Defending Earth-Searching for Death Feeders (13 page)

“F
leet Operations, I’m entering Earth Orbit.”

“Sir, I’ve been asked to request that you take your ship to Fleet Service Facilities.”

“For what purpose?”

“The Leadership has made a decision that all active warships in our Fleets will undergo modifications.”

“What kind of modifications?”

“I’m sorry, Sir. I’m not allowed to discuss them.”

Kyle’s expression immediately hardened, “Do you know who I am?”

“Yes Sir, I do. And I specifically asked if I could tell you. The answer was no. If you have an issue with those instructions, please take them up with High Leader Grengel.”

Kyle’s anger vanished. Something serious was going on. He turned and looked at Nicole, “I’m taking my ship to maintenance and I’ll arrange transport for you to join your father to assist him with the transition of your people to our society.” He turned to Amelee, “You should return to your Headquarters Building and check up on your fleets. I’ll let you know when we’ll meet to discuss our flight.”

• • •

Kyle brought the ship in to the giant maintenance building and landed it just inside the front entrance. Two light shuttles were waiting outside the entrance and Kyle pointed to them, “Your rides are here. I’ll call you once I determine what’s going on.” Nicole looked at him and started to speak but stopped. She took a breath and walked out of the huge structure. Kyle watched her leave and wondered what she was about to say. He shook his head and heard behind him, “Welcome, First Commander.”

Kyle turned and saw the woman from the beach standing in front of him. She was wearing an Admiral’s uniform, “Who’s out of uniform now?”

“I’ve been promoted again, Sir.”

“That was rather fast. You weren’t a commodore for very long?”

“I know. I opened my big mouth during a meeting with the Alliance Leaders and they gave me new orders along with a higher rank to get them done.”

“What’s going on, Admiral?”

“I’m sure you’re bothered by my officer not telling you.”

“I am.”

“Come and sit down with me where I can bring you up to date on what’s happened while you were gone.”

“Lead the way.”

“You are wearing a thought blocker, Sir?”

“I am.” Kyle followed the Admiral to her office, which was located on the main floor of the facility. “I thought the Commander’s Office was on the top floor.”

“It was. I had it moved where I could keep a better eye on what was going on. Please come in.” The Admiral went to the chair in front of the huge desk; Kyle hesitated and then sat down in her chair behind the desk. Clarissa smiled, “I believe you read the report of two of our pilots stopping an invasion in the galaxy they were scouting?” Kyle nodded and was amazed at how different the woman looked in uniform. She was self-confident and carried herself professionally. “There have been more instances where our pilots inserted themselves into local wars and in some instances, they were forced to use force to stop excessive bloodshed.”

“What does that have to do with modifying our ships?”

“Sir, our current Light Ships require two crewmen to fight them. One to pilot the ship and the other to control the weapons.”

“I’m aware of that.”

“I mentioned to the Leaders of the Alliance in a meeting I attended with my Admiral that if it could be done with just one pilot, our numbers of ships could double.”

“That’s really not possible, Commo…Admiral. The systems are too complicated for just one pilot to manage.”

“I suggested that the weapons could be controlled by a computer.”

“No way. The ship’s computer is used to gather light signatures to enable the ship to skip out of danger and to attack targets. That’s a task that doesn’t stop.”

“I was talking about a second computer. It was done in the past with the Attackships and with the Attack Pods.”

“It takes a special computer to do what you’re asking and not all of them develop the intelligence to do it.”

“It’s true that we’ve not determined what changes a computer to the one like you have in your ship. However, we do have a supply of computers that have made the leap from machine to intelligence.”

Kyle’s eyes narrowed, “And just where did you uncover this supply?”

“All of the computers that were used during the war with M-87, as well as the subsequent fight against the Legends, were removed from their ships when they were scrapped and stored.”

“Was it your idea to use them?”

“It is.”

“And how did you know about them?”

