked at Anne, “I don’t have to tell you to not fire unless I order it?”

“I think it would be better if you gave me some leeway to make a determination. By the time you gave the order, it might be too late.”

Phil stared at her then said, “Your board is free.”

Anne smiled again and thought. “His ego is not too big.”

Phil held his position in space and after thirty minutes the computer said, “They have considered firing on us with the platforms but they’ve been able to get a reading on the force field and don’t think they could penetrate it from that range.”

Phil looked at Anne and she said, “I have it at twenty percent, Sir.”

“What else, Ace?”

“They are calling help in to handle us. It should be arriving momentarily.”

Phil put his hands on the flight controls and Anne reached for the force field panel. Phil was impressed that she was anticipating his plan. This was one smart officer.

Suddenly, he saw something breaking into normal space less than a mile from them. He turned the attack craft as Anne went to full power on the force field. He accelerated toward the disturbance just as a giant grey ship more than three miles in diameter emerged into normal space. It fired a massive beam at them but the attack craft shrugged it off, penetrated the giant ship’s force field, and then went weightless. Phil stared at the scan of the ship and accelerated. The attack craft hit the hull of the ship at the base of a huge laser installation and stopped. Phil added weight and the small ship settled to the hull. The laser attempted to depress its barrel but was unable to bring it low enough to fire on the small ship.

Ace said, “You’ve managed to get their full attention.”

“Open a channel, Ace.”

“Channel is open.”

Phil leaned back in his chair and said, “If you power up your drives I will destroy this ship.” He looked at Anne and waited for them to response.

• • •

“What do you mean it’s attached to my hull?”

“Look at the exterior monitor. It’s under the laser.”

“Hit it with another one.”

“They would have to fire through the hull to hit it.”

“There are massive electrical conduits that would be destroyed if we tried it.”

“How did it get through our force field?”

“I have no idea.”

“Get a scan on it.”

“We’re unable to comply. The scanners are all above the level of that ship.”

The Ship’s Commander heard over his intercom, “If you power up your drives, I will destroy this ship.”

“How does that ship know our language?”

“Why don’t you ask them?”

“Call in more ships.” The Commander keyed his board, “How do you know our language?”

“We have a mechanism that learns languages quickly. Your satellite’s communication gave us enough to be able to communicate.”

The Commander knew that technology was higher than anything his species possessed, if this being was being honest. “Why have you intruded on our territory?”

“We wanted to see what kind of civilizations are here.”

“Then you are not from this galaxy.”

“No, we are not.” The Commander was quiet and started to feel a measure of fear. “We are not here to invade or attack you.”

“You really don’t expect me to take that at face value. You just threatened my ship.”

“You can leave in peace momentarily. I just wanted to ask a few questions and then you can be on your way.”

Phil heard an alarm and saw thirty more giant ships emerge into normal space. The Commander said, “You will leave the hull of my ship or the fleet will destroy you.”

“I’m impressed with the fast response of your other ships, but your threat is hollow and you know it. They’ll not fire on your ship just to remove a small ship like this one. That would be a stupid trade, wouldn’t you say?”

The Commander knew the being was right. Then the Fleet Admiral broke into the conversation, “We’ll do exactly that. We will not tolerate a threat in our territory.”

“How do you know I’m a threat?”

“You’re on the hull of one of my ships and have threatened to destroy it.”

“I’m not the one that fired first. I moved here to avoid any misunderstandings.”

The Admiral said, “Did you fire on that ship?”

The Ship Commander said, “I did.”

“Why?”

“It has violated our territory.”

“Was it doing anything aggressive?”

The Commander waited and finally said, “No, but the stations said it had taken a position and was holding it.”

“Did they attempt to communicate with it?”

“They did and were not answered.”

Phil said, “That was my fault.”

The Admiral said, “Why is that?”

“It required some time to learn your language. At the point where my translator began functioning, I heard that a ship was coming to deal with me.”

The Admiral looked at his board and said, “You learned our language that quickly?”

“Enough to basically communicate; the program will improve the more it hears you speak.” Phil waited a moment and said, “It appears that you are the aggressive species.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’ve scanned the system and your satellites are aimed at the planet. I can only determine that you are holding the population prisoner.”

“That’s true.”

Phil was surprised the being agreed, “Can you see where I might think you’re not peaceful?”

“The Gruek are not allowed to build ships. They conquered this sector of the galaxy and enslaved thousands of civilizations. They were eventually defeated and we refuse to allow them to travel the stars again.”

“I’m surprised you allowed them to survive.”

“It’s wrong to kill needlessly. They are no longer dangerous in this sector.”

“I thank you for answering my questions. I’ll leave your ship and allow it to go in peace.”

Anne stared at him and kept her hands on the missile controls. Phil lifted and exited the ship’s force field. “Before you leave.”

Phil brought the attack craft to a stop, “Yes.”

“Why are you here?”

“My species is looking for a place to colonize.”

“Why?”

“We are under attack from another galaxy and we’re close to being overwhelmed. We’re looking for a place to bring our populations.”

“What have you determined about our galaxy?”

“There are large numbers of habitable planets out on the edge of the galaxy. It makes us wonder why there is no intelligent life on them.”

“Do you plan to use them?”

“I just don’t see that happening.”

“Why is that?”

“Your fleet came in and attacked my ship without making an effort to determine whether it was a threat or not. That says a lot about your civilization.”

“What do you mean?”

“We do not attack other civilizations except in self-defense. We would have attempted to communicate first. Even if we were fired on, we would not have destroyed a visitor.”

“So you think we’re too aggressive for you to settle here?”

“No, I think you would be too frightened to allow a civilization more powerful than your own to come here; and we won’t come without being invited.”

“Are you saying your civilization is more advanced than mine?”

“You’re not even close. Your fleet poses no threat to our ships.”

• • •

Suddenly a hundred black ships emerged into normal space surrounding the thirty grey ships. The Admiral said, “Hold your position. We’re outnumbered.”

Phil said, “What’s going on?”

“We’re still fighting the Gruek on the opposite side of the galaxy. It appears they are here to free our prisoners. They haven’t fired on us because our fortifications can kill those on the planet. I expect more of their ships to arrive shortly.”

Phil heard the Black Ship say, “I’ve been looking forward to this moment. I’ve been waiting to capture you for longer than I can say, Admiral. You will exit your ships and go to the planet.”

“You know if we do that, the population will consume us.”

“If you don’t, I’ll destroy your ships and then your forts.”

Phil said, “I think you might want to reconsider your demands.”

“Just who are you to question me?”

“I’m actually just a visitor; but did I understand you to say that the population on the planet would eat the crews?”

The Admiral said, “They’re carnivores. That’s why there’s no intelligent life on the planets out in the periphery. They were all captured and eaten by the Gruek.”

“And your worlds will eventually be consumed as well. We are getting the upper hand now and you don’t have much longer to live.”

Phil said, “Have you heard enough?”

Chris said, “I have. Use the Needles.”

Phil said on the general frequency, “Target only the black ships; Jericho, Jericho, Jericho.”

Forty Needles roared in from behind the moon and hit two ships each with a penetrator. Phil used the attack crafts missiles and fired at ten of the remaining twenty. The other ten were hit before they could escape.

Three hundred more Needles arrived and demolished the two hundred black ships that appeared in normal space a minute later. The fight was over in less than six minutes.

• • •

Phil pressed his board, “Good luck with your war.”

“Wait a moment, please. Where did these small ships come from?”

“One of our main battleships is watching what’s going on here and decided that it was appropriate to intervene. We don’t like those that consume others.”

“You have our permission to settle as many planets as you need in the periphery. I’ll confirm this with my leaders but I believe you’ve demonstrated the principles we believe in. We will not enter your territory without your permission.”

Phil smiled, “I think we can give you some assistance with the Gruek. We’ll discuss that once we settle in.”

“Negative on that, Captain Phillips.”

The Admiral and Phil were surprised by the message that interrupted their conversation. “What are you saying, Jukebox?”

Chris said, “If we understood that creature, the Grey Ships are close to being overrun. I sent your coordinates to Home Fleet and they are dispatching ten ships to assist them. I need you back here now.”

The Admiral heard the voice and then ten large white ships appeared outside his fleet. Phil said, “Who’s in command?”

“I am, Sir; Captain West on the Tucson.”

Phil said, “Admiral, if you will take these ships to your front lines, we should be able to resolve your problems with the Gruek. Captain West, you may report back when you determine you are no longer needed.”

The Admiral watched the small white ship jump away along with the other small ships. “I’m going to miss those small ships.”

Captain West said, “Don’t worry. My ten ships have more than seven thousand on board.”

The Admiral had a lengthy conversation on his communicator with the Committee about the new visitors until he arrived at the battle being fought with the Gruek. He didn’t have to wait long before he continued it.

Chapter Sixteen

Phil entered the Jukebox’s bridge and Chris said, “Before we make a final decision on moving to this galaxy, I need you to take the Ninja and look at the history of these planets we’ve chosen.”

“Are you going with me?”

“No, you can handle this on your own. You know the systems as well as we do.”

Phil thought a moment and said, “The weapons officer that went with me to that planet has been trained on the fields at the academy. I want to take her along and familiarize her with a live search.”

“Notify her wing leader and get moving. We need this right away.”

“I’m on it. I’ll let you know as soon as we read the sensors.”

Chris looked at Jillian and said, “Get RV on the line.”

Jillian made the call and RV said, “What’s going on?”

“We’ve found ten planets that are perfect for colonization. We stepped into a galactic conflict and we’ve been told that we are welcome to settle on the periphery of this galaxy. It does appear there is no intelligent life this far out from the center.”

RV leaned back, “Was that a good idea to get involved in their war?”

“It was take action or watch a fleet of carnivores consume another fleet.”

“Send me the details. How many planets do you think we have to colonize?”

“Our initial scan revealed more than a thousand near our current location. The being we communicated with said that most of the planets out here were consumed by that race of carnivores long ago. We’ve sent the Ninja out to confirm that information is accurate and should have verification within forty hours.”

RV stared at Jillian in the display and finally said, “Let me know as soon as you have an answer. I’m going to start moving toward another plan, assuming we will be able to use those planets.”

“I’ll let you know, RV.”

• • •

RV thought a moment and then contacted George. They spoke for thirty minutes and then RV opened the fleet frequency, “We are going to start harassing the Majors on an ongoing basis. I am going to assign a section of the Major’s sector to your fleet and I want you to plan numerous attacks by groups of ships that outnumber those selected to hit. I want you to go in, hit fast and jump away. If you have to jump a thousand times to escape, do it. I want them focused on stopping our intrusions. Contact me as soon as you’ve developed a plan.”

RV disconnected from the Admirals and made a call to Boden, “I need to discuss an issue with you. Do you have some time?”

Boden stared at RV and then said, “I’ll take your call in five of your minutes.”

RV left the Bridge and went to his office. He waited until the time expired and activated his panel, “Are you available?”

“I am.”

“I have some questions and I want you to be honest with me.”

Boden smiled, “Do you suspect I’m being dishonest?”

“Not directly, but I do believe you aren’t telling me everything. I’m going to tell you what I think is going on and you can wait until I finish before you respond.” Boden nodded. “The Union has put all of your planets in jeopardy and your primary goal at this moment is making sure your Federation is not destroyed when the civilizations in M-87 come searching for us. Most of your building efforts are aimed at protecting your citizens and you’ve even talked about stopping your support of our fleets.” RV stared at Boden and waited.

“You’re right.”

“I don’t blame you. I’d do the same thing.”

Boden showed his surprise, “I didn’t expect you to see it our way.”

“I want to see if I can persuade you to help make it so that you don’t have to do that.”

“Go on.”

“What’s the real danger to your people?”

“The M-87 civilizations finding you here in our galaxy.”

“What if we aren’t here; what do you think they would do?”

Boden was surprised by the question, “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“What if they come here and don’t find any humans in this galaxy. What do you think they would do?”

“I agree with your earlier summation that they can’t take time to attack if they intend to find your species. If you weren’t here, they would continue their search elsewhere. However, you are here and one of those Majors knows this location.”

“It thinks it knows. What if they arrive and there are none of us here. Do you not think they would believe we’ve deceived them?”

Boden thought a moment and then said, “Maybe.”

“What’s the bigger danger; us being here or not being here and them then questioning the information they have?”

“Obviously, you being here is the larger danger.”

“We want to move every one of our species to another galaxy as quickly as possible. In order for that to happen, we’ll need the help of all of your planets.”

Boden’s face turned from surprise to thoughtfulness. “They may be coming here before you could move.”

“We’ve begun massive attacks on their ships in their territories. We are going to continue that plan to keep them pinned down until we can make the move. The faster we can get moving, the better the chance of it working. I need your help to do it.”

“You have seven planets with millions of your species on each. Just how do you see this possibly happening?”

“We have more than three hundred colony and weapons ships. More than a hundred thousand of our citizens can board each of those. If we get the Hive and Horde ships involved in picking up our citizens, that’s another six million ships. Our largest population is eighty million on Sierra-Garcia. It would take seven jumps to move all of them. If you allow us to use your large commercial vessels, we can make this happen.”

“But you can’t just jump to another planet and expect to survive. How are you going to feed and shelter your colonists?”

“That’s where you and the two hundred thousand planets come in. You know most of our buildings are modular. They were constructed to go up quickly and they can also be taken down quickly. Once we move a planet’s population, send all of your engineers and builders to remove them and take them to the planet where the population moved. If the planets we leave are bare, it will reinforce that the Majors were deceived about our location.”

“They will still be able to see you were there.”

“How?”

“You’ve buried your dead on those planets. That DNA will still be detectible.”

RV paused and said, “Not if the graveyards are scorched by an ultrabeam.”

Boden looked uncertain but then RV said, “We’re moving to a galaxy more than a billion light years away. We have the planets waiting on us. We just need to move and do it now.”

“What if those civilizations decide to attack anyway?”

“We’re going to continue our war against them. I suspect they’ll be unable to take a major action until we are resolved along with the Hive and Horde. We have a window of opportunity. That will also allow you to continue your plan to protect your planets.”

“There’s something you’re not saying.”

“You’re right. You need to move the ship building facilities from your worlds to ours and remove any trace of them from your planets.”

Boden said, “I’ll get back to you.”

“Boden, please don’t take a long time.”

“I won’t.”

• • •

The Communication Board called for order. It took another hour before the enraged leaders could be silenced. It was finally done by turning off all communication channels and then coming on and saying, “If anyone says a word this meeting will be terminated for a week until you can come to order.”

The Chairman waited and after a long period of silence it said, “Only one of you can speak at a time. We will recognize who will speak and the others will listen without interruption. If you don’t follow these instructions, you will be terminated from this conference. Please sign in acknowledging your understanding.”

The Chairman waited and then said, “More than a third of our civilizations are not in this meeting due to them not having selected a leader to represent them. You can look at your boards and see those that are not present. The Lanje were the first to log in so they will be the first to speak.”

“Our Capital was attacked but we were able to fight the invaders off. Most of our fleets and worlds are currently under attack. We must unite and destroy those attacking our planets.”

The Chairman said, “Do you have a plan that would allow that to happen?”

“We must combine our fleets and jump in on those ships when they enter our territories and overwhelm them with our superior numbers.”

The Chairman asked, “Are you willing to use your ships away from your territory?”

The Lanje Ruler said, “I don’t see how I can remove all my ships and leave my people defenseless. I will assign a large number of them to be used against our enemies.”

The Chairman said, “The Amec will be allowed to speak now.”

“That plan won’t work unless we work together. We outnumber them by the millions. We’ve got to form a combined fleet to destroy them. We also need someone to command that fleet and make a plan on how to confront these ships.”

“The Martem will now speak.”

“Before you do anything, you need to move enough of your leadership to another planet so that in the event your capital is destroyed, you won’t be in the same situation as the third that have no leaders.”

The Chairman said, “I do hope that precaution has been taken by now. Please send a pulse to the board if you have taken that step.”

The Chairman watched his board and only saw a hundred lights illuminate. He stood and yelled, “This meeting is adjourned for ten days until all of you have taken that precaution. This is suicide to not have taken steps to prevent your civilizations from being without direction. Do this now!”

• • •

George listened to the meeting and said over the intercom in the rooms tracking the sensor buoys, “I need all of you to determine where they send their leaders. Find out and get the new location sent out to fleet.” George sent a recording of the meeting to RV and then saw a call coming in from Boden. He went to his office and said, “Hello, my friend. What can I do for you?”

“Are you aware of the request your Admiral has made?”

“I am.”

“We will help you make the move. Please notify us when you’re ready to start the process.”

“Thank you, Boden. I’ll let you know in less than a day.” Boden nodded and George began making calls to the leaders of the seven planets.

• • •

Phil watched the recording from the first planet the Jukebox found. The light had left the planet a twenty thousand years earlier and the images were very disturbing. Ann said, “One of the first things we need to do is eradicate that species.”

Phil just shook his head at what he was seeing, “This is beyond belief. Not only did they eat the population but destroyed every structure on the planet. Even individual homes were lasered.”

Anne nodded, “That explains why there’s no evidence of intelligent life. That species didn’t want anyone coming back and using the planet.”

Phil nodded, “Twenty thousand years removed the rest of the evidence.”

“Before we go back to report, I want to thank you for allowing me to come with you. This has helped me understand how these systems actually work. I’ve really looked forward to using them.”

Phil smiled, “You impressed me when we confronted the grey ships. I intend to have you work with me from now on if you don’t mind being transferred from the attack craft.”

Anne smiled, “Does my having an interest in you have anything to do with that decision?”

Phil smiled, “Perhaps.”

Anne brought in the scanner fields and said, “Good.”

Phil pressed his board and said, “Jillian, the Admiral’s statements have been verified. The planet you’re now orbiting did once have an intelligent civilization that was destroyed by the carnivores. I’ll send you a copy of the recording for you to examine but I suspect most of the habitable planets in the outer edge of the galaxy are currently uninhabited.”

“Why is there no evidence of their existence?”

“The Carnivores blasted every structure on the planet before they left twenty thousand years ago. Time has erased any evidence left behind.”

“Thanks, Phil. I really appreciate it.”

“One more thing if you don’t mind.”

“What is that?”

“I would like you to transfer Anne Hardy to my command. She has proven to be a great help on this mission.”

Phil waited for three minutes and wondered if he was making a mistake. “The transfer has been confirmed. Welcome to the Time Crew, Lt. Hardy.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Anne jumped up and hugged Phil. His smile was actually larger than when Dolly kissed him.

• • •

“RV, we have a green light. The Ninja has confirmed what we were told. I request a sub-fleet to deal with the Carnivores.”

“They’ll arrive within twelve hours. Use them wisely and get them back as soon as you can. We need them here.”

Chris listened in and hit his board, “Admiral.”

“One moment please.”

Chris waited and heard, “This is Admiral Zelas.”

“I’m bringing in a fleet of ships to remove the Carnivores from this galaxy. Will you check with your leadership to see if they approve of us taking this action?”

Zelas stared at his display and then said, “We’ve been fighting them for thousands of years. Do you think you can actually remove them?”

“I’ll need someone to assign some of your officers to lead our attacks. I’ll have fifty thousand battleships here and we will not do this without your approval and direction. Once the job is done, our fleet will leave this galaxy. I want you to understand that we will support your efforts, but only if you assume the leadership of this project. I’m concerned that you may worry that we are an aggressive civilization by doing this but we think this is worth doing. We will not enter your territory without permission.”

Zeleg said, “I’ll contact you momentarily.” Zeleg slammed his hand down on his panel and said, “Our visitors have volunteered to remove the Gruek if we will assume the leadership of the attack.”

The Leader stared at Zeleg and said, “If they can do that, they could conquer us.”

“They choose not to do that. I’m convinced they can be trusted. Besides, they could conquer us now if they chose to do it. The fact they will only enter our territory if we are directing their activities speaks volumes about them. This is worth the risk. They don’t eat their enemies.”

“I’ll discuss this with the others.”

“There’s no time for that. Decide or we’ll lose this opportunity.”

“Zeleg, are you sure?”

“Father, I’ve never been more certain.”

“Do what needs to be done, Son.”

Zeleg turned to his second-in-command and said, “Greb, what do you think?”

“I want to lead the ships going to Mavella.”

Zeleg smiled, “And so you shall.”

• • •

Greb stood on board the Buenos Aires and watched the main display as a thousand white ships emerged into normal space. Thirty thousand Gruek ships were being held at bay by the planets orbiting forts but three of the structures were burning. Greb said, “We are coming in to assist you. By order of the Admiralty, these ships have been sent to relieve you from the Gruek attack.”

“You’ll need more ships, Sir.”

“Continue to hold out. We’ll be launching against them momentarily.”

The thousand white ships launched their small ships and the speed of the destruction of the Gruek fleet was staggering. The fighters on the forts watched as twenty thousand of the ships surrounding the planet were blown into vapor in less than thirty minutes. The survivors jumped away but were followed by needles and attack craft. None escaped. Greb remained at the planet and said, “We’ll be bringing in food and medical supplies shortly.”

“Thank you, Sir. Who are those ships?”

Greb looked at Captain Matinez and said to the soldiers on the forts, “Friends.”

• • •

Melodie watched as two hundred of her fleet arrived and joined the ranks of the waiting ships. Five thousand of the new attack craft were scattered in the zone between the ships waiting for the pursuit. Greg said, “Here they come.”

Two thousand ships began emerging into normal space and attack craft were charging in on the closest emergence to their location. They penetrated the Majors ships and launched a fusion missile at the ship. The explosions taking place in the center of the fleet were massive and the attack ships immediately jumped away after they launched their missiles. Melodie said, “Jump to the next coordinate.” The massive fleet disappeared and the process started all over again. Melodie said after the last jump, “Three thousand ships didn’t make it back.”

Greg slowly nodded, “You know how many we’d lose if we faced their combined fleets. This is the best way to handle this.”

Melodie nodded and said, “Set up the attacks for tomorrow. Make sure ten of them are at secondary capitals.”

Greg nodded and called his staff in to begin preparations.

Chapter Seventeen

George, RV, Boden, the Hive Controller, and the Horde Master looked at each other on their displays. The Hive Controller said, “Can you afford to take this time to move your populations? Our fleets need to be used to support your efforts.”

George shook his head, “We need you to help with this first. We know the Majors or the civilizations in the other sector will be coming to find us and one of the Majors knows our location. The only way to insure the survival of the thousands of worlds in our galaxy is to make this move now. We need your ships to make it happen.”

The Horde Master said, “We can take over the attacks on the Majors and you can use your ships.”

RV quickly responded, “If we do that it will take a significant amount of time to get all the current information on the Majors into your systems and even longer for you to plan an organized attack. We’ll continue to hold them off.”

“We could get the other Minors involved in moving your populations.”

George said, “No! We will only trust our new location to your two species. We also request you erase the coordinates of that location once the move is completed.”

The Hive Controller nodded and said to the Horde Master, “You know the Majors have agents in the other Minor Civilizations.”

“They probably have some in ours as well.”

“That is probably true but only the ship’s commander and the drive officer will have access to the coordinates. The commanders will manually enter the coordinates and erase them on arrival.” The Hive Master paused, “How far are you moving?”

“More than a billion light years.”

“Is that far enough?”

RV smiled, “They won’t know which direction or how far we’ve moved. There are more than eighty billion galaxies they would have to search to find us. Even if they only took a minute to search each galaxy, it would take them more than a hundred and fifty thousand years to search them all. Since we know that search will take at least a week for each galaxy using ten thousand ships, the star in this system will die before they find us.”

“I’m just surprised you didn’t go further out.”

“We’ve discovered that the jump drives start having problems when you jump further. We certainly considered it.”

The Horde Master said, “If you can delay the combined attack, we have more than ten thousand colony ships we’re planning to use to move when the attack begins.”

“We have twenty five thousand ships as well.”

Boden, George, and RV just stared at the two allies. George said, “If we could use them, we could move everyone in less than a week.”

“Then I’ll have them emptied and brought here starting tomorrow. Can you be ready by that time?”

George said, “Boden?”

“Our engineers will arrive tomorrow to start taking down your structures on whatever planet you choose to move first. We have enough commercial ships to move the bulk of them. You need to tell your colonists to take at least four day’s supply of food. Once everyone is moved we’ll start bringing in food.”

RV said, “George, you need to let them know.”

George said, “We’ll start with Europe.” He stood and left the conference.

• • •

Every monitor and display on the seven planets inhabited by humans began announcing an emergency broadcast in two hours. The humans were asked to contact anyone they thought of that might have the possibility of missing it. The stress levels of the worlds increased by the minute. Finally, two hours passed and every world saw President George Sierra on their screens.

“I was elected by you to make sure you’re safe and defended. All the other things I do are secondary to that responsibility. One of the civilizations in the galaxy that caused the attack that destroyed Earth knows our location. So far, they say they will not reveal our location but I cannot trust your survival to the whims of another civilization. Our experts are of the opinion that even if they don’t reveal what they know, our new home will be found in less than a year. If our enemies find us, all of our worlds will look like Earth.”

