by Saxon Andrew
“Jon, this city is on the site of the entire continent.”
Jon smiled and moved the shuttle lower until it merged into the traffic lanes at the higher level. He moved across fifteen lanes of heavy commercial craft moving south. Molly looked down and saw they were still several miles above the city. Jon, how many traffic levels are there?”
“More than eight thousand around the center of the city; the council has requested more but the Duke has denied their requests for security reasons.”
“I notice that all of the vehicles are moving aside for you.”
Jon shrugged, “I have a transponder that notifies their computers that they will be shot down if they don’t yield.”
Molly looked at Jon and he had a serious expression. “Really?”
“Really.”
“Why, for the Creator’s sake?”
Jon shrugged and said, “This planet takes royalty seriously.” The shuttle broke out of the lanes of traffic and emerged into a clear section of sky. Jon stopped the shuttle and Molly was about to ask why he had stopped when four sleek small ships came roaring in surrounding them. Molly heard over the ship’s speaker, “Welcome home, Your Grace.”
“Thank you, Stick. I’ll follow you in.”
The five ships turned and moved forward. Jon said, “I could have just gone straight in, but I don’t like ignoring the security protocols.”
Molly looked out of the forward view port and saw they were moving quickly toward the ground and straight ahead was a structure that was absolutely amazing. “Jon, what is that?”
Jon smiled, “That’s Castle Gardner.” Molly looked at him and he said, “Welcome to my humble abode.”
Molly looked at the towering spires and the massive walls, “Oh my god!”
“It’s really something when you see if for the first time.” Jon piloted the shuttle to the huge landing zone on top of the tallest spire and lowered the shuttle to the surface. He got up and went to open the side port. He stepped out and offered his hand to assist Molly. She didn’t need help. She was plenty agile but she decided that she was going to follow his lead. She took his hand and as soon as she touched him she felt her tension disappear. She felt safe. She stepped out of the shuttle and saw a middle aged couple walking quickly toward them. Jon rushed to them and hugged them. He turned and said, “Mom, Dad, this is one of my officers who’ll be visiting with us. Molly this is my mother Sara and my father Robert.”
Sara rushed forward and hugged Molly, “Welcome to our home. Jon never brings anyone to visit and we’re so glad you came.”
Robert came forward and offered his hand. Molly shook it and Robert said, “What the heck.” He wrapped Molly in his arms and hugged her.
Sara said, “Are you hungry?”
“I’m famished, Mom.”
“Well let’s go see what we have in the kitchen.”
Molly followed them to portal and then teleported to the kitchen. Sara made sandwiches while Robert poured some drinks. They sat down at the kitchen table and Molly watched Jon pick up his sandwich with both hands and take a huge bite. Molly smiled and cut hers in half. It was entirely too big to handle with just one hand. It was after Sara showed Molly to the room she was going to use for her visit that Molly realized that she had failed to bow. She said, “Your Majesty, I’m sorry.”
Sara turned and looked at her, “Why, child?”
“I didn’t bow when I arrived.”
Sara waved her hand at her and said, “We don’t allow bowing in our personal quarters. There’s enough of that in the governing levels. I’ll let you know when you have to worry about that.”
Molly smiled, “Thank you for allowing me to see your home.”
Sara smiled and said, “You’re the first person Jon has ever brought here, other than his brothers. We’re happy to have you. Please make yourself at home.”
Sara closed the door and Molly knew that in this home, love was the norm. She was amazed that she had never seen any sense of superiority from Jon. She pulled up information about the Robbins on her wrist unit and began reading about Jon’s family. By the time she finished, she felt very small. This family was something special in the Realm’s Royalty. The only one with more power than the Duke was the Queen. Molly realized that Jon was in line for the Duke’s title and the first in line for the Crown of the Realm. She had never thought of Jon as Royal. By the time they left, she couldn’t see him any other way.
Molly came downstairs and found Jon and his parents sitting in front of a huge fire place. She said, “Oh, excuse me. I’ll come back.”
Sara said, “Don’t be silly. I appreciate different opinions from these two. I could use some female support.”
Molly came in and sat in a chair across from Jon. Sara looked at Robert and he gave a small nod. Sara turned to Jon and said, “Tell me what’s going on with Juliette?”
Jon told her what he suspected and that she was going to marry James Dodd. Sara looked at Molly and said, “What do you think about this, Molly?”
Molly looked at Jon and he nodded. “I don’t think I should say what I think about a member of the Royal Family.”
“This is the only place you can and it not be held against you. I’d really appreciate your opinion. I have thought that she and Jon might be married one day.”
Jon’s expression turned hard but Molly didn’t see it. She said, “Juliette is an idiot.”
Sara laughed and said, “At least we agree on one thing. Why do you think she’s dumb?”
“She’s not dumb. That would give her an excuse for her stupidity. She’s an idiot.”
“Why do you feel that way?”
“She is putting her family ahead of the Realm. If she marries that troll, she will lose control of the Realm to him.”
Robert said, “I don’t think he could take control.”
Molly said, “What happens if they have children? Do you think she might give in to him if he threatens them?”
