by Saxon Andrew
“How many worlds do the Keepers have enslaved?”
Manny looked away again, but Junior answered, “Between twenty and twenty five million.”
Jake smiled, “Last question, how many Gammas does the Realm have?”
Junior said, “I had a hand in building most of them; about twenty seven million.”
Jake helped Valerie out of his lap and walked over in front of the main display, “We don’t need the transports to come in and take the communities. The Gammas have a teleport system that can produce the necessary field underground. The vast majority of the farms have the Keepers’ garrison located between eight and twenty miles from the communities, and I suspect the Keepers’ ship protecting the planet will be stationed above the garrison. We’ll use a Gamma to come around the planet in stealth mode and form the teleport field under the communities. The field will have the coordinates of a transport’s bay that will jump into open space between galaxies. Once the transport arrives it will notify the Gamma, which at that moment will lock the field at a hundred feet and pull it up over the communities. The Searcher will teleport a captor ball into the garrison set for the specific size of that facility, with enough extra to insure none are missed, as it teleports away. The transport will also jump back to the Realm. I suspect the time needed to make this happen will only be seconds. The Keepers’ ships will not have time to react. Remember, they have to build up the field to fire it. I just don’t believe they can keep the beam operational over an extended period of time.”
Junior said, “You think we can move all twenty million planets at one time?”
Jake said, “Have you been listening in, Sprig?”
There was a slight pause and Sprig said, “How did you know?”
“Because the trust you once had for the Realm no longer exists.”
Manny, Joe, and Valerie were shocked silent.
Sprig finally said, “You’re right.”
Jake slowly shook his head, “I don’t blame you. I feel the same way.”
Valerie, Joe, and Manny all started speaking at once and Jake said, “I’ll explain in detail later, but please consider this.”
The group stopped talking and listened, “What if the Duke’s plan had been successful? Who would control the Realm and what would that mean for the Algeans?” Jake waited a long moment and continued, “I want you to think about that, and we’ll discuss it later. However, we have other important issues to handle right now.”
“Sprig, how long will it take you to prepare thirty million planets for new populations?”
Sprig’s leaves that had turned dark brown suddenly turned green, “Are you planning to move all of those farms to my galaxy?”
Jake nodded and said, “It’s the only place I believe they will be protected.”
Sprig stared at Jake for a long time, and finally said, “I’ll explain everything once this conflict is resolved; you have my promise.” Sprig straightened, “I’ll put ten billion of my adolescents on the project. We should have them ready within five months.”
“Edison?”
“The group heard a mental sigh, “Yes, Jake?”
“I need you and the Algeans to assign the transports and Searchers to a specific farm with the needed coordinates to take them to their new homes. Can you do that in the necessary time frame?”
Edison sighed again and said, “We’ll have that part done in less than a month.”
“Manny, Joe, and Valerie, I need you to work on making this happen. Valerie will be joining you at fleet command for the near future.”
Valerie said, “If you think I am going to leave you now; you’re wrong!”
“You must, Valerie. It’s time to find them.”
Valerie looked into Jake’s eyes and said, “I will not question any more decisions you make. I’m sorry for doubting you. I love you so much; I just can’t stand being away from you.”
Jake hugged Valerie and said, “Junior, send her to Fleet Command.”
Jake saw her tears as she disappeared.
Sprig and Edison looked at each other on their displays, “It appears he knows our plan.”
Edison nodded, “Does that surprise you?”
“Not really. Humans have always shocked me with what they can accomplish.”
“My brother still thinks they’re smarter than us, and I’m beginning to believe him.”
“There’re different kinds of smart, Edison.”
“I know. It’s the important kind that the humans possess.”
There was a long moment of silence and Edison finally asked, “Do you think the Gardners will make a difference?”
Sprig sighed and said, “Yes, they will make things much worse.”
Edison nodded, “I see it the same way, my old friend.”
Chapter Twenty
Finding Gardners
Jake sat in the command chair and thought about all that had just happened. The bridge remained silent for an hour, and finally Junior asked, “What gave me away?”
“You set up the Duke.”
“How did that let you know?”
“I asked if a teleport field could be blocked and you went to the Algeans and found the means to do it. That mechanism was not developed at that exact moment, so it had to exist prior to my question. You must have already known of its existence since you were heavily involved in the Realm’s ship construction. You chose to pretend ignorance.”
