END of LINE: Humanities Last Stand - part 3

by John Short

  “Everyone except Jarrieal stay back behind those statues until we figure out what is in there.” Jon instructed their wives and children. Then looking over at his second in command Jon asked him, “Ready to see what we have behind these doors?”

  Checking his plasma pistol, Jarrieal told Jon to go ahead and open the doors. Jon walked over to a panel set into the wall and placed his palm on it. Three green lights came on and started flashing as the pad somehow registered Jon's genetic markers. After what seemed to him to be a long time, but was only a few seconds, the blinking lights turned into a solid green bar and the doors began to rotate apart. They made a squealing noise caused more by disuse than malfunction, as they slowly revealed what looked like a darkened med lab beyond.

  Jon took one step into the room and lights began coming on. As the room became brighter and his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw that all along two walls were the same tubes that were located in the med lab back in the forward part of the ship. The only real difference as far as Jon could tell was that there were more of them in this room and each one had a series of yellow lights flashing on their control panels.

  “Clara!” Phillie's female child squealed, “you did it! You found it!”

  “You can't tell them! You promised!” Clara told her friend.

  “Found what loved one?” Satrina asked her daughter.

  “I can't tell you momma.” Clara told her mother as she trembled, nearly in tears. “The Goddess will be angry with me if I tell.”

  “There now my daughter.” Satrina told her as she knelt to hug her little one closely and tried to comfort her. “I'm sure whatever it is, your poppa will figure it out. He's really good at figuring out what things are and what they do. Right my love?” Satrina asked, silently begging Jon to comfort their daughter with his words.

  “Yes little one.” Jon said as he looked down at his daughter and his mate. “Uncle Jarjar and I will figure it out. You stay there and keep momma safe for me.” Walking over to inspect the tubes, they found two of them beginning to count down before opening. Jon called back to the females, “Phillie! Com the Med Labs and have the Healer get down here fast. Tell him to bring a revival team and some chicken noodle soup! He shows up with any of that nasty stuff he creates and I'll personally shoot his ass!”

  “What's wrong Jon?” Jarrieal asked.

  “These two are starting to open. The Goddess only knows how long these people have been in the tubes!” Jon told his friend. “By all you hold scared, don't shoot them. Unless they attack.”

  By the time the Healer had arrived with hover carts, and a recovery team, the first of the two tubes was beginning to move from its location and the top was starting to open. By the time the first one was fully open and the male inside became clear, the second tube had begun to open revealing the form of a tiny female.

  After a few minutes the recovery teams had both beings covered in med lab tunics and eating the chicken noodle soup, so Jon asked them, “Who are you two and how long have you been in there?”

  The female spoke first. “I am Queen Dalia. The last Queen of the Umin. That great giant over there is my mate, King Eoin Conal.” Jon could get a good look at her now and she was almost a twin sister to Satrina with the same golden red hair, emerald green eyes and tiny pointed ears. Jon could faintly make out what had once been a nasty scar that ran across her eye. It was the mark that had once been used to lay claim on a female who belonged to the sex slavers of the ancient Lexonian criminals.

  Jon's massive saber-tooth took that moment to appear from the shadows and stride up to the Umin Queen. “Well hello my beauty.” she said as she reached out to scratch him behind his ears. “You have been a good tiger and have guarded your charges well. Your mate awaits you on your new home world.”

  “This stuff is very good. What is it?” the Umin King asked.

  “Its called chicken noodle soup.” Jon told the Warrior who was as tall as he with the same midnight black hair and intense blue eyes. “Our ship's cook makes it fresh everyday. We still haven't learned what a chicken noodle is. He uses one of the small fowl that are grown for their eggs and their meat to create the soup. I've heard your voice before, haven't I?” Jon's mind was in a frenzy. How was it possible that the last King and Queen of the Umin race were standing before him having just been recovered from healing tubes? How did the Queen seem to already know about Talga and not fear him? Hadn't the Umins all been killed by the machine race many thousands of cycles ago?”

  “Are you the Warrior I had to warn not to use my ship for the wrong reasons?” the revived King asked.

  “That was you?!?! How can that be?!?!?!” Jon was now totally confused.

  “It’s too complicated to tell you. Its the tubes and our connection to the ship as its builders. Once when our race was strong, we could communicate across the vastness of space that way. I could call out across many systems to talk with anyone whom I needed. Once I could direct entire fleets of our ships from Haven with only my thoughts. Now we need to use the dreams of others to speak and then only while in the aging chambers.”

  “Who is in the other chambers?” Jarrieal asked.

  “Those hold the rest of my crew.” the Umin King said. “This is my ship, and I'd like to have it back.” Looking to Jon he finished, “You have finished your work now and no longer need it. We must still find a place to finish our work.”

  “What work?” Satrina asked. She was finding it hard to believe that sitting in front of her were two of the ancients who looked exactly like her and her giant warrior.

