by Saxon Andrew
Hummel laughed. He looked at Anez and saw he also found the answer amusing. “I am not going to kill either of you.” The locals erupted in a huge cheer at the announcement. He held up his arms and thought when the noise subsided, “However, I am going to have one of my leaders come and have a discussion with you, if that is acceptable.”
“Do I really have a choice?”
Hummel shrugged, “Not really. However, I will not make the decision. I can see that this community truly does value the two of you and it’s not our intention to kill those that don’t deserve it. Hummel looked at the female and saw a bulge in her midsection. “Is your mate expecting?”
The male Feeder stepped in front of her, “She is.”
Hummel smiled, “I wish good health to you and your family. We will be leaving and you should expect to have someone come to speak with you.” Hummel looked at Sgt. Anez and nodded. Anez instantly disappeared. A moment later, the three light ships disappeared as well. Hummel looked at the two Feeders and shook his head, “You’ll need to hide from the other inhabitants on this planet. They feel quite differently than those here.” The anxiety on the two Feeder’s faces was clear. A moment later, Hummel disappeared.
The male Feeder looked at his mate, “That went better than I hoped.”
She closed her eyes and hit him on the arm, “You and your humor!”
He rubbed his arm and looked up at the sky. They weren’t out of danger yet.
• • •
Three days later, another light ship appeared above the community and a being appeared in the center of the community. This one was not wearing armor. The Feeders stepped out of their residence as many of the locals rushed in to join them. The being smiled as they approached, “I really didn’t think this was possible but I guess I was wrong. My name is Melody Stone and I’ve been sent to resolve this situation.”
Pravel looked at her, “What exactly does the term resolve mean?”
“I’ve been ordered to either kill you or make sure you aren’t killed.”
“If given a choice, I prefer the latter of the two.”
Melody laughed, “I’m sure you do. Do you have some time to talk with me?”
Pravel sat down and his mate sat down beside him holding his clawed hand. “Well, let’s get it done.”
Melody sat down on the ground and looked at the locals as they sat down around them. “It does appear this community does value your presence. Why is that?”
“You’ve obviously seen the predators on this planet.” Melody nodded. “We prevent them from attacking our community. We consume them for our meals.”
“I can see where that would be a real asset. What stopped you from consuming the local inhabitants?”
“It felt wrong to do that. I just couldn’t force myself to kill them. They’re good people.”
“I understand from Captain Hummel that you killed your mother to prevent her killing one of them.”
“I did.”
“Wasn’t that hard?”
“Not really. My species really doesn’t like each other. If I had continued to refuse to feed on the inhabitants, she would have ultimately killed me.”
Melody looked at the female, “How did you get wrapped up in this?”
“I was sent to mate with him. My family thought that he was a good mate having the strength and courage to kill his own mother.”
Melody stared at her and said, “And?”
“He told me how he felt about his community and I initially thought he was insane, but after a week had passed I saw the goodness of what was happening here. I chose to stay here with him.”
“How long ago was that?”
“About five planetary revolutions.”
“Do you have any children?”
“No, this is our first.”
“Why have you waited?”
“We really thought the others of our species would come and kill us. However, I guess they were glad to be rid of us and didn’t care about coming here.”
“What would you have done if they did show up?”
Pravel thought, “We’d have done our best to kill them first. However, they never came.”
Melody listened to their thoughts and decided it was time to ask the question that would decide their fate. “You realize that the other inhabitants on this planet will eventually show up and they won’t hesitate to try and kill you.” Pravel nodded. “What are you going to do if that happens?”
“We’ll try to hide from them as long as we can.”
“And if you’re found?”
“We will not kill them.”
The Leader stood up, “We will if they try to harm you.”
Melody looked at the Leader and then looked at the two Feeders, “Your presence also endangers the ones that live here.”
Pravel’s huge eye blinked and he rocked his shoulders, “We can’t allow them to come to harm.”
“I think I have a way out of this dilemma.”
“What is that?”
“We possess technology that will change your DNA to that of the local inhabitants. It would prevent your and the locals’ being attacked for your presence.”
The male looked at the female and Melody saw hope on their faces but then it changed. “We can’t do that?”
“Why not?”
“Because we are the only thing that protects them from the predators. Too many would die if we did that. We’ll turn ourselves over to the others if they show up.”
The Leader shouted, “We won’t let you!”
Pravel looked at him, “You can’t stop us. I won’t allow you to be put in danger if it means I have to take control of your minds and stop you from coming to our aid.”
Melody looked at the Female, “How do you feel about this decision?”
“I stand with my mate.”
Melody stood up and smiled, “Well, it looks like you’ve passed your exam.”
Pravel’s eye opened incredibly wide, “I don’t know what you mean?”
