by Saxon Andrew
“She’s gone again, isn’t she?”
“She is.”
“I’ll get it to Jason and he can send you the details.”
“Thanks, Pride.”
• • •
Jixie arrived home and found the Senior waiting for her. “What do you need, Senior?”
“I need you to connect directly with the High Caste and me so we can assimilate your experiences.”
“No one below the rank of Elder has ever done that. Do you think my mind is capable of making the connection without harm?”
“Yes, you will not be harmed.”
Jixie went to the Senior’s residence and was joined by the High Caste. “How long will this take?”
“Not very long.” The Senior connected with Jixie and looked at her mind. Not only did he look at her mind but Jixie saw his and the others as well. The information was absolutely incredible. The connection solidified and Jixie was swept into it.
• • •
The Sygal General looked at the being that had appeared in the center of the square and saw that he was dangerous. The way he looked around and carried himself made it clear to anyone that he was real trouble. The two Giant Animals that appeared with him deferred to him and told the General more than anything else about the danger of this Realm Warrior.
Sam looked up briefly as twenty Realm Attack Craft roared overhead and disappeared over the buildings surrounding the square. The explosions from just beyond the buildings were massive. He looked at the captured General and tried to decide how to handle the situation. He glanced at his data screen and saw that more than four thousand Life Warriors had been killed in the fighting to take the Sygal home world and he made up his mind. He walked up to the General and said, “Fang, will you send my thoughts to the General.”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I will.”
The Sygal heard the Cat’s thoughts and knew his world was in jeopardy. This had to be the Realm’s Warrior Duke, who had a reputation for destroying planets first. He heard in his mind, “If you’re thinking about any kind of terms, you can forget it.”
The General said, “I don’t want my planet to be bombed any more, but I can’t call this off if you’re planning to force us into starvation.”
“General, do you know why we’re here fighting your forces instead of just blowing your planet into dust?” The General just stared at the being in his white armor. “Your forces have not brutalized the planets you’ve conquered. You’ve actually shown some consideration to them and that is the only thing that has saved your world. However, I’m losing Warriors in this conflict and I’ve decided that I’m not going to lose anymore. Surrender or you won’t have to worry about starvation. There won’t be anyone left to feed.”
The General stared at the Duke and after a moment he heard, “Gon, recall all our forces from the planet. Get them on their transports and move away from the planet.”
“Wait! Tell me what will happen to us if I surrender?”
“It’s really not that hard, General. You’ll live. If you don’t; you’ll die.”
The General looked over at one of his subordinates and nodded. The Subordinate reached for a unit on his belt and the Cat snarled. “My officer will send the message to our forces. He’s reaching for a communicator.”
Sam nodded and the officer took the unit and began speaking into it. Sam listened to his command circuit and heard the divisions start reporting a decrease in enemy fire. He hit his command frequency, “All Realm Warriors, cease your attacks and allow the Sygal Forces to surrender. Round up the Warriors and disarm them.” Sam turned back to the General and said, “What do you mean by starvation?”
“More than a hundred years ago, a giant asteroid was going to hit our planet and we were able to blast it apart just before it impacted. We saved the planet, but the dust from the asteroid poisoned more than sixty percent of the soil. We’re unable to produce the food necessary to feed us.”
Sam looked at a view of the planet from space and saw the massive deserts that covered most of the planet’s surface. He looked at the General, “That’s why you’ve attacked the other planets.”
“It is.”
“Why so many?”
“We couldn’t take more from those we conquered such that they would starve as well. We only took ten percent of what they produced.”
“How many live here?”
“About three billion.”
Sam hit a frequency, “Jason, is there a planet that was attacked by the Swarm that had a population larger than three billion.”
There was a pause and Sam heard, “There are about fifty planets that meet the criteria.”
“Are the structures still in place?”
“Most of them are. The Swarm didn’t use explosives to kill the populations.”
Sam looked at the General and said, “One of the terms you are going to comply with is that we are going to transport your population to another planet.” The General started to protest and Sam held up his hand silencing him, “There are structures already on the planet and we’ll send you the food you require to feed yourselves until you can start producing your own. You will not take any weapons with you, but will be allowed to take any commercial transports or vessels you’ll need to open commerce with other civilizations. We will have a probe keeping watch and if you start building a military, you will cease being a problem.”
“What’s to prevent a hostile civilization from attacking us?”
Sam smiled, “Me.”
The General looked at his officers and saw they thought the idea had merit. “Where is this planet?”
“In another universe, I think there are some civilizations here that might want to exact some revenge if you remained here.”
“What do we need to do?”
“Collect everything you want to take with you and assemble it outside your cities. I suspect you’ll want to bring enough seeds and livestock to start over. I’ll give you sixty of your planet’s rotations to get ready.”
The General nodded.
“Jason, did you hear me?”
“I did. We’ll start sending the food stores to the cities on the new planet and I’ll get the Algeans working on getting the teleport fields in place there.”
