Chapter 64

Charlie Shingle was almost done his watch when the flux officer relayed some disturbing information to him. Tiny sensors hidden deep within the Oort Cloud were registering a massive gravitic anomaly coming at almost 600 lights from the direction of the Epsilon Eridani system. The Oort Cloud's inner perimeter was a light year from Earth and a light year thick in sections. Charlie gave the mental signal for battle stations and headed the ship to where the ships would enter the wall of loose rock around the system.

Now very awake crew members, scrambled to fill all of the available seats while their minds questioned if this was a drill or not. More sensors started to scream of the approaching deviation in the gravity fields. As a backup this information was manually sent to Earth.

Paul questioned the computer, found the least time to intercept and knew that he would be too late. The disturbance was so great that it had to be a fleet of ships, or a few massive ones coming into the Sol system. If they stayed at their current acceleration the approaching ships would have made it through the mine field. There would be no screen of rocks to hide behind and the ship would be an easy target. After taking his seat at a large tactical board, he wondered if all the crew were up to this. Everybody onboard were training and trying to feel their way through all the things that had to be learned, to run a modern warship with no really experienced officers.

The Captain gave immediate orders. Everybody started to relax and begin the process that was tried so many times before with only mediocre results. They linked with their officers and those linked with the captain. They wanted to pick the ship up to a higher order of thinking and pull themselves forward, taking the ship with them. The speed shot up 550 lights and stayed there. The ship had only two engines and no AI to assist and this speed was far beyond any in practice or what was in the old archives. This was a mixed crew of Chinese, Russian, and American with a few Canadian and South Americans thrown in. The large number of Chinese seemed to have a stabilizing effect, while the Russians pushed hard to fight an unknown enemy much like their ancestors had done. They did not usually work this well together, but fought hard for a few minutes it took to reach the area for an ambush. This happened to be deep within the cloud of rocks and ice next to a clear area.

They had just minutes to spare and all but the bridge crew manned the weapons launchers and information gathering devices. The readings coming in were very clear now. The ships were so large that there was no way that a simple light destroyer could take them out even with the galvanized warheads. All they could hope to do was damage them enough and let the automated defences take over the task of trying to stop the behemoths.

Captain Shingle's mind tried to get some indication if his uncle and dad had succeeded. Were the ships coming back to aid Earth or had the plan failed and the ships were here for retribution. Large unobstructed sections of the rock formation were open, but ringed with the old defences. Captain Shingle checked the status of all the old protective devices and saw that almost half were actually operable. This was much better than the usual 30% of the remainder of the protective umbrella englobing the system.

In the scant seconds till the possible engagement would begin. Charlie thought of all the times his father fought in the war and how close he came to death. Now it looked like he was in a similar position. There was no way the gigantic ships would ignore his small vessel once his missiles started doing such damage.

Paul tensed over his plot and tried to coordinate where the missiles should be placed. The ships were so big it was hard to find an easy place to sting them adequately. If only there were larger missiles aboard, then the ships could be destroyed. The usual size of conventional missiles used to destroy such large ships were actually the size of the destroyer itself. The crew had similar thoughts and only hoped that the end would be quick if it happened.

At three light-seconds from their position a signal from the massive ships impinged on their sensors. The code was the one to allow the ships unhindered passage through the protective barrier. A collective sigh of relief went up from the crew. Before the sigh ended the mighty ships flashed by their position on their way to Earth at 600 lights.

Protocol demanded he report and a detailed message followed about what they saw and did along with their assumptions. It took Mom a few seconds to reply and she concurred with his supposition.

Charlie desperately wanted to follow as did the crew, but the ships had the necessary clearance. There was no need to abandon their station and mission. They had to content themselves with the stored images of the ships as they flew by. The battleship was the same one as Uncle Henry had found at Epsilon Eridani. The only one with visible damage was another light destroyer that was able to go much faster because it had all three engines functional.

The latter ship was a gigantic carrier that dwarfed anything except the battleship that lead the procession.

The sides of all the ships were a uniform grey and showed deep fissures where it looked like a mad man had added parts indiscriminately to an already chaotic ship. There were no lights in the open bays as the ships flew past indicating that no biotic activity was happening there.

This led to the thoughts about how many survivors were onboard and if the tug was inside one of the ships or destroyed. There were no answering thoughts to their mental calls. The crew looked out the opening in the rock shield at distant Epsilon Eridani and tried to see or feel what had happened. It seemed worse somehow for seeing the ships coming empty reminded them of all their worse fears.

