by Saxon Andrew
“Death Prophecy Eight. Never shy away from doing the right thing. We’ve determined that the Halo Fleets have been ordered to only attack inside Traugh Territory.”
“Why would they do that?”
“They fear the existence of a Darkness in our galaxy that would follow them back to the halo.”
“They’re not far from the truth with that with the presence of the UE across the galaxy from the Traugh. You’ve already thought about what to do about this?”
“Give Admiral Malone his wish. Send our fleets out into intergalactic space and await the arrival of the Traughs. If they’re far enough from the Milky Way, they shouldn’t be seen by any of the participants in this fight.”
“And what if the Halo changes their minds about attacking elsewhere and our fleets aren’t here to defend us?”
“Don’t send all of our ships. And I’ll be present to send a communication to the Halo’s leader warning him not to enter the forbidden space in our galaxy.”
“And if he doesn’t listen?”
“I think he will. They’re really nervous about this but I’ll make sure they pay attention.”
“Are you certain about this, Admiral?”
“Nothing is certain, Sir. But we can’t allow the Traugh to go out and build another civilization, especially when home to them is our galaxy.”
“I’m calling in a conference call with the Senior Staff and Admiral Holmes. Stay on the line until they arrive.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Steve looked up and heard, “I’ve left the images running but I’ve muted the sound.”
“Poul, you’re the man! You’re learning.”
“Don’t make me blush, if I could. I expect the Lead Traugh to bring more ships out when he makes his departure.”
Steve nodded and looked at Lani, “We’re going out with the Traugh Fleets to follow the Halo Fleets in to the Traugh Empire.”
“Steve, do you think they will bombard the Traugh Settlements on their conquered planets?”
“I would.”
“The local inhabitants in those communities will die along with the Traugh. There will be an immense loss of life.”
“But it will stop there, Lani. There’s no way to move them out before they’re hit.”
“Sometimes the universe just isn’t fair.”
“Fair is a four letter word the universe doesn’t have in its dictionary.”
“I just thought that if there is a creator, it wouldn’t allow something like this to happen.”
Steve shrugged, “Then plan to be amazed.”
“What?”
“The Kindred are free against all odds. What are the chances of that happening? Perhaps there’s another miracle waiting to happen.”
“I really hope you’re right.”
“I don’t really think anything will save them but it’s a big universe. We’ll know when the smoke clears.”
“Volumes back on.”
Steve looked at the main monitor and saw the Five Senior Admirals on the screen. Four images surrounded Pam in the center. Pam said, “Admiral Connor, why don’t you share with the others what we discussed earlier.”
Steve told them what he had learned and his suggestion of sending out Earth and Bosrean Warships to meet the Traugh Dictator in intergalactic space. There was great concern about leaving Earth and Bosrean undefended but the Admirals finally decided to send half of the fleets to meet the escaping Traugh. Steve listened to their decision and then remembered what prompted the anti-matter explosion. “Sir, I have a suggestion to Admiral Holmes.”
“What is that?”
“My computer has done some math on the power of our new blaster and has determined that it is incredibly more powerful when powered by more than one reactor. I recommend that the reactor powering the disintegrators be switched over to the blasters.”
Holmes looked at Connor on his display, “How much power is generated by two reactors?”
“More than eight times the normal beam.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“The math says it’s true. You might want to trial it when you gather your fleets in open space and use a scanner to make the measurements.”
“I’ll do that, Admiral. Thanks for the suggestion.”
Pam looked at Holmes, “Get your fleets moving. You have a long way to fly.”
“Yes Sir.”
“Admiral Connor.”
“Yes Sir?”
“Stay on the line.”
“Yes Sir.” Lani looked at him and he shrugged. He had no idea what she wanted. The other Admirals disappeared from the monitor and Pam looked at Steve, “I wanted to thank you for introducing me to your cousin.”
Steve smiled, “I take it things are going well with the two of you?”
“More than you know. I suspect we’ll be quite serious shortly and I’m amazed at the man he is. Thank you.”
“Yes, Sir. You’ll make a great member of the family.” Pam smiled and her image disappeared. Steve looked at Lani with a smug expression.
Lani sighed, “Maybe I will too, some day.”
Steve smiled, “Maybe you will.” Lani punched him on the arm and then leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. She left the bridge, “I’m going to get some rest. We won’t get much when the Traugh launch.” Steve nodded and watched her leave.
Poul said, “You should get some as well. I’ll let you know if anything develops.”
“Lock in this location and go back to the Traugh Planet.”
“That’s wise, Admiral. Try to get some sleep.”
Steve hoped he could. Things were starting to get out of hand. When three civilizations collide head-on, anything could happen and nothing was certain. He left the bridge and saw millions of warships in his mind. All of them were dangerous to humanity and the Bosrean.
• • •
Steve almost reached his quarters and then looked up, “Poul, do you know the location of my parent’s house?”
“I do.”
“Take me there and open the ramp when no one is close enough to put in danger. Wait until we change clothes to lower the ramp.”
