by Saxon Andrew
The two cruisers opened fire and kept a continuous rain of splinters hitting the Invader ships as they rotated. The Invaders targeted the area in the middle of their formation and giant beams began flashing close to the two small cruisers. “Time to go!” The two red ships disappeared leaving ten warships burning in space. Cinny waited as Gaylee gathered information from the returning cruisers. After the last one arrived Gaylee said, “Nineteen thousand and fifty three.”
“Gaylee, check in and see if this did any good?”
• • •
The Watcher saw the replacement fleet assuming the positions of his fleet and he looked at his Talker to order his fleet to jump. The Talker put his hand over his ear and broke into a huge smile, “The Council has ordered the replacement fleet to go to thousands of planets that are being attacked.”
“What planets?”
“These weren’t attacked in the last battle.”
The Watcher breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Order all ships to return to their formations and commence firing their beams.” He sat back in his command chair and thought, “Thank you.”
• • •
Gaylee sat on Cinnamon’s Dream and said, “You’re welcome.”
Cinny looked at her, “What?”
“That Watcher said, ‘thank you’.”
“Watcher?”
“That’s his title.”
“Did he detect you listening to him?”
“No, he didn’t.”
“We have to keep our telepathic advantage secret.”
“I know.”
Cinny nodded and looked up, “Ana, take me back to Grant. Gaylee, let me know if anything else turns up.” Gaylee nodded and listened to the Watcher as he issued orders. This one was hiding what he really felt. He wasn’t as bad as the others.
• • •
Chelag was furious. The surviving Leaders were growing concerned. “Great Leader, I have been receiving messages from the planets in my domain that are inquiring about an invasion we recently conducted.”
“I am also receiving inquiries as well, Great Leader.”
Chelag stared at the five Leaders and sneered, “Ignore them.” Chelag looked at the other three Leaders and saw they were nervous, “Are you also getting inquires?”
“We are.”
“How did this information get out?”
“When the fleet returned, thousands of our troops and crews were taken to their planets for medical care. Remember that more than twenty thousand of our warships were destroyed at Kyaagma. All of those crews took part in the invasion. Many of them are still in the hospitals. They know what happened.”
The Great Leader looked around the table, “We could say that the civilization that attacked us was not the one we invaded.” He saw four of the Leaders shake their heads, “Why not?”
“The ships that attacked us were shown on the planets news channels. The injured troops on the planet confirmed they were the same ships that we attacked.”
“How could they see them, they’re invisible.”
“Whenever our beams hits one of them, it appears for an instant. Word has begun going out among the planets that we provoked this civilization.”
“They know we remove any civilization that could be a danger to us.”
“But they want to know that we can handle the danger. These attacks show our citizens that we didn’t do a good job scouting before we attacked. That is what they won’t forgive us for doing.”
“What do you mean they won’t forgive?”
Lengla pulled a blaster out of his tunic and aimed it at Chelag, “I’ve received approval from the Empire’s Lower Chamber that you no longer have the confidence of the Empire.”
Chelag sneered and reached inside his tunic. Lenga pulled the trigger and blasted the Great One’s head into flames. Lenga looked at the stunned guards and said, “Remove this garbage from the room.” Lenga kept the blaster in his hand until the guards removed Chelag’s body.
The other four Leaders looked at Lenga and Septo shook his head, “I didn’t hear anything from the Lower Chamber.”
“That’s because they didn’t do anything. We are going to have to pull this together and get everything under control. I will announce that the Great One lied to the citizens and that he threatened to kill us if we revealed his deception. He attempted to kill us and we fired first.”
“The guards will know that isn’t the truth.”
“That’s why they must be killed as well. Septo, you have that responsibility.” Septo nodded and raised his communicator, “Wait where you are for me to go with you.”
The four Leaders waited and after a moment heard two blasts from a blaster. Lenga looked at the others as Septo entered the Chamber, “Do any of you desire to replace me as the new Great Leader?” The four remained silent. “Good! Now let’s make the announcements and get our forces in order to eliminate this dangerous civilization. It’s pointless to invade them at this point; we would leave too many planets vulnerable if we try. We will look to find the planet that’s building those red ships and once we find and destroy it, we can move against all of them.”
• • •
The Watcher stared at his display and saw the new Great Leader. He was revealing the former Leader’s lies and he took a deep breath. The need to remove his fleet was now a moot point. He wondered just how the new Leader was going to view him. He shook his head and waited to find out.
• • •
The light hurt his eyes. He closed them and sensed the water around him. He opened his eyes and tried to move toward it. He was unable to move his arms or legs and knew he was going to have to take a breath. Suddenly, he was pulled out of the water and he gasped for air. He forced himself to calm down and as he closed his eyes and tried to get his thoughts organized. He was alive again.
He felt himself being laid down and he continued to take slow, deep breaths. He couldn’t hear anything…yet. His eyes wouldn’t focus and all he could see was a grey haze. He remembered the first time he had come back to life and knew that he could hear; why couldn’t he hear now? He fought to remember and then realized that his lungs were filled with water the first time and it took some time before he could think rationally. “Grant, just breathe. The web is being removed and you have to relax. Just take slow breaths.”
