by Saxon Andrew
• • •
The wedding was scheduled for a week later to give the Clan Leaders time to gather from around the planet. Sam asked Leonidas if he would be best man. Leo agreed but said, “I know you would prefer Jek to do this.”
Sam smiled, “I would but I can think of no one else that could take his place other than you, my friend.”
• • •
Angel chose Ellie MacGregor to be the Woman of Honor. Ellie was stunned by the request and Angel smiled, “Ye stood up for me before the High Council. It was your prodding me to move quickly that led to my happiness. It would not have happened without ye.”
“I am honored, Angel. Are you sure about this? I’m not a member of ye clan.”
“Ye are more than that, Ellie. Ye are a tool of the Great Comet and I thank you for ye intervention. I will be leaving my Clan when I marry, Sam. Why did ye do it?”
Ellie smiled softly and said, “I heard ye mate leave his misery to the Great Comet and stars above our beautiful world. I felt something and knew it had to be done.”
Angel hugged Ellie, “You are the one chosen to be with me at my wedding.” Ellie returned her hug and chuckled, “You know I like angering the High Council. I enjoyed it.” Ellie wondered about the powers of those with blue-green eyes. Gregor and Kaylee had them. The evil Leaders of the movement wanted children that had them to forward their evil plans. Angel and Elena had them. Something was happening and she couldn’t fathom what it was. But that was not something to trouble her. She accepted truth would always find its way on Bellingham.
• • •
The day of the wedding arrived and Shelly was on the bridge of the Sword straightening Sam’s dress uniform, “Will you be still!”
“I’m sorry, I’m just so…”
“Nervous!?” Sam nodded. Shelly shook her head, “Have you ever buttoned these top buttons?”
“No.”
“I can tell!” Shelly finally got the three buttons buttoned and she stepped back. “Sam, you’re gorgeous.” Sam started shaking his head and Shelly said, “Wearing your hair out of that braid is something you should do more often. It adds so much to your appearance.”
Sam started to object but smiled instead, “Thank you, Shelly.”
Rangel looked up from his panel and said, “I have two ships moving out of high orbit toward the clearing, Sir.”
Sam and Shelly turned to Rangel and Sam asked, “Do you know who they are?”
Rangel stared at his monitor, “One of them is one of the Bellingham Vessels. The other one appears to be an Insectoid Warship.”
Sam looked at Shelly and they left the bridge and looked up into the brilliant morning sky. The two ships spiraled down and the Insectoid Vessel landed first. The port opened and Sam’s mouth went wide open as Jek stepped out wearing his full-dress uniform. He looked at Shelly, “Did you know about this?”
Shelly shook her head but Sam never saw it. He ran across the clearing and wrapped his arms around Jek in a bear hug and lifted him off the ground. “Hey, hey, you’re messing up the uniform!”
“Jek, I’ve missed you so much!!”
Sam put Jek down and Jek smiled, “I can see that, you’ve changed.” Sam’s head tilted and Jek said, “You’re complete now.”
“Will you honor me by being my Best Man?!”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Shelly smiled as she walked up and said, “It’s really good to see you, Captain.”
Jek walked over and hugged Shelly, “Can the captain, Shelly.”
Shelly laughed and said, “Jek, I’ve missed you, too!”
Sam smiled and said, “Now my day is complete. Let’s go! There’s a wedding waiting for us.”
The three turned and walked across the clearing as Jek updated them on all that had happened in their absence. As they approached the High Council Building, Jek stopped and said, “I’ll tell you more later. I want to meet your new love.”
Sam nodded and entered the building. Jek looked around and saw thousands of people gathered around the building and then had to revise his estimate. There had to be close to more than fifty thousand gathered among the trees surrounding the building. He could hear them in his mind and he was stunned by their happiness. What had happened while he was away?”
He entered the building with Sam and looked around for the woman he was marrying. He heard in his mind, “I am so thankful that ye could come. This day would not be complete without ye?”
