Author: Saxon Andrew
Date: 2013-10-16T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Science Fiction
Description: The Union has defeated the Masters and can now confront the Grillen, who have invaded more than a million planets in M87 and are threatening to invade the Union. While the Union was fighting for survival against the black monsters in a distant galaxy, the Grillen have begun building warships that are invincible. They are immune to the Rover’s beams and the Union’s force fields are no barrier to their destructive power. No one knows where the Grillen suddenly acquired this new and deadly technology but an answer must be found quickly before the full production of these Grey Ships leads to the U
Publisher: Saxon Andrew Publishing LLC

Lens of Time Book Six

Star Rover

Running Out 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

Epilogue

Books by Saxon Andrew

About Saxon Andrew

Introduction

Dat sat on a rise at the edge of a vast plain and looked at the huge herd of Cape Buffalo. The Herd had been brought in two weeks earlier and appeared to be taking to their new environment. Dat shook his head as he stared at the powerful beasts, “Do you think you can handle them?”

“One of our youngsters tried a few days ago and we had to go and retrieve two of his arms. He’s healing and I think he’s learned his lesson.”

Dat turned to the large black being sitting next to him, “What happened?”

The former Master rolled his head down to eye level and sighed, “He lacked experience. He was under the mistaken belief that all the others would run away when he wrapped up one of them.”

“And?”

“Twenty charged in and taught him he was wrong.”

“You say he’s going to be alright?”

“He’ll be fine but now he has something to prove.”

“Are you going to stop him?”

“Nope.”

“Why not?”

The large black creature shrugged, “That’s how we learn. He’ll find a way to do it…eventually.”

Dat looked back out at the herd, “How would you have done it?”

“I would have wrapped it up, killed it quickly, and gone into the soil before the others arrived.”

“That sounds like an unfair way to hunt them.”

“It is and we won’t be doing that; it takes all the fun out of the hunt.” The large creature paused for a moment and turned to Dat, “Have you thought about my offer?”

“I have.”

“And?”

Dat looked at his former enemy, “Do you really want to take this risk?” The huge black creature looked at Dat and his head rolled up to the top of its body. Dat shook his head, “I’m serious.”

“It’s who we are, we live for the hunt.”

“But you’ll be taking on warriors in armor with high powered blasters.” Dat pointed at the herd, “And like these buffalo, they’ll come after you in huge numbers.”

The black giant’s smile was instant, “I really hope they do. It will be marvelous.”

Dat shook his head, “I need a name for you. And I don’t think calling your species Masters is appropriate now.”

“I don’t think you could say my name.”

“What is it?” Dat heard the clicks, whistles, and hoots and raised a hand, “Ok, ok, you’re right.” Dat thought a moment and smiled, “How about Blacky?”

The creature actually laughed out loud, “That’s what you called me the first time you ran from me.”

“It is.”

“Blacky it is.”

“What should I call your species?”

Blacky smiled, “We tend to call things by what they are.”

“And?”

“Call us Predators.” Dat leaned back and Blacky said, “Would you rather be chased by a Master or a Predator?”

“Put like that, I suppose Predator is a much more intimidating name.”

“It is our hope to intimidate your enemies.”

Dat thought a moment and shook his head, “Predator is too severe. I’m going to change Masters slightly and call your species Madators.”

“Madators??”

“Your species is a Master Predator. I’ve never encountered a species as dangerous as yours. Most of my people won’t make the connection of combining the two words and I think it’s a name that fits. Like our ancient matadors, you also like to toy with your chosen prey. It’s a name that won’t scare anyone who comes into contact with you.”

“You can call us a cabbage and we won’t care; Madator it is.”

“Blacky, I know how lethal your species is and it scares the crap out of me to free you. How do I know you will not turn on us? After all, we killed most of your species in our war. Your planet was the only one we allowed to live.”

Blacky put one of his long black arms on Dat’s shoulder and pointed out at the giant herd with another, “This is a gift you’ve given us. You’ve allowed us to live and you ensure our safety. We owe you big time. Your civilization will be safe from us along with any of your allies.” Blacky looked out at the vast plain and smiled, “We have no desire to rule anyone. This planet provides us with everything we need and this is our home. We do worry about your civilization’s survival and we’ll do everything in our power to ensure your victory over your enemies. We are not forced to hunt. We choose to hunt and we select our prey. You know we can help you. You should also consider what the basic nature of a predator is.”

“What do you mean?’

When have you ever seen a predator upset over another predator being killed? The initial thought is, ‘More for me’.”

“Yes, but your species is intelligent. Surely the deaths of most of your species would be cause for revenge?”

“Not really. I only worried about my world and my family. I didn’t concern myself with the survival of all the other planets. We worked together to ensure our family’s survival; but that was all. If it weren’t for outside pressures exerted against us, we would have fought among ourselves for territory. You allowed us to survive; that means more than you know.”

Dat stared at Blacky for a long moment and took a deep breath. He shook his head, blew it out, and looked out at the herd, “I will take this to my leaders to discuss.”

“You should take me with you.” Dat looked at Blacky with narrowed eyes. “Trust is easier when the one asking for it is known and not feared. You also need to see that I can mix with your citizens and not represent a danger to them.”

“Can you really do that?”

“Yes, I’ll need to eat before we leave.”

“How long are you able to go between meals?”

“About three or four of your months; six months if needed.”

Dat looked at the ground and stood up, “I’ve seen you keep your promises and you’ve demonstrated your understanding of honor. Plan to leave with me by night fall.”

Blacky smiled, “I’ll meet you here.”

“That would be good.”

“Dat, there is one thing you should know.” Dat raised his eyebrows. “I will not allow anyone to harm you or your mate.”

“Why?”

“You are the ones that saved us.”

Dat smiled, “I don’t think it will come to that, Blacky. I’ll see you this evening.”

Blacky watched Dat walk away and knew that life was having the unexpected happen when you least expected it. He left the field and went to find his next meal. Later, he reported to the other leaders and their happiness of being pitted against worthy opponents was obvious. They started bobbing up and down at the anticipation of the coming hunt. The leader of the other major tribe looked at him, “You will restrain yourself.”

“I have given them honor.”

The Leader smiled, “As well you should. Please let us know what they decide.”

“The warriors that are of age should start training, now.”

“Are you so certain they’ll use us?”

Blacky smiled, “We are a tool they have to use to survive. Just make sure everyone is ready to go. The first ones chosen will be critical to future decisions.”

Chapter One

The King looked at his Fleet Admiral, “When will the first ships be ready?”

“The hulls have been laid for the first units and the engines should be installed within the next week.”

“Our probes have discovered that the Union has won their war in the distant galaxy. They’ll be turning their attention to us quickly; we need to be ready.”

“I’m hoping you can delay them on the diplomatic front.”

“How so?”

“Call and request a meeting to discuss where we stand with them and see if you can drag the meetings out. We won’t need much time to get our initial fleet completed and after that…”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

The Fleet Admiral nodded and left the King’s Throne Room. Now, if the new technology worked, he would have title along with a planet to rule soon. He hoped the King could buy him enough time to build the ships needed to hold off the small white Union Ships. He walked out into a clear day with bright yellow clouds floating high overhead. The palace was huge behind him and he turned and looked at it. Who knows, maybe the King would have an accident and he could make a move to take the throne. He continued to stare at the palace and then shook his head. He was being stupid. He was not royalty and the throne was as distant as the closest star. It was unreachable. He saw his shuttle door open and he walked in, glancing at the beautiful sky one more time.

• • •

Dat arrived with Blacky in Admiral Hull’s office and the Admiral did a triple take at the huge Madator. She stood up and reached for a button to call Security. Dat quickly said, “Admiral, this is Blacky and he has volunteered his species to assist us in taking back the planets that the Grillen invaded.”

Katherine stared at the seven foot tall creature and shook her head, “Dat, you should have discussed this with me first.”

Blacky’s head rolled down his chest until it was eye level with the Admiral, “You don’t have anything to fear from us, Sir. We are committed to making sure your civilization is protected and continues to flourish.”

Kat eased forward, sat back down and kept her hand on the security button, “Is that so?”

“It is; you saved us and gave us a home we’ve grown to love and cherish. We’ve never liked the role of being a conqueror and now we can live in peace.”

“Then why are you electing to fight for us?”

Blacky’s head rolled back up to the top of his body and he smiled, “There are two reasons, Sir.”

“And they are?”

“We know that if your civilization falls, we will be attacked on our new planet by whoever defeats you.”

Katherine nodded, “That’s probably true; what’s the second reason?”

“We do love a good fight.” Katherine frowned and Blacky quickly said, “However, we will never fight with you or your friends. We just feel that since we are now a part of your civilization, we should take part in defending it.”

Katherine started shaking her head and turned to Dat, “Is this a good idea? You know how dangerous his species is. And I’m not so certain that he’s a part of the Union. They’re more like prisoners.”

“A blaster is dangerous as well, Sir; unless you’re the one holding it. They’re prisoners because of how dangerous they are. I believe we can use them against our enemies.”

“Just how is his species going to survive against modern armor and weapons?”

Blacky quickly said, “We’ve done it before. That’s how we captured the first warships we used to defend ourselves against the civilization that was blasting my planet from space.”

“Do tell.”

“My species has been attacked so many times we’ve lost count. We were happy to stay on our home world at peace but every time a space faring civilization found us, they made it their goal to eradicate us. I guess they feared our capabilities.”

“As well they should!”

“We eventually determined that the only way to ensure our survival was to conquer our galaxy and forbid any one from developing advanced technology. That is where you stepped into the picture.”

Katherine stared at the black creature and shook her head, “We killed billions of your species. How can you work with us after what we did?”

“You didn’t eradicate us. You allowed us to continue to live and that proves to us that we can trust you to defend us if we’re attacked by an outside force.”

“We would certainly do that but I find this hard to fathom.”

“If you will defend us, we will also defend you against outside aggression. You won’t find any creature in creation better at taking control of a planet’s surface than my species.”

“And you don’t have any ill will toward us for what we did?”

Blacky sighed at Kat’s sarcasm, “Admiral, my species has been attacked so often that we’ve grown inured to seeing our populations killed. The thing that makes you different from all the other attackers is that you were not determined to destroy every one of us. You’ve proven that our well-being is one of your priorities and we think it’s in our best interests to make ourselves an asset that you value. If we can prove to you that we can make a difference in your survival, we will be accepted into your civilization as equals instead of prisoners.”

Kat looked at Dat and he shrugged. She looked at Blacky and said, “Are you able to restrain your predatory instincts?”

Blacky smiled, “It’s like the citizens in your civilization that go hunting. They take a weapon out and pursue their intended game. When the hunt is over, do they go back into society and shoot anyone they encounter? No, the hunt is an exercise that is separate from their normal day to day existence. We can live in your society without endangering anyone around us. However, we do enjoy hunting. We’re the perfect ground troops you need to take back those invaded planets; and quite frankly, we’d love the opportunity to do it.”

Dat smiled, “Admiral, Blacky had proven to me that his species knows the meaning of honor and they keep their promises. I really believe he is being honest.”

“Do you honestly think they can match up with an armored Grillen Warrior?”

“We might give them a few tools to make it easier.”

Blacky and Kat both said at the same time, “What!”

“We need to see what talents his species brings to the table but I believe Belwen can develop some toys that will make a difference.”

“Dat, should we run this by the government for approval?”

Dat sighed heavily, “Sir, it appears they are pretty much leaving our survival up to us without getting involved. They have chosen to remain hidden and I can’t really say I blame them. We’re going to have to do this alone.”

Kat nodded, “I’ve pretty much made the same determination.”

Dat said, “It’s really up to us to make the decision, Sir. Do you have a plan to remove the Grillen Warriors from the invaded planets?”

Kat stared at Dat and sighed. She turned to Blacky and had a smirk on her face, “Raise one of your right arms.”

Blacky’s eyes narrowed on his face and Dat showed him what to do. He raised a long black arm and Katherine said, “Do you solemnly swear to defend the Union against all enemies, both foreign and domestic and to follow the orders given to you by your officers and leaders. Do you promise to follow our laws and customs and give your life, liberty, and possessions to ensure the Union’s survival?”

Blacky smiled, “I do.”

Katherine blew out a breath, “I don’t know what will come out of this but you are now a member of our military and I am tasking you with getting your people ready to fight for our civilization.” She turned to Dat, “Take him to Belwen and see what he can cook up.” She turned back to Blacky, “I will come to your planet when your warriors are ready to swear their allegiance and enlist them in our armed forces.”

“Thank you, Sir. I’m honored to fight for you.”

Katherine shook her head and Dat nodded toward the door. Blacky followed him out and six hours later he was left with one of the gentlest creatures he had ever encountered.

• • •

Dat arrived at home and found Gresha singing in the kitchen. She rushed forward and gave him a hug that almost sprained a few ribs “I just took Blacky to meet the Admiral.”

“Is that his name?”

“He allowed me to choose it.”

“It fits; he did love chasing you.”

“Katherine swore him into the military.”

Gresha stepped back from Dat with her brow furrowed, “Is that a good idea?”

“I don’t know…I think it is…but…I don’t know.”

“Well, if it helps, I hated him at first but now I find him entertaining.”

Dat smiled, “I know; it’s like sitting with a giant crocodile telling jokes. You know it should be biting your leg off but it never happens.”

“A croc wouldn’t stand a chance against him.”

“That’s what makes it even more ironic. He makes an excellent point that we are not equipped to push the Grillen off the planets they invaded. We could really use their help.”

“I don’t know how he would fare against an armored warrior with a blaster though. He couldn’t penetrate the armor with his beak.”

“I’m not so sure about that; he insists he’s done it before. Anyway, Katherine ordered me to take him to Belwen to see if he could come up with some toys.”

Gresha tilted her head, “Now that should prove interesting.”

“Tell me about it; what’s for dinner.”

“Chicken and rice.”

“It smells great. I’ll go clean up.” Gresha kissed Dat and went back to work.

• • •

Blacky had gone with one of Belwen’s engineers and picked up six other Madators. They were brought back to Belwen’s lab and had been subjected to an examination that was as long as it was thorough. Blacky was tired of extending his arms and legs. He couldn’t tell an arm from a leg by the time Belwen finished.

Belwen was looking at a read out on his computer and saw the seven Madators lying on the floor, “Hey, it wasn’t that bad, was it?”

Blacky’s head rolled off the floor and stopped on top of his chest. Belwen was amazed at the physiology of a species that could accomplish that. It was incredible. “If you stick one more thing in my hide, I think I’ll explode.”

“No you won’t?”

“I won’t?”

“No, there’s nothing hollow in you to cause a blast. How do you keep things inside your body?”

Blacky’s head started rolling off his chest and hit the floor, “I don’t know; I just wrap it up.”

“I need you to demonstrate a few things before I can get started developing some things for you to use.”

“Such as?”

“Are you able to change the basic shape of your body?”

“Yes, I suppose so; what shape do you have in mind?”

Belwen turned his computer display around and showed a picture of an air foil, “Could you assume this shape?”

“That looks like a wing on a warship.”

“It is shaped like a wing; can you do it?”

“Why would you want us to assume that shape?”

Belwen smiled, “Have you thought about how we would get you on a planet that’s got defenses on it?”

“I just assumed we would be transported in a ship and dropped off.”

“That’s far too dangerous. We need to get you to the surface without you being seen.”

All seven Madators sat straight up. Now this was something that interested them. “How would you do that?”

“First, I need to know how small you can make yourself.”

Blacky looked around and shrugged. Suddenly, he shrunk into a black ball not much larger than a baseball. Belwen was astounded. Blacky expanded and looked at him, “That’s about as small as I can do.”

“How in the Creator’s name can you do that?”

“I don’t know; like you said, my body isn’t hollow but the molecules that make it have a lot of space between them. I guess it’s sort of like a star after it goes nova and its gravity pulls it into a tiny space. I just pull all the molecules close together.”

Belwen made some notes and said, “Come with me.”

“Where are we going?”

“To see if you can fly.”

Blacky hooted, “Now that’s funny. We can do a lot of things but flight is not one of them.” Belwen shrugged and continued walking toward the exit. Blacky said, “You’re serious?”

“I am, now come on.”

The seven Madators along with Belwen and two engineers arrived at a lab that was situated on the coast overlooking one of the oceans on Belwen’s planet. They entered the lab and Belwen yelled, “DO YOU HAVE IT READY?”

An engineer came out of the adjoining room with a light weight plastic form. The two other engineers went into the room and carried out four more. Finally, there were seven of the forms scattered around the room. Blacky looked at the forms, “What are these?”

“You’ve told me you can move into various shaped containers. I want all of you to move into one of these and shape your body to it. Try to fill as much of it as you can.” Blacky stared at Belwen and moved over to the closest form. He inserted his arms and flowed into the container. He expanded his body and filled it. “What am I doing in here?”

“Can you remember the shape you’re in?”

“I guess so.”

“Then get out.”

Blacky flowed out of the container and Belwen said, “Go back in as fast as you can.” Blacky stared at Belwen and flowed back in in less than ten seconds. “Do it again but do it faster.” He looked at the other six Madators and said, “You can start doing the same thing.” They moved to the containers and started the process. Belwen watched them and made comments, as they moved in and out. “That’s better, but I know you can do it faster.” “Good, good, that’s your best time so far.” The Madators continued to move in and out and, after two hours, Belwen said, “That’s enough.” He turned to Blacky and said, “Assume the shape of the container…now!”

Blacky immediately changed his shape to a long, slightly curved, flat surface and fell to the floor. “Now change your shape to the smallest size you can manage.” Blacky immediately formed a small black ball on the floor. “Now back to the shape of the form.”

Belwen kept all seven of them changing shapes for another hour. At that point Blacky stopped and said, “What are you doing? This makes no sense.”

Belwen smiled and said, “Come with me.” The seven followed him out of the lab to the cliff overlooking the ocean far below. They arrived at the edge and felt the strong updraft rising from the ocean beneath them. Belwen looked at Blacky and said, “Stand here on the edge and assume the shape of the form.” Blacky looked at Belwen and changed his shape…and was immediately lifted high in air. Blacky started yelling and Belwen shouted, “Move your body and move with the wind!”

Blacky was terrified as he was blown more than three hundred feet off the ground and he started moving his body to avoid being caught in the strong updraft. He lowered his front edge and he started zooming toward the ground. Before he crashed he lifted his front edge and glided level with the ground and gained altitude again. Belwen shouted, “Next time you get close to the ground, change to your smallest size!”

Blacky was climbing and he was starting to get a feel of how to use the wind to change direction. He turned with the wind and flew away from the cliff, then turned and started a shallow glide back to the group standing at the edge. Just before he moved into the violent updraft he changed shape to a small ball and fell three feet to the ground. He immediately stood up in his normal shape with a huge smile, “That was both terrifying and fun at the same time!”

Belwen smiled, “You have to practice gliding in this wind.”

“Why?”

“We’re going to drop you on a planet from space. You’re going to have to learn how to use the winds to glide to the surface.”

Blacky stared at Belwen and his head fell to his midsection, “You can’t be serious?”

“I’m deadly serious. You’ll fall in the shape of the small ball until you reach an altitude where you can expand and start flying.”

“I’ll burn up long before that happens.”

“No you won’t. You’re dropping in with a flame proof covering. You’ll eject out of it and catch the wind.”

“Why would we do it this way?”

“Blacky, no scanner is set to detect biological creatures. They’re set to detect energy and metals and you won’t have any of that exposed to them. You’ll be able to drop in on a planet undetected and do whatever your mission might be.”

“What if there isn’t any wind?”

“You’re going to learn that you can use the speed you drop in with to glide wherever you choose. Your forward speed will provide all the wind you’ll need. I would recommend that when you choose to land, you should turn your body perpendicular to the ground and flap your surface to slow you down. At that point, you just change to a ball and fall to the ground. You can melt into the soil and move away from your landing point if you need to.”

Blacky thought about what Belwen said and looked at the other six, “He makes sense. We need to work on gliding here at the cliff until we master it.”

Belwen said, “You should also practice changing into a ball shape to drop quickly if needed and back to the wing shape at a lower altitude.”

Blacky smiled and ran forward and threw himself over the cliff wall in the shape of a small ball. The group ran to the edge and didn’t see him but suddenly he blew by them as he flew at high speed in the updraft, moving up the cliff wall. He was hooting and tweeting at the top of his voice as he rose quickly into the sky. Belwen smiled and shook his head. Two more Madators changed to the shape of a wing and lifted into the sky. The other four lifted right behind them and they flew erratically until they got a feel for how to ride the wind. By the end of the day they were flying in formation and dropping quickly toward the ground only to change back into a wing and rise quickly back into the sky.

Finally Blacky glided toward the ground, furled his shape into the wind and landed on his feet without having to change into the ball shape. He looked at Belwen, “I was wrong.”

“About what?”

“Flying is one of the things I can do.”

“You appear to have a natural talent for it.”

“My species has often suggested that we were once birds in our early development and evolved into what we are today. I think this adds support to that theory.”

“If nothing else, you do share a common characteristic with them.”

“What is that?”

“You both have beaks.”

Blacky stared at Belwen and his expression was serious. After a long moment he smiled, “I suspect we were a bird of prey.”

Belwen laughed, “Of that, there is no doubt.”

“Belwen.”

“Yes.”

“I need to send four of us back to our planet to start teaching my species how to fly.”

“That’s a good idea but only send three.”

“Why three?”

“I suspect that the minimum number to use on a raid is four. You should prepare the first wing as quickly as possible. The others can be brought up to speed at a slower pace.”

“Do you see something that we might need to do?”

“I do. I’ve been looking at the scouting reports from the invaded planets, and something is going on that we need to take a look at.”

“Three it is.”

“I also have a few developments I want you to start working on using.”

“Are these the toys Dat mentioned?”

Belwen smiled, “I guess you could call them that; I think you’ll enjoy playing with them.”

Blacky put an arm around Belwen’s shoulders, “You know that your species is now on our protected list.”

“Why is that?”

“No one has ever given us this much fun. Well, maybe Dat did during our little runs, but I see that you have accepted us and don’t fear having us around.”

“Thanks, Blacky. We are unable to fight and depend on others to protect us. Your willingness to defend us means a lot.”

“Let me know when you need us.” Belwen nodded and Blacky changed his shape to a wider wing, turned into the strong wind, and lifted straight up into the air. He moved slowly higher and then extended his shape and flew away at high speed. Belwen shook his head and wondered what he had done and what effect it was going to have.

Chapter Two

“Gibbs, I need you to make a scouting run.”

“Where?”

Dat pulled up a star chart on the wall display and a cursor appeared next to a type G star in M87’s Red Zone. “This planet was invaded by the Grillen and they are building some kind of installation on the surface. We don’t have a probe there and I need you to send one of your ships to deploy one.”

“I’ll get on it and send a ship by the end of the day.”

“Make sure the drop is done quickly and the ship gets out of there as fast as possible.”

“What are you saying?”

“The Grillen wouldn’t have invaded without some belief that they can stand up to our ships. They’ve had enough time while we were busy fighting the Masters to build up their forces. I believe that installation is important in seeing what we’re going to have to face.”

Admiral Gibbs sighed, “Is it back to war?”

“I’m afraid so; I don’t think we have much time before it kicks off.”

“I’ll have the ship make a high speed pass in the barrier and drop several probes as it approaches the planet.”

“Contact me when they’re active.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Katherine stared at her monitor and watched as the forty Grey Ships flashed in on the squadron of Rovers and opened fire. The hundred Rovers scattered but twenty six of them exploded in huge red explosions. The survivors turned on their attackers and started firing at them but their beams were shrugged off by the Grey Ships. “Where did those ships come from?”

Her Executive Officer nodded at the display, “They lifted off the planet they invaded six months ago. The squadron of Rovers were sent there to hit their ship building facilities on the planet. That planet was one of the first invaded by the Grillen and is ahead of the others in building ships.”

“Those ships are light years ahead of their other ships.”

“Yes Sir, they are. We’ve started taking a close look at the planets invaded in the Red Zone in M87 and we’ve discovered they were chosen for a reason.”

“What is that?”

“It appears all of them have an abundance of an ore that is used to build those ships. They’re starting to build them in huge numbers and it appears we can’t match them with our current technology.”

“How would they know about that ore? Or the technology to use it?”

“We don’t know, Admiral. However, if we don’t slow them down, we’re in big trouble.”

Katherine stared at the display as the other Rovers were being killed. Only ten ships managed to escape. “Brad, get Dat Arvolo here now!”

Katherine stared at a still of a small Grey Ship that spelled doom for the civilized planets in the Milky Way if an answer to them wasn’t found quickly…Katherine shook her head. Where did they learn how to build that ship?

• • •

Dat and Gresha watched the recording and Admiral Hull pointed at the display, “I’ve done some checking and more than a hundred of the planets the Grillen invaded have started producing those ships. They’re currently residing at the planet they were built to defend it against attacks. We could possibly overwhelm them with numbers and hit the installations from space but we’d kill a huge number of the local inhabitants if we did.”

“We may not have a choice; we have to slow down their production of that ship until we develop a means of countering them.”

“That probably won’t happen unless we capture one and examine it. So far they’ve proven to be immune to our most powerful beams.”

“What about a small penetrator?”

“Dat, they’re too small and can avoid it. We’ve fired at them and they just move out of its path and hit it with one of their beams.”

Dat blew out a breath, “We don’t have any other option but to hit them now and slow them down. I hate that the locals are going to pay a price for this but we won’t survive unless we stop them.”

“The Grillen will send in their fleets to assist those Grey Ships if we hit the planets. We may knock out the ones that are launching ships but we’ll face huge numbers afterwards.”

“Do we know what the Grillen have in their inventory?”

“They outnumber us three to one. They’ve been building ships at an incredible rate while we were dealing with the Masters.”

“What about the ships in M87? Can they join us in doing this?”

“Their ships don’t match up with the Grillen. They’ll lose a huge number if they enter the fight.”

Gresha shook her head, “I’m sure the Grillen know that and will concentrate all their efforts on us and handle them afterwards.” Katherine nodded.

Gresha saw Dat’s expression, “What are you thinking?”

“I don’t want to do it this quick but we need information. I’m thinking about dropping Blacky and his team on one of the planets building those ships to see if they can gather information. We also need to see if they can take out those ship building installations.”

Katherine shook her head, “Dat, that is a suicide mission.”

“I know; but it’s suicide if we don’t do something to meet this threat. I’m going to see Belwen and determine if he has anything that might raise their chances of survival. They’ve been working with him for four weeks and my information officer tells me they’re making great progress.”

Katherine and Gresha stared at Dat and Gresha said, “I don’t like sending in any of our forces if there’s no hope of surviving.”

“If we don’t, then we have no hope of surviving. I’ll let you know what’s going on, Admiral.”

Katherine shook her head, “I know this shouldn’t bother me but I like that big black boob.”

Dat started laughing and said, “He does have that effect on people.”

“I’m going with you.”

“I’d love to have you, Gresha. Let’s go see what Belwen has been able to do with them.”

“You should know before you leave that the Grillen Negotiator has screamed to high heaven about our attack on that planet and is threatening to declare the ceasefire over.”

Dat shook his head, “Admiral, I suspect the talks have been nothing more than a delaying tactic. I’m sure they’re trying to build these ships so they can invade our galaxy. He won’t end the ceasefire as long as they can build up their numbers. You need to keep him talking and try to prevent the Grillen from bringing in their main fleets to defend those planets. We may be forced to hit all of the invaded planets simultaneously to protect ourselves.”

“Let us pray it doesn’t come to that. The loss of life would be enormous.”

“Just keep him talking; I’ll see what we can do.”

Katherine nodded and Dat left with Gresha.

• • •

“Belwen, I need to send in a scouting team to one of the planets the Grillen invaded.”

“I have four teams that are training on the new technology. The first one is close to being ready for you to use.”

“Really?”

“I think you’ll be surprised by what they can do.”

“Show me.”

Dat followed Belwen out to his ship and Belwen talked on his communicator the entire time as they left the building and moved to the landing pad outside Belwen’s lab. They arrived and Belwen said, “Tell your ship to start scanning for a possible attack.”

“Stein, did you hear that?”

“I did, my intruder systems are now active.”

“Tell me if you see anything.”

“So far, everything is clear.”

“Admiral, you might want to be in your ship as this happens.”

Dat looked at Gresha and they walked into their ship’s port and closed it. “Stein?”

“Nothing.”

“Loree, do you see anything on your scanners?”

“There were four small meteors that entered the atmosphere that burned up but nothing else out of the ordinary.”

“Is that unusual?”

“Not really; a large meteor probably hit the atmosphere and broke up. That happens a lot on every planet.”

After an hour, Dat looked at Gresha and shook his head, “Belwen.” He received no response. “Belwen, how long is this exercise going to take?” Belwen still didn’t respond. Dat stood up and went back to the port, opened it, and saw Belwen standing outside the force field. “Belwen, what’s going on?” Dat was suddenly lifted by two black arms and held off the ground. He was turned around in the air and saw a Madator toss a small object into the open port.

Belwen said, “The exercise is over.”

Gresha was following Dat and caught the object as it came into the port. She turned the small round object over and it had, “Boom! You’re dead,” written on it.

Blacky released Dat and said, “I finally caught you.”

Dat shook his head, “How did you get inside my force field?”

Belwen smiled, “Force fields don’t go more than a few inches into the ground. The Madators jumped from space, glided to this location and went underground waiting for you to open the port.”

“Stein?”

“Dat, we didn’t see anything.”

Belwen said, “Did you use your optical scanners?”

“No, why would we do that?”

“Because your other scanners will not detect anything without energy or metal content.”

“Yes, but they would see heat emitted by anything organic.”

“Have you ever checked the body temperature of a Madator?”

Dat waited for an answer and heard Stein say, “I’m doing that now. Their temperature matches their surroundings.”

“Which means infrared won’t work.”

Dat stared at Belwen for a moment and said, “Those four meteorites were the Madators.”

Belwen tilted his head, “Yes they were. They were ejected from high orbit and they entered the atmosphere at high speed. They were protected by a polymer sheath that held their atmosphere and protected them from burning up. Once they were twenty miles above the surface they ejected from it and glided in to this location.”

Blacky put an arm on Dat’s shoulder, “We have come to the conclusion that my species evolved from a bird of prey. Flying is really fun.”

Gresha’s brow furrowed, “How are you able to fly?”

Blacky looked at Belwen and he nodded. Blacky ran forward and changed his shape into a large flat surface that he flapped several times and lifted off the ground. In moments he was moving higher, before disappearing into the night sky. Belwen shook his head, “I thought they might be able to assume a shape and learn how to glide if the winds were right. They’ve learned how to manipulate their bodies and flap their arms and fly without winds. They’re even better flyers than I thought.”

Dat shook his head and laughed, “Is there anything they can’t do?”

Blacky popped out of the ground a foot in front of Dat and said, “I wasn’t able to catch you on foot.”

Dat was shocked by Blacky’s sudden appearance, “How did you get back here? Stein, did you see him?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“I just glided in from behind you and entered the soil about fifty yards away. He didn’t see me because I thinned my surface to the thickness of one of your hairs and flew in less than two inches above the ground.”

Gresha handed Dat the small ball and he read what was on it; “What is this, Belwen?”

“We developed an explosive for them to carry. That small ball is a large example of a rather nasty device. That one is large enough to write on.”

“Why do you say that?”

Blacky pulled one out of his skin and handed it to Dat, “This ball isn’t much larger than a small ball bearing but it will blow a hundred yard crater into the ground about ten feet deep.” Dat looked at Belwen and he nodded. Blacky continued, “It’s made from materials that have no metal content and cannot be detected by a scanner.”

Dat stared at Blacky and then turned to Belwen, “How do they communicate?”

“They simply speak at a volume they can hear. We’ve placed a cosmic ray transmitter the size of a nitrogen molecule in their brains. They simply say the activation code and start speaking.”

Dat stared at Belwen and said, “No, I’m serious; how will they communicate if they’re on an enemy planet? Their transmissions would be picked up.”

“Dat, they are able to talk in a frequency that is above the hearing threshold of most species I’ve seen. They can hear it but I’m certain most other species won’t. The transmitter will pick up their speech and transmit it to the others. The charge is lower than a cosmic ray and shouldn’t be detected.”

“What if they’re not located in the same city? What’s the range of the transmitter?”

“They’ll be able to communicate on the same continent and all of the construction facilities are located on the same continent according to the scans taken by our probes. I’ve also given them a device to contact us if they need to be picked up but it should only be used in an emergency. It will be detected if it’s used.”

“How could we pick them up if the planet is defended?”

Blacky smiled, “We’ll just steal a ship and wait for a diversion to escape. I suspect several of your ships jumping in to the planet would be enough for us to get off the ground and make our escape.”

Blacky rolled his head down to Dat’s eye level, “Why are you asking all these questions?”

“I’m considering sending some of you in to scout a planet and I don’t want to do it if your chances of survival are too low.”

Blacky shrugged, “You won’t know unless you send us.”

Dat shook his head and turned to Belwen, “How can he cope with an armored Warrior?”

Belwen looked at Blacky and nodded. Blacky took one of his arms and pulled a small black dot out of his skin. He held it out to Dat and it was difficult to see it against Blacky’s black hide. “What is this?”

“This black dot has an adhesive that is extremely powerful. If an armored being walks on me, I’ll attach this dot to the bottom of his boot.”

Dat turned to Belwen and he said, “An armored Warrior’s force field does not penetrate the ground. That dot will remain dormant until Blacky transmits a word in high frequency on his communicator. That will cause all the dots in hearing range to detonate.”

“With what effect?”

“There won’t be much remaining.”

“What’s the effective range if he just screams it without using the transmitter?”

“More than two miles, if Blacky screams at his highest volume.”

Dat shook his head, “I don’t want to do this but we’re at a point where we must have information on a new ship the Grillen are building. Is it possible for them to collect information and broadcast it to us?”

“The device used to call for pickup can use an encrypted squeal to send information. The team leader will have to load the information before it’s activated.”

“Can it be detected while information is being stored?”

“Possibly; he will have to choose wisely where he does it. It can also take pictures without emitting any energy.”

Gresha walked forward and took Dat’s hand, “You have to send them.”

“I know.”

Blacky smiled, “Don’t sound so glum; this is exciting and no matter what happens, it will be more fun than you can imagine.”

“What if we can’t come in and pick you up?”

George, Blacky’s second in command said, “Then we’ll just have to systematically eliminate the enemy on the planet until you can.”

“There are thousands of enemy warriors on those planets.”

All four Madators started bobbing. Blacky said, “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”

Dat looked up at the sky and rolled his eyes. He shook his head and looked at Belwen, “Get them armed and ready to go within forty eight hours.”

The four Madators started hooting and whistling and all of the Madators in training flew in and joined them in their celebration of the coming mission. Gresha looked at Dat and quietly whispered, “I’m not so sure the enemy has an advantage.”

“We’ll soon know.” Dat walked over to Blacky, “Do you have to go on this first mission. I don’t want to lose you.”

Blacky smiled, “My team is going to be the leaders of our packs. We have to learn what we can do so we can train our hunters how to be successful.”

“And what happens if all of you are killed?”

“The next four will take our place and the process will continue until we achieve success. That is how we learn to survive.”

Dat smiled, “Please come back from this. I want to run again.”

Blacky bobbed ten times and hooted, “Count on it! I wouldn’t miss it.”

Dat put his hand on Blacky’s shoulder a foot over his head, “Make sure you don’t.”

• • •

The King stared at the Fleet Admiral and after a long moment said, “They know about our new ships?”

“You know it was just a matter of time until they found out.”

“What do you think they’ll do about it?”

“I’m hoping they’ll continue to negotiate before they do anything dramatic. We’ll have enough ships to defend enough planets to go into full production shortly.”

“They could attack all of our facilities and hit them from space.”

“They’ll try to avoid that at all costs. They have an aversion to killing innocent populations.”

“They have demonstrated that weakness but I don’t want to place all our hopes on that not happening.”

The Fleet Admiral thought a moment and then said, “I’ll have our main support fleets ready to jump in to the most important hundred planets on a moment’s notice. Our new ships should be able to delay them long enough for my fleets to arrive.”

“You’ll just give up the others?”

“What other choice is there? The new ship is the only way to ensure our victory. Those hundred planets will be enough to provide what we need to win.”

“Don’t fail me!”

“I won’t, Sire. Just try to keep them negotiating a while longer.”

“I will.”

The Fleet Admiral thought a moment and said, “I’m going to send in the support fleets to those hundred planets now.”

“Won’t that stop them from talking?”

“No, I don’t think so. Besides, a hundred planets is such a small percentage of the whole that we can say they’re being ridiculous.”

The King smiled, “We’ll see.”

The Fleet Admiral sent out his instructions that his support fleets would conduct war games close to the hundred planets. Those planets would be constantly scanned and the Union’s ships would be watched to see if any large fleets left their home galaxy. The humans weren’t the only ones with stealth probes.

Chapter Three

Blacky waited in the landing bay of the small ship as it skipped along the boundary between normal and subspace. He looked at his three partners and saw they were excited about the coming action. “All of you know the purpose of this drop, right?”

All three said together, “Information first, fun later.”

Blacky sighed and leaned against the bulkhead, “Tell me again where you chose your names.”

George’s head rolled down his body, “We heard some sounds on a human recorder that we liked. We asked who made them and was told an ancient singing group had produced them.”

“What was the group called?”

“No one knows; they just know the names of the ones in the group. Since we had to select a name the humans could pronounce, we chose to use theirs.”

Blacky shook his head, “But George, John, and Ringie sounds, I don’t know…weird.”

“And Blacky doesn’t?”

“Well, at least that’s the word for our natural color. And I guess you’re right, it does sound different.”

Ringie looked at Blacky, “Do you still think we need to separate initially?”

“I do. The Grillen have four main ship building centers on the planet and they’re all on the same continent. We should be able to go to each of them and gather information that can be used against them. As long as all of us understand that we must not be discovered or taken prisoner, I suspect separating might be the safest way to collect intelligence.”

“You’re afraid that if we’re found together that all of us may have to die at one time?”

“Yes, I suppose I am. You can’t allow yourselves to give in to the hunt. Stealth is the most important watch word and we must get whatever we discover out to the Union. Once we do that, we can go about having a little fun.”

“How will we know if anyone is captured?”

“George, I expect all of us to detonate our entire explosives inventory before you allow that to happen. I’m sure we’ll hear about it in the other centers if one of us is forced to do it.”

“You’ll probably be able to hear it with your ears.”

Blacky smiled, “I believe you’re right John.” Blacky paused and looked at Ringie, “You don’t have to eat for three months; you will do no needless killing. Am I clear on that?”

Ringie deflated, “Yeessss.”

“You are our best hunter and there might be a time where we need those skills to survive. But now is not that time. Collect the information and meet me.”

“I will, Blacky.”

“Good.”

“Ten minutes to drop.”

The four looked up at the wall speaker and then went to their drop suits. The drop gloves were in the floor like the shape of a half hemisphere and the four large creatures grew small quickly and poured themselves into the hemispheres. Once they were in, the top covered over and the ball moved into the floor and out toward the hull.

“Everyone comfy?”

“Don’t get cute, Blacky; you know how sick this makes me feel.”

“Just stay small and hold your breath, George; you’ll be down before you know it.”

“Providing they aren’t able to see us with their scanners.”

The other three groaned, “You could have gone all day without saying that.”

“You know how it goes; misery loves company.”

“Ten seconds to eject; good luck and don’t forget to call me.”

Blacky smiled, “You just worry about getting your ship back home, Tina. We’ll call at the first opportunity.”

“Ejection in three, two, one…”

The four Madators were ejected out of the ship’s hull and remained in the barrier for less than a micro-second. Once the ships jump field moved away, they emerged into normal space, moving at seventy miles per hour toward the planet’s atmosphere. The ship had accelerated to that speed before activating its drive and the inertia returned to the four small black balls dropping toward the planet. They waited to see if they were going to be fired on by the Grillen ships in orbit but nothing happened and they entered the upper levels of the stratosphere. The planet’s gravity began pulling them and their speed quickly increased to two hundred miles an hour and the outer skin of their exo-coating began glowing with the heat of entry. Blacky had dropped numerous times but the flames that burned just a few centimeters from him always made him nervous. The four black balls began separating as they fell at high speed into the depths of the atmosphere.

Tina watched her display and saw she had made the drop without being seen. She smiled and knew that, if she were jumping to the location, her field would have been detected as she slowed down in the barrier. Moving at the incredible top speed in the barrier, she wasn’t there long enough to be detected. She was amazed that Belwen’s engineers had developed the ejection process where the Madators could be dropped. No being alive had the reflexes to make that happen and was thankful for the automatic system. She turned and headed back toward ten other planets the Grillen had invaded. She was ordered to make the runs just to make sure if she were detected that her drop might be mistaken for a scouting run.

• • •

“Admiral, we’ve had a human ship make a fly by at eleven of our planets.”

“Did it slow down?”

“No Sir. It flew by faster than we could respond.”

“You saw it coming, why didn’t you fire on it?”

“Sir, it was past us before we could take a shot. Our weapons could have locked on it if it had slowed but it didn’t. You know how fast their ships are able to travel in the barrier.”

“Did the other planets detect it?”

“They did, Sir. However, they were also unable to get a shot off.”

• • •

The stealth probe recorded the conversation and sent it back to Fleet Headquarters. Tina arrived and discovered that she had not gone undetected and that it was only her speed that prevented her death. “Sir, how am I going to retrieve the jumpers?”

Katherine shook her head, “I don’t see any way we can get a ship in. They’ll just have to stay there until the conflict is over.”

Dat heard the pronouncement and worried about his friend. If he had to, he was going to take a fleet in and get him out. He hoped Blacky wouldn’t be killed first. Gresha saw his expression and reached over and took his hand in hers as she whispered, “He’ll love every minute of it.” Dat nodded and knew the coming days were going to be longer than normal.

• • •

Ringie saw the terminator line approaching and decided it was time to eject from the exo-coating. She pulled the first chord with her beak and the outer coating that was on fire fell away. She counted three and pulled the second chord and the inner coating burst apart and she fell out of the coating and began expanding her body. As her body grew larger she began slowing down. She was approaching forty five thousand feet above the surface and the air density was growing by the second. She held her breath and looked for her target far below. She expanded her surface as she crossed the terminator line and moved from daylight into darkness. She assumed her largest shape and decreased her thickness to a quarter of an inch. Her wings caught the thin air and she flew forward at two hundred and fifty miles per hour.

She looked at the surface of the planet below again and saw the lights of the center she had been assigned off in the distance. The clouds were far below and she turned, flapped her edges, and entered them. She used the thermals to take her toward her target and began decreasing her size. She arrived five miles from the bright lights of the construction site and knew there was a force field surrounding the city. She flew over it and looked at the surface around the community. There was a military convoy moving toward the city fifteen miles out and she reduced her size to a small ball and began dropping quickly toward the road it was traveling on. She aimed for a stretch of the highway that had darkened with age and oil dropped on it from numerous vehicles that used it. She expanded her wings, flared them, and landed. She flattened herself on the road. She waited on the convoy to arrive. It finally came into sight and she waited as ten vehicles passed over her. She had to move four times to avoid being hit by the huge wheels but she lifted an arm and attached herself to the eleventh vehicle. She flattened out on the bottom of the armed troop carrier and waited to see what security precautions the convoy would have to go through to enter the city. It was possible she would have to drop off and that was why she chose not to attach to the first vehicles in line.

Ringie pressed her head tight to the armor and felt the vibrations of the Grillen talking inside the vehicle. All four of the Madators had been given a download of the Grillen language and she began hearing the warriors complaining.

“I wish those idiots could do this faster. My backside is numb from this patrol.”

“Get used to it. You know the drill.”

“Yes, but it’s senseless; when have they ever detected a problem?”

“Just open the bottom port and allow the gas to move through. It will kill all the parasites on your armor and you know how bad those are.”

“I guess; however, burning the exterior makes it almost unbearable in this tin can. You would think they would at least allow us to exit first.”

“Then we’d have to reenter and that would only make this whole exercise take that much longer.”

Ringie raised her head lightly and watched the dust being kicked up by the moving vehicles. It was blowing from the front toward the rear of the convoy. She slid forward and examined the port on the bottom of the vehicle and saw that it opened toward the front. The port was about six feet wide and four feet in depth. She moved toward the front of the troop carrier and waited until the vehicle in front of her stopped. She watched the vehicle just in front of her and saw the gas was grey in color and it was blown toward the rear of the Laser Track. Once it cleared the vehicle it was blown to the side by the vehicles turbofans. She decided it was worth the risk. She remained at the front of the vehicle and watched the port open and grey gas bellow out. The fans on the gassing unit kicked in and blew air into the troop carrier. The gas exited the vehicle under pressure and moved toward the rear of the carrier. She rushed forward and flattened herself on the port just before it closed. She moved off the port under the seats of the warriors that were in the carrier and then moved up into the bottom of a seat and flattened against the hard surface.

She worried that the blasters hitting the outside would raise the internal temperature too high but she saw that the carrier used oils to lubricate its moving parts. She could handle temperatures up to the boiling point of oil. It was hot, but it didn’t last very long. She saw the warriors had open places in their armor and their force fields weren’t turned on. She made a good assumption that, if they could endure the heat, she wouldn’t be hurt.

The troop carrier moved through the checkpoint and entered the force field around the city. The carrier turned left and moved toward a group of low buildings next to the manufacturing facility and she heard the vehicle commander order, “Alright, open it up and go get some sleep. We’re going back out tomorrow.”

The groans were loud as the rear ramp fell to the ground, the bottom port opened, and the turret’s hatches lifted. Ringie moved back to the lower port and looked at the surface. The vehicle was parked on a pavement but there was bare soil less than ten yards away. Ringie dropped off the port and in an instant was in the dirt. She moved two inches into it and began moving toward the manufacturing building. It took six hours to make it across the entire pavement surrounding to the side of the huge building where she found a small crack in the back of the building. She flowed through it and attached herself to the wall behind a large storage box. There she decided to rest and wait for an opportunity to go to the assembly line. She determined that the night shift was smaller than the day shift; many of the positions next to the long assembly line were unmanned. She remained absolutely still and listened to the guards that patrolled the building. She was glad she had waited.

“What’s wrong with camera four?”

“It appears to have shorted out.”

“Are they going to replace it?”

“I guess when they get around to it. The hundred others have everything pretty much covered and the motion detectors will keep track of everyone’s movement.”

“I hope we’ll eventually be assigned to the control room. That’s the life of luxury.”

“We’ll have to make it to the day shift first. See you in an hour.”

Ringie saw the two guards turn and move away from each other as they patrolled their assigned areas. An hour later she heard one of the guards say, “The night shift is going to leave two hours early tomorrow.”

“Why?”

“They’re going to recalibrate the motion detectors. It appears they’re having trouble with their sensitivity.”

“Oh?”

“They’re activating when the fans kick in. They’re reading the air currents as a possible intruder. They’ve been ignoring them but the commander saw them and raised almighty hell.”

“Well, that will at least allow us more sleep time.”

“No it won’t. The locals will leave but you and I will remain to help them do the adjustments. We’ll have to work until it’s done.”

“See you in an hour.”

• • •

Ringie looked across the huge building and saw a grey hull of a warship that had just been moved into the facility and anchored to the assembly line. It was about a hundred yards away and she knew she wouldn’t get another opportunity like the present one. She heard the huge fans in the ceiling kick in and heard the two guards moving quickly toward the grey hull. They stopped and she listened closely and heard one of them say, “No, the air is flowing off the rear stabilizers and causing the detector to read it. There’s nothing here.”

Ringie looked and saw numerous stations between her and the hull. She moved to the floor and changed her color to match it. She flowed slowly out of the huge box and moved to the next computer station. She made it to the edge of the huge hanger and there was now forty yards between her and the new hull. She moved under the assembly line rail and molded herself to the legs that held it up. She closed her eyes and went to sleep. She would make her move the next night.

• • •

Ringie watched the guards start issuing orders for the workers to leave. The bright lights were all illuminated and the crowd of workers cast shadows on the floor as they exited toward the door. Ringie listened and finally heard the huge fans in the ceiling activate and she moved quickly out into the open between the leg she had hidden on and the new grey hull. She moved as fast as possible, arrived directly under the ship, before extending an arm, pulling herself off the floor and onto the ship’s rear landing leg. The alarms went off the moment she left the cover of the leg and the two guards came rushing forward with extended scanners, “What’s going on?”

The Guards looked around and one of them went over to the rear stabilizer, which was only two feet from Ringie’s hiding place. “I think the alarm was activated by air passing over the rear stabilizer again. Did you see anything on the video?”

“I saw shadows from the door on the floor; nothing else.”

The guard shook his head, “Whatever alarm just went off needs to be replaced first.”

“We’re recalibrating them; not replacing them.”

“I’d make an exception on that one. It goes off twice as much as any of the others.”

“I’ll look into it. You’re probably right; we don’t need to keep this up. The Commander will go crazy if one goes off when he’s here.”

The guard reached out his arm to lean on the landing leg and Ringie moved away from where he was placing his hand. If the guard had been looking at the leg, he would have seen the movement…but he wasn’t. The guards left to make sure all the locals were out and Ringie moved up the landing leg and into the interior of the Grey Hull. She saw that most of the electronics had not been installed and she quickly moved to the bridge, flowed inside a vent in the ceiling, and flattened herself against the walls. The vent was located directly above the control panels.

“Blacky.”

“Yes.”

“I’ve managed to get on board one of their new ship hulls. I’ve worked my way into the bridge.”

Blacky smiled, “You’re the only one that’s been able to get inside their construction facilities. How did you do it?”

“There was a crack in the back wall.”

“Well, none of ours have one. You need to start recording whatever you can as they build that ship. We’re going to back off getting inside and start scouting the placement and magnitude of their forces.”

“I’ll send you the recordings during the shift changes. They have to decrease the sensitivity of their sensors when that happens.”

“I’d prefer you just record for a week before you send anything.”

Ringie thought a moment, “You’re right; I won’t have anything important until they start putting in the major systems. I’ll send the first recording when I have something worth seeing.”

“That would be good, Ringie.”

Blacky activated his transmitter, “It appears Ringie has succeeded where we have failed. I want you to start using your dots. Use them wisely and collect as much information on their defenses as possible. The Grey Ships are our primary targets.” Blacky heard two clicks and moved away from the wall of the ship building plant and looked at the lines of Grey Ships parked on the space port next to it. He looked across the massive field and saw Grey Ships landing for routine service. He moved into the soil and attached himself to the bottom of the nuclear fuel vehicle that was fueling the new ship’s reactors. He saw that thirty of them had already been fueled and he knew he had to make a special run to get to them…but first, all the others.

• • •

George had taken an hour to get over being sick. The long fall to the surface made him almost wish he had burned up. He waited next to the major highway and finally found a military vehicle moving toward the checkpoint. He was amazed at the colors on the vehicle’s front and wondered why anyone would decorate a military vehicle with bright colors. He flowed out onto the road a hundred yards from the gate and waited for the vehicle to arrive. It slowed and he reached up and pulled himself to the bottom. It was then that he saw the gas modules on the tanker next to the gate and he looked for a way to drop off without being seen. Just as he was about to fall to the road’s surface, he noticed the tanker wasn’t moving. He heard the guard say, “No, Sir. Everything has remained normal.” George couldn’t hear what the Grillen in the vehicle was saying but the Guard’s next remark caught his attention, “It’s always good to see you, Commandant. Welcome and I hope you enjoy your visit.”

George ejected a dot and put it on the bottom of the vehicle. He rubbed it into the surface and it melded with the metal. He waited for the vehicle to stop and listened for which door opened. He heard the right door activate and he moved a small section of his body out from under it. The shadow being cast by the vehicle made it impossible to see him. Someone stepped on him and he pressed a dot on their boot. He flowed back under the vehicle and attached himself to the bottom again. George saw a group of Grillen Officers approaching and he saw them saluting. The vehicle pulled away and moved over to a huge depot of armored vehicles. Before George moved toward the manufacturing facility, he strategically placed dots around the giant depot.

• • •

Dat examined the recordings being sent by the stealth probes and didn’t like what he was seeing. “Admiral, the Grillen are setting up their forces to defend a hundred planets. It appears they are doing nothing to defend the others.”

“I’ve seen that as well. What do you think they’re doing?”

“Those planets were among the first invaded and their construction facilities are now operating at full capacity. I suspect they will produce enough ships to defeat our fleets if we don’t do something about it.”

“We can’t get close without one of their major fleets arriving on our heels. We wouldn’t have time to do any damage if we attacked.”

“How long do you think we have before the numbers reach a critical level?”

Katherine looked at her display and shook her head, “About six months.”

Dat thought a moment and looked at the analysis of the Grillen’s strengths. “We should eliminate all the facilities on the other planets before we go after those main construction sites.”

“Why?”

“If they don’t send their ships to defend them, we’ll know what they’re planning. If we were somehow able to destroy those major facilities, they would move to the other planets and continue construction. We have to eliminate that possibility before we do anything else. How are the negotiations coming along?”

“Like you’d expect; they’re not looking for peace; they’re buying time to build their forces to attack us here.”

“Do you want to continue this charade or get down to what we know is coming.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know they outnumber us with their old ships. If we don’t start reducing their numbers, we won’t win this.”

“I’ve thought about just letting them have M87 on the condition they stay out of our territory. The Horde and Hive have moved to other galaxies and we really don’t owe them anything.”

Dat thought about it and then he had an idea, “Where did they come up with the technology for the new ship?”

“I’ve wondered about that myself.”

“Well, I don’t believe they did it alone. If they had it when the first war took place, they would have defeated the Red Sector. They must have developed it after that battle. What if an outside agency gave it to them?”

Katherine’s eyebrows came together, “The only way that would have happened is if someone wanted to make sure they became the most powerful force in this part of the universe.”

“And that means that agency wants us removed from the board.”

“How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

Dat sat back in a chair, “The Grillen are at least our equal in strength. There’s no reason to assist them against any civilization less powerful than they are. If the technology was given to them, it was done to eliminate us.”

“That means that agency doesn’t worry about controlling the Grillen after they removed us.”

“Yes it does.”

“Why would anyone want us removed?”

Dat smiled, “We do have a way of sticking our nose into a would be conqueror’s business.”

“That means they would have to be close to us.”

“We need to take a look at the light that left the Grillen home world and see if any alien species visited over the last two hundred years.”

“I’ll get a ship out on it. What do you think we should do about these negotiations?”

“We kick this thing off; but first I want to see if we can get any information from the Madator Team we dropped in on one of their construction planets.”

“Do they have a time frame to report?”

“Yes; they’re due to report in another four weeks.”

“I’m going to have the fleets get ready. I do have a surprise for the Grillen.”

“What is that?”

“The colony planets have decided to send us half of their ships to use in the war.”

Dat’s eyes grew large, “How many ships will that add to our fleets?”

“Thirty million.”

“Why would they do that? I thought they had washed their hands of our galaxy.”

