Defending Earth-Discovery Means Death (34 page)

The Welken looked at Rose and said, “What about the Purple Civilization?”

Rose took a breath and blew it out, “I’m going to go and have a conversation with them.”

Sam jumped out of his chair started shaking his head as the Goran thought, “WHY?!”

Rose looked at the Goran Leader, “I think the Purple Civilization has just learned the lesson that threats exist out in the universe that could place them in danger. I suspect they will also start taking a look around and to see and there is a real possibility they could stumble on our galaxies. That conversation has to happen before our civilizations bump into each other.”

Rose saw Sam’s expression and she shook her head. He sat down and Rose looked around the room. “We will continue preparing to confront the Death Feeders. If the Purple Civilization is defeated, we will go and complete the job. If they move within two months of our space before the Purple Ships attack, we will launch against them. We will have the forces we need within a year to do the job. Our destiny is before us and we will go out and find it out in the stars.” The room erupted in cheers as the Leaders all embraced Rose’s vision and began celebrating the future she gave them. Rose yelled, “The conference is over.”

Sam stood up and walked up to the stage. Rose looked at him and smiled, “Hi, handsome.”

“If you go to confront them, I will go with you!”

“I’ll be in good hands. I’ll be going with the two pilots that have been scouting them.”

“Even so!”

Rose stared at him and then smiled, “I understand. You can go with us.”

Sam’s relief was instant. He blew out a breath and smiled, “I guess this means we have to wait some more?”

“Only until after the meeting with the Purple Ships and the issue with the Feeders is resolved.”

Sam smiled, “I’ve waited this long. Another year isn’t that long.”

Rose put her arms around Sam’s neck and kissed him hard. The room started whistling and cheering as Rose broke the kiss and smiled, “That’s something to remember while we’re waiting.” Sam’s smile was huge and he left the stage to join Matt’s group of admirals. They slapped him on the back and Sam could only smile that huge grin.

Rose looked up and thought, “It appears we might not have to go to war with them.”

“Sometimes, simply preparing for the future causes it to happen in unexpected ways. As you just pointed out, your preparation isn’t wasted effort.”

Rose smiled and moved into the crowd. She went to Sam and took his hand as she talked with the warriors that would lead the Alliance into the future. She wondered if it were going to take longer than a year for the Feeders to see purple above their planets.

The Feeders were three months away from entering Alliance space when the millions of purple ships arrived. Every Death Feeder Warship was recalled to defend the home worlds and the Purple Ships delayed their full attack until all of them were present. There was no fleeing this time. The Death Feeders knew the survival of their species depended on defeating this invader and suicide runs into the Purple Ships became the chosen way to attack them.

Chase and Derek were there to witness what happened and record the result for posterity. They came out of the experience changed by what they saw. The battle at the two Central Planets lasted five months and then the Purple Ships spread out into the three main galaxies of the Feeders. They left the conquered galaxies alone. The Feeders on those planets lived in primitive conditions with little or no technology. When the warships from the Alliance moved in to scout what was once called Feeder Territory, all they found was hundreds of thousands of planets with smoking ruins of what had once been an advanced civilization. Many were still burning and gave witness to the titanic struggle that took place.

The first mission of the giant Alliance Fleets was to go out to the conquered galaxies and cleanse them of Feeders. The combined fleets of Telepaths and non-telepaths cleansed them in less than two years. The day the last Feeder died, Rose called Chase and Derek in to make the trip out to the planet of the purple civilization.

• • •

Rose looked at the planet and shook her head, “You say there are millions of Purple Ships around that planet?”

Derek nodded, “We can’t see them but the roar coming from the loudspeaker is their communications.” Rose took a breath and Derek said, “Speedy has found a way to make their thoughts understandable.”

Rose looked at him, “How did he do that?”

“It appears their thoughts flow in a pattern perpendicular to our normal pattern. Speedy will turn their pattern so it is parallel with ours and rotate our pattern to match their thought orientation.”

“Can they detect where our thoughts originate?”