Grant smiled, Cinny was with him. He closed his eyes and felt a sudden fatigue take him. He blacked out and let darkness take him.
“Gaylee?”
“He’s fine, Cinny. His nerves are connecting throughout his body and the fatigue has put him back to sleep. He heard your voice and knows you’re with him. He relaxed and allowed sleep to take him.”
Cinny looked at Slippy, “Can you carry him to our quarters?”
Slippy went to his full twenty-foot height and used his front two legs to lift Grant and carry him to his hut. Cinny kept her hand on Grant and Slippy said, “It’s good to have him back.”
“Yes it is. Thank you Slippy. By the way, when is Telah due to lay her eggs?”
“She laid them yesterday, Cinny. Thank you for asking.”
“I want to know when they hatch.”
“You’ll be the third one to know.”
Cinny smiled. Their offspring should be remarkable if they were like Gayla’s brood.
• • •
Grant opened his eyes and saw Cinny rubbing his forehead and staring at his face. He smiled and said, “It’s really good to see you.”
“I told you so.” Cinny smiled and said, “Now, I’ve got that out of my system.”
Grant slowly shook his head, “Yes you did. What happened?”
“They did allow you to communicate for a few moments but when you started making sense, they blasted your ship.”
“What happened after that?” Cinny filled him in and Grant asked clarifying questions for an hour. At the end Cinny said, “The Invader’s Leaders had a coup against their main leader and have not invaded since. Gaylee tells me that they
’ve sent all their scouts out to search for Earth’s location. They’ve spread out their warships to defend their planets while the search is taking place and that’s where we stand at the moment.”
“Have you gone after their Leaders?”
“No, not yet. Quite frankly, this break in action is what we need for Earth to build additional ships. If we managed to kill the current Leadership, the new ones might not wait to invade.”
Grant nodded, “You’re probably right about that.”
“Grant, there’s one other thing that I’ve not shared with Earth.”
“What is that?”
“Gaylee heard the Invader Fleet Commander, they call him Watcher, say that they have a weapon that would destroy us but the price they would have to pay before we were removed would be high.”
“Did she get an image or anything about that weapon?”
“No, she didn’t.” Grant sat up and felt dizzy. He grabbed his head as Cinny helped him sit up until the vertigo passed. “Grant, I sent our ships to search that galaxy where they’re located and we’ve discovered something remarkable.”
Grant shook his head, “What is that?”
“You know that their galaxy has a large band of stars that surrounds the central black hole a hundred thousand light years away.”
“Yes.”
“All the stars between that distant band of stars and the black hole are missing.”
Grant nodded, “Earth’s scientists believe their galaxy must have experienced a collision with another galaxy and those stars were taken by the other galaxy.”
“Grant, we’ve recorded billions of planets in that vacant space circling the black hole. They’re too small to see from a distance and that’s why the area looks vacant. If another galaxy collected the stars, it would have also taken the planets.” Grant stared at her in silence and Cinny sighed as she said, “We went and took a good look at that other galaxy that’s a twin to the Invader’s galaxy and found the same thing; billions of planets revolving around the central black hole. The Invaders also have a huge number of inhabited planets in the outer band of stars circling the black hole as well.”
“They have a weapon that destroys stars.”
“We found it.”
Grant’s eyes went wide, “What?”
“There are hundreds of thousands of giant, and I do mean giant, ships hanging in space just outside the event horizon of the central black hole.”
“We have to destroy those ships!”
“Grant, those ships do not use the force field of their battleships. It’s something else and we took a shot at one of them to no effect. I sent the recording to Admiral Blake and he forwarded it to Earth. Their scientists say that force field is a force fifty.” Grant looked at the floor and Cinny said, “We don’t have anything that can penetrate it.”
Grant tried to stand up and almost fell. Cinny wrapped her arms around his chest and held him up. Grant shook his head, “No one is safe if they can destroy stars. If they find Earth, they’ll kill every galaxy near it and that means the Animals’ planet will be destroyed as well.”
“Grant, the Animals are considering moving to a distant galaxy.”
Grant held on to Cinny and grabbed his head. After a moment he said, “I’m still having vertigo.”
“Let’s walk.” Grant nodded and Cinny helped him take small steps. In fifteen minutes he began taking longer steps and he released Cinny. He took a deep breath and walked under his own power to the lagoon. They arrived at the water and sat down. Grant put his feet in the water and fell back on the sand. “We can’t allow them to do this without a price.”
“There’s nothing we can do to stop them.”
Grant took a deep breath and slowly blew it out. “We have to find the Orion.”
“I’ve thought about that but you know the odds of that happening. The Invaders have a better chance of finding Earth than we do of finding it.”
“It’s the only answer to this, we have to try.”
