Gregor's Run: The Universe is too Small to Hide

by Saxon Andrew

“No, Computer, the two of you will move away and not take part.”

  “Gregor, then why are we going through this coating process?”

  “Because you will take part in what follows…if we win.”

  “If it looks like you’re going to lose, do we have permission to enter the fray?”

  “Only if Kaylee or I order it.”

  “And if both of you are dead?”

  “You are free to do as you choose.” His statement was greeted with silence and after a minute Gregor said, “Computer?”

  “If the two of you die, we will be going back to Tibet.”

  Gregor smiled, “That is something I would genuinely appreciate.”

  “We thought you would.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Gregor walked to the archery range to discuss an issue with Kaylee. He hoped she wouldn’t reject the idea out of hand. He arrived at the archery range located in the huge clearing, sat down on a log, and watched Kaylee choosing a bow. She would take one off the stack and pull the string back to her cheek and put it aside. She had gone through fifteen bows before Gregor said, “Are you that picky?”

  Kaylee picked up another bow, drew it back to her cheek, and put it aside, “It’s like being kissed, Gregor.”

  “What?” Gregor said as his face turned red.

  Kaylee lifted another bow, pulled it back and smiled, “You know when it’s the right one doing it.” She lifted an arrow out of a quiver hanging on a wooden stand next to her and notched it on the bowstring in a heartbeat. She released it and the arrow flew away at incredible speed and hit the center of a target’s bull’s eye a hundred yards down range.

  She put the quiver over her shoulder and looked at him, “I’m really surprised you can’t fire a bow, Gregor. Most of your training was done to improve your eye-hand coordination and speed. The things they did to your mind were done to connect you with your body. Firing a bow requires all those skills and you should have them.” She released another arrow and it hit the bull’s eye a quarter of an inch from the first arrow.

  Gregor stood up and went to the stack of bows Kaylee had discarded. He picked up the one on top and pulled it back to his cheek. He immediately knew it wasn’t balanced and the pull was off at the bottom. He put it down and went to the stack she had not completed going through. He began pulling bows and putting them aside. Kaylee stopped and looked at him, “What are you doing?”

  “I’m checking these bows out. I can sense that they’re not…right.” He continued going through the stack and eventually tried all of them with no success. He looked at Kaylee and shrugged as she nodded toward something behind him. He turned and saw the Clan Leader walking toward him and saw he was carrying a bow. The Clan Leader walked up to him and held out the bow, “Gregor, this was your father’s bow. He died in the forest being attacked by a pack of predators but it wasn’t because he wasn’t good with it. He was a master archer.” Gregor took the bow and pulled the string back. Now he knew what Kaylee meant about knowing when one was right. This felt like holding his sword; it just seemed to be perfectly balanced.

  He turned down range, took an arrow out of a quiver, and raised the bow high. Kaylee’s head jerked back as he released the arrow and the Clan Leader squinted at the three hundred yard target. You’re high and to the left.”

  Kaylee stared at the target and said, “I don’t see it in the top left of the target.”

  The Clan Leader smiled, “Top left of the bull’s eye.”

  Kaylee squinted again and then turned to stare at Gregor, “I thought…”

  “So did I, Kaylee. This is something I had no idea I could do.”

  “You know what this means don’t you?”

  “No, what does it mean?”

  Kaylee smiled, “You and I can go out as a team when the movement arrives.”

  “I’m still worried about exposing ourselves to the Movement’s blasters,” Gregor answered.

  Kaylee looked at the Clan Leader, “Please excuse us for a few moments.”

  “Go right ahead. I saw Gregor going through the stack of bows and thought he might want to try one that belongs in his family.”

  “Thank you, Clan Leader. It’s perfect.”

  The Clan Leader smiled, “I can see that. Not many could make the shot ye just made.”

