by Saxon Andrew
“How do you know that?”
“I heard her thoughts at that moment. She prayed you would understand why she had to do it.” Ping stared at Victoria and after a moment he lowered his gaze. “She knew her duty was to defend the Crown…and the succession.” Ping looked up at her confused. “She told me that she would not accept the Crown. She said that it was my destiny to rule the Realm. She was going to spend her life loving you. Now, I’ve waited here to swear to you that my father and I will not rest until they pay for this. We will do everything in our power to provide you what you need to exact revenge on those monsters. If we had died, I don’t know if the one that followed us would do what was necessary. Nicole knew this when she attacked that ship.”
Ping raised his head and stared at Victoria and saw Nicole’s spirit in her. He went forward and hugged her. Victoria wrapped her arms around him and wept. Ping whispered, “I will always bow to you, Your Majesty. I understand why this happened, now. Thank you for telling me.” Victoria continued to cry as Ping looked up at the sky and felt his anger grow.
• • • • •
Admiral Kosiev looked around the table at the attendees and glanced at Ping. He was different. The difference worried him. A force field had not been found to stop the beams of the ships that invaded. He was worried that the Realm could lose millions of ships if they attacked the five civilizations that invaded. He shook his head slightly and announced, “This meeting is called to order. Prince Kendel has asked us to be here to make plans to invade the civilizations that attacked us. I’m turning this meeting over to him.”
Ping looked at Admiral Kosiev and saw his fear. He looked at the Slegan Director and Lead Pack Leader and saw their reluctance. The Algean Elder had shrunk as small as possible to attend but he still touched the twenty foot high ceiling. Sprigly sat beside Ping and wondered why the Elder had been requested to attend. He looked at Rider and Vremel sitting next to the wall and saw they were also confused at what was going on.
Ping stared at the group and said, “You’re all worried that I’m hell bent on revenge and might be making a mistake in going after the invaders.” He paused and no one said anything but the huge Zord nodded. Ping smiled and knew the Zord never hid their feelings. Rider actually smiled. They knew what he wanted. Ping stood up, “I must confess that my anger is overwhelming but I have not lost sight of my overriding duty to defend the Realm. The invaders can’t attack us at the moment but they will eventually develop a technological answer to the block that prevents them from returning. I have scouted one of them and they are building warships at an incredible rate. We will have to face these beings again and to delay that action would endanger the Realm to a level that is frightening. We are forced to take action now.”
Kosiev shook his head, “We have no defense against their beams. We should wait until we develop a force field.”
“I’ve considered that; however,” Ping looked at the Algean Elder, “Those beams are a creation outside our existence. A force field that would function here might not operate there. Am I right?”
The Elder leaned forward showing his agreement, “You are.”
“We have to go there to find a defense against them.” Ping turned to Kosiev, “I assume you know Earth’s ancient history of world wars.” Kosiev nodded. “The pilots of the aircraft that went out to attack their enemies did not have force fields or defenses against the ships they were attacking, did they?” Kosiev stared at Ping for a moment and then nodded. “Those battles were won by the pilots that were superior in their flying skills. They didn’t have anything to avoid destruction but their skills at flying their ships. We’ve been spoiled by seeking to avoid conflict without the protection of force fields. The invaders also don’t have a field to stop our energy pulses. It will boil down to which force has the better pilots.” Ping turned to the Elder, “Which species in the Realm has the best pilots?”
The tall Algean was silent for a moment and then thought to the group, “Is that a rhetorical question?”
Ping smiled, “The answer is obvious.”
“Are you suggesting we take part in this fight?”
“No, I’m ordering it.”
“By what authority?”
“The Crown has given me the authority to do whatever I deem necessary to win this conflict.”
“OK.”
Kosiev looked at the Elder with his mouth open, “Just OK?”
“We have sworn to follow the Crown’s directives without equivocation. We will never betray the Realm again. If the King says we should fight, we will fight.”
Ping smiled, “The Slegan made a huge mistake when they decided to take on the Realm. They didn’t factor in the Algeans in their plans.”
The Pack Leader looked at Ping, “No, we didn’t. They’ve never involved themselves in the Realms actions before. We assumed they would stay out of our conflict.”
Ping shook his head, “You assumed wrong. Your fleets would have been taken out so fast that you’d have been amazed. The Algeans have the most advanced ships and pilots with synaptic skills that are amazing.”
Kosiev was startled by Ping’s remark, “What do you mean the most advanced ships? They have the same ships we have.”
Ping turned to Kosiev and shook his head, “Not really.”
“What do you mean?”
Ping smiled briefly, “Don’t get paranoid. The Algeans will fight for the Realm faster than any other ally. Their ships are better because they can build them that way.”
“What do you mean? We can use the same ships they do.”
Ping looked at the Admiral and saw the Elder and Sprigly weren’t comfortable with the direction the discussion had taken. “Admiral, how fast are the reflexes of a human pilot?”