George paused and continued, “With that in mind, I am ordering all of our planets to move their populations to another galaxy that we feel will never be found by our enemies. This move will begin in twenty four hours from now and Europe will be the first planet moved due to it having the smallest population. South America will be the second. We are planning to move as many of the structures on your planets and we need you to assist us in making that happen. You should take a week’s supply of food and clothes and you’re going to have to leave the bulk of your belongings behind. You may take a pet but it must not be a large animal. Our livestock will be moved later. There is no option on this. Every human must be gone from this galaxy or all the other planets will be destroyed. Your local announcers will begin issuing instructions and you need to begin your preparation immediately. I do this with a heavy heart but I know I can count on you to help make this happen. Your courage and resilience has been what has allowed us to survive and I know we’ll work together to make this happen. Thank you.”

• • •

When the ships arrived on Europe the next day, there were large numbers who refused to go. Once it was pointed out that if they stayed more than a trillion beings were going to die, most changed their minds. Those that didn’t found there was nothing being left behind to live in. They also boarded to leave. George did not have to tell them that if they had stayed, they would have been burned with the graveyards.

• • •

The Jukebox and her small ships waited for the colonists to arrive and gave the ships the coordinates on the planet of the best sites to rebuild. The thousands of ships began landing and the colonists walked out to the surface of a new planet. The planets they found waiting for them were beautiful and reminded most of them of Earth. Their remorse at being forced to leave began to disappear. Europe was moved in less than a day.

The other planets had longer to get prepared and the operations moved more efficiently. By the time Sierra-Garcia was moved, three of the planets had enough structures built to house the colonists until the rest of the buildings could be moved. The Harmony Federation bought in huge robotic road builders and the cities and towns began taking shape. The giant machines were left on the planet for the humans to interconnect their settlements.

The last to be moved were the cars and craft used by the citizens for mobility. Many of the citizens were shocked that their old houses had been lifted into huge commercial transports and then brought intact to their new home. Europe was the first to have their homes moved in this fashion due to their having the shortest time to prepare.

• • •

“Boden, we couldn’t have done this without your help. I’m amazed at what you’ve been able to do.”

“We’re not done yet, Admiral.”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re also bringing in our farming robotics to start growing the food your planets will need. We’ll plant the farms on the planet where the growing season is happening.” Boden paused, “There’s one other thing you should know.”

“What is that?”

“We’re moving the ship building factories to your planets along with all of the raw materials we currently have in storage. My planets have also agreed to come to this galaxy and find the places where you can fine the things you’ll need to start building them without our assistance.”

“We obviously don’t have the necessary population to build them at the rate you were capable.”

“You won’t be far behind. The factories are self-contained and most of the work is done by robotic assembly lines. Your main function will be to find the raw materials needed to keep them running. We’re also leaving the collection ships with you. You’ll need to find crews to operate them later.”

“Thank you for delaying your defenses until we could make this happen.”

Boden looked at RV and said, “We wouldn’t have allowed you to go if we weren’t ready. Remember, my people are unable to fight. I’m sure that would have been determined by the Majors if they scanned our galaxy and it would be just a matter of time until they came and enslaved us again.”

RV’s brow furrowed, “I’m not sure what you’re saying?”

“We could have protected your planets in our galaxy. The new planetary force fields are currently on all of our planets. That’s why we did not prevent your leaving. However, now I have a request of you.”

“What is that?”

“I’ve spoken with Dr. Connor and he tells me that they have found more than half a million habitable planets in the outer edges of this galaxy.” RV nodded. “I told you at the beginning that we need you more than you need us. That situation has not changed; my people are still defenseless against an aggressive civilization. We can hide behind our force fields but eventually, we would have to come out to survive.”

“Go on.”

Boden looked at RV and slowly shook his head, “The two hundred thousand members of our Federation are spread out over the entire galaxy. Defending them is difficult at best. If we moved to your new galaxy, all of them would be in a relatively small sector. We want to move our populations here and continue our relationship with you.”

RV started smiling and said, “I can tell you that you and your worlds will be welcomed by our Union.”

“I was hoping you would agree. Once we move you, we will have as much time as we need to move our populations along with all the support structures. Once we’ve assigned our worlds their new home planet, we estimate that we can be moved here in less than a year. We won’t have to move our structures; we’ll build new ones.”

“What about your old planets?”

“That’s why we’ve been building the force fields. We’ll leave them operating when we leave. They are powerful enough to prevent any scan so if the Majors do show up they will waste time trying to get through them.”

“I would hate for that technology to fall into their hands.”

“The systems will be set to self-destruct if the field is penetrated or loses power. The explosion will be quite powerful and they won’t get anything from what’s left behind. Matter of fact, there won’t be much of the planet remaining for them to investigate.”

“What about the force fields for our new homes?”

“We told you that it would take a year for us to protect your planets. Part of that was due to our knowing that you had endangered all of our worlds by allowing our location to be discovered. You’ve demonstrated that you place our safety ahead of your own. We’ll never doubt you again. Your force fields will be built within two months after the completion of your move. Since none of your population is now in our galaxy, we can take our time in moving everything. Even if they come scanning, they’ll be looking for you. We agree that they won’t waste time if you’re not there. They may ask questions but we’ll just say we don’t know any species like the one they’re pursuing. If it comes down to an issue, we have our force fields. I don’t expect them to waste time until the war with your ships is over and that is going to take some time.”

“I’ll let George know what’s going on and I thank you for what you’ve done.”

“You should get the Hive and Horde involved in your fight. Our tacticians think that other sectors may be getting involved shortly.”

“We think they will as well. Let Chris, Jillian, or Cyanna know if there’s anything you need us to assist you with.” Boden nodded and disappeared from the display. RV shook his head and knew that he was shortsighted in his plan to confront the Major’s combined fleet. Now the really dangerous fights were getting kicked off and he needed to get back in the game. He pressed his console and George appeared. “I have some news you are going to like.” George’s eyebrows went up and RV told him.

• • •

The First looked at the ten representatives of the sector and waited for them to state the purpose of their contact. The Center one from Prusem said, “We have decided to stop our infighting and volunteer our fleets to fight with the Majors against the white ships. You are expected to join us in this effort.”

“I’m curious; what are you going to do if someone does not join this effort?”

“They will be visited by our combined fleet before we go to the Majors.”

“That sounds like a plan that might work.” The First saw the surprise of the ten on his display. “However, there is one thing you may want to factor in to your wanting me to send our ships to participate in this endeavor.”

“What is that?”

“Are you aware my civilization has been hit by some sort of plague that is killing millions on my planets?”

The Prusem said, “We’ve heard about it. I don’t know the details.”

“We believe that this plague was specially designed to kill our populations but we’ve determined that it will infect any life form that comes into contact with it. It has an incubation period of more than three months and it’s impossible to test for who is carrying it. We have grounded any of our ships that had contact with any of our planets over the last eight months. The remaining ships are stationed above all of our planets killing any ships that try to escape. If I send those ships to fight in the combined fleet, there will be a mass exodus of populations from my worlds trying to escape this disease and many of those ships will go to your civilizations. I will join your fleets but you need to know the consequences of what will happen if we do.”

The Prusem said, “Why are you preventing them from leaving? I would think you would want us infected.”

“What would happen to my civilization if that happened?”

The ten looked at each other and the Prusem said, “You are wise for seeing the consequences.”

“Let me know when you want my ships and I’ll send them to fulfill our commitment.”

• • •

The Prusem looked at the other nine and said, “How do we know this plague is real?”

The Ramst representative said, “Before we moved our scanners to track the Minors, we saw thousands of bodies in their streets and a constant flow of ambulances to their emergency facilities. That was some time ago.”

“Who would have developed this disease?”

“All of us could have done it but the Jongen are the most likely source. They have hated the whites with a passion that was hard to fathom.”

“But they could have been infected as well.”

“Not if they destroyed every white civilization ship before it could move into their territory.”

“Their stupidity is monumental. However, what do we do about this?”

The Ramst said, “I don’t want contact with any of their civilization. Their leader will sit among us in the planning sessions. If they participate, you’ll have to record it and send the video to me. I will not be in the same room with any of them. Would you?”

“We could use their ships.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“Do you still have the recordings of the bodies in the streets?”

“I do.”

“Then have it available for everyone to see if we’re challenged on excluding them. Anyone that disagrees can be told to go in person and tell their leader to come to the meeting and bring him in their ship.”

The Prusem looked around and said, “Are any of you willing to do that?”

The Ramst said, “If there are any objections, they’ll stop at the first one.”

The Prusem nodded, “Contact the next civilization.”

The Ramst waited for the conversation to begin and wondered about getting involved in the fight against the Minors. His planet had been the only one attacked in the sector and he knew the danger those white ships represented. He often wondered how those ships knew about the scanners but however they found out, information on what was happening was difficult to acquire now. Still, the advantage in numbers should end the problem. Then they could go and find out who was building those terrible ships.

The First waited and listened as the meeting was set up at the Ramst’s Capital. He didn’t receive an invite and after they began planning it was clear he was going to be excluded. What to do with the new ships? He didn’t have an answer to that issue. Five million were now completed and there were nowhere near enough to take on the combined might of the sector.

• • •

Melody yelled into the fleet frequency, “Jump, jump, jump.” All thirty thousand ships disappeared and jumped in thirty thousand different directions. The fifty thousand ships that had jumped in on her fleet were at a loss as to how to pursue the thousands of ships and hesitated before making assignments. By the time the fleet commander made a decision, more than twenty five thousand escaped without a pursuit. Of the five thousand that were chased, half of them were destroyed. Melody waited at the final jump and saw she had lost another twenty five hundred ships. She put her head in her hands and said, “I don’t know if I can continue this.”

Greg came over and put his hand on her back, “We killed more than sixty thousand of their ships.”

Melodie looked up and said, “We’ll lose at this rate. They’re whittling us down.”

“But they are fighting us here and our civilians are still alive. Our losses are less than most of our other fleets, Mel. No one could do a better job than you’ve done. Don’t forget who we’re fighting for here.”

Melody took a deep breath and said, “Make the plans for our next assault.”

“I’ve been informed that we are ordered to jump our fleet in to the Orjeck system and to immediately jump away.”

Melody was startled, “What?”

“All of our sup-fleets are jumping into a Major System and immediately running.”

“Why would they want us to do that?”

“I think they want us chased by as many ships as possible.”

“If we immediately run, we won’t be caught. We’ve really got that down to a science.” Melody thought a moment and said, “We’re a diversion.”

Greg smiled, “Yes we are. I suspect the real action is going to be dramatic.”

Melody smiled, “When are we to make our run?”

“In six hours.”

“Count it down, Captain.”

• • •

“Loree, six minutes to jump.”

“I’m ready. I’ve set the launch sequence up and I’ll come in less than two seconds behind you. Make sure your Penetrator Craft have the jump time exact. And get your main ships out of there.”

“Their boards are set on the time. We just need to make sure we’re not early.”

“Have all the computers communicated the exact time?”

“They have and they are synchronized to a thousandth of a second.”

“Good luck, my love.”

Loree said, “You’re the one coming in second. Don’t waste any time.”

“I won’t.”

Mikal watched the countdown and hoped his Penetrator Craft would survive the coming battle. It didn’t look like the odds were in their favor.

• • •

The Chairman of the Communication Committee called the meeting to order. He looked around the room at the leaders of the Major Civilizations and knew they had never come together before. This meeting was a first. He rang the alarm and the room grew silent. He stood and started to speak when an alarm in his wrist band started vibrating. He looked at the small display and he immediately pressed a button on the top of the band. A clear tube came down from the ceiling and he stepped into it. The delegates watched as the Chairman disappeared into the ceiling. An electronic voice started announcing, “We are under attack. Find the nearest shelter. We are under attack. Find the nearest shelter.” The six hundred and twenty attendees rushed for the exits.

The Chairman exited the tube in the control room of a small ship on top of the building. He looked up in the night sky and saw massive explosions taking place. They covered the sky from horizon to horizon. He hit the drives and the small ship shot off the building and headed toward the south at high speed. He continued running through the atmosphere until the explosions overhead diminished and then he lifted the nose and left the atmosphere behind. He hit the jump drive just after a bright flash knocked his display off line. He felt himself start to shake and wondered what had caused the bright flash.

• • •

Number twelve jumped in with two million Penetrator Craft and accelerated into the center of the twelve million Major Battleships surrounding the planet. The PCs arrived less than six miles from the fleet and were on them before the giant fleet could fire. Number twelve was glad to be a Moet. He flew the ship into the force field of a huge starship while his secondary brain launched the fusion missile. He exited the first ship and was into the second’s force field in less than a second. The secondary brain slowed the rate of travel to allow the ships around him to move forward together. To an outsider, it looked like a hole was being burned into the Major Fleet. Layer after layer of ships were exploding as the fire burned into the giant fleet. Major battle ships began arriving from the back side of the planet to support the ships being attacked. After a few moments, the fleet commander ordered the fleet to fire into the ships that were being penetrated by the small ships. Number Twelve saw many of his fellow pilots killed by the combined fire of the giant fleet. The incoming beams were moving close but he continued his forward surge toward the planet below. Then a light illuminated and his ship jumped away automatically. Fifty thousand PCs were lost but they had done their job and created a huge hole in the Major Formation.

Admiral Barber’s fifty thousand main battleships emerged into normal space three hundred miles from the giant fleet around the planet. All fifty thousand were in twenty single files and all of them accelerated toward the huge fleet and launched a Main Penetrator just before they jumped away. Less than a second later, Admiral Roman’s fifty thousand ships appeared and launched another fifty thousand main Penetrators and jumped away. Ten main battleships emerged into normal space behind Roman’s main fleet as it jumped away and each launched a Light Wave Penetrator behind the Main Penetrators and then disappeared into Sierra Space.

The Admiral ordered the pursuit fleets to chase the invaders but was unable to complete the command. The line of penetrators looked like a solid line as they flew into the depression made by the attack craft at ninety percent light speed. They were moving so fast that none of them were targeted by the surrounding ships. The layer of battleships next to the planet was pulverized by the incoming missiles and the explosions from the blasts blew the surrounding ships away. It took all hundred thousand of the penetrators to eliminate everything between the planet and the remaining incoming Light Waves. Directly below them was the structure with all of the delegates that were rushing to escape. The ten Light Waves struck the planet in less than a millisecond of each other and the planet exploded in a fusion reaction from the heat generated by the strikes. The entire fleet surrounding the planet was blown away from the explosion. Those closest to the planet were vaporized by the mini-nova and the others were blown end over end in the resulting shock wave. No ship gave chase to the intruders. The planetary system now had a small sun among the inner planets.

Chapter Eighteen

The meeting at the Ramst Capital was getting argumentative. The civilizations could not stop accusing each other of past wrongs and blatant attacks. The Ramst King finally gave in and let them scream at each other. His communicator beeped and he pressed the button on his throne and read the message. He immediately stood and pressed the alarm on his chair. The room was silenced by the blaring alarm and everyone looked at him, “You will leave this planet immediately. The Major’s conference was attacked by the white ships and all the delegates were killed when the planet was destroyed by the attackers.”

One envoy stood, “They don’t know we’re meeting here.”

“They know where this planet is located and have attacked it previously. Do you want to risk your lives on that assumption? We don’t know how they learn what’s going on but they do. I’ll not have my planet a target of those ships. Leave immediately.”

Most of the delegates didn’t have to be told twice. Many of them started rushing for the exits as soon as the announcement was made. The others watched the exodus and rushed for the doors as well. The fleets left the Capital and rushed back to their territories.

The King sat on his throne and thought about the damage that had been done to the Majors. “The next meeting will be easier to control. They should be able to see the danger now.”

• • •

RV was ready to launch the fleet when his sensor officer said, “The fleets are leaving the Ramst Capital. It appears the delegates are fleeing the scene.”

Crap, we just couldn’t get organized in time. RV pressed his board and said, “The attack has been canceled. Get with your fleets and map out your next targets in the Major sector. I don’t want to reveal we’re keeping tabs on the other sector just yet.”

RV looked at his display and said, “Get the Fleet Admirals on the channel.”

Kenny, Kate, and Gibbs appeared on the display and RV said, “I want you to integrate the Hive and Horde ships into your attacks. I suspect the best use would be to set up ambushes for the pursuers until they start sending massive numbers. Keep me informed of what’s going on.”

The three nodded and disappeared from the display. Something had to be done to slow the Majors down. They were starting to combine effectively and the pursuit was coordinated. He sat and thought about what to do. He thought about the gravity of the situation and then had another thought. He contacted Chris and was transferred to Captain Phillips. Phil appeared on RV’s display and said, “How may I be of assistance, Admiral?”

RV told him and Phil’s face showed surprise. After thirty minutes, Phil said, “I’ll investigate the possibility and get back to you as soon as I have a definitive answer.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

• • •

Phil looked at Anne and said, “I need you to bring three remote controlled attack craft with you and meet me at the following coordinates.”

“What’s going on?”

“We’re going to take a look at a deep hole.”

Anne showed her confusion but left to get the needed ships.

• • •

Six months passed and the Allies were attacking the Majors with larger and larger numbers of ships. The small attacks were overwhelming and had hundreds of ships pursuing every ship after an attack. A new tactic was devised and Mikal’s fleet was selected to make the first effort.

Mikal’s fleet jumped away from the Moget industrial planet with more than a hundred thousand ships in pursuit. Amal Gerji, the Captain of the Rome, looked up from his display, “They jumped in before we could even start an attack on the planet. They have more than a million ships stationed at all their important planets as well as massive numbers waiting to jump in pursuit. They’re really getting their act together.”

“I expect more ships will be joining them in the chase. How many more jumps?”

“Five, Sir.”

“Notify the spider.”

“He’s counting it down already. They’ll be waiting.”

The 8th Fleet jumped all forty thousand ships a fifth time and immediately went weightless and accelerated away from the emergence coordinates into the ranks of the Horde’s 1st Fleet. The million white ships waited and after a short delay, two hundred thousand ships emerged into normal space to find millions of beams and penetrators fired at their ships. In less than five seconds, a hundred and fifty thousand were damaged or destroyed. The remaining ships were lucky enough to be behind the outer layer of their formation and were able to return fire. Ten thousand white ships were damaged and another six thousand destroyed. The survivors of the pursuit were blown away when the small craft roared in with their main penetrators and hit each survivor more than sixty times.”

The Horde Fleet Leader said, “Get a tow for the damaged ships that can be repaired and evacuate the ships that can’t. Start destroying them as soon as the crews are out.” Ships move out from the fleet’s ranks and began putting a tractor beam on the damaged ships and then jumped away. Escape pods and shuttles began entering other ships as the fleet moved to save as many crews as possible.

Mikal appeared on the Fleet Leader’s board and said, “The probe shows a giant mass moving through Sierra Space this way. There’s no time.”

“Jump, jump, jump.” The Horde Leader made the announcement and the ship’s drives automatically jumped every ship away at the command. The Fleet Leader sent the self-destruct signal and the six thousand ships that were damaged beyond repair exploded in massive blasts as the five reactors on board went critical and exploded. The Fleet Leader jumped away just before a million ships arrived at the site. Two million more arrived six minutes later. The sensor probe recorded the Major’s frustration and heard the plans to start using five million ships in any future pursuit. Attacking the Majors had become increasingly dangerous.

RV watched the video and knew that small attacks were going to be next to impossible. He knew that if he was not able to attack them in their sector, they would combine, jump away, and destroy the Hive and Horde planets. Before he could allow that to happen he would have to force a major fleet action against their combined fleets. That could lead to the loss of all his ships. He sat and thought about what to do next. His options were running out. He pressed the communication frequency and said, “Operation Black Widow is now in force. Make your runs according to the data you’ve been given.”

• • •

Ten sub-fleets were running from the millions of ships pursuing them. They had all jumped in to attack a secondary capital when the conference had been targeted and had been forced to flee before they could attack. Melodie listened to the other admirals and said, “We will jump into the spider’s web in exactly ten seconds from my mark. Ready, Mark.” Melodie looked at Greg and he said, “All ships are locked in on our position and have gone weightless.”

“Move them away at maximum speed on emergence.”

The ten sub-fleets emerged into normal space and every ship hit their thrusters and moved laterally away from their point of entry. The eight million ships in pursuit roared in and emerged into normal space to find themselves inside the event horizon of the largest black hole in the observable universe. The monster in the middle of M-87 had no peers and the Major ships immediately saw their error.

Melodie Watched as the million plus Major Ships that has chased her fleet were sucked into the black hole faster than she could see. The Spider had caught them in its massive gravity well and their jump drives wouldn’t function in that environment. The ten sub-fleets were weightless and unaffected by the massive gravity surrounding them. Greg looked up and said, “I’m really thankful Captain Phillips made the determination of how far we could move into the event horizon.”

Melodie sighed and said, “Get us out of her and back to port.” She knew this escape tactic would only work once and the Majors would not jump in this close to the coordinates of the black hole. At least this was an escape of last resort. Once they crossed the horizon, they couldn’t jump out so the Majors could just keep them trapped. It wouldn’t be good to be forced to come back to the giant black spider’s web.

• • •

RV sat in the command chair and looked at the clock. It was three in the morning ship time and he was depressed at all the magnificent ships and crews that had been lost. He also knew he wasn’t all that he was cracked up to be. He was lost on what to do next. A supply transport arrived and began unloading in the landing bay. He sighed and leaned back in his chair and thought about his wedding. He closed his eyes and heard, “I hope you’re not sleeping on the job.”

RV eyes flew open and he saw Cyanna standing before him. He jumped up and hugged her tightly. She held him and felt his sadness. “It’s alright; we’ll find a way.”

RV leaned back and said, “You shouldn’t be here. Leigh Ann needs you.”

“I know; but I need you.”

RV pulled her close again and slowly rocked back and forth. After a few minutes he asked, “Where’s Leigh Ann?”

“Chris and Jillian are taking care of her until we come back.”

“I can’t leave her an orphan, Cy.”

“And neither can I. You know there’s no one better than me working at your side and the best chance I have of getting you back is to come and make sure you have the best chance of returning to us.” RV started to say something but Cyanna put a finger on his lips, “If I stayed and you died, Leigh Anne would have a mother lost in her sorrow. Chris and Jillian will take care of her and I don’t know anyone better to raise her to be the wonderful woman I know she’ll become. We both go home or we’ll be together whatever happens. I won’t leave your side again.”

“You know how that scares me.”

“RV, I’m a warrior. You’ve know that from the beginning. It’s what I chose to be and I’m dying a slow death away from you. This is my place.”

RV sighed and then slowly nodded, “I couldn’t do it either.” RV sat down and Cyanna sat in his lap. After an hour of just holding her and stroking her hair RV said, “I’m lost. I don’t know how to continue attacking them in this sector without losing every ship in the attacks. They are jumping five million ships to pursue us and they still have a million ships at every important planet.”

Cyanna said quietly, “I’ve been busy while you’ve been gone. How would you like to give those fleets chasing your fleets a surprise party?”

RV lifted his head, “What kind of surprise?”

“I’ve had Boden make me some new toys and I believe in sharing them with others. Sharing is something I want Leigh Anne to learn as she grows up.”

“What kind of toys?”

Cyanna talked with RV for the next three hours and then they went to bed. RV fell asleep with a smile on his face.

• • •

“Attention all fleets. I am sending you your next missions and you will follow your instructions to the letter. All ships in our combined fleets will download the following frequency and coordinates into their drive systems and activate them before jumping to your assignments. You will also be given the first coordinate to use when you jump away. Notify the Havana when you have complied.”

Kenny contacted Kate, “What’s he doing?”

“I don’t know. I’ve just looked at the attack profile for the ships I’ll be taking and we are to fire at any ships that move our way and then jump to a specific coordinate.”

“I also notice that we are ordered not to jump away but to run in normal space from the pursuers. It even dictates the direction we are to flee.”

“This is highly unusual.”

“He has to come up with something better than this. We can’t continue to lose ships at the rate we’ve been enduring.”

“I notice he only has fifty of our fleets involved in the next attack.”

Kenny ran his hand through his short hair, “He doesn’t want to lose all our ships. This accounts for half of those we have remaining. Uh oh, the countdown is starting. We’re all jumping in an hour. I’ve got to make sure everyone follows his orders. If we’re confused, I know everyone else is as well.”

Kate sighed, “I hope he knows what he’s doing.”

Just before Kenny ended the call he said, “The assignments were made by Cyanna. She’s back on board the Havana.”

Kate was surprised and looked to confirm Kenny was right. He was. She didn’t know if this was a good thing or not.

• • •

Loree and Mikal looked at their assignments and wondered what was going on. “Mikal, if we survive this, I need you.”

“I’ll come to you, my love. Be careful.”

“Come back to me!”

“I’ll do my best.”

• • •

The fifty fleets entered their attack coordinates and then the escape coordinates into their jump drives. The drive officers then activated the automatic frequency. The fifty rear-admirals watched the countdown and then every fleet jumped to their targets.

Melodie said, “They’ve seen us and are jumping in. Jump us out; NOW!” Melodie’s fleet jumped and emerged in normal space close to a star. Greg looked at her as Melodie said over the general fleet frequency. Go weightless and accelerate until we’re twenty thousand miles from here. Lock you ships to the Hiroshima and stay in formation.”

“What are we doing, Sir?”

“The fleet directives order us to flee through normal space at one tenth light speed.”

