Lens of Time: Book 06 - Star Rover-Running Out of Time

by Saxon Andrew

  The Grillen nodded and continued issuing orders to the Grillen Military forces.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The Supreme Lord looked down at the Scout and listened to his advisor’s questions, “Are you sure the Ally and the Spiral Galaxy are at war?”

  “Lord, you saw the destruction of the Ally’s production facility.”

  “Why did only one ship from the Spiral Galaxy appear instead of the Ally’s fleets?”

  “I suspect the Ally’s fleets were engaged with the fleets from the Spiral Galaxy. I could have stayed longer to verify it but you ordered me to make certain I was not discovered. If I remained and a large number of ships arrived, the possibility of discovery would have been greatly increased.”

  “You may go.”

  The Pilot left the huge chamber and the Supreme Lord looked at his advisor, “What do you make of this?”

  “I believe he is right.”

  “What do you think about revealing one of our major battleships to the Ally?”

  “According to our Fleet Controller, the ship was destroyed very quickly after it emerged into normal space. I think the Ally will understand us not sending another ship.”

  “What should we do now?”

  “I’m going to contact the Ally on one of their communication frequencies and see what they have to say.”

  “You should delay that communication.”

  “I’ll give them enough time to really be deep into their conflict. We’ll check in on them periodically to see what progress is being made. At the proper time, we will go and take what we want.”

  “Keep me informed.”

  “I will, Lord.”

  A creature was brought into the chamber, struggling against the bonds that were holding it. The Supreme Lord moved off his throne and approached the helpless creature. The Lord stung the creature so quickly it was barely seen. The creature collapsed against its bonds and was carried out. The Supreme Lord hoped the creature’s intelligence was good. He needed offspring that were advanced mentally. He knew the ones with the highest level of intelligence were in the Spiral Galaxy. He looked forward to the offspring that would come from using them.

  • • •

  Dat stood up and looked at the Grillen Admiral, “Both of us have a lot of work to do and making it happen here is just not possible. We should meet here exactly five days from now.”

  “I agree. Are you certain about your decision?”

  “I don’t trust you. You were one of our allies and you turned on us.” The Admiral stared at Dat. “Perhaps you’re right and the new King can be trusted; however, he won’t rule forever and those that follow him may not be trustworthy.”

  “I cannot fault your logic. All of us want to ensure the survival of our people and I’m certain my former King worried about the power your civilization possessed. Its existence caused him to feel the same way about your leadership changing at some point in the future.”

  Dat thought about the statement and really didn’t know how to respond. He shook his head, “We have never broken our promises; that has to count for something.”

  “It does with me. However, trust is earned. I hope we can do the things necessary to regain yours.”

  “Sacrificing your forces on the invaded planets is a step in the right direction. I know what that decision cost you. Now you need to get your new King here to hammer out what comes next with my Commander.”

  “I’ll contact you if any difficulties prevent us from being here.”

  “Let us hope that doesn’t happen.”

  “I know. Where are you going now?”

  “I’m going to try and prevent my warriors on the planets we attacked from consuming your survivors.”

  “They are not your species?”

  “No, they are not.”

  “Then please go and help my warriors.”

  Dat trotted out of the room and saw the port open in the Rover, “Stein, get me to Blacky’s planet as quickly as possible.” The Rover lifted and the ensuing sonic boom broke the glass out of all the buildings within six miles of its departure.

  • • •

  Dat arrived and landed close to the huge military complex that was burning out of control. The Madators had rounded up all of the surviving Grillen and had them kneeling in the sand. Dat knew things were about to get out of hand; the Madators were bobbing at a high rate. The Madators looked up and stopped bobbing when they saw the Rover moving quickly toward the surface. They saw the Command Symbol of a Union Admiral and Blacky knew it had to be Dat. The ship landed and Dat came out of the port running. “Blacky, come with me.”

  Blacky looked at his warriors, “You will not harm them!” The Madators stared at their huge leader and became very still. They wondered what was going on and their curiosity overcame their desire to hunt. “What is going on!?!”

  “Come with me; I have something to show you.” Dat took Blacky to the Rover’s bridge and downloaded the contents of his wrist unit into the ship’s databanks. He turned to Blacky, “I have discovered the creature that gave the Grillen their advanced technology.”

  “So?”

  “You need to see it.” The display illuminated and Dat saw Blacky staring at the strange creature standing thirty feet from the Grillen King. “I want you to watch what this creature does.” Dat activated the video and Blacky jerked at the speed that the creature used to attack the King. The King’s death was over faster than Blacky thought possible. And the creature had gone through a force field to kill the King. He looked at Dat, who said, “That creature has a stinger that it uses to inject a larva into the one it attacks. The larva uses the one it is injected into as a meal to grow. The host is also used to develop its intelligence. I’ve not seen any creature that can move as fast as that one; I’m including your species in my judgment, Blacky.”

  Blacky turned to Dat, “Why would the Grillen ally themselves with this…this…”

  “They didn’t know.”

