by Karl Morgan
“What!” shouted Fa-a-Di. “What kind of creatures are they? Why haven’t our crews noticed them? This is all very unusual, Jake. Are you sure of this?”
“We are certain, General,” Jake replied. “I have also been signaled from No-Makla where there are billions of us. Our High Council confirmed three Predaxians on board those ships.”
De-o-Nu jumped to his feet, shouting, “Predaxians! This is an outrage. Our crews would never allow Beings from the Predaxian Alliance to board our ships. There must be an error.”
Jake spoke calmly, “Governor, there is no error. Please know the creatures from Predax are like maklans in many ways. Predax was colonized by the same Beings that colonized Neptune. But that was a billion Earth years ago. Both species have changed since then, but they can be as hard to detect as we were in your quarters over Saturn. Over the millennia, the maklans from Predax lost their ability to communicate telepathically and to fly. Their telepathy evolved into mind control. Believe me there is no such thing as a Predaxian Alliance. Those maklans have created an empire by taking over the leader’s minds on the planets they conquered. The maklans of Ai-Makla, our home world were peaceful explorers like the maklans of No-Makla. On Predax, they became obsessed with power and expansion. The maklans of Predax could never pilot large star cruisers and invade planets. They are frail and small like me. However, they have plenty of other races under their control who can.”
“General,” Dave said, “are you thinking what I am thinking?”
“Neptune is a diversion,” Fa-a-Di said softly, slumping down into his chair. “Ka-a-Fa is under Predaxian control and will attack Neptune. While all of these ships are battling over nothing here, the Alliance will invade Greater Gallia.”
Jake glowed white and disappeared, only to reappear in front of Fa-a-Di. “General, there were no Predaxians on the Dar-Fa. We have confirmed that. Commodore Ka-a-Fa has not been compromised. We do have to assume that three other ship’s captains are under Predaxian control. Without a doubt, those three ships will attack No-Makla.”
“Those three ships will be easily destroyed by our fleet and the seven other ships in Ka-a-Fa’s fleet. He will not allow any treason within his fleet,” De-o-Nu said.
“That is probably true Governor,” Jake continued. “You must remember only the captain and perhaps a couple other Galliceans are under Predaxian control on each ship. A single Predaxian maklan cannot control all the minds on a ship. You would be killing many people who had no malicious intent. We do have a plan, but there is another complication.”
“I assumed it would not be easy, my friend,” Fa-a-Di sighed. “Besides an invasion of Greater Gallia and attack on harmless maklans, what is the other complication?”
Jake replied, “When we flew over Saturn, you told us about the situation on Gallia. We are always concerned when Beings act unusually. If one person acts oddly, that could be insanity or a medical condition. When groups of people change their behavior simultaneously, that is a strong sign of mind control. A group of two hundred maklans jumped to your home world. That team confirmed the presence of dozens of Predaxian maklans throughout the capital city. As we had expected, each member of your Chiefs of Staff appears to be under the control of a Predaxian.”
Fa-a-Di adjusted himself uneasily in his chair. “I suppose I should have guessed that,” he groaned. “What about this solution you have in mind?”
“General, we will need you, your brother-in-law and four other Galliceans whom you will trust with the future of all of our worlds,” Jake finished.
Chapter 31
Ka-a-Fa and his fleet arrived and entered orbit over Neptune on schedule. He was amazed to see the number of ships already in orbit. Ne-o-Ka advised him that fourteen Gallicean, eight Earth, and five Kalidean star cruisers were in orbit. “Ne-o-Ka,” he said, “hail General Fa-a-Di.”
The general’s smiling face appeared on the view screen almost immediately. He was wearing his battle uniform with laser blasters on each hip and three daggers in his belt. Fa-a-Di remained an intimidating figure after many years in politics. “Commodore Ka-a-Fa, welcome to the Earth star system! I trust all is well with your region of the Predaxian frontier.”
“My last report I received said it was very quiet. That is a blessing for me, as you know,” the commodore replied. “We are awaiting final orders from the Chiefs of Staff. Would you like to join me on the Dar-Fa for a glass of whisky while we wait?”
Fa-a-Di smiled, “No, I don’t think that would be a good idea. I trust your fleet has connected to the Gallicean cloud and updated its systems as per standard protocol?”
