by Saxon Andrew
Dern took a deep breath and said, “Do you know how this makes me feel?”
Jon looked up at him and Dern said, “Vengeful.”
Jon’s expression hardened and he said, “Why are we here? Why did our parents have this passage way? How did the Dremor not find us?”
Teg blew out a loud breath he was holding. Jon and Dern looked at him and he said, “They did.”
“Did what?”
“They found us.” Jon and Dern were shocked speechless. Teg sat down, “They just couldn’t do anything to us.”
Jon thought a moment and then said, “We’re immune to them.” He thought some more and then said, “That passage way was here before the house was built.”
Dern nodded.
Teg said, “It was in that passage way where we were changed.”
“Why did your parents build over that passage way?”
Teg slowly shook his head, “I don’t know for certain, but it may be that they heard the melody and wanted to be close to the source. Or it could be a hundred other reasons; but the point is that they knew it was here.”
The three turned and looked at the passage way. Jon looked at them and then stood and stepped down into the hole in the floor. Dern and Teg followed.
• • •
Juliette sat in her room and watched the reporter as he told the Realm about their newest heroes. She listened to Victoria as she presented the medals and the revelation that Jon refused to accept it. She shook her head at the video showing what his platoon had accomplished during the battle for Belwen. She froze the image when Jon had looked up at the Queen and she saw his sense of loss for his warriors.
She remembered his bravery when he had fought in the castle and she knew he was more than even she thought he was. Her mother came in and she hit the button to darken the screen. “Juliette, James Dodd is coming to take you to Baron Gardner’s Ball this evening. Please be ready in time.”
“Mother, why are you setting up these events with James?”
Cassandra smiled and said, “He’s asked to take you and he’s a fine young man. You should be flattered.”
“Mother, he has a dark soul and is mean for no reason. Why are you doing this?”
Cassandra felt her heart go into her stomach and managed a smile, “Please be ready, dear. You need to represent us.”
Juliette stared at her mother until she left the room. Cassandra closed the door and fell back against the wall. What had she done? She tried to convince herself that Juliette was wrong but she knew that Juliette was never wrong about people; she was a good judge of character. But she had no choice. She would marry James or see her mother executed.
• • •
Newton looked at the fleet commander and said, “Tell me what happened.”
“We were attacking a planet being held by the Megat and the Dremor arrived. They flew through our ships and our hulls didn’t slow them down. They killed half of the fleet before we were able to teleport the rest away.”
“What about the warriors on the planet?”
“We managed to defeat the Megat several days later. The Dremor left immediately after our ships teleported away. Evidently they had made some sort of agreement with them not to attack the planet.”
“So our enemies are starting to work together against us?”
“It appears that way. They left while our warriors on the ground were still fighting. I suspect that if we had already defeated the Megat, they might have moved on the planet.”
Newton slowly shook his head, “This is not good.”
“No, it’s not.” The commander paused and then said, “We’ve also discovered that the Hagrem have a beam that will penetrate our green armor. It appears to be similar to the one developed by the Demon’s White Creatures to defeat the Keepers long ago.”
Newton stared at the Commander and said, “That is something we’ll have to work on later. How were you able to defeat the Megat?”
“Fortunately, we’re carrying Realm blasters. Our speed and agility allowed us to win…this time. You know how hard it is to hit one of our warriors moving at full speed. It might not be so easy next time.”
Newton punched his panel and said, “Destiny, I need you and Einstein to come and meet with me. There have been some developments.” Newton reached over and sent a message to the Zord and Cats.
• • •
The three brothers walked down the passageway and Teg pulled put a beam and handed it to Jon. He shined it in the corridor in front of him and continued moving forward. After sixty yards the passage leveled out and they continued their march. Jon looked at the walls and saw there were no supports or beams holding the wall up. He touched them with his hand and they felt as hard as stone but they looked like normal dirt walls. He looked back at Teg and saw him shrug. Jon shined the light ahead and saw the beam scatter through an opening. They moved through the opening and they saw a chamber about fifteen yards in diameter. In the middle of the room were three cribs that were arranged side by side. Jon shined the light around the room and saw there was nothing else in the room. Jon looked at Dern and saw his disappointment. “What did you think we’d find here, Dern?”
“I don’t know…I just sensed that there was something here we needed. This is where we were changed into what we are now. I just…I don’t know.”
Jon sighed and said, “Listen and see if you can hear the melody.” The three closed their eyes and only found silence. After a minute Jon said, “Nothing.”
Teg slowly shook his head, “Nothing but these cribs.”
The three sat down on the floor and Dern said, “I can feel the pain our parents had before they died. There was no escape.”
The three sat on the floor and felt each other’s emotions. They sat in silence for an hour and Jon said, “I’m going to accept the promotion.”
Teg said, “You should.”
Jon nodded, “I see that now. Avoiding death will never stop it. I just hoped that there was something here that would at least confirm that we are here for a reason. Why were we changed?”
Dern said, “I guess we’ll just have to find our destiny and maybe an answer will emerge.”
The three stood to leave and Jon glanced back over his shoulder and came to a sudden stop. Teg ran into him and said, “Sorry.”
