by Randal Sloan
“We’ll meet in the galley,” she told her, this time speaking aloud. “Galen will show you the way.”
Turning to the Master Sergeant, she went on, “Robert, if you will, gather the others to wait here by the ramp to the Katarina. I will speak with the Protectors next, and Master Gauqur last.”
Everyone rushed to do as they were bid. Jenn was met by a young man she assumed was Galen. He must have picked up on her nervousness.
“Everything will be alright, Miss,” he told her. “Although I suspect you’re about to become the youngest official Governor in the Empire.”
He laughed at her expression as he turned to lead her down the corridor. “Don’t worry. I’m sure the job has quite a few perks and with the Princess naming you for the part, your job is going to be quite secure.”
Katarina was a small ship so they reached their destination rather quickly. That didn’t help Jenn, who had grown more and more nervous.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Galen asked, still playing the generous host. In truth, his heart went out to the girl, who appeared to be almost stricken with her situation. She’s not far from my age, went through his head as she nodded.
“Just water, please. I suspect I need to keep my wits about me.” Jenn told him.
“It’s okay,” Galen told her. “The Princess is one of the best people I know. She does her best to care for everyone involved as long as you’re on her side.”
He shook his head. “It’s a good thing everyone stopped fighting when they did. Despite her heart of gold, the Princess is very much the warrior we need in these perilous times.”
Jarra had come into the galley as Galen said those last words. He knew he was caught and he couldn’t quite hide a guilty look. He also knew that Jarra had recognized something else he hadn’t quite been able to hide.
“I only do what I must,” she told him. “Nevertheless, I do my duty, as you well know.”
She laughed at his expression. “Galen, why don’t you wait outside? I believe I’ll assign you to be my contact with the Governess for the time that we’ll be here, so I need you close.”
“—since you’re doing so well at it,” she sent directly to him by way of her implants. “Something tells me we’re not done here, so you may well find that relationship you’re imagining with young Jenn may yet come true.”
Galen just smiled and did as instructed. Somehow, Jarra had picked up on his feelings that he barely understood himself. Jenn had just seemed rather vulnerable and that had struck a cord within him. It also didn’t hurt that she was quite a beautiful young lady.
“Since Galen brought up duty,” Jarra went on as he closed the door behind him, “shall we talk about where we find ourselves?”
Numbly Jenn nodded. She didn't trust herself to speak.
“I know you trained as a forensic accountant and even though I suspect you would have become one of the best, I need you to take up your new duty here.”
She gave Jenn a huge smile. “It is going to be one of the most important jobs in the galaxy, but I know you’re going to do an amazing job!”
After Jenn’s rather reluctant acceptance of her duty, Jarra sent her off with Galen and a squad of Marines to get her set up as well as they could. For now, it would have to be here in Block 85. Already she was preparing in her mind the message she would need to send to her uncle. Jenn would need help and Jarra intended that she get it with as little red tape as possible.
She’d already sent Sara an implant command to gather the three girls who had been waiting with the Marines. Robert had explained their story and Jarra had been quite impressed. Jarra had known there was no way to keep Sara and Krissy apart, so she had decided it was best to embrace it from the beginning.
It must have worked, because Sara led them in immediately, her conversation with Krissy only put on hold because it was already far beyond the level of Jarra’s expertise. And to think Jarra considered herself a pretty good hacker!
Jarra sat looking at them for a moment. She instantly recognized something she saw in the three of them. Something quite special and it caught her completely by surprise. They glowed with a brilliance that was quite obvious to her second sight. Mentally, she shook her head. I’ll have to address that in a few moments, but best get the rest taken care of first.
“Thanks for joining me, girls,” she told them. “Robert, that is Master Sergeant Gibbons as you know him, has been telling me quite the story about you and your Protector network. Quite a feat, all of you, with what I’ve heard of the resistance you carried out against the now defunct Imperial government.”
She smiled at the three of them. “That means that you’re going to be the perfect fit for what I have in mind for your beautiful planet.”
Her smile grew bigger at their obvious discomfort. “Come now. Tell me you would be willing to sit back and let others do all the work, when the future you’ve only dreamed of is nigh.”
That got their attention so that all three looked at her in expectation rather than fear. Good!
“Let me explain a little better and you’ll see what I mean. First, the Protector network is going to remain basically intact, although their purpose will be expanded since the primary goal of protecting others against the Imperials is no longer needed.”
Jarra could see the understanding in their eyes. “Yes, the Protector network can still do a lot of good as we rebuild New Earth as a safer and better place to live.”
That brought nods from the three of them as they thought through what all that might mean. But she didn’t stop there.
“Secondly, I'm going to name you three to be the primary interface between Jenn’s Galactic government and the local humans. You’ll be responsible for bringing the people’s requests to the Galactics. Basically, you’ll be filling the roles of Ambassadors to the planetary government.”
