by Saxon Andrew
Tommy looked at Wes and said, “Well, if they don’t accept the relationship then the two will stay with us which is just fine with me. I don’t want them to leave.”
Wes nodded his head and said, “I agree.”
Finally the time arrived and Tommy and Wes moved to the tower. The leaders of the Stars Realm and three of the Algeans government were standing waiting for the ceremony to begin. Tommy and Wes moved to the platform and the crowd saw him and went crazy. Tommy turned and waved to the crowd. The roar was deafening. Tommy turned back and watched as the first bridesmaid began her walk down the aisle. Twig was led down the aisle by Sprig to the front platform. It was clear that those two Algeans had real feelings for each other. Tommy glanced over at the Eldest and saw him lean forward showing his interest. Then Linda Kay was moving down the aisle with John Ortiz leading her forward. Tommy looked at how beautiful she was and remembered when that lizard jumped her in school. She had become a beautiful woman. Tommy glanced at Wes and saw that smile that was going to split his face. He could feel their love. Well, Wes would get his surprise later. Then he heard the music and looked up the aisle and saw Cassandra begin her walk. Everything disappeared from his mind except for the vision walking toward him. She was so beautiful it hurt from the joy he was feeling. His heart filled with love and Cassandra could feel it as she continued a walk that felt like it would never end so she could get to the man she loved more than life. She stepped up to Tommy and the whole world was silent.
The millions gathered listened to hear the vows and the speaker system was perfect. Every planet in the Stars Realm watched the ceremony. The one who had saved Earth from destruction and was leading the fight against those terrible red ships was looking at his bride and everyone could see his love. Tommy had tried his whole life to avoid being the center of attention and the Realm knew he did not desire attention. Yet here he was and before he set foot on the platform the Realm loved him even more than before. Tag and Danielle, Rose, and now Tommy; the Stars Realm loved the Gardners. They felt safer knowing this family was protecting them. Now there was a new Gardner joining the family and she had a reputation for being everything that the Gardners represented. The Realm was silent and watched the ceremony with respect and reverence.
Tommy looked at Cassandra and had trouble catching his breath. She was beautiful in her white wedding gown and somehow she had become even more beautiful than when he saw her at Wes’ wedding. Cassandra looked at Tommy and saw her life in front of her. She could see his love in his eyes and when he took her hands she felt it through her whole body. Once they touched each other they felt at peace with the universe. Tgon-Gee read them their vows and they never took their eyes off each other. Their voices were steady, their nervousness gone, and their happiness filling them. Finally Tgon-Gee said, “You may kiss your bride.” Tommy raised her veil and kissed Cassie; the world turned into slow motion and the kiss lasted a long time. Finally, they broke the kiss and looked at each other. Cassandra said, “You have got to teach me how you do that.”
Tgon-Gee turned and said to the gathered crowds, “I present to you the Duke and Duchess Gardner.”
The roar was huge and lasted for more than an hour. All over the Realm the celebrations began. On Ross the parties started and continued for two days. Tommy held Cassandra and then noticed that the Eldest was approaching Twig and Sprig. Cassandra saw what he was looking at and said, “Let’s go see if we can help.”
The Eldest came up to Twig and said, “Greetings my youngest. I have heard good things about you.”
“Thank you, Father.”
“It appears that your education is almost over.”
“No, Father, it is just beginning.”
“I have heard of all the incredible things you have discovered. You have much to share with us.”
“I am not the only one who made those discoveries, Father. My compliment had as much to do with them as I.”
The Eldest looked at Sprig and said, “I compliment you as well. You family will be proud. They have selected you a mate to bear seeds.”
Sprig looked at the Eldest and said, “Eldest, I have selected my mate and she is here with me now.”
The Eldest looked at Sprig and then looked at Twig and he straightened to his full height. “Are you saying you will not comply with my directives?”
Tommy stepped up and said, “May I have a moment of your time Eldest?”
The Eldest looked at Tommy and said, “Congratulations, Duke Gardner. I am having a discussion with my adolescents.”
Rose walked up and said, “Eldest, do you remember the first day we met?”
The Eldest turned and looked at Rose and said, “I will never forget it. It changed our history.”
“Do you remember that I asked you to do one thing before we continued our fight?”
The Eldest leaned to the side showing great emotion, “Yes, you asked me to meld with Dorg. It was that melding that made us able to trust you.”
“You did not want to do it when I asked.”
“No, I didn’t but you were going to destroy us if I didn’t. I was just buying time.”
“Eldest, I am going to ask you to do something for me again but this time I can’t force you. I’m going to ask you to do it out of respect for Dorg-Ross; I know he would want you to do it.”
The Eldest was silent and then said, “I will agree. It must be important or you would not use the name of one so revered on my world.”
Rose looked up at the towering Algean and said, “I want you to meld with these two adolescents right now.”
The Eldest looked at Rose and everyone thought he was going to refuse, but then he said, “You have a reason I cannot see. Just like the last time. Let me see what is so important.”
