by Saxon Andrew
Dahlia stared at Dean and shook her head, “Dean there are forces operating here that you don’t know about.”
“One of those forces is love; have you included that into your rejection of Victoria and I being together?” Dahlia stared at Dean and shook her head. “Perhaps you might want to do that before you stand in the way.”
Pare landed the ship close to the forest’s edge and dean stormed off the small ship. Dahlia watched him go shaking her head. “He just doesn’t know what’s coming?”
“Do you think he would feel differently if he did?”
Dahlia shook her head, “No, he’d probably try to change it and discover he couldn’t. That’s when his real pain would start.”
“Then he should have time for his joy before that happens.”
Dahlia turned around and looked at the wall speaker, “Do you really believe that, Pare?”
“I don’t just believe it; I know it.”
Dahlia nodded and went to tell Tess that she shouldn’t send anyone else to visit the Realm. She also had to tell her some disturbing news.
• • •
Dahlia met with Tess for an hour and then waited for Ping to call her and, after three hours, she decided to call him herself. She had left Tess yelling at Dean and felt sorry for her brother. Dean was stoically taking Tess’ abuse when she left the control room. Ping didn’t answer her call. She sent another call and he still didn’t respond. She changed the frequency, “Pare, do you know where Ping is?”
“He is not in range of my scanners.”
Dahlia started to feel her tension level start to rise. She knew how far Pare could scan. “Pare, what’s the range of our wrist units?”
“If he is here in this universe, he would hear your calls.”
Dahlia started to Panic, “Pare has he gone out and done something stupid?”
“I don’t know. I can’t find him anywhere near our location and if he’s hearing your calls, he’s not answering.”
Dahlia started thinking furiously. “Pare, what was the last thing he said?”
“He said he was tired of the yelling and was walking back.”
Dahlia thought furiously and after five minutes she said, “Pare, I’m coming aboard; take me back to the portal.”
“Where are we going?”
“Back to Ross.”
“You’ll need to get clearance to enter the Ross System.”
“As soon as we clear Earth’s atmosphere, see if you can contact Victoria.” Dahlia teleported on board and the small ship lifted and moved quickly overland to the portal. No one had seen Ping but Dahlia decided that if he didn’t want to be seen, he wouldn’t. All traffic through the portal was stopped and the small ship moved through quickly.
• • •
Victoria saw Dahlia’s face appear on her wrist unit and heard, “Your Highness, have you heard from Ping?”
Victoria’s face showed immediate concern, “No, I haven’t; what’s going on?”
Dahlia looked at Victoria and lowered her eyes, “He’s disappeared and I’m unable to contact him.”
Victoria closed her eyes and shook her head, “It’s my fault. I was so selfish.”
“What do you mean?”
“I made him remember Nicole. I reopened his wounds when I demanded to go back with you.”
Victoria started crying and Dahlia saw how much she loved her brother-in-law. Dahlia paused and said, “I need you to give me some information and allow me to enter the Ross System.”
“Do you know where he might be?”
“I’m strictly guessing. However, I would like to eliminate one possibility.”
“What do you need?”
“I need the coordinates where Nicole’s ship was destroyed.”
“Her grave is on Ross.” Dahlia just stared at Victoria in silence. After a moment Victoria said, “She’s not at her grave.”
Dahlia nodded, “No…she’s not.”
Victoria looked at her wrist unit and pushed some buttons. She started crying and pressed a button, “You have them. I’ll authorize a clear zone at that location. You can jump directly there.”
Dahlia looked at Victoria, “She really must have been special.”
Victoria nodded as her tears fell, “You have no idea.”
“I think seeing how much you and Ping miss her gives me an idea. Thank you for helping me.” Dahlia entered the coordinates and said, “Make the jump, Pare.”
• • •
Ping floated in space and saw Ross off in the distance with both the inbound and outbound ships coming and going. He looked around him and said, “This is where I lost you, my love. I miss you so much; I just don’t want to go on.” Ping felt depression rip into his soul and his heart felt empty. He wept for an hour and then raised his head. He remembered what Dahlia had said and he could see Nicole in his mind. She was crying and he knew it was because of him. He realized that if he had died first and she was enduring the pain he was feeling, he would be dying all over again. He did believe she was in a better place…but would he have gone away and left her with this horrific pain? What would he have wanted her to do? He closed his eyes and felt her close by. He shook his head and said, “I will let you go, my dear heart. I will try to live again…and perhaps…love again.” He saw Nicole smile and after being with her for a while, she turned and moved away. He knew it had to be his mind playing tricks on him…but somehow…knew it wasn’t. He knew she would find happiness now; he closed his eyes and rested. The cloud of despair that seemed to surround this place in space was gone.
• • •
The Mite appeared in normal space and Dahlia saw Ping in his red armor floating a hundred yards in front of her. She waited for him to indicate that he knew they were present but he wasn’t moving. Her fear rose to an incredible level, “PING…ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?!”
Ping awoke and said, “I told you, I didn’t want any more yelling.”
“I’m sorry; I won’t yell anymore; you’ve just frightened me.”
“Why are you frightened?”
