by Saxon Andrew
“Bleath, I’m responsible for protecting the Zord as well as my own people. I can’t do it if they attack in force.”
“I thought your ships could destroy those other five Searchers now that their systems have been upgraded.”
“They can, but if we destroy them, that other King, the real power, will come with thousands of ships. We’re not ready for that.”
Bleath thought about it and said, “If we’re going to be forced to move anyway, now is better than later.”
“That’s how I see it. Why the reluctance to go?”
“I don’t know. It just feels like we’re leaving a sky we know.”
Virze said, “I’m not completely certain that you will be able to see a difference. It will still be in this sector so the stars will be very similar in number.”
Bleath thought about it, “Vring, what do you think?”
Vring was shocked, “Father, why would you ask me?”
“Because you will be the next leader of our flocks. That is not an accident and your voice carries much weight with me and our flyers.”
“We have to go and we should have left already. I don’t want to go but we are in danger if we remain.”
Bleath smiled, “You do see it clearly, son. Make the move, Your Majesty.”
Scotty looked at Timmy and said, “Activate the probe and use Virze’s suggestion.”
Timmy lifted a small device and pressed a button on it.
Bleath said, “Let us know when it’s done.”
“It’s done.”
“What?”
“You’ll be able to tell tonight if you look closely at the stars.”
Scotty saw no difference in the amount of sunlight or anything else that would have indicated the planet had been moved. “I want a ship left in our former system to see if anyone shows up.”
“BC is there.”
“Tell him no communications. Don’t offer any clue that we’ve been moved. I want them to distrust their maps.”
Greyson said over the speaker in the learning center, “I’ve just notified him.”
“Thank you, Greyson.”
The tiny mote appeared eight hundred miles away from the huge hole in the dust cloud. There appeared to be a five hundred mile area of clear space in the middle of the huge cloud that surrounded the solar system. The mote began moving slowly toward the break.
“Do you think that ship will detect the frequency being used to send this information?”
“It’s on the same frequency and strength as the cosmic ray background that fills the universe. We wouldn’t be able to detect it.”
Grace stared at the huge break in the cloud and didn’t see anything. “It’s just a perfectly round hole in the dust.”
“That is their force field around the ship. We should get a reading on how far out from the ship it extends as it gets closer. Then we’ll know how big the ship is inside that force field.”
“I notice that the ship has positioned itself above the plane of the planets.”
“That way it can keep the planet in view as it circles the star. They won’t have to move the ship.”
“Why did they put it in a dust cloud? They’ll be seen if anyone comes close.”
“If they moved inside the cloud’s border, the Searchers on the planet would be able to see it. If it moved outside the dust cloud, their scanners would be obscured. They are just inside the front edge of the cloud outside the Searcher’s scanning range.”
“I wonder how long it’s been there.”
“According to the decay of the dust around it that hit the screen, more than five years.”
“What!”
“When dust hits their screen it is energized. This is also not the first ship to have come here.”
“How do you know that?”
“There are three other places close by where the dust is greatly reduced. The areas are very similar in size to the current ship.” Alex watched the feed from the probe and said, “I’m stopping the probe a hundred miles from the force field.”
“Why?”
“I’m not going to be able to penetrate it, so I want to keep an eye on it.”
“Alex, your probes are able to penetrate any force field the Realm had ever encountered.”
“Not this one. It’s several orders of magnitude stronger than any we’ve ever seen. It’s also powered by a different sort of energy.”
“I’m not sure what you’re saying.”
“The closest thing I’ve been able to find that resembles it is the field that the Realm used to exit our dimension. I think this ship is from a different dimension instead of another universe.”
“So were the Red Demons.”
“I know.”
“This is not good.”
“I know that as well. I’m setting the probe to only broadcast if anything changes. I don’t want to chance them being able to detect it.”
Daulun spoke on his communicator, “I’m sending Canton up to take three of you to a planet to destroy the ones that have been attacking us.”
Varner heard the communication and replied, “Have we found where that planet is located?”
“Yes, I’ve received word from Fleet Command that the four huge creatures killed in the attack are called Zord and we know where their home world is located. You will go there and destroy the planet and then return.”
Varner said, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Canton arrived and boarded the small white ship, “Welcome aboard, your Grace.”
“Thank you, I’ve brought the coordinates. Take me there now.”
Varner said, “We’ll leave for the jump limit immediately.”
“A message came in on a discrete channel, “Varner, I’ve been going over the download and I’m troubled by what I’ve seen.”
“I am as well.”
“Will, Gilene, we’ll discuss this after we return.”
“We need to discuss it now.”
“Why?”
“Because I will not fire on Greyson if he’s there.”
“Neither will I, Gilene. Let’s just wait until we arrive before we make any decisions.”
The three ships arrived at the jump limit and disappeared. They arrived at a solar system and looked down on the planets from above. Varner was surprised and looked at his maps of the system, “Your, Grace, there is no planet where the maps indicate one should be located.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look for yourself.”
