by Saxon Andrew
• • •
Juliette looked at James Dodd on her display, “I was thinking we could go ahead and have the wedding now. It looks like Bristone and Ross may not survive the coming Dremor attack. There’s no reason to wait.”
Juliette stared at James and said, “That’s the trouble with you Minor Royals.”
James expression hardened, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I am in the direct succession to the Crown. I may not marry without the current ruler of the Realm present. It is also required for all those in the succession to also be present. These requirements are not optional. So why don’t you go and hustle up the King and Queen and the other High Royals to come over during this crisis.”
James stared at her and then the display went dark. Juliette looked at the screen with disgust and said, “Stupid twit.” Juliette blew out a deep breath and thought about Jon. Her computer emitted a beep and she saw that William Dodd was attempting to contact her. Now this was interesting. She accepted the call and William appeared on her display. “You will not treat my grandson with such disrespect again.”
Juliette looked at the Minor Baron and said, “Is this the way you talk to your superiors, Baron?”
William’s face underwent a strange metamorphosis. The rage took him, “This is the way I’ll talk to you; you self-indulged child. You will see your mother die if you don’t do as I say.”
Juliette smiled sweetly at the baron and his rage vanished, “You should know that I am close to just allowing my Mother to take the responsibility for her actions and call this wedding off. I would hate to see her die but seeing you and that troll of a grandson stand in front of the Queen with a Cat present to explain your treason might be worth it. If you or your idiot grandson contact me again without my permission, the wedding is off and I’m accusing you of treason to the Royal Peers. Do you understand that, you sniveling coward?”
William’s fear was obvious. “Yes, your grace.” The screen went dark. William stared at the dark screen and began to wonder who was in control. At least James was innocent. He knew nothing about the treasonous acts done by his father. But he wasn’t. He hoped this princess didn’t figure out that he would back out faster than a rabbit entering a snake hole if she threatened to reveal his acts. He decided to stay away from Juliette.
Juliette felt better than she had in months. The Dodds were all bluster and bluff. They were cowards at heart; unlike Jon, who was the bravest man she had ever known. She had to get him back but how was she going to do it. She knew in her heart that they were meant to be together. Her mother’s fear of being executed had weighed on her and she was losing respect for her. She needed to do what was best for her own future and the Realm. That colonel Jon brought to the reception was right. She was an idiot and her mother was an even bigger one to have done what she did. She looked at Jon’s picture on a news article in the computer. The headline read, ‘Bristone’s Bravest Warrior.’ “Oh Jon, please don’t let it be too late.”
• • •
Jon was linked to his brothers and Dern said, “Jon, the Zord saw the Megat are moving their Beam Dreadnaughts.”
“That’s not good.”
“They’ll be able to hit the forts from long range. The new force fields that now surround the inner Coronado Fields will hold them off but not for long.”
Teg said, “They’ll target four of the forts and once they go down, the Coronado field around the planet will collapse.”
Jon shook his head, “Once the fields are gone, the Dreadnaughts will hit our blasters around the castle and the King will be exposed to the Dremor. There’s got to be something that can stop them. I just don’t see what it can be.”
Dern said, “The only thing that can prevent the loss of Bristone and Ross are ships that have power cell hulls that can take out the Megat ships.”
Jon nodded, “But we don’t have ships like that.” Jon thought a moment and said, “I wonder how many ships the Megat will be bringing.”
“The Zord that have been scouting their forces say that fleets that were attacking four planets stopped their invasions and left.”
Teg said, “That means more than a hundred thousand warships will be coming.”
Dern said, “Is there any chance of getting the King to leave?”
“No; he’s determined to stay and face the same fate as his subjects. I must admit he has surprised me. He’s more than I thought he was. I’m willing to die to defend him.”
“We are as well, Jon.”
“It’s looking more and more like that is what’s going to happen.”
“Keep at it; we’ve got to come up with a way to win this.”
Teg said, “I wish there was a way to hit those dreadnaughts. If we could take them out, we have a chance to make it a war of attrition between the Megat Warships and our missiles.”
Molly listened to the brothers and thought about the problem they were facing. She felt the link disappear and she heard distant music. She recognized the Melody. She punched her communicator, “Jon, the old storage facility is emitting music again.”
“It is?”
“Yes, I can hear it on Ross.”
Jon linked his brothers again and said, “Teg, Molly is hearing music from the old storage facility. Go there and see what’s causing it.”
“I’m on it. I’ll get back to you.”
“Thanks, Molly.”
“I hope he finds something, Jon.”
“We can only pray.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Teg arrived at the storage facility and could hear the melody from a thousand miles out. He entered the protocols and took his speeder into the massive landing bay. He rushed out of the ship and took the elevator up. He listened carefully and stopped the elevator on the thirty fifth floor and lowered it to the thirty fourth floor. He rushed out of the elevator and ran out into the large open space between the massive storage racks and closed his eyes. This was the floor where the old missiles were stored. He kept his eyes closed and moved rapidly to his left. He bumped into a rack and opened his eyes. He turned the corner and moved rapidly down the long aisle. He closed his eyes again and continued moving forward. He suddenly stopped and opened his eyes. He was at the back wall and he saw row after row of massive nose cones sticking out of huge containers. He rushed forward and read the description on one of the missile containers. Jump Penetrator. He read the description of the missile and sat down on the floor.
