Earth Ship Protectress: Book Two in the Freddy Anderson Chronicles (26 page)

She said, “I’ll get the Y-axis, then.” She started taking off another panel. We were both deep inside the navigation station and passing tools back and forth as the captains talked. When we finished, we put everything back together and cleaned up. We inventoried the tools and sat down. It’s not good to have loose tools around. I found that out the hard way.

“Captain,” I said, “if you would please.”

“Navigator, five hundred miles per hour.”

“Captain,” I interrupted, “please go to warp one right off.”

“From a dead stop, Freddy? I thought you said that we should not do that.”

“Surprise! With this new engine it’s no longer an issue outside of atmosphere.”

“Very well. Navigator, warp one. Engage.” We hit warp one as smooth as could be.

“Scan reports warp one, Captain.”

“Good job, Patricia and Freddy. You’re a good team.”

“Thanks,” we said in unison.

“Navigator, let’s have warp two. Engage.”

Scan said, “Captain, at warp two on this new course, we will hit several objects in twenty seconds.”

“Scan reports at warp two, Captain.”

“Navigator, set in a course around those objects. Engage.”

“New course laid in and engaged, sir.”

“Scan shows a clear path again, sir.”

“Bring the objects up on the screen.” The screen showed several parts of an alien ship. There were burn spots, indicating signs of a conflict.

The admiral said, “Captain, order two ships to stay back and scan that wreck. I want to know what did this and how, who that ship belonged to, and why it was left out here. Freddy, do you need the parts off that thing?”

“No, sir. My scanners show it’s all common stuff. All well below our technology.”

“Then after making a complete report, get rid of it. I don’t want debris cluttering up our space. Make it so, Comms.”

The captain shifted in his seat. “Okay. Now let’s see what this baby can do. Navigator, warp eight. Engage.”

“Coming to warp eight now, sir.”

We were flying now.

The captain asked, “Freddy, the controls at Navigation are only halfway. Why?”

I turned around and faced him. “Surprise again, Captain! Try warp ten.”

He looked at me skeptically. “Navigator, warp ten. Engage.”

“Coming to warp ten in three, two, one. Warp ten, Captain.”

“You may be able to squeeze warp 10.5 out of them,” I said, “but be careful, and don’t stay at it for very long.”

“Freddy, you’re amazing.”

I smiled. “Thanks.”

He turned around and said, “Navigator, warp five, please. Let’s give the others a chance to catch up.”

“Where are we, Freddy?” asked a reporter.

“Well past Pluto and close to Alpha Centauri.”

The crew played “chase” and “tag” for three hours with the rest of the fleet before starting for home.

Gray said in amazement, “His first big ship could do warp ten!”

I giggled, as little Yellows was tickling me to keep me quiet.

Green said, “Apparently they started out faster than we did.”

Yellows asked, “What is the ball for?”

Green smiled behind a tentacle. “It’s the answer, Yellows.”

“Funny, Green. Continue.”

Chapter 35
Saving the World in Two Ways

T
he captain turned his chair around. “Dr. Anderson?”

“Whoops, using my title. Something important, Captain?”

“Yes, Freddy. When can we destroy that rock?”

“Actually, I’m glad you asked. I’m ready now, if you are.”

“How long will it take to load your equipment, sir?” the captain asked.

“On this console, two minutes at the most,” I said.

“Don’t we have to go back to the base and get your missiles?”

“I need only one.”

Everyone straightened in his or her seat, and the tension escalated.

“Only one, Freddy?”

“The improvements made to this ship, Captain, and the fact that we have a fleet of forty ships assisting makes it necessary to only break it into smaller pieces. After that, it will be target practice for the fleet. Captain, nothing must escape. If some pieces are allowed to hit our asteroid belt, then you guys could be kept busy for a very long time. For that reason, I made one missile that pretty much removes most of it, all at once.”

“Understood. Navigator, lay in a course for that rock at warp five. Engage. Communications, have the fleet join us there. Freddy, just for my understanding, how far back would you suggest we be when your missile goes off?”

I turned to my console and did some figuring. “About half a light-year, and be prepared to start shooting the pieces that break off. Please have the shields up to full, Captain. The shock wave could be bad.”

“Where are all the rest of the missiles?”

“All of the information and all of the other missiles have been dismantled, and the component parts were used to build this ship.” I shrugged and said, “I was running out of available materials, Captain. I spent a few minutes thinking of where I could get some. They were the best choice; therefore, I changed the design and made one simple missile capable of doing all the work by itself, and I used the leftover materials to help build the last parts for the engines on this ship.” I smiled.

“Good thinking, Freddy. But what happens if that missile misses?”

“It won’t miss, Captain.”

“Humor me, Freddy. What happens?”

“This missile is for that rock, and if it misses, the most likely thing will be that it will be pulled into the sun or the gravitational pull of another planet.”

“And
…
?”

“No more sun or planet.”

A cameraman exclaimed. “That’s not possible. You can’t destroy the sun with one simple missile. It’s pure nuclear power.”

“My bomb does not work on normal thinking, sir. I assure you that if it aimed its sights at the sun, then the sun would be gone from existence.”

The president asked nervously, “And a thing like that is on this ship?”

“You’re holding it.”

“Quit kidding with me, Freddy.”

“Bomb, come here, please.”

The ball drifted up from her lap and came over to me. “It’s totally harmless until I arm it. See, Mad
am President?” I tossed it up. The captain grabbed it and, very slowly and gently, set it down on his chair.

“Freddy, when we get back, I am going to give you a spanking myself,” said the president, shaking.

