by Saxon Andrew
The man sneered, “I know you are not one of them but they are not your friends!! Move aside.”
“That’s why you’re as dumb as a rock.” The man’s eyes widened as Sam continued, “You make assumptions with nothing to support them. Go ahead and show us that you and these Dragons are the dumbest species in the known universe!!”
The Queen’s roar shook the huge chamber. Sam looked at her and said, “You could have found out the truth but you brought us here to die instead! Both of your species deserve to die!”
The man’s eyes narrowed slightly as the Queen roared, “You are the ones that will die!”
Sam sneered at the man in front of him, “And both of you will follow us.”
The man moved his sword an inch from Sam’s left eye and Sam said, “You think my friends are part of the Evil you removed from Earth.” The man’s eyes widened slightly and Sam said, “You think that anyone that can move like you comes from there!”
The man’s eyes narrowed again, “I’ve seen the conversation with the Earth Warship. These two are using you to take your planet!”
“How much is two plus two?” The man’s head went back slightly and Sam quickly asked, “How much is three plus one?” The entire room stared at Sam in silence and he quickly said, “The result is the same and if you weren’t so stupid you would know that there is more than one way to acquire the speed that you possess. You got yours on Earth and my friends received theirs somewhere else and if you did not have such a giant superiority complex, you might have simply investigated to see! But no, you jumped to conclusions and condemned my friends by being plain stupid. You could have proven it easily and this Dragon who brought us here could have done it as well.” Sam looked at Kel, “But you didn’t. You’re as dumb as this one in front of me.”
Kel’s head went back, “What are you talking about!?”
“Did you at any point during our trip here scan us with a medical scanner?”
Everyone in the room, including the young man and woman looked at Kel, who said, “Why would I do that?”
“You had no trouble contacting these two from Bellingham and telling them that my friends were from Earth. Did you do anything to confirm your suspicions?” Kel stared at him in silence and Sam looked at the Queen, “And you set us up to come here to be murdered. Do you have a medical scanner or has your species not advanced enough to develop them?”
Jek thought to Sam, “Back off the Queen, Sam!”
The Queen went up on her back legs to strike but everyone heard from the large Dragon next to her, “Kel, go get a scanner and scan them.”
The Queen jerked her head toward the Monarch and he said, “Before we kill them, I for one would like to know.” The Queen stared at him and, after a long moment, sat back down on her throne. The tip of her tail was moving at high speed as she looked at Kel and nodded.
Kel left the room at a speed that was unbelievable. He returned less than a minute later with a smaller Dragon trying to keep up with him. Sam looked at the young man with his sword still in his face and said, “Watch this. You can learn something.” The man’s eyes narrowed and his arm tensed but the woman standing next to him put her hand on his arm. He glanced at her and she shook her head. He relaxed his arm.
Desiree stared at the two humans confronting them and saw that they were both blonde and had multi-colored eyes. They appeared to be blue with a green edge around them. They were in incredible shape and they seemed to be filled with a vibrancy that was hard to miss. She held Leonidas’ hand and waited.
The small Dragon bowed and the Queen said, “Scan them and report what you see.”
The Dragon raised a device and pointed it at the four beings standing in the center of the room. He moved the scanner around them and said, “Obviously, one of them is an alien. Two of the humans are different physically from the one standing in front.”
The man’s eyes standing in front of Sam narrowed again and Sam quickly shouted, “Scan these two in front of us and tell us how they compare to us!”
The man’s head went back slightly as the Queen snorted and said, “Do it!”
The Dragon scanned the two humans confronting Sam and said, “They are like the one standing in front of the other two. They are nothing like the ones behind the one that spoke.”
The man’s eyes standing in front of Sam went wide. Sam looked at him, “How does it feel to be dumb?”
The man looked at the female with him and said, “They must have found another way to make these changes.”
The woman shook her head, “Gregor, I was with them until close to the end; do you not think that if they could do this they wouldn’t have done it on their priests?”
The man stared at the woman, lowered his sword, and took a step back.
Sam blew out a breath and put his hands on his knees. He looked up at the Queen and lowered his head, “I humbly apologize for my disrespectful behavior and hope that you can forgive me for trying to defend my friends.”
The Queen stared at him and turned to the man in front of Sam, “Gregor, are you satisfied they are not who you thought they were?”
The man looked at Leonidas and Desiree, “The evidence says they are not. However, I would like to ask them some questions.”
“Go ahead.”
Gregor turned to Leonidas, “Where did you acquire your enhanced physical abilities?”
“We are allies with a species we call Insectoids and they have technology that made the changes to us.”
Gregor stared at Leonidas and Desiree said, “We do possess enhanced bodies but we are not at your level of speed.”
Gregor looked at her and said, “And just how do you know that?”
Desiree shrugged, “I’ve seen you before.” The man’s eyes opened wider and Desiree looked at the woman, “Matter of fact, I’ve seen both of you.”
The woman tilted her head and Gregor said, “You know that makes me suspicious again. If you didn’t see me on Earth when we attacked the movement, where did you see me?”
