Defending Earth-Searching for Death Feeders (19 page)

He wished he could capture one of their vessels but they always self-destructed before he could. They must have a system that sensed when every being on board was dead. If he could present one of their warships to the Great Eaters, they may release him from this hell.

Ummm…could he leave some of them alive, but brain dead, and take one of their ships? He decided to see if it were possible. The Fleets would be ready to move in toward the core in a week. He’d try it and see what happened. He sent the thought out that all of his species would join the link in seven days and no one would be allowed to avoid it. Now, which of those warships was he going to focus on taking?

• • •

Two weeks passed and every galaxy they checked was populated by Feeders. Kyle sat in his chair and was starting to feel depressed. More than a thousand galaxies examined and all of them Feeder controlled.

“Kyle.”

“Yes, Willow.”

“I’ve been thinking about those creatures that used the gravity beam.”

“And?”

“I’m of the opinion they may not be the problem we think.”

Kyle sat up straight in his chair, “Share your thoughts with me.”

“Well, what could a gravity beam do to harm a warship?”

“What do you mean?”

“What kind of damage could it do to a ship?”

Kyle thought for a moment and leaned back in his chair, “Well, it could cause all the atoms in the hull where it hit to instantly collapse in on each other and cause a huge hole.”

“That’s one thing.”

“Or it could cause the bonds that hold the atoms together to release and allow the matter to fall apart.”

“That’s close to what our disruptors do.”

“It is.”

“Did you factor in the silver hulls on our ships?” Kyle’s eyes narrowed and then opened wide. “I see you see it. The material our hulls are made of push away from high gravity. It can withstand the power of a black hole and I’m willing to wager those beams are nowhere near as powerful as the gravity of a large black hole. Our silver hull material can withstand the black hole in the center of Andromeda and I just don’t see how those beams could really damage our ships.”

“Our force fields might not stand up to them.”

“Who needs a force field if the ship’s hull can’t be damaged?”

“The thought blocking feature the force field provides could be knocked out and the linked Feeders would sense us.”

“There is that, however, our major concern has been what will happen if the black and silver ships escape the galaxy they’re trapped in. The real question we need answered is whether or not their ships could withstand our disruptors.”

“We have to find out.”

“Not now! That’s an issue to be handled after we’re able to take on the Feeders. Before we make that effort, we should find out the scope of their territory.”

Kyle looked at Nicole and saw she heard the exchange. “What do you think?”

“I agree with Willow.”

Kyle started nodding slowly and looked at his monitor, “We’re wasting time doing this. Amber, I want you to start skipping a hundred galaxies in each skip until we arrive at the end of Feeder Territory. Let’s see how far they live from here.”

“The next signature is on your panel.”

Kyle pressed the light drive four times before they arrived at a galaxy that was being attacked by a Feeder Fleet. He moved the Light Ship toward universal west and began encountering Feeder Fleets along his path. After ten fleets were plotted, they entered space where Nicole could not sense the close presence of Feeders. “Now I know why they’ve not come to the Alliance.”

Nicole nodded, “They’re growing their territory one galaxy at a time. They must think that they will eventually arrive where they found the Legends and are in no hurry to get there.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that?”

Kyle looked up, “Why not Willow?”

“Because the Feeders that fought with the Legends learned about a very powerful telepathic species in that part of the universe. You saw how that Feeder Fleet Leader refused to destroy the planet of telepaths and deprive him of a really good meal. I suspect they have independent fleets that will seek out any species that is telepathic.”

“Why haven’t they come before now?”

“Perhaps those fleets have a full dance card. I don’t know but don’t assume you have unlimited time to prepare. However, you must ask yourself why were there Feeders helping the Legends? If they stayed in their space simply expanding it at the edges, why were they with the Legends? Could they have been scouts looking for strongly telepathic species? The Legends are telepathic but tasted awful to Feeders. Some of those Feeders learned about the Goran during that conflict. There very well could be a fleet of Feeders following up on those contacts and just haven’t arrived at our space…yet.”

