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

by Saxon Andrew

“I will require two-promises from you. The first is that you will not go and attack the primitive civilization on the planet where you landed the shuttles.”

  “Why would we do that?”

  “Why would you kill peaceful beings like the Filament Makers?” Gregor retorted.

  “They were an advanced civilization and represented a danger to us. That primitive civilization poses no threat to the Empire and have nothing on their planet we would consider valuable.”

  Gregor looked at Jek and he nodded. “Second, you will remain here until I can transport a box to send you back to your territory, and during that time, you will be restricted to your village.”

  “I’d prefer to be taken back in a ship.”

  • • •

  Gregor shook his finger, “Mackle, Mackle, warriors are usually trained for a specific talent. I have no doubt that your unit was trained to forcefully take a warship and escape with it. I will not allow you or your unit on a starship. You’ll be teleported back, or we’ll go ahead and kill you now. Personally, I’d prefer you reject my offer.”

  “Aren’t you concerned about what we’ve learned here?”

  “There’s nothing here to learn. You learned a lot when I brought you on board my ship, but nothing you learned really poses a danger.”

  “I know your ships are basically invisible.”

  “Your leaders know it as well.”

  “Just how do you know that?” Mackle asked with a frown.

  “That medallion you’ve been wearing is a filament communicator and your leaders knew about my ship before we ever left that planet. That’s part of the reason they ordered you to go.” Gregor waved his arm around, “You’ve not seen a warship here or any other advanced technology. The damage was done before you left to come here.”

  “How long will we have to wait?”

  “Not long. I don’t want you here, and getting you off my planet is something I’ll make happen as quickly as possible.” Gregor smiled, “I know you’re thinking that by knowing how long it takes us to get to your territory, you’ll be able to estimate how far this place is from your space. I encourage you to think that way.”

  Mackle stared at Gregor and turned to his warriors, “I am going to promise that we will remain in our residences and cause no issues. In return, they promise they will return us to our territory. We can do no more here than we’ve done and I’m ordering you to follow my order to do nothing that would jeopardize our return to report to the Empire.” Mackle turned around, “They will follow my orders.”

  “Then make your promise!”

  Mackle’s face contorted and he said loudly, “I promise all of us will remain in the area of our residences and do nothing to harm anyone here.”

  “You should go there now. You may collect your blasters on the way back.”

  The offer surprised mackle, “You trust us with blasters?”

  “No, but they would do you no good. My warriors will kill anyone outside of your assigned area, day, or night, and you’ll never see it coming. Many have come here with advanced weapons and died here. I’m hoping just one of you decides to make the effort and all of you will die because of it.”

  Mackle stared at Gregor and turned to the warriors, “You will take all of our blasters and leave them outside our assigned territory. Any one failing to follow my order, I will kill myself!”

  Gregor nodded toward the visitor’s village, “You may go now.”

  “What if I want to communicate with…”

  “YOU HAVE NOTHNG TO SAY WE WANT TO HEAR!” Gregor said loudly. Mackle looked at the Medallion and Gregor shook his head, “I’ll keep this. I don’t want you receiving orders from a higher-ranking leader ordering you to do something stupid.”

  “That’s probably a good decision,” Mackle replied, then stood up, turned, and led his warriors away from the clearing.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Gamgel.”

  “Hey, Gregor, we’re working hard on the two-warships and I’ll need to bring them to Bellingham to be dipped in a week. Would that be a good time to interview Mackle?”

  Gregor sighed, “That’s why I’m calling you now. There are no Filament Makers.”

  Gamgel’s eyes narrowed and his face turned darker, “What do you mean?”

  “The ones we brought back are Greng Special Forces. They’ve been impersonating Filament Makers; it appears the Greng killed the Filament Makers. Before they killed all of them, they tortured them and gathered enough intelligence on them to make the masquerade work. The reason Mackle refused to talk with you was he knew you would uncover the subterfuge.”

  “How did you uncover this subterfuge?”

