Lens of Time: Book 05 - Star Rover-The Worst of Time (19 page)

“Could you stop me from…having her?”

“Of course.” Dat’s brow furrowed and Gresh said, “But I would never stop it. Having a daughter in the house angry about a father’s interference is more than any sane man would ever want.”

Gresha walked in and saw Dat and Gresh suddenly turn and stare at her, “What are you two up to?”

Gresh said, “Dat was asking my permission to have you and I told him he needed to ask you.”

Dat jerked his head back around at Gresh and he said, “What?”

“I would have preferred to tell her myself.”

“Then why haven’t you?” Dat looked up and rolled his eyes. Gresha’s expression showed her shock. Dat said, “I actually asked him if it was alright with him if I asked you to marry me.”

“We don’t marry, Dat.”

Dat stared at Gresha and went down on one knee, “Then will you agree for me to have you?”

Gresha smiled, “Are you sure about this, Dat? I can never give you children.”

“As long as I have you; that would be more than I could ever want.”

Gresha said, “I agree to be yours, Dat Arvolo.” Dat stood and took her in his arms. Gresha held him tight and looked over his shoulder, “Father, will you ask the Elders to perform the ceremony?”

“I will.”

Dat looked into her eyes and saw something that amazed him. He saw into her soul and knew how much she loved him. He kissed her and her Father said, “Hey, hey, save it for after the ceremony.”

Dat smiled and Gresha said, “We can leave afterwards.”

Dat looked at her and sighed, “Nothing?”

Gresha shook her head, “Nothing; but I’m not going to allow that to take away from this happy time. I love you so much, Dat.” Dat pulled her close and hugged her tightly.

“Hey, Romeo.”

Gresha leaned back and Dat said, “Yes, Stein.”

“Loree and I were wondering if you were going to include us.”

“I will leave the rings active so you can be there with us.”

Loree said, “I think I’m going to cry.”

Dat shook his head, “Computers don’t cry.”

Dat waited for a response and after a moment Stein said, “You’ve hurt her feelings.” Dat looked around and could only manage to shake his head and roll his eyes.

Gresha said, “I’d love to have both of you there.”

“Thank you, Miss Gresha. One could only hope our Commander would show as much class.”

Dat started laughing and Stein said, “He knows; so you should can the hurt routine.”

“Hey, who says I’m not hurt.”

“Come on, Loree. We’re not made that way.”

“Speak for yourself.”

Dat laughed. Better Stein than him.

• • •

Jill was watching the recording of the Wing that was destroyed by the Black Ships. She stared at the speed of the blasters that locked on the Rovers and fired at an incredible speed. Her screen beeped and she pressed the enable button, “What are you up to, Admiral?”

Jill smiled broadly, “Hi, Jon. I’m going over the recording of the Wing that was killed.”

Jon’s smile vanished and he took a deep breath, “It appears we have a real problem confronting them now.”

“Yes…and no.”

Jon tilted his head, “Tell me what you see.”

“We’re going to have to change the Command System.”

“In what way?”

“I don’t think we can fight them in coordinated units. Do you have a few minutes where I can run my thoughts by you?”

“Fire away, no pun intended.”

Jill smiled, “It is a good one though. I’m sending you some stills I’ve taken from the recording. Let me know when you have them.”

Jon looked to his left and said, “I have them on my panel.”

“I want you to look closely at one of their major battleships. Notice that there are three lines that run down the ship’s entire length where there are no beam emplacements.”

Jon looked and said, “That’s the lines where their thrusters are located. In order to change direction, the thrusters have to be spaced evenly along their hulls. It takes three lines to be able to move a starship on multiple vectors.”

“That’s right; two would only move it from side to side. It takes a minimum of three to move in all directions. Six would be better.”

“Probably, but the loss of hull space wouldn’t be optimal for the slight maneuvering gains from the additional three. That space would be better served with weapon emplacements.”

“That shows they are good designers, but there is a problem in using three lines.”

“What is that?”

“I asked Bucket to do an analysis of the beams above and below those thruster lines. That ship is so large that none of the beams above and below the thruster line can be depressed to hit a ship located just above the thrusters.”

