Pray for the Prey (32 page)

“No kidding?”

The Fleet Controller leaned back and said, “We have sent the methods we used to the being you call Boden and he is looking at how to possibly use them.”

RV slowly shook his head, “We can only get stronger if we are given time to do it.”

“I think we will be given time.”

“Oh?”

“If we can destroy enough ships in this initial conflict, I believe massive civil wars between the Majors will happen. They will jump on any that are weakened and take vengeance for perceived past wrongs.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“It has been the pattern in the past; however, things are changing.”

“In what way?”

“Word has gotten out that we have been manipulated into attacking the Horde and forced to continue those attacks. Many of the minors at the edges of our galaxy are talking about this with their adversaries. There is a wind of change taking place and this coming conflict will determine which direction it will end up blowing.”

“How do you see my ships helping your lines?”

“We know that you have not given us all of your weaponry.” RV didn’t say anything but just stared at the Violet Commander. “We understand why you haven’t. What you’ve given us is light years ahead of our former ships, but we know that trusting us is something that we will have to earn. If I were in your place, I’d do the same thing. Am I right about the weapons?”

“You are.”

“Good! You will remain in our lines and only go out to attack those places in our lines that appear to be overwhelmed. You will then go back to your formations and continue to support our movements.”

“Are you going to remain in those lines throughout the battle?”

“No, we will issue a command to free our ships to break the linkage and attack other ships individually. We have done this many times in the past and our ships are familiar with the tactic.”

“How will I know when that is going to be ordered?”

“I will announce over the main frequency that linkage will be broken and the time it will occur.”

“The basic unit of time we use is called a second. Light will travel 32,774 times the length of my ship in that period. What unit will you be using?”

“The Fleet Controller turned away from his display and made some entries on his board. He looked back and said, “Our units are not that different. A micro measure is only one ship difference from your second.”

Arvolo did the calculations and said, “Basically, there is no difference. I’ll notify our ships and make sure they understand the unit.”

The Fleet Controller leaned forward and said, “The charade battle will begin shortly. Enjoy the show.”

RV smiled, “I will.” The display went dark and RV looked at Cyanna, “Send a copy of this conversation to Kate.”

Cyanna nodded and said, “Admiral Diamond, “I’m sending you a recorded conversation. You may want to include the plans in your tactics.”

“Thanks Fleet One; I’ll make use of them.”

Cyanna looked at RV, “I wish we had given the others the computers to control their beams. There wouldn’t have been so many crew members necessary on their ships. They could lose a lot of sailors.”

“They are accustomed to firing their beams and pulses with gunners. They replaced the launch tubes with energy pulse cannons so they would have still needed the additional crews. Perhaps we’ll give it to them in the future.” RV thought a moment and said, “They may not need it. If their force fields are two times stronger, they will be a tough nut to crack. Even for us.”

The main display illuminated on the front wall of the Havana and they saw millions of ships start moving into the neutral zone between the lines of the Bugs and Horde. Cyanna said, “It’s show time; pass out the popcorn.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

T
he Hive Controller looked at the Horde Leader on his display, “What happens with the ships that aren’t destroyed?”

“We know that there will be millions of energy pulses chasing our ships. Once your last ship is destroyed, they will slow down and allow the pulse to catch up.”

“I guess my Fleet Controller knows about this but I’ve not had time to ask him.”

“It was his suggestion. He’ll use the scan at the end and launch just enough pulses to eliminate the remaining ships.”

“I hope those watching enjoy the first part of the show.”

“As that White Being said, ‘Get otta here!’ I’ll enjoy this as well.”

“Act two may not be so entertaining for our watchers.”

“We can only hope.”

• • •

The dark creature heard an alarm on his display and he slithered forward and looked up at the screen that had activated. This was going to be big. Who should he wager on? Ummmm…the Violet Ships were more advanced but they were really outnumbered. It thought about it and decided that most of the time technology won out. He placed a big wager on the Bugs.

Among the Major Civilizations massive numbers of wagers were being placed and the planet responsible for taking them was barely able to keep up with the numbers. They knew the battle was going to be witnessed by every planet and they had brought in additional tellers to handle the expected traffic. It far exceeded what they expected and there were delays but they managed to handle them all just before the first ships fired. They sat back and waited for the outcome. Even those emotionless beings were excited about the size and scope of the coming battle. Everyone saw that this was going to be the end game for one of the combatants. Neither held back any reserves but committed all their ships. This was a very rare event and even those watching in the other sector that had stolen the signal were stunned at the numbers involved. The word spread and soon, most of the civilizations on the eastern side of M-87 were tuned in to the conflict.

• • •

“It appears our friends have created quite a distraction.”

“Yes, but what happens after this battle is concluded?”

“You think there is only going to be this battle?”

“What else can there be?”

“Something is going on and I suspect there will be more than this.”

“Really! Just how would our friends use this battle to cause further distraction?”

“I have no idea.”

• • •

Six million Yellow Ships moved forward from their positions toward the defensive lines of the Bug’s violet colored ships. The enormous numbers of the oncoming attackers was detected and the main lines of defenders moved forward to join the front three lines. Five million Violet Ships quickly formed up and began linking their force fields just as the Yellow Ships roared in and attacked. A huge number of Violet Ships weren’t able to link in time and they began exploding in huge numbers. The energy pulses leaving the ranks of the defenders looked like a white wave moving out into the oncoming mass of Yellow Ships which ignored them and continued the rush at the long lines. The ships exploding were too numerous to count and the magnitude of the destruction taking place was unimaginable.

• • •

The dark creature watched and saw that a huge number of the defenders were killed in the first contact and the outcome was now favoring the Yellow Ships. He quickly placed another wager on the Yellow Ships and sighed. This way he couldn’t lose. He turned back to the display and continued to be shocked at the savagery of the battle.

