Defending Earth-Discovery Means Death (9 page)

BOOK: Defending Earth-Discovery Means Death
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“I don’t want to reveal our light drives to them, Amber.”

“I think they’ll just believe that we flew through their ranks without being seen. That would give them great pause.”

Rocky stared at his panel and Jill said, “That would force them to tighten up their ranks which would require a huge number of additional warships.”

Rocky considered the idea and then nodded, “I agree. Jill, give ’em hell.”

“Oh, you know I will.”

“Willow, send me the coordinates.” Rocky saw the numbers appear on his panel and looked up, “Everyone get ready; I’m skipping in four seconds.”

Jill looked at her panel and took a deep breath. A moment later, the darkness of space was replaced by the bright glow of a huge city directly below her.

• • •

The Feeder Scanner Operator heard his panel alarm. He looked at it and saw something at the edge of the upper atmosphere was blocking the scanner’s beam. What was that dark shadow? He hesitated and then pressed the disruptor release button. That hesitation would prove to be fatal.

• • •

Rocky counted off in his mind, “One thousand, two thousand…”

“I’ve got them!”

Rocky felt the ship shudder as missiles flew out of the hull at an incredible rate as he pressed the light drive. An instant later, massive disruptor beams ripped through the place the ship just occupied destroying more than a thousand warships holding formation above the huge city. The explosions were gigantic and eight hundred more ships exploded adding their energy to the huge shock wave that blew out into the surrounding ships. The warships shrugged off the blast as it passed and began moving in on the center of the huge explosions. They found nothing.

The Prime Leader saw the image on the scanner’s display at the same moment as the operator. It quickly analyzed it and knew it was the size of a small star ship. The disruptors opened fire and it recognized that the operator had reacted faster than it could have through the linkage. How did that ship manage to get that close? It started to order the fleets above the planet to move in closer but heard…

“We told you not to venture toward our space. It appears you’ve not learned that we will prevent your violating our territory.”

“Who are you?”

“You know who I am. You spoke to one of us the first time you thought to ignore our warning. I will destroy your city again momentarily and I suggest you heed my words.”

“But…”

Rocky yelled, “FIRE THE MISSILES, JILL!”

A thousand light missiles shot out of the hull and the giant city on the surface began erupting in massive explosions. The Entity barely managed to survive disruption as the huge city erupted into a massive pyre of flame. The huge disruptors began cooking off in massive explosions that added to the city’s destruction.

“Get us out of here!”

The light ship skipped out and appeared at the missile transport. “What’s wrong?”

“Rocky, half of the missile belts have jammed. We have to go back and get them repaired. We’re entirely dependent on the disruptors to defend us.”

Rocky nodded and said, “Amber skip us to Earth.” Rocky saw the familiar giant construction building appear and he sighed. The ship just wasn’t ready for the magnitude of what they were going to face. He also knew he wasn’t ready to face Olivia.

“Sir, we didn’t expect you back this soon.”

“There’s an issue with the missile system you’re going to have to resolve. Plan to meet with me and my Weapon’s Officer.”

“Yes Sir, I’ll meet you in the conference room.”

“Amber, get the recordings of the attack out to Fleet Operations.”

“I’m getting them organized as we speak. They’ll have them in ten minutes.”

He saw that Jill was talking to someone on the ship’s frequency and he tapped a button to listen in. “…YOU WILL NOT!”

“Sis, this is something that has to be done and I’m the only one that can do it.”

“WHY DO YOU THINK I’M OUT HERE RISKING MY BUTT!? IT’S SO YOU WON’T BE KILLED. YOU WILL NOT DO THIS!”

Rocky pressed his communicator, “What’s going on commodore Axel?”

“My stupid, genius brother is going to a Feeder occupied planet to test his device! He’s not qualified to do it and will only get himself killed!”

“Is that true, Mr. Axel?”

“Yes, I am a genius.”

“Don’t get cute. Are you going to a Feeder planet?”

“I am.”

“And Fleet has authorized this mission?”

“They didn’t want to do it but recognize it has to be done to prevent the loss of lives that would happen if my device fails.”