“I would go and activate some of them to learn from their experiences. Their knowledge of what happened a hundred years ago is remarkable and much more accurate than what historians have recorded. I had an idea that if I used one of them in my personal Light Ship, I might have one to learn from. I asked the former maintenance Commander to install one in my vessel and he refused.”

“So what did you do?”

“I took one to Eden and had it done there. I used my rank and a top secret order to make it happen. My ship was being modified while I spent those weeks on the beach.”

“But there were no top secret orders.”

Clarissa shrugged, “The orders I gave them were secret.”

Kyle laughed, “That’s cutting things thin, Admiral.”

“It got me promoted again in record time.” Kyle’s smiled vanished. “Sir, I know I violated quite a few Fleet Protocols doing it but it was worth it.”

“Why?”

“My ship was used in a mock battle with thirty of our best pilots. My team decimated the other team. My ship accounted for ten of the kills.”

Kyle shook his head. “Surely you were questioned about how you made that happen?”

“My Weapons Operator kept his mouth shut and sat back and watched it take place. It was only when I was called out by the Welken Fleet Leader during the meeting that I challenged him to beat me with six of his ships. The meeting was adjourned while we had that little head-to-head.” Kyle stared at her. “I killed all six ships in less than five minutes. That was when I had to reveal my use of another computer.”

“What happened?”

“The former commander of this facility called for my court martial. Grengel fired him on the spot and put me in his place with the rank of Admiral. He said it was timid, weak minds like his that stopped our civilization from growing and advancing.”

Kyle nodded, “I have to agree. How do you like your new position?”

“I hate it!”

“Because you miss going out into the wide open universe and flying your ship.”

Clarissa sighed, “Exactly. But I made this bed so I’m going to be forced to sleep in it.”

“That’s true until you find someone else with an even better idea than you came up with. They would then take your place freeing you to get back in a Light Warship.”

Clarissa’s eyes narrowed and she smiled, “I didn’t think of that.”

“When it happens, I’ll have a place waiting for you.”

Clarissa smiled, “Thank you, Sir. That means a lot.”

“So what are you doing with my ship?”

“I’m installing another computer that will control your weapons.”

“Is this computer one I might know?”

“The Computer’s name is Willow.” Kyle’s face showed his shock and he started shaking his head. “Commander, she requested to be put in your ship.”

“Why is she the weapon’s computer?! She’s, she’s,…”

“It gives her time to learn all of the new technology. She’s been mourning Lukas and Salud’s passing for a few years but wants to get back in the game. The Alliance Leadership agreed to honor her request to be put on your ship.”

“What?”

“She petitioned them directly once they approved putting two computers on our warships.”

“I don’t know how I feel about this? That computer is just as great a hero as any Earth has produced.”

“Do you want to say no to her request?”

“How do you say no to a genuine heroine of Earth?”

“I would suggest you don’t. She is one of the few computers that weren’t decommissioned. She is the most interesting being I’ve ever encountered.”

“You’ve talked with her?”

“Yes. And she’s adamant about being on your ship.”

“When will my ship be ready?”

“Yours is going to take a little longer than most…”

“Why?”

“We’re changing the disruptor barrels.”

Kyle tilted his head, “What?”

“We know the Feeders will link and their range will dramatically increase.”

“Just how do you know that?”

“Grengel questioned Amber about what was going on during your trip to Feeder Territory. He ordered me to find a way to dramatically increase the range of the disruptors.”

“I don’t see you extending the range half a light year.”

“He also demanded a real thought blocker instead of the piece of crap we’re currently using.”

“They worked.”

“Only because you ran before you were overwhelmed.”

Kyle leaned back in the chair and thought. He sighed and looked at Clarissa, “You got a measure on the Linked Feeder’s power.”

“Amber did. It would have penetrated the thought blocker.”

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I’ve already done it.”

“WHAT?”

“I’ve made the assumption that if you run into linked Feeders, it will be in open space.”

“I was on the Kerit’s planet and there were thousands of them there.”

