“I hadn’t thought about Johansen. Perhaps I should visit with Stephanie and see if she will give him a title as well. In the meantime, I will notify him that you are appointed as the Imperial representative to determine these water requirements.”
“Thank you and thank the Empress for all her support.”
“I shall. Now be safe, see you soon I hope.”
“Me too. This trip should only take us a few weeks.”
Edric added, “Yes, and I don’t know about the two of you, but I think being here, learning the history, seeing how far we have come; it’s wonderful.”
“Edric, I nearly forgot, have you given any thought to creating an army of our best to support the Empire?”
“Yes. I think we can gather perhaps one thousand and train them on the new weaponry we have discovered. That way they could deploy if needed but can also provide a better defense of our home planets should someone decide to interfere in our affairs.”
“Sounds good. This might be a time to challenge Johansen to create one army for home defense while you create another for off planet movement.”
“Excellent idea, Solon. That will give me something to do while Kare handles all the water issues.”
“What will you do, Solon, while we are gone?”
He smiled, saying, “I think I will spend some time with the Empress. She is quite wonderful, you know.”
They shared smiles and hugs all around, then Kare and Edric departed.
56.265.18
“Hi Stephanie.”
“Hi Heather. Can we talk?”
“Of course, what’s on your mind?”
Stephanie blushed, saying, “Solon.”
Heather smiled, and linking arms with her, said, “Let’s walk.”
They strolled through the villa and out into the private garden behind. There was a beautiful English garden, with walkways, trees, shaded spaces, benches, fountains and plenty of spaces to relax. Heather led her to one of the benches and they sat down.
“So, tell me, dearest sister, what is on your mind?”
“You know I have never been in love. Well, I have loved Jeffrey for many years, but so have you, Erica and almost anyone else who spends time with him; but not the type of love you have for and with him. We have talked about this so many times and you have always told me, be patient, it will happen. Well, sister, I think it has. I think I am falling for Solon.”
“And do you feel this is a bad thing?”
“No, yes; well more no, than yes. It is confusing.”
“Why are you confused?”
“You remember when we spent time with Mudu. Well, one of the last things she said to me was, ‘Your journey leads you to a vital role to protect humanity as their leader.’ I don’t think I have done that yet. I feel there is something yet to come. I fear falling in love could cloud my sight when I need it most.”
“I understand. We haven’t spoken about it for some time, but I too feel there is still something else we are destined to experience, something you are destined to accomplish. It is a dilemma, to decide if you should live your life in a carefree manner and allow yourself to love, or continue to hold tight, even though it may push the one you love away but keep you focused on your destiny.”
They sat, not saying anything, for some time. Finally, Stephanie said, “I think I will send Solon back to Outer Sea to finish organizing his people. That will give me time to contemplate this and decide what I should do.”
“That sounds reasonable. Just make sure and let him know, when you send him away, that it is only temporary and not a reflection of a rejection of his overtures.”
“Yes, I will try and do this gently. I still see him as the one I saw years ago when I nearly died in that bus crash on Earth. I still believe he is my future. But I have to understand how to embrace him and my destiny as well.”
Stephanie returned to her villa and went into her working office. She summoned Solon to her office.
“You sent for me?”
“Yes. Solon, I need you to do me a favor.”
“Anything.”
“I know you sent Kare and Edric back to Outer Sea to organize water distribution and such, and I also know we discussed Johansen and a possible future role for him. But all of this makes me feel that Outer Sea is not, how do you say it, not yet cleaned up. There seems to be loose ends. What I would like you to do, before you and I move any further down the path we are traveling, is to go home and put Outer Sea in order. Everyone should have the roles and responsibilities they expect and deserve. I just feel if we don’t do this now, something is going to happen that will cause you to blame your distraction with me as to why you didn’t finish your work there. Does that make sense?”
Solon smiled, and said, “You know, Your Majesty, you are probably the wisest person I have come to know, well you, Jeffrey and Heather. I do understand and actually I agree with you. I was already feeling that things were not as they should be.”
Stephanie smiled, and walked over to him. “Solon, we may have a chance at a future together, but we must make sure everyone around us is taken care of first.” She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, and said, “Now, when you return, perhaps we can travel together, and I can show you some of this beautiful galaxy we live in.”
“On one condition.”
“Which is?”
“I get one more kiss before I leave.”
She smiled, and he leaned in and they shared a very long, tender kiss.
“I will take Helen with me, so we can all be together in Outer Sea and make some final decisions to get things complete. I will be back as soon as this technology will move me.”
56.270.09
Jeffrey was visiting the new academy on Meladeran. This Starfleet academy was now home to the biggest academy in the galaxy. They had over fifty thousand cadets in the school, at various levels of training and development. He was addressing the entire school in a large stadium. He had begun his speech, about the future of Starfleet, when Vice-Admiral Landon Wilson-Jackson, his personal aide and grandson, walked out and interrupted him and handed him a message. Everyone in the audience could see this and knew it must be urgent for the Fleet Admiral of Starfleet to be interrupted during a presentation.
