Gregor's Search-The Filament Makers: Stories from the Filaments

by Saxon Andrew

  The computer hesitated before answering, “I can’t answer that, Gregor. They appear to be focusing on removing all the filaments inside their home territory, at the moment.”

  Leo leaned back in his recliner, “If I were in their place, I’d clear the galaxy of filaments before I went after the major filaments connecting it to other galaxies.”

  “I suppose,” Gregor replied.

  “So, what are you going to do?”

  “I’m going back and take a close look at their weapons and defenses.”

  “Do you think they will be an issue any time in the near, or far, future?”

  “I honestly don’t know, Leo. It’s that uncertainty that makes me worry. I have asked Gamgel to build two-warships to take back to investigate.”

  “Why two?”

  “Because you insisted that I take you with me next time.”

  “HEY! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?” Gregor and Leo turned and saw Desiree and Elena standing behind them. “If you think I’m sending Leo on a seven or eight-month voyage, you’ve got another thing coming!”

  “Actually, it only takes a little over six-weeks with the new stardrive.”

  Desiree glared at Leonidas and saw his expression. She rolled her eyes and shook her head, “You just can’t stand it, can you?”

  “Honey…”

  “Don’t honey me, Leonidas Alexander Piper!! You’ve been miserable since Gem was born and not much better before.”

  Leo’s eyes narrowed, and Desiree went over and sat down on his lap. She looked into his eyes and sighed, “I know you’re a warrior and you’ve been missing the fight.” Leo opened his mouth and Desiree put her hand over it, “I knew that you’d be going out one day to be what you are…but I didn’t think it would be this soon.”

  “Actually, we need you more than Leonidas,” Elena interrupted.

  Leo and Desiree jerked their heads around to her and Desiree replied, “Do tell.”

  “We need your tactical experience, Desiree. We need to know how to approach the Greng warships and attack without being hit. You’re the best tactician in the Alliance.”

  “There’s no way I’m going to leave Gem and I am damned sure I’ll not be taking her into a space battle.”

  Elena sat down on the couch and sighed, “One can hope.”

  “Not about that! But Leonidas is pretty good.”

  “Are you saying I should go, Dessie?”

  “I hate it…but if you don’t do something you’re going to run both of us crazy; I can make it for three-months. Just don’t do anything stupid and let those warrior hormones get you into trouble. Besides, there is another that is about as good as I am in developing tactics.”

  “Who is that?” Gregor asked.

  Leonidas smiled, “Embree.”

  Gregor rolled his eyes, “I absolutely forgot about him! What’s he doing now.”

  Leo chuckled, “Just like us; he and Shelly are having a family.”

  “He’s also as miserable as you are,” Desiree added.

  “Don’t forget my father; he’s the most experienced Admiral in the Alliance,” Elena added with a smile. Gregor turned to her and Elena saw his expression, “What?”

  “Angel will never agree to both of you going, Elena, and you know it.”

  “But…”

  “She won’t risk losing both of you and I’d feel the same way!” Desiree interrupted.

  Elena stared at them and softly said, “Didn’t you say one ship would be recording what happens and not take part in the fighting, Gregor.”

  “Yes, but you never know what might happen.”

  “As long as we’re on separate ships, it shouldn’t be an issue.”

  “I believe she should go.”

  Everyone turned to the cloud in the corner of the room, “Why do you say that, Toren?”

  “She’s been there and knows the space we’re going to. Both of you should go on the next trip out.”

  “If that’s the case, you and I cannot be on the same ship.”

  “I know that, Gregor,” Elena agreed.

  Gregor was silent for a moment and then said, “Angel and Kaylee are coming here, and we’ll discuss it with them.”

  Leo smiled at Desiree, “What are you going to do while I’m gone, love?”

  “I’ll be packing things up, selling this house, and moving to Bellingham.”

  “WHAT?” Leonidas said loudly.