“Of course we have, General. I am not a child,” Ka-a-Fa scoffed. “We have listened to the report from Dr. No-o-Ka about the peaceful intentions of the maklans of Neptune. That’s all well and good, but as you have properly told me, a soldier follows orders.”
“Yes, that is true Brother,” Fa-a-Di laughed. “I think I told you I would court-martial you myself if you did not. Life is complicated though. A man must do the right thing to bring honor to his family and save his soul. Only a fool follows the orders of a madman.”
“Who is mad then, General? You, Je-e-Bo, perhaps me?” Ka-a-Fa laughed. “I am a simple man. I can’t . . . General, I’m getting a signal from the Chiefs of Staff. We can talk later. Dar-Fa out!” The scowling faces of the three Chiefs appeared in front of him and his bridge crew.
“Sirs, we are in orbit over Neptune,” Ka-a-Fa said. “My fleet is at your disposal. As you have no doubt been told, we have been joined by twenty-two other war ships that recommend we do not attack that planet.”
Je-e-Bo screamed, “Commodore, the Chiefs of Staff are not intimidated by those fools. We have reconfirmed your orders with the High Council. Those creatures on Neptune will take over Greater Gallia if you fail to act now. Attack now or you will be replaced!” Three heavily armed guards jumped onto the bridge with blasters at the ready to insure Ka-a-Fa followed his orders.
“Aye-aye, Field Marshal,” Ka-a-Fa said quietly as the screen went dark. “Ne-o-Ka, order the fleet into attack formation.” He closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He turned to his crew, saying, “Today is a good day to die, my friends. May God be with us?”
All thirty-two ships over Neptune began to move and establish their positions. Ka-a-Fa’s fleet formed a double delta formation with each group of ships focused on a different population center. De-o-Nu’s fleet jumped into action, crossing the other ships’ paths to draw them into dogfights. The Earth ships were heavily outgunned and stayed close to the Kalidean ships for protection. The Kalideans stationed themselves in the path of the oncoming attackers.
Ka-a-Fa said, “Ne-o-Ka, let’s focus on the Kong-Fa. The General and Governor are probably foolish enough to be there together. If we can knock her out of the fight, the rest might surrender.”
“The Governor’s ship is not within the enemy fleet, sir,” Ne-o-Ka responded.
The commodore was dumbfounded. “Those are his ships about to be destroyed out there and he’s hiding? I cannot believe that. Find that ship!” he screamed.
The first group of attackers was rapidly approaching the city of Nokalamalon, home to four hundred million maklans. As they fired, the Kalidean ship, Validus jumped in front of their fire. Her defense screens absorbed most of the blasts, although they were now without protection and had to withdraw for repair. The Defiant was also hit by the blast and was severely damaged. Her captain sent out a distress signal and the Courage raced to tow her out of danger.
Ka-a-Fa’s group of ships was nearing target distance to Amarofledes, the maklan capital city, with one billion citizens. He was about to order the group to fire when three nearby Gallicean ships attacked. The Dar-Fa was hit hard, and smoke filled the bridge. They took evasive action to get out of the way while the other four ships attacked. Explosions and fire erupted in the maklan city. When the bridge cleared of smoke, Ka-a-Fa could see that five of his crew were dead, including the three guards. He ordered hi
s ships to regroup for the next attack run.
“Commodore, we have an incoming message from Governor Mak-Kal-a of the Nom-Kat-La colony,” Ne-o-Ka said as he wiped blood off of his face.
“You fool,” the commodore shouted, “can’t you see we are busy now? Tell them to wait.”
“But Commodore,” Ne-o-Ka insisted, “the Governor is saying the Alliance has invaded his region and there are a hundred ships now bombarding his planet. At least two hundred thousand invaders have landed within the last ten minutes.”
Ka-a-Fa was stunned and was lost in thought for a minute. “Call off the attack immediately, Ne-o-Ka,” the commodore said as he slumped in his chair. He had also just noticed he was bleeding from his head. “And get me Fa-a-Di immediately!” His fleet immediately withdrew from Neptune and moved to higher orbits, out of range of the other ships.
