Escape to Earth-Living Legends (14 page)

“Thanks, Jan. Stand by, he’s about to leave.” A moment later Langley said, “Boy, that ships is fast to be that big. Going into the barrier…now!” The Battle Pod entered the barrier and Langley pushed a hundred pounds of air pressure through the rear thrusters. The pod accelerated at an incredible speed and Janet felt the console vibrate. She put her glove on it and heard, “That vessel has changed course again and is headed due galactic west from Pandora’s cluster where the Legend Galaxies are located. I’ve analyzed how the pilot is moving the ship and I’ve found a pattern. That ship is going to turn shortly and head toward the Bullet Cluster.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“The pattern is clear and I’ve seen an image of that cluster in one of the bridge crew on that ship. That must be where the new ships are being built.”

“How far away is that Cluster?”

“From Earth, about three point seven billion light years.”

Jan actually shook her head while keeping it on the console, “It’s going to take us months to get there!”

“Actually, about five months, twelve days, and sixteen hours give or take thirty minutes.” Jan sighed and Langley said, “I’m going to leave that ship and go directly there.”

“What if you’re wrong?”

“Jan, I wouldn’t even consider this if there was any possibility I was. I’ve correctly predicted the last ten course changes that ship has made. It’s going to the Bullet Cluster.”

“Well, that Legend did say they were going to have their ships built a long distance from their location and that cluster certainly qualifies as a long distance. How will we find them if they’re there?”

“I suspect that is where the Legends originally evolved but that isn’t based on anything other than the Commander saying that the Pandora Legends would never send one of their own out with that much freedom to increase its own power. That made sense and if there are Legends in that Cluster, I will hear them.”

“Will we be able to communicate with Jay and Josey?”

“That telepath will be between us and them and there is a possibility it will hear us if we try. I don’t have any hard data on what its capabilities are but I do know our Goran Scouts would hear us.”

Jan sighed, “I know they’re worried sick about us.”

“Yes, I’m sure they are. But I think they’ve worked out that we’re following that ship.”

Jan thought for a moment and nodded, “If they didn’t, they would be broadcasting thoughts on a general broadcast and that being you’ve been monitoring would have heard them and know that he was possibly being followed.”

“Exactly right.”

“Is it going to be possible to turn on the environmental systems?”

“Once we’ve put a billion light years between us and that telepath, you can remove your armor. There are too many thoughts moving through the universe for it to hear you among that background noise.”

“Then let’s do it; I need a bath!”

“Changing course and applying full thrust with the air cylinders. I’ll use the standard thrusters once we’re far enough away.”

• • •

“Commander, what’s going on?”

“Admiral, we set up a screen to follow the ship that left the Legends’ Cluster. Three of us were decoyed by a probe that had an antenna in the barrier. One of my team disappeared from our pattern and we believe that she is following the Monster Battleship back to where it originally launched. We’re going to wait here until we hear from her and then go to her defense.”

Katy shook her head, “If anyone could pull this off, Jan is the one that could do it.”

Michael smiled, “You must have gotten to know her?”

“I did and I’ve got to say I’m impressed. Her mind is very methodical and she doesn’t miss much.”

“I don’t know how long we’re going to be here, Admiral. Are your ships provisioned for a long wait?”

“No Sir, they are not. But I’ll order a colony ship to bring what we need and I’ll send my squadrons one by one to stock up on what they’ll need for a long mission.”

“I could have another fleet come and relieve you if the time wait becomes too long.”

“Sir, that is one of my sailors out there and we’ll wait until hell freezes over if we need to.”

Michael nodded and ended the contact. Now he knew why her fleet worshiped her. He was once again thankful Audrey had intervened. He remembered his father being thankful for his mother stopping him from killing all of the Goran. He almost made a similar mistake. He knew one thing for certain; Jay and Josey would still be waiting even if hell froze over. It was clear both of them were more afraid of losing her than each other. Jan was the glue that made them whole.

• • •

“Langley.”