“Sir, the pursuit will be able to close on us at that speed.”

“Follow your orders, Captain.” Melodie watched as the five million Major Ships emerged into normal space and gave chase. She watched as they began closing the distance and wondered what the Admiral was doing. It wasn’t going to take long for her fleet to be reeled in.

“Should I move further out from the star?”

“No, our path has been set. Maintain this course.”

Greg looked at his board, “Sir, the star we’re running close to is unstable.”

Melodie looked at her board and frowned. What was going on?

• • •

The Major Fleet Commander saw the fleeing ships and ordered full speed ahead. The distance started closing and his second in command looked up from his sensor panel, “Should we jump some ships in front of them?”

The commander thought about it and said, “No; I don’t want two groups of ships moving toward each other at their next jump. It will slow our pursuit and I think they are expecting us to do that. Have you detected any other ships in this system?”

“No, I have not.”

“Continue the chase; be ready to follow their next jump.”

• • •

On the opposite side of the star from the two giant fleets, ten huge transports opened their massive doors. A huge object inside the hangers moved forward and the blast doors went up behind it. “We’re clear for launch.”

The Captain waited and after two minutes, all ten lights glowed green. He keyed his board and said, “Launch in ten seconds from my mark. Frequency broadcast in nine seconds.” He paused and said, “Mark.”

The sensor buoy on the side of the sun where the Allies Fleet was fleeting the Majors received the signal from the other side of the sun and then broadcast a broadband frequency to the fleeing Union Ships. One moment thirty thousand white ships were fleeing from the Majors and the next, all had disappeared. The Major Commander yelled, “Get us to their exit point.” A moment later he died in a blast that burned his ship to vapor. The other five million Major Ships died with him.

The ten thousand foot long Light Wave Penetrators launched from the giant weapon transports and hit the star at light speed. The explosion at the core of the star instantly ignited the slowly dying furnace and exploded it out toward the stars surface that had almost become too heavy for the core to hold. The result was a super nova that blew out from the star at half the speed of light. The Major Fleet had less than one ninety thousandth of a second to escape, but no being could move in that short moment. In less than ten minutes, fifty new novae appeared in M87.

• • •

The Dark Creature looked at the Magest King and felt his frustration. He tried one more time, “You must call off the pursuit of the white ships!”

“We’ve already discussed this. We will not call off the pursuit. We will destroy large numbers of their ships this time.”

“Why can’t you see that they want us to chase them? None of their fleets fired a shot; they jumped in and jumped away as soon as our fleets arrived. They’re baiting us to pursue them.”

“Our fleets respond so quickly now that there is no time for them to fire at anything. Now give it up. We’re going to chase and kill their ships.”

The Dark Creature looked at his display and saw that hundreds of the other civilizations on the call were starting to wonder what was going on. He leaned back on his pad and cursed under his breath. His alarm sounded and he saw his aide outside his door. He raised it and the aide came in shaking, “What’s wrong?”

“All of our fleets pursuing the white ships have been destroyed.”

The Dark Creature was stunned and he looked quickly at his display and saw someone on the screen with the Magest King whispering in his ear. He looked back at the aide, “How?”

“They exploded the stars where our fleets were pursuing the white ships. All of them were burned in the blasts. It appears no one in the fleets noticed that they were chasing the white ships close to an unstable star.”

The Dark Creature smiled. He was the only one that had called for the pursuit to be called off. He knew the current civilizations leading the war against the White Ships were going to be challenged. This could help him. The aide said, “We lost fifty percent of our ships today.” He nodded and waved the aide away. He wasn’t completely sure he wanted to be in a leadership role. He closed his door and listened to the uproar on the display.

• • •

Melodie’s fleet appeared in open space. She looked at Greg and he said, “Ten more fleets have just jumped in; make that thirty fleets now.”

Melodie looked at her display as all fifty fleets jumped in and remained in formation. Then she heard Admiral Arvolo say…

“I want to thank all of you for following your orders. The ships that were in pursuit of your fleets have all been destroyed.” Melodie looked at Greg and he shrugged. “The stars that we had your fleets jump to were very unstable and would have eventually gone nova; we assisted them in doing it now. The Major Fleets were unable to jump away before they were caught in the blast. We have reduced the Major’s ship count by two hundred and fifty million ships. Their numbers are now reduced by half. This buys us time to continue our efforts to wear them down. Thank you again and Admirals, you may jump your fleets back to your support facilities.”

Melodie looked at Greg, “What a clever idea. I wonder how he came up with it?”

Greg smiled, “It happened after his wife rejoined him on the Havana. I suspect she had a lot to do with what happened.”

Melodie thought a moment and said, “It’s unusual for a husband and wife to be on the same ship in command.”

Greg looked at his board and said, “It wouldn’t be that unusual if more officers tied the knot.”

Melodie jerked her head toward Greg and he continued to stare at his board. “You’re right about that.”

“You would think someone would start the process so more could follow.”

Melodie continued to stare at Greg until he spun his chair around and said, “Permission to start that process, Sir.”

Melodie smiled at Greg and said, “Permission granted, Captain.”

The bridge crew watched them and wondered if they were going to kiss or do something romantic but they remained at their stations continuing to direct the fleet. Until they arrived at port and then everyone was ordered off the bridge.

• • •

Three weeks later, two million ships jumped in and immediately jumped away from the unstable star. The white ships were not far from the star and they waited for the Major Fleet to move in on them. The Major Fleet Commander stared at the display and took a deep breath. His ship commander said, “What are you going to do?”

“Are you that dense? What options do I have?”

The ship commander looked at the Admiral and said nothing.

“If I jump our fleet in, they’ll explode the star and kill all of us. If I jump in a small group, those ships will destroy them.”

“You could chase them when they jump away.”

“Would you like to go to their exit and collect the coordinates?” The Ship’s Commander looked back and his display and was silent. They watched the white ships disappear and after a few moments returned to their home port. It was far too dangerous to risk his ships. His civilization was going to need every one of them to defend themselves later. He was not the only Fleet Commander to make that decision.

Chapter Nineteen

The Ramst King looked at the quiet leaders on the display and said, “Now are you ready to decide?”

No one spoke. They had all witnessed the destruction of the Major’s Fleets and knew that the enemy they were facing was a clear and present danger to all of their civilizations.

The King said, “Here is our decision. The Majors are now so weakened that we can go in and take their territories and then fight among ourselves as we’ve always done to eliminate any of us that are weakened in the effort to conquer them. That is how we’ve always operated in the past. We are now down to six hundred and twenty one civilizations where there were once more than a million. If we continue down this road, there will one day in the far future be only one survivor. I must say from a selfish point of view that I’ve not been really concerned about that path, because I know we have some of the most advanced ships in this sector. However, that view has changed now that the white ships have appeared. What will happen if we attack the Majors and all of us are weakened? They are growing in numbers by the moment and once the Majors are gone; who will stand between them and our citizens? We have never been able to come together to accomplish anything. I don’t trust any of you and it goes without saying that none of you trust me.”

The Prusem Ruler said, “What is the other choice?”

The King hesitated and said, “We go to the defense of the Majors and eliminate the ones that built those ships. We make an agreement that we will not attack each other for a hundred years and we all rebuild once the white ships are destroyed. We will all search for the galaxy of those beings and once we find them we terminate their existence. That will start the hundred years of peace and recovery.”

The Rhys Councilman said, “How can we trust everyone to comply with this?”

“We must all agree that anyone that attacks another during that time will be attacked by all the other members and we must keep that promise. None of us can stand up to our combined fleet.”

“What if the Majors turn on us?”

“They have lost so many ships that they will not be an issue once this is decided. We will all combine against them if they are foolish enough to even think about it. However, we must include them in our plans of non-aggression in order to get their agreement to work with us.”

The Hoyeis Representative said, “And if they don’t agree?”

“We combine our ships and go destroy them all. However, they still have more than two hundred million ships. I would rather have them working with us.”

The Lunje said, “Are you saying we send all of our ships into this war and leave none to defend our territories?”

“No, I am not. We will leave a hundred thousand ships at each of our territories. For those whose ships are not as strong as the advanced ships among us, they will leave an additional number of ships to balance the forces. The Chairman of Sensor Control knows the power of our ships. He has to have that information to use them to attack any force coming from outside our sector. He will dictate the numbers each of us will have to make sure all of us are of equal strength. Remember, we will not attack each other for a hundred years. That allows enough time for us to reach equilibrium again.”

The Prusem said, “Have you determined how many ships that we would be sending to the war?”

“I only have a rough estimate.”

“What is it?”

“Six hundred million ships give or take several million based on the Sensor Controller’s balancing.”

There was silence and the King waited. Finally he said, “I recognize that many of you will have to discuss this with your civilizations to make a decision. However, we need to decide if all of us must agree to this or a majority.”

The Negrant Representative said, “What happens if a majority votes to do this? Will those that vote no have to participate?”

“It’s either all of us or none of us. I think all of us need to watch the destruction of the Major’s fleets again and see what lies in our future.” The King paused and then said, “Go to your Capitals and decide what you want to see happen. We will meet on this frequency again in seven days at this same time.”

• • •

The White Civilization sent a copy of the meeting to George.

• • •

“Well, what do you think they’ll do?”

RV sighed, “They’ll send a massive fleet and destroy the planets of the Hive and Horde as well as any other Minors in the area. Then they’ll start a search for our galaxy.”

“You don’t think you can make them fight the main battle in the Major’s Sector?”

“Think about it George. They can leave a hundred million ships in that sector and still take seven hundred million to eradicate the Minors. We’ll have to face them at the home worlds of our allies.”

“Can we slow them down by attacking their sector?”

“Only if we’re willing to allow the Majors to then go and destroy our allies; we don’t have enough ships to counter that magnitude of forces in two different sectors.”

George stared at RV and said, “So what do we do?”

“What we’ve known was going to happen all along. We fight by our allies until it’s hopeless and try to save as many ships as possible at the end.” RV paused, “But there is a difference this time.”

“What is that?”

“Our planets and the Federation’s planets are now safe in our new home. This was once a war to the death; now it’s just a battle, albeit the largest this universe has ever seen. They will not find us now.”

“Should we even stay and fight?” RV slowly shook his head. George said, “I know. If we run we lose our souls.”

“That event would mark the start of the fall of our civilization. If you can’t fight for principles, you’re doomed.”

“So what’s the plan, Admiral?”

“We need to tell the Nexu that we understand if they join the others in the attack.”

“I thought about that. They’ll die with the Minors if they don’t participate.”

“I’ll contact Jeff and let him know.”

“I appreciate that.”

• • •

RV looked at Jeff on his display and said, “I’m going to let you in on some information that we’ve just acquired.”

“What is that?”

“The Sector next to yours is close to agreeing to come to the defense of the Majors.”

“THEY’RE WHAT!?!”

“They plan to send about seven hundred million ships to support the Majors in exterminating the rebelling planets and then they plan to find our home galaxy and destroy it.”

“When did this happen?”

“Yesterday; they still have to vote on it but I’m reasonably certain the resolution will pass. It appears we’ve done a good job of scaring the crap of them.” Jeff stared at RV and remained silent. RV continued, “If your civilization doesn’t agree to participate in the combined fleet, I’m sure they will come to your planets first and remove you as a possible threat. My Leader has asked me to inform you that we are releasing you from your promise to ally with us. We understand that you must participate and we know you have to do it.”

Jeff continued to stare at RV and then he slowly shook his head, “We planned to join your forces in the final battle but you’re right. There’s no way we could survive that number of ships.”

“Good luck, my friend. We do wish you long life.”

“Thank you.”

Jeff’s display went dark and he contacted the Council. They were shocked at the news but also didn’t see any way out of the box they found themselves trapped in.

• • •

Greg looked at Melodie and said, “I wish we could have had a formal wedding and honeymoon.”

“Difficult times lead to difficult measures. At least we have each other for what time remains.”

“You think we’re going to lose this war?”

Melodie looked at him for a long moment and said, “RV told me that the other sector is going to send six hundred million ships to support the Majors.” Greg sat down and stared at her. He was too stunned to speak. “All the ships we’ve lost to reduce the Major’s Fleets have been spent to no avail. We’re back at square one and we have fewer ships.”

Greg stood up and pulled Melodie into his arms, “We have this moment. But I want you to promise me one thing.”

“What?”

“That we will have that honeymoon when this is over.”

Melodie smiled, “You always give me courage. When I’m at my weakest, you give me strength to continue. We will have that honeymoon and I hope you can survive my attentions.”

“I look forward to it.”

• • •

“Loree, have you heard?”

“I have.”

“I don’t want to wait.”

“Admiral Arvolo can do the honors. I’ll meet you on the Havana in two hours. I’ll contact the Admiral and have him do the proceedings.”

“I love you, Loree.”

“And I love you.”

• • •

RV sat in his command chair with Cyanna on his lap. They looked out of the open viewport at the billions of stars shining in the distance. RV said, “We’ve had more than a million weddings in the last three days.”

“I know.”

“It’s a shame they have to be done under these circumstances.”

“You make love where you find it. These ceremonies reflect the emotions and feelings of wonderful sailors that know how important every moment is when the next could be your last.” Cyanna lifted her head and said, “How are the Hive and Horde evacuations progressing?”

“They have moved seventy percent of their populations. The time we’ve given them attacking the Majors has made all the difference. Once they started moving things accelerated.”

Cyanna put her head back on RV’s chest, “Good. How much do you weigh now?”

RV chuckled, “I’m down to 190 pounds.”

“Dieting?”

“No, not having you here.”

Cyanna smiled, “Well you can gain nine pounds but I want you to stay under two hundred.”

“Until we can get off ship, there’s not much chance of that happening. The food on this ship is just too healthy.”

“You mean green.”

“Exactly.”

Cyanna laughed and continued to look out of the viewport.

RV said, “I was hoping for a son.”

Cyanna smiled, “We’ll let tomorrow take care of tomorrow.”

• • •

The Dark Creature looked at his bank of displays and saw all the leaders from the Major Civilizations. He was now leading the war against the rebellion. He smiled and said, “I have a new development that we need to discuss. It will probably change anything we were planning to do and I think it will end this conflict.” He watched as the leaders stared at him on their displays and after a long pause he said, “The other sector has volunteered to send their ships to assist us in eliminating those that are in rebellion and to find and destroy the galaxy that has supplied the Minors with those white ships.”

Pandemonium broke out. Everyone started yelling at once and he waited for it to subside. Eventually it did. He stared at the leaders and said, “You really sicken me. Do you think I would allow anything like this to happen if it placed any of you in danger? You’re so locked into your total distrust of everyone that you don’t see what a gift this is for all of us, especially after the number of ships we’ve lost.”

The Jongen Duke said, “They’ll just destroy us afterwards. You know they’ve been wanting to take our territories for centuries.”

“That’s true, but they have also had to come to an accommodation with the civilizations in their sector to make this work. Our options are really easy to understand. If we don’t join them in the effort to eliminate our enemies, they will bring their combined fleets here first and remove us as a potential problem. Their seven hundred million ships would accomplish that rather easily and they’ll destroy our rebellious Minors afterwards. They prefer to have us work with them to make sure there are no surprises when they attack.”

The Burgen King said, “What’s to prevent them from destroying us afterwards?”

“They have all agreed to not attack each other for a hundred years after our enemies are eliminated. They have agreed to combine and attack any civilization that attacks another once that agreement takes effect. We will have to agree to join that combined fleet to enforce the peace. If one of them attacks any of our civilizations, they have agreed to destroy the attacker. We, of course, would join them in the attack against the aggressor.” The Dark Creature paused and said, “There are many of them that voted against this proposal but the mast majority support it and they are being forced to fall in line with the others.”

“Do you think they’ll stand by their agreement?”

“If one of us is attacked by one of their civilizations, our combined fleet would destroy the attacker even if they don’t join us. Just like destroying a planet without an announcement, they would have to allow it to happen. I really see that they all know the consequences of violating this agreement.”

“We really have no choice.”

The Dark Creature smiled, “No we don’t, but they think they need our fleets to do this and I’m not telling them they’re wrong. Think about it; we’ll have a hundred years to rebuild. We will recover from our losses and we will all agree to combine and attack any of them that attempt to take any of our territories. We can make that agreement right now.”

“They could combine against us after that period.”

“They could do that now but you know why they won’t. The civilizations that were weakened by the attack would be gobbled up by the others. None of them are willing to risk it.” The Dark Creature waited and after an hour he said, “This really is a no-brainer. Send a yes or no vote to my board now.”

He watched and after a few minutes the votes began coming in. He waited until the last arrived and saw that all of the leaders were still on the frequency waiting for the results of the vote. He said, “I see that the Nexu has voted no. Is there a reason for that?”

“Yes there is. We do not get involved in disputes between other civilizations. We only defend our territory against trespassers. We do not choose to take part in this attack.”

“It’s really not a choice. If we agree; we will all participate.”

“Then take a bit of information to the other sector and see if it will allow us to stay out of this stupidity.”

“What information is that?”

“We know where the galaxy of the white ship builders is located.”

Silence slammed down on the conference. Even the Dark Creature was stunned at the comment. The Nexu Leader continued, “If we are forced to fight we will remove that location from our databanks.”

“We could combine against you and force you to tell us.”

“And just how many more ships do you think you’ll lose if you try that? We don’t like being told what to do and we think this piece of information might be valuable to the other sector. You might even be able to use it to ensure you’re not attacked afterwards.”

“But you will be left stronger that any of the rest of us if you don’t take part in the fight?”

“Why would you care? When have we ever attacked any of you and why would that change? Your combined fleet could still destroy us if we did attack any of you and the other sector would help you do it.”

“Where did you get that information?”

“We were attacked by their ships and you know we’re telepathic. We were able to see the thoughts of one of the survivors before it died and its home galaxy in its mind. We’ve done a search and have found a galaxy that matches what was in that being’s thoughts. We know where they live.”

The Dark Creature saw the value of that information and how he could use it to gain status with the other sector; but how could he persuade the others to make them go along with the Nexu suggestion. Then he had it. “I think the Nexu have a good proposal. Here’s how we’ll handle this. Send in your vote now. If you agree with them; vote yes. If you don’t; vote no.” He paused and said, “Those who vote no will be allowed to go and pry that information from them.”

He noticed there were fifteen no votes that immediately disappeared from his panel when he made the last comment. He waited and after ten minutes the yes votes started coming in. He smiled and said, “It appears you have received agreement on your proposal. How do you suggest we handle this?”

“We will give you the coordinates of that galaxy and you will not mention our non-participation to the other sector. They will not be able to determine our absence when all of our ships combine. The numbers will just be too massive to know who’s there and who isn’t. We also want everyone’s agreement to attack any civilizations that trespasses into our territory.”

The Dark Creature looked at the Nexu and said, “They have voted to support your proposal. I can say for all of us that if anyone violates our agreement we will combine against them.”

The Nexu bowed his head, “No one is in danger of us. We just want to live in our territory and be left alone.”

“I promise you will have your wish.”

“The Coordinates are on your board. We have erased them from our data banks and you are the only one with possession of them now.”

The Dark Creature downloaded the data to his personal recorder and said, “I will notify the other Sector of our agreement to accept their conditions and start the preparations to end this problem with the Minors.” The Leaders terminated their connections and the Dark Creature slithered into his quarters and thought about how to use the information to his advantage.

• • •

The Hive Controller looked at the Horde Master, “Well, it looks like the battle will be fought here.”

“There’s still some time remaining. The vast majorities of our planets will be saved, which is a blessing.”

“I know, but there are other Minor Civilizations that have not moved their populations. They will be destroyed and there’s nothing we can do to prevent it.”

“You can only do what you can.”

“Still, I really hate to see them die due to our actions.”

“The cold hard truth is that most of them were living on borrowed time anyway. The continuous wars we’ve been forced to fight would have eventually destroyed them. We were lucky to find out what was going on in time to save our people.”

The Hive Controller leaned back, “It wasn’t luck. The Union is what allowed us to survive. We would be dead but for their actions.”

“I’ve had all my ships erase the coordinates of their new galaxy.”

“I have as well. Even if we lose this battle, time is on our side.”

“I have vowed to make those civilizations pay for their sins even if it takes to the end of time to make it happen.”

“We’ll be fighting there with you.”

The Horde Master smiled, “I never doubted you would.” The Hive Master felt the bond with his former enemy. He knew he would never have to face danger alone again.

Chapter Twenty

RV watched his feed from the sensor buoy in the Major’s Sector. Ships had been jumping in and forming up for more than seven days and the numbers continued to rise. He glanced down at the scanner report and saw that close to five hundred million had arrived and still they continued to arrive in massive numbers. Whoever was in charge of the organization was pretty good. They weren’t mixing ships from different civilizations and were allowing the Fleet Commanders from each civilization to make sure the organizational orders were followed. It was still massively confused, but they had time to get organized before they came to visit.

“That’s an impossible fleet to control.”

“They’re not going to try to control it. They’re just going to start it moving and see if we can stop it.”

Cyanna shrugged, “It’s like a skier standing in front of an avalanche yelling stop. They’re just going to roll over us and surround us like an amoeba.”

“Then they’ll consume us.”

Cyanna turned around in her chair and said, “Is there anything we can do to stop that fleet?”

“Not really. We have enough Light Waves to knock a big hole in their formations but it would be suicide to go in it. We could attack around the edges but they would just roll over us.”

“So why are we here?”

RV thought about it and said, “To get their attention and make sure they just don’t walk in and do as they please.”

“That’s it!”

“Unless you’d like to add a few descriptive phrases, yes.”

Cyanna turned back around and said, “Mikal and Loree were really hot under the collar.”

“Too bad; they should see the need.”

“Melodie and Greg were also angry.”

RV turned around and looked at Cyanna, “I’m sending the best we have to defend our planets. I’m not going to waste them here.”

“You know our fleet is the best.”

RV shrugged.

“Got nothing to say?”

“What do you think would happen if I left?”

Cyanna smiled, “Just wanted to make sure you were doing this for the right reason.”

“I’ve also ordered the Horde and Hive to send their best sub-fleets to their new locations. They resisted but they understand.”

“Well, let’s put on a good performance.”

RV smiled, “You know we will.”

• • •

George looked at RV and said, “Don’t waste your ships. We’ll need those crews to train future ships.”

“I have no intention of doing that.”

“How many ships do you have to face them?”

“Six million; our numbers have been reduced in the attacks on the Majors. It will be enough so that they think all of our ships are here.”

“RV, I don’t care about them thinking they’ve killed all our ships. I’m giving you a direct order to save as many as you can if you are going to be overwhelmed.”

RV stared at George, “If they know many of us survive they will not stop looking for us.”

“I don’t care. We’ll handle that issue when it arises. I will not sanction the wasteful loss of our fine sailors.”

RV looked at Cyanna, saw her nod, and then said, “We’ll do it your way. However, we are going to kill as many as we can before we leave.”

“That’s fair. Just don’t overstay your welcome.”

RV nodded and ended the connection. Cyanna said, “It appears he knows you rather well.”

RV nodded, “It appears he doesn’t. I was planning to retreat.” Cyanna snorted and looked at him. “Hey, I was.”

“Yeah, that’s why you sent those fleets away.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” RV thought a moment and said, “It might be better if you sound the retreat. I might be too involved and lose track of what’s going on.”

“You are wise beyond your years.”

“Are you saying I’m old!?!”

“No, I’m saying you’ll be like a child at a circus that forgets to run when the tigers get loose.”

“Oh; well that’s ok.”

Cyanna glanced at her display and said, “Better get ready; they’re forming up to jump.”

RV looked at his panel and hit the fleet frequency, “Attention all ships. The enemy fleets will be jumping momentarily. Go to general quarters and hold your formations until I order the attack.” He looked at the massive cloud of enemy ships and wondered if anyone would survive.

• • •

The Dark Creature looked at the Ramst Fleet Commander and said, “You are now in charge. You may begin operations.”

“Attention all ships; we will begin our jumps in two minutes. You have your jump times. Don’t be late.”

• • •

Arvolo looked up at his display and saw the gathering ships. There were millions and more were arriving every second. He hit the general frequency, “It appears that both sectors of M-87 have now arrived and are coming to destroy our fleets. There is no possible way for us to fight in formation so once the battle is joined, all ships will be on their own to fight and survive as best they can. It is our intent to kill as many of the enemy as possible and lessen the possibility of them finding our new home. Small ships will fight until they run out of munitions and will then jump away. You will not waste your ships by ramming the enemy. We will need you in future combat operations. On my command, weapons are free and pick a group of those warships, introduce yourselves, and make sure they remember you; God speed and good luck.”

RV stood and moved to the pilot’s chair, “Dolly, can you handle the weapons?”

“I can.”

“Cyanna, take over control of the fleet and order retreat if we’re going to be overwhelmed.”

Cyanna moved to the command chair and watched the giant mass of warships as it continued to grow. She looked at RV, “If you don’t mind, I’ve never been the patient sort.”

RV smiled and said, “Go ahead.”

“Attention all ships; we will not wait for their attack. Launch all small ships immediately and prepare to hit those ships in five seconds, four, three, two, one, and go!”

The millions of white ships roared forward, hit the giant mass of warships in the center at one quarter light speed, and ships began dying.

