Defending Earth-Searching for Death Feeders (21 page)

“No, I see it, too. He’s not been the same since Callie.” Amelee took a deep breath, exhaled, and nodded.

• • •

Kyle walked down the hall toward the elevators and pressed the contact list on his wrist unit, “Derek, do you have a moment?”

“Yes Sir.”

“I was just told that you believe the Feeders in the Coma Cluster sent the ones that worked with the Legends. How did you arrive at that conclusion? The Coma Cluster is nowhere near the line direction of Feeder Territory.”

“I know and I’m getting some push back from some members on the Tactical Team. However, you can’t look at where they are now. You have to look at where they were about a hundred years ago. I’ve asked Admiral Norden to send scouts out to star clusters located to the universal west of where they are now and some destroyed planets have been discovered.”

“What do you mean destroyed?” The elevator arrived and Kyle ignored it.

“About eight planets have been found in galaxies out in that direction that have been bombarded from space.”

“That could have been done by any aggressive species.”

“The analysis of those planets shows that the main population centers were not heavily damaged and there is no trace of the populations that once lived on those planets; it’s like they all just disappeared. Now that one of our scouts found the transports with that Feeder Fleet, we can surmise the populations were removed and taken back to the Feeder’s Domain.”

“What does their line of approach to their current position tell you?”

“About a hundred years ago, the Bullet Cluster was not very far from where I think they were located. One of the eight destroyed planets is on that line, Sir.”

“Have you projected where they’ll be if they continue on the path they’ve followed?”

“I’m not certain. I’ll be able to make a better determination once they leave the galaxy they’re currently attacking.”

“Take a guess, Derek.”

“I hate to guess.”

“All scientists hate to guess, but humor me and give it a go.”

“If the Feeders that assisted the Legends went back to that fleet, they know about the Goran. If they move slightly toward Universal East, they’ll be on a direct line to the Virgo Cluster.”

“How long would it take them to arrive?”

“That would depend on how many telepathic species they encounter on the way. It could be a thousand years…”

“Or?”

“Two years.” Kyle shook his head. “Sir, I’ll know more when they leave.”

“Derek, get in touch with Admiral Norden and send out scouts to look at the line from that planet near the Bullet Cluster directly toward Feeder Space.”

“What are you thinking?”

“I hope I’m wrong but what if they were headed directly away from Feeder Space and then turned on the current course they’re following?”

There was a long moment of silence and then Derek said, “Then they changed course to come to our cluster.”

“Like I said, I hope I’m wrong.”

“I’ll get the scouts moving and check out your suspicion.” Kyle pressed the elevator button and Derek said, “You know if your suspicion is confirmed that we will have to stop them where they are before they start moving this way.”

“I know.”

“And it would be much better if you don’t use our ships to attack them.”

The elevator door opened and Kyle ignored it, “Why do you say that?”

“The Feeders in that fleet have recordings of our ships that the ones in Feeder Space may not have in their records. Our ships are different, but not that different from what they were during the war with the Legends. One of the Feeders actually killed two scouts and examined them before they self-destructed.”

“Derek, I am sending orders that you be reassigned to First Commander Ambrose’s personal staff. Pack up and report to her immediately and tell her what we just discussed.”

“My current commander won’t like my being reassigned.”

“When he outranks the First Commander, he can complain. Now pack your things and get moving.” Kyle pushed the elevator button again and contacted Kyley. He told her what he discussed with Derek and she started asking numerous questions. The elevator showed up again, opened its doors, then closed them and moved to a lower floor. Kyle went and sat down on a bench as Kyley pulled in Amelee and Clarissa into the conversation. It was an hour later when he finally stepped into the elevator. He should have just walked back down the hall and had the discussion in person.

He rode the elevator to the top floor and walked up the steps to the roof. He saw his ship resting on the landing pad and he walked quickly toward the open port. He entered and closed the port behind him. He walked quickly to the bridge and said as he entered, “I’m sorry, I was held up by…” He stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Nicole sitting at the weapon’s console. She was staring at him and he closed his mouth. “I thought you weren’t coming?”

