No Technology Is Invincible (The Death Prophecies-Book Four 4) (2 page)

He’s contacted my office and has requested a meeting with one of his Fourth Year Cadets. He thinks that I should listen to what she has to say about our plans to invade the Carand Galaxy.”

“How does she know about those plans? I thought they were Red Rated Secret.”

“They are but this is the most advanced course he teaches and only the best in the Academy are allowed to take it. They are given the clearances to see Red Secrets and they discuss the various ramifications of those plans. It appears that one of his students has pointed out some things that we’ve not considered.”

Gabe stared at Steve for a moment and tilted his head, “Are you saying she found holes in the invasion plan I submitted?”

“I don’t know. However, they’ll be here in fifteen minutes and I want you here to listen to what they’ve come up with.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Drag your chair up beside me and they can sit in front of my desk.” Gabe’s eyebrows came together and Steve smiled, “It puts us in the dominant position.” Gabe shrugged and moved his chair.

They sat back and Steve looked at Gabe, “How are things going.”

“Janell broke off our engagement.”

“WHAT!”

Gabe shrugged, “I’ve taken some time to think about it and she was right to do it. I’ve just been too busy to see our relationship falling apart.”

“But…”

“Sir, it never would have worked. I should have seen it but didn’t.”

“Are you ok?”

“Other than a broken heart and grief bleeding out of my ears, I’m fine.”

Steve’s panel binged and he said, “Send them in.” He looked at Gabe, “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”

“Just keep me busy. That will help keep my mind off it.”

Steve nodded as they saw the Professor and an Academy Cadet walk through the doors. Steve smiled, “We’ll start with this meeting.” Gabe snickered.

Professor Hilo walked forward and the Cadet came to attention and saluted. Steve returned her salute and said, “At ease. Cadet, why don’t you get a couple of chairs from the wall and bring them over here?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Professor Hilo looked at Gabe, “Good-day Admiral Eagle, I’ve been quite proud of your accomplishments since graduation.”

“Thank you, Professor. You played a large role in them.”

Hilo smiled, “Oh, I think it was what I had to work with that made the difference.”

“Thank you, Doctor.”

Hilo nodded and took a seat as the female cadet brought the chairs over. Steve looked at him, “Professor Hilo, what prompted you to request this meeting?”

Hilo nodded toward the cadet, “Cadet Bartoli pointed out some issues in class today that I felt should be brought to your attention, Admiral Connor.”

Gabe listened and stared at Professor Hilo and wondered how old he was. The short Asian could be anywhere between fifty and eighty years old and either age would not be surprising. His intelligence in strategic planning is what prompted his getting a meeting with little or no notice with the Combined Fleets Commander.

Steve and Gabe both looked at the young cadet when Hilo nodded toward her and both of them had the same thought,
Geek
. Her uniform was a size too big and her black hair was tied up in a tight bun on the back of her head. The thing that was really out of place was she was wearing a pair of ancient black-rimmed glasses. Steve tilted his head, “Cadet, why are you wearing glasses? There are procedures that can correct your vision.”

“I know, Sir. I prefer not to do that.”

Hilo smiled, “I’ve already discussed that issue with Cadet Bartoli when she entered the Academy and she has persuaded me to her way of thinking.”

Gabe looked at Hilo, “I thought poor vision would exclude admission to the Academy. How was she accepted with poor vision?”

Hilo looked at him and smiled, “Her admission scores were the highest in Academy history.” Gabe’s eyes widened and Hilo nodded, “Yes, they were higher than yours.”

Steve looked at the Cadet with new respect. “So what issues arose that you felt the need to come here, Professor?”

“I’d prefer to allow Cadet Bartoli explain, if you don’t mind.”

Gabe stared at the cadet and saw she had a Cadet Commodore Star on her collar. She was the highest-ranking cadet in her class. He leaned forward to hear what she had to say.

The Cadet looked at them and smiled, “If the plans we viewed in class are accurate, you intend to invade the Carand’s Empire and destroy all of their warships along with their populated planets.”

Steve nodded, “That’s correct.”

The Cadet nodded, “And once you complete their destruction, you intend to destroy the other aggressive civilizations surrounding their territory.”