Kyle sighed and said, “Amber, skip us back and let’s see where the other end of Feeder Space stops.” A week later, they had a working star map of where the Feeders lived.

“A
dmiral Norden, I have received a message from one of our Fleets in the Coma Cluster.”

“What’s the message?”

“One of our Light Ships have found an advanced civilization that is gathering a huge fleet around one of its planets. It appears it is going to go out and attack other intelligent species and take their worlds.”

“How advanced is this civilization?”

“The Pilot says it’s close to our level of technology.”

“See if the Pilot can find out if this is the first time that planet has attacked other civilizations. Have another Light Ship go out and join him before he starts his investigation.”

“I’ll send the message.”

“Kelly, begin setting up a plan to send our fleets if the situation demands it.”

“I’ve already have my computers working on it.”

Eric’s panel went dark and he wondered if the scouts had actually found a real danger to the Alliance lurking in the Coma Cluster. He pressed a button on his console, “Admiral, we may have found a Red Flag in the Coma Cluster.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“I’m having the pilot that found it investigating now. I’ll send you what he uncovers.”

“Let me know as soon as possible.”

“Yes Sir.”

Clarissa sighed and went back to her Light Ship that was hovering over the beach. Just when she chose to take a short vacation, this happens. Oh well.

• • •

“Hey, Poncho, I hear you’ve opened a can of whoopass.”

“Cisco, what are you doing here?”

“Fleet has ordered me to come and join you. It appears they want more information on the civilization you’ve found.”

“What more do they need? This civilization is like a bunch of angry hornets going out to sting the crap out of anyone they encounter.”

“Are you saying they bug you?”

“Ha-ha, very funny. Why don’t you just go and introduce your comedy routine to them. I’m sure you’ll have them rolling on the floor.”

“You’re just mad you didn’t think of that line first.”

“I did but you beat me to saying it. I do find it odd they sent you.”

“They must know we work well together. What have you done to find out what makes them so socially active?”

“I’ve been gathering Light Signatures from the ships that have jumped in to their formations. The computer tells me that about a hundred and fifty planets are sending them.”

“How did it determine that?”

“It would take a signature from a ship and analyze the pattern. The stars wavelength from where they jumped in hadn’t faded. I’ve not seen any new signatures in more than an hour. That has to mean that their civilization occupies those hundred and fifty planets.”

“There could be more than one planet at those stars.”

“I guess that’s possible, Cisco. But it’s very rare to have two planets in the habitation zone of one star.”

“So how do you want to do this?”

“Maya has been listening to the fleets as they arrive and it looks like they won’t be jumping out for about twenty days. We should go and take a look at those planets. I’m sending you the signatures from half of them. You go and take a look at those and I’ll check out the others. I’ll meet you back here in three days.”

“How many ships have they gathered here?”

“Close to five hundred thousand. Let’s get this done so Fleet can decide what to do about this.”

“See you in three days.”

“Be careful.”

“You know I will.”

Alex pulled up the first signature and pressed the Light Drive. He was glad fleet sent Jose to work with him. They were roommates at the Academy and had chosen to call each other Cisco and Poncho during a fleet training maneuver. The names stuck and everyone used their chosen monikers. He appeared above a planet that was inhabited and he stared at his monitor. There were still warships in orbit taking on provisions so the plans for that fleet to leave in twenty days was optimistic. He stared at the monitor and his computer said, “It appears this species uses slave labor.”

“Show me.”

The view on the monitor changed and he saw a long line of aliens carrying bags into shuttles that were parked at the space port. The view moved in closer and he saw the laborers all had glowing bands around their necks. The view changed again and he saw the same alien species working in fields. The species that flew the warships was watching their efforts. Poncho saw one of the masters point a device at an alien that was wiping its brow. The alien fell to the ground writhing in pain. The master stopped firing the device and the alien struggled to its feet and went back to work.

“Maya, what can you tell me about those two species?”

“The slaves are the original inhabitants of this planet.”