Dahlia felt a tear start and said, “You said you would always keep an eye on me to make sure I was safe.”
Ping turned around and looked at the ship behind him, “I did make that promise. I apologize for not keeping it, Dahlia. I won’t let you down again.”
“You could never disappoint me, Ping. Please come back.”
Ping appeared on the bridge and Dahlia rushed forward as his armor disappeared and wrapped her arms around him. Ping felt her tears on his uniform as she said, “I know how much you hurt. I wish there was some way to ease your suffering…but I need you with me to do this. I can’t do it alone. I won’t do it alone.”
Ping pulled her close and put his chin on top of her head, “I won’t leave you again, Dolly. I’ll be with you to the end.” Dahlia held him tight and Pare jumped the ship back to the portal.
They arrived on the Planter’s Planet and Dahlia said, “Pare, take us into orbit.”
“Now is not the time.”
“Just do what I tell you.” Ping looked at Dahlia and saw sadness in her eyes. He looked at the planet off in the distance below the ship as Dahlia said, “Pare, is there any way you know to have a really private conversation?”
“No, there is not.”
Ping’s eyebrows went together and Dahlia shook her head. She sighed and turned to him, “I’ve avoided talking with you about something because I knew I would lose you if I did. I’ve been deliberately deceiving you and I can’t live with that deception anymore.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“We will probably be interrupted before we can finish this but I’m going to start and say as much as they’ll allow.”
“Who?”
“Ping, if you were forced to make a choice between saving my planet or the Realm, which way would you go?”
“Dahlia, that’s an unfair question. I have no idea what I’d do. What would you do?”
“
I’d save my people every time and I wouldn’t even need to think about it.”
Ping stared at Dahlia and after a moment he shook his head, “There are trillions of lives in the Realm.”
“And there’s only half a billion on my planet.”
“Where is this going?”
Dahlia sat down and looked at Ping, “Do you remember when we first met that I had almost convinced you that I was not the one you were searching to find?” Ping nodded. “The first Queen of the Stars Realm appeared and cleared up the misunderstanding.” Dahlia paused and let Ping think about it for a minute and she said, “How was she able to appear at just that moment?”
Ping stared at her with a puzzled expression and then his eyebrows came together, “She had to be watching our conversation.”
“She’s watching us now and she’ll probably interrupt us in a moment.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Because I am going to ask you a question that she will not tolerate you answering.”
“What question is that?”
“How did she get here?” Danielle and Tag Gardner immediately appeared on the bridge of the small ship. Ping saw them and thought about Dahlia’s question. Dahlia quickly said, “And how are they keeping an eye on us if they aren’t located here in my universe.”
Danielle smiled, “You know, when I first met you, I thought you weren’t very special.”
Ping was getting angry, “You told me she was the one I was trying to find.”
Danielle shrugged, “How would I know that? I just knew that you needed to believe she was so that you wouldn’t run out and get yourself foolishly killed.” Danielle turned back to Dahlia, “You are more than I thought you were.” Danielle turned to Ping, “You need to leave here now and go with us.”
Ping’s smile was almost a grimace, “Not until I finish my conversation with Dahlia.”
“You’ll regret doing that.” Ping looked at Dahlia and she nodded. Danielle’s expression showed her surprise, “You’re not going to insist on telling him?”
“No, I really want him to be happy.”
Tag was leaning against the wall in the small ship shaking his head. Danielle turned to him and he said, “Would you walk away from me without knowing?”
“That’s different.”
“How?”
Danielle struggled for an answer, “It just is.”
Ping looked at Dahlia, “Why shouldn’t I hear what you have to say?”
“Because the end result will be the same whether you hear it or not.”
“What end result?”
“You’ll leave me.”
“Then why did you start this conversation now?”
“I don’t know if I could live without you if I didn’t tell you now. It’s only going to get harder if I delay any longer.”
Ping stared at Dahlia and tried to understand what was going on. He just couldn’t put the pieces together. “Tell me.”
Danielle stepped between him and Dahlia, “Ping, she’s being remarkably honest and you should listen to her; you would be much better off if you just walk away now.”
Ping raised his arm and moved Danielle to the side, “Tell me.”
Dahlia looked at Tag and then back to Danielle. “I didn’t see it at first but I just couldn’t figure out how she had managed to appear at the most critical moment of our first meeting. She had to be watching you; all the time. I thought about that and I knew that was impossible.”
Ping said, “Why?”
“Because they have to sleep and I know they wouldn’t sleep without the other present; at least not for very long.” Dahlia looked at Tag and Danielle, “After all, their love is legendary.” She turned back to Ping, “That meant they were keeping tabs on you another way. If something happened that required their attention, they were immediately notified.”
“If not them; who?”
“Their ship’s computer.”
Ping turned to Tag, “The Alexander Kosiev.” Tag raised his index finger to his brow and made a small salute. Ping said, “The Kosiev is a psychic ship.” Tag sighed and nodded. He turned back to Dahlia, “Go on.”
“If they have a psychic computer that is telepathic, it can hear our thoughts and would never take a break from its duty of keeping track of us.”
