Pray for the Prey (28 page)

“I need the Fleet to be able to go to a war footing on a moment’s notice. If the Majors show up, we can’t delay getting there. We must be able to respond instantly.”

RV thought a moment and said, “I’ll designate half the fleet as a Ready Force that will be on alert status. We’ll rotate the two halves every five days and have the other half involved in training exercises. I’ll rotate the crew out for shore leave while they’re on training status.”

“That sounds good; however, I need you to do one more thing.”

“What is that?”

“I need you to make a trip to those civilizations and scout out where you think the Majors will show up if they attack. Use that information to set the jump coordinates for our fleets to arrive.”

RV chuckled, “I’m still not up to your level. I should have thought of that.”

“You don’t need to stroke my ego, RV. You thought of that as soon as I told you about giving them our technology.”

George disappeared from the display and RV was left wondering how he could have possibly known that. He decided that his statement was true. George was smarter.

• • •

The Hive Controller looked at the Leader of the Horde on his display panel, “Ok, this has got to be done without giving ourselves away.”

“We have your top and bottom lines targeted with live ships. We’re going to send a wave of automated ships at your center line.”

“How many?”

“Fifty thousand.”

“That’s a lot.”

Can you fire at that many?”

“We can launch enough pulses to cover that many. However, your automated ships won’t be seen evading. They can’t move like a crewed ship.”

“That’s why your top and bottom defense lines should be in front of the middle one. If we time this right, your two lines will be destroyed just as my ships are being hit.”

“This attack won’t take long?”

“No, but your other lines will advance and we’ll fall back two light years. We’ll maintain that status for a while. I suspect they will recognize that both of us will be hard hit by this attack and lose interest waiting for our next battle.”

“I hate to destroy these ships, but they’re really no good to us anymore.”

“I’ve got to say that the civilization from the other Galaxy is nothing like I’ve ever seen. We owe them a lot.”

“Yes we do. Now let’s get this started.”

• • •

The aide pressed the button and the door slid up, “Why are you here?”

“The two civilizations that tried to combine are about to have a major battle. You said you wanted to be notified if that happened.”

“Has it been announced on the network?”

“Yes, and the numbers tuning in are quite large.”

“You may leave.”

The aide backed away and the huge dark creature turned on his display and pressed a frequency into his monitor. Ummmm…that is a major battle shaping up. This should be interesting.

• • •

The three lines of Violet Ships began advanced toward the waiting Yellow Fleets. The Yellow Ships formed three large groups with the largest zooming in at the center line of the advancing Violet Ships. The two lines above the center line move forward to trap the incoming ships in crossfire.

The Yellow Ships coming at the top and bottom lines started changing direction as they tried to move through the pulses being fired at them. The beams and pulses numbered in the millions as the hundred thousand long lines advanced. Suddenly, three suicide ships crashed into the top and bottom line of the upper and lower lines coming at them and the linked force fields were shattered. At the same time, the huge number of yellow ships arrived at the center line and were met with a massive barrage of energy pulses that hit them at point blank range. The explosions were massive across the entire length of the three lines. The Yellow Ships poured their fire into the top and bottom lines and soon the ships that were massed so close together started exploding like a string of firecrackers.

Two more lines of Violet Ships quickly advanced and pushed the Yellow ships away from the struggling center line. The Yellow Ships retreated before the oncoming lines and the three joined and pushed the Yellow Ships all the way back to their main defensive line. The three lines stopped there and went no closer.

• • •

The dark creature watched the battle and was disappointed it was over so quickly. However, it was like the finale in a fireworks display; it doesn’t last long but leaves a great impression. These two species had provided some of the best entertainment ever. It was glad that they had not been contaminated by their brief contact. They certainly showed their rage in this battle. Now there would be a long wait until they rebuilt their lost ships. It would be worth it.

The dark creature along with trillions of others changed the channel.

• • •

“Our ships did an excellent job.”

The Hive Controller nodded, “I knew what was happening and it still looked real.”

“How much time do you think this will buy us?”

“At least a revolution and a half; we shouldn’t delay longer than that.”

“We’re close to getting our automated ships to fly real trajectories. We might be able to use them to destroy all your ships next time and push you all the way back to your main lines.”

“That’s excellent. Our ships are easy. They just stay in place and fire pulses. Are you planning to use the pulses you stole from us in that battle?”

“We made sure the ships pulling one of your battleships away from the battle were in clear view. That should explain how we acquired them.”

“Let me know when you’re ready. I’ve heard you’re running low on some of the new elements for the reactors.”

“They are hard to find.”

The Hive Controller leaned forward and pushed some controls, “I’m sending you the location of six planets we’ve discovered that have an abundance of them. Jump some ships over and take as much as you need.”

The Horde Leader stared at the Hive Controller and said, “We’ve been at war for millions of years. How do you explain our not feeling any hatred toward each other?”

“Because we are not species that would normally hate others. I believe that we were not always predatory. This was forced on us and now we are finding who we should have been from the start.”

• • •

Two years later the second battle took place. The savagery was incredible.

• • •

“Are you sure about this?”

“They are pulling a huge scam on us. They are not really fighting each other and though I’ve told the leaders they have laughed it off.”

“Jumping into one of their battles doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.”

“They couldn’t hurt us. We need to expose this. Now carry out your orders.”

The battle was at a fever pitch when suddenly a giant Purple Ship appeared. The Hive Controller felt his fear and yelled, “Fire every weapon on every ship at that Major.”

The Remote Controller’s heard the order and turned all six million ships and fired on the giant Purple Ship. The ship shrugged off the initial five million hits, but then twenty million energy pulses and beams hit it and it exploded in a huge blast.

The Hive Controller yelled, “Continue the battle. Don’t stop.”