“Yes, Jan.”

“I’ve been thinking about what would happen if we are killed before we can get all we’ve learned out. Would it be possible to launch a barrier message probe from this far out with all we know?”

Jan felt the ship decelerate and come to a stop. “That is an excellent idea. It shouldn’t be detected this far away from the Legends and it will help the Commander to decide what to do.” I’m downloading everything now. Give me a moment.” Jan ran the towel through her hair and shook it. Ten minutes later, Langley said, “It’s ready to launch.”

“There’s something you need to include in the download.”

“What is that?”

“There is something different about you, Langley. You were the only one that could hear the thoughts on that ship.”

“I’ve wondered about that as well.”

“Tell them that I suggest they go back to the last time your processors were serviced and to look for anything that might account for how this happened.”

“Standby.” Jan waited and a few moments later she heard, “I’ve included a diagnostic of my systems in the download along with your suggestion. Can you think of anything else?”

“Yes, make sure you tell Jay and Josey I love them very much.”

“Already done.” Jan felt a slight bump in the ships structure. “The probe is launched.”

Jan felt the ship start accelerating again and leaned back in her chair. “Langley, did you record the Commander when he came on board to install the telepathy module?”

“I record everything, Jan. You know that.”

“Please put that recording on my panel.” Jan sat back and watched Michel come through the port. She froze his expression when he saw her. She stared at that image until they arrived just outside the Bullet Cluster.

• • •

Michael activated his communicator, “SHE’S OK!!’ Jay and Josey looked at him from his display and he said, “They’ve sent a barrier message probe and we were right; she’s been following that Monster Battleship; it was in that galaxy!”

Josey blew out a loud breath and said, “Thank God!!”

Jay took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, “Where is she?”

“She’s moving toward a distant cluster of galaxies named the Bullet Cluster. We’re going to skip there in an hour after Greenwall’s last squadron is provisioned from the colony ship. We’re not going to join her unless she calls for help. She is of the opinion that is where the new Legend Battleships are being build. She also says, and her computer agrees, that cluster may be where the Legends originated.”

Josey smiled, “That’s our Jan.”

“Standby, I have some orders to issue and then I’ll transmit you a copy of what she sent.”

Jay smiled, “Thank you, Sir!”

Michael nodded and activated the general fleet frequency. “Attention all ships and personnel in Fifth Fleet. We will be skipping out to a distant galaxy cluster in an hour and there will be new rules while we’re in that space. All ships will remain in the barrier with all systems that emit signals outside the hulls of your ships shut down. All personnel will have their armor on and their thought blockers activated at full power for the duration of the mission. Make sure your armor’s pellet dispenser and water tanks are full before arrival. All pilots will use compressed air in their thrusters to move around in the barrier once we arrive. All external systems on your ship’s hulls will be shut down and that includes your disruptors and missile ports!”

Michael paused and allowed his instructions to sink in. “We are going to be out in open space and one of the Legends’ new battleships will be moving toward the cluster while we are on station. It is commanded by a being that is telepathic and it will hear your thoughts if they aren’t blocked. I know this poses a hardship but this mission is too critical to the Alliance to allow a simple mistake to allow the enemy to know about our presence. Any medical emergency will be handled under a thought blocker field before anyone is removed from their armor. I thank all of you in advance for your following these instructions and be aware that until otherwise notified, the fleet will be under communications silence. Thank you.”

Michael contacted Jay and Josey, “It appears that Jan’s computer could hear the thoughts of that ship when we couldn’t. That ship must be using some kind of thought blocker that Langley was not affected by. Jan sent a full diagnostic of Langley’s systems and we’ve compared it to his last Fleet servicing. The only difference Nudge, Budge, Amanda, and Trevor could find was his processors must have suffered a small electrical surge that slightly changed the frequency his processors use to communicate. I noticed that Langley’s voice was louder than normal when I was on her ship and I believe that frequency change is what caused it. I am sending both of you the current frequency that Langley is using and I want you to have your computers duplicate it. You will deactivate your computer’s thought broadcasting system for the duration of the mission or until I order otherwise. Any questions so far.”

