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Rick was on his way to Hobbs office. Rick, Ted, and Justin were about to give a briefing to Hobbs. The three of them were silent as none of them knew what to expect. The only thing they knew for certain was that the alien ship had not moved in the last three days. Rick could only guess that they were waiting on an attack to happen. And he was going to oblige them as soon as he could.
As they walked into the reception area Rick said, “Hi Matty is he ready for us?”
“He told me to send you in once you got here.”
Rick walked into Hobbs office followed by Ted and Justin. “Have a seat,” said Hobbs pointing at a round table. “I’ll be with you in a moment.” He was sitting at his desk doing some paperwork.
By the time the three of them got settled, Hobbs got up from his desk and came to join them. Before he even sat down he asked, “What do you have for me.”
“Well Sir,” said Rick. “They have figured out how to make the plan work, but there are some logistical problems.”
“Like what?” Hobbs wasn’t sure where this was going.
“I’ll let Justin explain,” said Rick then turned to Justin.
“In short, the math says that we can’t jump through the bubble. It would be like throwing a tomato at a wall. All you get is a splat.”
“Graphic, but adequate description. So, what is your solution?”
“We open the window a few center meters away from the bubble and enter through normal space.”
“So let me see if I got the concept,” said Hobbs. “You are going to jump outside and let momentum carry you into the bubble. That’s insane. Just the navigational issues alone makes that a nightmare. Not to mention the moment that window opens they will shoot it down.”
It was Ted’s turn to speak. “Well Sir, we are hoping that they are not going to notice.”
“Won’t notice?” said Hobbs with disgust. “Hoping?”
Rick looked over at Ted and said, “You might as well go ahead and tell him. He’s going have to authorize it anyway.”
“We need to mount a full attack on Mosley.”
“You have to be out of your mind,” said Hobbs. “With that ship out there? I’m not going to sign the death warrants for those crews.”
“Sir,” said Ted in a very calm manner. “This attack has been very carefully considered. Because we know the location of the ship we will be jumping in on the other side of the planet.”
Then Justin added. “That ship is going to want to get into the battle. As a result, they are going to move closer to normal time.”
It was Rick’s turn. “That means they are going to have less time to react to the threat.”
Ted took over again. “With as many large ships as will be jumping into the area, a small ship like the one we intend to use won’t look like much of a problem.”
“You hope,” said Hobbs.
“We believe that it will look like a ship that jumped off course. We are using an EMP device so it won’t have any atomic signatures, so again it shouldn’t look like a threat.”
Hobbs looked at each man in turn. “Why do I get the feeling that I’m not getting the whole story?”
Rick smiled and said, “Because you are a bright and perceptive man. And you are right we are not telling you the whole story.”
Justin said, “As big as that ship is we need three EMP devices.”
“It is a high probability that the ships used will not survive the attack,” said Ted.
“What size ship are we talking about?” said Hobbs.
“The consensus is that a marauder class ship will do the job. Large enough to carry the EMP device, but small enough to not look like a threat.”
“That’s a five-man crew,” said Hobbs. There was a sound of sadness in his voice as he said. “That’s fifteen lives to save trillions. That’s a good deal, but I still don’t like it. If they are setting off an EMP device, wouldn’t they survive?”
Justin raised his hand to answer that question. “They would survive the initial blast. The devices will render them inoperable. As far as the alien ship goes, it would be impractical to capture it. We have no understanding of the tech or how to repair it.”
“There was a light of understanding in Hobbs eyes as he said, “So the only thing we can do is destroy it.”
Ted continued, “And it is very likely that our ships will get caught in the explosion.”
“I see,” said Hobbs. “I suppose you have a complete battle plan?”
“Yes Sir,” said Ted. “However there is one variable. The location of the Ship at the time of the attack. Wherever it is we need to jump to the exact opposite side of the planet. We have a good estimation, but we won’t know until we go.”
“I see,” said Hobbs again. He paused a moment as if he was making up his mind. “Transfer the data to my personal server and I’ll go over it and give you my decision.”
With that said Admiral Hornsby seemed to understand that the meeting was over. He stood and said, “Thank you Sir.”
Rick and Justin stood up and all three headed for the door. As the door was closed behind them Justin said, “Director, May I have a word with you Sir?”
Ted turned to Rick, “I’ll see you in the War Room.”
Rick nodded and turned his attention to Justin. “What can I do for you?”
“Well Sir, I would like to apologize for being a smart ass all the time.”
This change of attitude shocked Rick. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Well when you grow up in the slums with an IQ well above everyone around you, you do what you have to fit in. In my case that meant smarting off to everyone to hide my intelligence.”
