Kosiev sat in the library at Castle Gardner while Twig fed all of the history of the Stars Realm since the destruction of the Moscow into his mind. The previous three days had been a mad rush from celebration to celebration. Tgon-Gee, Admiral Mikado, and the Eldest of the Algeans had come to welcome him home. He acted in high spirits but he felt that time had passed him by and left him with nothing to do. The thought of these new ships and the race of Captors that the Realm was now fighting for survival left him hollow inside. He was used to being in the center of all the action and now he knew he was not going to be where he wanted to be. The Statue of him at the fleet academy and the outright adoration of everyone he encountered only served to make him feel like he should have just stayed dead. How could he possibly live up to the legend that had been built around him? “Oh, well, I’ve never met a legend before. At least my actions saved the fleet.” He then thought about Tag and how he now looked as old as he did. According to what he had been told, he had died more than twenty six years ago but Tag did not look twenty six years older. As he thought about it, Danielle didn’t either. “I’ll have to ask him about that.”
Then he leaned back on the couch and Twig entered his mind and began the transfer of information. He closed his eyes and felt the rush of new knowledge. He stayed like that for two days which only seemed like a couple of hours.
Twig began the transfer and sorted the information into his memory centers and organized it so that it would make it seem like he had lived all of the time that he had been gone. She also looked into his mind and got a full account of the war between the Realm and her race. She was amazed that the humans had worked to prevent the destruction of her species after all the worlds that the Algeans had destroyed and harvested. “I’ve got to share this with Sprig,” she thought and then focused on the transfer.
Kosiev opened his eyes and blinked. “Wow, a lot has happened,” he looked at Twig and said, “Thank you. It’s like I’ve been here living all of this history. Now I know what I’ve missed. I also noticed that you’ve given me a full understanding of the new ships, weapons, and teleportation devices.”
“Admiral, how can you be an asset if you don’t know how everything works? I suspect you will be put to work shortly.”
“I really hope so, Twig. At least I won’t be lost now in the details. How did you do this?”
“We’ve learned how to download information in tremendous quantities and organize it. This transfer was really rather simple and I think that if you focus on a problem you’ll find what you need to know in your mind now.”
Kosiev smiled and stood up, “It’s time to go to work. I’m truly glad we came to be friends with your species. I would have never guessed that we would become friends during the time of our conflict.”
“You have Queen Rose and Admiral Dorg to thank for that.”
Kosiev frowned and said, “I wish he were still alive. I grew to have a tremendous respect for that Cainth. We could use him now.”
Twig lifted her limbs indicating a smile and said, “We feel the same way about you, Admiral.”
Kosiev smiled and, “Thank you again; I hope I can meet your expectations. Do you know if Cade McAllister is still around?”
“Yes he is; he’s retired and living on Ross.”
“Will you give me his com number; I need to talk with him about an idea I have.”
Twig put the number in Kosievs’ mind and he left the library to make a call.
Five days later Tag, Danielle, Rose, Tommy, Cassandra, Tgon-Gee, Admirals Mikado, O’Donald, and recently promoted McAnn were in the map room of Castle Gardner discussing the upcoming battle with the Captors. Tommy said, “We have to attack within twelve weeks. The places in space that the Captors use to see the universe will be cooled enough for them to find us in sixteen weeks. We have to prevent them from seeing the planets of the Realm. We’re only going to have 150,000 ships to fight more than four million of the Captors and if you look at their world you’ll see that they are staged in multiple layers expecting us to come.”
Danielle looked at Tommy and said, “Why can’t you heat those nerve centers again?”
Cassandra shook her head and said, “Last time I entered one of those centers, I almost exploded the energy particle in it. If I had, it would have created at new universe with a big bang. I’ve gotten a better feel for what is happening in that particle and I don’t think that it will endanger our universe but I also sense that now is not the time for it to happen. I don’t know for certain what the consequences would be if it happened too soon.”
Admiral Mikado frowned and said, “How are we going to do this? Are we just going to jump in and start shooting or do you have another plan?”
Tommy looked at Cassandra and saw that she was letting him come up with the strategy for the battle but Tommy was just not certain if what he was planning would work. “If we just jump in and start shooting, we will be barraged by millions of those energy balls that can destroy our ships. We have to come up with a strategy that allows our ships to escape those barrages.”
The door to the map room opened and Admiral Kosiev and Cade McAllister entered. “I hope you don’t mind if we join you,” Kosiev said. “I understand you are working on the battle plans for the upcoming campaign against the Captors.”
