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***

  “Dee, when are you leaving?”

  “Violet has already left for one of the new colonies. I’m packing to join her.”

  Drey didn’t like the sound of her voice, “What’s bothering you?”

  “I sense an extraordinary level of danger to the Alliance. Things will start to snowball with this first invasion and, whether we win or lose, our galaxy will be a target quickly. I know it’s time to go.”

  “Has the exodus been successful?”

  “Violet has really made things happen. The planets were set up for the arrival of the colony ships and once the populations arrived and started farming, the ship construction facilities began going up. The Obelisk sent a duplicate of itself to the new capital planet I’m moving to and it will activate the moment anything happens to Moe. The King is standing by with the Royal family to leave once it’s determined the Invaders are coming.”

  “I just don’t see how so much has been done in such a short time.”

  Dee smiled, “That’s the advantage of living in a highly advanced civilization; automation is used on everything. The construction machines can build millions of homes a month while other machines provide the necessary materials to feed them. Also, many of the planets already have empty cities on their surfaces.”

  “How many will stay behind?”

  “Less than a third of our populations; some citizens refuse to leave.”

  “That is not good.”

  “Actually, they’ll be in less danger.”

  “Oh?”

  They’re spreading out on their planets and remember; the reason the Invaders attack civilized planets is due to high concentrations of food. They don’t like having to spread out over a planet’s surface to chase small groups. They’ll also find it hard going against our citizens, who will be armed with advanced blasters. They’re being trained in guerrilla tactics, so I expect the Invaders may just give it up and leave.” Dee paused, “Drey, where are you going during the invasion?”

  “I promised the Green Civilization to defend them.”

  “You know that will be a prime Invader target.”

  “They’ll wait to take them on.”

  Dee closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them, “You’re right; they’ll want to learn to walk before they run. They’ll take on weaker targets first.”

  “Do you know where they’ll be attacking first?”

  “The side of M87 furthest from the Green and Grey Civilizations would be my best guess.”

  Drey’s eyebrows came together, “I didn’t think of that.”

  “They won’t be hit unless we lose this first invasion. If we win, they’ll be one of the first attacked.”

  “I love you, Dee. Take care of yourself and our child.”

  “I wish I could be there with you. Come home to me, Drey.”

  “I’ll do what I can, my Love.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Albert Montgomery read the reports coming in from his forces in M87 and shook his head. The most difficult decision he had ever made as King of the Union was to order his planets to move their populations. The Milky Way was home and it had been bought and paid for with blood and tears. But the Obelisk had shown him the probabilities of survival if the Invaders attacked and he knew the decision was one that had to be made. The initial reports showed that the colonists, for the most part, really liked their new planets. If the Union survived, it would have doubled in size. He was certain many of the colonists would choose to stay at their new homes. The Obelisk should be delighted; humanity’s chances of survival went up with the move.

  Julie came up behind him and put her arms around his neck. He reached up and gave her arm a squeeze, “I hate leaving our planets behind.”

  Julie sighed, “The planets are not the Union, my Love. It’s the people on them. Wherever they go, the Union lives.”

  Albert smiled, “You always know what to say.”

  Julie came around his chair and sat in his lap, “It comes with the title. Now you need to make me feel like a queen.” Albert turned off his display and proceeded to do just that.

  ***

  The Senior Father saw his ships were close to being ready to attack. He thought a moment and activated a channel on his display. The Senior Father from the first attacks on the giant galaxy appeared, “Is there something you need?”

  “I just wanted to speak with you a moment before this invasion kicks off.”

  “Yes.”

  “I must say that I initially thought you were the consummate fool but now I have to congratulate you on your brilliance.”

  “Excuse me!”

  “You know that galaxy is dangerous. You got my Brother to lead the first attack and don’t act innocent; it wouldn’t take much to make that happen. Just suggest the glory to be had and he’d fall all over himself to do it. It’s not that which makes me see your brilliance. You recorded all your conversations and used them to prevent your Grandfather’s execution. The omission of telling my Brother how much glory was to be had tells me that there are other pieces missing from the dialogue. You deftly removed your family from attacking and, for that, I have to admire you. I’ve not been as successful.” The Senior Father just stared at him, “I’m not recording this conversation; even though I don’t expect you to believe me.”

  “Then why did you contact me?”

  “I suspect my Family is going to be chewed up when we invade. I’m hoping we can survive the attempt but I’m worried about what will happen afterwards. I humbly request you take the survivors and adopt them into your family if things go horribly wrong.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because you know you’ve played a major role in what happens to my family. You don’t achieve the positions we hold in our families without learning responsibility. I know you know something about the small Green Ships in that galaxy and you haven’t shared that information with anyone. You owe it to me to do this.”

  The Senior Father stared at his counterpart and swelled. He blew the air out of his skin and leaned forward, “I will do what I can to see your family is well treated.”

  “You can do that by adopting them.”

  “I will consider the request if what you’re suggesting happens. Are you so certain of defeat?”