She smiled at their reactions, first the emotional response to being singled out from the others and secondly the not-so-subtle use of their name for the Empire. “Yes, I heard about what you called us. As good a name as any, better than some I’ve heard. But I digress. Let me explain my plan for your world and perhaps you would like to have some input.
“I intend to rebuild what was lost in your little war, without the waste of the Imperials with their huge lavish palace or the poor distribution of food and services so desperately needed by the people. I want to keep the idea of tourism, for I think that will give you a leg up on some of the other worlds always clamoring for attention.
“You have to understand. In most ways our Galactic Empire is still so very young. We haven’t yet found the balance in supporting the worlds out here on the Rim versus the core worlds. If we can sell you as a high-end tourist destination, your home will be able to get the attention of those who are highly influential. That will make all the difference, yet your remote location will still protect you from most of those that would take advantage of you.
“I’ll make absolutely certain of that, for already your world has found a special place in my heart.
“Jenn will have a lot to do with it, especially with the help I will provide her, but we mustn’t forget about the people who still need help and protection, which is where you come in. I’m going to be sending lots of resources to help and I’ll make sure you have everything you need.”
Jarra could tell that they were still in shock but it was beginning to sink in. “Look at it this way. Your duties as Protectors will remain, you’ll just be able to do it in a much more effective manner.”
She gave them a smile. Time to address the elephant in the room, not that she knew exactly what that meant anyway. It was an old Earth saying she’d heard somewhere.
“Plus, now that I know about you, I’ll be able to get you help with your ‘special abilities’ as you’re calling them. I suspect someday we’ll have need of them.”
The shock was back. “Don’t worry. I don’t know the details of your talents and I don’t need to know right now. It’s
not like I don’t have certain psychic abilities all of my own. You don’t see me shouting it from the rooftops. No one needs to know right now, and the ones I can get to help are very much on our side.”
The three just stared. Even with Missy predicting this outcome, they’d worked hard all the time they’d known each other to keep it hidden as much as possible. Finally, Missy just shook her head.
“He wasn’t wrong,” Missy said to the others with a smile. When the Princess looked at her in question, she went on. “The Master Sergeant warned us. When we asked about you, he told us we’d find out. He also said our lives would never be the same.
“They most certainly will not be!”
Master Gauqur was pleased that the Golden One had saved him for last. That let him gather his thoughts. He instinctively understood this was his one chance to help his people, despite his obvious error in perpetuating this war. Even if he should be punished for his involvement, his first and foremost need was to take care of his people.
When he was finally led before her, he thought he was prepared. He was wrong.
She sat just looking at him for a moment. He felt as if she was looking into his soul. He immediately knew his carefully prepared words would have no effect. Only the truth would suffice.
Then she spoke, and by the time she was finished he really understood. He also knew his purpose was now changed forever.
“I’m not here to punish you, Master, for your part in this little war. Your people had a legitimate grievance with the Imperials, although I disagree rather vehemently with your solution. But things are never that clear in the fog of war. I think already you’re beginning to regret your choices and the resultant loss of life, but that’s not for me to decide. As the Master that you are, your anguish at the loss will be your own punishment.
“No, there is only one concern I have that determines what I must do with you. Where do you stand with your people in the other Galactic arm?”
She looked him right in the red eye. “Are you a Dark Priest or do you follow the original beliefs of the Order? Are you a puppet of the First Sentinel or do you oppose him?”
Her words struck him like a blow. He bowed his head and placed his hand on his primary circulatory organ. He now understood her even more.
“Never!” he told her, finally daring to look up at her, his red eye flaring open with the intensity of his response. “Our people fled here for that very reason. We will always oppose the First Sentinel and his evil beliefs. I may have been very young when we had to leave our worlds, but I remember quite well the evil that monster carried within him.”
“Good,” she answered with a smile. “I believe we can work together.” Then she said the words that shocked him to his core.
“You should know the small group of your people here on this world represent the future of your race. There’s little we can do at the moment, for the time has not yet come, but if I have anything to do with it, your people should be able to prosper here on New Earth until the time is right.”
She gave him a brilliant smile. “I can offer you this much,” she told him with just a little of her own intensity. “The Supreme Leader is now on our side and the First Sentinel has been destroyed, although it was a very near thing! It took the special crew of my ship and the help of others, but we were able to prevail, if not without cost.”
She shook her head, allowing him to feel some of the anguish she had felt when Sara had been in that horrible coma. “It came at very nearly a dear cost.”
The intensity of her feelings shook him to his core, but the Master was able to recover his equilibrium. He couldn’t believe some of what she was telling him. “The First Sentinel is gone?” he finally asked. “Cannot my people then return to our homes?”
“No,” she told him. “That’s what I meant about it not being time. Although the First Sentinel is gone, so much of what he caused to happen is still there. There are far too many left that were in his control and blindly still follow his intentions.