  “Leo, I thought coming back to Fellowship was a good idea, but having a baby makes peace and quiet extremely enticing. The new pirates here are uncontrollable and everyone that originally enforced the rules are too focused on getting more credits than they can ever spend. John Blakely takes his family with him and is gone most of the time. I’ve been discussing this with Shelly and Kaylee, and they agree it’s time to move.”

  Gregor stared at Desiree and asked, “Can you get Embree and Shelly to come and meet with us?”

  “I’ll call Shelly in a few minutes. I’m sure they’ll come,” Desiree answered.

  Gregor turned to Leonidas, “I need you to contact Gamgel on Romania and ask him how many crewmembers will be needed to fly the two-warships he’s building. Tell him that I contacted you on the Filament Communicator and asked if you’d command one of them; that should allow you to find out as much as possible about what he’s constructing. Make sure none of us are in the room when you call.”

  “I’ll do that later tonight, Gregor. I’ll let you know what I find out.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The next morning, Leo brewed some coffee and poured Gregor a cup, “So, you intend to hide Bellingham?”

  “If I have to release this new stardrive to the Alliance, I’ll have no other choice.”

  “Tell me why?”

  “The only thing that keeps greedy civilizations from coming to Bellingham to steal our metal is the filament. We can remove it at any time and strand them in subspace. If the new stardrive becomes known, Bellingham could be attacked; the attacker wouldn’t need the filament.”

  Leo shrugged, “That makes sense. How are you going to pull that off?”

  “The Cartians will remove Bellingham from every filament map. Finding it will be next to impossible.”

  “You should do it even if you don’t release it.”

  “Why do you say that, Leo?”

  “Bellingham is not a technologically advanced planet. I know it has advanced warships, but not a lot of them. I don’t think any attacker would survive the attack; you’ve proven numerous times that attacking Bellingham is like stepping into a threshing machine. But the newest missiles could do immense damage to any planet and that includes Bellingham.”

  “Have you heard about this Gramget that Gem is proposing?”

  “I have.”

  “And?”

  “I think he sincerely believes that it will remove the Insectoids as a threat.”

  “Do you believe it?”

  “I don’t know enough about it to say, Gregor…but I know Gem believes it and I’ll go with his judgement.”

  “You trust him?”

  “With my life…and so should you.”

  Gregor sighed, “Why do I always have to be the suspicious one?”

  “It comes from being raised by the movement at an early age. It’s made you who you are.”

  Gregor stared into Leo’s eyes and then nodded. After taking a sip of coffee, he said, “I think it’s time Bellingham started building its own warships.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Leo, we’ve coated the warships used by the Alliance, but we’ve had to depend on Romania to build them. We’re not really independent and Bellingham is going to have to come of age technologically for that to happen.”

  “The Clans won’t accept it, Gregor.”

  Gregor smiled, “Do you know how much of Bellingham is settled by the clans?”

  “I have no idea?”

  “About ten-percent of the planet’s land masses. We can carve out area
s for advanced cities and never intrude on the Clan’s daily lives. We have an entire continent that’s not been settled, and we can use it to bring Bellingham into the modern age.”

  “Not without scientists and engineers.”

  “There’s currently a glut on the market on Romania of excellently trained scientists and engineers. We simply advertise that we need them and will provide them Bellingham citizenship.” Gregor smiled, “What do you think would happen?”

  “Bellingham does have a reputation. I suspect you’d have more than you need to answer the call.”

  “I’ll have to discuss this with the Clan Leaders and get a vote taken on it.”

  “Gregor, I suspect they will do what you want. Kaylee told Desiree that the Clans now look at you as a sacred gift to them.”

  “I hope it’s the right thing to do. I’m just torn on what direction Bellingham needs to take.”

  “Well, you need look no further than having to depend on Gamgel to build your new ships. You are dependent on Romania.” Gregor nodded and thought about what that meant.

