by Saxon Andrew
“The transport will deliver all we’ve made to the communities and the Dragons will distribute extra quivers to the traps they’ve set in the trees. I think we have enough but we won’t know for certain until the battle is joined.”
“Where are our ships?”
“I’ve sent them far off the filament outside the scanning range of the Movement Fleet. We’ll be able to contact them with our links; their range is much longer than their scanners.” Kaylee smiled as she leaned over and kissed Gregor on the cheek, “I’ll never have another either, Gregor.”
“What are you saying, Kaylee?”
“I love you, Gregor. And like you said to the Queen, our children will be incredible.”
Gregor stared into her eyes, “I don’t want to experience losing you but this time together has made any pain worth it.”
“Then let’s make sure we don’t die. We have too much to live for.”
“I know and I fear that is when death seeks the hardest to find you.”
Kaylee smiled, “Death will too busy collecting members of the Movement to notice us. It will avoid taking us because of what we’re giving it.”
Gregor pulled her into his arms and held her tightly as he heard Kel say, “Time to go. A tree awaits us.”
Gregor released Kaylee and they left the freighter. They were joined outside by a thousand Dragons and Archers who were waiting on them and the gathering headed toward the forest. The giant starship’s thrusters ignited and it started moving into the sky away from Bellingham as the hundred Venzel transports began landing to pick up the remaining Dragons and huge stockpile of arrows. War was coming and the long wait was almost over.
• • •
“The Dragon’s ships are moving off Bellingham!”
The Leader rushed away from the ten people in his office and he pressed his communicator’s button, “What did you say?”
“We can’t see what’s happening in detail without being detected but we can see that the support ships have lifted off the planet and are moving on the filament’s outward flow.”
“What about the transports?”
“It appears they are moving around the planet to the locations of the Clan Communities. I suspect they are picking up their survivors.”
“You’re certain they’re headed away from the planet!?!”
“The support ships are and we should know about the transports within a few more hours.”
“Stop the Fleet and hold them in position away from the intersection! If it’s true the Dragons are leaving, we’ll wait until they complete the process.”
“It could take a few days past our scheduled arrival.”
The Leader smiled, “I could care less about that. If we don’t have to fight them, we’ll be able to keep our new weapons a secret. We will wait until all of their warships and transports have made it to the intersection and leave for their territory.”
“I will contact the Fleet and put it on hold until you authorize them to continue to Bellingham.”
The Leader continued smiling and went back to his meeting. This was incredibly good news; Grahame would be happy. The end wasn’t far and Grahame assured him that the new children could be taught to do what was necessary in less than a year. He was going to be in command when the plan was put into motion. He was giddy with anticipation.
• • •
The telepath listened to his thoughts and sent the information to her source. This wasn’t something she had heard before and stopping the children from being taken took on a new importance. She did know the forces being sent to Bellingham and she doubted that anyone would be able to stop them.
• • •
Kel felt his communicator vibrate and he listened to it. His eyes widened and he rushed over to Gregor and Kaylee, who were standing on the platform high in the tree. “Mother just sent a message to me through the last transport’s communicator. Her source has notified her that the Movement believes that they can train any children they take from here to control the filaments in less than a year.”
“WHAT?!”
“The source is certain about that information; it came from the highest leader in their headquarters.”
Kaylee sighed, “The source is probably right, Gregor. They’ve learned from training us and know what experiments they did with us that are useless and those that worked. It will also be much easier to convince a child to do their bidding than an adult when they start implementing their plan. They’ll tell them that their family is going to be killed by another alien species and they must shut down the filaments to prevent their deaths. They’ll cobble up videos and recordings to make it look like they’re being honest.”
“But the children they capture will know that their new masters attacked their family?” Kel replied quickly.
“No they won’t,” Kaylee answered. “The children are being hidden during the confrontation and will not witness the fighting. The Orange Robes will tell them that they drove off the attackers and took them to try and save their families from future attacks. They’ll be able to successfully confuse them enough so they don’t know what the real truth is or what a lie is. They’ll have an older adult from Bellingham present to support the Movement’s story and I’m sure Grahame will know all the right things to say to push their buttons. You know the children are taught early in life to highly respect all adults on Bellingham.” Gregor stared at Kaylee and then lowered his head. “What are you thinking, Gregor?”
Gregor sighed, “We are going to have to order our two ships to attack and destroy the Movement Vessel that is assigned to take the children back to Earth if we lose this fight.”
“Gregor, you can’t be serious!?” Kaylee replied.
“Kaylee, if the Movement wins, they will search the population thoroughly to find any babies or children that have the necessary talents; they won’t leave any behind.”
Kaylee stared at him and said, “I was going to say that they would just come back and take others if we destroyed that ship but if you’re right…”
“They’ll be forced to wait for another generation to be born to find the children they need. It will stop them long enough for the Dragons to gather a combined fleet to go and destroy Earth.”