“The other problem is that your people that live there have changed, and not for the good.”
That got his attention.
“Your kinsmen no longer have their natural bodies, instead having created artificial bodies. As you will quickly see, it’s taken away their connection to their roots and with their ability to download themselves, they see few consequences for their actions. It has destroyed their moral compass. That and their lack of compassion has led to the current situation.”
“Plus,” she went on, “they've lost their ability to reproduce.”
It was a lot to take in, but Master Gauqur began to understand what she meant about it not being time and his people being the future of his race. Still, the future she’s offering is all that I’ve ever dreamed. He smiled for the first time.
“Now you see,” she told him, not missing the Oidhche smile or the look in his red eye. “The disciples of the First Sentinel must still be defeated, and the people must no longer be allowed to depend on their backups of themselves for a safety net. They must stop this crusade to end all biological life and they must allow themselves to face mortality once more. None of that is going to be easily done — even with the Supreme Leader and all the future Sentinels being built on our side. Time is our only hope.”
Master Gauqur didn’t get a chance to respond, not that he knew what to say. Surely, if she had that much control over his enemies, someday the return would be possible.
Once more she looked him in the red eye. “You and your people are in the only place in the galaxy where you are safe and you must remain here until it’s time to return.
“Train your disciples well, Master, for I fear neither you nor I will be the ones that will see that end. Still, at least we now have some small hope…”
While the human leader was meeting with all the various leaders of the people, Rae was working to help the injured. Even as he did so, his thoughts were dwelling on the human who had appeared to end the battle. He had heard the others say something about the Princess and he guessed they were referring to her.
He was completely awed by her and found himself wondering what it would be like to serve someone like her. He knew his Prophecies and he instantly recognized that she was the Golden One of those Prophecies when she took off her helmet and flashed her golden hair. He still couldn’t believe what he had seen.
I just believed I was a warrior, he thought. Now I know what a real warrior is like. And yet, when it was all done, he could hear the compassion in her voice, and he was humbled by that experience even more than her ability in battle.
I should have done more to stop the others, he realized. When we had the Imperials defeated, we should have shown that same compassion. He decided right then and there, I will dedicate myself to becoming that kind of warrior!
Their quick makeshift triage area had a number of his people along with some of the humans the Marines had brought from the battle underground. Rae was surprised as he worked to tend the wounded to see his people working side-by-side with the humans and then, of all things, a Borjon.
Rae immediately had recognized the one that was working beside him and he wondered at it. He would have expected such a one to hate him the most, for while he and his Order had not fought against the Borjon peoples, the rest of his people had done great evil. Their opposition to the war had been one of the reasons the ones living in the Order had been forced to flee.
Finally, the last of the injured had either been bandaged up or sent to the healers, and Rae found himself alone with the Borjon and a few of the humans. He looked up at the Borjon expecting to see that hatred in his eyes, but instead he saw an unexpected kinship.
The Imperials spoke a decent variation of the Galactic Standard, so when the Borjon spoke he was able to understand him. In fact, he spoke the language so clearly, Rae wouldn’t have known he was speaking to a Borjon if he hadn't been right in front of him.
“I have been told I must make friendship with one who I con
sidered my enemy,” he said. “But as I have watched you help those injured in this terrible battle, I only saw one who cares for these as much as I do. I have also been told that we should look for those things we have in common. What can you tell me about your Order? Do you study the Prophecies as we do with the hopes they will be fulfilled or do you hope to prevent them?”
Rae couldn’t help it. He was filled with horror at the last words the Borjon spoke. “Never!” he exclaimed. “We only seek to serve the Prophecies. It was that opposition to the First Sentinel and his Dark Ones that forced us to flee here, although I wasn’t even born then.”
“I’m Kaeden, by the way. The humans show greeting and possible friendship with a shake of the fore appendages.” The Borjon offered his hand, the one on the right.
“Rae,” he said, as he offered his own appendage the humans called a hand. “If you are offering friendship, I accept.”
Kaeden gave him what he realized was a smile as their ‘hands’ touched. It wasn’t that different from the smile of his people Rae quickly realized.
“In that case, we have much to talk about,” Kaeden told him. “My Order also follows the Prophecies and I was the most fortunate one to be assigned to work with the Golden One. I have always served her, but I have learned to follow her from the heart. Although absolutely ferocious in battle, she is a most amazing person when you come to know her.”
Rae could barely hide his envy. “I find myself wanting to serve her also. Do you think she will accept my service as well after all that I have done?”
That question was easy for Kaeden to answer. “I once failed her, also. You will find she will not accept such failings, but is quick to look for the good in all of us and will give you another chance. If you really wish to serve, she will look for the good in you and help you to find it.”
He offered another smile. “Come, we will go speak to her once she finishes with the others. You will see for yourself.”