by Saxon Andrew
“Why?”
Embree said, “Just do it. It’ll save a lot of time.”
Shelly looked up at Embree, removed her communicator, and handed it to Gem. Gem took it to Gold and he put it in a slot on the small console next to his throne. The console buzzed slightly and Gem turned to Shelly, “He’ll have some questions after he finishes with your recordings.”
“How long will that take before…” Shelly said as Gold interrupted her.
“You shouldn’t have allowed that Colony Ship to use your planet to escape. This could have all been avoided.”
Shelly jerked her head around to the Insectoid King and he said, “I also notice that you have a large number of images of Embree in your communicator. Why is that?”
Embree raised his head and looked at Shelly. Her face turned red and she said, “I want to have some images of him after we separate and go our separate ways. And you’re right about assisting that Colony Ship. Perhaps if we had to do it over and know what we know now, we might not have done it. But what’s done is done and now we’re faced with the consequences of our decision.”
Gold tilted his triangular shaped head to the right and asked, “If you had the decision to make, knowing what you know now, what would you decide?”
Shelly stared at Gold and said, “I’d do the same thing again.”
Gold looked at Gem, “Humans just don’t seem to do things logically.”
Gem smiled, “And if that Colony Ship was carrying thirty-thousand of our species on it, what would you decide?”
Gold raised an arm and shook it at Gem, “There you go again! You know what I would do?”
“Then why does it have to be our species for us to help them?” Gem said with raised shoulders.
Gold stared at him and finally said, “Because that’s how we think and operate. Have you done an analysis of that ship?”
“I have.”
“And?”
“Our ships are not a match for it. We could not break through their blaster coverage to use our missiles.”
Shelly closed her eyes and knew Gem was telling the truth but this would not work to help her. Gold looked at Shelly, “Knowing this, why should I be willing to share my technology with you?”
Shelly looked at the King and then looked at Embree who was smiling at her. She sighed and turned to the King, “There are a two reasons for you to assist us, Majesty.”
“Call me, Gold. And what are those reasons?”
“The first reason is that if this aggressive civilization comes here, they are going to see a bonanza of intelligent civilizations for them to attack. I suspect they will move their base of operations here to harvest intelligent species. They will eventually arrive at your civilization if they aren’t stopped before they grow too strong.”
“That isn’t a pressing reason to help you. Now that I know what those ships are capable of doing, I will start building warships that will be capable of meeting them head on in the future.”
Shelly knew he was right and she suddenly saw in her mind the damaged rear of the Tronan Warship where the two drones had crashed into it and not breeched the hull. She suddenly turned to Gem and said, “Did you do an analysis of how your missiles would perform against the Tronan’s hull?”
Gold looked at Gem and he huffed out a large breath of air, “I have doubts that our missiles would breech that ship’s hull.”
Shelly turned back to Gold, “What if I could offer you something that would make your missiles a lot more powerful?”
Shelly glanced at Gem and saw him smiling. Gold’s head tilted left and he said, “Just how would you do that?”
Shelly smiled, “Trillium.”
Gold stared at her in silence and after a very long pause he turned to Gem, “Is she being deceitful?”
Gem lifted a shoulder and said, “She has several tons of it on board the ships she came here in.”
Gold stared at Gem and it was clear to everyone that he was shocked. Gem looked at Shelly as he said, “If you made Trillium a part of our missile’s warhead, I don’t think there would be any hull that could withstand the blast.”
Shelly quickly said, “Gem tells me that you sent him out searching for a way to make your ships more powerful. Is that true?”
Gold looked at Gem and then turned back to Shelly, “It is.”
“Well by trading your technology to modify my warships, you’ll not need to find a way to make your missiles work against that Tronan Warship. All you’ll need to work on is improving your blasters. You’ll have a huge jump on getting ready to meet them.”
Gold looked at Gem and shook his head, “I don’t see how we can take the time to modify their ships, we’re too busy building our own.”
Shelly smiled, “You’re taking the small view.” Gold jerked his head around to her and Shelly said, “If just one of your ships was carrying missiles with Trillium Warheads, how many ships would it take to defeat it.”
Gold stared at her in silence and Gem said, “I don’t believe a thousand ships could get close enough to attack our ships if they had those warheads.”
Shelly smiled, “So your need for massive numbers would be greatly reduced, right?”
Gold stared at her and turned to Gem, “Are you sure she really has Trillium?”
Shelly pulled her pouch over her shoulder and reached in. She took out a small box and handed it to Gold. Gold opened it and saw the distinctive gold color of Trillium. He looked up at Shelly and she smiled, “I’ve been told that the metal in that box is worth more than half a billion of your currency. You may keep it.”
Gold looked at Gem and said, “This human female is very persuasive.”
Gem nodded, “There’s something you should know, Gold. Two of her partners are now negotiating for force field technology from another species.”
“WHAT!”
Embree smiled, “Gold, I’ve seen them.”
Shelly nodded, “I have as well and if you are willing to work with us, I’m sure we can see if the owners of the force field technology might be willing to share it with you.”
Gem looked at Shelly, “That’s not something you can really offer.”