Robert stared at Molly and then looked at Sara. They looked back at Molly and Sara said, “Go on.”
“Jon says he will not accept the crown. I think he’s betraying all of us that are fighting for the Realm in taking that stance but…”
“Wait a minute. You’ve never said that before.”
Molly turned to Jon and said, “You’ve never asked my opinion on it. However, we are fighting enemies of the Realm risking our lives to ensure its survival. You would refuse the crown and allow those weak and morally challenged people to take control of the Realm I love. Who is better qualified to lead us and make the hard decisions that must be made? If you stepped aside and allowed those two to rule, you wouldn’t be any better than they are.” Molly saw Jon’s expression and said, “I’m sorry. I’ve brought discord to your home.”
Robert said, “The truth never causes discord among those that seek it.”
Jon and Molly looked at Robert and he said, “Molly is absolutely right. You’ve read the Realm’s history, Jon. What’s happened when the rulers were inadequate for the position?”
“Dad, I don’t want the crown.”
“And I don’t want you out there taking on the Dremor and who knows what else. But it must be done because it’s the right thing to do. What you should realize Jon is that Royalty removes what you want and replaces it with what you must. You’re not doing what must be done to protect the Realm from its enemies both foreign and domestic. That man Juliette is going to marry is dark in his soul. Are you willing to put the Realm in his hands?”
Jon took a deep breath and Sara said, “You should ponder this later. We’re going to have a good time showing Molly around Ross. Have you made any plans about where you want to go?”
Jon looked at Sara and forgot the discussion, “No, I haven’t. I thought I’d leave it up to her.”
Sara wagged her index finger at him, “Jon, Jon, Jon; how can you decide what you want to see if you don’t know what there is to see?”
Jon smiled and said, “You make a goo
d point. What would you suggest?”
Sara pulled out a small module and said, “It’s funny you asked. I happen to have a list of things.”
Molly laughed and said, “Just happened…”
Sara waved her hand at her and said, “Strictly by accident. Here, take this Jon and you can take Molly out tomorrow and show her around.”
Jon took the tablet and said, “You’ve made some good choices.”
“Good. We’ll see you in the morning.” Robert and Sara stood and hugged them both and left the room.
Jon and Molly sat staring at the fire and Molly sighed heavily and said, “I’m sorry, Jon.”
“You should be.”
“I know. I just can’t help saying what I think. I’ll behave.”
Jon nodded and Molly stood up, “I’m calling it a day. I’ll see you in the morning. Jon stood and Molly came over and gave him a hug. “I am sorry.” She turned and left the room.
Jon sat back down and stared at the fire for two more hours before he went to his room. Molly saying he was no better than Juliette and James Dodd if he shirked his responsibility had hit him at his core. He didn’t want to agree with her but he couldn’t come up with a defense to prove her wrong. Ergo, she must be right. There had to be another way. He did not want the crown. He didn’t deserve it.
• • •
The next two days were a blur for Molly. The numerous places Jon showed her and the evenings spent with his parents were the most peaceful and happiest time she had since the death of her family. The final day before they were scheduled to leave, Jon took her to Colony Park. She saw the statues of the Cainth beaming the Ross settlers. She went to Dorg-Ross’s memorial and looked at the statue of the small Cainth. Jon watched her staring at the statue and said, “What are you thinking?”
Molly slowly shook her head and said, “The war with the Algeans was ended because of the bravery of this small admiral. He spent his life trying to make up for the deaths of the Ross colonists. He still never forgave himself for what happened.”
Jon said, “He died one of the Realm’s greatest heroes.”
“Where would the Realm be now if he had simply gone away and felt sorry for himself?”
“What are you saying, Molly?”
“You lost your parents and you don’t think you’re deserving of your title or the crown. Dorg-Ross didn’t think he deserved any of the honors he was given either.” Molly looked at Jon and said, “Why is it that the greatest of those among us never see how wonderful they are?” She turned and continued to stare at the statue. Jon stared at Molly.
Later that day, Jon landed the shuttle in the Creator’s Song’s landing bay and Molly stood and stepped out of the port while Jon turned off the shuttle’s systems. Jon exited and found Molly waiting. “Jon, this has been the happiest four days in my life. Thank you for sharing your home and family with me.” She stepped back and saluted him. Jon returned her salute and watched her leave the landing bay. He had been hoping for a hug. He felt the tingle and linked with Dern and Teg, “How was the trip home?”
Jon said, “I’ll tell you about it later.”
Teg said, “Was it that bad?”
“No, nothing like that. It was the best time I’ve ever had. I wish it didn’t have to end.”
Jon walked out of the landing bay and went to his office before he remembered that Molly could hear his thoughts when he linked to his brothers. He was surprised she hadn’t said anything.
Molly sat in her room and refused to allow her feelings to take her. She had lost one love to this war; she was not going to face that loss again.
Chapter Eighteen
The Supreme Spirit looked down on the planet being consumed. He shut off outside stimuli and searched for the psychic thread. He found it and saw that the consumption of the planet was not going to be interrupted. He activated his senses and looked at the planet again. This should be completed shortly. “One of our fleets is failing to respond to us.”
