Lens of Time: Book 05 - Star Rover-The Worst of Time Read online

  Lens of Time Book Five

  Star Rover

  The Worst of Time

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter One • Chapter Two • Chapter Three • Chapter Four • Chapter Five • Chapter Six • Chapter Seven • Chapter Eight • Chapter Nine • Chapter Ten • Chapter Eleven • Chapter Twelve • Chapter Thirteen • Chapter Fourteen • Chapter Fifteen • Chapter Sixteen • Chapter Seventeen • Chapter Eighteen • Chapter Nineteen • Chapter Twenty • Chapter Twenty-One • Chapter Twenty-Two • Chapter Twenty-Three

  Excerpt From Star Chase Book Three Nowhere to Hide

  Books by Saxon Andrew

  About Saxon Andrew

  Introduction

  The small white ship arrived above the galaxy and began scanning for evidence of intelligent life. Light from this galaxy would take more than eight billion years to reach the Rover’s home planet but it was only a short jump from the last galaxy he had investigated. The galaxy was an ancient monster. His scanners indicated that it was one of the earliest ones that formed after the big bang started things rolling. It had also merged with two other galaxies since its long ago birth. He shook his head and marveled at its beauty. Most of the gas had been dissipated and only the billions of stars were left to shine with clear brilliant light. He stared at its beauty and once again felt small when measured against creation. He was stationary in open space, directly above the giant black hole at the galaxy’s core and it was huge. It had to be to hold this large a galaxy in its gravity well. It wasn’t very active as black holes went; the radiation beams shooting out of it were only ten light years long but they added to the beauty of the beast. Most of the material close to the singularity had been devoured long ago.

  His ship was only two hundred feet long but its size was not an indicator of just how powerful it was. It was powered by a Dark Matter Reactor which made the ancient, giant battleships that were all conquering pale in comparison. He heard a beep and looked at his control board and thought, “What have we here?” He queried the scanner computer, “Loree, what have you found?”

  “There are some particle readings that do not match up with anything in my database.”

  He studied the particles and said to the main computer, “Einstein, do you recognize any of them?”

  “No, they are not on my list of known matter.”

  He paused and after a moment reoriented the scanner. “Can you make a guess as to what they are?”

  “They appear to be the remnants of a high energy beam that was discharged centuries ago.”

  He was shocked at the answer. “Estimate the power of the beam.”

  “I’ll have to give two answers.”

  “Why?”

  “If it originated outside that galaxy it is at least a million terawatts. If it were fired inside the galaxy, twenty times that power.”

  “Is that even possible?”

  “Look at your display; it does exist.”

  “Jump us a thousand light years on the line it took out of the galaxy and see if you can get another reading.”

  The small ship activated the Dark Matter drive field and skipped through subspace. The Rover usually traveled in the boundary between subspace and normal space. Skipping along the barrier left no tracks that could be followed. It also allowed the advanced scanners to see normal space and subspace simultaneously. He reached forward and extended the advanced scanner fields. They moved out at light speed and in ten minutes he heard another ping. “Loree, what do you have?”

  “Six of those beams just went through our fields. A triangulation using the first beam indicates the beams were fired inside the galaxy.”

  “Yes, I can see that but these beams we just found were fired more than a thousand years before the last one we detected.”

  “It’s the same particles. Evidently, high energy beams were used quite often on this particular heading; there must have been a space battle where these beams originated.”

  “Start collecting light and see if you can pull up a picture.”

  “Stand by.”

  The Conner Field Emitters extended and sent the scanning fields out at light speed. It simultaneously began absorbing light and started condensing it into a pattern. If the normal electronic scanners were recording a beam at the current location, the Conner Field should be able to see what was happening at the time the beam was fired. He watched and then the images of a massive space battle began taking form. He hit record and watched the battle unfold. Two fleets were firing at each other and ships were blowing up in massive numbers. Neither fleet had an advantage over the other. “Stein, what can you determine about the beams and force fields being used?”

  “The beams do not have a spectrograph that matches anything in my data. However, it appears that both forces are using the same beams. Neither of them has an advantage over the other. This particular battle appears to have taken place more than three thousand years ago.”

  “What about their defensive capabilities?”

  “Their force fields are able to handle several hits but four or more in close proximity overwhelms them.”

  “Give me an estimate on our ability to handle those beams.”

  “I can’t make a good estimate. However, if we assume this battle is taking place inside the galaxy, which is a good assumption since they’re fighting around a planet, we would possibly be in jeopardy. We could not sustain hits over an extended period.”

  “How long could we endure them?”

  “My estimates range from two seconds to forty five seconds and that’s assuming only one beam constantly hitting our field.”

  “Go to battle stations.”

  “All our fields and weapons are now active. Scanners have been pulled in and moved to subspace. I am now scanning subspace as well as normal space.

  He looked at the scanner’s recordings again and searched for what he suspected must be present. He couldn’t find what he was searching for and said, “Loree, lower the force field and activate a scanner for a micro scan and see if you can find any sensor buoys.”

