Ashes of the Realm - Juliette's Dream

by Andrew, Saxon

  “Is guard duty always like this?”

  “Nope, this is the first real problem we’ve faced. Here we go.” The small white ship turned and accelerated toward the jump limit.

  “Control, I have a ship accelerating out of the system. It appears to have come in with the sixteen ships that arrived three hours ago.”

  “Can we catch it?”

  “No, but we should be able to scan its jump track and follow it.”

  “Get moving. Fleet Control, we have an intruder moving out of the system. I am giving chase.”

  “Do you want me to join you?”

  “Couldn’t hurt; try to keep up.”

  “I’ll be right behind you. What do your scanners say?”

  “That’s just it. It doesn’t appear on my scan.”

  “Could it be another Searcher?”

  “Or any one of twenty other types of ships. Are there any ships at the limit that can intercept?”

  “No, you know we don’t allow ships in this system. We’ll know if it’s a Searcher based on its speed.”

  “We are gaining on it, but it has too big a lead to arrive before it jumps.”

  “Nathan, I’m not going to go full speed. I have a hundred null jumps programmed in and I’ll make them quickly. I’m hoping that by the time they reach the last jump, the track will have dissipated. Since my teleport system leaves no tracks, I’m hoping that’s what those two Searchers think.”

  “I noticed they are gaining ground on us.”

  “They’ll arrive ten minutes after we jump.”

  “Why haven’t they fired on us?”

  “We’re too far away. Ten minutes is more than six million miles. They’re good, but not that good.”

  “How much time will we gain one each jump, Anglo?”

  “They’ll take one second to come out of star drive. They’ll have to scan for the new jump track, load it into their null board, then energize the screen with the new frequency. We’ll come out of star drive and our screen will immediately energize the preprogrammed frequency. We should gain about two seconds on every jump.”

  “Is that enough?”

  “Tracks fade after three minutes; sometimes faster when the jumps are made in systems with dense dust clouds. We’re deliberately jumping through fifty systems with nebula clouds in them. First jump in 5,4,3,2,1,…”

  “Did you get that jump track?”

  “Yes, I’m sending it to your board.”

  “Lead the way; you’re three seconds ahead of me. I’ll be right behind you.”

  The first Searcher arrived and jumped after the fleeing ship.

  Anglo arrived at the Haldale System and commed, “I need to speak with the planetary leader.”

  After ten minutes a voice said, “This is Baron Lihal. How may I be of service?”

  “Your Highness, your system is going to be invaded momentarily and we are not going to be able to prevent it. There are Searcher Ships that will be aiding the invaders and until we come up with a defense against them, we are going to have to allow them to invade. However, I need you to do some things quickly that will assist us in coming back to free you.”

  The Baron’s voice was obviously nervous, “What things?”

  “You need to erase any other planet’s coordinates in your computer systems so that the invaders will not be able to find them. You need to tell your population that they need to say they are isolated and only have an occasional trader. You will have to assume a title of President instead of Baron. They will know that there must be a higher Royal title if you are a Baron. You will need to welcome them and offer absolutely no resistance. They will still be brutal, but if you open the door for them it will be much less so than if you fight. You must not let them know you are part of a larger Kingdom. Tell them that you have been threatened with invasion by some empire. If asked, you must say you know nothing about ships being destroyed in your system. Will you do these things?”

  “There’s nothing you can do?”

  “Not at this time, but I give you my oath that we will not forget you and we will come to free you.”

  “We will do as you ask. What about our military?”

  “Hide their blasters, make them appear to be policemen, and don’t give the invaders a reason to kill your people.”

  “We will do as you ask. I will notify all our ships to stay away until this is over.”

  “Thank you, your Highness. We will return. I promise you that.”

  A small round probe moved out of the larger probe on Anglo’s hull and moved toward the planet. Anglo teleported out of the system ten minutes before the two Searchers arrived.

  “Whoever that was we were chasing knew how to use systems to mask their tracks.

  “You think they came from this system?”

  “This is where our ships were attacked. It must have followed them from here. However, I don’t see any ships in this system. That planet is industrialized, but my scans don’t show any advanced technology. There is a spaceport at their largest city, but it’s not very big or developed.”

  “We should report back to the King and see what he wants to do.”

  “You go, and I’ll stay here and see if anything shows up. Com me to let me know what’s going to happen.”

  “I will. You let me know if you need me back here.”

  “I will. I wouldn’t want to be on that planet when Daulun takes his vengeance over those lost ships.”

