Ashes of the Realm - Greyson's Revenge

by Andrew, Saxon

  Varner said, “I don’t like this.”

  All six ships suddenly opened fire on Varner with their main beams. James yelled, “Get us out of here! They can see us.”

  Varner sent a message warning the other Searchers that their Stealth mode no longer worked when he saw that the beams had knocked down the screen and overloaded the collection panels. The teleport system was bypassed to expel the additional energy flooding the system. James saw the needles on his board race across the dial and then Varner exploded into fragments that were disintegrated by the hellish beams.

  The Ship Master looked at the site of the explosion and regretted that nothing remained to examine. They were still no closer to finding out where these ships were coming from. Well now they could find them and destroy them. He smiled anticipating his next kill.

  Greyson and Timmy received the message that was suddenly cut off. Timmy was silent and Greyson said, “Varner is gone and they just killed Kelly as well. He’s not responding to my calls.”

  “I’m so sorry Greyson.”

  “They died like we all hope to go; fighting the good fight. I’m going to miss them greatly.”

  Timmy took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “They can see us in stealth mode, Greyson. That changes things.”

  “Yes, but I suspect it’s not as bad as you think.”

  “I’m not sure I understand.”

  “If you thought they couldn’t see you, would you teleport away if several of their ships showed up?”

  “No, probably not; I’d hang around to see what was going on.”

  “Which I’m sure Varner and Kelly did when they were killed; we can still teleport out before they can emerge into normal space.”

  “What are you thinking about doing?”

  “We have some Captor balls in our inventory and I want to try something.”

  Timmy looked at his panel, “We have three.”

  “Well, I can see where the Invader ships are going to emerge into normal space. What if I teleport those balls to the location of their arrival set to detonate in three seconds. If the balls are close to the center of their emergence, they should be inside their force fields.”

  Timmy thought about it, “You don’t want them in the center. The ship won’t enter if there’s an object occupying the same space.”

  “I know, they’ll just emerge close by. The result would be the same. Are you open for a little pay back?”

  “You know I am. Just don’t be foolish.”

  “I won’t.”

  The Ship Master ordered the five ships to jump away to see if another of those ships showed up to investigate. He hoped for another opportunity to fight his ship. Then he heard, “I’m reading another one of those disturbances. The coordinates follow.”

  The Ship Master sneered and sent instructions to the other four ships. They waited for a minute and then jumped.”

  “Here they come, Timmy.” Greyson teleported away leaving three, large round, objects behind.

  The Ship Master watched his display as he emerged into normal space and didn’t see a disturbance. What was that thing next to his ship? That was his last thought. The explosion blew through the middle of the Giant Black Ship and touched off its reactors. Three of the attackers were blown into dust. The three survivors watched the explosions rip through space and felt their ships shudder from the blast wave. The Master of the three ships slammed his arms against his chair arm. Those demons baited a trap and sprung it. Three main battleships destroyed after only killing one small ship. Now it was dangerous to jump in close to one of those strange ships. He opened his communications panel and sent a record of what happened. This would have to be figured out by the Fleet Master. He knew he wasn’t going to jump his ship in close to one of the disturbances. No, half a light year is about as close as I’m going to come.”

  Timmy and Greyson watched the explosions from two hundred thousand miles away. Timmy shook his head, “We should go home and notify the Emperor of our losses.”

  “I’ve also got to tell my family about Varner and Kelly. I guess we’ve just been lucky so far.”

  Timmy sighed, “Things are getting dangerous, Greyson. Let’s go get some more Captor Balls.”

  “Unfortunately, there are only twenty left in the Defense Facility. We need to use them sparingly.” Greyson was silent for a moment, “Timmy, how do you think they’re able to see us?”

  “The same way I would if I knew there were ships that my scanners wouldn’t detect. I’d program a scanner to measure the difference in light. Light and energy is bent around us and there is a minute difference in the arrival time of the light slowed by our stealth screen. They scan for that small difference and that tells them where we are.”

  “Is there anything we can do about it?”

  “Yes. What do you think is going to happen when ten more of their ships are destroyed when they jump in on us?”

  Greyson chuckled, “I suspect they are going to be very reluctant to come close.”

  “I want to see if Varner’s destruction probe was able to teleport out before he was destroyed. We need to get a read on just how powerful their main beams are.”

  “I’m headed to deep space and then to the Defense Facility. I’m also telling the others about what we did and see if they want to join us.”

  The Fleet Master stood in front of the ten Ruling Masters and feared for his life. More than five hundred battleships had been destroyed by the invisible ships and only two of them had been killed. He worried that his life was forfeit. He watched as the Masters reviewed their findings and then Zyl looked at him, “You have been very inefficient in handling those ships.”

  “Yes, Master.”

  “You have nothing to say?”

  “I’ve done my best. I’ve tried to trap them but they can escape before my ships emerge into normal space. I have done all I can think of to do. I understand your doubt about my command abilities. It has been troubling trying to find where they are coming from.”

  “Perhaps they are not from that Universe but one that we have already surveyed.”

  “Nothing in any of our ships databanks matches up to them.”