  The next day, Kaylee and Angel arrived, and meetings and plans were put aside as they reunited with their loved ones. Desiree had another great meal prepared and Deuce and Gem became instant friends. There was laughter and reminiscing about old times and wars as the long-time friends rekindled old bonds. Embry and Shelly arrived in the afternoon and the volume grew even louder. Leonidas felt completely alive for the first time since the Tronan War ended. The group decided to make a shopping trip into Fellowship and Desiree insisted Gregor, Elena, and Kaylee color their hair brown and wear brown contacts to avoid being recognized as citizens of Bellingham. They reluctantly agreed and lifted in Leonidas’ shuttle to go into downtown Fellowship.

  They spent the afternoon visiting restaurants, shopping malls, and the day passed uneventfully…until…Elena was confronted by six-pirates, as she stared into the window outside a woman’s clothing store.

  • • •

  “Come on, Elena!”

  “I’ll catch up, Mom. Give me a minute!”

  The group walked up to the corner of the street and Kaylee looked back at Elena, “Gregor, something’s up.”

  Everyone turned around and saw six-men move in and surround Elena as she stared through the store’s front glass. Angel started to run to her, but Gregor stopped her. “Those men are surrounding her, Gregor! Let me go!” Angel insisted.

  Gregor held on to her arm, “Do you think six-men can do anything to Elena? Some lessons need to be learned the hard way, Angel. Besides, Leo and I can be there in a couple of seconds.” Everyone stared back at Elena and wondered if she knew what was happening.

  Elena saw the six-pirates moving to surround her in the reflection off the store front’s glass. She continued to stare in the window, until she heard, “Baby, you need to turn around.” Elena turned around and saw them gathered around her cutting off any escape route. She leaned back against the glass and stared at them. The pirate that spoke said, “Lads, lookee here at what we’ve found waiting for us to have some fun.”

  Elena looked at the pirate and asked, “Do you ever take a bath?”

  The older pirate’s smile went to a grimace, “You have a smart mouth. But you won’t much longer after we finish with you.”

  Elena looked at the six and saw their desire. “What do you mean by that.”

  “The lads and I are going to have some fun with you.”

  “What exactly do you mean by, ‘fun’?”

  “If you don’t know what fun is, then we’ll show you for your first time…and second…and third…you get the picture.”

  “Isn’t that against the laws here?”

  “No one will stop us. You can go peacefully with us and we might let you live.”

  Elena looked at the others and saw some discomfort in their expressions…but they weren’t going to challenge the older pirate. Elena smiled, “I was just going to teach you the error of your ways but you,” she nodded toward the leader, “You’re the one pushing this, and I am going to make sure you never do this again. I’ll just make the others see the error of their ways and they should recover in a few weeks.”

  The six-men stared at her, as the leader’s eyes turned to slits, “Take her!” The leader rushed in with four-other-pirates and they came to an instant stop as the leader’s head fell off his body, which hit the pavement like a bag of cement. Elena had her sword back in the scabbard under her dress in an eyeblink. She slammed the palm of her hand under the pirate’s chin standing to the right of the leader, lifting him off the ground and sending him flying ten-feet. She spun and slammed the side of her fist into the side of the pirate’s head on the other side of the leader, and he instantly collapsed, as she took a step and kicked the fourth-pirate between the legs, lifting him off the ground. She whipped around, drew her sword, and slammed the hilt into the fifth-pirate’s sternum. He grabbed his chest and stumbled back, before he fell moaning on top of the fourth-pirate.

  She said over her shoulder, “Do you want to have fun, too.”

  The sixth-pirate was leaning against the store front with the corner of his mouth raised, “Not with you.”

  Elena turned around and said with a girlish tone, “Oh, why not?”

  “Anytime someone as beautiful as you are, tells you she is going to kick your butt, you should listen. They got what they deserved.”

  “I believe they did,” Elena replied looking at the men scattered around her.

  “The sword is what gave you away.”

  “What’s that?” Elena asked.

  “I saw the hilt protruding above your collar. You don’t mess with anyone from Bellingham.”

