Defending Earth-Discovery Means Death (24 page)

• • •

“Ship Leader.”

“Yes.”

“Something has brushed against out outer force field.”

“What?”

“The outer force field has detected something brushing it.”

“What do you mean, brushing it?”

“It looks like something entered it briefly and disappeared.”

“What could cause that?”

“I guess if a small pebble went through it, or a small collection of dust.”

“Have you scanned the area we hit it?”

“I have.”

“And?”

“Nothing is there.”

“Is that unusual?”

“I really don’t know. I don’t ever remember this happening.”

“Scan again.”

“Yes Leader.” The crewmember on the Feeder Ship ran another scan and once again came up empty, “The scan doesn’t show anything.”

“Could it be an anomaly?”

“I’m not sure.”

“If it were a patch of dust, would the force field have disintegrated it?”

The large being stared at its panel and shrugged, “I guess that’s possible.”

The Feeder stared at the being and said, “Let me know if it happens again.”

“Yes Leader.”

• • •

Palel was cursing in Welken. The light ship’s sensors detected the scans the Feeder Warship emitted. “That freaking ship unexpectedly swerved toward us. I was barely able to avoid a collision.”

Jelek shook his head, “You must have touched the ship’s outer force field.”

Matt stared at his visor and saw the ship continue moving on its current course. “Make sure you have room to maneuver.”

“Sir, if you haven’t noticed, these ships are packed pretty tightly.”

“Then stop and let it pass. We have plenty of time to arrive at our designated coordinates.”

“Yes Sir.”

All twenty-five light ships inside the Feeder Fleet detected the scans and it took iron discipline to avoid opening fire. It was having the experienced naval officers manning the weapons that prevented it from happening. Matt looked at the countdown and saw they still had ninety seconds remaining before they could attack. They arrived at their assigned location and moved slightly to avoid Feeder Warships moving around them. He looked again and it was eighty nine seconds. Damn this slow clock!

• • •

Silva watched the count down and it finally hit zero. He pressed the launch button on his panel and released the ten disruptors to fire at any ship that was inside their range. Two seconds later, Valen moved the light ship out of normal space and into the barrier. “What are you doing?”

“Sir, check your tactical.”

Silva activated his tactical display on his visor and saw massive explosions taking place around his ship. The shock waves from the explosions were merging and forming a giant shock wave that blew through the Feeder Ships and blasted them apart. He watched the destruction from the barrier and was stunned at what he was witnessing. A few seconds earlier, ten thousand Feeder Warships were moving through space toward a planet with intelligent life and in the next instant, they were all blasted into rubble and gas clouds. This was something he had never seen in any recording and it was over so quickly, he was stunned by the view on his visor.

• • •

Matt watched the destruction and activated his communication circuit, “All ships, skip out to assembly coordinates. Jelek, did you get the recording from the probe?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Take the ship out of here.”

The Light Ship hit its thrusters and disappeared from the site of the massive destruction and, once it was clear, activated its light drive and entered normal space in formation with the other twenty-four ships. Matt smiled and shook his head, “Report back to base and plan to be debriefed by Fleet Intelligence. Jelek, send the probe’s recording to Admiral Mandel’s desk with a copy to the High Leader’s panel.”

“Yes Sir.”

Matt leaned back in his chair and smiled. He saw no way the Feeders could have gotten out a warning of what was happening. If that were the case, it could be a while before the Feeders found out one of their sub-fleets had been destroyed. The Welken had performed marvelously. Now he could relax and look forward to being a lowly lieutenant again. Thank God for that. This commanding thing was not for him.

R
ose looked at her wrist unit and shook her head. She had delayed the meeting twice and she knew she couldn’t keep the Alliance Leaders waiting much longer. She took a deep breath and felt her wrist unit vibrate. She lifted it and saw Admiral Mandel, “The recording has been downloaded to your panel.”

“How did it go?”

Mandel shook his head, “The results were unbelievable. Ten thousand Feeder Warships destroyed without the loss of a single ship. The probes did not detect their getting a message out either.”