“And you’re the only possible human being that can do this?”

“No one else understands how the frequencies used by the device operate. Jill, I am not the hero type; you know that. However, I have come to understand just how important this device is to the survival of our species and I must do it.”

“If that’s the case, my ship will go with you and defend you while you do what must be done.”

“Rocky, can you make that decision?”

“I just did. When are you leaving, Mr. Axel?”

“I’m waiting on my co-pilot. We plan to leave when she arrives.”

“You are going to have to delay your trip until I can get my ship repaired.”

“How long will that take?”

“Why don’t you come to the construction facility and join me in the meeting with the Commanding Officer.”

“Give me a moment to contact my co-pilot. Is it alright if she joins us?”

“Certainly. Who is your co-pilot?”

“Commodore Collins.”

Rocky’s head went back, “I’m not familiar with a Commodore Collins.”

“She was just promoted by her commanding officer.”

“What’s her first name?”

“Olivia.”

Rocky closed his eyes and Jill saw him through her cockpit’s window. He blew out a breath and, after a short pause, said, “We’ll meet you in the conference room at the main hangar.”

“I’ll see you there.”

“Oh, Rocky, I’m so sorry.”

“This is something I’m going to have to handle, Jill. However, we will not allow them to go out without our being there.”

“Thank you. I just hope Fleet allows us to go.”

“It won’t be the first time I’ve violated orders if they don’t.” Jill shook her head and felt her fear start growing. But she also felt something inside her for this glorious, brave man she was flying with. She owed him for this.

• • •

Rocky and Jill sat at the table with Commodore Nelson and three of his weapon designers. They paused when Jack and Olivia entered the conference room and Rocky said, “Please take a seat and we’ll discuss your current situation when we complete our discussion.”

Jack nodded as Olivia went to a chair, sat down, and stared at Rocky. Jill jumped out of her chair and ran over to Jack and hugged him tightly, “I’ve missed you so much!”

Jack held her tight and nodded, “We’ll catch up later.” Jill went back to her chair and Olivia shook her head slightly. This woman-child was incredibly pretty and her energy level was just like her brother’s.

Rocky turned to Nelson, “You have to find a way for our vessel to launch the missiles at a higher speed. The numbers we’re facing are beyond anything the four of you can imagine.”

One of the designers said, “Can you give us an idea of what numbers you’re referring to.”

Rocky looked at Jill, “Do you have the recording on your wrist unit?” Jill nodded. “Give your unit to Commodore Nelson.” Jill took it off and handed it to Nelson, who placed it in a small cradle on the main computer console on the conference table. The main wall monitor activated and an image of the Feeder’s Central Planet appeared. Everyone but Rocky and Jill gasped at what they saw. The recording began and the attendees in the room watched the recording of the battle. At the end, the room was silent. Jack and Olivia stared at Jill and Rocky and could only shake their heads at the bravery they displayed making the attack.

“Sir, I had no idea this is what we’re up against.”

Jill looked at the designer, “This is only the ships at the planet. There’s more than ten times that number we’re going to face when we go back.”

Jack looked at Jill, “You have a lot of nerve telling me not to carry out my mission. Do you have a death wish!?”

Rocky looked at Jack, “You can discuss that after the meeting. I want to keep the focus on getting my ship repaired and improved.”

“I’m sorry, Admiral. I’ll hold my comments.”

Rocky noticed Jill’s expression and saw her sadness. Jack was dead on about her having a death wish. He turned to Nelson, “The current missile system will only fire 2,400 missiles a minute. We need a faster way to do it and the ship needs to be able to carry a lot more than the current magazine holds.”

Nelson looked at one of the designers, “Andrea, do you see any way to make that happen?”

Andrea started shaking her head and Jill said, “One of the things you might consider is that under the current system, the missiles leave the magazine and are locked in the belts feeding the launchers. Why can’t the magazines have the missiles already locked in a belt that feeds directly to the launcher?” The three designers looked at her with blank expressions. You could also have the launcher send them out of the hull with a high-powered burst of compressed air. That would remove the current discharge of energy the Feeders could detect.”