“I know. We’re also making the modification to your armor.”

“What modification?”

“The force fields used by the Light Ships will operate on a frequency that will block all thoughts from entering or leaving the ship.”

“That pretty much eliminates our telepathic advantage.”

“Sir, at present we only have an advantage when confronting less than ten Feeders and they usually have far more than that. By blocking all thoughts going in or out, they will not be able to detect our minds and we should be able to withstand their links.”

“All of their links?”

Clarissa tilted her head and shook it, “We don’t know what the power of their link will be if they use billions to make it.”

“There are billions of ships in the fleets they use to attack a galaxy.”

“The Goran are of the opinion that they won’t link that many if they intend to take possession of planets. The power of that many Feeders would kill all life on a planet.”

“They would do it here!”

“That’s why my officer would not broadcast what we’re doing.”

“Explain that, Admiral.”

“At some point, we are going to confront the Feeders and they will be sending specially prepared ships to scout us. We hope that won’t happen for a very long time but we’re implementing regulations to never communicate openly about sensitive information. Perhaps by the time we do face them the regulations will be second-nature to our forces.”

Kyle straightened up in his chair, “They could intercept both thoughts and electronic transmissions.” Clarissa nodded. “Was that your idea?” Clarissa shrugged and nodded again. “It’s a good one.”

“There’s one other thing.”

“What is that?”

“The Goran took one of the Kerits to their Capital World and have been working on a type of thought blocker that will allow them to actually see what the primitive part of their brain is sensing.”

“That’s a waste of time.”

“Why do you say that?”

“If the new force field will block all thoughts, they would only be effective when the force field is down.”

“Commander, I’m not as knowledgeable as a Goran scientist but they seem to think that the Kerit would still be able to sense them.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible.”

“The way Kegel explained it to me is that thoughts take place in the cerebral cortex. The primitive part of a human’s brain is not directly connected to that part of the brain. The pattern used by the force field blocks the frequency of thought patterns. The Kerit sense the Feeders on an entirely different wave length.”

“How is that possible?”

“The Goran believe the Feeders also have a primitive part of their brain that gives off that wavelength. They are not in touch with that part of their brain, just like humans.”

“You say they’re working on it, have they developed one?”

“Not yet. But Kegel says his team is close.”

“Let me know if they’re successful.”

“Yes Sir. What are you going to do now?”

“Check on Admiral Jorgenson and my sister. If they have things under control, I’m going to Miami and hang out in the bar.”

Clarissa smiled, “You act like that hotel is home.”

“It’s the only home I’ve had for the last three years. It is where I’m most comfortable.”

“Tell Bart and Tim hello and please thank them for the great vacation.”

“You can tell them yourself.”

“What?”

“I want you to plan to meet there with all of our Fleet Admirals on how you’re going to make the conversions in about three weeks.”

“It’s going to take longer than three weeks to convert the facilities on Earth and Eden to implement them.”

“I am authorizing you the authority to do whatever you need to make it happen faster. Will that speed things up?”

“Yes Sir. There are a few superior officers that have resisted making the changes.”

“I want their names.”

“But…”

“That’s an order, Admiral!”

“Yes Sir.”

Kyle saw Clarissa shake her head and he stood up, “Grengel is right; it’s timid minds that hold us back. I want you to choose their replacements immediately and I’ll authorize the promotions to insure you can get things done. You are also promoted to full Admiral reporting directly to Kyley.”

Clarissa sighed, “Another Promotion?”

“Get used to it. You’ve shown the talent we need. Make sure you keep Kyley up do date on your progress.”

“Yes Sir.”

Kyle started to leave and stopped. Clarissa saw something in his expression, “What?”

“Hensel told me a story about how a Feeder stalked his father when he was a young Goran.” Clarissa looked at him and waited for him to continue. He turned to her and said, “I want the control that shuts down the computers to be taken off the control board.”

“I’ll make the change but would you mind telling me why?”