by Saxon Andrew
Pam shook her head, “I’m going over the top of the next group and I’ll move down when we clear them.”
Sparky was amazed at how calm her voice was as he continued to target any Traugh ship that appeared in front of their approach. They were six minutes into their run when hundreds of thousands of Traugh Warships began appearing to the sides of their course. He shook his head, “Pam, I’m launching the missiles.”
“Do it after I go under the next group.”
Sparky nodded and fired the disintegrators continuously. He saw the Traugh ships directly in front of him suddenly disappear above the viewport as Pam dove under the solid wall of warships. She was right. He would have never made it this far if he had tried this alone. He saw the ship suddenly move upward and level off, “NOW SPARK!!”
Sparky pressed the illuminated red button on his panel and the two landing bay doors flew open and a giant arm shot out on each side of the ship. Every missile magazine in the cavernous landing bay went out of the hull on the two arms and launched every missile in one giant blast. Sparky looked at his visor and saw a giant cloud of missiles blast their way in front of the ship and start hitting Traugh Warships in their path. Pam backed off the thrusters slightly and moved into the middle of the huge cloud. He looked at the scanner and saw they were inside the four-minute mark. Pam stayed behind the missiles until the three-minute mark. She yelled, “They moved every ship they have in front of us. I’m diving under the missiles and I’ll go at the planet from below.”
Sparky nodded and started firing the disintegrators again. Two reactors had exhausted their fuel and the systems automatically switched over to the next two. He was saving the last two for the finale. The move away from the missiles took the Traugh by surprise and they failed to move fast enough to cut the attacking ship off. Pam stared at the planet and saw the Traugh Fleets were turning like a giant school of sharks. The hundreds of thousands of ships looked like a single giant creature. They looked slow but they were cutting the corner on their approach. Pam knew they would be inundated by Traugh Warships a minute out from the planet. “Sparky, self-destruct in fifty seconds.” Sparky nodded and listened as Pam counted it down. At ten seconds he set his weapon panel on automatic and went to her chair. He reached around and hugged her from behind. She put one hand on his arm and felt her tears as she said, “I love you so much!” and pressed the green button on her console.
• • •
Growler was late for the meeting. He was held up by a major issue in the new ship’s diagrams. His ship was traveling at maximum speed and he hoped the Ultimate Leader would understand. He saw the star growing larger and he looked up at the main monitor. He saw a brilliant flash as they moved closer to the planet and he said, “What was that?”
“Supreme Leader, the planet is under attack. I’m breaking off our approach.” Growler stood up from his chair and walked to the front viewport. He saw a massive explosion that appeared to start far out from the planet and continue moving toward the planet. His ship’s commander said, “Those explosions are being made by a single ship moving in on the planet. I’m leaving the system.”
“STOP THE SHIP HERE!”
“But Great Leader!”
“Stop us and hold this position.” Growler watched as the attacking ship launched a massive cloud of missiles ahead of it and continued toward the planet. The explosions were massive and he shook his head at the numbers of warships being destroyed. The view on the main monitor changed and he was provided a close view of the attack. He watched as the ship moved out of the missiles and manage to escape the cloud of ships around it. He shook his head and saw a massive wave of warships come over the planet and insert themselves between the ship and the planet.
An instant later, a brilliant flash erupted that blew out at an incredible velocity and force. The ensuing shockwave blew through the Traugh Warships around the planet and vaporized them. Growler shook his head as the shockwave hit the planet’s atmosphere and set it on fire. The surface of the planet below the shockwave exploded into fire as earthquakes erupted all over the planet. Growler lowered his head as his ship activated its stardrive and fled from the shockwave moving toward it. He looked at the Commander who said, “You are the only surviving Supreme Leader, I will not allow you to be harmed.” Growler nodded and sat down in his chair. He took his head in his hands and shook it.
• • •
Essay and Kam remained in orbit above Earth and waited. “Do you think they can pull it off?”
Kam shook his head, “Probably not.”
“Then why did you tell them it was worth doing?”
“It was time, Essay. Sparky was hanging on by a thread and the pressures he was enduring would have led him to do something really stupid. That was why he didn’t want Pam there.”
“What about Pam?”
“Without Sparky, she was a ticking bomb. This gave them an opportunity to make their lives count.”
“They might surprise you and do it.”
“Nothing they do would surprise me. I would have never predicted they would have made it this far.”
