by Karl Morgan
Bok laughed. “Pardon me for laughing in your presence, my lord. Your glorious fleet can overwhelm hundreds of planets. The upgraded plasma bombs are unstoppable weapons now. I only request that we keep at least one hundred ships with your flagship. In case any strange attacks occur, you must be kept safe.”
Lok smiled at his general. “You are a good man, Bok. Order the flanks of our fleet to attack those other planets. We definitely don’t need two thousand ships to take Panzak.” He sat at his table and put his feet up. “This is going to be a great day for the Donnaki. Our greatest enemies will be no more. Then the Free Society will crumble under our feet. We will have their Hives and their worlds.”
“Yes, my lord. I will give the orders.” He bowed deeply and slipped out of the room.
Lok Zul rose and took a bottle of whisky and a glass from his cabinet. He opened it and poured some. Then he sat back down and looked out the port as the fleet began to separate into smaller groups. A tone sounded on his control panel and Bok’s face appeared on the screen. “My lord, the orders have been given. We also have Kolu Inzaka calling for you. He is requesting to speak to you about a cease-fire.”
Lok took a sip of whisky and smiled. “Drop the communication with that bastard. Today is not the time to negotiate for peace.” He pushed a button and the screen went blank. He took another drink and sat back, closing his eyes to relish his victories.
Dave and Lini were back on the Nightsky as it orbited Fistnan. Fa-a-Di’s fleet had arrived on schedule and Darlene was jumped to the Nightsky as well. She sat next to Dave on the couch in their quarters, holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder. “I can’t believe we found you again,” she said.
“I know sweetheart,” he agreed, “it all seems like a dream.”
“Dave, I’m not sure how much of what happened I really want to know,” she replied. “How long were you and Lini marooned on Solander?”
“The elder on Fistnan said it was five months of this time,” he began, “but it was hard to tell there. With the light caused by Lubna and the sun, the day and night cycles were random and chaotic. If I had to guess, it would be more like a year. When we arrived, it was boiling hot. Just before we left, it had snowed and was freezing cold. But I’ll tell you anything you want to know.”
“I’ll think about that for a while,” she replied. “You’re back to me now, right?”
“Yes, my darling,” he said. “What happened on Solander occurred a long time ago.” A tone sounded on the control panel on the table in front of them and he pushed the contact. “Brewster here.”
“Hi Dave,” Fa-a-Di said. “I just wanted to tell you we are jumping into Paxran space in a few minutes. I have ordered Jon to keep you far from there. I’m not risking losing you again. Keep safe.”
“You keep safe brother. You’re the one going into battle,” Dave replied. “If you want Nightsky, Darlene and I can stay on Fistnan.”
“That won’t be necessary. We have Kalidean, Earth and more Gallicean ships jumping there soon as well. It will be a nasty fight, but the Donnaki will pay a price for their attack. Zee has his Hive at our disposal as well. We may survive this day to fly together again, brother. Pray for us. Kong-Fa out,” he said as the screen went blank.
Three hundred Donnaki ships entered the Panzak system. The three defending ships fled as soon as the fleet was detected, leaving the planet undefended. “Those cowards are running, Emperor,” Bok said. The two valakars were sitting on the command bridge, with the emperor in the captain’s seat.
“I can’t say I blame them,” Lok laughed. “They are no match for us. Target all defenses on the planet. Let them squirm for a while before we accept their surrender.”
“Yes, my lord,” Bok replied. Plasma blasts shot from the ships and smashed into the planet. Laser emplacements exploded in flames. The planetary leader was desperately trying to reach the attacker to surrender, but his calls were rejected.
Most of the cities were now in flames. Mobs of people ran out of the cities hoping for more safety in the large forests. “Target their capitol building and then we’ll let them surrender, general.”
“Emperor, several dozen warships have just appeared in our immediate area,” the science officer screamed. “They appeared out of thin air.”
“Target the new ships and destroy them!” Lok shouted.
Mondor fired all five of its plasma bombs simultaneously. As the balls of fire approached clusters of Donnaki cruisers, several Gallicean cruisers fired on them. The first plasma ball exploded, crippling five cruisers and pushing two more into Penza’s atmosphere where they began to break apart. A second bomb smashed into a large battle cruiser, causing it to explode in a titanic blast.
