by Saxon Andrew
They arrived outside the bridge and Cinny said, “The Orion has an intelligent defense system. Make sure you have permission before you touch anything.”
Blake nodded and looked at his officers. They walked in slowly hoping they wouldn’t make a mistake. Their fear evaporated as the entered a huge chamber. The front viewport wrapped around more than a hundred yards. Grant said, “You may sit in the chairs for the crew. The panels in front of them have been disabled.”
Cleve looked at Grant, “Crew?”
“This ship can be operated without anyone other than Cinny and me. However, if one of us is not on board, it needs a crew to assist the one on the ship.”
Cleve nodded and opened his front pocket. Telee climbed out and rushed over to join Sneaky on Cinny’s console. They grabbed each other’s front legs and Telee said, “It’s good to see you.”
“You are a legend among us.”
“Oh get out of here.”
“I’m serious. I admire you.” Telee grabbed her legs and gave her a hug.
Blake looked at Grant, “What are you going to do?”
“Teach the Invaders a lesson they won’t forget.” Grant and Cinny went to their chairs and their helmets appeared on their heads. Cleve sat down at one of the stations and looked at the panel next to his chair. He reached for a toggle switch and Cinny said without turning her head around, “Commodore, even though the panel is disabled, the ship may interpret you touching the panel as a hostile act.”
Cleve jerked his hand back and Bobbi shook her head. “He never learns.”
Blake watched the Orion submerge into subspace and then appear close to a massive black hole. Gathered outside the event horizon were hundreds of thousands of the Starkillers. Cinny said, “We’re sending the images of what we’re doing to every Invader Citizen.” Grant gripped the stalk coming out of his chair arm and swept the Orion’s beams across the fleet of giant ships. All of them had energized their force fields when the Orion appeared but it made no difference. They were blasted into vapor and the Orion submerged into subspace again. A moment later they were outside another massive black hole and Blake watched an even larger gathering of Starkillers vaporized.
Tens of thousands of Invader Battleships jumped in and fired on the Orion with no affect. Grant sighed and gripped the stalk. A moment later, they were all gone. Cinny leaned forward and looked at Sneaky who nodded. “We’re allowing you to witness what we’re doing so there will be no misunderstanding. You will never again go out to exterminate another species. We’ll allow you to keep your warships for the express purpose of defending yourselves. However, if you use them for conquest, we’ll remove them and the planets that sent them. Your former leaders will need to be replaced; they have been removed with the ships they took to kill another civilization.”
“What happens if we are attacked by another species?”
Cinny shook her head, “We will prevent your extinction; however, there are many species you’ve attacked that we will not stop from taking their revenge. I would suggest you try to make amends for your prior behaviors.”
The Watcher said, “What about the Beasts you have on our planets?”
“They will remain there until we’re convinced you have learned your lesson. Building up a huge military is not the way to make that happen.”
Cinny said, “One of your planets in this galaxy is powering up their fleets of warships at this moment. We are going to destroy them momentarily and this will be your last warning. Next time the planet goes with the warships.”
The Orion flashed away and appeared above a planet with thousands of warships in orbit. In less than ten minutes, they were all gas clouds floating in open space.
• • •
The Watcher sat on his vessel and shook his head. After the giant green ship disappeared his panel activated, “Watcher, it was you that tried to convince the Great Leader to not attack this species, was it not?”
“I failed. They would not listen.”
“You have been selected to be the next Great Leader. Make sure all of us listen in the future.” The display went dark and the Watcher sighed. He looked at his Seeker, “Take me to the Capital and I want to be informed if any planet in the Empire makes any aggressive move with their warships.”
“Yes Great Leader.”
The Watcher flinched at the title and then sat back in his chair. His species hadn’t been destroyed like the first Attackers. Perhaps he could make sure it didn’t happen in the future.
• • •
Blake heard the exchange between the Watcher and the Leader of the Lower Council and looked at Grant, “What happens now?”
“You and your crew will go back to Earth and try to accomplish what that Watcher is attempting to do.”
“You don’t think he’ll succeed?”
“Time will eventually answer that issue. I have just as many reservations about Earth as I do about the Invaders.”
Bobbi said, “We’re not at all like them.”
Cinny looked at Bobbi and shook her head, “The Invaders never had four billion of their species murdered. Can you say the same?” Bobbi stared at Cinny and then shook her head.
Cleve looked at Grant, “Would it be possible for me to volunteer to be a member of your crew?”
Grant stared at Cleve and smiled, “I was hoping you would ask. Just send me a thought when you’re ready.”
Blake looked at Cleve, “Why would you leave Earth?”
“I can give you four billion reasons, Admiral. If I’m going to choose sides, I’ll pick the one that feels like I do about that crime.”