“They’ve been building ships for several hundred years and there’s no civilization that has shown up to put them in danger. Their Rovers are bored with peace and getting rusty. The new president thinks they need to be challenged.”

“Well, he should get his wish. Those additional ships will just about even things out.”

“The difference maker will be those Grey Ships they’re building.”

Dat took a deep breath, “Katherine, we’re going to have to go after them. I just hope the Madators can give us something that might work against those ships.”

“We’ll know soon.”

“Let us pray you’re right.”

Chapter Four

Blacky felt the transmitter vibrate and he moved out of the barracks he had just placed a dot in and moved under a huge armored blaster vehicle. He pushed the activate code and Ringie’s report began playing. He knew the report had been sent and received in less than a hundredth of a second but it took more than an hour to listen to all of it. Ringie had watched one of the Grey Ships being built from a ventilator in the ceiling and now she was capable of flying it if needed. She had deactivated the self-destruct explosive while leaving the circuit that tested it active. The Grillen could check it as many times as they wanted and it would appear operational. However, without the explosive material in it, it would not destroy the ship. Ringie’s ship had been space trialed and was now waiting for a crew to come and take it to join the ships guarding the planet.

Blacky wanted to stay longer, but this was not an opportunity that could be passed up. He thought about it and decided that their mission needed to be cut short. He contacted George and John and told them what he wanted them to do. They agreed and Blacky told them he’d give them a time shortly.

Blacky moved out to the edge of the city attached to the bottom of the huge blaster vehicle. He recorded his request and the time it needed to be done as he waited for a troop carrier to leave the checkpoint. He hit the transmit button and quickly slid off the blaster vehicle and moved under the troop transport. He watched the blaster vehicle get smaller with distance and just before the troop transport moved out of eyesight, he saw multiple military skimmers flying in and surrounding the huge vehicle he had just left. He dropped off the troop carrier next to the Grillen Barracks and went inside and molded himself under one of the beds. He waited for nightfall and wondered if the Union had received his request. An hour before dark he felt the unit vibrate and he sent instructions to Ringie, George, and John.

• • •

“Dat, I’ve received a message from the Madators.”

Dat hit his communicator, “What does it say?”

“They request an attack at the planet they were dropped on tomorrow at midnight.”

“They can’t be serious; that will require at least a hundred thousand ships.”

“It says you don’t need to attack the planet, just go in and make it appear that is what you plan to do. He says you should jump away before engaging any hostile ships.”

Dat wondered what Blacky was doing but he knew he had no choice but to do as his friend wanted. “Get Gibb’s Fleet fired up and send confirmation back to the Madators. I hope he knows what he’s doing.” Dat looked at Katherine, “Did he say what he was doing?” Katherine shook her head. “I’m going with them.” Dat changed the frequency on his communicator, “Stein, you and Loree need to get ready for combat. Come and pick me up at home.”

“Is Gresha taking her ship or coming with you?”

Dat looked at Gresha, “I’m taking my ship.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“They need our best effort, Dat. I’ll join you with Gibbs’ Fleet.”

Dat felt the communicator vibrate and saw Gibbs on the display, “We’re going to stage an attack at the planet we dropped the Madators. I want you to design a profile that will allow us to get close and jump away.”

“We’re not going to engage the enemy?”

“No, but we want them to really think we are. We need to get every ship instructions and we only have a little more than twenty hours to do it.”

“I just received the coordinates of the planet from Fleet Headquarters. I’ll see you when you get here.”

“Gibbs, only send Rovers; leave the Major Battleships out of this.”

“Why?”

“I’m not going to have them face the Grey Ships; they’re not fast enough to evade or escape if needed.”

“I’ll transfer to one of my Rovers, Sir.”

“That would be good.”

• • •

Blacky left the planet’s space port under a vehicle in a fuel convoy that was heading back to the manufacturing center. He made it back into the manufacturing complex and dropped off close to the pilot’s barracks. He had one more task to do and he completed it in less than an hour. He placed a dot under the boots of every pilot that was sleeping. He had already placed a dot on the pilots that were currently on duty in their ships above the planet. He slid out of the barracks and made his way back to the checkpoint. It was mid-morning before he was able to get on a scouting convoy leaving the city and he hoped he had time to arrive at the designated coordinates.

He dropped off the convoy just before it turned south and waited for it to disappear over the horizon. He ran forward and extended his body into the shape of a foil and lifted off the ground. He reduced his thickness and flapped ten times and moved up into the sky, riding the thermals higher and higher. He looked north and stayed in the clouds as he flapped hard to make the rendezvous. It was going to be close.

• • •

“One hour to attack.”

“Be ready to run, Admiral.”

“I don’t know how this is going to help the Madators, Sir.”

Dat shook his head, “I don’t either, Gibbs. Just make sure you keep your ships out of trouble.”

• • •

The Grillen Fleet Admiral’s Executive Officer ran into his office, “Our probes had detected more than a hundred thousand human ships jumping out of their galaxy.”

“Did it get the coordinates of their jump?”

“Yes, but it was out into deep space.”

The Fleet Admiral thought a moment and decided to not take any chances, “Get the planetary fleets ready to go to their assigned positions immediately. If anything is detected at one of the Prime Planets, have them jump in.”

“Yes, Sire.”

“What do you think they’re doing?” The Fleet Admiral watched his panel for a report of an enemy appearance. He had his ship pick him up and immediately went to his command chair. He activated the panel and wondered what the humans were going to do. “Did you get a probe to the location they jumped?”

“We did but it was detected and destroyed.”

“I was hoping they wouldn’t see the probe.”

“Sire, they detected the probe’s jump drive. If it was already in place, I don’t believe it would have been detected.”

“Send another.”

“Yes, Sire.”

• • •

“Dat, we’ve just destroyed a probe that jumped to our location.”

Dat stared at Gibbs on his display, “That means they have probes in our galaxy monitoring our movements. Have we detected any near our planets?”

“No, Sir. The probe that arrived here was only detected by its jump drive signature. We fired a wide pattern of beams and hit it. Once it arrived, we couldn’t see it on our scanners.”

“Look for them to send others.”

“Fifth Squadron has just destroyed another probe, Sir.”

Dat saw they had another hour before the attack, “Jump the fleet to another location. They shouldn’t be able to see us without a probe here.”

The hundred thousand Rovers disappeared and the third probe arrived and found nothing. The Fleet Admiral was furious but knew he would have done the same thing if he was in the humans’ place. He went back to staring at his display waiting to see what the humans were going to do.

• • •

Blacky saw the bright lights of the city ahead and felt the intermittent vibration start to increase in speed. He was flying at his fastest speed and as the vibration became one long beep, he saw George and John circling just above a cloud ahead of him. He flared his body and came circling in on the other two Madators. “I was starting to worry you weren’t going to make it.”

Blacky fought to catch his breath, “It was a close thing to get away in time. How much longer do we have?”

“Two minutes.”

Blacky continued to pull air into his body and watched the city off to the right. He hoped his plan worked. It was all up to Ringie now.

• • •

Dat watched the countdown and heard Gibbs say over the main frequency, “We will be jumping in four hundred thousand miles from the planet in ten seconds. Hold your positions and keep your hands on the jump drives. Three, two, one…”

• • •

The alarms went off on the planet and the pilots of the Grey Ships rushed out of their quarters and ran to their ships. Ringie waited just inside the bridge of her ship and as the two crewmen ran in she wrapped them up with two arms each and pulled their heads away from their bodies. She heard two pops and ran off the bridge and threw them into the landing bay with a long piece of flexible cable. She ran back to the bridge and started operating the two panels with six of her arms as she strapped her body in the main command chair. The Grey Ship lifted as the force field was dropped for the four hundred Grey Ships to move into orbit. She modulated the energy panel and her ship lifted erratically and moved to the east from the city. She raised the current going into the communications panel and heard the tower say, “Get your ship into orbit!”

She said in the Grillen language, “I’m having problems with the energy delivery circuit. I’m resetting it.” The tower only heard parts of the transmission but understood what she said.

The Grillen Commander watched the ship move erratically higher and looked at his controller. “The ship’s energy circuit is fluctuating. There, it’s turned off.”

“What are they doing?”

“It’ll take a few moments to reactivate and that should clear it up. If it doesn’t, we’ll have to bring it in and run a diagnostics check on it.” The Commander watched the ship hover for a few moments and then the ship started moving higher.

• • •

Ringie opened the landing bay and hoped the others had made it. She stared at the display and saw the three Madators fly into the landing bay and she closed the port and brought the energy circuit up to full power. She began moving quickly toward the upper atmosphere.

Blacky saw the two dead Grillen and he said, “Give me every dot you have left.”

John took his container out of his hide, “I only have four left.”

George said, “I only have eight.”

Blacky took the containers and added his own. He changed the timer on them as he took the cable and tied the two dead bodies together. He wedged the dots between them and pulled the bodies next to the landing bay’s doors and yelled, “Get out of here and go to the bridge!”

The three Madators ran out and Blacky arrived on the bridge just as Ringie arrived in orbit. “Ringie, open the landing bay door.” Blacky looked out the rear port and saw the two bodies were pushed out of the landing bay by decompression of the bay’s atmosphere.

“All ships jump out to meet the enemy.”

“Send the command over the main frequency, Ringie.”

Ringie activated the main frequency and said, “Madator,” in a frequency too high to be heard. She reached for the jump drive and, just before she pushed it, Blacky sent a frequency from his transmitter. The Grey Ship disappeared and a huge explosion detonated behind their former location.

• • •

The Fleet Admiral saw the human ships arrive at one of the Prime Planets and started to order the defense fleet in but saw they had arrived a moment after the human ships appeared. He had more than two million ships between the humans and the planet. The human fleet remained stationary and he smiled. He lifted his communicator, “Send the Grey Ships out to greet them.” He watched the two thousand Grey Ships in orbit above the planet disappear.

• • •

Gibbs said, “Sir!”

“Hold your position.”

Dat watched the Grillen Fleet closely and saw they were holding their position. He changed his view to the Grey Ships above the planet and saw them disappear. “Jump away! Jump Away!” The hundred thousand Rovers disappeared.

The Fleet Admiral smiled as the Grey Ships arrived at the former location of the Human Fleet but his smile disappeared in shock as almost every Grey Ship exploded in massive blasts. Only two of the Grey Ships weren’t destroyed.

• • •

The Ground Commander looked at his Controller as he said, “That ship that was having problems with the energy circuit blew up as it attempted to jump. Evidently, its jump field didn’t activate.”

“Sir, I’ve just received word that all of our ships have blown up as they arrived at the enemy’s position.”

“WHAT?”

“Only two ships weren’t harmed. All the others exploded.”

The Commander could only stare at his Controller who had no answers.

• • •

The Grillen Fleet Admiral stared at the massive debris field where the ships had exploded and fell back into his chair. Had the humans found a way to kill the Grey Ships? If they had…

He yelled, “Get some ships out there and tell me how this happened! Get moving now!” He jumped to the fleet’s location and waited for answers. Seven hours later, just after the night shift left the manufacturing facilities and an hour before the day shift arrived; he had a ringside seat to the destruction of every ship and construction facility on the planet. The only things remaining inside the force fields protecting them were massive flames and explosions.

• • •

Dat arrived back in the Milky Way and watched the Grey Ships explode on the main display. The fleet had dropped five probes and they broadcast the event in crystal clear video. He shook his head and seven hours later he watched the Grillen forces on the planet blown into dust. He waited but didn’t hear anything from the Madator Team. Gresha arrived on his ship and saw his expression. She ran forward and wrapped him in her arms and held him tight. She knew how much he cared for Blacky.

“Dat, do you have a moment?”

Dat looked up and saw Belwen on his display, “Belwen, I believe we’ve lost the team. I need some time.”

Suddenly, Blacky appeared on the display, “Time for what?” Dat was shocked speechless. Blacky stared at Dat and smiled, “Are you upset that I might have been killed?”

Dat shook his head, “Why didn’t you tell me you escaped, you oversized, round bodied, eight armed…”

“We had to disable the tracking device in Green Space before we could emerge.”

“What tracking device?”

Belwen leaned in and said, “They’ve delivered a brand new Grey Ship to my lab, Dat.”

Dat jumped up and yelled, “You wonderful demon! You’re the BEST!!”

Blacky laughed, “Yes…I believe I am. Now you need to get here; we have a lot of work to do.”

Dat looked around and heard Stein, “Jumping now.”

• • •

Katherine arrived an hour behind Dat and sat down and debriefed the four Madators. Dat listened to their report and was amazed at what they had managed to accomplish. He was proud of their bravery and their skill at evading detection. At the end, Blacky said, “We need to get our teams trained on how to attack those planets and get them dropped as quickly as possible.”

Dat slowly sighed and shook his head, “I’m afraid that isn’t going to be easily done.”

Everyone in the room turned to him and George said, “Why not?”

“We know they detected the ship that took you there.”

Katherine looked at Dat, “Yeah, so what?”

“Do you think they might put two and two together and be watching for another ship skipping through the barrier toward the other planets?”

Silence dominated the room until Blacky said, “What could they do about it? They can’t detect us.”

“No, but they can see the flames from your entry to the planet. I suspect they’ll fire on you from orbit. Targeting those bright lights will be easy.”

Blacky turned to Belwen, “Is he right?”

Belwen shrugged, “I’m afraid he is.”

“So how do we get in?”

“I need to think about it.”

Dat looked at Katherine, “We need to get them back to their planet so they can train the others. We need to be ready if another way to drop them is found.”

Blacky was reluctant to go without knowing what was going to happen but he finally agreed to go after Dat asked him how he was going to contribute to the effort. “Now, you know I’m not that good with technology.”

“So leave it to those that are and get your warriors trained to go.”

Ringie said, “You know he’s right.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Dat turned to Belwen, “Do you have any ideas?”

Belwen shrugged, “Let me work on it. I’ll let you know what we come up with.”

Dat looked at Gresha, “We will probably need to get our ships ready for meeting them. I don’t think they’ll take this lying down.”

“They’ll be reluctant to start something at the moment.” Belwen, Katherine, and Dat stared at her. “They don’t know how their ships were destroyed. They’ll investigate that before they use them against us.”

Katherine smiled, “I hope you’re right. We need to find their probes.”

Belwen said, “I might have an answer for that; they have to communicate with the Grillen and we have the frequencies they use. I’ve developed some of your probes to attack their probes. We need to trial them.”

Dat looked around, “Well, we all have more than we can do; we need to get on it.”

Gresha looked at Dat, “I’m going with the Madators to their planet to watch their training.”

Dat nodded and was secretly thankful she wasn’t going to be with the fleets.

• • •

Gresha sat on a wide open plain and watched the Madators working on their flying techniques. From a distance they looked like large sheets of dark paper that magically dropped a yoyo which fell to fifty feet above the ground and suddenly expanded, caught the wind, before flying back up into the afternoon sky. Off in the distance Gresha saw Madators flying in formations. They would disappear from view as they turned edge on to her. and suddenly reappear as they turned to move higher. “What are they doing, Ringie?”

“They’re practicing flying toward a destination and keeping their profile edge on to it. We can reduce our thickness to less than a hundredth of an inch and, moving straight at a viewer, we are impossible to see. It’s not easy to maintain that position and it will take a lot of practice to master it.”

“How do you avoid being seen by ships in orbit?”

“The easiest way is to remain below cloud level. We’ll assume our smallest size and just drop toward the ground until we’re low enough and then expand to our wing shape.”

Gresha turned to Ringie, “And if there aren’t any clouds?”

“We try to match the shape of a local bird or other flying creature. As long as we’re not gathered in a large group, it’s really difficult to find us against the surface. We’re fortunate that our bodies allow the scanner’s beams to go through us unimpeded.”

“I’ve wondered about that; how does the scanner not see the transmitter or the dot explosives you carry? I would think it would see them.”

Ringie smiled, “We are able to put objects inside our skins and manipulate them. Belwen thinks we can carry a new small energy sword that can penetrate armor.”

“I’m sorry, Ringie; you lost me.”

Ringie took one of her arms and reached inside her skin and pulled out her transmitter. She handed it to Gresha and said, “Scanner’s beams operate much like electromagnetic scans. The beam hits an object and the scanner reads the impact.” Gresha held the transmitter and saw it was shaped like a triangle with a very small base. “We keep the sharp edge of the transmitter pointed at the sky no matter what position our body is in. The most powerful scans come from warships in orbit and when the beam hits the pointed top of the transmitter it is reflected toward the ground. Scans that hit it from the surface are reflected into space by the base.”

Gresha shook her head, “Your bodies are incredible. That sort of control is unimaginable; and you say you do it without thinking?”

“Yes.”

“What about the energy sword? Surely the energy to power it would be detectable?”

“The energy is going to be produced by mixing two plastic materials in a small chamber; the chemical reaction will provide the sword’s blade. The chemicals are not detectable and the blade will last as long as we hold the handle tightly. When we relax our grip, the chemicals stop flowing and the reaction stops. If we use them in an area with large sources of energy, they shouldn’t be seen.”

“I wonder where Belwen found the chemicals to operate the sword.”

“It’s my understanding that it’s the same chemicals the explosive dots are made of.”

Gresha shook her head, “Those are extremely powerful.”

“They are and the blade they produce will cut through armor.” Gresha stared out at the sky full of Madators and Ringie smiled, “You and your husband are remarkable beings.”

“Thank you, Ringie.”

“Are you planning to have a family?”

Gresha’s expression changed and Ringie knew she had made a mistake. “Dat and I are two different species; we are unable to have children.”

“I’m so sorry, Gresha; I didn’t know.”

Gresha sighed, “Don’t feel bad; it’s just a burden we’ll have to bear. When are you going up?”

Ringie smiled, “Blacky is due to come here shortly and I’ll go work with my units.”

Gresha smiled and Ringie thought about Gresha’s sadness. Blacky arrived and she lifted into the sky. Later that night, she went back to see Gresha and found her asleep. She smiled and decided she really liked the human female. She extended an arm into her room and rubbed her gently on her back.

Chapter Five

The new Grillen Fleet Admiral waited on his ship for the chief scientist to arrive. His former commander had been executed by the King and he was told to not fail him again. He shook his head and read the reports that had been gathered after the destruction of the Empire’s Grey Ships and the construction facilities on the Red Sector planet.

It appeared they were all destroyed by the same weapon; at least the residue from the blasts was identical at both locations. He leaned back and thought about how the humans had done it. The human ships that had jumped in to the planet did not appear to have fired any kind of weapon. It was also troubling that the facilities had been destroyed at the exact time the locals weren’t present. He shook his head and waited for the chief scientist to arrive. Nothing about the attack made sense. He sat in his command chair and looked down on the planet. Smoke was still rising from the blasted ship yards. The wind was blowing from the east and the smoke was moving west across the continent.

The four destroyed facilities were easily seen from space. The Admiral shook his head and knew that the fuel trucks for the Grey Ship’s reactors had also gone up in the blast; there would be an ongoing problem with the levels of radioactivity being spread by the easterly winds. He really wasn’t worried about the local populations but they were moving away from the affected areas. If they chose to rebuild the facilities, they would have to locate them where there were enough inhabitants to work them. The scientist finally arrived and met the new Admiral in his conference room, “Tell me what you’ve discovered.”

“We’ve not found much.” The Admiral’s expression changed to anger and the scientist quickly continued, “However, we have some conclusions about how they did it.”

The Admiral leaned back in his chair and glared at the scientist, “Continue.”

“The only possible way the humans could have destroyed the ships above the planet, and the facilities on the planet, was to have placed explosive devices on the ships when they were on the planet’s surface. Obviously, the facilities were also sabotaged by the same agency.”

“Could the local inhabitants have done this?”

The scientist paused, “They are the most likely source; however, we’ve not found any of the substance used to destroy our facilities on the planet.”

“You know the level of security we have at our construction sites; how could this have been done by an outside agency? It had to be the locals.”

The scientist didn’t know this new Admiral and he didn’t like his expression. He thought about arguing with him but decided to play it safe, “You’re probably right, Sire.”

“How do we prevent this happening again?”

“The simplest way is to have the locals only wear uniforms that we will provide to enter our facilities. There would then be no way to transport anything inside our force fields.”

The Admiral looked at his Executive Officer, “Issue the orders to make that happen.”

The Executive Officer looked at the Chief Scientist and knew there had to be another agency involved…but he also didn’t know this Admiral and he saw the chief scientist wasn’t going to challenge him, “Yes, Sire.” He looked at the scientist and saw the knowing expression. They weren’t going to put each other in jeopardy by suggesting another possible scenario. This Admiral didn’t appear to like any sort of challenge and they were not going to give him one. Whatever had caused the destruction would just have to reveal itself; the two Grillen weren’t going to risk being shot.

The Scientist decided that he would create an issue on the home world and get away from this new Admiral. If he wasn’t going to listen to anyone, the odds of another attack went up. He didn’t want to be on a warship when it did.

• • •

Dat contacted Belwen and saw his subordinate appear on the panel, “Where’s Belwen?”

“He’s working on a new covering for the Madators’ drop globes.”

“What sort of covering?”

“He’s working on one that won’t give off any flames during the Madator’s entry.”

“We need something urgently, before we lose our advantage.”

The associate smiled, “Have you been monitoring the probes around the Grillen construction planets?”

“I’ve seen the reports.”

“Have you noticed the astronomical data?”

“No, why do you ask?”

“You know that planets usually have multiple meteor strikes every few days.”

“Yes.”

“Well, none of those meteor strikes have been fired on by the ships in orbit.”

Dat thought a moment and then smiled, “They haven’t made the connection with the Madator’s first drop.”

“It appears they have not.”

Dat thought a moment and shook his head, “It could be that they’re waiting for another fly by before they open fire.”

“The probe at one of the planets recorded an incoming meteor and Admiral Hull sent a ship to do a fast fly by. The ships in orbit still didn’t fire on the meteor.”

“That fly by may warn them.”

“The ship was on a trajectory to go by a hundred other planets before it returned. If they had made the connection, they would have fired on the fragments from the meteor.”

“How long will it take to get the Madators ready?”

“The last energy swords have been delivered. They’ll need four or five days to familiarize themselves with it and then they should be ready to go.”

“I’m going to their planet and will discuss this with Admiral Hull and the Madator’s Leadership.”

“I’ll have Belwen contact you when he has a free moment.”

“That would be good. Stein, come and get me.” Dat ran to the roof of the Admiralty Building on Earth and saw the small ship moving toward him. It would be good to see Gresha again; he missed her.

• • •

Dat arrived at the Madator’s Planet and saw Belwen leaving his ship at the port. He jogged over and walked with him to the Union Embassy to meet with Admiral Hull and the Madators. “Do you really think they haven’t made the connection with the drop of the Madators and the flyby?”

“All the evidence seems to support that view, Dat. I don’t think they’ll miss it again, so you should make the next drop count.”

“What do you mean?”

Belwen stopped walking and turned to face Dat, “You saw the destruction caused by the first team. If you can get enough of them to the surface of those primary building planets, they can really set them back in their efforts to build a fleet of Grey Ships.”

“Let’s see what Blacky has to say. It might not have been as easy as we think.”

Belwen nodded and continued walking to the embassy. Dat glanced up in the sky and saw thousands of Madators soaring in the sky. He shook his head and was thankful they had not learned how to fly during the Union’s war with them. His run would have ended before it began.

• • •

They entered the main room and Dat looked around to see who was present. He missed Blacky who was standing off to the side of the group against the back wall but Blacky could see him. He rushed forward and wrapped Dat up in six of his eight arms, squeezed him tightly, and lifted him off the floor. “Owwww… put me down you big boob!”

“Oh, I’m sorry; I thought you could take it. This is what I’m going to do next time we run.”

Blacky put Dat down and he rubbed his abdomen, “You don’t know your own strength you idiot. You almost crushed my stomach!.”

“Blacky, please come over here a moment.”

Dat looked and saw Ringie next to the projector at the front wall and he ran toward her. “Wait a minute; I have some questions.” Blacky ignored Dat and ran over to Ringie. Dat saw him roll his head down to Ringie’s and they appeared to be whispering. What was going on? That’s when Gresha rushed up and wrapped her arms around him, “Not so tight, I think Blacky just pushed my intestines out of my mouth.”

“I’m sorry, you big baby. I’ll take it easy on you.” Dat smiled and leaned in and kissed Gresha.

• • •

“Did you get it?”

“I did.”

“Well give it to me, there’s not much time to make the transfer.” Blacky extended one of his arms and it disappeared into Ringie’s skin. She immediately turned and ran out of the room.

Dat saw her leaving and yelled, “Hey, where are you going? We need you here.”

“I’ll be right back; nature calls.”

Dat furrowed his brow but he was quickly surrounded by the Madator Leadership and he turned to greet them. He saw Katherine entering the room with her support staff and he winced as he moved to the take his place at the front table. Darn that Blacky; he had hurt him. He sighed and after a few minutes the pain started to ease and by the end of the meeting it was gone.

• • •

Blacky came over and leaned in, “I’m sorry, my friend. I didn’t mean to hurt you; I’m just so glad I’m able to see you again.”

“You had me worried, Blacky.”

Blacky smiled, “I saw that; go on and admit it, you really do like me.”

Dat laughed, “What’s there not to like? Seven feet of carnage and mayhem just waiting to be released; I hope you can help us decide what to do next.”

“Well, let’s get this party started.”

“Do you think you’ve had enough time to get the other teams ready?”

“We’ve transferred all we learned from our drop. We’ve impressed on all of the warriors that they should eat a full meal before dropping.”

“Why?”

“Because the most important skills they’ll use are making sure they aren’t discovered. These drops are not the place for hunting prey. They require stealth in a major way.”

“I’m not so sure that’s true for the second wave.”

Blacky’s smile was instant, “Really!” Dat nodded and went to his chair.

Blacky looked at Ringie, who had just reentered the huge room, and saw her nod. His smile grew larger and he went to the front table and sat down beside Dat. He extended one of his arms around Dat’s chair and gave Gresha a small hug. She put her hand on his arm and squeezed it gently. She had come to love the huge, black, creature, who had almost killed her. She smiled and Blacky winked his middle eye at her.

Katherine stood and looked around the room, “We’re here to decide what our next action is going to be. We’ll start by playing all the recordings the Madator Team made during their mission and afterwards we’ll discuss what we’ve learned.” The huge monitor on the wall illuminated and the recordings started.

• • •

Six hours later, after all the questions were asked and answered, Katherine stood, “I want to congratulate the four members of the team that did such a magnificent job of taking out the Grillen presence on that planet.” The room erupted with cheers and hoots from the attendees and the four Madators stood and bowed. Finally, silence was restored and Katherine turned to Belwen, “We need to know what you’ve been able to determine about the Grey Ship they brought back.”

Belwen stayed seated and used a device to operate the monitor, “This ship is more powerful than any we currently possess.” The room all stared at the monitor and saw a pointer start indicating various places on its hull. “The beams used by this ship will penetrate our force fields easily and any of our ships hit by it will be destroyed. Notice that there are four beams mounted on the hull that are able to fire above, below, and to the two sides. There is also a beam mounted in the nose to fire directly ahead of it.”

Dat said, “What about to the rear?”

“The four on the hull can rotate to fire to the rear but there is a blind spot directly behind the thrusters. If you can get within a half mile of it, the four on the hull cannot depress enough to hit you. However, if the pilot sees you, he can raise the bow and bring the beams to bear.”

Gresha said, “Will our beams penetrate their force field?”

Belwen shook his head, “No, they will not.”

Katherine shook her head, “Are you saying they are impregnable?”

“They are to our beams and penetrators.”

Dat smirked, “What else is there to use against them?”

Belwen changed the view on the monitor, “This is a piece of the rear stabilizer fin from the Grey Ship.” The attendees saw a ten foot tall section of the fin being held off the floor in Belwen’s lab. “I want to watch what happens when one of my assistants throws a ball at it.” They watched the assistant wind up and throw a white colored ball at the fin. It hit the fin dead center and a long crack shot up through it. The assistant walked forward and gave the fin a push with his hand; the fin fell apart into two pieces. Silence dominated the gathering. Belwen waited a moment and said, “It appears the material used to build the hull is quite brittle. It can’t withstand any kind of forceful hit on it.”

Dat was shaking his head as he said, “But how do we get through the force field to administer a hit?”

“We’ll have to use a material that the force field can’t stop.”

“But I thought you said our beams and penetrators won’t get through.”

“They won’t because they are primarily made of energy and metal. The force field will stop either of those two forces.”

Katherine’s eye brows lowered, “What else is there?”

Belwen shrugged, “Well, there’s wood, plastic, ice shards, rocks, potatoes, bricks…need I go on?”

Blacky’s head rolled to the middle of his body, “And just how does one get close enough to throw a rock at it?”

“Actually, Admiral Gibbons gave us a mechanism that should do the job nicely.”

Everyone turned and looked at Gibbs and he tilted his head to the left, “I’ve always been fascinated by our ancient history and especially the weapons developed to use during the old conflicts that happened on Earth. One of the aircraft that was used to take out heavily armored vehicles in those old wars was called a Warthog. It was an airplane built around a gun.” Gibbs nodded to Belwen and the monitor showed a strange looking gun mounted on a huge brace. Everyone saw the belt that fed the gun and the shells in the belt were huge. Suddenly the gun started firing and the belt moved faster than the eye could see. “That gun could fire four thousand projectiles a second at a speed of a mile every second and half.”

Gresha stared at the video and said, “But isn’t it firing metal shells?”

“Yes, but it could be modified to fire hardened plastic projectiles. They didn’t have the capability of producing plastics to the hardness of our current technology back then.”

Dat smiled, “Tell me how you see this being used against the Grey Ships.”

Belwen interrupted Gibbs and said, “These guns can be placed in the nose and tail of a Rover, where they would fire a wall of hardened plastic projectiles at the Grey Ships. Since there is no atmosphere in open space, they will not lose speed and will not fall off their line of flight. The scanners used by the Grey Ships will not see them until they are right on top of them and I don’t believe they have the reflexes to jump away before being hit.”

“Why the front and rear, Belwen?”

“The Rovers may find themselves being pursued by these ships and the closing speed of the pursuer will reduce the time they have to react even more.”

Dat smiled, “Four thousand rounds a minute.”

“Actually, since cooling the barrels in space is much easier, these guns can be set up to fire seven times that number.” Dat’s eye brows went up. “We won’t have to rotate the seven barrels to keep them cool. We’ll just fire all seven at once with a continuous feed to each of them. Their speed will also increase to more than a mile in a third of a second in the vacuum of space; there won’t be any air resistance to slow them down.”

Dat smiled, “We’ll just send a massive wave of plastic projectiles and they’ll never see them coming until just before they hit.”

“If there is a huge battle taking place, won’t our own ships be in danger?”

Dat smiled, “Our normal force fields will stop plastic projectiles, Katherine. Only ships using the grey force field will be in danger.”

Belwen nodded, “He’s right, Admiral.”

“Will this gun work against their standard ships?”

Belwen shook his head, “No, their force fields will also stop the projectiles; however, our beams and penetrators do work against their standard ships. Our dark matter force fields will work against their standard ships as well.”

“What is the range of the Grey Ship’s beams?”

Gibbs said, “Five miles; if they fire from further than that it won’t harm our ships unless they can keep it locked on.”

Dat thought a moment, “So if a Grey Ship emerges into normal space, we’ll have about two seconds before it does. If we fire this gun the moment we detect their emergence, the projectiles will arrive…”

Gibbs said, “Two thirds of a second after they enter, if they are fired from five miles away or closer to the emergence.”

“Gibbs, why are you so excited about this development?”

“I’ve been wondering how we were going to use the Jukebox Class Battleships.”

Dat and Katherine saw it immediately as Gresha said, “I’m not sure I understand.”

Katherine smiled, “The Battleships can house more than twenty of these guns.”

Gibbs said, “Cha-ching. And they can lay down a covering fire that would be more than fifty miles across and keep it filled for hours.”

Blacky looked confused, “Then why would you put this gun on a Rover?”

Belwen shrugged, “No ship should be completely defenseless against another ship.”

Gibbs nodded, “I also suspect, once they see a battleship in action, those Grey Ships will give the Jukeboxes a wide berth. They’ll be forced to go after the Rovers fighting way from them.”

“Belwen, how long will it take to modify enough ships to use against their fleets?”

“We’ll start bringing some of them online in about four weeks. However, it’s going to take a year to really produce a large number.”

“Will you be able to produce enough to go after those ninety nine production planets?”

“We should be able to produce enough for that in about three months. Don’t look for any to be available before that.”

“Why not?”

“We’re working on about ten thousand ships but none of them will be ready before that time. We have to construct a system to control them and the guns will have to be calibrated to that system before they can be used. That is going to take at least three months.”

Dat looked at Katherine and said, “That is when our Madator Teams will have to complete their missions.”

“Do we need to drop them now that we have this weapon to use against them?”

“Don’t forget that our goal is to also remove them from the planets they invaded. Just killing their ships won’t change what’s happening on the surface of those invaded planets.”

“You intend to use the Madators to take out their ground forces?”

“We have to do that or they’ll take the local populations hostage and we’ll be doing this all over again.”

Katherine looked at Blacky, “Do you think you could remove the Grillen from those planets?”

Blacky’s smile was huge, “Some of them might survive…but I doubt it.” Katherine saw every Madator in the room was bobbing uncontrollably. Blacky saw her expression and said, “This time we get to hunt our prey. That makes it even more exciting…and fun.”

Dat turned to Belwen, “What about armored warriors?”

“The new swords they’ve been given should be effective against their armor.” Belwen looked at the Madators and sighed, “If we can force them to use them. I suspect they don’t want to use technology for their kills.”

Dat looked at Blacky, “Do you swear on your honor that you will use your swords against armored warriors?”

The Madators stopped bobbing immediately and Blacky’s frown was obvious, “We can take them out without using your swords.”

“Blacky, if you can promise me that you can do that without placing any of your warriors in danger, I might agree. Can you make that guarantee?”

Blacky looked at the Madators in the room and saw what they wanted; he rolled his head to the top of his body and they all deflated. “We will not be dishonest with our friends. Is that clear to all of you!?!” The Madators slowly rolled their heads to the tops of their bodies. Blacky turned back to Dat, “No, I can’t promise that.”

Dat saw their sorrow and he looked at Katherine as he said, “Then you will use your swords against armored enemy warriors.” He paused and said, “But…if you’ve removed most of them, and the survivors are reduced to a number that won’t endanger the local populations, you may try your hand at doing it the old fashioned way.” Katherine smiled and nodded.

Blacky and the Madators started bobbing again; now they had a goal to shoot for. Gresha looked at Dat, “I need to get back to our bed; my back has been killing me since I started sleeping here.”

Dat rubbed his stomach, “I look forward to having you back home, my love.” Blacky heard them and looked at Ringie. She smiled and looked quickly away.

Chapter Six

The Grillen King looked at the Creature standing in front of his throne and tried not to show his disgust. The being had a triangular shaped head with two large black bulbous eyes on the sides of its head. Its jaw had two serrated sabre-shaped teeth that looked like pincers in its mouth. He couldn’t see the creature’s body because it had a long, flowing emerald colored robe that covered it from its sloped shoulders to the floor. He could only imagine what horror was under it. The creature spoke and the round device that kept the robe fastened in the middle flashed multi-colors as it translated what it said, “We are disturbed that you allowed one of the construction facilities to be destroyed.”

The King’s frown was obvious but he really believed the creature had no clue what his expressions indicated, “Perhaps you would like to go and investigate how it happened. We’ve not come up with a good answer.”

“It had to be something done by that Union you’re fighting.”

“Our investigators say that it was done by the local inhabitants. We’ve proven the ships were sabotaged while they were on the planet being serviced.”

“Then the locals had assistance from them.”

“We’ve not made that determination…yet. Would you like to go and see if you can find something we’ve missed?”

“You will do your own work. We’re just trying to assist you in the effort. We are simply Servants.”

“Why are you doing this? You’ve never really told me why.”

“Do you not see the danger the Union represents? If they defeat you, we’ll be next. It’s in our best interests to make sure you survive. My species is called Servants because we try to protect those that are in danger.”

“What’s to prevent you from coming after my kingdom if we prevail?”

“We’ve promised not to do that.”

“I hope you understand my concern about that issue.”

“We do and don’t take offense at your doubts. We only wish to be left alone. We have no desire for new territory.”

“Why are you here now?”

The creature paused and the King sensed it was getting nervous, “I just came to see if there is anything else we can assist you with your ship construction.”

“Do you have any technology you’ve not given me to use on the Grey Ships?”

“No, no; you have our most advanced technology for building warships.”

“The probes were also a gracious gift. We appreciate them very much.”

The tall Creature lowered its huge head, “Well, I’ll leave since you don’t need me to answer any questions about how to operate the ships. If you think of anything else, contact us.”

“I will. Safe travel to your destination.”

“Thank you.” The creature turned and moved quickly out of the throne room. The King watched him leave and felt trepidation.

“Your Majesty, it had to have come here for some other reason.”

The King turned to his son, “Did his ship scan us?”

“It did, Father.”

“Did it focus on anything in particular?”

“It appeared to make an intense scan of the Grey Ships above the planet.”

“It’s checking to see if they’ve been changed or modified from the original design.”

“Why would they do that?”

The King thought for a long moment, “I want one of our Chief Scientists to take a good look at the production process to see if we’re missing something.”

“What do you suspect?”

“I’m wondering if they have a hidden self-destruct circuit on them.”

The Son paused, “There is a self-destruct circuit on all of them.”

“Yes, but it’s the one we installed. There must be another one we don’t see.”

“Father, if you don’t trust them, why are we working with them?”

“As you grow older you’ll learn that you should always take advantage of anything handed to you. We just have to make sure none of those ships are built on our planets.”

“What are you saying?”

“What if they could cause that strange material that’s used to build those ships to explode?”

“We have thousands of them in orbit above the planet.”

“I moved them here for our guest’s visit. Once he leaves, and you confirm he has jumped out of our galaxy, they will be moved to the outer system.”

The Son bowed, “I do have much to learn, Father.”

The King watched him leave and wondered what he was missing. There had to be something…

• • •

The Creature arrived on his ship and turned to the huge creature sitting in a room at the rear of the bridge, “Well…”

“They haven’t found the weakness.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am.”

“They don’t appear to trust us.”

“How do you know that, Lord?”

“They’re scanning us as we speak. I suspect they’ll be looking for our jump track.”

“What do you want to do?”

“We’ll leave and wait to see what happens.”

The creature turned to the Navigator, “Jump us to the decoy galaxy.”

The ship shimmered and disappeared.

• • •

The commander of the small Grillen Scout Ship watched the ship jump away and followed it. It arrived at the coordinates of the jump track and was blown into dust just as it entered normal space. The huge creature leaned back, “I’ll tell them, if they ask, I thought it was an enemy invading our space.” He watched to see if another ship appeared on his scanners and then jumped to the second decoy.

• • •

“Gibbs, why are you so determined to use the Jukeboxes against the Grillen?”

“You saw how effective they were against the Masters. They can also hold their own in a pitched battle with the Grillen Standard Fleets. Now that they have a way to hold off the Grey Ships, they can make a huge difference in the upcoming liberation of the planets invaded in the Red Sector.”

Lydia sighed, “Are you certain this new gun will do all it’s advertised to do?”

“We’re going to go pick a fight with one of the prime planets when we drop the Madators.”

Lydia showed her shock, “I haven’t heard anything about that.”

“Admiral Arvolo just sent me the orders. I’m going to drop the Madators from the Jukebox and take a shot at the Grey Ships above the planet before the main fleet arrives. We won’t be there but a few moments.”

“I’m going with you.”

“Lydia!”

“Get over it, Gibbs. I won’t let you go without me.”

Uhhh…Dear…I outrank you. Just how would you go about stopping me?”

“I’ll refuse to see you until you use me in a battle.” Gibbs stared at Lydia and saw her stern expression and crossed arms. “Would you allow me to go into a fight without you?”

“That’s different.”

“Make me see how and I’ll not push this.” Gibbs’ mind worked on the issue and all he could do was remain silent. There wasn’t a good answer. Lydia gave him a smirk and then turned and left the bridge. He activated the ships internal video monitors and saw her packing a bag in their quarters. He shook his head and started to respond but she walked off the ship before he could think of what to say. This mission was too dangerous to risk losing her. He sat and struggled on what to do.

• • •

Katherine and Dat sat in her office with Blacky and looked at the data scrolling on the main wall display. Dat shook his head, “Blacky, there is no way they’ll not know you’re on the surface this time. We’re going to be dropping hundreds of your warriors on each of the Grillen Prime Planets. They’ll know the objects dropping into the atmosphere will be coming from our ships.”

“Let them; they still won’t be able to find us.”

Katherine shook her head, “I’m not so sure about that. They can use biological scanners to find you.”

“Only if there are no other biological forms around us.”

Dat leaned back, “And if they scan one of their buildings when no one is present, they will detect your presence.”

“We just won’t go in unless someone is there.”

Dat shook his head, “Blacky, you make this sound too easy.”

Blacky shrugged.

“I’m serious.”

“We’re a product of evolution that has prepared us for doing this. If we get on a planet’s surface, the only means of removing us is to blow up the planet.”

Katherine stared at Blacky while Dat discussed the coming drops with him and interrupted the conversation, “Why do you have no fear?”

Dat and Blacky looked at Kat and Dat looked back at Blacky. Blacky hesitated and after a long moment said, “I guess it’s just not a part of our psychology.” Kat started to speak but Blacky held up two arms stopping her, “Do you remember the final space battle between us?” Dat and Kat nodded. “We kept coming in to attack even though we saw it would have been wiser to retreat and avoid the loss of our fleets. Madators are driven to hunt. We lose ourselves when we’re going after prey. We will, of course, find the best possible means of making the kill without getting ourselves killed in the process, but we will always go after our prey.”

Dat sighed, “That is what allowed us to destroy your civilization. Sometimes you need to be able to back off to survive.”

“That’s where liking to play with our prey comes in.”

Dat looked at Blacky, turned to Kat, saw she was just as confused as he was, and turned back to Blacky, “You’ve lost me.”

“We enjoy evading traps set to catch us. Sometimes we’ll go through the traps and leave evidence we were successful, just to antagonize our target. We didn’t back off your fleet because we were ordered to attack and none of our leaders sent an order to stop. All of my warriors have been ordered to avoid getting themselves killed and, if the risk is real, they will choose another target. They all understand evasion is the watch word and they won’t take any stupid chances. Your forcing them to use their swords against armored enemy troops will probably save most of them…even though I’d really like to do it without technology. It’s a…I don’t know…a good challenge.”

Kat shook her head, “I find it amazing that you can sit here and carry on an intelligent conversation and not be tempted to go after us.”

Blacky smiled, “I’ve noticed a pet that some of your embassy personnel keep in their homes; I think it’s called a cat.” Kat nodded. “That creature is very much like us. When the owner comes home, the cat greets them, rubs up against them, and makes a sound showing its delight at being with the owner. However, let a small rodent or bug be spotted and the cat is on it in an instant. Once my species recognizes another species as a friend, they will never again be seen as prey. Quite frankly, if a species is not seen as a possible danger to us, we would leave them alone to concentrate on those that are. Belwen’s civilization would never be one of our targets. Not only are they an ally of ours, but they are just too gentle in spirit to ever be considered prey. They would pose no challenge and would be boring to go after.”

Dat smiled, “Which group are you going in with?”

“I’m dropping from Admiral Gibbs’ ship. That particular planet has really been cranking out Grey Ships and I’ve allotted two hundred warriors to make the drop.” Dat started shaking his head and Blacky quickly said, “We won’t be detected as quickly as you’re thinking.”

“Oh! Why not?”

“Belwen’s new coating will make a tremendous difference. Our first coating really burned rather brightly entering the planet’s atmosphere; however, the new coating will start expanding in size before it starts burning. It will start to swell as it gets hotter and a byproduct of that is it will offer resistance to the atmosphere and slow down the descent. Our previous drop globes actually broke the sound barrier as they fell toward the planet’s surface. We can manipulate the coating and use it to glide toward our assigned targets. It will eventually burn up and leave no residue once the temperature hits a critical point and we will use the second coat to drop lower. We’ll come out of it at an altitude we can breathe and start gliding to our targets.”

“They’ll still see the trails through the atmosphere; you can’t move that fast without leaving a particle trace.”

“I know; however, I believe Admiral Gibbs will have their undivided attention at that particular time.”

Dat stood up and held out his hand to Blacky, “I’ll be there as well.”

Blacky didn’t take Dat’s hand, “I thought there was only going to be one Jukebox there.”

“No, there’s going to be two and we’re going to have you dropped from four Rovers on the night side of the planet while we do our dance in daylight.”

Blacky looked at Katherine, “I don’t know that it’s a good idea to put him in this kind of danger; he’s too important to lose.”

Dat tilted his head, “Blacky, you’re the leader of your species and you’re jumping to the planet; how is this any different?”

Blacky stared at Dat for a long moment, “It just is.” Dat pushed his hand out again and Blacky reluctantly took it. “We’re both doing what has to be done. Just make sure you come back.”

“You do the same.”

“I will.”

• • •

“Lydia!”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. Your chair is waiting for you.”

“I could care less about my command chair.”

“I’m waiting for you!”

“Do you understand?”

“I don’t want to see you hurt. But I guess I know that if our roles were reversed and you died and I wasn’t there; I’d never forgive myself. I understand why you feel as you do.”

“No you don’t.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.”

“If I lost you, I wouldn’t want to continue. We will survive together or we will die together. Either way, that’s the only way I’ll do it.”

“I understand. Please come back to me, now.”

Lydia smiled, “I’m on my way.”

• • •

Katherine looked at the assembly of ships gathered over the Madator’s planet and shook her head. The shuttles were going up into space and looked like a massive cloud of gnats as they reached orbit and began entering the landing bays of the million Rovers that were waiting on them. Ten weeks had passed as the ships taking part in the exercise were brought in from the colonies so the Grillen probes wouldn’t see them. She pulled the view in closer and saw the two Jukebox Battleships looked out of place in the huge ship gathering. She shook her head and didn’t like that two of the Union’s best Admirals were taking part in the massive undertaking.

She looked at her scanner reports and saw that millions of the Madator population were also being placed at risk, but they were all bobbing at a fast rate as they entered their shuttles. It appeared they were excited at the prospect. The skies over the space port were filled with millions of them gliding and screaming with joy for their fellow warriors. She wondered how many of them were going to survive.

After twenty hours, all ships reported in ready and Katherine activated her communicator, “You have a daunting task ahead of you and I wish all of you success in your efforts. Captains, do not linger at your targets. Make the drop and get out. Admirals Arvolo and Gibbs, take the shot and get out as well. Thirty seconds to jump. Make us proud; the Union is counting on you.”

The massive fleet oriented to their target lines and their jump drive fields energized as they counted down the time to jump. In an instant, all of them disappeared.

• • •

“Sire, I have massive numbers of Union ships moving in toward the Red Sector.”

“Where did they come from?”

“I don’t know; our probes didn’t see any movement in their galaxy. Those ships had to come from somewhere else.”

“WHERE ARE THEY GOING?”

“It appears they are headed toward the planets we invaded.”

“Launch the defense fleets to their assignments.”

The order went out and a hundred major Grillen Fleets turned and jumped to the planets they had been ordered to defend.

• • •

The massive fleet of Rovers blew by their target planets and ejected the Madators. They remained in Green Space as they turned and returned to the Milky Way. The Madators began their long drop to the surface.

• • •

Dat and Gibbs arrived above the planet with the largest construction sites. The two massive Jukebox Battleships were completely automated with only two crewmembers operating the ships. The Grey Ships in orbit immediately accelerated toward their positions. “Micah, open fire with the guns.” The mile long Jukebox Battleship shook with the millions of plastic shells being fired from the guns. The hundreds of Grillen Ships move forward at maximum acceleration and didn’t see the clouds of shells until the last moment. It was too late to jump away. Twenty seconds later the massive Grillen Defense Fleet arrived and the Jukeboxes started firing a wave of penetrators at the first to arrive.

• • •

Dat watched the approach of the Grey Ships and kept his hand on the jump button, “Gresha, tell me what’s happening.”

“Hold on!”

“Gresha! There’s not much time.”

Gresha screamed, “It’s working! The Grey Ships are falling apart.”

• • •

Gangal watched the three Grey Ships he was following blast into small pieces as something hit them. He would have been destroyed but the first three ships had cleared a path through the incoming shells. He moved into range and fired at the giant ship, just before the second wave of shells blew his ship into fragments.”

“ONE OF THEM HAS BROKEN THROUGH! IT’S FIRING!”

Gibbs saw the ship on his scanners and the beam lanced out and hit the rear of his ship. The rear thrusters were blown away and the jump drive emitters on the rear were disintegrated. “DAT, WE’VE BEEN HIT! WE’VE BEEN HIT! Get out of here.”

Dat saw Gibbs’ ship burning in the rear thrusters and he shook his head as tens of thousands of Grillen Ships surrounded the stricken vessel. He hit the jump button and disappeared.

“Micah, status?”

“We’re dead in space. We can’t jump out and our thrusters are gone.”

Gibbs looked at Lydia and reached over and took her hand, “I’m so sorry, my love.”

“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” She looked at her panel, “Why haven’t they killed us?”

Micah said, “It appears they want to capture our ship to discover our technology.”

“Micah, you have to activate your self-destruct circuit.”

“The controls for it were damaged. I’m unable to do it.”

Chapter Seven

Dat and Gresha remained in green space and Gresha activated the communicator, “Gibbs, what’s happening!?!”

Lydia pressed her console, “We’re being surrounded by their ships with a screen of Grey Ships about three miles out. It appears they want to take the ship. I don’t know if we can stop them; the self-destruct circuit is disabled.”

Dat come on the frequency, “We have to get you out of there.”

Gibbs answered, “Dat, you’d need a major fleet operation to even get close to us and, if you brought one in, I’m sure they’d bring in more ships than you could handle. You have to come back and launch penetrators at us.”

“Gibb’s, I’m not certain we could get anywhere close to you without being destroyed.” Gresha was starting to cry and Dat thought furiously. There was no way he could launch a penetrator into those ships and have it get through…but…could one get out? He immediately yelled, “Gibbs, put your computer on the channel.”

“It’s linked in.”

“Even if your self-destruct circuit is disabled, are you capable of overloading your reactors?”

“Give me a moment.” Dat waited and after ten seconds he heard, “I can.”

Gibbs said, “Do it now!”

“Delay that order.”

“We’ve got to destroy this ship, Dat!”

“We’ve got to get you out first.” Gibbs and Lydia were shocked by the suggestion.

The computer was the first to respond, “Just how would you accomplish that, Sir?”

“Gibbs, you know the Jukebox’s penetrators are as a big as a Rover. If you remove the explosive package from the nose of a penetrator, there should be enough room for you and Lydia to get inside. Your computer can fire a massive wave of plastic shells and launch you out behind it. You’ll be clear of their ships in less than a second. They won’t be able to respond in time.”

Gibbs thought about the idea, “But they would follow us immediately.”

“I’m going to call Shane in and have him meet me on your path. He’ll use a tractor beam to pull you inside his force field and we’ll jump away.”

Lydia shook her head, “Dat, that sort of timing is impossible. Besides, the acceleration would kill us.”

“Gibbs, the penetrators are weightless when they launch. You’ll be fine.”

Gibbs shook his head, “Thanks, Gresha; I’m not thinking clearly.”

Dat yelled, “It’s our only chance and you will do this!! Am I clear?”

Gibbs looked at Lydia, “Yes Sir, we’ll start removing the package.”

“Let me know when you’re ready. Computer, do you see a path where you can fire the penetrator that will get through their ranks?”

“I do, Sir. There are actually ten of them.”

“They’ll probably start to disappear as more Grillen Ships arrive. Send me the track you choose just before launch.”

“Yes Sir.”

Gibbs jumped up and inserted a data module into his panel before he went to the back wall and pulled out a space suit, “Micah, I want everything in your personality module downloaded into this chip.”

“Commencing download.”

“What are you doing?”

“We’re not leaving without Micah. Hurry and get dressed.” They left the bridge and ran to the tube and sat in the car, “Micah, what penetrator should we use?”

“Number forty eight.”

Gibbs entered the destination into the car’s panel and it shot out into the tube.

• • •

The Grillen Admiral arrived and saw the huge ship hanging in space with its rear smoking, “What happened here?”

“Sire, that ship fired some kind of projectiles at our new warships and blew them apart. One of our ships managed to get a shot off before it was destroyed and disabled it.”

The Admiral stared at the Union Warship and coveted the technology it contained, “Are we going to be able to capture it?”

“We’ve ordered a penetration ship and it will arrive in twenty minutes.”

“Why is it taking so long?”

“The crew was not on board and they have to be brought up from the planet.”

“Why weren’t they on the ship?”

“Sire, we only use a penetration ship once every five or ten years.”

The Admiral stared at the subordinate and shook his head.

• • •

“Captain Matthews!”

“Yes Sir.”

“I hope you’re as good with a Jukebox as I’ve heard you are.”

“What do you need?”

“I want you to match speed with a penetrator and pull it into your landing bay.”

Shane stared at Arvolo on his display and smiled, “That’s funny. What do you really need?”

“Captain, Admiral Gibbs and his flight officer are going to be inside that penetrator and you are going to have to match speed, pull it into your landing bay, and get out before the Grillen Fleet arrives.”

“Sir?”

“You will do this and you will succeed! Do I make myself clear!?!”

“Yes Sir. I need to know the path it’ll be taking.”

“You’ll get it just before it launches.”

Shane shook his head and then nodded, “I’ll try to do it.” Admiral Arvolo disappeared from the display and Shane said, “What is the speed of a penetrator?”

“Three quarters the speed of light.”

Shane shook his head, “This is crazy.”

“If we move into normal space and accelerate to sixty percent light speed and accelerate as it approaches, we might pull it off.”

Shane heard his computer make the suggestion and leaned back in his chair, “We can’t emerge into normal space until it launches; the Grillen would see us.”

“We’ll enter just before the countdown reaches zero. We’ll need two seconds to move to the track.”

“Please send that information to the Admiral.”

“Are you too afraid to do it?”

“Just call me chicken.”

“What’s that?”

“You don’t want to know.” Shane turned to Gem, “You need to get down to the landing bay and work the tractor beam. We’re only going to have one chance at this.”

Gem jumped out of her chair and ran to the ship’s tubes.

• • •

“Lydia, hand me that spot-cutter.” Gibbs took it and made five cuts. He took the electric hand wrench and the ten pins came spinning out. He lifted the huge package and moved it slowly out of the penetrator’s nose. Lydia assisted him and it cleared the penetrator’s shell. “Micah, we’re ready to take this to the floor. Start adding gravity.”

They held on to the explosive package and they slowly dropped to the floor. Just before they touched the floor, Micah reduced the gravity and they barely touched. Gibbs took a metal cable and drilled one end into the floor, wrapped it over the package and drilled the other end. “Micah, shut off gravity; we’re jumping to the nose.”

