Chris envisioned an enemy ship coming at them and he said, “Force field!” The force field immediately came on.
George said, “The computer knows the difference and the longer it hears your conversations the better it will become.” George looked at Jillian and smiled, “We’ve also discovered something else that you’re going to like.”
“What is that?”
“If you jump into Sierra Space with the force field at full power, you will not leave an energy trail. You can’t be followed.”
Chris looked at him and furrowed his brow, “Why is that?”
“The trail that a ship leaves in Sierra Space is actually just the energy that leaks as the ship travels. The force field is now strong enough so that no energy escapes through it. We’ve also discovered that our communication systems cannot be traced. The signal we sent actually fills all Sierra Space instantaneously. We’ve had to put an encryption on each ship with an ID so that all communications are not being received by all ships. You can tune in to the ships which have had their IDs loaded in. All you need do is say, ‘Contact’ and the ship’s name you wish to communicate with.”
Chris looked at Jillian and then turned to the two engineers, “So we can’t be traced back to Earth?”
“We don’t think so.”
“Is the ship fully armed and ready for combat operations?”
Meisa looked up quickly, “Yes, why do you ask?”
“Bear with me just a moment. Tell me about the missiles we are now carrying.”
“The fusion missile is something that Meisa developed. She put a small fusion reactor in the head of each missile. When the missile is launched, a laser will start the fusion reaction and contain it in the warhead. We didn’t need to use heavy shielding because the force field will protect the ship that fires it. However, it will deliver an explosion upon impact that is devastating.”
“Will it get through a force field?”
“Probably not. But it could knock the force field out. We have also slaved the beam computer system to the missile’s guidance system, and the ship can be told to clear the field.”
“What happens then?”
“The beam will target the force field where the missile is going to strike. It will hit a tenth of a second before the missile and knock a hole in it for the missile to fly through.”
“What if the beams are being used to defend the ship?”
Meisa said, “It doesn’t matter. The beams will automatically target any attackers and fire a beam for the missile to penetrate without stopping its defense of the ship. The beams are capable of continuous fire.”
“We have eight beams, right?”
“Yes; two on the top, bottom, and sides.”
Meisa looked at Chris, “You still haven’t told me why you want to know if the systems were live.”
Jillian looked at the main display and punched a control on her board. The main display showed a picture of the huge energy trails out in open space between galaxies, “Have you seen this?”
George and Meisa nodded.
“I want to go a take a closer look at those trails. I think we should do it sooner than later, and I thought it might be a good idea to go with the two of you. We might need your expertise if we run into trouble.”
George smiled, “This sounds exciting. We can drop Meisa off and then go investigate.”
“George, if you think you’re going to take this kind of risk without me, you’re crazier than a house full of monkeys.”
“Meisa, you aren’t in the military; you’re a contractor, and I don’t want to put you in harm’s way.” George thought a moment and said, “And legally we aren’t supposed to take anyone but military personnel into possible armed conflict.”
“George, if you value our relationship you will shut up and quit spouting legalese. I will not leave your side if you are going to put yourself in jeopardy. I mean it.”
Chris looked at Jillian and then said, “George, we are on the initial trial run. Contractors are supposed to assist us during that voyage. If we happen to run into trouble, it’s not a planned attack. She can go if she wants. The question is; are you going to allow her?”
Meisa looked at George and repeated, “I mean it, George. I’ll never speak to you again.”
George looked into Meisa’s eyes and saw she meant it. Then he knew what she was saying without saying it, “You love me.”
“You big, brilliant, idiot; are you just now figuring that out?” She angrily said.
The smile that split George’s face was something to see. “I just never thought I’d stand a chance with you.”
“You’ve got it wrong. No one else but you stands a chance with me and you’re trying hard to blow the opportunity. Now decide!”
Chris said, “George. Using your argument, you can’t go either. You aren’t in the military.”
