No Technology Is Invincible (The Death Prophecies-Book Four 4) (16 page)

• • •

“Admiral, the Prophet’s Eyes has returned.”

Amy looked at Captain McGregor, “That was fast.”

“Yes, Sir. Admiral Eagle has sent the ship to have the Bosrean’s quarters changed back to normal. He said to let you know that it should be back in two days.”

“Notify the fleets to be ready to launch at that time, Captain.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Amy leaned back in her command chair and decided that she needed some time with her children. She thought about it and contacted Scott, “I’m going to see the boys, would you like to join us?”

“How long do we have?”

“A day.”

“I’ll meet you at the marina.”

Amy smiled, “That’s a great plan. I’ll see you there in four hours.” Amy looked up, “Captain, you have the ship.”

McGregor turned and said, “Yes, Sir,” as Amy rushed off the bridge.

• • •

Steve ran the recording Gabe had made of the galaxy of warring species and shook his head. This was…unnerving. This was the ultimate vision from hell. He wondered what sense it all made. Both universes were filled with warring species seeking to destroy all the others they encountered. Why should he even try? One threat is removed and four more pop up. He sighed as the door opened and Lani walked in with his children. He saw the kids jump out of their mother’s arms and run toward him. He stood up and swept them up into an embrace. He had the answer. They were right here in his arms.

G
abe sat in the cafeteria and thought about the galaxy filled with warring species and millions of Warships destroying each other. The thing that troubled him the most was that all of the species involved in the fighting were in agreement to do it. They sent their youngest and most vibrant to fight and only the survivors were allowed to mate. This was little more than systematic genocide. It was depressing and he lamented at the life those warriors were forced to live. He took a sip of milk and a small bite of banana pudding. He looked at his untouched plate and smiled; he always ate his dessert first. He figured that he might not have room for it after his meal.

He sighed as he chewed the bananas thought about leading the Bosrean and Earth Fleets into battle against the enemies arrayed against them. How was this different from what was taking place in that galaxy? The end result was the same; millions of warships striving to kill each other. He leaned back as he took another bite and tried to justify his behavior by declaring that he was fighting for the survival of his species.

He took another bite and stopped chewing. What if those species didn’t send out those warships to kill each other? Perval said that each of the combatants had an extreme birth rate. If they didn’t do it, would their societies crumble under the weight of overpopulation? Perhaps they were in an awkward situation of having to do it to survive. They could colonize other planets. He thought about it and rejected that idea. It would only be delaying the inevitable. There were four galaxies sending ships to fight and they must have been burdened with over population.

Gabe wondered why they didn’t just attack each other but realized that they might have been too civilized to do that. That would still lead to the same result in the end, overpopulation by the winner. This way they had a way to control their birth rates. He wondered if those warships would attack a ship from outside the four galaxies. He took another bite of his dessert and sat up straight and knew that question would have to be answered. If they only fought among themselves, the Black Species and the Builders could use the door to get into his universe. He thought some more and decided that probably wasn’t going to be an issue; both the Builders and the Black Species shot first and never asked questions. A probe needed to be delivered to that black hole in the galaxy of those fighting spaceships just to check out what happened in the event either of those aggressive species went through it.

He finished the banana pudding and felt better. He could see why that fighting galaxy was needed to control the excess populations. He took a bite of his salad and thought about Gabby. She had changed a lot since they started their first mission. Her new appearance was the biggest change. Who would have thought there was a beautiful woman hiding under the Geeky clothes? He stopped his fork halfway to his mouth as he wondered if she had really changed or had her appearance made her behavior more acceptable. Beautiful women got away with a lot because their social snafus would be ignored by most men and women like them because it detracted from their beauty. Had she changed socially? He took another bite and thought about it. No…she was the same. Taking that thought reader against his and Perval’s cautions pretty much showed she wasn’t taking cues or advice from anyone else. She was going to listen to that young scientist’s thoughts without him being aware in order to gain an upper hand.