“You left me no choice.”

“What?”

“You’re acting like an idiot and I saw no choice but to go with you.” Kyle felt his anger rise and Nicole said, “Don’t even think about getting mad. Did you even think about what would happen if you didn’t take one of my people with you?”

“Of course I did! Willow can detect the Feeder’s thoughts; that should be enough.”

“Willow, please play back for him how we assigned our roles when we went on our first voyage.”

“I’ll just play the part that applies to what’s being discussed.”

“That would be fine.”

Kyle’s eyes narrowed and he saw in his thoughts: Kyle smiled, “You’ve been planning this for a while, Willow?”

“It took a very long time to get my mind back in the game. I really miss Lukas but I decided that he would be ticked off if I just wallowed in my misery. I decided four months ago that staying busy was the best way to heal.”

“Did you take a good look at the Feeders when you came out here?”

“No. I discovered pretty quickly that the ship I was in wasn’t up to the task. That’s when I started looking at who I would work with. It was clear this ship was the best one to do it.”

Kyle was silent for a long time and said, “Willow?”

“Yes.”

“If you can hear their thoughts without being detected, why do we need Nicole here?”

“NOW WAIT A MINUTE?!”

“Be quiet, Nicole. If we can do it without you, I see no need to put you in danger.”

“We could do it without her but…”

“But what?”

“She has a greater range in sensing them than I do. They could be planning a linkage outside my range, like they did with the single ship you almost attacked. It’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Kyle nodded and looked at Nicole, “I had to ask.”

“I’m here. I want to be here!”

“Your safety is more important than what you want.”

“Nicole will also continue to operate the weapons.”

“What?”

“Kyle, I’m going to be focused on listening to the Feeders. I will take control of them if we’re in a battle with multiple Feeder Warships but she should be controlling them against the chance that one of their ships manages to sneak up on us.”

“Do you think they can do that?”

“How would I know? That’s why we’re out here, to find out their capabilities.” Nicole stood up and went to the chair next to the weapon console. She activated the console and linked her combat visor.

• • •

Kyle went to his chair and sat down. He shook his head and looked at Nicole, “I’m sorry. You’re right.” Nicole nodded, turned around, and powered up her console. “Nicole, I don’t want there to be an air of tension between us. I can order another member of your species to join us.”

“Not now.”

Kyle looked up, “Why not, Willow?”

“All of the members of her species that have been trained have been assigned to scout ships and sent out to the fleet.”

Kyle nodded, looked at Nicole for a long moment, and then turned around, “Amber, send the signature for Admiral Norden’s ship.”

“It’s on your panel.”

“Kyle.” He turned around and looked at Nicole. “Please put this incident behind and just forget it. We can still be a good team.”

Kyle’s mouth turned up slightly at the corner and he nodded. “Thank you.” He turned and pressed the Light Drive. Nicole could see the sadness in his eyes that she had missed before. She turned to her panel and saw the huge formation of Light Ships in front of them. Kyle looked at her, “I’m taking a shuttle over to Norden’s Flag Ship. You should come with me so we’re all on the same sheet of music. You’ll need to activate your armor for the shuttle flight.” Kyle looked up, “Willow listen in on our thoughts and share them with Amber.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Willow, don’t feel bad about going over my head on this. You did the right thing.”

“Thank you, Kyle.”

Kyle walked toward the port and nodded for Nicole to precede him. She stared at him for a moment and stepped off the bridge. They arrived in the small landing bay and Kyle released the small shuttle scooter from its moorings. He sat on the front seat and activated his internal atmosphere on his armor. Nicole activated hers as well and took the seat behind him. He pressed a button on the scooters control panel and the port swung open. He flew through the force field and turned toward Eric’s flagship. Nicole looked around and was amazed at the numbers of Alliance Warships hanging in formation. The view was staggering. She could see so much more out in open space than out of the Light Ship’s viewport. “How many ships do we have here?”

“We have about 400,000 at the moment. We’re still waiting on the probes to give us an accurate count on the numbers in the Feeder’s Fleet. Once we have that, we’ll determine if we need more.”

