by Saxon Andrew
Molly stepped in, saluted, and said, “Permission to speak freely, Sir.”
Jon leaned back in his chair and said, “Permission Granted.”
Molly looked at Jon and said, “You should be thankful that you found out the truth about Juliette.”
Jon sighed, “It’s Lady Juliette.”
“She’s not a Lady, Jon. She doesn’t deserve the title.”
Jon looked up and Molly saw his anger.
“Jon, she’s in line for the throne and, as I understand from your brothers, you are ahead of her but refuse to accept the position. Am I right?”
Jon nodded.
“That means she will be the next Queen of the Realm. Where are her priorities?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve done some snooping around and she is going to marry a minor noble that is real snot. He’s the son of the Admiral that tried to get you killed in training. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that her mother must have been involved in that plot and she’ll be executed if that comes out. Juliette has decided to marry this bum and thereby make him King of the Realm to save her mother.”
“What are you saying, Molly?”
“What happens to the Realm when you have a Queen that can’t make the hard decisions necessary to protect the Realm? She can’t even protect herself. She’s weak and bringing that self-serving, callow, creep into the Realm’s leadership; will do what to our future? She doesn’t have a strong heart, Jon. You deserve better and you should thank your lucky stars that you were given an opportunity to see her for who she really is before you made a mistake.” Molly paused and said, “I’ll die to defend our Realm and it breaks my heart to see trash like that becoming our rulers. The Realm deserves better, too.” Molly said, “Forgive me for being so brutally honest but I’m worried about you and I don’t know any other way to express myself. You did tell me a while back that if I saw something my superior officers should know that I should at least tell them once. Consider yourself told, Sir.” Molly saluted and walked out.
Jon thought about what Molly said and didn’t want to believe her. Juliette was a good person and had a good heart. He opened the viewport and saw the stars shining. Molly was right about one thing. Juliette was putting the Realm second to her mother. If she would do it with her mother, she would do it with her children. That is where that husband would get control over her. Jon sighed, “Molly was right. She was weak.”
Jon thought back to when the first cutlass he had selected had pushed Juliette out of his memory. Did it do it to save him from her? Jon looked out the viewport and decided that the Realm did deserve better. Could Juliette find herself before it was too late?
He closed the armored view port and stood up. He thought about Juliette but all he could see was Molly’s disappointment that he couldn’t see the truth. He left, went to his quarters, and immediately fell asleep.
Chapter Seventeen
Jon went to Molly and said, “Col. Masters, I will be going in with Dern’s battalion.”
Jon saw her distress and he said, “You can do this, Molly. I believe in you and so do your warriors.”
Molly looked in Jon’s eyes and after a moment nodded. Jon teleported out and Molly turned to face her battalion. “You know what to do. We’re teleporting in to the spaceport and we’ll immediately fan out and start taking out the enemy’s heavy artillery. I shouldn’t need to tell you that those guns are heavily armored and are tough nuts to crack. Don’t waste time on the enemy warriors. If we don’t take out the artillery, it’s going to blast the city. Second and Third battalion are depending on us to keep their backs clear. We’re going in first and the others will be following us ten minutes later to retake the city. Use that time wisely and pick your targets carefully. We’ll handle the enemy warriors after we take out the armor. The locations of the guns have been downloaded into your data links. Let’s do this for the inhabitants on Tressem. They’ve been in a bad way since the Sylbe landed.” Molly looked at her helmet display and said, “Ten seconds to teleport. Life Warriors!”
All of her warriors echoed her, “Life Warriors!”
Molly teleported in and the melody in her mind was slightly different than before. He listened to it and tried to determine what the difference was. As she was trying to make the determination, she fired her auto-cannon and took out twenty Sylbe Warriors that were taking aim at two of her Warriors. She immediately teleported and blasted a beam platform that was rotating its barrel at another of her Warriors. She moved around the spaceport at an incredible pace taking out enemy Warriors and weapons that were threatening the warriors in her battalion. She didn’t attempt to attack the heavy artillery. She only appeared when one of the Warriors in her command was threatened. She thought she had the difference figured out and she glanced at her chronometer. Eight minutes had passed. She looked quickly at the readout on the heavy guns and saw that all of them had been destroyed. “Take out the Warriors!”
She went back to listening to the tune and decided she liked it. She teleported in next to a bunker and dropped a hand hornet in it. She walked away as the bunker exploded. She looked at her command readout and she heard Captain Alexander say, “The enemy has been eliminated, Sir.”
Molly was shocked at how fast they had been taken out. She sent a quick message to Jon, “Sir, the spaceport has been cleared. Do you need us to join your attack?”
“Colonel, teleport your battalion into the center of the city and move out from there; the coordinates have been sent to your command frequency.”
“Yes Sir. We’re on our way.” Molly hit her unit frequency, “Teleport in three seconds from my mark. Hit the ground running and start clearing everything you find; ready, mark.” Three seconds later, first battalion teleported into the center of the city and Molly continued to listen to her melody.
