by Saxon Andrew
Danielle looked at both of them, “It is those talents than will guide you in the coming conflict. If you choose to ignore your responsibility, don’t do it by lying to yourself. You are called to lead the fight and Ping is going to be there to defend you against all that come to kill you.”
“I’M WHAT!?!”
“Tag defended me while I made the decisions necessary to lead the Realm. You will be her defender and that is what your real calling is all about, Ping. You are going to have to accept that duty just as she will have to accept her responsibility. The coming conflict needs both of you.” Danielle disappeared.
Dahlia looked at Ping and saw him shaking his head and staring at the ground, “I can’t do this anymore.”
Dahlia felt his pain and saw herself in him. She smiled and said, “Hey, that’s my line. You need to come up with your own.”
Ping raised his head and looked at her. He tried not to but ended up smiling. “What are we going to do, Dahlia? I’m so weary of this.”
Dahlia pursed her lips together and blew out a breath, “I guess misery loves company. I don’t want to have any part of this but I can see you really believe it has to be done.” Ping nodded. “I guess seeing you not wanting to do this allows me to see myself being selfish. If you can do this, I’ll do whatever I can.”
“I haven’t done a very good job of defending anyone.”
“If you think about it, they died when you weren’t present. I suspect they would be alive if you had been there.”
Ping’s eyebrows went up, “Is this part of your ability to see the truth?”
“Is it true?”
“I guess it is.”
“What does that tell you?”
“That I can’t let you out of my sight if I’m going to defend you.”
“I don’t know about that; I’m going to need some privacy.”
Ping turned beet red, “Of course, I understand that. I didn’t mean every moment.”
“Oh be quiet. I know what you meant. If you had to do it all over again, what would you do to make sure Mios and Jodie weren’t in danger?”
“I’d keep an eye on them and make sure I could get to them at a moment’s notice.”
“I suspect that’s what you’ll do with me as well.” Dahlia paused and shook her head, “I still don’t see how I’m going to make any kind of difference.”
“Honestly, I don’t either.”
Dahlia opened her mouth and said, “Hey, you’re the one that came looking.”
“I know, I know. I guess this is a voyage of discovery. We’ll find out as we go.”
“Do you have the authority to do anything we see that needs doing?”
Ping lowered his eyebrows and looked at Dahlia through them, “I command all of our military forces.”
Dahlia tilted her head, “Well, I guess that’s a step in the right direction. Now you need to go with me and do the hard part.”
“What is that?”
“I’ve got to convince my brother and sister that we are going to have to give you our secrets and that I’ll be leaving with you.”
“Leaving with me? Where are we going?”
“You’re going to take me to this Realm of yours so I can see if for myself. Your story has me extremely curious and I know that will be the only way to get Tess to fully trust you.”
Ping smiled, “Are you ready to go back to the control room?”
“I guess.” Ping held out his hand and Dahlia took it. An instant later they were in the control room. She looked at Ping and said, “You are going to have to teach me how to do that!”
Ping laughed and looked at Sprigly, “Can you make her a wrist unit?”
Sprigly saw Ping’s smile and hoped his friend was back in the land of the living. “I’ll have one coded to her by tomorrow.”
“We need it sooner, if possible; we’re leaving.”
Tess stood up, “And just where are you going?”
“I’m going to their universe to confirm that what they told us is true. I’ll be sure to make some recordings for you.”
Tess stared at Dahlia, “Do you trust him?”
Dahlia looked at Ping and smiled, “I didn’t at first…but I do now.”
Tess looked at Ping, “You will keep her safe!”
“You’re the second person to tell me that today.”
“Who was the first?”
Dahlia said, “The original Queen of their Realm.”
Sprigly jumped up, “Don’t tell me you met her!”
Dahlia looked at Sprigly and saw his animation, “I did.”
“PING!!”
“Hey, I had no clue she was coming.” Dahlia looked at Ping and he said, “Sprigly has a huge desire to meet her.”
“Give it time. You’ll meet her.”
Ping and Sprigly stared at Dahlia and she saw their stares. Her eyebrows went up and she shook her head, “I don’t know how I know it, but I do know it’s going to happen. Maybe there is something to what she said.”
Sprigly’s branches had blooms appear and Dahlia looked at Ping, “That happens when an Algean is happy.” She smiled and thought the blooms smelled wonderful.
• • • • •
Tag looked at Danielle and took her in his arms as soon as she teleported in, “Well?”
“He’s found someone.”
“Is it the one he’s called to find?”
“How would I know? I just know he thinks it is and she needed a little prodding to cooperate.”
“What if she isn’t the one?”
“Then he’ll stumble on to them. You know it’s unavoidable. He has to believe she’s it or he’ll go out and get himself killed.”
“Did you see that in his thoughts?”
“I did. I also told a little fib.”
Tag shook his head, “That’s not like you.”
“I just told them I could only hear your thoughts.”
“Really?”
“Yep.”
“And they believed it?”
