by Saxon Andrew
The Fight for Creation
Book two
Scout Warrior
Contents
Introduction
Chapter One • Chapter Two • Chapter Three • Chapter Four • Chapter Five • Chapter Six • Chapter Seven • Chapter Eight • Chapter Nine • Chapter Ten • Chapter Eleven • Chapter Twelve • Chapter Thirteen • Chapter Fourteen • Chapter Fifteen • Chapter Sixteen • Chapter Seventeen • Chapter Eighteen • Chapter Nineteen • Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Books by Saxon Andrew
About Saxon Andrew
Introduction
“Jixie, the members of your hatching have asked that I speak with you.”
“What about, Mom?”
“They have asked me to let you know that they are not going out to play anymore.”
Jixie stared at her mother, “All of them?”
“All of them.” Jixie’s mother stared at her child for a moment and then said, “They are adults and they are starting their study.”
“We aren’t required to start that now. Why are they in such a rush?”
“They feel the pull and wish to start early. Your hatching has been quite impressive in their development.”
“I’m not ready to do that.”
“You really don’t have a choice, Jixie. You are not allowed to play alone.”
Jixie felt her frustration start to rise. How could her hatching want to begin the drudgery of study? But if her mother was right, she may be forced to join them. Then she remembered, “I won’t be playing alone.”
“Jixie, all of the others in the hatching are not going to go out again.”
“Not all, Mother.”
“Who among them will go?”
“Just one; me.”
“You know the rules. You’re not allowed to play alone. We’ve seen the poor judgment that takes place when only one is playing.”
“I won’t; I have other playmates.”
Her mother stared at her tapping her foot in frustration. Jixie was her most difficult child, “What other playmates?”
“Do you remember the nice creature that flew in after our first contact with the cloud creatures?”
“I do; what does that have to do with this?”
“Well, he said that when I was older I could join him in the fight against the mean creatures that were attacking innocent civilizations.”
“Jixie, he was talking about all of the hatching; not just you.”
“Mom, he was only talking to me. He said, ‘I hope you can help us stop it one day.’”
“He was talking about all of you.”
Jixie lowered her head and looked at her mother through her eyebrows, “Who was he talking to, Mother?”
Jixie’s mother knew she had no way of knowing what the creature meant. She wasn’t there to see its thoughts and the words the creature used were not clear in what it meant. Jixie saw her mother frown and said, “I am going to accept his invitation and go play with the ones that invited me.”
“Jixie, if you leave you will not be bonded. You will never have children.”
Jixie sighed, “My hatching had an odd number. Someone is going to be left out.”
“But you are at the top of the measurements. You should not be that one.”
“I know but the one I was interested in has found another. I won’t accept anyone below him.”
“Oh Jixie, why are you so picky? There are many that match you. Some of them are close to your measurement. Don’t make this rash decision.”
Jixie lowered her head and said, “I feel this call, Mother; I need to listen. I’m not ready to concentrate on the study.”
Jixie’s mother knew she was the most precocious of all her children. All of the hatching found it impossible to say no to her and followed her lead; that was why she was asked to tell Jixie their feelings. They could not resist her joy at going out to play. “Jixie, you’ll have to follow their rules if you go to play with them. You won’t be allowed to use most of your toys. That won’t be much fun.”
“I know.”
Jixie’s mother knew there was no way within the conventions to stop Jixie, so she pulled her close, “I love you, Jixie and I can’t force you to stay. You’re an adult and must make your own decisions. Do what you must and follow your heart. However, I am not in support of this decision.” She released Jixie and said, “When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow; I need to get my ship ready for the trip and say goodbye.”
“I’ll be watching you, child.”
“I know; I love you too.”
• • •
Most of the hatching learned of Jixie’s decision and came to persuade her not to go. The last one to come was Trex, “You shouldn’t do this, Jixie.”
“I’m different from all the others, Trex and I really have no reason to stay.”
Trex lowered his head and said, “I’m sorry I let you down.”
Jixie hugged him and said, “You didn’t. I was so interested in playing that Jinx had an opportunity to send her vibrations to you. I saw you start to harmonize with her some time ago.”
“All of us have the right to send our feelings, Jixie. I couldn’t prevent her from doing it. Over time she wore down my defenses.”
“I know, Trex. I don’t blame you and I certainly don’t blame her. She’s going to bond with the best of our hatching. She’s worthy of you. She’s very lucky to have you.”
Trex softly said, “I wanted you first.”
Jixie sighed heavily, “I was too busy to notice. If there’s any blame here, it’s mine.”
“When are you coming back?”
“I don’t know.”
Trex stepped forward and hugged Jixie and felt her, but the harmony Jinx had made with him got in the way. He felt Jixie do what she needed and then she stepped back and said, “I hope your study is productive. Goodbye Trex.”
Trex stared at her and then turned and walked away.
