by Saxon Andrew
Sam stared at him and took a deep breath. He blew it out slowly and nodded. “It does appear all of them have some beautiful women with them.”
Jek nodded, “They do make Annie look normal.”
Sam smiled, “I’ve all most forgotten about her.”
Jek smiled, “Looking at them would do it. Now relax and spend some time with your crews.” Sam smiled and looked at the group of humans at the table. They were a lot more alike than different. Most of them had suffered the trial of combat and they knew what Heaven was facing. But that human creature controlled the ships and it didn’t really care. He sighed and sat down. This could take a while.
• • •
Shelly looked at Embree and shook her head, “You mean you were a warrior fighting on the ground?”
“Yep. Leonidas was my platoon commander when he received his first promotion.”
“Why was he promoted?”
“The previous Lieutenant was killed by a rocket.”
“Tell me what happened.”
Embree smiled and told her about the assault on the three mobile blasters. At the end Shelly shook her head, “That plan was crazy!”
“I know, but it worked. I’ve followed him since that day and all of us would put our lives on the line for him.”
Shelly looked across the bar at Sam and said, “I think my commander has also built that kind of relationship with his crews. He had the crew leave the ship when we attacked the Tronan Warship. They were furious about it but he earned their respect in doing it. They know he has their best interests at heart.”
“You sound like you care a lot for him.”
Shelly looked at Embree and sighed, “I told you about my father. I just can’t bring myself to feel that way about him.”
Embree asked with a neutral tone, “Is there someone else?”
Shelly looked at him and tilted her head slightly, “I just broke up with a man that cheated on me.”
Embree shook his head, “He must be an idiot.”
“Why do you say that?”
Embree shrugged, “You’re the most intelligent and beautiful woman I’ve ever run across. If he couldn’t see that, he’s an idiot.”
Shelly smiled and put her hand on Embree’s arm, “Thank you.” Embree turned red and didn’t know what to say.
• • •
Jek looked across the room at Shelly and smiled. A moment later he looked at the six humans sitting around their table. The hybrid human was doing the most talking. He looked at the tall human sitting back in his chair listening to the others without getting involved in the conversation. Jek smiled and had an idea.
• • •
Finally, Leonidas stood up and walked over to Sam, “I think we’re ready to view that conversation you had with that pirate.”
“What have you decided?” Sam asked.
Leonidas shrugged, “We’re not going to be able to share our technology with you.”
Sam nodded and followed him over to the table. Embree saw them and shook his head as he said, “I wonder what they’re saying.”
Shelly turned around and looked at the meeting and said, “Go over and find out.”
Embree shook his head, “I’m not allowed to attend without Leonidas calling me over.”
Shelly took his arm, “Well, I’m allowed to poke my nose in and you can come with me as my escort.” Embree’s head went back and Shelly pulled him off his barstool, “Come on. I know you want to know.”
Embree shrugged and Shelly pulled him by the arm over to the table. Sam looked up and Shelly smiled, “I assume you want me with you.” Leonidas looked at Embree and Shelly smiled, “He’s my escort. Is there a problem?”
Leo looked at Embree, who shrugged, and said, “No, sit down.” Jek walked up a moment later and sat down beside Sam without asking permission.
Sam looked around the table and said, “Perhaps I should show you the conversation on my communicator. I’ll start it and place it on the table. We’ve seen it so the seven of you should pull your chairs around to view it.” The ten moved around until the seven from the Insectoid Vessels were sitting in front of the small communicator. Sam pressed a button and the recording began with images of the ten Heaven Warships surrounding the Pirate. Embree watched the recording but would occasionally look up at Shelly and found her staring at him. Gem also watched the recording but would look up and stare at the three Heaven Leaders. The interview arrived at the point where the Pirate was telling about the invasion of Bellingham when Gem’s eyes suddenly narrowed and he said loudly to Jek, “YOU’RE HEARING MY THOUGHTS!”
Leonidas looked up from the recording and saw Gem’s expression was one of anger. “What are you talking about, Gem?”
“You know how I can see patterns! I’ve been observing that Black Being and every time I have a major thought, he shows evidence he’s hearing it.”
Leonidas looked at Jek and said, “I’ve not seen anything.”
Gem looked at Leo, “Do you think you’re able to see things in the pattern better than me?” Gem looked back to Jek, “He is hearing our thoughts!”
Leo looked at Sam, “Is this true.”
“Of course.”
Leo’s expression turned hostile, “You have a telepath present and didn’t tell us?”
“Why should I? You’ve said from the start that you’re not going to assist us and only wanted to view this recording. Explain to me what I owe you.”
Ana looked at Sam while staring at Jek, “Why wouldn’t you tell us?”
Sam turned to her and said very deliberately, “It’s clear that your ships are more powerful than my own. You could view this recording and then attack us afterwards. Jek is my way of knowing if you can be trusted not to put my crews and ships in danger.”
Leo looked at Jek, “So you’ve been listening in to everything we’ve been discussing.”
Jek smiled, “I have. I’m curious as to why you didn’t include Sam in your discussions. You were talking about us. That’s a pretty good clue that you are being secretive about what’s happening.” Jek looked at Gem, “Besides, this one has been using devices he brought in with him to listen in on our conversations.”
