by Saxon Andrew
Ultimate Warrior
Contents
Introduction
Chapter One • Chapter Two • Chapter Three • Chapter Four • Chapter Five • Chapter Six • Chapter Seven • Chapter Eight • Chapter Nine • Chapter Ten • Chapter Eleven • Chapter Twelve • Chapter Thirteen • Chapter Fourteen • Chapter Fifteen • Chapter Sixteen • Chapter Seventeen • Chapter Eighteen • Chapter Nineteen • Chapter Twenty • Chapter Twenty-One • Chapter Twenty-Two • Chapter Twenty-Three • Chapter Twenty-Four • Chapter Twenty-Five • Chapter Twenty-Six
Epilogue
Books by Saxon Andrew
About Saxon Andrew
Introduction
Sam stood in the bathroom shaving and looked at his hair. He shook his head, sighed, and continued to shave. Jixie came in and hugged him from behind. He smiled and said, “Good morning.”
“Good morning, what are you up to today?”
“Greg tells me I have to make a ruling on the traffic patterns over Ross. Something has to be done to get it under control.”
“Ugh, I’ll stay here and take Pixie out to the armory.”
Sam stopped shaving and frowned, “Isn’t this her third trip this month?”
“Yes, after she turned seventeen you promised her to be fitted for armor. She just can’t decide what she wants to put in it.”
Sam turned around, “She will not put anything in it. She’s too young to have her armor armed.” Jixie shrugged and Sam turned back around and frowned.
Jixie said, “What’s wrong?”
“I saw Robby last week and his hair is getting grey. We’re the same age and I don’t have a single grey hair.”
Jixie looked at Sam and he saw her expression, “What?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know something you’re not telling me. What is it?”
Jixie stared at Sam and yelled, “Pixie, come here for a moment.”
Pixie came running in and saw her mother’s expression. Her huge smile evaporated and she turned to leave, “Stay right there.”
“Mom, I need to get dressed for the armory.”
“You already are.” Jixie turned to Sam, “Meet us in the family room.”
Pixie disappeared faster than a biscuit in front of a Rottweiler. Jixie followed her out and Sam finished shaving. What was going on?”
Sam entered the family room and saw Jixie and Pixie looking nervous. “What have the two of you done?”
Jixie smiled innocently, “What makes you say that?”
“I know you; you’re not telling me something.”
Jixie patted the couch next to her and Sam sat down. Pixie sat in a chair next to them swinging her legs and Sam thought she was going to break the chair. Jixie said, “Sam, You’re probably not going to get grey hair for a long time.”
Sam looked at her and said, “Well, that’s good to know.”
Pixie said, “See, I told you it wouldn’t be so bad. See you later.”
Sam pointed and her and said, “Stay right there; what do you mean, ‘Not so bad?’”
Pixie looked at Jixie and Jixie sighed. It was obvious Pixie wasn’t going to say anything. “We did something before Pixie was born that has affected your ability to have grey hair.”
Sam looked at them and said, “What?”
“Wellllll, we kinda extended your life expectancy.”
“YOU DID WHAT!?!
Jixie started talking almost too fast to understand, “Sam, I couldn’t live with the idea that you were going to die and not be able to see Pixie grow up. I also couldn’t live with the idea of having to live without you, so Pixie gave me an idea and I followed up on it. You are going to live much longer now.”
Sam stared at them and saw their nervousness. “You said Pixie wasn’t born yet?”
“She wasn’t.”
“Just how could she give you an idea?”
“She put pictures in my mind and I understood what she was trying to say.”
Sam looked at Pixie whose eyes were wide. “Is that true?” Pixie nodded rapidly.
“Just how much longer am I going to live?” Jixie lowered her head into her shoulders, squinted, and mumbled something. “I didn’t hear you.”
Jixie tilted her head, looked up at the ceiling, closed her eyes, and said, “About a million years.”
Sam stared at Jixie and then looked at Pixie, who suddenly disappeared. “You can turn off that invisibility right now, young lady.”
Pixie reappeared and Jixie said, “You know she does that when she’s really nervous.”
Sam started shaking his head, “And just how did you do this?”
“I contacted an Alfont named Atlas and convinced him to do it. You were in a battle at the time and he went and made the change. He told us to tell you but I just didn’t have the nerve to do it. I really didn’t know if he would do it and I didn’t know if you’d want it done. It happened so fast that…well, he said you’d feel a shock.”
Sam stared at them and said, “I wondered what that was.”
Pixie looked at Sam and said, “Don’t be mad at mom; it was my idea.”
“How did you come up with an idea before you were born?”
Jixie shook her head, “Sam, you know how much information that I have stored. She had access to all of it while she was growing inside me.”
Pixie said, “I was bored so I looked at all of it. I sensed Mom’s sadness at the prospect of losing you before my life really got started and I knew that lives were extended in the Early Stars Realm. I gave Mom an image and she figured it out.”
Sam stared at them and said, “Just how did you convince Atlas to do this? I’m surprised he came out of hiding to do it.”
