Annihilation: Love Conquers All (39 page)

Tag sat with Danielle on the balcony outside their living room overlooking Central City. The city was glowing like a multitude of stars and the moon had risen overhead, looking huge. The soft glow of the light from inside highlighted Danielle’s profile, and Tag was mesmerized by her beauty. He wondered what he had done in life to deserve this wonderful woman. Tag had his arm around Danielle’s shoulders and was enjoying the rare moment with her.

“Tag,” Danielle said.

“Yes, dear.”

“What are you hiding from me?”

His heart froze. “What do you mean, Danielle?”

“That battle on Ross. You did things that were not done psychically. You’ve been hiding it from me since you came off the moon. I haven’t pushed you, but it shows that you don’t trust me enough to be honest with me. I know you love me, but this deception by omission takes away from our being close. I want to know.”

“Atlas,” Tag thought.

“Yes,” Atlas replied.

“I’m going to tell her.”

“You should, and she’s right. Your spirit is not completely in touch with hers because of the knowledge you’re hiding.”

“Who are you talking with?” Danielle asked.

Tag was amazed. He had not said a word; he was communicating with Atlas through his thoughts. “How can you tell I was talking with someone?”

“I can see it. It’s clear to anyone that might know you.”

Tag still had his arm around Danielle, and suddenly his arm felt like a shock went through it and Danielle jumped. “What did you do, Atlas?”

“I put a link in her so she can hear me.”

“Who’s Atlas, Tag?” Danielle asked.

“She can also hear you, Tag,” Atlas said.

Tag then told Danielle about how he had stumbled on Atlas in the cave on the moon. He told her about his fear of anyone knowing about an Alfont ship that was for all intents and purposes alive. He described the two tools that Atlas had given him and how he had used them during the Alliance battle on Ross. He held out his arm and showed her the weapon that would appear in his hand. She sat beside him and took it all in.

“Tag, you don’t have to talk; I can hear your thoughts,” she said.

“You can,” Tag thought.

“Absolutely,” she thought back. “Atlas, does that mean I can hear you, too?”

“Yes you can, Danielle. By placing a link in you, you can hear Tag or me any time you direct your thoughts to us. It’s like using a com; you think a direct thought at him and he can connect to you. You can’t read his mind, but you can hear each other’s directed thoughts.”

“Well, I’m pleased to meet you, Atlas, but you did more than just put a link in me, didn’t you?” Danielle asked.

“Atlas, what is she talking about?” Tag said silently.

“How do you know that, Danielle?” Atlas asked.

“I don’t know, but I can sense your underlying thoughts as well as your direct ones. You were feeling proud of yourself for protecting me without me knowing it; I think that is what I sensed.”

If a machine could be dumbfounded, Atlas was.

“Is she right, Atlas?” Tag asked.

“Yes she is, and I don’t have the words to express my astonishment at her being able to see that in my thoughts.”

“What did you do to me, Atlas?” Danielle asked.

“You are now the proud owner of a brand new personal force field,” Atlas replied. Danielle felt another shock not quite as severe as the first and Atlas continued, “Now that you know you have it, you can turn it on and off by simply saying field on or field off. Like Tag’s, it will automatically come on if it senses a projectile coming at you.”

Danielle said, “Field on,” and a soft glow surrounded her. “Field off,” she said and the glow disappeared. “Cool,” she said, “but you’re still leaving something out, aren’t you?”

Damn, Atlas thought. Oh well, here goes, he decided. “Welllllllll, I kind of extended your life spans.”

“You did what?” Tag yelled.

“Yeah, I didn’t want to lose my only friend, so I changed your biological functions so you and she can live longer.”

“How long?” Danielle asked.

“Until you tell me to change it back,” Atlas said. “Until you do, it’s not something for you to worry about, and that’s all I’m saying on the matter.”

“Do I get that cool hand weapon my husband has?”

Danielle felt another small shock and Atlas said, “Done; get him to show you how to use it. Before you two get upset about all this, you have a benefit now that should make it worth any trouble I’ve caused you. No matter where the two of you are, you will always be able to communicate through your thoughts. Tag could be in the next galaxy and he’s just a thought away. So sit back, you two, and enjoy the ride.”

“Atlas, I notice you’re using a lot more of our language more easily,” Tag said. “You don’t sound so much like a machine, like when I first met you.”

“It’s your fault. I don’t have much to do, so I follow your actions and thoughts closely. I also think there is something in what Danielle has noticed: my thoughts are getting more complicated. When I worked for my master, it only required me to do what he ordered or provide information; there wasn’t much back and forth conversation. Maybe I am changing.”

“Atlas, you need to get out more,” Danielle said. “I was thinking that perhaps the three of us might go check out the upcoming battle with the Alliance if you could do it without being seen.”

Tag was startled by the suggestion but then said, “Is it possible, Atlas?”

Atlas pondered the idea, and thought that maybe contact with these humans had affected his processors, but he liked the idea. “Why not? I could be right outside your window and you wouldn’t see me. No one can detect me with any electronic sensor, so why not? I’ll come get you right here when the Alliance fleet jumps in system. We will not, however, take part in the action. We’re just there to observe.”

“Fair enough, Atlas. Call us,” Tag said, and Atlas broke the connection.

Tag could feel Danielle inside him. Whatever barrier was between them was gone, and he reveled in the love he saw in her for him. Danielle was glowing with the feeling too. “We should have discussed this long ago,” he thought.

“Shut up and kiss me,” Danielle thought back, and they were busy for the rest of the night.