The Eldest turned to the two adolescents and said, “Open your minds.”
Twig and Sprig allowed the Eldest to enter their consciousness. Rose said, “This is going to take some time. With Dorg it was hours, so Tommy, you and Cassandra have some welcoming of guests to do. I’ll stay here and wait for the Eldest to finish.”
Wes said, “If you don’t mind, Linda Kay and I will do that. I’ll send you a thought when he finishes. You also have some duties here, Your Majesty.”
Rose looked at Wes and said, “He risked his life for you. I know how much he means to you. Make sure you let me know, 3D.”
Wes looked shocked and then smiled and said, “I will, Your Majesty.”
Wes and Linda Kay pulled up some chairs and sat down and held each other’s hands. Tommy directed that a table with an umbrella be brought over to them to make them comfortable.
Eight hours later, the Eldest straightened up. Wes sent a thought to Rose and Tommy, “They’re back. The two adolescents began moving and Rose walked up with Tommy and Cassandra right behind her. Rose said, “Do you know now why I asked you to meld with them?”
The Eldest turned toward Rose and said nothing. He then looked at the Adolescents and said to them, “So you were going to forsake your people for your own selfish reasons?”
Rose thought to Tommy, “Looks like I made things worse. I was hoping it would help.”
Sprig looked up at the Eldest and said, “No, we were not.”
The Eldest tilted to the side and said, “I know you were not coming back if you could not be together.”
“That is true,” Sprig said.
“Explain yourself.”
“Eldest, if we came back and could not be together, we would serve no useful function to our people. We are so tied together now that if we were forced to separate, we would be unable to use our minds effectively because of the loneliness we would experience. If we could not be together, then the only way we could benefit our people is to stay away and together to develop new things for our people. To come back would deny our race what we could offer to it.”
The Eldest began moving slightly back and forth. “Now that is a spin that even the great Dorg-Ross could appreciate; I can see what you’ve
done. I can also feel what you feel and I must say that it is a unique experience. I am envious of what you have. I also notice that your intellect is greater than any I’ve seen, Sprig. I will allow your mating. You will keep the names given you by the humans and will continue with them until this conflict is ended. The Elders and I will look at this absorbing of another. I think it has merit. I must say that your learning centers are the most developed of any adolescent I’ve ever seen. I will inform your family of the change Sprig. When you do return to our people, you will be included in the ranks of the elders of our people.” The Eldest turned to Rose and said, “Once more you have helped my people, Little One. In the future, you don’t have to be dramatic; just tell me what you want. After this experience, I trust your decisions.”
The two adolescents rushed up and wrapped their limbs around the Eldest and he held them close with his branches. “”You’re welcome. Just keep on learning.”
Sprig and Twig reached and mingled two of their branches and they thought to the Eldest, “We will, Father, we will.”
Wes watched his friend and felt happiness for Sprig. Suddenly there were loud horns blowing over the speakers and all of the videos showed an emergency pending announcement on the screen. The huge crowds stopped what they were doing and listened. The speakers began announcing, “Queen Rose will make an important announcement in thirty minutes; Queen Rose will make an important announcement in thirty minutes.”
Everyone began speculating what was going on. The entire Stars Realm stopped their celebrations and began gathering around monitors to see what was happening. Thirty minutes later Rose mounted the platform and the horns blew again and when they stopped, silence ruled. Rose looked at the video monitor and said, “I know that this is Tommy and Cassandra’s day but they have asked that I share what I’m about to do with all of you. If you are not near a monitor, I ask that you try to get to one; I’ll give you a minute.”
There were huge monitors among the crowds to provide a good view of the platform during the wedding ceremony and the crowd began moving so they could see one of them. After a minute Rose continued, “I am going to ask Wes McAnn and Sprig to join me on the platform”
Wes looked around and Linda Kay shrugged indicating she didn’t know what was going on. Sprig and Wes looked at each other and walked up to the platform and stood on each side of Rose. Rose looked out at the crowds and said, “I am going to play you some recordings that I want you to see.”
The monitors came on and showed the twelve Stars Realm’s pulse ships fighting the four hundred thousand Captor ships. The recording showed the Polaris being overwhelmed by thousands of the red ships. Then the Atlantis moved in and blew away the ships from the starboard side of the Polaris. Rose said while the Realm watched, “The Atlantis was commanded by Captain Wes McAnn. He took his ship in to save the Polaris. He drew the attackers away from the Polaris saving it from destruction.”
The video showed the thousands of ships turning their attention from the Polaris and firing thousands of energy balls at the Atlantis. Then the watchers saw the Atlantis broken in half. There were thousands of energy balls moving in on the damaged ship and then just before they struck, the ship disappeared. Rose said, “Sprig, who is an Algean adolescent teleported to the Atlantis and teleported the ship to safety. As you can see, he was barely in time and he risked his life to save the ship. Their actions during this battle are an example of what the Stars Realm stands for; we will protect each other even if we are put in danger doing it. It is with pride and a grateful heart that I award Wes McAnn and Sprig the Crimson Crown, our highest award for bravery. Sprig is the first member of a race outside the Stars Realm to receive this award; however, no one deserves it more.”