“I’ll wait to go until you change.”
“That would be good.” He went to Lani’s quarters and knocked on the door. She opened it with a smile and he said, “Put on a uniform over your suit.”
She tilted her head, “Why?”
“We’re taking a short trip.”
“Where?”
“Questions, questions, questions; just get dressed and meet me at the exit port.” Steve walked away and Lani shook her head. She went inside and put on a Captain’s Uniform. She stepped out and waited at the port for a few moments and Steve walked up in his Admiral’s uniform. “Are we there?”
“We are and now is a good time to exit.”
The port opened and Lani saw a house in front of the ramp. Steve took her hand and led her down the ramp. “What’s going on?”
Steve pulled her up to the front door and rang the doorbell. Molly opened the door and screamed, “STEVE, OUR SON IS HERE!” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. She saw Lani and stepped back, “Now who is this!?”
“Mom, this is Lani Halekia. I was wondering if you had room for two more at dinner.”
Molly stepped to Lani, hugged her, and kissed her on the cheek, “You are the first woman Steve has ever brought home with him. Come on in and I’ll introduce you to everyone.”
Steve’s head tilted, “Everyone?”
“Stella and the twins are here. Come on in.”
Lani looked at Steve and her eyes were moist. She wiped them with her hand and followed Molly in. By the time they boarded the ship, the family knew she was really something special. Steve already knew it. He knew his parents approved without having to say so. And Cammy announced that she was not going to cut her hair again so it could grow as long as Lani’s. Even Stella told him not to lose this one. Lani hugged him when they boarded the ship and sm
iled, “You have a wonderful family.”
“I think so. They really liked you.”
“I could see they did. The twins are really something.”
“They are a handful but I think they will be a difference maker as they grow up.”
“Why did you do this?”
“Because it’s appropriate to meet each other’s family when a man and a woman are serious about each other.”
“We’ll go and meet mine when this is over.”
“I look forward to that, Lani.” He hugged her tightly and saw glass on the port dim. “Time to get some sleep.”
“I look forward to when we can do that together.”
“Me, too.”
“Steve.”
“Yes.”
“Do you think the Halo Civilizations will hit the former Traugh settlements on the Kindred Planet?”
Steve stared at her and started shaking his head, “I honestly don’t know. They should see that no one is living in them.”
“Are you certain about no one living in them? The Kindred may have moved into them when the Traugh didn’t come back.”
“We have to go and warn them about what’s coming. Poul, do you have the location of the Kindred Planet in your database.”
“Of course. I took the Prophet there more than eighty years ago.”
“Get us there now.”
The viewport flashed and they arrived above the planet. Steve and Lani arrived on the bridge and Steve said, “Take us to the largest Traugh settlement.” The ship flashed around the planet and stopped above a huge settlement that was located next to a large space port. “Is anyone living in that community?”
“I only detect one Kindred.”
“Take us down.”
“What are you thinking?”
“Lani, the Kindred are telepathic. If we can let that one Kindred know what’s coming, he can warn the others to stay away from the former settlements.”
The ship moved quickly through the atmosphere and just as they arrived at the surface they heard, “I see that you’ve come back with my ship.”
Steve and Lani’s eyes went wide open and Poul said, “Now I know what being surprised is like. That is the Prophet.”
Steve shook his head and heard, “It’s been a long time since I’ve heard the thoughts of a human. It appears that something big is happening.”
“Land the ship, Poul!” Steve jumped up and grabbed Lani’s hand. He pulled her behind him and ran for the exit port. He activated the ramp and ran out of the ship pulling Lani behind him. They arrived at the bottom of the ramp and saw a Traugh hauler moving out of the settlement toward them. They stood and waited as it moved slowly toward them. When it finally stopped in front of them they saw the Prophet. He was older than the images they had seen on Earth but there was no doubt that it was him. Steve felt his eyes moisten and heard, “Hey, hey! I’m just a Kindred. Nothing more, nothing less. There’s no reason for all this emotion.”
“My ancestor said you didn’t accept who you are but we know better. You are much more than you think.”
The Prophet slowly climbed down off the hauler and looked at it, “I don’t know how much longer this antique is going to last. My father drove it to this community with me at his side the day he was murdered. I come here to remember him.” The Prophet looked at them, “My younger sister was killed by a Traugh in this community as well.”
Steve and Lani stared at him and he shook his head, “You act like you’re seeing a ghost.”
Steve blew out a small breath, “I had no idea you might still be alive.”
“I told Essay that my life expectancy is between a hundred and twenty five or thirty five years. I still have about two or three decades left before I join my family.” The Prophet looked at the ramp and port hanging above the ground with nothing around it, “You came here in my ship. Is something bad happening?” Steve started talking and the Prophet smiled, “Just think what you want to say.” After fifteen minutes the Prophet shook his head, “So the Traugh went to Andromeda and acted the fool and now they’re about to be attacked by overwhelming numbers.” Steve nodded. “And the Traugh Leader has planned an escape?” Steve nodded again. “You can’t allow that to happen.”