  Kaylee smiled, “Gregor, grab a quiver and bring your sword.” Gregor picked up a quiver of arrows and put it over the opposite shoulder from his sword. He followed Kaylee into the tall trees beyond the gathering ground and Kaylee said, “I didn’t know you were left handed.”

  “I’m not.”

  She stopped and stared at him, “You used a left handed firing technique.”

  “It just felt right. I use my right hand with my sword.”

  Kaylee slowly shook her head, “I know I’ve had more training than you but I’m not so sure that I’m superior to your skills.”

  “You hit the center of the bull’s eye twice.”

  “Gregor, that was from a hundred yards. You did it at three hundred yards and you did it with a ten mile an hour wind blowing across the clearing. You adjusted your aim without consciously thinking about it.”

  “Kaylee, it just…felt right. Why did you bring me here?”

  They were in the forest and Kaylee walked over to a tall tree. She took out her sword, raised it over her head, and brought it down into the tree’s trunk. She raised it again and slammed it into the trunk a few feet to the left. She made another cut above the first two and another under them at ground level. She took a hook out of her pocket and screwed it into the middle of the two cuts she made and turned to Gregor, “Give me a hand with this.” Gregor walked over next to her and grabbed the rope she had tied to the hook. They pulled hard and a triangle shaped piece of wood feel out of the trunk.

  “What is this?”

  Kaylee raised her sword and cut the wood away from the back of the bark and pushed the bark back in the hole they had cut in the tree. Gregor walked up and looked at the bark and couldn’t see where the cuts had been made. Kaylee pulled the bark slightly open and moved behind it. She pulled it back into place and she had effectively disappeared. She pushed it slightly open and stepped out, “The pure metal in the swords will cut the impure metal in the trees. We can cut blinds and hiding places anywhere we choose.”

  “This is not a good place.”

  Kaylee put her hands on her hips, “Oh no! Where would be better?”

  Gregor looked up and then into her eyes and said, “I came to the archery range to talk with you about how you could be used during the coming attack. I am of the opinion that you would be better used elsewhere.”

  Kaylee pursed her lips and put her hands on her hips, “Where?”

  Gregor looked up and pointed at a huge branch coming out of the trunk about two hundred feet above them, “That branch is more than six feet wide. The Attack Floaters can’t get above it because of the surrounding branches in the canopy and you can cut a depression into it so that you’re inside the branch when the Movement forces come by below the tree. Their scanners won’t see you inside that branch.”

  “Just how am I going to get up there?”

  “I think that would be my job.” Kaylee turned around and saw Kel walking up behind them on his back legs. “Have you discussed it with her, Gregor?”

  “No. Not yet.”

  “Discussed what?” Kaylee asked.

  Gregor ignored her question and said to Kel, “It does appear I’m going to join her.”

  “Great!”

  “What are the two of you talking about?” Kaylee demanded.

  Gregor smiled, “The Dragons have been pulling young tree trunks up tall trees that we believe will be on the main routes the Movement takes into the forest. They’ve tied them off and connected them to trip wires that will release them to fall on any Movement Convoys moving blow them. Kel is concerned that his warriors will be exposed once they drop the trunks on the movement forces and will be fired on before they can
make their escape. He asked if you would consider going up into the trees with some of his troops and provide covering fire as they make their escape.”

  “How are you going to escape?” Kaylee asked Kel.

  “We’ll run through the canopy to another tree that we’ve set up ahead of their advance.”

  Kaylee shook her head, “This seems like a waste, I’ll only be able to cover you on the first tree because I can assure you that I won’t be able to run through the trees with you.”

  Kel was standing on his back legs and he brought his arms around from his back and showed Kaylee a wide piece of animal hide that looked like leather. It had a wide grip sewn into it middle of it with loops further down to provide footholds. Kel wrapped it around his chest. “You’ll go with me, Kaylee. You’ll provide covering fire with your bow while my subordinates run and we’ll be the last one to leave.”

  Kaylee whipped her head around, “Gregor, did you agree with this?”