They felt the small gravity field disappear and they looked up and jumped. Gibbs took Lydia’s hand and he grabbed the open nose as they moved past it. He pulled himself in and held on to Lydia as she worked her way into the penetrator. Gibbs put a suction device on the nose cone’s door and pulled it shut. It snapped into place and he pulled Lydia to the back of the nose cone and leaned back. He said, “Notify the Admiral we’re ready.”

“A strange looking ship has just arrived and I think they use it to enter captured vessels. I have determined a path out of here and I’ve sent it to the Admiral. I’ll launch you in forty seconds.”

“I’m sorry, Micah.”

“I’m still with you. Just get us to safety.”

“I’m forced to depend on the Admiral to make that happen.”

“I can’t think of anyone better to do it.”

Gibbs smiled, “You’re right, Micah.”

“Twenty seconds to launch; guns will start firing in ten seconds.”

• • •

The Grillen Admiral watched the penetration ship move toward the giant white ship, when suddenly, a massive globe of small shards shot out of its hull and began hitting the Grey Ships in the screen surrounding it. The Grey Ships began exploding and a bright flash shot away from the stricken ship. “What was that?”

“It is one of their heavy missiles. It missed all of our ships.”

He wondered how it could have missed at such close range and then he knew; it was an escape pod. He lifted his communicator to order a chase of the missile but never managed to issue the order. Right behind the plastic shells, Micah launched every penetrator in his tubes and targeted three of them on the Admiral’s vessel. It exploded into a massive fire ball just before the Union Ship overloaded its reactors and blew up in an explosion that was seen in daylight on the planet below. The shock wave blew out into the Grillen Defense Fleet scattering them.

• • •

Shane entered normal space and accelerated to half the speed of light and stared at his display for the approaching penetrator. He saw it and it was coming at an incredible velocity. He pushed the thruster control forward and the Jukebox leaped forward at its maximum acceleration. The blip on his display continued to move closer but the closing speed had been greatly reduced. He continued to accelerate and saw the penetrator pull even with his ship. He moved over and the penetrator moved inside the gravity field around his ship, “Gem, pull them in.” Shane kept the penetrator even with the landing bay and saw it disappear below the bridge.

“They’re in.”

Arvolo was pacing the Jukebox waiting for the Grillen pursuit to arrive but they never appeared. He shrugged and said, “Good work, Captain. Get out of here.”

The two huge ships shimmered for a moment and disappeared.

The Grillen on the planet never saw the two hundred objects that entered the planet’s atmosphere on the night side and disappear. The Madators were on the ground by the time the shockwave spent itself in the upper atmosphere on the other side of the planet. Blacky glided into a forest on the daylight side and saw the bright flash in the sky. He hoped his friend had made it out safely. He looked across a field and saw the Grillen construction facility. He smiled and waited for nightfall. He began to hear the ultrahigh frequency hoots from his team members as they arrived. All of them had made it and his smile grew larger; it wouldn’t be long before the fun began.

• • •

Mumbles glided in toward the construction facility and saw that it was still under construction. His team of eight Madators had been divided into four teams of two for each site and he wondered when Hardhead was going to arrive. He thought about the name given to him by Ringie and didn’t really like it.

But, he had great difficulty speaking the language used in the Union, so he guessed he deserved it. He hoped Hardhead wouldn’t be so stubborn about the plan that he wasn’t given any freedom. He deserved his name as well. He stayed in the dirt and after another ten minutes he heard the high frequency hoot of Hardhead. He answered and the huge Madator flew in and landed next to him. “What have you seen?”

“Nothing; you told me to land and do nothing until you arrived.”

Hardhead looked at Mumbles, “You don’t like working with me, do you?”

“No one likes working with you.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’re too controlling and won’t listen to any suggestion given to you. Your forcing me to stay here until you arrive is just a small example. I could have already made it to the facility and scouted for a way in.”

“Do you think you could do a better job of it?”

“Anyone could do a better job!”

“Alright, what do we do now?”

Mumbles stared at Hardhead, “You’re serious?”

“I am.”

Mumbles looked at the construction facility, “Our goal is rather simple here; destroy this facility and remove as many Grillen Warriors as possible. We should make sure the facility will be destroyed and then put our minds together to come up with a way to deal with the warriors afterwards. I’ll take this end of the facility and you go to the opposite side. We’ll put dots where they’re needed and allow ourselves a week to make that happen. This is not a competition and getting through first and not doing it right is a mistake.” Hardhead smiled; he knew his reputation for winning competitions and Mumbles was right about making sure the job was done right. “The building in the center is the warriors’ barracks. We’ll hold off on it until everything else has been mined.”

Hardhead smiled, “You’re smarter than I thought. See you in a week.” The two Madators went into the soil and moved toward the construction site.

• • •

Blacky was inside the city where the largest ship building facility was located. He was at the edge of the community staring out at the cleared land between it and the force field over the planet. He was in the soil but had his eyes above ground in a bush next to one of the local’s house. He heard someone approaching and saw three Grillen Warriors moving along the edge of the cleared land. They came up on a local female who was watching her child play in the yard. One of the Grillen stopped and smiled. He drew a weapon from his side holster and turned a dial on the grip. He pointed it at the young child and fired. The stunner beam hit the child as it fell to the ground, screaming its pain. It shook rapidly from the shock to its nervous system.

The mother screamed and ran toward her child but the Grillen Warrior fired a small, intense blaster beam in front of her. She looked at the warrior and he held up a finger and waved it back and forth telling her to stay away. The Warrior hit the child three times and the three laughed at its convulsions. Blacky watched the proceedings and he knew that these three were going to receive very special attention. The noise was deafening from both the mother’s screaming for the warrior to stop and the child’s howls of pain.

Suddenly, the warrior’s head was burned off his shoulders and his body collapsed to the ground. The other two went for their holsters but saw a Grillen Officer pointing his blaster at them; they froze and didn’t move. The officer walked forward with a platoon of warriors and said, “Take these two and put them in confinement. I’ll deal with them later.” The two warriors were disarmed and their hands were restrained. The officer went over to the female who was holding her child, rocking her back and forth as she softly spoke words to calm her down.

“I apologize for what he’s done to your child. If there’s anything I can do to help you, please let me know.” The officer leaned down and rubbed the young female child’s head. He handed the mother a small packet, “Put this on the places where the beams hit; it will help with the healing.” The female stared at the Grillen Officer with hate in her eyes and he stood and shook his head. He looked at his platoon and they moved back to their patrol at the edge of the cleared land.

Blacky saw that the Officer’s subordinates didn’t approve of his actions. They saw nothing wrong with what the three were doing. These were conquered people; they deserved whatever they got. Blacky stared at the Officer and imprinted his face. That one was also going to receive special attention. Blacky saw a vehicle approaching with two flags flying on the front of it. He moved out into the soil and moved quickly to the platoon, who had stopped, waiting for it to arrive. A Grillen Major Officer stepped out of the vehicle, pulled his blaster, and shot the Officer. He then went back to where the female and her child were still on the ground and hit both of them multiple times with his stunner. He turned to the platoon, “Release those two.” The two Grillen that had been shooting at the child were released. He turned and went back into his vehicle and headed back toward the checkpoint. He had watched what happened on his display and decided to stop this soft-hearted nonsense. The locals had to be controlled and this officer was a weakling. He arrived at the checkpoint where the sentry saw the Officer’s expression and waved him through. Blacky was under the vehicle and found his way inside the force field. He dropped off close to the giant assembly line and waited for nightfall; he wasn’t smiling.

The Platoon continued their patrol and, as they walked forward, a Madator under the soil placed a dot on the bottom of their boots. It melded into the boot’s sole and disappeared. Blacky was not the only Madator looking for a way into the giant facility. The Madator who placed the dots worried that, when they went off, the explosion might be much larger than normal; but it didn’t care. It saw what happened to the mother and child and it was not going to allow them to live.

• • •

On all the planets the Grillen invaded in the Red Sector, Madators were moving in on the Grillen forces stationed on the planet. The deadline to complete their mission was thirty days away and they knew most of that time was going to be spent getting into the construction facilities; buildings first; warriors second.

The Grillen King stared at the new Fleet Admiral standing in front of his throne and shook his head. He now regretted killing the first one; the second was so incompetent that he had gone out and managed to get himself and his flagship destroyed. This one was not much better than the last idiot. “You know what I expect of you?”

“I do, Your Majesty.”

“I want you to find out how the Union destroyed our new warships and devise a strategy to stop whatever weapon they’ve developed.”

“I’ve been told by several scientists at the site of the battle that they were destroyed by shards of plastic.”

“Do you honestly believe them?”

“If they aren’t talented enough to be offering valid information, they should be removed and replaced by someone who is. If they are as talented as I believe they are, they’re probably right. It then begs the question of why were we given a warship with such a weakness.”

The King was changing his mind about the new Admiral; he wasn’t intimidated and spoke his mind openly. “Go and find out if that information is accurate and get back to me. I suspect our Union friends aren’t going to remain idle.”

“We may have to make modifications to the ships to make them effective. I’ll send you my findings as soon as I gather them, Sire.”

The King nodded and the Admiral turned and left the chamber. The King turned to his son, “Why has he not been promoted?”

“He is against mistreating the populations on the captured planets.”

“Oh?”

“He’s of the opinion that why torture beings that can’t hurt you? He’s not been flexible on that issue so the General Staff have kept him out in space commanding one of our fleets.”

“What changed their minds?”

“He’s been remarkably successful. I think they hope he’ll be killed by the Union.”

“What does he think about our war with the Union?” The Son hesitated and the King said, “Tell me; I won’t hold it against you.”

“One of my spies on his staff heard him say we’re making a huge mistake.”

“Why?”

“He said that if the Grey Ships can be destroyed by toy darts, there was no reason to invade all those planets to build them. We also alienated one of our former allies and have accepted a new ally that we know little or nothing about.”

The Son hesitated and the King saw it. “There’s more?”

“He is of the belief that we were given a defective ship so our new ally would be able to remove us after the Union was defeated.”

“Does he have any evidence?” The Son hesitated again. “Say it!”

“He said he would use the same tactic against an enemy and any idiot should know that you never give your best ship to a stranger who has not earned your trust. He feels we were dumb to accept it.”

The Son expected his father to recall the Admiral and have him executed. Instead the King burst out laughing. After he caught his breath, he said, “I finally have someone who I can count on to be honest. Son, such individuals are very rare. Never waste them.”

“Father, what do you think about what he said?”

“He’s probably right.” The Son’s expression showed fear. The King said, “Let’s see what he finds out. We’ll decide what to do afterwards.”

Chapter Eight

Shane sat on board the Saturn, hanging in space looking at the planet his ship was named after. He was above the giant planet looking down on the planet’s rings and moons; it was beautiful. It looked like a jewel hanging in space…or a Gem. He had loved Saturn since elementary school when he first saw all the planets in the solar system. He decided at that early age that he was going to one day go see it up close. Now he had come to see it so many times to think, meditate, or just to escape the pressures of life that it felt like visiting an old friend. He slowly shook his head; even Gem had come to love Saturn. He sighed heavily and was already missing his former navigator. She had left immediately after their return from the Red Sector when Admiral Gibbs offered her a promotion to command a squadron of Jukebox Battleships. With his luck, he would be assigned to her. He prayed that wouldn’t happen. “Cally, what do you think about this view?”

The Ship’s computer responded, “I favor the view of Calypso at Jupiter.”

“Well, Duh, you’re named after it.”

“You’re in a bad mood; you must be missing Gem.”

Shane sighed, “Yes…I guess I am.”

“You know she didn’t really want to go.”

“You’re wrong about that; she’s been pushing her naval career since the first day I met her.”

“I didn’t say she wouldn’t go. She just really didn’t want to leave you.”

Shane leaned back, “Do you think she would be satisfied riding my coattails?”

“No, she wouldn’t. This was bound to eventually happen.”

“I know.”

“I have a shuttle that just emerged into normal space a thousand miles out requesting permission to board. I guess this is her replacement.”

“I’m not ready for this.”

“Well, put on a good face and let’s get it over with.”

Shane pressed his communicator, “Permission to come aboard is granted. The landing bay is open.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Shane looked up at the picture hanging on the wall of Gem and him posturing on a beach in California. He had his arms around her as they faced the camera. He really felt her smile was genuine and he slowly shook his head. He stood up, went to the wall, and removed the picture. He stared at if for a minute and then threw it into the disposal chute. He left the bridge, entered the transport tube, and said, “Landing bay.” The car accelerated toward the middle of the huge warship.

• • •

Shane arrived in the landing bay as the shuttle landed and the side door opened. He immediately went to attention and was shocked to see Admiral Gibbons and his executive officer. Another Union officer followed them out of the shuttle and Shane thought, “Crap, another woman.”

Gibbs returned his salute and said, “As you were, Captain. I want to thank you for saving my life.”

Lydia smiled, “And mine as well.”

“I’m very thankful I was able to do so, Sir.”

“Are you going to continue to refuse every promotion we offer you?”

Shane had a small smile, “Sir, I love flying a ship. Command positions don’t allow that during battles.”

“Are you certain about that? Isn’t there something I could do to get you to reconsider?”

“Thank you, Sir, for your confidence, but I’m content with my current position.”

Gibbs smiled and said, “Well, then I’ll have to use you in the best way I know how.”

Shane stared at Gibbs, “Uhhh, what do you mean, Sir?”

Gibbs turned to Lydia who reached in a folder and handed him a bundle of papers, “Captain Matthews, you are ordered to return to Earth Space Dock to have your ship modified.”

“Modified?”

“Yes, we’re going to make some changes.”

“What sort of changes?”

“Why don’t we go to your meeting room and I’ll discuss it with you.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

The four Union Officers sat in Shane’s meeting room and, as soon as they sat down, Gibbs asked, “Captain Matthews, do you know what this ship you’re flying was originally designed to accomplish?”

Shane was surprised by the question and wondered why the Admiral had not introduced the young woman who had come with him. “It was the major weapon used at the point of attack against our enemies.”

“That’s a good academy answer; but not the real one. What was it designed to do?”

“Kill enemy ships, Sir.”

Gibbs shook his head and turned to the young woman who had been staring bullets at Shane, “Captain Carpenter, why don’t you tell us the answer to that question.”

The young woman with shoulder length jet black hair and blue eyes continued to stare at Shane as she said, “The Jukebox Battleships have always been the heaviest class of warships since the Union first started fighting for its survival. Its name is derived from Chris and Jillian Connor who named the first major battleship built by Earth, the Jukebox. A song by an ancient artist named Gene Pitney was their favorite and thus the name. In their honor, the heaviest and most modern class of warships are still called the Jukebox class. The current ship is a G series ship.”

“Get to the point Captain.”

The woman looked briefly at Admiral Gibbs, “Yes Sir.” She turned back to staring at Shane and he wondered why she was almost glaring at him. “This particular class of Jukebox was a direct descendent of the ancient aircraft carriers that were used on Earth to exert power against other nations. Its sole purpose was to move into a region and deliver its arsenal of warplanes such that they could be used to attack if needed. Their presence was often enough to make sure that the nation that send them had their way. It was the most deadly ship ever built to sail the oceans on Earth.”

Gibbs smiled, “Very good, Captain; now jump forward to this ship.”

“The Jukebox you’re standing on was originally designed to deliver six hundred and forty attack craft into an enemy fleet. The attack craft were the precursor to the current Rover Class Ships. The Jukebox’s force fields and defenses were designed to get the attack craft through an enemy’s barrage to engage an enemy’s fleet. The attack ships would launch from the tubes in the hull once they were inside an enemy’s formations and they were deadly at close range.”

Shane remembered the history as she said it and was startled at how many ships the Saturn was capable of launching. Most of the launch tubes on the Saturn had been closed and sealed. He wondered what was going on.

Gibbs said, “Why were they discontinued, Captain?”

“Because of the development of the new Rover Ships that used dark matter as a power source. The Rovers were decidedly more powerful than a Jukebox Battleship and, thus, they were relegated to being mothballed. Their time in history had passed.”

Shane looked at Admiral Gibbs, “Why is she glaring at me like that?”

Gibbs laughed and turned to the Captain, “Why don’t you introduce yourself and answer his question.”

The woman was not happy at the request but she looked directly at Shane and said, “My name is Kelli Carpenter and I am a fleet tactical expert. I have been assigned to be your second on this ship and I personally think there is little to be learned by being here.” Shane stared at her and she continued, “You are extremely selfish in your refusal to accept a higher rank; where you could offer more to the Union than just flying this single ship. I also think this modification that’s been ordered is simply a way to coddle your whims. I really don’t see how it will be something that can make a real difference.”

• • •

Shane turned to Admiral Gibbs, “What modification?”

“Shane, why were the aircraft carriers needed?”

Shane thought a moment, “The planes they carried needed to be delivered to their targets and have a place where they could be rearmed and refueled.” Shane noticed Captain Carpenter was shocked at his response.

“Very good, Shane. We now have a situation where the Grillen have developed a Grey Ship that is a direct danger to our Rovers. We have a problem getting them in close enough to their standard ships without being destroyed by their new ships. We’re going to rebuild the Saturn to carry four hundred Rovers inside its hull and you will deliver them through the Grey Ship screen to hit their targets. The Jukebox will be updated with modern dark matter reactors, force fields, and beams. They will also be armed with the guns that fire the shards.”

Shane stared at Gibbs and said, “I agree with the Captain, Sir.”

Gibbs was surprised at the response, “Oh, how so?”

“If our current drop of Madators is successful, they won’t be building any more of those ships.”

Gibbs tilted his head, “You’re exactly right. This ship is going to be given the task of going out and destroying the ones they have remaining in their ranks. The Rovers on board will be used to keep their standard ships off your back while you do it.”

Kelli looked at Gibbs, “But Sir, how are the Rovers going to be effective with Grey Ships present? They’ll only be killed before they have a chance to get at the standard ships.”

Shane shook his head, “No, they won’t.” The three turned to Shane, “The Saturn will jump in to the middle of the Grey Ships and fire a massive cloud of plastic shells. The Rovers will follow that cloud out and emerge into the ranks of their standard ships.” Shane turned to Gibbs, “I’m going to make a wild guess here and assume the Rovers assigned to this ship will also have the plastic guns as part of their armament?” Gibbs nodded. Shane tilted his head, “Once they’re clear of the Saturn, they’ll be deadly in ship-on-ship fighting.”

Kelli looked at Shane, “And just what do you think the enemy is going to be doing to the Saturn while all this is taking place?”

“Oh I’m sure they’ll be attempting to target it with enough ships to take it out…but…we have penetrators and dark matter beams that are deadly and we won’t be sitting still for them to gang up on us.” Shane looked at Gibbs, “I suspect we’ll be the ones keeping the pressure off our Rovers, Sir.”

Kelli shook her head and Gibbs smiled; he turned back to Shane, “What do you see, Captain?”

“My computer is the best in the fleet at programming multiple jumps. We will scan the location of our attack for any Grey Ships and start jumping to their locations. We’ll fire on them just outside their beam range and jump away. It will be a learning process, but I do think there is merit to coordinating the Jukebox and Rovers into a plan of attack.”

Lydia smiled at Kelli, “Lieutenant, I’ve seen this man fly; perhaps you will reserve your doubts until after you see what he can accomplish.”

Kelli looked at Lydia and saw she was serious. She respected Admiral Gibbs but Lydia was one of her Heroes. “Yes Sir. I’ll do the best I can to make this work.”

Shane looked at Gibbs, “Who will I be reporting to, Sir?”

“On paper your ship will be designated as a single unit reporting directly to me. You will be assigned your missions by Fleet Control. I suspect you will be brought in at the battles that are getting out of hand.”

Shane smiled, “Thank you, Sir. I look forward to this opportunity.”

“Now for the part you won’t like.” Shane knew he wasn’t going to like what was coming. “I want the best Rovers in the service to be assigned to this ship. Most of them are Captains and some of them actually have more seniority than you do.” Shane started shaking his head. “I am going to promote you to Rear Admiral and Captain Carpenter to Commodore. You will only command this ship and you will be a fighting Admiral.”

“Sir, if I accept this promotion you could transfer me to command a fleet.”

“I’ve discussed this with Fleet Admiral Hull and Admiral Arvolo and they have agreed to not do that. I think Arvolo’s words were, ‘I wish I had the same situation.’”

Kelli looked at Shane, “Why are you so against a promotion?”

“I don’t like having the responsibility of another’s life.”

“You had the responsibility of your second officer. Did that bother you?”

Shane was startled by the observation and thought a moment, “No, I guess I figured I would die if I let her down.”

“You need to look at this as participating in a fleet battle and you’re doing your part to save all the ships around you. You’ll still only be directly responsible for those onboard the Saturn, and if they die, so will you. You won’t have to worry about it afterwards.”

Shane turned to Gibbs, “How many crewmen are going to be onboard?”

“Not counting the pilots of the Rovers, eighteen hundred.” Shane was shocked at the number and Gibbs said, “You should know that they will be there whether you call yourself a Captain or an Admiral. By accepting the Flag Rank, you will be given the best pilots in the fleet to defend your ship and crew.”

“This is a no-brainer.”

Shane looked at the wall speaker, “Why do you say that, Cally?”

“You know this is where we’re going to have to move in the future. You might as well get on board now.”

Gibbs looked at Shane, “What did your computer mean by that?”

Shane sighed, “We were discussing the Grey Ships and I think it’s obvious that the Grillen received them from someone else to use against us. If that’s true, I suspect we will be taking on that source if we survive the Grillen. I also suspect their ships will not be as brittle as the ones given to the Grillen.”

Kelli was shocked at Shane’s statement and she saw he was not the dummy he appeared to be. She said, “You knew the answer to the Admiral’s question earlier.” Shane shrugged. Kelli smiled for the first time; maybe she was going to learn something on this assignment. Shane surprised her with his next question.

“Admiral, why was Captain Carpenter selected to be my second-in-command?”

“She is being groomed to ultimately take a fleet. She is quite talented and I think she has all the knowledge needed but doesn’t understand the niceties of actual space combat. This assignment should teach her what she’ll need later.”

Shane looked up and rolled his eyes at the ceiling. Gibbs said, “Don’t be surprised by this. Gem was also selected for the same reason. She’s being groomed for a Flag as well. We have hounded you to accept the promotion but have been unsuccessful.”

Kelli said, “What’s wrong with this?”

Shane shook his head, “Nothing.”

Gibbs said, “Something’s bothering you.”

“I just wonder where all the Indians are. It seems everyone I encounter wants to be a chief. I would think there would be those that want to shoot the arrows instead.”

Gibbs got a far-off look and Lydia knew that he missed the adrenaline rush of fighting one-on-one against a worthy enemy. Gibbs smiled, “I hope you show Commodore Carpenter the glory of that calling. Now, if you’ll sign here, we’ll get this party started.”

• • •

Gem sat on board the Triton and received the announcement that Shane had been promoted to command a special ops ship. She also saw that his new second was also promoted to commodore. She realized she would have the same rank she now had if she had remained on board. She reached into her panel and pulled a picture out of Shane and her on a beach. Her tears fell; she missed him so much. She put the picture away and went to her quarters. A week later she threw the picture away. A week after that, she was ordered to take her ship to Space Dock and have it modified. She arrived and saw the Saturn being worked on by massive numbers of construction workers and engineers. She also saw on her scanner that four hundred Rovers were going through maneuvers not far away. She knew Shane was present. She fought her feelings and was determined to not allow her emotions to show.

• • •

Kelli was working with an engineering team on the new ship tubes when she saw the Triton arrive. She contacted a Lieutenant she had attended the Academy with, who held a position in Fleet Control, and discovered that the Triton was also going to be modified to take on the Grey Ships. Her eyebrows went together and she wondered about how Admiral Matthews would respond to his former navigator. She sensed there was a thing between the two of them and she didn’t want the former interest of her commander to have an edge in future promotions. She would just have to make sure her new rank wouldn’t be jeopardized by the Triton’s Commander. She left the tube and headed toward the bridge. She found Shane staring out of the main viewport watching the Triton maneuver into Space Dock. She said, “It appears there are going to be two ships modified to take on the Grey Ships.” Shane looked away from the viewport and simply nodded, saying nothing. “Have you heard anything about this, Sir?”

Shane’s lip went up at the corner and he slightly nodded, “She’s a good choice. Her commander is well qualified for this type of combat.”

“Will she also be promoted to Admiral, Sir?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

Shane looked back out of the viewport, “If we have to fight together, Admiral Hull wants me to have command authority. I suspect there will be other ships modified as quickly as possible; Fleet is selecting their best officers to be the nucleus of this effort.” Kelli smiled; Gem wouldn’t outrank her. Shane saw her expression and shook his head; he knew what she was thinking. “Always planning the career, Commodore? She does have seniority.”

“But not on the command ship, Sir. This is where the real action will happen.

Shane sighed and shook his head, “Have my quarters provisioned; I’ll be staying on the ship.”

Kelli smiled again, “Yes Sir.”

Shane continued to stare at the beautiful Jukebox Battleship moving into the Space Dock and decided that he could not go back to what he had endured when Gem left. Seeing her would only open old wounds that were beginning to heal and that was the last thing he needed during this new assignment. He wouldn’t leave Saturn; he would remain onboard and focus on his new ship and crew. It should be enough to keep him from staring at Gem’s ship. He stood up and went to attend a meeting with the new gunnery officers. He needed to know how their new systems operated and see if there were any issues with covering the Saturn during combat.

• • •

Every night for five weeks, Gem would go to the Space Dock’s cafeteria to have dinner. She couldn’t decide if seeing Shane was something she wanted or not. She did see his new second officer and she had made it a point to come over and introduce herself. What a little twit she was! Rank envy was written all over her and she had told Gem it was great to be serving on the best Jukebox in the fleet. Gem had told her that she had a fine commander who knew his stuff. She would learn a lot from him. That deflated her balloon and she left quickly after the remark. Gem wondered if she was just like her. She had been chasing a high rank in the Navy since her first day at the Academy. “God, I hope I’m not like that.” Three days later she saw the Saturn powering up to leave Space Dock for initial flight trials. Shane had never left his ship.

She leaned back in her chair and looked out of the viewport of her personal quarters on the Triton and head a beep on her console, “Yes, Euclid.”

“Cally asked me to deliver a message to you.”

Gem’s heart went into her throat, “What is it?”

“When love walks out of your life, the pieces left behind never fit well together.”

“But I didn’t walk out!” Gem waited and Euclid remained silent. After a minute Gem sighed, “I guess I did.”

“Cally says you ran.”

“What do you think about that?”

“You made a decision about what you loved more, Gem. I hope you can live with your choice.”

Gem’s tears fell and she watched the Saturn in the viewport as it moved away. She made a decision and pressed a button on her console. The hull lights that lit up the nose of the Triton came on at full power and the ship was brightly illuminated. Gem began pressing a button on her panel.

• • •

Shane sat on the bridge as the Saturn backed out of Space Dock and stared at the Triton hanging in space dock. His heart was heavy and he fought hard to maintain control of his expression. The Saturn cleared the moorings and started moving away and he saw the lights on the bow of the Triton start flashing; he wondered what was going on. He watched the pattern and suddenly knew. He had taught Gem how to use ancient morse code to communicate. He was always fascinated by the ways ancient sailors had communicated. He heard the navigator say, “We’re ready to jump, Sir.”

He continued to stare out of the viewport and held up his hand delaying the jump as he watched the pattern. It said, “I love you, Shane.”

He smiled and lowered his hand, “Execute Jump.”

• • •

Gem saw the Saturn disappear and wondered if he saw the message. Euclid said, “He did.” Gem shook her head. She was starting to believe the ship’s computer could read her mind.

“Now he knows…at least he knows.”

• • •

Kelli wondered what Shane was staring at through the viewport and she looked out of the port next to her command chair and saw the flashing lights on the Triton. She saw Shane smile and knew something important had been communicated. He seldom smiled. She wondered what he saw. “Sir, why was the Triton flashing its hull lights?”

Shane looked at her with a large smile and shook his head, “They have to check out all the systems, Commodore.”

Kelli knew this was one thing she would never know. She did know that Gem had managed to communicate with him. She was nervous about what that might mean.

• • •

Lydia entered Gibbs office and he saw something in her expression, “What?”

“The Space Dock Computer recorded the Triton flashing its hull lights as the Saturn left for flight trials.” Gibbs waited and raised his shoulders and eyebrows. “Gem sent a message to Shane using morse code.”

“Does anyone still know that?”

“It appears they do. It took the computer three days to finally work out what it was.”

“And?”

“She told him she loved him.”

Gibbs’ smile was instant, “Now that’s what I’m talking about. They can work together.”

“We’ll see, Love. Give it some time.”

Gibbs laughed out loud, “We will get him to command other ships! Hers will be the first.” Gibbs leaned back and said, “I thought he wasn’t going to take the bait and see her.”

Lydia smiled, “Love will find a way.”

“Indeed it will.”

Chapter Nine

The Grillen King looked at the tall creature that called itself a Servant and sneered, “You’ve given us ships that are little more than brittle pieces of metal.”

“They are much more than that.”

“I could damage one with a hard wooden staff.”

“If you could get close enough to it that might be true. The problem you have is that you are not detecting the objects being fired at you. All you need do is to add a standard scanner that detects solid objects and simply jump out of the path of the incoming projectiles.”

“The projectiles are fired before out ships enter normal space and are on them before they can respond.”

“Then enter normal space further away from the target. I shouldn’t have to tell you these simple things.”

“You should have informed me about the brittle hulls on the ships.”

“I would think you would have seen that during their construction.”

“You know you designed the construction process and at no point would the hulls be hit by an outside object.”

The creature slowly shook its massive head, “You have a ship that can destroy any ship it faces. Are you telling me you don’t have a use for it?”

“But it can also be destroyed.”

“So can your standard ships and they aren’t guaranteed to win if they get a shot off first. No technology is absolutely perfect. Everything created has a weakness and this is an issue you should be able to work around to defeat your enemy.”

The King stared at the Creature and said, “One of my Scouts was destroyed by your ship.”

“I humbly apologize for the indiscretion. We thought it was possibly one of the Union Ships attempting to follow us to our home worlds and fired on it as quickly as possible. Why did you send a scout to follow us?”

“We know next to nothing about you. You have to know I’m curious about where you’re located.”

“I humbly regret that we keep our civilization’s location secret. You would do the same with all the dangerous civilizations that inhabit the universe.”

“You know my location.”

“But we are a friend assisting you. We represent no danger to you and we fear the Union might find us if they follow one of your ships to our location. You know their probes cannot be detected.”

The King stared at the smooth talking beast and knew it was thoroughly prepped to answer any of his questions. He smiled, “Thank you for coming. You’ve answered my questions.”

“Is there nothing else I can help clarify?”

“No, I understand now.”

“I wish you success against your enemy.” The tall creature turned and left the huge throne room. The King saw it step around his son, who was bowing to it as it passed. It disappeared out of the chamber and the King’s son looked at the floor and then nodded. The corners of the King’s mouth went up and he waited for the Servant’s Ship to jump away.

• • •

Four weeks earlier, one of the Grillen scientists had found a small clear object on a piece of charred metal on the planet where the production facilities had been destroyed. It had brought the piece of metal to a lab and discovered the danger the small clear object represented. The scientist examined the dot on its molecular structure and determined that the explosion of another dot had damaged the transmitter on it. He was called to the King’s office to discuss the findings with him.

“Are you saying something that small is that powerful?”

“I am, Your Majesty. And we are not able to replicate it.”

“Why not?”

“The technology of the control system is beyond anything we’ve ever created. We are centuries from being able to duplicate this.”

“Is it a Union device?”

“Who else would have put it there?”

The King remained silent and wondered if his new “Friends” might have done it. However, that didn’t make sense. It had to be created by the Union. If they were advanced enough to do this…this was not a good thing. “Can you activate it?”

“I can only set the time for it to detonate.”

“I want it set to go off in four weeks. If I need it changed, I’ll call you.”

• • •

Two weeks later, the King had watched the Servant walk over the place on the floor where the dot had been placed and his son verified that it was no longer there after the creature passed over it. He smiled and wondered if the Servants might be joining him in his fight against the Union. He’d soon know.

• • •

“You did an excellent job of answering their concerns.”

The Servant looked at the huge Lord in his chamber on the bridge of his ship and bowed, “We knew they would eventually discover the weakness. I’ve had time to prepare for this moment.”

“Even so; it was well done.”

“I’m not certain that the Ruler of this civilization trusts us. I sense he’s suspicious of our motives.”

“Let him; once he defeats the Spiral Galaxy’s forces, he can suspect all he wants.”

The Servant thought a moment, “Have we picked the right one to back in this conflict?”

“You know the Spiral Galaxy would never allow us to insert our larvae into intelligent beings. My father also wants the Spiral Galaxy for reproduction.”

“I know; but if they defeated our current allies, we could just as easily remove them.”

“We studied both of them and it was determined that the Spiral would be much more difficult to deceive. All we had to do with the current tool was convince just one being. It helped that he was ambitious and desired to conquer all those around him. No, we made the right choice. If they can weaken each other enough, we can destroy both of them. Patience is our best asset.”

The Servant bowed and the Lord said, “You know what to do; start the jumps into the decoy galaxies.” The huge grey colored ship shimmered and disappeared. The Servant went to his quarters and put his robe in the closet. He turned and went back to the bridge where he would remain for the foreseeable future.

The King watched his console as the Grey Ship disappeared and smiled. Things were about to get very interesting.

• • •

The huge Grey Ship jumped from one galaxy to another for six days. Finally, it was determined that they had not been followed. The Lord ordered the ship to go to six planets that were currently being invaded to see what progress had been made and the Lord was extremely pleased. All of them had been neutralized and the local populations were being gathered up for insemination. The inhabitants had a Servant larvae injected into their bodies and were then released to fend for themselves. The larvae required an intelligent being in order for their mind’s to fully develop. After eight months, the Larvae would chew its way out of the infected being and emerge a fully functional Servant. It was much smaller than an adult, but it would feed on the carcass of its host and would start growing at an accelerated rate.

“Take me to the center.”

“Yes, Lord.”

The huge Grey Ship jumped to an enormous planet that had a population of billions on the surface. It was an industrial complex that was incredible in scope and size. Warships were being built at a rate that was staggering and the Lord was pleased at the ships that had been built for his use. He contacted the Supreme Lord and was told to plan to meet with him the next day. Thirteen days had passed since the ship had left the Grillen home world. The next morning, the Lord prepared to board a shuttle to go to the surface when the ship exploded in a blast that strobed the planet’s dark side with an intense light. Nothing remained of the ship but tiny pieces that burned up in the planet’s atmosphere as they fell toward the surface.

• • •

The deceased Lord’s Senior Son was called to the bridge of a major Servant Warship. He arrived on board and discovered that its parent had been killed in a massive ship explosion above the Supreme Lord’s planet.

“How was this done?”

“I have no idea.”

“Do you not have all the records made at the new tool’s civilization?”

“I do; my Parent downloaded them when he visited three days ago. But I’m charged with keeping them safe. I’ve not been allowed to see them.”

“You will examine those records and find out how this was done. You will then report to the Supreme One once you determine how it happened.”

“I may need to go to the Tool and investigate.”

“Do whatever you deem necessary. That blast was at the main planet and the Supreme One is bothered greatly by it.”

“I will start my investigation immediately.”

“The Supreme One doesn’t wish to send another to do this but will do so if you fail. Send a copy of the former Lord’s records to the next in line.”

“I will send them immediately, Sire.” The display went dark and the new Lord called in his senior servants. He had them view all the recordings while he absorbed all the information into his mind. It only took a day to determine that the explosion was not caused by the tool. However, evidence would have to be gathered to support that position. “Prepare my personal ship to go to the Tool’s galaxy.”

“Lord, they have not seen one of our main battleships.”

“It’s time they did. My Parent has been killed and they need to know this will not be tolerated.”

“Yes, Lord.”

• • •

The Grillen King expected a response from the Servants two days earlier but nothing had happened. He sat on his throne and wondered if the device had detonated and decided that there was nothing he could do about it at this point. His son rushed into the throne room and deeply bowed, “What?”

“A Servant Ship has just appeared above our planet.”

“I was hoping they would come.”

“Father, the ship is not one we have seen in the past.”

The King activated his console and fell back into his throne. The ship in orbit above his planet was gigantic and its force fields were pulsing with power surges that were incredible. The beam and missile platforms on it numbered in the hundreds and it was not grey in color; it was bronze. “Have they communicated?”

“They are sending their envoy as we speak.”

The King stared at the monitor and wondered if he had made a terrible mistake in using the Union’s explosive device. “We’ll meet him in the main hall.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

• • •

The Union Probe recorded the giant ship as it entered the planet’s system and sent the recording to the Union just before the giant ship fired on it and blew it into fragments. The war had taken a new turn and it did not bode well for the Union.

• • •

Alarms went off in Fleet Headquarters and Katherine rushed to her office to find the General that commanded the Union’s Probes. “What’s going on?”

The General activated the display and the image of a giant ship appeared on it, “Admiral, it appears the source of the new Grillen technology has made an appearance. This was recorded and sent just before the probe stopped sending information.”

“Do you think they destroyed it?”

“Nothing else would account for the sudden cessation of its stream.”

Katherine stared at the giant ship and saw beam platforms similar to the ones on the Grillen Grey Ships. The missile launchers were something the Grillen weren’t using. “Get this information out to Dat Arvolo and Belwen. Do we have a passive probe in that system?”

“We do.”

“Activate it.” Katherine held her breath and saw a sudden image of the giant ship appear. A moment later the image disappeared.

“They’ve destroyed it as well.”

“Activate another passive probe but don’t have it transmit anything for three days. I suspect they can see our transmission frequencies.” The General nodded and Katherine felt a huge weight on her soul. This was not good. The General issued the instructions and talked into his communicator for ten minutes. “What are you doing?”

“I’m having the passive probe release follower trackers. If a ship exits that force field, we might be able to get one of them on it.”

“That’s good thinking, General.” Katherine stared at the image and wondered if she was seeing the doom of the Union on her monitor.

Dat came rushing into Katherine’s office, “What’s going on!”

Katherine pointed to the monitor and Dat was stunned by what he saw, “Is that what I think it is?”

“It’s got to be the ones who gave the Grillen the technology for the Grey Ships. It has the same beam platforms on it that the Grey Ships use.”

“Admiral, we were able to intercept the beginning of a transmission from that ship in the Grillen language. It appears one of their ships was destroyed by a blast similar to the one used to destroy their production planet. It was cut off at that moment but it appears the Grillen sabotaged one of their ships with one of our explosive devices.”

Kat looked at Dat and he shook his head, “They must have recovered a dot that didn’t detonate and used it.”

“Why would they do that?”

“I suspect they want their new friends to join them in the war against us.” Kat looked back up at the monitor and Dat said, “If they possess warships like that one, I wonder why they even used the Grillen to do their dirty work.”

“Maybe they don’t have a large number of those ships.”

Dat thought a moment and stared at the huge behemoth. “That ship doesn’t have the brittle hull of the Grey Ships and the force field is a different color. That would make me believe that it uses technology similar to standard ships. I see it has the beams of the Grey Ships but that’s all that’s similar. That would support the belief that once the weakness of the Grey Ship’s hulls is discovered; they are too much of a liability to use as the main weapon of war.” Dat continued to stare at the huge ship and then he understood, “Admiral, you can only build a small ship with that grey substance. It wouldn’t support all the weapons on it that you see on that monster. The hull would crack with the stresses of space combat.”

“But why not use the force field? Our standard weapons won’t penetrate it.”

“The force field stops metallic objects. The hull of the ship neutralizes any beam fired at the Grey Ships. Our beams would hit that ship if they used the grey material in the hull. They’re forced to use standard force fields.”

Katherine pushed a button on her console and Belwen appeared on the Monitor, “Belwen, have you been able to determine anything about that ship’s force field?”

“We’re still working on it. However, it is vulnerable to a close shot from a Rover. I’ll know more once I look at all the probe’s scanned information. It might take two quick hits to break through.”

“What about penetrators?”

“I won’t know about that until we actually fire one at it.”

“Please keep me informed.” Kat turned to Dat, “What do you think we should do?”

“Well, that ship is here and we know its location. We might as well take advantage of the situation and take a shot now and see what happens.”

“Is that a good idea, Dat?”

“Admiral, you’re looking at the real enemy against us. We need as much information as possible to develop the means to take them on. Since their major warships use standard technology, they chose to use the Grillen to soften us up before they attacked. Do you have a ship that can deliver a penetrator barrage?”

“I have a ship that is undergoing initial flight trials that could hold off the Grillen Grey Ships and launch one.”

“Who is the commander?”

“Shane Matthews.”

“I’d hate to lose him but we have to know. I’d issue the orders to send him in.”

Katherine stared at Dat for a long moment and then lifted her communicator.

• • •

Shane was watching the Rover’s go through maneuvers around the Saturn and had them jumping with the ship multiple times. His communication panel illuminated and he saw a message coming in from Fleet Control with a Red Flag Priority. He pulled it up on his display and felt an instant moment of fear. He stared at the massive ship on his display and then he reached forward and lifted the clear cover off a light blue button. He pressed it and the alarms started going off. “Battle Stations…all hands to Battle Stations.”

Kelli jerked her head away from her display where she had been watching the maneuvers and Shane shouted over the alarms, “Recall all the Rovers. Have them armed and ready for combat operations immediately.”

“What’s going on!?!”

“Commodore, you’re about to see your first taste of combat. Now get the crew moving and prepare the ship.”

Shane looked back at the giant bronze colored warship and said, “Cally, what are the coverage zones of the blasters on that ship’s hull?”

“My initial analysis is that they can pretty much cover any lane of approach.”

“Can they fire and completely cover the ship with their beams?”

“No; no ship can do that unless the entire hull is one giant blaster. They can hit any zone around it with directed fire.”

“Do we have any idea about their response time?”

“Any answer would strictly be a guess. We don’t know if they gave the Grillen blasters that are equal to their own.”

“What about the Grillen Blasters?”

“We’ve measured about three tenths of a second to lock on a new target.”

“What would you guess their range to be?”

“The size differential would indicate about ten times the range of the Grillen Grey Ships.”

“Fifty miles.”

“That would be my guess and I remind you it is strictly a guess.”

• • •

Shane had sent Kelli the message from Fleet Headquarters and she listened in to Shane’s running commentary with the ship’s computer as she read it. She tried to think what she would be doing if she was in command and she was at a loss. She was frozen and had no idea how she would have attacked that ship. She had her recorder on so she could look at Shane’s dialogue later. This was a different experience from being a tactical officer and she tried to control her emotions but her fear had a tight grip on her. Shane’s even tone and calm demeanor helped her and she wondered how he was able to control his emotions. For the first time, Kelli felt admiration for her commander. She looked at her panel and said, “All Rovers are back on board and are being armed, Sir.”

Shane nodded and listened to Cally’s analysis. After Cally finished, Shane leaned forward and stared at the image of the giant ship. He looked at Kelli and said, “Call the Wing Commanders in to the conference room.”

Kelli’s voice was shaky, “Do you have a plan, Sir?”

Shane looked at Kelli and smiled, “Kelli, I was the same way before my first combat mission. You just let me do all the talking and dismiss the Commanders at the end of the meeting. Don’t let them see your fear; you can do this.”

“Yes Sir.”

“You’ll hear the plan with the pilots.”

“Yes Sir.” Kelli forced herself to relax and remembered what Lydia had said when she first met Shane. She said I should see him fly. Kelli forced a smile and knew that was going to happen shortly.

Chapter Ten

The Grillen King saw the Servant enter the huge hall and felt fear grip his heart. Did they really believe the Union had destroyed their ship? He held his breath as the Servant arrived in front of his throne and bowed slightly. He let the breath out as the Servant said, “It appears your enemy was able to plant a destructive device on my predecessor’s ship. We really don’t know how it was done but I need your records from the destruction of the production facilities.”

“I will gladly provide them.” He nodded to his son, who left the room at a trot.

“We are curious about when you are going to open hostilities with the spiral galaxy?”

“I’ve been working hard to build enough of the Grey Ships to start that process. We hope to have enough completed within sixty days to open hostilities.”

The Servant stared at the King and, after a moment that seemed to last forever, it said, “That is faster than we thought possible. We wish you luck in your endeavor.” The King’s son arrived and handed the Servant a data module, “Thank you. We need this to confirm that it was the Spiral Galaxy that destroyed our ship.”

The King was reluctant but he couldn’t stop himself from asking, “That is an impressive ship you have.”

“We are proud of it.” The Servant paused and seemed to be listening to something. It looked at the King, “It is currently under attack.” The King was stunned and looked at his panel. The giant Servant Ship looked like it was on fire from the hits on its force field. “This is just a momentary distraction. We should have this handled shortly.”

• • •

Shane entered the conference room and Kelli shouted, “Attenhut, Admiral on deck.”

The twenty wing commanders came to attention as Shane entered the room and walked up the center aisle. He pressed the display controller he was holding and an image of the giant Servant Ship appeared on the display. The commanders were shocked at the huge ship’s image. Shane moved behind the podium and looked at the pilots, “At ease; take a seat.” The twenty commanders sat down but their attention was on the display. “What you see here is a warship of a civilization that is providing the Grillen advanced technology. It has double the Saturn’s mass and three times the number of beams and missile launchers. We have been ordered to determine if penetrators can be effective against it. It is not my intention to destroy this ship. We are going to attack it to collect information on its capabilities. If it is destroyed, then I’ll celebrate with you; however, I am not taking chances with this ship or its crew. We’re going in to launch a penetrator barrage and get out. Is that clear?”

“Yes Sir!”

“Captain Gomez, you will divide your wings into two groups with two hundred Rovers in each. They will move into a formation with every ship less than two yards from each other. I want their formation to be the size of a Grillen Major Battleship. They will jump in on that ship seventy five miles above and below it and immediately spread out and fire their dark matter blasters at that ship. Once they fire, they will immediately jump away to the first assembly coordinates. I want your two groups to fan out and prepare for the Grillen Grey Ships that I’m certain will be following your jump tracks. When they arrive, you will then jump to the secondary assembly coordinates and form up on the Saturn, which I hope will be there waiting on you. If the Saturn is not there, jump away and report back to base. Do you have any questions?”

Gomez said, “Sir, from that far out, our beams will do little more than energize that ship’s force field. I’m sure they won’t penetrate.”

“We are not going there to trial our beams against that ship. We’re there to trial the penetrators. If all of you fire simultaneously, the force field will go to full power and there should be a moment before their scanners can adapt to the energy change. The Saturn will jump in and launch a penetrator barrage immediately after you fire. We will be jumping in level with the center of the enemy ship and it will take them a short time to deflect their blasters and lock on us. The Saturn will jump out as soon as the penetrators are launched.” Shane stared at the pilots and saw they wanted to take the ship on. “Gentlemen, we are jumping into the most heavily defended planet in the Grillen Empire. What do you think they are going to be doing while we go after that ship?”

Gomez knew Shane was right. Then he had a thought, “Do you think that ship might fire on our jump signature before we emerge into normal space? We could emerge into a huge blast area.”

“That’s why you’re making your formation the size of a Grillen Battleship. I don’t believe that ship has access to the Grillen communication frequencies and will hold their fire until they determine if your two groups are possible allies of theirs. The Grillen will hesitate to fire on the two jump points because they won’t know if the two could be more ships from that civilization. This provides us a unique opportunity to get in, take a shot, and get out before we’re fired on. This much I can tell you; you will be chased. So get out and jump to your assigned coordinates.” Shane looked at his wrist unit, “You have an hour to get your two groups formed up and we’ll be jumping immediately after. The Saturn will jump into the Grillen Home World a tenth of a second after your departure. This is going to happen fast so make sure your Wings know their responsibilities.”

“Sir, what do we do when we jump to the second assembly coordinates?”

Shane looked at Captain Jennings and knew this pilot was ready for promotion. He saw it when the others didn’t. “We were conducting flight trials when this interrupted us. What better way to trial our Ship than to do it against live targets? You’ve been working on this for weeks; now we’ll see what you’ve learned.”

Captain Wisecup, the gunnery commander, raised his hand. Shane nodded to him, “Yes Captain.”

“What will the gunnery crews be doing?”

Shane smiled, “You’re going to be firing arrows at the savages attacking us. Your teams know the drill.”

Wisecup smiled and the commanders laughed. Shane picked up the folder he had brought in with him and Kelli shouted, “Attenhut.” Shane walked out of the room and Kelli said, “You’re the best in the fleet. Make the Admiral proud.”

The Pilots shouted, “Yes Sir!”

“Dismissed!”

Kelli watched the commanders exit the room and was amazed at the plan Shane had developed. As a tactical expert she saw the nuances of the attack and knew she should have thought of them as well. She had learned a lot. Her fear was gone. She knew she could follow her commander into battle and not worry about losing her life. Everything that could be done to prevent that happening was done. She smiled and left for the bridge.

• • •

Gem took the Triton out of Space Dock for initial trials when Admiral Gibbons appeared on her display, “Commodore, is you ship armed and combat ready?”

“Our Rovers are not armed and their beams are set for training level. The ship has all its weapons on board.”

“I need you to prepare your ship for combat immediately. I may be sending you into a war zone.”

“Sir?”

“Read the download; once you complete it, get back to me and let me know if you can get ready in time.”

Gem saw the message that was sent to Shane and then the attack profile he was going to use. Her heart went into her throat and she activated the ship’s alarms. She stood up and her face took on an expression that was a combination of fear and determination. The Triton was going to be ready or heads would roll. The urgency of the Triton’s crew matched the ship’s Commander. The Rovers were being armed and prepared for combat as the gunnery crews armed their weapons. Penetrators were loaded into the belts and began moving into the launchers. Gem watched her display and saw she only had twenty minutes left before she would have to jump. If she couldn’t get ready in time, she was ordered to remain at Space Dock. She watched her panel and there were still numerous lights showing red. She looked at Captain McCagg and yelled, “GO TO THE PENETRATOR TEAMS AND GET THEM MOVING!!!”

McCagg ran off the bridge for the tubes, jumped in a cart, and accelerated toward the center of the mile long ship. He arrived and found one of the penetrator belts had jammed against the side of a channel. He saw the teams moving the belt back and forth attempting to get it to move without success. He ran to the wall and pulled a heavy hammer out of its mount and ran to the frozen belt. It moved forward and he hit the side of the channel with the heavy hammer with all his strength. There was a loud pop and the belt hesitated…and then moved forward. The other twenty belts sensed the movement and began moving in unison. The penetrator team leader looked at Matt with shock on his face and Matt said, “Sometimes…not very often…nothing works like a hammer.” The team leader smiled and the penetrator tubes on the port side of the Triton began receiving their payloads.

Gem saw she was down to less than thirty seconds when her panel turned entirely green. She shouted to the ceiling, “Thank you, God!” She activated the main communication channel and said, “JUMP IN FIFTEEN SECONDS. ROVERS WILL LAUNCH ON EMERGENCE INTO NORMAL SPACE. GUN CREWS WILL COMMENCE FIRING IMMEDIATELY AFTER EMERGENCE. GIVE THEM HELL.”

Gem grabbed the ship’s control paddles and smiled. McCagg arrived just in time to see the Triton jump into green space.

• • •

“Lord, we have two ships arriving close to our position.”

“How close?”

The Servant looked at his panel, “One will appear seventy five miles above us and the other seventy five miles below us. Should I fire on them?”

“How large are they?”

“About the size of our Ally’s Major Battleship.”

“Hold your fire. Target them but don’t fire until I order you to do so. They’re far enough out to pose no danger.”

“Yes Lord.”

• • •

“Admiral, I have two ships jumping in above and below the Servant Warship.”

“Hold your fire. It might be more of their ships and I don’t want to cause an incident.” The Admiral stared at the jump signatures and an instant later ordered the defense fleet to attack. He was two seconds too late. The four hundred Rovers emerged and fired on the giant bronze colored ship.

No one knew the number of beams and missiles that ripped through the space where the two groups of Rovers arrived…but the magnitude of the attack was off the scale. The Rovers disappeared before any of them could be hit. An instant later, the Servant ship was hit with twenty main penetrators.

• • •

Shane saw normal space appear with the giant bronze warship eighty miles away. He pressed the launch button on his panel and twenty penetrators shot out of their tubes and accelerated away at their maximum speed. It took them less than a tenth of a second to arrive at the Servant Ship that had been momentarily blinded by the increased energy of its force field. The Servant’s force field held for less than a second and the giant ship exploded into a giant fireball that blew out a shock wave into the defending Grillen Ships. The Saturn recorded the destruction of the giant ship and jumped away before the defenders could close in.

The Grillen Admiral screamed into his communicator, “FOLLOW THOSE SHIPS AND DESTROY THEM!!”

Thousands of Grillen ships began jumping out after the fleeing Union Warships.

• • •

The King looked at the Servant standing in front of his throne and said, “It appears your means of transportation has been eliminated.” The Servant stood there in stunned silence. The King smiled, “We’ll make your stay as comfortable as possible until another ship comes.”

The Servant’s speech was jerky, “That wou..would.. be…..good.”

The King knew the Servant was shocked at what had happened. He decided to use the time to find out all he could from the being standing in front of him.

• • •

The Saturn jumped into normal space and ten seconds later the four hundred Rovers arrived and took their positions around it. Shane counted to four and said over the communication channel, “Start firing guns.” Millions of hardened plastic shards left the Saturn’s hull at a tremendous velocity just as the Grillen Ships jumped in on her. The Rovers were scattered just above the Saturn’s hull, between the gun turrets, and watched the shards accelerate away; the first wave of shards left, followed by the second. The Rovers followed the second wave out with the third wave of shards launched directly behind them.

• • •

The first Grillen ships to arrive were the Grey Ships that entered normal space four miles from the Saturn in the middle of the first wave of shards. They were all shattered into fragments. Eighty Grey Ships were destroyed by the first wave. The following Grey Ships jumped in beyond the expanding cloud of shards and looked for a way to attack the giant White Ship. The Grillen standard warships began emerging and the Rovers spread out in the cloud of shards and began their attacks. The Grillen ships began exploding at an increasing rate.

At that point the main body of the Grillen Fleet arrived and the Saturn began jumping to avoid being overwhelmed. Shane saw the thousands of ships accelerating toward him and jumped the Saturn to places where their numbers were lower. He couldn’t run and leave the Rovers behind to face the surviving Grey Ships alone. They were so scattered that they could not get back to the coverage of the Saturn’s guns. He saw his position was hopeless and reached for the jump button as Kelli yelled, “THE TRITON IS HERE!”

Shane looked at his display and saw the Jukebox Battleship blow through the ranks of the Grillen ships surrounding the Saturn. He saw his Rovers join the pilots from the Triton and the destruction of the Grillen fleet took on a higher level of intensity. “It’s good to see you.”

“Sorry I’m late; may I join this dance?”

“Only if I lead.”