Gem’s eyes narrowed even more and Ana looked at him, “Is this true?” Gem said nothing and Ana said louder, “IS THIS TRUE?”
Gem turned to her, “Yes, I’ve listened in on them.” Ana’s eyes widened slightly and Gem said, “Like that one said, we don’t know if they can be trusted either.”
Leo stared at Gem and then turned to Jek, “Listening in to what’s being said is different than listening to another’s thoughts.” Blakely chuckled and Leo looked at him. “What do you find amusing, John?”
“Both you and Gem are just ticked off that they have a better way to spy on us than we do on them. We have more powerful weapons, they have a more powerful way to gather information. Should they be angry that our ships are more advanced than theirs?”
“But you have to be angry that the Guyton has been listening to your thoughts, John!” Leo replied. Gem nodded.
John looked at Jek and turned back to Leo, “I’ve been communicating with Jek mentally for the last two hours and we discussed what you’ve been arguing about. Quite frankly, I find I like Jek a lot. His sense of humor is very much like my own. I still believe in doing what’s right and revealing Jek to be a telepath just wasn’t appropriate.”
Jek smiled, “John and I are very much alike. Our world views are almost identical and I find that I have enjoyed our discussions immensely.”
Freddie leaned in to Blakely and whispered in his ear, “You have just made me very proud. I do love you, John.” John looked down at her and smiled. She took his arm and snuggled up close to him.
Leo rolled his eyes, “John, were you going to tell us that they were listening to our thoughts?”
“After Jek showed me Gem was spying on them, I agreed that why should he reveal his telepathic talents if Gem wasn’t going to reveal he was listening in
on them.” John shrugged, “Or do you no longer believe in fair play, Leonidas?”
Gem stood up, “This meeting is over!”
Ana looked up at him, “No it isn’t.” Gem looked down at her and she said, “The interview was just getting to the important information when you interrupted it. Leave if you want but I will see the entire interview.” They stared at each other and after a few moments, Gem sat back down.
Desiree looked at Jek, “I’m curious, what have you determined after listening to us?”
Jek turned to Sam and he nodded. He turned back to Desiree and said, “We are more alike than any of you can imagine. Leonidas is one of the rarest beings I’ve ever encountered that is pure of heart. He is a warrior, make no mistake about that, but he wants to make the universe a better place. You might say he is driven by that need. He reminds me so much of Sam and his father. You love him with a depth that is amazing and you will follow him into whatever danger he encounters knowing he is leading you in the right direction.”
Jek turned to Blakely, “I’ve already told you what I think about John. I hope we can possibly get together in the future. I’d really enjoy it.”
John smiled, “We need to make that happen, Jek.”
Jek looked at Gem, “You have no heart for anyone but those close to you. You could care less if the Tronan Warships arrive and destroy my planet as long as you accomplish your goal of making your species stronger. Your intellect is the largest at the table but your heart is the smallest. Leonidas wants to help us and so does John but they are forced to agree with you because they are in your ships and you have the last word on how they’re used. But with all your brilliance, you are totally blind to the dangers around you.”
Gem stared at Jek and Ana asked, “What dangers?”
Sam looked at her, “I can answer that. The Tronan are an aggressive civilization that attacks and consumes intelligent life. What do you think is going to happen when they come here and look around? They’re going to find a universe filled with more than a billion intelligent civilizations and they’ll see it as a great gift. Heaven will be their first conquest; it won’t be the last. There is a good chance you will have to face them one day in your future.”
Ana looked at Gem and he said, “Our galaxy is so far from here that they won’t find us for thousands of years.”
Jek spoke up quickly, “And what do you base that on?” Gem looked at him. “You have no idea of how large their fleets are or how many they have. They could arrive with billions of warships and the time before they are knocking on your door could be much shorter than you think.”
Gem lowered his eyes, “You have no way of knowing that.”
“We do know that the Commander of the Colony Ship says that the scouts they sent out saw more than five hundred fleets with more than three thousand warships in each attacking other civilizations close to his home world. You can start there in making your estimates.”
Sam looked at Leo, “Once they enter our known universe, every civilization will be at risk.”
Jek looked at Gem, “You should know that the Tronan do not enslave civilizations to build additional warships. It appears they already have all they need.”
Leonidas stared at Jek and looked at Desiree. She stared into his eyes and Leo turned to Gem, “I am not going to walk away from this, Gem.”
Gem’s eyebrows came together as he replied, “I will not allow you to use our ships if you choose to do this.”
Ana looked at him, “GEM…”
Gem interrupted her, “Our ships are no match for that Tronan Vessel. Why should we endanger ourselves in this foolishness!?”
Ana stared at Gem in silence and then turned to Leonidas, “What are you going to do?”
“Go back and pick up my former ship.”
Gem quickly responded, “We also built that ship!”
Leo’s eyes narrowed and he smiled slightly, “Then I’ll go back and take one of the Pirate Ships we took from Romanov.”
Gem said, “Do what you must.”
