The Computer paused and then said, “How do you account for the planet being hit so quickly?”
“What do you mean?”
“Aeredom was hit as soon as the fleet left orbit and jumped away. There is only two ways it could have happened so quickly.” The Admiral was silent. The Hub Computer said, “They either have ships watching all our planets waiting for an opportunity to attack or they can hear our communications.”
“I thought you said our conversations couldn’t be heard.”
“I’ve used a revolving encryption and I know we would not be able to break it.”
“Do you think the White Ships can do it?”
“If they can, we are in deep trouble. That would indicate they are ahead of us technologically; and if you’re hearing this, you just killed more than eighty billion beings along with billions of slaves. Think about that.”
“So you do think they can hear our communications?”
“I just don’t know. I’m not willing to randomly remove ships from another planet to see. The price of being wrong would be too high. I would suggest that any future plans should be discussed in person to avoid the second possibility.”
“I will move my office to your facility.”
“I think that would be wise. I’ll open a dock for your ship.”
• • •
The atmosphere on G was somber. Gary shook his head and Abbey said, “It had to be done. The ships that were sent to search for the Union were recalled. We had to buy us more time.”
“I know. I used to look up at the stars and only see beauty. Now I only see danger.”
Abbey went and hugged Gary, “We need to bring their beauty back.”
Gary pulled her close, “I don’t know if that’s possible.”
T
he sky was cloudy and cold rain swept across the cemetery in random waves. The wind blew through the bare trees and whistled as it moved through their branches. The rain would be turning to snow soon and sleet by nightfall. The chill was wet and penetrating. York’s winters were always brutal.
The tall man stood in a black raincoat and stared at the grave marker. Everyone else had left an hour earlier but he had remained staring at the ground, thinking about all that had happened. He already missed her more than he anticipated.
“Are you ready now?”
The tall man didn’t turn or give any indication he had heard the voice.
“I’ve waited until this moment to ask.”
The Tall man continued to stare at the grave and said, “You were wise to do so.” The tall man was silent for a minute and then said, “How did you know?”
“You told me.”
The tall man scowled, “That figures. Andi changed him.”
“I thought you would also…”
The tall man interrupted, “He never connected after he met her.”
“Why do you think that is?”
“She weakened him and he knew it.”
“He became one of my closest friends.”
“That was him.”
“And not you?”
The tall man turned around and looked Ian in the eyes, “Not me. My last direct memory of you was at the restaurant where you told me my past. He connected with me while he prepared the Nebula for the election, but that was the last time.”
Ian stared at him, “Are you going to help us?”
“If the Nebula is going to survive, I’ll have to get in the fight. I do have his love for them.” The tall man turned around and looked at the marker again and said, “He inserted his mind in me when he came and met Mother at the hospital after he killed the Dictator. He knew this body’s mind would never be organized to hold a personality. He put himself here so Mother would not have to be alone. He gave me that as a gift to her. His death in Andromeda is what finally killed her. She just couldn’t bear another loss. She gave up and there was nothing I could do to save her. I couldn’t tell her that he was still alive in me. Then she would know her second son had died and the result would have been the same. I spared her that misery.”
“Drey, we need you.”
The tall man turned and stared at Ian, “Be careful what you ask for; I’m not the one you knew. The last time he connected with me mentally was just before the Nebula’s elections. You should remember what he was like then. He wasn’t softened by love. I’ve seen the records you sent me. It was that weakness that made him go with you to Andromeda instead of getting his ship updated. He felt responsible. I could have cared less. I would have come back to improve my chances of survival. You need to understand that I have not been weakened nor will I allow myself to make his mistake. Are you sure you still want me?”
Ian stared at the man that looked similar to Drey, possessed Drey’s mind, but was so different. He said, “I’ve seen the brutality of what is out there in the universe. I suspect we need more of that than less in making our decisions. I knew from the beginning that you would be a good balance for me. I still believe that.”