Rose stood and went to meet Kosiev and said, “We are and you’re certainly welcome to join us. We just thought that you needed some time to get up to speed.” She then hugged him and indicated two chairs at the end of the table. “Hello, Colonel McAllister, I thought you were retired.”
“I am your Majesty, but Admiral Kosiev contacted me and asked me some questions that generated my interest.”
Tag looked at his two old friends and said, “Uh oh, you have that look on your faces.”
Kosiev smiled and said, “Some things never change.” He then set a bag of popcorn on the table with a drink and said, “You’re stuck on how to attack without losing ships.”
Tommy did a double take and said, “As a matter of fact we are. How did you know that?”
“It’s obvious. However, I want to discuss an idea I have about getting the numbers even before we take them on ship to ship.”
Tommy cocked his head to the side and said, “I’m all ears.”
Kosiev looked at McAllister and he stepped out of the room and came back in holding a white ball about four feet in diameter. Kosiev leaned back and said, “This is a ball made of Coronado Power Cells. I learned that we are now able to mold the cells into any shape we need.”
Tommy looked at the ball and said, “Is this something significant?”
McAllister said, “What would happen if we pushed this ball into the skin of the Kosiev?”
Cassandra immediately said, “It would take on the characteristics of the skin.”
“Exactly, and if it were put in next to the dark matter inside that skin,” Kosiev asked?
Cassandra thought a moment and said, “It would probably absorb some of the dark matter into it and then float back to the surface.”
Kosiev smiled and said, “That’s what I thought. Right now you fire the penetrators through the skin of the Kosiev and send a piece of dark matter at the target. It’s similar to firing a projectile weapon in that the dark matter cannot change direction once it leaves the skin. If you fire it too far away, the Captors just move away which means you have to close to use it effectively.” Kosiev took a handful of popcorn and put it in his mouth and began chewing it.
Tommy watched him and said, “Is there a point here?”
Kosiev smiled and said, “I checked on the penetrators we used in our last battle with the Algeans and found out that we still have two million in our stockpile.”
Rose said, “Those weapons have no affect on the Captors. Their screens stop them with no damage.”
Kosiev said, “What would happen if each of those penetrators had one of these balls in it instead of hornets and that ball fired the dark matter into the Captor upon impact?”
The room was silent. Everyone thought about what Kosiev said and Tag said, “Then the dark matter would be pushed into the Captors screens,”
“Exactly,” said Kosiev. “You use the old two screen penetrators and jump them less than a mile from the Captor. The penetrator will accelerate before it jumps so it should come out of its jump at full speed and cover that distance in less than a hundredth of a second.”
Tommy thought furiously and said, “But you have to know the exact location of the ships you target in order to jump it in that close and there are millions of them that are constantly moving. It would be next to impossible to target them on individual ships.”
Kosiev looked at McAllister again and he went back to the door, opened it, and nodded. Twig and Sprig entered and Kosiev said, “Tell them what you’ve seen in the Captor’s system.”
Sprig looked around the room and said, “I guess you wonder how we would target the penetrators?” He looked around the room and saw everyone looking at him so he continued, “Normally the Captors are moving around their system but I’ve seen Cassandra’s view of their system and they have changed their tactics anticipating our attack.” Sprig punched a button on his com and a picture of the Captor’s system appeared on the room’s maid display. Everyone saw row upon row of Captor ships arranged in bands surrounding the planet. The ships were not moving and were arranged in globes around the planet. Twig said, “We have the coordinates of every ship in the system. We should be able to program the old penetrators so that one is assigned to the ships located in the two outer bands.”
Tommy looked at Kosiev and said, “How do you make the balls release their dark matter on impact?”
Kosiev looked at McAllister again and Cade stood and said, “We put a miniature penetrator firing mechanism on the ball and have it fire when the penetrator hits the Captor’s screen. The sudden impact will actuate the firing assembly.”
Tgon-Gee said, “Have you tried this yet?”
Kosiev smiled and said, “As a matter of fact we have.” The display came on again and a small asteroid more than four miles across appeared on the screen. “Of course this asteroid does not have a screen but for the sake of seeing if the impact will cause the ball to fire, it will give you an idea of what would happen.” The display began moving and suddenly a bright flash appeared close to the asteroid and the asteroid blew up in a huge explosion. Nothing was left. “I’ve had this recording slowed down to one thousandth speed but I think you can see what would happen.”
Everyone in the room was amazed. Tommy said, “How long before those penetrators can be ready?”
McAllister said, “If we start manufacturing the balls immediately and our two Algean friends here can begin designating their targeting systems, about four weeks. We will need the Kosiev at the penetrator’s location along with all the other megaships that have had their skins converted to process the balls.”
