Dom looked at Dee and thought to her, “I told you he would shoot you.” Dee shook her head and said, “Shut up and listen.”
Doc said, “I’m not the Drey that died in Andromeda. He inserted his consciousness into me when he first came and visited my mother. I am him but I only have his memories from just after the Nebula election.”
Abbey said, “How could he do that?”
Doc said, “You need look no further than our computers. They are basically the mind of the person imprinted on them. That’s not so shocking, is it?”
Abbey looked at Gary and said, “No, but that’s done electronically.”
“My younger brother did not develop a personality or mind. His brain was basically empty. I’m going to refer to the first Drey as my brother to avoid confusion. Drey inserted his mental pattern along with all his memories into my brother’s mind. The original Drey and I share a common mind with one difference.”
Gary said, “What is that?”
“I never connected with him after he met Andi. I’ve not been weakened by being in love. I’m the Drey that was the Nebula’s Dark Officer. I’m somewhat more hostile than the Drey you knew.”
Abbey shook her head, “If you’re the Dark Officer, hostile doesn’t really describe you.”
“I know; but brutal and bloodthirsty are such cold words. I prefer hostile. That being said, I suspect I would have done the same thing you did to that planet without even giving it a second thought. You had to do it to protect the Union didn’t you?”
Ian said, “What could possibly make you kill eighty billion?”
Abbey sighed, “The rulers of the Slavers pulled all the warships from that planet to search for the Union. If we did nothing, they were going to send all of their ships to join the search.”
Ian sat down and was shocked at the numbers that were killed. Doc looked at him shaking his head and said, “Before you get all worked up about that planet’s destruction, what do you think the Slaver’s ships would do to a Union Planet?”
Gary said, “That is exactly what we thought before we did this.”
Ian looked at Violet and she was shaking her head slightly. Doc said, “I believe that you have already determined that the Slavers will not negotiate; or am I wrong?”
Ian looked at Doc and took a deep breath, “We have made that assessment.”
“Then you have to decide if you want to win this conflict or give in to your softer emotions. The only way to defend the Union is to destroy all of their main planets. This is just one less to handle later.”
Abbey muted the communications and looked at Gary, “I don’t know if I like this new Drey.”
“Do you think Ian has what it takes to make the tough decisions? You better be thankful he’s here.”
Ian stared at Doc and said, “What happened after you killed the planet?”
Abbey released the mute button and said, “The twenty thousand ships sent to search for the Union were recalled and sent to defend other planets. No more ships have been sent to search…yet.”
Doc leaned back in his chair and said, “I’ve watched the recordings from Andromeda on the way here and you need to take another look at them, Ian.”
“Why?”
“What did the Slaver fleet do when they detected another species in that Star Cluster? Did they try to communicate?” Ian shook his head. “Did they send in a small number of ships to determine if they were facing a hostile civilization?” Ian shook his head again. “If they find the Union, they’re going to attack every planet they encounter. The only way to stop that is to stop them here in their territory before they find us. Are you really upset by this?” Ian stared at Doc for a long moment and Doc said, “You were planning to kill me in that restaurant until Violet uncovered the information about who I was. Would you have lost sleep over that?”
Ian stared at Doc, “Probably not.”
“Because I killed an innocent woman that helped you; you were outraged by that and I was an enemy of the Union. Why aren’t you outraged at what this species is doing to all the worlds they’ve enslaved? You really need to watch that recording again and you’ll see the Union’s future if you’re not willing to do what’s necessary to prevent it.”
Abbey looked at Gary and whispered, “You’re right.”
Ian continued to stare at Doc and then started smiling, “So how do we stop them?”
“The simplest way is to starve them first and force them to use all the ships they’re building to defend their food sources.” Doc had a sinister smile and he said, “Hey, Frick and Frack, would you have a problem killing one of these Slaver’s planets?”
Dee looked at Dom and said, “Why don’t we go and bump one off now.”
Doc actually laughed, “Now you’ve said something that impresses me.”
Dee looked at Dom again and laughed out loud.
