Ashes of the Realm - Greyson's Revenge

by Andrew, Saxon

  “No, that is not going to happen.”

  “Well, one could hope.”

  Jessica reappeared and Greyson heard, “Jessica tells me that you’re interested in joining us?”

  “I am, Your Majesty, if you’ll have me.”

  “I will but only under several conditions.”

  “What are they?”

  “If you ever think you are being ordered to fire on a defenseless planet or ship you have the right to refuse. I insist that you must have agreement from your partner, when you choose one, and even then I grant you the right to delay until I can authorize that order. You must also agree to not attack any defenseless planet or ship based on your own judgment. You must have your partner’s agreement. Can you accept these conditions?”

  “I can and give you my sworn oath to protect you and your subjects against all enemies. If I had any doubts about this decision, you have just removed them.”

  “I also have a young man I would like for you to consider as a partner. He’s only eighteen but I think he will surprise you at what he can offer you.”

  “I will certainly consider him, Your Majesty.”

  “Greyson, the choice is entirely yours. Do not feel pressured to accept him. It is much more important to me that you have a partner whose opinion you can trust.”

  “Thank you, Your Majesty. What’s this person’s name?”

  “Timmy Valrico. His brother is going to marry the former Princess of New Ulmerton. Timmy is considered to be the smartest person in our empire and he is gaga over ships such as you. I will have him meet you and not tell him he is being considered.”

  “That would be wise.”

  BC said, “If Greyson doesn’t want him I’ll take him right now.”

  Greyson said, “Hey, let me meet him first.”

  Anglo, Jessica, and Scotty all laughed. Scotty said, “I think you’ll find a partner, BC. Just be patient.”

  “Did you see this coming?”

  “No, I didn’t Grace. I sense something is bothering you.”

  “It’s nothing.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, it’s not anything that I can do anything about. What do you think about what’s happened so far?”

  “I left a probe in that other Duke’s Province. I don’t think it’s going to be a long time before he comes to absorb this quadrant into his realm.”

  “I notice you didn’t tell them about the other quadrant.”

  “That problem will have to be faced many years from now. The other Duke will be here first.”

  “Let’s hope our friends have a chance to get ready.”

  “Canton, our plan isn’t going to work without Mallory. I may have to find another way.”

  “Whoever took her did it for a reason. I suspect she is still alive, we just have to find her.”

  “And just how do you propose we do that. I can’t send my searchers away from this planet. It would leave me wide open to an attack. If they could take her, they could take me.”

  “Can you spare one of them?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “I could go and try to find her.”

  Daulun thought about the offer and decided he didn’t want this ambitious officer to have that much power while he was King. Canton saw him thinking about it and hoped he could get his hands on one of those ships. Then he wouldn’t need this weak King. He could go and create his own empire. A third of the fleet was loyal to him and his father. All they needed was just one of these ships.

  “No, I just don’t see me being able to protect our planet without the five remaining.”

  “Where did the sixth one go?”

  “He was reported accelerating at maximum power toward the attackers. He probably overloaded his reactors and burned up. There’s no trace of him remaining.”

  “You have to admire his loyalty?”

  “They’re built that way.”

  “Have you thought about possibly allowing the attackers to destroy the planet?”

  Daulun’s head snapped around, “That’s a dangerous remark to make, Canton!”

  “Well, think about it for a moment. You know that Crimeron is just as developed as New Ulmerton and one of your best castles is there. You could rule the Realm from there just as easily as from here.”

  “What are you saying?”

  “If you took the five remaining Searchers to find your daughter and left the fleet here to defend the planet, you know those attackers could get through the fleet as easily as you could. If they destroy New Ulmerton, there won’t be any family members left to challenge your choice for succession. All of your family issues will be solved.”

  “What happens if the ones attacking us don’t destroy the planet?”

  “Perhaps you might have to do it yourself.”

  Daulun thought the idea had merit. He had promised Canton’s father that he would make sure he was the successor. It there were no remaining relatives, he could name whomever he chose. Canton is smart and a lot more cunning than I am. Well, a few billion would have to die but most of them were slaves. “Canton, I will think about your idea. I’ll let you know later.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty. Would you like me to choose the most advanced ships in the fleet to move to Crimeron now? If we start moving them a few at a time, they won’t be noticed.”

  “That is an excellent idea. Please make that happen. You might also tell your father to move there as quickly as possible.”

  Canton bowed and said, “Yes, Your Majesty.” The fact the King was going to allow him to move ships meant he was going to do as he suggested. Canton was surprised again by his Father’s wisdom. He feared he would be tried for treason but Daulun went for the idea. Now he had to make sure most of his supporters and their ships were moved away from the planet and Jongo’s followers remained behind.”

  Kreej said, “Jessica, that Duke is more evil than we know.”

  Jessica was next to New Ulmerton’s closest moon in stealth mode listening to any plans the Duke was formulating. “Why do you say that?”

  “He is going to take all of his Searchers and move to another planet. He’s hoping we come and destroy New Ulmerton. If we don’t do it, he’s going to come back and do it himself.”

