Pray for the Prey Read online

  “They gave the White Ships advanced technology from the future to assist them in making sure we made our scan.”

  “Do you have evidence of that?”

  “We’ve looked at all the scans we’ve made and the White Ships were not any stronger than the other civilizations. That was true up to six million years ago, but in the present that has changed.”

  “A lot of advancements can happen in six million years. You need look no further than our own development.”

  “That’s true, but most of our advancements came from civilizations more advanced than our own. The first gravity gun is a good example. Where would we be now without the technology we stole from the Alliance, Jenze, and Moet?”

  George thought a moment, “You need to go back and see if you can determine when the White Civilization advanced technologically beyond the others.”

  “We’ll leave at the end of this meeting.”

  Bob said, “My fleet will be going with you.”

  Jillian said, “Why?”

  “For you to have a place to jump to escape; we will not follow you in because we would be a large blip on anyone’s scanners.”

  George smiled, “Take the help, Jillian. Be thankful that Admiral Hardy called in help. The Havana and Jukebox could not have handled those ships chasing you.”

  Chris smiled, “We appreciate your help Admiral Owens.”

  RV said, “I took a frequency reading of one of their ships. Focus in on the time when that frequency appears and look for a ship going to their planets.”

  RV paused and said, “If that ship from the future does appear, it changed the future of this universe and made it branch off from the old. We don’t know what our scan will lead to now and neither does the White Ship civilization. The future has been changed radically.”

  George said, “That’s not necessarily true.” RV nodded for him to continue. “You’re making an assumption that that was the only place in time they interfered.”

  RV nodded, “You’re right; I didn’t consider any other possibility.” He paused and said, “Is that why you’re determined to go to M-87?”

  “Do you see any way around it?”

  “No, if you’re right about that possibility, we’ll have to go.”

  Cyanna said, “You’ve lost me.”

  RV said, “The civilization that protected us is tied to us. Our future survival is linked to them and they know it. Right now they are holding on against the others. Their actions in saving the Jukebox from destruction may cause the others to combine against them. We can’t allow them to face that alone.”

  Bob said, “So there is another time traveling species in our future?”

  George looked at RV and nodded. He sighed, “No, there isn’t.”

  “Then who came back to that civilization?”

  “We did.”

  Jillian said, “What?”

  “They speak our language, Jillian. They expanded the globe the moment you announced you had completed the scan. We had to be the ones that warned them. Do you see any other possibility?”

  “Nooooo...you must be right.”

  Kenny said, “At least their ships are far more advanced than ours.”

  RV shook his head, “I don’t think so.”

  “They prevented you from jumping away.”

  “Their force fields are what prevented me from jumping. The globe of ships surrounding us had the inside of their force fields right up against the hull of the Jukebox. Our drive field couldn’t expand against them and we were prevented from jumping. That’s what made me start thinking about interference from a time traveler. That globe had to be the perfect size for that to occur.”

  “Well, they appear to be more advanced than the others.”

  “Kenny, we killed ten thousand ships from their most advanced civilizations. Of course we outnumbered them about a thousand to one and that’s why we were able to do it. We could hold our own against most of those ships. We might be overwhelmed in the end, but the victors know they would then be so weakened they would be destroyed by the other predators. I suspect if we were in that galaxy, we would be given a wide berth as well.”

  Cyanna shrugged and said, “One of those ships required two hundred beams and mini-strikers to kill it.”

  “Hey, you’re singing to the choir. Building more ships is not the answer to this problem. We need a weapon that would be effective against millions of those ships.”

  George leaned forward, “I’ll get Dr. Morrison working on it with Boden. It will probably have to be a development in the strikers. Our beams can’t be made any stronger.”

  Jillian smiled, “Right now a striker uses speed and mass. Perhaps adding energy to the package might make a difference.”

  Cyanna slowly shook her head, “It’s hard to believe that a weapon strong enough to destroy a planet can’t destroy a ship.”

  George said, “It can obliterate a ship. It’s the force field that destroys the striker before it can hit the ship. A planet has nothing between it and the striker.”

  Kenny sighed, “A planet is nothing but a giant ship circling a star. Even the Jenze knew that and developed a force field for their planets.”

  Cyanna saw RV’s and George’s expressions immediately change. “What are you two thinking?”

  George said, “And the Jenze didn’t have reactors as powerful as ours.” George turned to Meisa, “Get Dr.’s Levin and Morrison here now!”

  Kenny looked at RV, “What did I say?”

  “You reminded us that a planet is just a large ship. Why can’t it have a force field?”

  Kenny smiled, “I see no reason why it couldn’t if you have enough power to make it large enough.”

  “We have power in spades.”

  “We also have those old force field generators on the Alliance planets.”

  George said, “That’s where we’ll start exploring this concept.

  RV smiled and said, “But first we have to welcome some visitors.”

  George said, “Not before Chris and Jillian take a look at the six million years before we took our last scan.”

