Nowhere to Hide (8 page)

“She’s my mate and she is expecting a child.”

“Congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

“They haven’t returned.”

Drey nodded and said, “We have probes in their galaxy and we’ve learned their language. It appears the leadership of the invasion was changed after the first two attacks and all of their plans are being changed.”

“How much time do you think we have?”

“I really don’t know but we’ll have an early warning when they start to organize their fleets.”

“This additional time has been fortunate.”

“Indeed it has.”

“What’s the plan?”

“We have a small surprise for them if they come here to organize their jump into your galaxy. I need all your ships to stay clear of their formations when they arrive until I notify you.”

“It must be a rather large surprise.”

“Those are the best ones. Will you pass that message to the other civilizations?”

“I will.”

“Thank you.”

***

The Sovereign looked at his Fleet Controller, “What do you think they’re going to do?”

“Whatever it is; I’d listen to his suggestion.”

“You think they have something that will have that large of an impact?”

“I’m telling you, I’d make sure I listened. I’ve studied that one and when he says that it will have a large impact, he’s understating the reality of what it is. That one is dangerous.”

The Sovereign stared at his Fleet Controller and slowly nodded, “I’ll make sure everyone delays jumping in on them.” The Sovereign paused, “Are we ready?”

“Most of our ships are modified and the others will be completed within two months.”

“Keep me informed.”

“I will, Sovereign.”

The Sovereign stared at the dark display and pushed a button. After a few moments the Gedna appeared, “I’ve been told by the aliens that we have more time. How close are you to being ready?”

“We’re done with updating our ships. We’re waiting on the shipment of the neutron missiles.”

“I’ll have them to you momentarily. I’ve been told that it would be a bad idea to jump in on the invaders before being given approval.”

“Oh?”

“It appears they have some kind of surprise for them.”

“Well, we should leave it to them to handle the invaders and listen to their warning.” The Sovereign showed his uncertainty and the Gedna said, “Whatever they have, you can count on it being beyond your wildest suspicions.”

“You sound like my Fleet Controller.”

“Did you give them a neutron missile?”

“I did.”

The Gedna started laughing, “Well, you can bet a planet that they’ve done something with it that will shock us all. Thank you for expediting the shipment.”

“No problem.” The display went dark and the Sovereign contacted the Negotiator to deliver the warning to all civilizations not to jump out when the Invader’s ships arrived. He wondered what was going to happen.

D
rey sat on his ship and missed Dee. It just wasn’t the same anymore. He sighed and looked at the feed coming in from the microprobes in the Invader’s current conquest. Ships had started moving out and gathering at the edge of the galaxy and it wouldn’t be long before they began their offensive. Dee cried when he left her on Euclid but she knew it was the right thing to do. He waited above El Dorado in M87 and shook his head at the massive numbers of Union Warships around the planet. Most of the pilots were on the planet waiting for the call to go to a war status but it was still some time before those Invader ships began to organize.

He shook his head and looked at the main display, “Doc, do you have the recording of the neutron trial?”

“I do; I’ll put it on the monitor.”

Drey watched the screen and saw a giant explosion off in the distance that was incredibly bright. “Doc, how far out was the recording device?”

“The probe was a light minute away.”

“Why so far?”

“If it was any closer, Cole and Argel feared it would have been damaged by the gamma rays from the explosion.”

“Did they learn anything?”

“They learned how to modify the size of the neutron material to limit the range of damage.”

“What do you mean?”

“It was initially thought that this weapon could only be used out in open space away from a galaxy. By using smaller amounts of the neutron material, it can be used in the space between stars in a galaxy. However, it can’t be used too close to an inhabited system.”

“Are you saying it would kill life on the planet?”

“No, most planets’ atmosphere would limit the destructiveness of the blast but ships not on the planets’ surface could be damaged if their force fields aren’t strong enough.”

“I assume you’re referring to commercial ships.”

“I am.”