“No Sir.”

“One more thing Jay. Have you noticed whether or not you have become telepathic?”

“I am hearing random thoughts, Sir.”

“That will probably get more regular over time but it is critically important that you and I stay in our armor. That telepath will hear us if we don’t.”

“Yes Sir.”

“I’ve sent you a copy of the download Jan sent to Fleet Operations. If you have any questions, you need to ask them before we skip out.”

Michael’s image disappeared from Jay and Josey’s displays and Josey said, “Now that is an organized brain!”

Jay nodded, “I must say that I really didn’t think much of the Commander before I went to see him but he has changed that. I’m really glad he’s in charge.”

“Why?”

“Because you and I would have gone charging out to find Jan and screamed bloody murder at the top of our voices. He did the right thing.”

Josey nodded, “I sensed he wanted to go out screaming with us but managed to keep his cool.”

“You’re right. His thoughts were the random ones I heard and he was worried sick about her.”

“Do you think there’s something there?”

“I don’t know. I really think he would feel the same about us. This is different from what I’ve grown accustomed to, Josey.”

“What do you mean?”

“I really do want to protect him now. You know the download Jan sent is top secret and he didn’t keep it from us. I’m willing to bet that Admiral Greenwall hasn’t seen it. He’s including us in his decision-making. I don’t deserve it but I respect him for doing it.”

Josey smiled, “Ditto. Let’s take a look at the download and see if there’s anything we need to worry about.” Jay nodded and ended the call.

• • •

“Budge.”

“Yeah.”

“You know that Piper says his hull is three feet thick and all of it is the white coating.”

“I’ve heard that, Nudge, but nothing I’ve tried has made that material coat our hulls thicker than a few molecules.”

“I’ve been thinking about that lately and with the new Legend Battleships having disruptors the size of those used on their planets, I’m concerned about our ships surviving more than one or two hits.”

“Piper can take a lot more than that.”

“I’ve been wondering how they do it.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“There must be something that would attract that stuff.”

“I’ve not found anything.”

“Well, consider this. That liquid is only found on planets that are almost inside the event horizon of a black hole, right?”

“Yes, go on.”

“But I never saw waves on that planet where we coated our ships. Why is that?” Budge stared at him and after a moment, he shook his head. “I’ve looked at the recording of that planet and that liquid doesn’t even have low or high tides in the strongest known gravity in the universe. Matter of fact, the surface is flatter than a…”

“Don’t say it!”

“Why?”

“I know what you’re thinking and half the women in here will slap you silly if you do.”

“But it’s true. The gravity from the black hole should have some effect on it.”

“What are you thinking, Nudge?”

“Have we ever measured the depth of that liquid?”

“There’s no way we could do it. That liquid can’t be penetrated by any scanner that we have.”

“What if there isn’t a planet under it?”

“What?”

“What if there’s nothing there but the liquid.”

Budge started shaking his head, “It wouldn’t hold together without something for it to float on.” Budge stared at Nudge and lowered his eyes, “What are you thinking?”

“Budge, for every positive atom, science says there should be an antimatter atom to balance it in the universe. What if that principle works on more than just positive and negative atoms?” Budge started shaking his head and Nudge held up his hand, “Before you go all scientific on me, consider this. What if that liquid is repelled by high gravity? The gravity from the black hole pulls it but it resists the pull and becomes a denser liquid. That’s why there’s no waves. It is pulled in tight by the heavy g-forces acting on it from the black hole.”

Budge closed his mouth and looked out of the window. Nudge recognized that expression, Budge was thinking hard. “If what you’re saying has any truth to it that would account for why there are no waves. The liquid would push against the gravity and it would flatten it.”

Nudge nodded and said, “So what would that mean if you wanted the liquid to adhere to itself?”

Budge continued to stare out the window and said, “Instead of using gravity to pull it, you use gravity to push against it.”