One of the reporters fainted. I said, “Whoops. I think she just remembered that she dropped the ball.” As they were taking care of her, I said, “Look, Madam President—I couldn’t just leave it alone. I had to bring it with us, as it gets upset when it’s left alone for very long. Its computer is very touchy.” I turned toward the ball and said, “Bomb, come here, please.” It drifted up and over to me. “It’s all right. They don’t hate you. Calm down, please.”

“Captain, we’re at station. Twenty-one of the smaller ships are with us. The rest that we can man are on the way.”

“Good,” I said. “Everyone ready?”

The captain gave orders to the fleet to spread out and surround the rock at one-half light-year. “Nothing gets through,” he ordered. When all forty ships were ready, he turned to me. “Please, Freddy, get rid of that thing.”

I think he was talking about the ball, but I purposefully took it to mean the asteroid. The rock was already on screen. I said, “Team, please pay no attention to what I’m about to say to Bomb.” They nodded.

“Bomb?” I said. It blinked a little green. “See that rock on the screen?” It blinked green again. “Scan for it outside at about half a light-year away.” It blinked blue and then green. “See it?” It blinked green. “That rock is going to harm me.” It blinked red and disappeared—and so did the rock.

“Captain, scans show an energy wave heading out in all directions from where that rock was. It’s traveling at warp 3.23. It’s destroying everything in its path. It’s diminishing, half strength, quarter strength, nearly gone. It’s gone, sir.”

“Scan the area for debris.”

“Yes, Captain, scanning. No debris at all, Captain. Not even the normal space dust. Nothing.” Admiral Pinn turned toward me, staring.

Everyone was looking at me. Communications ended the silence. She said, “Captain, all ships are reporting the same thing. Look at the scans. They’re doing loops—and listen to this, sir.” She put the ship’s intercom on the speaker. There was yelling and cheering and general “We did it!” throughout the ship. The captain gave the sign to have the speaker cut out, and all went silent. Susan pulled me to her, as she could see I was frightened by the attention I was getting. They were not cheering on the bridge.

I read their thoughts—just the surface ones—and so did Melanie, the president’s aide. She turned to me and said, “Freddy, you know why they’re so worried, don’t you?”

“I know.”

“You know what you must do. I can read you very clearly, and it’s the right thing.”

“I know, but I’m scared.”

“We’ll protect you, but you must do it.”

I looked at her, and before Susan could ask what I was going to do, I put my hand to my head. I screamed and screamed and finally passed out. The bridge was now in turmoil. The captain got things under control quickly and said, “Please tell me our hero is still alive.”

I was bleeding from my mouth, eyes, nose, and ears. Susan said, “He has a pulse, but it’s faint. Melanie, what did he do?”

“He’s all right, Captain James. It just hurts.” She had tears in her eyes. “It hurts more than anything you can possibly imagine. Luckily, he passed out quickly. If he had not, he could have died from the pain. He’ll be okay in a few days. Very tired and weak but okay.”

“What did he do?”

Melanie looked up with tears pouring from her eyes. “He did something harder to do than anything he has ever done. He gathered all knowledge on how to build that bomb and literally burned it out of his mind. His last thoughts before passing out were of the president, Becky, Susan, and his girls.”

A reporter solemnly asked, “What were his thoughts?”

“‘Because I love you all.’”

I woke up in my own bed back at home. Becky was there by my bedside, and so were Susan and Katie. Becky and Susan each had one of my hands. As my eyes opened and focused, Susan said, “Welcome back, sweetheart.”

I tried to talk, but Becky placed a finger on my lips and said, “Not yet, dear. In a few days.” I tried to sit up, but my head hurt so much I couldn’t move.

Susan said, “You’re not getting up or doing anything for a while, so get used to it.”

I was so tired I wasn’t about to complain. There was a intravenous feed going into my arm, and a person I hadn’t seen before was watching us. She pathed to me, “
Hi, Freddy. I’m your nurse. My name is Sally. Don’t try pathing back. You can receive easy enough, but sending will be hard for a while. Let your brain rest, and let me heal you
.” I nodded my head a little and winced.

Sally said, “You’ve all seen him awake. Now, out. He needs rest. Out!” She saw how my hand clamped a little on Becky’s hand, and she smiled. “Not you, Becky. You can stay.” They left, and Sally came over to me and said, “Sleep, little one. And thank you for getting the president to find me.” I received an impression of a young lady in an asylum, afraid that she could hear voices and being kept drugged.

I looked at Becky and smiled, and then I turned to Sally. I tried to say, “How many like you?” But she put her hand on my head. Just before I fell asleep, she whispered, “Hundreds, Freddy. Hundreds.”

Yellows asked, “Wasn’t our mother ship cloaked as an asteroid?”

Green sadly said, “Yes.”

Yellows continued. “Did not Gray tell us that their scanners could not see through the cloaking device?”

Green, almost in shock, said, “Yes, he did.”

Blue asked, “Is this not about the time transmissions stopped from our mother ship?”

Green choked out, “It is the exact time.”

Little Yellows said to me,
“It is not your fault. You could not know, little
one.”

Green pulled out of the link. “I cannot continue until he stops crying. This realization is literally killing him.”

Blue said, “Yellows, please have your pen mate work with him. This was not his fault. This was bad planning on our part. I need to report. We will continue tomorrow.”

Little Yellows answered, “We will do our best, but we do not think it will help.”

Over the intercom, an alarm sounded, and a voice said, “Attention, all ships. The Earth fleet has stopped and is turning around. We have one hour before they reach us. Prepare for battle.”

To be contin
ued
…