Jixie watched him go and felt the harmony she had been hiding begin to fade. He had her long ago, but she had not reciprocated with a matching vibration. That had left him vulnerable to someone else. She felt the harmonic vibrations disappear and knew that she was now ready to leave. She had to see him to remove his vibration before she could go in peace. She knew he felt her remove them when she hugged him. He was kind enough not to mention it and allow her to do it. Jinx was so very lucky to have him.
She looked up at the sky and found the large winged creature, but discovered that he was not the one directing the play activities of his civilization. There were several different creatures doing that. The one that came was a warrior and not one of the leaders. It’s good her mother didn’t know that. She decided she might as well start at the top and go to the leaders. Her small ship began forming around her as she looked around and sighed. She looked up again and the ship disappeared.
Her mother watched her go and said, “Go and find your destiny, Jixie. There’s nothing for you here.” She knew her favorite child was not going to come back… willingly.
Chapter One
Prince Jonathan Anglo Gee Robbins sat on his younger brother’s bed and watched him pack. “I wish you weren’t leaving, Scott.”
“I have my duty to perform, just as you do.”
“I have no choice, but you do. You don’t have to do this.”
Sam smiled, “You’re just jealous.”
Jon smiled and said, “You’re right at some level. I wish they would have let me take part in the drops but the Queen forbade it.”
“She knew she was going to abdicate and you would take her place. She coul
dn’t take that risk.”
Jon shook his head, “It’s such a shame her husband was killed so young. She should have had children.”
“Well, our forefather was told that his descendants would one day have to assume the Crown. It looks like that day has come. The original Jon Robbins was never forced to take the crown.”
“But you’re next in line behind me.”
Sam smiled, “Jon, Miranda told me that I’m going to be an uncle. That takes me out of the succession.”
Jon sighed, “I just don’t think it’ll be the same without you here. I need your advice and support.”
“No you don’t. You’re the best of us and you’ll be a great King.”
“That’s only because I was born three years earlier.”
“Could have been a second and the result would be the same. You have your destiny in front of you. Take it and lead the Realm forward. We need a strong leader now.”
Jon shook his head, “Sam, it’s a dangerous time to be a warrior. Please reconsider this.”
Sam looked at his brother, “Jon, by accepting my responsibility to fight for the Realm, the members will know that Royalty doesn’t use their titles to avoid the risks we ask them to take. If we ever stop doing that, we’ll lose the love of the Realm’s citizens. This is something I’m expected to do.”
“Does this decision have something to do with what happened between you and Lyla?”
Sam stopped packing and looked at Jon, “I mentioned to her that Miranda was expecting and she lost interest. She dropped me faster than a bad habit. It appears she wanted to have a chance at being Queen. Now that I’m no longer in line for the throne, she wants to go and have fun. I thought I knew her, but now I know I was fooling myself.”
“She could have fun with you.”
Sam shook his head, “Not the kind of fun she wants. After the fact, I see that one man will never be enough fun for her. I was fooling myself, Jon; but she was just so beautiful that I allowed myself to be blinded. That won’t happen again.”
“Do you know anyone in your training class?”
“Robert Gardner is going through training with me.”
“He’s the next Gardner in line for the crown.”
“Jon, the next one in line will be your baby. Robby recognizes that he is also expected to do his duty to the Realm. Besides, he’s not an only child. He has nine younger brothers and sisters who are also in the succession. I suspect he wants to get away from all the noise.”
“Are you able to link with him?”
“I am. We’ll work together.”
“When do you start training?”
“In two weeks. I’m going to see Dort and try to convince him to go with us.”
“If the three of you train together, it will be like the original Jon Robbins and his two brothers.”
“That was more than a hundred and fifty years ago. I’ve listened to the recordings he made and he really loved his brothers.”
“He also loved Molly. They were a powerful force for good in the Royal Family. The Royals were reformed during that time and are now respected again.”
“Now it’s our turn to continue that legacy, Jon. They wouldn’t accept anything less than that from us.”
Sam stood and Jon gave him a hug. “I may be King, but you are now the Duke of Castle Gardner.”
“I’ll have to depend on the President of the council to run civil matters in my absence. You might check in on Ross occasionally to make sure everything is being done properly. Will you do that for me?”
“I’ll rule from both locations until you complete your duty and take your place.”
“Thanks Jon, that means a lot.”
“Would you be comfortable with Gregory and Sandra taking up residence on Ross until you’re ready?”
“Not at all; they’re next in line for the title if something happens to me. It would make an easy transition if I don’t make it back. Just tell them to keep my room ready for occasional use.”
“I’ll notify them.”
“Tell them I love them and I’ll see them after training.”
“Will do; you just make sure you stay safe.”
Sam nodded, but knew that safe was not a term used to describe the Realm’s Warriors. Losses were the highest they had ever been in the Realm’s history; it was not a safe time to join the fight.