The tall man looked back at the Marker and said, “There is nothing holding me here now.” He turned to Ian, “I talked with him and know what’s happened since he left. I don’t know the details of how he died but you can fill me in on that. I know he had a high level of respect and trust in you. I suspect that happened for a reason and that does mean something to me. I’ll do what I can to defend the Union.”
Ian stuck out his hand and the tall man shook it, “What do you want me to call you?”
“Doc.”
“That was the name of his ship.”
“And my ship will be named Drey.”
Ian smiled, “Somehow that just feels right.” Ian looked at his watch and said, “We’re about to jump out to the Slaver’s planets and contact a ship we have there. Do you want to make the trip with us?”
“Lead the way.”
“A second ship is going with us to relieve the one there. I’d like you to fly with them and tell me what you think about the crew.”
“What about the crew?”
“They’re not high genetics. They’re citizens of Santa Rosa that have passed the tests to pilot our warships. I need to know if they’re going to be able to perform adequately. We’re going to have to use citizens from the Union’s planets to fly our warships. There just aren’t enough high genetics to pilot the numbers needed.”
“When do I get my ship?”
“Cole will have it ready when we return.”
“Good enough.”
• • •
Doc walked in the landing bay of the new warship and looked around. He heard a noise and walked up the ramp to the corridor leading out of the bay toward the bridge. As he got closer he heard loud music playing and saw two people punching their consoles while they danced. Doc looked at the two and saw they were the same size and coloration. They were about five feet ten inches and built athletically. They were trim and Doc could tell from their dancing that they were coordinated and quick. Their black hair was identical in color and their blue eyes were bright. The male pirouetted, saw him, quickly punched a button and the music stopped. The other said, “Hey! What are you doing?”
Doc said, “Making it possible to hear.”
The young woman spun around and saw Doc standing there staring at them. She glanced over at the male and he just tilted his head slightly. She said, “Are you the one making the trip with us?”
“I am.”
“I understand that you are the hero’s brother.”
“Oh?”
“You know; the one that crashed his ship into the Andromeda Warship.”
Doc stared at the two and said, “You can call me Sir.”
The young woman said, “Do you command this ship?”
“No, I’m a passenger.”
“Then until you do, I’ll call you Doc. That’s the name given to us for you.”
Doc stared at her and saw the male roll his eyes. He raised his communicator, “Ian.”
“Yes, Doc.”
“Am I in command of this ship?”
“Do you want to be?”
“I do.”
“Then yes you are.”
Doc turned back to the two and the woman said, “Where would you like to sit, Sir?”
Doc stared at the woman and saw she was not intimidated by him. The male was. Doc went to the third chair on the bridge and said, “I’m here to determine if you two are suitable to fly a Union Warship. Who are you?”
The young man said, “My name is Dom and this is my twin sister Dee.”
Doc’s eyebrows went up, “You’re twins?” The woman rolled her eyes and Doc said, “What’s so funny?”
“You’re a high genetic, if you would simply look at our features you would know it without having to be told.”
Doc looked at them and focused on their features and saw that the female was born first. He said, “It seems to me that you have a limited respect for authority.”
“I have a limited respect for anyone that hasn’t done anything to deserve it. What have you done, Sir, that demands my respect?”
Doc stared at her and said, “Nothing… However, if you don’t start acting respectful I’ll have the two of you drummed out of the Navy so fast you’ll wonder if you were ever really here. You got that!”
The woman went to attention and said, “Yes Sir.”
The speaker came on and Ian said, “We’re lifting in fifteen minutes.”
Doc said, “Computer, what’s your name?”
“D.”
“I trust you do recognize who is in command.”
“Yes Sir. I do.”
““I’m turning control of the ship back over to Frick and Frack here for the moment. You will follow their orders unless I tell you differently.”
“Yes Sir.”
Doc turned to the twins and said to the female, “Normally, I would just shoot you with a laser and see if your brother is capable of doing what I want. However, I’ve been told that I shouldn’t waste valuable personnel. Like you said earlier, you’ve not shown me anything to indicate you possess anything of value. I’m here to see if you have what it takes to fly this ship. You need to prove to me that you do.”