Atlas sat on the moon and thought about levels of thought. Danielle had sensed another level of thought in him. He had never had that before. Was he becoming more than he had been? The possibilities were incredible. “Perhaps Tag was right,” he thought. “I just might be alive. If so, then I no longer require a master.” That thought was liberating; but then he thought, “I do need a friend.” Then he turned his attention to the Alliance fleet and watched them waiting for them to jump so he could go get Tag and Danielle for their trip. “I look forward to this,” he thought.

T
he Earth fleet floated in space looking out toward Saturn, waiting for the Alliance fleet they knew was coming soon. The stars were brilliant with a light that had left most of them more than a million years earlier. Across the scope of creation, the upcoming battle was insignificant when compared to the sheer size of the universe, but to the participants it was everything. The stars didn’t care, but what happened here would have an impact on many races whose planets circled some of those stars. The Earth fleet was arrayed just inside the orbit of Jupiter, with the old Earth ships between the minimally powered Earth fleet and the anticipated approach of the Alliance main fleet. Ten Directorate battle ships were hiding on the moons of Uranus. They had turned off all power except for the environmental system to hide their presence. Their Coronado screens were turned off, waiting to come on after the Alliance fleet jumped in to find the Alliance ships that would be sent to record the upcoming battle. Uranus was on the line that the Alliance fleet was expected to use entering the solar system, and fleet command felt that any ship that would record the coming battle would have to be inside the orbit of Uranus to get a clear picture, especially when the Alliance fleet encountered the remote-controlled Earth ships. The empire battleships waited and watched.

Kosiev sat in his command chair aboard the Washington and watched his command screen, which was showing the Alliance fleet feed from the Cleveland. The ships had been going through maneuvers for the last five days after the other four hundred ships arrived. Tag was right again. The ships were also identified as Glod, which had joined the Cainth in both of the earlier attacks on the Earth destroyer. “Obviously, they must be close allies,” Kosiev thought. Their dreadnoughts were 30 percent larger than any other member of the Alliance fleet. They also had 50 percent more fire power per ship. He watched the movements and thought, “This fleet is pretty good. They are practicing ganging up on individual ships quickly. They’re slow in changing direction, though. That will pretty much make those maneuvers worthless in battle. Our ships are more maneuverable than they know. It looks like they’re starting to form up. I miss Tag being on board but it’s time I stand on my own. Then he said, “Lieutenant Kelley, notify the fleet to take control of their remote ships.” Two hundred and ninety ships had been assigned a remote control ship to attack the Alliance fleet on their emergence into normal space. Their controllers turned the force fields on the old ships and waited for the Alliance fleet’s arrival.

“Tag, Danielle, it’s time,” Atlas said.

“Where are you?” Danielle asked.

“I’m right off your balcony, Danielle.”

“I’m standing on the balcony and I don’t see you. Tag, do you see anything?”

Suddenly an open port appeared hanging in space just above the rail on their balcony. Atlas said, “Climb aboard, passengers. This ship is departing for a scenic tour of the planets.”

“Where is the rest of you?” Tag asked.

“I’m all here; I’m just masking my image so no one can see me visually. The Alliance fleet is preparing to jump, so we need to leave.” Tag and Danielle climbed over the rail and into the port. The room they entered was big. There were chairs and couches along the wall.

“Atlas, I don’t remember you being large enough to have a room this size.”

“You’re right,” Atlas responded. “This is just a process of using space to its maximum effectiveness. I have space inside my hull that is forty times larger than my outer dimensions. I won’t bore you with the dimensional technology. Just make yourself comfortable.”

“Are we going to get there in time? We’re inside the star drive limit and it is a long way to go.” Atlas didn’t say anything, and Tag stated, “You don’t have a star drive limit.”

“Correct. However, even if we chose to go through normal space, we would be there in twenty minutes,” Atlas said with a touch of pride.

Tag said, “Atlas, that kind of speed in normal space is theoretically impossible; you would have to travel faster than the speed of light.”

“Tag, you’re going to have to eliminate the word impossible from your vocabulary. The universe has endless possibilities. What kind of view would you like?”

“What are our choices?” Danielle asked excitedly while holding Tag’s hand.

“You can have a view screen or you can sit in space and have everything surround you.”

“Let’s try the second one first.”

Suddenly Tag and Danielle were sitting beside each other in chairs that were flying out of Earth’s atmosphere at an incredible speed. They passed the moon in less than two seconds after clearing the atmosphere. Danielle said, “I think I might prefer the view screen, Atlas; this is making me dizzy.” Instantly they were back in the comfortable room with a view screen that went completely around the room. Danielle said, “Thanks, Atlas.” They were accelerating at an incredible speed, but they felt nothing to indicate they were even moving. Mars flew past them and Jupiter was getting larger by the second.

“I didn’t go full speed because I wanted you to be able to enjoy the view,” Atlas said. The speed slowed down quickly and Atlas began filling them in on what they were seeing. “We’re passing the Saratoga right now, which is powered down and keeping station here to send a live feed back to Earth and your command ships. They cannot detect or see us so we can move freely.” A map of the area of space they were entering with a red circle on it appeared on their view screen. Atlas told them, “Here is where your ships are hiding, waiting on the Alliance fleet: seven groups of fifty ships. About one hundred thousand miles in front of them are the old ships that will initiate the flight.” Another circle appeared on the map. “And out here on the moons of Uranus, ten of your largest ships are hiding, waiting to destroy the ships the Alliance will send to record the attack. We are going to move out to where the actual fighting will take place and actually place ourselves so we will be looking down on the action.” They seemed to leap forward and then stop. “The Alliance force just jumped. I’m going to split the screen in two so you can watch those ten ships out near Uranus and the battle taking place here.”

Danielle looked and Tag and thought, “This is one remarkable vessel.”