Tommy smiled and said, “This will only work once. They won’t remain in a stationary position if this works.”
Rose said, “Can we produce more of the penetrators in time?”
McAllister shrugged and said, “No, we disassembled the facilities that manufactured them years ago. It would take more than three months to start producing them again.”
Cassandra said, “We don’t have that long. Four weeks is cutting it close as it is.”
Rose stood and said, “Welcome back Admiral Kosiev. You will assume your position as Fleet Admiral again and move your flag to the Alexander Kosiev. You and Tommy will be responsible for the actions against the Captors.”
Everyone in the room stood and began applauding. Kosiev felt his spirits soar; he was back and there was a battle to be fought. He felt like he was home again.
Tag looked at his old friend and for a moment was jealous. Then he looked at Tommy and Cassandra and knew that they were better qualified to handle the campaign. He looked at Rose and said, “Permission to be aboard, Your Majesty?”
Danielle stood up and looked at Tag with consternation on her face but then she heard Rose say, “Permission denied; I am not going to put all of our eggs in one basket. If something happens to the Kosiev, the Realm will need you to lead us.”
Tag took a deep breath then said, “You’re right.” Then he looked at Kosiev, shook his head, and said, “You always have the most fun; give em torg, Alex.”
“Kosiev smiled and nodded.
The Old Watcher thought about the nexus and decided to contact the First Male. “Do you have a moment?”
The First Male turned his attention from observing the system defenses and said, “I always have time for you.”
“The nexus should be ready for use in a short time. I’m surprised the strange ships have not attacked us yet.”
“I am also at a loss. However, if they see our layered defenses they may not want to take us on here in our own system.”
The old watcher thought for a moment and said, “I hope you are right but that has not stopped them in the past. I just wanted you to know that if they are coming it will be soon.”
“Thank you, Old Watcher. I’ll place every one on alert.” The First Male contacted the Queen and said, “First Mother, I fear an attack will happen soon. I want you prepared to jump away if the strange ships appear.”
“Where do you think I will be safer than right here among our warriors?”
“If they attack, then they will come looking for you and me. They have a weapon that can destroy us if it hits. I want you and your escorts to jump out of the system at the first sign of trouble and keep jumping until I tell you to come back.”
The First Mother was silent for a long moment and then said, “I want you to jump with me. If it’s not safe for me, it’s not safe for you.”
“First Mother, I have restrained from leading our attacks, but if I go then we will not have the leadership needed to defeat the enemy. I must refuse in this instance. This is our home and I will not run from its defense.”
“I know you are right but I want you at the center of our warriors starting now. If it gets dangerous, I order you to save yourself.”
The First Male fought the impulse to refuse and then said, “I will if I am in danger.”
“Please don’t be rash. As long as you and I survive our race will live. Do not jeopardize our future.”
“I won’t First Mother.”
“Tommy, I’m afraid that I may not be able to avoid igniting the particle in energy space much longer,” Cassandra thought.
“What’s happening Cassandra?”
“I am being drawn to the nerve centers, Tommy. Even in my sleep I have to fight entering them. I think that the time has come and I just don’t know what will happen if it ignites.”
“Sprig, will you and Twig join Cassandra and me for a moment.”
“Certainly, how can we help you?”
“Sprig, I am being drawn to the nerve centers of the energy particle. I have the feeling that it is time for it to ignite and I have to fight to stay out. The urge is getting more and more difficult to resist to go in and ignite the particle. “
“Cassandra, what do you think will happen if the particle ignites,” Twig asked.
“I honestly don’t know but it seems that my destiny is to do exactly that. It’s almost like a baby whose time for delivery has come.”
“Sprig, are the old penetrators ready for use?”
“Yes they are; the last of them were targeted and loaded with the Coronado balls yesterday. Cassandra, the temperature of the nerve centers has come down to where the Captors can use them again. Perhaps you should go ahead and ignite the particle let’s see what happens. I have studied it with Twig and we don’t have a real idea of what it will do but we suspect that the explosion will not enter our universe but will explode into a new one. I hope that’s the case but we just don’t know for certain.”
Tommy listened in and said, “Unfortunately, I don’t want to have to deal with it until after we launch our attack. Cassandra, you’re going to have to fight that urge at this time and we’ll deal with it after the battle. We are going to teleport all of our converted megaships into the Captor’s system one second after the penetrators are launched and each ship fire on one Captor and teleport out immediately. I need you in full control of the Kosiev.”
“I’m fighting as hard as I can Tommy but if I sleep, I may be pulled into one of the nerve centers. The Attack has to happen quickly.”