“M’s Tavern…twice.” Desiree looked at the woman and said, “I and some friends were there and we saw you sitting with your back to him at the bar. He was staring across the bar at one of the locals. You turned around and said something to him and then both of you got out of there quickly.” Desiree looked at the Queen, “A little over an hour later, three of your warriors arrived looking for him.”
The woman looked at Desiree, “And the second time?”
Desiree looked at the man, “We went to Jester to meet some allies and we saw you again. There was a rather voluptuous human female wrapped all over you.”
Gregor looked down and saw Kaylee’s expression. He quickly said, “Go on!”
Desiree smiled, “We determined that you were there to have your image taken and transmitted to someone. Once you saw that you had been photographed, you turned the woman over to another human and left. The one that changed us and trained us how to use our talents followed you to the front entrance. He watched you through the front window as you went across the street and were confronted by an alien with a blaster. He has insisted since that moment that you pulled your sword, took off the alien’s head, and had it back in the scabbard in less than three-tenths of a second. All of us refused to believe him. However, I just saw you pull your sword when you entered the room and I’m now forced to agree with him.”
Kaylee looked at Desiree, “How long would it take you to do the same thing?”
“About half a second.”
Gregor smiled and Leonidas nodded to him, “I know, a lifetime difference. You would have no problems defeating all of us together.”
Gregor looked at Leonidas and then looked at Sam, “I still have one remaining issue.”
“What is that?” Sam asked.
“I believe that you acquired the Bellingham Swords you’re carrying from those that died during the invasion of my planet. Where did you get them?”
Leonidas spoke up, “The one that trained
us bought them from a trader, who told him that his family had them for more than six hundred years. The trader provided a history of the four swords and they exchanged hands a number of times before the seller’s family acquired them. According to the trader, they were traded for more than two thousand years ago.”
Gregor stared at Leonidas and looked at the Dragon Queen, “Do you have the swords?”
The queen looked at Kel and he instantly turned around and nodded to a warrior standing at the entrance to the chamber. The Dragon came forward and handed two scabbards to Kel. He took them and handed them to Gregor.
Gregor pulled one out of the scabbard and immediately pushed it back in. He pulled the other and removed it from the scabbard. Kaylee moved in close as he turned the blade over and stared at the marking. Kaylee shook her head and softly said, “This marking does not have the Bellingham Tree behind it. This is one of the original swords made by the original colonists.”
Gregor stared at the blade and his eyes were slightly moist, So is the other one.” He looked at Leonidas and said, “Do you know what you have here?”
Leonidas exhaled softly and said, “I don’t know about what it is but I do know it now has part of my soul in it.”
Gregor stared at Leonidas and smiled, “Our swords have a way of doing that. Would you be willing to trade this one for a new sword and allow me to return this one to the place of honor it deserves. Most of the ancient swords have been lost.”
Leonidas looked at the sword Gregor was holding and it was clear he was struggling to answer. Desiree said, “Our swords have saved our lives and they have grown to be a part of us. But our swords deserve whatever honor you can give them. We will give you all four and accept replacements. Our swords deserve any honor you may give them.”
Gregor stared at Desiree and turned to the Queen, “I am satisfied they are not who I thought they were.”
The Queen rolled her eyes and said, “So you aren’t going to kill them?”
“No, Majesty, I am not.”
The Queen raised her head high in the air and shook it. She exhaled a huge breath and said, “Then I am forced to keep the agreements I made with them and allow them to leave with their lives.”
Gregor smiled, “It appears you are, Majesty. Do you mind if we listen in to what’s being discussed?”
“Of course not, Gregor. I can use your and Kaylee’s advice.” The Queen turned to Sam, “What do you have to discuss.”
Kel bowed and said, “Majesty, I think a good place to start is what is recorded on this being’s communication device.”
Everyone turned to Kel and the Queen asked, “Have you gone over what’s in it?”
“I have, Majesty.”
“Then select what’s important and don’t waste my time.” Kel nodded and pointed Sam’s communicator at a huge wall monitor. Everyone immediately saw a young human male carrying a shoulder blaster.
Chapter Twelve
Shelly arrived on Gem’s vessel and she asked, “How long is this going to take for us to go to your king and discuss this. I’m worried sick about Sam and Jek.”
Ana turned to her, “Shelly, we are also worried about Leo and Desiree.”
Shelly rolled her eyes and said, “I know you’re worried as well.”
Gem turned to her, “This won’t take as long as you think. Give me a moment.” Gem began pressing buttons on his panel as the bridge crew stared at them. Ana said, “Leonidas and Desiree have left with the Dragon Ship.”
Jack stared at her and said, “Did they go willingly?”
Ana nodded, “They did.”
Jack nodded and turned back to his panel. Shelly looked at him and said, “What difference would it make if he didn’t go willingly?”
Jack looked at her and said, “Then we would be going after that ship. If he chose to go, he’ll be coming back.”
Embree walked on the bridge from the landing bay as Shelly said, “How can you say that?”
Jack looked at Embree, “You need to tell her about the Captain’s luck, Em.”
Embree looked at Shelly, “He’ll be coming back.”
Shelly stared at him and shook her head, “You have no way of possibly knowing that!”