Jixie and Pixie didn’t say anything.
Sam lowered his head and looked at them through his eyebrows, “Ladies, there are no secrets in this family.”
Jixie sighed, “I threatened to reveal a secret if he didn’t come talk with me.”
Sam stared at her and said, “Now I have to decide if I want to know that secret.”
Pixie said, “Mom promised Atlas not to reveal it.”
“I suppose you told her the secret.” Pixie nodded and they saw Sam’s surprise. Sam sighed, “Then keep your promise. You also have nothing to worry about my getting angry over this. I can’t tell you how much heartache I’ve had knowing I was going to die long before either of you. This is really good news.”
Jixie and Pixie jumped up and rushed over and hugged Sam. “I’ve been so wanting to tell you for so long but just couldn’t get enough nerve to do it.”
Sam hugged them and said, “This does change things.”
Jixie leaned back, “How?”
“I can’t rule Ross for that long. If the Realm knew about this, what do you think would happen?”
Pixie said, “There would be a mad rush for other Royals to extend their lives. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to start dyeing some grey in my hair and when I can’t hide it any longer, we are going to leave Ross and live somewhere else. You know we have to do it.” Sam paused and said, “I think I know your secret.”
Jixie nodded and smiled, “I thought you’d figure it out.”
Sam looked at Pixie, “You also know I will not allow you to arm your armor.”
“Dad, how old were you when you joined the Life Warriors?”
Sam stared at Pixie, “Eighteen.”
“Well, four months and I’ll be eighteen. It’s time for me to join.”
Sam’s expression turned serious and Jixie said, “I was actually younger in my real age than she is now, Sam. Ross doe
sn’t hold her future.”
Sam thought about Jon’s anger at Mica joining and took a deep breath. He looked at Jixie, “Does she have all of your abilities?”
“No, she does not. I thought she would, but the human body does not allow many of them.”
“So she’s in just as much danger as any other warrior?”
“No, Sam. What she does have is far more than the warriors possess. It’s time for her to go out and start playing. It’s a part of her that does come from me and she feels the call.”
“She’s right, Dad.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m signing up to be a Scout Warrior.”
“Do you know how hard that training is?”
“I do.”
“When are you planning to go?”
“Soon.”
Sam stared at the two most important women in his life and sighed, “Jixie, are you ready for this?”
Jixie looked at her daughter and said, “Now I know what my mother felt when I told her I was coming here against her wishes.” Jixie looked at Sam, “If I had listened to her, you and I would have never met and she wouldn’t exist.”
Sam smiled and said, “Tell me what you need and I’ll make sure you get it.”
“I need a different name in the military computer. I don’t want anyone to know who I am and that you’re my parents.”
“Are you ashamed of us?”
“Of course not; you had to do the same thing when you joined. There would be too many problems if others knew my true identity.”
Sam smiled, “I know; just checking. What do you want to be called?”
“Pixie Mille.”
“You don’t think that would give you away?”
“You know as well as I do that billions of girls are now named Pixie. It seems I was quite the craze for a while. Most people don’t know my third name.”
“I’ll contact Jon and have him place your name in the computer and to place it as a Realm Priority Secret. No one will know. I’ll also sign the papers to get you in armor training.”
“I prefer to enlist like Mom did and go through it all. I don’t need to shortcut any of the learning experiences. I have plenty of time to do it.”
“You know your face is one of the most recognized in the Realm?”
I’m changing my hair color to black and my eyes to blue instead of green. That should be enough.”
“Can you do that?” Suddenly Pixie’s hair turned black and her eyes were the clearest blue. “I guess you can.” Sam turned to Jixie, “Can you do that as well?”
“Sure, why do you ask?”
Sam looked up at the ceiling and said, “Oh, I’m just curious.”
Jixie started laughing, “We’ll give it a go later.”
Pixie looked at them and said, “Oooooo, You two are starting to gross me out.”
Sam smiled, “Don’t you have somewhere to go?”
Pixie laughed and hugged her parents.
Chapter One
The sixteen small, invisible ships teleported into a planetary system just above a blue and green planet. The squadron commander looked at his passive scanner and saw eight large blue ships in orbit around the planet. They were about eight hundred yards long and their force fields were at full intensity. “Computer, do you see any weapons on the hulls of those ships?”
“There are small tubes extending out of the hulls but I cannot determine what they do without a full active scan.”
“Don’t do that just yet. Give me a closer view of the planet’s surface. See if you can find a large city or settlement.” The Commander’s display moved in on the planet and he saw a large city on the surface. “Sir, I see thousands of small craft on the surface that have some kind of burn on them. Many of the buildings have had their tops disintegrated by the same weapon that burned the craft.”
“Do you see any of the population?”
“They are out in fields outside the city farming. There are armored beings among them that are watching their efforts.”
“Pull up a close up of one of those armored beings.”