Doc looked at Ian and said, “You have been genetically bred to be a ruler. Rulers have great difficulty killing people who have not attacked them directly. Ian, these scum are not your subjects. They are the enemy of those you are sworn to defend. If you kill enough of them, you might be able to save those that remain; however, I doubt that will happen.”
Violet said, “Why do you say that?”
“What do you think all the planets they’ve enslaved will do if they’re defeated? What would you do?”
Ian said, “That’s their problem; not ours. I knew I needed you here and you’ve just confirmed that choice.” Doc lowered his head. Ian said, “Should you be in overall command?”
“Only if you want destruction at an unbelievable level; you also need to balance me. I would have shot Frick if not for your orders.”
Dom looked at Dee and gave her an ‘I told you so’ look. Dee felt fear at what she had done. She vowed to treat Doc like a poisonous snake; a wide berth and respect in all future contacts. She was going to keep her mouth shut in the future.
Ian said, “Abbey, I need G to update D on all that you’ve seen here and give him all the information on how to break their encryptions. We’re going back and load up for making life miserable for our friends here.”
“I’ll send him everything I have, including the maneuvers.”
Abbey said, “We need to take them out and have them go through the maneuvers before we leave them. It’s going to take some time for them to build up their stamina to the high G forces.”
Doc said, “I’ll join them on D and see if I can’t learn what you’re talking about.”
Ian looked at Violet and said, “We’ll stay here until they’re up to speed and then they can replace us when they’re ready.”
Dee looked at Dom and said, “High G forces?” He shrugged and wondered what they were talking about. Two days later they knew.
D
ee struggled out of her chair and said, “That Pilot is a sadist!”
Dom shook his head and said, “I didn’t know that last maneuver was possible with the current laws of gravity.”
Doc sat up and said, “You big babies.”
Dee looked at him and tried to control herself but just couldn’t do it, “All you’re doing is lying on that couch and not doing anything. Step up here and give it a shot.”
Doc laughed, “I wondered if you were ever going to get your courage back. I told you I wouldn’t shoot a valuable crewman.”
Dee stared at Doc and said, “I just can’t figure you out. You were pretty vicious with a blaster during the rebellion and I’m just not going to take a chance with you getting all angry and doing something crazy.”
Doc looked at her and said, “I rather enjoyed your smart mouth. You have become quite boring.”
Dee’s face turned red and she opened her mouth but Dom said, “Making a turn.”
Dee fell back on her gravity couch and gritted her teeth. By the end of the exercise she could barely stand. Doc said, “I don’t usually offer compliments but the two of you really are a good team. You work well together.”
Dee struggled to take a step and said, “I agree but my whipped brother is going to take a new partner when we go back.” Dee glanced at Dom with a scowl on her face and Dom rolled his eyes.
Doc’s eyebrows lowered and he said, “Why would you break up a good team?”
Dee shook her head from side to side and said, “Because old Romeo here is in love and wants his Juliette to fly with him. She’s just graduated and is waiting for him on Euclid.”
“Dee, we’ve discussed this. Now leave it alone.” Dom looked at his panel and Dee stuck her tongue out at him and made a face.
Doc said, “I don’t know if separating the two of you is a good idea. You’ll lose your telepathy advantage. I’m not sure I’ll approve this change.”
Dom looked at Doc, “Actually, by separating we’ll have two ships that can work together. I can hear Dee over large distances and as a result we’ll have two ships that are stronger. It’s always good to have a wingman.”
Doc looked at Dee and said, “Who are you going to fly with Frick?”
“My name is Dee! I’ll be assigned another pilot.”
“Oh, you don’t have your own Romeo?”
Dom said under his breath, “Who would have her?”
Dee looked at Dom and scowled, “Love is highly overrated and gets in the way of doing anything important in life; especially flying a warship.”
Doc looked at Dee and said, “Would you want to fly with me?”
Dee looked at Doc like he had six heads, “Are you out of your freaking Nebula mind? I couldn’t handle the constant fear of being shot with a laser for telling you the truth and I’m not one that can keep my mouth shut very long.”