“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

The two giant White Ships began jumping through the ranks of Grillen Ships and massive destruction was left in their wake. Kelli watched Shane move the ship and the Triton was right on his port side at every jump. She was amazed how the two ship commanders were able to work together without communicating. Gem would jump to the Saturn’s starboard side to help fight off Grillen ships and Shane would jump under her to prevent her from being overwhelmed from below. Kelli decided that it was like watching a dance and she began to see the patterns of enemy ships and the pattern Shane was using to escape.

• • •

Captain Jennings whipped his ship around to the port side and fired a wave of shards. He maintained his course and the Grey Ship pursuing him turned to line up a shot, as it was hit by the high velocity plastic shards. Lee added full power to the forward bow thrusters and the Rover went vertical at maximum speed. He fired his dark matter blaster at two Grillen destroyers chasing a Rover and watched them explode and fall away. He checked his scanner and instantly dove as a Grey Ship fired at him from head on. Lee fired his bow gun leaving a long trail of shards as he accelerated down from the Grey Ship that followed his dive. The Grey Ship locked on its blaster but didn’t have time to fire; the line of shards blew through the small ship, shattering it.

• • •

Captain Jennings was the best shooter on the Saturn. He ignored all the standard Grillen Ships and hoped his dark matter force field would hold up long enough for him to evade if he was hit. He focused on finding the Grey Ships and he was exacting a heavy toll on them. He would fire a short burst with his guns and he seldom missed. It didn’t take long before the Grillen determined that he was going to have to be eliminated. Lee saw on his scanner that twenty Grey Ships had changed course and were moving toward his location on the Saturn. He thought about jumping away but his smile turned to a grimace, “Bring it on!”

The oncoming Grillen ships saw the Rover stop and do a spin that was extraordinary; it looked like a high speed gyroscope turning in multiple directions while hanging in one place. What they didn’t see was the shards Gary was firing from his bow and thruster guns. A cloud of shards moved out from his ship and the Grillen accelerating in on him were hit before they knew they were in danger. Only eight Grey Ships survived the shards and moved close enough to fire on the single Rover. Seven standard Grillen attack ships had joined the Grey Ships and all of them arrived five miles from Gary and opened fire. Gary had set his jump control to jump away the moment an enemy ship moved closer than five miles. Gary disappeared but six Rovers charged in on the attacking Grillen Ships and blew ten of them into dust.

• • •

Everywhere ships were dying and the Grillen were not alone. The Grey Ships were also taking a toll on the Rovers…and one of them got off a shot at the Saturn.

• • •

The Saturn was rocked and Shane hit his communicator, “Ship Status!?!”

“Sir, we’ve been hit with a grey beam on top of the hull, two thirds back from the bow.”

“Damage?”

“Three levels were disintegrated but we’ve sealed off the area and rerouted power to the field emitters. We’re still capable of combat but we have a space above us that’s vulnerable.”

Shane watched the Triton move in over the top of his ship and smiled. The dance wasn’t quite over…yet.

• • •

After thirty more minutes, Shane announced, “All ships will escape on my command…JUMP AWAY…JUMP AWAY…JUMP AWAY!”

One moment, the pitched space battle was happening at a ferocious pace; the next there was nothing but Grillen Ships flying around like angry bees. The Grillen commanding officer saw the hundreds of jump tracks and knew there was no way to organize a chase. He shook his head at the power shown by the new enemy battleship. He had not seen one of them before and he knew they were going to be a real problem if the Union had many of them to use. He looked out at the hundreds of burning hulks of battleships, attack ships and Grey Ships. He also saw the glow of the ninety plus Rovers that had been killed; there was nothing left of them. They self-destructed once they were damaged and unable to escape. He shook his head, “Start rescue operations. Get the survivors to a medical facility.” He knew the King was not going to be happy about this.

• • •

Kelli leaned back in her command chair and blew out a deep breath she had been holding. The Saturn had survived but not without taking a hit on the rear hull. She set the coordinates of the Space Dock into the ship’s system after twenty jumps, to make sure they weren’t followed; she jumped the ship to the dock. She looked at Shane directing repairs and shook her head. She knew she had been wrong about him. He was right where he should be; firing arrows at an enemy. She stood up and said, “Permission to go lead the repair crews, Sir.”

Shane smiled; something had changed in his second officer. “Permission granted.” Kelli sprinted off the bridge and Shane knew she would have never done that before; running was beneath her dignity. Gem appeared on his display, “Are you ok?”

“We have three levels blown away; thank you for covering us.”

“It’s the logical thing to do, Admiral.” Shane saw Gem pause before she said, “We could have used two more ships to fill in the gaps in our defense.”

Shane nodded, “I know; I saw that as well. It appears I am going to have to request them if we’re going to continue this type of operation.”

“How do you feel about that?”

“You know I don’t want to do it…however, fighting with you has made me see that it’s not as bad as I thought. I can still fight my ship, if the others know what to do without instructions. I’ve missed you, Gem.”

Gem smiled, “I’m headed back to Space Dock to complete the Triton’s initial trials. Perhaps you would like to join me while your ship is undergoing repairs.”

Shane’s smile was huge.

• • •

Arvolo looked at the recordings of the bronze ship’s destruction and the ensuing space battle. “Gibbs, those two Jukeboxes were incredibly effective.”

“Yes Sir. They are probably my best two officers. Admiral Matthews has requested two more Jukeboxes to be modified.”

Arvolo smiled, “It looks like your plan is working.”

“He’s a long way from commanding a fleet, but things are moving in the right direction.” Gibbs paused, “Did we learn anything about that ship, Sir?”

“It was a good thing you had the Rovers fire and immediately jump away. The beams fired at them are effective out to ninety miles.”

“That was Admiral Matthew’s plan; he made a best guess at how to attack.”

“Well…he was lucky. If his ships had remained a moment longer, he would have lost them. We have got to find a defense against that Grey Blaster.” Arvolo paused, “We also recorded the ship firing their missile launchers at the Rovers. They were destroyed by the beams that were targeted on the Rovers by the Grillen but we learned that they are as powerful as the beams and have a much longer range.”

Gibbs shrugged, “The penetrators are also as powerful as our main beams and have a much longer range as well.”

“That may be true; but our beams are not effective at ninety miles.” Gibbs tilted his head and nodded. “We were planning to put a tracker dot on that ship and follow it to their home worlds. That failed with the destruction of the ship.”

“They should be sending another ship.”

“We have trackers scattered throughout the planetary system waiting to be activated. We’ll have to see if another ship shows up.”

“You don’t think they’ll send another?”

“Would you? You’ve caused the Grillen to go to war with us and now hostilities have opened. Why endanger another ship or reveal anything about yourself? I’d probably send some probes but I would sit back to take on whoever wins.”

“So, what’s the plan?”

“We have some time before the Madators complete their missions. First we have to handle the Grillen; then we’ll worry about that other civilization. You were right though.”

“About what?”

“The Jukeboxes are going to be the difference maker in this.”

Gibbs smiled, “I knew that, Sir.”

Chapter Eleven

Mumbles looked out across the giant production hangar. The machines were making an enormous racket but he heard Hardhead’s call. The frequency was above the ambient noise. “Yes.”

“I think I’ve taken care of all the ships they’re building.”

“How so?”

“I’ve managed to get into the explosives chamber and place a dot on every self-destruct package.”

Mumbles smiled, “That is outstanding, Hardhead. I’ve got the facility covered. I believe it’s time to start working on the military personnel.”

“We need to get out of here. There has been a huge increase in the number of scan teams going through the building. I suspect they might already know that we are here.”

“I’ve noticed the same thing. I’ll go out the way we entered. Are you going to use your original exit?”

“No, I’m moving across the facility to yours. I’ve smelled Grillen Warriors outside the place I entered for the last ten days. Have you checked your exit?”

“Give me a moment. I haven’t checked it for a while.” Mumbles went to the crack in the lower floor and extended his nose toward it. He shook his head, “There’s Grillen outside my exit as well.”

“It looks like one of us was discovered on one of the planets. Do you have any ideas on how to make an exit?”

Mumbles thought a moment, “I’m moving over to the thruster check station. I’m going to use my energy sword to cut a small hole in the wall behind the blast barrier.”

“Do you think you’ll be detected?”

“Not while the thrusters are being fired.”

“You could be incinerated!”

“Not before I get a hole cut in the wall. You should be able to escape and complete our mission.”

“Mumbles, I don’t like that idea.”

“Hardhead, you allowed me to take the lead and I know you really struggled with giving me your trust to do it. I owe you this. I’ll do all I can to do it and get undercover; however, I’m reasonably certain they’re looking for us. We’re nowhere close to removing the prey waiting outside the walls for us.”

“So, how do we do this?”

“The thrusters are tested at night to keep the heat down in the facility. I’ll be waiting for the thrusters to fire and I’ll cut the hole as soon as they start. You stay outside the blast zone and move in after the test is over. If I survive, I’ll have gone through the hole and be waiting for you outside the wall.”

“I owe you, Mumbles.”

“Collect it from the Grillen Warriors.”

“You can count on it.”

“I’m leaving my dots where you can pick them up.”

Hardhead wanted to protest against it but knew Mumbles was right. He took in a breath and said, “I’ll make good use of them.”

“I know you will.”

• • •

The Grillen King stared at the Servant Envoy that had been stranded on his planet. Two weeks had passed and another ship had not arrived. The Servant looked up, “Why did you summon me?”

“I have some questions.”

“What are they?”

“While you’ve been here, I had your body scanned and analyzed by my scientists.”

The King saw the Servant’s eyes flash blue, “Why would you invade my privacy with such an act!?!”

“I’m wondering why another ship has not been sent for you. It appears that you are done with assisting us and are now waiting to see how our war with the Union turns out. I’ve been trying, since our first moment of contact, to understand why your civilization chose to assist me. Your representatives have not been forthcoming with any answers as to why you would do that.”

“Can you not see how dangerous your enemy is?”

“I can; however, there’s more to it than that. I just couldn’t work out what was in it for you.”

“That’s simple; both of us are safer with the enemy removed.”

“That’s too simplistic an answer. I think I know why now.” The Servant simply stared at the King in silence. The King leaned back on his throne and activated a force field around it. The Servant saw the field appear and everyone in the room saw it suddenly tense up. “You have about thirty larvae, eggs, or whatever you choose to call them inside your body. Your tail has a hollow stinger that is just big enough for one of those…eggs…to move through it.”

“That’s how we reproduce.”

“I might believe that answer ordinarily, but the stinger is barbed for penetration. It is not designed to reproduce with a member of your species. That means you inject those eggs into another host. Would you mind telling me what host your species uses to reproduce?”

“We use animals on our planets.”

“If that were the case, you would not be able to communicate with me.”

“Any why is that?”

“We did a molecular examination of one of your eggs and it appears that the cells that form the brain are stem cells wrapped inside the outer coating. My geneticists tell me that those cells use the host’s brain to develop its intelligence. My scientists are of the opinion that you require an intelligent species to reproduce an intelligent off offspring. Would you know anything about that?”

“That is patently false.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not one that believes all he hears; I look at the facts. I’m of the opinion that you want my Empire to do your dirty work knowing that my current enemy would never allow you to procreate using that process. It also leads me to believe that you would also use my Empire for that as well.”

The Servant remained silent. After a long moment, it spoke, “We have promised we will not wage war against you. You are an ally.”

“If you will lie about your reproductive needs, you will also lie about that as well.”

The Servant knew the plan to deceive the Grillen had failed. The robes worn by all the Envoys were scanner proof to prevent their bodies from being seen. He had made a mistake and taken his off inside the quarters he had been assigned to. It was just too uncomfortable to keep on. Now he had failed the Supreme Lord and his life was forfeit. He looked at the King and sneered, “You dare not harm me. You’ve seen one of our warships and there are more that you could ever count that will be used to destroy you if you violate my person.”

“Actually, your civilization will never know. I had your shuttle towed and dropped into the star at the center of this system. There is no evidence that you ever landed on this planet and we’ll tell whoever comes after you that your ship was destroyed by the Union before you communicated with me.”

The Servant saw no escape. It moved one of its black limbs out from the robe and pressed the glowing communicator on its chest. A force field appeared around it and it leaped at the King faster than any of the guards imagined possible. The King’s son lifted a blaster and began firing at the large creature along with ten other guards. The King was terrified as he saw the Servants force field burning through the field surrounding his chair. He pushed back against the throne trying to put distance between himself and the Servant but didn’t have enough room. The Servant’s triangular head came through the protective force field and it shoved forward and bit the King on his neck decapitating him. The Son felt his rage explode and increased the power of his blaster to maximum. The blaster broke through the Servant’s force field and disintegrated it, along with the body of his father. He slammed the blaster to the floor and fell to his knees in shock and sorrow. The guards and servants of the King were shocked as well and they looked at each other wondering what to do. The Commander of the guards moved forward and assisted the King’s son to his feet, “Your Majesty, what would you have me do?”

The new King looked at the throne and felt immense fear; he wasn’t ready to rule; however, no one ever was. He forced out a breath and said, “Take the remains of this creature and drop them into the sun. Contact my Fleet Admiral and have him report to me immediately.”

The Commander looked at his guards and nodded. The Empire was in a bad place and now there was an inexperienced King ruling it.

• • •

“Lord, the ship that went to our ally has been destroyed.”

“What!?! How?”

“We don’t know. We received the signal from its distress unit indicating that it had been destroyed.”

The Supreme Lord looked at his Senior Advisor, “What do you think happened?”

“You know that war was about to break out between the Spiral Galaxy and our ally. I suspect that idiot jumped into the middle of a major space battle and was overwhelmed.”

“Are they able to destroy our ships?”

“That’s why we enlisted the ally to attack the Spiral. We are vulnerable if we are heavily outnumbered; I suspect that’s what happened.”

“What should I do?”

“Let nature run its course. We wait and see who wins.”

“I want to confirm the war has started.”

“I’ll send a scout to the planets where our ally was building the Grey Ships. That is where the war would begin.”

“Give it a few weeks. I don’t want them to see us.”

“Yes, Lord.”

• • •

Blacky looked at the Grillen barracks and waited until night had fallen. He whistled to his team and heard their answer. Good; everyone was in place. The warriors would be removed first to prevent them taking the local population hostage and then the Union Fleets would arrive. He moved into the soil and started toward the huge building.

• • •

On all the planets the Grillen had invaded in the Red Sector of M87, Madators moved on the Grillen ground forces. Some of the attacks would take place during daylight, but all of them would start at the same moment.

• • •

Hardhead watched from the side of the huge thruster that was warming up. He saw Mumbles had made it to the wall under the blast shield and had his energy sword drawn. There was no way he was going to survive the full blast of the thruster. He bobbed once and forced himself to focus. He knew all the Grillen in the huge structure were nowhere near the thruster chamber. They even shut down the sensors during thruster trials to prevent them being damaged. The red lights in the room started flashing and Hardhead saw the scanners and motion detectors withdraw into their protective shells. He saw Mumbles raise the energy sword and point it at the bottom of the wall. The thruster came on suddenly with no warning and Hardhead jerked with the surprise of the blast. A moment later he saw Mumbles’ energy sword come sliding along the floor toward him. He reached out and pulled it to him. He felt anguish as he saw that Mumbles’ arm was still attached to it. He closed his eyes and felt anguish at the loss of his friend. After a minute the thruster stopped as quickly as it started.

Hardhead watched the ceiling for the scanners to start redeploying. After thirty minutes he saw the ones furthest from the blast shield start rotating. He rushed forward along the floor and found the cut in the wall that Mumbles had made. It had cooled enough for him to touch it and he flowed through it instantly. He arrived outside the building and lowered his head to his chest.

“I could use a little help here.” Hardhead whipped around and saw Mumbles spread out on the ground. He rushed over and saw the raw wound from Mumbles missing arm. “I threw it to you as I went through the hole. It was burned off as I threw it at you.”

Hardhead pulled a medical packet out of his hide and poured a clear red liquid on Mumble’s injured arm. He watched as the raw wound turned black and hardened. Mumbles moved the remaining three foot stump and winced, “It’s going to take some time to heal.”

“I’m thankful you survived, my friend.” Mumbles smiled. “Are you ready to go and play?”

Mumbles rolled his head up in agreement, “We’re going to eliminate most of their positions with our dots. Remember, we promised to use our tools until the numbers were even.”

Hardhead nodded and handed Mumbles dots back to him, “Lead the way.”

The two Madators went into the soil and moved rapidly toward the park where the Grillen Armor was kept.

• • •

A week later the two were waiting outside a major Grillen barracks. Mumbles checked the chronometer on his energy sword and smiled, “Thirty seconds.” Hardhead nodded and waited. The explosions that blew out of the Grillen production facilities were massive. The mushroom clouds shot into the sky as the two Madators watched as more blasts blew skyward. The tank farm went up with a series of multiple blasts. The Space Port went up on the horizon and they knew the Madator Team that had been assigned to it was successful. There were hundreds of blasts in all parts of the city when Grillen vehicles went up in flames. The blasts were smaller; the Madators didn’t want to cause too much loss of life in the local population. The blasts continued for an hour and at that point Hardhead smiled, “Are you ready?”

Mumbles nodded, “You may lead the way.” The two Madators went into the dirt and moved toward the large barracks that had not been damaged. The screams started and the discharge of energy weapons could be heard outside the huge building.

• • •

Blacky waited outside the huge production facility for what he hoped would happen. He had deliberately delayed setting off the dots in the main military center. He knew the Grillen Commander was receiving reports from around the planet on the destruction of the Military’s facilities and he hoped he had guessed right about the Commander’s character. He stayed in the soil and knew he couldn’t delay much longer. Then he saw the green lights flashing on a vehicle rushing toward the checkpoint.

Blacky had made sure any vehicle capable of flying in the center had a dot put on it. He suspected the Commander would attempt his escape on the ground and not risk flying out of the huge facility. The huge armored car came roaring to the checkpoint and the Grillen Warriors manning it quickly removed the barrier and watched the car roar out. Blacky reached up and pulled himself to the frame of the vehicle that was quickly adding speed.

Blacky hooted at high frequency and his team sent the activation signal and the huge military base went up in a giant blast. Blacky felt the armored car rock with the blast and it continued running for another three miles before it stopped and the Grillen Commander emerged to look back at the giant flames licking the clouds. The explosions from Grillen armament touching off in the heat were continuous. Even from five miles away, the noise was deafening.

The Commander stood outside the armored car and stared at the destruction of his base. He shook his head and looked up. The craft attacking the base should have been visible. He refused to believe that the destruction was caused by surface forces. The noise was still overwhelming and the Commander didn’t hear his two guards’ muffled screams. A long black chord had emerged from the soil and wrapped around the guards necks. Another chord had wrapped up their feet and they were killed instantly as the two arms on them pulled them apart. Blacky had already killed the driver and gunner manning the turret on top of the large vehicle. He rose out of the soil behind the Commander and shouted in Grillen, “This is unbelievable!”

The Commander didn’t even turn around, “Yes it is; someone is going to pay for this!”

Blacky put one of his black arms on the Commander’s shoulder and yelled, “Yes…I believe someone is.”

The Commander looked to his right and saw the thick, black tentacle resting on his shoulder. His eyes went wide and he reached for his blaster. The black arm instantly wrapped around his wrist as another wrapped around his other wrist. The Commander was lifted off the ground by his arms and was held dangling in front of a huge black creature. The creature used another arm to remove his blaster and rip his shirt off exposing another small blaster in a holster under his arm. The creature casually tossed them over it and rolled its head down its body and stared into the Commander’s eyes.

“I heard you say that those that were conquered needed to be taught the proper respect for their masters. You said that after you executed one of your officers who showed mercy to a female and her child. I wouldn’t ordinarily take the time to teach you respect…but I wouldn’t want to make you feel slighted.”

Blacky felt the communicator vibrate and he lifted it and listened. He shook his head. He was being ordered to stop the attack. He sent the order and tried to decide what to do about the scumbag he was holding. He remembered the young child screaming and writhing in pain from the numerous stunner hits. He would stop…but not before he taught this one the lesson it so richly deserved. The Commander’s screams started and didn’t stop for an hour.

• • •

Blacky walked away from what remained of the Commander and felt his unit beep, “Yes, Ringie.”

“Why have we been ordered off our targets? We have only just started having fun.”

“I have no idea, Ringie. However, if we hope to do this again, we must comply with our orders. You have to admit, seeing those Grillen facilities go off was entertaining.”

“I guess…I just wanted to have some real fun.”

“I suspect something is going on and we’ll get our chance. Notify all your teams to back off.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Sir?”

“I like the way the humans use that word; it fits.”

“Perhaps we should implement similar titles in our forces.”

“Do it when we get back. Stopping the warriors is not going to be easy.”

“Contact them and tell them it’s a direct order from me. They’ve been observing the humans; they should comply by the difference in the structure.”

“I’ll give it a go. See you later.”

Blacky activated his communicator and tried to contact Dat but was unsuccessful. He wondered what was going on.

• • •

Hardhead pulled his communicator out and stared at it. He was angry beyond words but he saw that the order had been given in human terms. “Mumbles.”

“Yes.”

“We’ve been ordered to stop the attack and back off until we’re contacted.”

Mumbles looked at the Grillen Warrior he was holding off the ground and hooted, “You can’t be serious!”

“It comes from the War Leader.”

Mumbles was disgusted and he looked at the terrified Grillen he was holding and said, “You don’t know how lucky you are.” Mumbles put him on his feet and said, “Get out of here.” The Grillen didn’t have to be told twice. “Hardhead, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know. I just asked the other team at the Space Port and they’re just as confused as we are.”

“Perhaps we should get out of here and fly over to the Space Port. I suspect they’ll hear something before we do.”

“Good idea. I’ll meet you outside.”

Chapter Twelve

“Dat, the Grillen Supreme Commander has requested a meeting with you at the site of the negotiations.”

“Why would he want that, Admiral?”

“I have no idea.”

“The Madators are about to initiate their attacks. Should we delay them?”

Katherine shook her head, “And just how would we do that?”

Dat sighed, “There’s no way we could contact all of them in time. It would endanger those that don’t attack if we called them off.”

“That’s how I see it. Whatever they want, I suspect it’s just another delaying tactic.”

Dat thought a moment, “Should I delay the meeting until after the attacks?”

“No, they might suspect something if you did.”

Dat nodded, “I’ll go and see what he wants. I’ll let you know afterwards.”

Katherine nodded and ended the call, “Brad, what do you make of this?”

“There’s been a huge amount of communication taking place in their fleets. Something has happened on their Governing Planet. We’ve not been able to ascertain what it is.”

“Get back to communications and find out. This isn’t like them.”

Brad saluted and left the room. Katherine pulled up the image of the Bronze Ship and wondered if they were about to be used against the Union. She picked up her communicator, “Admiral, I want all the disruption units in place. Be prepared to disrupt space around our planets if I order it.”

“Yes Sir.”

Katherine tried not to give in to her fear but it was almost impossible not to do so.

• • •

Dat rushed out of Fleet Headquarters and began talking on his communicator. He saw Stein bringing his Rover out of orbit and down to the planet; he called Gresha, “Gresha, I want you to go to the Madator’s planet and get them preparing to land on the main Grillen Governing Planet.”

“What!?!”

“I’ve thought about this at length and the only way to possibly end this without huge losses of life is to take out the Grillen leadership. I know the Madators trust you and you can make this happen quickly.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to meet with the Grillen Supreme Military Commander. He has requested a meeting and I need to see what’s going on. Will you do this for me?”

“I want to be with you, Dat.”

“I’m in no danger, Love. No one can approach the site of negotiations with an armed vessel. Even the Grillen wouldn’t violate that principle.”

“Would that civilization that sent the Bronze Ship violate it?”

Dat was surprised by that question. He thought a moment, “Even if they chose to do it, space around the planet is disrupted. They wouldn’t arrive before I could escape with Stein and Loree.”

“I want them on the planet with you, Dat.”

“They’ll land right outside the facility.”

Gresha grabbed a bag she kept packed in the front closet, “I’m on my way.”

“Thanks, Love.”

• • •

Dat arrived at the planet in M87 where the negotiations were taking place and was refused entrance into orbit with an armed warship. “Is the Grillen Commander here?”

“He is.”

“Please notify him I will not come unless I can land with my ship.”

Dat waited outside disrupted space around the planet and wondered if he should take the risk and go to the surface without his ship. “Admiral, you have been approved to land outside the facility.”

“Thank you.” Dat was shocked that the Grillen had agreed. “Stein, be ready for a fast exit.”

“I didn’t expect him to agree, Dat.”

“Neither did I; that must mean something serious is going on.”

“If I have to do it, I will burn a hole into the building for you to exit.”

“That’s a good idea. Keep me on your scanners. Do you have anything above the planet that’s out of the ordinary?”

“No, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t.”

“Loree, keep an eye out.”

“Count on it.”

• • •

Dat exited the Rover and was escorted to the main hall. He checked his wrist unit and saw the Madator Attacks were kicking off. He was surprised to find only the Grillen Admiral waiting on him. The Admiral was tall for a Grillen at five feet and he looked imposing with his black skin matching the color of his military uniform, “I’ve dismissed all of the others so we can have a private conversation.”

“What’s going on?”

“My King has been killed by one of the creatures who allied themselves against you.” Dat was shocked at the revelation and didn’t know how to respond. The Grillen saw his emotions and said, “We have also uncovered some information about our ally that the new King thought you should know.”

Dat went to chair and sat down, “Why are you telling me this?”

“The new King feels that you need to know and he’s curious about what your response might be.”

“Go ahead.”

The Grillen activated the wall monitor and the image of a large creature wearing a green robe appeared. Dat guessed the creature was a little over six feet tall judging by the size of the Grillen standing next to it. His immediate reaction to it was repulsion. “I can see you share my feelings about these beings.”

Dat looked at the Admiral, “Then why did you ally with them?”

“I’ll get to that momentarily.” The Grillen pressed the control and Dat saw the creature without the robe on. He shook his head, “That looks like some kind of insect.”

“What’s an insect?”

“It’s a bug on my home world that was characterized by having six legs. This one doesn’t have any antenna, but it does share a number of their characteristics.”

“This particular one killed our King who was behind a force field.” Dat stared at the Admiral and saw he was telling the truth. The Admiral nodded at the image, “We discovered that this creature carries about thirty larvae, eggs…something that they inject into an intelligent life form to reproduce.”

Dat looked at the Admiral with revulsion, “How do you know that?”

“I’m giving you the scans we took for you to take with you to run your own examination. The King was killed by this creature when he confronted it on its reproductive needs.” The monitor started moving and Dat watched the confrontation between the Grillen King and the creature. The King’s death was not pretty and Dat started shaking his head, “How could you have allowed your civilization to ally with these vermin?”

The Grillen sat down in a chair next to Dat, “Our former ruler would always accept anything offered; he assumed he was in total control and no one could challenge him.”

“And now?”

The Grillen shrugged, “You saw their ship.”

“Where are they located?”

“We have no idea.”

Dat shook his head, “Are you that incredibly stupid!?!”

“We are.”

“Where were you while this was going on; surely you can see the idiotic decisions here?”

“I did but those over me would not tell the King for fear of being executed.”

“Why didn’t you tell him?”

“I did, sort of.” Dat just stared at him. “I allowed his son to overhear a conversation with one of my subordinates about the situation. He told the King, and I suspect the King already had the same suspicions. He caused one of their ships to be destroyed in order to draw them out into the open.”

“He used one of our devices.” The Admiral’s eyes widened. “Yes, we know about it. One of our probes intercepted the Bronze Ship’s communications before it was destroyed. How do you think we were able to attack that ship so quickly after it arrived?”

“I suspected as much. Unfortunately, my former King did not possess the control he thought he had.”

“What about the new King?”

“He’s the one that ordered me here.”

“And just what was he hoping to accomplish?”

The Grillen nodded at the image on the monitor, “That is an enemy to both of our civilizations. We shouldn’t be fighting each other.”

“It’s a little late to say that.”

“Why?”

Dat lifted his wrist unit and shook his head, “At this moment, all of your facilities and forces on the planets you invaded in the Red Sector of M87 are being removed.” The Grillen Admiral stood up. Dat shook his head, “I couldn’t stop them if I tried. The issue now becomes what you’re going to do about it.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you go to your forces’ defense, I am going to launch my fleets to stop you.”

The Grillen Admiral stared at Dat and looked at the floor for a moment. Dat heard him softly say, “Stupidity carries a high price.” He raised his head and lifted his communicator, “Grengal.”

“Yes Admiral.”

“You will order all of our ships out of the ball galaxy and back to our home worlds.”

“Sir, our forces on the invaded planets are being attacked. I’ve dispatched the defense fleets to defend them.”

“You will recall our forces and send them home, is that clear?”

“I will put them on hold; Admiral, but the King must confirm this order.”

“Contact him and tell him I ordered it.”

Dat watched the Grillen and saw his sadness. They waited in silence for twenty minutes when the Admiral’s communicator beeped, “Yes.”

“The fleets have been recalled.”

“Thank you, Grengal. I respect your verifying my order and you did the right thing.”

“I hate doing it, Sire.”

“I hate making you do it, my friend.”

Dat looked at the Admiral, “Why did you do it?”

The Admiral looked at Dat, “I hope the lives of our warriors on those planets are given for a good reason. I see no other way to prevent weakening our forces with what we’re going to have to face. I hope you see that by making this sacrifice, we will not be your enemy in the future.” He stared at Dat and quietly said, “Don’t make their lives meaningless.”

Dat stared at the Admiral and decided. He lifted his communicator, “Gibbs.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Send a ship to every invaded planet and call off the hostilities.”

“SIR?”

“Just do it!”

“Yes Sir.”

The Grillen looked at Dat, “I suspect our former friends have a means of seeing if we have opened hostilities. If you have a way of tracing their jumps, now would be a good time to use it.”

Dat realized the Admiral was right. He activated his communicator, “Gibbs, make sure the ships going to stop the hostilities drop trackers at every invaded planet’s location; especially at the prime construction sites.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Gresha arrived at the Madator’s Planet and started them getting ready to invade the Grillen home world. It was late in the day before she received word from Dat to call off the invasion. She was frustrated and it took six hours to get the Madators to stop their preparations. She was exhausted and one of the Madator females came over and said, “Gresha, you need to rest. I’ll make sure your instructions are followed, but if you don’t lie down you’re going to collapse.”

“Anabel, there’s too much to do.”

“I’ll take care of it until morning. You can check on what’s going on when you wake.”

Gresha sighed and felt her weariness, “Alright, please wake me at day break.”

“I will.” Gresha went to a structure and fell asleep instantly. Two hours later, Anabel came back and rubbed her back.

• • •

Dat looked at the Admiral, “I’m sure you’ve thought about what we need to do.”

“I have.”

“And?”

“We continue the war.”

Dat smiled, “I had the same idea.”

“Before that happens, we need to see if our friends have a guest at the party.”

“I’ll let you know what we find.”

• • •

The dark ship stayed close to the fourth planet and watched the third planet with its passive scanner. It couldn’t get a good image from that distance but the Servant felt it should be able to determine if a battle erupted. It waited for a week and was getting restless. Suddenly, the surface of the planet had a giant flash. He jumped into his command chair and saw the ally’s production facilities were burning. He saw a single ship jump in above the planet but he couldn’t tell what kind of ship it was. He almost decided to leave but knew if he arrived without proof, he could lose his life. He activated his electronic scanner and scanned the planet and saw thousands of explosions taking place in the Ally’s military locations. He recorded the image and shut off the scanner. He backed out of the planet’s shadow and moved rapidly out of the system.

• • •

Ten of the twenty thousand tiny tracker probes had the Servant’s beam pass through them. They immediately jumped to the source of the scan and found the small scout. The first to arrive moved in next to the hull and merged with it under the scout’s rear stabilizer fin. The other nine landed on the hull and waited for another ship to land on. The scout had not energized its force field to avoid being detected. It finally jumped away with the ten trackers still on its hull.

• • •

Katherine contacted Dat, “Admiral Arvolo, why have you called off our attacks on the invaded planets!?!”

“Sir, I had to make a decision and there wasn’t enough time to explain everything to you. The Grillen Fleets are not coming to the defense of those planets and our forces there are no longer in any danger.” Dat glanced at the Admiral issuing orders and said, “Their forces are being ordered to stand down and surrender to our warriors on the planets.”

“What’s going on?”

“The King of the Grillen Empire has been killed by one of the creatures that gave them the advanced technology. I’ll report to you momentarily but I need to see if we can track the creatures to their home worlds.”

“Dat, I’m not at all comfortable with you overriding my orders.”

“Sir, if you think I made a mistake in doing this, I’ll promise to never do it again. I would hope that you would be able to trust me if I did something this serious.”“

Katherine knew that Dat was her most important tool in the conflict. She also knew she couldn’t do it all alone. “Dat, I’m sure you had a good reason. Get back and let’s discuss what’s happening.”

“I would prefer you come here and meet with the new Grillen King.” Dat looked at the Admiral, who had stopped issuing orders. He stared at Dat and, after a moment, he nodded.

“Are you serious?”

“I am.”

“I’ll be coming with an escort.”

“Use Admiral Matthews’ group.”

“I was thinking of something much larger than those ships.”

“More would be less, Sir. This is a precarious moment and we need to do this right.”

“Who replaces me if something happens?”

“Admiral Gibbs; make sure he stays at Fleet Headquarters until you return.”

“I think we need to call Jon and Jill out of retirement.”

“You know they left the service to make up for all the lost time being alone.”

“They’re still two of our best war Admirals. They are also up to speed on the Jukeboxes. It appears those ships are going to be the point of our future attacks.”

“I’d really like to have them available. Contact them and see if they’re interested.”

“I will. They’ve been trying to have a family and have not been successful; they might be open to re-enlisting.”

“Let me know what they say.”

• • •

Dat activated his wrist unit, “Gibbs, get some transports to the Red Sector and transport the Madators to their home world. We need to get them off planet before they give in to their need to hunt.”

“Sir, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“Not at the moment. You’re about to be contacted by Fleet Admiral Hull.”

Gibbs looked off the display and said, “That’s her now.”

“Get moving, Gibbs.”

The display went dark and the screen immediately activated and he saw a Rover Pilot on it, “Sir, I’m at the largest Grillen construction planet and ten of my trackers have jumped.”

“Yessssss. Captain, remain where you are and assist in getting our forces off planet. Do not activate the trackers and send the code for them to my wrist unit.”

“Yes Sir; I’m sorry to interrupt you but my orders were to contact you if any of the trackers activated.”

“You made my day, Captain.” Dat ended the call and looked over at the Grillen Admiral, “It looks like we tagged one of their ships.”

The Grillen nodded and continued issuing orders to the Grillen Military forces.

Chapter Thirteen

The Supreme Lord looked down at the Scout and listened to his advisor’s questions, “Are you sure the Ally and the Spiral Galaxy are at war?”

“Lord, you saw the destruction of the Ally’s production facility.”

“Why did only one ship from the Spiral Galaxy appear instead of the Ally’s fleets?”

“I suspect the Ally’s fleets were engaged with the fleets from the Spiral Galaxy. I could have stayed longer to verify it but you ordered me to make certain I was not discovered. If I remained and a large number of ships arrived, the possibility of discovery would have been greatly increased.”

“You may go.”

The Pilot left the huge chamber and the Supreme Lord looked at his advisor, “What do you make of this?”

“I believe he is right.”

“What do you think about revealing one of our major battleships to the Ally?”

“According to our Fleet Controller, the ship was destroyed very quickly after it emerged into normal space. I think the Ally will understand us not sending another ship.”

“What should we do now?”

“I’m going to contact the Ally on one of their communication frequencies and see what they have to say.”

“You should delay that communication.”

“I’ll give them enough time to really be deep into their conflict. We’ll check in on them periodically to see what progress is being made. At the proper time, we will go and take what we want.”

“Keep me informed.”

“I will, Lord.”

A creature was brought into the chamber, struggling against the bonds that were holding it. The Supreme Lord moved off his throne and approached the helpless creature. The Lord stung the creature so quickly it was barely seen. The creature collapsed against its bonds and was carried out. The Supreme Lord hoped the creature’s intelligence was good. He needed offspring that were advanced mentally. He knew the ones with the highest level of intelligence were in the Spiral Galaxy. He looked forward to the offspring that would come from using them.

• • •

Dat stood up and looked at the Grillen Admiral, “Both of us have a lot of work to do and making it happen here is just not possible. We should meet here exactly five days from now.”

“I agree. Are you certain about your decision?”

“I don’t trust you. You were one of our allies and you turned on us.” The Admiral stared at Dat. “Perhaps you’re right and the new King can be trusted; however, he won’t rule forever and those that follow him may not be trustworthy.”

“I cannot fault your logic. All of us want to ensure the survival of our people and I’m certain my former King worried about the power your civilization possessed. Its existence caused him to feel the same way about your leadership changing at some point in the future.”

Dat thought about the statement and really didn’t know how to respond. He shook his head, “We have never broken our promises; that has to count for something.”

“It does with me. However, trust is earned. I hope we can do the things necessary to regain yours.”

“Sacrificing your forces on the invaded planets is a step in the right direction. I know what that decision cost you. Now you need to get your new King here to hammer out what comes next with my Commander.”

“I’ll contact you if any difficulties prevent us from being here.”

“Let us hope that doesn’t happen.”

“I know. Where are you going now?”

“I’m going to try and prevent my warriors on the planets we attacked from consuming your survivors.”

“They are not your species?”

“No, they are not.”

“Then please go and help my warriors.”

Dat trotted out of the room and saw the port open in the Rover, “Stein, get me to Blacky’s planet as quickly as possible.” The Rover lifted and the ensuing sonic boom broke the glass out of all the buildings within six miles of its departure.

• • •

Dat arrived and landed close to the huge military complex that was burning out of control. The Madators had rounded up all of the surviving Grillen and had them kneeling in the sand. Dat knew things were about to get out of hand; the Madators were bobbing at a high rate. The Madators looked up and stopped bobbing when they saw the Rover moving quickly toward the surface. They saw the Command Symbol of a Union Admiral and Blacky knew it had to be Dat. The ship landed and Dat came out of the port running. “Blacky, come with me.”

Blacky looked at his warriors, “You will not harm them!” The Madators stared at their huge leader and became very still. They wondered what was going on and their curiosity overcame their desire to hunt. “What is going on!?!”

“Come with me; I have something to show you.” Dat took Blacky to the Rover’s bridge and downloaded the contents of his wrist unit into the ship’s databanks. He turned to Blacky, “I have discovered the creature that gave the Grillen their advanced technology.”

“So?”

“You need to see it.” The display illuminated and Dat saw Blacky staring at the strange creature standing thirty feet from the Grillen King. “I want you to watch what this creature does.” Dat activated the video and Blacky jerked at the speed that the creature used to attack the King. The King’s death was over faster than Blacky thought possible. And the creature had gone through a force field to kill the King. He looked at Dat, who said, “That creature has a stinger that it uses to inject a larva into the one it attacks. The larva uses the one it is injected into as a meal to grow. The host is also used to develop its intelligence. I’ve not seen any creature that can move as fast as that one; I’m including your species in my judgment, Blacky.”

Blacky turned to Dat, “Why would the Grillen ally themselves with this…this…”

“They didn’t know.”

Blacky stared at the creature for a moment longer and then turned and walked out of the ship. Dat followed him running to try and keep up with the huge Madator. Blacky arrived at the other Madators and they saw something in his expression. He looked at them one by one and then said, “It has finally happened, my warriors.” The Madators were deathly silent and still. “Our friends have found the Ultimate Prey.”

One of the Madators stared at Blacky and said, “Are you sure?”

“I have no doubt.”

The Madators forgot the Grillen kneeling in front of them and began communicating among themselves. Dat arrived and looked up at Blacky, “They aren’t bobbing.”

“They will not bob to show respect to them.”

“To who?”

“The ones that inject their larva. This is a holy moment for my species.” Blacky activated his communicator and sent the word out to all of the Madator Warriors that the Ultimate Prey had been found. On every invaded planet the Madators lost interest in the surviving Grillen and began calling for transportation to return home to prepare to meet their ultimate enemy. Dat thought he understood the Madators but he now knew this was out of his league. He contacted Gresha and asked her to find out what finding an Ultimate Prey meant to the huge black creatures. He had no clue if this was a good or bad thing.

• • •

Gresha listened to Dat’s message and was confused about the Madator’s behavior on the invaded planets. She went over to a group of Madators and saw Anabel, “Do you have a moment?”

“I always have time for you, Gresha.”

Gresha walked away from the group and sat down on the step in front of the quarters she was using. She rubbed her back and winced, “My back always hurts when I sleep on your beds.”

“I’ll change it.”

“No, no; I’m leaving momentarily. Dat asked me a question and I couldn’t answer it. I was wondering if you would help me understand what he’s asking.”

“Sure, what’s bothering him?”

“What is an Ultimate Prey?” Gresha saw Anabel suddenly stiffen and freeze; she was completely still. That was highly irregular with the Madators; they were always moving. “Did I ask something inappropriately?”

“Have they found it?”

“What do you mean, Anabel?”

“We pray every day for creation to send us our Ultimate Prey. We have been searching for it for as long as we’ve been intelligent.”

“Why?”

“We are Madators, Gresha. No species we’ve ever encountered has been able to defeat us one-on-one. We want a foe that challenges us to the maximum of our abilities. None have ever been found to do that.”

“Do you mean you desire a foe that can kill you?”

“Yes.”

“For God’s sake, why?”

“The fight would be glorious. It would give us ultimate joy and satisfaction and allow us to become more than we are.” Anabel hesitated, “Have they found it?”

Gresha didn’t know if she should answer but the Madator female had been open and honest with her. She decided to avoid a direct answer, “Blacky says they have.”

Anabel erupted into a hoot that almost deafened Gresha. The hoot moved rapidly up the scale and disappeared as it went into higher frequencies. Gresha had her hands over her ears and she looked out at the vast plain and saw every Madator in sight suddenly kneeling. The Madators that were flying high overhead fell rapidly to the ground and joined the others; silence ruled the vast flat land in front of her quarters. She activated her wrist unit and began communicating with Dat. Something dramatic had happened and the Union had to find out what it meant.

• • •

Blacky and Dat sat on his Rover and watched the transport arrive to take the Madators back to their planet. “Blacky, what does this discovery mean? How does it impact our agreements?”

Blacky stared at Dat and had never looked so serious. “For all practical purposes, we are still a tool for you to use.”

“But…”

“We intend to take on this species whether you choose to do it or not. We are driven to prey on them.”

“How can you possibly do that without our help? They are technologically more advanced than we are and their ships are twice our tonnage.”

Blacky stared at Dat and said, “Their ship technology is not important to us.”

“But you wouldn’t stand a chance against that creature. I know it’s faster and I suspect it might be stronger than your species.”

Blacky forced himself to smile, “Dat, have you ever seen a group of Madators attack a single prey?”

“A pride of lions would do just that.”

“That’s true, but a real predator goes into large numbers of its prey to make a kill.”

“I’m really wondering who would be the prey in that situation, Blacky.”

“That is why it’s the Ultimate Prey. We would not have any restrictions in attacking it. We would take it on using all of our talents and skills; success is not guaranteed against that creature.”

“If that think stung you…”

“Our body would eject that larva as fast as it was injected. Our bodies can do things genetically that would shock you, Dat. The Stinger may have a poison that would affect us, but we would never be a tool for their reproduction.”

“Are you certain?”

“We’ll find out soon enough.”

“Blacky, we have to stop this species from attacking us. Our intent is to destroy them.”

“As long as you leave a few for us, you can do whatever you want.”

“Let’s hold off making any decisions until we see what we’re up against.”

“That’s reasonable. I think you’ll find that we’ll be much more restrained in taking them on. A good predator learns all it can about its intended Prey.”

“You weren’t restrained against the Grillen.”

Blacky waved an arm, “They really don’t offer much of a challenge, even with their armor and blasters.”

Dat smiled, “You were able to make that determination?” Blacky shrugged. “I’ll send whatever information we gather on this species and you can use it to get ready.”

“That would be great.”

“I’ve got my shoes on board; do you want to make a run?”

Blacky smiled, “Please don’t take this personally; I need to work on developing my skills and need the time to get ready.”

Dat paused and looked at his huge friend, “Will I ever see you bob again?”

Blacky smiled, “It is my fervent hope you do.” Dat landed on the Madator’s planet and watched his friend leave the ship at full speed. He saw Gresha walking toward him and she stopped as Blacky shot past her and furled his body into a wing. Dat rushed out to meet her. He knew he couldn’t match the huge Madator’s speed leaving the ship, but Gresha was impressed. That was all that mattered at that moment.

• • •

The King saw his panel illuminate and he nodded to the Admiral. He came forward and took the King’s place on the throne and answered the call, “It is good to hear from you. We’ve been worried about you after your ship was destroyed.”

“We’ve been reluctant to return until it was safe.”

“You shouldn’t come back until we get a grip on the situation.”

“How are things going?”

“We’re surviving and it’s due to the gift you gave us. Our leader you had been meeting with was killed in one of the Union’s attacks and a new King has taken his place. We’re holding our own but it isn’t safe in any of our systems.”

“We wish you success; contact us if you have any questions about the gift we gave you.”

“We will. Thank you for your kindness.”

The display went dark and the King looked at the Admiral, “Are you sure about this meeting?”

“You saw what that creature can do.”

“Can they be trusted to not attack me?”

“I wish I could say it differently but they have never broken their promises; I can’t say the same about us.”

“So you think going in an unarmed ship is the best choice?”

“I do.”

“My father told me that having someone whom you could count on to be honest is a gift beyond measure. I know I can’t do this alone and I’m going to need to depend on you to help me through this. Can I trust you, Admiral?”

The Admiral smiled, “I will defend you to the death, Your Majesty. You’ve just proven to me that you are worthy of my obedience. You are not the egomaniac your father was.”

“Get the ship ready.”

• • •

Katherine sat on board the Mars and looked at the four ships surrounding her vessel. The four Jukebox Battleships were intimidating and the sixteen hundred Rovers surrounding them added to their deadliness. She looked over at Jon Anders, “I’m really glad that you and Jill came out of retirement.”

“Truth be told, Sir, I’ve missed it.”

Jillian looked up from the Second’s chair, “He has been impossible.”

“Oh, and you haven’t been irritable?”

“It’s my nature, Dear.”

Katherine smiled, “Let me know when they arrive.”

Jill nodded, “Yes Sir. It’s good to be back.”

• • •

Shane looked at his display and wondered what force the Grillen King would arrive with. He looked at the other three modified Jukeboxes and knew their power. He wasn’t worried about escaping if the situation called for it. Kelli now had her own command and Captain McCagg was now commanding the fourth ship. Gem appeared on his display, “How do you want to play this?”

“We’ll maintain our position around the Admiral’s ship. We’re here to make sure it can jump away if needed.”

Shane heard over his panel, “All guns and tubes are ready, Sir.” Shane pressed the received button and turned back to Gem, “Is your ship ready?”

“We arrived ready, Sir.”

“You weren’t calling me Sir last night.” Gem smiled and the display went dark.

• • •

Jill looked up, “I have a jump signature a thousand miles out.” Katherine stared at her display and saw a small shuttle emerge into normal space. Jill stared at her panel, “Sir, it is an unarmed shuttle. It’s sending a message.”

“Put it on the speaker.”

“We will meet you on the planet’s surface.”

Katherine hit her communicator, “Is the King present?”

“He is. He’s looking forward to meeting with you.”

Katherine jerked her head around and stared at Dat who was smiling, “What is this all about?”

“It’s pretty simple, Sir; they trust us. I guess the same can’t be said about us.”

Katherine shook her head. This king has some pretty big cojones to do this. She didn’t want to but her opinion of the new King went up. “We’ve never violated a promise. The same can’t be said about them.” Dat tilted his head and nodded.

• • •

Shane watched the shuttle land on the planet and was impressed. The Grillen were not acting in character; something must have happened. His communicator beeped and he saw Admiral Hull on the screen, “Matthews, get your butt down to the planet.”

“Sir?”

“You’ll be attending the meeting.”

“Why?”

“Admiral Gibbs won’t be present and he wants you to be his eyes.”

Shane looked over at Adam Everly, his new second-in-command, “The Ship is yours, Captain.”

“I relieve you, Sir.”

Shane hit his panel, “Gem, the squadron is yours.”

“Why?”

“I’ve been ordered to the planet to attend the meeting.”

Gem started to respond and looked away, “It looks like Admiral Hull wants me there as well.”

Shane shook his head and contacted Kelli, “Commodore, the squadron is yours. Gem and I have been ordered to attend the meeting.”

“I’m not sure I’m up to this, Sir.”

“The very fact you doubt it tells me you are. Keep an eye out for anything that jumps in.”

“Yes Sir.”

Shane went to the Saturn’s tubes and boarded a car, “Landing bay.” The car accelerated through the ship. He arrived and boarded a shuttle that was standing . Everly was good. He hadn’t called for a shuttle; Everly had.

• • •

The Grillen King had brought his Fleet Admiral and the Commander of his ground forces. The Union had four fleet admirals attending the meeting. Katherine walked into the room; her immediate thought was that the new King was rather young. The King rose and said, “I’m glad you agreed to meet with me.”

Katherine smiled, “I believe the circumstances justify it, Your Majesty. I’m Fleet Admiral Hull and this is Vice-Admiral Arvolo. I believe your Admiral has already met him. This is Rear Admiral Matthews and Commodore Darley.”

“I’m pleased to meet you. Is either one of you the one that attacked the Bronze Ship in my home system?”

Shane was startled by the question, “Commodore Darley and I commanded that mission.”

“You did an excellent job of planning. I commend you on your fine work.”

Shane smiled, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Katherine decided this King had poise. She took a chair across the table from him as the other Union Officers sat down beside her. “It appears your former ally is more than they appear to be.”

“They are. Have you examined the scans my Admiral gave you?”

“We have; our scientists agree that they are a very dangerous species.”

“Have you been able to learn anything about their location?”

Dat shook his head, “We managed to get ten probes on their ship but we aren’t going to activate them until they have time to move to multiple ships.”

“Oh?”

“The probe we’re using will not attach itself to a ship that already has one of our probes attached. The other nine are programmed to go after ships that are leaving the location of the initial probe. We’re hoping they will be taken to multiple planetary systems of those creatures. By the way, what do you call them?”

“They call themselves Servants.”

Shane snickered and Kat looked at him, “Do you find that funny?”

“They’re only servants when they’re serving dinner. Guess what they’re having for dinner.”

Everyone at the table smiled until Katherine said, “Actually, they’re not carnivorous.” Everyone’s smile was replaced with shock. Katherine saw their reaction and continued, “My lead geneticist says that the larva will consume the body of the host it develops in but after that it’s pretty much a vegetarian.”

The Fleet Admiral shook his head, “Our scientists didn’t see that in their genetics.”

“Your scientists were probably biased by the death of your King and made some assumptions. The creature’s jaws are powerful but the edges are not curved to tear flesh. They’re shaped to cut through tough plants. They can cut through flesh but that is not their main purpose. They’re dangerous but they do not eat meat as a diet.”

Dat shook his head, “They’re like a cross between a locust and a wasp.”

Katherine nodded and the King said, “What are locusts and wasps?”

Katherine pulled up the information on her computer and copied it to a memory chip. She handed it to the King, “Have your scientists look at this.”

“Thank you; I will.”

Katherine looked the King in the eyes and said, “Why would I ever ally my forces with you to fight anyone?”

The King looked right back at her and tilted his head, “You do get right to the point.” Katherine nodded. “Actually, you should want us to ally with you. The Servants are not coming after us; they want you.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Did your scientists determine that the intelligence level of that species is determined by the ones they use as hosts?”

Katherine looked at Dat and he nodded. “Yes, they made that determination.”

“Then you should know that a good parent is always looking for ways to improve their children and their species. I may be wrong, but I believe the Servants are not located anywhere near you or us. They search for the best host for their larvae and, if you had to say where the most intelligent species in this corner of the universe are located; what would you say?” Katherine was stunned by the King’s remarks.

Dat said, “They found us first. Now it makes sense why they wanted you to ally with them.”

Katherine looked at Dat, “Why?”

“By getting the Grillen into a war with us, when they finally come in and attack us, the Grillen will stand back and allow them to defeat us without intervening.”

The King smiled “You see it as well. We are beneath them; they don’t really see us as a worthy host.”

Katherine looked at the King with her eyebrows lowered, “Then it begs the question why you would want to ally with us? If you are in no danger from them, why would you want this?”

“What happens when they come and discover we have not fought a war with you? I suspect they will not be at all happy with us, especially after sharing some of their technology. If we do fight a war with you, both of us will have our strength greatly reduced. They may choose to go ahead and remove a possible future enemy by destroying us.”

Dat leaned forward, “You left out one other very important possibility.”

The King shook his head and laughed, “You are very smart, Admiral.”

Katherine looked at Dat and then back at the King, “What point is that?”

The King leaned forward, “We know that this species operates with a kind of feudal system. I suspect their high royalty will reserve your species for themselves but the lower lords may find us to be just what the doctor ordered. We are not in the clear by any means.”

“Do you think they’ll attack if we join our forces?”

The King looked at the Admiral and he lifted his shoulders. He turned back to Katherine, “I guess the answer to that question lies in how many warships they have at their disposal.”

Katherine struggled with what to do. She believed the King was being honest but she just couldn’t bring herself to trust a civilization that had recently been attempting to conquer her. The King saw her struggle and leaned forward, “I don’t blame you for not wanting to trust us. It’s our fault.”

“Why did you do this?”

“My father was a complex being. He was ruthless and brutal to all that opposed him but he really had my people’s welfare at heart. He was ambitious and wanted to expand his empire. The trait that best described him is ego. When your ego composes most of your character, you never see the danger of those you think are weak. I know he would have lost the war if he had continued his aggression against you.”

“How did you arrive at that conclusion?”

“Admiral, I saw that Bronze Ship and I can tell you for the first time my father was frightened and out of his element.” The King paused and lowered his head, “He didn’t really want to believe that one of your ships blew that ship into rubble. I looked that ship up in our ancient records and do you know what I found?” Katherine shook her head, “You used millions of them to defeat the Red Sector. If you still have one to use against that ship, I must believe you still have them to use in the current conflict. If I had to bet on a winner, you would get my vote. I realize that we will be in a supporting role but I genuinely believe we can work together and win this.”

“What’s to prevent one of your ancestors from attacking us again? Your civilization is ruled by your King and he could do whatever he chooses.”

“When a new King is crowned, he swears to defend the Empire against all enemies. The oath the King swears to obey is written by our Community of Lords. They have agreed to change the Royal Oath to say that any King of the Grillen Empire will defend the Empire and your Union against all enemies. I have already sworn that I will obey that oath and only the Community can change it. I don’t believe they will ever make that change; they never give up any advantage the King gives them.

“So how do you see this happening?”

The King looked at Katherine, smiled, and shook his head, “Admiral, I said earlier that the most intelligent species in this corner of the universe is located in your galaxy. I’m not so egotistical as to believe that I could plan this better than you. You need to tell us how we can make this a successful partnership and I will do all I can to support your directives.”