“Fire our plasma bombs at that station!” Bok shouted. The first bomb missed Mondor and flew out into space harmlessly. The second struck the planetoid and exploded, causing a huge gash in her hull. “We hit it! Fire again!” Three more bombs raced toward Mondor. Just as they were about to strike, Mondor disappeared. “What happened? Did we destroy it?”
“No sir,” said the weapons officer. “The ship disappeared just like it arrived. But we have two more battle stations and twenty more cruisers that just appeared behind us.”
“Get us the hell out of here!” Lok shouted. “Call back the rest of the fleet!”
The battle station Parton shot its five plasma bombs at the flagship. Two other cruisers moved in their path and were obliterated. The flagship was damaged but stayed in the fight. “I’m turning about now sir,” Bok shouted. “I think we can escape if we can get more speed.”
Fa-a-Di’s face filled the viewscreen. “Welcome to hell, valakar.” The Kong-Fa appeared directly in front of the flagship. Her plasma cannon shot forward, knocking down the front shield. Before the ship could turn, a second blast destroyed the front half of the ship. It twisted and turned before falling into the atmosphere of Panzak. It exploded when it crashed into the capitol city.
Zee Gongaleg appeared on the view screens of all the remaining Donnaki ships. He smiled gently. “Dear friends, the Donnaki Emperor is dead. Please cease all aggression immediately and we will allow you to return to your space. If not, be assured that most of you will face a similar fate. Your incursion into the territory of the Free Society was an act of war. I am certain you can now see our defenses are up to the challenge. As an additional sign of our resolve, all of your officers above the rank of captain have already been sent to Paxran. Confirm that if you do not believe me. There is no victory here today. It is now time to bury our dead. Go home, save your own lives. After some time passes, perhaps you can join us as well.”
Chapter 60
“Wow Dave! You weren’t kidding about this place,” Fa-a-Di said as he looked through the window at the interior of the cottage on Solander. “You two lived here for a year with this one small room and a single tiny bed?”
“That’s all true brother,” Dave laughed. “I spent a long time trying to find something to make a second bed, but there was nothing other than rocks and cactus. A small bathroom and a kitchen are right down that hall.”
“And Fola Untor put in a huge supply of food and water for you? What a sick, demented man he was,” the Gallicean said as he sat on the long bench in front.
“That was lucky for me brother. Without that, we wouldn’t have survived the hot summer with no food or water,” Dave remarked. “Fola actually wanted me to live a long life here, so I could think about what you and I did to cause the Brotherhood to collapse. But it was his backup plan. Killing me in the twenty-first was the real plan.”
“You still have no recollection of that?” the other asked.
“Oh, I remember every detail now, thanks to Fa-u-Bay and Ondeen. Speaking of them, didn’t you get to fly over Lubna with Fa-u-Bay?” Dave questioned.
“Thank you for that brother,” Fa-a-Di replied. “I know he was just mental energy, but he looked every bit the great hero to me.”
Fa-a-Di put his hand o
n Dave’s knee and said, “I need to ask you a rather indelicate question brother. Please feel free to say it is none of my business. You and Darlene are my best friends, and I’m afraid your trip to this moon may put your marriage at risk.”
Dave smiled at his friend. “We have talked about it some. Right now, she isn’t sure she wants to know either. Didn’t you warn me about Lini when we were on Zulanan?” Fa-a-Di nodded. “I thought so.”
“Dave, before you say anymore, let me tell you two things. First, it is none of my business. Second, anything you tell me will remain with me only,” Fa-a-Di said.
“Both Fola and I asked her to move away before you showed up on Zulanan to stop him. She refused to budge, and when Fola went to touch me, she grabbed my other arm,” Dave began.
“Yes, I saw that with my own two eyes as well,” the Gallicean replied.
“Here on Solander, our relationship was platonic for a long time. We were able to keep busy learning languages and reading Ten Years to Gallia. That turned out to be a great idea because it enabled us to communicate with Fa-u-Bay and the Nan on Fistnan,” he continued.