  “By accident, Gamgel. Angel told me they were carrying hand blasters and that led to me seeing things I missed. I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be, Gregor.”

  “It appears the Greng are an aggressive civilization and we need to go and determine if they are a real threat to the Alliance.”

  “I assume they refused to tell you anything important.”

  “They did, Gamgel, but Jek was present and learned a lot about them from listening to their thoughts. He heard Mackle think that it was important that we not learn of the hundred-thousand-warships they have scouting the fringes of their territory.”

  “That means they have more than that.”

  “I know, Gamgel. But that’s not very many compared to what we had to face in the Tronan War. Of course, if their ships are more advanced than the Tronan warships, all bets are off.”

  “You don’t think the Bellingham coatings will make our ships invulnerable against them?”

  “I don’t know. They aren’t dependent on the Filaments and can attack from outside them in high numbers. Even Bellingham metal can be damaged if enough heat is applied to it.” Gregor paused, “We also don’t know how strong their force fields are.”

  “Is that why you want force fields on the two-new-warships?”

  “That’s part of it. They could help in reducing the heat of multiple blaster beams…I just think we’d be better off to have them and not need them, than the opposite. Gamgel, would it be possible to put force fields on the Scouts?”

  “That would be extremely difficult. There’s no cutting through the hulls to put the emitters on them. I have a team working on it but they’re complaining at the difficulty of the task.”

  “Keep working on it.”

  “Gregor, what are you not telling me?” Gregor stared at Gamgel and remained silent. “I know there’s something else going on in your insistence to add a force field to the new ships.”

  “Gamgel, I can’t tell you.”

  “You’re afraid I’ll tell Gem and Ana about what’s going on.” Gamgel asked. Gregor was silent. “You’ve discovered something about the force field.”

  “Gamgel, I won’t lie to you and I honestly can’t tell you.”

  “Are you going to start building warships on Bellingham?”

  “Why would you ask that!?”

  “Because you must feel like a hostage having to depend on Romania to build your ships.”

  “I’m considering asking the Clans to allow the construction of warships to begin on the southern continent.”

  “And you’ll be recruiting scientists and engineers from Romania to start the project?”

  “Gamgel, how did you come to this conclusion?”

  “You worry about me protecting your secrets?” Gregor nodded. “I will be one of the first scientists to request a transfer to Bellingham.”

  Gregor stared at Gamgel and finally asked, “Why?”

  “Gregor, I’m a survivor from the destruction of heaven. Romania is driven by commercial pressures and doesn’t really concern itself with the long-term safety of the free-civilizations. This last episode with Gem showed me that I had to work in secret to prevent danger to the Alliance. My attention is devoted to making sure that no planet here dies like Heaven did. The only one I’ve seen focused on that is you. My lot
is to be on Bellingham.”

  “Do you think they’ll allow you to go?”

  “I’ll announce my retirement with the completion of these new warships. I’ll tell Ana that I intend to settle on Bellingham to lead a peaceful life.” Gamgel paused, “Since I’ll already be on Bellingham to deliver the ships, I’ll just stay there.”

  “The force fields can have their frequency changed to make them a stardrive that is not dependent on the filaments.”

  Gamgel stared at Gregor and finally managed to say, “Are you serious?”

  “I am, we’ve already used it to come back. We arrived her more than four-months earlier but hid out on Fellowship with Leonidas. When the force field stardrive is used inside a filament, the speed increases to an astronomical level.”

  “That makes your new ships detectable.”

  “I realize that, Gamgel. But we have to have it to confront the Greng; they have it.”

  “I’m glad you told me, Gregor. It will make a difference in the construction of the new ships.”

  “What will you change?”

  “I’ll need the force field to be linked in to the filament maps. I’ll also have to have it capable of switching between normal force field functions and this new stardrive. Do you have the frequency needed to convert the force field to a stardrive?”

  “Gamgel, this new stardrive places Bellingham in jeopardy!”

  “I realize that, Gregor. I won’t allow any one working on the new ships to know why the frequency converter is being installed. I can install the frequency when I bring them to Bellingham.”