  “I did and now I’ll be up there with you.”

  Kaylee started to tell them both how crazy they were and Kel went to all fours. “Climb on!”

  “What?” Kaylee replied with her head lowered.

  “Climb on!”

  Gregor saw Kaylee’s reluctance and said, “Kel, I’ll go first.”

  “Fine! Let’s go.”

  Gregor climbed up Kel’s right side using the foot loops on the wide belt. He sat down on wide strip of leather on Kel’s back and gripped the leather loop on top, “Ready when you are.” In an instant, Kel went to the trunk of the tree and went up it vertically at incredible speed. Gregor was lying on his stomach, holding on to the loop and pushing with his legs. They passed the first branch in seconds and Kel continued running to the top of the tree, where he began leaping from tree to tree.

  “Are you ready to give it a go, Kaylee?”

  Kaylee turned around and saw Kil standing behind her with the wide belt around his chest. Kaylee stared at him and Kel smiled, “Don’t try to climb up my side; just run up over my head.”

  Kil went to all fours and lowered his head to the ground. Kaylee looked up and had lost sight of Gregor and Kel but could hear Gregor laughing loudly. “What the hell!” She ran up Kil’s head and leaped on the leather belt grabbing the loop as she arrived. She dug her feet into the leg loops as Kil ran to the trunk and dug his claws into the bark of the tree. He was moving up the tree vertically and Kaylee leaned forward and held on tight to the hand loop. They were moving through the canopy in seconds. Kaylee felt her heart in her throat and fought hard not to look down, but after a few minutes, she found she was strong enough to hold the loop with one hand and enjoy the ride. Within two days, every Dragon going into the trees had a rider. The archer that enjoyed it the most was Ellie. She was the first one to release the hand loop, use the leg loops to lock her in place, and fire her bow as her Dragon ran at full speed.

  • • •

  Gregor sat in the top of a tall tree and watched Kaylee and Kil running through the canopy below them; Kaylee was laughing out loud. “Where did you come up with this idea, Kel?”

  “Actually, it was my mother that came up with it.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, she’s read everything in the Cartian databanks about the mythological dragons on you home world after most of the civilizations started calling us by that name. She was always amused that humans were supposed to have ridden them and she showed me images of them when I was a young hatchling. I think she really liked our comparison to them. I mentioned my fears of our warriors being hit by blasters before they could escape and she suggested we take some your archers into the trees with us. I think it was a great insight. The blasters we carry around our necks won’t offer much defense against the Movement’s force fields.”

  “Did she suggest allowing us to ride you?”

  “No, that was an idea Kil and I came up with after making the same determination that Kaylee mentioned; we’d lose the covering fire unless we found a way to take the archer with us when we ran.”

  “I really feel like I’m showing you disrespect by riding you.”

  “Get real, Gregor! This is as much fun for me as it is for you and having you with me to share it only makes it more enjoyable. It allows me to show off and be appreciated by another species. I must say that being in these trees brings things out of me I didn’t know existed. My species evolved in trees and my planet no longer has trees like this. I believe we’re worse for it. I love being up here and now I know how my ancient ancestors must have felt!”

  Gregor smiled, “Well, let’s see if we can catch them.” Kel took off in an instant and Gregor gripped the loop as tightly as possible. This was so much fun it could be addictive.

  • • •

  Gregor and Kaylee were back on the freighter looking at the Queen on the wall monitor, “Majesty, the Movement will arrive in three days if they’re going to keep the scheduled sixty day arrival time. Have you heard anything change?”

  “No, my source says nothing has changed.”

  “I’m going to use your transports to take the archers and Dragons…Uhhh..I mean Venzel Warriors out to the Clan Communities and drop them off.”

  The Queen Smiled, “Gregor, I look at you calling us Dragons as a compliment. I know they weren’t real but they were seen as powerful magical creatures in your civilization’s history. I actually prefer you use the term and don’t feel you’re disrespecting me by saying it.”