  “Always spoiling my fun.”

  “Don’t worry; it just gives us more time to plan a bigger party.”

  “I know who will provide the piñatas.”

  George laughed out loud.

  • • •

  Two weeks later Chris appeared on George’s display. George smiled, “Did you find what you were searching for?”

  “Yes, we did.”

  “That didn’t take long.”

  “We skipped the entire eight million years and started at five thousand years ago. At that point in time the White Civilization was no stronger than the others.”

  “And?”

  “There was a remarkable change when we reached two hundred years ago. We backed out to two hundred and fifty years and scanned to two hundred. You were right.”

  “What did you see?”

  “A small ship similar to our current attack craft appeared above the planet and was allowed to land. It remained there for three weeks and then launched and disappeared.”

  “Did you see anything else?”

  “We saw the ones that exited the ship when it landed.”

  “Who was it?”

  “RV and Cyanna, but they were older.”

  “How much older?”

  “They looked to be in their fifties.”

  George thought a moment and said, “You will not tell anyone about who was on that ship. You will only confirm that it was one of our ships.”

  “I understand and will do just that. Jillian will also follow these instructions.”

  “No one should know their future. They might change it just to see what happens.”

  “We are both thinking the same thing, George.”

  “Thanks, Chris. Bring the Jukebox home and start seeing if you can give us a story of what’s happening in that galaxy.”

  “We’ve joined Admiral Owen’s fleet and will
be jumping shortly. What do you want to do with this record?”

  “Bring it to me personally. I’ll hold on to it.”

  George leaned back in his chair and furrowed his brow. He had expected Zack and Izzy to be the ones that went to that civilization. He shook his head and turned back to the report on the Alliance pyramids.

  • • •

  The Aide approached the entrance and pushed a button. “Enter.” The door slid up and he stepped into the entrance and waited. “Why are you here?”

  “One of our spies in the other quadrant notified us that one of the civilizations prevented a red ship from outside the galaxy from being destroyed.”

  “So?”

  “More than a million ships pursued the ship when it jumped away but only ten thousand of the most advanced ships were able to continue the pursuit.”

  “And?”

  “Those ten thousand ships have not reported back to their civilizations and there is no clue as to their location.”

  “Now that is interesting. Did any of them scan the Red Ship?”

  “If they did, they are not sharing what they saw. Our spy’s ships were not one of those that continued the pursuit.”

  “Are the others planning any action?”

  “There’s a lot of talk, but no one trusts the others to do anything.”

  “Someday we are going to break this jam.” The Aide waited and heard, “But not today. Keep me informed about this. Have you passed this on to the other Majors?”

  “I have waited for your approval.”

  The large creature thought about it and decided the risk wasn’t worth it. If that spy was double dealing and told another Major that he knew…it would cause unnecessary problems. “Send the information.”

  The Aide bowed and backed out of the entrance as the door closed in front of him.

  • • •

  RV looked at Cyanna and said, “I notice that there is a disproportionate share of Jenze in the fleet.”

  “They are motivated to even the scales. Their populations have been assimilated into the colonies and they have had an impact on the colonists from Earth.”

  “In what way?”

  “They’ve shared their history with them. They’ve been fighting for millions of years to survive. They believe in everyone working together to make that happen. They come from a military culture and understand discipline and honor. They insist on doing their share of fighting our enemies.”

  “Where are Zack and Izzy?”

  “They’re on Dundee. There is a large Jenze settlement there that they’ve made their home.”

  “Do they have any assignments?”

  “Not at the moment; why do you ask?”

  “No reason, I was just curious.”

  Cyanna looked back at her panel. RV never asked a question without a reason. Why was he asking about the crew of the Ninja? She shook her head, looked back at him, and saw him smiling. “Is your first name still Enigma?”

  RV started chuckling, “It is.” He continued to laugh as she turned back to her board to watch the new ships go through their maneuvers.

  • • •

  Kate stood in space dock watching the Scotland undergoing repairs. Her executive officer, Commander Jayne Whitlock sighed as she stared at the massive damage done to the bow. Kate shook her head and Jayne said, “We’ve got to stop meeting at this location.”

  “I know. I just can’t understand why I’m always in the place where a collision is needed.”

  Jayne looked at Kate, “Was one really needed?”

  Kate blew out a deep breath, “That ship had been hit with fifty strikers and was still able to extend a jump field. We couldn’t risk that ship escaping with the scans I know it took of our fleets.”

  Jayne looked back at the Scotland, “At least we only lost three members of the crew and the Scotland is repairable.”

  “President Sierra has awarded the ship a distinguished citation from the New Commonwealth Union. It will be the Union’s first. I’m to receive a medal as well.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “I honestly don’t want it; I’d rather have my three sailors alive.”