“I know. But if we do manage to persuade them, I’m not even going to suggest sharing it with you if you aren’t going to share your technology with us.”
Gold looked at Gem, “She doesn’t understand that I cannot be bribed.”
“No, she doesn’t.”
“Gem, have you decided to join her?”
“Why do you ask?”
Gold put a huge clawed arm on Gem’s shoulder, “I remember when we were building the Thermopylae and Play Toy. You looked more alive at that moment than I had ever seen you. You invited me to join you on that voyage and I have to confess that it is one of my fondest memories. I can see that you are fully alive again. Is it because you are joining her?”
Gem smiled and put his hand on Gold’s arm, “It is, my closest friend.”
Gold raised his head and said wistfully, “I so wish that it was me going instead.” Gem stared into Gold’s large triangular eyes and nodded.
Gold blew out a breath through his thorax and turned to Shelly. “Modifying your ships would be a huge waste of time.”
“Why is that?” Shelly asked plaintively.
“Because we would have to pretty much tear your ships apart and start from scratch. It would take almost half a year to make the necessary changes on just one ship. I think your problem will arrive a lot sooner than that.”
Shelly looked at Gem and he nodded. She sighed and lowered her head, “They’ll probably arrive within the next six months.”
“I am willing to make an offer.”
Shelly looked up glumly, “What is that?”
“For a ton of this metal, I will convert six-hundred of my most advanced warships so that you can use them. I’ll have my engineers convert them from panels made for my species to universal panels that any species can use. I also want your agreement that you wil
l not trade Trillium to any other civilization in this quadrant of the known universe or share our technology with anyone in this galaxy.”
Shelly’s eyes went wide and she screamed, “REALLY?” She immediately regained her composure and said, “I won’t. I promise that you will be the only one that we will trade with in this quadrant.”
Gold shook his head, “Don’t get too excited about this offer. Getting these ships ready in time is going to be difficult. It’s going to take about three months to make the changes and it will take another month to train your crews on how to fly and fight them.” Gold looked at Gem, “You will have them modify the missile’s warheads. I’m not going to use the metal we trade for to do it.”
Gem nodded and looked at Shelly, “You need to contact your ships when we return and have them transfer a ton of Trillium to my ship.” He looked back at Gold, “If she provides additional Trillium above the price you specified, could you convert the missiles on those six-hundred ships to Trillium warheads?”
Gold shrugged, “I suppose so. It would take additional work.”
Shelly smiled, “I’ll transfer one and a half tons.” Gold looked at her and she smiled brightly, “If we survive this, we will provide you with however much you might need. I thank you for the thirty species that live on my planet.”
Gold looked at Gem, “Thirty species?”
“I’ll tell you about it later.”
Gold smiled and said, “We’ll start on the ships now. You need to get your crews here as quickly as possible so we can train them on simulators while the ships are being converted.”
Gem looked at Shelly, “Are all the species on your planet similar in physical needs for their accommodations?”
“All but four are.”
Gem looked at Gold, “You might want to start building living quarters.”
“We still have the two buildings we built for you originally.”
“Good. I’m going to get their leader to start sending their crews here as quickly as possible.”
Gold smiled, “By the way, the three ships you’re on no longer belong to me. They are the first three she has purchased.”
Gem laughed, “Gold, I really wish you were going with us.”
Gold nodded and said wistfully, “Stay in touch.”
Gem turned to leave the room and said over his shoulder, “You know I will.”
Chapter Thirteen
All of the beings in the Queen’s Throne Room watched the monitor as Kel played the contents of Sam’s communicator. The recordings were stopped at various times where the two Dragon rulers or Gregor could ask questions. Several times during the recordings, the communicator would vibrate causing the images to pause but Kel would disconnect the incoming call and continue.
They finally saw the interview that Sam had conducted with the Pirate. At the end of it, Gregor said, “I’ve not interrupted this interview because I wanted everyone to see all of it before I say what’s on my mind.” Gregor looked at Sam, “I think I can see that this man is suffering but I do not have any compassion for him. Any suffering he endures, he deserves and you are being foolish to offer him an opportunity to join you. He will turn on you when you least expect it; he comes from an evil seed.”
The image went dark on the screen as another call came in on Sam’s communicator. The Queen raised her head and rolled her huge eyes, “For creation’s sake, answer it and tell them to call back later!”
Sam walked over to Kel and he handed the communicator to Sam. Sam pressed the receive button and suddenly saw the monitor come on revealing the image of the pirate that Sam interviewed; the Communicator was still connected to the monitor. Everyone in the chamber stared at the man as he looked out at the gathering, “Daniel, can this wait?”
The man’s head went back and he quickly said, “I just need to ask you a quick question.”
Sam tilted his head, “Go ahead!”
“The offer you made to me and my crew, is it open to others that want to join you?”
Sam’s eyes opened wide, “I’m not sure what you mean, Daniel.”
“I’ve discussed the offer you made me with other ships that served in Earth’s Fleet. Some of them want to join you fighting to save your planet.”
Sam’s head went back, “How many others?”