Steve said, “I’m going to speak so Lani can hear what we’re saying.”
“That’s fine.”
“We have half of our fleets in intergalactic space waiting for the Traugh to make his escape.”
“So the Traugh have a real possibility of being exterminated by these Halo Civilizations?”
“That’s what we’re hoping.”
The Prophet shook his head, “I’ve been praying that I would live long enough to see this.”
Steve looked at Lani, “Why don’t you come with us and have a front row seat to what happens.”
The Prophet’s eyes widened, “Why did you come here?”
“The Halo Fleets might blast every Traugh settlement in their empire. We wanted to make sure none of your people are in the settlements when this thing kicks off.”
“None of my people would ever desecrate themselves by coming here. I’m the only one that ever comes to this one and my people understand why. You are here at the moment of the Traugh possibly being attacked and had no idea I’d be here?”
“Finding you was a shock to all of us, Prophet.”
“Call me, Kam. I guess the Creator is slamming me on the head to finally get me to recognize him. You are an answered prayer. I’ve been praying to live to see the Traugh eradicated, never really expecting it to happen and here you are. I want to go with you in the worst possible way. Even if they aren’t all killed, seeing them being attacked would make my life.”
“Will you warn your people about the possible attacks on the former Traugh Communities?”
“Already done. I see you found the uniforms under the floor.”
“I did. Essay left a message in the computer’s database telling us how to find them.”
“There’s a lot more of them under the floor than just the ones you found.”
“What?”
“Come on, I’ll show you.” They walked up the ramp and when the prophet entered the entry port he walked over to the far wall and bent down. He began touching tiles on the floor and bin after bin rose out of the floor with the suits stacked in them. Steve saw that there were more than a hundred in just two of the ten bins. “We’ll talk about this once we’re in the control center.” The Prophet walked past them and up the ramp. They followed him to the bridge and he looked around, “Where should I sit?”
Lani smiled, “You can have my chair. I’ll move to the communications chair.”
“Thank you, Child. Is that computer still pretending to be dumb and talking like a stupid machine?”
“We’ve named him Poul, Kam.”
“That’s my father’s name. Does he deserve it?” Kam looked back at the console, “Well, are you still acting dumb?”
“No, Prophet. I’m not.”
“Why wouldn’t you come out of hiding when I was on board with Essay?”
“I’m surprised you knew I was keeping my ability hidden. What gave me away?”
“Remember I have a talent for seeing technological things and understanding how they operate. That talent is what allowed me to steal that Traugh Warship. I could see that you are nothing like the computers we were building. The Bosrean didn’t know what they were doing when they hooked up seven computers to you.”
“No they didn’t. And the additional storage capacity made a huge difference in my operating speed.”
“I see in Steve’s mind that you have a pretty powerful weapon.”
“I do.”
“Don’t use it to assist the Humans and Bosrean. They have to do this without your assistance.”
“I understand that. However, I will use it in self-defense.”
“Of course. I also saw that they’re thinking about installing some of their blasters so you can possibly go home.” Kam saw Ste
ve flinch and he smiled, “I don’t miss much.” He looked at the console again, “I’ve opened the floor so they have access to the other suits to work on making that happen.”
“Why would you do that, Prophet?”
“I know what it’s like to not be able to go home. No one should endure that.”
“Thank you.”
“By the way, call me Kam.”
“No, I’m not going to do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because Steve is right. You may not be able to see how your life had made an incredible difference but I’ve examined everything known about you. You are more than just a simple Kindred and your revelations to those around you have to have come from outside you. You are and will always be the Prophet to me.”
“How is it that you can see this and I can’t?”
“Perhaps it’s intended to be that way. Your humility is what keeps you from making a mistake by being too full of yourself.”
Kam was silent for a moment and then looked at Steve, “Well! Put in my place by a bucket of nuts and bolts.”
“He’s much more than that, Prophet.”
“I told you to call me Kam.”
“I agree with Poul. You are so much more than you think. Your Death Prophecies have kept my species safe and out of harm’s way.”
Kam sighed, “I really don’t know where those prophecies came from. They just seemed to pop in my head over a two year span. Maybe you’re right and I am being used by something. Where are we going? We need to get moving if we’re going to make it on time to see this thing start.”
“We’re going to the Traugh Planet first.”
Kam nodded and noticed the viewport darken for a moment. He looked out and saw millions of Traugh Warships gathered around the planet. He frowned and said, “You can fly this fast?”
“I can.”
“Then why did you take four days to take me home from Earth? If I knew you could do this I might have visited more.”
“I didn’t discover I could do it until Steve and Lani took me out of storage.”
“A likely story!”
“No, it’s true.”
“Take me in closer and let me see if I can hear that son-of-a-Trug.” The ship moved closer to the planet and Kam held up his hand, “This is close enough.” He was silent for a moment and then looked at Steve, “You sent your fleets to the wrong location.”