Gabe shook his head, “That’s not entirely true.” The Cadet looked at him as he said, “We intend to destroy every civilization in that galaxy, even the ones that don’t border the Carand Empire.”

The Cadet tilted her head, “Are the maps the scouts brought back accurate?”

Steve nodded, “They are.”

The Cadet looked at Gabe, “If the maps are accurate, every civilization in that galaxy have a border with the Carand.”

Steve pressed some buttons on his panel and, after a few moments, looked at Gabe, “It appears she’s right.”

Gabe looked at him, “What about the Lezel?”

“They have a tiny border with the Carand between two other civilizations, Admiral.”

Gabe looked at the Cadet and thought,
Score one for her.
“I stand corrected Cadet Bartoli.”

She shrugged, “It’s a minor issue and the end result would be the same.”

Steve nodded, “Go ahead.”

She looked back at Steve, “How long do you think it will take the Builders to determine that their entrance through the black hole in Andromeda is blocked by the two jets the Darkness Civilization has produced?”

Both Steve and Gabe were surprised by the sudden change in direction. Steve looked at Gabe and then looked at her, “They will have to send a vessel through the black hole that can withstand those jets before they can make that determination.”

“And how long do you think that will take?”

Steve looked at her and tried not to be irritated, “How long do you think it will take, Cadet?”

“Not very long, Sir.”

Steve felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, “And why do you think that?”

“Because the Builders sent all of the war fleets of the civilization they’re using as tools into the black hole. They have to find out what is happening to them in Andromeda and determine what support those fleets need before they take any other steps. In their mind, they have hundreds of thousands of warships fighting in Andromeda without a supply line. Their first priority is to get a ship through to see what’s needed. If the ship they send doesn’t make it back, they’ll know something isn’t right.”

The Cadet looked at Gabe, saw his expression, and smiled, “You see it now, don’t you, Sir?”

Steve looked at Gabe and saw him shaking his head, “I do.”

“What?”

Gabe looked at Steve, “If one of their crewed vessels doesn’t make it back, they’ll launch one of those giant launchers through the black hole. Those launchers don’t have crews that would be killed by the two jet’s radiation. That launcher will immediately go back through the black hole and warn the Builders about what’s going on.”

“It’s going to take some time to build another launcher.”

Gabe shook his head, “Not really, Sir. They’ll just put thrusters on one of the two surviving launchers and send it.”

“But they’ll still be blocked from coming through the black hole.”

The Cadet stared at Gabe and she could see that he knew he was missing something else. Steve looked at her, “Won’t they?”

She looked away from Gabe and turned to Admiral Connor, “Probably.”

“So, what’s the problem?”

Hilo said, “Admiral, please pull up the scan made in the Builder’s galaxy that is numbered 2-AGZ-012148-TZL.”

Steve entered the number and put the scan on the wall monitor. There was a huge fleet of Grey Warships moving across the monitor at the edge of the Builder’s Galaxy. He stared at it and said, “What am I seeing here, Professor?”

“Please pause the image once those warships move out of view.” Steve waited until they passed and he pressed the pause button. He stared at the monitor and saw some distant small lights. “Now, if you will focus the monitor on the light in the center of it and move in to get a close view of it…”

Steve stared at the monitor and began working the controls. The small light in the center of the monitor started growing larger and in a minute it grew into the shape of a galaxy. A few minutes more, it resolved itself into a spiral galaxy. Hilo looked at his student, “Why don’t you tell them what you told me in class this morning.”

The woman looked at Steve and Gabe, “That galaxy is almost three quarters of a billion light years away from the Builder’s Galaxy. We know that their warships are faster than our ships and they can arrive at that galaxy in less than a month.” She shrugged, “If that galaxy is the Carand’s Galaxy, why do they need to go through the black hole in Andromeda when they can go there and enter our universe through the black hole in that galaxy? Which would probably mean that they would be entering our universe through the Milky Way’s black hole. They could then arrive at Andromeda in a matter of less than a day.”

Gabe stared at the spiral galaxy and looked at the Cadet, “Are you certain that galaxy is the Carand Galaxy?”