“Moe seems to think the coming attack will gather outside the edge of M87.”

“Moe is somewhat smarter than I am. He can put massive amounts of data together to arrive at his conclusions; I would go with his assessment.”

“We didn’t do it that way.”

“Not when we attacked in Andromeda but remember, we had probes there to keep us up to date on what was happening. The Invaders don’t have that in M87.”

Drey thought a moment, “You’re right; that would make a huge difference.”

Ian appeared on the display, “How are you doing?”

“I miss her, Ian.”

Ian sighed, “I miss Violet as well.”

“Have you decided how we’re going in on the next attack?”

“We will go in after the civilizations in M87 launch their attack. We need to see if they can hold their own with the Invader’s warships.”

“What does Moe say about that?”

“He’s not certain. He does say that it appears their first move will not be with their entire ship inventory.”

“He does; how did he arrive at that conclusion?”

“He says the ships gathering for the attack came from another galaxy. None of those that are attacking that galaxy are in the initial gathering.”

“Why is that?”

“I really don’t know. Since none of the ships in the other galaxy have started moving out, the ships gathering will be the first to invade. I suspect the others will start organizing after they come here.”

Drey stared at Ian on the display, “The first attack is to soften us up?”

“I guess but I could be wrong.”

“Do you think they would send that many ships just to collect information?”

“I don’t know of any other reason; do you?”

Drey thought about it, “They might be coming for glory.”

“What?”

“If those ships came from a different galaxy, it might be that the ones in the first galaxy are being punished for their failure in the first two attempts. Someone from the other galaxy is now in charge and wants to lead the charge.”

“That assumption works as well as any others we’ve discussed. You’re assuming they think like us. We just really don’t know.”

“I suppose you’re right; I was just guessing. I looked at it in human terms. We really don’t know how they think.”

“Why don’t you meet me on the planet and have a beer.”

“Name the place.”

“Shorty’s.”

“I’ll see you there. Doc, let me know if anything changes.”

“Will do.”

***

Newly promoted Captain Lilly Lambert looked at Lt. Stan West, “I trust I don’t have to tell you what to do?”

“No Sir; that first trial taught me all I need to know. Even green space was affected by the blast. I’ll release it and get out like a burglar meeting a Doberman.”

“That’s not fast enough.”

“Have you seen a Doberman?”

Lilly tried not to smile but gave up, “I don’t want to lose you, Stan. I need you here to lead your wing.”

“I don’t either. Trust me, the first one was close enough.”

Lilly nodded, “We’ve added two seconds to the time before it emerges into normal space, so you should have more time.”

“Don’t worry, Sir. I’ve synchronized my drive board to the release switch; they’ll activate together.”

Lilly nodded, “I think that’s wise.”

“You have no idea. I have seen a Doberman up close and this new bomb is a lot scarier.”

“Don’t let them see you coming in.”

“I’ve shaped my field to make a minimum wave. With all of the ships arriving, it should be almost impossible to see me.”

“Just be careful.”

“How long is it until I have to do this?”

Lilly shook her head, “Not long”

***

The Advisor sat in is command chair and watched his ships arriving by the thousands. He was glad to be away from the contentious Father that had questioned his every suggestion. He smiled and knew his suggestions were really orders and found pleasure in the Father’s discomfort at losing status. He turned an eyestalk and looked at his second-in-command, “How much longer?”

“The last should arrive in ten days.”

The eyestalk moved and he looked at his navigator, “Son, have you selected the coordinates for our arrival?”

“I have several selected but I need to know what you want to do when we arrive.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you want to organize here before we leave with targets already selected for our fleets or do you want to organize after we do a scan?”

“Isn’t most of that galaxy already mapped?”

“Yes, Father.”

“Then why would we organize there?”

“The last two small attacks have run into trouble. We don’t have any probes to tell us how the enemy is currently organized or where the majority of their ships are located; that might be an important piece of information to have.”