Or was she? Could she use it to see his thoughts? He put his fork down and his eyes narrowed. She asked Janell about being in a relationship knowing they had recently been engaged. He leaned back and shrugged, perhaps he was overthinking this. She probably would have asked that question anyway. She really didn’t have a sense of social etiquette. He lifted his wrist unit and pressed a number. A moment later, Perval appeared. “Have you made it home?”

“Yes, I have. Thank you for asking, Admiral. How can I help you?”

“I was wondering if there’s any way to detect if someone is using the thought reader you gave Captain Bartoli.”

“I’ve already sent you one in a courier. If you press the orange button on the left side of the device, your thoughts will be blocked.”

Gabe stared at him, “Do you know something I don’t.”

“She took the device to spy on those she’s currently attracted to, Admiral. You’re one of them.”

Gabe’s face turned dark and Perval shook his head, “Admiral, please don’t be angry with her. She’s stumbling blindly in a world she is completely unfamiliar with. She took it to prevent doing something wrong.”

Gabe sighed and nodded, “I understand. Thanks for sending me the device.”

“She’ll know you have it.”

“Let her. She’ll have to confess using hers to say anything.”

Perval smiled, “She still might say something.”

“I’ll handle it when she does. Thank you again.”

“Don’t mention it.”

The small display went dark and Gabe sat back. Was he interested in Gabby? He sat and thought about it for a while and didn’t really have an answer. His wrist unit vibrated and he saw Admiral Connor on the display, “Good morning, Sir.”

“Good morning, Gabe.” Gabe relaxed, this was an informal call. “I’ve been thinking about your going to search for a stardrive and I was wondering what you’re going to do if you find one.”

Gabe head tilted back slightly and he said, “I intend to remove it and bring it back with me.”

“And just how are you going to do that?”

“Well, I’m familiar with the workings of warships and I can…” Gabe paused and then sighed, “I’m familiar with our warships. That doesn’t mean I’ll be able to fathom an alien vessel.”

“You’re also going to have to move the stardrive from one ship to another.” Gabe shrugged and put his hand on his chin as he thought about it. Admiral Connor continued, “I’m sending the best engineer in fleet to go with you. He will be loading the things he’ll need to remove the stardrive and transport it to your ship.”

“That’s a good idea, Sir. What’s the engineer’s name?”

“He’s a civilian. His name is Eric Muhammed Ali Goldwin.”

Gabe stared at his display in silence for a long moment before saying, “What will I call him?”

“Ali.”

Sir, is he…Jewish?”

“Yes, he is.”

“That’s a different name.”

“Tell me about it. See if he’ll explain how he got it. If you find out, I’d like to know.”

The display went dark and Gabe rolled his eyes. Muhammed Goldwin? This should prove to be interesting.

His wrist unit vibrated again. Gabe looked at it and the display remained dark, “Hello, Poul. How’s it going?”

“Fine, I’ll be finished shortly and headed back today.”

“Good, you’re right on schedule. I’ll notify the War Admirals that we’ll be leaving tomorrow.”

“I wanted to let you know that the Darkness Gravity towers will arrive in four days.”

“Are you worried about that?”

“I just want you to make sure they don’t close the black hole before we come back.”

“Do you think they will, Poul?”

“I know Admiral Connor trusts them but I’m suspicious by nature.”

“We’ll just have to make sure we’re back before then.”

“Even so.”

“I’ll mention it to Admiral Connor.”

“That would be good. I’ll be docked at Fleet Operations this afternoon.”

Gabe wondered why Poul didn’t trust the Darkness. He thought about it and called Admiral Connor.

• • •

That afternoon after boarding the ship, Gabe looked up, “Poul, have you selected the most likely place to find a derelict Warship your civilization built?”

“I have a list but we’re going to have to find a planet that wasn’t colonized by the Carand after they destroyed my civilization. That may take a while.”

“Where do you want to start?”

“The home world is my first guess. It was heavily defended and I suspect the planet was severely damaged when the Carand attacked it. I suspect any colonization would have been delayed as a result.”

“Good to see you, Gabe.” Gabe turned and saw Gabby enter the bridge. “Why is this third chair still here?”

“We’re taking an engineer with us to remove the stardrive. We’re going to pick him up now. Poul, take us over to Fleet Construction.”

