BC said, “You have me curious, Grace.”
Suddenly a ship appeared next to BC and Scotty and Julie were stunned at what they saw. It was at least three thousand feet long and was the brightest white Scotty had ever seen, “Wow! I thought Searchers had to be small.”
“It has to be this size to contain all the weapon systems.”
BC looked at the ship and said, “I’ve got to get me one of those. Are you saying that the systems are tighter than mine?”
“Much more than yours, BC. They have also been miniaturized as much as possible.”
“Alex, I’m all yours.”
“Here are your coordinates.”
“Welcome to our motley band, Grace.”
“Where do you want to go first?”
“I want to take Julie home and then pick up Virze to take a short trip.”
“On my way.” The huge ship disappeared.
Grace appeared above Bristone and Anglo came in at high speed challenging, “You will leave this system immediately or I will open fire.”
“Relax, Anglo. I’m bringing Emperor Robbins and Her Royal Highness Juliette home.”
There was a moment of silence and they heard, “Grace? Is that you?”
“Yes it is old friend.”
“Wow! You’ve changed.”
“How do you like my new clothes?”
“Quite impressive.”
“I’ve sent you the entry protocol for the Defense Facility and Alex will be waiting for you when BC returns.”
“Why is he waiting?”
“You are going to be moved into a Zeta Ship. We need to upgrade you as soon as possible. Alex will explain when you get there.”
“Are you in a Zeta Ship?”
“Yes, I am.”
“I kinda hate to leave this ship. It’s like family.”
“We’ll save it for you and you can return once we resolve the issue confronting us.”
“Fair enough.”
“I think you’ll like your new home. Let me know what you think.”
“I will.”
Scotty hugged Julie, “Grace, please send Julie down to the community and see if you can find Timmy and Virze.”
“It’s good to meet you, Grace. I look forward to working with you.”
“Thanks, Your Highness. Congratulations on your pregnancy.”
“You’re welcome. Scotty, are you coming back to make the announcement with me?”
Scotty took a deep breath and said, “There are some things that take precedence over work. Grace and I will delay until we can make the announcement together. I’ll join you after I meet with Timmy and Virze. I may still want to delay the announcement based on what we plan. Are you ok with that?”
“You know I am, Scotty.”
“Your Majesty, Timmy is with Greyson in the Life Province. Virze is at the learning center.”
Scotty smiled and kissed Julie, “Go home, I’ll be there momentarily. I need some personal time with you to celebrate.”
Julie hugged him and disappeared from the bridge.
“Grace, please teleport Virze.”
Suddenly Virze appeared and was shocked at her sudden appearance on the bridge with Scotty. “What’s going on? Oh, excuse me, Your Majesty.”
“There’s nothing to be excused, Virze. I want to make you an offer and see if it interests you.”
“What offer?”
“This is the first of a new class of Searcher Vessels. The ship’s name is Grace and I want you to be her partner.”
Virze’s eyes grew wide and she sat down on the floor, “Are you serious?”
“Yes, I am. I’ve seen how you have taken part in the planning for Bristone’s defense and I confess that I’ve been highly impressed with what I’ve seen.”
Virze looked at Scotty and then said, “Grace, does this meet with your approval? I know I’m not worthy of you but I do promise to do my best to be a great partner. I’ve been so jealous of Timmy having Greyson as his partner.”
“The fact that you asked about my approval goes a long way towards making me feel good about having you. Welcome aboard.”
Virze looked around and said, “This Bridge is a lot bigger than Greyson’s. How large are you?”
“I’m a little more than 3,200 feet long.”
Virze sat there with her mouth open. Then she asked, “Am I the first one to be a partner on this class of ship?”
“You are.”
“Outstanding!! Now Timmy can see what jealousy feels like.”
“Virze, Greyson will be moved to a ship just like me soon.”
“Yes, but I got my ship first. Now I can give him his jacket back and get one of my own.”
“You’ll find it in your personal quarters.”
“How do I get there?”
“Just step up to the bridge’s exit and say, “Personal quarters” and step through. When you’re ready to return; say bridge and step through your door.”
Oh, Grace, this is going to be the most exciting time of my life. Thank you so much for allowing me to join you!” Virze jumped up and ran to the door and said, “Personal Quarters,” and stepped through.
Grace said, “She reminds me of Melanie when she first joined me all those centuries ago.”
Scotty watched Virze disappear and said, “I want you to take her to the Life Province and meet Jessica and Greyson. She and you need to evaluate what’s going on and help me formulate a plan on what to do next.”
“We’ll leave as soon as she comes back to the bridge. I need her to get imprinted to the systems so that she can use them.”
“Thanks, Grace. You know your opinion carries a lot of weight with me.”
“That means a lot. I’m sending you down to Julie. Congratulations, again.”
Scotty disappeared from the Bridge.
Virze reappeared yelling, “It fits perfectly. How did you know?”
“I looked at you in Emperor Robbins’s mind and teleported it in.”
Virze tilted her head, “Are you telepathic?”
“Yes, I am. Once you’re imprinted on my systems you will be able to contact me telepathically as well.”
“Will that make me telepathic?”