  “Where am I to send my crew?” Jon asked. “This ship has become our home. Why should I accept that you built it and I should just hand it over to you? This ship can still destroy entire planets! Its far too powerful to just hand over to the first one who says it belongs to them.”

  “You have seen the picture from the cave. The one that changes to reflect the rightful owner of the ship. Look at it now and you will find myself and my Queen.” The King told him. Jon didn't need to look at the painting of the Umin King. He had already seen the painting he kept in his office change several days ago and kept the knowledge to himself.

  “We will take you to a planet that is well hidden, but still close enough for your slipdrive ships to travel to with ease. We will also give you the gift of our jump drive so you can create new engines for your ships. The planet once belonged to our people and was called Lifegiver because all who drank of its waters lived long and healthy lives.” the Queen told him. “It was her supply of those waters that kept my sister alive long enough to give the history of our people to a mated pair on Haven over two hundred cycles ago. You will find that it is very much like your Haven. Once there your tiger will finally find his mate. He's waited for her a very long time as he faithfully followed my command to protect you and the tiny ones. You will also find many more of our technologies that will help you to get your lives started there. We will stay to teach you their use.” she said as she pointed to the children. “After all these many times in sleep, we are in no hurry to complete our mission. The sight of the young at play brings pleasant memories to my heart of the children of the Umin.”

  “What would your mission be?” Phillie demanded.

  “The same as it has always been furry one.” The Queen lovingly told her, using a name that only Phillie's own mother had used when she was little. “We travel the stars seeding the planets with new life.”

  Satrina spoke to Jon, “Its alright my giant. You have ended the pirates and we can sit back now to raise our younglings on a planet where they can feel the sunshine on their faces, the breeze in their hair and the summer rains on their skins just like we've talked about. Maybe it will even have a forest with a crystal lake where we can build our home. Whatever still needs to be done can be done with just the other ships in our fleet. The four Destroyers can easily patrol the rim and keep it safe. The Carriers and the confiscated Haulers can easily keep the needed supplies flowing. It is time for you to
rest my Warrior. Stay at home with us and run your businesses from there.”

  “I'll trust you my tiny tigress. I'd like to be able to sit by your side and enjoy our younglings before they are all grown up.” Jon told her before leaning down to kiss her lips.

  “HEY! STOP THAT NOW!” the Umin King demanded. “Have you no mercy on a male who hasn't kissed his own wife in as long as I have not? I could not even hold my wife close.”

  “So?” Phillie asked. “What's stopping you now?” and she reached up on her toes to kiss Jarrieal who picked her up to hold her to him in a loving hug. They were finally going to stop having to go around killing pirates. They could start their own repair business and become known as the shop that developed the jump drive. Her heart was filled with great joy.

  “Yes, what is stopping you?” the Umin Queen asked only to find herself swept up in her Warrior's arms where she was deeply kissed for the first time in many, many times!

  Jon turned the ship over to the newly awakened crew of Umin survivors and he moved all of his and Satrina's things over to Defiance. Everything that the humans who had escaped Earth's destruction had left on the ship was transferred from Leviathan's cargo holds and was loaded into Jon's fleet of Carriers. True to their word, the Umins had shown Jon's people how to bypass the Umin genetic locks, which would allow them to use everything that remained on the planet once called Lifegiver. The Dragon Ship that Jon had taken as his own was given to him and sat now in its new berth onboard Defiance. Sitting beside it were the other four Dragon ships and crews were competing to be pilots. Jon had offered to give one to each of his personal flight team, but none of them except for Jarrieal wanted to be a pilot. Phillie had been given a complete set of plans, and instructions on their care and maintenance along with five of the repair drones to keep them in perfect condition.

  “Its my gift to you Youngster, as are the Dragon's Breath and the armor.” King Eoin told Jon. “Galaxeia will build me more if I ever need them again.”

  The secret of the healing tubes was taught to Healer Hukor. As several of the tubes were manufactured by robots that had been hidden in Leviathan's Engineering section and installed in each of the medical labs on every ship in Jon's fleet. The special ability of the tubes to repair even Jon's nearly severed spine was in the water that the tubes sprayed over the occupants. Water that came from the planet they had been given for their new home. Given enough time, the tubes could heal anything. They could even replace missing limbs with healthy new tissue and reverse the natural aging process. As the surviving Earthlings had already learned, a person could enter a tube in old age and emerge several cycles later in their prime cycles of life.

  The rest of his crew spread out into the other ships that were being held in Leviathan's cargo bays, while Phillie and a team of Umin engineers converted the ships engines from simple modified slipdrives to fully functional jump drives. Thereby greatly increasing the effective range of each ship. When the drives were ready and the Umin crews were all back onboard the Leviathan, Jon received a call from the Umin king.

  “Hey Connell, are you ready to start your new life on the planet we're giving you?”

  “I believe so your Majesty.” Jon replied.

  “Good, I'm sending the coordinates to your Navigation Officers now. Once you get there you'll be able to find your way to the outer rim worlds. You'll find many of our old factories that are still fully functional. Just make sure you are careful using some of the things they will make. I'm having your ships pushed out into space now Connell.” The King paused. “Farewell my human descendant. You and all of your kind have done an excellent job with what we've given you. Remember to always rule over your people with love and kindness before resorting to battle.”