  “Perhaps they hid when the universe was being surveyed.”

  The Fleet Master thought about the Master’s observation, “That would have to mean they knew we were there and followed us to the current conquest.”

  “That is true.”

  “Do we have the resources to reevaluate those we have not yet invaded?”

  “Unfortunately, we do not if we intend to complete this conquest in a timely fashion.”

  The Fleet Master stood straight and waited for his death sentence. Then he heard, “We will finish with the current Universe and then we will use all our assets to search the eight we were surveying. They are a nuisance but they have not really hurt our numbers enough to really matter. Complete your conquest and make the plan needed to search for the worlds that made those ships.”

  The Fleet Master bowed and backed out of the chamber.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t replace him.”

  “I’ve not seen anything else he could have done. Do you?”

  “Well, no, but failure is often punished.”

  “That’s true but we usually have evidence of poor decision making. This Fleet Master has tried some ingenious methods. A new Master would have to go in and relearn all that he knows. That would be inefficient. Do any of you see it differently?”

  No one spoke. There were ten Masters but nine of them knew who really had the power.

  Scotty walked into his home and saw Julie sitting on the couch crying. He sat down beside her and put his arm around her. She leaned over and put her head on his chest. Scotty was quiet for a few minutes and sighed, “How is Carol taking it?”

  “She’s bearing up. She knew the dangers and wasn’t shocked by what happened. She has had so many losses in her life. Now her second husband is gone. It breaks my heart.”

  “We’ll
take care of them, Julie.”

  “The Riders have already taken them into their family. They will watch over them and ensure they’re ok. I just hate that we’ve lost so many brave ships and warriors.” Julie sat up, “I’m sorry. I know what this does to you.”

  “You’re right but it gives me strength to see your heart. You are the reason I will not give up.”

  Julie put her head back on Scotty’s chest and closed her eyes.

  Nineteen year old Carter Reese waited while his partner was being moved into a Zeta Searcher. He was on Greyson’s bridge with the head band on while he downloaded all of the actions by the Zetas in the other universe. Timmy looked at him and said, “He’s so young, Greyson.”

  “You were three months younger than him when you became my partner.”

  Timmy looked up, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I wonder why his ship was selected?”

  “His ship isn’t what led to that decision. He is the reason for the selection.”

  Timmy looked at the young man again, “What’s so special about him?”

  “He’s smarter than you are, Tim.”

  “You’re kidding me?”

  “No, he posted the highest scores on all our tests for potential Searchers. He’s something special.”

  Timmy grunted and waited for the young man to finish the downloads. We’ll just see.

  An hour later the young man sat up and removed the headband, “That was interesting.” He looked at Timmy and smiled, “That captor ball strategy was amazing.”

  Timmy said, “It was Greyson’s idea.”

  “Even so, the two of you made it work. You’re the one that made it happen.”

  Timmy didn’t really want to like him but found it was hard not to with the openness of the young Searcher, “Do you see anything we can do?”

  “Well, I was thinking you might use a stealth probe to bait a trap for them.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “They can see us because we’re moving which makes the difference in light measurable. As long as we remain stationary, they shouldn’t be able to read our presence. I’ve seen that they are now coming in a half light year from the position of our ships. Why don’t we send a probe in with a self destruct circuit? As it moves toward one of their ships, we’ll be waiting a half light year away for one of their ships to emerge. They usually send enough to surround us so we should be close enough to greet one with a captor ball.”

  Timmy stared at Carter and smiled, “Welcome to the family. You can come with us to try that tactic.”

  “Really, that would be great. I’m sure Pyle will love to be present.”

  Timmy hit his com, “Jenna, Virze, do you have a minute?”

  “Sure, what’s up?”

  Timmy explained the plan and Virze and Jenna were excited at the prospect. Timmy said, “We’ll spread out a half light year out from the probe and our chances of hitting one of their ships will go up.”

  Greyson said, “I’ll give you your coordinates when we arrive.”

  Jenna said, “Gilene, who is that new Searcher?”

  “He comes from Rehoben’s Fleet. According to my databanks, he’s scored the highest scores on the Searcher tests.”

  Jenna frowned, “Higher than mine?”

  “Only twenty points.”

  Jenna wasn’t sure what to think about that. She knew she had only beat Timmy by twelve but she was proud of being the smartest. Now she had lost her title. Then she thought, He’s thirty two points better than Timmy. “Gilene, do you have a picture of him?”

  Jenna looked at her display and saw a handsome young man smiling. “How old is he?”

  “Nineteen.”

  Jenna continued to stare at the picture as Timmy laid out their plan.

  “Your Majesty, do you have some free time?”

  “Hi, Jingo, you sound like something’s bothering you.”

  “I need to share some information that the new Searcher has uncovered.”

  “Meet me at home.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Jingo sat down after giving Julie a hug. Robby came in and joined them at the table. Scotty saw something was wrong, “What’s going on, Jingo?”

  “Carter viewed the down loads of all of our encounters with the Invaders and he saw something we’ve missed that bothered him. He brought it to my attention and I believe he’s right. I know why the Invaders are conquering universes, I think.”