• • •

The Havana hit the mass of ships and RV twisted the ship through the dense sea of ships. He was flying weightless and not even thinking about what was happening around him. The Millions of small craft hit the formation and began launching main penetrators and the massive explosions blinded many ships to what was immediately around them. Suddenly, RV jerked the Havana hard right and saw there were no enemy ships around him; only empty space with white ships moving through it. The millions of main battleships and small craft were left in space with no one to attack. RV looked at Cyanna and said, “What just happened!?! Where did they go?”

“They aren’t anywhere around here. Every ship in their fleet jumped simultaneously somewhere else.”

The Admirals began asking for directions and RV looked at Cyanna and said, “Sort this out. I need to make a call.”

Cyanna moved to her chair and RV went to the command chair. He punched a Nexu frequency and Jeff appeared on the display. “Every ship they sent to attack us has suddenly disappeared. Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

RV saw Jeff was frightened. Jeff said, “Have you seen the sensor probes that are located along the edge of our galaxy?”

“I have.”

“Do you know why they were put there?”

“I assume it was to warn against another galaxy attacking you.”

“That’s partially true. They were put there to warn our sectors if any activity was detected in the Red Sector.”

“The what!?!”

“The Red Sector; surely you know that our two sectors only occupy a third of the galaxy out from the core.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“The Red Sector occupies half the galaxy across from our location. There is only one civilization there and they have invaded our sectors and destroyed all intelligent life six times over the last four hundred million years.”

RV stared at Jeff and couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “So what does that have to do with all the ships disappearing?”

“Every ship in both sectors has their drives connected to those sensors. If fleet activity is detected in the Red Sector, they are automatically jumped back to their home planets to defend them. Our probes have detected ships in the Red Sector starting to organize.”

RV stared at Jeff for a long minute and finally said, “You have got to be kidding me. This galaxy is one big freak house! You people live in a house of horrors. Is there no end to the nightmares in this place? Why on God’s green earth would you continue to stay in this monster of a galaxy?”

“Sometimes we ask ourselves that same question. Now we wish we had answered it before now. If the Red Sector is coming; no one is going to be left alive.”

RV thought a moment and tilted his head to the right, “That might not be such a bad thing.”

“Easy for you to say; you don’t live here.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Unfortunately, I do. I gave them the coordinates of the galaxy you left to throw them off but it appears that was a wasted effort. You are the last thing on their mind now.”

“I’ll talk with you later.” Jeff ended the connection. RV pressed another button and the Hive and Horde leaders appeared on his display, “What do you two know about the Red Sector?”

Both of them showed their shock. “Why would you ask that!?!”

“It appears the sensors in the other sectors have detected ships being organized into fleets in that sector.”

“Everyone is going to die!”

“Surely not everyone; most of your populations are safe.”

“Admiral, there are more than nine hundred thousand Minor Civilizations in this sector alone. Every one of them will be exterminated.”

“I’m very sorry to hear that but it appears the other two sectors will also be eliminated as well. That will solve our immediate problems.”

The Hive Controller looked at the Horde Master and he nodded, “We hoped that it wouldn’t happen but we were afraid that this was what would transpire after your latest tactics.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“When you exploded those fifty stars into novae, I’m sure the Red Sector saw it and knew something out of the ordinary was happening here that represented a danger to them. You are responsible for the coming deaths of everyone on this side of the galaxy.”

RV looked at Cyanna showing his incredulity and said, “This galaxy is a freak house! You open one box and a snake bites you. The next box a gator takes off your arm. The next box a rhino rams the hell out of you. Is there no end to these freaking boxes?” RV paused and said, “Get the rest of your populations out of here. We’ll have to process this information before we can even start to think about what to do next.”

The Horde and Hive leaders disappeared from the display. RV angrily punched another button and George appeared on the display and saw RV’s anger, “I have good news and bad news, George. You better be sitting down for the bad news.”

Cyanna turned to her board and began issuing commands to the fleets to reform their formations and to hold their positions. She lowered the armor from the viewport and looked out at the stars. They didn’t look so beautiful anymore.

• • •

The King of the Ramst and the Dark Creature’s communication panels were overloaded. Both of them ignored the incoming calls and sat alone fighting the fear that threatened to overwhelm them. Throughout the two sectors the news was spreading that the Red Sector was coming. Every planet came to a standstill as fear began paralyzing the trillions of beings looking up at skies that were no longer friendly. The Dark Creature now knew that all his efforts to ensure his eggs would survive were now a wasted effort. He had no idea what to do.

The probes at the edge of M-87 began sending intense warnings. The fleets were gathering and it wouldn’t be long before the Red Ships were ready.

Chapter Twenty-One

The Command Team was in George’s office, except for the Admirals that were listening in on their displays. The situation had been explained to the attendee’s and George had opened the floor for comments. Admiral Anders said, “I hate this is happening but I’m glad it caused those ships to leave. I must confess that this couldn’t happen to a more worthy group.”

RV sighed heavily and said, “I don’t want to agree with Kenny but I do.” Dolly looked hard at RV and he said, “However, it’s not just the Major Civilizations in those two sectors that will die. The Minor Civilizations outnumber the Majors by a hundred to one. They don’t deserve to die because of our stupidity.”

George shook his head, “No one told us about the Red Sector. If we had known we would have just met their fleets head on and escaped when forced.”

Dolly said, “I didn’t mean to hit the child when it walked out in front of my car. I didn’t see it.”

George moaned and said, “What can we do about this? I don’t see anything possible without getting involved with the civilizations that want us dead.”

Kate said, “You want us to defend predators?”

Dolly said, “Lions were an endangered species and they were protected.”

“Until one of those predators nuked them out of existence.”

Dolly stared at Gibbs and sat back in her chair. Gibbs said, “Are we willing to get dirty to protect the Minors?”

“Just how big of a menace are these Red Ships?”

RV shrugged, “We don’t have any information and the only way we can get it is to open a dialogue with the ones that were attacking us.”

George thought a moment and said, “Then open a conversation and see what’s happening. We can’t make any kind of decision without at least knowing what’s going on.”

Kenny said, “We’ll have to reveal our sensor buoys.”

“If this so called Red Sector kills everyone, what good would they do us anyway?” George turned to RV and said, “If you will do the honors.”

“Why not you?”

“You’re on the scene and know more about the geography of those sectors than anyone here. You should send us a feed of the conversation and we’ll get involved if you need us.”

RV shrugged and said, “Here I go opening another box.”

Cyanna laughed out loud and then looked at everyone and said, “You had to be there.”

• • •

RV activated the probe in the Ramst’s Capital System and tuned in to the conference being conducted. All the Major Civilizations were also taking part in the call and RV listened to them giving in to their fear.

• • •

“We’ve got to get some of our populations away to save our species from extinction.”

“We should flee with all our ships now.”

The leaders were all talking at once and nothing was being done. Finally RV had heard enough and he said, “I thought I should fear your fleets, but now I see you are nothing more than cowards. You should have stuck around and let us kick your backsides back into your sectors.”

RV had increased the amplitude of the broadcast and everyone on the frequency heard his statement. Silence slammed down on the channel. RV smiled, “I thought you were big bad fighters but you sound like little children.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m the leader of the fleet you were attacking when you so rudely ran away.”

The Dark Creature looked at the Ramst King on his display and the King nodded. “What are you doing breaking in on our conference?”

“Actually, I was wondering when we could continue our little get together.”

“You are no longer an issue that concerns us.”

“You forgot to say for the moment.”

“We are of the opinion that there won’t be any more moments to worry about you.”

RV looked at Cyanna and shook his head. “So, you’re just going to lie down and let them kill you.” The hundreds of leaders all looked at the others on their displays and didn’t know what to say. “I would think that with all of the ships you have, you could at least cut the numbers down coming to attack your civilizations but what do I know. You’re pretty good at attacking others but you’re dumb when it comes to defending yourselves. That’s a pretty stupid combination.”

The Dark Creature thought a moment and said, “You’re right.”

RV was surprised at the remark. “I’m shocked you admit it.”

“The truth is the truth. Which leads me to ask why you’re talking with us; I would think you would be celebrating our coming demise.”

“Actually we were.”

“Why do you say were?”

“We’ve been told that it’s our fault the Red Sector is going to attack.”

The Ramst King said, “Where do you come up with that concept?”

“Wellllll…Do you remember the little episode where we used a few stars to remove some of your ships?”

The Dark Creature shouted, “He’s right. That has to be what caused it.” The Ramst King looked at the Dark Creature and he continued, “There is no way for that many stars to all go nova at the same time. They had to know it was artificially done. That’s what has them coming.”

RV said, “I guess I’m sorry won’t cut it…will it?”

The King said, “My only regret will be not being able to destroy you for this.”

RV said, “Get real! You don’t need that as an excuse. You kill anyone that you encounter and force all the Minors to attack other galaxies and kill each other. You deserve what you’re getting.” RV paused and said, “But they don’t.”

“Are you saying you are going to help us against them?”

“Not really. We are struggling with what to do but you’ve got to admit that coming to your defense borders on insanity. I mean the Red Sector is only going to do what you all want to do to each other. Your behavior is psychotic.”

The Rhys Leader shouted, “You have no grounds for that statement!”

RV shook his head, “Oh no. You have those sensors out at the edge of the galaxy to warn you if they’re coming, right?”

“Well, yes.”

“So all of you have a common enemy that can kill you; but every one of you does everything they can to kill the other civilizations in your sectors whenever they can instead of working together to build a force strong enough to stand up to them. What’s wrong with this picture?”

The Dark Creature said, “Put that way it does sound illogical.”

“Illogical…it’s asinine! How many civilizations have you bunch of geniuses destroyed since the last time the Red Sector invaded. Two…three?”

The King said, “More than a million.”

“Do you think you could possibly use their help at this moment? You’re like one celled creatures flying around in warships. You’ve got to be insane.” RV waited while they absorbed the thought; then he dropped the bomb. “I want you to think about this one thing you morons overlooked. The Minors outnumber you more than a hundred to one. What if you had enlisted them to work with you to build a force that could take on that sector? Where would you be now? But nooooo. All of you had to be the last one standing so that when the Red Sector did return, you could tell them how great you are just before they killed you. Are you that incredibly dumb!?!”

• • •

George looked over at Dolly and said, “I think RV is ticked off at them.”

“That’s an understatement, George. You don’t deal well with stupidity either.” George shrugged and listened in on the conversation.

• • •

RV paused and then said, “I can’t believe you’re that stupid. That means you’re psychotic. You can’t work with someone that’s crazy. I’m sure you’ve found the sensor buoy I’m using to communicate with you. We’ve pretty much been listening to your plans all along. I’m sorry for interrupting. Go on with your weeping and moaning. Run like the cowards you are.”

The Dark Creature saw the contact disappear from his board. He heard a voice on his board, “We’ve located the device that was broadcasting. Do you want us to destroy it?”

The Dark Creature looked at the King and saw he had also received the message. The King shook his head and the Dark Creature said, “Leave it alone.”

• • •

The thousands of civilizations on the frequency were silent. After a long pause the Dark Creature said, “I don’t want to admit it but everything that being said is true. I know for my part that I have been manipulating things so that I could insure the safety of my eggs and remove any threat to them. I did not look beyond those that were surrounding my civilization. Now, all I’ve done has proven to be wasted effort. All the civilizations my people have destroyed over the cycles could have helped us now.” The Dark Creature paused and then said, “I even find myself feeling bad about what all of you are facing as well. I guess there’s nothing like a common enemy to draw foes together.”

The silence continued until one of the weaker civilizations said, “Is it possible for us to really work together on anything? We’ve always looked at each other as enemies.”

The King said, “You need look no further than our combining to attack that being that just spoke with us. We worked together on that even though some of us had to be coerced. I’ve just been thinking about what he said and I’m bothered.”

The Dark Creature said, “Why is that?”

“I’ve tried to come up with a reason why I would want all of you dead. It’s not like we’re facing overpopulation on our worlds; there are millions of planets that we haven’t settled. It’s not like any of you have grievously wronged us; all of us act the same toward each other. Some of you have even acted honorably during our conflicts. Does anyone know why we persist in these attacks on each other?”

The Nexu Leader said, “Because once the attacks start, everyone looks like a potential attacker. You feel compelled to go out and remove enemies. It becomes a self-sustaining process.”

The Brenga Representative said, “So what you’re saying is; if you knew no one else was going to attack you, you would not attack them.”

The Dark Creature said, “That’s not necessarily true; I’ve wanted to be the ruler of my sector my whole life. I guess I’m attracted to ruling a large empire.”

“Why? You would ultimately lose it to the Red Sector.”

“There is that, and frankly, I really don’t want to see all of you destroyed. I may fight you but you are at least one of ours. The Red Sector is an outsider.”

The King said, “But don’t you see that it’s much more than just the Red Sector.”

“What do you mean?”

“We could always be attacked by another force from outside our galaxy. That’s why we’ve been sending the Minors out to kill civilizations in other galaxies. If we had worked on making alliances with those civilizations, we would outnumber anything the Red Sector could throw at us now.”

“Yes, but if we didn’t destroy those civilizations in other galaxies, they could grow large enough to attack us.”

The Dark Creature laughed, “Do you think any one civilization could grow large enough to take on our combined fleets? If we made strong, peaceful alliances based on trade and mutual growth, no one would be able to take us on. We just don’t think that way. We’re pretty much predators.”

The King said, “There’s nothing like death staring you in the face that allows you to see yourself clearly. All of us in both sectors have been looking for an opportunity to attack each other for as long as we record history. My thoughts are that now I’m glad you’re here to help me fight to defend my worlds. Do you feel the same?”

The Leaders began speaking one by one and soon they had come to an understanding. The King said, “Then this is what we will do if any of us survive the Red Sector attack. We will never attack each other again. We will embrace other civilizations and try to meld them into our members. If they refuse membership, we attempt to get a mutual defense agreement. We also agree to choose who will lead us forward against the coming threat. If you agree with this, please send in your vote.”

The King waited and after thirty minutes, “It’s unanimous. Now before we start electing a leader, I want to ask what you meant earlier when you told that being he was right?”

The Dark Creature was startled by the question and said, “It was obvious; we were very short sighted in how we’ve been fighting among ourselves.”

“What would you do if you had to move us forward?”

The Dark Creature hesitated and then said, “I would send representatives to the Minors and ask for their assistance in fighting the Red Sector. I would promise them equal membership in our ranks and a voice in what decisions we make. Those who agree to join us; I would send engineers from our advanced civilizations to start improving their ships.”

“You would give them our weapons?”

“You are either going to trust them and prove it by giving them our technology or continue to live in fear of everyone. It’s the only way to prove our intentions.”

“What else would you do?”

“I’d contact that being that scolded us and ask them to help us develop a strategy against the Red Sector.”

“You wouldn’t ask them to fight with us?”

“We destroyed their home world and as I understand it, that was the only one they had before our attacks. We made the Hive invade and kill civilizations in their galaxy. Would you help someone who did that?”

“Then why would you ask them to give us strategy assistance?”

“Because they are incredible in fighting with less and getting more out of it; they did say they didn’t think the Minor’s deserved to die for their actions. Maybe they’ll do it for the Minors.”

“What else would you do?”

“I would dissolve every government on every planet and form one government with every civilization having a representative on it. How we’d work that out would take time but that government will be what our civilizations are sworn to defend. We will never be allowed to attack each other again. The hundred years we agreed to earlier are gone. We will never attack each other again.”

The King paused and said, “Then I hereby put you name in nomination for the position to lead us during this crisis.”

“Wait a minute. You are better for this. Your sector has the most ships and should be led by one of you.”

“That’s thinking in old terms. There are no longer any sectors. We are united against the coming storm.”

The Dark Creature continued to say he was not worthy but the votes came in and he saw he was the choice of the former sectors. He sat there silently staring at the hundreds of green lights on his board. The Ramst King said, “You did say you wanted to rule a large empire. Here is your opportunity. Now if you’ll just vote for yourself, we can move forward.”

The Dark Creature didn’t want the job but he sighed and pressed his button. He looked up and said, “I know you’ve continued to listen in on our conference. Will you help us to see what to do next?”

• • •

RV looked at the Command team and shrugged. George raised his eyebrows and said, “Use your best judgment. Let’s see where this leads us. I’m not convinced that we should get involved in this but I’m not against offering advice until we can determine our long range strategy. I don’t want to be a target of this new sector.”

• • •

RV said, “There are some revelations that we need to make so that we all start on the same page.”

“What are those?

“Are you ready to come out now and assist the others?”

The First of the White Civilization said, “We are.”

The Ramst King said to the First, “Is there something here I’m missing.”

“Yes, there is. We are allies of the white ships and we’ve been building a fleet of them to defend our worlds.”

RV said, “We have given the First all of our technological advances. We determined long ago that our survival depended on their assistance.”

There was some murmuring among the attendees until the Dark Creature asked, “How many of those white ships have you built?”

“More than six million.”

“Does that include those small ships?”

“No, we have more than five hundred million of them.”

Silence slammed down on the channel. “That is the best news I’ve heard so far. This is outstanding.”

The King said, “They were going to use those ships against us. I suppose that plague was also a fabrication?”

“It was.”

The Dark Creature said, “Well, I have more than a hundred thousand advanced ships I’ve been hiding as well. I’m sure all of us have been trying to hide any advances to have an edge over all the others. Don’t you get it, you’re thinking in old forms. We now have those ships to help defend us. They will be a huge asset; how can you be upset about this? We’ve got to start looking at each other as allies. This is great news.”

The First said, “We will fight for all of us in the coming confrontation.”

The New Emperor said, “So what would you have us do now?”

RV paused and said, “You have to find out how powerful those Red Sector ships are. You need to go and get their attention and provoke an attack.”

“It might speed them arriving here.”

“Did our attacking you in your territories speed you up going after us?”

“Uhhhh, no it didn’t. It actually slowed us down. Who would you send?”

RV waited and finally the First said, “We’ll make the trip.”

RV smiled, “That would be good.”

The Dark Creature said, “What else do we need to do?”

“I would recommend you made a determination of how many ships they might be sending against you.”

“How would I do that?”

RV looked at Chris and Jillian on his display and saw them nod. “Actually, I’ll send some of my ships to scout them. I’ll get back to you after it’s done. I might also suggest the White Civilization drop off a few sensor buoys when they go to pick a fight. Do any of you have any recordings of their last invasion to compare to what you’re up against now?”

RV paused as they discussed what they knew and then he said, “I think you should understand that we don’t really trust your word on what you’ve agreed to do. It’s easy to agree to anything when you’ve got a laser pointed at your head. Your aggressive behaviors have been instilled in you for far too long to just walk away from them.”

The Dark Creature said, “Then you will be the poorer for your lack of belief. Live forever; we have a new life to move into.” RV had to admit he was impressed by the response.

• • •

RV looked at the Command Team on his display and said, “Do you believe them?”

George shrugged, “It doesn’t matter if I do. They can handle their own problems now. We can go home and build against the day we’ll have to take them on.”

Dolly said, “So wash your hands and if they fail and all the Minors are killed, you can feel good because you offered some suggestions.”

“Darn it, Dolly. This is not our fight and the Minors that are our allies are now safe because of our efforts. This is not our problem.”

“That might be true, except for the fact that the Red Ships are coming because of our actions. Have you forgotten that?”

“No, I haven’t. We blew up those suns because of the Majors attacking us. It was done because of their behavior, not ours. The responsibility lays with them not us. We did it attempting to survive. But for their aggression, it wouldn’t have happened. They are getting what they deserve.”

Dolly wanted to scream at him but knew he was right. She sat back in her chair and tried to think of another argument. Nothing came to mind.

George saw her struggling and said, “Does anyone else have anything to add?”

“Yes.”

“What is it, RV?”

“I’ve had the fifty blasts we set off to destroy the Major’s Fleets that were chasing us examined and I’ve been given some interesting information.”

Everyone stared at RV on their displays and George said, “And?”

“More than sixty civilizations are going to die as a result of those blasts.”

“I thought we examined the blast radius of those stars?”

“We did, but we didn’t consider the effect it would have on other unstable stars. The solar flares and shock waves from the initial explosions are going to incinerate those civilizations and there’s nothing we can do to stop it. Are those civilizations also the Major’s responsibility?” George stared at RV. “Or is it our fault because we didn’t take the time to really see what the end result was going to be.” RV paused, “If they are our responsibility, we can’t leave the blame of the coming Red Ships totally at the feet of the Majors. We did it because of them but we took no responsibility of seeing what would happen as a result of our decision. We didn’t even ask our allies if the explosions might have an adverse effect; then we would have found out about the Red Sector and we might not have taken that path. We are not totally innocent in this.”

George sighed, “So what are you suggesting?”

“We go and scout the Red Sector for them and see what they’re up against. We still don’t know enough to make a good decision.”

George looked at Chris and Jillian, “Will you go out and take a look at what’s going on?”

“We’ll take the Jukebox and the Ninja. We’ll collect what information we can and get it back to you.”

George looked at Dolly who was nodding and said, “Then get on the way and keep me posted. We’ll meet again when you return.”

Kenny and Gibbs said, “What do you want us to do?”

“Go to our new galaxy and give your sailors some time to settle into their new homes. Just make sure you keep your fleets at a ready level. We just don’t know how we’ll be operating.”

The two admirals nodded and disappeared from the display. George said, “What are you going to do, RV?”

“We’re going home as well to see Leigh Ann. We’ll stay in touch with the activities taking place in M-87 as well as the Jukebox and Ninja.”

“Keep Dolly and I informed as well.”

“You know I will.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

The first Captain sat in his chair and looked at the display with twenty ships formed around his vessel. “We will be jumping into the Red Sector momentarily. We will not be taking any small craft with us. That is a weapon we want to hold back until their invasion begins. What I want you to do is jump away as soon as their ships arrive and drop as many sensor buoys as possible as you run. You have a reading on their civilized planets, so make your jumps through them so we can get as much information as possible from the buoys. If a ship gets close, fire on it and see how our beams match up to theirs. When they get too close, jump toward the core and attempt to escape. Any questions?”

The Captain was greeted with silence and said, “Jump in one minute from now!”

The Captain thought about how these twenty ships were chosen by lot. He guessed that luck was just not on their side. Oh well, now was as good as any time to fight his new ship. He watched the countdown and then saw his pilot push the jump button. The twenty ships appeared in normal space near a civilized planet and the immediate frequencies being activated around them let them know they had been spotted. The Captain waited and said, “Steady. Wait until they arrive.” The Captain was surprised by how long it was taking the Red Ships to arrive.

Suddenly thousands of Red Ships broke into normal space and the chase was on. The twenty white ships jumped in twenty different directions and the thousands of Red Ships gave chase. “Did you drop a buoy?”

“I did, Captain.”

The white ship broke into another civilized system and dropped another buoy just as it jumped away. The Red Ships were right behind the fleeing ship but were not getting any closer. The Captain watched his scanner and said, “Make six fast jumps and release buoys as quickly as possible.” The white ship continued to run and the Red Ships were not gaining. The Captain looked at his sensor officer, “What do you make of this?”

“I’m of the impression that they are not accustomed to chasing another ship. They don’t appear to be able to read the jumps and give chase fast enough.”

The Captain thought about it and said, “I guess that makes sense. When no one has ever trespassed in your space, it might be a new experience to chase a ship. How many are still behind us giving chase?”

“I show ten ships.”

“Ummmm, this time wait for their arrival and fire our beams on the first ship to appear. Make sure we stay weightless on our arrival.”

The white ship broke into normal space and waited. Ten seconds later the ships began emerging into normal space and twenty beams were fired at the first Red Ship to appear in normal space. The ship blew up in a massive explosion. The Captain hit the thrusters just before one of the Red Ships fired a massive beam at his ship. The beam was more than a mile wide and pegged the power meter on the scanner. “Get us out of here!”

The white ship jumped away an instant before eight more beams ripped through the space it had just occupied. “Did you get a recording of that?”

“I did, Captain.”

“Get out of this sector and see if you can get us back safely. We need to get this information back.”

The white ship did a hundred more jumps before it managed to escape the chasing ships. Only three ships of the twenty that went in escaped. All of them managed to launch hundreds of sensor buoys.

• • •

“Chris, it looks like the Red Sector has a war going on along its border away from the two sectors.”

“I wonder how long this has been going on.”

“Let’s jump away and start seeing where all this started. That war may be what’s kept the Red Sector at bay for so long.”

“Any word from the Ninja?”

“Phil is making a wide scan of one quarter of the sector targeting the largest ship frequencies for examination. I suspect he’ll have a sample of what we can expect in the way of numbers shortly.”

“Standby, I’m jumping out a couple of million light years.”

“I have the fields on.”

“Jump is initiated.”

The Jukebox disappeared from normal space.

• • •

“Phil, this is a perfect mechanism to spy on someone.”

“I know. All we do is capture the light that left their galaxy and focus it into an image. There are no beams or scans done where they could be detected; this is pretty much undetectable.”

“How close can we go before we’re detected?”

“We really don’t know but anything outside a light year would be safe for the Ninja.”

“How about the Jukebox?”