Katherine sighed and looked over at Dat, “I really didn’t want to like this King but I must confess that I can’t help but feel that way.”

Dat looked at the King, “The first thing you can do to help us is to tell us if there’s any way to defeat those beams they use.”

The Grillen Admiral said, “We don’t know of a way to defeat them.” Dat shook his head. “But I can tell you a way to get close.”

Dat laughed out loud, “Then we need to get together and start working on it.”

The Admiral looked at Katherine, “How many of those large white ships do you have in your inventory.”

“Probably not as many as you think. At last count we had more than fifteen million stored away.”

The Admiral sat down, “I was hoping for a million.”

“They have to be modified and brought up to date. That’s going to take time.”

The King looked at Katherine, “We will act like we are at war and that should buy us some time.”

“Why don’t you get your Fleet Admiral with Admiral Arvolo and they can make the critical decisions on where we go from here.”

The King stood and everyone stood with him, “I will do whatever you need us to do. I am sworn to defend you and I take that oath seriously. We will never betray you again.”

Katherine looked at the King and bowed, “It’s a shame your father didn’t see things like you.”

“He saw them, Admiral; he just refused to diminish himself by working with others.”

Shane’s wrist unit went off with an alarm and everyone in the room looked at him. He saw Kelli on the display, “Is something wrong, Commodore?”

“Sir, more than ten thousand warships from the civilizations in M87 have just emerged into normal space and have told us to leave the planet.”

“Have you determined why they want us to leave?”

“They’ve learned the Grillen King is on the planet and they intend to kill him.”

“Send me the frequency they’re communicating on.”

Shane saw the frequency and sent it to the other Union Officers in the room. Katherine entered the channel in her computer and activated the system, “You are in violation of a sanctioned negotiation.”

An image appeared on the wall’s display and the blue creature said, “We’ve decided that the violation is worth whatever sanctions would follow. I see the Grillen King is present and we intend to execute him for the invasion of our galaxy.”

Katherine stared at the display and said, “We will not allow you to carry out that theat.”

“It is no threat; we are going to do it.”

“If you attempt to harm him, I will declare war on your civilizations. You need to consider what that means. You have not faced the might of our newest ships and you will pay a price beyond anything you can imagine.” Katherine saw the creature pause and mute the transmitter. He spoke off the screen and then reopened the channel, “You are not the threat to us that the Grillen pose. Once he is eliminated, we will immediately surrender to your forces.”

Katherine shook her head. She realized the civilizations in M87 knew the Union would not attack them if they offered no resistance. She looked at Dat for help and he activated his wrist unit, “This is Admiral Arvolo and if you don’t remove your ships from this system within two minutes, I will have them destroyed.”

“Did you say Arvolo?”

“I did.”

The creature muted the channel again and, Dat waited for a minute, and said, “You now have ninety seconds.”

• • •

The intruders were in a quandary. They couldn’t believe the five White Ships could destroy all ten thousand of their warships. But the name Arvolo was legend in M87. They argued among themselves with half of them calling for withdrawal.

• • •

Kelli sat on the Jupiter and had no idea how she was going to take on ten thousand ships. There was no way she could prevent some of them from beaming the planet. She heard Arvolo say, “Times up, Commodore Carpenter, please launch a full attack on those intruders.”

Kellie shook her head and knew she had to make them believe their ships were in danger. But how could she do that. Then she thought about what Shane would have done and smiled, “Launch all Rovers and have them wait at their ships’ hulls. All ships, fire a full wave of shards at those ships and follow the first wave up with three more. Rovers, you will follow the second wave out.”

• • •

The ten thousand ships saw two thousand Rovers erupt out of the hulls of the five giant Union Ships, immediately followed by a massive launch of millions of small projectiles that moved toward them at high velocity. “What is that?”

“Sir, I have no idea. They are small projectiles that are coming at us in a huge wave. They’ve just fired another wave and the Rovers have fallen in behind them. Sir, a third wave has been fired as well. There are millions of those projectiles moving toward our ships.”

The Commander of the M87 warships shook his head. He had never seen this weapon the Union Ships had just launched. He looked at his display and saw that two thirds of his ships had already jumped out. His remaining ships only outnumbered the incoming Rovers by a small margin, “Jump away; all ships, jump away.”

Kelli saw the remaining intruders disappear and hit her communicator, “Sir, please move off the planet to your ships immediately. They might be coming back with a larger fleet.”

Katherine looked at the Grillen King and smiled, “I will take you back to your home world. I don’t want you taking the risk in an unarmed shuttle.”

The King smiled, “I will gladly take you up on your offer. Admiral, inform the home fleets of our arrival.” The Admiral activated his communicator as the attendees moved rapidly out of the building and boarded a Union Shuttle.

• • •

Gem looked at Shane, “It appears your former Second is quick on her feet.”

“I’m proud of her. She could have taken on that fleet with the Rovers and probably won. Instead, she found a way to avoid loss of life. She’s come a long way.”

“You appear to like her a lot.”

Shane chuckled, “I do.” Gem stared at him and he said, “But I only love one person. There is plenty of room in my life to like huge numbers of those I encounter.”

Gem smiled and followed him into the shuttle’s landing bay.

• • •

Shane and Gem were taken to their ships and they formed up on Admiral Hull’s ship. Katherine entered the bridge and looked at Admiral Jon Anders, “I’m surprised you didn’t assume command.”

“Admiral, Jill and I have been out of the loop on the new developments done on the Jukeboxes. We would have been guessing on how to use the new guns and systems. We discussed it and decided that we could probably take on that many ships with the Rovers and Jukebox penetrators but the plan your officer devised was worth trying. She was pretty quick on her toes to realize that M87 has never seen the plastic shards.”

“I’m assigning the two of you to command a fleet of our Major Battleships. The Guns will not be part of their armament.”

Jill tilted her head, “Why not?”

“They were developed to take out the Grey Ships used by the Grillen. Those ships are no longer an issue and we can use the space for other weapon systems.”

The Grillen King listened to the conversation and said, “May I speak with the officer that defended us.”

Jill hit her panel and Kelli appeared on the main display, “Yes Sir.”

“Commodore, I am the King of the Grillen Empire. I wish to thank you for defending me and my staff from the intruders and I invite you to visit at your first opportunity. I sincerely appreciate your quick thinking and bravery in facing off against that large fleet.”

Kelli smiled, “No thanks are called for, Your Majesty. I did my duty. You should thank my former commander who trained me; that’s where the real credit should go.”

“Even so, you are granted full citizenship in the Grillen Empire and I want to introduce you to my subjects.”

Dat smiled, “You will go down to the planet with him when we arrive, Commodore. We’ll have a Rover go with you to bring you back to the Union.”

The King laughed, “Are you a mind reader?”

“Your people need to have examples like this. We do as well.”

Katherine stared at Kelli and knew she had matured and was no longer a self-serving, egotistical elitist. Shane really had done a good job developing her. She was another tool for the Union to use to ensure its survival.

Katherine sat down in the Command Chair and looked at the King, “I’m transferring you and your staff to Admiral Matthews’ ship; he and his squadron will take you home; Admiral Arvolo and I have a lot of work to do.”

The Grillen Admiral quickly said, “I have a question before we go.”

“Yes.”

“I have received reports that the warriors that attacked my forces on the planets in the Red Sector were…uhhh…unusual.”

Katherine shook her head, “Those warriors are not human.”

“I know that; just what are they?”

“You know we were fighting a war in another galaxy.”

“Yes.”

“They are the ones we defeated. They’ve volunteered to fight for us.”

The Admiral looked at Dat, “When you have the time, will you tell me how that happened?”

“I’ll do better than that; I’ll introduce you to one of them and he can tell you.”

The Admiral nodded but wasn’t at all sure he wanted to get anywhere near one of the creatures he had seen in recordings taken from the survivors. Dat saw his expression and said, “You’ll like him; he’s quite witty.”

The Admiral shook his head, “I imagine he is.”

Katherine tried not to, but she laughed out loud, “Get in line, Admiral. I felt the same way at first but now I really like him.”

Dat said, “He’s somewhat more serious now, though.”

The Admiral looked at Dat, “Why is that?”

“He has decided to take on the Servants. He’s really looking forward to the coming hostilities.” The Grillen Admiral shook his head. Dat said, “He’s seen the recording of the death of your King and he knows what he’s up against.”

“I really hope you’re right.” Dat felt the same way.

Chapter Fourteen

Four weeks passed and a lot had happened. The Grillen King had taken Kelli down to his main Governing Planet and told the story of how she had risked her life to defend him against the warships in M87. He announced that the war was over, that the Union and the Grillen Empire had sworn to defend each other, and that the oath would never be broken again. The citizens of the Empire were ecstatic over the news. Most of them never understood why the former King had gone to war with one of their allies in the first place. Kelli was given a title and accepted into the Community of Lords. She was the first alien to ever receive the award. For her part, Kelli insisted she didn’t deserve any of it and started to understand the true calling of a warrior. Doing their duty was not something to be spotlighted. She hadn’t fired a beam at the intruders and she was being hailed a hero. It just didn’t feel right.

When she arrived back on her ship, she told Shane her feelings. “Kelli, you came up with a plan that avoided bloodshed. How many lives would have been lost if you had not come up with the subterfuge?”

“I don’t know.”

“If we were forced to destroy all of those ships and we lost ships in the process, the total could have exceeded more than a hundred thousand. You deserve the credit you’ve been given. I’m very proud of you.”

“I only did what you would have done.”

“Sorry, Kelli; I wouldn’t have come up with using the guns. I was struggling with what to do and you surprised me; you’ve come a long way. You should be given a flag soon.”

“I really would like to stay in command of the Jupiter, Sir. I really like the job.” Shane laughed and shook his head.

“What?”

“I remember the career driven officer that stepped out of that shuttle.”

“I was awful, wasn’t I?”

“Yes you were. But now I would have no problem following you into combat.”

“Thank you, Sir; that means more than you could ever know.”

“We need to get to work. I believe the Jukeboxes are going to be modified again. We need to get into space dock so we won’t be forced to wait.”

“I’ve already had them schedule our four ships, Sir. The Captain responsible for the scheduling is a former classmate of mine from the Academy.”

Shane smiled, “Keep up the good work.”

“You know I will.”

“I want you and Captain McCagg to get together and work on possible maneuvers we can use in combat.”

“I’ll let him know. We can work on that while the ships are being modified. We’ll incorporate any new design changes into the plans.”

“That is an excellent idea. I’ll talk with you once we settle into Space Dock.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Katherine looked at the current leader of the civilizations in M87 and listened to his apology for ten minutes before she interrupted him, “I accept your apology and understand that this was launched without your approval. Your intervention could have led to catastrophic results.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Grillen King that launched the invasion into the Red Sector was killed before we attacked the Grillen on those planets and defeated them. The new Grillen King did not agree with the former King and pursued peace. If you had managed to kill him, the peace would have been still born.”

“We didn’t know.”

“Things happened so fast that I neglected to keep you informed; I have to accept some of the blame for what happened. I will do my best to keep you updated on what’s going on.”

“So the war is over and peace prevails?”

“Not really.”

The Leader stared at Katherine, “What do you mean?”

“There is a civilization that was providing the Grillen advanced technology to use against us. We’ve learned that particular civilization represents a much larger danger than the Grillen and we expect them to attempt an invasion in the future.” Kat saw the Leader’s concern, “They’ll be coming after the Union first. I don’t expect your galaxy will be a target unless they defeat the Grillen and us. For the foreseeable future, your civilizations are not in danger.”

“So we need to keep working on our weapon development.”

“I would, if I were in your place.”

“Are you willing to share your technology with us?”

“Your last intrusion into our negotiations should answer that question. You don’t have control over the civilizations in your galaxy and we will not endanger ourselves by sharing our weapons with you.”

“I understand your reluctance. I will endeavor to bring everyone in line.”

Katherine shook her head, “I doubt you’ll accomplish that soon, you’re too big. There’s hundreds of thousands of civilizations in your galaxy and you’ll have your hands full just preventing them from attacking each other, much less anyone else. Unifying them is not something that will happen in the near future.”

“I know you’re right, however, that is another goal for me to work on.”

“I do hope you come to a solution. I’ll make sure you are kept in the information loop in the future. Let me know if you need our help.”

“I will.” The screen went dark and Katherine knew M87 was going to be a future issue. She hoped it wouldn’t be before the Servants were dealt with.

• • •

Dat looked at the Grillen Admiral, “Are you sure about this?”

“I’ve not seen any other type of beams on the ships that came to visit us. The beams on the Bronze Warship were just like the ones we used on the Grey Ships, only much more powerful.”

“How does that help us?”

“That beam does not penetrate the grey force fields we used on the Grey Ships. We believe it won’t penetrate until they are much closer to it.”

“So if we abandoned the normal force fields we use and installed a grey force field, our ships would survive a hit?”

“This is something that can only be determined in combat; however, our readings support they will protect against those beams for a short time.”

“What about the missiles?”

“We only managed to get a small recording of them before they exploded but we determined that they work on the same energy used in their beams. The missile’s exteriors were constructed out of the grey material in the hulls of our Grey Ships.”

“Do you think they’re brittle?”

“I suspect, if they could strengthen that substance, their warships would have been made from it.”

“Perhaps the guns may still be needed.”

“I suspect they are but I wouldn’t use them like you’re currently doing.”

“Oh? Why not?”

“Missiles aren’t ships that can maneuver. They lock on their targets and pretty much act like a projectile. With your technology, you should be able to use the guns to target each missile individually and not waste millions of shards to form a cloud around your warships.” Dat was thinking about this observation, when the Admiral said offhand as he reached for a memory stick, “I don’t understand why you don’t just eject the shards and let the missiles run into them.”

“What?”

The Admiral looked up, “Huh?”

“What did you just say?’

The Admiral collected his thoughts and tried to remember. “Uhhh…oh yeah. Why fire them at the missiles? Just eject them and have a stationary cloud around your ships they would have to go through to hit you. It wouldn’t work if you were in a running battle, but you could use them to fight from a stationary formation.”

Dat smiled, “I wonder if we really are the most intelligent.”

“Oh, I know you are; but even an idiot can sometimes see the obvious that the most brilliant of us miss.”

“You are far from being an idiot, Admiral. Let’s talk about how to incorporate this information into a defense that might work against them. I have to believe they have more than just those grey weapons.”

“You’re giving them more credit than they may deserve. They’re coming after you to become more intelligent. You would certainly have multiple weapons systems; I’m not so sure they would even consider it.”

“If what you suspect is true; we have the advantage here.”

“What if they have enough ships to saturate your defenses?”

“Let us hope that’s not the case.”

“We need to take a look at them and see.”

“Admiral, we know they can detect our probe’s transmissions. What do you think they will do if one of our probes transmits from one of their planets?”

“I suspect they will attack you rather quickly to prevent you attacking them first.”

“That’s why we haven’t activated the probes yet.”

“Can you recall them?”

“I’m not sure. Why do you ask?”

“You could have them move to open space between galaxies and transmit their data. You should find out.”

Dat lifted his wrist unit and started talking. After several moments, he lowered his arm, “General Robinson seems to think we can recall them. Our normal transmissions go out and are pretty much untraceable from long distance. He’s sending new programming to the ten tracker probes and they will drop off whatever ship they’re attached to and drop into green space. When they detect nothing around them they will jump to an assembly point in open space and transmit their findings. They will then self-destruct in the event they were followed.”

“I suspect they will be very difficult to follow. If they’re as small as you’ve described in normal space, in green space they should be smaller than a water molecule.”

“They’re actually smaller than a proton. We’re still not taking any chances.”

“How long will it be before they jump away?”

“They should have the new instructions by tomorrow at the latest.”

“Perhaps we should wait for their findings before we proceed with our plans.”

Dat nodded and saw a message come in from Gresha to contact her. “I’ll meet you here tomorrow.” Dat stood to leave the room and contacted Gresha. “Hi, Love. What’s going on?”

“There has been a development.”

Dat hated that statement; it always meant trouble. “What’s happened?”

“I’m pregnant.” Dat was shocked speechless. Gresha saw his expression, “You need to come home.”

“I’m on my way.”

“Dat, I’m having triplets.” Dat fell into a chair and stared at her on the wrist display. Gresha shook her head, “No, I don’t know how this happened!”

Dat jumped up and yelled as he ran from the room, “I’ll contact you when I can meet with you!”

The Grillen Admiral heard the conversation and smiled. It was always a great thing to have children. Then he remembered that Dat and Gresha were two different species; he was also rendered speechless.

• • •

Dat arrived at Earth and broke too many traffic laws to count. He landed outside his home and rushed inside to find Gresha being examined by a team of doctors and scientists. “What’s going on?”

Gresha jumped up and ran into Dat’s arms. She started crying, as he held her close and stroked her hair. The team leader came over and said, “We can’t understand how this has happened. This is beyond anything we know about genetics.”

Dat held Gresha, “Shhhh…it’s going to be alright. Let’s sit down and talk about this.” Gresha nodded and started wiping her tears with her sleeve. Dat turned to the team leader, “What do you know, Doctor?”

“Gresha is carrying three infants. Our scans show that one is human, one is Gresha’s species, and the third appears to be a hybrid of the two. They all appear to be developing naturally and are about ten weeks in their development. Dat looked at Gresha and thought back to what was happening ten weeks earlier. He saw Gresha doing the same thing and saw her realize that they were not together at that time. She looked at him and said, “You are the only one, Dat.”

“I know, Gresha. I have no doubt about that.” He shook his head and was dumbfounded about how it could happen.

Dat stood up and looked at the scientist who was running the medical scanner, “Have you scanned the babies’ genetic profile?”

“We have and there is absolutely no doubt that they are a product of Gresha and your DNA.”

“But I thought there was no way for our DNA to combine to produce a child?”

“There isn’t.”

“Then how did this happen?”

“Even if we took samples of your cells and tried to produce an offspring in vitro, we have no possible way of making it happen. This is beyond anything we know.”

Dat had a thought crash through his consciousness and he fell to the sofa behind him. Gresha looked at him, “You know something!”

“Blacky did it.”

Gresha fell to the couch beside him with shock on her face. She started shaking her head and he looked her in the eyes, “In one of our recent conversations he told me that the enemy he’s going to face would be shocked at what his species was capable of doing genetically. He was talking about his species being immune from them injecting their lava, but he revealed that his species is highly advanced in genetic science.” Dat thought a moment and said, “I remember that he hugged me when I met him after his initial mission and my midsection hurt for a week.”

Gresha stared at Dat and said, “My back has hurt every time I went to their planet.”

Dat sighed, “They must have taken the cells needed to do this and created the embryos.”

Gresha stared at Dat and, after a long moment, she smiled, “I knew I loved that big glop of putty for a reason.”

Dat was shocked at Gresha’s remark but then he stared laughing. He tried to stop but couldn’t do it. Gresha smiled and joined him. The scientists were confused and wondered what was going on. Dat finally caught his breath and looked at them, “We know how it happened. You can take your equipment and leave.”

“But…but…”

“We’ll give you the details later; first we have to make a visit.”

The team leader tried to ask questions but Dat rushed them out of the room as he and Gresha went to Dat’s ship and lifted off the planet.

• • •

Blacky was working with a large group of Madator Warriors when Ringie came flying in at high speed, “Blacky, Dat and Gresha have arrived unannounced and are inquiring as to your whereabouts.”

Blacky stopped what he was doing, “Do you think they know?”

“How would I know?”

“Stay here with me and send them my coordinates.”

“You’re on your own in this.”

“YOU WILL STAY WITH ME!”

“Coward!”

“You’re right. I won’t face them alone. You may have to defend me.”

“Get real; you could take them both.”

“I could but I would never lift an arm against them. I’m hoping you can hold them off me.”

“Hey, I’m just as guilty as you are.”

“Yeah, but they don’t know it, yet.”

Both of them looked up and saw the Rover moving quickly through the atmosphere toward them. Ringie shook her head, “Looks like they know your location; maybe we were rash in doing this.”

“Now’s a fine time to think of that.”

The small ship landed and both Madators remained frozen in their tracks. The port opened and Gresha leaped out of the port and rushed toward Blacky; he stiffened up expecting her to hit him hard. She rushed up and wrapped both arms around him, “Thank you so much; from the bottom of my heart, I love you for your gift.”

Blacky was shocked by the response and said, “It was Ringie’s idea; she helped make it happen. Gresha released Blacky and rushed over to Ringie and hugged her tightly.

Dat arrived and slowly shook his head, “Blacky, you are without doubt my best friend. I can never thank you enough for this gift.”

“How do you know we did it?”

“You gave yourself away when you mentioned you knew genetics far beyond what the Servants would expect.”

Ringie glared at Blacky and his head rolled to the top of his body, “Hey, I wasn’t thinking about this at that moment. I had just found out about the Ultimate Prey. Give me a break.”

“That’s the only reason I’ll forgive you.”

Gresha smiled, “Why would you not want us to know?”

Ringie sighed, “We didn’t know if you wanted children. We assumed you did but we imposed this on you without your consent. We were hoping you would think it happened naturally.”

“It can never happen naturally, Ringie.”

“But without any clues as to how it did, you would have to believe that.”

Dat smiled, “We may ask you for assistance in the future. Can you tell me about the baby that is a combination of our DNA?”

Ringie sighed, “That was my idea. It’s going to be a girl and it will be able to have children with either of your species. The other two will only be able to mate with their species.”

Gresha started crying and Ringie’s head rolled down her body, “I’m sorry, Gresha. She was so beautiful that I just couldn’t stop her development.”

“No, no, Ringie. She’s an angel and I’ll love her beyond your imagination.”

Blacky smiled, “I agreed with Ringie; she’s going to look very much like you.”

Dat reached over and pulled Gresha into his arms, “We came here to thank you. I can never repay you for this wonderful gift.”

“Yes you can?”

“How?”

“Give us a shot at that species you call Servants.”

“That wouldn’t come close to repay you for what you’ve done.”

“You won’t understand this, but yes it will.”

Dat stared at the two Madators and smiled, “I’ll do all I can to make it happen.”

Ringie and Blacky had their arms around Dat in an instant and he yelled, “Not so tight, not so tight!”

Gresha laughed and joined the three in a very large group hug.

• • •

Three weeks later after the news was announced, Dat was approached by Jon Anders. “Dat, Jill and I have been struggling to have a child. Do you think your friends can help us?”

Dat smiled, “I’ll ask.” Six weeks later, Jon and Jill resigned their commissions to start their new family leaving Dat with a very distraught Fleet Admiral.

Kat screamed at Dat as he stood at attention and winced at her volume, “How could you have done this? I’ve lost two of my best tools to use against the Servants.”

Dat stared at Katherine silently until she ran down shouting at him, “Admiral, do you remember what they were like when they were fighting against the Masters and M87?” Katherine glared at Dat for a long moment and then sighed and nodded. “Sir, they are a shell of what they used to be. They reenlisted and I think they were hoping in the back of their minds that they might die in the conflict. They are products of two of the Unions strongest bloodlines and they couldn’t have children. They only had each other and I know you had to see the sorrow they were feeling.”

Kat blew out a breath and nodded, “I know…and you’re right. They were back to their old selves when they came here and resigned. I’m being selfish and I know it. But we need them.”

Dat stood and stared at Kat, “Admiral, it would be a crying shame if you never had children.” Dat turned and left Katherine’s office. Kat was shocked at the statement and then thought about it. After thirty minutes, she pressed her communicator, “Yes Admiral.”

“Brad, please report to my office.”

“Yes Sir.” Brad stood up from his desk and wondered why she had only used his first name. He found out why when he stepped into Katherine’s office and she came around her desk and wrapped her arms around his neck, “I’ve wanted to do this a long time.” She leaned in and kissed him hard. Brad felt her break the kiss and his smile was huge. He pulled her back and their kiss lasted much longer.

Chapter Fifteen

Dat sat in General Robinson’s office and waited for the transmissions to arrive. The Grillen Admiral was anxious about what they might see and was having difficulty being patient. “What have you collected so far?”

“Eight of the trackers have sent their information. Two of them have not reported in, yet. We’ve been organizing the data they collected, so you can understand it.”

Dat stared at the blank display screen, “Was the tracker that attached itself to the ship they sent here one of the ones that’s reported in?”

“No, it is one of the two missing.”

Gibbs looked at Dat, “Why does that one have your curiosity going?”

“I suspect that ship reported to one of their major planets. If I sent a ship to scout a potential enemy, I would want to question the pilot personally.” Gibbs nodded.

Shane arrived with Gem and Kelli walking in right behind him. Dat looked over and said, “I’m glad you could make it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it, Sir.”

“Take a seat, General Robinson is going to start the show momentarily.”

Brad pressed his controller and the view of a planet from orbit appeared. The group stared at the image and Brad used a laser to point out various items, “This is a defense satellite just above the horizon.” He brought the view in closer and the satellite was huge. “They have four of these spaced so that the entire surface of the planet is covered.” Brad saw Dat look at him and he quickly said, “These satellites are not in place to defend the planet from an attack from space. Their weapons are pointed at the planet. My staff believes they are used to keep the population on the surface in line.”

“Are there any ships?”

“No there are not. And none have shown up at this planet the entire time after the tracker arrived. Apparently, it attached itself to a personal craft that belongs to one of the Servants on the planet. It dropped off before the ship entered atmosphere and started collecting data from orbit.”

“Brad, what can you tell us about what we’re seeing here?”

“Admiral, my staff and I believe that this is one of the planets the Servants invaded and conquered.”

“And you know this because…”

“The satellites are aimed at the planet. Most of the population on the planet are used to farm and, the biggest clue, Searchers watch over the workers in the fields.”

Gibbs leaned forward, “Do you see any armored warriors?”

“No, the Servants do carry hand weapons to maintain control and I’m sure they would use the satellites if anything major happened.”

Dat shook his head, “They are so strong and fast, I believe armor would slow them down. They don’t need it.”

Brad began showing image after image and continued his dialogue, “It appears this planet is controlled by the Servants and they have no fear of outside interference. The inhabitants farm and live their lives around that task.”

Kelli leaned back, “How many of our civilized planets do you see warships in orbit?” The room was silent for a moment and she continued, “One might show up occasionally doing Union business but for the most part, it’s just business as usual with mainly commercial ships coming and going.”

Gibbs stared at the display, “This planet appears to be self-sufficient; notice no commercial ships are coming or leaving this planet.”

Dat nodded, “If the Admiral is correct, and they are a feudal society, they wouldn’t welcome anyone from outside the borders of the Lords fief.”

Matt spoke up, “I believe that ships will come regularly to collect crops from this planet.”

Everyone turned to him and Dat said, “Why?”

“This is obviously not one of their major planets; that means it is a part of a higher ranking Lord’s domain. In feudal societies, you pay for the Lord’s protection.”

Brad nodded, “You’re probably right. One didn’t come to collect while the tracker was above the planet.”

Dat looked at Brad, “What else do you have?”

“One of our trackers appears to have attached to one of their warships preparing to invade another planet.”

The display changed and the viewers were shocked by what they saw. “Brad, how many Bronze Ships are in that formation?”

“This is a view of the ships on this side of the planet. Notice the formation extends over the horizon from the probes location. My staff tells me there are close to eight hundred thousand ships in the view you see on the display.”

“What can you tell me about the planet?”

There are very few species on the planet other than the Servants. I suspect the other species are there strictly for reproductive purposes. All of the beings moving material into shuttles for delivery to the fleet are servants. They are apparently quite strong.” An image appeared showing a Servant carrying two huge boxes three times its size into a shuttle. “Some of them are carrying double what you see here.”

“Defenses?”

“There are twelve major defense satellites around the planet and they are oriented to defend the planet against any attack from space. I really can’t comment on how many ships are part of the planetary defense fleet; it’s impossible to distinguish which is which in the massive numbers above the planet.”

Shane spoke up, “Did you see any troop transporters?”

Brad adjusted his hand controller and entered a query into it. He looked up at the display and the view suddenly moved from the ships hanging in orbit toward the planet’s surface. The attendees watched as the view moved in on the southern continent and they saw what looked like giant mushrooms growing. As the view moved in closer the mushrooms took on the shape of giant space ships. Brad looked at his controller’s display, “There are about ten thousand of those ships on the surface. You will notice as the view moves closer that they are surrounded by an extraordinarily large number of Servants.” The view moved in and the number of Servants gathered outside the transports had to be in the millions.

Matt shook his head, “It appears one of the Major Lords is planning to expand his domain.”

Dat’s expression was dark, “How do you know this is a Major Lord’s planet?”

Matt and everyone else in the room looked at Dat and Matt hesitated before saying, “I don’t know. I’m just hoping it is.”

Kelli looked at Matt, “Why?”

“If this is one of their Minor Nobility, what would that say about the scope of their civilization?” Kelli’s shock was clear to all. All of them hoped Matt’s original guess was accurate.

Dat shook his head and didn’t want to ask the question but knew it had to be asked, “Brad, how many of the ships in orbit have the grey guns and missiles?”

Brad looked confused but lifted the controller and entered the question. After a moment he looked at Dat and said, “A third of them.”

Dat closed his eyes and slowly opened them. He looked at the Grillen Admiral and tilted his head. The Admiral looked at the display and said, “Those are the ships used to defend the planet. The others are used to invade other planets.”

Katherine looked at the Admiral, “How do you know that?”

“This supports the idea that my species was not the only one to be given the Grey Ship technology. The Servants are operating on the belief that any one that attacks them will probably have their grey technology.”

Katherine looked at Dat, “What does that mean concerning us?”

“We will have to face their ships that use standard beams and weapons.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“I wish we had not destroyed the Grillen production facilities. We could use the Grey ships to meet their initial attacks.”

The Grillen Admiral looked at Dat, “If you want to assist us, we can rebuild them quickly if given enough support.”

Katherine looked from the Grillen Admiral to Dat, “What do you think?”

“We need the Grillen building ships, not Grey Ship production facilities.” He leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment, “Admiral Hull, notify the civilizations in M87 that we’re going back to those planets to build ships to meet an aggressive civilization that is coming to attack our sector of the galaxy. Ask if they can assist us in rebuilding the production facilities.”

“Why would they agree to do that?”

Dat smiled, “Greed….and fear; they want to get their hands on the new technology.”

“Is it a good idea to let them have it?”

“We can defeat the Grey Ships. They don’t know what the shards were designed to do. They jumped away from the negotiations before they determined what purpose the shards were used for and I’m sure all of them will fall all over each other rushing to assist us. They want the technology.”

Katherine looked at the Grillen Admiral, “How long will it take to make them productive?”

“About six months if enough resources are brought to bear; however, you should remember that we were only producing the ships on a hundred planets. If you can get all million plus planets that have that grey ore producing ships, we should have a huge number ready within nine months. The numbers will leap at that point.”

“Do you think we’ll need a huge number?”

Brad listened to his wrist unit and he announced, “The final two trackers have downloaded their data. I haven’t organized it, but it appears that the original tracker was taken to one of their major planets.”

Dat knew that what he was about to see was going to be stunning. His worse estimate was far below what he saw. Brad sent an image of the planet to the display and the room grew silent. The entire planetary system all the way out to the fifth planet was filled with giant Bronze Warships. Dat shook his head, “How many?”

“Initial estimate is more than half a billion.”

“How many have grey technology?”

Brad queried his controller and looked at Dat. His expression told them before he answered, “All of them?”

Katherine stood up, “Alright, now we know what we’re up against. I’ll get the M87 civilizations building the Grey Ships we’ll need to face off with their standard ships.” She looked at the Grillen, “I need your civilization to make this happen.”

“I will start working on it immediately.”

Katherine turned to Dat, “I need you to develop the defenses we’re going to need to take on their grey technology.” Dat nodded. “Tell me what you’re thinking, Admiral?”

Dat shrugged, “The only way we’re going to be able to buy enough time to build what we need is to distract the Servants.”

“And just how are we going to do that?”

“We give them an infestation on their conquered planets.”

Katherine’s eyebrows narrowed and everyone wondered what he was talking about. “Infestation?”

“We drop Madators on their planets and allow them to see if the Servants can remove them. I suspect it will take most of their attention away from what’s going on here. If we start rebuilding the Grillen production planets and the Grillen are directing the reconstruction, I believe they will think all is going well with their plan for us to weaken each other. We have fifteen million Jukebox Battleships to modify and that will take a lot of time.”

Katherine thought about the suggestion, “Do you think the Madators will agree to go into such dangerous conditions?”

“Katherine, do not tell them we’re planning to do it until the last minute.”

“Why not?”

“They’ll run you over trying to be the first to go.”

Shane tilted his head, “Just how do you go about delivering them on the Servants’ planets without them knowing it was us that delivered them?”

“That has to be done in three phases. We can’t send a probe into their space without them detecting it and knowing it is one of ours. First, we need to locate the planets we intend to drop the Madators on. We’ll send ten thousand survey ships outside their galaxy, where they will collect the light that left there a hundred years ago. They will be outside their detection range and the Survey Ships will be scanning for the frequency of the Bronze Ship that came to the Grillen home world. Since we know they’re used to invaders, our survey ships should be able to find the planets we’ll use to drop the Madators.”

Gibbs said, “How do we get them there?”

Dat thought for a moment and smiled, “We have two allies that were once located in M87. The Horde and Hive have mothballed many of their old warships and we’ll use them to deliver the Madators and knock out the satellites above the planets. Since the satellites’ weapons are all oriented toward the planet they’re circling, it should be easily done. We’ll load four penetrators on them to do the job, if necessary. The Servants have not seen us use a penetrator, so they won’t be able to track them back to us.”

“What about the Madators?”

Dat looked at Shane, “I can promise you that the Scout they used to see the destruction of the production facilities did not come anywhere near close enough to see a Madator. Matter of fact, even if they could see the planet’s surface, the Madators are never visible. If they capture a Madator, they won’t be able to connect it with us.”

Kelli watched Dat and knew she was witnessing the most brilliant military mind in the Union. She looked over at Shane and saw he knew it as well. She knew she had a long way to go before she was at their level of developing tactical plans.

Katherine stood up, “I’ll get the colonies to contact the Hive and Horde and request the use of some of their old ships. I’ll also get the civilizations in M87 started in helping us with the construction of the new facilities in the Red Sector. The rest of you have your tasks. Let’s get moving; time is critical.”

• • •

Dat activated his wrist unit. Blacky appeared on it, “It won’t be long, my friend. You need to prepare yourself.”

Blacky’s smile was instant and Dat smiled as Blacky started bobbing.

• • •

The Supreme Lord waited for his Advisor to arrive. He looked over a report with a status of his Realm and was halfway through it when the Advisor arrived. “I apologize, Lord. I was on the other side of the planet when you called.”

“I know and you have no reason to apologize. I want you to send a scout to check on the Ally.”

“Yes Lord.” The Advisor left and sent the orders to his military contact. The Scout left within ten minutes of the Supreme Lord’s command.

• • •

The Scout arrived in the Grillen Galaxy and tried to think about how to determine if the war was happening between the Spiral Galaxy and the Grillen. He thought about it and decided to jump to one of the former production planets in the huge ball galaxy. He was shocked to see the facilities had been rebuilt and were turning out Grey Ships at an incredible pace. He activated his main scanner for a quick view of the planet and collected as much data as possible in the short time he allowed himself. He immediately backed away and moved out of the system. He never saw the hundred trackers attach themselves to his hull. He arrived back at the main military complex and sent the data he collected to the Supreme Lord’s Advisor.

• • •

“What have you determined?”

“It appears the Ally is holding their own against the Spiral Galaxy. The production planets have been rebuilt and huge numbers of Grey Ships are being manufactured.”

“How many did they rebuild?”

“I’m sorry, Lord. The Scout only visited one planet.”

“Why?”

“We did not want him to be seen by our Ally. It would cause suspicions we want to avoid.”

The Supreme Lord thought about what the data meant and he knew the Ally would not be building Grey Ships unless they were needed against the Spiral Galaxy. They were still at war. He nodded to his Advisor dismissing him and went back to his report. They weren’t ready for invasion…yet.

• • •

“Kristin, how many planets have you found?”

“I’ve logged more than a thousand just in one star cluster. All of them are farming planets with only satellites above them. What about you, Jeff?”

“I’ve found more than eight thousand in my area.”

“How did you manage to do that?”

“I found one of the Servant’s major planets and followed ships that left it. You can lock the planet in and see the direction they’re jumping in. Once you get the bearing you need only drop into green space and look for the telltale technology clues given off by the planets.”

“That is a great idea. Thanks for sharing it.”

“Do you know how many planets Fleet wants us to catalogue?”

“According to my Commander, Fleet wants ten thousand planets the Servants have invaded and they need to be scattered throughout their domain.”

“Why do they want them scattered?”

“I’m not sure but if I had to guess I’d say they want them to be forced to spread out their ships.”

“We should have that many planets by now.”

“We probably have a lot more than that; however, I’ve been ordered to continue to chart their space.”

Jeff thought a moment and smiled, “I suspect they’re using what we find to develop a map of their civilization.”

“You’re probably right…hold on.” Jeff waited and after a few minutes Kristen reappeared on his display, “We’re being ordered out. You should receive the order momentarily.”

Jeff heard his panel buzz, “I’ve just received it. I’ll see you back at Fleet.”

“Be careful.”

• • •

Katherine looked at the Hive Controller and the Horde Master. She shook her head, “You don’t need to provide the crew for the ships. We can get our personnel up to speed to fly them in.”

The Hive Master shook his head from side to side, “You know that’s a waste of time. And if you really think about it Admiral, you don’t want one of our ships hit and the Servants find a human on board. Your whole plan would fall apart. Our species has not been seen by the Servants and they’ll have no idea how to go about finding us. We should make the drops for you.”

Katherine knew they were right. She blew out a breath, “Are you sure you want to do this? Some of your crews could be lost in the effort.”

“We’ll be angry if you don’t let us after all you have done for us. Send us the targets and where we need to pick up the ones we’ll be dropping on the planet.”

“I’m going to need you to take out the satellites above the target planets. My scanning experts tell me they are not protected by a force field and are used to fire on any of the local population on the surface that get out of line. If your ships come in above their targets, they should be able to fire on all four of them simultaneously. If you can take them out quickly, I suspect the major Servant Planets won’t know we’ve invaded until a ship arrives.”

“We’ll set up the fire plan for the satellites. When do you want to do this?”

“I have my survey ships out at this moment looking for potential targets. We should have enough catalogued within six more days. Let’s plan to do this in ten days. How long will it take for you to get those old ships ready?”

“Ten days sounds about right, Admiral. If we run into problems, we’ll let you know.”

Katherine smiled, “Ten days it is.”

• • •

Shane received the stand down order and shook his head. He put in a call to Admiral Arvolo to plead his case, “But Admiral, we should be the ones that drop the Madators.”

“You’ve said that ten times, Shane. You’re not looking at the big picture.”

Shane shook his head, “The chances are small that we will be discovered.”

“Is there a chance, Shane?”

“Well…a small one.”

“Admiral Hull is right about this. If any of the ships sent to drop the Madators is discovered and destroyed, it could lead to an immediate invasion of our galaxy. If the Servants found a human body in the wreckage, they’ll know we know where they live and they’ll respond accordingly. The ships we’re using to make the drops are ancient. They’ll be able to take out the satellites at the target planets but not much else. We suspect that those planets are visited to move crops to the Servants Major Planets and with us invading more than ten thousand, the odds increase that a ship might show up while we’re making the drop. Those ships will stand no chance against a Servant Warship; you know we’re doing the right thing.”

“Yes Sir. I’m just itching to see if our new weapons are effective. The waiting is driving me batty.”

“Shane, we have more than fifteen million Jukeboxes to modify. All of our construction capacity is devoted to modifying the old fleets and they will not carry the four hundred Rovers you’ve been using. We can’t build Rovers and modify the Jukeboxes. You need to help Fleet with planning maneuvers on how to use that many ships, with fewer Rovers in their inventory, in a major battle.”

“Are you telling me you’re going to assign me a major fleet to command?”

Dat sighed and shook his head, “I promised Admiral Gibbs that I would honor his promise to not force you to command a fleet. I’m terribly frustrated by that promise; you are without doubt one of our best tactical commanders. It’s proving difficult to find anyone qualified to command our major units.”

“I’ll take one of them.”

“What?”

“I said I’ll take one of them.”

Dat stared at Shane on his display and after a long moment he said, “Just like that?”

“Admiral, I’ve learned while using the four Jukeboxes to defend the negotiation site that I have a good core of officers around me. It wasn’t as bad as I thought allowing them to handle the defense and I know that in the coming conflict with the Servants that all of our ships will be involved in the fighting; that includes my own ship. I will take command of four fleets if you will promote my team members to command them.”

“Are you talking about Gem, Kelli, Matt, and…who would be the fourth?”

“Me.”

“Are you going to be able to fight a fleet and command the other three?”

“Admiral, the four of us know what to do without orders. We’ve been working so close, that we know each other to a level you would surprise you. If it doesn’t work, we can make a change; however, I really think it will.”

“Why are you agreeing to this?”

“I’m bored and need something to challenge me. I also have an idea about a jump weave that I think needs exploring; I’ll need large numbers of ships to fully explore it.”

“How many ships can you control?”

“I want a million ships for each fleet. I need them to be sent to my team commanders immediately to start training on the weave and we’ll send them in for modification when a space opens up for them.”

Dat shook his head, “You know I’ll be getting your ships ready first.”

“Yes Sir.”

“I also want Admiral Gibbs and me to be with you when you start this training.”

“It’s going to take four fleets to make it work, Sir.”

Dat looked up at the ceiling, “Well, let me see. Gibbs and Lydia are two.” He looked at Shane and said, “Gresha and I make four. I’m sure we can find two others for each of our fleets before we use this tactic you’ve developed.”

“Are you going to allow Gresha into combat after she has her children?”

“Do you seriously think I could stop her?”

Shane chuckled, “You make a good point. When is she due?”

“Five months. Gibbs, Lydia, and I should be up to speed on what you’re developing and we can take our fleets and start getting them ready. Gresha will join us when she’s ready.”

“Do you think we’ll have enough time, Sir?”

“If the Madators don’t take the Servant’s attention away from us, nothing will. I suspect they’ll deal with their problems close to home before they start moving on us.”

Shane nodded, “May I notify my officers of their new rank?”

“You’ve earned that right Admiral. You are promoted to the rank of full Admiral and your officers will be Lt. Admirals.”

“Are you sure Katherine will agree to this?”

“She’s been after me for some time to ignore our promise to you and force you to take a fleet. Oh, she’ll support this. I suspect you’ll have the forms to sign less than two minutes after I tell her.” Shane laughed and Dat said, “I’m serious, Shane. You have a meal bet on it.”

“You’re on, Sir.”

Shane watched his display and heard Arvolo start speaking to Admiral Hull. Arvolo was wrong in his time estimate. It took forty five seconds for the forms to appear on his console. Evidently the Admiral had been planning for this to happen. Shane shook his head, “I owe you a meal, Sir.”

Arvolo nodded and Shane called in his officers.

Chapter Sixteen

Dat and Gresha stood on the Madator’s planet and watched thousands of them boarding shuttles to be taken to their ships in orbit overhead. Blacky walked up and smiled, “Thank you, Dat.”

“Blacky, you’re not telling me something. There’s more to this than just going after an Ultimate Prey. What’s the real reason?”

Blacky stared at Dat and his head rolled down to his chest. He stared at Dat for a long moment and then said, “Do you know why we would chase the inhabitants on the planets we conquered in our former galaxy?”

Gresha said, “You told us it was to control the population’s size.”

“That’s a good answer but not the real one.” Dat looked at Gresha and saw she was as confused as he was. Blacky’s head went to the top of his round body and he looked out at the thousands of Madators boarding the shuttles. “We are a unique creation, Dat. Genetically, we can change and match our abilities to any prey that we consume.”

Dat stared at Blacky and after a moment he knew, “You want their speed and strength.”

Blacky smiled, “I’ve always been impressed by your intelligence. You’re right. If we can kill one of them and consume it, we will grow in our abilities. You saw how fast that creature was and I’ve seen the recordings of how strong they are. My species will be greatly improved by preying on them. That is why we respect them so much. They will make us even stronger than we are now.”

“You are somewhat like the Servants looking for a highly intelligent species.”

Blacky turned to Gresha, “Yes, I guess we are. However, there is one difference.”

“What is that?”

“You and your allies are not on our list of prey.” Blacky turned and left to board his shuttle.

Gresha looked at Dat, “We are on the Servants’ list.”

Dat nodded as he watched his friend disappear into a shuttle. “There will be some historians that disagree with me about this decision but that difference is everything that matters. One species’ villain is another species’ savior.”

“Not really.” Dat looked at Gresha and saw her staring at the enormous field covered with Madators, “There really aren’t any saviors or villains here. The Matadors and Servants aren’t evil; they’re simply being what creation has made them. It’s like a tornado that’s moving toward you. You’ll attempt to get out of its way if you can. Failing that, if you have a way to stop it; you’ll do it. The tornado isn’t good or evil…it’s simply a natural development in nature. The Servants are our tornado and we are in their path. We will use whatever means we have to stop them from hitting us.” Gresha paused, “I am glad of one thing.”

“What is that?”

“I’m thankful it’s Servants and not the Madators we have to face.”

Dat shook his head, “There is that.”

Gresha moved under his arm and wrapped her arms around Dat. Her midsection was large and she knew the babies would be coming soon. She dreamed about what a difference they would make in the Union. Dat pulled her tighter and wondered what was going to emerge from this encounter between two highly dangerous species. He shook his head and turned to walk back to his ship with Gresha.

• • •

Blacky boarded the shuttle and it lifted into space and entered the landing bay of a large violet colored ship. The bay pressurized and the four hundred Madators rolled out of the shuttle and went to their full size. The Hive crewmembers were surprised at how large the black creatures were; especially after rolling out of the shuttle as a small ball. Blacky watched his team members check out the Hive crew and knew they were determining what kind of prey they would be. They were in no danger due to their alliance with the Union but Blacky knew that his species would always look at another species as a prey first and then open communication. It was as natural to them as breathing was to a human. He saw in the first moment that the wasp-like hive creatures were nowhere near as powerful as the Servants and he immediately lost interest in them. He saw that the other Madators were responding the same way.

One of the Hive crew yelled, “Who is in command?”

Blacky stood, “I am.”

“We are going to drop your team as soon as we emerge into normal space. We aren’t taking any risks given that the satellites might have defenses to use against our ship.”

Blacky immediately liked the creature. They were willing to give their lives to deliver them safely to their destination. “Thank you for your consideration. Your species is now recognized as a friend to us.”

“We share a common friend, Commander. That is what binds us.”

Blacky put a long arm on the creatures shoulder and smiled, “You are very wise. How long do we have before you jump to the planet?”

“All ten thousand ships are jumping simultaneously, so if any warning is sent by our enemy, all of you will be on your way to your planets before a response could be launched. My Captain tells me that it is going to take another three hours before all of you are on board our ships.”

“We will enter our drop globes thirty minutes before we jump. If you would be so kind as to tell us when that happens, we will greatly appreciate it.”

“I will notify you personally.”

“Thank you.”

“I do request that you have your team place their globes close to the landing bay door prior to jump. As soon as we enter normal space, we’re slamming the door up to allow explosive decompression to send you out toward the planet.”

“That is an excellent idea; we will gather at the door.”

Blacky started hooting and the Madators listened to the plan. They began going to their drop globes and started rolling them toward the landing bay doors. It wasn’t going to be much longer and the Madators became silent as they focused on their coming encounter with a very dangerous species. Blacky looked over at Ringie and saw here staring at him. She was going to be his partner. He began thinking about making her his mate…but now wasn’t the time. He put the thoughts out of his mind and thought about the Servants powerful body, stinger, and jaws. These items would dominate his consciousness until they attempted a kill.

• • •

“Jump in thirty minutes!”

Blacky looked at the 400 Madators, “I don’t have to tell you what to do. You’re a product of evolution that has brought you to this moment in time. You are going to have to put your personal desire for glory aside at this moment and focus on achieving our goal. You are paired up with a partner and I expect you to work together. I know our long history has been built around one-on-one kills. But we can learn from what we’ve seen from watching other predators operate. Lions work together in prides; jackals and wolves hunt in packs. You’ve seen how effective they are when they work together. You and your partner are given the holy responsibility of making us more than we are today. Don’t waste it looking for glory. Link to your partner’s globe and we will start making kills seven days from the moment we leave the ship. Take that time and learn your prey; you’re going to need it to survive.”

Blacky moved toward his drop globe and saw Ringie was already in hers waiting for him. He reached over and lightly stroked her arm as he closed his globe. The link moved out of Blacky’s drop globe’s outer shell and bonded with Ringie’s globe. The two of them would fall together. Ringie could still feel Blacky’s touch and she smiled. They waited and focused on their coming confrontation. They were surprised when the landing bay door shot into the hull of the violet ship and they were blown out of the landing bay toward the planet below. Ringie thought the time would have moved slower…she was wrong. She saw the planet below and then jumped as the four satellites circling the planet exploded. She looked up for the violet colored ship but it had jumped away. She turned and focused on the planet below and waited for the globes to release them.

• • •

The Supreme Lord’s Senior Advisor rushed into the Lord’s chamber and bowed, “Yes, what is it?”

“Ten thousand of our planets have been attacked and the control satellites above them have been destroyed.”

“Who did this?”

“We had a warship at ten of the attacked planets; they pursued and destroyed the ships that attacked. All the others jumped away before we could respond.” The Supreme Lord stared at his advisor saying nothing and the Advisor continued, “The wreckage of the ten ships we killed are being examined; we’ve determined quickly that they are no match for even our smallest warships.”

“What about the crew on those ships?”

“They were flown by two different species; we have no record of them in any of our databanks. We have no idea where they came from, Lord.”

The Lord tilted his huge triangular head, “Did they attack the planets?”

“No, they did not. The planets report massive debris falling into the atmosphere from the control satellites but there was no trace of weapons or warriors being dropped.”

“Why would they jump in to only destroy the control satellites?”

The Advisor turned his head left and right, “It really doesn’t make sense. However, I’ve dispatched our ships to the planets to investigate.”

“Were our ships able to get a reading on their jump tracks?”

“Sire, only ten of the planets had a warship present and they destroyed the intruders quickly. The jump tracks in all the other systems faded before we could get a ship to them. The ten we destroyed jumped to open space attempting to escape. They were destroyed before they moved toward any galaxy.”

“So we have no idea where they originated from?”

“No Sire, we do not.”

“Have the Senior Lords dispatch ships to their planets and hold station until I order otherwise?”

The advisor left the Chamber and sent the orders. The Major Lords were not happy sending some of their fleets away from their major planets but they knew they would not dare disobey the Supreme Lord. After five days, nothing was detected to keep them at the ten thousand planets. They were recalled to their major planets.

• • •

Blacky and Ringie were in the soil in one of the huge farms on the planet’s surface. They watched the Servants and focused on their behaviors for four days. Many times they watched a Servant move at an incredible speed across the large fields to confront one of the local inhabitants who had collapsed from fatigue. The Servant would arrived at the inhabitant and inspect it. Most of the time it would raise the hand blaster it carried and burn a hole through the inhabitant’s chest. It would then use its terrible jaws to tear the dead body apart and scatter the remains into the field to fertilize the soil.

“Have you noticed that it puts the blaster down to tear the body apart?” Blacky hooted quietly that he had noticed it. “That is when we are going to have to strike.” Blacky clicked twice and the two Madators moved through the soil quickly until they were out of the giant field.

• • •

That night Blacky said, “This is going to be impossible to time.”

“Not really.”

“Why do you say that?”

“I’ve been watching the inhabitants as they enter the field and I’ve been able to pick the ones that would collapse. Some of them are in bad shape before they enter the field; it won’t be hard to move close to one of those that are weak.”

“You may pick the wrong one.”

“It’s only a matter of time until we’re close to one that falters.”

Blacky thought about it and said, “We will do this together the first time.”

“I was expecting you to say that. We have to get control of its hind legs first.”

“You’re right. It could probably drag both of us across the field if those legs are free. However, getting the legs will still leave the stinger free.”

Ringie thought a moment, “When the creature bends down to use its jaws on the dead body, it raises its abdomen for balance; that exposes the hind legs. One of us could wrap the legs up against the stinger and hold on as tightly as possible.”

Blacky nodded, “The other could wrap the creature’s neck up and lift it off the ground. We could then pull it onto our beaks and kill it.”

Ringie stared at Blacky, “This will have to happen in less than a second.”

“I know.”

“Are we capable of doing that?”

“If we can get it off the ground where it can’t find leverage to resist us, it’s possible.”

Ringie nodded, “We need to come at it from the side. We’ll be next to each other and we can both pull it into our beaks.”

“I’ll take the legs and stinger.”

Ringie shook her arm at him, “We are going to have to lift this creature instantly. Whoever has the neck and upper body is going to have to do the bulk of the lifting.” Ringie’s head rolled up her body, “Who is the stronger?”

Blacky stared at Ringie and after a moment rolled his head completely around his body, “I don’t like having you near that stinger.”

“I feel the same…but if this is going to work, you’re going to have provide the bulk of the strength needed to lift it.”

“I’ll use four of my arms and use another to shove the blaster out of its reach.”

“Use six to lift it. We’ll stay on the ground and use the rest of our arms to dig in the soil and anchor us. We’ll lift it and slam it into the ground where we’ll be waiting.”

“We still have three days before we start our attacks. Tomorrow, you and I will observe the inhabitants and pick three that we think will collapse. We’ll prioritize them; which one is most likely to fall followed by the other choices. Let’s see if we can make a good selection.”

• • •

Two days later, Blacky waited on Ringie to arrive in the tree line next to the giant field the next day after sunset and was thinking about the inhabitants the Servants had killed that day. Ringie arrived and as she emerged from the soil, Blacky saw her expression. “I had no idea we could be this accurate.”

“It is somewhat disconcerting, isn’t it?”

“They all died in the order we predicted. This violates all the rules of predictability. The odds of being right every time are astronomical.”

Blacky rolled his head around his body, “That means something else is operating here.”

Ringie’s head rolled down her chest, “Such as?”

“Ringie, we’re predators. Our species is a culmination of millions of years of development. I believe that we are genetically able to see the weakest in any group we encounter. The main function of a predator, in nature, is to remove the sick and weak from the herd so that the herd is strengthened. We possess a natural ability to see the weakest and it’s as natural as stretching our arms.”

Ringie thought about Blacky’s comment and her head went to the top of her body showing her agreement. “Tomorrow’s the day.”

Blacky sighed, “Yes, it is. We’ll pick the inhabitant that is going to die and move in close to it.”

“When do we strike?”

“We’ll move the moment the Servant bends down to tear it apart. Wait for it to put the blaster on the ground; that’s the moment we’ll move.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“What?”

“We’ll not move until the blaster is dropped and the Servant has sunk its jaws into its victim.” Blacky thought about Ringie’s suggestion, “You’re right; its eyes are covered with a membrane to protect them when it bites. I’m really lucky to have our greatest hunter as my partner. I missed that little detail. Get some rest; we’re going to need all our strength.”