Rose smiled and walked quickly to the door leading to her conference room and forced herself to stop smiling. She entered the room and all the Leaders of the Alliance Civilizations stood to greet her. They started clapping and Rose nodded to them and raised her hands. She noticed that the Welken Ruler was looking at the Audon Leader and they exchanged an expression that she knew did not bode well. She smiled and said, “Thank you. Please, everyone take their seats.” The clapping slowed and finally silenced as the Leaders sat down and stared at Rose. Sitting behind the leaders were their support staffs and Rose saw that the leaders of the various civilizations’ military were present. She hoped that they would be an asset before things got out of hand. She looked at the assembled leaders and said, “How many galaxies do the Feeders have building their warships?”

The leaders all looked at each other and waited for someone to respond but no one did. Finally the Welken Royal said, “I really don’t know, High Leader.”

“I want all of you to think about that question while we’re discussing our own ship building efforts. Are any of you aware that we have about two hundred million light ships put in storage?”

The Myot Ruler’s eyes narrowed as he said, “All of us have warships in storage due to there being a shortage of qualified pilots.”

“Are all of you limiting your production due to that shortage?”

The Leaders looked at each other and the Audon Leader said, “I can speak for all of us. We are all operating at a slower capacity than we’re capable of. It makes no sense to build ships that no one is available to fly.” The Welken Royal looked at the Audon and nodded. It was obvious that he was saying, “Here it comes.”

Rose saw the exchange and leaned back in her chair, “What are the necessary elements for a pilot to be qualified to fly one of our warships?”

The Johan Leader shrugged, “They have to be trained to fly them along with being an advanced telepath from the Goran or Human species.”

“Why do they have to be telepathic?”

The Welken Royal leaned forward, “They have to be one of the advanced telepaths to prevent the Feeders from detecting their presence and finding out about our existence. Everyone knows that.”

Rose looked at the Welken and said, “If you do not support me, you should remove me from my position now.”

The Goran Leader looked at Rose and stood up, “What’s going on?”

“The Welken, Myot, Johan, and Audon have decided that I cannot be trusted to lead the Alliance forward against the Feeders.”

The Goran looked at the Welken, “Is this true?”

“She’s planning to use pilots to fly our warships that aren’t telepathic.” Rose looked at the military leaders behind their rulers and saw their immediate interest. She continued to lean back in her chair and waited.

The Goran turned to Rose, “Is this true?”

“It is.”

“And you think this plan will work?”

“I have two hundred million reasons to believe it should be done.”

The Welken stood and said, “I call for a vote of confidence. I vote to remove the High Leader from her position.”

The Myot and Johan Rulers hesitated but stood and voted with the Welken. Rose looked at the Audon and he was shaking his head and ruffling his feathers. “Why do you think this will work?”

“You should cast your vote, Great Leader. It appears my reasons carry no weight with the other leaders.”

“I need to hear your reasons, High Leader.”

Rose smiled and stood up, “I resign my position as High Leader. I will not lead the Alliance if every time I make a decision you are going to second guess me. No one can command under those circumstances.”

The Goran shook his head, “You can’t do this!”

Rose looked at him and lowered her eyes, “It’s done.” She stood up and started walking toward the double door. She stopped as the Leaders all stared at her and said, “The answer to the question I asked you at the start of the meeting is that the Feeders have all their ships built in three galaxies. The Alliance has four galaxies and we’re capable of building at ten times the Feeder’s capacity.”

The Welken shook his head, “Which does us no good when there aren’t enough warriors to fly them.”

Rose lifted her wrist unit and pointed it back at her desk. The huge monitor on the wall illuminated and Rose smiled, “The first recording you’re going to see is of a regiment of non-telepathic local defense forces dropping on two planets that have been conquered by the Feeders. The second recording is of a battle that took place an hour ago with twenty-five light ships. Those twenty-five ships were all piloted by Welken instructors that teach at the Academy on Eden. I think you should find the recordings entertaining. Ta Ta.” Rose walked out of the room.

