Authors: Saxon Andrew
Abby watched him shaking her head and heard Gary say, “What’s going to happen if a ship Doc’s size traveling faster than light speed hits the black ship’s force field?”
Abby looked at Gary with a look of confusion, but then her eyes went wide. She punched the communicator and screamed, “GET OUT OF HERE. DO IT NOW!”
E jumped a thousand miles away and joined G. They watched their displays as Doc’s bow rose slightly and pointed toward the two ships fifty miles away. Suddenly, it was surrounded by a blue field and disappeared in a blue streak into the giant black alien ship.
Abby shouted, “Get into normal space and FTL away from here.”
The two white ships emerged and accelerated away from the bright light that had suddenly erupted.
• • •
Drey saw the field panel activate and he used the starboard thrusters to right the ship and then push the drive activate button. Dray watched the four second countdown start and he had just enough time to fall back and take Andi into his arms for the last time.
Doc flashed into the black ship’s force field, which stripped the blue field from around the injured white ship. Without the Skinner field to surround it, the three hundred ton ship traveling at twice the speed of light converted into energy just as it hit the black ship. The explosion rocked normal space and space outside it. The three ships disappeared as the blast released as much energy as a supernova in less than a millionth of second and the shockwave rolled out into the galaxy. There was no nearby intelligent life to witness it, but in two million years it would be seen in the Milky Way.
• • •
The two Union Ships had stopped and watched the giant blast start expanding. Ian shook his head and held Violet under his arm. E, said, “Ian, one of the alien ships from our galaxy survived.”
“How did it do that?”
“It jumped out of the galaxy before the attack. I’m hearing signals that those black ships know it’s there.”
“Can you contact it?”
“The frequency is open.”
• • •
The Admiral watched the destruction of the Councilor’s ship and knew his life was over. “Sir, what do you want to do?” The Admiral stood in shock and started to order the ship back to port.
“I hope you’re not planning to go back to your galaxy.”
The Admiral heard the voice and looked at the Communicator.
“I’m not able to track it.”
The Admiral said, “Why do you say that?”
“The black ships know you’re here and are planning to track your departure.”
The Admiral felt his fear threaten to take him. “What do you suggest I do?”
“Jump out toward the largest galaxy in this region of space and take some time to randomly jump around it before you go home.”
“Why that galaxy?”
“It’s large enough to keep them busy for centuries looking for you.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m headed that way as well. I’m going to have one of my ships act as a decoy to allow you to escape.”
“How do I know you won’t attack me?”
“You don’t. However, I think our real issue is to prevent those black ships from following either of us home.”
The Admiral looked at the Drive Commander, “Do it.” The Ship Destroyer shimmered and disappeared.
Ian said, “We need to do the same. We’ll use FTL most of the way?”
“Why?”
Abby looked at Gary, “We’ll leave a trail of missing particles behind us that will linger until they close in on each other. We need to lure them away from the Milky Way.”
Gary nodded, “G, follow E.”
The two ship’s blue fields covered them and they flashed away.
• • •
The black ship appeared a moment later and began scanning. It was oriented on the closer spiral galaxy, but after a long pause it turned and oriented on the tracks left by the three ships. It suddenly disappeared.
• • •
The black ship chased the three ships all the way to the giant ball galaxy and pursued one of them for two weeks before it lost it close to the galaxy’s black hole. It decided to return to Andromeda just as a green ship emerged next to it and blasted it into atoms. Gary and Abby watched the ship’s destruction and jumped out of M87.
Gary sighed and looked at Abby. “What?”
“Abby, all the piloting skills in the universe won’t save you from a more powerful ship that has the element of surprise.”
“Then that means that if you’re going to play chase, you better pick the playground carefully.”
Gary smiled and said, “I’m taking a roundabout way home. I want to make sure we’re not followed.”
Abby nodded and said, “I’ve been wanting some time alone with you when you weren’t in pain. How do you feel?”
Gary stared at her, lowered his head, moved his hands around his chest, and said, “I feel great.”
Abby said, “G, dance us around several other galaxies and let us know when we’re on the final leg home.”
“I’m on it.”
Neither Abby nor Gary heard him.
C
ole blamed himself for Andi’s death. He was inconsolable until Violet made him see that Andi had lived and loved more in that short time than most people did in a life time. The Nebula built a monument to Drey that was extraordinarily beautiful. But the place everyone considered his burial site was the two stone markers placed next to Natalie’s grave. Even the Union recognized that it was appropriate for Andi’s marker to be there beside his.
• • •
Ian stared at the two markers and held Violet in his arms. Her tears fell and Ian pulled her close as he continued to stare at the two stones. “Ian, I was so wrong. We need him so much. Now we’ve been so weakened…” Violet started weeping. Ian held her and after a few moments heard her say, “There’s no one that can replace him.”
Ian stared at Drey’s marker and said, “There is one that can.”
Violet looked up at Ian and saw he meant it, “Who?”
Ian looked in her eyes, “He’s still here, my love. He’s not gone.”
“Ian, how can you say that?”
“Because he made sure we wouldn’t be without him.”
Violet looked at him shaking her head and he told her. Her shock was enormous but after a moment she said, “Do you think he’ll do it again?”
Ian took a deep breath, “I don’t know.”
The End
Star Chase
S
axon Andrew is the author of the number one bestselling Annihilation Series. All seven books of the series have been a number one bestseller on Amazon’s kindle Science Fiction Series. Ashes of the Realm is the second series created by him and continues the history of the Stars Realm after its destruction. A third series, The Lens of Time, will be published in early 2012.
His books are written so that anyone can enjoy them and not worry about their children picking them up. He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and looks forward to each day so he can write the stories that his fans enjoy.
Copyright © 2013 by Saxon Andrew. All rights reserved. Screen Writers Guild no. VQEA3E380432.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
First Electronic Edition: January 2013