by Saxon Andrew
“We both wanted to get back to our loves,” she replied softly.
The Senior Elder chuckled, “I think you didn’t need me to come. She is the one that makes the difference.”
“So, what happens now?” Root asked.
“We go back and persuade our people to agree to unite.”
“That will not be easy.”
“Root, I think the most difficult part was getting the DECs to understand. One thing they know more than any species I’ve ever encountered is love.”
“We will be there to support you, Senior Elder.”
“Thank you, Root. It’s time to go home.”
“I will remain here,” the Elder’s twin announced.
Root smiled, “That would be good, Elder. It’s hard to persuade anyone to do anything, when all they feel is fear.”
Root looked at Sprigly and Seedel, “Notify Captain Higginson to set course for the Holy Grove.”
Sprigly nodded and issued the order.
The Elders said to all the DECs scattered around the Realm’s Universe, “There will be no tasting!”
• • •
Captain Higginson waited until the cranes were back on board and tied down. He looked up at the giant cloud surrounding the planet and ordered, “Take us up!” The transport ignited its thrusters and began picking up speed. It moved quickly above the planet as the cloud moved out of its trajectory. Higginson smiled and turned to Belle, “Notify Queen Gardner where we’re going.”
Belle nodded as she launched the slivers.
• • •
“DANIELLE!!!”
Danielle almost jumped out of bed, “WHAT?!”
“I’ve just received a sliver from Captain Higginson, they are headed to the Holy Grove.” Danielle wiped her eyes and saw Tag trying to get up off the floor. He always slept on the edge and he fell off at Grace’s loud voice. He sat rubbing his eyes, as Grace continued, “It appears the Algean Senior Elder has united with the DEC Elder.”
• • •
Tag called out, “Get the engines fired up. Set course for the Algean Holy Planet and raise the masking field. Is Sprigly and Seedel ok?”
“No one experienced any harm.”
“Good, let me know when you’re ready to jump.”
“Waiting on you,” Grace responded.
Tag got up on the side of the bed rubbing his shoulder. “Get dressed, Tag.”
“Hey, how about a little sympathy! My shoulder hurts!” Danielle smiled, leaned over, and kissed him on the shoulder. Tag pointed at his chest, “My chest hurts right here.” Danielle smiled and kissed him on his chest. “I think I busted my lip!” Danielle leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. A few minutes later, Tag mumbled, “Hold off on that jump, Grace.”
“Will do.”
• • •
The Transport arrived in orbit above the Algean Holy Planet and the Senior Elder thought, “Take me directly down to the Holy Grove.”
Root and Petal managed to separate their branches and Petal said, “I can see everything back at Kelt.”
“Your twin can see everything here. Whatever one sees, the other sees.”
“I’m so thankful I did this.”
“Me, too, Petal.”
The Transport landed and the bay door opened. Immediately, tens of thousands of Algeans rushed the ship. The Senior Elder’s anger was instant and he used telepathy to yell at his greatest mental power, “STOP!!” Every Algean attacking the transport froze. It was forbidden to use telepathy. The Senior Elder moved to the edge of the landing bay and looked out at the green mass of Algeans surrounding the ship. “GO AWAY!”
“But we thought you were kidnapped by the traitor Root!” one of them thought.”
“He is no traitor!! Now move away, you disgust me!”
The green mass of thousands of Algeans appeared to evaporate from around the transport and Belle said, “My, my, that was a tension filled moment.”
Higginson forced himself to appear calm and waved a hand at her, “If you say so.”
Bell looked at him and smiled as she said, “Touché, Captain. You do realize more than a hundred Algeans jumped into the landing bay before they were sent packing.”
Higginson fought desperately to keep his expression neutral, “Any damage?”
“A little.”
“Have it cleaned up.”
Belle turned to her console and smiled; she knew the Captain was scared but he did a good job of hiding it. She decided not to call him out on squeezing the left chair arm.
• • •
The Senior Elder walked into the Holy Grove, followed by Root, Petal, Sprigly, and Seedel. The Senior Elder stopped for a moment and he looked up at the sky the exact same moment Root and Petal looked up. Their leaves turned bright green and Sprigly shook his leaves. Seedel asked him, “What did they see?”
“I don’t know but it must be something good judging by their reactions.”
The Elder walked deeper into the grove and stopped in front of the other Elders. He looked out at the green mass covering everything out to the horizon, and thought loudly, “The prohibition of telepathy still stands for all but the Elders. We will use telepathy to discuss an important issue that all will hear.” The Senior turned to the other Elders and the new Second Elder asked, “What has happened to you? Your mind is…different.”
“I have united my mind with the DEC’s Senior Elder.” The Elders remained silent and the Senior Elder’s leaves turned a deep green, “Do you doubt me?”
The new Second replied, “Elder, I mean no disrespect but you violated our laws by leaving the Holy Grove and now you say you have done something impossible. We are in the process of choosing another Senior Elder.”
“Before I left, I would have welcomed you choosing another to lead us. However, that is no longer the case. My leadership is now needed to take us into the future.”
“But you violated the law!”
