Soul of The Swords: Brotherhood is More Than Metal

by Saxon Andrew

“But the filaments are so far away from each other!” Sam replied.

  Gregor tilted his head, “Sam we tried removing two that were further apart than those two and the vibration began. Kaylee had to decide and you told us emphatically that your leaders would not endanger another civilization by removing your filament.”

  Gregor lowered his head and shook it. “Did they make a mistake, Sam?” Ana asked.

  “No, the Party on Heaven has stated that I would do nothing to endanger another planet that is innocent of what happened. I guess I thought after learning you could remove them that I might try to convince them to change their mind.” Sam looked at Gregor “You can actually remove two filaments safely but not three, right?”

  Gregor stared at Sam and nodded. Desiree said, “What?”

  Sam looked at Desiree, “The filament to Bellingham has been removed and the one they’re now using to get to Bellingham.”

  Desiree stared at him and then saw it. She looked at Gregor and Sam said, “Don’t even suggest it, Desiree. You all saw the warships gathered at Bellingham’s intersection. There were more than eight hundred Cartian Warships there wanting to get to Bellingham to show their displeasure at their map being changed.” He looked at Gregor and said, “Right?”

  Gregor nodded, “Yes.”

  Sam turned to Kaylee, “Let’s say you left that short filament alone and removed the one to Heaven, what do you think would happen?”

  Kaylee stared at Sam and said, “Put yourself in the Tronan’s place and tell me what you would do.”

  Sam thought for a moment and said, “I would believe that the directions I received from their missing ship were in error. I would know my missing warship was last seen at Heaven’s Filament Intersection and I would send scouts out on the filaments in that intersection to find the closest civilized planet.” Kaylee nodded, “Go on.”

  “I would scan that planet closely and even if I didn’t find anything, I would destroy it and send a message back to my leaders about what I found and tell them that there are too many civilizations to find the one that destroyed the missing ship.”

  Embree looked at Sam, “Would you be willing to put those others in danger to save your own people?”

  Sam looked at Embree and said, “Possibly.” Everyone stared at Sam and he sighed, “But none of them have been preparing to meet this menace and we have. We’ve been building our forces to take them on and we are probably the only one that stands a chance of surviving their attack. I just couldn’t…allow that…to happen.”

  Angel looked at the group and said, “It will probably happen anyway if you are not victorious against them.”

  Sam turned to her, “Why do you say that?”

  Angel looked at Leonidas, “In projecting they would arrive in five months, you have probably determined what route they’ll be taking, haven’t you?” Leonidas nodded. “Show that route on the map.”

  Leonidas pressed some buttons and the purple line changed from the original route to a newer route that swung far out from Heaven. Everyone studied the map and then Gem said, “They’re going to use the 440 filament for part of their new route!”

  Angel nodded, “And what do you think they will encounter when they do that?”

  Gem looked at her and then said to everyone present, “They will see millions of commercial ships moving on it. Matter of fact, they will see heavy traffic on every filament they take to arrive at Heaven’s Intersection.”

  Leonidas started shaking his head and Kaylee lowered her eyes, “I made a colossal mistake removing that small filament.”

  Sam looked at her, “Can you put it back before they arrive?”

  Kaylee shook her head, “No, they’ve probably already passed it.”

  Sam looked at the stunned expressions on the faces of the gathering and said, “Well, there is one thing we can do now.”

  Kaylee blew out a harsh breath and was close to tears, “What?”

  “That Tronan Squadron will see the millions of vessels and launch message probes back to their leaders telling them what they’ve discovered.” Sam looked at Kaylee, “You can get back to that short intersection you removed before any probes they launch arrive at that point. Make sure none of their message probes make it through.”

  Gregor started and nodded, “We can do that.”

  Sam nodded and said, “You will have to remain there and make sure any they launch during their attack on Heaven does not make it through as well.”

  Gregor’s eyes narrowed, “We were planning to assist you in the defense of your planet.”

  “We just can’t know how many probes they’re going to launch. They could launch one every time they are stunned by the shipping they see on the filaments in our known universe. They’ll want images to convince their leaders that here is where they should come to find all the intelligent life they could ever hope for,” Sam responded while staring into Gregor’s eyes. Gregor closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them as he nodded.

  Leonidas listened to Sam and said, “Does this change any of your plans?”

  Sam took a deep breath and looked at the floor as he exhaled slowly. He raised his head and looked at Angel before saying to the gathering, “What has been the goal of my getting all of you to come and help me against the Tronan?”

  Shelly said softly, “To prevent Heaven from being destroyed.”

  Sam looked at her and nodded before saying, “And what should be the goal now after what we’ve just discussed.”

  The room was silent for a long moment and Embree said, “Why does it always have to be me to state the obvious?”

  Sam looked at him and smiled, “Because you see the truth and will not abide a lie being told.”

  Embree sighed and said, “The goal now has to be the destruction of every one of those Tronan Warships. If only one of them escapes, millions of planets will be in jeopardy.”

  Shelly looked at him, “Are you saying that if the choice comes down to the destruction of Heaven to prevent one of them escaping…”

  Embree sighed, “I know you don’t want to hear this but Heaven will have to go if that is the only choice to stop them.”