Rose stepped forward and handed them their medals. Wes was amazed. Sprig was also stunned. Twig and Linda Kay ran up to their mates and held them tightly. The crowds went crazy. Rose then turned to the crowds and raised her hand. After silence was restored, Rose looked at the monitor and said, “We will be going to confront the Captors soon. The Stars Realm’s fleet is getting ready as we speak and I want you to tell all of those you know in the fleet how much they mean to you and how much you appreciate their sacrifice. However, today is a day for celebration. Let the festivities begin.”
The speakers erupted into music and the crowd roared and moved to the music. Tommy looked at Cassandra and said, “I love you. I’ll always love you.”
Cassandra just moved close and held him tight.
Atlas watched the proceedings from high orbit above Ross and thought about all that he had seen. He could still hear his brothers talking among themselves and he wondered if he was like them before he came to know this race called human. Now they sounded petty and small and he actually found no pleasure in hearing them. The female who was the lone dissenting voice among them was shouted down by the mass of voices. Atlas thought about the Gardners and their place in the universe. Something was operating to bring those super psychics together. Tommy and Cassandra coming together was unavoidable. He could see that they were driven together. He just could not understand the power that made it happen. Tag and Danielle were of the opinion that it was their DNA that forced them together. What they did not think about was that their DNA came partially from him and not one of the members of his race throughout their long history had shown the psychic power of these Gardners. Perhaps if his race had kept their physical forms and had not moved into the silver ships they might have eventually become what these humans are. Well, that can’t be it either; his race was more than a million years older than the humans when they moved into the ships. Nothing like this happened before the metamorphosis. Atlas thought about the eight legs and knew they were going to return eventually to harvest this universe again. His race survived because they were able to hide; simply power down and wait for them to leave. There was no way the Stars Realm could do that. He looked down at Tommy and Cassandra dancing and thought about the strength of their minds. He didn’t want to lose his favorite child and humans had such short life spans. Tag and Danielle had their life spans changed when he gave them their force fields and weapons but that had been eliminated when Rose removed all that he had done. Now he thought about who was more important to the survival of the Stars Realm and he had to admit that although Rose was important, it was the weapon of Tommy and Cassandra that was needed more. Should he discuss it with them? Nooooo, it would only get complicated. The next time Tommy came on board he was going to extend his life. Once Tommy was done, he could do the same to Cassandra when Tommy made physical contact with her. Atlas paused and thought about the two adolescents but he had no worries there; their normal life span was hundreds of thousands of years. The Eldest was more than three million years old. He still heard his brothers and sisters talking about conquest. He turned off the frequency they were using to communicate; he tired of their self importance. He tasted his disappointment and thought about what their reaction was going to be if the Captors were eliminated and they were not released. That was not a moment to look forward to seeing. Atlas turned his attention back to the wedding and listened to the music. Sometimes he wished he had a body to join in on the dancing. He gave a mental sigh and continued to watch the celebration on the planet below.
Chapter 16
The Captor warrior jumped into a system with a planet that obviously had advanced intelligent life. He was looking for the strange white ship that had attacked the home planet and had found nothing. He scanned the planet and noticed a white ship keeping station above it. He matched it to the ship he was looking for and it did not match. He started to jump away but then matched the ship to the other smaller ships involved in the last attack and discovered that the shape was very similar. The energy reading was completely different but it did physically look like those other ships. He thought about what he should do for a moment then contacted the First Male and sent him a recording of the scan he had just completed. The First Male received the scan and said, “Just a moment. I’m
setting up the First Mother’s defense. I’ll contact you momentarily.”
The Warrior held his position and waited for the First Male.
Admiral Mikado contacted Tommy on his emergency frequency, “Duke Gardner, a Captor ship had entered the Crengren system and is sitting stationary at the moment. One of our Megaships is holding station above the planet.”
Tommy punched the control panel on his chair and the ship’s internal alarms went full blast, “Battle stations, all hands to battle stations.”
Tommy linked Cassandra to his com and said, “Admiral, give me the megaships frequency now.” Mikado punched it in and sent it to Tommy’s com. Tommy cut the connection and commed the SR Megaship Phelagend. Captain Gidhu appeared on his com. “Captain, what is your status?”
“Your Highness, the Captor ship is holding its position in the outer system and is not moving. The ship is approximately eighteen hundred miles in diameter and is glowing bright red.”
“Captain, there’s not much time; you are going to have to draw that ship away from the planet. You stand no chance against it in combat and I think it is your ship that has caused the Captor to stop. Order your jump officer to program in five hundred random jumps immediately and if that ships moves, jump out of the system and don’t stop jumping. I am giving you a coordinate for the final jump. Do you understand?”