“Yeah, I can see that,” said Rick.
“So, the Admiral shared your common history with me. It made me realize that I’m not in the slums anymore. So I’m sorry for acting like a jack ass.”
Rick just laughed and said, “You are forgiven, if you truly try you can always overcome your origins. However, as we all came from the same place, you can understand that no one else needs to know that piece of information.”
“Yes Sir, I think can.”
“Good, now let’s get to the War Room.”
They walked together in silence. Once they entered the War Room Ted said, “Mr. Justin your workstation is over there.” He was pointing to an empty computer station facing the wall. “We will need you here in case we need to make adjustments to the plan. I suggest you get familiar with the controls and programs.”
“Yes Sir,” said Justin as he went to the computer.
Rick went over to Ted and said in a low tone of voice. “What did you say to him?”
“What do you mean?”
“His change in attitude.”
“I remembered the conversation someone once had with both of us. I felt Justin deserved a chance, like he gave us. I just pointed out that he is not in the past, and that the past should not control who he is now.”
“Well, it worked. He...” With everything that was going on, Rick had not had a chance to tell Ted what he discovered about Hobbs.
They were interrupted by a young woman at one of the command stations. “Sir we have an incoming transmission from the CEO.”
“Put it on,” said Ted.
Hobbs face appeared on the screen. Without preamble he said, “Admiral, Operation ‘pop the bubble’ is a go. You have operational control over the battle.”
“Thank...”
“Sir, a jump window is forming in front of the alien ship,” said Justin.
Ted ran to the holographic table shouting orders all the way.
Rick turned to look at the hologram. He watched in fascination as the window formed and the ship moved forward. It went through the window. “It’s gone Sir.”
Rick turned back to Hobbs. “Did you hear that Sir?”
Hobbs rubbed his eyes and looked tired. “Yes I did. Three days and they never left the system. We go to launch an attack and they jump away. How did they know what we were planning?”
Ted had come back to join Rick and said, “Sir, I think this is something different. I don’t think they knew we were coming.”
“What makes you say that?” said Hobbs. There was a look of hope in his eyes.
“Because the Rossom ships are still there. It’s hard to explain. It’s more a feeling than anything else.”
“Okay, explain the feeling?”
“I think that they wanted Mosley as a base of operations. Not because Rossom wanted it, but because the aliens did. There is something in that cluster of planets that they want. The aliens left Rossom holding their base, so they could go do whatever they needed to do.”
“So, are all of the Rossom ships there?”
“Yes Sir, but over the last three days they have fortified their position.”
“We will take that up later. So, what’s your plan?”
“First keep the uplink to Mosley. If this is their base they would come back at some point. Next we need to send out scout ships fitted with the spectroscope to each planet in the cluster to find that ship. Last we need to keep everything on standby to leave at a moment’s notice.”
“Do you think that will work?” said Hobbs.
“Well Sir, I can only hope that we find that ship before they find what they are looking for.”
“There is that word ‘hope’ again.” Hobbs paused, “Very well, you have the full resources of the Wilson Corporation. Do what you need to do. If anyone gives you any problems have the contact me and I’ll straighten them out. Hobbs out.” The screen went blank.
Rick turned to Ted and said, “Admiral I get the feeling we better find that thing quick.”
“Agreed, and I know just who to ask. Mr. Justin front and center!”
Justin came over and joined them. “You got any ideas on where that ship is?”
“Well, I don’t have any ideas on where it is, but I do have an idea on where it isn’t.”
“What do you mean by that?” said Ted.
“Well Sir, this is just a guess on my part, and you can correct me if I’m wrong. If they were looking for something in an inhabited planet wouldn’t they take the Rossom fleet like they did with Mosley?”
“Yes, they would. How many planets fit that profile?” said Ted.
“If we eliminate gas giants and rouge asteroids maybe a hundred.”
“How many planets in that cluster total?”
“About six hundred,” said Justin.
“You just saved us a lot of work. I need you to find out exactly how many planets we need to search. Make a list and get that to me as soon as you can.” Ted raised his voice. “Alright ladies and gentlemen. We are on a search for that alien ship. Mr. Justin will be giving us out targets shortly. Get orders out to the fleet that they are to install spectroscope on the scout class ships and get them prepared for the search. Assignments will be handed out as soon as we have them. We must find that ship. First we find it, then we sleep.”
“Inspiring,” said Rick said to Ted. “I’m going to get out of your way and let you do your job. Give me a call when you find something.”
“Yes Sir,” Ted saluted and turned his attention to the search. Rick thought about that. It was his friend’s way of showing respect. Rick’s real question was how to show Ted the respect he deserved.