The Leaders looked up at the monitor and watched the videos. When the video showing the space battle ended, the Goran looked at the other Leaders, “You are all incredibly conceited and insufferable. You’re too frightened to get in the fight and you’ve just dismissed the best one available to lead us. I’m sick of you.” The Goran turned and walked out of the conference room behind Rose. The room was silent as he exited and slammed the doors behind him.

The Goran looked at the Armored Warrior standing outside the door, “Where did she go?”

“She told me to tell you she’d be in the cafeteria.”

The Goran stared at the warrior and then started laughing. He walked around the corner and took the elevator down to the cafeteria. He found Rose sitting at a table eating a bowl of soup and she motioned him over. She smiled and said, “Take a seat.”

“Why did you do that?”

Rose shrugged, “We can do this without them if forced to it. However, I’m not going to play their games and have them running for the deepest hole every time I issue orders. They’ve lost their spirit over the centuries they’ve been out of the fight.”

“What do you think they’re doing now?”

“I’m hoping the real warriors in the room are beating some sense into them.”

“And if they fail?”

“Don’t sell them short, Great Leader. The Welken who participated in the battle should be showing up about now.”

The Goran smiled, “I’ve read about the first High Leaders and I can see we’ve been wrong to exclude your species from the position.”

“We weren’t ready and the previous Goran High Leaders knew it. The Goran and Human species also need to develop a spine. Why don’t you pick up a meal and let’s wait to see what happens.”

“What if they invite you back?”

“I’ll refuse.”

“Why?”

“They’re going to have to beg me right here in the cafeteria before I choose to go back. They’re going to have to prove their remorse before I accept the position again.”

“That could take a while.”

Rose smiled, “We’ll see.”

• • •

Twenty minutes later, the Audon Leader walked into the cafeteria and looked around. He saw Rose and the Goran and came rushing over, “High Leader, the Assembly wishes to speak with you.”

“I’m no longer the High Leader and I have nothing to say to them. If they want to speak with me, they can come here.”

“But…” Rose turned away from the Audon and lifted her sandwich. She took a bite and ignored him. He shook his head, turned, and left the cafeteria.

The Goran watched the Audon leave, “They’re too sanctimonious to come here.”

“Probably.”

“They won’t do it!”

“Have you tried the Cuban Sandwich? They’re fabulous.”

The Goran sighed and walked to the cafeteria line. He asked for a Cuban and walked back to the table. He opened it and took a bite. His eyes widened, “Now this is good!”

“I told you.”

Rose waited and smiled, “It’s time I put some pressure on them.”

“What? How?”

“Rose stood up and the Goran rose with her. She hugged him and said, “They have to believe I mean it. Right now someone is contacting them telling them I’ve stood up to leave.”

“Do you honestly believe that…”

Rose said into his ear, “Look over your shoulder.” The Goran turned around and saw the Leaders of the Alliance rushing into the cafeteria. Rose smiled and the Goran sent her a private thought, “Please make sure you and I are on the same page. I don’t want to be on your bad list.”

Rose thought, “It’ll never happen. You have a spine.” She looked at the Alliance Leaders and eventually allowed them to persuade her to stay. Now she could start getting things moving. But not too fast. The civilizations needed time to build up their confidence.

• • •

Rose entered the room and silence greeted her. Twenty-four hours earlier the Alliance Leaders were loudly applauding her. This time they kept their seats and stared at her. Rose smiled and sat down. She stared at them for a moment and looked at the Welken Royal, “You don’t like that only a unanimous vote can remove me?”

“It does place an inordinate degree of power in your hands. We are forced to follow your dictates.”

“I realize that and hate that it had to come to this. However, I will not be dictatorially forcing my decisions on you. I will discuss them with you before implementing them.”

“And if we disagree?”

“Why don’t we wait until that happens before we worry about it?” Rose pressed a button on her panel and looked at the assembly. The ones that flew the ships in the most recent battle were sitting in chairs along the left wall wondering why they were present. Rose ignored them and focused on the Alliance Leaders. “What prevents us from taking on the Death Feeders now?”