Lens of Time Read online

  The Horde Leader said, “We knew it would be. I’m thankful we used all our ships or we would have lost all the ships in the center lines.”

  RV said, “We need to assist the survivors now but we’ll meet and decide our next course of action in a week. If you would give me a ship count, that would help in making our future plans. Congratulations on our victory.”

  The two disappeared from RV’s display and Cyanna made a fast scan of the battle scene. The Horde and Hive had lost the vast majority of ships in the battle. The Union’s losses were nowhere near as severe. She reported her findings to RV and he had a little smile. Cyanna was shocked. He planned for it to happen just that way. He was not the man she had married. Something had changed him.

  • • •

  Dolly turned off the feed of the battle and Jeff could see her rage. He didn’t say anything because he knew what she was like when she was this angry. She stood up and stormed off the bridge. Jeff stared at the display and wondered what has her so angry. He wasn’t going to ask her until she calmed down. He looked at the screen again and wondered what she was seeing that he missed. They had won. Hadn’t they?

  • • •

  The Major Civilizations watched the destruction of their fleet and felt equal part anger and fear. All of them knew that if those Minors were given time to increase their number of ships they were all in danger. The discussions began and the momentum was building to combine against the rebelling Minors.

  The Nexu listened to the discussions taking place and knew they were going to be in a difficult situation if they didn’t agree to join the other Majors. The Leader thought to Jeff, “This is not a good situation. We may have to attack the ones that gave us the beam.”

  “Maybe we can stay out of the discussion and avoid it.”

  “They will not leave any civilization behind with all of their ships. We would never allow that to happen either. If the others combine, we will be forced to join them.”

  “Perhaps we can point out that the other sector would destroy us if we are weakened by attacking the Minors. You know they would jump at the opportunity.”

  The Leader thought about it and said, “I’ll pass that on to another and allow them to make the point. But I still think they will send a much larger fleet next time. We still may be forced to send an equal number of our ships if they do.”

  “We can only hope to delay this decision as long as possible. I’ll get one of the new probes close to the communication center and see what is being discussed.”

  Jeff listened to the conversations that were being held on open frequencies in the sector and knew that his friends were in deep trouble. He didn’t see any way for them to escape destruction. The Council may be forced to attack the humans.

  • • •

  The other sector was just as worried as the Majors. The discussions were evenly divided between attacking the Majors if they combined against the rebelling civilizations to joining them in the attack. The White Civilization listened in and saw that many were more worried about the White Ships than the Majors. Whatever happened, all of them agreed that the home worlds of the White Ship builders had to be found and destroyed. What was driving them to combine with the Majors was the fear that they would not have enough ships to take on the White Ship’s galaxy.

  The First listened and worried. He thought about all the White Ships he had built and knew that if only one of them was discovered, the entire sector would combine and attack. He wasn’t strong enough to stand up to their numbers. He continued to listen and contemplate what he could possibly do to prevent his people’s destruction.

  • • •

  Chapter Twelve

  George looked around the room at the Command Team and saw their fatigue and fear after the battle. The fleets were victorious but they had seen that if the Majors combined against them, they would lose. That was not a good vision to have. He waited for the room to silence and he said, “Congratulations on a great victory. We’re here to plan our next confrontation with the Majors and I guess all of you know this one is going to be massive.” He turned to RV and said, “Have you decided what we’re going to do next time?”

  “We will jump all our ships to the Major’s sector and fight them on their territory. Hopefully this will upset their planning and they’ll be forced to come at us without being organized.”

  The room was silent and no one said anything. George said, “Make your plans accordingly, Admiral.”

  The silence continued for a full minute and then Dolly stood up and gathered her things. George looked at her and said, “What are you doing, Dot?”

  “I’m getting out of this room. I can’t bear it any longer.”

  RV said, “What are you talking about?”

  Dolly turned around and Jeff saw her immense anger. “Oh boy. Here we go.”

  Dolly said, “I’ve been beating my head against the wall for the last week trying to come up with some reason as to why the two smartest and bravest men I know could have become the sniveling cowards you are now. The two of you disgust me to the core of my being and I’m not going to participate in your stupidity any longer.”

  RV’s expression turned red with his anger and he said, “Just who are you to say that?”

  “I’m someone who puts the welfare of humanity ahead of my own selfish reasons.”

  George said, “What are you talking about. We’d never do that!”

  “Oh yes you would and you have. You just don’t have the guts to admit it to us.”

  RV sneered, “You think you could do better?”

  Dolly yelled, “Anybody in this room could do better than the two of you.”

  Kenny said, “I could do a better job than you, RV.” RV’s head jerked around at Kenny and Kenny stared him in the eyes without flinching. “You’re not the man I’ve known and I’ve been wondering why.”

  Dolly said, “I’ve wondered that as well and I have to thank Jeff for allowing me to see.”

  Jeff said, “What did I do?”

