Tag released Rose and said, “Pack your things now; we have to leave for the Dremels’ system. I also have to stop in Delta galaxy to talk with Cade.”
Rose ran from the room to get her things together. Tag looked at Danielle and said, “I’ve been feeling like something was wrong for more than four months. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was but that feeling disappeared when Rose asked to go. I trust my instincts; there is a reason for her being there.”
“Keep both of you safe, Tag.” Danielle said while hugging him. “My life is on your ship. I don’t want to lose it.” Tommy waddled in on shaky legs and went to Tag and hugged his legs. Tommy had Tag’s brown hair and Danielle’s blue eyes. The little boy looked up at his father and Tag knew he was concerned. Tag picked him up and said, “We’ll be fine; stay here and Take care of your mother.”
Tommy looked into his father’s eyes and then turned and reached for Danielle. She took him from Tag and held him close.
Tag looked at his love and held her tighter; nothing else needed to be said.
The Eldest Leader of the Algeans looked at his display and said, “Destroy that planet; I don’t care about harvesting anything. There are worlds waiting for harvesting, the strangers must be eliminated first. Are your fleets ready and is your plan in motion?”
“Yes Eldest, the largest ships will accelerate to full speed and the rest of the fleet will follow them in. If they are hit, the inertia should carry the pieces not destroyed onward toward the planet. The smaller ships will continue to use them as a screen to hide behind until they reach the planet.”
“The Common is counting on your success. Destroy our enemies.”
“Yes Eldest.”
The Kosiev jumped to Delta Galaxy and Tag commed Cade McAllister. “Cade, are the jump penetrators ready?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, we have them programmed to their jump coordinates and they will be volleyed when the Plant fleet gets five hours inside the jump limit.”
“Why not earlier?” Tag asked.
“Mainly because we think that it will take that long for their entire fleet to enter the system inside the jump limit. We don’t want them to jump away when the shooting starts.”
Tag thought a moment and then asked, “How far will that make them from our front?”
“Three hours.”
Tag just looked at Cade on his display and Cade could see his troubled expression. “Sir, any further out and a massive part of their forces will be able to escape. Some of my staff wants them even closer than that but I’m just not willing to risk it.”
“Are the forts programmed in the event things get close?”
“Yes they are, Sir, and Commodore Roselli has the module that will start their run. The crews will jump just as they leave orbit.”
“Cade, I’m counting on you to provide the barrier that will keep our fleet out of danger. Don’t let us down.”
“Yes, Your majesty.”
Tag looked at Rose sitting beside him on the bridge and said, “Commodore O’Donald, please take us to the Dremels’ Planet.”
Bridget nodded to her helmsman and the ship sounded its jump tone and entered null space.
The Kosiev emerged from null space close to the planet and stopped next to the Rossville. Most of the fleet had not seen the new flagship of the SR Fleet and its two mile length impressed the crews on duty that were able to see it. It was an entirely new design and everyone that saw the Kosiev immediately noticed that there were no lines between its power cells. Tag commed Dorg and said, “Is the fleet ready?”
Dorg looked at the Kosiev out of his viewport and though he had seen it before, he was still impressed. “Yes, we are ready. Please notice that we have mounted mobile launchers on all of the ships so that they can carry double the normal capacity of the new penetrators. Depending on the number of ships they send, we should be ready to destroy the bulk of their fleet.”
Dorg then noticed that Rose was sitting next to Tag and he stood up from his chair, “What is she doing here? This is not a place the Princess should be; what are you thinking?”
Rose pressed her com and joined Dorg and Tag in the conversation, “Oh Uncle, Dorg, you always worry too much. Besides, I have to be here.”
“By the love of the creator, why?”
Rose looked at the Cainth Warrior and said in a soft voice, “I can’t tell you but you’ll understand later; until then, you’re going to have to trust me.”
Dorg glared at Tag and held his opinion. Tag said, “Admiral, I want you to think this thru carefully. She said she has to be here; are you willing to run the risk of her not being allowed to come?”
Dorg furrowed his brow and looked out of his viewport for a moment and then said, “If things go bad, you will jump her out of here to safety, won’t you?”
Tag smiled and said, “I suspect that being close to her is the safest place to be in the upcoming conflict. However, I will have to account for her safety to our Queen and I’m not prepared to endure that if she’s harmed.”
Dorg smiled and said, “Better you than me, I’ve seen her angry. Are you changing the plan?”
“No, I do want to make sure that everyone is on the same page. Would you please get Mikado, Ron-Dar, and the fort commander to join us on this channel?”
“Dorg looked over at his communications officer and said, “Standby for just a moment.”
Tag and Rose sat in their chairs tapping their feet while listening to the Matt McCagg Experience sing “Don’t Play With the Spaceship,” while they waited for the others to join the meeting.”
“I believe that everyone is on the channel with us, Your Majesty.”
Tag shook his head; he just could not get used to being treated as royalty. “Good day and welcome everyone. I want to make sure that we are all in complete understanding of the plan for the upcoming battle. We are going to wait here at the planet for the Algean fleet to come in system more than five hours before we start our response.”
“Why are we waiting so long?” Mikado asked.
“It is the opinion of our strategist that it will take that long for their entire fleet to get in system from the jump point. If we start our attack too early then a huge portion of their fleet could escape.”
The group was silent for a long moment and then Ron-Dar asked, “How many ships do they anticipate the Algeans will send against us?”
Tag took a deep breath and said, “Between five and six million.”
Dorg shook his head slowly and said, “I’m even more uncomfortable now with waiting five hours.”
Rose said, “Uncle, for every hour you reduce from five hours, two million of their ships will be able to escape.”
Tag looked at his daughter with surprise. How did she know that?
“It might also interest you to know that they are not sending eight million ships,” Rose said as a matter of fact.
Dorg said, “Good, I was worried about handling that many.”
“They’re sending a little over eleven million with more than six million of those ships redesigned to suicide with anti-matter warheads,” Rose continued. “The suicide ships also have the five screens protecting them.”
The SR Fleet Commanders looked at her with shock on their faces.
Tag looked at his daughter and said, “Did you know this before I agreed to bring you into this battle?”
Rose looked at her father and said, “Yes, and there’s much more that I can’t tell you yet.”
Tag stood there in turmoil. This was going to be very dangerous space and he was scared for his daughter’s safety. Rose looked at him and said, “You need not worry about my safety; I just need you to do what I ask you to do at the precise time I need it without questioning my decisions. Will you do that for me?”
Tag looked at Rose and nodded begrudgingly.
“Dad, I’m extremely serious. You’ll want to think it thru but I need you to respond immediately. Promise me you will or the danger to all of us will be unimaginable.”
All of the SR Fleet Commanders were listening to the dialogue and they could see the struggle taking place