“I thought you were a Prophet.”
“Save that for someone who believes it.”
Essay stared at him, “I do believe it.”
Kam looked at him shaking his head when the loudspeaker came on, “We’re receiving the message missiles’ broadcasts. Their attack is underway.” They looked at each other waiting for the message telling how the two brave humans died. “The last missile managed to record the Traugh Planet being hit by a massive shockwave. The recording shows that the blast killed the vast majority of ships around the planet and set the planet’s atmosphere burning. It appears the planet will have no survivors.”
Essay looked at Kam who blew out a huge breath. “What are you thinking?”
“They should be recognized as your species’ greatest heroes. They never should have been able to accomplish what they did. Their sacrifice will buy you additional time to prepare and I wish them love in the afterlife.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in an afterlife?”
Kam looked at him, “I didn’t. But I do now.”
“Why?”
“Because there has to be one where they will find peace and share their love for each other. Creation would not deprive them of what they so richly deserve.”
Essay smiled, “I agree. Let’s go home.” Essay turned the ship toward Earth’s surface as the recording of the Traugh Planet’s destruction arrived and the celebrations began. Pam and Sparky were awarded another medal and were the only ones to ever receive two, though many tried. They were celebrated by humanity and their names were remembered with all the heroes of Earth’s past.
Epilogue
Essay stepped out of the cabin and started walking toward the cave. Admiral Whitehall had sent in an engineering team two years earlier and had the cave rebuilt so it could house the two warships his family was given. The door had numerous security locks and Essay really thought they had gone overboard.
He looked up at the night sky and marveled at the stars. It was two years earlier when he had taken the Prophet to the Bosrean Planet and left him there. He missed Kam and he knew he was up to something when Kam told him he would be staying with the Bosrean. He wouldn’t be able to breathe the planet’s atmosphere. But Kam insisted that the Bosrean needed his help more now that Earth was building warships at an incredible pace. He finally accepted that Earth needed to depend on its leaders and not the Prophet.
“You’re wise to see that.”
Essay stopped dead in is tracks and looked around, “Where are you!?”
“He heard a hissing sound and looked to his left. A port was opening and a ramp extending from midair. “Stay where you are, I’ll come to you.” Essay stared at the ramp and a minute later, Kam appeared in the port and started walking down the ramp. Essay took two steps toward him and Kam shouted “Move no closer. If you touch this ship, it will kill you.” Kam stepped off the end
of the ramp and smiled as he walked forward and hugged Essay, “It’s really good to see you.”
“Why have you not come back to see me?”
“I went home.”
“WHAT?”
“I’ve been on my home world for the last two years.” Essay shook his head and Kam smiled, “No, the Traugh weren’t able to see me. The Bosrean built an invisible ship that is undetectable for the express purpose of allowing me to go and check on my home world.”
“How are your people doing?”
“Let’s sit down a moment.”
They walked over to the fire pit and Essay started a fire. He sat down on a log and looked at Kam, “You’re looking good.”
Kam smiled, “I’ve been coming to terms with who I am.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You know I didn’t put any faith in my being a prophet?” Essay nodded. “I took this ship and went into Traugh Territory and did some scouting. After Sparky and Pam killed the Supreme Leaders, the only one that survived became the sole ruler of the Traugh. I learned in one of his communications that he had a nightmare about my home world.”
“Nightmare?”
“Yes. He saw in his dream that the demon ship that killed the other leaders was a result of the Traugh invading the Kindred. In his dream, he sent his forces back and a billion demon ships exploded out of the planet as they landed. It frightened him enough that he issued orders that no Traugh Ships would come inside the Kindred’s planetary system ever or his species would be exterminated.”
“That’s odd.”
“What’s more odd is that once the Traugh left my planet, they didn’t come back.” Kam looked at Essay and shook his head, “They should have. But things kept happening and they never did. It’s made me wonder about who I am and how I played the role causing them to leave.”
Essay smiled, “So you’re starting to believe that you really are a Prophet?”
“I guess.”
“Why did you come back?”
“I’m not staying. I came back to leave this ship with you. There may come a time when you need to save your family from the Traugh. This ship can do it.”
“Where are you going?”
“You’re going to take me back to my home world. I’m going to spend the rest of my life there.” Kam paused and nodded in the direction of the open port hanging in midair, “Essay, this ship can kill you if you touch. It is the most dangerous ship in existence and I’ve almost decided to destroy it.”