“A little more than fourteen hundred ships.”
Even the Queen was shocked by the answer. Sam smiled, “I will need to meet with those ships to determine if they’re sincere in their desire to assist us but yes, my offer is extended to anyone willing to fight for my home world.” Sam paused and said, “Daniel, I think you should know that the enemy coming to attack us has the most powerful warships ever seen. Your chances of survival aren’t very good and now that you have enough wealth to live your life without having to resort to piracy, you might really consider what you’re up against.”
Daniel stared at Sam for a brief moment and said, “Wealth is not something that I or my crew are really interested in. Even if we die in this effort, we will die as warriors fighting for a just cause. I and my crew have chosen to fight with you.”
Sam smiled, “I’ll contact you at the conclusion of this meeting.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
The monitor went dark and Gregor snorted, “Those ships will get together and take control of your planet. There’s no way you can trust them. Besides, you have no way to determine if they’re sincere or lying.”
Sam looked at Gregor and smiled, “I will be able to determine if they are telling the truth.”
Gregor’s eyes narrowed, “And just how are you going to do that?”
Jek’s eyes closed and he shook his head as Sam said, “My second-in-command is a telepath. He’ll see their thoughts and know if they’re being honest.”
It was like for an instant, someone dropped a silence bomb in the room and then everyone started screaming at once. The Queen was heard over all the others, “YOU BROUGHT A TELEPATH INTO THIS MEETING AND DIDN’T TELL ME!!” She rose up on her back legs and stepped off her throne and advanced a step toward Sam. Suddenly, she stopped and looked at the Monarch sitting to her left, he was laughing so hard he was barely able to breathe. The Queen’s eyes narrowed and she screamed, “WHAT DO YOU FIND SO FUNNY!!”
The Monarch opened his mouth to speak but couldn’t do it. He made three efforts and ended up holding is ribs as he struggled to breathe. The Queen didn’t want to, but she started smiling at him. Soon the whole room was giggling. Finally, the Monarch managed to say, “The telepath didn’t tell them anything!! He knew Gregor was here to kill them and he didn’t tell them!” He burst out laughing again.
Sam jerked his head around and raised his voice as he shook his head at Jek, “YOU KNEW THEY WERE BRINGING US HERE TO KILL US!?!”
Jek shrugged, “You said you wanted to speak with the humans on Bellingham. This was the only way to make it happen.”
“YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME THEY WERE PLANNING TO KILL US!!”
Gregor was laughing as well and he looked at Jek, “Why didn’t you tell him?”
Jek looked at Gregor and said, “If Sam knew in advance what was coming, he wouldn’t have reacted naturally. He would have probably called off the meeting and that would have been a mistake. We really needed to communicate with you.” Jek looked around the room, “I know Sam better than anyone and I trusted that if he would just be himself and respond to your threat without planning for it, everything would work out.”
Sam yelled, “THAT’S LUDICROUS!” The Monarch laughed even harder and the Queen was also unable to stop her laughter at Sam’s reaction.
Jek lowered his head into his shoulders and said, “As you said, desperate times calls for desperate measures.”
The Queen looked at Jek and said with a serious tone, “And you see nothing wrong with him bringing a telepath into this meeting without warning us.”
Jek’s head came up and he shrugged, “Well, you were dishonest about our safety and had us brought here to be murdered
.” He turned to Gregor, “And you came here to kill Leonidas and Desiree without even making sure you were right to do so.” Jek looked around the room, “Is bringing me to this meeting a larger sin than either of you committed?” the room was silent and Gregor looked at the Queen, “He does have a point.”
The Queen stepped back and sat on her throne. Jek looked around the room and said, “I would like to share something with all of you.”
The Queen said, “WHAT?!”
“All of you are wondering about how we will be able to determine if the ships from Earth can be trusted. I was there during the interview and I’d like to share what was going on in that pirate’s mind.”
Everyone stared at Jek and the Monarch said, “I’d like to see just how a telepath functions.” He looked at the Queen, “Wouldn’t you?” The Queen thought for a moment and then nodded.”
Gregor sneered, “I have no desire to see it.”
Kaylee said, “You will see it!” Gregor turned to her and Kaylee said, “They are in their current situation because of our actions. We should know what the consequences of our decisions are.”
Gregor shook his head, “I hope they all die.”
Kaylee lowered her eyes, “Then you are nothing more than a hypocrite!” Gregor’s eyes widened and Kaylee continued, “When we attacked the Movement’s Headquarters Building on Earth, before we destroyed the building, you stood by and allowed everyone in it to leave and go home to their families. Why didn’t you have them killed as well, Gregor!”
“They weren’t the ones that invaded Bellingham and carried out the orders of their evil Leaders.”
“They were worse!” Kaylee snapped back at him. “They were the ones that send those orders to the fleets. What do you think would have happened to those crews if they refused to follow their orders!!” Gregor stared at Kaylee and she said, “They would have activated the intruder defense systems on their ships and killed them all. Then they would put a new crew on board that would do as they’re told.” Kaylee looked at Jek and said, “He will see what you have to show!”