Jeffrey stood there and read the dispatch. He looked up at Landon, and said, “Are we certain of this?”
“Yes, Admiral. This is verbatim what we received. This is very different.”
“Very well, go to headquarters and put together a quick dispatch order. See who is out there to command this action, but we need to coordinate for at least twenty ships to join up and find out what is going on. I will join you as soon as I finish here. Please have a fast shuttle standing by.”
“Yes, sir.” He saluted, and Jeffrey returned the salute, an indication of the seriousness of this message.
He turned back to the podium, and it was only then he realized the auditorium had gone quiet.
“So, you are asking yourselves, what could be so urgent my aide would interrupt this speech? Let me tell you. We have discovered that someone has attacked us in the Ariglian Sector. We don’t yet know who attacked us, but it is urgent, so I have dispatched ships to investigate. Should anything come of this, I will update you. But for now, let me continue with the presentation about Starfleet.”
Once he was complete, he departed back to headquarters.
Steven had always wanted to be a starship captain. Erica didn’t like it, but she knew he had to follow his dreams. After their rejuvenation, he went to school, even to the academy, and eventually qualified as a Starfleet Captain. He was assigned the Imperial Cruiser D’Artagnan, named after the Musketeer. Currently he was assigned normal patrol in the Decarthian Sector.
“Captain, we have received an urgent message from Starfleet Command.”
“Let me see it.” He
read the dispatch, and said, “Very well, we have been directed to Torrigan to join several other ships, from there to urgently move to determine who is attacking us in the Ariglian Sector. Mr. Chou, maximum speed to Torrigan, engage.”
“Aye, Captain.”
When they arrived, they discovered seventeen other cruisers. There were no battleships, but still, eighteen cruisers were formidable with their weaponry. Once there, they were all brought into a communication with headquarters. Jeffrey came on screen.
“Good day to each of you. I know it is unusual to bring several ships together for an investigatory mission; however, this one seems to be different. We received a distress call from the Imperial Cruiser Edgewood, stating that they were under attack by unrecognized ships. We consequently were notified by seven planets in the sector that they also had been attacked by robotic techno-bots and their weapons defeated.”
“We do not know who or what these adversaries are. For this reason, we have pulled together this task force. Captain Beckett will command this task force. Your mission is simple – go to the Ariglian Sector and find out what is going on. We need information. If you can fight and defeat the adversary, very well. But more important is information as to whether we need to mobilize our heavy ships to fight this enemy. Any questions? Good. Captain Beckett and all of you, Godspeed.”
“Jeffrey, I heard that Steven is in a possible combat situation, is that true?”
Jeffrey walked her into his office, and said, “Maybe. We have a situation in the Ariglian Sector, and he is one of eighteen cruisers we have dispatched to investigate. Hopefully it is a reconnaissance mission only, but I won’t hide it from you, it could be dangerous.”
“Why Steven?”
“His was one of the ships close to that sector. It was simply random chance, Erica, the same for the other ships.”
“You will let me know if it turns to fighting?”
“Of course.”
56.274.16
They decided that each ship would go to a different location in the sector, do a quick recon, and then meet at a secondary location no later than sixteen. Steven would go directly to that secondary location to make sure it was a safe location to regroup. Once decided, each ship departed on their individual mission.
At fifteen the first ship arrived, soon others arrived, but not everyone made it.
“My God! They have weapons and response times we cannot match!”
“They have battleships that are ten times the size of ours. We saw and engaged almost immediately, and still barely made it out.”
“The planet by the location we went was decimated.”
Steven finally took command. “Okay, we are twelve of the original. Where were they the strongest?”
“By Criton. That seems to be where their fleet is centered for now.”
“Captain! There are hundreds of ships appearing in our vicinity!”
Suddenly weapons were firing. “Shields!” “Fire at will!” “Engage and get us out of here!”
The fight was fast, deadly, and overwhelming. All of the Imperial cruisers were destroyed. Only one, the Imperial Cruiser Glorious, made it out. When they were able, the Captain transmitted the action and results to Starfleet.
“Starfleet, this is Captain Sharapova of the Imperial Cruiser Glorious. We were assigned to the taskforce to investigate the invasion in the Ariglian Sector. All cruisers are destroyed, except ours. We managed to engage before being hit. The invaders are techno-bots, supported by huge starships. Their battleships are at least ten times the size of ours. Their weapons cut through our shields like they weren’t even there. We couldn’t stop them. They seem to be moving towards the galactic center.”
“Admiral, we have received a transmission from the Ariglian Sector Task Force.”
“Who is transmitting?”