General MacDonald stood before the large display and just stared in awe of the ships that filled his display. The feed came from Mount Palomar and even at this distance the ships were huge. The larger two looked very irregular like the imperial star cruisers on 'Starwars'. The information from the Tandra said that the ships were three and a half million tonnes and it was easy to believe. If anything, they looked even heavier. Their ceramic assembly allowed for a much lighter construction than what a wet navy would use or need.

He was interrupted by an officer handing him reports. The DEFCON 1 rating was a knee jerk reaction to all the hardware overhead, but it was hoped that cooler heads would drop the condition to at least three. Bombers and fighters were in the air in all countries that had them and missiles were aimed at old cold war enemies. The weapons were wholly inadequate and were designed to hit fixed targets not those that moved very rapidly. None of the weapons were designed to strike targets in space.

There was nothing he could do anyway. The planes had lifted off and would only land when it was seen that there was no attack taking place.

He looked wistfully at the craft and wondered what it would be like to serve on one of those monsters.

General Givens stood at attention like a young rating in the office of Montgomery Moore an hour before the ships came into orbit. There was lots of time to plan, since the last Tandra broadcast but it all seemed to go out the door when the ships got closer. A Russian or even a Chinese attack would almost be welcome by comparison.

Moore a short white haired man of almost 60 looked at a paper before him and just made the General wait. Finally he said, "What have you found? There were a total of 16 areas queried by the Tandra computer and all the rest of the groups found at least something to show for all the time and money spent. Are you getting too old to for the job? I can think of quite a few that would do a better job than you."

"I was doing my best sir. We questioned almost everybody that could read or write, never mind use a sophisticated computer. It was only recently that the Tandra have come forward and declared themselves. At that time, we used ground penetrating radar and even used remote-controlled cameras to check the bottom of lakes and rivers. Planes flew over, dragging sensor arrays, and we found nothing out of the ordinary. We still have crews listing for any sign of communications."

"Did it occur to you that they are not using the electromagnetic spectrum? A race as advanced as this could conceivably use other means."

"It did sir. But you have not seen fit to issue us the devices to find these other means."

Before Moore could give his angry retort, a phone call came, and he picked the instrument up. "Mm, ok. It seems you are given a temporary reprieve." The large monitor shifted pictures at the push of a remote control and both men saw the beautiful alien woman dressed in a shimmering gown. She told everybody on Earth that cared to listen and this comprised almost the entire population.

After the broadcast Moore said, "She said that she is giving us those war craft. General, delegate your old responsibilities and start gathering a crew to volunteer to train on those craft. I want our men, and only our men to have control of those machines."

"Sir, the woman said in the very first broadcast that she and all the Humans that she got to join her cause could read minds."

"That can't be true and even if it is, it does not say that they can do it very well. Either do a good job this time, or fill out your retirement papers."

"Yes, sir."

All over the world people stopped to stare at the ships with new eyes. Telescopes showed detailed pictures of all the ships, including the small one. Two man fighters left the ships as they orbited Earth. A few slightly larger craft pealed off and headed on the short trip to the base that was on the lunar surface. At the suspected location, they disappeared one after the other and probably went through a hidden doorway.

Old men sat in front of their televisions and dreamed of their childhood fantasies of space travel. Their hand gripping the chair, beer glass, or sometimes even a cane with unconscious strength. Their mind fixated on each and every word coming from the beautiful and exotic woman's mouth.

Children did the same, but had even more hope of this happening. Cartoons, Nintendo and other games, as well as the occasional doll, were left by the wayside as they concentrated on the gleaming little guppies that the larger ship birthed. They had seen and heard what the Samutz were like and had no hope of ever winning when fighting them. Now, as if they were thrown a life preserver, came the words that Earth people could help defend themselves. Male and female, even as young as 14 years would be able to fly to the stars and fight what could not be even considered before.

Mothers drying dishes stood and watched the small ships leave and listened to the Tandra woman talk of what the ships could do. They listened avidly to how any of the positions for pilots were up for grabs. Most could hardly contain themselves when told that the Tandra would be asking permission of individual countries for volunteers. The locations and times would be revealed some time in the future.

At the end of this particular broadcast, the tone of the reply was much different than usual. Spokesmen for many of the faiths told of this being the path to perdition and anyone following it would surely lead to hell and damnation. Many stations had the same type of retort, but a few brave commentators did try to act less extreme, thereby endangering their job, career, and possibly their life.

As the hours passed, more experts were brought on televised news programmes. A few backed the call for pilots, but phrased it to sound like they agreed with the fanatics. Their faces were twisted, for they too had followed the rest of the zealots before and called the Tandra an arm of Satan. In the dramatic turnabout, their conscience could finally vote what their heart dictated.