“As all of you will do if you intend to remain an Elder.”
“WHAT!!”
“All of you will walk out of the Holy Grove now!”
“And if we don’t.”
“Do you remember what happened to the former Second?” The Elders remained silent. The Second’s trunk remained where it had fallen.
“Why are you doing this?!” the closest Elder asked.
“BECAUSE THE LAWS LIMIT US!” The Senior Elder answered angrily. He paused a moment and continued, “The laws are what caused us to lose our way! The laws must go for us to discover who we really are! Now start moving!!”
The power of the Senior Elders mind was felt by all of them; but they remained still until an Elder in the rear of them pulled its roots up and started walking out of the Grove. The Senior Elder smiled as the other Elders looked at each other and began pulling up their roots. They moved out of the golden soil in the Holy Grove and crossed the border into the golden soil outside the grove. “Does the soil outside the Holy Grove taste different than the soil inside it?”
The first Elder to leave the Grove said, “I can’t detect a difference.”
The Senior Elder’s leaves turned a brighter green, “You will the new Second!” He looked at the Elders gathered outside the Holy Grove and said, “Answer me honestly. Do you think that the presence of an Elder at the hatching groves to instruct our new hatchlings would be an asset in getting them started on learning what it means to be an Algean?” The Senior Elder swept one of his branches around as he continued to challenge them, “And do you not think that going to our other planets and mingling with our citizens there would not bring us closer together as a people. Tell me one good thing that comes from trapping our wisest leaders into a tiny piece of land?”
“It’s a way of getting respect for being chosen an Elder,” one of the Elders answered.
“Respect is gained by your behavior and actions, not the piece of dirt you occupy. This is just one example of how the laws limits us. Can you think of another?”
“I think if we had sent an Elder with the Warriors we lost attacking Earth, those losses might have been avoided.”
“Their deaths are my responsibility but you are right. We send fleets out to die and we never get our branches broken. Leaders must share the risks and horrors of the ones they send out.”
“It would also be good if an Elder went to the planets to explain our decisions and not have them sent by messengers,” another Elder suggested.
The Senior Elder leaned left in agreement. He thought so everyone could hear, “The borders will be removed from around the Holy Grove; from this moment forward, the Holy Grove will be anywhere our people live. We will go where we are needed.”
The Elders were silent and finally the demoted Second Elder thought, “That is the wisest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
“There’s more.” The Elders waited and the Senior Elder finally added, “I am going to allow all of you to connect with me telepathically and I want you to look at my mind. Do that now?”
“Does that include us?” a thought from one of the millions surrounding the grove asked.
“It includes everyone!” He waited until the connection was complete and then he moved to his twin above Kelt. The billions of Algeans were shocked at the sudden change. They saw a giant cloud of Dark Energy Creatures surrounding the planet and they were stunned by the clarity of the vision. The Senior Elder moved his consciousness back to the planet, as he thought, “I have united with the Senior DEC Elder and wherever he goes, I will be there as well. He is here with me now. Many of the DECs want to unite with one of us. I’m asking for volunteers to do this.”
The billions of Algeans observing the Senior Elder’s thoughts, moved out of the Senior Elder’s mind and were silent. Then he heard a thought, “What benefit is there for us to do this?”
The Senior Elder smiled, “How do we send out our adolescents to discover the universe around them?”
The Algean answered, “We send them out in small ships to explore.”
“They explore until it’s time for them to put their roots into the ground. Do you ever miss going out and exploring our universe?”
“I miss it every day.”
“If you unite with one of these creatures, you and it will be free to go out and explore wherever you want to go.”
“But they are killing the civilizations in our galaxy!” an Elder responded.
“And they don’t know the damage they are causing. They have no concept of the term kill. They have stopped killing here and no more will die from them. Uniting with them will insure the safety of not only the survivors here but all other civilizations across our universe.”
“Are we going to rebuild our fleets?”
The Elder’s leaves turned a brighter green, “Do you think we could build a ship more capable of defending us than what these creatures could do?”
“Senior Elder, will this cause a problem with my mate if I choose to do this?”
“We need couples to unite with DEC couples. If you wonder about what effect it has, simply look at Root and Petal’s minds now.”
Root wrapped his branches with Petal as millions of Algean minds linked with them. Root thought, “I’m connecting with my Twin.” He heard the gasps from the Algeans in his mind as the view changed to Kelt. He also noticed how they were feeling the love he felt for Petal and the love shared by the twins.
The Senior Elder looked at Root and Petal, “Shut it down!” Root blocked his mind and felt the disappointment from the Algeans as they left his mind. The Senior Elder thought, “You are free to discuss this among yourselves with telepathy. Tomorrow, I will be asking for volunteers to go on the transport to unite with the DECs desiring one of you to join them.”
“I want to do this,” one of the Elders volunteered. “I long to go out and see our universe again.”
“You may go.”
The other Elders looked at the volunteer and the former Second replied, “I’ll reserve judgement until you return.”
Another Elder asked, “So you are requiring us to swear our loyalty to you?”
Before the Senior Elder could reply, Root thought where all could hear, “I’m sorry, Senior Elder, but I will not be swearing loyalty to you!”