  “You suggested we take a ship and leave to a safe haven and have a family.” Dolly spun around and looked at Meisa, “Meisa, are you pregnant?” Meisa stared at her for a long moment and then nodded. Dolly whipped around and stared at Cyanna, “Same question, Admiral Hardy.”

  Cyanna said, “Yes I am and what does that have to do with your accusations?”

  “Your husbands have decided that the best way to make sure the two of you survive is to allow the Majors to kill all of our ships along with all the Minors and their civilizations. They think we’ll then have time to build ships where we can eventually face the civilizations in M-87 and defeat them. They’ve written off any chance of actually winning the fight.” Dolly continued to stare at Cyanna and said, “Do you seriously think he’s going to allow you to be on his ship when that battle takes place?”

  Cyanna whipped around and looked at RV and saw she was right, “Is that true, RV?”

  RV didn’t answer until Cyanna screamed, “Is she right!?!”

  “You do not belong on a ship with our child. Especially one like the next one will be.”

  Cyanna sat down stunned. Dolly said, “Even a blind man could see that RV kept our ships in formation and didn’t allow us to go to the defense of the Horde and Hive ships. He wanted as many of them destroyed as possible.”

  Meisa said from her console, “Why would he do that?”

  Dolly looked down at George in his chair, “Because RV and George have decided that they must be removed as a possible future danger to their children. Even though thousands of the Horde and Hive ships placed themselves in danger to save ours that were outnumbered. Their treachery to our friends is absolutely unforgiveable.”

  Cyanna looked at RV and said, “You did that?”

  RV looked at her and didn’t answer but she knew the answer. “She’s right. You are not the man I married. You’ve killed my respect in you.”

  Meisa walked over to George and stared into his eyes. She went ba
ck to her console and picked up her bag and left the room. Dolly watched her go and then said, “And the level of stupidity you’ve demonstrated is almost beyond belief.”

  George saw Meisa walk out the door and said, “What are you talking about? This way our worlds will survive!”

  Dolly slowly shook her head and turned back to RV, “Ok Mr. Genius, what do you think the other sector will do once the Majors are weakened in their attack against us?”

  “If you had bothered to look at the records you’d know that answer. They’ll fall on the Majors and destroy them.”

  “That’s where you and my idiot brother are being blinded by your fears. I think you realize that our ships and small craft come close to matching the number of the Major’s combined ships. We will destroy a huge number of their combined fleet. That other sector is going to see that and who do you think they’re going to fear the most? Come on, give me an answer.” RV looked at George and they didn’t respond. “Now for what the two of you haven’t considered in your betrayal of our allies; they will find us easily if they choose to eliminate us as a threat first.”

  George said, “It will take thousands of years for them to scan all the galaxies before they can find us.”

  Dolly smiled and said, “How many ships would it take to scan a galaxy for a planet with humans on it instead of looking for technology? They’ll have more than enough bodies to scan for our physical structure.”

  George’s face showed his shock. He looked at RV and saw he realized what she was saying.

  Dolly leaned back and looked RV and George, “Why Honey Dumpling, I could use ten ships and find you if you were in a galaxy. They have hundreds of millions. I suspect they will be here within a week after the battle looking to share a mint julep with you. And the two of you have just gone out and destroyed all our ships.” Dolly sat down and leaned back, “Why, little ole me thinks Admiral Hardy would stand a better chance on that ship of yours RV. You could at least run from the enemy and save yourself like you did in the last battle.”

  Cyanna was crying; it was her fault that RV had lost his courage. She looked at RV and saw something. She wiped her tears and stared at him. “What are you thinking?”

  RV’s expression was almost rage. He looked at Dolly and said, “You’re right. I’ve been incredibly stupid. That ends right now.”

  Dolly sat down and watched him closely.

  George said, “What do you mean?”

  “You and I have forgotten what has allowed us to survive. We’re looking at all the things that could go wrong in the future and are losing sight of what’s happening today. There will be no tomorrow if we don’t handle today. We are going to give the Horde and Hive every piece of technology we possess. While they are updating their ships, we are going to start attacking the Majors at their planets.”

  George said, “Not the new light wave penetrator?”

  RV almost snarled, “We give them everything, George. She’s right. My fear for Cyanna and the baby has frozen me from taking any risks. The only way to survive is to hit them with everything we have and that includes our allies’ ships being converted to the strongest they can be in the time that remains.”

  RV looked at Cyanna and said, “I’m sorry. I know I’ve disappointed you but it won’t happen again.” RV looked at George and said, “If you don’t have the stomach for this you need to step out of the way.”

  George stared at RV and then looked at his sister, “Get the information out to our allies. I want the new penetrators equally distributed among our ships and that includes our allies. I’m going to have them bring their ships to our galaxy and let Boden assist them in getting them modified. We will also jump our ships away if we discover we are going to be overwhelmed when they combine and continue our hit and run tactics against their worlds. RV, do you have anything to add?”