“I am so amazed you are speaking Gallicean now,” Fa-a-Di said. “That is a great sign of our friendship.”
“The first time we made love, we both thought we were dreaming,” Dave confessed. “We were actually flying over Lubna when it happened. When we found we both had the same dream, we realized it really happened. Lini was distraught and angry. She had wanted us to be together and felt the shared dream stole something from her.” Dave stood and began to pace on the porch. “I didn’t know what to do. It was a magical experience in the clouds over Lubna and I really did care for her. So I made love to her again.” Dave leaned against the support post and looked across the Solander landscape. The temperature was rising again and another boiling summer was on the way. “After that, we were platonic again for months. Our relationship became normal again because we knew how we felt about each other, but realized this was not normal. People don’t fly across the galaxy and back half a million years. It was unique. We were both satisfied to put it into the past, until our last night. We knew we would be returning to our time soon. That’s it.” Fa-a-Di was laughing. “That’s really nice brother. I confess everything and you laugh at me.”
“It’s not that Dave,” Fa-a-Di apologized. “I tried to put myself in your place. I couldn’t imagine what I would do in that circumstance. But then I thought about the situation. Who could believe such a thing? You were sent back in time by a maniac bent on revenge. You lived in a tiny cottage at the end of the galaxy on a desert planet no one believed existed. You had an affair with a beautiful woman who looks remarkably like your wife while flying over a gas giant inhabited by snakes that control time. Not to mention you were breathing gas that should have killed you both instantly. To top it off, you are rescued by the greatest hero in the history of Greater Gallia. If I wasn’t here and hadn’t seen what I’ve seen, I’d lock you up in an asylum.”
Dave was laughing now too. “I know. Isn’t this the weirdest fairy tale you’ve ever heard? I’m beginning to think I made up the whole thing too.”
“Are you going to tell Darlene?” Fa-a-Di asked.
“When she’s ready to hear it, yes I will,” Dave replied. “Let me ask you a question brother. When you were with Fa-u-Bay, did you ask him about the Sojourn?”
“Yes I did as a matter of fact,” the Gallicean responded. “He said you told him how I was always terrified of it. Actually, he was laughing too when I mentioned that. He said the Sojourn was never meant to be sad. Back then they knew many Nan survived on the planet. He had hoped we would forge peaceful relationships with them. Can you believe that he apologized to me for what happened later?”
“He’s quite a guy,” Dave smiled.
Fa-a-Di said, “Then I told him my fear was gone. The moment our shuttle flew over Lini’s village and I could see the homes and happy Nan waving at us, I knew there was no reason to fear the Sojourn. The past can only haunt us if we allow it to. If we assume the worst, that’s what we get. You know, after Fola took you, I went back to the campsite to speak to the people there. As I arrived, I got that same terror back again. There was some odd noise that made my hair stand on end. I stopped myself from being afraid and decided to find out what was causing it. As I approached the river, I noticed the feeling was gone. I could hear the Nan singing in Lini’s village. From farther away, my brain translated their melodies into some kind of ghost voice. I laughed for an hour before I could compose myself.” A tone sounded in Fa-a-Di’s earpiece and he pressed the contact. “What is it, brother-in-law . . . that’s amazing, we’re on our way.”
“What was that, Fa-a-Di?” Dave asked.
“De-o-Nu has spotted that large herd of herbivores you mentioned. He wants us to fly to his position.” Fa-a-Di rushed to his shuttle and returned with the harness strapped to his chest. “How about one last spin around this moon before we go home?”
Dave smiled ear to ear. “That sounds like an excellent idea, brother. Let’s go see where the winds take us next.”
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The Accord
Cast of Characters
In Alphabetical Order
Abala Konole—General of the Paxran fleet. The Paxran are a maklan species (spider-like), appearing in both The Hive and Tears of Gallia. The Paxran control many systems on the opposite side of the galactic center, and their war with the Donnaki Empire ends Tears of Gallia.
Ali Bai—Helmsman for the Star Cruiser Nightsky (Dave Brewster’s flagship). He first appeared on Jon Lake’s pirate crew in Showdown Over Neptune.