Jon teleported away from a high velocity projectile and replayed the recording of First Battalion taking the spaceport. He didn’t expect that portion of the mission to be completed as quickly as it had been done. Molly’s Battalion was also clearing out the center extremely fast. His overall view showed them expanding out from the center and had already met the other two battalions as they moved in from the city’s perimeter. The mission was over in less than an hour.
Pride was standing next to him in his armor and Jon said, “When did you arrive?”
“I was over at the spaceport, initially. That didn’t take long.”
“No, it didn’t.”
“That unit is very efficient. You’ve done a good job training them.”
“They’ve had identical training as the other battalions.”
“I think the difference is their commander.” Jon looked at Pride and nodded. Pride said, “Don’t let me interrupt you. I just wanted to observe your Warriors in action.”
“What do you think?”
Pride swished his tail and said, “They’re pretty good.” Jon stared at Pride. “They could be the best in the Realm.”
Jon smiled, “Name a better unit.”
“I’ll get back to you.” Pride teleported out.
• • •
Jon sat with his brothers on top of a building watching the inhabitants moving back into the city they had fled when the Sylbe landed. Dern said, “The city is remarkably intact.”
Teg said, “Only here in the center. We did some damage out on the perimeter.” Teg looked at Jon, “Do you have the casualty figures?”
“Dern lost ten warriors and you lost fifteen.”
“How many did Molly lose?”
“None.”
The two brothers looked at Jon. Dern said, “None?”
“I find it surprising as well. The spaceport was heavily defended by forces that were dug in and overlapped in their weapons coverage.”
Jon turned and saw his brothers staring at him. “I think I know why.”
Dern said, “Do tell.”
“Molly’s warriors are hearing the same music and it’s coming from Molly
.”
“What!”
“I’m going to share one instance from their fight at the spaceport. Activate your armor so I can play it through your displays.”
The three activated their armor and the recording began. “I want you to notice here that the two warriors assigned to take out the heavy cannon in front of them teleport in and don’t even look at the twenty warriors behind them starting to bring their beams to bear on them. They watched as Molly appeared behind the twenty Sylbe warriors and killed all of them with her auto-cannon.”
“Those Life Warriors knew that the Sylbe Warriors behind them were going to be removed so they could take out the heavy cannon. I’ve seen more than seventy instances where she teleported in and killed the Sylbe that were going to fire at her warriors. They had to be connected to do what was done.”
Teg said, “How is that possible?”
Jon tilted his head left and said, “I know for a fact that she hears the trace clearer than I do. Much Clearer! I suspect it’s clear enough for her to send the symphony to her Warriors.”
The three deactivated their armor and stared at the city below them. After a few minutes Teg said, “Is she like us?”
“No.”
“Then how does she hear the trace clearer?”
Jon sighed and said, “I asked her about that when the melody from the storage facility dropped her to her knees. She said that after Jeremy was killed she was in her room dealing with her sorrow and suddenly the trace grew louder.”
Dern stared at Jon and said, “She opened herself completely because of her loss.”
“Something happened, Dern. I think the important thing is that she is an asset given to us by the one that created us. I personally can’t think of anyone that would be a better harbor for it.”
Dern quickly looked at Teg and saw him nod.
They sat and watched the city come back to life. Thirty minutes later Molly teleported to the top of the building and sat down beside Jon. “I wondered where you three were hiding.”
Jon said, “We’re watching the fruits of our labor.”
Molly looked down and joined the three in silence. Jon linked with Dern and Teg and thought, “This is what makes it worth it.”
Molly said, “Yes it is.”
All three turned and stared at her. She saw them and said, “What?”
Jon said, “Oh nothing.” He looked at Teg and Dern. They were as shocked as he was.
Dern thought, “I’m glad I had a part in this.” The three waited and Molly said nothing.
Teg thought, “You had a large part of making this happen, Molly.” Molly continued to look out at the city.
Jon saw his brothers staring at him and he shook his head slightly and thought, “Thanks for making this happen, Molly.”
Molly continued to look at the city as she said, “All of us made this possible, Jon.”
Dern fell on his back. Molly looked at him and saw Teg was shaking his head. Molly said, “What’s going on?”
Jon thought, “Molly, look at me.” Molly turned and looked at Jon. Jon thought, “You can hear my thoughts when I link with Dern and Teg.”
Molly saw that Jon had not moved his lips. She slowly shook her head. Jon thought, “Don’t say anything, Molly. Think what you want to say.”
She thought, “This isn’t possible.”
Jon thought, “It appears that it is.”
The three broke the link and they determined quickly that Molly only heard Jon when he was linked to Dern and Teg. “Why am I able to hear you?”
Jon shook his head, “I don’t know. If you come up with a reason, please let us know.”
“Hey, you three are the geniuses here.”
Jon leaned over and nudged her with his shoulder, “I’m not so sure about that.”
She pushed him away and said, “Hey, I’m just a lieutenant that was promoted before her time.”
Jon said, “It appears your time has come.”
Molly didn’t know what to say.