Ana looked away from Gem’s panel and said, “I’ve told them the same thing in the past but they are insistent that Leonidas has some kind of special relationship with fate and destiny. They really believe he is incapable of making a bad decision that would get him killed.”
Shelly looked at Embree and he shrugged, “The Captain can fall in a pile of manure and come out clean and smelling like a rose. I’ve seen it. Don’t ask me to explain it but our Captain is something out of the ordinary.”
Jack looked at Embree, “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be on the Thermopylae?”
Embree smiled, “Wherever this young lady goes, I will go with her for the foreseeable future.”
Billy looked up from his console, “She feels the same about you, Embree.”
Shelly jerked her head around at the sailor in the corner and said, “And you know this because?”
Billy looked up from his console, looked into Shelly’s eyes with a knowing expression and said, “Am I wrong?”
Embree stared at Shelly as she glared at Billy but she was saved when Gem said, “He’s agreed to speak with us.”
Shelly turned to him and said, “Well let’s get moving! We need to get back!”
Embree touched Shelly on her shoulder and she jerked her head around to him. “Shelly, Sam sent you with Gem to carry out a mission. If you are totally focused on getting back, you aren’t going to do what needs to be done to do as he wants. He’s depending on you to make this happen. You need to pull your mind out of the ‘what ifs’ and focus on convincing the Insectoid King to help your people. I sincerely doubt he will but he certainly won’t if you’re not at your best.”
Gem and Ana listened to Embree and Ana said, “He’s right. And you know it.”
Shelly looked at Ana, turned back to Embree, and nodded, “I’ll do what I can to put my fears aside. How long do I have to prepare?”
Gem looked at Shelly, “About five minutes.”
Shelly’s eyebrows came together and Gem said, “We are going to teleport to the King’s planet. He awaiting our arrival.”
Shelly’s mouth fell open as she said, “TELEPORT?!” She turned to Embree and he sighed and then nodded. She stared at him and he said, “Well, if things don’t go as we hope, you’ll certainly make it back before the others.”
Shelly closed her mouth and smiled, “That’s reassuring.”
Embree nodded, “Isn’t it.”
Gem looked at Shelly, “I will not be able to argue for you. If I take your side in this the King will have doubts about my loyalty. The two of you are going to have to convince him. I’ll describe what is happening but it will be up to you to make him see things in your favor.” Gem and Ana stood up and Gem said, “I think you should stay here with the children.”
“Why?”
“Ana, the King will be able to read my emotions. I have to stay focused and your being there will be a distraction.”
“You’re just worried he might do something stupid to keep you there if I come,” Ana replied.
Gem smiled, “I’ve always been amazed by your wisdom, my love. He genuinely wants me back but knows that I will die if you’re not there with me.”
Ana leaned up and kissed Gem on the cheek, “Hurry back.”
Shelly looked at Gem and said, “Why does the King want you there?”
Ana sighed, “Gem was the next in line to the Insectoid throne before he changed his DNA to human DNA. The King knows just how brilliant Gem is and feels the Kingdom really needs him to help lead it.”
Shelly looked at Gem, “And you gave it up…”
“Because I fell in love with Ana,” Gem interrupted. He hugged Ana tightly and turned to Embree and Shelly, “Let’s not keep the King waiting.” Gem led them off the bridge to the landin
g bay where he inserted an electronic key into a slot in the wall. The wall began rising and Gem turned to Steve and said, “Once we’re gone, press the receive button.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Shelly followed Gem and Embree into a large room behind the wall. She saw Gem press a button and the wall came back down. He pressed a green button on the wall and it started flashing. He lifted his communicator and said, “We’re ready for arrival.” Shelly stared at him and Gem pressed a button on the wall. The wall rose again and Shelly realized she was no longer on Gem’s ship. The beings she saw outside the wall were almost hideous. Embree leaned in and whispered, “You’ll get used to their appearance. Keep in mind they think we look horrendous as well.”
Shelly looked at him and turned back to the large beings outside the wall. “Thanks, that helps…a little.”
A very tall Insectoid said in perfect Cartian, “If you will follow me, please. His Majesty is awaiting your arrival.” They followed the Insectoid out of the room and down several long corridors. They finally arrived in the Throne Room and the Insectoid sitting on the throne stood up and yelled, “Everyone leave immediately!”
The Insectoids in the room all turned and stared at their King for a moment and saw him lower his head, “Perhaps you don’t like your current positions in the Empire?” Shelly was amazed at the speed the room cleared and she thought that these creatures may be as fast as those Dragons she saw.” Once the room was clear, the King looked at Embree, “It’s been a while.”
Embree went forward and hugged the King, “All of us really miss you, Gold.”
Gold pulled Embree close and said, “I wish every day that I was back on the Toy with you as well.” Gold looked at Gem, “What’s going on?”
“I know you do not want to share our technology with anyone but I believe that you might change your mind if you will allow this young human female to present an offer to you.”
Shelly looked at Gem, “I thought you couldn’t take a position on this!?”
“I couldn’t if the King’s advisors were present but, since they’re not, I can be open with my friend.” Gem walked over to Shelly and said, “Please hand me your communicator.”