Gabby sat down in her chair and activated her console, “Why do we need an engineer? We should be able to do it.”

Gabe pressed the orange button on the thought blocker in his pocket and smiled, “There are several reasons. The first is that neither you nor I are familiar with alien ship technology and it may be that we’ll need to defend the site where the stardrive is being removed.”

Gabby stared at him and blinked. After a moment she said, “Won’t Fleet assign ships to defend us?”

“Once we find a ship to dissect, we’ll call in support but there’s still the issue of not knowing enough to successfully remove the stardrive without damaging it.”

“Who’s the engineer?”

“Ali Goldwin. He’s considered the best in Fleet.”

Gabby blinked as Poul announced, “We’re landing outside the main construction hangar.”

Gabe looked at the wall monitor and saw a group of people moving some boxes out of the hangar as they placed them on a gravity sled. He opened the port and walked off the bridge. Gabby watched him leave and stayed in her chair. Gabe stepped out of the port and heard, “Move the sled into the port and tie everything down securely.”

Gabe looked at the man giving the orders and raised his right eyebrow. This engineer looked like he was a teenager. He stepped aside as the group of workers maneuvered the sled up the ramp and into the port. The young man followed it carrying a bag of tools over his shoulder. He stopped in front of Gabe and smiled, “Good morning, Admiral. I’m Ali Goldwin and I’ll be going with you.”

Gabe nodded and tilted his head, “Have you been covered on the changes you’ll undergo by going with us?”

Ali’s eyebrows came down, “I have.”

“Are you alright with that?”

“Someone has to do it. Fleet thinks I’m the best one to do the job.”

“I asked if you were alright with the changes.”

Ali’s smile disappeared, “What if I weren’t?”

“Then we’d need to take someone else.”

“Be my guest. See if you can find anyone that wants to endure the changes.” Gabe stared at him and Ali shrugged, “Fleet asked for a volunteer and no one raised their hand. After that, Fleet chose the best one to do the job.”

“So you’re being forced to do this.”

Ali smiled, “Comes with the job title. Besides, I get to go through a black hole; that will earn a few points around here.” Ali looked around Gabe and said loudly, “HEY, DON’ TIE THEM DOWN SO TIGHT!” He looked at Gabe, “Excuse me, Admiral. I need to make sure these items are secured properly.”

He walked by Gabe into the small landing bay and Gabe noticed that Ali was about five feet six inches tall and couldn’t weigh more than a hundred and thirty pounds. His blonde hair and blue eyes were out of place with his dark eyebrows and complexion. Gabe had to admit that the young engineer wasn’t intimidated by rank. He turned to go back into the ship and called over his shoulder, “Your quarters are the one closest to the landing bay. Once you get your things put away, come to the bridge.” Ali nodded as he released the tension on one of the tie down straps.

He walked on the bridge and Gabby looked up from her panel, “Are we taking a midget with us?”

Gabe sat down and looked at her, “Why do you ask?”

Gabby pointed to the third chair, “That armor looks like it will fit a small person.”

“Intellect is not determined by one’s size, Gabby.”

“So he’s a midget.”

Gabe rolled his eyes, “No, he isn’t.”

Gabby looked back at the armor and tilted her head, “If he isn’t, he missed a great opportunity.”

Gabe turned to his console, “Are your systems operational?”

“They are. I received word from Admiral Hart that the Fleets are formed up at the black hole and are awaiting our arrival.”

Gabe nodded as Ali walked on the bridge. Gabby looked at him and shook her head, “How old are you. You look like you’re twelve or thirteen.”

Ali sat down in his chair and looked at Gabby, “I’m twenty-five.”

“Where did your parents come up with Eric Muhammed Ali Goldwin?”

Eric rolled his eyes, and Gabe thought, count on Gabby to ask the hard questions. Ali looked at him, “Is she always this direct?”

Gabe rolled his eyes, “You have no idea.”

Gabby interrupted, “What about the name?”

Ali looked at her, “My father was an amateur boxer and he named me after history’s greatest boxer.”

Gabby blinked and looked at Gabe, “Boxer?”

“Look it up in your database.”