  Blacky stared at the creature for a moment longer and then turned and walked out of the ship. Dat followed him running to try and keep up with the huge Madator. Blacky arrived at the other Madators and they saw something in his expression. He looked at them one by one and then said, “It has finally happened, my warriors.” The Madators were deathly silent and still. “Our friends have found the Ultimate Prey.”

  One of the Madators stared at Blacky and said, “Are you sure?”

  “I have no doubt.”

  The Madators forgot the Grillen kneeling in front of them and began communicating among themselves. Dat arrived and looked up at Blacky, “They aren’t bobbing.”

  “They will not bob to show respect to them.”

  “To who?”

  “The ones that inject their larva. This is a holy moment for my species.” Blacky activated his communicator and sent the word out to all of the Madator Warriors that the Ultimate Prey had been found. On every invaded planet the Madators lost interest in the surviving Grillen and began calling for transportation to return home to prepare to meet their ultimate enemy. Dat thought he understood the Madators but he now knew this was out of his league. He contacted Gresha and asked her to find out what finding an Ultimate Prey meant to the huge black creatures. He had no clue if this was a good or bad thing.

  • • •

  Gresha listened to Dat’s message and was confused about the Madator’s behavior on the invaded planets. She went over to a group of Madators and saw Anabel, “Do you have a moment?”

  “I always have time for you, Gresha.”

  Gresha walked away from the group and sat down on the step in front of the quarters she was using. She rubbed her back and winced, “My back always hurts when I sleep on your beds.”

  “I’ll change it.”

  “No, no; I’m leaving momentarily. Dat asked me a question and I couldn’t answer it. I was wondering if you would help me understand what he’s asking.”

  “Sure, what’s bothering him?”

 
; “What is an Ultimate Prey?” Gresha saw Anabel suddenly stiffen and freeze; she was completely still. That was highly irregular with the Madators; they were always moving. “Did I ask something inappropriately?”

  “Have they found it?”

  “What do you mean, Anabel?”

  “We pray every day for creation to send us our Ultimate Prey. We have been searching for it for as long as we’ve been intelligent.”

  “Why?”

  “We are Madators, Gresha. No species we’ve ever encountered has been able to defeat us one-on-one. We want a foe that challenges us to the maximum of our abilities. None have ever been found to do that.”

  “Do you mean you desire a foe that can kill you?”

  “Yes.”

  “For God’s sake, why?”

  “The fight would be glorious. It would give us ultimate joy and satisfaction and allow us to become more than we are.” Anabel hesitated, “Have they found it?”

  Gresha didn’t know if she should answer but the Madator female had been open and honest with her. She decided to avoid a direct answer, “Blacky says they have.”

  Anabel erupted into a hoot that almost deafened Gresha. The hoot moved rapidly up the scale and disappeared as it went into higher frequencies. Gresha had her hands over her ears and she looked out at the vast plain and saw every Madator in sight suddenly kneeling. The Madators that were flying high overhead fell rapidly to the ground and joined the others; silence ruled the vast flat land in front of her quarters. She activated her wrist unit and began communicating with Dat. Something dramatic had happened and the Union had to find out what it meant.

  • • •

  Blacky and Dat sat on his Rover and watched the transport arrive to take the Madators back to their planet. “Blacky, what does this discovery mean? How does it impact our agreements?”

  Blacky stared at Dat and had never looked so serious. “For all practical purposes, we are still a tool for you to use.”

  “But…”

  “We intend to take on this species whether you choose to do it or not. We are driven to prey on them.”

  “How can you possibly do that without our help? They are technologically more advanced than we are and their ships are twice our tonnage.”

  Blacky stared at Dat and said, “Their ship technology is not important to us.”

  “But you wouldn’t stand a chance against that creature. I know it’s faster and I suspect it might be stronger than your species.”

  Blacky forced himself to smile, “Dat, have you ever seen a group of Madators attack a single prey?”

  “A pride of lions would do just that.”

  “That’s true, but a real predator goes into large numbers of its prey to make a kill.”

  “I’m really wondering who would be the prey in that situation, Blacky.”

  “That is why it’s the Ultimate Prey. We would not have any restrictions in attacking it. We would take it on using all of our talents and skills; success is not guaranteed against that creature.”

  “If that think stung you…”

  “Our body would eject that larva as fast as it was injected. Our bodies can do things genetically that would shock you, Dat. The Stinger may have a poison that would affect us, but we would never be a tool for their reproduction.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “We’ll find out soon enough.”

  “Blacky, we have to stop this species from attacking us. Our intent is to destroy them.”

  “As long as you leave a few for us, you can do whatever you want.”

  “Let’s hold off making any decisions until we see what we’re up against.”

  “That’s reasonable. I think you’ll find that we’ll be much more restrained in taking them on. A good predator learns all it can about its intended Prey.”

  “You weren’t restrained against the Grillen.”

  Blacky waved an arm, “They really don’t offer much of a challenge, even with their armor and blasters.”

  Dat smiled, “You were able to make that determination?” Blacky shrugged. “I’ll send whatever information we gather on this species and you can use it to get ready.”

  “That would be great.”

  “I’ve got my shoes on board; do you want to make a run?”

  Blacky smiled, “Please don’t take this personally; I need to work on developing my skills and need the time to get ready.”