“How many do we have?”

“The count is in the millions but still nowhere near the numbers the Feeders are using to conquer galaxies. We aren’t close to being ready to take them on…yet.”

“Do you really think this Feeder Fleet is headed toward our space?”

“I do. We have to stop them here.” Kyle turned the scooter toward the long Flagship and saw the port opening. “Hang on. Once we’re inside, you can take off your armor and leave it on the scooter.” Nicole nodded and saw the ship getting larger.

They passed through the force field and Kyle set the scooter down on the deck. He deactivated his armor and it locked up on the scooter’s seat. Nicole watched and turned hers off as well. They stepped off the scooter and Kyle saw Admiral Norden walking toward them, “It’s good to finally meet you, Sir.”

“I’ve heard a lot of good things about you, Admiral. Let’s go to your conference room and you can bring me up to speed on what’s going on.”

“Follow me, Sir.”

“Admiral, this is Nicole Legune. She’s the Kerit assigned to me.”

Eric smiled, “I’ve also heard good things about you Miss Legune.”

Nicole smiled and nodded, “Thank you, Sir.”

They arrived at Eric’s conference room and four Fleet Officers were waiting on their arrival. They jumped to attention and Kyle quickly said, “As you were.” He walked to the head of the table and nodded for Nicole to sit next to him. She was surprised by that but took the chair next to his. “Admiral, where are we?”

“We were planning to attack the planet that is preparing to go out and conquer other civilizations but Admiral Stone’s Kerit sensed the Feeder Fleet across the galaxy. We’ve now changed our focus from the Alien Conquerors to the Feeder Fleet.”

“How many ships are in that Alien Fleet?”

“About half a million.”

“Do we have a number of warships in the Feeder Fleet?”

“About the same number.”

Kyle put his hand on his cheek and rubbed it. Nicole smiled; he always did that when he was highly focused. After a moment of silence he looked at Eric, “Is there a possibility of this Alien Civilization becoming an ally against them?”

Eric looked at Kelly. She nodded and looked at Kyle, “They really don’t possess any redeeming qualities, Sir?”

“Tell me what you mean.”

“I’ve had one of our Light Ships hiding in a dark cloud above their main planet listening to their leaders. These aliens conquer worlds and force the survivors into abject slavery. They seem to like inflicting pain and misery on other species. I just don’t see them working with us or, if they do, keeping their promises in the long term.”

“Are you certain about that, Admiral?”

“You can listen to the recordings, Sir. I wouldn’t trust them.”

“Why do you ask, Sir?”

Kyle looked at Eric, “Because we’re going to decide the fate of them today. If what you say is true, their species will probably be exterminated. I need you to be certain of your assessment.”

“Sir, I don’t think we can take on both them and the Feeders at the same time.”

“I think we could if we bring in enough warships to do the job, however, I’m concerned the Feeders might recognize our warships and get a message out to Feeder Central telling them about our existence. I intend to use this Alien Species to take on the Feeders.”

“How do you intend to do that?”

“I’m going to let them know about the Feeders and tell them they are the next target.”

“Sir, are you saying that you are going to do this or are you sending one of my ships to do it?”

“I’m going to do it.”

“Sir, I don’t think you should put yourself in that degree of danger.”

“You’re starting to sound like Grengel. I’ve thought this through and I have the right crew to make this happen. If I fail, then we’ll wait for the Feeders to arrive here and attack the planet of telepaths that has been conquered by the Aliens. However, I have to try this first and I don’t trust anyone else to be able to pull it off. I want you to start having the probes at the Feeders Fleet to start gathering light signatures on all their ships. I want you to start assigning those signatures to your ships.”

Eric tilted his head, “Sir, I have a very capable Commodore that could do this. I really wish you would let him try.”

“Who is it?”

“Alex Gonzalez.”

“Wasn’t he the one that found this civilization?”

“Yes Sir.” There was a moment of silence and Eric said, “His partner in crime, Jose Rodriguez, could go with him so he would stand a better chance of survival if he’s attacked.”