  “Yes. We have four main fleets with more than thirty sub-fleets of fifty thousand ships in each. I want those fleets armed with the new penetrators and assigned a Major Civilization to attack. The fleet will not leave before firing one of those penetrators into the Capital of those civilizations.”

  Dolly stared at RV and he said, “This is what I didn’t want to do because I thought it would make us just like them. But that’s not the case. A rhino doesn’t wait for a predator to attack; it rams the hell out of it first. That’s what we’re going to do.” RV looked at Kenny, “If you want to replace me, I’ll step down.”

  Kenny smiled, “Nope, just wanted to get your attention.”

  “Well, you’ve got it. Now get the probes’ information from the Major’s sectors and assign your fleets to which civilization to attack. Get on it.”

  George turned to go find Meisa and found her listening in on the meeting at the door, “I’m sorry, Meisa. I’ve just been so frightened.”

  “I’ll forgive you but don’t let it happen again.”

  George pulled her close and said, “It won’t.”

  Meisa looked over George’s shoulder and said, “Thanks, Dolly.”

  Dolly froze and stared at Meisa, “How long have you known?”

  “As soon as you told George he was an idiot.”

  Dolly laughed and said, “I guess I gave myself away.”

  “You’re going to have to tell me how you’re here but that can wait until later. Get that information out to our friends.”

  Dolly nodded and left the room.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The Hive Controller looked at the Horde Leader on his display and said, “We lost too many ships fighting the Majors.” The Horde Leader remained silent. The Hive Controller said, “What’s wrong?”

  “Have you examined the video of the battle?”

  The Hive Controller knew what was coming, “I have.”

  “Did you notice that our so called friends stayed in their formations and did not come to assist our ships that were being overwhelmed?”

  “I did.”

  “I get the feeling that they might like to see us die.”

  The Hive Controller leaned back and said, “I killed their home world. I understand their reluctance to fully trust us.”

  The Horde Leader blew out a quick breath and leaned forward, “I know. It’s just frustrating seeing how powerful their ships are while ours are dying in the thousands. I know it’s good strategy to hold and preserve your most powerful ships until the end. I just wonder what we’ll have to do to show them we can be trusted.”

  The Hive Controller and Horde Leader both looked away from their display. The Horde Leader said, “I have a call coming in from the Union.”

  “I do as well.” The Horde Leader shrugged and said, “Let’s see what they have to say.”

  The two connected and saw a new Human female on their displays. She smiled and said, “Hello, I’m President Sierra’s assistant and he requested me to contact you and request your assistance in preparing for the next confrontation with the Majors.”

  The Hive and Horde leaders looked at each other on their displays and the Hive Controller asked, “What is he requesting?”

  The female pressed a button and the two leaders saw thousands of coordinates appear on their display. The Horde Leader asked, “What are these?”

  “These are the coordinates of the planets that build our ships for us. We request that each of you send ten ships each to those coordinates where we will modify them with our newest technology. The crews will be trained on how to use it while their ships are being updated. They’ll have to learn it quick as our builders tell me that it will only take six weeks to make the modifications. Then the next ships will be brought in and modified.”

  The two leaders were stunned. Finally the Hive Controller said, “How many coordinates are there?”

  “Two hundred and ten thousand.”

  “That means you can update two million ships?”

  “Actually, it’s four million. You were only counting the ships you send.”

  The Horde Leader said, “If the Majors see tha
t many ships removed, they may attack immediately.”

  “They are going to be entirely too busy to do that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “We didn’t do a good job of protecting your ships during the last battle. We’re not going to let that happen again. While your ships are being modified, our fleets are going to attack the Major Civilizations in their sector. We’re going to pin them down until your ships are completed.”

  The Hive Controller said, “Why are you doing this?”

  The female stared at them for a long moment and then said, “We’ve not been able to allow ourselves to completely trust you. I think you know why.” They nodded. “However, we’ve seen you sacrifice your ships to save ours. We know that our warriors are now brothers joined together in the fires of combat. We realized that to not give you the tools for survival was something that goes against all we believe in. I’m just sorry we haven’t done it sooner.”

  The Hive Controller said, “Are the new tools going to make any difference? You lost a lot of ships as well.”

  The female smiled, “Both of you should know that you save your best toys for the final party.”

  The two leaders looked at each other and the Horde Leader said, “You should know that our three peoples are joined in ways that can never be broken. We will never doubt or betray you.”

  “I think we have now managed to believe that. You should know where we are after what has happened.”

  “We do.”

  “Get your ships moving; we will start our attacks as soon as your first ones arrive.”

  • • •

  Dolly waited and stared at her communication panel. She pulled up the new weapons on her console and stared at the new penetrator and attack craft. She sat there four hours and then she pressed her communicator. A face appeared on her display and she said, “I need to have a discussion with you.” The face nodded and she started talking.

  • • •

  “RV, how did we miss them scanning for us physically?”