“This is…this is…”
“War, Kaylee. Do you see another option? I’m really praying you do. If we lose, Katy will be on that ship.” Kaylee stared at him and then closed her eyes and shook her head. Gregor took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, “Notify your ship about this and tell it to let mine know as well.” Kaylee’s eyes were moist as she activated her link.
Chapter Nineteen
Anderson was furious but knew he had no other choice; he wasn’t skilled in the use of a bow and was going to miss out on the coming combat. The warriors who were swordsmen were ordered by the Clan Council to lead the Clan’s Families out into the trees away from their communities. Once they were deep into the forests, they used their swords to cut out sections of the giant trees to hide families inside the giant trunks. The families carried enough food and water with them for a month. On the day the Movement was due to arrive, they would enter the large cutouts and pull the bark back in place behind them. Until that day, they went out and killed predators to add to their food stores but on the announced date, they went into their cutouts and stayed.
Anderson and the other swordsmen were given a Dragon communicator to stay in contact with the Clan Leaders to know when the fight was over and if they had won or lost. He felt empty and alone without Ellie by his side. He prayed she lived through the fight and knew his life would be over if she didn’t. Gregor and Kaylee had assured him that the families would be safe inside the tall trees and not detectible by the Movement’s scanners and he trusted their assessment. He wanted desperately to assist in the fight but knew his place was in the forest protecting the MacGregor Community from predators. He had a bow and quiver to assist him and he wasn’t too bad using it. But he had no delusion that he was anywhere close to
the level needed to meet this coming enemy; he was accurate when he took his time but not fast enough.
If they survived this war, he was going to learn to fire a bow properly and cursed himself that he didn’t do it before this happened. He heard a noise and he joined two other warriors to go after a huge Nagsta moving in toward them. The huge predators this deep in the forest had not learned to fear humans and their attacks were numerous. It was his arrow between the Nagsta’s eyes that dropped it. The meat was collected and passed out to the fleeing families and the rush of forest dwellers fighting over the Nagsta’s remains could be heard from a mile away. The last family was hidden the night before the set date and the warriors cut out their hiding places in the middle of the trees where the families were hiding. The families were hidden but after thirty days, they would have to emerge to feed themselves. He knew that would only happen if the war was lost and that would probably mean that Ellie was gone. He decided that he would take one of the attackers out if it came to that. He could not live without Ellie.
• • •
Gregor sat in a tree eating a piece of dried Nagsta meat and heard Kel say, “The last transport has moved into the intersection.” Gregor nodded. It wouldn’t be long now. He went to Kaylee, sat down beside her, and held her under his arm. She snuggled close and he felt his fear at possibly losing her. But the lightning insects in the trees and the woman of his dreams under his arm allowed him to live in the moment. Whatever happened, at least he knew love before he died.
• • •
“The last Dragon ship has just left the intersection.”
“Order the fleet forward. We need to get there so the clans don’t have time to recover from the Dragon’s attack. How long will it take them to arrive?” the Leader of the Movement asked his spy.
“They’ll arrive at the planet in eighteen hours. That should put their arrival at the Clearing Community at daybreak.”
“Start your landing operations immediately. I want all of the communities attacked, even those on the night side of the planet.”
The Spy hesitated, “You don’t want to wait to see if they accept our demands?”
“They won’t do it. Grahame thinks that Kaylee told them about us and they will resist giving us their children. I don’t want to delay attempting to convince them and give them the opportunity to get organized.”
“What can they do? Our force fields insure they are pretty much helpless against us.”
“I agree but Grahame insists that they are incredibly dangerous and insidious in devising ways to kill intruders. We will have to come out of the force fields to gather the children and we need to make sure all resistance is removed before that happens or we will lose a large number of our troops. Start the attack immediately.”
“I will issue the orders and have the transports delivering our forces to the Clans locations upon arrival.”
“Good! Stay in contact and keep me informed about what’s happening.”
“I will.”
• • •
The orders were sent and the two thousand freighters, warships, and transports moved on the filament and boosted toward Bellingham. The Priest in the lead ship was chanting to relieve his fear but nothing was working. This was going to be different from the last time he put his head in the dirt on Bellingham. He felt being ordered to do it again wasn’t fair, but that was life…and death. He hoped an arrow wouldn’t kill him as soon as he stepped off the ship.
• • •
The former Clan Leader sat on the edge of the clearing and waited. He had a Dragon communicator activated to full volume in his front pocket so they could hear anything happening or being said around him. He sat on a log and thought about his long life. It had been a really good life and he was proud of his many children and grandchildren. He had been blessed and now he would play the role he volunteered to play. Guests deserved to be welcomed, even if they were uninvited. He looked around at the deserted community buildings behind him and shook his head. Without the community’s inhabitants present, it looked dark and dismal under the shadows of the giant trees. It was people that made it vibrant and joyful. Without them it was…just lifeless dead wood made into dwellings. He glanced at the sky above the clearing and saw bright contrails high above the clouds. He smiled and walked out to the edge of the clearing. They were coming. He smiled at their being very punctual. He sat back down on a log and stared at the sky.