“But?”
“There may come a time when it’s needed to ultimately defeat the Traugh. You should only use it as a scout to gather information you’ll need to defeat them. It should be hidden and only used when you have no other option. Make sure whoever you choose to pilot it is someone you absolutely trust.” Essay nodded and Kam said, “I’ll tell you all the details when you take me home.”
“It’s really good to see you.”
“And it’s good to see you as well. I’ve also written some Death Prophecies over the last two years and tomorrow I’m going to announce them to your world. They are things that must be followed to avoid the destruction of your planet.”
“How many have you written?”
“Ten but you should feel free to add to the list if you want.”
“Get the flock out of here; I’m not a prophet, you are.”
“That’s the funny thing about this Essay. Saying I’m a reluctant prophet is an understatement. However, once I announce them and disappear, everyone will put their faith in them more than if I stayed. I’ve seen that legends grow larger over time. Especially after they’re dead and gone. In this case, I’ll just be gone.”
“You must have put a lot of thought into them.”
Kam shrugged, “Not really. I wrote them down during the last two years as they came to me and there was no rhyme or reason as to when they would come. Some are deliberately ambiguous and will have to be used wherever people think they apply. I do believe in the Creator, now. I’ve had too much evidence happen that only an idiot would deny its existence. You and your family will have the ultimate control of this ship. I know you’re going to have to tell Whitehall about it but impress on him that only the leader of all your military forces should know of its existence and it must be well hidden. Make sure wherever they hide it, you can get to it quickly if the situation calls for it.”
“I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
“I’ll fill you in on the trip home but for the minute, I’d like to see your family. I’ve missed them as well.”
“We have a new member.”
“WHAT?”
“We have a one year old baby girl.”
“That’s incredible. Let’s go see them and you can contact Jason about setting up the announcement tomorrow.”
Essay stood up and hugged Kam, “I’m going to really miss you.”
Kam had a twinkle in his eye, “You have the ship. Don’t be a stranger.” Essay laughed out loud and headed toward the cabin. Kam handed him a tablet and he started reading the Ten Death Prophecies. He started laughing even harder. “Hey, tomorrow you’re going to have to keep yourself under control. These need to be taken seriously.”
“It’s number two that cracks me up. You’ve set it up to happen.”
“Indeed I have.”
Essay lifted his communicator, “Honey, we have company.”
“Who?”
“I’ll let it be a surprise.” They walked out of the clearing and into the trees. A few minutes later, Kam saw Jim and Stella running toward them and they screamed their excitement when they saw him. He knelt and they jumped into his arms. Kam hugged them and knew he had done the right thing.
Books by Saxon Andrew
The Annihilation Series:
Love Conquers All
The Power of a Queen
A Rose Grows in Weeds
Tommy’s Tale
Searcher
Demon’s Sacrifice
Finding Keepers
Prequel-Psychic Beginnings
Searching for a Hero
Dahlia’s Deception
Ashes of the Realm:
Juliette’s Dream
Greyson’s Revenge
Death of an Empire
The Return of the Realm
Lens of Time:
The Pyramid Builders
Planet Predators
Pray for the Prey
The End of Time
Star Rover-The Worst of Time
Star Rover-Running Out of Time
Lens of Time-Chosen To Die
The Fight for Creation
Life Warrior
Scout Warrior
Ultimate Warrior
Star Chase
The Lost Prince
Nowhere to Run
Nowhere to Hide
Probe Predators
Jesse’s Starship
Mike’s War—
Joshua’s Walls
Nemesis
Revenge is Best Served Hot
The Search for Orion
Trapped in Time
The Time Takers
Taming A Planet
Exinction
Escape to Earth
Running From Fate
Fighting for Space
Defending Holy Ground
The Legacy of a Conqueror
Living Legends
The Sequel Series to Escape to Earth
Defending Earth
Searching for Death Feeders
Discovery Means Death
The Death Prophecies
The Coming of the Prophet
Coming Soon
The Eyes of the Prophet
Also an audiobook at Audible.com
Love Conquers All
The Power of a Queen
A Rose Grows in weeds
Tommy’s Tale
Searcher
D
emon’s Sacrifice
Finding Keepers
The Lost Prince
Copyright © 2015 by Saxon Andrew. All rights reserved. Screen Writers Guild no. VQEA3E380432.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
First Electronic Edition: November 2015