Tommy thought for a moment and then said, “Sprig, we need all of those penetrators to launch simultaneously. If they go in waves the Captors will start moving and the targeting will not be accurate. We have to hit them while they are stationary.”
“They are all set to launch together, Prince Gardner. Just tell us when,” Twig said.
Tommy looked at Cassandra and could feel her pain. He punched his com and said, “Admiral Kosiev, I need you on the bridge immediately. Admiral Mikado, have all of the Megaships got their targets programmed?”
“Admiral Mikado appeared on the display on Tommy and Cassandra’s command chairs and said, “We are ready. Just give us the time to teleport.”
Kosiev entered the bridge and Tommy said, “Admiral, we have to move the attack up and go quickly. Cassandra is being drawn into the energy nerve centers and she can’t hold out much longer. Our ships and penetrators are ready to go and I can’t see any reason to delay any longer. Do you have anything that we’ve missed and need to consider before we launch?”
Kosiev looked at Tommy and then at Cassandra. He could see that Cassandra was pale and was shaking. “I have seen two huge Captor ships on our recordings. Have you targeted them?”
Sprig said, “Unfortunately, those two ships are moving around in the system. They are both surrounded by numerous Captors and we’ve not targeted them because we would have to hit a moving target. We felt like it would be a better us of the penetrators to actually hit one of their ships than waste them trying to guess their coordinates.”
Kosiev shrugged and said, “I guess we can’t have everything. I see no reason to delay. We need to make sure everyone is using identical time for the attack. Sprig, will you contact all of our ships and make sure we’re exact on our systems.”
“We’ve already done it, Admiral.”
Kosiev moved to his chair on the bridge and said, “Admiral Mikado, Make sure your ships are at stations and ready. Also reinforce that they will jump in fire and jump away immediately.”
“Yes Sir, I’ll tell them.”
Kosiev looked at Tommy and nodded. Tommy said, “We will launch exactly thirty minutes from my mark.”
“All ships are on the line, Prince Gardner,” Admiral Mikado said.
“Set your timers from right…now, mark.”
The Stars Realm fleet set their timers and the hundred and fifty thousand ships moved to battle stations and waited for the moment to attack. The time ticked down and finally twenty nine minutes and fifty nine seconds elapsed and the two million penetrators launched. One second later the megaships teleported to the Captor’s system.
The First Male had moved to the inner band of warriors to tidy up the spaces between them when the Old Watcher yelled, “Scatter, scatter, out warriors are targeted.”
The First Male looked out at the two outer bands of warriors and saw both bands exploding. Then he saw thousands of the strange ships appear and fire on the warriors in the inner band. He had no time to do anything. The ships appeared for less than two seconds and then they were gone. What remained was chaos. He saw that more than two million warriors were severely damaged or killed outright. His anger was monumental but there was no trace of where the ships had come from. The weapons that had hit the outer bands were traced back into the no space particle and ended there. He then had a terrifying thought. “First Mother, are you alright?”
“Yes I am. You need to get our warriors moving. It seems they targeted them because they were stationary; they had no time to move. Get them moving.”
The First Male sent out to all his warriors, “Scatter and keep moving around our system. Do not stay in one place and move at one half speed.”
The remaining Captor ships became red blurs as they flew around the gas giant. The First Male felt real fear. There was rage but for the first time in his long millions of years old life he feared for his race. There were less than two million of his species remaining and he did not know if they could defend themselves against the inexorable force they were facing.
The Kosiev broke back into normal space and there was jubilation. The recordings showed that the penetrators had killed millions of Captors. Tommy and Kosiev looked at each other and Tommy said, “Your plan was extraordinary. The odds are getting better.”
Kosiev smiled and then started to say something when suddenly Cassandra collapsed and fell from her command chair. Tommy jumped up and ran and took Cassandra in his arms and thought to her, “Cassandra, wake up. What’s wrong, Darling.”
Sprig thought to him, “The particle in energy space has ignited and exploded. We are monitoring the centers and there has been huge blasts erupting from them but it appears that the major explosion is going into a new universe. I think we are safe but we’ll continue to monitor what’s happening.
The Old Watcher sensed the sudden rise in temperature in the nexus and immediately jumped away just before a giant blast ripped through the space he had just occupied. “It’s a good thing I kept watch on the nexus. That was close.” The Old Watcher looked at all the nexus’ scattered throughout the universe and saw all of them erupting with giant blasts. “What has happened? Are we going to be blind after this? How will we find those strange ships?” The Old Watcher just sat in empty space and watched as the Nexus exploded.