“That’s true.”
“It got me started thinking. You were able to see a ship that was in full stealth mode sneaking away from Ross, and you volunteered to destroy it. That told me the Algeans had put a weapons system on you that was stronger than any ship in the Realm’s fleet. If you have it, the Algeans have it.”
“You’re right again.”
“That means the Algeans will only give technology to the Realm that they are able to counter if necessary. Once I made that determination, the rest was simple.”
“Then you understand all the implications of what you’re planning?”
“Yes, I do; but you and I have no choice.”
“There is always a choice.”
“Not in this instance, Junior. The Realm has two issues confronting it, and one of them is the Keepers. Have you discovered a weapon to kill their ships?”
“No, Jake.”
“Then it boils down to this; which gets more attention: a blaster being fired at you from ten feet, or a missile coming at you from a distance?”
“Well, if you’re going to die anyway….. I guess the blaster. One never really knows what will happen if one is given more time.”
“That’s how I see it.”
“I notice you didn’t say anything to the Realm’s leadership.”
“The real leaders aren’t here.”
“You make a good point.”
“You know what your parents will say about this?”
“I’ve already turned down my hearing.”
Jake looked at his communications log and noticed it was full. He reached over and turned it off. “Junior, I need to be able to trust you to follow my plan.”
“What is the difference between the two?”
“The end result will probably be the same, but the route will be considerably different.”
The bridge was silent for ten minutes. Finally, Junior said, “I told you that I’m your ship. I won’t hide anything from you again.”
“That’s all I ask. Now, are you ready to meet history?”
“Do I have a choice?”
“Nope.”
“Then let’s make it happen.”
“Before we do, I don’t want to discuss the issues with them until the problem of the Keepers is resolved.”
“Mum’s the word.”
“That includes your parents.”
“They wouldn’t listen anyway. I’m still their little child.”
“OK; call them.”
“What?”
“You are the link to the Gardners. You always have been.”
“What are you talking about? How am I going to call them? I’ve tried to contact my parents so many times I’ve lost count.”
“Junior, do you have a distress beacon?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Who put that in you?”
“I was born with it.”
“Your parents would never agree to leave without making sure you were safe in their absence. A mother can sleep while a scheduled train roars by her house each night, shaking the building. A huge hauler can fly overhead and she’ll remain asleep. However, let her new born child whimper in the next room and she is immediately up and checking on it. You activate your distress call and your parents will arrive faster than you can imagine. If they are with the Gardners, and I really think they are, then the entire group will come with them.”
“My distress beacon will only work in this universe.”
“That’s why they are here. I might be wrong, but I doubt it.”
Junior considered what Jake was saying and decided, “We need to move to a more secure location.”
“Pick one.”
Junior jumped out into empty space between the galaxies. “Are you ready?’
“Give it a go.”
Junior activated his distress beacon.
A giant silver screen formed a hundred miles away and Jake and Junior saw the giant ship appear. The legendary Alexander Kosiev came out of the screen, followed by Aladdin and Fly Girl.
The Prime Director of the Keepers Fleets had passed frustration more than two weeks earlier. His fleets had chased the six planets from one end of this universe to another. Every time his fleets came close, the planets disappeared. This entire operation was a wasted effort.
“Enough!” he yelled.
The navigator looked up and wondered what he was going to do.
“It appears the inhabited planets are capable of escaping. If we can’t destroy them then we need to start our efforts elsewhere.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are millions of planets without intelligence that can be used for them to flee. We’ll destroy those and hope our scientists can find a way around this technology. Divide the fleet into twenty four units with a hundred thousand ships each. Find planets that are habitable and destroy them.”
The Fleet Directors reorganized their fleets and selected their new targets. The huge fleet disappeared.
Jaxl followed one of the fleets and watched as it jumped in close to a blue and green planet. Twelve hours later the planet was an airless burning ball. “Fleet Command, the Keepers are now destroying uninhabited planets.”
“Maintain station, Searcher. We knew it was coming.”
“Science, have you found a way around that frequency?”
“Not yet. However, we are going to attempt a new way to attack.”
“How?”
“We know that our non-space jump systems are blocked by the frequency. We are going to see if we can jump ships in close to one of their planets using the universal drives.”