De-o-Nu’s smiling face appeared on the Dar-Fa’s view screen. “Commodore, my old friend, it is a surprise to hear from you now. My brother-in-law is not here, but I will listen to your last words or your surrender if you like.”
“Brother, we have been had,” Ka-a-Fa began, “I have just been told the Alliance has invaded our frontier and are now attacking Nom-Kat-La. The Chiefs have told me to attack, but in my heart, I know I must stop the invasion.”
“We know brother,” De-o-Nu said. “The maklans of Neptune told us this would probably happen. We have already arranged for all of our ships to use the Io portal to go directly to Nom-Kat-La and join the real fight. As you can imagine, I will not leave you here to attack the maklans. If you jump, my fleet will follow yours.”
“But Brother, your ship is not even here. Are you hiding the Kong-Fa while you shiver in fear?” Ka-a-Fa laughed.
“The Kong-Fa is very close, Ka-a-Fa,” De-o-Nu smiled. “We have a specific mission on orders from High Commissioner Fa-a-Di. We will join the fray at the appropriate time. After your ships and mine jump through the portal, I will follow closely behind. I would be honored to die with you today over Nom-Kat-La, brother. There is no honor to be gained for you or Greater Gallia over Neptune.”
“Ne-o-Ka, signal our ships to travel to Io at top speed and jump through the portal there,” the commodore said so that De-o-Nu could hear. “Brother, I will lead the way, and be waiting for you on the field of battle.” The Dar-Fa sped away from Neptune at top speed. As had been suspected, six other ships from his fleet followed quickly behind. Following their orders, the fourteen ships from De-o-Nu’s fleet and the battle-ready Kalidean and Earth ships left orbit and followed Ka-a-Fa.
Captain Fo-o-Ba of the San-Fa hailed the other remaining ships, saying, “Gentlemen, we have work to do. Each of you should target as many cities as you can and blast the Neptunians! The glory of Greater Gallia is in our hands!” The three ships broke formation and dived toward the planet. The ships fired randomly with little concern for accuracy. The planet lay helplessly in their paths.
De-o-Nu appeared from thin air on the bridge of the San-Fa in full battle gear. At the same moment, his lieutenants No-ka-De and Nan-de-Bo appeared on the bridges of the other two ships. De-o-Nu shouted, “Fo-o-Ba, prepare to enter the gates of hell!” as he aimed and fired the blaster in his left hand at the captain’s chest. The bridge crew was too shocked to react, fumbling with their side-arms. The stun blast hit the captain and he fell backward and crashed to the floor. The whole room could see the Predaxian maklan become visible when it became disconnected from the captain. It was about twice the size of the maklans on Neptune with a reddish shell and twelve long arms. It scrambled for cover. Jake, who was riding on De-o-Nu’s chest told him to fire. De-o-Nu pulled the blaster from his right holster and fired a full blast at the creature which screamed in pain and collapsed. Jake told De-o-Nu that the Predaxian was dead.
The crew on the bridge was shocked, but had now trained their weapons on De-o-Nu, who dropped his blasters to the ground. Fo-o-Ba rose, waving off his crew, saying, “De-o-Nu, what are you doing in this region? Why has my crew raised their weapons on you? Shouldn’t you be on Jupiter?”
General Fa-a-Di and his two lieutenants appeared at the same moment in the office of the Chiefs of Staff. Field Marshal Je-e-Bo screamed, “What treason is this, Fa-a-Di?” Before any of the Chiefs could summon security, Fa-a-Di’s and his men blasted the three, knocking their Predaxian parasites to the ground. The Predaxians were quickly killed with the full blasts. Before security could react to the attack, their attached maklans jumped them back to Jupiter.
Chapter 32
The breadth of the Neptunian atmosphere spread below them. Dave Brewster was completely at home in the harness with Fa-a-Di. De-o-Nu spiraled around them with Charlie Watson along for the ride. The Galliceans had to wear heavy clothing to protect them from the frigid air so far from the sun. The planet was so blue it felt like they were flying through an ocean. Countless blue lights circled them as a crowd of maklans joined the fun. Dave could see the lights of Amarofledes in the distance ahead of them. He knew Darlene was there with High Commissioner Darak working on partnership treaties with the No-Makla High Council.
“Brother Fa-a-Di,” Dave said at last, “I will miss our flights when you return to Gallia.”