  “He’ll probably kill most of them and make the rest slaves.”

  “That would be a huge waste of a good planet.”

  “Has that ever stopped him before?”

  “No.”

  “I’ll keep you updated.”

  The probe listened and waited.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Anglo teleported to Bristone and Nathan immediately commed Scotty, “Your Majesty, we have a planet in the Talben Kingdom that is going to be invaded by ships that are supported by six Gamma Class Searchers.”

  “What?!?”

  Anglo quickly brought Scotty up to speed on what had happened.

  “You say the planet attacking them is named New Ulmerton?”

  “Yes, and I believe the two Searchers that were chasing me went there after I left. I’m certain the ruler of that planet will invade.”

  “BC, are you listening to this?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  “Anglo, send me to BC.”

  “Your Majesty, BC cannot defeat that many Gammas. Two of them could overwhelm his defenses.”

  “He’s right; if they have six Gammas we can’t win a shootout.”

  Julie listened to the conversations and grabbed Scotty by the arm, “You will not go to that system without promising me you will not take on those Searchers.”

  Scotty stared at Julie, and finally said, “BC, can you hide from them?”

  “Yes.”

  Scotty stared at Julie and said, “I give you my word that I will not take action against them until we have better odds in our favor.”

  Julie looked at Jingo and said, “Go with him. Make sure he comes back to me, Jingo.”

  Jingo looked at Scotty and said, “If you want to make sure he does, you have to go.”

  “Jingo!”

  “You’re right.” Julie turned to Scotty, “I’m going with you. If all you’re going to do is hide, then I have nothing to worry about.”

  Scotty sighed heavily, “BC?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty?”

  “I am commanding you to make sure we do not endanger ourselves. That command is to be followed until we return.”

  “Julie, I’ll make sure he stays safe.”

  Julie hugged Scotty tightly and stepped back. Scotty looked at her and said, “I promise.”

  Julie nodded and Scotty stepped through a silver screen.

  “BC, how are we going to jump in to that system without being detected?”

  “I have a suggestion.”

  “What is it, Anglo?”
>
  “There is a large planet outside the jump limit with a thick atmosphere. I’ll teleport you into the backside of that planet inside the atmosphere. If there is a Gamma in that system, I’m reasonably certain they’re inside the jump limit to scan the area around the planet. Even a Gamma can’t scan through a planet. BC can just stay in the upper levels of the planet’s atmosphere and scan from there.”

  “BC?”

  “That should work. We can jump away if we have to.”

  “I’ll be waiting at the coordinates I just sent you. Make numerous jumps if you’re discovered and I’ll teleport us away.”

  Scotty sighed and said, “Send us, Anglo.”

  The small white ship disappeared.

  Julie was crying and Jingo put his arm around her, “BC won’t allow him to be harmed, Julie.”

  “You know him, Jingo. Will BC be able to stop him?”

  “He will this time.” Julie looked up at Jingo. “He made a promise.”

  Greyson sat in space looking down on the planet, marveling at the recovery many worlds had achieved after the civil war. This one had been hit by beams during the war, but had recovered. Cities were thriving, and the population was growing. He listened to the leaders of the planet attempt to contact him, but all ships of the New Realm were forbidden to communicate with any planet not in the Realm. It appears the planet had been threatened with invasion and the leaders were attempting to surrender to him. The ship that had attacked the fleet must have been the one that threatened them. Well, Daulun would sort this out. Greyson worried that Daulun might be heavy handed with the planet, even though it had not been the attacker of the fleet.

  “Greyson?”

  “Yes; go ahead.”

  “We’re on the way. Has anything happened?”

  “No, the planet has tried to surrender to me. It appears the ship that attacked our fleet threatened them with invasion. They think I’m the one that made the threat.”

  A new voice came on the channel, “So my fleet was attacked so someone else could take this planet?”

  “That is what I believe happened, Your Majesty.”

  “Stand by.”

  Greyson knew something bad was going to happen. Daulun was not happy. He looked at the planet again and remembered the world where he was built. It was radioactive dust now, but it was once a beautiful planet very much like this one. He hoped the planet would continue to look beautiful, but he was beginning to fear for its life.

  “Scotty, the Searcher in this system has no pilot on board.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “The voice is pure electronic. There is no variance in the tone.”

  “What do you think that means?”

  “The Ruler must not trust any anyone with the power of these ships.”

  A small bubble left BC’s tail and disappeared. It reappeared next to the Searcher at the planet and it attached to the ship’s rear fin.