  Shelly’s eyes narrowed and Sam said, “SHELLY!” She jerked her head around to him and Sam said softly, “You agreed with me when I chose to assist those fleeing colonists. Would you save the millions on Heaven if trillions of other beings will lose their lives as a result? You agreed that I did the right thing to save thirty-five thousand Dojuit. Do you now say I was wrong to do it?” Sam paused and he looked at Embree, “You will promise me that you will do all you can to keep her safe.”

  Embree nodded, “I will give my life for her and she will realize, once she thinks about it, that if just one ship escapes, Heaven will die anyway.”

  Shelly stared at Embree and then she went into his arms, “You’re right!” she wailed.”

  Sam looked at Angel and saw her expression. He put his hand on her cheek and softly said, “I am strong enough to deal with this.”

  Angel’s tears began and she said, “That is why your mother named you Samson.”

  Sam looked at the others and said, “I must go to Heaven.”

  Angel shook her head, “No, you don’t.” Sam’s head went back and Angel said, “As soon as you show up, everyone will know something is wrong.”

  Shelly lifted her head from Embree’s shoulder and said, “They will see it in both of us, Sam.”

  Angel took both of Sam’s hands, “Jek is doing all that can be done against this possibility and no one will be able to see his motivations.”

  Sam stared at her, “Are you sure about that?”

  Angel smiled, “You know him better than anyone, are you.”

  Sam stared in Angel’s eyes and then nodded. He looked at Gregor, “When will our ships be done?”

  “The final coating on your ship’s blasters, turrets, and missile ports will be done in four months.”

  “Why so long?” Sam asked.

  “If the b
laster turrets aren’t done properly, they won’t be able to swivel. The metal will lock them in place. And please note that each of your ships have more than fifty blasters and forty missile ports that must be functional. Those are what’s going to take up most of the time.”

  Sam looked at Kaylee, “Did you know this when you removed that filament?”

  “I did.”

  Sam smiled, “Then you made a good decision. Without our ships, Heaven would die.”

  Leonidas looked at Desiree and said, “Gem has expressed some concern that the coating being placed on our ships has never been hit by more than twenty high powered blasters. Will it stand up to the two hundred blasters on the Tronan Warships?”

  Gregor looked at Leo and shrugged, “Perhaps you might want to fire at one of your ships when they’re completed to find out. If it begins to go up in temperature, then you’ll know what it can handle.”

  Leo stared at Gregor and tilted his head, “I’m going to have to think about that.”

  Sam shook his head, “We’re going to have to find out if our force fields and hulls can stand up to large numbers of blaster beams. I’ll allow my ship to be a target to see where we stand.”

  Angel’s eyes narrowed and Sam said, “We won’t be on board when that happens.”

  Elena sitting next to her mother blew out a breath, “Thank the stars for that!”

  Everyone heard her and burst out laughing. Angel pulled her close and Elena wondered what was so funny.

  Chapter Nineteen

  The Director of the Tronan Squadron sat on his command chair and stared at the filament ten miles away from his vessel. He looked at his Steering Warrior and said, “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

  “Director, the route the missing ship took, according to what we received on the message probe, shows a short filament that connects with the one at the edge of our scanners.”

  “How far away is that filament?”

  “About ten light years.”

  “Without a filament to get there it could take us another five years to get there.”

  “More like eight years, Director.”

  The Director was weary of the long flight and he fell back in his command chair. “Do you have the coordinates of where the ship launched the probe?”

  “I do.”

  “What do you recommend?”

  “We continue on this filament and look for others that move in the direction of those coordinates. We keep taking filaments that head toward the general location the ship was when it disappeared.”

  “How long is that going to extend our voyage?”

  “I have no way of knowing, Director. I do not have a map of the filaments in this place.”

  The Director pressed a button on his panel, “Supply, how are we doing on our provisions?”

  “Director, we loaded enough for a voyage four years in duration. We do not have an issue with not having enough, yet.”

  “When will that happen, Supply?”

  “Not for another year.”

  The Director stared at the filament in the distance. It was so close but so unreachable. He turned to his Steering Warrior, “Move back into the filament and find a way for us to get to those coordinates. If I turn around at this point, I’m not sure any of us will survive the decision.”

  “Yes, Director.”

  “Communications!”

  “Yes, Director.”

  “Notify all ships that we are changing course and to maintain formation.” The Director looked at his panel and saw the message going out to his Squadron. Would this voyage never end? “Launch a message probe informing the Fleet Director what we’ve encountered.”

  “Yes, Director.”

  • • •

  A week later, Gregor and Kaylee arrived at the filament and replaced the filament they had removed. They crossed to the filament the Tronan Squadron was taking and Gregor looked up, “Do you have any suggestions, Computer?”

  “I’ve been discussing this with Kaylee’s computer and we could possibly run back to Sam’s planet and remove their filament and then rush back here.”

  “Could you guarantee that the Tronan wouldn’t launch any message probes during the time we’re gone and if we leave one of you here, could you guarantee that one ship could stop every message probe they launch?”