  “Why?!”

  “To remove the other members of his family from possible succession in order to name that officer Canton to the throne. The idea was proposed by that officer.”

  Jessica thought about what Kreej said, “Keep listening in. We’ll go back when BC comes to relieve us. The Emperor should know about this development.”

  Scotty, Jingo, Nathan, Grang, Mallory, Timmy and Tesa were sitting in the learning center discussing tactics to steal the military data base from New Ulmerton. Timmy had a video of the building that housed the system and he was using a laser pointer to indicate the defenses.

  “I just don’t see how you’re going to get out with the database without heavy losses. There are more than two hundred troops armed with blasters protecting that building. It’s also under the protective screen of two Searchers in orbit overhead. You won’t be able to teleport in through that screen. You’ll have to teleport more than four miles away and work your way to the building. That also means if you’re successful, you’ll have to carry the system that same distance to get away and all without the Searchers overhead getting wind of what you’re doing. If one blaster is fired they will know something’s happening and open fire on you.”

  Scotty leaned back in his chair, “Timmy, how much will that system weigh?”

  “It’s very similar to the learning center’s computer. I guess between two and three hundred pounds.”

  Scotty looked at Grang, “Do you think you can handle that much weight?”

  Grang looked at Scotty, casually waved his hand, and grunted.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. My main concern is getting to the device without being discovered. There are so many guards that we’ll be in a cross fire along the entire route and some o
f those blasters will be firing from behind protection.”

  Jingo said, “They shouldn’t be able to see us.”

  “No, but those Searchers overhead will if they use their scanners. Right now they are scanning the outer system but I’m sure they’ll direct fire on you once they determine the theft is in process.”

  Mallory looked at Nathan, then back at Scotty, “I know where the computer is located in the building and most of the guards are outside. There are only twenty inside the facility.”

  “How are they armed?”

  “The ones inside have hand blasters. The guards outside have the shoulder mounted heavy duty blasters with a range of seven hundred yards.”

  Timmy looked at Tesa and said, “We just don’t have the right weapon to make this happen.”

  “May I ask a question?”

  Scotty started and said, “Sure Vring. What’s on your mind?”

  Vring was sitting outside the learning center listening in, “I was just looking at Timmy’s thoughts and I notice that those “sparks” you use on your arrows were originally designed to seek and destroy a target. Why don’t you use them to go after anyone holding a blaster?”

  Timmy sighed, “Vring, those were designed by the Algeans and were one of the most advanced weapon systems they ever produced. All of the sparks we possess are set to attack Keepers. They won’t go after anything else.”

  Vring didn’t say anything and Scotty said, “You had a reason for asking that question. What is it?”

  “Well, I was looking at the diagram of the guidance system of that spark on the table in front of you and it appears to be simple to reset it to attack a different target.”

  Timmy’s eyes grew wide and he looked at Scotty with amazement on his face. Scotty held up his hand to tell Timmy to be quiet and said, “What do you mean?”

  “From what I see of the receiver on the guidance board, there is a master frequency that opens the system to accept new target frequencies. If you broadcast the master frequency at a bundle of sparks and then broadcast the frequency of a blaster.” Vring didn’t say anything else.

  Timmy could not contain himself, “Then it will seek and destroy anything in its sensors that has that frequency.”

  “Exactly and once it locks on, all the other sparks will ignore what it has targeted. At least that’s what I can see in the diagram.”

  Nathan said. “Vring, you understand those diagrams?”

  “They’re not really that complicated. If you just allow your mind to follow the path of energy through it, it shows what it is designed to do.”

  “Could you design a better system?”

  “I can see several things that would make the device more adaptable, so to answer your question, yes. I can design a better system. Most of my brothers could do the same.”

  Timmy thought a moment and said, “I’d hate to have all those blasters exploding. It could bring down the building and alert the Searchers overhead. “

  “That’s where the secondary frequencies come in.”

  “What secondary frequencies?”

  “Timmy, you can program the spark to go after the frequency of a blaster but have it hit anything made of organic material near it.”

  “Vring, how do you know this?”

  “It’s obvious. If the diagram Timmy has in his thoughts is accurate, that’s how those sparks were made to operate. There’s also another thing you can do.”

  “What is that?”

  “You can broadcast a frequency and have the sparks exploded on contact instead of burning whatever it hits.”

  Timmy looked at Tesa and she asked, “How would you get them to go back to burning?”

  “I would suggest putting a frequency generator on each gun focused inside the magazine. Have a switch that you would push up for one frequency and pull down to send the other. At least that’s how I’d do it.”

  Timmy looked at Scotty and said, “Vring, I have a damaged teleport board here in the corner. Can you see it in my thoughts?”

  “Yes. It has a burned out coupler in the initial coil output unit. That prevents any energy from passing through the board.”

  “Can it be repaired?”

  “Yes, if you have a coupler. I see two of them in each of the sparks. You can use one of them to repair that board.”