  “I’ve located a line of them just outside the galaxy. They appear at regular intervals and initial readings indicate they surround the galaxy.” There was a pause and Loree said, “I have a massive track approaching us in subspace.”

  He hit his jump board and skipped out into deep space. A moment later a hundred giant ships emerged into normal space and his former location was hit with hundreds of high energy beams. The microprobe that had been ejected when the small ship skipped away recorded the event with an active scan from ten miles away and immediately went inactive. It dropped into green space and floated in the barrier just below the surface of normal space. Twenty of the giant ships rushed in on its location but were incapable of finding it. The probe was the size of a water molecule in green space and was too small to be detected. The twenty ships searched for an hour and then moved back to the other ships. The microprobe sent its recordings through green space in a microburst. The Rover as well as the receivers on Earth’s defense satellites received them and discovered that a highly advanced, aggressive, civilization had been found. It was the third advanced civilization discovered by Rovers over the last thousand years; the previous two were not aggressive and represented no danger to the Union. This new one exhibited all the characteristics of a conquering species. The Commander of the Defense Network on Earth knew the galaxy in question was going to have to be scanned to determine if a planned expansion was a possibility. The risk of not knowing was too great and he prayed the thousand year peace was not ending. Ten more Rovers were ordered in to the firs
t Rover’s location as thousands of others were notified to be prepared to jump if needed. The Satellite Commander pressed his panel, “President Connor, we have found an Apex Galaxy.”

  President Connor’s expression showed her surprise, “We need to know their capabilities.”

  “We have already determined our ships will be in Jeopardy, Sir. There is a highly advanced civilization there.”

  “Are you serious?” The Sub-Admiral nodded. “Get Fleet moving on this now!”

  “We’ve sent the advance team and they’ll start mapping immediately. We’ll then decide what the best course of action will be after they complete their scans.”

  “I want ongoing updates, Admiral!”

  “We’ll feed the channel directly to your board, Sir.”

  “See that you do.”

  Chapter One

  Jillian Connor fought boredom as her main computer analyzed the incoming data. She began reviewing data from the galaxy she had just inspected and thought about going back and kicking some sense into a rather vicious species bent on conquest. However, their technology was no threat to Earth and its allies; her primary orders were to search galaxies for actual threats. Justifying the lost time would be difficult. She turned off her data feed and leaned back in her command chair and closed her eyes. Her sleep was interrupted by a loud klaxon and voice shouting, “We have a Red Priority Order coming in!”

  Jill almost flipped herself out of the chair as she leaned violently forward. She caught herself with her hands on the chair arms, “Darn it, you didn’t have to scare the wits out of me. What’s going on, Buck!?!”

  “I enjoy doing that, Jill. Anyway, an Apex Civilization has been found and we’ve been ordered to jump to the location of the Rover that found it.”

  “Jack do you have the Rover’s identity and location?”

  “It’s coming in now.”

  Jill glanced at her panel and shook her head, “Oh, this should be just great! What are the chances of this happening?”

  “Seven million to one.”

  “That was a rhetorical question, Bucket.”

  “Even so; those are the odds.”

  Jill sighed, “Go to battle stations.”

  “Done.”

  Jill stared at the Rover’s picture on her display and saw Dat. She slowly shook her head. She had rejected his advances four years ago when she was a Second Lieutenant and Dat was an Ensign. She still remembered saying it was not appropriate for a senior officer to fraternize with a junior officer. Now she was a First Lieutenant and he was a Full Captain. This was not going to be fun. She hit her skip drive still shaking her head.

  • • •

  Dat Arvolo watched the recording of the ships emerging and firing at his former location, “Stein, it appears they had my location in their drives before they jumped.”

  “That’s the obvious conclusion.”

  “What’s not obvious?”

  “The only other way they could have done it is to possess the ability to see objects in normal space while they’re moving through green space.”

  “Either method is troublesome; if they could lock down my position from sixty light years away, their scanners are equal to or possibly better than ours.”

  “And if they can see normal space while jumping, they are certainly our equal.”

  Dat nodded, “Were the beams they fired the same beams we originally tracked?”

  “No, Dat. They were on a much higher frequency and significantly more powerful.”

  “So how do we stand against them?”

  “The current red beams being used by those ships are much wider than the first one and that improves our chance of survival, slightly.”

  Dat thought about that observation; more powerful but not as dangerous. “Are you saying the beam is wider than our ship and thus would not deliver the full punch?”

  “I’d say it another way but that is an adequate description. If the beam was more condensed, it could possibly break through our field’s repulsion.”

  “Stein, you’re acting very uncertain about this.”

  “We have never had a beam that powerful fired at a Rover vessel. This is uncharted territory. We still don’t know the upper limits of our force field.”

  Loree announced, “I have a list of the ten ships being sent to support us.”

  “Put it on my panel.” Dat quickly scanned the list and his eyes stopped on the fifth name. He slowly shook his head. What were the chances of this? Loree said, “I noticed she was on the list.”