  “Gamgel, I’m serious about this being a real danger to us.”

  “You don’t have to explain, Gregor; I can see it. I’d not want this technology being used on a wide scale. What do you intend to do about it?”

  “I’m removing Bellingham’s filament and the Cartians are erasing Bellingham’s location from every filament map.”

  Gamgel thought about Gregor’s statement and, after two-minutes, looked up, “That should do it.”

  Gregor smiled, “I’m honored by your wanting to become a resident of my home. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  “I will. There will be a short delay from my original date for completion, but I think the changes will be worth the wait.”

  “Thanks, Gamgel.”

  “I’ll also be bringing an update for your current vessel. I assume you’re going to use it.”

  “I also need a receiving box that we can take with us.”

  “By that, I assume you haven’t killed the Greng?”

  “No, we’re not accustomed to killing prisoners. However, if they mess up just once, I’ll not need that box.”

  “I hope they do mess up, Gregor; they deserve to die.”

  Gregor’s eyes widened, as he smiled, “So, do I.”

  • • •

  Mackle sat at the edge of the village staring across the huge clearing toward the Bellingham community. “Why have you forbidden us to attack them?”

  Mackle glanced at his second-in-command and shrugged, “You did see how fast Branit died when he attempted to kill me?” The second nodded. “I suspect we are surrounded by these beings and we’d die faster than you can imagine. I need to get back and warn the council about this civilization. They’re a clear danger to us.”

  “But they only have primitive weapons!”

  Mackle snorted, “Do you honestly think this is the only planet in this civilization? That scientist left to work on new ships they’re building. I know the ship they came to rescue us in was more advanced than any I’ve ever seen. We don’t know enough about them and the Empire must find them and eliminate them.”

  “Do you think we can?”

  Mackle raised a shoulder, “I have no idea and that’s why I must get back to make a report. I suspect I’ll be executed for not throwing our lives away, but the Empire must be warned.”

  “They can’t get to the Empire without the energy paths in under space,” The Second suggested. “We’ve removed all of those that once passed through our territory.”

  “I do really hope you’re right about that.” The second flinched at the remark. “I know they saw one of our warships and it was using the stardrive. Science has a way of finding things when you least expect it.”

  “They don’t know our strength.”

  Mackle snorted, “When Gregor said he wasn’t going to ask about the numbers of warships we have, did you think about how many we possess?” The Second stared at him in silence. “I couldn’t help myself and there was a telepathic being standing behind Gregor. I think they know a lot more about us than we think…and the longer we stay here, the more they’ll learn.”

  “Then we should attack and die to prevent it!”

  “And leave the Empire totally in the dark about the danger this civilization represents? I’ve thought about it and I believe getting the information back is more important than throwing our lives away. Besides, our warriors really don’t know the scale of our forces. They won’t give away much.”

  “But we do?”

  “I know. That’s why I have to do this.” Mackle pulled his blaster out and shot the Second in the head. The Second’s body fell over and Mackle motioned two-warriors over, “Please carry his body over to the edge of the forest and bury it.”

  “Why did you…”

  “He was giving information to our enemies.”

  The warrior nodded and carried out his orders. Mackle forced himself to not think about the forces in the empire. It was a constant struggle, but his mind was one of the ruling caste and was easier to control. He looked out across the clearing and wondered what they were planning. This Gregor was dangerous. Hell, they were all dangerous.

  • • •

  “Gregor!”

  Gregor looked at his wrist unit, “What’s wrong Kaylee?”

  “Ana and Gem are on the filament communicator, there’s been an event that requires our attention.”

  “What?”

  “An Insectoid Commander attacked a city on Jester.”

  “I’ll be right there!!” Gregor sprinted from the clearing to his house and saw Ana on the monitor, “WHAT’S GOING ON, ANA?!”

  “A rogue Insectoid Warship Commander attacked a community on Jester. He’s been captured by the King’s forces before he could attack another settlement.”

  “Jester is part of the Alliance, Ana!”