  “Why?”

  “First, I want you to look at some pictures that Niles and Toland took of the planet where the Invaders were harvesting an orange colored pod.” Jingo took a picture out of a file and handed it to Scotty. “I want you to notice that the inhabitants being used to harvest the pods are dark brown in color.”

  “Ok, so?”

  “Now look at this close up of a female with a new born on her back. She is working in the fields growing normal crops.”

  Scotty looked at the picture and saw the female was a much lighter shade of brown. The new born was pale and almost appeared white. Jingo handed him more photos and Scotty said, “It appears the ones harvesting normal crops are a much lighter shade of skin color.”

  “They are, Scotty. Carter said he wondered what would possess that worker to take off his breathing mask and inhale the fumes from that pod. We moved the recorded video in close and saw that the worker’s face was orange and he was constantly trembling. We looked at the other workers on the ladders and most of them were shaking from one degree to another.”

  Robby said, “The harvesters are addicted to the pods.”

  Scotty looked at him quickly and then Jingo handed him another picture. “We missed this when we viewed it the first time.”

  Scotty looked at the picture and saw in the trees next to the field a huge indentation in the ground with thousands of dead bodies in it.

  Julie put her hand on her throat and saw that many of the bodies were small children. Scotty looked at her and saw her horror. He looked back at Jingo and said, “The pods are killing the inhabitants.”

  Jingo nodded, “I’ve discussed this with Timmy, Jenna, and Carter and they think that the pods release spores that the inhabitants inhale. The Invaders use the population to harvest and replace those that die with the ones growing crops to feed the workers. Eventually, they won’t need any crops because most of them will be dead. The planet will have enough spores in the atmosphere to render it virtually uninhabitable.”

  Robby said, “They have to constantly replace conquered planets to continue their harvesting.”

  Jingo nodded, “These creatures only attack planets with life that is intelligent enough to farm. Now I want to show you one other photo.” Jingo handed Scotty a picture that showed the seas covered with dead fish. “Those spores kill everything.”

  Scotty’s expression hardened. Jingo recognized his expression and said, “That is what awaits us if we don’t defeat these creatures.”

  Scotty looked at Jingo, “What are we doing about this?”

  “So far, our best scientists have examined the pod that Niles sent to us but have come up empty handed.”

  Robby said, “But?”

  Jingo looked at him and said, “Carter wants to be released from the attacks in the other universe to see if he can find someone that can help us.”

  Julie said, “Who would that be?”

  Robby smiled. “He wants to find an Algean.”

  Jingo looked shocked, “How do you know that?”

  “It takes a plant to know a plant. Dani and I are going to help him find one.”

  Scotty looked at his son, “Why do you need to go?”

  “Because it’s time for Dani and I and we are telepathic. With the Zord’s help we’ll be able to hear it.”

  Julie stared at Robby, “What do you mean it’s time for you and Dani?”

  “We were born to be together. I’ve been waiting for the event that would signal the time has come for us to release ourselves. This is the event.”

>   Scotty looked at Julie and then said, “You will be like the Gardners.”

  “I don’t know, Dad. I do know we will be more than we currently are. It’s time.”

  Jingo said, “Time for what?”

  “For us to don our armor and get into the fray. If you check with Alex, I’ll bet he has the armor ready now.”

  Scotty stared at his son and wondered what he was becoming. He remembered BC telling him years ago that his children were going to have psychic powers. He knew that he was in the middle of a psychic event and there was nothing he could to prevent it. He looked at Julie and saw that she had arrived at the same conclusion. Her dream was unavoidable. Now this was bearing down on them like an asteroid collision. He looked at Jingo and said, “Bring Carter here now.”

  Robby said, “You also need to bring Jenna.”

  “Why?”

  “Because we are going to double our number searching; Dani will go with her and I will go with Carter. Mom, you need to go tell Mallory that Dani will be joining us.”

  “Why me?”

  “Because you’re the only one that can convince her to allow Dani to come.”

  Scotty sighed and said, “BC, are you listening in?”

  “I am, Your Majesty.”

  “Take Julie to New Hope and send Anglo to recall Carter and Jenna.”

  Robby looked at his parents, “I expected more resistence from you.”

  Julie stood and hugged her baby, “We’ve known what you’ll become before you were born. Fighting it will only endanger the Empire. We’re forced to let you find your destiny.”

  Scotty looked at Jingo, “Well, my best friend, it looks like we are now rushing down a path we cannot escape.”

  Jingo lowered his head, “I’m going to see Tesa and Maddy before I go back. I need to remember what this is all about.”

  Scotty extended his hand and shook Jingo’s, “It’s always been about those we love.”

  Scotty looked at Robby, “Do you really think there’s an Algean in this universe.”

  “Just like Jessica was left behind along with all the Stars Realm’s representatives on the Provincial Planets, one of them had to miss the bus.”

  Sixteen year old Dani Valrico sat in her room staring at Robby’s picture and wondered what he looked like now. He had to be handsome with white hair like his father. “Dani.”