  “Loree, for a computer you are the nosiest I’ve ever encountered.”

  “Comes with wanting to see everything; besides, you named me after her.”

  “Let’s try to not allow her to see that.”

  “You’re the boss. There is another Full Captain but he has been told that you are the ranking officer on this mission.”

  “Am I?”

  “No, he has two years seniority. Of course that does not take into account the reality of your status.”

  “Let’s hope his ego can handle the slight.”

  “His last name is Anders.”

  Dat looked back at the list and pulled up Captain Ander’s bio. Son-of-a-gun. He was a direct descendant. Let’s see if heredity really functions with personalities.

  “They will arrive in twenty minutes, Dat.”

  “Thanks, Einstein. We need some locations to send them.”

  “Talk to Loree.”

  “I’m working on it.”

  “Let me know what you find.”

  • • •

  Dat sat back in his chair and sighed. He also recognized the last name on the list. Lt. Thomas Tranor. Dat knew his current standing with fleet was in part due to his ancestry. Having a famous Admiral as an ancestor could be a blessing but also a curse. He remembered his senior year at the Academy when a group of six cadets decided to take out their frustrations on him. Thomas Tranor led the group.

  • • •

  He sat at the bar and slowly drank his beer. The competition had ended three days earlier and he had won it for the fourth straight year. His roommate told him many of the cadets thought the completion was rigged for him to win. He sighed and shook his head. No one wanted to believe he won due to his skills. Suddenly, he heard, “Well look who’s here; the great Arvolo. Did the bartender slip you that beer for free?” Dat looked up in the mirror behind the bar and saw Thomas Tranor standing behind him with five other cadets. “We have to pay for ours but I’m sure it’s just handed to you.” Dat put his beer down and turned around. He looked Thomas in the eyes and determined he had been drinking. Thomas scowled, “What are you looking at?”

  Dat’s expression didn’t change but he said in a neutral tone, “Nothing of importance.”

  Thomas saw something in Dat’s expression that gave him pause. He couldn’t explain it but Thomas felt something wash through his consciousness. Arvolo wasn’t afraid. Dat was leaning back with both arms resting on the bar; Thomas sensed that Arvolo was more of a threat than he thought. He would have backed off but one of the cadets with him pushed him forward. They moved with him until they were three feet from Dat.

  The majority of the patrons in the bar were either employed by or studying at the academy. They began standing up and moving away from the group at the bar.

  • • •

  “Are you going to do anything about this?”

  The Captain looked at her date and said, “No. I’m curious about what’s going to happen.”

  “For God’s sake why?”

  “That cadet at the bar is Dat Arvolo. Fleet needs to see how he handles himself. Sit back; this should be interesting.”

  • • •

  Thomas was half a head taller than Dat and outweighed him by twenty five pounds. However, he saw that didn’t appear to bother the smaller cadet. Arvolo was about five feet ten inches tall and appeared to weigh about a hundred and ninety pounds. He was lean and strong. His brown hair was cut short and his br
own eyes were steady. Thomas sneered, “There’s no one here to hand you a victory.”

  Dat slowly shook his head and smiled, “You must not be allowed to get out and play very often. I’ll give you an opportunity to walk away and forget this but I’ll only offer it once.” Dat glanced at the six and took their measure. He had a thought that this was what his original ancestor must have done in his bar fights. The three in front were the troublemakers and they would make the first move. Two of the others would jump in at an opportune moment. The last one just shook his head. Dat determined he wasn’t going to participate. Dat watched the front three; which one was going to come in with Thomas? He saw the cadet on the left starting to shake just a tiny bit as adrenaline began entering his system. It would be him. He would have to be taken out first. Dat saw Thomas start twitching and knew it was about to start.

  Thomas drew back an arm and Dat slipped off the left side of his bar stool and crouched as Thomas’ roundhouse passed over his head. Dat spun and delivered a kick to the stomach to the cadet to the left and stepped back and watched another haymaker from Thomas pass in front of his face. He slipped to the left and stepped over the cadet on the floor trying to get his breath and delivered a short punch to the head of the cadet that had been on the right of Thomas. He was charging in and Dat watched him hit the floor hard. He then moved right as a frustrated Thomas expected him to move left as he swung another blow that missed. Dat elbowed one of the opportunists in the side of his head as he came up behind and tried to pin Dat’s arms. He fell on top of the first cadet. He then stepped inside another vicious swing from Thomas and punched him under the jaw. Thomas went up on his toes and then dropped faster than a bad transmission. Suddenly Dat was hit on the side of his head by the second opportunist and he fell to the left and rolled away.

  He shook his head and saw the two cadets still standing. The opportunist that had landed the blow said to the other, “Let’s take him.”

  The second cadet looked at the opportunist and punched him between the eyes. He fell to the floor and the cadet rubbed his fist and looked at Dat, “He had to be stopped from hurting himself.”