Jek’s eyes narrowed and he thought, “Who are you?”
“I am the one that loves Sam with all her heart and I love ye as well. I’ve seen the special relationship ye share and I thank ye for keeping him safe until he could come to me. You have made his happiness complete by being here.”
Jek tried to keep his expression neutral but he wasn’t entirely successful. He could not see the mind of the one that spoke to him. He did feel her love for Sam but nothing else. He shook his head slightly as the crowd parted at the entrance and one of the most beautiful human women he had ever seen walked in. She was radiant and he saw that the young girl’s mind walking behind her was also a blank to him. He looked at the woman and thought, “We need to talk.”
“Indeed we do. But first, a wedding.”
Chapter Eighteen
Jek looked at Sam, “Do you have a ring?”
Sam turned to him and shrugged, “I borrowed one from Ana’s jewelry collection until I can get one.”
Jek reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He opened it and showed Sam a ring that was incredibly beautiful. Sam looked at him and Jek said, “It was made on Heaven.”
Sam shook his head and whispered, “How could I ever get by without you?”
Jek smiled, “Never happen. Congratulations, Sam. She’s incredibly beautiful.”
“It’s what’s inside her that’s truly beautiful, Jek.” Sam turned and smiled as he saw his bride walking toward him. From that moment on, there was only each other. Jek heard the bride’s name was Angel and he wondered at the coincidence of a man from Heaven finding a woman named Angel. The chances of that happening by accident were…he couldn’t begin to figure the odds. But here they were uniting two civilizations in marriage. He smiled and turned with Sam to the High Council’s Leader.
The Clan Leader raised his arms and the thousands became silent. He smiled and looked at Sam and Angel, “Please take each other’s hands.” Sam and Angel stepped forward and they took each other’s hands. Jek didn’t need to see the thoughts of Sam’s chosen to see that she loved Sam with a depth he marveled at. The Leader said loudly, “Ye are here to witness the joining of these two who have come to profess their love in the eternal bonds of marriage. We are honored and by their commitment to each other and celebrate their union.”
Jek didn’t hear much after that. He listened to Sam’s thoughts and forced his concerns out of his mind. He didn’t need to see her thoughts to know that Sam had absolutely no doubts about Angel. He knew his brother and found comfort in knowing that Sam’s heart was never wrong. That would be enough. He handed Sam the ring at the appropriate moment and he placed it on Angel’s finger. She was amazed at its beauty and her tears started. Jek smiled. He had seen the ring years earlier in an expensive shop on Heaven and it had never been purchased. He knew when he saw it that it belonged to Sam. He always knew it and now it was on the finger of a woman whose beauty was not diminished by it.
Jek looked around at Leonidas, Desiree, Gem and Ana and saw their hearts were full with the memories of their own weddings. They were not alone. The thousands gathered among the trees also felt the same emotions. These people were so much like the people on Heaven. He looked at Sam and Angel and was suddenly struck by just how right this was. He also saw that the man Shelly was in love with decided that another wedding was in order. He smiled slightly and saw Shelly was praying he would ask. She wouldn’t have to wait long. He turned back to the Clan Leader and listened. Problems and issues could wait for another
day. This was not the time.
• • •
The ceremony ended and Sam kissed his bride. The gathering erupted into cheers and the celebration began in earnest. Jek sat at a table and watched everything going on and suddenly found Angel pulling him to his feet. “What, what…”
Angel smiled, “Time for the Couple to dance with the Best Man and Honored Woman.” Angel pulled Jek out on the dance floor and Angel looked into his eyes, “State ye issues,” he heard in his mind.
“I can’t hear your thoughts.”
Angel smiled, “I’ve been preventing ye from doing so.” Jek’s eyes narrowed and Angel said, “I’m concerned that if I reveal them that ye won’t do what has to be done.”
“I’m not sure what you mean,” Jek replied.