George looked at Chris, “Son of gun. You’re right. Hold on just a moment.” George pushed a dial on his board and said, “Contact Dolly Sierra.” She appeared on the main display, “Hey, Sis!”
“Hi, George. What’s going on?”
“How much authority have you been given by President Suh?”
“I don’t know. I think I can do whatever I want. Why do you ask?”
“Can you draft people into the military?”
“George, what are you up to?”
“Just answer the question.”
Dolly looked off the screen and they knew she was looking at Jeff. She turned back to the screen and said, “Yes, I can.”
“At what rank?”
“George, tell me what’s going on or I’m going to terminate this conversation.”
“Don’t make me call Mum to come visit you. At what rank?”
“You wouldn’t.”
“At what rank?”
The central display went back to a forward view from the ship. George smiled and pushed a dial on his display. Chris, Jillian, and Meisa stared at him and he said, “Give it a minute.” George leaned back in his chair and whistled a tune. Suddenly the center display came back on with an obviously angry Dolly on the screen, “Darn you, George. You call her back and tell her you made a mistake.”
“You didn’t answer your communicator did you?”
“Of course I didn’t answer it. Jeff swears he’s going to leave and visit the troops in Egypt until she leaves.”
“At what rank, Dolly?”
“What rank would you want and who is it for?”
George looked at Meisa and said, “Do you have a preference?”
“Colonel.”
“Dolly, Meisa wants to be a Colonel and I’ll be satisfied with a Brigadier General.”
“What are you talking about? I’m not letting you join the military. You and Meisa are too valuable to risk in combat.”
George smiled, “I think two months should do it.”
“AHHHHHHHH! Why do you want to join the military?”
“You haven’t thought it through, Dolly. If we don’t win this war, we’re going to have to move as much of our population as we can using our colony ships. You’re going to need commanders of those ships prepared to take care of their passengers as well as making a new world habitable for them. The ones charged with doing that will need the authority to carry out hard decisions. Most combat pilots don’t have the required knowledge to make that happen. The longer you wait to put the right people in command positions, the harder it will be at the last minute.”
“I would also think you would understand that if we try to save our valuable assets until the last moment, then we could lose this conflict. Meisa and I are going with Chris and Jillian to view those trails in open space. They stand a better chance of survival if we go with them. Now when you have the opportunity to sit down and really think this through, get back to me. I’ll call Mum off now.”
Dolly stared at George with a hard expression. She looked off the screen, shook her head, and then nodded. She turned back to the display and said, “General won’t work. Colonel won’t either. You’re both promoted to Rear Admirals in the Colony Fleet. Your paper work will be retroactive to Meisa’s arrival.”
The screen went back to a forward view. Chris said, “She’s going to be angry at you for a long time, George.”
George laughed, “No she won’t. She loves me too much. She can’t stay mad longer than fifteen minutes. It’s just not in her. She’ll be fine, and once she really looks at it, she’ll know I’m right.” George looked at Meisa, “Still mad?”
Meisa stood up and hugged George, “Thank you.”
“You’re quite welcome.” George looked at Chris, “Have you decided how you want to handle this?”
“I thought I would just jump back to the place where we found the trails and take a look.”
“I think that I might try it a different way if it were me taking the one I loved into that place.”
Chris looked at Jillian and asked, “What would you do?”
“You’ve marked the place on your navigation board haven’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well your device can collect light from that point and focus it. Why not jump six months beyond that coordinate and take a look using your device. You can move in closer if needed.”
Chris stated shaking his head, “I am such an idiot. That is the safest way to do this.”
“I would just line up that coordinate with the center of the galaxy and jump straight out from that point. I would also make sure the force field is on to avoid being followed.”
Jillian looked at her board and said, “We’re jumping out to Neptune’s orbit at light speed. It will only take us three minutes ship time. Does anyone want to make any suggestions before we leave?” Everyone looked at each other and Jillian saw no one say anything. “I have it plotted, Chris. It’s your ship.”