The onslaught of new wagers overwhelmed the system. Most of the new bets were not entered until after the battle was over. The ones taking the bets didn’t know just how big a problem that was going to be at that moment, but they would soon learn.

• • •

RV watched six thousand Violet Ships break ranks and roar out into an incoming mass of yellow ships. Four thousand Yellow Ships were destroyed but fifteen hundred Violet Ships were also destroyed. Twenty thousand Yellow Ships roared in and after a pitched fight, the remaining Violet Ships were burning hulks. Ten thousand of the Yellow Ships were killed and the remainder had more than one energy pulse chasing them. RV shook his head and said, “I know this is faked and it still looks real.” The bridge crew could only shake their head at what was taking place.

RV reached over and pushed his com. The Fleet Controller appeared and RV asked, “How are you able to make this look so realistic?”

“We programed all of our tactics that we’ve developed against the Horde into the remote control computers. We omitted any retreat or withdrawal programs so they will use all the possible tactics they have to attack. The Horde Fleet Director did the same. What you’re seeing is what we’ve been doing to each other for millions of years.”

RV shook his head, “I understand your anger now.”

“We only felt rage for the Horde until we found out that it was misplaced. Our society has become little more than a breeding mill to produce warriors for this conflict. The billions that have died in this forced conflict are what drive our rage. However, we now know where that rage belongs. That knowledge has bonded our two species like nothing else could have done.”

“Thank you for sharing that information. It shouldn’t take much longer to complete this.”

“It’ll take longer than you think. With fewer ships there’s more room to use advanced tactics. I’m sure our watchers will stay until the end.”

“Why?”

“We learned a long time ago that the Majors wager on our battles. Some of them have asked the Hive Controller for inside information on our attack plans to hedge their bets. I suspect there are quite a few of them that have done that on this battle.”

“Then they’ll remain to see if they’ve won or lost their bet.”

“They will; but they are going to be terribly disappointed.”

“Why is that?”

“In the event of a tie, you lose your wager. Since all the ships on both sides are going to be destroyed, none of them can win and the planet that takes the bets will keep all of it.”

“That might cause some resentment.”

“You think. They’ll wait 720 micro-measures to see if a ship shows up from either side. If none do, everyone loses.”

“When are we going to jump in?”

“Exactly 721 micro-measures after the last ship is destroyed.”

“That should cause some consternation.”

“There will be a countdown on every being’s display that placed a wager. We’ll appear after it hits zero.”

There are going to be some mighty ticked off Majors after this. I suspect it will cause a rather large response.”

“That’s the idea.”

RV tilted his head and wondered if it was a good idea to anger that many civilizations. He ended the call and looked at Cyanna, “Make sure the Wing Commanders know their orders.”

“They know, RV.”

“Then humor me and tell them again.”

• • •

Beth and Riebbe sat in front of the assembled pilots in the ready room. “I want to make sure you understand that you will not use a striker until you are given the authorization. Is everyone clear on that?”

A young pilot held up his hand, “What if our beams don’t penetrate?”

“Then gang up on single ships. The Old Man wants to hold out on using them until their major fleets arrive. We are not going to launch until ships are authorized to start attacks individually. I suspect there won’t be a long time from that moment until you’ll have weapons free.”

Riebbe looked at Beth and said, “Do you wish to add anything?”

Beth smiled, “No Sir, I think you’ve covered it.”

Riebbe looked at the assembled pilots and said, “Make us proud and work together. Remember, the protection of the Flag Ship is our main responsibility. Go to your ships and get ready for general quarters.”

The pilots stood and saluted. Riebbe returned their salute and said, “Dismissed.”

Beth looked at Riebbe, “Be careful.”

“I will; you do the same.”

Riebbe hugged her tightly and didn’t want to let her go. He kissed her and they left the ready room for their ships. Riebbe planned to give Beth the small box in his pocket after the battle. He said a quick prayer that both of them would be there.

• • •

“Gibbs, you understand about the small craft?”

“I do. I don’t know that I agree with it but we will follow the Admiral’s directives.”

Kate glared at her Rear Admiral and said, “I have sent you the initial attack strategy and I expect your ships to follow it.”

Gibbs blew out a breath, “Admiral, You’ve had us training on attacking aggressively from the founding of this fleet. It’s what we are best at doing. Why are you now going to have us fight in formations?”

“Because we’ve done that training while having our small craft available to defend our larger ships; we won’t have them initially and will have to depend on each other for mutual defense. Once the release is given, we’ll go to aggressive maneuvers. I do not intend to lose large numbers during the initial stage of this fight. Is that clear!?!”

“Yes Sir, it is and it makes sense. I’ll make sure my ship’s Captains understand the order.”

“Good, they need to learn restraint and this is a good time for that lesson. They need to understand that each ship we lose before the small craft are released will also destroy the eight hundred and fifty ships still inside. Get with Gonzalez and work out how the two of you will make this happen.”

Gibbs nodded and the display went dark. She was right. He should have seen it.

• • •

RV looked at the Monitor and pushed a button, “Eric, you’ve made it clear about launching small craft?”

“I have and we will hold position in ranks until the release is given.”

“You’re trained your ships well; don’t waste them early on in this conflict.”

“I won’t. My captains know what to do.”

“This battle has gone on for ten hours, but they’re down to less than a thousand ships now. After the last ships are destroyed, we will move into the neutral zone two hours later. Go to general quarters fifteen minutes before the jump.”

“Aye, aye, Sir.”

RV looked at Cyanna, “Pass the information on to our ships and make sure they know not to launch or use strikers.”

“Cyanna turned to her board and wondered why RV was so concerned about the small craft.

• • •