Ringie came over and snuggled next to Blacky as the two of them melted into the soil.

• • •

A large Servant lifted one of the arms on the dead black body of a Madator and looked at the ten other Servants who had run up to him, “What is this?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“What did it do?”

“It tried to sneak up and attack me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It was moving through the soil and was difficult to see. Fortunately, the sun was still above the horizon and I saw the shadows changing on the surface of the field. It was really quite strong.”

“Why haven’t we ever seen a creature like this before?”

“I have no idea. We need to get it over to the main building and have them do an examination.”

“I’ll help you drag it.”

“You just want to get out of the field; I can handle it alone.”

“Come on!”

“Oh, alright, you can drag it in with me.”

The two moved out of the field toward a building located in the center of the giant farm. The nine other Servants were still standing around, staring at them dragging the body away; one of them said, “Get back to your positions.”

• • •

Mumbles remained a hundred yards from the creatures and was undergoing a mixed bag of emotions. He was furious at Hardhead’s stupidity. He refused to work with Mumbles on the first attack and his stubbornness had cost him his life. Mumbles also felt a huge sense of loss at the death of his friend. He had at least learned that the creature’s eyesight was incredible in day light. If Hardhead had just been patient and waited until the sun was below the horizon he might have succeeded. Mumbles looked at the building where Hardhead’s body had been taken and he moved through the soil toward it. He made sure he gave every Servant in his path a wide berth. He arrived at the edge of the field just as the sun moved below the horizon and the Servants ordered the inhabitants to go to their quarters. Mumbles watched them walk away and made a decision.

• • •

Blacky and Ringie were in the soil next to one of the inhabitants that was struggling. The creature had three, two foot long trunks that were used to manipulate tools. It was pulling a sharp, hooked tool through the tough vines that were growing in the long rows of crops in the field. It rocked its shoulders back, pulling the tough vines loose but it was struggling to hold the tool.

Blacky and Ringie were under the soil in the row directly behind the inhabitant and moved with it as it moved down the row. The crops being tended were waist high to the inhabitant and the Madators knew they would have to keep the Servant below the level of the plants when they attacked. If any part of it emerged above the level of the crops, the other Servants in the field would be on them instantly. The Servant would disappear below the crops when it bent down to tear the inhabitant apart. The two Madators saw it wasn’t going to be much longer. The inhabitant had stopped pulling the tool and was now swaying. In a few more moments, it struggled mightily, but collapsed to the ground and fought to stand up.

• • •

The Servant in the center of the field saw one of the inhabitants was starting to suffer. It saw every detail of its struggle and determined that it would not make it through the day. The large Servant shook its head slightly and thought about going ahead and putting it out of its misery; but his orders prohibited it. The slaves had to know they were safe as long as they worked. Killing one early would send a mixed message that could lead to problems. So it waited; keeping one eye on the suffering inhabitant and the other on the other side of the field. There were other inhabitants suffering, but none of them were in as much trouble as the one to his left. Nothing escaped its notice. It noticed that the plants directly behind the suffering inhabitant were minutely higher than the others around it; but that was probably due to the inhabitant using its four legs to try and gain leverage in its weakened state. The inhabitant disappeared and the Servant knew it had collapsed. If the inhabitant had continued further along the row the Servant would have seen the minute bulge move with it. The Madators were lucky it had fallen when it did.

The Servant arrived in an instant at the fallen creature and saw it struggling to stand. He swiveled his head and raised his blaster. The Servants always blasted the sick when they could have just bitten them and killed them. They took no joy in the suffering of their slaves and knew blasting them was a quick painless mercy. The Servant moved around the now dead creature’s body and leaned down to cut it apart with its massive jaws. It laid the blaster on the ground and gripped the soil and the inhabitant’s dead body with its legs for support. It bit into the creature’s neck and suddenly felt like it was being crushed. Twelve black cables had wrapped up its body from its neck to its stinger. It felt the cable pull and it held on to the soil instinctively. The second pull snatched it out of the soil and off the inhabitant’s body. It went a foot in the air and was slammed down to the earth onto the two Madator’s beaks that slashed through its body shell. Its central nervous system was cut and devoured instantly and its heart was bitten in half. The attack had happened in less than a second and the Servant didn’t even have time to scream. The two Madators devoured the dead Servant along with the thirty larvae in its stinger. They went back into the soil and began moving quickly away from the site of the attack. As they put distance between themselves and the dead Servant, they felt their speed start to increase. By the time they left the field they were moving at four times their normal rate.

• • •

Mumbles knew the Servants had to be stopped from studying Hardhead’s body. The idiot had not even activated the dot he carried to prevent what happened. The Servant had killed him so fast he didn’t have time to say anything. Those creatures were incredibly powerful. Mumbles stayed at the edge of the field and screamed the activation word for Hardhead’s dot at high frequency but nothing happened. The sound was being blocked by the building’s walls. Mumbles screamed two more times and saw it was hopeless. He started to leave but then saw the main door on the front of the building open as the two Servants, who had dragged Hardhead’s body into it, exited the building. He screamed the activation word in his highest frequency and volume and the building went up in a blast that blew the roof two hundred yards into the air. Flaming debris rained down on the field and the surrounding buildings.

Mumbles moved out into the field and extended one of his eyes on a stalk slightly above the level of the crops. He knew the Servants would be focused on the blast and he watched as the Servants who were out in the fields came rushing in. He watched most of them pass and then saw the last one running down the row next to him. He extended two of his arms under the soil across the row and waited. The Servant running down the row was frightened. The building’s destruction could cause the Lord to have all of those responsible for its safety executed.

It was moving at high speed, when suddenly, its two rear legs it used to run were suddenly wrapped up, before it slammed into the ground stunning it. Before it could gather its senses, something slammed down on its back and it felt something penetrate its back. The Madator’s beak punctured the stunned Servant’s brain and it died instantly. Mumbles took his time dining on the Servant and didn’t leave much that was recognizable. He saw several Servants at the building looking around and he decided it was time to leave. He entered the soil and moved away at a speed that shocked him.

He arrived in the forest surrounding the field, emerged from the soil and ran through the thick trees and brush at an incredible speed. He felt the changes taking place in his body and knew his strength was growing by the minute and he reveled in the feeling. He knew the Servants were going to conduct a search that would be hard to avoid. He arrived at the edge of the forest next to a deep gorge that had been cut into the rock of the mountains next to the forest. Mumbles saw the river far below and he jumped off the cliff and disappeared. He fell two hundred feet and then he changed his shape to the foil and flapped his wings. He shot up so fast it caught him by surprise. His strength was incredible and he flapped his way out of the gorge and saw huge carnivorous birds circling at the snow line high above him. He accelerated and flew toward their location. He saw the face of the mountain was covered with their nesting sites and he noticed that one of them was empty. He turned and flew into the small opening in the rock and changed his shape to mimic the birds. There were several that protested his presence but they backed off when they were slapped hard by Mumble’s arms. Mumbles stayed in the small opening and the next morning looked down on the distant fields where the building had exploded. He was shocked that he could see even small details from his lofty location. He gave thanks for the gifts taken from the Ultimate Prey and then he shouted his victory scream at his highest frequency. The surviving Madators within fifty miles of Mumble’s location felt pride at his victory and some added their call to his.

• • •

Blacky and Ringie had also flown away from the field where they had killed the Servant. They heard Mumble’s victory scream and Ringie shook her head. Blacky looked at her, “What?”

“I don’t hear Hardhead. That must mean he didn’t make it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Two reasons; first, Mumbles would allow him to scream first because he’s like that.”

“And?”

“You heard the explosion. It had to be Hardhead’s dot.”

Blacky shrugged. He liked that human expression. It said so much with so little.

Ringie looked up at the sun, “We need to wait until the Servants start to relax.”

The two landed next to the river in the deep gorge and Blacky moved into the soil on the side of the riverbank; Ringie joined him a moment later. Blacky kept an ear just below the soil’s surface, listening for anything that approached their location. The two closed their eyes and rested.

• • •

“Where’s your teammate?”

The Servant looked around, “He was coming in right behind me.” The four Servants looked around and they called out the missing Servant’s name without receiving a response. The Group Leader looked at the missing Servant’s partner, “Where was he the last time you saw him?”

The Servant pointed toward the rows close to the field’s edge and the four moved out into the rows. Ten minutes later they found the missing Servant and the alarm went out. There was a creature that could kill them loose on the planet. The death of another Servant at another field caused the alarm to be sent to the Ruling Lord. The Ruling Lord dismissed the initial report but soon the reports came flooding in. It immediately noticed that the deaths were only happening on the planets that had their control satellites destroyed in prior attacks. All over the Servant Domain, the reports went out and reached the Supreme Lord’s attention is less than ten hours. The fleets were dispatched a day later.

The Supreme Lord read the report on the number of ships sent to the invaded planets and looked up at his Advisor, “They destroyed the control satellites at those planets. We need to replace them.” The Advisor looked extremely uncomfortable and the Supreme Lord leaned forward, “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Lord, we’ve conquered the vast majority of civilized planets in our galaxy. The facilities used to construct the control satellites were moved to the galaxy we’ve invaded and are at full production trying to keep up with the conquests happening there. Do you wish for me to move the construction facilities back here to rebuild the satellites that were destroyed? You know the most critical time they’re needed is when a planet is first conquered to show the new slaves there is no possibility of revolt.” The Lord stared at his advisor who quickly said, “I don’t see how they can help finding these creatures. None of the scanners on our best ships have been able to locate them. The ships in orbit have better scanners and decidedly more firepower than the satellites.”

“It will tie a huge number of our ships to those planets.”

“We don’t currently need them. We can afford to send them.”

“We’re going to need them to invade the Spiral Galaxy.”

“That invasion is still a long way off, Sire.”

The Supreme Lord thought about the situation and raised an arm and waved it at the Advisor, “You’re right. In the meantime, start construction of new facilities to build the satellites.”

“Yes, Lord.”

Chapter Seventeen

Mumbles remained on the mountain’s face watching the frenzied activity of the Servants at the destroyed building. The local inhabitants had been ordered to stay out of the fields and the Servants had surrounded the giant field and moved into it with scanners being focused in front of their ranks. Mumbles shook his head and knew that destroying Hardhead’s body was critical to prevent the Servants from developing a scanner that would detect him. He was pretty certain nothing in the way of communications had left the building in the limited time they had possession of Hardhead’s body. He kept his eyes on the field and smiled at their failure to find anything. By mid-afternoon he had lost interest but he continued to watch. Something flashed high above in the atmosphere and he focused on the section of sky where it had appeared. He brought his focus in and saw a Servant shuttle moving in toward the planet. He slid out of the opening and screamed. There were Servant Warships in orbit and the Madators were entering a phase where the danger level had skyrocketed. However, they all knew that they had to continue their attacks to lock down ships the Servants could use against the Union.

• • •

Blacky and Ringie stared at the shuttle that had landed next to the buildings that survived the detonation of Hardhead’s dot. They had one more duty to perform before their mission was complete. They had to escape and return to their home world. The Madators sent to this planet were the best of their species. The team was made up of the most successful ones that were in the raids on the Grillen production planets. Blacky and Ringie were charged with escaping back to their planet. If they failed, the others would make the effort until one of them escaped. The other Madators would make the planets they landed on their home until the war was settled. Blacky and Ringie had to take back the improvements they had after killing the Servant.

Blacky stared at the shuttle, “Do you think that shuttle has jump capability?”

“Ours do. I would think they would use them to travel between their planets without using a warship.”

“They have a guard posted.”

“I see that.” Ringie paused, “We can’t attempt an entrance until nightfall.”

“That’s when they’ll be expecting it.”

“Daylight would be suicide.”

“Probably.”

“What are you thinking?”

“That shuttle has not left for four days. Whoever arrived in it is taking us seriously and is coordinating the ground and Space forces.”

“So?”

“The crew has to eat.”

Ringie thought about what she had seen and realized that nothing had been taken to the shuttle. “It’s just a matter of time until the stores will need replacing.”

Both of them turned to look at the large building at the far end of the huge complex. Ringie turned to Blacky, “Perhaps we should go there.”

“Perhaps you’re right; but first I need to leave a present for our friends.” The two Madators disappeared into the ground.

• • •

The Servant Baron stared at the displays on the wall and was starting to get frustrated. The killings had diminished but had not completely stopped and the attacks were unpredictable. One of the creatures had to be captured to make a scanner capable of finding them. Fifty had been killed but they immediately blew up in self-destructive blasts. He saw his communicator illuminate and beep; he saw the pilot of his shuttle on the display, “Lord, we are running low on provisions. Should we lift and pickup what we need from our ship?”

The Planet’s Minor Ruler swiveled his head, “We have a whole planet full of provisions.”

The Baron didn’t want the shuttle to leave; he might need it to escape. “Collect what you need from the local staff.”

“Yes, Sire.” The pilot ended the call and turned to his Second and smiled, “The Baron has ordered us to replace our stores from the locals’ storage.”

The Second’s excitement was clear, “That means we’ll have access to the freshest harvest.”

“Yes it does. Go with the local leader and make sure you choose only the best foods. This opportunity doesn’t happen very often; let’s take advantage of it.”

The Second stood and opened the port to the Shuttle. He was greeted by three Servants riding in a collection vehicle. “Come with us.”

Mumbles saw the shuttle’s door open and the Second exit the ship; he flew high in the air and screamed at a high frequency. Blacky heard him and said, “Alright, it’s time.” Blacky and Ringie were in the storage facility and they flowed along the wall and moved into two baskets of dark, black, balls of harvested crops. They learned, while observing the Searchers initially, that those black balls were the favorite food of the guards in the fields. The two containers they flowed into had been harvested the day before. The two Madators assumed their smallest shape, which was close to the size of the balls in the containers.

• • •

The vehicle arrived and the driver scanned the interior of the huge building and stared at the results. “Nothing.”

The Second stepped out of the vehicle and saw the fresh, wonderful food that filled the entire structure. The driver saw his expression and smiled, “Choose whatever you want.”

“Which crops are the freshest?”

The Driver pointed to his right and said, “These were brought in two days ago.” Blacky and Ringie were disappointed. They were in the containers in the opposite direction. The driver saw the Second’s expression and said, “But these were brought in last night.” The group of Servants turned and stared at the containers where Blacky and Ringie were hiding. Blacky had nearly flowed out of the basket to move to the other side of the storage facility and was thankful he had waited.

The Second hit the driver on the back with one of his legs and laughed, “You’re teasing me.”

“I know what you’re forced to eat on your ship. I served in the Lord’s Navy and know what it’s like. Choose whatever you want and, if I were you, I’d make sure it doesn’t leave your shuttle when you go back to your ship.”

“Oh, we’ll keep it to ourselves.” The Second walked over and pointed to ten containers of the black balls, “Take these first.” Two Servants went over and lifted the containers into the vehicle’s bed. Blacky and Ringie were the fifth and eight container moved. An hour later, the bed was full and the vehicle backed out of the building and moved toward the shuttle. Fifteen guards moved in and surrounded the Shuttle; they faced out toward the fields as the four Servants began moving the containers inside the shuttle’s landing bay. The containers were all moved into the shuttle an hour later and the driver looked at the Second, “Do you need us to help put them away?”

“No, we’re required to do that. Thanks for offering.”

Mumbles had flown off the mountain and was high overhead mimicking the flight of the planet’s largest bird. He waited until the vehicle was empty outside the shuttle and he screamed a word at his highest frequency. Across the giant field from the shuttle, a dot left by Blacky detonated and killed four Servants conducting a search close by. The Second felt the explosion before he heard it. The blast roared across the field, blowing crops flat and the Second pushed the driver out the landing bay door and slammed it shut. The three crew members on the shuttle went to their action stations and activated the shuttle’s force field. Blacky and Ringie flowed out of their containers and moved into the vents in the ceiling. They molded themselves to the walls and waited.

• • •

Mumbles flew into a cloud high above the Servant base and saw fifty attack ships come roaring down to the planet and start crisscrossing the field searching for what had set off the blast. Mumbles joined a flock of the giant birds that were frightened by the incoming warships and arrived back at the mountain. That was close. He looked back and saw the attack craft had started firing on any bird that flew over the huge base. He wondered why and then he realized that one of their scanners must have heard his high frequency scream. He took in a deep breath and knew communicating had just become more difficult. He sent out a warning at an extremely low frequency and waited to see if it generated a response. He waited at the small opening in the cliff wall for an attack craft to come roaring in. When nothing happened, he knew he still had one channel to use. He listened to the low frequency and looked off at the ocean beyond the base. He smiled; it appeared that there was a sea creature that used that frequency to communicate with its species. That creature’s bellows would mask the Madators’ communications.

• • •

Katherine looked at Dat and shook her head, “What do you mean the Madators are not going to send the second wave?”

Dat sighed, “Sir, I’ve been told by their leaders that no other wave will go until one of the first wave returns.”

“Why!?!”

“I don’t know.”

“Well find out!”

“Sir, they are not forthcoming with an answer. They are waiting and I guess we’ll have to wait with them.”

Katherine shook her head, “Sometimes I find myself going batty trying to understand them.”

“Get in line, Sir.”

“Have we detected any further intrusions by the Servants?”

“No Sir.”

“Well, we have more than we can do at the moment. Let me know if anything changes.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Ringie had chosen the vent over the bridge to enter and hide. She had learned to pilot a Grillen Grey Ship and was more qualified to learn the shuttle’s operation. She watched the crew go through their system checks five times over the next week and saw that the shuttle was only slightly different from the Grey Ships the Servants had given to the Grillen. The jump drive had a different entry device for the desired coordinates and she deciphered it after three more days. On the eighth day she heard the Pilot say, “The Baron has been called to the Lord’s chamber to report his findings.”

“Uh oh.”

“I agree. He’s planning to leave in three hours; prepare the ship.”

The Second stood up and went to the landing bay, “The Baron will be returning in three hours. Get the landing bay cleaned up and ready.” The Servant swiveled his head and began moving things around.

Ringie extended one of her arms and moved it through the ductwork to the vent where Blacky was hiding. She felt one of Blacky’s arms meet hers halfway and they communicated through their arms.

“How do you want to do this? Should we wait for the ship to jump?”

“No, it would arrive in a system with a huge number of warships. We have to take control before the jump drive is activated.”

“Blacky, there are three crewmembers and the Baron. How are we going to take them out?”

“We’re going to have to assume we’re strong enough to make it happen. I’ll take the Baron and the Servant in the landing bay. You’ll have to handle the two in the control room.”

“How would you recommend doing it?”

“Go after their necks and squeeze with all your strength. The nerve messages to their bodies travel through the nerves in their necks. We have to hope we can pull it off.”

“You saw the blasters on the wall?”

“I did…but you know, if a blaster discharged, it would be seen on the warships scanners overhead. There would also be the risk of damaging the shuttle. We have to do it this way.”

“They’ll be on us like dark at night.”

“I’ve traced the electrical system and I’ve located the conduit that controls the shuttle’s lighting. I’m cutting the wire as I drop into the landing bay. The emergency lighting will take about a second to activate. That’s how long you’ll have to take them out.”

Ringie squeezed Blacky’s arm, “They may be bad during the day but we rule the night.”

“I have no doubt about that, my love.”

Ringie heard his endearment and smiled.

• • •

The Baron walked out of the Planetary Commander’s office promising a swift return as he turned and moved toward his shuttle. The Commander exited the building and fell to the floor. He had been nervous the entire time the Baron had been present. Thankfully, he was leaving; even if it was for a short time. It was at least a time where he wouldn’t be executed.

• • •

The Baron moved over to his shuttle and tried to think of excuses why he had not removed the creatures that were killing his warriors. He hadn’t come up with a good one by the time he arrived at the shuttle and stepped inside the landing bay. The Third welcomed him back and suddenly the lights went out. The two Servants looked at each other and a moment later the emergency lights illuminated.

• • •

Ringie fell out of the ceiling vent behind the two Servants’ chairs when the bridge’s lights went out. The Pilot was leaning forward waiting for the emergency lighting to activate so he could run a diagnostic check; she whipped six of her arms at them. She wrapped three of them around each Servant’s neck and squeezed with all her strength. The room was suddenly illuminated by the emergency lights a moment later and she found herself holding two headless Servants. She leaned back in surprise as Blacky rushed in from the landing bay. Ringie turned and smiled, “I guess I’m stronger than I thought.”

Blacky laughed and yelled, “Lift the ship. I’m reconnecting the wire I cut.”

Blacky disappeared and Ringie threw the dead Servants to the back of the bridge and energized the shuttle’s thrusters. The small vessel lifted and turned north as it rose from the ground. The main lights came back on as the ship went vertical and Blacky was in the Second’s chair before they were ten miles above the planet. Ringie looked at the coordinates in the jump drive and changed the last four digits. Blacky watched her and smiled, “That’s nicely played.”

“Thank you. Stand by for jump.” The shuttle cleared the upper atmosphere and the two Madators saw more than a thousand warships in orbit directly above the planet. As they moved further from the planet, they saw thousands more scattered around the horizon from their location. Ringie looked at Blacky and he shrugged, “I guess they’re taking this seriously.”

Ringie activated the jump drive and said, “I guess.”

• • •

A navigator on a Servant Warship in orbit said, “That’s odd.”

The ship’s Commander turned and looked at him, “What’s odd?”

“The jump coordinates are directly toward our Lord’s planet but they’ll emerge outside the Lord’s planetary system.”

The Commander thought a moment and smiled, “I guess the Baron wants to take some time to get his story straight before he faces the Lord.”

The Navigator swiveled his head, “If he hadn’t got it straight by now…”

The Commander laughed out loud. A week later, both of them denied seeing the jump coordinates, when a security team questioned them. Apparently, none of the thousands of ships in orbit were in the least bit curious about the Baron’s jump track. They all claimed to be focused on the planet’s surface scanning for the creatures killing their warriors. The security team knew they were lying but weren’t going to endanger brave warriors for the Baron’s stupidity.

• • •

Ringie watched the shuttle’s scanners in a distant galaxy from the Servant’s location. The ship was hanging in green space and she watched for anything moving their way. She had jumped the shuttle a hundred times and waited at their current location for a week while Blacky went through the ship’s wiring searching for a location beacon. Blacky came into the control room and Ringie looked at him expectantly. Blacky’s head rolled around his body showing his disappointment, “I found it.”

“And?”

“If we enter normal space it will activate. It’s also in an armored location that I can’t break into without detonating the self-destruct module. The Servants thought this through before they installed it.”

“What can we do?”

“We can’t enter normal space; that’s for certain.” Blacky thought a moment and looked at Ringie, “Do you still have the communicator you were given by the Union before our first mission?”

Ringie reached over her round body and pulled it out of her hide. She handed it to Blacky, “What are you going to do with it?”

Blacky laughed, “You are the best!!”

“Why?”

“I dumped mine right after the first mission. You may have saved our lives by keeping yours.”

“You know how I hate to throw things away.”

Blacky smiled, “I’m going to record our current situation and release this communicator out of the landing bay. We’ll move away from it and it will emerge into normal space and send my recording to the Union.”

“Do you think it will reach them from this far away?”

“You know how their communications operate; they’ll hear it.”

“Are they still listening to that frequency?”

“Now that I don’t know; we’ll have to hope for the best. We’ll give them some time to see if they do.” Blacky started talking into the unit and an hour later he ejected it from the landing bay. The shuttle moved a short distance and the unit emerged into normal space.

• • •

“General, I have something very unusual here.”

Brad walked over and looked at the Lieutenant’s panel, “What do you have?”

“I’ve just received a compressed squeal message from somewhere.”

Brad stared at the frequency and shook his head, “Have we used that frequency before?”

The Lieutenant shrugged and Brad said, “Erase it.”

“Sir, let me go into the defense system database and see if we’ve ever used it before I do that.” Brad nodded and left the Lieutenant’s desk. An hour later his communicator beeped and he saw the Lieutenant on his wrist unit, “Sir, I had to go into Fleet’s top secret files but I found where that frequency was used.”

“Where?”

“It was assigned to a communicator given to a Madator by the name of Ringie during the initial drop of the Madators on a Grillen Production Facility.”

“Lieutenant, decode the message and get it to me immediately!”

“Yes Sir.”

“Oh, and Lieutenant.”

“Yes Sir.”

“You are promoted to Captain and will go to flight training to assume the command of one of the Union’s Warships. Good job.” Brad knew the Lieutenant had applied for positions on a Union Warship. He was one of his best operators.

“Thank you, Sir.” Lt. Coranado found the file to decipher the message and he contacted the General again. Brad rushed out of his office screaming over his communicator. Shane’s ship was ordered to battle stations as Admirals Hull and Arvolo started reading the communication on their terminals. Dat jumped his Rover to the Saturn and entered the ship’s landing bay at emergency speed. He exited his Rover and ran to the tubes; he arrived on the bridge to find Shane yelling. Shane saw him enter the bridge, “Sir, what is going on!?!”

“You’re going to attempt a rescue.” Shane’s expression showed his confusion and it changed to concern as Dat said, “You are going to pull a ship out of green space.”

“Sir, I don’t know if that’s possible.”

Dat shrugged, “You will make it possible!”

“Sir, you know that when two ship’s fields touch in Green Space, the smaller of them is shoved into normal space. It’s a classic engagement maneuver.”

“Find a way, Admiral.” Shane rolled his head and eyes. Shane stood up and moved to the Second Command Chair as Dat sat in the ship’s Command Chair. Dat entered coordinates into the jump drive and smiled at Shane, “You have to come up with a way.” He pressed the jump button and the Saturn disappeared from normal space.

Chapter Eighteen

The Saturn jumped to a location more than ten light years from the shuttle’s coordinates. Dat took the ship back into Green Space and flew the ship manually toward the target’s coordinates. After ten minutes, they saw the glow of the shuttle’s jump drive directly ahead. He stopped the ship and looked at Shane, “Well?”

“Give me a minute.”

“Come on, Admiral; you can do this.” Shane could only shake his head.

• • •

Ringie saw the object coming toward them in green space and she moved an arm to the jump drive. When it stopped and started moving slowly forward she said, “They heard us!”

Blacky watched the approaching ship and knew it was a Jukebox. “Why didn’t they use one of the ships that dropped us?”

Ringie blew out the air she had absorbed, “Blacky, you know those old ships would never escape a Servant Warship. I suspect whoever came in that ship knows it as well.”

“We could both enter normal space and we’ll land in the ship’s landing bay.”

Ringie rolled her head side to side, “Blacky, the Servants are going to be on us long before we could execute that maneuver. I’m sure they are watching for the location beacon and have ships ready to immediately jump. I’ve been thinking about how to get around it and I have to admit that I’ve come up empty. If the Servants see the Jukebox they’ll know the Union is involved in the drop on their planets. It would probably cause them to immediately attack the Union.”

“So what do we do?”

Ringie shrugged. Blacky tried not to laugh but he couldn’t prevent it. It was the first time Ringie had used the human expression. Ringie smiled, “It does say what you feel.”

“Yes, it does.”

“I guess we’ll have to see what the Union has come up with and follow their lead.” Blacky nodded and watched the huge ship move closer.

• • •

Dat saw the small ship outside the Saturn’s jump field, “Admiral?”

Shane blew out a breath and turned his chair around, “Timson.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Do we have a program to control the jump field emitters?”

“Yes Sir, but it’s not designed to control small changes.”

“Patch the program into my panel. I want control of the emitters located directly between us and that shuttle.”

“All of them, Sir?”

“All of them. Route them to the six paddles on my panel.”

Dat heard the exchange and said, “What are you doing?”

“Admiral Arvolo, I need you to be quiet.”

Dat stared at Shane and saw the tension on his face. He leaned back in his chair and watched the main display. Shane began moving the paddles and prayed the Madators on the shuttle could see what he was doing.

• • •

Ringie and Blacky watched the huge ship and saw the ship’s jump field next to their shuttle start moving away from them toward the hull of the giant ship. Blacky stared at the change, “What are they doing?” Ringie looked up through the shuttle’s viewport and saw the jump field on top and bottom of the Saturn start to move over and below their ship. She grabbed the jump controls and minimized the field until it was only six feet from their ship. She grabbed the thruster controls and slowly moved the shuttle toward the giant ship. “What are you doing?”

“Shut up!” Blacky watched the giant ship move closer and grabbed the back of the second chair. He crushed the head restraint and quickly released it. “I guess I’ll have to be careful whenever I hug someone in the future.”

Ringie continued to operate the thrusters staring at the huge ship and said, “I hope that doesn’t mean me.”

Blacky stared at her as she worked the controls and said, “No, it does not.” Ringie smiled and slowed their approach toward the giant Union Warship.

• • •

Shane was starting to sweat. Controlling the various emitters was starting to drain him. He used his fingers to lock the paddles in place and only made small adjustments as he concentrated on the shuttle while manipulating the emitters on the top and bottom of his ship. Dat looked up at the tactical display and saw the shuttle was being surrounded by what looked like a huge letter C. The open end of the C was slowly moving beyond the shuttle and closing. The shuttle was being slowly surrounded by the Saturn’s jump field. Shane held the paddles between his fingers and locked them down on the board. He stared at his panel’s display and shouted, “Timson, start the hull lights flashing a twenty second count down.”

The lights on the Saturn’s hull flashed twenty times…paused…and then flashed nineteen times. Shane prayed the Madators would understand. He began closing the open end of the C shaped field and the distance between the two open ends of the C began moving slowly toward each other.

“What are they doing?”

Blacky watched the lights and after a moment said, “It’s reducing one each time.”

Ringie nodded, “It’s a countdown.”

“For what?”

“They want me to shut down the jump drive.”

“What?”

“Their field will close beyond us at the end of the countdown.” Blacky nodded and Ringie said, “I’m shutting it down after ONE.”

“Why not zero?”

“Zero would not appear. The last number will be one.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Me, too, Blacky.”

• • •

Shane watched the countdown and prayed they were as smart as he hoped. He said, “Timson, get over here and put your hand on the emitter’s controllers that operate next to the space the shuttle is located. When I say ‘now’, press all of them.”

Shane watched the countdown and saw the C had closed until the gap remaining between the two legs was smaller than the eye could see. The countdown hit one and he yelled, “NOW!!!” Shane closed the legs of the C, closed his eyes, and braced for an expected impact. After a moment, he opened one eye and saw the shuttle inside the Saturn’s jump field. He watched the shuttle enter the landing bay and he collapsed back into his chair. He tried to wipe his brow but couldn’t raise his arms.

Dat jumped out of his command chair and patted Shane on the back, “Well done, Admiral. You have proven again that you are the best we have.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Shane looked at Lt. Timson, “Plot a course for an O-class star. We’re going to skip to it and drop the shuttle into its corona.” Shane watched the Saturn moving rapidly toward the largest speck ahead of them in green space. The Saturn stopped and the shuttle was pushed out of the Saturn’s landing bay. The Saturn skipped away and the shuttle emerged into the outer corona of one of the hottest stars in the universe; it promptly melted before the location beacon could activate. Even the self-destruct module’s explosion was too dim to see in the giant star’s light. Shane looked over at Captain Cambell, who was sitting with the jump officer, and said, “You have the ship. Timson, please help me get up out of this chair and take me to my quarters.”

“Yes Sir.”

Candy watched Shane leave the bridge and shook her head. The Admiral had impressed her again. What he had just done should have been impossible. She was starting to think the ship and he were one creature. She looked at Timson’s replacement, “Plot us a course back to Earth.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

Dat arrived in the landing bay and saw Blacky and Ringie exiting the shuttle. He slowed down and walked toward them with some dignity and smiled, “It’s good to see you.”

Blacky placed an arm on Dat’s shoulder and said, “It was a close thing.”

Dat looked at Blacky’s arm and saw he had not given his customary hug. He looked at Blacky and the Madator smiled, “I have to be careful now.”

“So it worked?”

“It did.”

“Now what are you going to do?”

“I need you to take us home.”

Dat lifted his wrist unit and pulled up the bridge’s frequency, “Admiral Matthews.”

“Sir, the Admiral is in his quarters having his arms treated. I am currently in command. Would you like me to patch you through to him?”

“No, Captain Cambell; please set a course for the Madator Home World.”

“Yes Sir.”

Candy looked at the jump officer who had entered the coordinates for Earth and was prepared to initiate the jump, “Change the destination.”

The Navigator had heard the exchange and nodded. A moment later he announced over the ship’s loudspeakers, “Jump in one minute. Prepare for jump in one minute.”

• • •

Dat heard the announcement and said, “Admiral Hull has been frustrated. Your leaders have refused to launch the second wave.”

Blacky looked at Ringie and back to Dat, “We will launch two waves immediately after we get back home. They’ll be ready to go within a week.”

“Do you really want to send that many of your population away? It’s going to be difficult to get them back home if this war is drawn out.”

“They won’t be coming back, Dat. The planets they land on will become their new homes.”

Dat stared at Blacky and felt a wave of fear. “Blacky, you know we would never agree to freeing your species to spread out away from your planet. We’ve seen how dangerous you can be.”

“Dat, you are going to have to decide. Our existence is tied to your survival and that frightens us to no end. You are going to have to determine whether or not you can trust us to keep our pledge, given in honor, to always defend you against your enemies. We have no desire to go back into starships. Ruling others is not our calling and we’ve seen how it can lead to our destruction. We’ve learned that nothing can remove us from a planet we’ve landed on except destroying the planet. That was the only way you were able to defeat us and we won’t make that mistake again. There will always be some of my species on the planet you’ve given us that can go out and assemble the number you need for defense. I hope we’ve done enough for you to trust me on this.”

Dat stared at Blacky and lowered his head. He signed heavily and looked at the large Black Madator, “What happens twenty thousand years from now when the ones that made the promise to us are long gone?”

“Every member of my species that takes strength from us will have that promise melded into their DNA. My descendants in that far future may see a human for the very first time…and they will immediately recognize them as a friend and ally.”

“How many of your people are going to draw strength from you?”

“All of them. The ones that left in the first wave have already ingrained the promise into their memory. You, and your friends by association, will never be in danger from us.”

“But Blacky, who is going to provide the prey for you to be happy on your new planets?”

Blacky smiled, “We fully intend to preserve some Servants for our entertainment. We’ll probably have to implement some rules to make the hunt fun and to ensure they are not eradicated, but we will find what we need.

Dat stared at Blacky, “What happens if I say no?”

“Then we will abide by your decision and pray you are never defeated by an adversary.”

Dat knew if this was brought to the Union’s leadership, it wouldn’t be allowed to happen. He thought about his children and the gift they were to him and Gresha. He smiled and looked up, “We’ll just keep this to ourselves until the next two waves have launched, shall we.”

Ringie smiled and put her arm on Dat’s shoulder as well, “You are a gift to us from the universe. You have sealed our promise with your heart.”

• • •

Shane sat in his room rubbing his arms while he listened to the conversation between the Madators and Arvolo on his personal monitor. He had fought against the Masters in a Rover and had watched many of his friends die around him. He didn’t like what the Admiral had just agreed to do. The Madators were incredibly adaptive and more dangerous than any species he had ever encountered. He started to contact Admiral Hull and tell her what was going on…but he hesitated. He had seen the recording of the Servant that had killed the Grillen King. Yet these Madators had dropped on their worlds with nothing more than their natural ability to fight them. They had bought time for the Union to build up their defenses and now they were going to send more than half their population out to face the danger as well.

He thought about Arvolo. Shane felt he could match him in piloting skills…but what about tactical? It was Arvolo that had really led the Union’s defense in both of the wars it fought. Admiral Hull was the overall commander but she was lost without Arvolo. So the question boiled down to whether or not he trusted Arvolo with this huge decision. He knew he really didn’t know much about the Madators and he certainly didn’t have a personal relationship with one. The corner of his mouth went up as he remembered telling the Admiral to ‘Shut up!’ The Admiral had said nothing about it after the exercise was over. That told him the Admiral did not have an overinflated ego. He wondered if he would have ignored it if one of his junior officers had told him to be quiet. He decided he would have said something. That little thing made the difference. Arvolo was doing this without an ego. He was making a decision based on the circumstances alone. He turned off the display and continued to rub his hands. He would support Arvolo in this. At the very least, more than half of the Madators would be in other distant galaxies. That should count for something.

• • •

The Saturn arrived at the Madator’s planet and Dat took Blacky and Ringie down to the surface in his Rover. “Take us to the southern continent on the east coast about halfway down.”

Stein said, “Do you want to arrive at the large white structure on the coast?”

Blacky’s head rolled completely around his body, “That’s exactly where we want to go.”

Dat stared at the building in the scanner display, “When did you build that?”

“It was the first thing we did.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a place we worship.”

Dat stared at the building and the Rover spiraled down to the planet’s surface and landed four hundred yards away. Blacky turned to Dat, “It’s going to get rather crowded here shortly. You may want to watch this from overhead.”

Dat nodded and Stein lifted to a thousand feet and hovered above the white building. Blacky and Ringie walked to the large building and looked out from the entrance at the huge plain in front of it. Blacky looked up and screamed a series of hoots and screams. The hoots were picked up by Madators flying overhead and their screams were incredibly loud. Stein said, “They’re screaming that one has returned with the Ultimate Prey.”

The Madators began screaming in at high speed, flying high above the structure. Loree said, “The Elder Leaders are arriving.”

Dat saw twenty black shapes flapping their wings and coming in fast from over the mountains. The twenty shot down to the white building and sat down in a semicircle directly in front of Blacky and Ringie. They bowed their heads. Dat stared at them as Stein said, “There are six gaps in their line. They appear to be waiting on others to arrive. Over the next two hours, four Madators came flying in from over the ocean next to the building and an hour after that one came in from the south and another from the north. The semicircle was complete. At that point, Blacky and Ringie sat down in front of the elders and lowered their heads to their lower body touching the floor of the entrance. The sky was now black with more than a million Madators flying overhead. Thousands flew by the Rover every second.

Dat stared at the display and saw the twenty six elders extend one of their arms to the two sitting in front of them. Thirteen touched Blacky and thirteen touched Ringie. “Bring the view in closer, Loree,”

Dat watched one of the Elder’s arms touch Blacky’s upper body and disappear into it. It remained for a minute and then the arm was withdrawn. The twenty six then rolled their heads to their lower bodies and remained still.

“Dat, their bodies are undergoing some kind of change.”

“What?”

“I don’t know what it is but my scanners detect changes in their body’s structure.”

Dat continued to watch and thirty minutes later, Blacky’s head rolled up to the top of his body and he hooted. He immediately rolled his head back to the floor as a hundred Madators came zooming out of the sky and formed a semicircle around the twenty six Elders. The process repeated itself and the next semicircle had four hundred Madators land and start it again. Within six hours, the huge plain was covered with Madator semicircles. Finally, Blacky rose and looked out at the million plus Madators sitting in front of the building. He raised six of his arms and hooted. The huge gathering of Madators answered him. Blacky turned and offered one of his arms to Ringie who allowed him to pull her to her feet. Blacky wrapped two of his arms around her and looked out at the gathering again. He hooted and screamed and the entire plain erupted into screams and hoots as all of the Madators took flight.

“What just happened, Stein?”

“Blacky instructed the ones here at the gathering to go and share the Ultimate Prey with their people. He then told them that he and Ringie were now bound to each other. It appears the gathering approves of Blacky’s choice. If they were on the ground, I suspect they would pound the earth flat with their bobbing.”

“Have you seen any difference in them, Loree?”

“The one that is clearly noticeable is that they are now flying at three times their normal top speed.”

Dat stared at the cloud of Madators circling the huge field and saw Loree was right. If these creatures had somehow assimilated the strength and speed of the Servants into their bodies….he shook his head. Sometimes…trust was the most difficult task one could do. Belief without evidence…that’s what made it so hard. He looked at Blacky and Ringie accepting the cheers of their people and shook his head. When you lose the ability to trust, you’ll never have peace in your heart. “Take me home, Stein. I need to see my family.”

The small Rover rose into the sky as thousands of Madators flew by. In a few moments it disappeared and jumped away. Blacky watched it disappear and smiled. Dat didn’t know what changes he had brought to his species. Dat didn’t know it but Blacky had no intention of keeping his promises when he first offered to assist the Union against the Servants. He was looking for an escape. Now he knew his promise was going to be kept. Dat had taught him how to love a different creature. It was a lesson none of the Madators would ever forget. Dat had proven his species could be trusted. For the first time in their long history, the Madators were not alone in the universe against everything else. They had a friend they could count on. Blacky almost laughed. Dat’s run with Blacky had already become part of Madator Legend. With every telling of the story, Dat’s speed would increase. Blacky figured in a hundred years, Dat would be running close to light speed. Blacky was thankful he had lost the race. His people were alive because Dat won. This was one legend where he had no problem being the loser.

“We need to get the waves ready to go.”

Blacky looked at his new mate and pulled her close, “That can wait until tomorrow. There is only you at this moment.”

Ringie smiled, as they turned and walked into the white building to the cheers of more than a million Madators.

• • •

Dat arrived home to Gresha and the three babies. He walked over and wrapped Gresha up in his arms and pulled her tight, “Hey, have you missed me or something?”

Dat smiled and pulled her out of the nursery where the babies were sleeping. Gresha wondered what was going on…for just a short time…then she knew. Sometimes love just had to be expressed. This was one of them.

• • •

Gem stared at Shane, “Is something bothering you?”

Shane gave a start and smiled, “I was wondering if you would marry me tomorrow?”

Gem was stunned by the question as Shane pulled a small box out of his front pocket and opened it for her to see. Gem’s eyes were full of tears and she glanced at the beautiful ring. She looked back at Shane, “Is it possible to do it today?”

Shane’s smile was huge, “I’ll contact Admiral Hull.”

Gem wrapped her arms around Shane’s neck, “Do that in an hour.” She stood on her toes and kissed him.

When they broke the kiss Shane said, “An hour it is.”

Chapter Nineteen

Admiral Hull looked at the Horde and Hive leaders and shook her head, “I appreciate your wanting to provide the pilots for this mission but the ones we’re dropping on the planets are right. They will all be killed before they can escape.”

“We only lost ten ships in the last drop.”

“That’s because only ten of the planets had a warship in orbit. None of your ships were able to escape them. They are planning to activate the ship’s self-destruct circuits on arrival. The ensuing nuclear pulse will blind the Servant scanners long enough for the drop warriors to get into the planet’s atmosphere.”

“What about the satellites?”

“Missiles will be launched as soon as the ship emerges into normal space targeted at the four satellites. The drop warriors will actually jump out of the ship just before it emerges and start their drops on the opposite side of the planet from the ship’s destruction. The ship will be operated automatically by its computer system after they drop. I guess the real question is whether or not you can afford to lose that many ships?”

The Horde master waved an arm, “They’re doing nothing but taking up space. They’re so ancient; we’ll never use them again. You’re welcome to all we have stored.”

“How many do you have?”

“I have about three hundred thousand that can fly.”

The Hive Controller looked up from his display, “I have a few more than that. Given time we could get some of the others repaired for you to use.”

“No, that won’t be necessary; we’re only going to need about four hundred thousand.”

“Well, if you’ll get the pilots here, we can train them how to fly it in less than a few hours. Since they will only be jumping in, that process is pretty much automatic.”

“I’ll send ten of our Sailors to take the training and they’ll come back to train the others. If you could start ferrying the ships to the coordinates I just sent you, I would greatly appreciate it.”

“We’ll start immediately, Admiral.”

“I thank both of you for your help in making this happen.”

Kat’s display went dark and she wondered about dropping that many Madators on that many planets. How would they ever manage to get them all back? She shrugged and decided to worry about that issue after the war was over. If they lost, it really wouldn’t matter.

• • •

Dat stood with Blacky and it felt like Déjà vu. The shuttles were lined up on the vast central plain of the northern continent and they extended over the horizon. The sky was full of Madators hooting and screaming as they waited their turn to land and board. Shuttles were lifting and shuttles were landing. The magnitude of the operation was staggering. Dat turned to Blacky, “Are you going with them?”

Blacky continued to stare at the sky and said, “No, this is where all of our new legends begin. I have been chosen to lead my people and my place is here.”

Dat thought about it for a moment, “Are you happy about that?”

Blacky looked down at Dat, “Not really. I’m going to miss the hunt.” Blacky looked back up at the sky.

“You could always round up some Servants and bring them here.”

Blacky’s head rolled halfway down his chest faster than Dat could follow. “I didn’t think about that.”

“You could put them on the huge island in the southern ocean. They’ll be unable to leave and endanger you from there without ships.”

Blacky hooted and heard those flying overhead answer. He looked back at Dat as his head moved up his body, “You understand us better than we understand ourselves. That is an excellent proposal.”

Dat smiled, “Have you tried to take on one of the Cape Buffalo alone?”

Blacky smiled, “I’m not that stupid. That is still a challenge we’re working on. The herd is on you in an instant if you attack one their members. We only have eight arms and that’s not enough against twenty of those beasts.”

They stood and watched the operation continue. After a while Blacky said, “This is larger than anything we’ve ever done.”

“I don’t see any of them carrying what they’ll need at their new homes.”

“The leader of each group has a communicator. They don’t need much more.”

Dat hesitated, “I saw that a thousand of the ships are going to drop on some of the Servant’s major planets.”

“We’re sending our best to those. The participants know the risk and want to do it anyway.”

“They want the challenge.”

Blacky shrugged, “I’d be going with them if I could. It should be glorious.”

“Not if the ship is blasted before you could get out.”

“The drop globes on those ships have their own means of propulsion. They can be dropped further away from the planet and work their way in. They’re extremely difficult for a scanner to see. I’d take the risk.”

Dat tilted his head and shrugged, “That doesn’t really surprise me.”

“Like I said earlier, you know me better than I know myself.”

Both of them watched the operation continue in silence. Much was communicated without words. They both knew each other’s expressions. At one point Blacky issued a loud hoot and was answered by a hoot high overhead. He hooted louder and the Madator began dropping toward him. Dat saw the Madator was smaller than the others. Blacky hooted at the Madator and it lowered its head and remained silent. Blacky pointed behind him and the Madator moved and sat down on the ground.

“What was that all about?”

“She knows she is too young to do this.”

“Then why was she attempting to go?”

“She’s being silly. She wants to be with one of the males assigned to the fight.”

“Would Ringie allow you to leave her behind?” Blacky’s head rolled down to his chest instantly and he stared at Dat. Dat tilted his head, “I suspect if she was forced to remain behind, her life would be filled with sorrow without you.”

Blacky remained silent and just stared at Dat. His head slowly moved up to the top of his body and he looked at the young female weeping quietly behind him. He blew out the air in his body and Dat’s hair was ruffled. He made a small hoot and the female walked slowly over to them. Blacky looked at her, “I’m telling you this in my friend’s language because he had made me see this differently. You may go with the one you have chosen.” The female’s head rolled completely around her body. “However, you will not participate in any kills until you achieve your full size. That is a supreme order and you will obey it.” The female hooted her agreement. “Go to your shuttle.” The female put an arm on Dat’s shoulder and said, “Thank you so much.” She ran forward and converted to the wing shape faster than Dat had ever seen. She flew low over the ground and flew into a shuttle that was starting to close its door. Blacky heard a loud hoot as the door stopped and he answered it. A moment later the door closed and the shuttle lifted. Blacky shook his head, “That female can fly!”

“What was the hoot about from the shuttle?”

“The mission commander wanted confirmation that I approved her going.”

“I suspect she will be a good asset to the mission with her flying skills, Blacky.”

“I think you’re right.” Blacky paused and finally said, “It was the right thing to do.”

Dat smiled, “Indeed it was.”

Later the next day, when Blacky told Ringie about what he had done, she snatched him off his feet and showered him with caresses. “Hey, hey.”

“My mate is romantic. I love you so much.”

Blacky gave in to Ringie and decided it was a good thing to have allowed the young female to go. It was that young female who ultimately became the leader of the community. Her bravery shamed them all. Her spirit is what drove them to victory on one of the Servant’s Minor Planets. She was the one that killed the planet’s ruling Lord and escaped to continue the fight. One of her descendants would one day return to rule the home world.

• • •

The Madator pilot went to the bridge of the large yellow ship and set the jump drive. He activated the automatic missile launchers, force field, and self-destruct circuit. He checked to make sure everything was operating and then activated the two minute countdown. He rushed off the bridge to the landing bay where he was the last to enter his drop globe. He flowed into it and saw the red light on the landing bay door start flashing, indicating there was fifteen seconds until jump.

He closed his globe and suddenly the entire load of drop globes was blown out of the ship into green space for a moment…then they emerged into normal space and saw the planet below them. There was a bright flash over the planet’s horizon and they began falling toward the surface. An hour later, they were on the ground and moving into the soil at their assigned locations. More than a thousand Servants were killed on the planet that first day.

• • •

Dat sat in the second scanner chair on board the Saturn. A year had passed and Shane’s four fleets had finally reached full strength. Dat saw a bright signal appearing on the scanner display. He knew it was a probe and it was located at the center of the area in space that Shane was going to demonstrate the maneuver he had been working on while his fleets were being built. He saw the four fleets surrounded the probe at a distance of more than a million miles with a formation that placed the globe inside what looked like a huge box. Shane looked over at Arvolo, “Are you ready, Sir?” Dat nodded and moved his head to the huge monitor on the wall that would track the training maneuver. He saw the four sides of huge box facing each other with the probe in the center. Shane said, “Please understand that, normally, we would just jump to this location with pre-assigned coordinates and start the process immediately.” Dat nodded and Shane reached forward and pressed a button. Dat felt the Saturn leave normal space and reappear suddenly. “What are the bright lines that left your ships before you jumped?”

“Those are four penetrators that each ship launched before starting the maneuver. Our brief jump through the barrier will put us ahead of them until we arrive at the probe’s location where we’ll see the penetrators launched by the other three sides moving ahead of us looking for targets.”

Dat watched the display and the four sides rushed forward at an incredible velocity. The four sides began intersecting each other immediately and ships passed other ships moving in a perpendicular direction from above and below and head on. He watched the millions of Jukeboxes passing each other at an incredible velocity and wondered how they avoided hitting each other. All four sides of the huge box came together at the probe’s location and then moved away from each other as they moved across the space designated for the exercise. Trying to follow the exercise on the display was impossible. The four sides arrived at the opposite side from where they had started and stopped. The ships disappeared briefly as they flipped in green space to orient themselves back toward the center of the box.

Dat stared at Shane and released the arms of the chair he was sitting in, “How do you avoid collisions?”

“The ships look like they’ve moving close to each other but the sides are offset from each other such that the path each ship will take through the box is half a mile clear of any ships approaching it. The ships are allowed to veer either left or right for a half mile to avoid a collision or to fire on a ship in their line. The computer will automatically return it to its assigned vector when the pilot releases the manual controls.”

“And you think the penetrators won’t hit your ships?”

“The computers will be tracking them as they move across the box. It will automatically leave normal space as the ship approaches an incoming penetrator.”

“That’s why each ship only launched four instead of a full barrage.”

“Yes Sir, a full barrage would overload the system.”

“I would think we might have our own ships firing at each other.”

“That’s why each side of the box had only one layer. There will not be one of our ships in the assigned path of another ship. All our pilots have to do is follow their vector and fire at anything in front of them. As long as it is within the half mile area around their ships, they will not fire on each other.”

“How long will it take for you to organize your ships into this formation? It looks like it could only be used once.”

Shane pressed a button on his panel, “Sir, I have the coordinates of four more probes; all of them are more than four light years from this location. I want you to pick one and send it to my jump officer.”

“Why?”

“I think you’ll find it enlightening.”

Dat looked at the four coordinates and chose the second one. He sent the coordinates to the jump officer who entered them into his board. The ship’s lights went to combat level and he heard, “Three, two, one…”

Dat looked up at the large display and saw the four million ships instantly appear in the box formation and immediately accelerate. He saw the red lines that represented the launch of the penetrators and the ships went through the space in less than ten minutes. Dat knew this was an entire new order of using major battleships. He shook his head and looked at Shane, “This is incredible; it’s hard to believe you could make this happen. I guess I was wrong about needing the Rovers.”

Shane smiled and said, “Pick another coordinate, Sir. This time I’m going to delay the assault until you have time to see our formations.”

Dat stared at Shane and wondered what he was planning. He chose the fourth and the jump officer loaded it into the system. He heard, “Three, two, one…” and suddenly he felt the ship jump and appear in normal space. What he saw on the display was incredible. The four million Jukeboxes were formed up in their box formation but surrounding the formation was another box formation of Rovers that was offset from the Jukeboxes. Dat turned to Shane, “How many Rovers?”

“Sixteen million, Sir.”

“That’s half of your full complement; and just what are they going to be doing?”

“We’ve expanded the area between the Jukeboxes to about two miles and the Rovers will be passing through the formation on their own vectors that will keep them clear of the Jukeboxes firing lanes.”

“You’re going to send twenty million ships through that space?”

“Yes, and if you’ll expand the view you’ll see the rest of our Rovers.”

Dat nodded at the Scanning Officer and the view on the display expanded. He saw the remaining Rovers were in a huge globe surrounding the two boxes in the center. He looked at Shane who said, “I expect that once we start this formation moving, our friends will invite other ships to the soiree. The remainder of our ship’s complements of Rovers will be used to hold off any uninvited guests in the event we have to run.”

“Do you honestly think you’ll have to run?”

“Sir, I saw half a billion major warships when we looked at the trackers’ downloads in just one of their Major Planets systems. I do expect that we will have to run…probably more than a few times until we can even the odds.”

“I need to get Admiral Gibbs’ and my Fleet trained on this maneuver.”

“I will send the Second-in-Command from my ships with the computer downloads to your ships to initiate the training.”

“Shane, I want to place those Seconds in command of the new ships coming online. Would that be possible?”

“They deserve the promotion, Sir.”

“I’ll start Fleet Personnel making the assignments as soon as the new ships are modified.”

“Yes Sir. We’re going to continue to train. I wish we had some way to make it more realistic.”

“What if I asked the Grillen to allow you to use their fleets to practice on?”

“Do you think they’d do it?”

“I suspect they’d jump at the opportunity to see what we’ve developed.”

“Please make the request, Sir.” Dat nodded and watched the two boxes blow by each other.

• • •

The Senior Advisor Lord rushed into the Supreme Lord’s chamber. The Lord saw him coming and knew he wasn’t bringing good news. “Lord, more than four hundred thousand of our invaded planets have been attacked again by the Yellow and Violet colored ships!”

The Supreme Lord was stunned, “How many?!?”

“Four hundred thousand or more; every enemy ship used in attack was destroyed.”

“By our ships?”

The Advisor hesitated, “No, Sire; they self-destructed in the upper atmosphere of the planets they attacked.”

“Who are these creatures?”

“We’ve not been able to locate them.”

The Supreme Lord hesitated but knew he had to ask, “Were any of those creatures dropped on the planets?” The Advisor was silent and the Lord knew the answer. “How many?”

“We have reports of more than a hundred thousand deaths in our forces on the planets they attacked.”