Alo Pak—One of Elder Odo Pak’s grandchildren, who first appeared in The Hive.
Anil Santa—A former policeman and long-suffering political prisoner on Skee Lotho.
Aria Watson—A colonel and senior leader in Earth’s Temporal Command and Charlie Watson’s wife. She has appeared in each book in the series.
Balak, Infaz, and Otho of The Accord—Three junior Friends of The Accord who come to Dave for help.
Bandopaz Niderak—The first person in the history of the universe to transcend both the physical and metaphysical planes of existence.
Bik Falor—Major in the Bandabar (bird-like) army.
Bill and Cybil Brewster—Dave and Darlene’s children, both of whom traveled to the future to spearhead the project to perfect human DNA.
Binka of The Accord—A junior Friend of The Accord.
Charlie Watson—Dave’s friend who convinced him to travel to the future in Showdown Over Neptune. He is married to Aria and has a daughter on Dave’s crew named Lia Lawson.
Cintu and Geod of The Accord—Senior leaders of The Accord.
Dar Lini—A young Nan woman that Dave and Odo met on the planet Zulanan during Tears of Gallia. She and Dave were stranded for a year on a mythical planet in the ancient past where their relationship was a key element of the book.
Darlene Brewster—Dave’s wife and a masterful negotiator. It was her planet-sharing agreement with the Galliceans in Showdown Over Neptune that led Dave to meet his best friends (General Fa-a-Di and Admiral De-o-Nu).
Dave Brewster—Our Hero. Dave was an out-of-work accountant trying to make ends meet in the twenty-first century when he was recruited to travel eleven hundred years into the future to help mankind rekindle its desire to expand into the universe and find new friends and allies. Now he is Supreme Fleet Admiral in the Free Society of the Milky Way Galaxy. His job is to find new planets for the various species in the Free Society and to build strong friendships and treaties with new civilizations that are discovered.
De-o-Nu—Admiral of the Gallicean fleet supporting Dave’s mission. Galliceans are large featherless bird-like creatures who evolved on gas giant planets. De-o-Nu and his brother-in-law, Fa-a-Di, have become Dave’s closest friends. That relationship is best exemplified in The Hive and Tears of Gallia.
Eon—A founder and original member of The Ac
cord. He left them when he understood the evil they would rain down on the universe.
Fa-a-Di—Legendary general and High Commissioner of Greater Gallia, and also Dave’s best friend. Their friendship is the cornerstone of the series, as they discover new worlds and dark secrets together. He has figured prominently in each book. His sister is married to Admiral De-o-Nu.
Fola Untor—The former leader of the Brotherhood (The Hive) whose desperate attempt to get revenge on Dave was the main plotline in Tears of Gallia. He used time travel extensively, and although he was killed in Tears, no one can be certain whether earlier versions of him are still waiting for them in time.
Frake Landres—Weapons officer of the Nightsky. Frake is one of Jon Lake’s best friends and had been on the crew of the original pirate ship of the same name during Showdown Over Neptune.
G17—The butler robot of Eon on Stit.
Ila Pak—Wife of Elder Odo Pak. She first appeared in The Hive.
Isfalon—A Nan rescued from Mantarcus’ vessel.
Jon Lake—Captain of the Star Cruiser Nightsky. Jon was born on the planet Far Sky, which was abandoned by Earth while it was still being terraformed (Showdown Over Neptune). After being captured while trying to rob another planet, he is recruited to help Dave bring Far Sky back into the fold, by completing the terraforming and helping billions of new settlers acclimate. Jon’s first love is the stars, and he chooses to join Dave on his mission to found new worlds.
Ka-a-Fa—Captain of the Gallicean Starship Kong-Fa. Ka-a-Fa appeared in Showdown Over Neptune as leader of a fleet of warships sent to attack the maklans on Neptune. After his disgrace, De-o-Nu convinced him to return to duty as captain of the flagship of the fleet.
Kak Nifas—Leader of the underground resistance on Bandabar to The Accord.
Kally Karsen—Charlie’s butler from Showdown Over Neptune who now serves at the ambassador’s residence on Tak-Makla.