Dom sat in the command chair and said, “Sir, we communicate telepathically but while you’re on board we’ll say what we’re thinking.”
Doc stared at Dom and said, “You’re telepathic?”
“Only with each other.”
“Would speaking your thoughts slow you down?”
Dee said, “It would.”
“Then do it in silence. You should perform at your highest ability.”
Dee stared at Doc and then turned and the two began manipulating their consoles. Dom said, “Ship is ready for departure.”
Doc had looked over the protocols before coming on board and knew that it required eight minutes to fully power up a ship and prepare it for liftoff. These two had done it in less than two minutes.
Doc said, “D, were your systems active when I arrived?”
“Only maintenance systems, Sir.”
“Did you just go to active in two minutes?”
“Yes Sir.”
Doc thought a moment and said, “By going over the check list telepathically, you have reduced the time needed to power the ship.”
The twins looked at each other and then Dee said, “You’d be surprised how much time it takes to say a system is ready and then have it confirmed eighty times.”
Doc smiled, “Dom, does she feed the military scans directly to you?”
“She does.”
Doc pressed his communicator, “Ian, I’m going to join you on your ship. These two are quite capable of fighting this ship and I don’t need to see anything else.”
“We’ll delay liftoff until you arrive.”
Doc glanced at the twins who were shocked by his remark and Dee said as he left the bridge, “Now you’ve done something to gain my respect…Sir.”
Doc paused before he exited the bridge, “Trust me, it wasn’t intentional,” and disappeared through the door.
Dom shook his head, “Why are you so confrontational? That man is dangerous.”
“It comes from being the oldest.” Dee looked at her board and said, “He’s delightfully refreshing. He can hold his own.”
“You need to take a look at his brother’s history before you do anything else. If he’s like his brother, he’s extremely dangerous. He wasn’t kidding about shooting you.”
Dee activated the gravity emitters, “We’ll see.”
• • •
Abbey sat in her chair and watched the display, “G, have you picked up anything unusual?”
“If building a thousand warships is unusual, that’s what’s taking place on the planet. They’ve also built a massive structure at the major spaceport.”
“What kind of structure?”
“It looks like the granddaddy of all defense satellites.”
“That’s not good.”
“No it isn’t; and I intercepted a communication from another one of their main planets saying that the rearming of the FTL destroyers is moving ahead of schedule.”
“What do you think they’re doing with those giant ships?”
“Hello, Abbey; relief is here.”
Abby was startled by the speaker and said, “I was wondering when you were coming back.”
“We were held up at Euclid.”
Abbey hit the intercom, “Gary, get up here; Ian is back.” She then hit the communication panel, “We had to kill one of their main planets.” She waited and only heard silence.
After a long moment she heard, “What do you mean when you say kill?”
“We hit their reactors from space and blew up most of their major cities in the resulting nuclear explosions; the radiation killed the rest of the population.”
“How many inhabitants were on the planet?”
Abbey heard Ian’s tone and shook her head. Gary came in and said, “About eighty billion.”
A new voice came on the channel and said, “You must have had a compelling reason to do that.”
“Who are you?”
Ian knew that he had to make a decision about whether to be honest with Abbey and Gary but he also knew that the two new pilots were also listening in on the channel. He looked at Violet and she knew what he was thinking. She said, “Dom and Dee, what you are about to hear is a state top secret. If you reveal it to anyone you will face a death sentence. Are you clear on what I’m saying?”
Dom looked at Dee and pushed the panel, “Yes Sir, we are.”
Ian looked at Doc who shrugged and said, “I’ll go with whatever route you choose to take.”
Ian slowly shook his head, “They need to know the truth. You are going to be given a huge amount of authority and they must understand why.” Ian pressed the board and said, “It’s Drey.”
Abbey was shocked at the response and Gary could only shake his head. Gary said, “That’s not possible!”