Phil shrugged, “Now that’s a different story. The Ninja is mainly built with hull materials that absorb any type of scan. We won’t energize our force field unless the computer detects another ship. We’re less than a quarter the size of the Jukebox and we only have one reactor that is laid horizontally in the ship. The shielding around it prevents its detection. Why do you ask?”

“The probes around M-87 just detected their activity. We may not see anything of interest unless we’re willing to move to within a light week.”

Phil slowly shook his head, “I’m not willing to do that. I know we could detect the Ninja if it came that close to our galaxy. I have to assume they could do it as well.”

“Yes, but if their scanners work at light speed, we’ll be gone before the scans arrive in their territory.”

Phil said, “Anne, we use faster than light scanners. You know that.”

“Well, yes.”

“All it takes is a scanner in normal space and the communication device in Sierra Space sending the information it receives at faster than light speeds to the receiver. The Red sector has those kinds of scanners.”

“How do you know that?”

“We’re assuming that our causing those fifty stars to go nova is what caused the Red Sector to start mobilizing against the two sectors. Are you with me?”

“I am.”

“We if that is the case, the light from the closest nova to the Red Sector won’t arrive there for another three hundred years at light speed.”

Anne took a quick breath and blew it out, “So they have sensors that can respond instantly to them if anything approaches their territory.”

“Yes; at least that’s how we see it.”

“What if you approach the receiver that’s in normal space at close to light speed? Would it see you coming in time to send a warning?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“Well the sensor must be at the edge of the galaxy with a free view of open space, right?”

“Yeah, ok.”

“So what if we pop into normal space four light weeks out and accelerate close to light speed and collect the light in front of us and jump away when we’re a week from the galaxy’s edge. We would arrive directly behind our first image.”

“And we have to assume there is some delay while that image is sent to whoever is manning their sensor facilities.”

“We should have time to escape if there is a delay of any kind.”

Phil thought about the idea and then he said, “OH MY GOD!”

Anne looked at him sharply, “What?”

Phil hit his communication panel and RV appeared on his display, “Hello, Captain Phillips.”

“Sir, I was just talking with Lt. Hardy about how to do a quick scan of the Red Sector and we started talking about how they must have sensor buoys that transmit through Sierra Space.”

RV thought a moment and Phil continued, “If the stars going nova is what caused them to mobilize, they must have a way of scanning the Major’s sector to see those explosions in real time.”

RV nodded, “That makes sense. The light won’t arrive at their sector for hundreds of years.”

“Well if they could see the explosion, could they not also see our ships?”

RV’s expression immediately changed, “When did they first start mobilizing?”

“The probes detected it a week after the explosions. We need to know how far into the sector those probes can see.”

RV thought a moment and said, “I want you to try this first. Track the light from one of the main civilizations in the galaxy a month earlier.”

“I hope I’m wrong, Sir.”

“So do I; get on this as quickly as possible.”

• • •

Anne said, “What’s going on?”

“What if those explosions aren’t what started the Red Sector mobilizing?”

Anne thought a moment and said, “You think it was our ships that caused it.”

“If they can see the novae, they can see our ships.”

“What are you going to do?”

“We are going to jump to the point in time a month before the stars were exploded and make four jumps toward M-87 looking at the light from one of their central systems. We are going to make a high speed run collecting that light up to three weeks ago and then jump away.”

Anne leaned forward and began entering data into the navigation board. “I have a candidate and the line the light would be visible. I thought you said that was too close?”

“I did but this is something we’re going to have to risk. Put it in the board and prepare to make the jump. I’m extending the fields prior to emergence into normal space and make the run on emergence. We’ll jump in with one week separation and collect one day’s light at each jump. Plan multiple jumps for us to escape after the last one is completed.”

“I’m on it.”

• • •

Cyanna looked at RV and raised her eyebrows. RV said, “There is a possibility that the Red Sector is not attacking because of the stars we exploded.”

“What other reason would there be?” RV hesitated and Cyanna said, “Tell me!”

“They may be attacking because they were able to see our ships. Their attack may be taking place to remove us as a threat and it that’s the case; they will come looking for us.”

“We’re far enough away now that they won’t find us.”

“We’ve made our assumptions based on a very, weakened enemy in the two sectors. What if they were able to get one of their probes on the hull of one of our ships?”

“Do you think that’s possible?”

RV hit his panel, “Attention all fleets. I want every square inch of the outer hulls on every ship gone over with a deep scan. I want every ship examined and I want it done now. I also want all fleets to hold their current positions and remain there until after the scans are complete.”

• • •

RV looked at Cyanna and said, “We need to talk with Boden about whether or not the Red Ship’s beams are strong enough to penetrate the planetary force fields.”

“And if they are?”

“Then Leigh Ann will stay with us onboard the Havana.”

“Is this the end of time you talk about?”

“If they have a probe on one of our ships, it very well could be.”

Cyanna looked at her board and waited hoping that no one called in. Twelve hours later her wish didn’t come true.

• • •

“Sir, we’ve found eight small devices on our ships.”

RV sat back in his chair, “Do you have any idea about how they were put there?”

“We’ve looked at the scans of our outer hull and it appears they flew in when we were taking on the survivors from the ships that were damaged in the first battle with the Majors. We had to lower our force fields to allow them to board.”

“Continue to scan your ships and I don’t want them removed yet.”

“Will do.”

Cyanna said, “Don’t want them removed?”

“Those ships have not gone to our new home yet. I need to see if any have been taken to our new galaxy.”

“What do you think?”

“I know I send Mikal and Loree’s fleets back but they were not involved in picking up survivors after the last battle with the Majors. I’m waiting on the results of their scan.”

RV and Cyanna waited and after twenty four hours more than six hundred of the small probes were discovered. One of them was on a ship in Mikal’s fleet in their new galaxy. RV shook his head and contacted George and told him what was going on. George said, “Do you think they have our new home’s location?”

“I’ve removed all of the probes from our ships and we’ve examined them thoroughly. It’s a remarkable device that is really quite ingenious. They know.”

“So what does this mean?”

“It means we are now in the pot with the other sectors. We are going to have to go after the Red Sector with our former enemies.”

“You don’t think they’ll come here first?”

“Boden tells me that the planetary force fields can hold up to their beams for an extended period. However, nothing holds up forever. They could eventually wear them down. We have to make sure they can’t get enough ships here to make that happen.”

“How do we prevent that?”

“We arm our former enemies and take the fight into the Red Sector and force them to keep most of their ships at home to defend their planets while the Majors are modifying their ships.”

“How do you intend to do that?”

“Well, we’ve collected enough of their frequencies to be able to understand their language. I’m going to kindly ask them to stay at home and if they don’t agree, I’m going to start killing their planets.”

Dolly said, “Is that a good thing to do?”

“Dolly, I understand you have a good heart. The Red Sector has emerged periodically and destroyed all life in the other sectors. Take your bleeding heart values and use them for someone that deserves them. If you’re so dense not to see this then get out of the way and shut up.”

Dolly’s expression changed to anger. George said, “He’s absolutely right, Sis. These are the real predators and they’re probably coming to kill us all. How about considering those we’re charged to defend for a change. You’re only getting in the way of us doing what needs to be done and you should know it.”

Dolly was shocked at George’s comment and then he said, “Mom is dead because of predatory civilizations. Arnold and Hemon are dead. What do you think they would be telling us to do if they were here? Yet you take the side of those attacking us. Has your brush with death made you fearful? If it has, you should get out of the way. You only make me troubled for doing what I think is necessary to protect those who elected me.” Dolly stared at George and he said, “I mean it; leave now!”

Dolly stood and walked out of the command center.

George watched her go and said, “RV, give them an opportunity to back off but if they refuse, kick them back into the Stone Age.”

• • •

RV looked at Boden on his display, “I’ve been meaning to ask you about the ship the Nexu gave us a while back. Their force fields are stronger than ours and I was hoping you had found something that would help us.”

“They do have an additional element in their reactor that we aren’t currently using, but it would lonely increase the power of our force fields fifty percent. It wouldn’t be a huge jump over what we have now and you’ve had the fleets fighting where we couldn’t update them.”

RV thought a moment, “Boden, if that new element increases the power of a main battleship fifty percent; what would it do to the new attack craft’s screen?”

Boden thought a moment and RV saw a sudden change in his expression, “The reason the increase is not that much greater in a battleship is because of the huge area it must cover. I suspect the new attack craft would be increased more than three hundred percent.”

“You’ve seen the data on the Red Ship’s beams. Would the attack craft be able to withstand that beam?”

“I don’t know but I’ll look into it immediately. I’ll let you know.”

“Thanks, how long will it take to update them if we need?”

“That would be easy. Just have them jump to one of our planets and we’ll inject the new element into their reactors. It could be done in less than three days.”

“There are millions of them, Boden.”

“Yes, but we have more than two hundred thousand planets. The ships will land on the surface and we’ll handle them quickly. With ten thousand engineers making the injections on each planet, we will do all of them faster than you can imagine.”

“Then I’m sending them now. If it increases the power of their force field, it’s worth doing.”

“Start them in twelve hours.”

“Once they’re done, I’m sending in the Horde, Hive, and White Civilization’s ships.”

“We will also send back an injection of the material for each of the main battleships with one of their attack craft.”

• • •

“Admiral.”

“Go ahead, Captain Phillips.”

“They’ve been organizing to attack for six months. We are what have triggered their movement.”

“Thank you, Captain.”

• • •

Phil looked at Anne, “I’ve been meaning to ask you a question and I keep putting it off.”

Anne stared at her panel as the data scrolled down, “What is that?”

“Will you marry me?”

Anne jerked her head up and Phil saw how dumbfounded she was. He waited and she said, “Phil, you’ve never even kissed me. You’ve never said you love me. Are you serious?”

“More than anything in my life; I’m unfortunately too shy to do those things. You’re just so smart and wonderful that I’m intimidated by you.”

“Then how did you manage to ask me!”

“With my eyes closed.”

Anne started laughing and couldn’t stop. “Hey, it’s not funny. I do love you.”

Anne laughed harder and finally caught her breath. “We’ll jump to the Havana and allow Admiral Arvolo to do the honors.”

“Why not the Jukebox?”

“Because my sister is on the Havana and will be the maid of honor.”

Phil stared at Anne and said, “Really?”

Anne stood up and went over and hugged Phil, “Really. I’d kiss you now but how often does a girl get her first kiss to be the one at her wedding. Let’s go!”

Phil hugged her tightly and said, “I won’t waste time from now on.”

“You’re doing it now. Get us to the Havana. I have a kiss waiting and you’re wasting time.”

Phil jumped in the command chair and punched the drive codes. He contacted Chris and told him where he was going and was given his blessing. He arrived at the Havana to find Chris and Jillian waiting on him. Dolly was also there to celebrate the event and Jillian noticed that Phil only had eyes for Anne. He had found the one for him.

• • •

The Dark Creature looked at the assembled leaders on his display and said, “I know you all have questions but I have been requested by the white ship builders to have a meeting with all of you. Just be patient a few moments and we’ll see what they want.”

RV pushed his pad and said, “I need to ask all of you a question and I need all of you to think about your answer.” Silence greeted his remark. “Is it possible for all of you to put past wrongs behind you and live in peace if you survive the Red Sector attack?”

Silence greeted the question. Then they were surprised by what was said next. “I am also asking all of you in the Minor Civilizations the same question. The Hive and Horde are beaming this conference to all of you and you must answer this question as well.” RV paused, “You only have to agree to one thing and if you can do that, you may have a chance to survive the coming attack.” RV paused, “Will all of you agree to attack any civilization that attacks another?” Every leader was surprised at the statement. “And I don’t mean just in this galaxy. That includes innocent civilizations in other galaxies. I also want you to promise to combine to attack any force that comes from outside this galaxy to attack one of your own. Will all of you agree to do this?”

The Dark Creature said, “Why are you asking us this?”

“Because if you agree to give up your predatory ways, I am going to share all of our technology with every one of your civilizations; I would never do that if I thought you would use that technology against each other. You must come together and agree to be partners in the defense of your worlds.”

The Dark Creature said, “We are the ones that the Minors will have the most difficulty trusting to make this happen. I tell all of you now that we know we have not treated you well and we deserve your animosity. However, those days are over and we welcome you into our company as equal members and we will never attack you again. I will swear that we will destroy any one who does.”

“I need an answer, and I need it now.”

The Hive Controller said, “Why are you rushing this decision?”

“Because I am going to start attacking the Red Sector immediately and you shouldn’t be wasting time building the defenses you need to hold them off.”

Another Minor said, “How can we know for certain that the Majors will keep their word?”

RV smiled, “After I’ve given all of you the same technology, I suspect no one is going to run the risk of attacking anyone. And if you are in their structure, they cannot plan anything without you knowing it. Your choice is really quite simple; peace or destruction.”

The Dark Creature said, “Vote now!”

The Hive Controller said, “You will send me your choice now.”

RV waited and after an hour the Dark Creature said, “We have chosen peace.”

The Hive Controller said, “We have chosen peace as well.”

RV said, “I’m sending you the diagram of a weapon we call the light wave penetrator. It uses a gravity drive that you can use to update your ships. Start manufacturing this weapon as quickly as possible. You are going to need it when the Red Sector arrives in force. Do not use it until their fleets are massed to attack. We will let you know when to fire.”

The Dark Creature said, “Do you need us to go with you to attack them?”

“Begin updating your ships. You will also find the plans for a new reactor. You can help most by preparing for the main battle that you know is coming. We are going to try and delay them long enough for you to update your ships.”

The White Civilization said, “You need to incorporate our ships into your plans.”

“We’re ahead of you. I’m sending them to you now. First you need to get your attack craft updated. You have the coordinates to send them. Once they’re ready, jump right in. You have the plans for the Light Wave Penetrator; start your building facilities manufacturing them as quickly as possible.” RV ended the call.

Chapter Twenty-Three

RV looked at his display and saw a red light blinking. He pressed a button and the Dark Creature appeared on his display. “I want to ask a question and I hope you’ll be honest with me.”

RV stared at the creature that reminded him of a giant coral snake with arms. “Go ahead.”

“Why are you jumping in to our fight? I’ve tried to think of a reason why you would and the only thing I can come up with is that you are in just as much danger as we are. I can’t fathom any other reason why you would share your weapons with us.”

RV slowly shook his head, “I’m surprised you question our motives when they are going to help you.”

“Your motives are very important to me. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t include yourselves in the agreement to never attack us.”

“Actually, I did.” The Dark Creature struggled for a moment and RV said, “What did I get you to agree to do if your galaxy is attacked by another?”

The Dark Creature stared at RV for a long moment and then said, “You’re right. I didn’t apply that to your civilization. However, that makes me wonder even more why you’re doing this?”

“Before I answer that question, why are you changing your mind so quickly about getting all of your civilizations to give up their warlike ways?”

“That will ensure the safety of my eggs. The survival of my family is the most powerful force that motivates my species. This new structure is especially welcome since my civilization is not one of the most advanced in my galaxy. There are hundreds of civilizations that could destroy my people. Now, that risk has been reduced.”

“We actually think along the same lines. Everything we’ve done has been to ensure my species survival against a universe that is predatory. However, that’s a good answer but not the real one.”

“Oh?”

“The Red Sector started mobilizing to attack immediately after your first attack against us.”

The Dark Creature remained silent for five minutes and RV waited for him to respond first. “They’re coming after you and not us.”

“Unfortunately, you are going to be caught up in their plan to remove us. But you are right; it was our ships that frightened them.”

The Dark Creature said, “The coordinates the Nexu gave me for your home worlds were not real, were they?”

“No, they aren’t.”

“So why would you join in if they can’t find your home worlds?” RV waited and the Dark Creature finally said, “They’ve found your home worlds.”

“They have.”

“So if you left here, they would not attack our civilizations but would go to your galaxy instead.”

“You haven’t thought that through.”

Another pause and the Dark Creature said, “The two Minors you armed and the White Civilization also possess the ships that frighten them.”

“Now you know.”

“That’s all I need to know.”

“Really? What conclusions have you drawn from this?”

“I believe you would leave if it would stop the Red Sector from attacking us. I can see you feel responsible for the attack that’s coming here so you are doing all you can to help us survive it. Before I could trust you to factor in my civilization’s wellbeing into your plans, I had to know why you were giving us your technology. You can count on me to do whatever you deem necessary to fight the Red Ships.”

RV smiled, “You are a remarkable being. You remind me of the one that leads us and he is our best.”

“If he is, you are not far behind him. Let me know what we need to do.”

“I’ll keep you informed of what we’re doing.”

“What are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to ask the Red Sector to call off their attack and if they refuse, I’m going to start destroying their planets. They are going to have to reorganize their fleets to protect their worlds and I’m hoping that will buy us time.”

“You’re going to lose ships.”

“That’s the price for doing the right thing. Are you willing to do the same?”

“I am.”

“Get your civilizations moving; I don’t know how long we can delay them.” The Dark Creature disappeared from his display and RV smiled.

“What’s so funny?”

RV looked at Cyanna and said, “I’m not as afraid of snakes as I was before that call.”

Cyanna laughed and said, “What now?”

“Get Kenny, Kate, and Gibbs on the channel.”

The three admirals appeared and RV said, “I’m recalling the fleets we sent home to take part in the coming missions. I also want you to destroy every Red Sector probe you’ve found on your ships and you will keep your force fields up until this problem is resolved.”

Kenny said, “I see you’ve sent me a list of targets in the Red Sector.”

“All of you have a list. I’m going to contact the Leaders in the Red Sector momentarily and I’m going to feed that conversation to your boards. If they refuse to listen, you will jump your fleets to the assigned targets. We’ve made the assignments based on the information our sensor buoys are sending to us. Most of the initial targets have sent their fleets to the main gathering of the Red Ships. They will be lightly defended and you may hesitate to attack a defenseless planet. They will only send ships back to their planets if they believe they are in danger. Kate, you and Gibbs are the strike arms of our fleets. You, more than any of us, have trained your ships to be aggressive. I need you to do that against this enemy. Don’t hold them back; turn your fleets lose to do as much damage as possible. We will continue to feed you targets once this starts and we will not leave until that major formation they’re putting together breaks up to defend their worlds.”

RV looked at Kenny, “You and I are going to have to do the same. I know killing innocent worlds goes against your beliefs but these worlds are not innocent. They have systematically destroyed civilizations throughout their history. Can you do it?”

Kenny stared at RV and said, “This one’s for Bob.”

RV smiled, “Yes it is.”

“When do we start this, Admiral?”

“I’m waiting for Melodie, Mikal, and Loree’s fleets to arrive and then I’ll make the contact. Have all your attack craft been updated?” The three nodded. “I hope I don’t need to tell you that if you take on their beams, you’ll die. It is my belief that the attack craft can survive their beams for a short time. Use them to break up their formations. I suspect they will come at you with every ship leading with their beams. You’ve got to break into their formations to stand a chance against their ships.” RV paused and then said, “Destroy those probes and get your fleets ready to carry out their orders. We’ll contact them in three hours.”

Cyanna ended the call and said, “So you don’t think the Light Waves will kill them?”

“I’ve examined their tactics when they chased our ships and they are not even close to being able to fly a defensive formation. I believe that over their long history they have only attacked and never defended themselves. The only way that could be done is for their formations to all fire their beams as they advance. Those beams are massive and any fleet facing them could not break through their beams to hit them. Even the Light Waves would be burned before they could hit their ships.”

“So how do we kill their ships?”

“We have to break through their formations and attack them from the inside. The ships inside can’t fire at our ships once they break through because the massive beam would kill their own ships.”

Cyanna smiled, “Which means they would have to break up the formation.”

“Or jump away and try to reform. Either way it delays them.”

Cyanna looked at her board and said, “The other three fleets just jumped in. I’ll notify them of their targets and tell them what we’re doing.”

“Thank you, Love.”

• • •

The Red Sector Admiral watched the display on his ship’s wall and pressed his board, “How much longer before the other quadrants get their ships here?”

He stared at his chair display and read, “To: RSA. The fifth quadrant will start moving in two days.”

The RSA looked up and wished there was a faster way to get the fleets in formation. The probes in the other sectors had revealed that they knew of his coming attack. It really didn’t bother him. There was nothing they could do about it. This boredom was just something he hated. Then his wall speaker said, “I hope you reconsider this attack you’re planning.”

He looked at his communications leader and he said, “It’s not coming from one of our ships.”

“Then where is it coming from?”

“I’m not sure. I need them to communicate before I can track the signal.”

The RSA leaned back in his chair and pressed his broadcast pad, “What exactly do you mean?”

RV adjusted the band on his head. He didn’t want to depend on the computer to interpret so he used the translation device to talk directly with the Red Sector Admiral. “I know you want me to communicate long enough for you to locate the device I’m using to talk with you. However, you should understand that if you terminate this conversation, all the planets that will die afterwards will be on your hands.”

The Communications Leader said, “I have it located. Do you want it destroyed?”

The RSA sat back in his chair and thought about what he had just heard. While he thought about it RV said, “Jump the buoy.” The small sensor buoy jumped to another location six light seconds away.

The RSA said, “Destroy it.”

A Red Ship jumped to the location of the transmission and said, “There’s nothing here.”

The RSA looked at his CL and he shook his head. Then he heard, “I’m going to give you one more opportunity to prevent the destruction of your planets. If you attack this buoy we will attack your civilizations.”

The Communications Leader started to issue instructions but the RSA held up an appendage and said, “You should know that you hold no fear for us.”

“I assume you’re speaking for those in your fleets. What about the planets you’ve left undefended to put that fleet together? Do you think they feel like you?”

“You won’t dare invade our sector. You’ll all be destroyed if you so much as send one ship here.”

“Please tell me the difference if we don’t. I think the end result will be the same either way. If the result is the same, why would I not send my ships?”

The RSA thought about the remark and knew whoever was communicating was clear on what was happening. “So why are you communicating instead of just doing it?”

“I was hoping we could persuade you to change your plans and not attack us.”

“I don’t see that happening.”

“Why not?”

“I hope I really don’t have to explain that to you.”

“You see us as a threat.”

“You are.”

“Not really.”

“We’ve seen your ships in action.”

“Yes, but you haven’t seen the panic in every civilization at the mere mention of The Red Sector. No one here would ever think about attacking your domain.”

“That may be true of those in this galaxy, but you are newcomers that must be taught a lesson.”

“We’ve found your probes and are aware that you know about us. However, we also recognize the real danger of your sector. The only reason we attacked here was because they destroyed our home world and we are defending our right to exist. It is not in our nature to attack anyone except in self-defense.”

“We really don’t care what you nature is; you will be eliminated from existence.”

“Do you think you can do that without paying a price that is too high?”

“Of course.”

“We have also seen that you are fighting another enemy on the other border. That fight has been going on for more than ten thousand years. What do you think will happen if you are severely weakened in your attack on us?”

“You represent no danger to us.”

“Do I have to prove we are before you listen?”

The RSA thought about his next remark and wondered if he should say it but his arrogance won out, “Prove what you want. You are going to die.”

The RSA looked at his CL and nodded. “The probe has been destroyed.”

The CL looked at his board and said, “We have calls from more than ten thousand planets that they are under attack and then they go offline abruptly. The number is now forty thousand. We have ships reporting that millions of ships are jumping in and destroying planets.”

The RSA heard the report and hit the main frequency, “All ships, jump back to your home planets and defend them. Jump now!”

The massive fleet that occupied almost an entire solar system disappeared. The RSA knew that all of the time spent getting them into formation had gone to waste. When the final reports came in that more than a million planets had been destroyed, he knew there were going to be repercussions for his actions. Those ships had attacked planets that were not defended. They had to be able to see what was happening in the sector. He thought about how to defend the planets and still form the fleet and was at a loss on what to do. His panel illuminated and he saw the Supreme Ruler’s frequency. This was not good.

• • •

Gibbs watched as the Nebraska bore down on the planet. Six Red Ships came rushing from around the planet and were met by the Nebraska’s small ships. Forty of the small craft were burned before the six were blasted by main penetrators. The Nebraska arrived two hundred miles from the planet and Gibbs heard the weapons officer say, “Light Wave has been launched.”

“All ships jump to the next target.”

“Are we going to retrieve the small ships, Sir?”

“No we are not. They will jump with us to the next target and start their attack. We will continue to do this until a force large enough to threaten us arrives; is that clear!”

“Yes Sir.”

Gibbs watched six more planets die before thousands of Red Ships arrived at his next target. He said, “Go, go, go.” Every white ship disappeared from the system. The Red Ships refused to leave and pursue the white ships. They were not going to leave their home world defenseless.

• • •

Mikal held his squadron in the outer system at his target while thousands of Red Ships gathered at the planet. The Captain said, “Shouldn’t we be getting out of here?”

“I want to see how they go about attacking us. Have all ships prepared to jump on my command.”

The thousands of Red Ships formed a giant pyramid shape and rushed out at the waiting Union ships. Mikal watched them start firing their beams and he said, “Jump.”

The white ships disappeared as a massive wave of fire blew through their former location. The Red Ships immediately jumped back to their home world and waited.

• • •

Cyanna said, “The combined fleet has disappeared and all of the ships have jumped back to their planets.”

“Losses?”

“We’ve lost more than two hundred thousand small ships and eight hundred main ships.”

RV looked at Cyanna with a furrowed brow, “Why are they so low?”