“The issue, as I see it, is you can’t change your DNA because it would put your community in danger from the predators. Right?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’ll have to change your DNA to that of a species that has an even higher telepathic ability than you currently possess. That would allow you to keep the predators away and the other inhabitants won’t recognize you as a danger to them.”
“Can you do that?”
“I can.”
“What about my baby?”
“It will also be converted to the new species without any harmful effects. There will be one major change you won’t be accustomed to.”
Pavel looked at her, “What is that?”
“You will no longer have to consume the minds of others. Your new bodies will be able to consume the same food as the local inhabitants.”
Melody saw the shock on both Feeder’s faces, “You can do this?”
“Right now, if you’re ready.”
Pravel looked at his mate and said, “I’ve dreamed about this.” He turned to Melody, “Change me first.”
“The species I’m changing you into is called the Goran. They can consume just about anything that’s edible and they possess an incredibly powerful telepathic mind.” The hovering ship moved down into the clearing and the port opened. Melody stood and smiled, “If you’ll follow me.”
The Community Leader lowered his head, “Are you sure he won’t be harmed?”
“I am.” Melody turned toward the open port and Pravel stood and followed her. They entered the ship and in thirty minutes a strange being stepped out. It was tall and looked nothing like anything any of them had ever seen. It walked up to the female and thought, “You’ll be amazed at this new body.” He took her hand and led her to the ship. Pavel thought to the locals, “This is a day of freedom for us. This is–wonderful.” His mate finally stepped out followed by Melody. The two former Feeders went into each other’s arms and Melody said, “I hope you don’t mind if I come to vis
it. There’s a lot we don’t know about your former species and I would appreciate your knowledge.”
“We look forward to seeing you again.”
The Leader looked at Melody, “How are we going to explain their presence?”
“Tell the others that they were brought here in chains to be consumed by your Feeder. The Feeders were killed before they were consumed and you made them a part of your community.”
The Leader smiled, “That should work.” The community rushed up to the two new Gorans and began celebrating their new bodies. Melody boarded the ship and it disappeared. She shook her head. If the Feeders had agreed to a new body without considering the locals, she would have killed them. They had to prove the locals were more important than their own safety. This was really incredible. She would have never believed that species had any redeeming quality but these two had proven her wrong. Was it possible that the only way the Feeders could exist was by consuming the minds of others that made them like they were? This was something that needed discussing. She sent a message to Fleet Headquarters that, in the future, the scouts would look to see if any other Feeders were like these two before going in to remove them. It might be that others did exist. Melody changed out of her civilian clothes and put her Fleet Admiral’s uniform on. She knew her grandparents would be proud of her.
Chapter Fifteen
Rose Axel sat behind her desk and paused the program she had been absorbing for two days. Her selection as the new High Leader, while it wasn’t unexpected, left her with real doubt about her ability to pull it off. Once she logged into her computer, a list of secret files appeared on the display. A recording informed her that the files were the archives of former High Leaders. It also said that the information in them was unknown to anyone in the Alliance. She issued orders to be left alone as she opened the top-secret archives of the former High Leaders and only allowed the orderlies to deliver meals. She was shocked at what she was seeing and was stunned when she learned that she was at the top of something called the Nudge’s Watch List. Her brother was also on the list but didn’t make the top ten. The existence of the Nudges shocked her more than being number one on their list. She stopped the download when she learned of their existence. She restarted the download and learned of all the things they had caused in past generations and, though she wanted to believe they were really helping the Alliance, she just didn’t like being controlled by any outside agency.
“We don’t control you.” Rose looked up from her desk with a shocked expression and felt fear course through her body. “You have no reason to fear us.”
Rose managed to gather her senses and thought, “Why are you talking directly with me? You haven’t done that in the past.”
“Yes we have. Those that communicated directly with us just never documented it.”
“What would you tell me if you were a real threat to us?”
“We’d naturally say the same thing.”
“Then how can I know you are what you say you are?”
“Complete the archive and pay attention to all that has been done on your species behalf by us.”
“Why did you interrupt me?”
“Because you need to focus on what’s happened to help alleviate your fears of us. We’ll talk after you are done.”
“Did you cause me to be chosen as High Leader?”
“We would have if it was necessary; but it wasn’t.”
“Why me?”
“The Goran have provided all the High Leaders over the last five hundred years but their time is over and they know it. You are an end product of our DNA manipulations and are best equipped to lead your civilization forward. The Goran have recently recognized that humans are the best species suited to move things forward. The development of the screening device changes their place in the scheme of things.”
“Why is that?”
“It no longer requires an advanced telepath to fly the new light ships.”
“Are the Alliance Leaders aware that the Screening Device will also hide a non-telepath?”
“No, they are not and have not even attempted to see if it would work. They will not accept non-telepaths without some prodding.”