“They’re incredibly fast.”
“Compared to what?”
“I’m not sure what you mean?”
“An Algean can process data a million times faster than a human. Their reflexes are ten times faster and their ability to communicate telepathically between their pilots puts our processes to shame. If I built a ship around an Algean’s skills and put a human in it, what do you think would happen?”
Kosiev thought about the question and heard the Slegan Director say, “They would crash it.” Kosiev looked at the Director and he said, “I mean no disrespect to your pilots, but the ship would respond faster than the pilot could control it. He’d be forced to overcorrect constantly.”
Ping nodded, “Exactly right; the Algeans have the most advanced ships because they have the pilots that can fly them. The ships are built to the abilities of the species that man them. They are, thus, necessarily more advanced than the ones the Realm uses. They build the most advanced Searcher Vessels possible for the Realm. They don’t build their ships better because they want a superior ship. If we could fly their ships, they would gladly produce them for us.”
Kosiev sighed, “You’re right. However, why did you agree so quickly to enter this fight?”
The Elder turned to Ping, “Will you answer the Admiral’s question, please.”
Ping smiled, “You wonder if I know what it is.” The Elder was surprised by Ping’s statement and his leaves turning bright green gave away his emotions. “They want to take part in this struggle because the primary thing that motivates an Algean is the thirst for knowledge. We’ll be fighting in a different Creation and there will be things there we’ve never seen here. That is a temptation an Algean would find hard, if not impossible, to resist.”
The Elder started shaking from side-to-side showing his laughter. “My adolescents have been barraging me with cries to take part in the effort. If you hadn’t ordered me to join the fight, I would have volunteered.”
Kosiev leaned forward, “You know that many of them will probably die if they go.”
“Yes, but we will learn much that will make us better for the effort.”
The Pack Leader leaned back in his chair, “We are not the pilots you are. We were only able to
defeat the Realm’s Searchers because of technology. One-on-one, the Searchers were superior to us.”
Ping nodded, “That’s true but you got better. The ones that survive this fight will be light years ahead of where they are now. You’ll have to employ trapping tactics.”
The Director furrowed his brow, “Trapping tactics?”
“Allow them to chase a ship into an ambush until your pilots develop the skills needed to take them on in one on one confrontations.” The Director looked at the Pack Leader wondering if they should get into this situation. Ping saw his expression and shook his head, “Your species had gone to all the trouble to build millions of ships and trained your pilots, who are very aggressive by nature naturally, to fight. Now, what are you going to do with those pilots? Send them home and tell them, ‘Oops, we made a mistake.’ Do you think they’ll go back and be model citizens? What do you think they will do when they learn that they could have been out in space flying at light speed attacking a worthy opponent?”
The Pack Leader looked up at the ceiling, “They’ll remove us from our lofty positions and put someone in our place with more courage.”
Ping nodded slowly, “That’s how I see it.”
Kosiev laughed out loud. Everyone turned to him and he said, “My Searchers have been screaming for a worthy opponent for years. They long for the vast struggles their forefathers fought before them. The Realm is at peace yet we keep a massive military against the minute possibility the Realm might be endangered. I may be reluctant to send them but they’re fighting the ropes to be released to be what they’ve trained their whole lives to be.”
Sprigly said, “What is that, Admiral?”
“A warrior fighting for a just cause.” Kosiev turned to Ping, “So how do you want to do this?”
“We are going to release our ships into that other place and charge them to find the enemy’s ships and destroy them. They will use hit and run tactics and force a war of attrition on them until we have enough forces to meet them head on.”
“We don’t have enough ships to do that now with the addition of the Algeans?”
Ping shook his head, “Director, we are far from their numbers. We must start building ships now and do it faster than we ever have in the past.” Ping turned to the Elder, “I’m going to have to depend on you to carry that load.”
“We will start that process immediately. What are you going to be doing?”
“I have to find the being in that Creation who will lead our efforts. We will launch our initial move into their space in five months through the locations of four of the portals they used to invade here.”
“I thought you had searched for him prior to now?”
“I have but I didn’t understand a very important principle.”
“What is that?”
“There are no accidents. Everything that happens does so for a reason.”
The Elder paused and thought, “I’m not sure I understand.”
“I know where he is. At least I know what part of that Creation he is located. If I had paid attention, I would have already started this operation and I would have found him.”
“Where is he?”
“Where we’re not going to attack. I need you to distract them while I go and find him.”
The attendees looked at Ping and wondered if he really knew. Ping had no doubt.
• • • • •
Tess looked at the monitors and saw the creatures burning another body of one of their warriors. It had died horribly, roaring its pain as it went into fatal convulsions. Dahlia and Dean had gone to the surface in their nemite armor and hit him eight days earlier with a tiny sliver launched from an air gun. They had shot ten other warriors during the previous week and they returned to the hole and waited for the virus to take effect.