“Will it work?”
“We’ll only know that after we attempt it. We are using a hundred thousand ships in the initial effort, and upon emergence they will immediately enter the planet’s atmosphere. We hope that if they move the planet, our ships will go with it.”
“Keep me informed.”
“Valerie?”
“Yes, Jake?”
I’m sending you Junior’s coordinates. I think you should be here to welcome our guests.”
“Really?!?!?!?”
“Yes, really. They’ll be here momentarily.”
Valerie appeared on Junior’s bridge, saw on the main screen the giant white ship approaching, and immediately recognized it. The Kosiev had its screens extended at full power and she could see all the weapons ports were energized and active. Two small ancient Searcher ships were also approaching at high speed, and they were also ready for combat.
“Junior, are you all right?”
“Yes, Mom, I’m fine.”
“Then why the distress beacon? I told you to never use it except in an emergency.”
“Father, you never told me I had a distress beacon.”
“I didn’t?”
“No, you did not.”
“Fly Girl, I could have sworn I gave him the speech about using the distress beacon.”
“Al, you missed giving him a lot of speeches.”
“Mom, Dad; I’ve missed you so much.”
‘How long have we been gone?”
“More than thirteen thousand years.”
Suddenly Jake and Valerie hear a thought, “How long did you say?”
Jake answered, “The Alexander Kosiev and the Gardner Family have been missing for more than thirteen thousand years. It is my guess that you decided to go because of the current situation the Realm is now facing.”
“Is the Realm at war?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Has Ulmerton been destroyed?”
“Just as you envisioned.”
“Will you join us on the Kosiev?”
“Give me the coordinates. I will be bringing the current Queen of the Realm with me.”
“By all means; we look forward to meeting her.”
Jake looked at Valerie, “Are you ready?”
“I’ve so looked forward to this moment, Jake, but we need to take one more person with us.”
Jake smiled and shrugged. Valerie hit her com, “Joe, please teleport to the coordinates I just sent you.”
“I was so hoping you wouldn’t forget me.”
Joe appeared on the bridge next to Valerie and stared wide-eyed at the main display.
Junior, if you’ll do the honors.”
Jake, Valerie, and Joe disappeared.
“What’s going on, Junior?”
“First things first, Dad. I need to get the two of you modernized. Sprig, is everything ready?”
“Yes, bring them in.”
“Sprig, you old wildflower. Is it really you?”
Sprig laughed, “Yes it is, Al. We need to update your armaments and control systems. Plan to be here about five days.”
The three small ships teleported away.
Joe, Valerie, and Jake arrived on a large bridge that dwarfed every ship they had ever boarded. Waiting for them were six people that came forward and offered hugs and handshakes. Joe recognized them. The muscular, short haired man had to be
Thomas Gardner, and the pretty blonde next to him had to be Danielle. A young man with blue eyes approached and shook his hand, “Hello, I’m Tommy Gardner and this is my wife Cassandra.”
Jake smiled and said, “Hi, I’m so pleased to meet you. I’m Jake Talant and this is my fiancée Valerie Gardner, the current Queen of the Stars Realm.”
The couple immediately smiled and bowed to Valerie.
“No! No! Please stand up! It is I that should be bowing to you.”
The other four Gardners came forward and introduced themselves, and Jake got his first look at Matthew and Melanie Gardner. He could see the resemblance between Cassandra and Matt. Their hair color was quite distinctive. Melanie was quite pretty.
He looked around and asked, “Aren’t some of you missing?”
The group looked at Jake and he continued, “Are Rose and Anglo here?”
Tag looked around and said, “Rose and Chris, as well as Anglo and Jenny, decided to live a normal life span after their thousand year rule ended. They moved out into the Realm and had their families.”
Jake noticed Danielle appeared sad. “I miss them.”
Tag said, “Why don’t we go to the conference room and sit down. I’m sure we all have questions we’d like to ask.”
Valerie said, “Lead the way. You have no idea how much I’ve anticipated this day.”
Danielle smiled and led the Gardners through a passageway that entered a long hallway. As they walked to the conference room, Jake whispered to Valerie, “I want you to be the spokesperson and allow me to be just an observer. Will y
ou do that for me?”
Valerie looked at him with a huge smile and nodded. She was caught up in the moment.