The Supreme Spirit looked over at the First Spirit controlling communications and showed his displeasure at being interrupted, “That’s happened in the past.” He turned back to viewing the planet.
“Supreme Spirit, eight other fleets have attempted contact and have failed. One has called and requested I attempt contact.”
The SS turned around again and looked at the First, “And?”
“They are not responding to your call.”
The SS turned and stared at the First. “How long have they been ignoring the calls?”
“Eight mini-flashes.”
“What do you know about that fleet?”
“It was a primary training fleet.”
The SS said, “Have all fleets send out a call for them.”
The First turned back to his station and began moving the grey mist in front of him. The SS went back into the psychic thread and looked for a clue on what had happened to the fleet. He queried the thread thousands of times and found that the thread also had no contact with that fleet. He activated his senses and turned to the First, “That fleet has been destroyed.”
The First stopped in midsentence and stared at the Supreme Spirit. He knew he was dead if he asked the obvious question, “Are you sure?” He stared at the Supreme Spirit and waited. “Do we know where they were located when they stopped responding?”
“We know the location of their last attack. They always report in once an attack is completed, but that was several flashes ago. They could have gone anywhere. They would have taken the best possible psychic trace and followed it. I’m certain that trace no longer exists.”
The SS felt his anger rising and he said, “I want scouts sent out to the last contact location. Have them fan out and search for the death residue. If that many of us were killed, there will be a large enough residue to be found. Tell the scouts to find it or don’t come back.”
The First focused on his station and issued the orders. More than a billion adolescent Dremor rushed through space to the last know location of the missing fleet and fanned out. They retrieved their tendrils from normal space and flew faster than light looking for the distinctive residue a Dremor always left behind when it died.
The SS knew that the missing fleet was something to be taken seriously. If an agency had killed that fleet, his other fleets were also in danger. He went back to the psychic thread but found nothing to help him. Something was operating outside the psychic thread. That worried him more than the missing fleet.
• • •
Jon, Dern, Teg, and Molly were on a planet training their Warriors on switching their armor from modern to Old Realm. They stood on a hill watching the training and Dern turned to Jon, “Why are you having them do this training?”
“The Dremor are not going to take the destruction of one of their fleets without some kind of response.”
Molly frowned, “What do you think they’ll do?”
“First, they’ll destroy that planet we saved and then they’ll come after us.”
Molly said, “Shouldn’t we go and protect that planet?”
“There’re not enough of us with the old armor to do it. I suspect they’ll be coming in a major offence and it won’t be with Dremor that just rush into our armor and die. These will be smart and they won’t die as easily.”
Teg looked at the Life Warriors training and said, “We’ve increased the charge capacity of the old armor.”
Jon looked at him, “How did you do that? I thought they were charged to the maximum level by exposure to the star.”
“They were, but we loaded the new armor with hundreds of power packs. They will take over the charging if the level drops below twenty percent.”
Dern said, “Those packs will also help with the new armor as well.”
Teg shook his head, “When have you ever seen the new armor run low on power?” Dern raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Teg said, “They don’t. The old armor is basically firing a high powered blaster continuously around the Warrior. That
takes a tremendous amount of power.”
Molly said, “Can the field strength be reduced to conserve power?”
“You were there. How close did the Dremor come to breaking through?”
Molly tilted her head and nodded, “Too close in my opinion.”
“I ran a diagnostic after the battle and I’ve had the fields strengthened. If the Dremor time it right, they could break through if enough of them hit our Warriors simultaneously.”
Jon said, “That’s good planning, Teg. The next ones will be able to do that.”
Dern said, “How long do we have?”
Jon shrugged, “I left a stealth probe in the system we saved. I have it next to the fourth planet out from the sun, so we’ll be notified if life on the planet is suddenly reduced. It is totally passive and does not send out any radiation. I suspect it will still be found, but they may not know it’s one of ours.”
“Do you think they’ll be able to determine that it was us that killed that fleet?”
“I honestly don’t know, Molly. I think it’s safe to say they have psychic abilities, but they may not operate if we’re part of the attacking force. I believe our creative field extends around all our ships and warriors which would prevent them from seeing us, but I don’t know if we left enough evidence for them to draw conclusions.”
“What kind of evidence, Jon?”
“Teg, we used our blasters during stages of their attack and I’m sure some of our beams struck the sand around our Warriors. They may recognize the blast signature.”
Jon looked at the warriors below and said, “What is the time differential on the switch?”
Teg said, “They’re down to a tenth of a second.”
Jon said, “Molly, go down and stand in the middle of their formations.”
“Why do you want me to do that?”
“Just an idea I’ve thought about.”
Molly teleported into the formations and Teg said, “The time has gone down to a hundredth of a second.” Teg looked at Jon with a furrowed brow.
“They’re all on the same melody, Teg.” Teg shook his head and watched as the time went down to a thousandth of a second. Jon looked at Teg, “What’s the progress on the forts?”