“I’m thankful you weren’t seen.”
Dean shook his head, “You can thank Dahlia for that. She seems to have a second sense for avoiding being seen.”
Tess nodded, “Let us pray they make the right decision. Power up the nemite ships and make sure they understand that they will crash their ships into any of the invader ships that take station to fire on our planet. They will launch on my command only.”
Dean nodded and left the room for the hole located under the northern ice cap.
• • • • •
The Doctor looked at the Advisor and feared for his life. The huge Commander was furious, “What do you mean we have to leave this planet!?!”
“There is a disease here that will kill any of our species it contacts. It doesn’t affect the locals but it is deadly to us and there is no cure for it.”
“Are you certain there isn’t a cure?”
“I am, Master.”
What about the warriors I have on the surface?”
“We have the ability to scan for the disease’s presence and we can put all of those who have not been exposed through decontamination and move them off planet.”
“I suppose I’ll have to destroy the planet afterwards.”
“I would advise strongly against doing that.”
“And why would I not?”
“If you explode the planet, large pieces of it would be blasted away and out into space. There is a possibility that in the distant future one of those pieces would arrive at one of our planets. If a planetary population was exposed, it would spread through the domain faster than you could imagine.”
“Why haven’t all of our forces been exposed if it would spread that quickly?”
“The virus has not had a medium to grow until our arrival. There are only eleven outposts that have been contaminated and all of those warriors at them have been ordered to remain where they are. I hate to suggest it but it may be a good idea to vaporize those locations before we leave so the disease will not have a medium that will allow it to grow.”
The Advisor had arrived from another conquest and was angry at the waste of a good planet and population to build his ships. He watched the warrior’s death on his display and he felt immediate fear at the suffering caused by the disease. “Start moving our forces immediately.”
• • • • •
Tess watched the invaders begin moving their forces and she waited for what might be coming. Dean watched his display with the nemite ships under the pole and saw eleven of the enemy ships move into orbit above the planet. “Tess, we have to hit them now!” Dean lifted the cover above the button that would launch the ships and yelled, “TESS!”
Dahlia watched the display with Tess and, as she reached for the communicator to authorize the launch, Dahlia grabbed her arm. Tess looked at her and Dahlia shook her head, “Don’t do it!”
Tess stared at her and almost ordered the launch when eleven bright beams shot out of the invader ships and hit the planet’s surface. The eleven ships fired three more times each and then disappeared. Tess looked at Dahlia, “How did you know?”
“They only use three ships to destroy a planet. We infected eleven of their warriors…I don’t know, Tess. I just sensed they weren’t going to destroy the planet.”
Tess fell back in her command chair and blew out the breath she had been holding. If they had launched the ships…but they didn’t. Dean appeared on the monitor, “How did you know not to do it, Tess?”
“I didn’t; it was Dahlia.”
Dean looked at his sister on his display and shook his head. Something wasn’t right. “Dahlia…”
“I don’t know, Dean. I honestly don’t know how I knew but if they were going to hit the planet, they would have only used three ships. There were eleven ships in orbit. I guess I subconsciously made the connection that we infected eleven of their troops and that was what they were going to hit.”
Dean thought a moment and it made sense…but…that was a huge guess with the planet’s survival hanging in the balance of being wrong. He knew he wouldn’t have taken that risk. He looked at Tess and saw she felt the same way. “Someone’s coming.”
Dean and T
ess looked at Dahlia and she could only shake her head when they questioned her about what she meant.
• • • • •
The Advisor stared at the Master on his display and he was barely able to conceal his rage at what he was being ordered to do. “Why would we go to the defense of the other Rulers?”
“Because if we don’t they will combine their forces and come here to destroy us.”
“Have they threatened to do that?”
“They have and, since your fleets are not defending our planets, you will take your ships to their territories to meet the ships attacking them.”
The Advisor was caught in an untenable position. Suggesting the Master send ships defending the home worlds was suicide. He had barely gained ground in the new territory but the facilities to build warships had not even started construction. There was nothing he could do but follow his directives. “What about the warriors on the planets?”
“Leave them transports to bring them back. I don’t want them away if our worlds are attacked. Now get moving!”
The Advisor bowed and his display went dark. He slammed his fist into his display shattering it into fragments that scattered across the bridge’s floor. He turned to his Communications Leader, “Recall our ships.” The officer hesitated and the Advisor lashed out with his arm and severed the officer’s head. He looked at the officer’s subordinate with a snarl and he started shouting commands into his panel. He kicked the officer’s dead body across the bridge and said, “Clean this up,” as he stormed off the ship’s bridge.
Chapter Eighteen
Eric Pederson looked at the young Algean on his display and smiled, “I understand that we have the honor of introducing ourselves to the steel blue ships.”
“I do hope they appreciate all the effort it’s taken to dress up for this.”
Eric smiled and looked at his navigation panel, “I suspect we should keep our units intact and not mix our forces.”