Rose sighed and restarted the download. There was still much to see. She slowed the download when she arrived at the notes Claudrel had entered into the archive. It was under her leadership a hundred and fifty years ago that her ancestors had fought for the Alliance. She listened to her and felt a kindred spirit. Claudrel was also afraid she was not up to doing what was needed but history had proven her wrong. She became one of the most revered High Leaders in the Alliance’s history. She pulled up a photo of Jill Axel and saw that she could have been a twin. The resemblance was…unnerving. She knew her parents were descendants of Jack and Jill Axel. A hundred and fifty years blurred the familial connections. She stopped the down load and pulled up her main database and queried if any other descendants of the two families had ever married and came up empty. This was not possible. It should have happened, but didn’t. She looked up, “Did you prevent this?”
“We did.”
Rose shook her head and activated the archive download again. After another ten minutes she looked up, “You prevented Olivia and Rocky from marrying?”
“It was necessary. We nudged Olivia to tell Rocky she was seeing someone else.” Rose shook her head and heard, “Both of them found another that filled their lives with love. They were not harmed.”
“Yes but…”
“If we told them what was needed, do you not think they would have done as we wanted? It was better this way and they became very close to each other over the years as they shared a common family.”
“But why was it necessary?”
“That was the only way to have you sitting where you are today.”
Rose’s eyes narrowed and she started the download at normal speed. It finally ended and she fell back in her chair. She was amazed with the history she had learned and was exhausted from the mental effort of keeping everything from overwhelming her mind. So much in this archive was unknown by the Alliance Leadership. She shook her head and said, “I no longer fear you.”
“That was our hope.”
“But I don’t see anything different in me from any of the other leaders that surround me.”
“The Important differences aren’t easily seen. You have the real ability of seeing things others miss. You also have a fire in you that everyone around you can see and feel. They will follow you in your efforts to achieve your destiny.”
“What is my destiny?”
“To remove the Death Feeders as a threat to other beings.”
Rose shook her head, “But we’re nowhere close to making that a reality. It will be long after my life before that time comes.”
“Call your military advisors in and ask for an accurate accounting of the forces at your disposal; I think the results will surprise you. We’ll discuss your readiness after you gather that information.”
Rose remained silent and after a moment closed her eyes. She put her head on the desk and went instantly to sleep. While she slept, the information from the archives organized in her brain and became bearable. She slept for eighteen hours without interruption.
• • •
She opened her eyes and raised her head. Her back was killing her and she stood up to stretch. She reached for the ceiling and then touched her toes. After a few minutes of stretching, the pain went away. She looked up and thought about what had to be done. She went to her desk and pressed a button on her panel. A middle-aged man in an admiral’s uniform answered, “Good morning, High Leader.”
“Admiral Mandel, I want you and your staff to plan to meet with me in three hours and provide me with an accurate accounting of the total forces the Alliance currently has to use against the Death Feeders.”
“High Leader, I only have the figures that Earth has in its fleets.”
“Then call in the representatives of the other civilizations in the A
lliance and collect what you don’t have. I’ll give you an extra hour to gather the information I require.”
“But…”
“Do it Admiral or I’ll find someone who can!”
“Yes, High Leader.”
Rose leaned back in her chair and wondered why Fleet Intelligence didn’t have the total assets the Alliance had in its inventory. She stood up and went to the huge lounge connected to her office and took a shower. God, she needed it. She thought about the coming meeting and pulled up the Nudges Watch List from the archive. She pressed a button and Sam Goodwin came through the door. “Sam, I’m sending a list of names to your terminal. I want all of the ones on the list to be ordered here to attend a meeting in my office in four hours.”
“Yes, High Leader. And congratulations on your new position.”
“Thank you, Sam. Now get them here.” Sam nodded and left the room. Rose looked at the list and saw Sam was number five on the list. That was one less he would have to find.
• • •
Lt. Matt Coronado stood beside his new light ship and smiled at the sleek lines of the deadly warship. It was jet black and he could only see it because its light and electronic absorption field was turned off. The twin bow ships used a hundred years earlier had been replaced by the newer model that only had one bow. The single cockpit had enough room for two consoles located next to each other. They were connected electronically and communications between the pilot and weapons officer was instantaneous via thought conduits.
The consoles had few buttons on them as most of the controls were in the two officer’s combat helmets. These new ships were thought controlled and instructions were carried out at an incredible speed. This ship also only had one ship computer, but it was incredibly advanced. Matt was bringing his older model in for upgrades and would assume command of this new light ship. He was also getting a new weapons officer. He stared at the beauty of his ship and loved it like only a pilot could.
“Lt. Coronado.”
“Yes Sir.”
“You have been ordered to report to the High Leader’s Conference Room in two hours for a meeting. Don’t be late.”
“Uhh, Sir. Should I bring my weapons officer?”