“No, only with me.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t act so disappointed. Once Timmy is imprinted on Greyson, you’ll also be able to communicate with him mentally through our communications’ system.”
Virze’s smile was huge, “Great. I hate being separated from him.”
Grace felt her feelings for the young woman grow. She was also an extreme level passive psychic. Her children wouldn’t need a ship to communicate telepathically. “Virze come and sit in the command chair and place your right hand in the indentation on the chair’s arm.”
Virze ran and jumped into the chair and put her hand on the arm and closed her eyes and began seeing the structure of the most powerful ship ever produced in the universe.
Chapter Nine
Greyson and Jessica were in stealth mode over the Capital of Life Province. There were a hundred Searchers with their screens overlapping Olympos protecting it. Timmy said, “I don’t see anything we can do. We might as well go have a shot at some of their ships.”
“Actually, the two of you have been given other plans for the near future.”
“Tesa, who said that?”
““I don’t know.”
“Greyson, do you seen anything?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Oh, relax. It’s just me and my new partner.”
Timmy frowned, “Virze, is that you?”
“Yes it is, Tim. I’ve been sent here to get you and Jess to go to the Defense Facility for further upgrades. I’ve sent you some coordinates and we’ll meet you there.”
Greyson said, “New Partner?”
“You’ve got me. I don’t know what she’s talking about.”
“Let’s go see. We’re wasting time here.”
Greyson and Jessica tel
eported to the coordinates and saw a huge gleaming white ship in front of them. “Hi, what do you think of my new partner.”
Timmy was stunned, “How, what, who..”
“Emperor Robbins asked if I would accept a post as a Searcher on this ship and Grace allowed me to join her.”
“Hello Greyson and Jessica.”
Jessica said, “Well, I am jealous of your new outfit. If my scans are right, you are a handful of trouble for somebody.”
“Thank you, but don’t stay jealous too long. You and Greyson are going to move into one of these ships as soon as Alex finishes with Anglo.”
Silence ruled the channel. “By the way, I sent one of my probes through those Searcher’s screens and we can listen in to the King’s conversations. I’ll patch you in so you can listen while you’re being upgraded.”
“You sent a probe through their screens?”
“Yes. I could just explode the castle but we have a bigger problem than that king. Alex will update you when you arrive. I’ve also given you the entry protocol for the Defense Facility. You need to go now so we can start making plans. Greyson, if you will contact your family and schedule them for the upgrade I would greatly appreciate it.”
“I’ll get on it right away.”
Timmy said, “Virze…”
“I know, I know, you want your jacket back.”
“No, I just wanted to say that it doesn’t surprise me about your new position. You are a perfect choice.”
Greyson and Jessica disappeared. Virze started crying. “What’s wrong?”
“I love him so much. He has the warmest heart. It’s him that I’m undeserving of having.”
“Oh, don’t sell yourself short. From my position, you are perfect for each other.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes, I do. Now let’s see what’s going on at the castle.”
Virze closed her eyes and watched the King swaying back and forth in front of a huge window.
Vring and Kreej absorbed the data being fed them telepathically by Alex. He had speeded up the feed six times until the Zord were comfortable with the rate of transfer. It really was amazing at how fast the two were absorbing the data and Alex knew that most computers couldn’t operate that fast. Vring said, “Stop it here.”
Alex stopped the feed, “Is something wrong.”
“I just want to make sure that I understand something before we go any further. I should have seen this relationship but I wasn’t interested in technology.”
“What is that?”
“It seems that a ships beam is usually just a bit weaker than the force field protecting the ship. I’ve noticed that it would take two Searcher Class Ships to defeat a single Searcher. As I look at the information you’ve given me, that relationship looks like it’s been consistent. Am I right?”
Alex thought a moment, “I don’t see an exception to it. Why do you think that’s important?”
“Well, if that relationship also holds true for the invaders from the other dimension, if you could take the power of their beam and focus it tighter, you should be able to penetrate its force field.”
“I’m not sure what you’re trying to communicate.”
“Well, if a Searcher could capture another’s Searcher beam and focus it into a much narrower reflection, that reflection would be much more powerful than the original beam. Right?”
“Ummmmm, if the reflection was captured and sent back without losses, yes.”
Kreej said, “I see where you’re going. If you could penetrate the force field with the reflected beam, you could then fire your own beam through the break in the field.”
Alex thought about it, “That would require extraordinary timing.”
Vring tilted his head to the right, “Hey, we’re just looking at possibilities right now. However, I’ve not seen a force field that could recover faster than two tenths of a second after penetration. It normally requires a reboot of the master coverage program.”
“I’m not sure that would be true of all technologies.”
“It’s the same principle as a flat tire on a landing gear. If it punctures, the hole must be closed. That requires going to the hole and filling it in. While that is happening, the field would be greatly weakened. Technologies may differ but the physics are the same.”
Alex thought a minute, “So what if you’re right. How does that help us?”
Vring stared at Kreej and said, “I’m not sure, but I want us to keep that in mind as we look at the weapons in the download. I think we can all agree that we don’t have a beam strong enough to penetrate their screens and I’m reasonably certain that their beams will blow through ours. We’ve got to come up with a different system to handle that ship. Let’s continue our look at the database and talk about this afterwards.”