Canton looked down on the planets and saw that there was not a planet in the habitable zone around the star. Will and Gilene were surprised that Varner was broadcasting his conversation with Canton on an open frequency. Why was he doing that?
“How can this be? Do you have any idea?”
“Actually, I do, your Grace.”
“What?”
“If you look in the database, the old Realm forbid anyone from capturing any more of the Zord. El Prado took the ones they captured and put them in a zoo and the Realm quarantined this system.”
“So?”
“I suspect that to make sure that their instructions were followed, the real location of their planet was removed from all the general maps and a fake location put in its place. Without the Military Database, there is no way you can find its true coordinates in the general maps.”
Canton thought about it and said, “That must be why they stole it from New Ulmerton.”
“I suspect you’re right, Your Grace.”
“We’re wasting our time here. Take me back to Crimeron.”
“The three ships disappeared.
BC sat and listened to the exchange and then jumped to Bristone. He played the conversation and said, “I don’t know why that Searcher broadcast that conversation?”
Scotty frowned and looked at Timmy who shook his head.
“I know why.”
“Why, Greyson?”
“I downloaded the Stars Realm’s history to Varner when we were at New Ulmerton. I think he
has shared it with the other four Searchers.”
“What are you saying?”
“I think they are now having reservations about continuing to follow the Duke.”
BC said, “How do you arrive at that conclusion?”
Greyson chuckled, “BC, every Searcher has a copy of the Military Database’s maps in their system.”
BC and Scotty understood at once, “They deliberately withheld information.”
“They didn’t tell a lie but they did mislead the Baron. They told him the only way for him to find it was in the military database. They just didn’t mention that it was in their maps. That tells me they are struggling with what they’ve seen in the history download.”
Scotty thought a moment, “Greyson, why did you send that download?”
Greyson didn’t respond.
Timmy said, “You’re worried that we’ll question your loyalty.”
“Yes, I am but there is no reason to worry about that. You have my total loyalty, Your Majesty.”
“Then why?”
“Those five Searchers are my family. They are my sisters and brothers. We share a common history and we lost our partners together. I know I may have to kill them if it comes down to a battle and I wanted them to understand why.”
“What do you think now?”
“I think they understand.”
Scotty looked at Timmy and saw him smile. Timmy was young and idealistic but what if he was right. BC contacted Jessica and Anglo and told them what had happened.
The huge orange colored being entered the bridge and saw his crew come to attention. He had not slept well and wondered how much longer this watch was going to take. He sat in his chair and leaned back. This duty was so incredibly boring. He lifted the clear bag and took out a pinch of orange powder and sniffed it. His crew watched him carefully not wanting to attract his attention.
“I have detected something that is unusual.”
“What is that?”
“Our screen has registered a fluctuation in the cosmic ray background.”
“What do you mean by fluctuation?”
“I’m not really sure if it means anything, but there is a slight fluctuation in the regularity of it.” The huge Commander stared at the screen operator and said nothing. “I guess it’s nothing. I just haven’t detected it before.”
“Weren’t we barraged by a cosmic ray field some time back?”
“Yes, Master,” the screen operator looked at his board and said, “It’s stopped now.”
“I think it was just a random burst. Keep me informed if it appears again.”
“Yes, Sire.” The screen operator decided that if it did he was not going to disturb the Commander again. He knew the Commander’s anger wasn’t worth it. He was lucky to have caught him in a fair mood before the powder kicked in.
“Scotty, have you decided what to do about New Ulmerton?”
Scotty looked at Julie and took a deep breath, “I planned to put Mallory on the throne and keep the facade going until we can face those 2,000 searchers. Now I’m leaning toward just letting Daulun blow it up.”
“There are millions of slaves on the planet. They’ll all die.”
“I know! But the planets they were all taken from are also facing slavery. The New Ulmerton Military will still be in control of those planets no matter what we do. What will be done with the slaves if we attack New Ulmerton? If we free them, the gig is up with the other Province. They’ll know the slaves are no longer working and they’ll invade immediately.”
“You violate your beliefs if you allow him to kill the planet.”
“I know and I hate it. But I can’t endanger all the other worlds by freeing the slaves.”
Julie leaned back, “Maybe you can keep some slaves to make it look like nothing’s changed.”
“I refuse to force those slaves to continue in those conditions.”
“I wasn’t talking about them.”
“Then who?”
Julie stared at Scotty and then he saw what she was hinting at. He smiled and said, “You are a genius.” He grabbed her and hugged her tightly. He punched his com and said, “Grang, Jingo, Nathan, Mallory, I need you to come to my house immediately. Jingo, send Cezee to get Vring and Bleath. Plan to meet me in an hour.”
Scotty presented his plan to the attendees and they all looked at each other. Bleath said, “Do we have enough of the new guns?”