The Supreme Lord’s expression turned nasty, “I want all our ships sent to those planets and I want all of our personnel on the surface locked in on their scanners with a laser targeted on their location. If any of them appear to be in distress, I want the laser fired at that location.”

“We will kill the personnel.”

“They’re dead anyway. Make it happen.”

• • •

The Madator moved through the soil and approached his intended target. He smiled and sent his arm out and wrapped the Servant around the neck. It squeezed and the Servant’s head fell away from its body. It didn’t have time to feed; a bright blue beam flashed out of the sky and the Servant’s body, the Madator, and fifty of the local inhabitants were burned into ash. All around the planet, blue beams lanced down to the surface and the surviving Madators knew a new means of attack would have to be used. However, what they needed to accomplish was done. The Servant’s fleets were locked down defending their planets. The Supreme Lord didn’t think about the former ally for more than two years. Even then, it knew it couldn’t think about expansion until the current threat was eliminated.

• • •

The Madators gathered in a dense forest and looked at each other as they felt each other’s anger at the unsportsmanlike conduct the Servants were using to kill them. “Do any of you see away around this?”

They stared at each other and none of them responded. A young female listening to the conversation said, “They lose the protection of our codes.”

The Madators turned and looked at her. The Leader rolled his head down, “What do you mean?”

“They do not deserve the protection of the codes we follow concerning our prey. They have forfeited their protection.”

Another Madator said, “I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying.”

“How many Servant blasters have we collected?”

The Leader looked at one of them and he said, “About a thousand.”

The female looked up at the sky, “Alright, this much we know. If the ships in orbit have their scanners focused on each Servant on the ground, how much ground are they able to see around the Servant?”

The Leader thought back to when he commanded a battleship and said, “From orbit they would have to focus the scanner to its highest resolution. To see it clearly, they could only observe about ten feet around their target.”

“And how wide is the beam they fire at the ground?”

A Madator at the back of the group said, “I looked at the place where Charlie was killed and the burned area was about thirty feet across.”

The female looked at the gathering, “I will do this the first time to see if it can be done.”

The Leader said, “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to take one of those blasters and kill a Servant with it.”

“And just how will you escape the follow up beam from orbit?”

“The ship will not see where the blaster was fired from in its scan. It will only see the direction it came from.” The other Madators thought a moment and moved their heads in agreement. I will extend one of my arms to its maximum length and fire the blaster from it at that point. I will be located to the side of the line where I fire the blaster. I suspect the beam will probably move along the line it saw the beam come in from. I’ll deactivate the blaster and move directly away from that line as fast as possible. I don’t believe they will blast the entire field to kill me. They will have no way to see if the beam had failed to hit me without an investigation. Even then, not much evidence is left behind from a beam strike. Even if they choose to blast the entire field, I’ll be out of the field faster than they can imagine.”

“Using blasters is against our beliefs.”

The female looked at the Leader, “And we will stop using them when they stop acting in an unacceptable manner.” The group just stared at her. She stared right back and said, “If I can’t kill them inside our restrictions, I’ll kill them anyway I can.”

The Leader’s head rolled around his body twice. “Come back and let us know how it went.”

“I’ll be back tomorrow. I’ll tell you then or you can devise another way to kill them. They should not be allowed to act in such a despicable manner. If necessary, we’ll use our dots to blast them into dust. Shooting at us from orbit is the highest form of cowardice. They need to be taught that method will not work.”

• • •

The next day, the first killing of a Servant by a blaster took place. A week later, more than a thousand more had died. Soon, the Servants wouldn’t leave their buildings to enter the fields. The Madators then stared, killing them inside their buildings. The ships in orbit were frustrated to a level that was monumental. Not long after that, the fleet blasted every Servant building on the planet hoping to catch the Madators inside. The Madators waited and the beam shocked surviving Servants on the ground were still being killed two days later. The fleet leader took his fleet to another planet and left the planet as wasted effort.

• • •

The Madators soon found that they were no longer being fired on from space. They gathered the surviving Servants and herded them into a central location and made sure they understood the boundaries of their domain. There was a huge field to feed them and they were left alone to live in peace. The local inhabitants were warned to stay away from the Servants domain but there were always the ones that refused to believe the danger was real. They were the ones the Servants used to reproduce. They were even smart enough to allow some of the inhabitants to escape unharmed. It always lead to others tempting fate. The Servants also discovered that a host could be used to hatch several of their larvae. Whenever a Servant grew old, they would sting themselves and allow their bodies to be the host for their young. The Servants’ population stabilized and a natural order was achieved. The Madators had their prey and they settled in and made the planet their home.

Chapter Twenty

The Grillen Fleet Admiral was charged to defend a deserted planet in his galaxy. He had agreed to the exercise to see how his fleets measured up to the Union’s ships. All of his ships had their beams reduced to training levels and would be little more than bright lights. However, the training computer would notify any ship that was hit with one of them that they were out of the exercise. He knew in reality that one beam hit wouldn’t eliminate a ship from fighting but it was necessary to conduct training exercises. He was somewhat shocked at the number of ships requested to take part in the exercise. He had called in five fleets to provide the numbers requested. He knew there were far too many to organize them to work together. However, they were pretty good at working within their main units. “Are you ready for the exercise to start, Admiral?”

“I am.”

“The clock will start in one minute.”

“We’ll be ready.” The Grillen Admiral was wrong. He was totally unprepared for what followed one minute later. Shane had chosen a coordinate in the middle of three of his fleets and the Union Boxes appeared and the millions of ships blew through the Grillen Ranks faster than he could comprehend.

The other two fleets jumped to defend the three fleets being attacked but were unwilling to jump into the middle of space filled with so many ships moving through it. The globe of Rovers surrounding the Union Boxes flew into the ranks of the two fleets coming to assist the three being attacked and caused havoc in their ranks. Thirty minutes later the box formations appeared around the remaining two fleets and the exercise was over in less than an hour. The Grillen Admiral looked at the computer’s report and saw that he had lost ninety five percent of his ships. The Union had lost a little over six hundred thousand; most of them were Rovers in the defense globe. He activated his communicator, “What just happened!?!”

Shane smiled, “We’ve developed a weave where we can use all of our forces working together in a very small volume of space.”

“What you just did is impossible. That kind of coordination is beyond anything I’ve ever seen.”

“We are only able to pull it off due to our advanced computers.”

“Do any of your ships have the flexibility to attack random targets?”

“Each ship is assigned a corridor to fly. They can fire at anything within that corridor as long as they don’t venture more than a quarter of a mile from their plotted path.”

The Grillen Admiral stared at the replay of the exercise on his display and said, “I was hoping we could assist you…there’s no way we could do this.”

“There are a couple of things you could do to help.”

“What?”

“The only thing that will disrupt this pattern is if enough enemy ships jump in and move inside our formations. The corridors would become so full that maintaining the integrity of the weave would be impossible. Collisions would take place at an incredible rate.”

“I can see that.”

“You’ve seen the number of major warships the Servants possess; we can’t afford to fight a pitched battle. We’d be overwhelmed. We may have to flee before we complete the maneuver if large numbers of their major warships jumped in.”

“So you want my fleets to keep any new ships jumping in to the battle site off your back?”

“You’ve seen the globe of Rovers we’re going to have surrounding the center of the fighting, and you could form a globe with them and attack any ships moving in on the weave.”

“How long will we have to hold them off?”

“Our average time of clearing an area of ships has been thirty minutes.” Shane looked at his chronometer, “That’s about as long as our initial exercise took to complete.”

“Our ships do not match up well with their major warships.”

“I don’t want you to fight a pitched battle with them; just maneuver your fleets around them so that they can’t only focus on us. I hope you’ll force them to change their formations to meet your units.”

“How do I get my fleets organized into your defensive globe?”

“That’s easier than you think. We’ll have a pattern of the globe sent to you with all the slots a ship needs to be in. Some of the slots will already have our Rovers in them and you’ll just need to assign a slot to one of your ships.”

“And what happens if you decide to move the attack to another place?”

“You’ll receive the coordinates of the center of our attack and the coordinates for each of your ships will be sent to them. All they’ll need to do is jump to the new set of coordinates.”

“Can your computers send coordinates that quickly?”

“More than a million of our major battleships have had two additional computers installed to send out the coordinates for a section of the globe. All those computers will need is the communication channel of each ship assigned to each slot in their section.”

The Admiral thought about the idea and slowly shook his head, “We won’t be flying in a formation like your battleships. We will be moving into the Servant formations attacking targets of opportunity. We’ll be completely disorganized.”

“That really won’t matter. Just make sure your jump officers are looking for the next set of coordinates and immediately jump to that location when they see the jump button illuminate. They’ll arrive at their proper coordinate in the globe.”

“We’ll need to practice this before we attempt it in combat.”

“I’m sending you the pattern. Send me the communication channel of each ship assigned to a slot. We’ll trial it as soon as you make the assignments.”

“I’ll start my staff working on it. I’ll start sending you the assignments as soon as they’re made.”

“That would be good.”

The Grillen Admiral ended the connection and felt fear at the new power of the Union. He thought a moment and released his fear; they could be trusted. His civilization was much better off working with them than being an outsider. He called in his staff and War Admirals and started filling in the pattern Shane had sent him.

• • •

Four weeks later, the formations were formed in space. The Grillen Admiral looked at Shane on his display, “How do you want to do this?”

“First, we practice jumping the entire formation from one location to another. I’ll choose the set of coordinates we’ll form around and the computers will send the new locations to all of the ships in the formation. Jump will happen four seconds after the new coordinate is selected.”

“And your computers can send that many messages out within that time?”

“We’re here to see. Are you ready?”

The Grillen Admiral looked at his ship’s Jump Officer and saw him nod, “Start the exercise.”

Every ship in the giant formation received a new coordinate along with the four second countdown. The huge formation hung in space for a moment and then it disappeared…and entered normal space a moment later with every ship in place. The Grillen Admiral was shocked at how smoothly every ship appeared in their slotted place. Shane appeared on his display and said, “I am now going to choose two locations quickly and jump the formation twice.” The Admiral nodded and watched as the giant formation jumped twice. Both times it arrived at the new location with every ship in place. Shane said, “We will jump our formation for the rest of the day until all of your Jump Officers get a feel for the pattern.”

• • •

The giant formation jumped, jumped, and jumped again; over and over. Soon the Grillen got a feel for how to make the jumps and started to relax at their panels. After six hours, Shane contacted the Admiral, “Now, when we emerge from the jump, our ships are going to start the weave. I want your ships to fly out of the globe as if they were attacking an incoming fleet of enemy warships. Have your ship’s Commanders fly their ships like they would during combat. All the jump officers are going to do is focus on the next coordinate.”

“Give me a moment to pass these instructions to my ships.”

“Let me know when you’re ready.”

Thirty minutes later, the Admiral contacted Shane, “They have their instructions.”

“Good, I’m sending the jump coordinates….NOW!”

The giant formation jumped and looked like it exploded with the huge defensive globe, surrounding the two boxes moving away from them as the two boxes moved into each other. Thirty minutes later Shane sent the next set of coordinates and the huge formation appeared intact hanging in space. The Grillen Admiral watched his ship’s commander maneuver his ship to line up an imaginary enemy vessel and suddenly the ship was back in the huge formation. He shook his head. This was incredible! Shane appeared on his display, “Let’s do this three more times.” The Admiral nodded and the formation jumped and started their mock attacks again.

Finally the formation hung in space and Shane said, “This time, I am going to jump the formation in the middle of the weave.”

“Why?”

“There may come a time where the Servants bypass the globe and just jump into the space we’re attacking. We’ll have to get out quickly.”

The Admiral nodded and said, “Lead the way.”

Two hours later Shane called a halt to the operation. He looked at the Admiral and said, “The final jump we’re going to practice is where I jump the formation into deep space. I want all of your jump officers to program in an escape route. They should have a series of jumps preprogrammed into their panels where they could quickly jump fifty times to escape a Servant pursuit.”

“That will require some time.”

“If you don’t mind, my computers can send a series of jumps to all of your ships so that none of them jump anywhere near each other.”

“You never cease to amaze me, Admiral. When would you see the need for this?”

“When the Servants jump a billion ships in on our formation.”

The Grillen Admiral’s expression changed instantly, “Do you anticipate them doing that?”

“One never knows. I think they have the ships to do it. I don’t know if they have the organization to pull it off. Either way, I don’t like taking chances.” Shane paused, “Of course I’ll be dropping a probe when we jump away and if they leave ships at a location that we can handle, I’ll send the attack coordinate and all of our ships will just jump to that location in formation ready to fight again.”

The Grillen shook his head, “I wish we could use all our ships. We have a huge number not being used.”

Shane smiled, “Oh, I didn’t tell you that we have more formations training? We expect to have three box formations ready to go within the next year.”

“No, you didn’t tell me.”

“One other thing Admiral; we’ll continue training with our group but I would highly recommend that you have your ships in the globe to fly directly away from the center so that they won’t be firing on each other. As they move further away from their starting locations, their room to maneuver will increase.”

“Why don’t you give me two weeks to work on that? We’ll get back together then and do this again.”

“Two weeks it is. Now I’m going to have the computers send your ships their escape jumps and we’ll end the day by practicing the escape jump.”

“Let me know when you’ve sent them.”

Four hours later the Grillen Admiral was amazed at what he saw. He ordered his flagship to remain at the escape coordinate and watched what happened. The giant formation appeared and disappeared faster than he could follow. He looked at his jump officer, “See if you can follow a jump track.”

“Sir, there are so many of them overlapping each other that I can’t pull one out of the chaos.”

The Grillen Admiral looked at his display and saw the Union’s Flagship had also remained behind. Shane appeared on his display and said, “Pretty impressive, isn’t it?” The Grillen Admiral nodded as the Saturn disappeared.

• • •

Gibbs ran his fleet through the exercise again and watched them on his main monitor. The formations moved incredibly fast but Gibbs wasn’t satisfied. He looked at his Executive Officer, “Have them do it again.”

He sat back in his chair and saw his display activate on his panel. He saw Lydia staring at him and he said, “What?”

“You’ve had us doing this for twelve hours and we’ve only improved our time a tenth of a second.”

“We can do it faster.”

“In what universe do you live? Our times have matched Admiral’s Matthews’ best times. Do you just enjoy watching the monitor and can’t think of anything else to do?”

Gibbs got angry, “They’ll need to be better once combat starts!”

“How do you know?” Gibbs stared at Lydia and tried to come up with a response but couldn’t think of one. “This has never been tried in actual combat and you have no idea if it will work if we cut our time by half. You’re just being a perfectionist and perhaps you would like to take your ship into the formation and see if you can do it any faster. I suspect you’ll just slow us down with your standing by and watching what’s going on. Your ships don’t deserve this lack of confidence.”

“What do you mean lack of confidence!?!”

“We’ve matched Shane’s times and he’s been training for a year longer. Are you that blind?” Lydia shook her head and said, “Let me get back to my poor underachievers and do this again. This is just like when you tried to stack the towels.”

Gibbs saw the display go dark and remembered the three hours he spent trying to stack the bath towels in the closet so no wrinkles would show. He slowly shook his head and looked at his Executive Officer, who was still standing in front of him. “You agree with her?”

“I do, Sir. Quite frankly, I think you’re being ridiculous.”

Gibbs’ eyebrows came together and he started to put Thomas in his place but realized that he was one of the most solid officers he had. Gibbs leaned back and lifted his communicator, “All ships are released from training for four days. Go home and enjoy some free time.” The huge formation vanished from Gibbs’ display. “They haven’t moved that fast in any of our exercises.”

Commodore Thomas turned to leave and said, “They were afraid you’d change your mind.”

Gibbs stared at Thomas as he left and looked at the bridge crew. He saw their exhaustion and knew fatigue would slow them down. He immediately understood why the fleet’s times had gotten worse as the long day had dragged on. He looked at the jump officer, “Take the crew back to Earth Station. Notify the ships that they have seven days instead of five; we’ll meet here at twelve hundred hours in a week.” The crew looked at each other and Gibbs saw their excitement at going home. He punched his panel and Lydia appeared, “Next time, don’t wait so long to tell me what an ass I’m being.”

“Count on it. I’ll see you at home.”

Gibbs sighed; he knew he hadn’t heard the end of this. Dat appeared on his display and looked quite happy, “Good morning, Admiral.”

“Why are you so happy?”

“My fleets were able to come within a half second of Shane’s best times. They’ve made remarkable progress. How are you doing?”

Gibbs rolled his eyes and blew out a breath, “We’ve been able to match his best times in twenty of our exercises.”

“That’s incredible. Why are you so glum?”

“I’ve driven them too hard, Sir. I may have caused them to lose their edge.”

“What are you doing about it?”

“I’ve given them seven days liberty, Sir.”

Dat smiled, “I’ll bet you a dinner they come back and beat his time.”

Gibbs shook his head, “I really hope you’re right.”

“Are you taking the bet or not?”

“I never bet against myself.”

Dat smiled, “That is a good policy, Gibbs.”

The display went dark and Gibbs wondered why Dat had contacted him. After a moment, he knew that Lydia must have called him prior to his decision about giving the Fleet liberty. He shook his head and hoped his time at home was refreshing. He knew the first few days were probably not going to be.

• • •

Dat went to visit Blacky and found him with his ten children. Dat was shocked and Blacky shrugged, “We do things in a big way, old friend.”

“Apparently you do!” Blacky introduced then to Dat and he could tell the young Madators were anxious to escape. “It’s good to meet all of you. Do you have something to do while I speak with your parents?” The young Madators disappeared faster than a steak in front of a bulldog. Dat smiled, “They’re so much like you. My children are just starting to talk and yours are fully developed.”

“Predators are forced by nature to develop quickly. It’s the only way to help them survive when pitted against a formidable array of enemies seeking to kill them.”

“They certainly got out of here faster than most adults I’ve seen in your species.”

“They’re more like their mother. She was one of our best hunters.”

“What do you mean was?”

Dat turned around and saw Ringie come through the entrance. “You still are, my Love.”

“And don’t you forget it. Hello, Dat. How’s your family?”

“The children are growing like weeds and walking. They are a handful.”

“That’s wonderful. What brings you here?”

“I just wanted you to know that we’re about to kick off our attacks on the Servants.” Blacky looked at Ringie and Dat saw them stiffen up with the announcement. “What’s wrong?”

Blacky blew out the air in his body and rolled his head down to his chest, “I’ve read most of the history of Earth’s war with M87.”

“Yeah, so what?”

“Do you remember what your civilization did when the Violet Ships came in and destroyed Earth?”

Dat stared at Blacky for a moment and said, “We went to M87 and kicked their butts.” Dat paused and saw the two Madator’s nervousness was obvious. In an instant he knew why, “You think they’ll launch a massive attack against us here?”

“We do; and if you think about it, you’d do the same thing in you were in their place.”

Dat sighed, “You’re right; it would force us to leave their domain and come to the defense of our planets.”

Ringie put an arm on Dat’s shoulder, “Our planet is in your galaxy.”

Dat looked at her and then turned to Blacky, “I understand your fear.”

“We’re going to take steps to decrease the possibility of us being found by the Servants.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“As soon as you launch your attack, we’re going to blast every building on the planet and all of us are going into the soil and will stay there until the war is resolved.”

Dat thought a moment, “If they scan your planet, all they’ll see are wild animals roaming the surface and the burned structures of an intelligent species that lost a war.”

“That’s what we’re hoping will happen.”

Dat started shaking his head, “We can’t just wait on them to attack us here; the same thing will happen, only they’ll be coming with more ships. We have to try and even the odds.” The two Madators stared at Dat saying nothing. After a moment Dat said, “You’ve already thought about the best way to do this, haven’t you?” Ringie looked at Blacky and her head rolled completely around her body. Dat saw the expression of frustration and said, “What?”

“I lost our bet. Blacky said you’d get it in less than two minutes and I thought it would take longer than that.”

Blacky said smugly, “I’ve always said you’re extremely smart for a non-predator type of being.”

Dat rolled his eyes at Blacky and then slowly shook it, “The danger level to our forces will go up to the point where I’m not sure we’ll survive the initial engagements.”

“We want to help distract them.”

“How?”

“What would cause them to stumble around doing nothing?”

Dat thought a moment and said, “If there was a sudden change in leadership, they’d not be able to do much until it was resolved.”

Ringie’s head went to the top of her body, “We’re even!”

Blacky looked at Dat, “You could have thought about that a little longer.”

“Hey, I’m sorry; that was obvious.”

“It took us an hour to arrive at that conclusion.”

“What are you saying?”

“You know, in the second and third waves, we dropped some of our warriors on the minor planets in their galaxy.”

“Yeah?”

“Well, they have remained undetected waiting for word from us that it is time to attack. We’ll order an attack on the Ruling Lords on those planets to coincide with the attempted destruction of their ruling planet.”

“Say what!?!”

“Come on, Dat. You blew up more than a thousand of the planets we lived on. Certainly you can get a shot off at that one planet.”

Dat started shaking his head, “Blacky, that planet had almost half a billion ships defending it. They keep huge numbers in green space watching for anything that even remotely looks like it’s moving their way.”

“If you’re scared, say you’re scared.”

“That’s not it. I don’t see any way to get close enough to launch a major penetrator at that planet.”

“Don’t launch it; just deliver it.”

“What do you mean?”

“We weren’t launched by the ships that took us to the planets we invaded. We just exited the landing bay and popped into normal space when the ship moved away.”

Dat’s eyes narrowed, “And since you didn’t have a jump drive around you, there wasn’t a jump signature on your entry.”

“Well, we don’t know about that…is that important?”

Dat smiled, “Thanks, you’ve been a big help.”

“That’s what we’re here for; we aim to please.”

“I’ll get back to you on when we’re going to launch our attack.”

“That would be good.”

Dat turned and ran toward his ship. He had his wrist unit raised and yelled as he entered his ship, “Admiral, I need an emergency meeting of all our senior Admirals.”

“What’s going on?”

“I’ll tell you when I arrive. I’m stopping by Belwen’s lab and then I’ll come to your office. Set the meeting for tomorrow morning.”

“I’ll do it but I need to know what’s going on.”

“We can’t use the Grillen and Rovers when we launch our attacks.”

“WHAT!!”

“I’ll explain later. I’ll see you in the morning.”

Kat’s display went dark and she experienced a feeling of dread; what had Arvolo uncovered? She notified the Fleet Admirals about the meeting and didn’t sleep well that night.

Chapter Twenty-One

Dat arrived at Admiral Hull’s office the next morning with Belwen in tow. The Admirals saw Belwen and wondered what was going on. Admiral Hull had been evasive about telling them what she knew. Kat said, “Admiral Arvolo, you may start the meeting.”

“Good morning, I went to visit the Madators yesterday and they expressed some concerns about our coming attacks on the Servants. I must confess that I’ve not seen a Madator express fear in any situation but they were fearful.”

Gibbs said, “I find that hard to believe.”

Dat looked at him, “Believe it…and their fears were justified.” Dat watched the statement sink in. “We really haven’t thought about what consequences would follow our actions in the Servant Galaxy. If you think back to when the Hive invaded our galaxy and destroyed Earth, what was our immediate response to their actions?” Dat watched the group carefully. He knew these Admirals knew the Union’s history better than most history professors. Their expressions changed as they saw the implications and Dat said, “The Servants would immediately launch an attack on our galaxy with overwhelming forces.” Dat paused and said, “You might think that they wouldn’t invade here and leave us to run rampant in their domain; however, they have enough warships to take us on in their galaxy and still send millions to destroy our planets here. I trust you remember your history; we attacked the Hive without concerning ourselves if they came back and attacked us. We were looking for revenge and damn the consequences.”

Shane started shaking his head slowly, “But Admiral, the same thing would happen if we don’t act. They would just send more ships against us since we wouldn’t be tying down any of their fleets in their galaxy.”

“They would have to know where to send them.”

The entire assembly was struck silent by the remark. Dat watched them and knew Admiral Hull already understood because of what he told her the previous day. He saw it on her face and he was glad she waited for the others to arrive at the same conclusion. Kelli saw it first, “OH MY GOD!” The Admirals turned to her and she looked at Dat shaking her head, “It won’t work.”

Lydia looked at Kelli, “What won’t work?”

Kelli looked at Lydia, “The Servants have never seen a Jukebox. The ship that we killed at the Grillen Governing Planet didn’t have time to communicate its existence to them. They would have no idea where the Jukeboxes came from.”

Dat said, “If you were in their place, what would you believe?”

Kelli looked at him and lowered her head for a moment. She looked up and said, “I would have to believe that the Jukeboxes were advanced ships of the creatures that attacked their planets. I would be forced to believe they used the old ships to drop warriors to soften them up before a major invasion.”

Shane smiled, “She’s right and that means we can’t use any ship in our initial attacks that the Servants have seen here.”

Dat nodded, “Which means we can’t use the Rovers or Grillen Ships we’ve been training with.”

Shane tilted his head, “I’m almost forced to think like Kelli; it won’t work.”

Dat smiled, “I’m glad to hear you say ‘almost’.”

Gem turned to Shane, “Do you see a way for us to use the weave without the Rovers?”

Shane shrugged, “The Jukebox box is extremely effective by itself. The Rovers only supplement its hitting power. The thing that makes this dangerous is there will be no protection from ships jumping in.”

Dat said, “Have you not been practicing jumping away in the middle of an attack before the sides of the box complete their runs?”

Shane sighed, “Yes, we have and, without Rovers in the mix, I suspect we’d have to do that most of the time.”

“What if you jumped another Jukebox Box in on the ships that crashed the party?”

Shane stared at Dat for a long moment and tilted his head to the left, “I bow to the Master.”

Gibbs said, “What are the two of you talking about?”

Shane looked at Dat who nodded. He turned to Gibbs, “You know that most ships sent to defend a fleet being attacked arrive close together in order to use their massed firepower effectively.” Gibbs nodded. “Well, as soon as the bulk of the incoming ships arrive, another Jukebox box is called in on their location. If another group of ships arrive, the third box will be called in to hit them.”

Matt said, “And if a fourth group arrives, the first box jumps to take it on.”

Dat nodded, “And so on and so on until the numbers coming in are too large for us to handle. That’s when we’ll jump away.”

Gem shook her head, “That plan is all well and good for their minor planets. It would be shut down almost immediately if we attack one of the Majors.”

Dat nodded, “I intend to blow their central ruling planet apart to cause disarray when we reduce their numbers enough so that we can attack with all of our available ships.”

The room was once again shocked into silence; even Admiral Hull was caught flatfooted by Dat’s statement. She quickly said, “You intend to hit that planet with major penetrators?”

“I do.”

“And just how are you going to pull that off?”

“I’m going to skip a ship through the barrier that will eject a hundred major penetrators as it passes that planet. They will emerge into normal space without a jump signature, immediately orient on the planet, and ignite their thrusters.”

“They’ll see it coming.”

“They will if the ship starts skipping along the barrier from a long distance, Gibbs. If we jump the delivery vessel ten light years away, it will be on them before they can do much to stop it.”

“They have demonstrated the ability to hit ships skipping along the barrier.”

“Yes, but they saw it coming in green space from a long way out. They received the trajectory from ships located in green space and timed their fire so that the ship flew into their beams. They won’t have enough time to coordinate their fire in the time they’re given. They’ll launch ships to investigate the jump signature and our ship will hit the barrier before they arrive. The ships moving in green space will only be able to watch it pass.”

Shane shook his head, “I don’t wish to disagree with you but even a moderate level computer could set up an attack profile on that ship rather quickly.”

“That’s true; however, they will be entirely too busy tracking the million jump traces moving toward the other side of their planet. I suspect the one trace might be seen but ignored for a moment. All it will take is a moment for the penetrators to be ejected.”

Matt said, “They can be stopped by the ships in orbit above the planet.”

“The penetrators will be ejected in tandem. The front penetrator will ignite and lead the second toward the planet. I suspect a major penetrator will clear the way quite nicely for the following penetrator.”

“They can still stop them with beams.”

Dat turned and said, “Belwen.”

Belwen stood, “We’re building a special penetrator for this exercise. We’re using a massive amount of spent uranium and you know how dense that material is. I really think we’ll only need one of them to make it through to the planet to shatter it. We’re also installing a grey force field on it that will absorb their beams for a short time. It won’t need much time to hit the planet.”

Kat looked at Dat, “So you think we can kill that planet?” Dat nodded. “Then why invade at all? We can just kill their planets and the war is over.”

Kelli said, “They’ll know it’s us doing it.”

Dat was surprised at Kelli’s insight. That was a brilliant observation. Kat said, “Oh, really?”

“If the penetrator uses a grey force field, what conclusions do you think they’ll draw from it?”

Kat was silent and Brad said, “The Grillen are the most recent ally to have been given that technology. I suspect any prior species that received it has already been dealt with. They’ll send scouts to really see what’s going on and they’ll learn that the Jukeboxes came from here.”

Kat nodded and Dat waited for the idea to sink in, “We won’t be destroying their worlds until we are well into the war against them.” Dat saw Kelli nod, “Admiral Carpenter, why don’t you tell them why we have to wait to start killing their planets?”

Kelli was startled but quickly regained her composure. “What would we do if an enemy came in and destroyed every civilized planet in the Milky Way?” She paused and continued, “Once the attacker was identified, every warship we had remaining would go attack the ones that killed them. As it is, the Servants can only send the surplus of ships not being used to defend their planets. Destroy those planets and every ship they have will be launched against us.”

“Very good, Admiral; so our initial task is to cut into their ship numbers. While that is taking place, we will leave their planets alone. Belwen will be building enough of the new penetrators to attack all their major planets simultaneously if, and I do mean if, we’re able to cut into their number of ships.”

Shane shook his head, “Well, it’s back to the drawing board.” Dat looked at him wondering what he meant. Shane saw his expression, “We will be attacking their minor planets initially and I suspect their ships will be scattered in small groups around the system. We’re going to have to take the four fleets in the Jukebox Box and have each of them form a smaller box. When defenders arrive, they will form two larger boxes and take them on. Finally the Jukebox box will be formed and the other boxes will be called in to take part in the festivities as needed.” Shane turned to Dat, “Do you see it that way?”

Dat nodded, “You’re right…however, I suspect you’ll have to immediately go to the largest box. There won’t be small numbers sent to support the local fleets; I’m pretty certain about that.”

“We can still practice it even if we don’t need it. It’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.”

Kat looked at the Admirals, “Who wants to break this news to the Rover Admirals and the Grillen?”

Dat smiled at Kat, “Sir, I believe that is your job.”

Kat smiled back at Dat, “True but who better to get them to understand why they’re being delayed than the one who developed the new plan. Let me know how it goes.”

Dat looked at Gresha and she smiled, “I’ll go with you.” Dat could only shake his head.

The meeting broke up and Gem went over to Shane. He saw her expression, “What’s wrong?”

“The Jukeboxes all have a grey force field.”

“They do…but…it’s located inside the three standard force fields. It won’t be detected unless the outer three are blown away. I don’t expect that to happen unless we are overwhelmingly outnumbered and we’re unable to escape.”

“They will examine any Jukebox damaged and left behind.”

“No they won’t.”

Gem stared at Shane and slowly shook her head. Shane stared into her eyes and said, “What do you think the Servants will do with any human they capture?”

“You know what they’ll do.”

“Would you want to be captured by them, Gem?” Gem sighed, “No…I wouldn’t.”

“One of the modifications installed on our ships is a self-destruct circuit that is almost intelligent. It’s located with the reactors and, if it determines the ship is going to fall into Servant’s hands, it will activate and there won’t be much left but atoms in the ensuing nuclear blast. It will also prevent them from finding human bodies on board.”

Gem’s shock at the tactic was clear and Shane put his arms around her, “This is war; we will do what has to be done to protect those we’re defending.”

Gem laid her head on his chest and softly said, “I know.”

• • •

Katherine and Brad sat in her office after the Admirals left. Katherine sighed, “I should be going with them.”

“If you weren’t the military commander as well as the overall ruler of the Union, I would agree with you. Things would fall apart fast if you were absent for very long.”

Katherine shook her head, “Those brave warriors are going into harm’s way big time. We’re going to lose a lot of ships.”

“We’re continuing to modify the remaining Jukeboxes and a new model is currently under construction. Replacements for ships lost and the reserves will remain here until they’re needed. They’ll be our last line of defense if the Servants attack our galaxy…I really pray we won’t need them here at home.” Katherine could only nod.

• • •

Dat sat on board the Havana and looked at the eleven other Admirals who would be leading their ships into danger. He saw them staring at him and he knew what they were thinking. He looked at Gresha and worried about her. He didn’t want to make his children orphans…but they would face much worse if they failed. We’ve trained as much as possible to make this enterprise work. It’s time we used our training and take the fight to our enemy’s home. This is how we’re going to make this happen. We know the location of their minor planets and I’ve chosen one to practice on before we get serious. It had eight hundred thousand Servant Major Battleships and we’re going to initiate the fight with the launch of a new probe. As soon as it broadcasts what it sees, Admiral Gibbs will jump in and start the festivities.”

“But Sir!”

“Stow it Shane. Gibbs has the best times and his fleets have earned the right to lead off this exercise. You’re going in last.” Dat saw Shane’s and his officer’s disappointment. “Shane, your team is the absolute best at selecting targets and getting in quick. Gibbs and I will be jumping in when the dance floor is rather clear. I need our heaviest hitter to come in when things get really tough. I feel better knowing you’re there to come and bail us out when things get out of hand. You are batting cleanup in this operation.” Dat saw Shane stare at him and then nod. Good, he understood. He knew he was making the absolute best tactical decisions in utilizing his forces and he hoped Shane would see it as well. He apparently did.

Dat turned to Gibbs, “You will jump in with your four small boxes and take on the local defense. As Servant support arrives, move into the Jukebox box and I’ll be watching the probe’s scans to determine when I should join you. Shane will follow us in when he determines the time is right. Shane, you will also make the escape call. Don’t wait too late.”

“I won’t, Sir.”

“We’ll be leaving in five days. I want you and your fleets to take some time to go home and see what they’re fighting for…they’re going to need it to persevere through this. Any questions?”

Kelli looked at the others and said, “Sir, I speak for all of us when I say that we’re proud to be serving under your command. We know we’re in good hands.”

“Thank you, Admiral. Now go and get some rest.”

• • •

Dat sat in his living room and played with his children. Grest and Kylie, Gesha’s parents, were also playing with the children and Dat saw their love and admiration for their grandchildren. Dat played with them for an hour and then stepped out of the back door and walked out into his backyard. He looked up into the dark sky at the stars shining and sighed. Their house was far enough outside Havana such that the stars were brilliant. The sea breeze moved the palm fronds and cooled his face. He knew his original ancestor had stood and watched the same stars thousands of years ago. He slightly shook his head and heard, “What are you thinking?”

Dat continued to stare at the night sky, “The Servant Galaxy is so far away that if we were able to explode it, we wouldn’t see that explosion here for another hundred million years. The Universe is just so big.”

Gresha came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his chest. She didn’t say anything and Dat lifted his hands and held hers on his chest. “Gresha, I sometimes wish the technology that allows us to jump across the universe didn’t exist. There’s so much danger out there.”

“That’s why we have warriors like you, Love.”

Dat shook his head slightly, “I don’t know if it’s enough.”

“It’s all we have; it will have to be enough.”

Dat sighed, “Your parents are taking the children back to their galaxy?”

“Yes they are.”

“Good; I feel better knowing they won’t be here.”

“Do you expect them to come here?”

“If they find out who we are, this will be their next stop. They already know Earth is the Capital of our galaxy.”

Gresha sighed, “Win or lose, our children will make sure we are remembered…and will continue the fight if needed.”

Dat nodded, “I know.” Gresha came around him and wrapped her arms around him as he held her close. Gresha heard him say just before they went inside, “I really want to enjoy looking at the stars again.” Gresha knew just how he felt.

• • •

Three days later, Dat looked at the Lieutenant commanding the Union Shuttle, “Make sure they arrive in their grandparent’s galaxy as quickly as possible.”

“I’ve been cleared for a direct departure, Sir. They’ll be on the planet in less than two hours.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Dat went over and kissed his three children who seemed to sense something out the ordinary was happening. They didn’t cry but they hugged their parents tightly refusing to let go. Finally, Grest held two of them and Kylie had Angeleca in her arms. They tickled the three children and they laughed out loud. They disappeared in the shuttle and the door closed. The shuttle lifted and Grest stared out the viewport at his daughter and her chosen. Kylie whispered. “I’m so frightened for them.”

Grest shook his head, “You saw what they did to the Masters. The ones they’re going to fight are the ones that need to fear them.”

Kylie took a breath and looked at the planet that was rapidly growing smaller beneath them. The shuttle jumped and Earth disappeared from their view. Gresha stared at the bright blue sky, “I feel like part of my soul has gone missing.”

Dat looked away from the sky and into Gresha’s eyes, “Let’s go get it back by kicking the crud out of some grasshoppers.”

Gresha started chuckling and then started laughing, “By all means; lead the way.”

Stein came roaring in and took them to their ships. Battle stations was just six hours away.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Twelve million Union Ships jumped out into open space beyond the Servant Galaxy and began attack preparation. Gibbs sat in his command chair and had mixed emotions about being the first one to attack. The pent up energy and adrenaline made him want to get up and physically do something, but there was nothing for him to do. He looked at his panel and pushed a button. A face appeared on his console and Gibbs said, “I just wanted to give you a quick call and tell you how much I appreciate your advice.”

Admiral Kune smiled, “So you’re about to go into combat?”

“Does it show?”

“It always shows; you always call to thank me every time.”

“Well, I’m still around to make the call.”

Kune tilted his head and smiled, “Yes, I suppose you are.”

“Kune, I’m sorry the Rovers had to be left out of the initial attacks.”

Kune slowly shook his head, “I understand why. My boys are still training and learning their responsibilities. Just get the first part done so we can join the party.”

“We’ll do our best. And once again, thank you for Lydia.”

“You did that on your own, Gibbs. I just got you to the right forest to find her.”

Gibbs nodded and ended the call. Now he was ready. He sat up in his chair and started going over the ready boards. Most of the board was green and he knew the ship was going to be ready in time. Truth be told, they were all ready to attack before they jumped away from the Milky Way. This was more of a formality to make sure everyone was focused on their responsibilities.

Dat appeared on his panel, “Get in and take care of the locals. Probe launch in thirty seconds.”

“Yes Sir. We’ll be leaving as soon as their organization is determined.”

“Good luck and good shooting, Admiral.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

• • •

The most advanced probe ever built by the Union ejected from Gibb’s flagship and immediately entered the jump barrier. It only flew for a moment in the barrier and would then skip into normal space to disrupt its approach track. It was forty feet long and only four feet thick. It would jump away from anything that approached it in green space. Its scans were sent in microburst squeals and it immediately jumped whenever it transmitted its data. Its transmissions were timed such that the view did not appear to be disrupted. An incoming squeal would be deciphered just as the next one arrived. A fleet of Rovers had chased one for a week and were not able to take it out. This new probe was critical to the Union’s success.

• • •

The probe arrived at the targeted planet and began transmitting. Gibbs looked at his panel, “Well?”

“There are eight formations around the planet with two hundred thousand ships in each. They appear to be just one large group, but the area they’re assigned to protect is clear if you look at the orientation of their ships.”

“Organize the fleet into eight boxes and send them their coordinates. Make sure the boxes are ready to reorganize into a major box. I expect reinforcements to arrive quickly after we start.”

“Do you want to hit the planet?”

“Do you have the locations of their major installations?’

“I’ve got the major installations. Give the probe another hour and we’ll have them all.”

Gibbs watched several Servant Warships move out of their formations and knew they had detected the probes transmissions, “No, I don’t want any outside forces to come to investigate the probe. Assign the facilities we’ve found to the appropriate ships.”

“The assignments are done.”

Gibbs smiled and lifted his communicator, “We are jumping in ten minutes. Good luck and make the Union proud.”

• • •

Dat and Shane watched the probe’s data coming in and saw Gibbs had chosen to use a box for each of the Servant formations. “That’s how I’d do it.”

Shane heard Dat and said, “I would have used four.”

“Why?”

“The ships in those eight Servant Fleets are accustomed to working together. By forcing two of them into a box, you double the number of ships to hit them and they’ll be forced to try and work together. I don’t think they could pull it off fast enough.”

“That’s a good rationale.”

“What would you have done?”

“I would have used four boxes so that they overlapped around the planet. I would start the weave and then start them rotating around the planet as they continued.”

“That’s a difficult formation to get out of while you’re under attack.”

“Gibbs is not going to hang around for the follow up.”

Shane did a double take, “What!?!”

Dat continued to watch the probe’s data come in and said, “This first attack is a learning experience. We’re doing it to collect information about what we’re going to have to face. We know nothing about how the Servants will respond, how many ships will be sent, what formations they’ll arrive in, and how long it will take them to get here. We’ll attack the Servant Warships here and jump away. We’ll observe what happens next and determine our tactics on what we learn.”

“Have you told Gibbs we’re not going in and you’re pulling him out?”

“No, I’m just going to press the escape button as soon as he finishes with the locals.”

Shane shook his head, “I’m glad he went first. This would probably make me angry at being pulled out before the main dance.”

“I suspect you would be; however, you might feel differently once you see the follow up.”

Shane stared at Dat, “You think it’s going to surprise us?”

“I have no idea; that’s the nature of a surprise.”

Shane nodded, “They just jumped, Sir.”

“Well sit back and enjoy the view. This should prove to be interesting.”

• • •

The Servant Detection Specialist sent another scan out into the planet’s solar system for what seemed like the millionth time and stared at the return. The Weapon’s leader saw his expression, “Maybe we’ll be sent on the next crop collection.”

The Specialist leaned back on his back legs, “Everyone told me, ‘Join the Fleets; you’ll see the galaxy, explore new places, eat interesting foods’…they were so wrong! This job is mind numbingly boring.”

The Leader nodded, “When I first arrived on board, I thought the planet below us was beautiful. The ship was amazing and all the others on board were the most interesting beings I’ve ever met. Now I hate looking at that planet and I can tell you the names of all the children of everyone on this bucket of bolts. No one has ever attacked one of our Nobility Planets; I would think they could find a better use of our time.”

“You know why we’re really here.”

The Leader swiveled his head, “We’re nothing more than a status symbol.” The Specialist was surprised the Weapon’s Leader saw it. “The Nobility seems to gain status by the number of Warships used to defend their planets. It’s stupidity at its finest.”

“What’s really dumb is that new ships are constantly being built to increase the numbers around the planet but keeping the others serviced, repaired, and up to date is ignored.”

The Leader nodded, “Tell me about it; I’ve ordered a replacement generator for the portside fire control computer six months ago and haven’t received it yet. And I’m not the only one; my counterparts on most of the other ships say they have major problems that have been ignored.”

“Well, fortunately, scanners are repaired instantly; no one wants a surprise visit from the higher ranking Lords.”

“Much less an enemy ship.”

The Specialist swiveled his head, “I’d almost welcome a fight to relieve this mind killing boredom.”

“Me, too.”

The Specialist heard his panel beep and he sat up straight, “I have a transmission taking place.”

“Where!?!”

“It was directly above the planet…but…now it’s below the planet.”

The Specialist looked at the Weapon’s Leader and the Leader hit the Attack Warning button. The crew of the huge warship started moving to their duty stations thinking another drill was taking place. They began moving at full speed when the Weapon’s Leader announced, “We’ve detected a foreign transmission next to the planet. This is not a drill.”

The giant warship barely had time to power its force field as the Scanner Specialist yelled over the communication’s circuit, “THOUSANDS OF JUMP SIGNATURES…WE’RE BEING ATTACKED!!!”

• • •

Unfortunately, on many of the Servant Warships, their Scanning Specialists were not at their posts. They had worked out a rotation between their ships to scan for anything coming into the system and the first warning they had was a general fleet communication to go to Attack Status. For those ships, it was too late and fatal.

• • •

Captain Lee Jennings was lying prone on the couch he had built next to his panel. He found it much easier to lie down to put hands on the steering paddles where he could keep the three displays, as well as the paddles, directly in front of him at eye level. The center display showed his tactical position; the left display showed the distance to the closest object in his ship’s path; the right displayed an overall view of the area around the ship. Lee arrived with the other ships assigned to his box and immediately ordered weapons free. He saw a Servant Major Battleship directly to the port side and accelerated past it. He did not concern himself with the firing on the enemy vessel, that was up to his crew manning the beams and missile controls. A huge explosion appeared in the corner of his eye on the right display; he knew it had to be the Servant Battleship. It didn’t even have its force field energized. He stared at the closest object in his attack vector and pushed the jump paddle and briefly skipped into the barrier. He came out between two Huge Servant Warships and swerved between them. He saw the next object and immediately skipped into the barrier again. He wasn’t going to linger and allow the two ships time to fire on him. If his weapons didn’t kill the ship, another Jukebox could do the job as they passed.

He concentrated on finding a path through his assigned vector and forgot about everything else. His path had numerous objects ahead of him and he skipped ahead and emerged long enough for his crew to fire. He forgot about everything else except getting through to the other side of the box.

He looked and saw a larger blip on the left display and knew there had to be numerous enemy ships ahead of him. He spoke and the communication system transmitted his voice to the ship, “We’re approaching a large group of Servant Warships. I’m going under them and will only be in normal space for a moment; fire all the top side penetrators the instant we emerge into normal space. You won’t have time to target the beams. Emergence in three, two, one…”

• • •

Fifty Servant Warships assigned to defend the Fleet Commander were being hit from all sides. The number of jump signatures around them had overwhelmed their systems and the weapons had to be fired manually. The Servants manning the beams decided to only fire at jump signatures close to their group and saw one immediately appear under them. The Beam Operators moved their beams as quickly as possible at the target but it disappeared before they could fire. They did see twenty huge missiles erupt out of the jump signature and immediately disappear as they accelerated into their formation. Ten of the giant Bronze Warships exploded as three more ships entered normal space and launched more missiles at them. The last Union Ship to fire on the formation made the mistake of staying in normal space longer than a second and it was hit by more than two hundred main beams from the surviving Servant ships. The Jukebox’s force fields held for a moment and then the huge ship exploded in the center causing it to beak in half. The Servant Fleet Commander saw the explosion, “Move us closer to that ship and start scanning it. We need to find out who they are.”

The Weave had passed the Commander’s location and he had his beam platforms on the giant ship’s hull start hitting at any beams still being fired by the damaged Union Ship. Soon, no beams were being fired and the fires were starting to spread on board the stricken vessel.

“Get some armored shuttles over and collect information. All ships stand close by and give the shuttles fire support.”

Ten Shuttles carrying ten armored Servant Warriors each began moving toward the drifting Union Warship. They moved toward a huge hole blown into the White Ship’s hull and prepared to enter.

Fifty decks down next to the black matter reactors, the computer used the optical cameras on the hull to see the Servant Shuttles approaching. It looked at the area around the ship and saw there were no Union Ships close by. It determined there was no escape and it activated the self-destruct module. The ensuing blast rocked space around the Union Ship and blew it into gas. The blast roared out and the shock wave blasted through the force fields of fifteen Servant Battleships surrounding the White Ship. Twelve others were blow away by the blast like leaves in a tornado. There were numerous injuries on the surviving Servant Warships, but it really didn’t make a difference. The radiation particles created with the destruction of a black matter reactor paled in comparison to an atomic explosion. The wave of radiation blew through the force fields of any ship within forty miles of the blast site giving the Servant Ships a lethal dose of radiation. It was so severe that the ships’ hulls were radioactive. The crews died instantly instead of lingering for days with normal radiation poisoning and the Servants discovered that it was impossible to approach the ships without endangering the rescuers. The radiated ships were towed and dropped on a trajectory toward the systems’ star. They glowed from the level of radioactivity in them.

Fifteen Union Ships were killed or damaged beyond repair during the attack; all of them exploded, causing further damage to the Servant Warships that survived the attack. After the first ten exploded, Servant Warships flew away from the five remaining Union ships and blasted them from long distance. The five took the fire for an hour before they detonated in self-destructive blasts.

• • •

Gibbs saw his twelve boxes complete their runs and started to order another attack when his ship suddenly jumped away from the planet. He looked at his panel and saw that the escape circuit had been activated. “What the…”

“Admiral, have your ships complete their escape trajectories?”

“Why did you pull us out, Sir!?!”

“I want you to answer that question when we reassemble.”

Gibbs was angry; the attack was going according to plan. He had a few words for Arvolo, but first his ship had to go through the fifty escape jumps. He continued to watch the data being sent by the probe and, by the time he arrived at the assembly coordinates, he was able to answer Arvolo’s question.

• • •

Only twenty thousand Servant Warships survived the Union attack. One of them was the ship that had detected the transmission and went to Attack Stations just before the attack began. The jump officer on board saw the jump signatures appearing around the ship and he immediately jumped the ship away from the planet. He was later executed for his cowardice but the ship survived because of it. They arrived close to the planet’s largest moon and had a perfect seat to watch the destruction of the Servant Defense Fleet and the facilities on the planet. Bad luck plagued the Servants during the first attack; the device that controlled the recording capability of the ship’s scanners failed and there has been no record of the attack. The only information on what happened was what the crew on the ship was able to see. Watching the battle without a means of slowing it down, where it could be analyzed, was no help to the reinforcements that arrived ten minutes after the attacking ships disappeared. They all agreed that hundreds of thousands of ships appeared and began jumping in an unorganized fashion, attacking any ship they could find. The boxes and weave were lost in the massive movements of that many ships occupying the space above the planet.

• • •

The Lord commanding the twenty million reinforcing Servant Ships that jumped in slammed his rear leg on the floor of his ship and dented the metal. The only ship that had a clear view of the attack had equipment failure. When he discovered that most of the ships in the Minor Lord’s defense fleet had various problems, he ordered a shuttle to the planet to arrest the Minor Lord ruling it. It was wasted effort; the Minor Lord’s residence was one of the targets the Union had chosen for a mini-penetrator. Even finding a small piece of the Lord in the five mile wide crater was going to be next to impossible.

“I want all the data collected by the survivors and sent to my ship.”

“Yes Lord.”

Twenty minutes later the other three support fleets arrived and the Servant Fleet Leader sneered at them. Big help they would have been if the enemy was still around.

He looked at his panel and saw the Senior Advisor on it. He didn’t like seeing his father after the catastrophe but straightened up and began answering his questions. Most of his answers were, “I don’t know.”

• • •

Dat saw Gibbs’ Fleet arrive and he activated his communicator and linked with the computers that issued assignments to Gibbs’ ships, “How many ships were lost?”

“Fifteen were damaged beyond the ability to escape.”

Dat looked over at the Scanning Officer, “I want all the recordings from the probe on those fifteen ships.” The officer nodded and Dat heard, “One of the ships destroyed was Rear Admiral Thebault’s Flagship.”

Dat thought for a moment, “What ship in the Rear Admiral’s fleet made the most kills?”

“Captain Jennings.”

“Patch me through to his ship.”

Dat watched his display and saw Jennings still lying on his couch, staring at his three displays. Dat moved his head back and said, “Captain, what sort of device are you using?”

Lee saw Admiral Arvolo on his panel and said, “I’ve modified my command chair so I can better track what’s going on around my ship, Sir.”

Arvolo saw the three displays and how Lee had his hands on the ship’s flight paddles. He shook his head and said, “You are promoted to Rear Admiral to replace Admiral Thebault. I commend you and your crew for your outstanding efficiency and I want you to send a description of your new chair to Admiral Gibbs immediately.”

“Yes Sir. And thank you, Sir.”

Dat ended the connection and linked with the combat computers, “I want an analysis of the enemy fleet that arrived after our ships left.”

“We’re working on it now.”

“Get it to me as quickly as possible.”

Dat contacted Gibbs, “Admiral, I want you to send your ships to their home port and have the armaments they used replaced.”

“We won’t be going back in, Sir?”

“Would you?”

“No Sir; and thank you for pulling the plug.”

Dat smiled, “Send your ship with your fleet, but I want you take a shuttle and come here for a meeting with my Senior Staff.”

“I’ll issue the orders and leave immediately.”

“Make sure you have the ships you lost replaced. I’ve promoted a Captain Jennings to replace Admiral Thebault; he’s sending you a diagram of a chair he designed to replace the standard command chair. Please bring it with you to the meeting along with your new Admiral.”

“My communication’s officer tells me he has the diagram. I’ll go by and pick up Jennings on the way to your ship, Sir.”

“Gibbs, his ship was the most efficient in the attack.”

“Sir, he’s been on my shortlist to promote. You have made a great choice.”

“Thanks Gibbs. I would ordinarily allow you to make your own promotions but we need to find leaders that flourish in our new structure.”

“There is no need to apologize, Sir.”

Dat ended the connection and stared at the probe’s data stream. Twenty million Servant warships had jumped in ten minutes after the attack started; that response was going to change how they operated. Sixty million more appeared twenty minutes later and he shook his head as he waited for his Admirals to arrive.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The Supreme Lord looked at his Advisor and almost killed him. If he had another child anywhere near as smart as the Advisor, he would have done it to make an example of him; he could not abide with incompetence. “You will have all the other defense fleets investigated and take action on any nobility that has not kept their ships operational!”

“I’ve already issued the orders and forty six Minor Lords have been executed. Their replacements understand their task to prepare their ships.”

“Where did those ships come from?”

The Advisor knew his life was hanging by a thread but he also knew he had to tell his father the truth, “We have no record of those ships in any of our databases.” The Supreme Lord scowled, but the Advisor continued without pausing, “What we do know is that they have extremely powerful force fields and missiles that are beyond any we have ever recorded. I have to believe that they are from the same species that has attacked our planets with the Violet and Yellow colored ships.”

“And just why would you make that guess?”

The Advisor heard the sarcasm in his father’s voice and said, “They used the same missiles the Violet and Yellow ships used to destroy the defense satellites.” The Lord was surprised by the Advisor’s statement. “My specialists believe that the ships used to invade the slave planets were an older model they no longer use. They were simply throw-away ships. The ships used in this last attack are their most advanced vessel.” The Lord looked down at his most competent child and felt his anger subside. The Advisor saw his father’s anger start to dissipate and said, “There is another issue in that we were only able to launch one of our support fleets to the attacked planet. It has been so long since your domain has faced an outside force that our fleets have lost their edge. I have executed the officers and their direct subordinates commanding the fleets that were unable to immediately go and have replaced them with commanders that will whip their fleets into shape.”

The Lord saw his son had anticipated what needed to be done, “Go and make sure these things are accomplished quickly.”

The Advisor lowered his head and left the room. The Lord knew that he had almost made a mistake killing his best resource. He needed patience. He also needed to know who was attacking his domain. He looked at his panel and saw a reminder note to check in on the newest ally but quickly dismissed it. This new ship was not in their galaxy. He made a connection, “I want all of our scouts sent out to investigate the galaxies close to our location. I want you to focus on those where we’ve sent ships in the past. One of them may have been detected and has caused these recent attacks.”

“Yes Lord.”