“Well, I didn’t have telepathy for the first six thousand years.”
Tag tilted his head, “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that. What do you think they’re going to do when they learn all of the Realm’s ships are going to be forced to leave that Creation?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
“Dear…that bridge is not that far away.”
“We’ll hope something happens between now and then.”
Tag shook his head, “That doesn’t give us much time.”
“I know.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“I’m leaving, Ping.”
“Why?”
“I’m taking a sample of the nemite back to see if there’s anything we can do with it to help our ships avoid detection.”
“Let me know what you find out.”
“Where are you taking Dahlia?”
“First to meet the King and then to Earth to see her ancestor’s home.”
“I’ll have some answers by the time you arrive there.”
Ping nodded and Sprigly disappeared. Tess saw him leave and said, “Where is he going?”
“He wants to see if the substance you’ve hidden your installations in can be used on warships.”
“It can.” Ping stared at Tess. “We have about ten thousand ships whose hulls were constructed from an alloy of it.”
“Are they detectable?”
“We can’t see them. If you like, I’ll launch one and have it move over your ship’s location.”
“That is a good idea.” Ping pressed his wrist unit, “Computer, keep your scanner active and inform me if any new ships arrive in orbit.” Ping felt his unit vibrate in acknowledgement of the order and he turned to Tess, “Why didn’t you use those ships to defend your planet?”
“We don’t have a weapon that would damage a Black Ship. The best we could have done was to ram them but even that wouldn’t have worked if they saw them coming.”
> “Did Sprigly give you what you need to build the blasters?”
“He did; however, he’s going to have to bring us some of the isotopes used to control it. We’ve started manufacturing the blasters and hope to have them ready when he returns.”
Dahlia entered the Control room with a bag and smiled, “Are you ready?”
“Waiting for you.”
Dahlia went over and hugged Tess, “Where’s Dean?”
“He’s supervising the construction on the ships.”
“Tell him I love him and I’m sorry I missed him.”
“I will; please be careful.”
Dahlia smiled and Ping held out his hand. She took it and they teleported to Ping’s ship. Ping looked at his scanner and keyed his communicator, “Tess, how much longer until the ship arrives?”
“It’s been directly overhead in orbit for the last two minutes.”
Ping shook his head, “My scanners don’t see it, either. We’ll be back soon.”
Dahlia went to the second chair on the bridge and Ping handed her a skull cap, “I want you to put this on.”
“Why?”
“You are going to need to know how to operate our ships. This will download the information into your brain.”
Dahlia stared at the cap and Ping said, “It’s not a device for brainwashing.”
Dahlia sighed and shook her head, “I guess we are just not given to trust anyone other than our own people.” She put the cap on and leaned back in the chair. Ping saw the download start on his panel and he set the coordinates for the portal at his arrival point. He went through the portal and emerged into normal space in his universe. The download was still operating so he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. Sleep took him in seconds and his sleep was deep without bad dreams.
• • • • •
“Hey, you want to get up?”
Ping was startled and he saw Dahlia standing next to his chair pushing his shoulder. He raised the chair back and looked at his panel. He had slept for ten hours. “I’m sorry about that. I thought I’d wait for you to complete the learning process before I took you to Ross.”
“That’s some program.”
“We use it to train our pilots. What do you think about our ships?”
“I’m amazed. We’re light years behind your technology.”
“Would you like to fly it to Ross?”
Dahlia’s eyes were wide, “Can I?”
“I’ll send the controls to your panel. You’ll find the coordinates of the various worlds in the Realm…”
“On the subpanel next to the teleport drive?” Ping smiled and nodded. Dahlia pressed a few buttons and said, “Ross has six coordinates listed.”
“Hold on just a moment.” Ping picked up his communicator, “Ross Control, this is Paul Kendel requesting a direct jump to Ross.”
“Welcome home, Your Highness. We’ve entered your transponder and you are cleared for direct flight.” Dahlia stared at Ping and he said, “The last coordinate on the list is the one you want to use.”
“Why did he call you, Your Highness?”
“Didn’t Tess tell you I’m a prince?”
“No, she did not.”
“Well, I told you I married one of the King’s daughters.”
“Yeah, so what?”
“That made me a Prince.”
“I hesitate to ask this, but after she died, you didn’t lose the title?”
“No, the King decreed that I was, and will always be, a Prince of the Realm. I personally don’t think I’m deserving of it.”
Dahlia shrugged, “You don’t appear to really ever have had a realistic understanding of who you are.”
“Hey, that’s not nice.”
“But it is true. Jumping now.”
Dahlia’s sense of herself surprised Ping. She was nineteen years old but she never seemed lost in any situation. And no one intimidated her. She handled herself marvelously when she met the Royal Family and she fit in with the citizens of Ross when she was given a tour. It seemed everyone who met her, instantly like her. She had an open, direct demeanor that made people comfortable around her. She could say things that would ordinarily make someone angry but they didn’t take offense when she said it.