He activated his armor and pressed a frequency. Admiral Mandel appeared and Teg said, “Sir, I need you to prepare a place on Bristone and Ross for some weapons to be teleported in.”
“What kind of weapons?”
“They’re called Jump Penetrators.”
Mandel looked over to the side and Teg could see he was reading something. “I didn’t know we had any of them still around.”
“There are more than six thousand of them here at the storage facility. Please have half of them sent to Bristone and the other half to Ross.”
“Colonel, we’ve looked for those penetrators in the past and were unable to find them.”
“Perhaps they decided to hide from you, Sir. Please get the armory staff to get them moved as quickly as possible.”
“Where are you?”
“Thirty fourth floor next to the back wall.”
“Turn on your transponder. Admiral Kim will be there momentarily.”
Teg stayed on the floor and continued to read the information on the container. The more he read, the more his excitement grew. These could make a difference. Thank you, Molly. You’ve come through again.
• • •
Jon teleported out to the huge transport that had just arrived in orbit above Bristone and parked inside the fort’s force field. He appeared in the main storage bay in the center of the giant ship and saw hundreds of Algeans and engineers working at a desperate pace on thousands of containers. Jon went over to Admiral Kim and said, “What are they doing?”
; “These missiles are thousands of years old. They’ve been stored in a vacuum but all of them must be checked out and refueled before they can be used.”
Jon looked at one of the huge missiles that had been taken out of its container and said, “What exactly are they?”
“This is a missile that was used in the war between the original Realm and the Algeans.”
Jon’s mouth fell open. “These are ancient.”
“They are, but they used a technology we’ve forgotten.”
“What is that?”
Kim turned to Jon and said, “We always teleport our ships out to attack any enemy targets. All of our really powerful weapons are on our ships.”
“I understand that.”
“These are called Jump Penetrators. They jump through null space close to the enemy and then accelerate close to half of light speed and hit their target.”
“How fast?”
“Half the speed of light in less than fifty seconds. The missile is 140 feet long and thirty feet wide. It’s powered by the Coronado Power Cells on its surface and has a force field to protect it. It is one of the fastest accelerating devices we’ve ever built.”
“Do you think it can penetrate a modern force field?”
“No.”
Jon stared at Kim and shook his head, “Then why are we using them?”
“One won’t do it but we’re going to launch more than three thousand of them at the Megat Dreadnaughts. The second wave of three hundred will teleport in less than half a mile from them and the others will be coming in from fifty seconds out. The initial hits on their force fields will blind their scanners to the incoming spread.”
Jon thought about the physics of the missile and said, “How much do these missiles weigh?”
“More than sixteen thousand pounds.”
“That kinetic energy might be off the scale.”
Kim smiled, “There’s one other benefit.”
“What’s that?”
“These missiles have a power cell force field that is a hundred feet wide.”
Jon thought a moment and he started smiling.
Kim nodded, “Any Dremor that is in the path of those missiles is going to be burned. We’re attempting to coordinate getting twenty of the Algean attack ships behind the missiles as they move in on the Dreadnaughts. They’ll fire on them and teleport out immediately.”
Jon smile grew larger, “If these missiles don’t do the trick, the attack ships will.”
“That’s the plan.”
Jon tilted his head, “The penetrators aren’t much smaller than the Algean Attack Craft.”
“We’re hoping that if the penetrators start killing the Dremor in their path, they might think the Algean’s ships are also missiles and get out of their way.”
“You don’t think they can tell the difference?”
“Their ships probably can, but this is going to happen so fast that the information may not get out in time to the individual Dremor surrounding the Megat Ships. They’ll have less than a second to detect the attack craft and then transmit the information.”
“Are the Algean ships going to be able to keep up with the missiles?”
Kim nodded, “They’re the only ones that can.”
“We don’t have much time before they attack.”
Kim looked at Jon, “How do you know that?”
“I have a way to determine their targets and their approximate time of attack. I think we have three more days.”
“Well, we’re going to need every minute to get these ready.”
Jon smiled, “I’ll get out of your way.”
Kim nodded and turned to direct the engineers on moving the penetrators into organized bays for inspection.
• • •
Jon teleported out and shared what was going on with Molly and his brothers.
Molly listened and said, “Jon, why are we here?”
“What do you mean?”
“This is going to be a fight between our technologies. We will only make a difference if the Dremor make it through the planetary force field. If they do that, we still won’t be able to stop them from killing every one that’s not protected by armor. Why are we here?”
“I’m not sure I understand your question, Molly.”
Dern said, “I do. We were created during a Dremor attack. If we were created for a purpose, it must have been to stop them. Molly, are you saying we’re missing something?”