“Captain Andrea Sharapova, Imperial Cruiser Glorious.”
“Put me through.”
“Aye, Sir.”
“Captain Sharapova, this is Fleet Admiral Wilson. I read your dispatch. What more can you tell me?”
“Admiral, they had attacked several planets. Before we were attacked, we each went to different locations then rejoined. Of the twelve that made it to the rendezvous point, each reported a vast number of ships. This was spread over a large sector. I cannot begin to imagine the actual size of this fleet.”
“Did you recognize anything?”
“No. These were different. Their reaction time is so fast, they cannot be human controlled. When they attacked us, even with twelve ships, I don’t think anyone had time to put their shields up or fire a weapon. We only escaped because my navigator had her hand on the lever to engage.”
“Very well, Captain. Make your way back to Fleet Headquarters. Thank you for the information you were able to gather.”
Jeffrey turned to Landon, and said, “Activate the general staff. We will meet as soon as I get back from the palace.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Jeffrey knew he had a very hard task to complete. He didn’t want to do this alone. He called Heather, and she joined him in his office. They walked down the hall together to Erica’ office.
When she saw them, she knew why they were there. “NOOOOO!”
They both walked to her and held her in their arms. She sobbed, having lost the man of her life, and now having a life with an expectancy of hundreds of years. She cried. She yelled!
Eventually, she simply collapsed, and they still held her. Finally, she stopped.
“I have been forced to tell people they lost their loved ones, but never thought you would have to come tell me.”
Jeffrey stroked her hair, and said, “I am so sorry, my dear. Steven was such a good man and your life together has been so wonderful to watch. I am so sorry.”
Heather was the strong one for both of them, providing emotional support and strength while Erica mourned, and Jeffrey felt defeated. Finally, they departed together, taking Erica home with them so she wouldn’t be alone. Stephanie came to their villa as soon as she heard and also comforted her.
56.300.15
It took a month, but they finally learned about the enemy.
“Your Majesty, these are Kaldects from the Andromeda Galaxy, a highly teched up civilization. Everything they do is based on artificial intelligence controlled technological weaponry - very effective. The Kaldects themselves have extreme physical limitations, so depend on exoskeleton technology to support their weaker bodies. Their goal is conquest of all galaxies surrounding their own. This is their first attempt at conquest of a galaxy, our galaxy.”
She turned to Jeffrey, saying, “So, nothing we have tried to date has worked?”
“No, Your Majesty. We have tried a task force of eighteen cruisers, no success. We have sent individual ships for reconnaissance, no success. We have not, yet, sent a large force, which is what we are currently planning to accomplish.”
“Then how did we find out this information?”
“We worked through traders, spies, unarmed ships; anything we could to find out what we could. This may not be the best information, but it is all we have.”
“Do we know how big their actual fleet is?”
“We estimate they have over twenty thousand ships, most of which are larger than even our largest ships.”
“Very well. When you complete your plan, come brief me at the palace.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
After she left, Jeffrey said, “Okay, people. We have a hell of a lot of work to do and not much time before we execute. I need a hard plan prepped and ready at the earliest possible time. As long as the enemy has no opposition, they will simply continue to take and control large portions of our galaxy. We have to stop them. Let’s get to it.”
56.337.09
“The Empire is under attack by an enemy from the Andromeda Galaxy.”
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“What?”
“Yes, that is all that we know for now. The Empire, that thing we thought was a monstrosity that turned out to be a source of strength and sanity, is under attack and our galaxy is invaded.”
“My God, Stephanie must be devastated.”
“Yes, Helen, I am sure she is. But more importantly, the enemy seems to have weapons that easily destroy those of our Imperial Fleet.”
“I wonder what Jeffrey is working on?”
“Not sure. But there is one thing I am certain of. I want us to bring all of our transports here. I want us to load an army of ten thousand knights and go fight this adversary.”
“But Solon, our weapons are primitive. We wouldn’t stand a chance against these invaders.”
“I hear you, Edric. But I will stand and fight the way I know how with all my strength before I will roll over and allow someone to come in and destroy our people.”
“I hear you, brother.”
Solon stood and walked over to him, and said, “Yes, Edric. We are brothers. We are brothers in arms, in desire to defend our people, and in our desire to keep our people safe for all time. We are brothers, and I need your leadership if we are to succeed in this fight.”
Edric stood, and said, “I will stand with you, brother, and we will defeat anyone who threatens our people.”
Kare said, “So tell me, you two, do you want to try and give our knights new weaponry, or stay true to our ways?”
“We stay true to our ways.”
“Yes, and we bring the guides with us. We should take every guide with a staff on this journey to defend our people. If they cannot find a way to defeat these invaders out there, they would never find a way here at home.”
“I agree. We take ten thousand knights and five hundred guides, and we defeat this enemy.”
“Will the Empress welcome our small army?”
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