  “Who says I’m from there?”

  “Your sword.”

  Elena smiled, “Good answer, good answer. I trust you’ll take care of them.”

  “Let them take care of themselves. I told them this was stupid, but Grant refused to listen. I guess he won’t need his ears anymore. Have a nice day.” The pirate turned and walked away.

  Elena heard sirens coming, and she sprinted to join the others. Angel hugged her, “Are you ok?”

  “MOM!”

  Angel sighed, “Warriors!”

  “We need to leave,” Leo announced, and the group turned the corner and headed back to the shuttle.

  • • •

  Leo walked away from his communicator and said, “I think I’ve cleared everything up with the Council. Evidently those men have been accused of attacking women before.”

  “Why weren’t they stopped!?” Elena asked forcefully.

  “No one was willing to testify. They were threatened, and, in the current climate, the victims were too frightened to report them. I think you’ve handled it.” Leo turned to Desiree, “I’m forced to agree that it’s time to leave.”

  “It’s a shame it took this to convince you,” Desiree responded.

  “I didn’t say no, when you suggested it. Fellowship is no longer what it once was, and it saddens me to see it.”

  Gregor looked around at the gathering before saying, “I hate to change the subject, but has everyone had an opportunity to look at the recordings?” Everyone nodded. “Gamgel told Leo that the new ships will also require two-crewmembers to operate them. One will be a scout to record what happens and the other will initiate an attack on a Greng warship.” Gregor saw Desiree look at Embree and he nodded. “What exactly did the two of you just communicate?”

  Desiree was silent and Embree replied, “Gregor, you have three-ships, not two.”

  “What?”

  “The ship you came here in should be the scout and the two-new-warships should be available to support each other if needed.”

  Gregor rolled his eyes, “I missed that. You’re right.” Gregor paused and shook his head slightly, “We only have five-possible crew members being considered to operate the ships. Who will be the sixth?”

  Angel quickly spoke up, “I will not have Sam and Elena put in danger, Gr
egor! I can’t do it!”

  Gregor slightly rolled his eyes again and Desiree smiled as she studied her fingernails, “You and Elena will stay in your current ship and record what happens. Embree and Leonidas will fly one of the new warships and Sam and Jek will fly the other.”

  The room was silent, until Gregor asked, “JEK?”

  Desiree rolled her eyes, “Gregor, you need a telepath to go with you to listen to the Greng’s thoughts, and Sam and Jek are perfect together. Besides, you and Elena are out of your comfort zones. Both of you are more at home fighting on a planet’s surface, not in a space battle. Neither of you have commanded a fleet and the others have.”

  Kaylee nodded, “She’s right Gregor.”

  “I know it, but I don’t have to like it! Besides, how do we know Jek will agree to do this.”

  Angel sighed, “If Sam asks him, he’ll do it. I’d be more comfortable with them in the new warships than Elena.”

  “MOM!”

  “Desiree is right, Elena. You don’t have the experience to do this.” Angel turned to Gregor, “You will stay out of the fighting, right?”

  “We have to get the information back. I won’t risk not making that happen.”

  Kaylee smiled, “Angel, you and I need to get back to Bellingham. We can discuss this with Sam then.”

  Angel nodded, “You’re right; they appear to be really nervous.”

  “What do you mean by that?” Gregor asked.

  “For a civilization that is so peaceful, I find it odd that they carry hand blasters in their village. I guess the animals have them frightened.”

  “Angel, no predator would come anywhere near the community!”

  “I know, Gregor, but they’re outsiders. I can understand them being nervous, the roars are still loud at night.”

  • • •

  That evening, everyone was gathered around a firepit in back of Leonidas’ house and he told everyone he had to have one like the community on Bellingham. Gregor laughed with them and slipped away to the shoreline while Kaylee was playing with the children. He activated his link and quietly said, “Computer.”

  “Yes, Gregor.”

  “Look through your recordings and see if the new stardrive was ever mentioned with Mackle present.”