Jon stepped around the big Glod and moved back in the room. Dern and Tegen looked at each other and followed him back in, “What’s bothering you?”
Jon said, “This crib was Dern’s.”
“How do you know that?”
“Dern, it’s the smallest and you are the smallest of us.” Jon looked over and said, “That one was Tegen’s.”
Dern smiled, “Well duh, I could get lost in that one.”
Teg saw Jon’s expression, “What’s going on, Jon?”
Jon turned to his brothers and said, “The supports are all wrong.”
Dern tilted his head, “I’m not following you.”
“Dern, your crib has four legs. It could have rested on just a single support. Teg’s has two large headboards. He should have had four legs.” Jon looked at his crib and said, “Mine just has that single support running under it. The bed is wider than the support.”
The three looked at the cribs and Jon looked at them. He went over and turned his crib upside down. He hit the center support and nearly broke his hand. He grabbed his wrist unit and turned the control left and then right and his armor teleported in. He took an armored glove and hit the support again. It shattered into thousands of small pieces and the three were nearly stunned by the high volume of the melody that suddenly overwhelmed them. Jon turned off his armor, looked at the floor, and saw a violet colored sword. Teg and Dern were holding their ears as Jon reached down and grabbed the sword. The volume of the melody immediately lowered and Jon felt a shock rush through his body. He fell to his knees and saw the sword was now brightly glowing. Jon held it up and it felt weightless.
Dern turned on his armor and shattered the f
our legs supporting his crib. The volume immediately went back to the former level of intensity until Dern grabbed the four short swords in his hands. Teg turned and followed their lead and grabbed two long swords from the rubble of his two headboards.
Jon looked at his sword closely and didn’t see anything on it that looked like a power source for the glow. He heard Teg say, “Swords; we came here for swords.”
Jon looked at him and said, “Look at your armor.”
Teg looked down and saw his armor was pulsating with the violet colored glow. He put the two swords down and the glow disappeared from his armor and the two swords. He picked them up and both began glowing again. Jon looked on the floor and saw something in the rubble. He reached down and picked up a flat piece of black material that looked like some form of metal. He stared at it and then placed it up against his sword to compare the length of the two and the sword blade was suddenly enclosed inside the black material. Jon pulled on the handle and the sword immediately appeared in his hand. Jon thought a moment and then placed the black metal on the ground and dropped the sword. It was instantly enclosed by the black material. Jon turned his armor back on and took the black metal and put it into the armor’s skin just behind his left shoulder. He held the sword out and released it. The handle instantly appeared just behind his left shoulder.
Teg and Dern began stirring the debris from their cribs and found the black scabbards for their swords. Teg set his in his armor and said, “Why swords? What possible use are these in a major Life Warrior attack?”
Jon reached over his shoulder and pulled the sword out. “I don’t know. I suspect that the swords will let us know at the appropriate time. However, this does show us that we are here for a reason. These blades are part of the process of finding out what it is.”
“Whoever made these made them only for us.”
Dern said, “Why do you say that, Teg?”
“Because the numbers match up to the swords used by our species. I believe these swords were put in those cribs when we were changed. I don’t think anyone in this creation can touch them if they’re active and survive.”
Jon smiled, “The reverse of that is also true?”
“What’s that?”
“Whoever those swords touch will not survive.”
Teg thought about Jon’s remark and walked over to one of the cribs lying on the floor. He touched it with one of his long swords and it flashed into a violet colored light and disappeared. Teg smiled, “I might have been somewhat hasty in my initial analysis.”
Dern said, “I also believe that our armor has also been affected by contact with them.”
Jon raised his eyebrows and Dern held up his arm. Weapons began appearing and disappearing faster than they could see. Dern lowered his arm and looked at them, “Do we tell anyone about this?”
Jon said, “We tell the Cats.” Jon looked around the room and smiled, “Our parents saved us. Now it’s time for us to return the favor to the rest of those being attacked.”
• • •
Pride looked at the three brothers and their new swords. “What are those?”
Jon smiled, “Swords.”
“I can see that; but they’re much more than just swords.”
Teg quickly said, “How can you tell that?”
“The power field around them is incredible. It is close to the fields I’ve seen around the psychic ships.”
Jon’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
Pride just shook his head, “That violet colored field extends out into space. You should be able to see it.”
“We don’t.”
Pride stared at the brothers, “You don’t know what they’re designed to do?”
Jon shook his head and said again, “We don’t. We just sense that we’ll find out when the appropriate time arrives.”
Pride’s tail swished back and forth and then just the tip curled and uncurled, “I really hope you do. What are you going to do now?”
Dern shrugged, “Go back to our units and continue the fight.”
“I think that would be a good idea. Let me know if you find out what’s going on.”
Jon nodded and the giant cat disappeared.