Ana stood up, “Leo, do you have room on your ship for me and my children?” Gem’s expression turned to shock.
Desiree smiled, “You are my chosen sister, Ana. There will always be a place for you on any ship we’re on.”
Ana walked away from Gem and sat down next to Desiree and put her face in her hands. Gem said, “ANA, YOU CAN’T DO THIS!!”
Ana lowered her hands and said, “I can do nothing else. I am not going to stand around and wait for those evil creatures to come and kill my children or their descendants. You have proven you are not the man I thought you were. You have no heart!”
Gem stared at Ana and Jek said, “Ana, you can’t do this!” Ana turned to Jek and he said, “He’ll die without you.”
Ana’s eyes widened and Gem wailed, “I can’t live without you!” Ana stared at Gem and he exhaled sharply. He looked at Ana and said, “If you are going to do this, I have no other choice but to do it with you.”
Ana’s eyes narrowed and Jek said, “He’s being honest. I find it hard to believe but he loves you with a depth of passion that is hard to fathom. It’s his love that has overcome his intellect.”
Ana looked at Jek and turned back to Gem, “Are you…being honest? Can you fully devote yourself to stop this threat?!”
Gem’s sorrow was clear, “I cannot allow you to go out to meet those creatures without doing everything in my power to keep you safe and I can’t live without you beside me.”
Ana rushed around the table and threw her arms around Gem. Leo looked at Sam, “It looks like we’re in this together.”
Embree sighed, “I don’t know what good it will do.” Everyone looked at him. “We don’t have the technology to meet them on even terms and the only planet that has it is unreachable. If what you’ve been saying is accurate, they will be coming back before we could even start to modify a small number of you warships. And even though Gem is willing to work with us, I’m reasonably certain the King of his species will not.”
Gem sighed as he held Ana in his arms. He looked at the group and said, “Embree is right. He will not help us.”
The ten looked at each other and Leonidas turned to Sam, “You’ve not found anything during your search that will make a difference?”
“No. However, we’ve discovered that a metal on Heaven might be useful.”
Gem sat down with Ana and said, “Metal?”
“Yes. Later in the interview you will see the Pirate tell me about a substance he calls Trillium.”
Gem’s eyes opened wide, “Trillium?!”
Sam nodded, “He told us that it is extremely valuable and that it can create large explosions. We brought more than six tons of it with us to trade.” Sam saw the expressions on the others faces and he said, “We call that metal bretel and its pretty much everywhere you look on Heaven.”
Gem stared at Sam with his mouth open and Leo could only shake his head. Sam shrugged, “We were going to use that to trade for your technology.”
Leo looked at Gem, “Do you think the King might be open to trade?”
Gem rolled his eyes, “I don’t know. But if anything could do it, Trillium would be it.”
Embree watched them and said, “Uhhh, I hate to burst the bubble here but having that explosive in missiles will do no good if they can’t get through the Tronan blasters.”
Leo looked at Embree, “One thing at a time. It’s a start.”
Sam looked around the table and said, “It looks like getting technology from Bellingham isn’t going to happen.”
Leo nodded, “You’re right. That’s off the table.”
Sam looked at Leo and said, “I think I might know a way to get it somewhere else.” Everyone stared at Sam with stunned expressions.
Blakely looked at Sam, “I’m not sure I understand what you mean.”
Sam reached for his portable communicator and rewound it slightly. “You should finish watching this interview and then I’ll share what I’m thinki
ng.”
Leonidas smiled, “Go ahead.”
Sam started the interview at the point where Gem interrupted it and an hour later it ended. The humans from Fellowship all looked at each other and Blakely said, “I’m sorry, but I’m still in the dark here.”
Sam smiled, “I notice that you were given ships by another species.” Sam looked at Gem, “Specifically, your species. Is it fair to say that you share your technologies?”
Gem looked at the others and said, “Actually, my species provided all the technology.”
Embree chuckled, “What about the devices we gave you to detect the Romanov explosive devices.”
Gem looked at Embree and nodded, “I stand corrected; you did provide us those devices.”
“What are you saying, Sam?” Leonidas asked.
Sam tilted his head, “Notice that the humans from Bellingham had an ally supporting them in their invasion against the forces being sent against them from Earth. Don’t you believe that the humans on Bellingham would share their technology with their allies? Daniel called them Dragons but we’ve been unable to find any civilization in the Cartian database by that name. I believe that if we could find them, we would find Bellingham advanced technology.”
Everyone at the table stared at each other and Gem started smiling. Sam saw it first and then Desiree noticed it. Ana said, “I think we’ve seen them.”
Sam’s eyes went wide, “WHAT?!”
Gem’s smile grew larger as he said, “And I think I know how to find them.”
Chapter Ten
Sam sat down and said, “Please, tell me what you know?”
Gem nodded, “During our first visit to this planet, we came to this place and noticed a male human sitting at the bar staring at the owner of the establishment. A human woman sitting beside him said something to him warning him of something and he immediately fled the premises. A couple of hours later, three huge creatures came through the entrance and it was clear everyone in the place was extremely frightened of them. I saw that they were searching for the male human that fled and they intended him harm.”