  “No…nothing is certain. However, this has been a messed up mission from the start. I have no intelligence on what’s there, every attack has led to more and more destroyed ships, and I really believe the last successful attack was deliberately allowed to succeed by the enemy there.”

  “Why would they do that?”

  “To stop more than one Family from being used in the invasion; you should know that if there is great danger in that galaxy, the Council Leader will send your family in next. He wants your Grandfather’s influence removed from the council.” The Father flinched at the statement. “You’ll have a better chance than I will; you won’t go in alone.”

  “Good luck; I truly do hope you survive.”

  “If I fail, I’m dead either way.”

  The panel went dark and the Father felt shame. That Senior Father was so much more than that idiot advisor. He knew he had to do something to prevent his execution if he wasn’t successful. He pushed his panel and began talking with Grandfather.

  ***

  Lilly watched her ships attack the Dreadnaughts with a partner ship from the first Strike Fleet. The first engagement had been a huge failure, but they had improved tremendously in each subsequent attempt. She had found the pilots to command her squadrons with the help of the veterans from First Strike. She lifted her communicator, “All ships in Beta Strike Fleet will now join your assigned partner. Only Beta ships will participate in the coming exercise.”

  The pilots from First Strike said their goodbyes and saw that the training had increased their skills. They also saw some in the Second Strike Fleet were as good as their best. The pilots stayed to watch the exercise. Two hours later, the Dreadnaughts jumped in and the pilots of Se
cond Strike were ordered in. The veterans from the First Strike Fleet were shocked to see that the new pilots were more effective without them. The Dreadnaughts were eliminated at an incredible speed.

  ***

  Mikki watched the exercise and contacted Chip, “Sir, how do you explain their sudden efficiency?”

  “Have you ever had to work with a teacher looking over your shoulder? It made you try to do everything perfectly and prevented improvisation.”

  Mikki thought about it and nodded, “Sort of like when you trained us initially.”

  “Exactly; you and Bang were much more effective when left to your own devices.”

  “Sir, I hate to admit it but Lilly’s fleet is close to our skill level.”

  “Actually, they beat your time in the same exercise.”

  “Maybe, but we’re better now than we were then.”

  “True; notify your ships that we’ll be jumping out in thirty hours. Make sure your ships are provisioned and ready for extended fighting.”

  “Is it coming soon?”

  “Yes.”

  ***

  Mikki disappeared from the channel and Chip said, “Salud, have you given the coordinates for the missile transports?”

  “They are on station as we speak.”

  “Make sure they’re ready to rearm my ships.”

  “They’ve got it down to a science, Chip. The magazines will be directly loaded to the Thetas. Rearming should only take thirty five seconds.”

  “Get it down to twenty five.”

  “I’ll pass the word to the transports commander.”

  Chip looked at the feed from the enemy fleet and it was clearly shaping up; it wouldn’t be long.

  ***

  “Bang, how do you feel about reporting to me?”

  “Don’t feel guilty; we both know you’ve received higher scores in about everything fleet measures. You’re the perfect choice to command the First strike Fleet.”

  “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  Bang sighed, “I’m going to miss our day-to-day interaction most. I really am happy for you, Mikki.”

  “I already miss you, Bang.”

  “Come on; you’ll do a great job.”

  Mikki stared at him for a long moment, “That’s not what I’m talking about.”

  Bang saw his display go dark and he fell back in his chair. He replayed their conversation in his mind over and over and wasn’t sure what she was trying to tell him.

  Max and Claire continued to work their pilots against each other. It became almost impossible for any of them to gain an advantage against each other. Max shook his head, “You’ve got to get the shot off faster than that, Edwards. You’re going to be fried if you take that long!”

  Lilly appeared on their display and said, “Enough! I don’t want your groups to lose their edge from exhaustion. The invasion is imminent and I want your squadrons rested. Is that clear!?!”

  Max took a breath, “Yes Sir.” Claire sent a message to both groups to go back to base and get some rest. Max watched the ships disappear as Claire said, “Max, did that close call with the Invader’s beam affect your confidence?”

  Max shook his head, “It fired so fast. I thought I had timed it perfectly and I nearly bought it.”

  “I’ve asked Moe to analyze the attack and he says that the beam that almost hit you wasn’t fired by the ship you attacked.”

  “It wasn’t!?!”

  “No, it was the ship over it that began firing wildly. There’s no way you could have timed that other ship’s response. You still have your touch.” Max sighed. “Now what’s wrong?”

  “I’ve really been hard on our pilots.”

  “Trust me on this, Max; they’ll be thanking you if they survive.”

  “I’m glad they moved us to Lilly’s Strike Fleet.”

  “Me, too; now we need to get some rest as well. I’ll see you back at El Dorado.”

  ***

  Ian looked at Dom on his display, “How are your fleets shaping up?”

  “I’ve had their Admirals working them hard but with millions of ships to train, they’re not getting as much one-on-one attention as the Strike Fleets.”

  “You can only do what you have time to do. Get them rearmed and ready. It won’t be long.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “By the way, how’s Becky?”

  “She’s due next week. Congratulations on your son.”

