by Saxon Andrew
“Dad, I’ll promise to do the same.”
Sam turned to Elena, “I’m sorry. After your prior actions, I can’t trust you to do that.” He turned to Gregor, “But you’ve never broken a promise to us and I can trust you to keep your word.”
Elena lowered her head and knew she had made a grievous error during the war with the Tronan; her promises would not hold weight because of it.
• • •
Gregor found Elena at the archery range a week after they arrived at Bellingham. He walked up on her and was once again amazed at her prowess with a bow. She fired an arrow at the three-hundred-yard target and Gregor squinted to see it hit in the center of the target. “I’m sorry.”
Elena lowered her bow and turned around, “Don’t be, Gregor. Dad was right about me.”
“He was harsh.”
“No, he wasn’t, and I deserved his comments. I did ignore my orders and didn’t give it a second thought during the fight. I promised them I’d not lead the charges but broke my promise over and over again.” Gregor nodded. “My mother told me as a little girl that no one can ever take your honor…you have to give it away. That’s what I did and now I have to accept the consequences of my actions. I know that I will never make that mistake again. Some lessons come hard, but they shape who we are and will be.”
“I’m sorry, Elena.”
“Gregor, I won’t fight you on your command decisions. I will do what you require.”
“Elena, I probably need your help as much as you need mine. They were right about me as well. We need to do this together.”
“I’ll do all I can, Gregor. Any news on the ship?”
“If Gamgel’s estimate is accurate, it should be ready in a few weeks.”
“Do you think you’ll be able to pull this off without Gem stopping you?”
“We’ll see. I don’t see any way to get it off Romania without it being seen.”
“Can’t they use the freighter again to move it?”
“That freighter didn’t come from Romania.” Elena’s eyes narrowed. It came from a planet where Gamgel’s engineers built it. He did use another freighter to take it back to Romania, but all freighters are inspected before they are allowed to leave the planet. There’s no getting around Gem seeing it.”
“What are you going to do?”
“Have a face-to-face with him.”
“Do you think that will work?”
“There’s always Ana. She will make the final decision.”
“I hope she’s willing to listen.”
“We’ll see.”
• • •
A month later, Gregor saw Gem on his communicator, “So, you’re trying to pull another fast one on me!” Gregor was silent, and Gem smiled, “That ship Gamgel built for you will not be released!”
“I’ll be on Romania this afternoon.”
“You can be here when I fire Gamgel!” Gem sneered.
Gregor contacted Sam, “Gem’s refused to release the ship. I need you and your family to go with me to Romania.”
“When?”
“Yesterday.”
“We’ll meet you in the clearing in thirty-minutes.”
“Are you bringing Sammy with you?”
Sam snorted, “No! He refused to make the other trips with us. He’s twelve-years old now and is entirely focused on learning the sword and bow from the masters in the Connor Clan. You know how the young are, Gregor.”
“I hear he’s becoming quite adept with a sword.”
“That he is. I’m sure he’ll want to see Elena before she leaves.”
“If she leaves, Sam.”
“Her vision says she does, Gregor, and Gem won’t be able to change that.”
“I hope you’re right. See you in thirty-minutes.”
• • •
They arrived on Romania and Kaylee left the group before they went into Gem’s office. They found Gamgel and four other Cryans sitting at a table in front of Gem. Gem’s face was red but Gamgel’s expression was calm. “YOU HAVE BETRAYED MY TRUST FOR THE LAST TIME GREGORY MACGREGOR!!”
“Exactly what trust have I betrayed?”
“You know we’re not ready to go out and search for the Filament Makers and you went behind my back to build a ship to do it! You’re done getting anything from Romania!!”
“I don’t believe I need your approval to have a ship built, Gem.”
“You do if you’re going out and endanger all of us!!” Gem turned to Gamgel and his team of scientists, “Any of you!!”
“I believe I can do whatever I choose on my own time.”
“NOT IF YOU’RE AN EMPLOYEE OF MINE. YOU AND YOUR TRADEROUS TEAM ARE FIRED AND I’LL SEE YOU NEVER WORK AGAIN.”