The ships were down to a million and a half survivors when ten giant Purple Ships arrived and blew the ships into dust. The Commander of the Majors was angry at the destruction of one of his ships. The Hive Controller said, “We didn’t mean for it to happen. When our warriors attack they go into battle rage and attack any ships that are not like ours. They weren’t able to control themselves.”

The Commander didn’t care and said, “Target that planet.”

Before he could order it killed his communicator came on and he heard, “Bravo; Bravo, that was extraordinary.”

The Commander looked at the speaker and said, “What?”

“That battle has been given the highest ratings of any in history. Now get out of there and don’t mess up a good thing. Gigl was an idiot. How stupid can he have possibly been to jump into the middle of a space battle with millions of ships? Don’t force us to discipline you.”

The Commander fought back his rage and started to feel nervous. “But they destroyed one of our ships.”

“We might send you into the middle of the next battle for entertainment.”

The Commander said, “Return to port.”

• • •

The Hive Controller heard the exchange and released a breath. He looked at the Horde Leader and said, “Now is when you should rush forward and take back the space you lost.” The mass of Yellow Ships moved forward and the Violet Ships fell back to their main lines. “That was close.”

• • •

“George, I have a call coming in from the Hive Controller.”

“Send it to my board.” George saw the strange looking creature appear on his display. “I hope all is going well.”

“A Major ship interrupted our last battle and we attacked it with all our ships and destroyed it.”

“WHAT!?!”

“It seems the commander of that ship believed that we were pulling a scam but no one believed him. He came here to prove it and got himself killed when six million ships fired at him.”

“What was the outcome?”

“Ten ships arrived but were called back due to our outstanding destruction of each other. They don’t want our entertainment value diminished.”

“You were lucky.”

“Very; but that’s not the reason for my call. We’ve made a discovery and feel like it’s something you might want to take a look at.”

“What is that?”

“We found a reactor from the Major Ship that had been blasted away when it was destroyed. It appears to be undamaged and we know we can’t keep it here.”

“Why not?”

“They just might run a scan someday and it would immediately detect the material it was made from.”

“Where is it?”

“We put it in a container and jumped it to the coordinates I’ve just sent you about a thousand light years from our border. It is broadcasting a frequency listed below the coordinates. I hope it’s something you can use.”

“If it is, we will share it with you. Thank you.”

“We owe you much more than that reactor.”

Meisa looked at George and said, “Do you possibly think that...”

George punched a button and said, “RV, get a ship to the coordinates on your board and use the frequency with them. The Violets have sent us a Major reactor.”

“What do you want me to do with it once I retrieve it?”

“Take it straight to Boden and see if he can see anything in it we can use.”

“I’m on it.”

• • •

George and Meisa spent the next week trying to stay busy hoping for a contact from the Federation. On the eighth day Meisa said, “I guess I got my hopes up for nothing.”

“Well, there’s nothing wrong with wishing, love.”

Meisa looked down at her board and said, “I have a contact coming in from the Federation.”

George shrugged and saw Boden on his display, “Please tell me you have good news.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t have good news.” George’s face fell and then Boden said, “I have outstanding news. There are three new elements in the Major reactor we weren’t using. Our initial trial has determined that our reactors can handle the new power level, but only barely. We build these with a hundred times safety level.”

George and Meisa jumped up and yelled. Boden said loudly, “Converting our ships will be easy. We’ll just inject the new elements directly into their reactors. That’s all that’s needed.”

George ran back to the display and said, “How much stronger will our reactor be compared to the Major?”

“At least twenty times.”

“That means the Violet and Yellow Ships should be stronger than the Purple Ships .”

Boden nodded, “It does appear you are right.”

“How long before you are ready to start the change over?”

“We’re ready now. I’ve delayed contacting you until we were ready.”

“Meisa, notify RV and get them started.”

“Boden, will you contact the Hive Controller and see if they have the new elements and give him the information to make the change.”

“I’ll do that now.”

• • •

The Hive Controller looked at the Horde Leader and said, “The game has changed. Look at what I’ve just received from the White Ships.”

The Horde Leader read the document and smiled, “Do this quickly. We don’t want to be surprised again.”

“I’m already moving on it.”

Chapter Twenty

“C
yanna.”

“Yes.”

“Will you marry me?”

Cyanna jerked up and looked at RV, “Well, you certainly don’t have much of a buildup to this moment.”

“Ok; Cyanna, I love you. Will you marry me?”

“We have got to work on your ability to be romantic. Yes, I would love to marry you.”

RV opened a box and Cyanna saw a huge diamond, “Where did you get this?”

“When you never leave your ship, you never spend money. I’ve been saving for a while.”

“How long?”

“Too long; now that I paid for it, I feel good asking you.”

“RV, I’d marry your without a ring!”

“I just feel like you deserve one showing you how much you mean to me.”

Cyanna rushed forward and kissed, RV hard. “That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said.”

“I thought you just said I need to work on….”

“Oh be quiet and kiss me.”

“Where would you like the wedding to be?”

“Let me handle those details.”

“Ok, let me know if there’s anything I need to do.”

“Oh, I will. It’s going to be a small wedding and a huge reception.”

“Good, that sounds like a winner.”

• • •

“George, Admiral Arvolo has asked to see you.”

“He’s here?”

“Yes, he’s waiting outside.”

Do you know why he’s made the trip, Meisa?”

“No, he just showed up and asked to see you.”

“That’s not like him.”

“I know.”

“Send him in.”

RV walked in and George got up and met him, “It’s good to see you, RV. You could have just called.”

“No, I need to discuss several issues with you that need to stay between us.”

George looked at him and then looked at Meisa. She stood and walked out. “What’s going on?”