“I am and I don’t know what it is.”
Jon paused and said, “I don’t either.”
Molly said, “I just sense we’re missing something.”
Jon shook his head, “Well if you find out what it is, please let us know.”
Molly snickered, “I suspect you’ll know first.”
“You heard the storage facility; we didn’t.”
“Touché; I’ll keep working on it.”
Jon broke the link and thought that he needed to know Molly’s purpose. If he found that he would know what he was missing about himself. He turned to go back and check on the Jump Penetrators when his com buzzed, “This is Admiral Robbins.”
Amet appeared on his wrist unit, “Sir, I’ve had a request for you to contact Lady Juliette Gardner.”
“Why?”
“She didn’t say, Sir. She just requested you to contact her at the frequency I’ve sent.”
“Thanks, Amet. How’s the ship doing?”
“We’re loading some of the heavy lasers from the Armory into our skin.”
“How many?”
“Twenty thousand.”
“For the Creator’s sake, why so many?”
“We figure it like this, Sir. The power celled ships of old had a force field that was basically a blaster beam that surrounded the ship. If we load up enough heavy beams, there won’t be a part of the ship that won’t be covered by them if they all fire together.”
“How are you going to power them long enough to be effective?”
“That’s an issue we’re working on at this moment. We think we’re going to absorb a portion of a live star into our skin and use it to power the lasers.”
Jon thought a moment and said, “Why couldn’t you just release the energy of the star around the ship. Wouldn’t that be better coverage?”
Amet stared at Jon and finally said, “I didn’t think of that.”
Jon shrugged, “It’s just a suggestion. I figure coordinating that many blasters to work together will more difficult than releasing the stored energy.”
“Thank you, Sir. I’ll look into your suggestion.”
• • •
Amet saw the display go dark and he yelled, “Leave the blasters. Get the engineer in here. Helmsman, get us out of here and take us to the nearest Type-O star. Get moving.” Amet pressed his com and yelled, “Get your ships moving. We’re going to try something and you need to be there if it works.”
• • •
Jon looked at the frequency on his wrist unit and debated on what to do. He didn’t feel comfortable ignoring a call from a High Royal but he also didn’t want the emotional roller coaster that Juliette caused. He decided duty took precedence over emotion. He pressed the frequency and Juliette appeared on his unit, “I was just informed that you wish to talk with me.”
Juliette heard the formal tone in his voice and prayed it wasn’t too late, “Jon, I’m not going to go through with the marriage.”
Jon was shocked by the revelation, “What’s changed your mind?”
“I don’t love him and he would be the worst possible choice to rule the Realm. He’s a troll.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“I’m going to continue this charade and give my mother every opportunity to accept responsibility for her actions. I’m hoping the Queen will grant her leniency if she does. It may come down to walking down the aisle, but I won’t go through with it. The Realm deserves better than James Dodd.”
Jon stared at Juliette and saw her beauty.
She still held a tremendous attraction for him. “Juliette, I’m not going to respond to your comments. Talk with me after you go through with your plans.”
“You don’t think I’m serious?”
“I don’t think you have the control you think you do. I’ll talk with you after the wedding ceremony.” Jon paused, “Maybe.”
Juliette said, “There isn’t going to be a marriage, Jon.”
“Will there be a ceremony?”
“Possibly, I’ll have to allow it to start.”
“Then talk with me after the decision is final.”
Juliette said, “Jon, there is only one man I want in my life.”
Jon stared at Juliette and terminated the call. Juliette knew she was close to losing him but he wasn’t gone yet. She saw it in his eyes.
• • •
Jon linked with Dern and Teg and said, “Our ships have left to see if they can use a process that would allow them to go after the Megat fleets.”
“How can they do that?”
“Absorb a live star and release the energy around the ship.”
“I think the old power cell ships did that long ago during the war with the Captors.”
“I think you’re right, Teg.”
Dern said, “What’s bothering you?”
Jon sighed, “Juliette just called and informed me there was not going to be a wedding. She might have to wait until the last moment to call it off, but she is not going to marry James Dodd.”
“How do you feel about that?”
“I really don’t know, Teg. I’m struggling with it.”
“Well, you need to put that behind you and focus on the Dremor.”
“I know. It’s just a sudden shock. I’ll keep you informed on what happens with our ships.”
• • •
Molly listened in on the link and saw that Jon had forgotten she could hear him during the link with his brothers. She thought about Juliette and was amazed that she had gathered enough courage to do the right thing. That woman was beautiful, a High Royal, and had her sights set on Jon. She sighed and went back to looking at the heavy blasters placement around the castle. She looked up at the ceiling and suddenly felt her grief. She had acted stupidly and now Jon was going to belong to someone else. He should marry a High Royal; he deserved it. She saw his smiling face in her mind. Her misery was almost more than she could handle. She had committed to never having another love in her life. She wished her heart had listened. Perhaps the coming battle with the Dremor would end her misery.