by Saxon Andrew
Gregor smiled, “Great idea.” He looked at Leonidas, “Have you determined when your ship will be ready?”
“Actually, Ana solved the Scanner issue.”
“How did she do that?”
“Her planet is her galaxy’s most technologically advanced in building electronic components. I thought it would be a big deal to invent a scanner with a longer range but their engineers disagreed.”
Gregor’s eyes narrowed, “Why is that?”
“As I understand it, when Ana approached them about building a scanner with a longer range, she was asked, “Why in creation would anyone need a scanner with that kind of range. Keeping track of everything with the current one is hard enough.” Leo shrugged, “It appears they can make one with several times our current scanning range with the current electronic parts they produce.”
Gregor stared at Sam and smiled, “Are they going to mass produce those scanners for our warships. Being able to see approaching enemy warships from a long way off is a real advantage.”
“The one for my ship will arrive shortly and others will follow for our fleet. I understand that just like our current scanners, we can back off on the range if needed.”
“Why haven’t they built them before now?”
“It appears that ninety-nine percent of their customers are commercial clients. Ana also told me her father didn’t want to improve any other planet’s warships before he died. Another thing that came out of this is that we are now using Romania to provide the advanced computers for our ships. They took one and duplicated it rather quickly.” Leo smiled, “And unlike our former supplier, we are not being charged anything for the scanners or computers.”
Kaylee jerked her head around, “What?”
Leo shrugged, “I didn’t know it but Ana pretty much owns half the planet and she’s paying for everything out of her income. She just might be the richest person in our universe.” Gregor and Kaylee stared at Leo and blinked simultaneously. Leo chuckled, “I know; who would have thunk it?”
Angel stared at the Toy parked in the clearing and turned to Leo and Desiree, “What kind of shape will Sam be in?”
Desiree blew out a breath and shook her head, “The last part of the physical changes is the toughest. He’ll be hurting all over but he’ll recover quickly.”
Angel looked at Leonidas and saw him nodding with a pained expression on his face, “Bad, huh?”
Leonidas nodded. Desiree smiled, “Sam has one thing that none of us did.”
“What is that?” Angel asked.
“He has a telepath going through it with him and they can support each other through the process. I know having Ana go through it with me made a huge difference in being able to cope with the changes happening to my body.”
Kel smiled, “I’ve heard them and being together has made the pain more bearable. I had to quit looking at Jek’s mind.” Gregor leaned forward and looked at Kel with his eyebrows raised. Kel shook her head, “I couldn’t bear the pain he was experiencing.”
Angel suddenly chuckled, “Embree and Shelly are coming.”
Everyone turned around and they heard Embree shout, “Hey, how ’bout letting us know what’s going on.”
“We just found out ourselves!” Kaylee responded.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Where are they?”
Desiree shrugged, “I’m pretty sure they’ve finished the process but it takes some time to get your feet under you.”
They saw another group moving toward them from the Trading Community and Embree smiled, “Delilah’s crew heard about it and want to be here when they arrive. They’ve been missing them as well.”
Right behind the crew, large numbers of the community started following them toward the clearing. Gregor smiled, “They’re wondering what’s going on and fear they might be missing something.”
Leonidas turned around and sat down with his back against the log, “The more the merrier.”
They saw the port on the Toy open and everyone stood up. Ana walked down the ramp and smiled as she approached, “Well look at all of you!”
Angel said, “Where is he?!”
Ana went over and gave Angel a hug, “They’ll be along shortly.” Ana looked at Desiree and winked as she said, “They’re trying to get their legs to work.”
Leonidas blew out a breath and sat back down. The others looked at him and he flippantly said, “This could take a while.” Everyone looked at each other and sat down again. The crew arrived, stepped over the log, and sat down against it with the others and stared at the huge warship across the clearing. The members from the community heard what was going on and they stepped over the long, sat down in the clearing, and waited with the others.
FINALLY…they saw Gem step out of the port supporting Sam on one side and Jek on the other. Everyone stood up and Ana shouted, “STAY WHERE YOU ARE!! THEY NEED TO WALK HERE UNDER THEIR OWN POWER!” Everyone looked at her and she smiled, “The first steps they take are critical. They don’t want to walk but they must do it to get the proper nerve connections.” Everyone stared at her in silence and she smiled, “It is alright to cheer them on.”
It was all they could do not to run across the clearing to them but they saw Sam and Jek start smiling when they heard the gathering erupt into a loud cheer. It was like Ana said, they started slightly walking faster and Gem allowed them to stand on their own legs when they arrived.
Angel and Kel rushed up to them and helped them keep their balance. Sam looked at Angel, “I’ve missed you so much.” Angel hugged him and felt him wince. She eased off and he shook his head, “I need you to hold me.” She held him tighter and Sam felt her happiness infuse him.
Jek was seven feet tall but Kel was more than able to keep him vertical. Jek smiled, “I didn’t know you were so strong.”
“Just wait and you’ll really see just how strong I can be.”
Gregor walked forward and stood directly in front of Sam and the close friends gathered around him. The gathering grew silent and Gregor smiled as he pulled his sword out of its scabbard and held it above them pointed at the sky. “I’ve always believed that there is a brotherhood between a Bellingham Sword and its owner; they share a common soul. The Warriors call this connection the Brotherhood of the Swords and, though some doubt its existence, we know it is real.” Gregor continued to hold his sword high as he looked at the group gathered closely around Sam and Jek. He turned to Sam, “But ye have taught me something that I didn’t know.”
Sam stared into Gregor’s eyes and softly said, “What is that, Gregor?”
Gregor smiled, “That brotherhood is more than just metal!”
Kaylee stepped forward and raised her sword and crossed it with Gregor’s. In an instant, Desiree, Ana, Gem and Leonidas raised their swords as well. Sam and Jek stared at them and both smiled at the honor being given them. Sam felt a nudge next to him. He looked down and saw Elena present a sword and scabbard to Angel and then to Kel. Angel held the scabbard out to Sam and smiled, “Ye need to be careful until ye are trained to handle it.”
Sam and Jek pulled their swords and Sam was speechless at the beauty of the brilliantly gleaming blade. He stared at it and then raised it with Jek and added it to the crossed swords of their brothers and sisters. The assembled warriors from the community surrounded the small group and raised their swords into the sky in tribute. Leonidas screamed at the top of his voice, “HOOO-RAHHH”
The entire gathering echoed his scream and it echoed from the tall trees in the forest. Then the large gathering, that was growing by the moment, began repeating it over and over as hundreds of warriors ran from the community to add their blades in salute.
The screams echoed even louder through the forests around them and Sam lowered his sword as his fatigue began hitting him. Gregor was right. His sword felt like it was a piece of his arm and…something more. He looked at the gleaming blade and saw the word MacAfee etched into the blade around the top of a Bellingham Tree. Directly above the ‘A’ in the cen
ter was a halo. He looked at Angel and she smiled, “The new clan mark was made with the halo, which comes from Heaven. We have the tree on our swords and ye will have the halo of ye former home on ye swords. It is the soul of ye people and the spirit of mine that brings us together. We will always honor Heaven and the gift of the people it sent to us.”
Sam suddenly found strength in his arm and raised his sword again into the bright morning sky. He screamed with the others and felt his pain at Heaven’s destruction disappear into the heavens above the Forest World Bellingham.
#ctr THE END
Copyright © 2016 by Saxon Andrew. All rights reserved. Screen Writers Guild no. VQEA3E380432.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.
First Electronic Edition: October 2016