“Why would they want to keep track of us?”
“Ping, how do they come here?”
Ping stared at Dahlia and thought about the question. He said, “It can’t be through a portal; it would be detected and it would weaken the barrier between the two creations.”
Dahlia nodded, “If they aren’t using a portal, they have another mechanism that allows them to move between the two creations.” Ping looked at Danielle and she shrugged. Ping turned back to Dahlia and she said, “That made me suspicious.”
“About what?”
“If they have a process to move here without weakening the barrier, why didn’t they give it to the Realm to send their ships here to defend my Planet against the billions arrayed against it?”
Ping jerked his head around and glared at Tag who said, “We can’t allow that to happen.”
Dahlia tore his attention away from Tag when she said, “They made a choice and you are going to be forced to make the same choice.”
“What choice?”
“They know that it’s just a matter of time before the Big Five Civilizations here develop another portal that would allow them to reenter the Realm’s universe. They can’t send the Realm’s ships here and weaken them with the anticipated invasion of their Creation by the Evil Five located here.”
Danielle shook her head, “How long have you known this?”
“I had it figured out about six weeks after I met you.” Danielle shook her head in amazement.
Ping stared at Dahlia, “There’s more, isn’t there?”
Dahlia sighed, “Why do you think they’re sending the Mites here for us to attack the Five’s Fleets?”
Ping put the pieces together and blew out a breath, “They want a distraction to slow them down from attacking the Realm.” Dahlia shrugged and nodded. Ping turned to the Gardners, “The Planters are just pawns.” Neither of them gave any indication of what they were thinking.
Dahlia said, “Ping, we could build ships for a hundred thousand years and never be able to match the evil civilizations here. It’s only a matter of time until they find a way to see our ships and then they will follow one here. My planet will cease to exist along with all of my people.” Ping knew Dahlia was right. He slowly shook his head and saw the Gardners didn’t like what they were doing but felt they had to do it. Dahlia jerked his attention back to the present, “I’ve decided that we will no longer be their willing stool pigeon.”
Tag stood up from leaning against the wall, “What do you mean?”
“I’ve discussed this with Tess while Ping was gone and we have decided that we will no longer attack their ships.”
Danielle shook her head, “We’ll just send the Mites in to do it without you.”
“Not if we close the portal.” The Gardners were shocked by Dahlia’s revelation. “We can move underground and, without our distraction, the Five will invade the Realm and we’ll just hide until a winner emerges. Even if the Realm loses, the Five will be so weakened, we can build enough ships to maybe match them and hold our own against them in the future.” Dahlia watched Danielle look at Tag and share a knowing look. She shook her head and sighed.
Ping said, “What?”
“They just confirmed that they’re not trying to delay the Five so the Realm can build up their forces.”
Ping looked at Tag and Danielle and saw they were stunned by Dahlia’s statement. “Then if that’s not the reason, what are they doing?”
Dahlia slowly shook her head in sorrow, “Ping, if the Realm started building ships at their highest capacity, they would never be able to match the Five in ship construction. The Realm will always be heavily outnumbered by the Five.”
Dahlia flinched when Ping said we. She shook her head, “The Algeans live in one galaxy. Every one of the Five has conquered thousands of galaxies and ships are under construction in all of them. The Realm will never be able to match their numbers or their construction sites.”
Ping looked at Tag, “What are you planning?”
Tag looked at Dahlia and said, “Ask her; she seems to have all the answers.”
“They’ve going to bring some kind of doomsday device to my universe and release it.”
Ping looked at the Gardners and saw Dahlia had hit it out of the park. That was exactly what they were doing. Suddenly, a giant Pulsating Blue Ship appeared above the planet. Dahlia looked at the Gardners and shook her head, “You’re too late. We’ve already destroyed the portal.”
Tag said, “Alex?”
“She’s right; it’s been blown away by explosive devices.”
Ping turned to Dahlia, “That’s why you said I would be leaving either way.”
Dahlia’s tears were falling but she refused to let it stop her from speaking, “The only way you can go back home is to leave with them.” Dahlia looked up at Ping, “Now do you understand why I was so upset with Dean? His pain is going to be too much for him to bear. I knew what was coming and wanted to spare him. That’s why I yelled at him. He doesn’t deserve it.” Ping slowly nodded. Dahlia said, “After she finished yelling at him, Tess told him what we were going to do and offered to send him through the portal before we destroyed it. He was forced to make a choice and, though he’s heartbroken, he chose to remain here and do his duty.”
Danielle looked at Ping, “What is she talking about?”
Ping looked at her she saw his disgust, “I guess you make sure you don’t spy on me when I’m near the King.”
“There are still psychics on Ross that would see us.”
“Princess Victoria has announced to her father that Dahlia’s brother is her chosen mate.”
Tag looked at Danielle, “Oh Crap!”
Ping looked at them, “I know Victoria and, when she finds out the portal on Earth is closed, she will have a portal opened so she can come here and be with him. What do you think will happen when the Five detect that portal? They’ll invade faster than you can imagine. I suspect that whatever device you’re building is not ready or you wouldn’t need the Planters to delay them.”