• • •
“Sir, our scanners do not detect life in the buildings.”
“What?”
“There is only one life form and it appears to be just one person at the edge of the clearing. It appears it’s the only one present for as far as our scanners can detect. We can see the buildings behind the lifeform and they are empty. Our scanners are unable to penetrate the forest’s canopy.”
The Captain stared at the monitor and shrugged, “The Dragons must have killed everyone or they’ve hidden in the forest. We’re going down.” He looked at the Orange Robed Priest and said, “You know your job. Do it!” The Priest nodded and wondered what was going on.
The medium sized warship moved quickly over the clearing and landed on its three landing legs that whined as the ship settled on them. The old man sat on the log and watched as three blaster turrets on the ship’s hull swiveled around and pointed their barrels at him. He smiled, now that was respect. He sat and waited.
The port on the side of the warship opened, a ramp extended to the ground, and the Priest emerged and started jogging toward him. The Priest arrived in front of the old man, fell to his knees, and extended his head forward. “I have come to speak to you about…”
The old man interrupted him, “Get off ye knees!” The Priest looked up and the old man said, “Ye’ve aged since the last time I saw ye here.”
The Priest went up on his knees and shrugged, “It’s been several decades since I last came here.”
“Yes, I guess we’ve all aged since then. I suppose ye’re here to demand we give ye some more of our children,” the old man said with a yawn.
The Priest stared at the old man and then shrugged, “Yes, that’s why I’m here.”
“Tell ye masters that we’re not going to comply with ye request this time and to please leave.”
“You know that’s not going to happen,” the Priest replied with raised hands and shoulders.
“I know, but it never hurts to ask. We feel we should at least be polite and make the effort before things get nasty. I assume ye are going to stay here like last time until we agree to comply.”
“Just like last time, at least that is what I’ve been ordered to do.”
“Well, come over and sit down on this log. I have something we can eat while this situation resolves itself.”
“You appear to not be concerned about what’s happening?” the priest replied with raised eyebrows.
“Would my concern change anything?” the old man asked.
The Priest stood up and walked over to the log and sat down beside the old man, “No, it wouldn’t. Why are you here?”
“I volunteered to greet ye. I’m old and my loss wouldn’t be missed much and someone had to do it.”
The Priest nodded, “We will not kill you. We need you to communicate with the Clans to call off the bloodshed.”
The old man smiled, “And ye are needed to communicate with ye forces to stop their attack when we give up.”
The Priest nodded, “Something like that. I thank you for not forcing me to keep my head in the dirt.”
The old man waved his hand, “That wouldn’t be hospitable would it? Well, make yeself comfortable. I have enough food to keep us fed for a while.” The old man extended his hand with a piece of dried meat in it, “Do ye have a family?”
The Priest accepted the meat and took a bite. He chewed for a moment and smiled, “This is good! The last time I tried this it was really bitter. And yes, I do have a family.”
The old man pointed over his shoulder, “The
re’s a water skin behind the log if ye need it. Have they ever been in danger like what ye’re doing to my family?”
The Priest continued to chew and sighed, “No, not yet.”
“Are they a part of the Movement?”
The Priest stopped chewing, “How do you know about the Movement?” The old man shrugged. The Priest started chewing again and said, “No, they aren’t.”
The old man smiled, “Well, that’s good. Would ye like some water?”
“Please.” They looked at the clearing as the old man passed the water skin. A giant freighter came over the clearing and landed behind the warship. A bright force field surrounded it and as soon as it touched down, the landing bay doors flew open and small attack floaters began pouring out and moving over their heads toward the forest. They fanned out from the shore of the lake behind the community and moved under the tall trees. Tracked vehicles began rolling out of the landing bay as well and rolled down the ramp at high speed as hundreds of armed men came running out with them carrying large shoulder blasters.
The old man glanced at them and smiled, “Tell them to conserve their energy. They’re going to need it. Running like that will just wear them out.”
The Priest was confounded by the old man’s apparent lack of fear at what was taking place. “They have transports to carry them.”
The old man held out another piece of meat to the Priest, “Good.”
The Priest accepted it and began to wonder about whether or not this was a good idea. But the attack floaters continued to pour out of the landing bay and mobile blasters rolled out in a steady stream. The Mobile Blasters and troop transporters began forming up into columns and moved out in all directions from the community. Columns were moving West, South, and East away from the shore of the lake. And still attack floaters flew above them into the tall trees.
The freighter finally closed its landing bay doors, lifted, and another freighter landed behind it. The old man chewed a piece of meat and sat down on the sand in front of the log. He reclined against it and the Priest said, “Why don’t you just let us have what we came here to get?”