The streets did not have the usual number of placard waving demonstrators demanding that their government capture all the Tandra and send them back to where they came from. The commentators made mention of the drop in numbers and tried their best to continue with the old party line, but it was easy to see that they too had been giving the matter second thoughts. One zealot warned of the serpent offering what should not be given and the Lord casting us all out of Eden one more time.

In the other countries where Christianity was a minority, the same sort of thing was happening. But here the people did not get to see even the least bit of softening of the official position.

Lieutenant William Meech was understandably shaken when he stood before Mom's hologram. "You want me to what?"

"It is not that hard Lieutenant. You and other members of your crew will go to different countries and bring back some of the many recruits we need. Haven't you seen those posters of a brave, handsome man in a nice looking uniform soliciting help from the civilian population? Your old country had one with a funny hat and a pointing finger."

"Yes, I have seen those, but you are asking me to talk to presidents and heads of states. I am just a simple soldier and not a diplomat. Those kind of people can tie me up in knots when they sidestep the truth at every opportunity. Everybody has heard the oxymoron, 'an honest politician'. It is true and I think the higher you get the better they get at subterfuge."

"Have you forgotten Lieutenant that you are now much more intelligent than they are? You can read their minds and others too will read them with you. I will be with you, or at least my hologram will be. You will be wearing a shield and a warship will be close to you at all times."

"It is not my safety that I am concerned with, but my ability to get them to do the things that are needed. Politicians have had many years at getting what they want. They promise much, but they never seem to be able to deliver on their part of the deal. They are not really rational beings. Then again, I don't think that there are any." William was a little more uneasy when he said, "I gave my oath to protect my country. I know that they will want to do everything in their power to get me to tell them everything I know. I can resist them, but I do have family, even if they are not close, and they can use those against me. Even my ex-wife or old girlfriends can be asked to try to get me to do what the government wants."

Lt. William Meech continued, "Even if we recruit in other countries, I know that they will still try to do anything in their power to subvert me."

"I know that Lieutenant and I will be with each of you all the time. There are enough projectors to do this. We still have to try, because to do nothing, would mean that we have already capitulated."

Mom's TV show went on the air as usual every 25 hours and either told of what the Tandra empire was like, or a small travelogue of some of the prettier planets that the viewer had stored in its memory from over two and half million years ago. The timing was designed to allow each of the countries to get some of the shows during a convenient time and also to not give any one area special treatment. It was widely shown on re-broadcasts and came into the local cable, satellite or broadcast bands in the predominant language of that area. Europe had to have many channels diverted from other programming so that different languages could be spoken in each.

Almost as an afterthought, Mom mentioned the ships again in orbit. She transmitted detailed views of the mighty vessels and the one in particular that sustained so much damage. A more detailed report came about the taking of the ships. It appeared like a serial movie, where the next instalment would give some answers, but new questions that would rely on the instalment after that. It was not as if she needed a gimmick to keep the viewers attention, but it was her way of bringing people around to her way of thinking. The Earth was in turmoil and would be that way for quite a while, until the ordinary people judged the Tandra to be on their side.

This particular show was different again. Mom stood in her Blue dress as she talked about some of the more broad categories of family life and introduced Kitten, Doris and Lam. Kitten had taken a special course in the tutors and learned the English and Mandarin spoken language. After almost eight days of conversations with Doris, Lam and some of the recruits, she would now try to carry on a conversation with some of the audience. Lam and Doris had been in the tanks and looked about 20 or so years old and much different from their former selves.

Mom asked some leading questions and Kitten, her co-host, presented her two guests giving them Tandra names. She had remembered Susan's words and showed the cradles her husband made and how each showed a feature that suited only one of the children. The women held the babies or did things that were needed to help the infants.

They were introduced as part of the family of the men and women that went with the Tandra to fight amongst the stars. This helped show a younger and less threatening side of the conflict. Mom stepped back and Kitten started to explain things her way and with her many small mistakes that made the broadcast sound much more Human-like.

When Lam was asked questions later, she told of how she was having trouble nursing so many children. At this time, Bobby came running across the floor and climbed into her lap.

Mom was busy and not able to watch everything all the time and could not stop the child. Lam kissed the boy as he got into his accustomed spot and Duc came running with his pack over his shoulder, knelt down and said in Vietnamese, "Come Bobby, I am going to the farm with your brothers and we can get some of the kia-berries you like." The child the size of a newborn, reached up to be held by his new father and the viewers could see the love that each had for the other.