  Jon had gotten up to the bridge while the Umin King was speaking to him and now he stood looking out at space and seeing Leviathan far off to one side, while his own fleet of Destroyer and Carrier class ships were floating free in a perfect formation to the massive ship's left side. He could see that the once proud symbol of the nation that had sent the last humans out into space had been removed from the bow of the Leviathan. That stars and stripes flag was still proudly displayed on all of Jon's ships, so it would never be lost. Phillie had even found a way to put one of the real flags on a mast outside the security ships hulls and make it stay extended as if being blown by a strong wind. Jon thought it was a silly thing, but it did give his ships something that no other ships in the galaxy had.

  “Good-bye my children.” the voice of the Umin Queen said, as there appeared a brilliant flash out where Leviathan had been floating just a second ago.

  “They're gone, Jon.” Satrina softly said with a tear in her eye. “I shall miss them and their ship and all the good we brought to the rim worlds with her.”

  “We'll keep on doing good things out here.” Jon assured his mate and pulled her into his lap. “Nav,” he called out, “Have you plotted a course to the coordinates the King gave us?”

  “Yes sir.”

  “Very well, check with the other ships and lets go see our new home.” Jon ordered.

  Epilogue

  Deep out in space, bright flashes of light were all that remained of the small fleet of converted military vessels and captured pirate Haulers. In less than a second, they reappeared in orbit around a lush green planet where the crews began reclaiming the ancient Umin cities as their own. Talga ran off to roam the dense forests and was soon united with his promised mate. The wild cats on this planet were not as large, nor did they have the razor sharp fangs of the tigers on Haven. Soon the name of Talga had spread across all the land and the wild cats chose him as their pride leader. His first orders to the wild beasts were that they should guard the new beings that had come to live on Lifegiver with their own lives. This would be their new home and the big cats swore to protect them.

  Jon and his teams continued to patrol the rim worlds keeping them safe from evil males and criminals. The Peacekeeper forces built new training facilities along the rim where recruits were sent to train in ground tactics. Once each cycle, representatives from all the rim worlds met on Lifegiver to discuss the needs of their worlds and resolve issues between them and the central worlds. Within five cycles, Jon was finally able to take off his armor and concentrate on his shipping business from his home office in the basement of the “A” Frame house he and Satrina had built near a crystal lake high in the mountains. Satrina opened herself to Jon's seed on the night he announced that he would not be commanding Defiance on patrol missions again and in due time presented him with another set of twins. They were named after Satrina’s father and mother in order to honor the King and his Queen.

  Phillie wasted no time in getting many of the Umin factories working again. The products made by them became the most valued in the galaxy and were always in high demand. Jarrieal continued to fly with Jon until he too had finally had enough of battle and he settled into the role of mechanic's helper with his mate. They both lived long, happy lives and together had three more sets of twins. Jarrieal promptly spoiled each of the eight younglings terribly.

  The Dragon Ships continued to be a part of the Stars and Stripes security forces and only the best pilots were selected to fly them. It was considered to be a great honor to wear the golden Dragon wings, which signified that a pilot qualified to fly one of the ships. Pilots were known to continue to wear their wings even after retirement from the service and adopted the phrase, “Once a Dragon, always a Dragon” as their own.

  King Le'puix stepped down and handed the throne over to Zeprik who ruled the Lexonian people fairly with Queen Jellio at his side. They were loved by their subjects and when the announcement of the birth of their first born was made, the people themselves arranged for a huge celebration that spanned even the rim planets reaching as far out as Lifegiver.

  Through several generations, the names of the original crews from Jon's fleet became legends. The people of Lifegiver continued to fight against evil and to keep the
rim worlds free. Even when those planets that once were little more than starving colonies had become thriving city-states under the rule of the Lexonian King, the descendants of Jon and Satrina continued to rule in the King's name. Above all else, they made sure that the people were protected and cared for as only a kind and loving Warrior King can do.

  I hope you are enjoying these stories as much as I enjoyed writing them. Please leave a review and tell me what you think of them.

  Your opinion matters. If you like my work, please let others know. Your word of mouth is all the advertising these books will ever get and I am depending on you to spread the word.

  About John

  John grew up watching the first runs of such iconic T.V. shows as I Love Lucy, Father Knows Best, Wagon Train, Star Trek and of course, Battlestar Galactica.

  Having spent his entire life pursuing those things he enjoyed most, like driving a big rig, designing machines for factories, and raising a family, the events described in this story, and those that follow, kept him awake at night until he finally sat down and put them into the computer.

  He currently lives with his wife in a home somewhere in Tampa, FL. You know, that place where the only two seasons of the year are Hot and Too Damn Hot!

  Copyright

  Copyright @ August 2016

  J.S. Publishing

  Tampa, FL 33612

  All rights reserved.