Chris smiled and hit the thrusters. The Jukebox instantly disappeared from Earth’s orbit.
The Messenger walked into the large room and waited. One of the tall cylinders at the table motioned him forward, “What have you found out?”
“We collected enough of the transmissions of whoever is broadcasting to decipher their language; however, the transmissions are now being encrypted.”
“Have you decoded the encryption?”
“No, we have not.”
“Have you found anything that will allow us to find them?”
“Not yet. There was discussion about a fusion power plant before the encryption started.”
“Fusion!?!”
“That’s what our language team says.”
“Do we even know if they are in that galaxy?”
“Yes, they are in the targeted galaxy.”
“How do you know?”
“One of the terms we heard before the communications were blocked was Moet.”
“Are the Moet making those communications?”
“The language team leans toward no. The language is nothing like the Moet.”
“It has been a long time since we were there.”
“Yes, but the structure is radically different.”
“Let me know when you find out more.”
“And the invasion?”
“It will wait until we say different. Don’t ask me again.” The Messenger leaned back showing his sorrow and seeking forgiveness. “Now go!”
The Messenger slid out of the room quickly and decided that the next time the fleet leaders wanted to ask that question, they could come and ask it themselves. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again. The two million ships continued to wait.
The Jukebox entered normal space six light months from the place where the trails had been discovered. Chris hit the emitters, and the fields moved away from the ship at light speed. George watched the field expand on his display and said, “Now that I think about it, how are we going to see anything in normal space if everything is passing through that place in Sierra Space?”
Jillian looked up from her display and said, “If two of our ships were passing each other in Sierra Space, they might go into normal space to communicate.”
George stared at her and Meisa said, “We can communicate in Sierra Space. There would be no need to do that.”
Jillian hit her forehead with her palm, “Duh, you’re right.”
George thought a moment and pulled up the recording of the trails, “Chris, we see what direction those trails are going. Why don’t we jump over to the side of our galaxy where they intersect the outer rim and take our readings from there?”
“Do you know where we need to go?”
“Give me a minute.” George began pushing dials on his board and they watched what he was doing on the left display. The changes to the pictures on the screen were moving too rapidly to comprehend. Meisa said, “You might want to change it so we’re looking slightly away from the galaxy in order that light will be reflected back at us.”
Jillian looked at Meisa and said, “You understand what he’s doing?”
Meisa nodded as she continued to watch the display. “There is a good place.”
George said, “I see it. Let me get the coordinates.”
Chris saw the coordinates appear on his board. He shrugged and entered them into the jump drive. The Jukebox left normal space and jumped. It entered normal space and the four saw the Milky Way hanging below them. It was incredibly beautiful with its two major spiral arms and brightly glowing center. “Where are we, George?”
“We’re about six light months away from the place where those trails approached our galaxy. I’m going to guess that if someone from another galaxy is coming here, they will go into normal space before they jump into the galaxy. I know we do, so it’s not a big leap of faith to assume the same thing for the visitors. Maybe they’re just tourists.”
Chris powered the emitters and said, “I hope you’re right, but somehow I doubt it.”
George shrugged, “Me too; but we can always hope.”
Chris focused the fields and saw the edge of the galaxy, but nothing was detected outside the rim. “I’m going to start moving into the light at one third light speed. It will cause things to move like a fast forwarded video, but it’ll save us time.” Jillian hit the thrusters and the Jukebox moved forward. They watched the center display, and after two hours saw a brief flash on the screen.
“Chris!”
“I saw it, Jillian. I’m going to slow it down and play it on the left display. I’ll also bring it in closer.”
The display moved in on the flash that was frozen on the screen and then they saw it. A giant blue colored ship was hanging in space with ten smaller vessels surrounding it. Chris looked at the ship, “I’m rewinding the recording.”
The display showed empty space, then suddenly the giant ship appeared. As they watched, the ten other ships started appearing around it and docking with it.”