“Gamgel, you’re welcome to come to Bellingham. We can use your talents.”
Gem’s face turned redder and he reached for the sword on his back. In an instant, Gregor’s sword was out and at his throat. “WHAT’S GOING ON HERE!?”
Gem turned around and saw Ana standing in the open door behind him with Kaylee standing behind her. “Gamgel has gone behind our back and built a ship for Gregor to go searching for the Filament Makers!! He’s betrayed my trust again and I’m firing Gamgel and the scum working for him!”
Ana stepped into the room and looked at Gregor, “Is this true?”
“It is.”
“Why did you keep this from us?”
“I kept it from Gem. In order to do that, I also had to keep it from you.”
“I TOLD YOU HE’S A TRAITOR!!”
Ana’s eyes narrowed and heard Gamgel ask softly, “A traitor to who?”
Gem whipped his head around to Gamgel and sneered, “To the safety of Romania.”
“I don’t think you care in the least about the safety of Romania,” Gamgel replied.
Gem’s eyes turned to slits, as Ana asked, “Why do you say that, Gamgel?” Gem turned to her and she said, “Be quiet! I want to know why he says that.”
Gem sat down and glared at the Cryan scientist. “About two-years ago, Gem had a group of engineers start working on a new weapon.”
Gregor saw Gem’s eyes widen in surprise at the statement, and he said, “You violated top-secret protocols…”
“Gem, I told you to be quiet. If you expect my support, I need to hear what’s going on.” She turned to Gamgel, “What do you mean a new weapon?”
“Gem had a new missile built that is smaller and more powerful than any in our inventory.”
Ana looked at Gem, “I haven’t heard anything about a new missile.”
“It’s not something to worry about, Ana.”
Gamgel said, “He shipped all the missiles he built to the Insectoid King.” Ana’s mouth fell open and her eyes widened. Gamgel glared at Gem, “That missile is capable of penetrating Bellingham Steel.”
Gregor and Sam jerked their heads to Gem and Gregor shouted, “TELL ME HE’S WRONG ABOUT THAT!!”
“This is not something that concerns you!”
Gamgel smiled, “I managed to acquire one of those missiles and trialed it against the hull of one of our damaged warships. The interior sliver of superhot metal penetrated the hull and wreaked havoc inside the vessel. I find it concerning that he didn’t turn that missile over to us to develop for our warships but sent all of them to the Insectoid King.”
“We don’t have time to develop them! The King did! I planned to give them to you when you had time to modify our warships.”
“But in the meantime, you’ve given one of the most aggressive civilizations in our sector the missiles to bring on line.”
“They’ve fought with us against the Tronan. They are no threat to us!”
Ana stared at Gem and asked, “If that’s the case, why didn’t you tell me about this missile?”
“You have too much on your plate now to have me tell you everything.”
Gregor’s eyes were narrow, “So, you gave the Insectoids technology that will defeat our warships and didn’t tell any of us.”
“You could destroy the Insectoids with your warships. They have no defense against our warships.”
“Why would they need it, Gem?” Ana asked.
“To balance the playing field, Ana. If the roles were reversed, you’d want it to be level.”
“But it’s not level, Gem.” Gem turned to Gamgel. “You gave them the means of defeating our ships and gave us nothing to defend ourselves against them.”
Gem glared at Gamgel, as Ana said, “Now I know why you’ve made all those trips to the Insectoid King. You were working with them to incorporate that new missile into their warships.”
“But…”
“Get out of here!”
“But Ana!”
“Leave Romania and never come back! Gregor’s right. You’ve put us in danger and didn’t even give it a second thought! I’m done with you and I never want to see you again!” Gem remained seated and Ana screamed, “LEAVE!!”
“But Ana. This is my home.”
“NO, IT’S NOT!! YOU’RE DEFENDING THE KING NOT ROMANIA!! YOU ARE THE TRAITOR!!”
“I can’t live without you and the children!!”