“Then it’s time we make a trip to the Monastery.” Grant looked at her and nodded. “I’ve told Blake that Earth should inform all of the known civilizations of what’s coming so they can try to save as many of their civilians as possible.”
“You think running is the only answer?”
“It is the only answer. They must send as many of their citizens as possible to distant galaxies. Do you see anything else they can do?”
Grant shook his head, “Cinny, I’m so tired.”
Cinny stood up, “Gronk, come and help me get Grant back to our hut.” The huge Dragon rushed over and reduced his size to eight feet. Cinny helped Grant struggle to get on his back and Gronk went to thirty feet long and walked toward their home as Cinny prevented Grant from falling off Gronk’s back.
• • •
The logs were burning brightly at the fire pit next to the lagoon. Iggy, Slick, the Ant’s, along with Grant and Cinny were gathered at the center of the large gathering. Silence dominated the moment although many were discussing the meeting telepathically. The Ant Mother thought to the group through the ant sitting with them, “Tell me why you don’t like the idea of finding a new home in a distant galaxy?”
Grant shook his head, “Mother, if we leave for another galaxy, we’ll just be putting off the inevitable. This aggressive civilization will only grow stronger.”
“If we move far enough away, they’ll not find us for eons.”
“And we might be running from the pot into the frying pan. There may be an aggressive civilization at the new home we select that’s worse than the one here.”
Slick lowered his head, “I don’t see how any could be as dangerous as this one.”
Grant shook his head, “You can say that until you find one. However, we are not capable of building warships. If we leave, we’ll only have the ships we take with us. At least here we have Earth to build weapons for us.”
Iggy shrugged, “Only until they find Earth.”
“You’re right. If Earth is found, then this war is over.” Grant paused and looked at the gathering, “I’m not saying we shouldn’t find another place to live. As a matter of fact, we should start looking for one now. However, before we run, we should do all we can to change the outcome.”
The Ant thought, “What do you mean by that?”
“If we can’t stop them, we can make them pay a price that will slow them down from future invasions. We’ll destroy as many warships as we can and blast the planets where they garrison their ground forces.”
“Do we do this before they power up those ships?”
“No, we wait and use the time to find another home and gather as many warships as Earth can send us. If they power up those ships, we will warn them that if they move them away from the black hole we will attack all of their planets.”
“Are you going to tell them?”
“No, Gaylee will sent the warning telepathically to every one of their citizens.”
The group was silent and after a moment Slick said, “You would be revealing one of our advantages.”
“What advantage will it be if they start destroying stars? They’ll wonder how we are able to do it and they might not really understand all the things that we can do. However, the warning needs to be delivered and I do not want to see anyone else killed attempting to communicate with them.”
The Ant thought, “I sense you are not going to be taking part in these attacks.”
Grant nodded, “Cinny and I are going to the Choten-Zan’s planet and see if we can’t find a clue on the location of the Orion.”
Iggy went up on his front legs, “I thought you said finding that ship was impossible?”
“I did and the odds of finding it are remote. However, we don’t have anything else that can stand up to those star killers. We have to try and we can’t put it off any longer.”
The Ant’s antennae moved and it thought, “You hope you find it before they find Earth.”
Cinny nodded, “We have
to try.”
“Who is going to command our fleet?”
Grant looked at Slick, “Either Tricky or Slippy are capable of doing it. Gronk and at least fifty more I know can handle the ground attacks.”
Iggy said, “Ground attacks?”
“The only way we can force the Invaders to call off those ships is to put enough pressure on their leaders. The Dragons should be released on their planets and do as much damage as possible. If the price is too high, they may call it off.” The Animals looked at each other and Grant said, “Hey, our home is also in danger. We’re fighting to save it as well. I personally love it here and don’t want to be forced to leave it.” The silence was deafening and Grant said, “If we’re forced to leave, our Mother will not be able to go with us nor will millions of her children. I refuse to just leave them defenseless without making an effort to save her.”
Iggy and Slick were stunned by the remark. Iggy said, “I didn’t think about that.”
The Ant said, “You have to do whatever you can to save yourselves. I’ll send some eggs to hatch another Queen.”
Slick stared at her and said, “But you cannot escape?”
The Ant stared at Slick and, after a long moment of silence, it thought, “No, I cannot leave here.”
Slick bobbed up and down, “Why not, Mother?”
“Because without me, all my children will die. I will not leave them.”
Grant stood up, “The Ants don’t have the ability to reduce their size. Every warship we have could not hold half of them.”
Iggy said, “We will do all we can to make them pay for their actions and maybe we can persuade them to call off their attacks.”
The Ant thought, “I can’t allow you to put yourselves in that much danger to save us.”
Iggy looked at the Ant, “Would you do it for us?”
“Well, yes but you don’t have…”
“Yes we do, Mother.”
The Ant lowered its head and thought, “I feel humbled by your sacrifice.”
Iggy lowered himself to the ground and said, “You and Cinnamon should leave and begin your search. We will handle the war.”
Grant looked around the circle and said, “You are my family. I will do all I can to protect you. I thank all of you for your love and support.”