Andrea shook her head, “Both of those suggestions are very insightful. How did you learn so much about the launchers?”

“All of it is in the tutorial if you choose to dig deep enough. If the space for the belts is removed, wouldn’t it make room for another magazine?”

• • •

Olivia watched Jill and leaned back in her chair. The brat was just as smart as her brother. She was also impertinent and didn’t hesitate to interrupt other’s conversations. She was forced to admit that when she did it was to make a good point. She watched Rocky stare at her and felt hope. She didn’t have him, yet. He probably thought she was too young for him.

• • •

Nelson looked at his designers, “Is what she’s saying possible?”

Andrea looked at the designer sitting next to her and he said, “Each of the twenty missile launchers have their own belts that run into the magazines. They require space to make the circular trip back and forth to the magazine. I wish I had thought about this before and we could connect the missiles with links that connect them together in the middle. When the missile leaves the ship, the links will slide apart and the link will go with the missile. There would be no need to use a belt.”

Andrea nodded, “And since there’s no belt, using compressed air to push them out of the launcher can be done at a much faster rate than the current motor that is used to push the missile out.”

Rocky stared at them, “How much faster?”

Nelson smiled, “What they’re describing, Admiral is how our fastest weapons operate. Some of our heavy rifles can fire at a rate of two hundred rounds a second. However, if you locked the trigger down you would exhaust the magazine in less than three seconds.”

“Those missiles would also need to have a light signature programed which would also take some time.”

“Amber tells me that she can collect a thousand signatures a second.”

“Then that would be the limiting factor, Admiral.”

Jill shook her head, “Not really. My tactical system can track more than four thousand ships and feed them directly to the missiles.”

Rocky looked at Jill, “Why is your system so much faster than Amber?”

“She’s designed to do more things than just collect light signatures. My targeting computer is designed to only collect light signatures. It is faster because it has a specialized purpose.” Jack shook his head. His sister was something more than he remembered. What had happened to her? “If the belts are removed, would it make room for another magazine?”

Nelson looked at Andrea. She started punching data into her tablet and after a few moments looked up, “We’d have to remove a foot off the living quarters and two feet off the kitchen.”

Nelson looked at Rocky and he tilted his head, “We won’t miss the lost space. I’d rather have the additional magazine.”

“Alright, let’s get busy and make the modifications.”

“Whoa, Commodore. How long is this going to take?”

“We have to build the systems but we should have them done in ten days. The installations should take another five days.”

“How long will it take to repair the jammed belts?”

“About five hours.”

“Then make the repair and we’ll return the ship for the modifications in ten days.”

“But we need your ship to take the measurements.”

Jill shook her head, “Are you telling me you don’t have another ship like ours to use?”

Nelson looked at her and then turned to Rocky, “Admiral, we do have another ship but I prefer to match the changes to the ship they’re going in.”

“I know the close tolerances used to build our ships, Commodore. You make the changes on another ship and I’m sure they’ll fit my vessel.”

“Yes Sir. We’ll start the repairs immediately.”

Rocky nodded and turned to Jack and Olivia, “Who is the idiot that allowed the two of you to go to a Feeder Planet! Neither one of you is qualified to fly one of these new ships or possesses enough experience to survive?”

Olivia looked at Rocky and leaned back in her chair, “The High Leader sanctioned this mission. Perhaps you’d like to contact her and tell her what an idiot she is.”

Chapter Seven

R
ocky’s eyes narrowed and Jill looked at Jack, “What did you tell her that convinced her to approve it?”

“My device depends on operating on the thought frequency of a Feeder. I initially developed it to hide a human’s mind so I could avoid being found. There is not a definitive record of a Feeder’s thought frequency. I have to have it to make my invention work. That means I have to get close enough to a Feeder to get a reading on its thought patterns.”

Rocky took his eyes away from Olivia and looked at Jack, “How close?”

“The closer the better.”

Rocky’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Jill then back to Jack, “How close are you intending to get to a Feeder?” Jack looked at Olivia and then at Jill. “Jack, I asked you a question.”

BOOK: Defending Earth-Discovery Means Death
12.09Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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