“Jill, a ship can’t get that close to the thrusters. The force field will keep them far enough out to where they could be targeted.”

“That is what will kill them, Jon. Pull up a recording of the last battle and measure how far their force fields are from their hulls.”

Jon typed on his keyboard and looked at the battle with the huge Black Creature’s Fleet. He watched Mary do the measure and he was shocked, “It’s only ten feet off their hull.”

“I know that one would expect it to be much further out but it’s not. Do you remember the first images Dat received of similar ships attacking each other in that galaxy a hundred years ago?” Jon nodded. “We know that the more area a force field has to cover, its strength is reduced with the square of distance. I suspect the force field has to be that small to provide the strength necessary to stop those beams they used in that galaxy. They haven’t changed the distance in any subsequent designs. Why would they deliberately build a force field that was weaker?”

“So how do we exploit this, Jill?”

“We go back to what our Rovers are best at; they attack individual ships. They find the thruster line, skip in over it, fire a dark matter beam, and skip away.”

Jon thought about the idea and said, “Ok, let me throw some questions to help clarify my thoughts.”

“Fling away.”

“Can’t the ships roll to fire at the Rover?”

“No, they can’t. A beam directly connected to a scanner can barely target and fire before a Rover skips out. A beam operator couldn’t do it in time. That has to be done by a computer. And getting the instructions to the thruster controls to roll is, at best, a much slower process.”

“We can do it as fast.”

“Yes, but our ships have the thrusters in the bows and tails and are much smaller and easier to roll. Getting the mass of a ship that size to start moving is difficult.”

“What’s to prevent them from placing ships next to each other covering each other’s thruster lines?”

“No matter how hard you try, there will always be a ship on the edge of any formation they use. Those ships will be in jeopardy. Once they’re hit, the next ones inside that layer become vulnerable. And besides, you know that trying to fight a space battle in a fixed formation is a good way to get your ships destroyed. If they chose to do it, the numbers that could actually fire on our Rovers would be greatly reduced.”

Jon thought a moment and said, “How do we get our fleets ready to do this?”

“Every Rover gets a helmet and the Command System with the protocols Dat gave me. The system will look for those thruster lines and point out any lines that are vulnerable. The speed of the system will allow the Rovers to skip in and hit their ships without being targeted by their beams.” Jill saw Jon thinking and said, “Jon, you’ve seen how hard it is to get pilots that have always worked alone to follow the discipline of fighting in coordinated units. This will allow them to do what they do best; take them on ship to ship.”

Jon looked at Jill and said, “Plan to meet me at Admiral Hull’s office tomorrow afternoon. I’ll set it up. Have all your documentation in order and we’ll see if we can’t persuade her to let us do it.” Jill stared at Jon not saying anything and Jon furrowed his brow. He was missing something. He looked at his computer and then smiled. He looked up and said, “After the meeting, I wonder if you might consider an evening out with a good meal and dancing.”

Jill smiled, “Would I be doing this alone?”

“Jill Connor, will you go out with me tomorrow evening?”

“Why, of course; I look forward to it.”

Jon shook his head and ended the call.

Jill began thinking about what she was going to wear.

D
at stood beside Gresh in the community’s Meeting Hall. Gresha had made the outfit he wore personally as all new mates were required. It fit him perfectly and was remarkably comfortable. He saw the Elders standing at the front of the room and noticed they didn’t look very happy. Dat looked at Gresh and he whispered, “They did not approve of Gresha leaving with you. They also oppose this union.”

“Because I’m an outsider?”

“No, because you are taking away the heart of our community; everyone loves Gresha.”

Dat looked at Gresh, “Not as much as I do.”

“That is why I forced them to do it.”

“Thank you.”

“Just make her happy, Dat. There’s been so much horror and sorrow in her life. She deserves her happiness.”