“Ye saw in Sam’s thoughts that I’ve told him about a vision of Heaven being destroyed.” Jek nodded. “That is not something that he is going to be able to confront and act appropriately. I’m praying that ye can.”
“I saw that the vision could be untrue.”
Angel smiled. Jek was at least a foot taller and he moved smoothly around the dance floor not missing a step. “I’m going to depend on ye to make sure he comes back to me.” Jek’s eyes narrowed and Angel said, “I’m going to open my mind to ye and show ye everything.”
“Why would you do that with me and not Sam?”
“Because he loves his planet more than his life. You love him more than ye planet. If a decision is forced on him, ye will make him see the truth.”
“I’m not sure I want to see,” Jek thought with concern.
“Ye are leaving later today and I don’t have time to teach ye all that ye need to know. Ye must understand that none of what ye see can change what is coming and ye must make ye decisions accordingly in the time that remains.” Jek frowned and suddenly, he was in Angel’s mind. The first thing he saw was her love for his brother and then the fear of losing him. The next thing he saw was Heaven burning.
The speed of telepathy is beyond understanding and in the short time Jek and Angel danced, a tremendous amount of information was shared. At the end, Jek bowed to Angel and went back to his table. He forced his expression to be neutral as he processed what he had just seen.
He wanted to go somewhere and curl up into a ball and scream but knew he could not escape what was in his mind. He wished she had not opened her mind to him but knew she was wise to do it. He wished that colony ship had never come but knew at some level that destiny decreed that it would and there was no avoiding what happened. He sighed and knew this wasn’t something he could share. He had to put it out of his mind and make sure Sam could celebrate this joyous event. He knew that Angel and her daughter were not telepathic. Angel allowed him to hear her thoughts but she could only hear what he sent to her. Jek did sense that she could see into other’s emotions but that wasn’t really telepathy. Still, he had seen thousands of being’s minds in his life and Sam’s new mate and her daughter were at the top of the list in power. Maybe even more than Gregor and Kaylee.
He also knew that Angel was right about not telling Sam. He would not do the necessary things that had to be done in the time that remained. He would absolutely refuse to believe they were necessary. Perhaps they wouldn’t be but he wasn’t going to be foolish and write off what he had just seen in Angel’s mind. If she was right about an additional five months…”
• • •
The ceremony continued well into the evening and finally, Jek went to Sam and hugged him, “I have to get back to Heaven.”
Sam shook his head, “But you just arrived!”
“Sam you need to really learn how to fight our ship and there are so many things left to do. I’m a fifth wheel here and you know I should leave.”
Sam exhaled loudly, “I know! Thank you for coming; you have no idea how much it means to me that you did.”
Jek smiled and suddenly, Angel appeared beside Sam, “And I thank ye as well, Jek.”
Jek smiled, “Thank you for the dance and perhaps you can teach me some more at another time.”
“Ye were a master of the dance. Ye have nothing left to learn.”
Jek’s eyes narrowed slightly, “Angel, you taught me more than you know. I look forward to seeing you again.” Angel nodded and Jek walked out of the building toward the waiting warship. Sam’s eyes narrowed, “Something has him bothered.”
Angel nodded, “He has a lot on his plate.”
Sam nodded slowly, “Yes, I suppose that’s it.”
Angel grabbed Sam’s face and kissed him on the mouth, “Ye are behind about a hundred kisses. Ye need to catch up!!”
Sam laughed out loud, took her in his arms, and followed her instructions to the letter.
• • •
Sam and Angel left for a short honeymoon on an island just off the coast next to her clan. The clan gathered to welcome them and many cried as they wished her good-bye. Sam was confused at first but Angel smiled and said, “Of course I will be in ye Clan now along with Elena. It is only appropriate, Sam.”
Sam loved Angel’s Scottish accent and when she pronounced her decisions they seemed to be indisputable. She and Elena were given a Clan MacAfee kilt on their return to the trading community and Gregor asked if he may also be given one as well. He found pretty quickly that wearing a kilt, though embarrassing at times, was far more comfortable than a fleet uniform.