• • •
Juliette turned eighteen and she called Pride to join her. “It’s time for me to go home.”
Pride said, “Are you sure about this?”
Juliette sighed and nodded. She arrived in her room and called her mother. Cassandra came rushing in and hugged her tightly. “I’ve missed you so much. Are you alright?”
“I am. You need to tell me what William Dodd has on you.”
Cassandra stepped back and Juliette saw her anguish. “I can’t do that Juliette.”
“Why?”
“I just can’t. I was stupid and didn’t think things through. I let my emotions get the best of me and I made an agreement with his son to have you marry James if he helped me.”
“James is a beast, Mother.”
“I know. I was incredibly stupid. But William has the recordings of my conversations with his son and he’s going to give them to the Queen if I don’t keep the agreement.” Cassandra looked at Juliette, “You don’t have to go through with this.”
Juliette shook her head, “I have no choice. I can’t let you be executed. Tell Dodd that I agree and we’ll have the ceremony after the Royal Reception.”
“Juliette, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle James.” Juliette hugged Cassandra and could not think of anything but Jon.
• • •
Molly went to the assembly room and found her warriors in ranks. She started to speak but saw something on Major Umdel’s armor. She walked forward and looked at a small yellow circle with a green flag in the center. “Major, what is this?”
“Sir, we’ve been looking to have a unit name and one of the warriors did some research; we voted for this to be out unit insignia.”
“What is it?”
“On your home world they played a sport thousands of years ago called golf. It was a very serious sport.”
“I’ve read about it, Major.”
“Well, there was a piece of land that they played the sport on that was considered the most beautiful place on the planet and only the best golfers were allowed to play there. It was called the Masters.”
Molly had to fight to hold back her tears. Umdel said, “We agree that it is our mission to make every planet we fight to free a place of beauty. We are now Molly’s Masters.”
Molly looked over Umdels head and saw every Warrior in the battalion had the small yellow circle on the left side of their armor. Umdel saluted her and Molly returned his salute. “I came here to tell all of you that I am proud of your accomplishment. You have made the Realm…” She paused and continued, “And me very proud of you.” She saluted her warriors and they yelled, “Molly’s Masters.”
Molly smiled and said, “Dismissed. Go and enjoy your liberty.”
Molly turned to go and Major Umdel said, “Sir.” Molly turned around and he said, “Thank you for saving so many of us.”
Molly smiled and said, “That’s my job.” She turned and went to her quarters and cried. She wasn’t worthy. She was in over her head. She tried to think of Jeremy’s face but she couldn’t remember. She stayed in her room until the tears stopped. She finally sat up and washed her face. She sat down on the bed and heard a knock on the door. She got up and opened it. Jon was standing there, “Get a bag packed.”
“Why?”
“I’m taking you home with me for a little R and R.”
“No, that’s alright. I’ll be fine here.”
Jon smiled, “Get a bag packed, Colonel. We’ll be gone for four days so pack accordingly. I’ll meet you in the landing bay in thirty minutes.” Jon walked away and Molly started to run after him but he was gone. She sighed and closed her door. After ten minutes she began packing. He had her records so he had to know all of her family had been killed in a Megat attack on Alwin. She had nowhere to go. He was just being nice. She put her bag down and almost decided not to go, but then she stood and left her room. She found Jon waiting for her in the landing bay. It was only after h
e took the shuttle out that she remembered that he lived at Castle Gardner. Oh no. She didn’t know all the rules of high society. This was going to be a nightmare.
Jon entered the coordinates and said, “We’re not allowed to jump straight in to the planet. We’re going to enter the system at the outer planet check point and move in from there. Have you ever been to Ross?”
“No.”
“I’m sure you’ll find it entertaining. Is there anything you’d like to see?”
“No.”
Jon looked at Molly and said, “Alright, what’s bugging you?”
“Jon, I don’t know how to behave properly around high royalty. I’m just a backwoods woman without much exposure to the proper manners to be observed.”
Jon stared at her and said, “You’re really worried about this?”
“I am. I don’t want to embarrass you.”
Jon smiled, “Well, you know how to bow, right?”
“Yes.”
“Well you only have to do it once when you enter a royal’s home. It is permissible when the royal leaves the room to bow if you’re standing. Just follow my lead and I promise not to leave you hung out to dry. Now cheer up and try to force yourself to have a good time.”
Molly sighed, “I’ll try.”
Jon hit the teleport key and the shuttle appeared in space close to a small planet. Six Bristone Warships flashed in and Jon said, “HMS Shuttle from Creator’s Song requesting permission to enter orbit at Ross.”
“Who is onboard?”
“I’m Jon Gee Robbins and my guest is Molly Masters.”
“Welcome back Admiral Robbins. I’m sure your family will be happy to see you. You’re cleared for orbit.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Jon hit the teleport key again and the shuttle appeared above a planet that was incredible. Molly saw the huge city from space and it covered most of the continent. Jon activated the manual controls and took the shuttle down into the atmosphere. Jon said, “This city is located on the site of the original Cainth invasion.”