  “Thanks, Dom. I hope to see him after this is over.” Dom nodded and hoped he would survive to visit Becky as well. It wouldn’t be long before he found out.

  ***

  The Senior Father looked at his Second-in-Command on his display, “Are you ready?”

  “My fleet is taking on the defender’s largest fleet. I have no idea how many ships will be sent to assist them when we arrive. I suspect all of our attacks will have to face huge numbers.”

  “We outnumber them. I’ve chosen to attack that sector in the hopes of reducing their numbers.”

  “Is that why you’re not bringing the transports?”

  “We won’t be able to defend them and use our advantage in numbers. The first planets will be destroyed; we’ll start gathering populations after we win the first engagement.” The First noticed his Second’s expression, “What’s bothering you?”

  “We’ve never had all the civilizations in a galaxy unite against us. We’ve defeated most galaxies piecemeal. This is going to be a new experience for us.”

  The First swelled as he took in air, “That’s due to them discovering our probes. We still have an advantage in numbers and I agree that it’s not going to be easy. I’m more worried about technology we’ve not seen during our initial attacks. Make sure every Father knows that, if we issue a withdrawal order, to follow it without hesitation.”

  “Do you think it will come to that?”

  “I hope not; however, that galaxy is an unknown place. That worries me more than their combining against us. Just be sure you don’t get surprised.”

  “I will, Father.”

  “Get your ships ready, we’ll launch in ten hours.” The display went dark and the Senior Father leaned back in his chair and hoped his ships were ready for whatever that giant galaxy threw at them. He was sending twenty thousand ships in each fleet against fifty thousand planets. Surely that would be enough. It had to be.

  ***

  Chip looked at the Green Civilization’s Fleet Controller on his display, “I appreciate you getting your ships here quickly. I know we’re going to need them.”

  “Have you determined where we’re going?”

  “No, our main computers will assign our fleets once the Invader arrives. My two strike forces will be assigned a planet each to defend. If we’re able to destroy the Invaders attacking those planets, we’ll be given another planet to defend.”

  “Has space been disrupted yet?”

  “Yes, every civilized planet in your galaxy is now inside a forty million mile wide area of disrupted space surrounding it. We should have time to pick our targets and get there before the planet is placed in danger. You’ll receive the coordinates as soon as I get them.”

  “Good luck; we’ll do our best to soften them up.”

  “Thank you; I hope it’s enough.”

  Chip’s display went dark and he heard his alarms go off, “War alert, war alert! Invader ships are activating jump drives. War alert, war alert!…” Chip turned off the alarms and waited for his assignments. It was starting.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Invasion

  The First Father saw his fleet suddenly erupt into normal space much earlier than planned and he turned to his Niece, “Why are we emerging this far out from the planet!?!”

  “Subspace has been disrupted and this is as close as we can go on our jump drives.” His nephew shouted from across the bridge, “All our fleets have encountered the same phenomenon, Father!”

  He swelled and knew he had no choice but to continue forward, “Order
the fleets to go to top speed toward their objectives.”

  His Nephew nodded and sent the orders. He watched as his hundred and fifty thousand battleships accelerated and knew it was going to take a long time to arrive at the planet. He worried about what else was waiting for him.

  ***

  Kregen saw his assignments come in and contacted Marissa, “I want you to go with me.”

  “Why?”

  “We may have to join in the fighting and I don’t trust anyone as much as I do you to be my wingman.”

  “How’s it breaking down, Kre?”

  “We’re only able to send sixteen hundred Alliance ships to defend each planet being attacked. We’re facing twenty thousand Invaders at each planet if the probes are right.”

  “We’ll have the ships from M87 to assist us.”

  “You know they won’t be able to kill the Invaders; the hard work is ours.”

  Marissa shook her head, “I’m locked on your transponder, Sir. Lead the way.”

  Kregen pushed his panel and normal space disappeared. He arrived at Kneath’s planetary system just as fifty thousand Pental ships arrived outside disrupted space. He saw the huge Invader fleet had entered disrupted space and was moving at their maximum speed toward the distant planet. The Pental Admiral appeared on his panel and Kregen said, “I need you to fire volleys of FTL missiles at the Invaders from above and below their formations. Don’t get inside the range of their beams.”

  The Pental Commander shook his head, “They’ll be able to kill the missiles if we fire that far out.”

  “I know; but we need to prevent losing too many ships early on. Some of your missiles will get through and we’ll go after those that are hit.” The Pental Admiral nodded and his ships disappeared as they went FTL. Kregen looked at the planet and saw the home fleet leaving to meet the Invaders. “Marissa, tell the defenders leaving the planet to hit the Invader fleet from above and below their formation.” Marissa nodded and Kregen pushed his communicator, “We are going to come in from the sides of the advancing Invader fleet and target any ship that’s hit by a FTL missile. Try to prioritize those ships hit by more than one. We’ll run along the edge of their formation and turn to make another run once we determine if our new missiles are effective against them. Go FTL and meet at the coordinates on your boards.” The sixteen hundred attack ships disappeared as they went faster than light.