She shrugged, “No. The scan wasn’t initially made to see it and the image is not clear enough to make that determination. However, it is the right size.” Steve and Gabe stared at the image as she said, “Your plans to go to the Carand’s Galaxy and destroy all the civilizations there is a little premature.”

They turned to her and Steve looked at her through his eyebrows, “Why is that?”

“Death Prophecy two, Sir. Never do what someone else can do for you. If that is the Carand’s Galaxy, don’t you think we could use those aggressive civilizations there to slow the Builders down?”

Steve looked at Gabe, “If the Builders manage to make it through our black hole, what will they do?”

Gabe looked at the Cadet, “I want to hear what she thinks before I answer, Sir.”

The Cadet stared at Gabe and then took off her glasses. Steve started to speak but Hilo held up his hand and shook his head. Steve looked at Gabe and he shrugged. After four minutes, she put her glasses back on. “The Builders will ignore our galaxy and go directly to the Andromeda Galaxy.”

Steve looked at Gabe and he nodded, “That’s exactly what they’ll do, Admiral.”

Steve stared at him, “Why?”

“Because the Darkness are the real threat to them and that is where they sent their fleets. Their galaxy was also attacked by warships that came through their black hole. Before they do anything to us, they will attempt to remove that threat and determine the status of the warships they sent through the black hole in Andromeda.” The Cadet tilted her head and nodded. Gabe looked at her, “Why did you take off your glasses?”

“It allows me to focus in a way I can’t when I’m seeing things clearly.”

Steve looked at Hilo, “That’s why you allowed her to not correct her vision?”

Hilo shrugged, “She has proven she is more proficient with them.”

Steve looked at Hilo, “I want her immediately given her graduation papers and have her sent to Fleet Intelligence.”

“I really don’t want to do that, Sir.”

Steve looked from Hilo to the Cadet, “And why is that? We need you here.”

“Sir, I entered the Academy with the intent of having the highest scores in Academy history. I’m four weeks from accomplishing that goal.” She saw Gabe staring at her and quickly said, “Yes, my scores are better than yours.”

Steve grew angry, “Do you place your scores ahead of the survival of humanity, Cadet?”

The Cadet stared at him, took a deep breath, then lowered her head, “No, Sir, I don’t.”

Gabe quickly said, “She should be allowed to stay and graduate, Admiral.” Everyone in the room jerked their attention to him. He said quickly before Steve could respond, “Sir, what do you think Intelligence will do if you send her there? They’ll simply verify everything she just told us and take about four weeks to do it. They’ll also see that there’s no way for them to confirm that distant galaxy is the Carand’s and will order a ship to go and confirm it. Before sending the ship, they’ll bring the information they get from here to you and tell you exactly what she just revealed. They won’t be able to add to it. You and I know what has to be done and it’s going to take more than four weeks to get it set up. She should be allowed to accomplish her goal.”

“What needs to be done?”

“We need to prepare a Scout Vessel and send it through our black hole and out to the closest galaxy. If it’s the Builder’s Galaxy, then she’s right, the invasion is off. If it’s not the Builder’s galaxy, then we’re going to have to shut down the jets in Andromeda and send a scout through to go to that spiral galaxy and determine where it is in our universe. That’s where we’ll have to send our scouts to await the Builder’s arrival.”

Steve stared at Gabe and then looked at Professor Hilo, “What do you think about this?”

Hilo looked at the Cadet and turned to Steve, “She should be allowed to continue her journey, Admiral.”

Steve stared at the young woman and nodded, “Go and graduate. Report here as soon as you do.”

The woman smiled, “Thank you, Sir.”

“You’re dismissed.”

The two stood up and walked toward the doors and the young woman turned and around and looked at Gabe. Hilo said something to her and she turned to him as they left the room. Gabe sighed. He recognized her expression was one of thankfulness. He turned to Steve and saw him on his communicator with Fleet Development. Steve had one speed, full speed ahead.

• • •

Gabby looked at Professor Hilo, “I’m surprised that Admiral Eagle argued to allow me to graduate on time. He had to know that if I left early, my scores wouldn’t count as Academy records.”

Hilo nodded, “He knew.”

Gabby stared at Hilo, “I wouldn’t have argued for him to stay if our roles were reversed. He must not have a lot of pride in his accomplishments at the Academy?”