“They aren’t telepathic and telepathy isn’t an electronic wave. We determined a few weeks ago that they cannot determine where our thoughts originate.”

Rose’s eyes narrowed, “You came back here?”

Chase nodded, “We knew were going to have a very precious cargo on board and we had to make sure you would be safe.”

Rose smiled and patted Chase on his shoulder, “That’s sweet of you to say.”

Speedy said, “It’s also very true, High Leader.”

Sam smiled at Chase and Derek and nodded to them. They knew how he felt. Rose stared at the display and said, “What do you think will happen when I start the conversation?”

Chase shrugged, “I suspect every Purple Ship around the planet and several million more will start looking for us. I’ll keep the ship out of their way.”

“And if they start firing their beams randomly?”

Chase looked at Sam, “Then I’ll skip the ship out to fifty thousand miles and continue the conversation from there.”

“Why don’t you go ahead and do it before we start the dialogue?”

Chase stared at him and then looked at Rose, “If you manage to open a dialogue, I thought you might want to come out of the barrier and reveal your presence.”

“WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT!?”

Rose put her hand on Sam’s arm, “This is why I was reluctant to allow you to be here. The Admiral is right. It may come to that.”

Sam looked in her eyes and then closed his eyes, “I’ll go to my chair and keep my mouth shut.”

Rose smiled, “That is a good suggestion, Sam.” Sam went to his chair and buckled in. Rose looked at Chase and Derek, “Are you ready?” Both of them shrugged and then Chase nodded. “Speedy, are you ready to send my thoughts?”

“I am, High Leader.”

Rose stared at the planet and thought…

• • •

Every Purple Ship in the planetary system heard at the same moment, “I have come to talk with the being who is the leader here. I come in peace and only wish to communicate.”

The Commander of the huge Purple Fleets heard the thought and yelled, “WHERE DID THAT THOUGHT COME FROM!?”

“Our tracking systems shows nothing.”

“ALL SHIPS, GO TO FULL POWER AND MOVE OUT NOW!”

Chase stared at his monitor and saw images Speedy was sending to it. Large blips appeared and he saw thousands of them moving out from the planet. They weren’t close yet. Rose sighed and thought, “I come here in peace. I will not attack your ships or your planet.” She paused and said, “Please, talk with me.”

The number of blips grew at an incredible rate and Chase began moving the ship. He didn’t believe they could be rammed in the barrier but he wasn’t taking a chance. The force field around those ships was made of the same energy that destroyed Carmichael’s ship in the barrier. Rose focused on the planet and could hear the thoughts of thousands of beings in the main government building on the planet’s surface. Derek looked up from his monitor, “We have company.”

Chase looked and saw a massive wave of blips moving toward the planet in the void. Rose thought for a moment and said, “We watched you destroy the beings that came here uninvited. I am not like them. They were also my enemy.”

Speedy said, “Someone on the planet has just ordered all their ships to stop and hold their positions.”

Rose focused on the planet and managed to find the being sending the orders. Chase kept his eyes on his display and said, “The ships are holding their positions.” He looked at Rose, “It’s all yours now.”

They heard a voice come over the loud speaker, “If you come here in peace, why are you hiding?”

“What would have happened if I didn’t?”

The being actually chuckled, “My warriors are somewhat enthusiastic in performing their duties. However, they no longer represent a threat.”

“Do I have your word that they will not open fire if I reveal my ship?”

“All ships will not fire unless directly ordered to do so. Commander, confirm that order had been received by your fleets.”

There was a pause and they heard, “Holiness, I ask that you not take this risk.”

“Do you think you could have prevented an attack if this being had not communicated and allowed us to know of its presence.”

“My ships had the planet surrounded.”

“Commander?”

There was a pause and they heard, “No, I could not have prevented it from firing once.”

There was another pause and they heard, “Why are you here?”

“To discuss our civilizations co-existing in peace.”

“This is not a very good start.”

