Escape to Earth 3: Defending Holy Ground (18 page)

• • •

Chris and Audrey stood next to the viewport on the LaGrange’s bridge and heard Loree order, “Start releasing the cloud. They turned and looked at the wall monitor and saw a dark mist erupt from the rear of the giant battleship and start rushing forward. It arrived at the bow and they turned around and looked out of the viewport and saw nothing but the pitch-black mist. Chris thought, “Willow?”

“You’re going to have to get someone outside the ship to place magnets on the rear stabilizers. They’re sticking up out of the cloud like four icebergs.”

Loree heard Willow and turned to her panel. Audrey stared the dark mist, “We’re going to have to extend several antennas outside the mist. She paused and said, “Willow, can you determine how thick the cloud is around the ship?”

“It looks like it’s clinging tightly to the hull.”

“Do you think the star drive will be outside of it?”

“It’s hard to tell. The star drive might force it away from the hull.”

Chris and Audrey looked at Loree who turned to Lance, “Activate the star drive.”

Lance pressed a button and they saw the dark mist move away from the viewport. “Willow?”

“There are a few gaps in the coverage now.”

Chris looked at Loree, “You need to release some more Dark Matter.”

Loree nodded and passed the order to her engineers. “That’s enough; the ship is covered except for the stabilizers.”

Loree smiled, “Get some magnets out and attach them to both sides of the stabilizers.”

“Yes Sir.”

An hour later, Willow said, “I can no longer see or detect the ship.”

“Can you find your way into the landing bay?”

“Just extend an antenna on each side of the door and I’ll come in between them.” Chris looked at Loree and she nodded. A few moments later Willow said, “I’m in.”

Loree looked at Lance, “Extend the antennas.”

Chris and Audrey stepped back from the view port and looked up at the giant monitors over it. The Tactical Monitor activated first followed by the other two. The viewport changed its polarization and the view changed to normal space in front of the battleship. Loree looked at Chris and tilted her head, “This is an invaluable tool for my ships. Thank you for suggesting it.”

Audrey looked at Loree, “Sir, who is in command of this mission?”

Loree stared at her and her eyebrows lowered, “Why do you ask, Admiral?”

“Chris was in command of our mission and I outranked him. I just wondered if that has changed.”

Loree stared at her and Audrey saw she was not happy. She pushed a button on her console and spoke quietly for a few minutes. She finally raised her head and looked at Chris, “You are in command as long as we are not in combat operations. If we have to fight the ship, I’ll be assuming command.” She looked at Audrey and stared at her with an expression that showed her displeasure.

Audrey said, “Sir, I meant no disrespect but I discovered that he can see things that I missed. I think you’ll see that this is a good decision and will make this mission safer.”

Loree continued to stare at her and then slowly shook her head, “The trouble with being away from all the other fleets is that I’ve become accustomed to having things done my way. I will comply with this structure and hope that you’re right about this.”

“Thank you for your understanding, Sir.”

Chris looked at Loree, “Is the ship ready to leave?”

“It is.”

“Do not use the Dark Matter weapons until you see if the disruptors will be enough against any ships we have to fight.” Loree tilted her head and Chris said, “We need to keep those weapons a secret, Admiral.”

Loree said over her shoulder, “Frank?”

“Disruptors are now online, Sir. The cannons and rotary guns are on standby.”

Chris nodded, “Willow send the coordinates of that Attacker Planet.”

Lance looked at his panel and said, “I have them.”

Chris looked at Loree, “Please command your ship. I’ll only intervene in the event I see something.”

Loree smiled and looked at Lance, “Take us ten thousand miles out from that coordinate.”

“Activating Stardrive.” The LaGrange hung in normal space for an instant and then disappeared.

• • •

They entered the void and Chris said, “Please pull in the antennas.”

Loree raised her eyebrows and nodded to Lance. The LaGrange skipped away and after twenty minutes, came to a stop. Chris closed his eyes and said, “Wait here. Do not extend an antenna.”

“What’s going on?”

“I hear the thoughts of thousands of beings around us. It appears we arrived in the middle of a returning fleet. I would recommend leaving the void.”