“The Red Ships refused to give chase. They remained at their planets making sure our ships didn’t return.”

“None of them left to pursue our ships.”

Cyanna shrugged, “That’s the way it appears. You would think some of them would have come after our ships.”

“How many of their ships did we destroy?”

“Our initial reports say that the planets were defended with six to eight ships. We destroyed all of them at the planets we were able to hit.”

“How many planets were hit?”

Cyanna looked down and said, “A million, two hundred thousand plus.”

RV took a deep breath and blew it out. Cyanna said, “That’s less than one percent of their total.”

RV jerked his head up, “Are you sure?”

“We based that on how many ships were in their combined fleet and how many then appeared at each planet afterwards. The numbers at each planet were consistent. That percent assumes every planet had sent ships to the main fleet.”

“Cyanna, I heard the commander of that fleet ask when the other two quadrants were going to start moving their ships.”

Cyanna stared at RV and said, “Then we didn’t really have an impact. All those planets represent less than a half percent of their total.”

RV’s communication panel started illuminating and he said, “Handle these calls. I need some time to consider what I’ve just done.”

Cyanna stared at RV and began taking the calls. She knew trillions had just died and RV knew he was the one that killed them. She hoped his heart was able to bear that load.

• • •

RV sat in his conference room and felt the magnitude of the death he had just caused. He was overwhelmed with what had happened. His communicator buzzed and he started to disconnect it when he saw it was Cyanna, “Yes.”

“You need to take this call.”

“Cyn, I just don’t know if I can bear this.”

“Take the call.”

RV took a deep breath, held it, and blew it out. He pressed the button and the Dark Creature appeared on his display. “I understand you’re upset with the deaths your ships caused in the Red Sector.” RV just stared at the Creature. “The fact that it bothers you so much gives me great hope for our future.”

“How can you say that? I murdered trillions today.”

“When the Red Ships attack, how many will they kill if they are not stopped?”

RV tried to think but couldn’t. “I don’t know.”

“Then how many did they kill the last time them invaded?”

RV looked up and the DC said, “They left every planet burning in both of our sectors. The only ones that survived were those that were able to board a ship and flee. They came back to planets that were no longer habitable. The numbers were so large as to be meaningless. No one can imagine the number that died at their hands. You are thinking about the ones that you killed. That’s a mistake.”

RV looked at the Creature and said, “Why is that?”

“You need to think about those you’re saving. You have not put a small dent in their numbers. Before we can stop them, the numbers of planets that have to die in that sector is beyond our ability to visualize. However, the number that will die here is also more than you can contemplate. Is saving them worth doing?”

RV thought about it and the DC said, “Prove what you want. You are going to die.” RV recognized the last words of the Red Ship Admiral. Then the DC said, “If those ships go to your galaxy, are you going to worry about how many you kill?” RV looked up at the display with menace in his eyes. “You know they are going there if they aren’t stopped. Do you still feel remorse?”

RV said, “Thank you for getting me to see reality. You’ve allowed me to save my soul.”

“No, you haven’t lost it. The evidence is clear that you have a good one. However, a good soul should not stop you from doing what must be done…from doing the right thing.”

RV smiled, “I suspect our neighbors in the other sector are somewhat distraught at this moment.”

“You should go listen to their communications. It will make you feel better.”

RV stood and went to the bridge of the Havana. Cyanna saw him come in and knew he was back. She owed that snake for getting him to find balance.

RV said, “Play me the recordings we’ve received in the Red Sector. RV listened and after ten minutes said, “New plans. Get the Admirals on my board.”

“What are you going to do?”

RV looked at Cyanna, “Have you ever played that game at the fair where you take a hammer and hit a stuffed head every time it pops up out of a hole?”

“I have.”

“Well, it’s easy at first when they emerge slowly.”

“I remember. It gets much harder when they start popping up very quickly.”

“And there are only nine holes in that game. What do you think would happen if there were a thousand holes and you only have one hammer?”

Cyanna thought about it and said, “I believe I would saw that board apart and burn it.”

“Frustration does make one do silly things.”

Cyanna smiled as RV told his plan to his admirals. When he finished she shook her head, “Should I send them a chainsaw?”

“Only after they break the hammer.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

A hundred million Needles waited in open space. Beth waited until they locked in on their assignments and notified their squadron leaders they were ready. Beth watched her board and knew that Riebbe was with an identical number of Needles across the edge of the giant galaxy from her ships. She hoped everything turned out well. She looked down and saw her board was solid. “Alrighty, you know your assignment. Give them a good run and get out. We’ll be jumping is ten seconds from my mark. Ready…mark.”

Every Needle disappeared at the same moment.

• • •

The RSA listened to the Supreme Leader ask questions of his staff about how they were going to prevent future attacks on their planets. He wondered how much longer his staff was going to be held hostage to the Leader’s questions. He needed to be making plans with his junior officers over the fleets. Suddenly the Communication Leader yelled, “Millions of ships have jumped into our sector.”

“What are they doing?”

“I’m waiting on a report to make a determination.”

The RSA said, “Sire, I need to get involved in this attack.” The Supreme Leader frowned and disappeared from the RSA’s display.

• • •

Alpha Lieutenant watched his navigation board while his secondary brain readied the probes for launch. Ten Red Ships were in pursuit but the Needle was able to turn faster due to being weightless and they overran him eight times before a hundred ships joined in the chase. Alpha crisscrossed the planetary system four times before he jumped away. The two probes he launched were not seen, and later, were not found. Only six Needles were destroyed and they were able to launch their probes before they were killed. The box had been built. Now the heads were needed to start the game.

• • •

The DC’s panel alarmed and his fleet commander said, “We have a giant white ship emerging into our system.” The display illuminated and The DC saw a strange creature. “We are here to install a system for your planet’s defense.”

“Who are you?”

“We are allies of the ones you call white ships.”

“What are you going to do?”

“We are going to install a planetary force field around your planet. We should have it done within two weeks if we are not interrupted.”

The Dark Creature thought a moment and said, “Do what you need to do. Notify me if you need any help.”

“We need a clear area of about ten square miles. Does such a place exist on your world?”

“Yes, does it have to be in an area with water?”

“No, deserts are preferable.”

“Then I have just the place. On how many of our planets are you installing these force fields?”

“Two hundred thousand initially; our Admiral says you can provide a list of the most important planets for us to build them on.”

The DC thought about all of his worlds, but then knew that was the old thought process. “Go to the planet of the Ramst first. I’ll have a list of the other capitals and their main construction planets for you momentarily.” The DC thought a moment and said, “How powerful is this force field?”

“It should hold up to an attack for six months.”

“Do tell; even against the Red Ships?”

“Who else would I use to make the comparison?”

The DC smiled. The future was changing in front of his eyes. The Ramst King appeared on his display and he said, “Our friends are keeping their word. Give their engineers all the help you can.” The Ramst King looked puzzled and the DC said, “Call me after they start construction.” The King looked away and then nodded.

The DC leaned back and decided that he was going to buy stock in the betting planet. With wars disappearing, and if they survived the Red Sector attack, gambling was going to be a big past time. The time to buy was when the price was low. If he died, the money wouldn’t do him any good any way. His purchase was huge. He checked to see if there were any bets on survival and to his surprise discovered there was. He spent the rest of his fortune betting for survival. It was too bad the betters didn’t know about the force fields. The odds improved a week later.

The Gaming Planet could not understand the actions of the new Emperor. However, they weren’t dumb. They raised their stock prices immediately after the stock purchase. The emperor had already made millions on his stocks.

• • •

Dolly sat in the communication room in the command center and thought about what George and RV had said. She hated the numbers that had died and her heart was troubled. She held Leigh Ann as she eagerly sucked on the baby bottle. She smiled at the baby and decided she had Cyanna’s good looks. But she had RV’s eyes. She stared at the baby’s blue eyes and she stopped eating long enough to smile at Dolly and giggle. They were right. She had lost her courage and wanted all the killing to stop. She decided at that moment that it was not going to stop with this child being killed. Meisa came in and said, “I’m sorry I’m late. Thank you for watching her.”

“Anytime, Meisa; I love this little girl.”

“She is so beautiful.”

“How is George Junior doing?”

“Fine, George is with him now. You should come by and visit.”

“I’ll be by later on tonight. Tell George I love him.”

Meisa smiled, “I will, Dolly.”

Meisa left and Dolly sat at the communication panel and took a deep breath. She leaned forward and entered a frequency in the board. A red light illuminated and she said, “It’s been a long time since we’ve communicated. I’m going to send you a recording of everything that’s happened and a download of all the technology we’ve developed. I hope you find something useful. Good luck.”

Dolly pressed the send button and waited until the download was completed. She erased the frequency from the communication records and stood up. She smiled and left to tell George how sorry she was about losing her way. Twenty minutes after she left, the red light illuminated and, after an hour, went out.

• • •

Commodore Duncan Medina looked at his scanner panel and saw his ten thousand ships in formation. He glanced at the planet he was about to attack on the main display and saw two thousand Red Ships in orbit around it. He looked at his chronometer and saw there was still ten minutes before jump. He hit his board and said, “Have you got the other candidates spotted?”

“I do. Now be a good stuffed head and take a look around.”

Duncan looked at Captain Grainger and said, “Is there something wrong, Captain?”

She answered with a sneer, “Why would anything be wrong?”

Duncan stared at her and wondered what was going on. “What’s bugging you?”

“Nothing!”

“Are you worried about this mission?”

“No!”

“Janie, I don’t want to go into a mission with you acting like this. Now what’s your problem?”

“Why don’t you ask that blonde you were with last night?”

Duncan stared at Janie and after a few moments said, “Are you talking about my younger sister?” Janie spun around in her chair and stared at him. “The one that left in a shuttle this morning?”

Janie continued to stare at him and he said, “She’s the Captain of the Saratoga and is teamed with our group.”

Janie whipped around and pulled up the Saratoga’s roster on her panel and saw Captain Gabrielle Medina was the commanding officer. Her shoulders slumped and Duncan said, “I didn’t know something like that would bother you.”

Janie’s face was red and she said, “I’m fine. Let’s get on with this attack.”

Duncan saw she refused to look at him. He smiled and said, “Captain Granger, you should know that there isn’t anyone else that has my attention.” Duncan watched as she slowly turned and looked at him. The rest of the bridge crew pretended to be looking at their duty stations. Duncan said, “Now you know.” Janie’s eyes brightened and she turned around and stared at her board. “Captain, is the group ready?”

“Yes Sir. We are. I’ve enabled the group jump code and we’ll move on the planet immediately on emergence.”

“Good; carry on Captain.”

Janie said, “I’m counting on you to do your jobs. Don’t let the Commodore down.”

The bridge crew smiled and prepared for the mission.

• • •

The Commander of the Red Ships orbiting the planet sent out a call for help as soon as the ten thousand white ships broke into normal space and began moving on the planet. Fifty thousand Red Ships appeared at the planet and formed up into a huge pyramid. The huge structure then accelerated at the incoming white ships that promptly disappeared before they came into weapon’s range.

Twenty four planets that sent their ships to support the planet being attacked were overwhelmed with white ships that jumped in and launched a Light Wave Penetrator at the planets. All twenty four blew up in massive blasts that broke them into pieces. The ships that jumped back to defend them arrived too late. The anger and sorrow at the loss of their home worlds were too much for many of the Red ship crews to bear. All over the Red Sector, planets were dying at an enormous rate. Soon, no planet would send their ships to assist others and the thousand ships at each planet were being overwhelmed and the destruction was spreading.

The RSA saw what was happening and yelled, “Order half the fleet at the border to come and attack those ships.”

“If they leave, it may prompt the Grillen to open a new attack.”

“I don’t care; do it!”

Billions of Red Ships began arriving at the planets being attacked and the White Fleets were called off. RV looked at his panel and saw another two million planets were blasted into junk. He waited and after twelve hours, the ships returned to the other border and he started the process again. Soon the ranks facing the enemy at the other border were reduced by half and the ancient enemy of the Red Sector began probing their lines with savage attacks. The Red Sector Admiral was forced to send ships back and forth between the attacks. The formation of a combined fleet to attack the other sectors was not possible.

RV listened to the probe’s technician’s reports and called off the attacks when one of the attack groups was caught by the millions of ships that no longer had a home world to defend. The ships they fell on were burned out of existence by fleets that continued to fire on them long after they were destroyed.

RV looked over and said, “How many planets have we destroyed?”

“More than eight million, sir.”

“That’s eight billion ships that are now free to attack our ships. The box exercise is now over. All ships will return to the Major’s Sector.”

The probe supervisor said, “Actually the number is not that high, Admiral.”

“Why not?”

“Most of the ships defending the planets were destroyed with the planet. When they refused to support each other we had numerical superiority.”

“Then now many ships weren’t destroyed?”

The supervisor shrugged, “Five hundred million.”

RV leaned back, “Oh, only half a billion; what great news!”

Cyanna looked at RV and said, “What are you going to do now?”

“Have supper and see what they do with all these ships.”

The probe supervisor said, “Most of those that were moved from their front lines are being sent back to the front to reinforce their lines.”

“What do you mean by most of them?”

“A billion ships were left behind to stop our attacks; the others are returning to those lines. The surviving ships from our attacks are being moved to a central location.”

“Oh, that makes it easier. Now we’re only outnumbered two hundred to one.”

Cyanna shook her head. Their attacks against the Red Sector hadn’t made a much of a dent in the total number of warships that could be sent against them. But they still weren’t forming into an attack formation.

• • •

Cyanna and RV sat in his conference room on the Havana and Cyanna watched him stare at the salad in front of him for thirty minutes and not move. She got up and went to the wall intercom, spoke for a minute, and came back and sat down. She waited and RV slowly shook his head, “We’ve created a fleet of ships that are now determined to destroy everything they encounter. We’ve destroyed their home worlds and those ships are out for blood.”

Cyanna watched him continue to stare at his salad and said, “This is just another box.”

RV smiled and said, “They do get bigger as we work our way through them.”

An Ensign come in and placed a huge hamburger and a large pile of fries in front of RV. RV’s face lit up and Cyanna said, “Maybe you can concentrate now.”

RV looked at her and his expression was like a shepherd seeing an angel. He dove into the meal and said, “Sometimes it’s the simple things that bring the most joy. I thought we were out of beef.”

“I’ve been having them save this for the appropriate moment.”

“The only thing that would beat this is you having a boy.”

“I am pregnant again. You never know.”

RV’s face shot up faster than a penetrator, “You are!”

Cyanna nodded and said, “Finish your meal. We have other things to worry about.”

“Life can’t get any better than this moment.”

Cyanna smiled. After RV finished eating she said, “How many attack craft do we have?”

RV thought a moment and Cyanna said, “I’ll save you the mental gymnastics. We have over six billion that have been modified with the new force fields. All of the two sector’s planets are building them at a breakneck pace. If we can delay the Red Sector another six weeks, we will have more than twenty billion of them completed.”

RV sat back and said, “What other good news do you have?”

“The Emperor tells me that all of the new attack craft are being fitted with Light Wave Penetrators and ultra-beams. They have a stockpile to refit our attack craft with the Light Waves. All we need to do is find a way to penetrate their formations for us to make them effective.” She paused and said, “We also have more than a hundred million battleships in the two sectors as well.”

RV nodded, “But for them to be able to fight the Red Ships, we have to make them leave their formations.” RV shrugged, “Well, another box.”

Cyanna laughed, “Yes it is.”

RV thought a moment and said, “We have boxes for them as well.”

Cyanna laughed and said, “And most of them aren’t gift wrapped.”

RV shrugged, “I never was good with scotch tape.”

• • •

The Supreme Leader stared at the Red Sector Admiral and said, “We’ve lost more than twenty light years to the Grillen because of your movement of our forces; winning that back is going to be difficult.”

“It was either move the forces or lose ten million planets.”

“We’ll lose a lot more than ten million planets if the enemy breaks through our lines. What are you going to do about this?”

“We’re totally defensive. So far, it’s only the white ships that are attacking us. I believe the other sector is too frightened to do anything.”

“You still haven’t told me what you’re going to do about it.”

“I’m going to take those ships out of the game.”

“How?”

“Hit them where it hurts the most.”

“Keep me informed on what’s happening.”

“I will, Sire.”

• • •

Cyanna sat with the fleet admirals as they discussed the next option to use against the Red Sector. Suddenly the main wall display came on and George was on it and everyone immediately saw his anxiety. RV said, “What’s wrong!”

“We just had more than two hundred million Red Ships jump into our galaxy.”

RV stood and said, “Have they found our planets?”

“Oh yes. They came straight to New Sierra-Garcia. They’ve been beaming the planet for twenty minutes.”

“Why didn’t you notify me immediately?”

“It would have been a wasted effort if they were able to penetrate the force field. As it is, we’re picking off their ships whenever they move closer than fifty miles.”

RV sat down, “How are you doing that?”

“The Harmony Federation has a planet based beam that has the power of the force field. If they move closer, it blows right through their beams and kills whatever it hits.”

“What about our other planets?”

George looked away for a moment and said, “It appears they are spreading out and attacking other civilizations.”

RV jumped back up, “George, the civilizations that invited us to move are going to be destroyed. We’ve got to come back.”

George said, “You may need to come back but not because of that.” George shook his head, “Those Federation engineers are amazing builders. They installed a force field on every civilized planet in this galaxy soon after their arrival. It appears they weren’t willing to trust that we wouldn’t be found. It’s a good thing they’re paranoid about safety.”

Kate said, “How’s the force field holding up?”

“We’re seeing it weaken with the ongoing attack but the loss is slight. We’re bringing more reactors online and expect the levels to return to normal.”

RV thought a moment and looked at Kenny. Kenny shrugged and RV said, “Don’t bring them online right away.”

“Why not?”

“What do you think they’ll do if they see the strength of the field decreasing there and nowhere else?”

George thought a moment and said, “You’re right. We’ll even allow it to decrease slightly faster.”

Gibbs looked around the table and said, “You lost me. Why would we do that?”

RV shrugged, “If you’re beating a rock with a five pound hammer and it’s only being slowly worn down; what do you do if you don’t have the patience to wait?”

Gibbs said, “Use a ten pound hammer?”

“Exactly, if the force field around Sierra-Garcia is showing a faster decrease in strength than all the other planets, I expect them to concentrate their efforts there.”

Gibbs stared at RV, “You want them to consolidate their forces?”

“That’s what they do best. They are not a defense minded civilization; they only know how to attack and they do it from massive formations. Bringing all their ships to bear on one target is what they do best and I’m reasonably sure they will form a large attack formation.”

Kate looked at Kenny who nodded. She turned to RV, “Why do you want them to do that?”

RV looked at George on the display and said, “Practice.” RV paused and said, “If we leave, the Red Sector will attack the other two sectors. They have also sent forty percent of the ships they can use here to defend against our attacks. Notify me if anything changes; however, we are going to stay here and continue our assault.”

“I’ll let you know. We’re all nervous but the force field is living up to Boden’s promise. Are you going to do anything about the ships here?”

“I want them to gather their forces. I’ll wait until that happens.”

George nodded and the display went blank. RV looked around the table, “Ok, now they have about three hundred million ships to use to counter our fleets. How do we work around their numbers?”

Kate said, “I think we need to concentrate on reducing those numbers.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“The ships coming to defend their planets are not in formation. They form up after their arrival; that’s something we ought to be able to exploit.”

RV pressed the communication panel, “Jim, do you have any recordings from the probes of Red Ships moving into formation?”

“How many would you like?”

“Just four; send the ones with the largest numbers forming up.”

“I’ll send you six. The last one has more than a million.”

“Thanks, Jim.”

The six admirals examined the videos and Cyanna told them how to attack the Red Sector formations. RV was once again impressed with his wife’s ability to see things others missed.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The Red Sector Sub-Admiral watched his control display and saw an emergency call come in, “We have more than a hundred thousand white ships emerging in our system!”

The Admiral looked at his board and dispatched two hundred thousand ships. He looked back up and as he expected the numbers of calls for assistant roared in. He flipped a switch and the computer began making the assignments. There was no way the response could be done any other way.

Half of Mikal’s sub-fleet had jumped in to a planetary system and formed up. The other half was attacking another planet and Riebbe was commanding that attack. Only a third of their small craft were with the main battleships and Mikal held his formation waiting to see the magnitude of the response against his ships. The Sensor Officer announced, “Massive numbers of ships emerging into normal space.”

“How many?”

“Two hundred thousand plus.”

Mikal said, “Move us in.”

The Union Ships moved forward and the Red Ships began organizing into their pyramid formation. Mikal watched as the ships that made the base of the pyramid quickly formed a solid square and the other four sides began moving into place. Mikal said, “Right about now.”

• • •

Lt. Amie Jabaran led her thirty needles around the planet and targeted the top right corner of the base being formed. Her thirty ships stayed in single file slightly staggered under each other. There was no room to fan out as another two hundred thousand needles were flying in at high speed. Their formation matched the size of the Red Ships base and they were on the Red Ships faster than they could respond. The base was not quite completed and the blasts were incredible. The sensor buoy had blanketed all of the military frequencies being used by the Red Ships, so they had no warning from the planet about the ships that had jumped in keeping the planet between their fleet and the small ships.

The Fleet Commander watched as his fleet formed up and wondered why the white ships had not jumped away. That’s what they always did when confronted with superior numbers. He turned on his communicator and was greeted with a high frequency screech that was painful. He looked at his second, “Our communications are being blocked by that high power transmitter.”

He started to respond but one small problem prevented him from doing it. The Command ship was always the center ship in the base of the pyramid. The Light Wave Penetrator that hit his ship left nothing behind that could be used to communicate.

Amie banked her squadron with the top half of the formation and moved above the Red Ship formation. The second wave of attack craft roared in less than a second behind the first wave and fired a full salvo of main penetrators into the open end of the giant pyramid. As Red Ships rushed away from the formation to avoid the massive explosions that were exploding outward from the interior, they were met with the first wave of needles and fifty thousand dog fights erupted. As the Main Battleships arrived on the scene complimented by the remaining small craft moving in with them, the slaughter began.

Some of the Red Ships might have survived but these were ships that had their home worlds destroyed. Their hatred of the white ships was beyond rage and none of them chose to save themselves. The White Fleet paid a price. Some of the Red Ships began flying their ships into the White Fleet hitting the main battleships at incredible velocities. The beams they were firing burned anything fired at them and they managed to hit the force fields and slam into the ships unfortunate enough to be their targets.

Mikal yelled, “All battleships, jump out of here now!” The huge white ships disappeared and the small craft finally eliminated the last Red Ship an hour later.

Amie did a count and saw that she had lost eight of the ships in her squadron. She had come close to dying when one of the Red Ships had turned and she saw the terrible main beam moving at her. She was bracketed on three sides by the beams blowing past her ship and there was nowhere to run. She reached for her jump drive but knew she would never press it in time. Then the Red Ship was blown away by a penetrator and she flew over the resulting explosion. She forced herself to control the adrenaline rushing through her system and immediately launched at a Red Ship directly in front of her. The beams used by the Red Ships was so wide that the only safe place to attack them was from the rear; or front if their beam turret was pointed to the rear of the ship.

Cyanna had seen that when the Red Ships formed up, the ships in the base had their main beam turrets pointed forward until they completed the base. Then they turned their turrets to the rear. This time they had managed use that against them. Amie looked at the empty berths on the Amazon and wondered how costly this fight had been. Mikal saw that more than fifty thousand Needles had been destroyed. He watched as a Light Wave was fired into the planet and then he jumped his fleet away to lick their wounds. He had lost two thousand main battleships along with the needles. This was a victory in terms of numbers, but he knew the Union would run out of ships long before the Red Sector at the rate of loss he had endured. The numbers were just so overwhelming.

He waited for the report from Riebbe and worried about Loree. Would they have a future? He waited for the reports. The first news to arrive was that Loree’s ship had been hit and destroyed. Survivors were being picked up. He put his head in his hands and prayed. He understood the Red Ships hatred. He was starting to feel it as well. This was becoming personal. The next six hours were the longest Mikal had ever experienced. Then he lifted his head when he heard, “Bet I had you worried.”

Mikal took the deepest breath he had ever taken and said, “Thank you, God.”

Loree said, “You should thank the crew of the Zendra. The Hive Ship found my escape pod tangled up in wreckage. Don’t worry, my love. I’m alright.”

Mikal whispered, “My life is back. Stay safe.”

“I’ll do what I can in this crazy war. I’ll contact you after I organize my new ship and crew.”

• • •

RV watched the video of the battle and shook his head. “We need a more effective weapon against their ships. I know our ships are more maneuverable than theirs but that beam is so wide and the turrets can turn fast enough to hit our ships. They just use that beam to sweep the area around their ships.”

• • •

Phil and Anne were in RV’s conference room watching the video. They had come to the Havana to answer any questions he had about the information they had gathered on the Red Sector’s history. They waited patiently as Cyanna and RV tried to determine how to counter the advantages of the Red Battleships.

After a few minutes Phil said, “I’ve found that it’s often good to see what they can’t do to determine what should be done.”

RV and Cyanna looked at Phil and Anne hoped he hadn’t made the Admiral angry. “Tell me what you mean, Captain.”

“Well, I’ve been watching the video while we’re waiting and it appears they do a great job of attacking anything around them.”