  “That’s not something we can guarantee.”

  Gregor nodded, “Well, even if we could make it happen, Sam has decided that he couldn’t put innocent planets in jeopardy due to his civilizations actions.”

  “He might if he knew there was a possibility that it could be done,” the computer replied.

  Gregor looked at Kaylee and said, “I don’t know that we could do that even if he could.”

  “You owe me!”

  “Just a lucky guess!!”

  Kaylee looked up, “Computer, what are the two of you talking about?”

  Kaylee’s computer on her ship said smugly, “I told Gregor’s Computer that the two of you would never allow another planet to die for Sam’s planet’s actions.”

  “The idea is tempting, Computer,” Kaylee responded.

  “Yes, it is. But you went out and looked at the closest civilized planets to the Heaven Filament and both of you know that the populations of those planets are more than ten times the population of Heaven.”

  Gregor’s Computer said loudly, “What! When did they do that?”

  Kaylee shrugged, “I sent my ship out to take a look when we took the swords to Bellingham.”

  Gregor and Kaylee heard Kaylee’s computer say, “UH OH!”

  “THE BET IS VOID! You know we agreed that neither of us would withhold information from each other when we make our wagers!”

  There was silence and Kaylee smiled, “Do you have anything to say, Computer?”

  “Perhaps we should follow those Tronan Ships and we’ll have a longer time to remove any probes they might launch.”

  Gregor’s computer said, “HEY…”

  Kaylee’s computer interrupted it, “I know, I know…the wager is void.”

  Gregor sighed and said, “You have to make sure you do not move inside their scanning range.”

  “They won’t be able to see us inside our force fields as long as we keep them at the edge of our scanning range,” Kaylee’s computer said.

  Kaylee’s eyes narrowed as she looked up, “How do you know that?”

  “When you found their location on the filament they were traveling, they did not make any indication that they saw us, Kaylee. As long as we maintain that distance, we should be fine. Besides, before much longer there will be too many ships on the filaments for them to be able to separate us from them.”

  “Alright, let’s get moving and see if we can catch up to them,” Gregor said as he leaned back in his chair. The two ships activated their force fields and went to full speed. Gregor looked at Kaylee, “You’ll need to move to your ship once they start launching message probes.”

  “I’ll do that when the Tronan enter a high traffic filament.”

  Gregor smiled as Kaylee stood up from her chair and went to his lap. He wrapped his arms around her as they turned to the viewport and watched their ship blow through the filament at an incredible speed. Gregor’s Computer said, “Are you aware that the three ships being coated on Bellingham are going to be twice as fast as we are?” Gregor nodded. “Are we going to be given that expansion chamber?”

  “That’s the plan if anyone survives this confrontation.”

  “Gregor, you could have gone a year and not told me that.”

  “Computer, we’re hoping for the best but those warships represent a threat to Bellingham as well.”

  “But…”

  “I refuse to be isolated for all time as they come and take control of our universe. This is our fight as well.”

  There was a long silence and then they heard a few minutes later, “OK.” Gregor and Kaylee started laughing and, for the moment, fear did not rule them.<
br />
  • • •

  Four months had passed and Angel stood with Sam and stared at the brilliant warship before them. Sam’s crew was boarding and he said, “She’s beautiful, Angel. Just like you.”

  “Sam, there’s something you should know?”

  Sam turned to her, “What is that?”

  “Sam…I’m expecting.”

  “Expecting what?”

  Angel punched him on the arm, “A baby you idiot!”

  Sam’s mouth fell open in shock and Angel shook her head, “I don’t know when it happened but it did.”

  Sam closed his mouth and looked her in the eyes, “Are you sure?”

  “I am.”

  “Do you know…”

  “We’re going to have a son. Elena felt him before I did.”

  Sam pulled Angel into his arms and held her close, “When?”

  “Six or seven months…I think.”

  Sam closed his eyes as Angel said, “I can sense that he will have talents like Elena and me.” Angel grabbed Sam’s chin and made him open his eyes and look into hers, “DO NOT THROW YOUR LIFE AWAY! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!?!” Sam stared into her eyes and nodded. “If you have to run, run. Promise me, Sam!”

  “I promise, Angel.”

  Angel pulled him close and put her head on his chest, “Good.”

  Sam could only shake his head at what this meant and wondered if he was going to be able to keep his promise. He knew Angel knew what he was thinking but she was satisfied with his promise.

  • • •

  Sam’s ship had been launched the day prior and the other two ships had fired at it with twenty blasters each and it was not harmed. Then the Thermopylae opened fire with all fifty blasters and once again it withstood the massive energy being poured into it with no rise in the hull’s temperature.

  When the Toy joined the Thermopylae and began adding blasters ten at a time, the hull began to rise in temperature when all hundred blasters on both huge warships were fired in unison for ten minutes. Leonidas ordered, “Cease fire!”

  Gem looked at Leonidas on his monitor and shrugged, “It appears it can withstand some more but not for an extended time.”

  Sam nodded and shrugged, “It’s going to be hard for a Tronan Warship to fire all of its blasters at us.”