Lam continued her dialogue in accented English and said, "He has so many sons now and he spoils every one of them." Then to the audience she said, "He takes care of 10 children and teaches at the academy. I have 6 babies, plus the two that my husband takes with him when he can. We also have 8 girls that are old enough to get along by themselves most of the time. So our real total is 24. We all share Kitten's children and they don't really count. It is a hectic life, but I would not trade it for anything."

Mom saw a way of educating the audience and broke in to ask Lam about how Bobby came to be here.

"My son-in-law flew to the star... yes Epsilon Eridani... and found all the ships that have now come to protect us. The dogfaces or Samutz, I hear that they were called, pulled a mother and her two children out of their hiding spot and tried to stab them with a spear for sport. Well H... My son- in-law shoots one and fights the other with only a knife. The mother, even with a broken arm, drops a rock on the Samutz and kills it. Then all of them fly back to Earth and we all learn how to fight. Sadda, and Nema went to fight the Samutz and had to leave Bobby with us. He is only a little over a year old, but gets around faster than any other I have seen."

Mom broadcast the stored images of Henry doing just as Lam said, even to the knife fight. When they got back to the girls, Doris said, "That was one nasty alien and I wonder if I could have done as well as Sadda. She conked him good and I only wish we could do that to the rest of that despicable race."

One child, then the rest, eventually became restless in their hunger. Kitten talked of how her husband used milk bags and thin tubing to help feed the infants till her milk came in. She undid her clothing and started to feed one of the children. Doris and Lam did the same and continued talking of how Sadda had learned so much in so little time. She had pushed herself to go on a multi light-year trip to service and restock a small amount of the missiles and mines in the Oort Cloud.

At about half way through the show, Mom called for a break so that local sponsors could tout their wares. She knew that the broadcasters would be losing millions of dollars when she took the time to broadcast. Their regular broadcasts would have to be shown later in the season if the Samutz did not come first.

Five minutes later and to the second, Mom continued. In the background, Faith in Doris' arms, needed to be burped and Doris took a clean cloth and put it over her shoulder and gently tapped the tiny child on the back. A loud burp signalled a relieved stomach and a wet shoulder for Doris. She cleaned the child up as mothers down through the ages had done. The audience saw the others needed the same procedure, as Mom said, "Would you ladies like to take a few calls from the audience? We have not tried this before and I hope it works."

Lam and Doris were nervous now. They knew that billions of people where watching them, but talking to the deranged people on Earth made them remember their origins. Kitten said, "Sure," for all of them.

"The number will go across the bottom of the screen soon and the computer will translate all the languages and provide a written form at the bottom of the screen with the person's name and where they are calling from."

Millions of people had hoped for this chance and the first few to get on were greeted by one of Mom's other voices, depending on the language spoken. The first was a boy from New Delhi. He gave some of his personal information, then said, "Hi, can you really read minds?"

"Rajiv," Kitten said in her best spoken English, "if you were here, I could read your mind after a while. And if you stayed with us I am sure you would be able to do the same thing. As Mom said before, that is the way we communicate."

The next caller was another boy from India. Vicram wanted to know how the Tandra told one another apart. "Well Vicram, there are a lot of little clues we get when we mindspeak. It is almost like the way you look at other children at school and can quickly tell one from the other, even if they are all dressed similarly." Kitten paused then went on, "You might have meant about boys and girls. To Humans we look almost the same, but the thoughts are different, much like a girl's voice is higher than a boy's."

The next caller refused to give any information and came on the air with, "You are Satan's harlot. Blasphemy comes out of your foul mouth..."

After he began to repeat himself, Kitten tried to get a word in, but the man would not allow it. Mom cut off the man's voice and Kitten said, "You seem to have quite a few problems. I could hear you spitting as you talked into the instrument, you are rude to not give me a chance to talk too and you seem to be a bigot with very little education other than reading your holy book. I suggest that you get some professional help."

A girl about 14 asked, "When are we going to get a chance to fly the space ships?"

Kitten was fed some information from Mom, and she said, "In thirty minutes some of the smaller ships will descend to your planet and land in Tokyo. There we will talk to the Prime Minister and he can give us his permission or not. If he refuses, we will go to China next and ask them if they want to help us to fight the Samutz. We haven't said too much about it yet, but our medicine will allow all the pilots to look, feel and be 20 Earth years old, no matter what their present age of condition."

"When all the fighting is done, the soldiers can return to Earth and will forget all they learned from us, but keep their younger bodies. If they choose to stay on, and if we are successful, then at the end of their enlistment they will be given land on far planets to live with their family. Earth is nice, but many other planets are even more beautiful. Earth by that time might be less backward and able to accept some of the veterans."