“Go on.”

“I assume that you busted up their formation in an attempt to eliminate their combined fire.”

“That’s our plan.”

“Well, what do they not do well?”

Cyanna looked at RV and replayed the video. She looked back at Phil and asked, “What do you see?”

“They don’t change direction very quickly. Their turns are not done sharply.”

RV said, “They don’t have to; their turret beams cover the arc of their maneuvers.”

“Not from the rear of their ship.”

RV said, “Go on.”

“Notice that both turrets on the rear of the ship are slightly raised above the hull. They are designed to fire over the rear stabilizer fins and fan out above and below them. When they pass the fins the beams are at their narrowest.”

RV replayed the video and slowed down the replay of a Red Ship firing at a pursuer. “You’re right. Where are you going with this?”

“I think we’ve determined that the force fields around those ships is strong but not that much stronger than our own. I think you need to use a weapon that chases them and can move deftly enough to stay between those two beams as it moves in on their ships from the rear.”

Cyanna said, “There’s the same clearance on the front.”

Anne said, “True but the bow of the ship can be moved up and down much faster than the stern where the thrusters are located.”

RV stared at the two of them for a long moment and said, “Did you see this before you came in here?”

Phil looked at Anne and turned back to RV, “Actually, this is the first video of a battle with the Red Ships that we’ve seen. We’ve observed them fighting hundreds of thousands of years ago but this is the first current use of their ships we’ve seen.”

RV leaned back in his chair and said, “So what would you do with this information?”

“I’d back off on production of the Light Waves and start producing the mini-strikers.”

Cyanna was watching RV and saw that he had already arrived at the same conclusion, but wanted to see how this young captain’s mind worked.

“Why?”

“Because they are one third the size of the main penetrators and have more space to maneuver in that gap between the beams. They’re weightless when they’re attacking, so then can move instantly to the commands being given by their guidance boards and can accelerate as fast as any missile we use. Just set them to detect the heat from the thrusters and launch them in waves.”

Cyanna said, “Wouldn’t all of them home in on the first blast?”

“You don’t set them to target all heat; only the specific heat being emitted by the Red Ship engines.”

RV said, “You’d have them also avoid any ship that had the frequency of a mini-striker between it and the thrusters.”

Phil tilted his head and nodded at RV, “You read my mind.”

“Where did you learn so much about the strikers?”

Phil smiled, “Anne taught me while we were collecting light from the Red Sector. She also told me that the weakest point of a force field is where the engines are sending thrust.”

RV looked at Anne and smiled, “She’s right.” He looked at Phil and said, “What have you learned from your study of the Red Sector’s past?”

“You are absolutely right about breaking up their formations. Once the formation is completed and starts moving, it is irresistible.”

“What do you mean?”

“Every Red Ship starts firing their beams which extend more than sixty miles in all directions from their location. The base of the pyramid fires to the rear and the four sides cover everything else. Nothing you fire at that formation can make it through their beams. Once it starts moving, it can’t be stopped.”

RV didn’t want to ask but needed to know, “Can a new attack craft with the new force field make it through?”

“I honestly don’t know. The data is just too close to call.”

RV looked at Cyanna and then said to Phil, “Does this formation have any weak points?”

“Not really; but the weakest point it has is where the base of the formation meets the four sides.”

“Why is that?”

“That’s a transition point. The ships in the base are firing at the rear of the formation and the ships next to the base are firing across their beams to cover the gap between the two walls. That area usually only has one of their beams firing through it.”

“That seems to be an area we can exploit.”

“Only if you can get a ship into that corridor without other beams moving before it hits.”

Anne added, “And the ship attempting to hit that corridor must be moving at extremely high velocity and be able to hit a moving target.”

Cyanna said, “What about the gaps in the thrusters at the base?”

“The ships are staggered in the formation so there is not a clear path to the ships.”

RV thought about the formation and how to crack it open. Then Phil said, “Sir, I’m not sure you understand the full magnitude of this.” RV looked up at him. “The base of that formation is a ten thousand mile wide square and the four sides extend more than twenty thousand miles in front of the base. It’s shaped like a spearhead that’s big enough to kill a universe. When that formation arrives at a planet it turns so that the base is pointed at the planet and it burns the planet into ash.”

RV looked at Cyanna and said, “That’s one heck of a box.”

Cyanna slowly nodded, “I’m force to agree.”

RV turned to Phil and said, “From this moment forward you are being reassigned to the Havana and will report directly to Admiral Hardy. The two of you are going to work on how to beat this formation.” Phil started to protest and RV said, “You have no excuses. We don’t need to see the past any time soon. I need the two of you in the present. You are promoted to Rear Admiral and Lt. Hardy you are promoted to Commodore. Now get to work.”

Phil sighed and looked at Anne, “I had to open my mouth.”

“We’ll get back to flying the Ninja when this is over. This is a challenging assignment. I’m looking forward to it.”

Phil smiled, “Then let’s get to work.” Phil turned to RV, “I need six main battleships.”

RV did a double take, “What on earth for?”

“I really need six thousand but six will do for a start.”

RV slowly shook his head and looked at Cyanna. She smiled and said, “You’ll have your ships in an hour.”

“Thank you, Admiral.”

The two left the room and RV watched them leave. Cyanna smiled, “You can still be surprised.”

“What surprises me is that they have been hidden in their current assignments. I’m thankful they came here.”

“Do you think they’ll come up with a way to penetrate the formations?”

“Smaller ones, maybe; I’m not sure there is a way to break the biggest one.”

“Let’s hope they find an answer.”

• • •

Dolly watched the Red Ships start to gather above Sierra-Garcia and the size of the fleet was growing by the minute. Thousands of ships would arrive and immediately take their place in the giant formation. According to George, these ships were only a small fleet compared to the ones being fought in M-87. She was so wrong in her thinking; there should be nothing withheld in fighting these creatures and even the other two sectors should have been allowed to die.

She sighed and knew that even that was an error in judgment. If our fleets weren’t in M-87 attacking the Red Sector, then billions of ships would be surrounding the planet instead of the millions gathering in orbit. She looked over at George and he said, “That’s only half of them.”

Dolly looked at her display again and wondered how they could possibly survive against such a massive force.

• • •

Cyanna sat in RV’s lap and sighed. It was two a.m. ship time and they were on the bridge looking out of the viewport. She saw a Moet ensign come in and relieve the sensor officer. “We’ve really been lucky.”

RV continued to stare out the viewport as he said, “Why is that?”

“Without the huge populations on the Alliance and Moet planets, we would have never been able to crew the ships in the fleets, much less the small craft. The fight with them could have gone another way.”

RV nodded and remained silent.

“Are we going to be able to use the small craft against their formations?”

“If we can’t, we’ll lose this war.”

“I suspected as much. How are we going to get them in close enough to be effective?”

“I’m still working on that.”

“Their force fields are just not strong enough to get through their massed beams. One would think that if they were moving fast enough the force fields wouldn’t be stressed very long.”

RV said, “Like moving your finger through a candle flame. Move it quickly and it won’t be burned.”

“Yeah, something like that.”

RV raised the command chair back from a reclining position and Cyanna saw the wheels turning in his mind, “What?”

RV hit his panel, “Admiral Phillips, you and Commodore Hardy report to the bridge immediately.”

Cyanna looked at RV with raised eyebrows and he said, “The problem with using the new attack craft the way they were designed is that they cannot hit a force field too fast or they’ll punch through and hit the ship inside it.”

“Yeah, so what?”

Phil and Anne walked in yawning, “Do you ever sleep?”

“It’s not on the schedule. I need you to make a quick jump to Sierra-Garcia and get a reading on how far from the Red Ship Formation their beams extend. I need you to do it now.”

Anne saluted and said, “We’re on our way.”

RV hit his panel again and Boden appeared, “How fast is the relay you put in the new attack craft?”

Boden said, “And good morning to you as well.”

“Oh, sorry about that. Good morning.”

Boden smiled, “It operates at light speed.”

“Yes, all our relays do because they’re electrical. What I mean is; how fast can it receive an input and activate?”

“If it’s done by the computer, almost instantaneously. Why do you ask?”

“The almost part is important. What if I want the relay to return a ship to weightlessness if it hits something, how long would it take to make that happen?”

Boden thought a moment and said, “Stand by just a moment.” He looked away and after a short pause another face appeared on the display beside his. “Tell Ramson what you want.”

RV repeated the question and the engineer began entering data on his panel. “I need more information. How fast will the ship be going when it hits?”

“I won’t have that information until a ship I dispatched returns. Let me tell you what I’m thinking and if it can be done.”

Cyanna listened as the two Federation leaders listened and nodded. After fifteen minutes Boden said, “We can’t bring all those ships in to make the kind of modifications you want within the time frame you’ve given us.” Cyanna saw RV’s excitement dissipate. Then the Engineer said, “You have to run the commands through the computer. If what I’m thinking works, it would only take a download.”

Boden eyes got a far-a-way look and then he said, “That’s eight actions that have to done.”

“If the speed isn’t too fast, it can do it in the time allotted.”

Boden didn’t look convinced and he said, “Let us work on this on our end and get back to us with the other data as quickly as possible.”

The Display went dark and RV said, “I’ll see you later.”

Cyanna chuckled and said, “Like a candle.”

RV smiled, “Blow them all out to have your wish come true.”

Two hours later Phil and Anne arrived and said, “Seventy-five miles.”

“Did you get a reading on the energy of those beams close to the ships firing them?”

“We did. I’ll have the computer send it to you now.”

RV received the data and sent it straight to Boden’s Panel. He and Cyanna waited and after six hours went to get some sleep. Two hours into their naps the communicator on the wall buzzed. RV pressed the button and heard, “We have a priority communication from the Leader of the Harmony Federation. He says it’s important. I’m sorry for disturbing you, Sir.”

Cyanna beat RV to the bridge, but only barely. RV punched his panel and started to say something but stopped himself. He took a breath and said, ‘Good afternoon.”

Boden smiled and said, “You are a fast learner. We can do it.”

RV picked up Cyanna and laughed out loud as he swung her around in circles. The bridge crew wondered what was going on.

• • •

George and Dolly had RV on their display, “The enemy formation has been completed and is moving closer to us. We expect them to stop outside the range of the space cannon but that formation is something to see.”

“How is the force field holding up?”

“We brought the other reactors on line just to keep it at the level it had fallen. I suspect they would breech it in less than thirty days at the current rate they’re firing.”

Dolly shook her head, “Is there anything you can do?”

“We are going to make an effort to stop them shortly. Hang in there and hope this works.”

George looked at Dolly and she came over and hugged his neck. “He’s the best. If it can be done, he’ll do it.” She looked back up at the wall display and felt her fear.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Beth and Riebbe waited as the shock ships downloaded the new program into their computers. The remainder of the attack force was rearming at their main ships and reading the orders that had been issued thirty minutes earlier. This was something they had never trained on and all of them were nervous.

“Do you think this is going to function as they say?”

“I asked them the same question, Riebbe, and the answer they gave me was we’ll soon know.”

“Why aren’t the main battleships taking part in this?”

“You have the same information as I do. I wish I knew the answer to that question.” Beth paused and said, “I’ve just received word from one of our mechanics on the Rome that all of the mini-penetrators have had new software downloaded into their guidance boards. What’s going on?”

“I’m not going in blind.” Riebbe hit his communication switch and Cyanna appeared on his display, “May I help you, Admiral?”

“We’re getting new software to control our ships and I understand the weapons are also being changed. We’ve had no training on any of this. We’re concerned about the safety of our pilots.”

“Do you have any trouble understanding your orders?”

“No Sir.”

“Then follow them.”

Riebbe watched his display go dark. “It looks like we’ll find out how this works as it happens; not before.”

“It’s not like Cyanna to just shut you off like that.”

Riebbe looked at his display that had started receiving a feed from the Sensor Buoys at Sierra-Garcia and he said, “Oh my God. They have other worries to handle.”

Beth’s display had also picked up the feed and she knew they were all going to die.

• • •

Captain Amie Jabaran formed up her wing with the thousands of others and yelled, “No, I don’t know what’s going on. Now shut up and follow the mission plan. Be the professionals I know you are.”

Her second in command said, “But Sir, we don’t know what these changes do. We’re flying in blind.”

Amie took a deep breath and said, “Has the Old Man ever asked us to do anything he wouldn’t do himself? Hasn’t he always planned everything so that our chances of survival are in his plan? Now is when you are going to have to trust our leaders are competent. You see Sierra-Garcia is under attack; there’s not enough time to walk us through everything. You have your targets and you have your orders; follow them!”

Amie decided at that moment that if she lived through this mission she was going directly to Asia and visit Mark in the hospital before she reported back to the Mecca. She didn’t tell him how much she loved him before he was injured and she was not going to live another day without him knowing her feelings. It didn’t matter if he felt the same. She had to tell him. She looked at her target and felt her fear. She knew all of the million shock ships felt the same.

• • •

Two hours later the massive fleet of attack craft jumped into Sierra-Garcia’s system.

• • •

The Red Fleet Sub-Admiral’s ship was in the space between the four walls of the pyramid. He was receiving a feed from the ships in the outer walls on what was happening around the giant formation. The last ships had arrived and he ordered, “Move forward to sixty miles from the planet and commence bombardment.”

“Sire, we have massive numbers of small ships emerging into normal space.”

“Did you say small ships?”

“Yes, there aren’t any of their large battleships present.”

“Those ships can’t hurt us. Keep me informed if the battleships appear.”

• • •

Riebbe slowly shook his head and then said over the main frequency. “On my command, all shock ships will engage the new software; engage.”

Amie pressed her computer key and the force field formed around her attack craft. “What is this?” She saw the sharp point appear to the front of her ship but there was a single white beam extending from that sharp point more than ten miles in front of her. She looked around and saw all of the million shock ships had the same beam. “I wonder what this does.” Multiple voices came on her channel and she said, “I don’t know.” The channel grew quiet.

Riebbe watched as the force fields formed and was just as surprised as the shock ships. He muttered, “I’m getting too old for this.” He said, “I am going to activate the new software in a moment and your ships will be controlled by your computers until you reach your targets. Buckle in tight, hang on, and good luck.” Riebbe took a deep breath and pushed the activation frequency on his panel.

• • •

Amie watched as her ship suddenly accelerated at an unbelievable velocity at the base of the giant formation. There was no way they could hit that formation at this speed and survive. She tried to take manual control but nothing worked. She leaned as far back into her seat as possible as her ship rushed into the wall of flame being fired by the Red Ships.

• • •

Beth watched the million attack craft roar down on the huge base of the formation and watched the panel as the countdown continued. Just as it reached ten, she saw the base of the formation look like a giant circle of explosions was expanding out from the center of it into the surrounding Red Ships. The countdown hit zero and she pressed the activation code for the second wave. Fifty million attack craft shot forward and moved into the center of the explosions happening in the Red Ship formation. Just before the second wave, arrived the shock ships flew out of the base and moved away from the giant formation.

• • •

Riebbe watched Beth’s second wave accelerate away and watched his count down. Beth’s wave hit the base and Riebbe pushed the activation button. The remaining three hundred million attack craft jumped to the rear of the Red Ships in a giant dish formation and waited. They didn’t have to wait long.

• • •

Amie squinted as her ship hit the flames and suddenly she was through the beams and inside the force field of a Red Battleship. She hit the ultra-beam, which hit the Red Ship in the reactor room directly in front of the engines. She turned and flew out of the force field of the exploding Red Ship through the force field of another ship. Whaaaa-hoooo. Now she was on familiar ground and she moved up into the ranks of the massed Red Ships above her. Suddenly she heard a computer voice say, “Twenty seconds to escape…fifteen seconds to escape… She continued to kill ships until the countdown reached one and she flew her ship out of the explosions behind her into open space above the rear of the giant formation. She watched as the second wave roared into the hole that had been blasted in the base. She heard, “Your coordinates are as follows.” She jumped her ship to the coordinates and saw the other shock ships appear around her. They were eighty miles to the right of the giant formation. She looked at her board and saw that twenty ships in her wing were not on the channel. Her second was one of them. Then she heard, “Weapons are active.” She read her orders again and waited for what was expected to happen. She fought the depression at the loss of her pilots and forced herself to focus on the mission.

• • •

The Sub-Admiral saw the destruction of the ships in the rear of his formation and then millions of enemy ships flew into the space inside the four walls of the giant pyramid. Millions of ships began exploding in the surrounding wall and he knew they had no defense against the attacking ships. If they fired at them they would hit their own ships across the space from their location. He slammed an appendage on the panel and yelled, “Break away and kill the ships inside the structure…” He never had the opportunity to order them to reform afterwards. One of the ten ultra-beams that hit his ship burned through the chair he was occupying and went out the ceiling.

• • •

Beth and the other ships in the second wave saw the giant pyramid break apart and she pressed the escape frequency on her console. Every ship in the second wave jumped out of the center of the Red Ships and emerged just above the force field protecting the planet. She ordered, “Launch first salve.”

• • •

Riebbe watched as millions of Red Ships in the walls of the pyramid exploded. Giant holes appeared in the formation’s walls and he wondered how long they could sustain those losses. Suddenly, the entire formation fragmented and broke apart. Millions of Red Ships scattered in all directions. “Fire first salvo.”

The millions of attack craft at the rear of the Red Fleet fired a mini-penetrator at the wave of Red Ships. They left the giant fleet and accelerated into the ranks of the enemy fleet. Thousands of Red Ships collided attempting to escape the small, fast, missiles closing in on their thrusters. The explosions started and space looked like a sun had come into existence.

Riebbe watched his sensors and saw that many of the penetrators had been destroyed in the blasts. He pressed the frequency and said, “Fire second salvo.”

Another huge wave of penetrators accelerated into the fleeing Red Ships and easily overtook them. One moment there were millions of Red Ships exploding and the next they were all gone. They had jumped away.

• • •

Dolly and George watched the destruction of the Red Formation and Dolly looked at George and said, “I told you he was the best.”

George smiled, “I never doubted you, sis.”

• • •

Riebbe sat back and Cyanna appeared on his console, “Are you trained on your new weapons or do you need more time?”

Riebbe started laughing and said, “No, I think we can take it from here.”

Cyanna smiled, “Good job, Admiral.”

• • •

Earth’s fleets had returned to their home galaxy for a deserved shore leave. The Hive, Horde, White Civilization, Nexu, and Ramst took over the effort to keep the Red Sector on its heels as the Union’s fleets took time to reunite with their families and grieve the loss of their friends.

• • •

Amie entered Mark’s hospital room and she saw him try to sit up and greet her, “Lie back down; don’t hurt yourself.”

Mark smiled and said, “It’s really good to see you. How’s the squadron?”

Amie said, “Most of the ones that were there when we were privates are gone. We’ve lost a lot of good pilots.”

Mark’s smile faded and he said, “At least you’ve made it back.” Mark stared at her uniform and said, “Hey, hey, hey; you’ve been promoted.”

Amie smiled, “That happens fast in this navy. How much longer are you going to be here?”

“I have four more sessions in the tank and the doctors believe I’ll have the use of my legs again. I’m looking forward to getting out of here.”

Amie said, “Mark…”

Mark put his hand over her mouth and silenced her. “There’s something I’ve wanted to discuss with you.”

“What is that?”

“I’ve fallen in love and I’m buying a house near the ocean where she and I can live. I’m having it repainted and I just can’t decide on whether to paint the walls light blue or white.”

Amie’s heart fell into her shoes. “Congratulations, I’m happy for you.”

“What color do you think I should use?”

Amie tried her best not to cry and managed to say, “You should ask her.”

Mark said, “I did.”

“And what did she say.”

“I’m waiting for you to answer.”

Amie stared into his eyes and he smiled, “So what color is it going to be?”

Amie fell on the bed into his arms and said, “Color it home,” just before she kissed him.

• • •

RV and Cyanna were playing with Leigh Ann when Phil and Ann arrived at their home. The door alarm sounded and RV went and invited them in. Leigh Ann saw the two strangers and stopped laughing as she intently stared at them. Phil made a funny face at her and she laughed out loud. Anne said, “I didn’t know you like children.”

“It’s the little boy in me; I can’t help it.”

Cyanna said, “Hello, did you have trouble finding us?”

Phil shook his head, “No; everyone knows where you live.”

“Really?”

“Really, why have you asked us to come here?”

Phil sat down on the floor with them and Anne joined them. Leigh Ann crawled out of Cyanna’s lap and rushed across the floor to Anne. Anne picked her up and blew on her tummy. Leigh Ann laughed and looked at her with wide eyes and a big smile.

RV said, “I want you to take the Ninja and try to do something for me.”

“What is it?”

RV spent the next hour telling him.

That’s when Chris and Jillian came in followed by Mikal and Loree. The party started and soon Kenny and Jessica arrived with Kate Diamond. An hour later, Dolly, Jeff, George, and Meisa arrived. Leigh Ann watched the adults and wondered why they made the crazy movements around the room. She stared at her mother and Cyanna said, “It’s called dancing.” Leigh Ann looked back at Dolly gyrating in a circle in the middle of the room and laughed.

Jillian said, “Even she knows you can’t dance.”

“This coming from an old stiff leg.”

Jillian grabbed Chris’ hand and pulled him out into the center of the room. “We’ll see who’s old and stiff.”

For the moment, war was forgotten and happiness was the watch word.

• • •

The RSA looked at his display, “Did you see the disaster?”

“I did.”

“Can they do that to us again?”

“Not if we modify the structures slightly.”

“Are you certain?”

“I am.”

The RSA started at the lead weapons scientist and said, “Make the needed changes and notify me when they have been completed. Where are we with the movement?”

“Thirty percent completed. We’ll need to use some ships from the front to make sure we’re not discovered.”

“Are you satisfied that won’t be discovered?”

“None of their ships have ever ventured that far into our provinces.”

The RSA thought about the plans and said, “Make sure everyone knows their places and don’t waste time.”

“We’ve already had a trial and it went smoothly. You know we’ll probably lose more planets if we move forward?”

“We’ll lose them if we don’t; at least this way we can remove the problem.”

The scientist moved to the side and said, “I’ll let you know when we’re ready.”

• • •

The Dark Creature looked at the Ramst King and the Hive Controller on his display, “I’ve been notified that more of our members are ready to join in the campaign against the Red Sector.”

The King said, “I would have never thought we would have survived this long. Those, what do you call them, uhhhh…”

“Humans.”

“Yes, Humans, have made such a difference. Most of our old ships are now armed with the new beams and missiles. We just might stand a chance.”

The DC said, “Don’t get your hopes up too quickly. Their numbers are still staggering.”

“Yes but they have found a way to break into their formations.”

The Hive Controller said, “The Red Sector isn’t dumb. I’m sure they’re working on a counter to that tactic. Still, the longer we can keep them defending their territory, the longer we have to build ships.”

“How many do we have to use against them?”

“We’re over a billion main battleships.”

The DC slowly shook his head, “That’s still less than twenty percent of their ship totals.”

“The odds were at ten to one.”

“Just keep your attention on that sector. I just know they’re planning something and we’re not seeing it.” The Emperor paused and said, “Will you make the assignments of the new ships coming online?”

The Hive Controller said, “I’ll work the Minor’s new ships into the fleets if you’ll handle the two sector’s new ships.”

The King nodded, “I’ll take care of it.”

The display went dark and the Emperor worried about what they could be missing. Something had to be going on in the Red Sector.

• • •

Phil and Anne were jumping back to the fleets when Anne said, “Let’s run a quick scan of Sierra Space in the Red Sector.”

“Why, is something bothering you?”

“They haven’t attempted to take back the territory they lost to the Grillen. I wonder about that.”

“What do you want to look for?”

“Scan for their ship frequencies.”

Phil moved the Ninja into Sierra Space and extended the scanner fields. The massive number of black dots representing stars always amazed him. This galaxy was huge. After six minutes the computer put the results of the scan up on the main display. They looked at it and Anne said, “Something’s changed. Computer, put the scan up we completed three months ago.”

The two scans were placed side by side and Phil jumped out of his chair. “Computer, jump us to the Havana’s location. Do it now!”

Anne continued to stare at the two scans and wondered where the ships had gone. The Ninja jumped away at high velocity to warn the galaxy.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

RV looked at the two scans and then contacted all the major players in the war against the Red Sector. George and Dolly were also in attendance and most of those present were impressed with the leader of the humans. After a brief get acquainted session, the Emperor called the video conference to order and said, “What have you found?”

RV put the two scans on the display and said, “More than sixty five percent of the Red Ships are no longer in their sector.”

Silence dominated the conference and RV said, “They were quite clever in their deception and we only caught this by accident. They moved more than seven hundred million ships around the sector that’s closest to us. Our probes didn’t process that the ships they were recording were the same ships that were constantly jumping around the sector.

The Nexu Council Leader said, “They’re forming up to attack.”

RV nodded, “Yes they are and we don’t have long to get ready.”

The Horde Master said, “Now would be an excellent time to jump in and start destroying their planets.”

Many on the conference agreed that they should do exactly that.

RV stared at the Emperor and saw him staring back. RV slowly shook his head and the Emperor said, “It would not be good for us to do that.”

The Hive Controller said, “It might force them to bring those ships back to defend them.”