“Thanks Jason.” Sam looked up and saw the six hundred thousand attack craft start moving into the upper atmosphere to teleport away and sighed. It had been three years since Jixie left and he still couldn’t get her out of his mind. He looked around the square and teleported to the Fourth Sword.
• • •
The huge Realm Fleet teleported in and began moving on the fleet surrounding the planet. “Message coming in, Sir.”
Sam looked at his communications officer and narrowed his eyes, “Put it on the display.” Sam looked and saw a Kuth Official.
“Who am I addressing?”
“This is Duke Robbins of the Bristone Realm.” Sam saw the immediate fear of the Kuth.
“We ask for terms of surrender.”
Sam hit the fleet frequency, “All ships hold your positions and move back into formation.” He looked at the Kuth and said, “I’m surprised. I would have thought you would put up a fight. You’ve certainly shown no mercy to those you’ve attacked.”
“You’re here to destroy my planet.”
“I am. How were you able to determine that?”
“You brought no transports with you.”
Sam tilted his head, “Yeah, I guess that does give away our intent.”
“What are you terms?”
“The first two are as follows; one, you will move your ships out to the sun side of your planet and set them to accelerate into the star. The crews will transfer to the planet before sending them. I could destroy them here, but they would create a major navigation hazard if we had to come back and remove the planet.” Sam saw the Kuth flinch. “Two, you will recall all your ships and forces from the planets you’ve conquered and do the same with their ships. Of course, your warriors wi
ll leave their armor on their ships.”
“It will take some time to move our forces off the planets.”
“Take as much time as you want, but if they’re not here within six rotations of your planet they’ll be coming home to dust.”
The Kuth saw Sam meant it and he looked off the screen and nodded his head vigorously. “If we disarm, we will be attacked.”
Sam stared at the Kuth and knew he was right and those conquered planets deserved the chance to make them pay for their sins. He stared at the Kuth and said, “I am going to place an active jump suppression unit in your system and will prevent your planet from being attacked, provided you remove and dismantle every factory or weapons producing facility on your planet. I will place a probe to ensure you comply with this and if you don’t complete that dismantling within half a revolution of your planet, I will deactivate the unit and leave you to the mercies of those you enslaved. I honestly hope you don’t, but it’s against our principles to kill an enemy that has surrendered. I’ll leave you a frequency to contact us if a fleet comes to kill you.”
“Will you promise to come if we call you?”
Sam’s face turned dark, “Unlike you, we keep our word; on everything. Our first promise takes place six days from now.” Sam cut the frequency. He looked at the Fleet Admiral, “Leave one ship. If that ship is attacked, come back and kill the planet. Keep me informed on what happens.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Sam leaned back in his chair and knew that this was the final major enemy in the quarter of Creation where the Realm was located. He hoped the Algeans had finished the project he had given them. He didn’t want to have too much free time. Jixie left seven years earlier and he finally knew she was not coming back. He needed to get away from everything that reminded him of her.
• • •
The Kuth looked at his War Leader on his display. The War Leader was angry, “We can’t just destroy our ships. If we bring all of them back, we should be able to win.”
“The Killer Duke issued the ultimatum.”
The War Leader’s expression changed. He looked at the official and said, “We’ll be there in time to destroy our fleet.”
• • •
Sam teleported in to Castle Gardner and saw Gregory coming to meet him, “It’s good to see you, Greg.”
“You’ve been away too long, Sam.”
Sam sighed and said, “Greg, I’ve decided to abdicate my title and take the fight to another place far from here.”
“I’ll not allow you to do that, Sam.”
Sam looked at Greg and said, “What do you mean!”
“You have become larger than life for the citizens here on Ross and the only way they’ll accept anyone else would only be if you died. I happen to agree with them. I will keep things running and have your home ready for your eventual return.”
“Greg, I’m going to do this.”
“If you do I will also abdicate and you’ll have to find someone else to care for your citizens.”
“Greg, you can’t do that.”
“And neither can you, Your Highness!” Greg paused, “It’s not about our wants, Sam; it’s about our musts. It comes with the title.” Sam sighed and Greg said, “I know how you’re hurting. I’ve seen it in your eyes and it breaks my heart. You’ve got to find yourself again, Sam.”
Sam looked at Greg and slowly nodded. “Ok, I’ll do it your way.”
“Will you greet the citizens in the morning?” Sam nodded and slowly walked toward his quarters. Greg watched him go and said, “I’ll make the announcement, Your Highness.”
The next morning Sam dressed and prepared to greet the citizens of Ross. His heart wasn’t in it but he knew it was his duty. Greg met him at the portal and said, “I may have made the announcement too early.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’ve had to relax the security protocols.”
“Why?”
“Don’t worry about it. We have a transparent field over the castle.”
Sam furrowed his brow and Greg said, “Let’s not keep them waiting.”