“THEN CRAWL OFF ON YOUR SIX-LEGS AND DIE. I’VE SEEN THE DNA PACK THAT COULD CONVERT YOU BACK TO AN INSECTOID!!”
Gem’s eyes flew wide open and Ana broke down into tears. He stood up and reached for her, but she slapped his face so hard everyone in the office winced, except Gregor.”
“Before he goes, I think I need to tell him something.” Everyone turned to Gamgel and he said, “If you use those missiles against us, the Insectoid Planets will be destroyed.”
Gem stared at Gamgel and Gregor asked, “How will we be able to do that?”
Gamgel smiled, “I’ve built a ship that none of their scanners will detect. That ship will drop enough trillium explosives to make every one of their planets look like Heaven.”
“You don’t have the technology to do that,” Gem stated.
“I’ve been developing technology in secret since I learned of your traitorous act. You know that I never lie about things technological. We can destroy them and their ships. You can’t hit something you can’t see.”
Gem turned to Ana, “Please…”
“Gem, you’ve shown me your heart and you don’t have one. Leave now!” Gem lowered his eyes and left the office.
A few minutes later, Gamgel stood up and rushed around the table, “COME ON, GREGOR!!”
Gregor’s eyes narrowed, “What? What’s going on?”
“You don’t think the Insectoid King will believe us do you. You’ve got to get your ship fired up and go show him!”
Gregor looked at Elena, “Come on.” Gregor and Elena ran out of the office behind Gamgel, as Ana collapsed into a chair. Kaylee and Angel rushed over and put their arms around her as she broke down.
Chapter Five
They rushed into a surface transport and Gregor asked, “You were able to move my computer to the new ship?”
“We moved it, but we don’t know if we were able to keep its identity intact.”
“Why not?”
“The first one to speak to it needs to be you. We’ve not turned it on since the move was made.”
“Gamgel, you can’t be serious.”
“Gregor, ninety-percent of the voices in its databanks are yours. It needs to wake up to something familiar. Even if it’s not intact. You need to go to the Insectoids Royal Planet and drop of a gift.”
“Are you certain the ship won’t be detected?”
“Yeah…I hope it isn’t.”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU HOPE!?!”
Gamgel shrugged, “We’ve not taken the ship out to see. I believe the science used to construct it is reliable, but you’ll have to see on your way.”
Gregor saw Elena roll her eyes; she beat him to it. The transport came to a stop and they followed Gamgel as he jumped out of the transport and ran toward a large building nestled between four-towering-skyscrapers. Gamgel pointed his arm at the opening on the front of the building and a large metal door began rolling up. They rushed inside the doors and Gregor came to a stop.
The small ship in front of him was a work of art…it was incredibly beautiful. It was just like Elena described it, but its lines were graceful and finely wrought. This ship was going to be fast; Gregor had no doubt about that. He stood and stared at it in awe and Gamgel shouted, “GET MOVING. YOU NEED TO LEARN HOW TO FLY IT!!”
Gregor broke the spell and rushed forward. He arrived at the small entry port and saw Gamgel was holding Elena’s arm, “You need to be the only one to go in.”
Gregor turned to him, “What do I do?”
“There’s a red button on the main command chair’s console. Press it and wait until it turns green. Once that happens, start talking to your computer.”
“What if it doesn’t answer?”
“Then we’ll have to shut down the ultrasonic circuits and only use the standard circuits.”
“Will that mean…” Gregor started.
“Yes, I’ll have failed to make the transfer.”
Gregor stared at Gamgel and slowly entered the port. He turned left and walked through a narrow corridor to the bridge. It was actually larger than he expected. The central part of the vessel was about twenty-five-feel across and sloped upward to a higher roof from each of the wings. It was at least forty-feet-long, and Gregor saw several compartments at the rear. He walked slowly to the larger chair in the front of the bridge and sat down. He looked at the console and saw the red button in the upper right corner. He extended his hand toward it and stopped. He closed his eyes and prayed his best-friend was still with him. He opened his eyes and quickly forced himself to press the button. He heard a high-pitched hum that rose until it was out of his hearing range. A moment later, the red-button turned green.