Lance shut down the stardrive and the LaGrange left the void and entered normal space. “Give them about ten minutes and then go back into the void.” The crew waited ten minutes and Lance looked at Chris. Loree was both annoyed and proud of Lance at the same time. She didn’t like being bypassed in issuing commands but Lance knew the most efficient way was to follow the Mission Commanders orders immediately. Chris closed his eyes and said, “Extend the antennas.”

A few moments later, the monitors and viewport activated and Loree stared at the tactical monitor. Tens of thousands of warships were moving through the void away from them. She looked at Audrey who had an ‘I told you so’ expression on her face and she nodded to her. She was right. She wouldn’t have known about those ships without Chris’s telepathic ability. Chris sighed, “The being in charge saw that eight fleets were going to gather at this planet. Let’s move in behind them and see what’s going on.”

Loree looked at Lance and he said, “I know, don’t get closer than three hundred miles.”

Chris looked at Loree and she said, “The invaders can detect our antennas inside two hundred miles.” Chris nodded and turned to stare at the tactical monitor.

T
he LaGrange accelerated and kept a thousand miles between it and the fleet moving toward the planet. A hundred thousand miles out from the planet, Loree said, “This is close enough.” The LaGrange came to a stop and Loree shook her head as she stared at the monitor. “There’s more than seventy five thousand warships above that planet.”

Chris said as he thought so everyone could hear, “Willow listen in on their thoughts and see if you can determine how many fleets have arrived.”

“Give me some time.”

“Take all you need.” Chris looked at Lance, “Keep an eye out for any ship that leaves the planet.” Loree looked at him and Chris said, “We need to find how many planets are sending ships here. Have you notified your other ships that are coming here to be careful about extending more than one antenna when they arrive?”

Loree looked at Lance, “Send them a recording of everything that’s been said.” Lance nodded and began pressing buttons on is console. “Are you planning for us to leave here? This is where the major activity is going to happen.”

“Unless you plan to start a fight, we should continue our mission.”

Loree smirked and said, “You’re right. I have to depend on my ship commanders to do what’s necessary.”

Willow interrupted them, “There are three fleets here.”

Chris shook his head, “Then there will be about two hundred and seventy five thousand ships going to attack the Grey Ships if the other fleets are of corresponding size. That must mean this civilization is rather extensive.”

Loree shook her head, “We only have half that number of battleships available but that doesn’t includes the Pods.”

Chris nodded, “This may be a tune up for handling the invaders.”

Audrey said, “There may be more than that, Chris.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Remember that eight fleets were going to join the fleet that originally attacked.”

Chris sighed, “You’re right.”

“Sir, I have a rather large armed transport moving away from the planet toward the Gravity Limit!”

Chris said, “Don’t lose it.”

Lance nodded, “Emily, it appears to be headed out toward the western side of that planet. We need to move around to that side to have the best view of it as it skips out.”

The LaGrange turned and accelerated at one half speed toward the far side of the planet. They arrived just as the huge transport skipped away. Emily flew the LaGrange in, saw the transport ahead of her in the void, and fell in behind it. Chris looked at Loree, “How much longer will it be before your other ships arrive?”

“They’ll arrive in about four hours.”

“I would suggest that you change their arrival coordinates to the western side of the planet. It appears the ships are leaving a corridor open for vessels exiting the planet. That should mean none of the incoming fleets would be coming in from that direction.”

Loree shook her head and Lance said, “I’m sending the coordinates now, Sir.” Loree didn’t know if he was talking to her or Chris and she knew he intended it just that way. Lance deserved his own ship but she was reluctant to let him go. Maybe after this was over; she shouldn’t stand in his way from advancing. Loree looked at Chris and saw a remarkable young man. He was also very handsome. “Mr. Stone, you don’t need to suggest things. Order them done and my crew will carry them out. I appreciate your being polite but this is a ship of war; we need to do things without confusion.” Chris nodded and smiled at her.