He hoped they would find the location of this new enemy. Unfortunately for him, all of the past encounters had happened in galaxies located in the opposite direction from the Milky Way. It was going to be a long time before he found out where the attacks originated.

• • •

The Union Admirals gathered on board the Havana and watched the feed sent from the probe until it was recalled. Gibbs stared at the display and shook his head. Within an hour after the first Servant reinforcements arrived, four more fleets of equal size jumped in. If he had waited, his fleet and the other two would have possibly been overwhelmed.

Dat watched the Admirals sitting at the conference table and saw their concern. Silence dominated the room until Dat said, “Comments?”

Shane shook his head, “I really thought you were acting somewhat paranoid by recalling Admiral Gibbs’ fleet. I can see now that you saw what I couldn’t fathom.”

Kelli said, “What was that?”

“Just what having more than a billion warships actually meant in real life.” Shane turned to Dat, “They could have sent more.”

Dat nodded, “You’re absolutely right. I thought they had a defense system organized to overwhelm an attacker but I must confess that this exceeded my wildest expectations. We were really lucky they were out of practice or Gibb’s fleet could have been attacked before he could escape.”

Gresha leaned forward, “What do you mean?”

“Those four groups of ships the Servants sent were all about the same size. That means they are in formation waiting for a call to come in for them to immediately launch. I suspect it’s been so long since they received a call, they were slow getting in motion. I don’t expect that to happen again.”

Shane slowly shook his head and looked away from the display at Dat, “They’ll probably be waiting for us to arrive.”

Dat smiled as the others stared at Shane, “Yes, you’re probably right.”

Matt’s brow was furrowed, “I’m slow on the uptake here; why would they be waiting for us?”

Kelli sighed, “They’ll launch as soon as they detect our probe start transmitting.”

Shane looked at her, “Boy, you are one smart cookie, Kelli.”

“Thank you, Sir; I’ve learned from the best.”

Gibbs leaned forward, “So they can detect our probe?”

Dat tilted his head, “Yes and no.” Gibbs looked confused until Dat said, “They didn’t detect its arrival…but they did detect its transmissions.”

“How do you know that, Sir?”

“None of their ships activated a force field when the probe arrived but the moment it started streaming data, our computers saw more than a hundred ships start powering their force fields and armaments.”

The room was silent for a minute and Gem said, “Do we call this off?”

“No, we change our plan of attack.”

Shane sighed, “I really thought the weave would work.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Admiral. We will use it when the numbers allow us. However, this changes everything.” Dat walked over to the display and activated it. The Admirals watched as Lee Jennings took his ship thorough the Servant formations, artfully dodging large concentrations of their ships and timing his attacks so that large numbers of their ships couldn’t get a shot off at him. Shane watched the recording and shook his head, “That is one heck of a pilot.”

Dat pulled up a picture of Lee’s new attack chair and the group stared at it. Shane said, “The center display is tactical.”

Dat nodded, “The left is the scan of the vector he was assigned from green space. He used it to skip to his next target. The right display shows him all the activity taking place around his ship.”

Shane took his chair and leaned the back against the conference table, “Gem, hold this in place.” Gem went behind the chair and grabbed two of its legs. Shane leaned over and lay down on the chair. He put his hands in front of him on the table and looked straight ahead. He stood up and shook his head, “This is pure genius.”

Dat smiled, “I agree.”

“What are we going to do about it, Sir?”

“Jennings tells me that he forgets everything happening around him and focuses on the three display and ship paddles. He allows his crew to fire the weapons and keep things running; his entire focus in on finding a safe path through his vector.” The Admirals watched the flight of Lee’s ship through the enemy formations and were amazed at his ability to emerge into normal space at the optimum place and time to get off a shot. Even large concentrations of Servant Warships weren’t able to fire at him in time to hit the fast moving ship. Dat said, “We’re going to make the modifications to our ships and practice using them in a new formation.”

Lydia said, “What kind of formation?”

Dat pointed to the left display and said, “The problem with using the weave in a space with that many enemy ships around is that the box remains in one place until the four sides move across it.” The Admirals thought about the observation and saw the issue. “All the enemy has to do is just jump enough ships in on the box and overwhelm it. The vectors will be so crowded with enemy warships that there won’t be a safe place to emerge into normal space.” Dat paused, “However, if our fleets broke up into smaller units and formed just one side…”

Shane said, “They couldn’t jump in on them. Our ships would be flying through their ranks at high speed and they would have to organize a jump in front of their path.”

“Exactly right; and if the numbers in front of the wall of ships swells…”

Matt said, “We simply press the escape button and run away, being happy with whatever losses we were able to inflict on them.”

“That is exactly right, Admiral McCagg. If we break our fleets up into thirty six units and attack thirty six different locations simultaneously, they are going to have to reorganize their support fleets to send the appropriate number of ships to each location. To do that, they will have to collect information from the attack sites and issue the attack orders to sub units. That will take some time and we’re going to use that time to inflict as much damage as possible.”

Shane tilted his head, “The ships on the outer four edges of the formation will be in jeopardy from ships outside the boundaries of the wall.”

“The ships on the four outer sides will be loaded with a triple load of penetrators and will start launching them ahead of the formation. The penetrators will be programmed to target any enemy ship outside the formation’s boundary first. As far as ships beside or behind our formation, they are going to have a difficult time matching our speed. Jumps are not as fast as skips and I don’t think we’ll be in danger from ships we’ve passed.” Dat paused, “Make no mistake about this; the war with the Servants is, and has been from the beginning, a war of attrition. We have to cut into their numbers before we can bring all of our forces to bear. I want all of you to put your heads together and come up with an attack profile you think will work. While you’re working on that, send your fleets to their assigned ports and have their command chairs modified to Admiral Jennings’ design. We’ll take a short time to train using the new formation and command chairs. Then, we will initiate our attacks. Get back to me when you’ve devised a plan.”

Dat sent the orders out for the fleets’ ports to make the chair modifications and the Union Fleets jumped away. The Senior Staff stayed on the Havana hammering out a plan to attack the massive enemy fleets. Five weeks later, they were ready.

• • •

Two weeks before the Union Fleets were to leave to start their attacks, Dat called Gresha into his office on Earth. Gresha came in and Dat remained behind his desk. Gresha’s eyebrows went up, “Is this an official meeting?”

Dat stared at her, started to nod, but then said, “It was going to be…but I can’t treat you this way.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was calling you in to let you know that you are relieved of your duties.”

“For God’s sake; why would you do that?”

Dat stood and went to the couch in his office, “Come sit with me, Love.” Gresha followed him to the couch and Dat put his arm around her, “I will not be leading a fleet into combat.”

“WHY NOT?”

“Admiral Hull says that using a full or Vice-Admiral to lead a fleet with only a hundred thousand ships is a waste of talent. She has ordered me to direct the overall activities of the fleets and to stay out of the minor battles.” Gresha stared at Dat. “I don’t want to admit it…but she’s right. Where the fleets are going to need me and the other Senior Admirals is when we have all of our forces available to fight a major battle with the Servants.” Dat paused, “That is also true for you as well.”

Gresha tilted her head, “OK.”

Dat’s brow instantly furrowed, “I expected a lot more resistance than just ‘OK’.”

“Oh don’t be silly. The reason I made you allow me to go was to make sure nothing happened to you. If you’re on the sidelines directing traffic, I’m ok with going to take care of our children. When you get into the game, I’ll join you.”

Dat shook his head and remembered how much Gresha loved him. He took her in his arms and held her close. Gresha broke a kiss and said, “Now don’t let me down and enter the fight without telling me.”

“I won’t.”

“Promise?”

“I do.”

• • •

Shane looked at Gibbs, “I see you were able to stay in the dance.”

“Only in a supporting role; my unit is to only go and help bail out any of my units that are in trouble.”

“What about Lydia?”

“She understands and will be with me directing our units.”

“I’ve been allowed to take a unit and join the fight.”

“WHAT!?!”

“Fleet made a promise before I accepted the promotion that they would not prevent me from fighting.”

“Lucky you.”

“I’m not going to go in.”

“Why?”

Shane slowly shook his head and signed, “Kelli and Gem have managed to make me see my value to the Union. I hate it…but they’re right.”

Gibbs nodded, “They are so right.”

“I know; I just hate to stand by while our ships go into harm’s way.”

“You won’t be.”

“Huh?”

“I suspect you’ll be watching their actions and offering suggestions or pulling them out of trouble with the escape button if it’s called for. No one could do that as well as you.”

“Kelli can.”

“Yes, and I do hope she is also staying out of the fight.”

“All of the Senor Admirals are directing traffic.”

Gibbs smiled, “Now we know how the Rovers and Grillen are feeling. We have to learn patience and know that we’ve done all we can to prepare our fleets to handle themselves appropriately.”

Shane paused, “What do you think about the new self-destruct guidelines?”

“I wish there was another way. The guidelines have been presented to the fleets and very few sailors chose to leave the service. They know what will happen and have accepted it.” Gibbs paused, “Shane, we know how many ships will be coming after us. If a ship is damaged, there is no way for the formation to stop and help them.”

“I know…I just hate it.”

“Me too; however, the ships will self-destruct when they can do the most damage to the enemy ships giving chase. Their lives will count for something.”

“They already count, Gibbs. I guess I wouldn’t want to fall into the Servant’s possession and become a host for their larva.”

Gibbs shuttered, “That’s why everyone agrees with the new guidelines.”

“I’ll let you know how the initial attacks go.”

“I’ll do the same. Good luck.”

“To you as well.”

Gibbs had a thought and said, “How are your ships adapting to the new command chairs?”

Shane looked back over his shoulder, “That’s why I can sit out the initial skirmishes; most of them are as good as I am.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

Shane walked out of the door and shouted, “Believe it.”

Gibbs smiled; his pilots were also greatly improved. He just wanted to see if Shane’s ego would allow him to say it. Shane was making progress in becoming a great leader.

• • •

Matt walked into the restaurant and saw Kelli sitting in a booth in the back. She waved to him and he told the waitress he was meeting someone. He walked back to Kelli’s table and smiled, “Hi Smarty, what’s up?”

Kelli smiled at the name and said, “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about how long it takes you to develop tactics.”

Matt’s smile disappeared, “I’m not sure what you mean; do you think I’m slow?”

“You’re one of the most brilliant people I’ve ever known.”

Matt shook his head, “What sort of tactics?”

“First, tell me what process you use to achieve a goal?”

Matt stared at her, “You’re serious?”

“I am; humor me for a moment.”

Matt looked up at the waiter that arrived at their table and said, “I’ll have what she’s getting.” Kelli looked at him and he said, “I have the same tastes as you. Your choices have never been wrong.” He paused and said, “I guess I see what I want to happen and then I look at all the things I can do to make it happen.”

“Go on.”

“I then prioritize the things that can be done to make the end result happen quickly and then use the other tools if those fail.”

“You’re not being honest.”

“Oh! Why do you say that?”

“You’ve wanted to have a relationship with me from the moment you met me and you gave up soon afterwards. I suspect you saw I was driven to achieve a high rank with a great career. You decided that I wouldn’t be interested in you.” Matt just stared at Kelli saying nothing. “See, you tried what you thought would work quickly and they failed. You quit trying after that.”

Matt’s face was red and he looked Kelli in the eyes, “Your career took off like a rocket. You are viewed as a future replacement for Admiral Arvolo and I saw rather quickly that I’m out of your league. I just don’t measure up.”

“Matt, we hold the same rank.”

“So?”

“I tried every trick in the book to advance my career and here we are with the same rank. What tricks did you pull to get promoted?” Matt thought about it and came up with a blank. Kelli saw his expression and shook her head, “You were promoted because of your merits that are clear to anyone who takes more than a minute to talk with you. I didn’t realize that all my cunning and conniving were unnecessary; my abilities spoke for themselves. Once I realized that; I saw something else.”

“What was that?”

“You deliberately chose to step back and allow me to chase my dream. You put your feelings aside so I could find happiness.” Matt could only sigh. “Don’t think I haven’t seen your expressions when you thought I wasn’t looking.” Matt lowered his head. “So I’ll ask you again; what other things were you going to do when your first attempts failed?”

Mat looked across the table at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and stood up. He reached over, put his hand on her chin, and leaned in and kissed Kelli tenderly. He broke the kiss and Kelli sat there with her eyes closed. She finally opened them and said, “Your plan is successful and we need to leave now.”

Matt smiled, “What about our meal?”

Kelli’s smile was instant, “I didn’t order anything but water.” Matt laughed out loud as Kelli stood, came around the table, and took his hand.

They exited the restaurant and Matt said, “What part of your plan was tonight?”

“I’ve exhausted most of my plans; this was the last resort.”

“Thank you for saving me from my misery.”

“I didn’t do this; it was your actions that made it happen.”

Matt swept Kelli off her feet and into his arms, “That is something neither of us will ever know for certain.” He kissed her again and carried her to a waiting shuttle.

The Shuttle dropped them off at Kelli’s quarters and the shuttle pilot contacted Fleet Admiral Hull, “It appears they are an item now, Sir.”

“Thank you, Sam.” Katherine smiled. Katherine had watched Matt’s expressions during her staff meetings when Kelli wasn’t looking and saw he was smitten by the brilliant young woman. She had made a point recently of asking Kelli if she had seen Matt’s sorrow around her and wondered what Kelli had said to hurt him so much. Kelli said that she didn’t know what she was talking about. Kat managed to look surprised and then sat back and allowed nature to take its course. She knew once Kelli knew about his feelings, she would be driven to verify them. There was no way she was going to ignore Kat’s remarks.

Kelli left the meeting with Admiral Hull and went to her Flagship and pulled the recordings of all the staff meetings. She ignored what was being said and focused on Matt. It didn’t take long for her to see it in his eyes when she was looking away. She saw it in the first meeting she attended. She decided that the Admiral was right. She must have done something that hurt Matt very much. By the time she viewed all the meetings, she knew it wasn’t something she said…it was something else.

Katherine smiled when Sam’s call came in; like Dat told her a while back; it would be a shame if Kelli and Matt didn’t have children. She laughed and called Brad to come and join her.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The four major fleets were broken down into twelve fleets with two hundred and fifty thousand ships in each. The remaining million ships in each fleet were also broken down into four fleets that were kept in reserve to go assist any unit that ran into trouble. The units would rotate such that four fleets would always have a break to rearm and rest. The advanced probes’ instructions were changed. The probes would jump into an attack site and record the enemy’s location and formations. The probe would then jump back to its assigned unit and transmit its data. The unit would then determine the coordinates to jump in and commence the attack. The probe would jump in with them and transmit its data to the ships involved in the attack and the fleets being held in reserve. The Fleet Admiral commanding the twelve units would then make the command decisions concerning escape or support.

• • •

Dat sat on board the Havana and looked at his scanning officer, “Launch the probes.” Thirty six advanced probes ejected out of the Havana’s tubes and jumped away. Dat waited and, thirty minutes later, the probes returned and transmitted their data. Dat raised his communicator, “Select your start coordinate and prepare to jump in two minutes.” Dat watched the huge array of ships in open space between galaxies and saw the countdown reach zero. Twelve large formations remained a moment later and Dat focused on the wall displays showing all twelve of his attacking fleets. Shane and Gibbs would have to focus on their fleets. Thirty six fleets were more than Dat could handle alone.

• • •

Admiral Jennings’ fleet arrived in formation sixty miles above the planet’s atmosphere and accelerated into the Servant Fleets holding station in orbit above the planet. It rushed away from the Servant Ships behind the huge wall of Union Ships and they turned to give chase. The Union wall rushed ahead faster than they could match and they began running into huge bronze colored warships that had been blasted into rubble. The Servant Commander ordered, “Jump ahead of them.”

The chasing Servant Ships jumped in front of the oncoming Union formation and suddenly had another wall of Union Ships appear behind them and hit them from their rear. The two walls of White Ships passed each other and continued moving forward, killing any ship in their paths.

The ships on the outer edge of the giant square formation were maintaining their position slightly behind the moving square and fired on any Servant Warship that rushed toward the formation from the sides. Fifteen minutes after the start of the exercise, the probe detected a huge number of jump signatures. Lee received the warning and pressed the escape button. Every Union Ship above the planet disappeared…just before two million Servant Warships arrived. They appeared in normal space and fifty Union Ships, that had been hit and damaged or destroyed, exploded in their ranks. The explosions could be seen in bright daylight on the planet. However, most of them went unnoticed as thousands of Servant structures on the surface burned from penetrator or beam strikes. Gibbs saw the two units jump away and said, “Give me a report.”

“Initial estimates are that more than a million enemy warships have been damaged beyond repair. Huge numbers of them are now starting to fall on the planet.”

Gibbs could only imagine what horror those falling warships were going to cause on the planet’s surface. A probe sent a week after the attack took recordings and Gibbs learned that most of the ships that crashed on the planet had their reactors cook off and cause a huge nuclear explosion. The entire planet was laid to waste. Gibbs lifted his communicator, “Reserve fleets jump to escape coordinates of fleet six.”

• • •

The Commanding Lord of the Servant Support Fleet ordered his ships to follow the jump track of the escaping Union Fleets and emerged into normal space only to find a huge wall of Union Ships blowing into his ranks. Before his fleets could get organized, the huge line disappeared. He ordered his ships to follow and the two Union Fleets that had attacked the planet flew into his ranks at the second jump and once again he lost a huge number of ships. The attackers disappeared again and this time he chose not to follow them. His fleet was reduced to half their original number and none of the enemy ships had been hit. He slammed a leg on the chair arm and shattered it. He took his fleet back to the planet that had been attacked and saw there was little he could do. A week later he was executed for his incompetence.

• • •

Dat looked at the data coming in and saw the Servants had not been successful in reorganizing their support fleets. Some of the planets attacked had two million ships jump in and others had ten million jump in. The fifteen minute delay was more than he could have hoped for knowing the Servants were ready for another attack. He looked at the casualty reports and shook his head. The Union had lost eleven thousand Jukeboxes. However, the Servants had lost fifteen million ships destroyed and another six million damaged to varying levels. Most of them were no longer combat worthy. The war had kicked off and he knew the Servants were not going to just lay down and die. They were adaptive and with each attack they would learn how to meet their attackers. However, the initial attack had to be considered a success. He began contacting his Admirals to congratulate them on their missions.

• • •

The attacks continued and became more and more deadly. After three months, the Servants would jump every ship in orbit to the sides of the detected jump signatures and start firing into the area before the Union Ships emerged. That tactic killed more than a hundred thousand Union Warships before the survivors could jump away. The Servants didn’t lose a ship in that terrible battle. The Union lost Admiral Jennings in the first ten seconds of that slaughter. In the next attack, the Union Ships skipped in and emerged into normal space for less than a tenth of a second before skipping beyond the Servant fire zone. Every ship ejected their full load of penetrators a short distance from the Servant Warships and they popped into normal space as the Jukeboxes continued to skip around the attackers. The penetrators emerged outside the Servant fire zone and honed in on the local fleet as well as the support fleet that arrived ten seconds later. The huge cloud of penetrators locked on their targets and the Servant Warships were hit before they could react and jump away to safety. When the penetrators no longer detected an enemy ship to target, they turned and flew toward the planet where they targeted installations with high energy levels. The devastation was beyond belief.

The war became a game of counter measures to hit the Union Fleets and the Union Fleets would adapt and counter the Servant’s new plan with one of their own. After two years of constant fighting, the Union had lost more than eight million warships. The Union had lost count of how many Servant Warships had been destroyed.

Fortunately for the Union, the ship building facilities in the Milky Way and the colonies had been constructing Jukebox Battleships at an incredible pace and the new ships coming online had a new development. Belwen had managed to find a way to increase the power of the inner grey force field. The Jukeboxes could now stand toe-to-toe with the Giant Bronze Battleships and slug it out.

• • •

Dat sat on the Havana and looked at the Union formations in open space. So many friends had been lost. Hundreds of thousands of sailors were now atoms floating in Servant space where their ships had self-destructed. He felt the weight of their deaths on his soul and he wanted this nightmare to end.

“Sir, I have a ship entering normal space a thousand miles outside our location.”

“How many ships?”

“Just one, Sir.”

“Put it on my display and move a squadron close to its point of entry.”

Dat watched his display and saw a huge steel blue colored ship emerge into normal space. He saw that it did not have a force field activated and he said, “Hold your fire.” Twenty Jukeboxes surrounded the strange ship and Dat wondered where it had come from.

Dat heard on his wall speaker, “We desire to communicate with the individual commanding these ships.”

Dat was surprised; the intruder spoke in the Union’s language, “I am commanding these fleets.”

The display remained dark so Dat couldn’t see who was communicating. “I have been sent to communicate with you. We have been watching your fight against the Bronze Warships and wish to inquire as to why you are at war with them.”

“They are planning to invade my galaxy and use my civilization as hosts for their eggs. We launched a preemptive strike to stop them.”

There was a long pause and the voice said, “Are you aware that the Bronze Ships have invaded another galaxy?”

Dat shook his head, “No, but it doesn’t surprise me.”

“Will you continue to expand to other galaxies if you manage to win this war?”

Dat got angry, “You are acting ridiculous. We aren’t thinking beyond surviving this war. We just want to be left alone.”

“Are you aware that the ships that invaded the other Galaxy are being recalled to defend this one?”

Dat’s fear was instant, “No, I am not aware of that.”

“It appears you have done extensive damage to their resources and they are attempting to get the other invaders to return here to join the fight against you.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“The invaders are in my galaxy and have not found my civilization…yet. We have the capacity to remove them but cannot stand against them and the ships they have here. Before we open hostilities against them, we need to know that you will see this war to a conclusion.”

“How long have you been observing our war?”

“Since it started.”

“And after seeing all we’ve sacrificed, do you seriously think we will quit?”

There was a long moment of silence and then the voice said, “I told my leaders that would be your response but they had to be sure. We will prevent any of their forces in our galaxy from coming back to fight against you. We do hope you persevere and see this to its conclusion.”

Dat smiled, “Of that you can be sure.”

“Thank you; as a military commander, I admire what you’ve faced and endured. Before I leave, you should know that all of their ship building capacity is located on just six of their major planets. If you can destroy those, they don’t have enough ships remaining to invade anywhere.”

“How do you know this?”

“Our probes are far ahead of your current technology. I’m sending you the coordinates of those planets and the remaining major planets you’ll have to face. If you can remove those planets, you can ultimately win your fight. You just can’t give up and quit.”

Dat thought a moment and said, “If you’re going to kick off your campaign against them, you should wait for seven days.”

“Why?”

“If you’re watching us, you’ll see why.”

Dat actually heard a chuckle, “We will delay that long. I hope the show will be entertaining.”

“You have no idea.”

“Good luck and we will continue to pray for your success.”

“And we will do the same for your civilization.”

The huge ship became transparent and disappeared. Dat looked at his Scanner Officer, who said, “They did not leave a jump track…as far as I can tell, they didn’t use a jump field.”

Dat shook his head and looked at the stars through his viewport on the Havana and smiled. They no longer made him sad. He lifted his communicator and said, “Attention all ships, we will conduct random attacks for the next four days. All units will then report to this location and form into their original three fleets.” Dat punched up a channel and said, “Admiral Hull, please have all Fleet Admirals report to my location immediately and notify the Grillen and the Rovers that they will be needed here as well.”

“What’s going on, Dat?”

“I’m sending you a copy of a conversation I just had. It’s time, Sir.” Katherine’s eyes narrowed and then she turned to see the recording Dat had just sent her. Dat pushed another frequency, “Belwen, how many of the Major Penetrators have you prepared for us?”

“I have six hundred in inventory.”

“I need them and the ships to launch them at the coordinates I’m sending you.”

“Admiral, before you go, you should know something about the penetrators.”

“What is that, Belwen?”

“I’ve managed to increase the power of their force fields; I don’t think the Servant’s beams will be able to damage them before they hit.”

Dat’s smile was huge. He ended the call and looked down at his display. After a moment, he saw Gresha, “It’s time for you to come.”

Gresha smiled and handed Angel to Grest, “I’m on my way.”

“Kiss the children for me.”

“I do that every day.”

Dat’s panel activated and he saw the Grillen Admiral and Admiral Kune appear, “Yes, I’ve asked for you to bring your ships here. It’s time you entered the fight.” They looked at Dat and immediately disappeared.

Katherine reappeared on Dat’s panel and before she could say anything, Dat said, “No, I don’t believe that species is a danger to us.” Kat stared at Dat wondering if he was a mind reader. She nodded and ended the connection without saying anything.

The word went out that the Union was starting the endgame. The millions of ships arrived and assembled into their box and globe formations like they had trained on it the day before. Dat looked at the formations and slowly shook his head. He opened a special frequency and saw Blacky appear on his display. “We begin our attacks on their major planets in three days.”

“I’ll notify the teams. Good luck, my friend.” Dat nodded and the panel went dark. Dat launched a probe to the Servant’s Ruling Planet and waited expectantly for it to return. When it finally arrived he waited for the all-important data to come in. He saw the video start and he fell back in his chair. He pulled up the original recording of the planet and saw that the number of ships in orbit around it had been reduced by two thirds. Now he understood why they had called for help from the galaxy they had invaded. If the most important planet in their domain was now defended with only a third of the ships they once had…he started shaking his head as Shane appeared on his panel, “What’s wrong, Chief.”

Dat smiled and sent him the images. Shane looked away from the screen and his shock was clearly visible, “Is this what I think it is?”

“It is, Admiral.”

Shane smiled, “Then all this sorrow was worth it, Sir. My team will arrive within the hour.”

“Bring them to my conference room; we have a lot to do.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

• • •

The Supreme Lord looked at his Advisor, “What do you mean they can’t come for another month?”

“Lord, the Son you sent to rule that Galaxy knows that your forces here have been greatly reduced. I suspect he is considering a coup.”

“He wouldn’t dare!”

The advisor was uncomfortable but had to be truthful about his older brother, “You know how ambitious he is; he knows he has more ships that we do and I suspect he believes that if he can delay, your Empire will be his for the taking. I don’t know if the other Major Lords will remain loyal to you if he comes with the intent to replace you.”

“I’ll have them killed.”

“That wouldn’t be wise with the ongoing enemy attacks. They will stay loyal as long as he stays away.”

The Lord thought about his dilemma and looked at his Advisor, “Do you think you can get close enough to kill him?”

The Advisor stiffened and after a moment said, “It might be possible.”

“I will send you with a proclamation naming you the new ruler in that galaxy. Remove him and send the ships we need to win this conflict.”

The Advisor lowered his head, “I will arrive there in a few days and look for the opportunity.”

“You must do this!”

“I know, Father.”

“Now go and make it happen.”

The Advisor left the giant chamber and went to say goodbye to his family. He suspected his brother would anticipate treachery; they both knew what their father was capable of doing. However, he may not believe he would be a party to it. He knew if he didn’t follow his father’s commands; his family was dead. He boarded a shuttle two days later and jumped out of the planet’s system. The probe recorded the jump track and stored it in its data banks.

• • •

Things started happening quickly at the assembly of the Union and Grillen fleets. The three huge formations formed up with the new model of Jukebox Battleships filling out the slots where ships had been lost. More than two thirds of the box formations were comprised of the new Battleships, which had a force fields capable of withstanding the Servant’s most powerful beams. Even the grey missiles would not penetrate it. Dat looked at the data from the probes sent out to the six production planets and saw the numbers of ships being constructed was unbelievable. He decided that one of the Jukebox formations would go to the Governing Planet and the other two would be divided into three equal formations. They didn’t have to face the number of warships at the Servant Ruler’s planet and they would have to make sure the planets were destroyed before they jumped away.

• • •

Dat contacted Belwen and gave him the coordinates of the other Servant Major Planets, “I don’t have enough ships to send to attack those planets, Belwen. However, I suspect when we open operations at their Governing Planet, most of their ships will be called to its defense.”

“The penetrator ships don’t have a crew, Admiral.” Dat was surprised by that remark. “The ships launching the Major Penetrators will have all of their power directed into their force fields. It’s going to be coming in at an incredible speed and I hope it can survive long enough to deliver its pay load.”

“What will the ship do once it launches the penetrators?”

“If it survives the run, it will scan the planet to see if the penetrators managed to hit. If they didn’t, it will make another run and launch again.”

Dat tilted his head, “How many runs can it make?”

“As many as are needed to get the job done; if our probe sees that the ship is destroyed and was unable to hit the planet; another ship will launch.”

Dat nodded, “Please let me know the status of the launches as quickly as possible.”

“I will, Admiral.” Dat broke the connection just as Gresha arrived on the bridge and she ran across the room and wrapped her arms around him. For the first time in a very long time, Dat felt peace in his soul. He held her tight and didn’t care what the crew thought about it. For their part, they had grown to love their commander and only felt the love he demonstrated with his wife.

• • •

Three days later, Dat looked out at the seven giant formations. Even the Fleets that were a third of the original fleets looked huge with the millions of Rovers and Grillen Battleships surrounding them. The Grillen Warships had been given the improved grey force field and would now hold their own with the Servant’s ships. They made up the difference created by dividing two of the original fleets into three equal units. Their beams would be effective in one-on-one encounters.

• • •

The Fleet Admirals organized their units and made sure they understood their orders. Dat waited and looked at his ready board. They still had two hours until jump and he wasn’t worried. He wondered if the first Admiral Arvolo had felt the same way when he faced the giant Red Zone Pyramid formations bearing down on his fleets. He knew he should be nervous…but he wasn’t. He knew the quality of the warriors going out to face the Servants head on for the first time. They wouldn’t bend or give way. He thought about Admiral Jennings and the command chair he designed. It had made a huge difference in the efficiency of the Jukeboxes and he was going to receive the Union’s highest award for bravery. He deserved it. He thought about Shane’s former officer, Timson, who had been promoted to Rear Admiral and was killed by fifty Servant Ships attacking his wing. His ship was hit five times as he flew it into the ranks of his attackers and detonated the self-destruct circuit, taking all of them out with him. The list was too long to count and he sat and thought about the sacrifices the brave sailors made to protect the Union. Now he was going into his first battle and he was going to give his best effort. Their ghosts both demanded it and deserved it.

He looked out at the largest gathering of ships in the Union’s history and knew all of them were thinking about all that had happened to bring them to this moment in time. He thought about a speech to say to fire the fleets up…but knew they didn’t need it. It also seemed somehow demeaning to even make the effort. He watched the countdown continue and he smiled. He lifted his communicator and quietly said, “Many thought we would run out of ships before we could arrive at where we are today. Others said we would run out of time. We have the ships and we will never run out of time. Go and honor those that made this moment possible.”

The millions of ships listened to the simple phrases and felt their resolve harden. A moment later, the countdown ran out of time and the massive display of military might disappeared.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The Servant Lord commanding the fleets surround the Supreme Ruler’s planet sat in his command chair and wondered when the reinforcements from the invaded galaxy would arrive. He had watched the Empire’s fleets whittled down over the last three years and still the enemy kept coming. He was worried; there had not been an attack for the last three days. He didn’t know if that was good or bad news; the uncertainty made him restless. Where were the reinforcements?

He saw his Scan Leader’s expression undergo a strange metamorphosis. It went from boredom, to shock, and then fear in less than three seconds. The Leader looked at him and he said, “Our sub-space scanners have detected an incoming wave of ships. The wave is gigantic, Lord.”

“Is it coming from the direction of the galaxy we invaded?”

“No, Lord; it is not.”

The alarms went off and the Lord buckled into his command chair. What emerged into normal space made him speechless. A moment later his ship was blown apart by three penetrators that hit it. The giant Jukebox box swept into the ranks of the Servant fleets and ships began exploding. Every ship in the system rushed in on the giant enemy formation but were slowed by small White Ships and large battleships they had not seen before.

The Lord that replaced the deceased commander heard his Scan Leader yell, “I have a jump track moving into the system.”

“How many ships?”

The Leader started at his monitor, “Only one, Lord.”

“Ignore it and focus our efforts on the giant formation.”

The Servant Warships rushed out at the huge formation of enemy ships and were suddenly blinded by a massive blast.

• • •

The Supreme Lord saw the massive formation of enemy ships enter normal space and was shocked at what he saw. The small ships were from the Spiral Galaxy and the large battleships defending the formation belonged to his Ally. His shock turned to anger and he suddenly realized that the only ones who knew about the Ally were on his planet. He didn’t share his operations outside his immediate circle of advisors and unless he notified his military leader of where they had originated…there could not be a counterattack. He suddenly realized that the huge White Ships must have also come from the Spiral Galaxy. He lifted his communicator and managed to make contact with his third son on one of the other Major planets. He looked at his son on the display and said, “We are under attack and I must tell you something. I know where the enemy is located.”

“Where, Father?”

“They’re…” and the son’s display went dark. He tried to get his father back on the panel but nothing worked. At that moment, he heard the alarms go off and he looked up into the night sky and saw thousands of explosions high above the planet. He realized his world was under attack and he ordered the ships on the planet’s surface to launch to meet the enemy. The giant fleet parked at the edge of the construction facilities waited for their crews to arrive. They ran out of time moments before the first crew boarded their ship.

• • •

Shane watched his fleet perform beyond his wildest expectations. They were holding their own against millions of Servant Warships and giving much more than they received. He jumped the box out of the massive rush of Servant Warships and started attacking them from another location. He heard his Scan Officer yell, “The ship has launched the penetrators.” Shane hit the escape button a moment before a brilliant flash temporarily blinded his ship’s scanners. They came back on a moment after the giant Union formation arrived in open space.

Shane jerked his vision to the main display on the wall and gasped. He knew if there were a hell it would look like the image on the large display. A massive shockwave was blowing out from the planet at an extreme speed and the wave was full of debris from the planet’s destruction. The millions of Union Ships jumped away just before the shock wave blew through the space they had been fighting in a moment before. The Servant ships had no warning and were shocked by the planet’s destruction; they couldn’t process what was happening quickly enough. Millions of the Servant Ships were hit by rocks more than ten miles wide that came exploding through their ranks. The shock wave was a solid globe that moved away from the planet and hit everything around it. Modern force fields can handle a huge amount of punishment, but nothing could withstand a twenty mile wide piece of rock traveling at the speed of sound. Shane watched the wave blow through the Servant Fleets and jumped his fleet back in behind the shockwave’s passage. The battle became a slaughter.

The Servants were disoriented and didn’t know what to do. They had no one to give them orders and by the time they processed what had happened, ninety percent of them were killed. The ten percent that managed to jump away were followed by Union Ships that chased them down and destroyed them. Shane jumped his fleet to the next largest Servant Major Planet and saw the Union Fleet was holding its own. His ships jumped in and the slaughter continued. The six ship building planets were blown into pieces by Major Penetrators and the fleets gathered around the planets to defend it were decimated by the ensuing shock waves. They just couldn’t force themselves to jump away and leave their Royalty undefended. As a result, most of them died with the planet. Servant Ships from around the Galaxy jumped in to the Major Planets to defend them and were blown into dust as quickly as they arrived.

The Minor Planets had their own problems. The Ruling Lords on more than a hundred thousand of them were killed by some kind of black creature that had managed to get close enough to them to pull them apart. Very few of the black creatures were killed. More warriors in the room were hit by their own beams than the black assassins, as they attempted to kill the fast moving monsters that killed their rulers.

The Union Fleets began jumping in on the Minor Planets after the Majors were blown apart by Major Penetrators. The few thousand ships they found in orbit above the Minor Planets were a pitiful remnant of the once giant fleets that protected the planets when the war started. The Minor Lords’ fleets had been sucked dry by the Major Planets and now they could only offer a slight resistance against the massive fleets coming to kill them. After much discussion, the surviving Servant Lords and Warships decided to jump to the invaded Galaxy to survive. They arrived in the middle of a battle from which none of them survived.

• • •

The Supreme Lord’s son arrived in the invaded galaxy and finally managed to arrange a meeting with his older brother. He told him about his father’s treachery and asked for assistance in rescuing his family. His brother’s anger at their father was immense and he stared at the Advisor and then shook his head, “As long as any of Father’s children are alive, I will always be in danger.”

The Advisor knelt in front of him and said, “I would never betray you, Brother.”

The older brother nodded and his son pulled a blaster out and shot the Advisor through the head. “I’m sure you won’t now.” At that moment, the huge Royal Residence was hit by a beam from space and disintegrated. Blue Ships were attacking and the Servants were being killed by the millions.

• • •

The advanced probes followed the escaping Servant Warships to the edge of their galaxy and plotted the line they took as they jumped away. Dat had every probe in the fleet sent to the side of the galaxy the Servants had jumped way to and had the fleets wait for any trace of their return. Shane looked at Dat, “How long are you going to hold the fleets here?”

“As long as it takes; you heard that being; they’re attacking the Servants in their galaxy. What do you think is going to happen if they’re successful?”

“He said that he would not allow any of them to come and help the Servants here.”

“If he can keep that promise, then I am going to be really impressed.” The Union Fleets remained at the galaxy’s edge and Arvolo waited for something to happen. There was still an unresolved issue that had to be handled.

• • •

A week later, Dat sat on the Havana and sighed. He looked at his jump officer and then shook his head. “I was waiting to see if you were going to leave.”

Dat heard the voice and blew out a breath, “Some of the ships here managed to escape and I’m certain they went to your galaxy. I’ve held my fleets here to see if you needed our assistance.”

“You saw their jump tracks; why didn’t you just follow them?”

“We would never go to your home without permission.”

There was a long pause and the voice said, “Are you certain about that?”

“I’m as certain about that as you are about going to my home without permission.”

“That was very well said; a threat without being a threat.”

“I intend no threat. This universe already has too much danger in it for us to add to the problem. We simply want to live in peace and raise our families.”

“We’ve watched you during your war and some of your actions have confused us. We really don’t understand your species.”

“Misunderstandings are where most problems begin. However, this much I can promise.”

“Another threat?”

“No, if you ever need us to come and fight to help defend your civilization, we will immediately come and help you survive.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because you prayed for us.”

The speaker was silent and after a long pause, Dat heard, “We understand; we will never come to your galaxy without an invitation.”

“My civilization thanks you for the information you gave us; it made a huge difference in our struggle and we will never forget your kindness.”

“We did that for our own self interests.”

“You did it for both of us. We will always be in your debt.”

“Go in peace.”

“Thank you.” Dat lifted his communicator, “All ships will return to their home port for a week of liberty and to rearm their ships. We will return at that time and see about freeing the invaded planets. Once they are free, we will go home and hope to study war no more.”

• • •

Dat arrived at Earth and met Gresha at Admiral Hull’s office. Shane and Gibbs arrived right behind them and Katherine said, “I didn’t expect all of you to come here first. You should take a few days to decompress.”

Shane shook his head, “I need to find out why Admiral Arvolo held us at the edge of the Servant Galaxy for a week.” Gibbs sat down and nodded. He wanted to know as well. Before Dat could answer, Gem, Kelli, and Matt entered the office. Dat watched them arrive and shrugged.

Kat looked at Dat, “Why did you do it?”

“I hoped to prevent that civilization from coming here and attacking us in the future.”

Everyone in the room was shocked by the statement. Shane’s eyes furrowed, “Tell me what I missed?”

“During the initial conversation with their ship in open space, one of their first questions was whether or not we were going to expand after our war with the Servants.”

Gibbs nodded, “I remember that.”

“They had been watching us for two years and only chose to speak with us at the end. They weren’t worried about handling the Servants in their galaxy but were worried that, if reinforcements were sent from the Servants we were attacking, they would be overwhelmed.” Dat paused and looked at the group, “Please tell me one redeeming thing we’ve done during our war with the Servants.” The room was silent as they struggled to come up with an answer. “They saw us at our worst. Brutal attacks not taking or giving quarter to those we fought against. How do you think they view our civilization?”

Shane nodded, “They would have to determine if we were a danger to them?”

“Yes they would and if they determined we were…”

Matt said, “They would invade us here and not wait for us to come to them.”

Dat smiled, “Exactly.”

Kat sighed, “How did waiting at the edge of that Galaxy change anything?”

“They couldn’t figure out why we were there and it must have made them crazy with curiosity. Finally they had to ask. I told them that I was waiting to see if they needed our help against the Servants in their galaxy. They asked why I just didn’t go there and I told them I would never go to their home without their permission.”

“You showed them we have manners.”

“Yes I did and it was the first civil thing they saw us do.”

Kelli slowly shook her head, “Why did you agree to go to their defense?”

“I want you to think about this.” Dat paused. “If you are in a bar brawl and you and another person are finally able to beat all the competition down. How are you going to see the other winner? Every time you think about him, you’ll wonder if you could take him and you also wonder if he is going to take you on. However, if after the fight, the other winner makes a point of coming to you and says that he is so thankful that you helped him survive and that he owes you big time…what do you think about him then?”

Gem said, “I’d feel safer if he was in the bar with me.”

Gibbs said, “So you didn’t really mean what you said?”

Dat’s expression turned serious, “I meant every word of it!!! Those beings gave us information that allowed us to see that we could end this conflict. We saved thousands of lives by making our move now. They eliminated the Servants in their galaxy that could have come and beat us if they joined the ones we were fighting. We do owe them in a huge way and I had to make sure they saw it as well.”

Katherine slowly shook her head, “You have just made an official treaty with them without consulting the Union.”

Dat looked at Katherine, “Do you support it?”

Katherine stared at Dat for a long moment and finally said, “I guess I do.”

“Well, if you say it’s ok, that’s all we need for a treaty to be official.”

Dat looked around the room and Kat said, “There’s something else, isn’t there?”

“Yes, I’m afraid there is.”

Kat leaned back in her chair, “I bet this is going to be a doozy.”

Dat chuckled, “You know me too well. There is the issue of thousands of planets the Servants have enslaved.”

Gresha said, “I thought you said we were going to rearm and go back to free them?”

“I’ve thought about that coming here and we can’t do it.”

Kat frowned, “Why not?”

“Because we have won the war and there are no longer any Servant Warships in that galaxy. They do not represent a threat to us and if we go back with our fleets, what does that tell that civilization about us?”

“Surely they can see the suffering of the slaves.”

“They can also see the suffering of the Servants still there after their civilization was destroyed by us.”

Shane said, “He’s right; we can’t go back.”

Gibbs shook his head, “Surely they understand the evils of slavery?”

Lydia said, “Are you willing to bet our civilization’s existence on that? The Servants are using other life forms to feed themselves. How do we know that civilization doesn’t do that as well?”

Gibbs stared at his wife for a long moment and then shook his head, “No, I guess I’m not sure.” Gibbs looked at Dat, “Do you think we could take them?”

Dat tilted his head, “I truly hope we never have to find out.”

“Why is that?”

“Gibbs, we fought the Servants in their galaxy for three years trying to even the odds so we could take them head on. Just how big a force do you think the Servants sent to invade that galaxy? That ship told us they would wait and kick off their hostilities the day we attacked them with our major ships and allies. A week later they said they were wondering how long we were going to stay at the edge of the Servant Galaxy. Their war was over and no Servant Ship escaped that galaxy to come back to the one we fought in. It took them less than a week to defeat them.”

The room was utterly still. Gresha shook her head, “I hate to leave those slaves in bondage.”

Dat blew out a breath, “That’s the part you aren’t going to like.”

Katherine turned to Dat, “What do you mean by that?”

“The Madators that went to fight in that galaxy have told me that they’re not coming back.”

Katherine shook her head, “Oh yes they are!”

Dat rolled his eyes and Shane said, “Let me see if I understand this. We’re going to go back with our ships and force the Madators to leave the planets they fought on to buy us time to build the ships we needed to win this war. Now assuming we could even find them if they decided to not show up where we could get our chains around them, what would that galaxy then think about our behavior?”

Katherine’s head fell back and she shook it, “Dat, when did you know they weren’t coming back?”

Shane looked at Dat and wondered if he was going to tell the truth. “Admiral, I knew about it before they left.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You would have said no and we would have lost the war.”

Katherine rolled her eyes, “Well, thanks for keeping me in the dark.”

“No problem…do you also not want to know about me sending more of them to free the planets the slaves are still being held on?”

“Yes, would you mind keeping that to yourself as well?”

“That’s not a problem.”

Kat looked out the window and said, “What am I supposed to not know about how you’re going to get them there?”

“We’re giving them unarmed shuttles and drop globes to make the trip.”

Gem said, “So they will leave the shuttles in orbit and drop to the planet?”

Kat shook her head, “No, the globes are there so we can believe that’s what happened.”

Gem stared at the Admiral and then turned to Dat, “Will they leave them in orbit?”

Dat smiled, “Would you?”

“Will they?”

“I hope so; why don’t you ask them?”

Gem looked at Katherine, “Boy, I don’t want your job.”

Dat said, “Get in line; I don’t either.”

The Admirals started laughing and the crews were notified that their liberty had been extended.

Kelli smiled, “I’m glad you were there, Admiral Arvolo. I think you saved us again.”

“It was all of us working together that did it, Kelli.”

“Whatever.”

“I’m being serious.”

“OK, if you say so.” Kelli turned to Admiral Hull, “You are going to give him a medal, aren’t you?”

“Yes, it will match the one he received while fighting the Masters.”

“I don’t want another medal.”

Kat looked at Kelli, “He hates getting them.”

Kelli laughed, “That’s why you do it.”

“Absolutely; it’s the only way for me to pay him back.”

“Hey you two, I’m still in the room.”

Gresha walked up and grabbed his arm, “No you aren’t; we have some children to go and see.” Dat smiled and they left the room. Kelli watched them leave and had a wistful expression. Matt came up behind her and whispered, “You know, if you would marry me, we could have children of our own.”

Kelli almost lost it but managed to keep staring at the Arvolos as they left, “Perhaps I’ll be asked someday.”

Matt started laughing and went down on a knee, “Kelli Carpenter, will you marry me?”

Kelli looked up at the ceiling, “Let me think about it.” Matt’s face showed his disappointment. Kelli smiled, “Ok, that’s enough thought, I’ll marry you.” Matt shook his head slowly and had a small smile as he started standing up. Kelli saw the smile and quickly ran and kept the conference table between them.

“Kelli, I just want a kiss.”

“No you don’t; you want to tickle me.”

“No, no; I’d never do that.”

Kat laughed out loud as the couple ran around the huge conference table. The other Admirals were laughing out of control when Matt finally ran Kelli down and tickled her until she couldn’t breathe…then he got his kiss.

Epilogue

Dat sighed and Blacky said, “What’s wrong?”

“It seems that every time I come here, millions of your people are leaving.”

“There will be about six million of us left behind after the current colonists leave.”

Dat tilted his head up and looked up at a hundred shuttles lifting into the bright afternoon sky, “I guess you’re right, they really should be called colonists.”

Blacky smiled, “If we called them that during the invasion of the Servant Galaxy, do you think we would have been allowed to go?”

“No, and even now there is a real reluctance to it; however, the horse is out of the barn and is too fast to be caught. A few million more won’t really change things now.”

Ringie walked up, “And they will free the slaves in the Servant Galaxy?”

Dat looked at her, “Will they really be free? Will your people not prey on them?”

“It will probably turn out that way but not because we start it.”

Dat stared at Ringie, “I’m not sure what you mean by that. Are you saying you would not prey on the inhabitants?”

“That’s really not our style, Dat. If a species is intelligent, we generally leave them alone. However, there are always those that want to try their hand to see if they can bag the planet’s most dangerous animal…that would be us. The one going after us is killed rather easily and there is a hue and cry from them about how dangerous we are. They will have forgotten that we removed the Servants from over them and then it turns nasty.”

Dat shook his head, “It doesn’t have to be like that.”

Blacky shook his head, “It’s always like that.”

“Have you ever talked with the intelligent species you share the planet with?”

Blacky shrugged, “They really don’t have much we want to hear…they are usually quite different from us.”

“So they may not know you’re an intelligent species after enough time has passed.”

Ringie looked at Blacky and then to Dat, “I guess they could miss that little piece of information.”

“Then, if you would open a dialogue with them and tell them your expectations after you free them, I suspect they will leave you alone.” Blacky just stared at Dat. Dat said, “You really want them to come after you; that’s why you don’t communicate with them.”

“We do enjoy the hunt, Dat.”

“You’ll have Servants to play with. We’re not sending you there to just free the slaves and then turn around and enslave them again.” Blacky did not look comfortable with the conversation. Dat thought a moment and then said, “Why don’t you do this; go to the locals and tell them that you will have an annual hunting festival. Tell them that any of them that are able to escape you for twenty four hours will be rewarded. That way you would have the locals training and attempting to develop techniques that will allow them to escape you. Over time as your two species learn each other, the hunts will become even more challenging.”

Blacky’s head rolled around his body and he looked at Ringie, “This idea has merit.”

“It does sound interesting; at least we would be chasing, or running from, the best their population could offer.”

Blacky nodded, “Notify the planets about this idea and see if they can implement it as soon as the Servants are brought under control.”

Dat said, “You can call it the Freedom Festival to celebrate their liberation.”

Blacky rolled his head up and down and looked at Ringie, “Do you need to write this down?”

“Absolutely not. However, I am going to send a message out to all the Union Planets that once a year we will have this festival here and all those that are able to escape us will be rewarded with their weight in precious metals.”

Dat shook his head, “You might open a box of brouhaha if you do that, you may have millions come to compete.”

“Then we’ll have the Union hold competitions to find the best of them.”

“Can you deliver the precious metals?”

Blacky laughed, “Dat, we move through the soil and can absorb anything we choose. That will be the easiest thing to do.”

“And if your festival is successful, your colonists might want to follow your lead.”

Blacky looked at Ringie, “Send the message.”

Dat smiled and knew that if the Madators communicated with the former slaves on the planets they went to free, they would be given a wide berth. And if they held festivals pitting their best against the Madators, that berth would grow in size. He thought about his race with Blacky and remembered his excitement. He knew the Madators were immensely faster and stronger now; no one could probably escape them with their new strength and speed. However, it would be fun and keep the Madators occupied doing something they enjoyed.

• • •

Six months later the First Freedom Festival was held on the Madator’s Planet and a hundred thousand candidates arrived to try their hand against them. More than a thousand of them managed to avoid being caught during the twenty four hours and Dat along with the Madators were stunned at the success of the field. They vowed it wouldn’t happen again. Only it did…over and over again. Sometimes, cunning trumped strength and speed. Those that won had a lifetime exemption from having to qualify. It wasn’t long after the third festival that the colonies began celebrating their own festivals. Blacky and Ringie watched the proceedings and decided that Life was good.

• • •

Katherine’s life settled down and her biggest worry was the civilizations in M87; however, they seemed to be starting to stabilize their government. She married Brad and life became somewhat boring but happy. Two years after the war ended, Brad came in and she saw his expression, “What’s wrong?”

“You know we’ve developed a new probe that is beyond anything we’ve ever produced.”

“Yes.”

“Well, it is able to see in wavelengths that have been impossible up to now.” Kat nodded. “We’ve found strange probes scattered around the Milky Way.”

Kat sat back and stared at Brad, “Do we know where they came from?”

Brad sighed, “We’ve been able to get a line on their transmissions and they appear to be directed at that galaxy the Servants invaded.”

“Have they been able to detect our new probes?”

“They’ve made no move to avoid them when we moved them in close.”

“I want you to launch some into their galaxy.”

“Why?”

“I need to see if there is a buildup in their military forces. As long as things look normal, we’ll just keep tabs on them.”

“That’s probably what they’re doing here.”

“Possibly, but I’m not betting the farm on it. Launch the probes.”

“Yes Sir.”

Kat decided that Dat didn’t need to know about this; at least not at this particular moment. She hoped she would never have to tell him.

• • •

The next year, Dat was approached by Grest and was asked if he would approach Blacky about something they wanted them to do. Dat asked Blacky and he snorted at the idea until Ringie got him to see just how important the request could be to repair relations with their former captives. Blacky reluctantly agreed and Dat set the date. The two of them arrived on Gresha’s home world and found hundreds of thousands of the Farmers cheering their arrival. Blacky was amazed at the showing and he stared at Dat. “Blacky, these people have marked the day we had our run as their day of independence. They know about all you’ve done to defend the civilization that freed them and by your agreeing to reenact our run, they will come to respect your species instead of fearing you.”

Blacky and Ringie watched the thousands cheering and he chased Dat around the community that night to the thunderous ovation by the community. He knew Dat couldn’t escape this time but he had no desire to catch him. He ran and saw at last what history had been created by his chase to catch a human that ultimately freed the Farmers and his species. Gresha opened the door again as Dat dove through it. Blacky saw the hole in the back wall and Gresha said, “This house is a national monument and that hole will never be changed.” Blacky was overwhelmed at the comment and Ringie took him in her arms and held him.

The next year, thousands of Madators came with Blacky and the annual chase became the largest festival on the planet. At the completion of their run, the Farmers asked the visiting Madators to chase them. The Madators did not catch a single Farmer and they reveled in participating in the event that had led them to a new life. Dat and Blacky watched the thousands running around the community and Blacky put an arm on Dat’s shoulder, “Who would have thought?”

Dat smiled, “Some of the simplest things we do lead to the largest changes. I count you as my best friend, Blacky. You gave me my family and showed me that trust is something I will never give up on.”

Blacky smiled, “How long are we going to do this, Dat?”

“I’m going to do this until I can no longer run. What about you?”

Blacky smiled, “Even if you’re pushing a wheelchair, I’ll be pushing one right behind you…and I still won’t catch you then.”

Dat smiled and turned back to the screaming Farmers as they ran from the hooting Madators. The Legend of Dat and Blacky’s run was taught to all young Madators to teach them the meaning of honor. And Blacky was right…Dat was running at light speed as the legend grew with each telling.

The End

Books by Saxon Andrew

The Annihilation Series:

Love Conquers All

The Power of a Queen

A Rose Grows in Weeds

Tommy’s Tale

Searcher

Demon’s Sacrifice

Finding Keepers

Prequel-Psychic Beginnings

Searching for a Hero

Coming Soon

Dahlia’s Deception

Ashes of the Realm:

Juliette’s Dream

Greyson’s Revenge

Death of an Empire

The Return of the Realm

Lens of Time:

The Pyramid Builders

Planet Predators

Pray for the Prey

The End of Time

Star Rover-The Worst of Time

Running Out of Time

The Fight for Creation

Life Warrior

Scout Warrior

Ultimate Warrior

Star Chase

The Lost Prince

No Where to Run

Also an audiobook at Audible.com

Nowhere to Run

Nowhere to Hide

About Saxon Andrew

Saxon Andrew is the number one Bestselling author of the Annihilation Series. He is a former school teacher, coach, social worker, and business owner. He has written five science fiction series and all twenty books have been a top ten bestseller on Amazon. His stories are done in the style used by writers during the Golden Age of Science Fiction and can be read by any member of the family. Like most space operas, his stories take place on a stage as big as the universe and his characters are larger than life. Amazon has ranked him in the top ten science fiction authors in America. He lives in Tampa, Florida and spends his days dreaming of stories to satisfy his avid readers.

Copyright © 2013 by Saxon Andrew. All rights reserved. Screen Writers Guild no. VQEA3E380432.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

First Electronic Edition: October 2013