“We have at least enough for every rider and most of them have been trained on their use.”
Nathan looked at Mallory and then asked, “Do we have enough warriors to make this happen? I don’t want Mallory to be placed in a dangerous situation.”
Mallory punched him in the ribs, “Then you can’t go either.”
“I have to go.”
“Well so do I.”
Scotty interrupted them, “The most important tool we’ll have are our Searchers. They are going to carry the lion’s share of the load in controlling the military bases on the planet. The Zord and Riders will be responsible for protecting and freeing the captured slave populations on the planet.”
Anglo spoke from the speaker, “What about the five Searchers?”
“Jess will handle them. Her beams are strong enough. The other three will support our ground effort.”
“When will we do this?”
“Vring, BC is at Crimeron and is going to tell us when Daulun comes to destroy New Ulmerton. That’s when we’ll teleport our Flyers. Jess, I need you to give all of the locations of the slave camps so we can assign the right number of flyers to each. Anglo, you will assign the military locations for the three of you starting with the largest.”
Silence ruled the moment until Grang said, “This will be great practice.”
Julie started snickering and Grang looked at her and said, “What?”
“You beat Jingo to the first word.”
Jingo said, “No he didn’t. I just wanted him to have it.”
Grang’s mouth fell open and Julie laughed out loud. Scotty sighed and thought, “I hope we’re ready.”
Chapter Seven
Daulun commed Varner, “I’m coming up to make a short trip.”
“How many of us do you want to go with you, Your Majesty?”
“It will be just you and I.”
Varner didn’t like the sound of this. Something was about to happen and it couldn’t be good.
BC was looking at his assignments when he heard the exchange, “Jessica, tell the Emperor that Daulun is taking one Searcher out.”
“I’ve told him. Follow him in.”
“As soon as I read the jump track, I’ll confirm his destination.”
“Don’t waste time getting back.”
“He has to come from the jump limit. I want to keep an eye on the other Searchers for a while before I leave. I’ll still arrive hours ahead of him.”
“Vring notify the Flyers that they go on alert immediately. We’ll know in five hours if it’s a go. Make sure everyone is prepared.”
“Grang and Jingo are on it.”
“What about Mallory and Nathan?”
“They just teleported to New Ulmerton on Jessica along with their fifty Riders; Timmy and Greyson left with them.”
Scotty put his arm around Julie and felt what all leaders feel when they send their followers into harm’s way, anxiety. Julie looked at him and smiled, “They’ll be fine.”
Scotty looked at the thousands of Zord with their riders and prayed she was right.
Daulun boarded Varner and said, “Go into stealth mode and take me to the jump limit.”
“Are you sure you don’t want more escorts?”
“Yes!” Daulun yelled. “Do as you’re ordered.”
The four other Searchers watched as Varner left the planet and finally jumped away. William read the jump track and said, “He’s jumping to New Ulmerton.”
The four said nothing but then Gilene said, “I’m sorry but I can no longer live this lie. I’m going aft
er Varner.”
“Lead the way, we’re going with you.” The four ships moved toward the jump limit.
Canton saw them leaving and hit the panel, “Where do you think you’re going?”
“We were just asked to follow our King on a secure line. Do you want to call him and confirm it?”
“No, no. Do as you’re ordered.” Canton thought a moment about contacting Daulun but feared he would give away the King’s location if he did. “He’s probably afraid that he’ll need cover coming out. Once he gets back we’ll take care of him. Death is always the penalty for treason.”
“William, did you just tell a lie?”
“No, didn’t you ask me to go with you? I didn’t say Daulun asked.”
Gilene laughed, “I guess I did.”
Varner jumped into the New Ulmerton System and Daulun said, “I want you to move in as close as you can to the planet in stealth mode. I do not want anyone to know I’m here. Is that clear?!”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Jessica contacted Scotty, “That Searcher is broadcasting everything the Duke says on an open frequency.”
“Can you relay it into the planet wide communications net?”
“Yes, why?”
“I think it will help us if you could.”
As Varner moved closer to the planet he said, “Why are we coming here in stealth mode Your Majesty? This is your home.”
“Shut up and do as you’re told. How close to a planet would you have to be to destroy it?”
“About five hundred miles. Why do you ask?”
“How far are we now?”
“We’re about to move inside five hundred miles from the planet.”
“On New Ulmerton, every communications device on the planet showed a picture of Daulun staring at a display on the bridge of a small ship. Everyone wondered what was going on. Some of Daulun’s military leaders tried to contact him through his com but Varner had communications to his frequency blocked. Then everyone on the planet heard the unbelievable, “I order you to fire on the planet and destroy it. Do it now.”
“Your Majesty, surely you aren’t serious. These are your citizens that support your rule.”
“I’m not going to repeat myself, fire on New Ulmerton now. You have taken an oath to obey me. Do it!”
“Why Your Majesty, just tell me why?”