The Advisor started to feel anxiety about going in first. He thought about it and wondered if the Father had set him up to do this but immediately rejected the thought. He had fought too hard to be the one leading the initial attack. Still…perhaps caution was called for in this situation. “Assign a million ships sectors of that galaxy to scan and have them jump directly to those locations as we move the main body of ships to just outside the galaxy. Have them send their findings to you immediately. We’ll make our assignments based on what they find.”

“Yes, Father.”

His Second said, “How do you want the ships organized?”

“Have them organize around the Senior Fathers.”

“That would be ten thousand sub-fleets of a thousand ships each.”

“We’ll need ten thousand targets, Son.”

“I’ll prioritize them and get them out as soon as I receive the results of the scans.”

“That would be good. Second, have a hundred thousand battleships form a perimeter around our formations to fight off any attackers that might arrive.”

“I’ll send them their instructions, Father.”

The Advisor leaned back in his chair but couldn’t shake his anxiety.

***

Drey leaned back in his chair and tried to relax but just couldn’t do it. He saw Ian’s concern as well, “This waiting is driving me crazy.”

Ian nodded, “I really enjoy having a beer with you but after a month it gets somewhat stale.”

“Oh, you think I’m not a good conversationalist.”

“Not you; the beer.”

“Oh, I misunderstood you.”

Ian blew out a breath, “We should be thankful for this time; it has allowed us to really add ships to our inventory.”

“I know…and it also gives us time to go see our wives.”

Ian stared at his glass of beer and after a moment of silence, he looked up at Drey, “But we need to see if we have a chance against these creatures. We have to make plans.”

“I see you’ve been talking to Moe.”

Ian looked surprised, “You know about it?”

“It only makes sense. Once the invaders leave the current galaxy they’re attacking, that would be the perfect galaxy to send our colonies. They won’t come back for thousands of years, if ever.”

Ian nodded, “And all the local competition would have been eliminated. There’s no chance of running into another Black Civilization.”

“Moe tells me that is where he’s going to send the low technology planets.”

“There’s room enough for all of us.”

Drey stared at Ian, “You’re going to send Violet out with the first colonists.”

“I am. I’m just not comfortable that the Invaders won’t send the next invasion our way. They are close to finishing up on three other galaxies and one of them could come to the Milky Way. I want my child to have a future.”

“I’ve discussed it with Dee but she’s reluctant to go.”

“Oh; why?”

“She thinks she’s needed here to help in the fight. Has Violet agreed to go?”

“I haven’t told her yet.” Drey stared at Ian and then started laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“So you think you’ll just tell her she’s leaving?”

Ian looked at Drey for a long moment, rolled his eyes and said, “What was I thinking?” Drey laughed harder and Ian slowly shook his head, “She would have hit me in the mouth.” Drey doubled over and couldn’t breathe.

***

The probe watched the huge ship gathering and saw that no new ships had arrived for two days. It saw a giant swarm of small ships coming out of the galaxy toward the huge formation and saw them scatter and start moving to individual ships. It brought the view in closer and saw the small ships were shuttles. It began detecting an increase in the electronic field around individual ships and then all of them began giving off increased electronic emissions. The probe began intercepting ship to ship communications and it sent a priority message to Fleet Control on Earth and Eldorado. The invaders were coming in fifty hours.

***

Drey finally caught his breath and said, “I’m glad you thought this through,” just as his wrist unit emitted a high pitched signal. Drey and Ian looked at their wrist unit along with every other sailor in the bar. Drey jumped up and barely beat Ian out of the front door. Shuttles were roaring in from overhead to pick them up as the millions of pilots began leaving for their ships. The wait was over; the Invaders were coming.”

Ian arrived on his ship, “Ian, your task force has been notified to jump to the assembly coordinates.”

“Thanks, E. Do you have an idea on when they’re coming?”

“Forty nine hours from now they’ll be jumping.”

Ian furrowed his brow, “Just how did we learn that?”