Ping was separated from Dahlia while she was taken on tour and Victoria found him standing on the tallest spire at Castle Gardner, “Who is she, Ping?”
Ping jerked his head around and smiled, “Hi, Victoria. She’s the one I was searching for.”
“She’s not much older than I am.”
“No, she’s not. Like you, she is a member of the Royal Family on her planet.”
“Do you and she have a thing?”
“A what?”
“You know what I mean.”
Ping laughed and shook his head, “No, we do not. I really don’t think she trusts me but recognizes that we are going to be forced to work together.”
“She’s quite beautiful.”
“I suppose so.”
“Oh come on! You know she is.”
Ping turned and looked at Victoria with his eyebrows lowered. He thought a moment about Dahlia and after a long moment he said, “I guess she is. I really hadn’t noticed.”
Victoria stared at Ping, sighed, and shook her head, “Ping, you have got to come back to the living. Nicole would be in tears if she saw what you’ve become. You know she would want you to love again.”
Ping shook his head, “Destiny only gave me one love. There won’t be another.”
Victoria walked up to him and hugged him tightly, “Even if you choose to never love again, you will be loved by those that know you.”
Ping closed his eyes and hugged Victoria as Dahlia walked through the portal and saw them. “Am I interrupting something?”
Victoria held Ping tight even though he dropped his arms, “You’re seeing what love looks like.” Victoria looked at Dahlia and smiled, “I love him, and I always will.”
Ping hugged Victoria again and she stepped back, “Don’t stay gone so long.”
“Thanks, Vicki.” Victoria nodded and walked through the portal with a slight swagger.
Dahlia watched Victoria go and was impressed with the young woman’s beauty. “I admire your taste in Women.”
Ping was startled by the response, “What? Victoria is my wife’s sister. I love her like my own sister.”
Dahlia looked at the portal and smiled, “It seems to me she feels somewhat differently.”
Ping stared at Dahlia, “Ok, you’re supposed to see the truth; is that true?”
Dahlia was surprised by the question and she reevaluated what she had seen. After a moment she said, “Why that young twit!”
“What do you mean?’
“She put on that display to get to me.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry about it; I got her message.”
“What message?”
“You wouldn’t understand how women operate. Let it go.”
“Victoria is only sixteen years old. She’s still a child.”
Dahlia laughed out loud, “Who has matured faster than you can ever imagine living in the Royal Family. She’s gotten her message across. Now let it go.”
• • • • •
Victoria sat in her room watching the conversation on the spire and laughed out loud. This young woman was smarter than she had given credit. Poor Ping; he didn’t know what he was in for and she wished she could watch it happen.
• • • • •
Ping and Dahlia left Ross five days after their arrival and Ping teleported to Earth and requested permission to land. He was given the coordinates to take his ship and was greeted by the Commanding office of Earth’s defensive forces, “Welcome to Earth, Your Highness. We’ve missed you.”
“It’s good to be home Jeffery. This is Dahlia Dare and she is a member of the Royal Family of one of our new allies.”
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Highness.”
Jeffery turned to Ping, “I’ve been contacted by Sprigly and he requests you meet him immediately.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s in the Realm’s main lab in Australia. I have a shuttle coming to take you there.”
A small armored craft appeared a hundred feet from them and Ping turned and walked quickly toward it, “Come on, Dahlia. Something’s happening.”
“What?”
“I don’t know; but Sprigly wouldn’t have come here unless something dramatic was happening. He would have also contacted me under normal circumstances.”
Dahlia followed Ping to the shuttle and an instant later they landed on a pad outside a massive building in the desert of the Outback. Sprigly was walking out of the building toward them as they exited the shuttle’s landing bay, “What’s wrong?”
“We’ve got a major problem, Ping.”
“What?”
“Come inside, Rider’s waiting for you.”
Ping shook his head and Dahlia said, “Who is, Rider?”
“He’s a Northern Mountain Cat.”
“One of the large cats you told me about.”
“Exactly.”
Dahlia looked forward to seeing the large cat until she arrived at his location. This cat wasn’t large; it was enormous. Ping watched her and smiled. “What do find amusing?”
“This is the first time you’ve lost your composure.”
Dahlia pointed at Rider, “Have you taken a good look at that?”
Rider thought, “Actually, I’m a he.”
Dahlia jerked her head toward the Cat and heard, “I think he told you my species is telepathic.”
“He did…but I didn’t believe him.” Rider laughed, which sounded like a muffled roar. Dahlia just stared at the giant creature.
Ping walked up to Rider, “What’s going on?”
“The barrier between the two Creations is starting to atrophy.”
“What?”
“It appears that all of the portals made by the millions of Realm Warships are starting to weaken the bonds.”
“I’m not sure what you mean?’
“You know that the portal used by a ship to enter the other creation remains where it was formed until the ship that made it goes back through.” Ping nodded. “Well, those millions of tiny holes are causing the fabric of the barrier to start to fall apart. If we don’t remove those ships soon, the other creation will be able to open portals into our space.”