  “Thank you, Majesty. The way your warriors move through the trees almost seems like magic; they are incredible.”

  “I’ve been told that by my son. If we survive this, I am coming there to experience it.”

  “I know you’ll enjoy it, Majesty. As I was saying, once the archers and Dragons are delivered to the communities, you’ll need to withdraw your ships and leave. I think that if the Movement is watching us, they’ll believe that you’re using the transports to remove your surviving land forces and will delay until your ships have gone through the intersection before they launch their attack.”

  “Are you sure this is wise?”

  “You’ve seen your warships are no match for their force fields and blasters. The damage that could be done to Bellingham by falling warships is too great to risk.”

  “We could meet them away from the planet.”

  “And you’d still lose without doing them any significant damage. It’s not their warships that are the danger, it’s those that will be coming on them. If we can eliminate a large number of the ones inside the Movement, then we’ll accomplish a lot to diminish their strength. I firmly believe most of the humans who are flying one of their warships without knowing it will not support them.”

  The Queen stared at Gregor, “You are also working to prevent them being killed.”

  Gregor smiled, “I am. They won’t be killed until the Movement has what it needs to control the filaments. I’ve thought about it over the last two months and I think the Movement will put their own operatives on those ships before sending them out. If we can remove the majority of their forces here, that will also cause them to delay taking control of those rogue forces not under their control.”

  “What happens if you lose?”

  “Then you’ll have to use the recordings of our conversation and call a gathering of ships to go and destroy Earth before they can control the filaments.”

  “I thought you were doing this to prevent that happening!?!”

  Gregor sighed heavily before saying, “I am but I have to face facts. Humans live throughout the universe; you need look no further than here. My species will survive Earth’s destruction but the Movement must be stopped and, like your mate said during our last meeting, some things are more important than survival. He helped me see that and I really can’t be willing to do less than you.”

  The Queen glanced at the Monarch sitting next to her and smiled, “I’ve had more than fifty companions prior to him being chosen.” She looked at the Monarch again, “He will
be the last one I will ever have. He has won my devotion and I will not harm him.”

  Gregor saw the surprise on the Monarch’s face and then saw he was just as devoted as she was. “The two of you are a good match, Majesty. I know your children will be exceptional.”

  The Queen smiled and looked back at Gregor, “I will not call for a gathering to attack Earth until the situation at Bellingham is resolved. I do wish you success and will pray for your survival.”

  “Thank you, Majesty.”

  The monitor went dark as Gregor reached out and took Kaylee’s hand. He turned to Kel and said, “Bring the transports down and start moving our forces to their assigned communities.”

  “Have the communities been evacuated?” Kel asked.

  “They started moving two weeks ago. Cut outs in the tall trees are being made to hide the citizens until this is over. I’m hoping the Movement doesn’t burn the Clan’s buildings but it might happen.”

  “We’ll stay and help them rebuild if that happens Gregor. I’m certain Mother will send more warriors to assist in the work.”

  “First, we have to win.”

  Kel smiled, “Well, there is that. But like you said, killing a high number of them will accomplish a lot and that’s what we intend to do.”

  Kil stood up, “Are you sure that the Movement will make the Clearing Community their main target?”

  “Grahame knows this is where the Clan Council is located and if they can capture enough of the Council Members, they’ll be able to exert extreme pressure on the other communities to give in to their demands. Grahame knows that and this is where they’ll send their strongest forces.”

  “Why would they even attack the other communities then?” Kel asked.

  “They have to find the children they need to take back. They’ll be through in their plans to find who they want. I suspect they intend to take as many as they can find that have the necessary talents they need and not just two. They will attack all the communities to find those children.”

  Kel picked up his communicator and began issuing orders for the transports to start moving to the clearing. Kaylee looked at Gregor, “How do we stand on having enough arrows?”