“I agree. Revealing that we can remain invisible to your scanners has to make your warriors extremely nervous.”

“Then remove their anxiety and reveal yourself.”

Rose took a breath and looked at Sam who was biting his lip. She looked at Chase and nodded. Chase kept his finger on the white button. He pressed another button and the small warship entered normal space a thousand miles above the planet. Immediately, purple ships began moving between them and the planet’s surface. “I ORDERED YOUR SHIPS TO HOLD POSITION!”

Rose thought, “Please don’t blame them. They’re moving to protect you and I really don’t blame them for the effort.”

The Commander of the Purple Fleets was surprised by the comment. Who were these beings.

“Even so, I expect my orders to be followed. However, you’re right. Commander, stay away from that ship!”

“Yes, Holiness.”

“You said the One Eyes are also your enemy. May I assume that you witnessed our attack on them?”

“You may.”

“How did you find this planet?”

“We knew this planet’s location before they attacked it.”

There was a very long moment of silence and then Rose heard, “You had ships here?”

“I did.”

“Why?”

“I had more than two hundred million warships scattered among the four galactic clusters that lie close to you. The Feeders came here searching for my civilization and I sent my ships here to reduce their numbers. We’ve been building for hundreds of years to be able to one day confront their numbers.”

“Holiness.”

“Yes, Commander.”

“We encountered destroyed One Eye ships scattered among the galaxies and were unable to determine who destroyed them.”

“How many ships do you have here now?”

“As soon as we saw one of your warships, I recalled all my forces from your domain.”

“We frightened you that much?”

“Your ships are impressive.”

“I can sense in your thoughts that you aren’t afraid of them.”

“I respect them.”

“That’s not fear. That seems to indicate that you could be a real threat to us.”

“That’s why I came back. It’s my hope to convince you that you have nothing to fear from us.”

“And by extension, that you have nothing to fear from me.”

“You are right.”

“May I also assume that your civilization is quite distant from here?”

“It is.”

“Then why come here and allow us to learn of your existence. You could have just remained silent and work on technology to take my ships on in the distant future? I hope you understand that knowing of your existence concerns me.”

“It’s my feeling that one day, our civilizations will bump into each other and it’s that event that brought me here. I want that day to be peaceful.”

“Why would we encounter each other if you’re so far away?’

“Holiness, your civilization has just been attacked by a species located more than two billion light years away from here. If could happen once, it could happen again. I suspect you aren’t going to wait to be surprised by an advanced, aggressive civilization.”

The Commander shook his head. The Gathering had decided to send out ships a year ago. These beings were intelligent. That worried him.

Rose paused and continued, “We are not going to wait to be attacked. I am sending my fleets out to scout for threats to my citizens. That raises the possibility of our running into each other. I came here to promise you that my civilization will never enter your domain again.”

They heard a chuckle again, “Let’s for a moment say that you are an aggressive civilization, what would you be saying at this moment?”

Rose shook her head and remembered saying the same thing to the Nudges. “I’d be promising the same thing.”

“I’m impressed that you admit it. However, promises are meaningless between strangers.”

Rose hesitated and said, “I will give you the location of my civilization.” Chase, Derek, and Sam looked at Rose like she had three heads.

“Why would you do that?”

“Because we know where you are. You could never feel safe with that information in the hands of an unknown civilization. Things have to be balanced before we can come to an understanding.”

“Commander, what do you think about that suggestion?”

“I’d never, ever, do it Holiness.”

“I wouldn’t either. How would we know the location is a real one?”

“I’ll allow one of your ships to follow me back.”

“You’re putting a lot of faith in a species you know nothing about.”

“I learned that many of your planets are located close to other intelligent species and you co-exist in peace. I believe that you are not a conquering species and my faith is not blind.”

“And you aren’t conquerors?”

“We aren’t but may be forced into it in the future.”

How would that happen?”

“I’m serious when I say that we are going out to see if there are real threats to our continued existence. If we encounter a more advanced, aggressive species, we will hide and work to develop the technology to confront them.”