Dom said, “Thus me saying; who would have her.”
“He wants me. So there.”
Yeah, but he’s crazy.” Dom looked at Doc, “No offense, Sir.”
“None taken.” Doc thought a moment and said, “You really should consider flying with me.”
“For God’s sake, why?”
“What is your main benefit to a pilot being telepathic?”
“I’m only telepathic with him.”
“I can see your surface thoughts.”
“You can?”
“I can. Now what is your main benefit during combat?”
“I can give the pilot a mental scan of everything happening around our ship. He doesn’t have to take his eyes from his display. He has a picture of everything around our ship in his mind and can react based on the threats.”
“Your being telepathic makes seeing those scans easier for me than someone who’s not telepathic.”
Dee furrowed her brow, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You send the most important scans instead of everything you see. You’re accustomed to filtering out the rubbish.” Doc paused, “You must know I won’t shoot you. So what’s your real problem?”
“The real question is why you would want me. You can have anyone. Why me?”
“I’m sure that Ian is going to attempt to pair me up with another high genetic and hope that the two of us make a connection. I know these ships require two people to fly them and I don’t want someone bothering me and being a nuisance.”
“And you don’t think I would bother you, you should listen to my brother.”
“That’s not what I mean. I made the mistake of weakening myself the first time by falling in love with Andi. I am not going to make that mistake again. I think the two of us are quite immune from that ever happening with us.”
“Ooo, now that’s a gross thought. But you’re right; you have absolutely nothing about you that attracts me. I find it hard to stay in the same room.”
Dom said, “I would worry about her safety if she flew with you, Sir.”
Dee looked at Dom and smiled, “You do care.”
“Of course I do, you moron. You’re my sister.”
Doc said, “Ok, so I don’t appeal to you. That is actually a real benefit. Do you respect what I can do?”
Dee stared at Doc and took a deep breath, “I can see that the Union is going to need you to make the tough decisions. I admire the Prince but I don’t think he’ll take the steps necessary to win this war. I admire your ability to do what has to be done. I suspect wherever you go there will be death, destruction, mayhem, famine…”
Doc interrupted, “You’re probably right about that but consider this; I will commit to never harm you physically. You may express your thoughts without being punished as long as you understand that I am in command and you follow my orders. I never break a promise. You will also be at the center of where most of the action is taking place instead of just waiting for orders to deploy.” Dee stared at Doc as he leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling, “It might also interest you to know that I will be taking possession of a Sigma Ship.”
Dee’s eyes went wide, “I didn’t think those ships were in service yet?”
“They aren’t. Ian, Gary, and I will be getting the first three. I suspect I might be able to pull some strings and get Frack here one of them as well: he really will be our wingman.”
Dee looked at Dom and saw his interest. She turned to Doc and said, “I understand that those ships have two computers.”
“That’s right. The pilot has one and so does the navigator. They will be directly connected to their computer with a helmet which will increase the information flow a hundred times.”
Dee looked at Dom again and shook her head. She looked back at Doc and said, “Alright, I’ll do this on two conditions.” Doc lowered his head and nodded for her to continue. “First, if I ever feel threatened by you, you will allow me to leave and go to another ship with no questions asked.”
Doc had a small smile and he nodded, “What’s the second?”
“You never call us Frick and Frack again.”
Doc started laughing and said, “I agree.”
Dee tilted her head, “Your history says you never smiled when you were fighting with the Nebula.”
“I see you’ve been researching me. That was before I met my Mother. She taught me to smile. It was the only way to prevent her from worrying too much about me.”
“Did she weaken you?”
Doc’s eyebrows went up and he said, “I suppose she did to some extent. But not like Andi did with my brother.”
“That was not your brother; that was you.”
“Yes, but I never made a mental connection with him after he met Andi so I wasn’t affected by his emotions.”
Dom looked at Doc and said, “Do you really think you can get me a Sigma?”
“I don’t know; let’s see.” Doc went to the communication panel and punched a code, “Ian.”