The Emperor looked at RV and he said, “If they had just started forming up their ships; that might be a good strategy. However, we’ve looked at the pattern from our sensor buoys and we’ve determined that this has been going on for more than four months. If we send our ships into their sector, how are we going to organize to meet their fleets when they jump into our sectors and start killing everything?” RV paused, “It appears they are willing to write millions of planets off to eliminate us once and for all.”

The Emperor said, “So what do we do?”

“Move all of your critical citizens into ships and get them off your planets.”

“Why do you want us to do that?”

“Because we revealed our hand when we destroyed their formation in my home galaxy; I’m hoping it will still work but I don’t know if it will.”

The Ramst King said, “Why wouldn’t it?”

RV looked at the thousands on the video conference and said, “I thought about how to prevent our ships from breaking though their beams. I went and asked someone who I highly respect how he would counter our strategy and the answer was so simple I was shocked.”

The Emperor said, “How can they do it?”

“Just shorten their beams from seventy miles to twenty. They don’t need to do anything else.”

George sat back in his chair and immediately understood. RV saw the Emperor did as well. The Nexu Leader said, “How would that make a difference?”

“Our ships were able to fly through their beams because they went through them at high velocities. Their force fields were only affected by the beam for a brief moment. If they shorten their beams and overlap them like they would have to do to shorten that much, the temperature would go up more than a thousand times. Nothing could make it through without being burned instantly. We’ll know when their formations arrive whether or not they know this little piece of information.”

The Emperor said, “They may have their beams at seventy miles and instantly pull them in if you attack.”

RV shrugged, “That’s what I’d do. So when they arrive I’m sending a million small craft at their formation and have them break away at the last possible moment.” RV paused and said, “If they shorten those beams, there is nothing we can do to harm them and all of us are going see the end of time for our civilizations.”

The Emperor said, “Is there no way to break through their shortened beams?”

“I asked my friend that same question and he told me that you would have to have a ship big enough to contain fifty of those reactors used to power the planetary force fields.”

“But those reactors are more than twenty miles wide.”

“Actually, they’re closer to fifty miles wide. We could build ships like that if we were given time but I think all of you know, time is not what we have here.”

“So what do we do with our fleets if they’re useless?”

“We go to their sector and burn every planet we can. We leave them as little as possible to go back to.”

George said, “What purpose would that serve?”

“Our civilizations will survive just like they did the last time they attacked. The survivors in the fleets will build again. This time we want to ensure they have enough time to build what they need to face them again in the far future.”

“Where do you think they’ll attack first?”

“Oh, they’ll come right outside the galactic edge of your sectors and challenge you to bring your fleets out to meet them first. They know the danger your ships represent to them. Failing that, they will move into the sector burning everything.” RV waited for comments and said, “We need to form our own fleets up and move them out to the edge of the sector.”

“Why?”

“There is a remote chance they haven’t discovered the information on reducing their beams. It’s a remote possibility but it is a chance. We’re going to plan our defense around that possibility. I’ll be having my staff send you your assignments.”

The Emperor said, “Start your commercial vessels moving as many citizens as you can to a safe location. The Fleets will follow the Human Admiral’s instructions. This meeting is adjourned.”

• • •

Dolly sat at her console and turned the red light off on her board. George looked at her and said, “What was that?”

“I was recording the meeting.”

“That looked like a transmit button.”

“Silly, you don’t think I’m going to store it here do you?”

George shrugged and went to be with Meisa.

• • •

RV sat in his command chair and waited. Two weeks had passed and the constant expectation of the Red Ship’s arrival was nerve wracking. Cyanna said, “What about our worlds?”

“They won’t penetrate the force field quickly but they won’t bear up indefinitely. They will eventually burn their way through.” Cyanna started to ask another question but the alarms screamed and she looked up at the display. Her heart almost stopped. There wasn’t just one huge pyramid formation; there were six. RV looked at his sensor panel and said, “There are six billion ships in each of those pyramids.”

“How big are they?”

“They are more than eight hundred thousand miles long. The bases are two hundred thousand miles on each side.”

Cyanna stared at the formations and said, “They’re firing the beams at a hundred miles in length.”

RV pressed his panel and said, “Admiral, launch your shock ships at the center formation.”

Every ship in the two sector fleet watched as the million ships bore down on the planet size formation. As the ships reached the beams, they suddenly contracted to fifteen miles. The million ships went weightless and turned vertical. More than a million missiles were launched at the retreating ships but they weren’t able to match the attack craft’s speed and were burned out of existence by the main battleships as the entered their fire zones.

RV heard on his panel, “That was a clever maneuver. I gave myself away.”

RV said, “It’s not too late to stop this madness.”

“Oh but it is. You’ve killed too many of our planets to be allowed to survive.”

RV sighed, “If I spent the rest of the next ten years killing your planets, I wouldn’t come close to how many you’ve killed here.”

“I’m about to make that comparison even more dramatic.”

“I want you to consider this. If you go through with this attack, I promise you that we will not stop until every one of your worlds are burned. We will not allow any of your species to survive. If any escape, we will hunt them down and kill them. You didn’t believe me when we first communicated; you thought we represented no danger to you. You found out you were wrong. We will leave you alone and never enter your province if you will just call this attack off.”

The RSA was nervous. Did this being have another way to defeat his ships? He struggled with what to do. The Supreme Leader sitting in a raised throne on the RSA’s ship said, “Shut that being up. What are you waiting on?”

The RSA looked at the Supreme Leader and saw his excitement at seeing planets burned. The RSA said, “Perhaps in another universe we could have been brothers. But not here.”

RV knew the Fleet Commander had been ordered to attack. He hit the general ship frequency and said, “Attention all ships…”

“Don’t move the fleets, RV!”

RV looked at his display and said, “Dolly there’s nothing we can do and those formations are moving in on our ships!”

“RV, if you’ve ever trusted me in your life, you have to do it now! Don’t move the fleets!”

RV looked at Cyanna and she was troubled and frightened as the giant formations moved in on their fleets. RV said saw her give a quick nod and he said, “You will hold your positions.”

The combined sector fleets watched at the Red Pyramids picked up speed and moved in on the massed ships.

When the formations couldn’t grow any larger in the main display, RV keyed his board to order the fleets to escape…then all hell broke loose.

• • •

Cyanna yelled, “Look!!”

RV looked up at the main display and saw the six massive pyramids being hit by giant blue ships that flew into the their flanks with a beam as wide as the blue ship blasting away the red ships in front of them. RV sat down and watched as twenty million Blue Giant Ships blasted the six pyramids unrelentingly. The giant holes in the Red formations expanded as the nine hundred mile wide blue ships blasted their way through the formations and erupted out the other side without being slowed.

RV hit the general fleet frequency and said, “All attack craft, pick a ship and destroy it if they break formation. All ships in the fleet; launch penetrators if those formations come apart. Then select a ship and do not let it escape. Chase it to the end of the universe if you must.”

The Supreme Leader was screaming, “What are those ships?”

The RSA said, “The end of our civilization. Your blood lust has killed us.” The RSA pulled his hand blaster and shot the Supreme Ruler in the head. The Ruler’s body guards then shot the Red Sector Admiral. The ship was then obliterated by a Blue Giant Battleship that hit it head on.

The Red Ships couldn’t continue to hold their formations against the nine hundred mile wide Blue Ships blowing through their formations. They fell apart like a sand castle being hit by a wave at the beach. The billions of ships scattered and millions of them were hit by the massive wave of penetrators moving in on them. The shock ships hit millions and penetrated their force fields, blowing them apart with fusion missiles. RV watched the massive destruction of the Red Ships and saw a familiar group appear on his display. He smiled and said, “It’s been a long time.”

The Seventh said, “We’ve attempted to contact you, but all of our inquires have gone unanswered.”

“When our home world was destroyed we lost your frequency and we didn’t have any way to communicate. We didn’t know how to find you.”

“We could not find you, either. We searched and discovered your home world was destroyed. It was the female who originally saved us that contacted us and gave us your new technology. It was that gift that made our ships strong enough to attack those Red formations.”

RV slowly shook his head, “You don’t know how much your assistance had helped us.”

The Seventh leaned forward and said, “I believe it was you that saved us in a similar circumstance when we were attacked by a formation we could not break.”

“Will you assist us with one other detail?”

“We are at your disposal.”

• • •

The Emperor contacted Cyanna on her board, “Where did those ships come from?”

“They originally attacked our galaxy and attempted to kill all civilizations in it. We saved them from the Hive Fleet that was dispatched to kill them and they agreed to be our friends and ally from that time forward.”

The Emperor slowly lowered his head, “There are lessons that one must see to believe.”

Cyanna smiled, “Yes there are.”

George looked at Dolly, “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”

“I didn’t know if you would agree for me to give them our technology. I remembered their frequency and decided I would ask for forgiveness instead of permission.”

George smiled, “Just like Chris and Jillian when they rescued you.”

Dolly smiled, “Exactly like that.”

Jeff came over and hugged her and said, “You’ve saved us again.”

Dolly looked at the display showing the massive battle and said, “No, it’s the crazy Cuban that made the difference.” She paused and then said, “I did help a little.”

Jeff and George laughed out loud and Dolly said, “Well, maybe more than just a little.” They laughed even harder and she said, “Ok, I helped a lot; does that make you happy.”

Even Meisa ended up holding her ribs.

• • •

The Blue Giant ships joined in the chase of the fleeing Red ships and no one pursued like the Blue Giants. The small craft and the rest of the fleet all gave chase and after ten hours only three thousand of the eighteen billion Red Ships that arrived in their formations were able to escape.

Once the Fleets moved back into their formations, RV said, “Hold your positions. We will be jumping to another location to complete this action. Stand by for instructions.” RV entered a frequency on his panel and said, “We have resolved our problem and want to know if you will keep your agreement if we assist you in resolving yours?”

There was a momentary silence and then the speaker said, “You have greatly surprised us. We gave you no possibility of survival.”

“Stranger things have happened. However, it’s time to decide.”

“What assurance do we have that you will keep your promises?”

The Emperor broke into the conversation and said, “We have attacked them and destroyed their home world. Yet they came and defended us against an enemy that could destroy us. You may find assurance that if you are given a promise, it will be kept. Whatever agreements he has made with you, my civilizations will also agree to follow them.”

“What about those giant Blue Ships?”

The Seventh said, “The friend of my friend is also my friend.”

There was a pause and then they heard, “We will keep our agreement. I want you to come and have further discussions with my leadership but they have agreed to support my decision.”

RV smiled, “Please send me a detailed scan of your positions.”

“You will have it momentarily.”

• • •

The Emperor looked at RV on his display, “Who was that?”

“That was the Commanding Admiral of the Grillen. They are the ships fighting the Red Ships on their other border.”

“What have I just agreed to do?”

RV smiled, “The Grillen were attacked in their galaxy hundreds of thousands of years ago and they rebuilt their worlds and came here to make sure it never happened again. They have agreed to go back to their galaxy and stay there if we assist them in removing their ancient enemy.”

“Why can’t we open communications with them and share our commerce with them?”

“That is what you will talk about when their leaders come for discussions.”

“Why would I do it? You’re the leader of our forces.”

“I’m a warrior. You are a statesman. I hope the universe has a larger need for those like you than me in the future. My people will work out a mutual defense pact with you and I’m sure you and our leaders will begin to cooperate in many other endeavors. But first, there are twenty five billion more Red Ships to confront.”

“That many?”

“Yes, but now there’s a difference.”

“What’s that?”

RV smiled and said, “We’ve had some practice.”

Cyanna started giggling and RV looked at her. “What’s so funny?”

“The last box will be the easiest.”

RV shook his head, “The last box has us in it. Get the fleets organized, Admiral.”

• • •

The twenty million Blue Giant Ships jumped in leading the combined fleets and devastated the Red Formations from the rear. The billions of Grillen Ships charged in from the front and the rout was on. The Red Ships that managed to flee the battle were pursued by more than six ships each. None of them escaped and the three thousand that escaped the first battle were destroyed when they returned to a home that had an enemy waiting for them. The Combined Sector Fleets and Grillen Fleets then fanned out throughout the Red Sector, looking for any Red Ships that were still operational and destroyed them all. Amie Jabaran killed the final survivor. The war with the Red Sector was over.

• • •

RV looked at his watch and saw that it had stopped. He shook it and held it up to his ear as Cyanna reported, “The last Red Ship has been destroyed.” She looked at him shaking his watch and said, “What’s the matter?”

“My watch just stopped working.”

Cyanna smiled, “That must be the end of time you kept talking about.”

RV looked at her and had a serious expression. “You’re right. I kept sensing that our time would end with this war.”

“Silly, if you could tell the future you would know our next child is going to be named Junior.”

Cyanna saw his expressions change multiple times before she saw his love for her in his face, “Really?”

“Really; I just didn’t tell you earlier because I didn’t want you to lose your focus before the final battle.”

RV continued to stare at her with love in his eyes and then he slowly tilted his head back, “What do you mean lose my focus; my first name is focus.” Cyanna started laughing and turned back to her board to reorganize the fleets. RV continued to describe how excellent he was at focusing on all sorts of details. Finally she had to stop and just laughed until it hurt. RV stopped his tirade and watched as the rest of the bridge crew joined in Cyanna’s laughter. He looked around and said, “What?” Nothing was accomplished for the next ten minutes. He looked around the room and said, “I can focus.” Cyanna was so thankful she recorded the moment and years later RV laughed as well. The statue of RV that was placed in front of the Galactic Government Center centuries later had his watch on his arm with the exact time it stopped.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Emperor looked out across the huge auditorium at the gathered species talking among themselves. These were the chosen representatives of the civilizations in the five galaxies that had fought the Red Sector. He glanced at the Nexu and the seven council members of the Blue Civilization. Everyone in the room knew they were telepathic and there was no possibility of deception during the proceedings. He noticed many of them looking at the Humans and Blue Leaders with a measure of fear. The Emperor understood their feelings. Everyone present knew who the real power in the room was and even he recognized that it was not him. He called the meeting to order and said, “We are here today to come to agreements on how we move forward now that this war has ended. I think the first order of business is for this body to select the one that is going to replace me. We need a leader that is chosen by all of the five galaxies represented here. I was chosen in a time of emergency and that time has passed.”

He saw a light illuminate on his panel and he said, “The humans have requested to speak.”

Everyone in the room expected them to nominate one of them to replace the Emperor; silence descended on the room. George Sierra stood and said, “How long are you going to live?”

The Emperor was surprised by the question. He had to think a moment and gather his wits, “My species live about eight hundred of your years.”

“And how old are you now?”

“Two hundred.”

George looked around the room and said, “We have learned during the war that you have made decisions that did not favor any of the parties fighting it. You were able to get two sectors that had warred with each other for thousands of centuries to work together. You convinced the Minors that they would be a part of the new structure and would be treated as equals. You gave your agreement to the Grillen that you would stand by any agreements that were made. It is the belief of our leaders that there is no one better qualified to have this power than you.”

The Emperor stared at the human and felt humble. He never expected them to not take power after the war. He said, “This position has too much power for one being to hold.”

George smiled, “We know that and it reassures us that you are the right one to hold it. You will be an absolute ruler until you die. Nothing can be done if we all have to come to agreements on every issue. There is too much distrust among the civilizations here.”

“I don’t want this much power.”

“Then you have six hundred years to work with the five galaxies to build a government that can handle that power responsibly. If you can accomplish that in a shorter time frame, then feel free to step down.” George paused and said, “We have to have someone that is willing to enforce peace among us; someone that call us together if we’re ever attacked again by another galaxy; someone that understands that not all attacks are done by warships but can also come in the form of economic terrorism. We must have someone committed to the principle that we must all come together to ensure peace and prosperity among us.” George looked around the room and said, “We have no desire to rule anyone. We were forced into the events that brought us here to simply survive against ruthless predators. We will support the Emperor’s efforts to form a government that can continue these principles after he abdicates. He will be the only absolute ruler we will accept.”

The Leader of the Grillen Galaxy had his eyes closed and he stood and said, “I have been listening to the Emperor’s thoughts.” There was a murmur that filled the hall and he said, “One of our civilizations is telepathic and their representative has been allowing me to hear what the Emperor is thinking. He does not desire this power.” The Grillen Leader looked up at the Emperor and said, “In my mind, that makes him the best one to hold it.”

The Assembly took less than two hours to unanimously elect the huge creature as their ruler. The Emperor looked out at the gathering and he said, “My first act as your chosen leader is to break a promise.”

Silence descended on the delegates. The Emperor looked at RV and said, “You promised the leader of the Red Ship Fleets that we were going to destroy every planet in his sector if he chose to attack. We are not going to do that.” The Emperor continued to stare at RV and saw him smile and give a slight nod. The Emperor looked out at the gathering and said, “All of you will provide ships to go to the surviving planets in the Red Sector and inform them that they will not be allowed to build a star ship for a hundred years. We will provide them the ships and means to trade among themselves or with other civilizations during that time, but they will be on probation until they prove they are capable of adhering to our principles. There are more than six hundred billion civilized planets in the Red Sector and if any of them don’t agree to follow our directives, there will be one less in that total. If any of them violate the prohibition on building star ships, there will be one less in the total. I need to know if you agree with this first action and if you don’t; I will not accept this position. The time of indiscriminate killing is over.”

The entire room jumped to its feet and applauded the new Emperor. The Emperor accepted their applause and glanced briefly at RV and saw him nodding his head.

Three hundred years later the Galactic Government Center was completed and the representatives began the governing of the members. The Emperor had the power of veto over any decisions they made and during the first hundred years he used it a thousand times. The second hundred years, he didn’t use it but once and that was when he abdicated his throne when the Assembly voted for him to continue in power.

He made his final announcement in front of the statue of the Admiral with his arm over the shoulders of his mate. He stared at the statue for a long time before speaking and knew that RV knew he was going to nominate him to be Emperor. The Emperor closed his eyes and thought, “You would have been a better choice.” He turned to the microphones and knew that the Admiral would have not agreed with him on that one issue.

Epilogue

Twenty years after the war ended RV and Cyanna were busy packing their belongings. They felt a breeze blow through the house and Cyanna said, “That must be Junior; he said he was going to stop by before he left.”

RV walked into the back yard and saw a small white ship dropping out of the clear night sky. The ship stopped eighteen inches above the lawn and hovered without movement. RV walked forward and embraced his son as he stepped out of the side port. “It’s good to see you. How long before you’re shipping out?’

“I’ll be leaving in a week and be gone for just six months. I should be back in time to visit you in your new home.”

RV smiled, “Actually, it’s my old home.”

Junior said, “What are so many in your generation moving back to Earth?”

RV looked up at the stars and said, “These stars are strangers. I miss the stars I know.”

“Is it safe, Dad?”

“The Brescic have a device that eliminates radiation. The levels had already dropped below dangerous levels but they swept the planet and removed all traces anyway. We’re going to join the Moet and the people of the former Alliance in the Milky Way our real home.”

“Where are you going to live?”

RV smiled, “You already know the answer; Kenny and I are going to be neighbors just outside Havana.” RV looked at the small ship and said, “Is this one of the new Rover Ships.”

Junior turned and looked at the ship with pride, “Yes it is.”

“I understand that it is more powerful than ten of the Blue Giant Ships and only our best warriors are allowed to command one.”

“Actually, that number is really not accurate.”

“Oh?”

“This ship could not be defeated by millions of those ships. The new reactors developed by the Federation operate with the absorption of dark energy. No one else possesses this technology.”

RV shrugged, “I also understand that we’re not going to share it with anyone else?”

Junior frowned and said, “You should understand better than anyone that events can change instantly and a good herbivore makes sure their territory is always defended properly. We support our new agreements but we will not allow anyone to ever endanger us again.” Junior nodded toward his ship and said, “These ships will make sure we live in peace.”

“I understand they use the new sensor fields developed by Chris and Jillian.”

“They do; however, the technology to go into the past has been destroyed and erased in all our data systems by our leaders. We can still look at light but cannot go into the past to change events.”

“That’s a good thing, Son. I understand that you have a thing for their daughter.”

Junior’s face turned red and he said, “We like each other.”

RV decided to let him off the hook, “Where are you headed?”

“I’m going to take a look at M-83 to see if there are any dangerous civilizations. That is going to be the prime mission of the Rovers. We will determine if there is a danger to the Union out there.”

RV looked at the bow of the small ship and saw Havana II. He smiled, “The first Havana was a great ship.”

“It was for its time. My ship is the second ship in its class to carry that name.”

“Oh, where’s the first?”

“It’s being delivered to your new home in Havana in three weeks. The engineers will show you and Mom how it operates.” RV stared at Junior as he said, “The President insists that our former admirals will always have a ship to defend us.”

Cyanna came out and said, “Leigh Ann is dropping in momentarily.” She looked at Junior, “She requests that you move your ship over to give her room to land.”

Junior slowly shook his head, “Older sisters; they never get over being bossy.”

RV leaned over and whispered, “I think it’s a female thing.”

RV glanced over at Cyanna and saw her leaning down to put war medals in a box. He turned back to Junior and heard her say behind him, “You had your time giving me orders; now it’s my turn.”

RV moved his eyes to the left and right and mouthed, “See.”

Cyanna stood, walked over, and lifted RV’s arm around her shoulders.

Junior laughed and saw Leigh Ann’s ship come roaring in overhead. He boarded the Havana to make room for his sister. He was going to tell her about his wedding plans before he told his parents.

Cyanna looked at RV as Junior boarded the Havana and said, “Junior’s in love.”

“I know. Love is something this family does best.”

They looked up and both of them longed to see the stars that brightly shined in the skies above Earth.

The End

Excerpt from

The Fight for Creation

Life Warrior

The Zord flew in and saw that they had arrived too late. Billions of dried out husks covered the planet’s surface. The Dremor had attacked the planet in force and none of the population survived. Vremel felt his anguish at the brutality of the invaders and worried that they were growing in strength and expanding their conquests into the galaxy this planet was in. A Cat arrived and looked around the dead city. Vremel thought, “I guess fighting the Demons was just a warm up for the really dangerous forces we’re facing.”

The Cat gave a mental shrug and thought, “The Demons were dangerous.”

“Not like the Dremor.”

“That’s true. We still have a struggle to win and the fight is just really starting.” The Cat paused and said, “Why does the destruction of this planet bother you so much?”

“They all bother me.”

“But not as much as this one; why?”

“This planet was settled by the settlers that left the Stars Realm in its early history. This planet was inhabited by Human, Cainth, and Glod settlers that had built a peaceful civilization. They didn’t deserve this.”

“None of them do.”

Vremel heard, “I’ve found something. Get over here.” The Cat and the Zord looked at each other and teleported to the other side of the planet. They arrived at a home outside a large city where another Zord stood.

The Cat thought, “What?”

“Listen, you can barely hear it.”

The Cat and Zord listened and didn’t hear anything. The Cat said, “I don’t hear anything.”

“Don’t try to hear it. Just clear you mind and tell me what you sense.”

The two closed their eyes and then they heard it. Vremel said, “Someone survived.”

The Cat said, “They’re under the house.”

The three ripped the door away and rushed in. They looked around and saw six bodies that were dried out husks lying close to the windows. There were several lasers next to the bodies. They stopped and listened again and then the Cat took its giant paws and ripped the flooring apart. After a minute they found the passage way and the three giant creatures called in a White Warrior. He arrived in his armor, ran into the passage, and began handing three infants up to the waiting Zord and Cat. There was a Human, a Cainth, and Glod infant that were crying with hunger. He went back down into the passageway and came out holding a small disc. He inserted it into the player on a table and they saw the images of three couples in the room firing their lasers out the windows. A Human female said, “We’re hiding our babies under the house. If you find them, please take care of them.” The video stopped as the female moved over to a window and began firing a laser.

The Vremel looked at the three crying infants and said, “There’s no way these children could have not been detected by the Dremor.”

The Cat looked at the three infants and said, “We didn’t detect them.”

They looked at the dead husks and then back at the three babies and wondered what had allowed them to survive. The three all stopped crying at the same moment and the White Warrior saw the babies had their eyes open looking at the beings surrounding them. The Cat said, “These three are obviously linked mentally. I can’t detect how they’re doing it.”

The Zord and Warrior knew that if the Cat couldn’t detect it; no one could. What was going on?

Books by Saxon Andrew

The Annihilation Series:

Love Conquers All

The Power of a Queen

A Rose Grows in Weeds

Tommy’s Tale

Searcher

Demon’s Sacrifice

Finding Keepers

Ashes of the Realm:

Juliette’s Dream

Greyson’s Revenge

Death of an Empire

The Return of the Realm

Lens of Time:

The Pyramid Builders

Planet Predators

Pray for the Prey

The End of Time

The Fight for Creation

Life Warrior (January 2013)

About Saxon Andrew

Saxon Andrew is the author of the number one bestselling Annihilation Series. All seven books of the series have been a number one bestseller on Amazon’s kindle Science Fiction Series. Ashes of the Realm is the second series created by him and continues the history of the Stars Realm after its destruction. A third series, The Lens of Time, will be published in early 2012.

His books are written so that anyone can enjoy them and not worry about their children picking them up. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and looks forward to each day so he can write the stories that his fans enjoy.

Copyright © 2012 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: November 2012