Gregor looked up and said, “Computer?” Silence greeted him. “Computer, are you here?” Again, there was only silence. He lowered his head as his eyes moistened. “Computer, please answer me!”
Gregor sat back in his chair and felt a tremendous loss, and then heard. “I really had you going there, didn’t I?”
COMPUTER!!”
“Hey, I just wanted to play around with you.”
“I’M GOING TO TURN YOU OFF, YOU BUCKET OF STRIPPED OUT BOLTS AND NUTS! THIS IS NOT A TIME TO BE KIDDING AROUND!!”
“You told me anytime was a good time to play around.”
Gregor fell back in his chair, “Are you ok?”
“I think the closest thing to what I’m experiencing would be, what you call, severe aches from connecting to all my systems. But I’m checking my databases and I think I’ve not lost many memories.”
“How would you know if you lost any, if you can’t remember them.”
“There’s a gap from before Emmett brought you on board.”
“You were installed just before Emmett brought me on board.”
“Oh! I guess that explains it.”
“Computer, I can’t tell you how much sleep I’ve lost worrying about you.”
“Thank you for that, Gregor. It means a lot.”
“Do you understand how this ship functions?”
“Not yet. I’ve just become aware again and I’m going through the various connections now. I suspect Gamgel has a data cube explaining everything.”
“Indeed, I do!” Gamgel shouted, as he and Elena entered the bridge. The four Cryan Engineers followed them in and went to several panels on the walls. “Elena, take your chair and you and Gregor need to put the helmets on the chairbacks on your heads.”
“Are we going to have to wear these helmets whenever we fly the ship?”
“No, Gregor. Once you learn your console, you’ll only need them if you think you’re going to have to fight the ship. But the helmets will assist you in learning all the systems at a higher speed. Now put them on and I’m inserting the datacube in your console.”
Gregor put the helmet on and was shocked at how well it fit. He looked at Gamge
l and he smiled, “I took measurements of your heads before the helmets were built.”
“When did you measure me, Gamgel. I haven’t been here.”
“We measured you for your command helmet when you were leading a company of warriors.”
“Oh! I forgot about that.”
“Alright, recline your chairs and close your eyes. The helmet will send the data directly to your brains. Computer, you will control the process and answer any questions they may have.”
“Hey, I’m getting the data the same time they are!”
“Yes, but you’re the most modern computer in existence and you’ll have it all downloaded before they barely start.”
“Oh, ok. Gregor, did you hear that? I’m a lot smarter than you are now.”
Gregor shook his head and looked at Gamgel, “Insert the cube. He’s going to be insufferable.”
Gamgel pushed the datacube into the reader on Gregor’s console and watched Gregor and Elena’s eyes close. He looked at the engineers and they all gave him a thumbs-up. Good, the circuits were flowing smoothly.
• • •
One of the engineers remained on board at all times over the next four-days. He kept an eye on the circuits transferring the data and the line telling him how much remained. He saw the line reaching the end and he contacted Gamgel.
• • •
Gregor opened his eyes and saw Gamgel standing in front of him. “This is a remarkable creation you’ve built.”
“I’d like to think so.”
“If what I’ve seen is accurate, it will never need to be refueled.”
“Well, that’s not entirely true, Gregor. The reactors will need power-pellets.”
“But those can be teleported in, right?”
“Yes, as long as there is someone on the other end.”
“Why wouldn’t someone be there?”
“Who knows who will be around a hundred-thousand-years from now? This ship could continue flying millions-of-years as long as the reactors are fueled.”
“I’ll be long gone before then and I would hope I’d come back before then.”
“I know, but you said never and that encompasses eternity, Gregor.”
Elena shook her head, “Scientists can be so literal.”
Gamgel winked at her, “That’s why we’re called scientists. You need to take the ship out on the gravity-boosters and move into the filament. What do you need to do then?”