Dat nodded and saw the doors open and Gresha was led in on Kyley’s arm. Dat almost lost his breath. Gresha was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. Now her beauty was stunning. The pale green and white wedding dress made her almost too beautiful to see. All of those gathered were amazed at her beauty and her smile was radiant. Gresh pulled his arm and he forced himself to face the Elders. He immediately saw them staring at Gresha and her smile must have melted their resistance. They looked at each other and the Elder slowly shook his head and smiled. He nodded and the others nodded with him. Gresha had made a difference again.

Dat continued to stare at the Elders until he felt Gresha arrive at his side and take his arm. He looked at her and she saw the love in his eyes. She tried not to cry but her tears would not be denied.

The Elder said, “Let us sing our hearts for this joyous moment.” The gathering lifted their arms and extended them out from their chests. They placed their hands together and brought them in and placed them directly over their hearts. Gresha also had her hands on her chest and Dat followed their lead. The moment their hands touched their chest, the gathering began singing. They didn’t sing words. They sang notes and Dat thought it was the most beautiful music he had ever heard. The tone, the pitch, the volume was absolutely perfect. Each note was done in harmony and held for the perfect time. The song lasted for two minutes and Dat knew no human could ever match the ability of Gresha’s people to sing those notes.

After the song stopped the Elder stepped forward and said, “Gresha, Daughter of Gresh and Kyley, you have requested to allow Dat Arvolo to possess you in a timeless joining. Is it your wish to allow him to have you in your entirety?”

“It is, First Elder.”

“You will give him all you have to offer and will never share yourself with any others?”

“I will, gladly, First Elder.”

“You will keep this vow as long as you live?”

“Yes, I will, First Elder.”

The Elder turned to Dat and said, “You have asked to have Gresha, Daughter of Gresh and Kyley, as your life long mate and companion?”

“I have, First Elder.”

“You will give her all that you have in your hearts and soul to ensure her safety, peace, and happiness?”

“I will, First Elder.”

“You will give her your entirety and not share it with any other?”

“I will, First Elder.”

“Take her hand.” Dat took Gresha’s hands in his and the First Elder said, “It is by having that two become one. They will each have the other in their hearts for all time and their joy and happiness will grow beyond bounds. Let us celebrate the Having.”

The gathering exploded in cheers and Dat took Gresha in his arms. The following celebration was enormous and instant. Gresha was loved by her community and they shared her joy.

The music was loud and Dat held Gresha in his arms feeling his heart beat with hers. “The Elder said hearts.”

“He doesn’t know you only have one.”

“I’m really going to hate leaving.”

“We must remain here five days for the ceremony to be complete.”

“Why?”

“It allows time for everyone in the community to come and congratulate us.”

“That’s fine.” He held her close and welcomed the moments of peace in a universe gone mad. Even the Masters kept their word and took nothing away from the event.

• • •

Later, just before sun set, the gathering followed Dat and Gresha to his former residence. They arrived and Gresha opened the door, “Just a moment.”

Gresha turned and said, “What?”

“In my world, I am expected to carry you across the threshold.”

Gresha smiled and said, “I am yours to command.” Dat picked her up and carried her into the house. Gresha kissed him as they crossed the threshold. The next six couples that were joined did the same thing and a new tradition was begun in the community. All of them remembered Gresha’s love for her mate as he carried her into their home.

Gresha continued to kiss Dat and he felt his hand vibrate. Dat held the kiss but the vibration didn’t stop. Finally she broke the kiss and looked at him. He said, “I’m busy, Stein.”

“This isn’t Stein and we’ve not interrupted you before now.”

“What’s so important?”

“We’ve determined something that we feel you and Gresha should know.”

Dat looked at Gresha and said, “What is that?”

“Where are your manners, Loree?”

“Oh, you’re right, Stein. First let me say from both of us, congratulations.”

“Thank you, go on.”

“We discovered something during the ceremony that you should know.”

“Well say it; I have things to do.”

“The music that the community sang.”

“Yes.”

“It’s a frequency.”

Dat and Gresha were shocked silent. Gresha finally managed to get out, “A what?”

“The individual notes and pitch match the amplitude of a frequency. When you remove the sound from it, a definite frequency is visible. Push the peaks and valleys together and a frequency in the upper level of the spectrum can be seen.” Dat stared at Gresha and Einstein said, “There’s more.”