• • •
Jixie found the huge winged creatures and stopped her ship to examine what was happening. She discovered the even more massive cats and after two days she determined that a species in another galaxy was directing their efforts. The Cats dwarfed the flying creatures. They were two hundred feet long, grey colored with tight short fur, and they were psychic. The winged creatures, what were they called…Zord, that’s it; followed the giant Cat’s instructions on where to go play. The Cats were connected mentally to something called a creative force. I wonder what that is.
She turned her attention to the species leading the main forces taking on the mean civilizations and saw that the majority of the warriors fighting were from their planets. She moved her ship into the large spiral galaxy and sat back in her chair. She began watching the dynamics of the creatures that inhabited the millions of worlds and saw that two planets were the main focal point of every activity. She focused in on one of them and started looking for what one had to do to join in their play activities.
After six hours she determined that all she needed to do to join in their play was to go to a place and tell them you wanted to…enlist. That was simple. She turned her attention to the planet’s surface and located a building where she could do just that. She looked in the building and saw a creature sitting behind some kind of elaborate table. She looked at its mind and pulled the language it was using and began fitting into her pattern. Ummm. The position she was going to ask about was called a Life Warrior. Now that’s an oxymoron. She moved her ship down, stepped out, and sent it into storage. She waited until she sensed she was not being observed and appeared between two vehicles that were stopped outside the place to join. She walked forward and entered the door.
• • •
Lt. Jack Callahan heard the chime and after a moment looked up from his desk. He didn’t see anyone. Now that was odd. He turned back to the recruiting reports and heard Cpl. Daget say, “Lieutenant.” He looked at Daget sitting to his right and saw him nod toward the front of his desk. Jack looked and still didn’t see anyone. He stood up and saw a small creature standing in front of his desk. It had to only be a little over two feet tall. It looked very much like a fairy from the old mythological stories from ancient earth. It has a delicate face with narrow features and bright blue eyes. The platinum colored wispy hair hung to its shoulders and the pointed ears that were just outside its pulled back hair were as dainty as the rest of the being’s features. It couldn’t have weighed more than fifty pounds. Callahan had never seen this species. “May I help you?”
Jixie smiled and said, “I wish to enlist.”
Jack looked over at Daget with an expression that said, “What’s wrong with this picture.”
Jack looked back at the small alien and said, “I’m afraid I can’t help you.”
Jixie looked around and said, “Is this not where one goes to join the Life Warriors?”
“This is where one would join, but you don’t meet the requirements.”
Jixie looked at Jack with an expression showing her confusion and said, “Why not?”
Jack looked at Daget and saw him shrug. He felt terrible having to tell this alien she were just not big or strong enough. Instead he tried to save the brave creature’s pride. “Who was the first Ruler of the ancient Stars Realm?”
Jixie said, “I don’t know?”
“Then who was the first ruler of the Bristone Empire?”
Jixie tilted her head and said, “I have no idea.”
“Have you studied the history of our Realm?” Jixie shook her head. Jack smiled and knew he had found a way to spare the
little creature’s feelings, “Knowing the history of our Realm is a requirement of anyone that would enlist in the Realm’s forces. Why don’t you fill out these forms and I’ll keep them on file until you’ve completed your studies.”
Jixie took the clipboard and went over to some chairs and sat down. She glanced at the Lieutenant again and pulled the written language from his mind and began filling out the forms with the strange device he had given her. She heard a chime and saw a creature come in and approach the being at the desk. He was the same species as the one that rejected her. “I want to join the Warriors, Sir.”
Jack looked at him and said, “How tall are you?”
“I’m five foot three.”
“I’m sorry; you’re too short to be fitted for armor. We do have some positions in our support services. Would you be interested in them?”
The young human shook his head, “No, I want to fight for the Realm.”
“I’m sorry.”
The young man turned and left. A young woman passed him as he walked out and approached the desk. Jixie looked at the giant man that was too short leave and saw he was more than two feet taller than she was. She looked at the female who was the same species, but seven inches taller than the one that had been sent away. Jixie looked at the one behind the desk and saw the immediate reaction from him when the female had walked in. She looked at the being’s thoughts and saw that he thought the female was a knock out. What is a knock out? She stopped filling out the forms and turned her attention to the two beings at the elaborate table. She saw the other male of the woman’s species that was sitting at the other end of the room was also staring at the female.
“I want to join the Realm’s Warriors.”
Jack said, “I’m sure we have a place for you. Before I can accept you, have you studied the Realm’s history?”
“A long time ago; why?”
“Who was the first King of the old Stars Realm?” The female struggled for an answer and the Lieutenant said, “It starts with a T.” The woman finally shook her head and the Lieutenant said, “We require that every recruit be knowledgeable of the Realm’s history. You can make that happen quickly. Just go to the library two blocks south of here and have them give you a download. It shouldn’t take long. Then come back and we’ll continue your process.”