“Me too brother,” the High Commissioner said. “The Chiefs of Staff have demanded I remain High Commissioner until the Predaxian problem is resolved. When they learned how easily the Predaxian maklans had penetrated our defenses and taken control of their bodies, they could not believe it. Je-e-Bo and I have a long history of fighting together and we long for the opportunity again. You know you have a standing offer to fly on Gallia with me. It would be amazing since we would probably have a crowd of ten or twenty thousand Galliceans with us.”
“Don’t forget me either, brother,” Charlie said. “De-o-Nu and I want to be part of the fun.”
“That’s right, brother-in-law,” De-o-Nu added. “I am grateful I am allowed to join Ka-a-Fa on the front lines, but I will miss Jupiter and Saturn. And I will miss our maklan friends as well!” The maklans glowed blue in happiness.
“Don’t worry, guys,” Jake replied as he spiraled around the group. “With your ships and our capabilities, we will win the day with the Predaxians. We have already recruited a hundred thousand maklans to jump to Nom-Kat-La and Gallia to help uncover them. We will always be there to help you after what you have done for us.”
“We should arrive at Amarofledes soon,” Fa-a-Di said. “Hopefully there will be a banquet waiting for us. I’m so hungry I could eat a cow! That’s the right word, right Dave?”
Dave laughed, “That’s right brother.” Dave looked over at Charlie, slung under De-o-Nu. “Charlie, you want to know something.”
“Sure Dave, what’s that?” Charlie replied.
Dave sighed and said, “The best day of my life is when I left my wallet in my car.”
The group continued to fly off toward the great city and another adventure.
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The Second Predaxian War
Chapter 1
Michamanades Nolobitamore was in serious trouble and knew it. He was struggling to regain consciousness. He could feel hundreds of other minds reaching out to him, but not in the way another maklan would communicate. Those minds seemed to be blocking his brain from both consciousness and his own ability to sense others near him. Michamanades felt totally alone and helpless. He could not sense any of his team that had been defending Nom-Kat-La from the invading Alliance fleet. They had been assigned to help the human crew on the star cruiser Courage defend themselves from the mind control of the Predaxian maklans.
His mind was full of the buzzing thoughts from those trying to control him. He was finally able to force himself awake and use all of his energy to push those intruding minds away from him. In a natural defensive move, he flew up to the ceiling of the dark room in which he found himself. His body glowed bright blue to illuminate his surroundings, but he only found solid stone walls and a small ventilation vent that wa
s heavily armored. A heavy metal door was in the center of one of the walls. He scurried over to the vent to get fresh air. A small outcrop of lichen was growing around the vent. He extended a tendril and tasted it. Being very hungry, he ravenously chomped on the growth. Michamanades could feel his strength returning and tried to sense other minds in the area. He knew the walls must be very thick because he could only feel the slightest hint of three human minds somewhere near him. “How did this happen?” he thought. He knew he would have to remember what had happened that day on the Courage.
A view screen lowered from its concealed chamber and sprang to life on the wall opposite the door. Michamanades saw the face of a Predaxian maklan staring at him. The maklan was bright red with small black eyes. “Greeting fellow maklan,” the creature said, “I am Emperor Nokalez Zendo of Predax, and you are my prisoner.”
Michamanades, shocked that he could understand the Predaxian, said, “How are you able to communicate with me?”
The Emperor laughed, “We captured some of your compatriots when we destroyed their star cruiser. We were able to convince them to expand the language capabilities of our translator devices. It is very difficult to take over planets full of inhabitants when we cannot understand their thoughts, as you can imagine, my friend.”
“Emperor Zendo,” he replied, “My name is Michamanades Nolobitamore of No-Makla, a humble scientist by trade. I appreciate your rank and power, but you are no friend of mine. Your race is a disgrace to all the maklan descendants of Ai-Makla.”
“What is it with you maklans?” the Emperor shouted, “You know nothing about Predax and our struggles over the countless generations since we all fled Ai-Makla. Our ancestors stranded us in one of the most violent, warlike areas of the galaxy. There were dozens of civilizations in this quadrant who waged war on each other and us for most of our history. We finally brought order to the madness by quieting the minds of their leaders. We brought peace!”