Teg and Dern teleported out and Jon remained for a moment and stared at the house where he had been discovered. He looked out at the thousands of black piles of minerals on the streets and pulled his sword. He walked out into the middle of the street and extended the blade. His eyes narrowed and a brilliant violet beam shot out and rushed up the street. It suddenly disappeared and Jon saw the street was clear. He looked at the sword and saw the pulsing light inside the handle. He brought it closer and stared intently at it counting off the pulses. Suddenly he looked at his armor’s readout and matched the medical screen to the sword’s pulses. His heart beat and the sword’s pules were identical. He knew that he and the sword were part of the same body. He released the sword and it went into the scabbard. He looked at the handle with his armor’s scanner and continued to see the small light pulsing.
Suddenly he had a thought; it wasn’t a sword. It was shaped like a sword so he would feel comfortable with something he recognized. It was a power source. He looked at the handle again and it was gone. He smiled and reached over his shoulder and the handle appeared. He took his hand away and the handle disappeared. He held out his arm and closed his grip and found the sword in it. He was going to have to talk to Dern and Teg about his discovery. He thought about it a moment and held out both arms and a projectile cannon appeared; but this cannon was unlike anything in the Realm’s arsenal. Jon released his grip and the cannon disappeared. Now this was interesting.
Chapter Ten
Debat sat with Jon in his office on the transport HMS Jingo Dorg. “I’m not sure what you’re wanting here Captain Gee. What do you mean you want to call an assembly to select the Warriors to be in your company?”
“Colonel, you’ve seen my platoon is what made the difference in the last attack. I sense that there are Warriors among us that can use some of the talents I’ve been able to put in my armor but they are going to be hard to find. If you want a company that can make a difference, I need some leeway in selecting the Warriors that make up its roster.”
Debat stared at Jon and then said, “How are you going to select them?”
“I’m not sure.”
Debat stood and shook his head, “This doesn’t make sense.”
“I know that, Sir; but I sense it must be done this way. Please allow me to try it.”
Debat stared at Jon and pushed his wrist unit, “All Life Warriors in third Regiment will assemble in the teleportation room at…,” he paused and looked at his chronometer, “fourteen hundred hours.” He looked back at Jon and said, “Do what you have to do. I hope this works.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
Jon left the Colonel’s office and wondered what he was going to do. He just heard music and it just kept putting an idea in his mind. He saw the ranks of Life Warriors in his mind but he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He teleported to the transport room to think about it; he still had an hour until the regiment assembled.
Jon sat for fifty minutes and still wasn’t clear on what he was going to do to select the men in his company. He sent a thought to Teg, “I know I’m supposed to select my warriors from the regiment but I just don’t know what process I’m supposed to use to do it.”
Teg thought, “I’m not going to be any help, Jon. I don’t have any ideas either.” Teg hesitated and then said, “What’s different now?”
“What do you mean?”
“You refused a command earlier but now you’re open to the idea; what’s changed?”
“Well, I went and saw our home world with the billions that died there.”
“What else?”
“I found my sword.”
“Perhaps the answer lies in that direction.”
The first Life Warriors began teleporting in and forming up in their units and Jo
n said, “I’ve got to go.”
“Good luck.”
• • •
The ten thousand Life Warriors stood in ranks at parade rest. They saw the Colonel on the raised platform in front of them and the newly promoted Captain standing next to him. They all wondered what was going on. Debat listened to the battalions report in and then turned to Jon, “Do what you need to do.”
Jon stared out at the thousands of warriors and was starting to panic. He felt a vibration and he reached over his shoulder and pulled out the violet sword. He held it over his head and hundreds of violet beams shot out into the ranks of the gathered warriors. Jon saw one of the warriors hit by one of the beams and saw him looking around. Jon wondered what he was doing and then he saw it. They were hearing something. Jon said over the PA system, “Those of you who are hearing music will step out of ranks and move to the front of the assembly.”
At first no one moved, but then a private stepped out and moved forward. Immediately, two hundred others began leaving ranks and moving to the front of the room. Jon smiled when he saw Sgt. Dominick Calso coming forward. Jon turned to Col. Debat and said, “I will need to promote the officers in my company from those that are moving forward.”
Debat wondered what was going on. He saw Jon raise his arm and then instruct those hearing music to step out. He didn’t see the sword in Jon’s hand. He also didn’t see the bright beams that went out into the regiment. He looked at the two hundred Life Warriors gathered in front of the platform and saw quite a few of his best warriors. He looked at Jon, “What else do you want?”
“I need you to allow us to train on a planet for two weeks immediately after we go to the main armory to change our weapons.”
Debat stared at Jon and after a long hesitation he decided that sometimes one just had to go with a gut feeling, “I’ll approve your requests. Captain, you better make sure you know what you’re doing.”
“Sir, I’m moving in the dark right now, but I know we’ll make a difference.”
Debat said, “Those that moved out of ranks will remain here. All other units are dismissed.”
Jon moved down to the floor of the huge room and said, “I want all officers and NCO’s to move to my left.” Jon counted and there was an exact number of NCO’s for the squads in his company. He had four platoons with four squads in each and there were seventeen staff sergeants gathered in a group. He had three lieutenants and knew who the fourth was going to be. He said, “Sgt. Calso, you are now a lieutenant. Move over to the officers.” Dominick did a double take but followed Jon’s orders. I want each of the lieutenants to spread out. Put fifty yards between each of you.”