“Why not?”
Root raised his branches, “It’s a trust issue.”
The Senior Elder’s leaves turned brilliant green and he started laughing. Root stared at him, along with the other Elders and millions of Algeans around the grove. The Senior Elder looked up at the sky and thought, “If you think you’re being sneaky, you’re wrong. It’s time for you to come.”
• • •
Danielle looked at Tag and rolled her eyes, as Tag chuckled, “The Senior Elder can see like the DECs.”
“What are we going to do?”
“Do what he says,” Tag answered. “Alex take us to the grove.”
The Senior Elder waited and Root wondered what in the hell was going on. The Kosiev arrived above the planet and Tag and Danielle teleported down to the planet. They appeared beside Root and the Senior Elder leaned down to look at them squarely in their eyes, “The law that led to the most damage done to our galaxy is the law that forces every Algean to follow the Senior Elder’s orders. No one being is wise enough or capable of knowing the best course of action in all situations. Jealousy, avarice, arrogance, and stupidity infects all of us at some level and a leader possessing those traits is a dangerous being indeed. Every one of my species will decide for themselves what is the right thing to do and all of us will swear our loyalty to Creation. If we have doubts about what to do, we will come to you to ask for direction.”
Danielle was stunned silent by his announcement and Tag quickly added, “The Northern Mountain Cats can also offer advice.”
“And we will use them on minor issues but you will lead us in the paramount decisions. There is no doubt that you are a tool of Creation. Eventually, all of us will be out in the universe and we will do what is needed to protect life. I know that even the youngest of us knows the difference between right and wrong. They probably know it better than those of us tainted by ambition.”
The new Second asked, “What will you be doing Senior Elder?”
The tall Elder looked up at the sky, “I will be out there with my Twin learning again. It’s going to be glorious.”
“But we need you here to guide us!” several Elders said in unison.
The Elder laughed again, “That’s the wonderful thing about this, I’ll still be here. We’ll all be here where we will plant the seeds of our families and send them out with a DEC to do their explorations. This is what we were created to do. This is our destiny!”
The billions of Algeans on the planet saw the Senior Elder’s vision and their imaginations caught fire at what they saw.
Danielle saw the Senior Elder’s thoughts and took a quick breath. Seedel looked at her, “What’s wrong?”
“Your parents had to die for this to happen. I hate saying this but I believe it’s true.”
Seedel looked back at the Senior Elder and shook her branches slightly, “He’s much more than I thought. My father would have never agreed to Unite with the Senior DEC and leave my mother.”
Danielle agreed, “It would take one wanting to die to do what was done.”
“I see that, Danelle. Do you think Creation forced him to do it?”
“I honestly don’t know, Seedel. Perhaps another path would have appeared but I’m not wise enough to see another way.”
Seedel leaned left, “You lost Cassandra during the war with the Demons. There is always a price to be paid for good to eventually triumph over evil. I don’t want to like the Senior Elder, and I don’t. But I can respect what he’s done. Perhaps that will be enough.”
Sprigly was listening to them and asked, “Do you think we should unite with them, Seedel?”
Seedel turned to him and her leaves brightened, “I think we would be better for doing it.”
Root quic
kly interrupted, “I know just the two-DECs for you.”
Seedel looked at him, “Is that so?”
Petal’s twin has a sister who is connected with a male DEC. She’s asking for a couple to unite with.”
Seedel looked at Sprigly, “We’ll go on the transport tomorrow.”
“Emperor Robbins came to Ross and asked about you.”
Sprigly’s leaves instantly turned brown, “OH CRAP! I promised to keep him informed.”
Danielle smiled, “We’ve calmed him down and he should only yell at you for an hour or so.”
“I deserve it,” he said softly
Seedel put her branches around him, “I’ll be there with you.”
“I appreciate it.”
Seedel leaned left, “I’ll always be there with you.”
Danielle glanced at Tag and saw the grin on his face. She smiled and went to his arms. “You were dead on about staying out of this. You are incredible, Danielle.” Danielle laughed out loud and Tag asked, “What’s so funny?”
Danielle controlled her laughter, as she looked up at him, “I do my best work under pressure.”
Tag smiled broadly, “Oh, I don’t know about that.”
Danielle elbowed him, “Goof ball!”
Chapter Fourteen
Danielle sat on the bridge reviewing the long list of messages on her panel. Shaking her head at the long list, she heard, “Danielle.”
“Yes, Grace.”
“I’ve received a sliver from Seedel that says the DEC Elder has forbidden the tasting of anything on a planet or object in space.”
“I imagine that took some time,” she replied absently, while staring to reply to her list of messages.
“Seedel says she listened to him issue the orders and, you’re right, it did take a lot of effort to make it happen.”
Danielle glanced up, “Did she say anything about her twin?”
“She did. She says she is still in touch with her, even in the Dark Dimension.”
Danielle looked up and asked, “How is that possible?”
“You need to ask someone who knows about those things, Danielle. I certainly don’t understand it. It appears the DEC sensory system isn’t limited by universal or dimension barriers.”