“How do you know that?”

“They share the same DNA as the animals and fish on the planet. The red aliens don’t have the same DNA.”

“How long have they been subjugated?”

“Give me a few moments and I’ll try to find one of them thinking about it.”

“Are either of the species telepathic?”

“No. Be quiet and give me a few moments.” Poncho waited and it took fifteen minutes before Maya responded. He almost interrupted her; they still had more than seventy planets to scout. “The red aliens invaded about two hundred and twenty years ago.”

“Let’s go to the next planet and see if the pattern is similar.” Poncho pressed the light drive and the ship appeared above another planet. “There’s a difference here.”

“What is that?”

“It appears some of the locals have been recruited to aid the invaders.” The image on the monitor showed the laborers were being watched over by the red aliens as well as members of the laborer’s species. He waited and heard, “This planet was invaded two hundred and nineteen years ago.”

“Basically, at the same time.”

“That does seem to be the case.”

“Alright, Maya, next planet coming up.” Poncho pressed the light drive and the planet below his ship disappeared.

Admiral Stone arrived outside the planetary system where the giant invasion fleet was gathering. “Rocky, where are the scouts?”

“They’re looking at the planets this civilization has conquered in the past. It appears they enslave the local populations after defeating them. They’re due back to consolidate their findings in twenty four hours.”

“We’ll wait here for their return.” Joshua looked at his passenger and smiled, “I’m sorry about bringing you here.”

“Don’t mention it. I need to learn how our ships operate and my functions as a crewmember.”

“Well, make yourself at home. I’ll take you to your permanent assignment when we return.”

Barrett nodded and activated his console. He started to put on his armor but hesitated. He took the silver thought blocker out of the box in his chair arm and put it on. Then he activated his armor. He immediately jumped up out of his chair, “ADMIRAL! I’M SENSING FEEDERS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS GALAXY!!”

Joshua’s eyes went wide open, “WHAT?!”

“There’s a fleet of them attacking a civilization on the outer edge of this galaxy!”

“ROCKY, LAUNCH A MESSAGE PROBE!” Joshua hit his panel, “Captain Gonzalez and Rodriguez, you will cease using telepathy and report to my position immediately!”

“I’ve sent them your signature, Admiral.” Two minutes later, two Light Ships appeared next to the Admiral’s vessel.

“Sir?”

“Barrett Messel has sensed a fleet of Feeders attacking a civilization in this galaxy. This planet is the least of our worries at the moment.”

“Sir, I’m not sure that’s true.”

“Why is that, Captain?”

“One of the planets that this civilization has conquered is telepathic. I’m going to guess the Feeders can hear them.”

“The two of you go to maximum power on your force fields and stay behind a dark matter cloud until we decide what to do. I’m moving Barrett to your ship Captain Gonzalez. Barrett, keep a close watch on the Feeders until Fleet decides what to do.”

“Yes Sir.”

• • •

“Kyle!”

“What?”

“A fleet of Feeders has been found in a galaxy in the Coma Cluster. They appear to be attacking a planet of telepaths. “

“Amber, get us back to Fleet now!”

“How did they detect the Feeders?”

“Nicole, it appears one of your people was on Admiral Stone’s vessel when he went to take a look at a very aggressive civilization. He sensed them.”

“Who was it?”

“Barrett Messel.”

Kyle looked at Nicole, “Do you know him?”

“He’s very smart, Kyle. The only reason the Feeder at our community didn’t kill him was because it wanted him to have many children.”

“Who was he going to have children with?”

“I think the Feeder wanted the two of us to become mated.” Kyle nodded and turned back to his console. He thought about what Nicole said and knew there wasn’t any reason for them not to get together now. He suddenly remembered her kissing him and he turned around and focused on his monitor. Nicole saw something in his expression but didn’t know what it was. Kyle took a breath and said, “Amber, drop me off at my office in Fleet Headquarters. Take Nicole to join her people in Miami once you drop me off.”

“You don’t want me to stay with you?”