Alex said, “Resuming download.”
Grace and Virze teleported in and commed Scotty.
“Hello Grace, welcome back.”
“Thank you, it’s good to be home. Do you have a moment?”
“I’ll make time for you. Bring me aboard.”
Scotty appeared on the Bridge and Virze bowed, “Welcome aboard, Your Majesty.”
Scotty nodded and Grace said, “We’ve been watching King Borders in the palace and we see a pattern that might help us.”
“What is that?”
“He always shuts off his com and orders no interruptions whenever he meets with his top advisor. We could teleport them out during that time and no one would know they’re gone.”
“I thought he had screens over the castle. Wouldn’t that prevent him being teleported?”
“With a standard teleport system, it would.”
“But not with yours?”
“Not with the process I use. I will use a probe to make a hole in the screen and teleport him out through the hole. I’ll pull the probe out when he has passed through it.”
Scotty thought a minute and said, “Let me think about how I can use this. Why don’t you and Virze take a few days off while I discuss this with my staff.”
“Your Majesty, would you mind if I join Timmy while you’re thinking about this.”
“Not at all, but you should know that he will be here with the rest of my staff. Grace, I want you here giving us any insights you might have.”
“It will be my pleasure.”
“Virze, I’m calling Timmy, Tesa, and Jingo back in as well. We’ll meet tomorrow at seven PM around the fire.”
Virze started getting excited at seeing Timmy and the rest of the Empire’s leaders.
“Grace, will you go and bring Vring and Kreej back so they can attend.”
“We’re on our way.”
James Silvey heard a knock on the door and heard Carol say, “Yes, he’s here. How can I help you?” He didn’t hear what was being said so he stood and went to the front door of his home. He saw a young man who couldn’t be much older than twenty standing at the door. He was wearing the uniform of a Searcher Pilot. James said, “I’m here. Is something wrong?”
“No, Sir, I hope you’ll give me a few moments of your time to discuss something with you.”
Carol looked at James and he could see her fear. There were many of the former soldiers on the planet that frowned on what James did during the liberation of the planet. She hoped he was not going to be hurt for his actions. “Please, come in.”
They entered and the Searcher saw a young girl and boy sitting at a table reading a book. James saw him looking and said, “They have not been educated and we want them to catch up.”
The Searcher looked at James and smiled, “I think we’ve made a good decision.”
“What is that?”
“My name is Tim Valrico and I am a Searcher in the Bristone Empire’s Fleet. During the liberation of the planet one of our Searchers saw your bravery in standing up to the guards while releasing the slaves. He also heard you defended by the woman you helped and was impressed with what he saw. He has humbly requested m
e to ask you if you are willing to become his pilot and partner.”
James showed his shock and took a step backwards into the room, “Why on New Hope would he select me? I’ve never had a higher rank that a private.”
“That’s because you did not hold to the brutality of the military. That is a good thing in our view. However, before you accept, you should know that if you do, you will be leaving New Hope and moving your family to Bristone.” Tim looked at the children, “There your children will be educated by our best teachers and have access to a Realm Learning Center.”
James looked at Carol and saw her excitement, “I want to say yes, but I know there are so many others better qualified that I am.”
Tim said, “We believe in the old principles. It’s easy to follow those when you aren’t facing a blaster. You faced the real threat of being killed for your actions but you had the courage to stand up for your beliefs. Trust me on this, you have everything our Emperor wants in his Pilots and he has approved your selection.”
James looked at Carol and smiled, “Would this mean I can stop people from being enslaved?”
Tim smiled, “Absolutely.”
“Then I’m your man.”
Tim’s com activated, “Hi James, My name is Varner and you will be my pilot. Thank you for accepting my offer and if you will pack the things you want to take with you, I’ll teleport you and your family on board when you’re ready.”
“Give me just a moment.” James looked at Carol and said, “Carol, will you marry me?”
Carol felt her tears start and came into his arms. The children ran up and hugged them around their legs. James stood there and Carol said, “I already have.”
James smiled and said, “Give us two hours.”
Carol said, “Make it three. I need some time with James.”
Tim smiled and extended his hand, “Welcome to our family, James.”
Varner waited in orbit and felt his spirit coming alive again.
The group at the fire was large. The two Zord stood just outside the circle watching the proceedings while the others renewed old friendships. Nathan and Mallory were talking with Timmy and Virze. Tesa was holding Maddy while Jesa and Jingo caught up with her experiences. Samuel and June were sitting with Jing reminiscing about life on El Prado. Grang sat on the ground and was leaning back on the log staring up at the Stars. Jeramiah Jongo and his oldest son were talking about how much things had changed on New Hope. Bleath flew in with Zreeg and one of his son’s. They joined the other two Zord and started getting an update on what was happening at the Defense Facility. Queen Carrie and Michael Blake appeared in the circle and Carrie ran up to hug June. Right after her, Queen Ashley Talben, Jenna, and Glenn appeared and she rushed up to June as well.
Ashes of the Realm - Greyson's Revenge Page 15