  Ana sighed, “I know, I know. He attacked the community to cause war to break out between us and the Insectoids, thus preventing the Gramget from being approved; the ship was captured by an Insectoid Fleet before it could do any more damage. The King has scheduled the execution of the rogue commander and his crew in a week. He has requested that the Alliance Leaders be present to witness it.”

  “Do you trust he’s not getting us there to kill us?”

  Gem appeared on the monitor, “Gregor, as long as we can destroy the Kingdom, he’ll never do that. I suspect Gold wants us there to either accept or reject the Gramget. He told me having it approved before he kills that commander will make his execution complete and send a message to all of his subjects.”

  “Gem, will that Gramget really prevent the Insectoids from ever attacking us?”

  “I know you doubt me, Gregor, but, yes, it will.”

  “Gem, you are one of my closest friends and I’m done suspecting you of not being honest. If you sincerely believe it will bring the Alliance and Kingdom together, I’ll approve it.”

  “Thank you, Gregor. You should go with Ana and I to the execution.”

  “You do know that Elena will be there in my ship?”

  “I wouldn’t want it any other way, Gregor. Trust is earned and taking precautions until the Gramget is approved is the smart thing to do.”

  “Gregor, I will be going with you.”

  “No, you won’t Kaylee!” Kaylee’s anger was instant, but, before she could speak, Gregor grabbed her, pulled her into his arms, and said, “You
will be with Elena on my ship. If they betray us, you and Elena will go and destroy every planet in the Kingdom! I can’t trust anyone else to make that happen.”

  Gem was staring at them on the monitor, as Kaylee looked at him from Gregor’s arms, “If they harm my husband, I’ll burn them all!!”

  Gem nodded, “I’d join you in the effort, if I could. But Ana and I will be with Gregor and I want you to adopt my children and raise them on Bellingham if something happens to us, will you do that?”

  Kaylee’s anger disappeared, and she shook her head, “Why are you taking this risk?!”

  Ana answered, “To bring peace, Kaylee. It’s worth doing it.”

  Gregor looked at Gem, “We’ll be honored to welcome your family to Bellingham. Ana is her Clan Leader and your children are already citizens of Bellingham. They will be welcomed and treated with the honor they deserve. We’ll be on Romania in four-days.”

  “Thank you, Gregor,” Ana said softly.

  • • •

  The giant clearing between the mountains was filled with millions of Insectoids gathered to witness the execution of the rogue crew. The forty-six-leaders of the planets in the Alliance were brought down to the clearing in a shuttle and joined the King and Royal Families of the Insectoid Kingdom. The Alliance leaders walked up steps to the raised stands overlooking the clearing and took their place to the side of the throne in the center. Gregor sat on the front row with Ana and Gem and stared down at the accused below. There were fifty-insectoids bound to metal poles directly behind a pole slightly in front of them. Behind the fifty-one poles were Insectoids on the sand with their heads lowered.

  Gregor turned to Gem, “Who are the ones behind the poles?”

  “They are the families of the ones that betrayed the Kingdom.”

  “Why are they here?”

  Gem looked at Gregor and Ana answered, “They will be executed with them.”

  “What?”

  Gem nodded, “If anyone betrays the Kingdom, they and their immediate family are executed with them.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s the law, Gregor.”

  Suddenly, a loud tone rang out that echoed off the hills surrounding the clearing. The King walked out to the large stands and took his seat at the throne. Everyone stood, and the King said as he sat down, “Please be seated.” Everyone sat down, and the King stared out at the huge multitude, “We are here to punish those who betrayed the Kingdom. We will vote on the Gramget prior to their execution, to show them that their actions were fruitless. Gold looked to his right toward the Insectoid Royal Families, “Do you agree to implementing the Gramget promising to never attack or harm any planet, or beings, in the Alliance and accept them as members of the Kingdom?” Every Royal present raised their left leg into the air. Gold turned to his left, “And do you, the Leaders of the Alliance, accept the Gramget and agree to never attack or harm any planet, or beings, in the Kingdom?”