Sam went through the portal and looked up to see the sky darkened with millions of vessels floating high above the Castle all the way to the horizon. They were stacked all the way up to the edge of the atmosphere. He walked to the edge of the wall and saw the cloud of ships extended as far as the eye could see and the crowd waiting for his appearance filled every available inch between Castle Gardner and the city beyond. Every street was packed in the city and the roar that exploded from the gathered millions was the loudest ever heard on Ross. The news reporters that were in cranes high above the crowds began sending the event to the rest of the Realm. The cranes lined the edge the huge fields all the way around the castle. Jon looked out at the massive gathering and felt their love. He lowered his head in shame. He had forgotten who he was. Now this reminder brought life back to his eyes. For the first time in such a long time he smiled and raised his arms. The roar of the crowd which couldn’t have possibly grown louder…did. Ross’ love for their Duke brought him peace for the first time since Jixie left.
• • •
“Sam, what are you planning?”
“Dort, Gon, I’m going to another quarter of creation and begin removing the home worlds of the most aggressive species. I’ll call in the Life Warriors if I need them to liberate a planet. I need the two of you to take command of a regiment of our warriors and be on call for when you’re needed. I hope you can be up to speed within six months.”
“Can’t you just allow the Cats to determine our targets?”
“No, Gon; there are just too many of them and we must start hitting them on a wide scale and follow up with our warriors. My task force is going to take out the worlds that direct their military and supply planets. The Cats will help determine which planets we need to invade once the head has been removed. I’ve discussed it with them and they agree that if we take them on one at a time we’ll only fall behind like we did before.” Sam paused, “We need to hit them on a wide front and keep the pressure on. We’ll also be attacking any invasion fleets we encounter.”
Dort shook his head, “How many ships are you taking?”
“Sixty.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“No, Dort. I had the Algeans working on some special attack ships that are different from anything we’ve used before. They’re small like the ancient Searcher Ships the Realm once used, but each one will be more deadly than a fleet of our main battleships.”
“How is that possible?”
“Gon, these ships will be programed to teleport and fire at a speed that is unimaginable. Once the ships are released to attack, they will be next to impossible to hit and their force fields are several orders of magnitude stronger than anything we’ve faced in combat or used in our fleets. A thousand Algeans Attack Ships wouldn’t stand a chance against one of them. The Realm will be converting to these ships over time, but my task force will take the first ones out.”
“Sam, why are you taking them out? We have hundreds of officers that could do it as well as you.” Sam looked at Dort and said nothing. Dort stared at him and shook his head, “I understand. Give ‘em hell.”
“Get your Commands ready. Your transports will be protected by the new ships when you’re ready.”
Gon and Dort looked at each other and Gon said, “It’s just not the same now that you and Robby have left.”
“Robby has his duty to assume the title now that his father is ill. I think Jennifer is pregnant.”
“Really!”
“Yes. They really are wonderful people. I miss them, too.”
“When are you leaving, Sam?”
“The ships will be ready in three weeks. I’ve started selecting the pilots from warriors that hear the music and have no ties to prevent them from long tours of duty. We’ll be gone for a long time.”
Gon said, “We’ll be ready on time. Keep us in the loop, Sam.”
“You don’t have to worry about that.”
Sam smiled, “I know.”
Sam disappeared and Gon looked at Dort, “I try not to feel like this, but I’ll never forgive Jixie for leaving without saying goodbye.”
“He’s getting better, Gon. I don’t know what happened, but I can see he’s not as lost.”
“Even so; it just wasn’t right to do that to him.”
Dort nodded.
• • •
“Sam, what do you want?”
“Pride, I’m not telepathic and I’m going to need someone that can help me communicate with any species I encounter in the other quadrant. I was hoping you had a suggestion on how we can do it.”
Pride stared at Sam and thought to him, “Hold on just a moment. Eyes, please come to the clearing.”
A kitten appeared an instant later. Kitten was really not a good description for a Cat that was thirty feet long but compared to a full grown Cat, it was tiny. “Yes, Father?”
“You’ve been harassing me about going out to fight for the Realm. Do you still want to go?”
“Are you serious!?!”
“It appears Duke Robbins needs a communications officer to assist him with his task force and you’ll be small enough to fit in one of the new ships for a couple of years. Do you want to go?”
“YES!”
Sam looked at Pride, “How is he going to operate the controls?”
“Sam, we hear the music as well. All he’ll have to do is just be touching the ship. The two of them will function like one entity. He’ll hold up his end in any combat you encounter.”
“Why did you choose me, Father? There are others with more experience.”
“No one can transmit thoughts between multiple species like you do. You have a talent that is extraordinary. I expect you to do a good job.”
The kitten looked at Sam, “I’ll be the best, Your Highness.”
Sam smiled, “I’m sure you will. Go to the Algeans building our ships and have them modify it to suit your needs.” Sam blinked and the kitten was gone.
Pride smiled, “If you’re waiting on him, you’re losing ground.”