  “Captain, we all chose to go into harm’s way when we enlisted. You put yourself in the most danger by being closest to the impact. The crew knows you could have flipped the ship and backed into it. They respect you for taking that risk. If I might make a suggestion?” Kate turned to Jayne, “Next time launch a few strikers in front of us to soften our impact.”

  Kate smiled, “Do you think that would soften things up?”

  “Not really, but it would give you time to turn away if they work.”

  Kate turned and stared at the Scotland and noticed something different. She looked closely at the bow, “Is that what I think they are?”

  Jayne smiled, “Yes, they are. The engineers are installing eight striker tubes on the bow. They’ve named them Kate’s Diamond. They’ve asked that you use them before your next trip in for repairs.”

  “I guess I’m developing a reputation.”

  “Your Needle Pilots have named their wings the Hard Hitters.”

  “And the Attack Craft?”

  Jayne tried to answer but started laughing as Kate waited for a response. Jayne tried to tell her but her laughter took her before she could say it. Kate waited and Jayne finally managed to say, “The Ka-pow Wing.” She then laughed so hard she dropped to the floor.

  Kate thought a moment and said, “I like it.” She looked down and thought she was going to have to call for a medic Jayne was laughing so hard.

  Four months later. Kate was promoted to Rear Admiral and took command of six thousand ships. Jayne was promoted to Captain of the Scotland, which became the fleet’s flag ship. Every ship in Kate’s fleet was known for the striker tubes on their bows. Soon, all ships were built with Kate’s Diamond.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “Are you sure you can’t persuade them to leave?”

  “George, they insist on staying. They feel like abandoning their planets would give the Violet Civilization a victory they don’t deserve.”

  George stared at Bender on his display, “What do you think about that?”

  “I’m staying with them. I happen to share their sentiments.”

  “You’re placing a lot of trust in the force fields.”

  “I know, but we can also call for help if we’re attacked.”

  “What if they can penetrate the force field?”

  “That’s a risk we’re willing to take. Our ships can’t penetrate it.”

  “Where are we with synchronizing them with the probes?”

  “They are fully operational. If a ship enters normal space and doesn’t have a fleet transponder, the force field will automatically deploy before it gets into firing range.”

  “Darn it, Bender, we’re going to invite an invasion. You could always come back afterwards.”

  “If Earth was still here, would you leave?” George didn’t respond and Bender said, “I thought so; well, we aren’t either. These are our home worlds and we will not abandon them.”

  “I can assign some ships at each planet.”

  “They are better used to confront the invasion. There are many planets that will not be attacked and those ships would be wasted. Use them to make them pay for their actions.”

  George nodded and turned off his display. The Fleet had grown to more than two million ships over the last five years and now it was time for them to be used. He thought about it and then pushed a button. Admiral, are you ready?”

  “Are they going to leave?”

  “No, they aren’t RV. I can’t say I blame them.”

  “They are warriors at heart. We have the assignments made and the initial ships are ready to jump.”

  George stared at RV and said nothing. RV finally said, “This is for Dolly, Jeff, Arnold, and Hemon.”

  “Start the mission.”

  RV looked at Cyanna and she punched the code. Fif
ty thousand main battleships jumped into Earth’s orbit.

  • • •

  The Fleet Controller saw an alarm go off on his panel and pushed the button. What he saw shocked him. He immediately pushed a button to contact the Hive Controller. “There are thousands of large White Ships…”

  “I know; I see them!”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “I don’t know; do you have a suggestion?”

  “I’ll get back to you.”

  The Hive Controller looked at the display in the top right corner of his wall and saw his greatest nightmare coming to life. There were fifty thousand ships that dwarfed the small ship that had destroyed the Home Hive. He brought the view in closer and saw a hundred of those small craft attached to the hull of every one of those ships. He was frozen with fear. There was no possible way to send a large enough fleet to that galaxy. He stayed in his cell staring at the ships until one of them moved out to the probe and the display went dark.

  • • •

  Kate punched her board, “I’ve destroyed the probe.”

  RV smiled and said, “Move to your assigned position.”

  “Yes Sir.” Kate looked at Jayne and nodded; she sent the orders. The fifty thousand ships of the Diamond Fleet jumped away to join the other forty fleets.

  • • •

  The Fleet Controller appeared on the Hive Controller’s display and he said, “Do you have a plan?”

  “I’ve tried to think of every possible way we could send an attack fleet to that galaxy and there’s no way we can do that without allowing the Horde to overrun us.”

  “Will you please tell me something I don’t know?”

  “Send a message to the Majors that the White Ships are back.”

  The Hive controller just shook his triangular shaped head in disgust, “You know the conventions. They speak to us; we are not allowed to speak to them. If we put ourselves into a problem, we have to resolve it. They are not a resource we can use.”

  “But they insisted we scout that galaxy.”

  “And they said they would contact us if they needed anything else. They didn’t say contact them if we uncovered anything new. You don’t want to violate a convention. That would lead to an even worse problem.”

  “It can’t be much worse than this. We can’t do this alone.”