The picture appeared and the Commander was surprised. It was shaped like a beetle with a dome for a body and multiple legs coming out of the bottom. It had what looked like two small arms, each of them holding a small device, coming out of the front of the shell. As he watched the being, it pointed one of the devices at an inhabitant that suddenly rushed the guard and fell down. The beetle fired a bright blue beam and the inhabitant instantly vanished in a blue flash.
“Did you get a reading on that beam?”
“No, it was not a form of energy I’ve ever seen before.”
“Teleport a globe out to fleet.” A small silver globe appeared inside the small ship and teleported out with the recordings of all that had been recorded. Suddenly, a blue ship appeared in the middle of the sixteen ships and fired sixteen blue beams. All sixteen ships disappeared in blue flashes.
The probe that had been dropped at the outer planets recorded the destruction of the sixteen ships and immediately disappeared. An instant later a blue ship appeared at its former location and remained there for fifteen minutes. Then it disappeared and returned to the planet.
• • •
Pixie stared at the obstacle course and looked at the other sixty trainees lined up beside her. Six weeks had passed and if they were ever going to complete the course in the designated time, now was the moment. She looked at several of the females stressing over the course and she slowly shook her head. The strength training and long runs had been difficult but nothing she couldn’t handle. The day was perfect for running the course with not a cloud in the sky and two of the six moons shining high above. There was a slight breeze and the temperature had to be in the mid-seventies. The Sargent sounded the bell and the sixty trainees went at a full sprint into the obstacles.
Pixie made it under the ropes easily and ran to the beam. That also went by easily and she sprinted toward the rope that swung out over the mud flats. She cleared it easily and picked up speed as she approached the bog. The sixteen foot jump was accomplished and she hit the final ten foot wall and sprung to the top. She looked at the clock at the finish line and saw she was doing the course too quickly. She still had thirty five seconds to run the final hundred yards and no one was near her. She pushed over the top of the wall and fell to the ground. She stood up and started limping toward the finish line. Two trainees passed her but she completed the run three seconds before the bell sounded. She sat down and grabbed her ankle and grimaced. Fifteen trainees had completed the course in time and they all began celebrating their good fortune. The Training Sargent came over and said, “I thought you’d set a new record.”
“I tried but that darn wall tripped me up.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yes, I’m more embarrassed than hurt.”
“You have nothing to be ashamed of, Private. Congratulations.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Pixie rubbed her ankle and looked at the trainees that had failed to complete the course and felt sorry for them. They could try again in a year. She had not made any friends during training. She knew her mother had decided to defend Jennifer after training and she did not want any encumbrances coming out of initial training. She knew the hard part was still ahead and qualifying to be a Scout Warrior was not going to be easy. First Armor Training and then, if she measured up, Scout Training, which made the previous six weeks look like a walk in the park.
She stood up and put weight on her ankle and walked slowly back to the starting line. She smiled and knew her ankle was fine. Now was not the time to stand out; that would come later.
• • •
Eyes teleported in to Admiral Mirabal’s office and met him and his staff in the planning room. Jason saw the giant Cat and said, “We’ve had sixteen scout vessels destroyed.”
“Show me what you know.” Eyes watched the recording of the planet and then the destruction of the scouts. “Evidently, t
hose ships at the planet could see our ships.”
Jason nodded, “We don’t know what sort of energy they used to kill them. It should have just passed through their ships.”
Eyes looked at Jason and said, “What energy has a blue color?”
Jason stared at the giant Cat and suddenly understood, “Psychic.”
Eyes nodded and said, “We didn’t see those ships. You should not send any ships anywhere near that planet.”
“The inhabitants of that planet are enslaved by those ships.”
“Admiral, I don’t care if they’re going to be the next meal for those ships. Nothing in our arsenal can meet those ships and survive. This is a species we will have to stay away from until we have the tools to meet them head on. We’re nowhere close to that at this moment.”
Jason stared at Eyes and said, “If that species is psychic, could it find us?”
Eyes stared at Jason and said, “That is something we better hope doesn’t happen. We’re watching that planet now and none of the ships have left.”
“I’m going to guess that they don’t have to leave to communicate what happened.”
The Cat’s tail swished back and forth close to the tip and he said, “We can only hope that they determined that we are not a threat and don’t go looking. We’ll keep you notified. Where were those scouts based?”
“They were on one of the former Swarm’s planets.”
“Let’s hope that planet is not found.”
Jason nodded and notified the ships there to teleport out into deep space and to launch a probe to watch and see if anything happened.
• • •
Jason looked at the Prince on his display, “Admiral, even if those ships use psychic power, our history has shown that psychic ships can be killed by energy beams. We lost several of our ships to the Demons.”
“Mica, the Demons lost hundreds of thousands of ships for every psychic ship they killed.”
“Are you saying those ship’s force fields are as powerful as the old psychic ships used by the Old Realm?”
Jason slowly shook his head, “I have no way of knowing without taking a shot at one of them with our beams. I know our beams are actually stronger than the ones used by the Demons but we do not match up to their technology. That blue ship appeared and hit all sixteen scouts before they could get off a shot. Their destruction in spite of their force fields’ power gives us a clue as to just how powerful they are.”