A day after they returned, Gem and Leonidas along with Gregor and Kaylee came over to Sam’s vessel and asked to meet with him. He led them to his conference room and looked up as the other leaders arrived a few minutes later. Angel and Elena walked in with Desiree and Ana right behind Embree and Shelly.
Sam looked at Gem, “What’s going on?”
Gem smiled, “Somethings have happened while you’ve been gone and we want to bring you up to speed on what’s going on.”
Sam nodded, “By all means and I’m all ears.”
Gem looked at Kaylee and said, “Kaylee volunteered to go to Heaven and see about bringing Jek here in time for your wedding. It appears he was already getting prepared to come because of the message probe you sent him.”
Sam lowered his head into his shoulders, “I should have told you about that.”
Gem chuckled, “No harm, no foul. However, while Kaylee was there, she asked Jek to ask the Commander of the Colony Ship to provide her with the route he took to flee the Tronan. Pletal gladly sent a copy of the filaments he took.”
Sam looked at Kaylee, “Why did you want that?”
Gregor smiled, “Since Jek was coming anyway, Kaylee took that data and flew at high speed backtracking the route the Dojuit used. She eventually saw the Tronan Ships that are coming this way.”
“HOW MANY ARE THERE?!?” Sam asked in a loud voice.
Gem lowered his eyes, “Calm down, Sam. There are two-hundred of their warships moving toward us.” Sam’s eyes went wide at the number. He only expected about fifty. Gem nodded, “You were probably right in telling the Dragons that the Tronan have far more warships than anyone would believe. Sending two-hundred pretty much confirms that.”
Sam sat back in his chair and asked the question he dreaded to say, “When will they arrive?”
Leonidas said, “The route the Dojuit took fleeing from the Tronan really twisted around and it appears they took filaments randomly trying to lose their pursuer.” Leonidas put a data-disk into the reader on the table and pressed a button. The huge wall monitor showed a twisted map of filaments on it. Leonidas took a laser-pointer and illuminated a spot on one of the filaments, “That is about where they are now.”
Sam stared at the map and said, “The filament at the bottom is the one that leads to Heaven’s intersection.”
Elena looked at her mother wondering what they were talking about and Angel shook her head for her to remain silent. Sam said, “They don’t have far to go.”
Kaylee sighed and shook her head, “Sam, I had to make a decision and I hope I did the right thing.”
Sam turned to her, “What did you do?”
Kaylee looked at Leonidas and he pressed the monitor’s controls and a section of the filament map close to the location of the Tronan Vessels grew larger. Sam stared at it and saw one small filament cross the one the Tronan were on and then cross another one ten light years away. It had a purple line on it indicating that was the route the Dojuit had taken. Sam’s head tilted and he heard Kaylee say, “I removed that small filament.”
Sam looked at her, “Why?”
The map moved out and thousands of other filaments began being added to the map. Kaylee said, “By making them take another filament to arrive at your intersection, their travel time will be greatly increased.”
Sam glanced at Angel and said, “By how much?”
Kaylee looked at Gem and he said, “They would have been arriving in three weeks if Kaylee had left the filament in place. By removing it, it will now take the Tronan Fleet five months to arrive.”
Sam closed his eyes and Angel reached over and took his hand. He opened them and said, “What was the decision you were facing Kaylee.”
“Gregor and I have discussed removing the filament to your planet but you told us that you didn’t want that done. It was either remove this one or the one to your planet. I can’t remove both.”
Sam’s eyes widened, “Why not!”
Kaylee saw his eyes and said, “If I made a mistake, I’m sorry.”
Sam forced himself to be calm. He looked at Angel and then turned to Kaylee, “Why can’t you remove more than one filament?”
“We discovered when we tried to remove another filament after we removed our own, that the filaments began vibrating at an ever increasing speed. The filaments in Under Space appear to be in a very precarious balance. We fear that to remove more than one will cause a massive disruption of the others.”