  Three Searchers arrived at the jump limit and began moving in-system. Greyson mentally sighed and knew trouble was on the way. After six hours the four ships were together above the planet. “Have you scanned the planet?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty. It is beginning to develop, and cities are located on every continent. There isn’t any high technology, and it appears to not have much of a military. As I said earlier, the planet’s President has been offering to surrender to me. He says they are incapable of defending themselves and will follow whatever directions we choose to give them.”

  Daulun looked at the data and his eyes narrowed. “Do you think the ship that attacked my fleet is here?”

  “I haven’t been able to detect any ships in this system.”

  “If it were a Searcher, would you detect it?”

  “Probably not, Your Majesty.”

  “Destroy the planet.”

  “Your Majesty, it would be an easy conquest.”

  “I’m not accustomed to repeating myself.”

  Greyson knew he had no choice. He powered his main beam and fired at the planet. It exploded and blew apart.

  Scotty jumped up out of his chair and yelled, “NO!!”

  BC felt rage build, but managed to get it under control. “There’s nothing we can do, Scotty. It’s over.” Then they heard over their speakers, “I don’t know if the ship that attacked my fleet is here, but let this be a warning to you. If you interfere with my ships again, we will destroy any planet you attempt to defend or invade. There will be no exceptions.”

  Daulun looked at his display hoping for an attack, but nothing appeared. After five minutes he said, “Take me back to New Ulmerton.”

  “Should I stay and see if that ship returns, Your Majesty?”

  Daulun thought a moment and said, “No. They’ll see from outside the jump limit that it was destroyed. We have other worlds to conquer. I think they’ll get my message.” The four white ships moved out to the jump limit and jumped away.

  Scotty sat in his chair in shock. BC remained silent and waited. After an hour, Scotty looked up and said, “We have to warn the kingdoms about this.”

  “Fortunately, I don’t think they learned about the two kingdoms. That man is a demon.”

  “He’s what the Provinces would have become if they had won against the Realm. They subjugate and enslave the worlds they conquer.” Scotty paused, “Is there anything we can do?”

  “I thought about going to their home world while they were here, but I’m sure the other two Searchers were there. What will we do if they attack another member of the Empire?”

  “You saw what will happen if we attempt to defend them. We’ll have to watch them invade.”

  “Anglo is going to take this personally.”

  “Why?”

  “He gave his oath to the Baron that he would be back to free them.”

  Scotty was silent and then said, “BC, our only hope is that Grace will help us. I feel helpless for the first time in my life. I just don’t know what we can do.”

  BC was silent for ten minutes. “Scotty, if they attack another planet in the Empire they will learn about Bristone.”

  “I know. We need to find another planet for the Zord as soon as that happens.”

  “And for us as well.”

  “I know, BC. I know.”

  Epilogue

  Scotty, Julie, Grang, Jingo, Nathan, Samuel, Jing, Bleath, and Vring were gathered in the central clearing at the Human community. Anglo, BC, and Jess listened in via their coms. Anglo said, “I can destroy New Ulmerton, Your Majesty. I can teleport in and hit it with my main beam.”

  Nathan quickly said, “Anglo, more than two thirds of the population there are captured slaves. You’ll kill them if you destroy the planet.”

  “It might be worth the price to eliminate this abomination.”

  Scotty shook his head, “That would violate our most sacred principle. Those millions enslaved on the planet cannot defend themselves. We must find another way.”

  Julie took a deep breath and said, “We must slow their searches for new worlds to conquer. Haldale was out on the far edge of the Kingdom, and it will take some time before they can arrive at another planet. Thank the creator this region of the galaxy has billions of stars.”

  “Bleath, we may have to move to another planet if they find another member of the Empire.”

  “We are very reluctant to do that, Your Majesty.”

  “So are we, but you will do it. If they find us here, they will kill all of us with one beam. We can move early if we find the right planet. I hope we can find a way to counter their advantage, but we don’t have it yet.”

  Grang said, “You just have to get their attention in terms they understand.”

  Everyone looked at the huge Magrum. That was more than he had ever said at a meeting. “What do you mean?”

  “So you can’t destroy the planet, does that mean you can’t hit them where it hurts?”

  Scotty thought a moment and said, “Perhaps you have a good point. Anglo, did you scan t
he planet?”

  “Yes, I did.”

  Scotty looked over at Grang, “Still bored?”

  Grang smiled, “As long as we just sit around and do nothing, yes.”