  Dat paused and looked at his huge friend, “Will I ever see you bob again?”

  Blacky smiled, “It is my fervent hope you do.” Dat landed on the Madator’s planet and watched his friend leave the ship at full speed. He saw Gresha walking toward him and she stopped as Blacky shot past her and furled his body into a wing. Dat rushed out to meet her. He knew he couldn’t match the huge Madator’s speed leaving the ship, but Gresha was impressed. That was all that mattered at that moment.

  • • •

  The King saw his panel illuminate and he nodded to the Admiral. He came forward and took the King’s place on the throne and answered the call, “It is good to hear from you. We’ve been worried about you after your ship was destroyed.”

  “We’ve been reluctant to return until it was safe.”

  “You shouldn’t come back until we get a grip on the situation.”

  “How are things going?”

  “We’re surviving and it’s due to the gift you gave us. Our leader you had been meeting with was killed in one of the Union’s attacks and a new King has taken his place. We’re holding our own but it isn’t safe in any of our systems.”

  “We wish you success; contact us if you have any questions about the gift we gave you.”

  “We will. Thank you for your kindness.”

  The display went dark and the King looked at the Admiral, “Are you sure about this meeting?”

  “You saw what that creature can do.”

  “Can they be trusted to not attack me?”

  “I wish I could say it differently but they have never broken their promises; I can’t say the same about us.”

  “So you think going in an unarmed ship is the best choice?”

  “I do.”

  “My father told me that having someone whom you could count on to be honest is a gift beyond measure. I know I can’t do this alone and I’m going to need to depend on you to help me through this. Can I trust you, Admiral?”

  The Admiral smiled, “I will defend you to the death, Your Majesty. You’ve just proven to me that you are worthy of my obedience. You are not the egomaniac your father was.”

  “Get the ship ready.”

  • • •

  Katherine sat on board the Mars and looked at the four ships surrounding her vessel. The four Jukebox Battleships were intimidating and the sixteen hundred Rovers surrounding them added to their deadliness. She looked over at Jon Anders, “I’m really glad that you and Jill came out of retirement.”

  “Truth be told, Sir, I’ve missed it.”

  Jillian looked up from the Second’s chair, “He has been impossible.”

  “Oh, and you haven’t been irritable?”

  “It’s my nature, Dear.”

  Katherine smiled, “Let me know when they arrive.”

  Jill nodded, “Yes Sir. It’s good to be back.”

  • • •

  Shane looked at his display and wondered what force the Grillen King would arrive with. He looked at the other three modified Jukeboxes and knew their power. He wasn’t worried about escaping if the situation called for it. Kelli now had her own command and Captain McCagg was now commanding the fourth ship. Gem appeared on his display, “How do you want to play this?”

  “We’ll maintain our position around the Admiral’s ship. We’re here to make sure it can jump away if needed.”

  Shane heard over his panel, “All guns and tubes are ready, Sir.” Shane pressed the received button and turned back to Gem, “Is your ship ready?”

  “We arrived ready, Sir.”

  “Yo
u weren’t calling me Sir last night.” Gem smiled and the display went dark.

  • • •

  Jill looked up, “I have a jump signature a thousand miles out.” Katherine stared at her display and saw a small shuttle emerge into normal space. Jill stared at her panel, “Sir, it is an unarmed shuttle. It’s sending a message.”

  “Put it on the speaker.”

  “We will meet you on the planet’s surface.”

  Katherine hit her communicator, “Is the King present?”

  “He is. He’s looking forward to meeting with you.”

  Katherine jerked her head around and stared at Dat who was smiling, “What is this all about?”

  “It’s pretty simple, Sir; they trust us. I guess the same can’t be said about us.”

  Katherine shook her head. This king has some pretty big cojones to do this. She didn’t want to but her opinion of the new King went up. “We’ve never violated a promise. The same can’t be said about them.” Dat tilted his head and nodded.

  • • •

  Shane watched the shuttle land on the planet and was impressed. The Grillen were not acting in character; something must have happened. His communicator beeped and he saw Admiral Hull on the screen, “Matthews, get your butt down to the planet.”

  “Sir?”

  “You’ll be attending the meeting.”

  “Why?”

  “Admiral Gibbs won’t be present and he wants you to be his eyes.”

  Shane looked over at Adam Everly, his new second-in-command, “The Ship is yours, Captain.”

  “I relieve you, Sir.”

  Shane hit his panel, “Gem, the squadron is yours.”

  “Why?”

  “I’ve been ordered to the planet to attend the meeting.”

  Gem started to respond and looked away, “It looks like Admiral Hull wants me there as well.”

  Shane shook his head and contacted Kelli, “Commodore, the squadron is yours. Gem and I have been ordered to attend the meeting.”

  “I’m not sure I’m up to this, Sir.”

  “The very fact you doubt it tells me you are. Keep an eye out for anything that jumps in.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  Shane went to the Saturn’s tubes and boarded a car, “Landing bay.” The car accelerated through the ship. He arrived and boarded a shuttle that was standing . Everly was good. He hadn’t called for a shuttle; Everly had.