  Timmy looked at Scotty and said, “The Realm had their Algeans. They are what made the difference in their rise to power. It appears the Zord have a greater mental capacity than the Algeans. This is huge, Emperor Robbins.”

  Scotty sighed, “Vring, did you know how to repair that teleportation board before we left to visit the Defense Facility.”

  “Well, yes but if they would just give you a board, that would be a lot easier than the detailed repair of the broken one.”

  “Actually, that broken board is much more advanced than the one that replaced it.”

  “Not really, Your Majesty.”

  “What?”

  “All they’ve done is to insert a minor circuit to the output unit. You can get the components from any null drive to build that circuit and add it to the boards you currently have. Of course the null drive won’t work but you’d have an advanced teleportation board.”

  Timmy said, “Show me what you’re thinking, Vring.”

  “Ok.”

  Timmy closed his eyes and after a minute opened them shaking his head, “He’s right. I can see it now. And he’s also right about the sparks. If you will bring me some of the wreckage of the damaged Ultraships, I can make the bowguns into a deadly weapon.” Timmy looked at Scotty, “The Zord have a brain that is incredible. Vring does see those circuits and understand how they work. This is a discovery that is monumental. We can now develop our communities so they can prosper. We have our Algeans, your, Majesty.”

  Scotty paused and said, “Vring, that’s not the entire truth. You could have helped us with this before now. There’s something you’re not saying.”

  Silence dominated the group and finally Vring said, “Your Majesty, you have three Searcher Ships in your fleet. All three of them have shown that they can make bad mistakes. To allow them to have teleportation worries us.”

  Anglo who was in orbit overhead said, “What do you mean by mistakes?”

  “Jessica was used to attack settlements on El Prado. She has an override that she could have activated to free herself from the Magrum. She didn’t do it and chose to just be an observer. You destroyed most of the planet and were still a danger to the humans up to the moment Jessica had her conversation with the Emperor. BC actually worked with Talben. We’ve seen that there are reasons to worry about your having that much power without some control on it.”

  “We needed to stop the Duke from taking control of the quadrant.”

  “Yes, but you went way beyond just stopping him. Destroying all of the technology and industrial centers would have accomplished that goal but you killed millions that couldn’t have been a danger after their production facilities were eliminated. Am I wrong?”

  Anglo said, “No, you’re not. Charles took his vengeance out on the population for what happened to his family.”

  “And you didn’t stop him.”

  Anglo gave a mental sigh, “No, I didn’t. I should have but I was caught up in the moment. I was swept away by the brutality done to his children.”

  “Just as BC made a decision to work with an evil tyrant to prevent huge losses of life, you didn’t make a decision based on the principles that White Hair embraces. Those millions were defenseless against you but the two of you killed them anyway.”

  Scotty said, “Why are you helping us now?”

  “Because you are our Supreme Leader and I am sworn to protect you and your subjects. I can’t allow Jingo, Grang, and Nathan to die if I can do something to help them. They are the core of your leaders. That still doesn’t remove my fear of releasing this technology.”

  “Why, Vring?”

  “Because that technology will outlive you, You
r Majesty. How can we know your followers will be as committed to your principles?”

  Scotty shrugged, “That’s the same issue the Defense Installation has. I wish there was some way to make sure we remain true but the future has a funny way of getting out of hand. We need look no further than the Great Gardners.” Scotty thought a moment and said, “The Algeans built a circuit into all of their teleportation boards that would cause them to self-destruct, didn’t they?”

  “Yes they did.”

  “Do you see that circuit?”

  “Yes, as well as the frequency that made it operate.”

  “Then put that circuit in every device your people create. Perhaps the wisdom of the Algeans was something we should follow. Your Ruler of the flocks will keep the device that will self-destruct any weapons you help create if we stray from our beliefs.”

  “White Hair, you will keep that device and will designate who will hold it in the event of your death. We trust you implicitly and do not worry about the future with you in command.”

  Scotty nodded, “Why don’t you help Timmy redesign the bowguns and I’ll get BC to bring a load of sparks for your experimentation.”

  Timmy looked at Tesa and said, “All right!”

  Greyson sat in orbit and watched Timmy during the meeting. His exuberance and excitement at the challenge was infectious and he wondered if he was going to be his partner. He had listened in to the Zord and knew he was right. The destruction of Haldale proved it. He was tasked with protecting Bristone but he knew he was given this task to be able to observe the qualities of the people he was now sworn to protect. He had to admit, the Zord were truly remarkable creatures. He felt his sagging spirits start to rise. His vision of the future began to brighten. He needed a partner.

  Scotty was sitting on the hill with Julie and the ever present Grang staring at the stars. Julie looked at Scotty, “What’s bothering you?”

  Scotty sighed deeply and looked away from the stars, “I almost wish we would just insure that our planet was safe and not worry about all the others.”

  Julie and Grang both turned their attention toward him. “That’s something I’d never expect to hear from you.”

  “I know, but now we’re on the cusp of creating a new breed of weapons and I worry about the future once they’re built. I see only war after war ahead of us and our descendants.”