Audrey saw her look at Chris and didn’t like what she saw. The Admiral was unattached and though she wasn’t beautiful in the classic fashion, she was very pretty; it was her personality that made her imposing. She shook off the feeling and saw that she was feeling jealous. This would have to stop! Chris was still too immature for romance. She wondered about that for a moment and shook her head: of course he is, she thought. Get a grip!

• • •

The transport wasn’t going very far. It arrived in a planetary system and turned toward the fourth planet. The LaGrange entered normal space and Chris said, “Willow?”

“There are huge numbers of warships above the planet. Don’t move in too close. It appears they have a defensive line of them out from the planet.”

Loree looked at Chris, “How can your pod see things we can’t?”

“Willow was given an electronic program that allows him to communicate telepathically. His range is much longer than mine and he can hear the thoughts of those around the planet.”

“Where did he get that program?”

“Piper gave it to him to keep track of what we’re doing.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“The jury is still out on that one; however, we can use his talents to keep us out of harm’s way.”

“We need to get a good look at what’s going on at that planet.” Chris said, “Willow, do you detect the thought pattern of their Leader?”

“I’ve been looking for that and I don’t. I don’t think it’s here.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Emily, “Move out away from the planet and Lance, keep an eye out for another ship leaving it. As soon as it arrives at the gravity limit, I want a full electronic scan of that planet done and then we’ll skip out and follow the ship that’s leaving.”

Audrey said, “Is that a good idea? They’ll detect the scan.”

“They won’t know who did it. Those ships that are in a defensive line are there for a reason; this planet must have been attacked in the past. We don’t want to run the risk of being discovered. It’s holes to doughnuts that there are numerous probes around it and some of them may be looking for anything that blocks light from distant stars. We’ll take what they give us and get out of here.” Chris looked at Lance, “I trust you are cataloguing the planets with notes about what we’ve found.”

“Yes Sir.” Chris nodded and stared at the tactical monitor. He saw Lance was doing the same. If any of those ships started moving their way…”

“I have a battleship moving out of the defensive line.”

“Is it moving toward us!?”

Lance stared at his panel and after a moment looked up, “No, it isn’t. It’s headed out on a bearing two hundred and seventy degrees from our position.”

“Are you close enough to do a thorough scan of the planet?”

“Not really. Emily, accelerate to thirty thousand miles out in normal space and I’ll run a scan. Then you can turn and go after that battleship. Wait until it arrives at the gravity limit and goes into the void before you move.” Emily nodded and stared at her panel.

Loree sat back and wondered how this supposedly ten year old was so organized in his thinking. Where did he learn so much about ship operations? She looked at her crew and saw them looking at her. She smiled and nodded. They went to their tasks and Loree knew that having two commanders on a ship was never a good thing. She stepped down from her command chair and said, “Mr. Stone, you should sit here unless we are involved in a firefight.”

Chris looked at her and blew out a slow breath, “I think you’re right. I can use your systems; however, when we are in enemy space, I want you close by.”

Loree nodded and stepped behind the chair. Chris walked over and sat down. He looked at the multiple displays and smiled. Now this was more like it. Audrey went and took a seat next to Lance. He looked at her and she smiled, “I was Admiral Mitchell’s Sensor Officer.”

Lance looked at the stars on her collar and said, “Perhaps it should be you in my chair, Sir.”

“No, you’re one of the best I’ve ever seen, Captain. You’re right where you belong.” Lance smiled broadly and turned back to his panel. Loree saw the exchange and immediately knew Audrey was going to be a fine Fleet Commander. She had the intangible skills that would bond her crew to her. She looked at Chris and wondered why she was still with him. Was there more than met the eye? She liked being able to sit back and make observations without the encumbrances of commanding a battleship to distract her.

She saw Audrey staring at Chris and knew she stood no chance against her. She was not only drop dead gorgeous but had an outstanding mind to go with it. Well, she’d see how it went. She looked at Chris and saw he wasn’t looking at either of them. She shook her head and could see the ten year old in him. She thought about what would happen if they, by some miracle, were to become an item and she knew that she would have to leave her fleet or endure long durations of separation. It only took her a moment to decide that either of those weren’t acceptable. She looked at Lance and smiled.