“But we’ve eliminated the ones that did it?”
“I suspect these two are right and the current Prime Minister is not that different from those that preceded him. Power is a lust that overwhelms those that feed on it.”
Blake shook his head, “Cleve, I’m going to miss you. Won’t you be lonely?”
“Not really. I’m going to try and persuade Margaret to join me.”
Bobbi’s head jerked up, “Margaret McGuire?”
“Yep.”
“She’s too nice for you. She’d never go with someone as cantankerous as you.”
“That means I have to do a good job of talking her into it.”
Grant looked at Cleve, “Who is this Margaret?”
“She’s the commander of our gunnery crews and the best shot with a blaster on the ship.”
Grant smiled and looked at Bobbi, “And she’s too nice for him.”
Bobbi remained silent and Cleve said, “She is deadly but she has the most peaceful spirit of anyone I’ve ever met.”
Cinny’s eyes twinkled, “If you can convince her, she’s welcome to join you.”
Blake shook his head, “Cleve, you know I’m going to do my best to talk her out of it.”
“Good. That way if she chooses to go, I’ll know she loves me.”
Bobbi looked up at the ceiling and rolled her eyes. Cleve saw her and said, “Fifty credits.”
Bobbi smiled, “You’re on. She won’t go anywhere with you after I talk to her.”
Grant led them to the tubes and they all entered. Cinny grabbed Cleve’s arm and said, “Will you be able to leave if this Margaret doesn’t come with you?”
“She’ll come.”
Cinny tilted her head, “Why?”
“Because of those trying to stop her. She knew I was against this war of conquests that Earth started. All the others joined right in without a problem. Her heart is more like mine than theirs. It’s them trying so hard to stop her that will make her go.”
Cinny shook her head, “Boy, you are sneaky.”
“Hey, that’s my name.”
Cinny laughed and Sneaky said, “She’ll come with you. She’s admired you from the first time you stood up to your former commander about firing on unarmed civilians. She doesn’t know you care about her.”
“That’s another reason. Bobbi’s right that I’m not deserving of her. When she
comes and asks me if what they’re saying is true…”
“You’ll tell her yes and her heart will melt that you didn’t think you are worthy of her.”
Cleve looked at Cinny, “That happens to be the truth.”
“And she’ll see that and come with you to see.”
Cleve smiled, “I sincerely hope she does.”
Cleve was the last one to board the Triton and he smiled at what the future held. He was going to fly on the most advanced Warship in existence. He stepped out of the landing bay portal and found Margaret waiting for him. “Bobbi tells me that you want me to go with you to this warship we’re parked in?”
Cleve was caught flatfooted and said, “Boy! She didn’t waste any time!” Cleve looked at her and sighed, “She’s of the opinion that I’m not in your league and I’m forced to agree with her. Every man on this bucket of bolts wants to have your attention.”
Margaret put her arm in his, “But there’s only one man on this bucket of bolts that has it.”
Cleve’s smile almost split his face and Margaret saw it was genuine. Cleve walked away with her. Blake and Bobbi stood in the corridor and saw them as they walked away. Blake looked at Bobbi, “Is he ever wrong?”
Bobbi chuckled, “No, I don’t believe he is. What are you going to do after all this is over?”
“I don’t know.”
“Maybe you can convince them to take us on board as well.”
Blake looked at Bobbi and raised his eyebrows, “You want to go with me?”
“Sir, I’ve followed you on your last six commands.”
Blake smiled and said, “I’ll check into it.”
Sneaky looked at Cinny, “It looks like you were right, they’ll be coming.”
Cinny looked at Grant and he shook his head as he said, “I told you I wasn’t any smarter than you. This proves it.”
Cinny laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Epilogue
“Please ask the High Priest if he will meet with me.”
“Stand by.”
“Grant are you sure you want to do this?”
Grant shrugged, “It has to be done. Just make sure you’re ready.”
Cinny nodded and the speaker said, “He says you know where to go.”
Cinny looked at Sneaky and nodded. She thought, “We are going in; battle stations, all hands to battle stations.”
Blake moved to the weapons chair as Grant stood and hugged Cinny. Grant looked at Blake, “Are you ready?”
“I’ve got it under control. You just be careful.”
Grant nodded and looked in Cinny’s eyes, “Let’s hope he’s as smart as I think he is.” Cinny hugged Grant tightly and kissed him before he turned and left the bridge. Cinny pressed a button on her panel, “Margaret, are you and Bobbi ready?”
“We are. Cleve is giving us a scan of the planet so nothing will surprise us.”
“Cleve, do you detect anything?”
“There are numerous caverns below the planet’s surface. It’s just like Grant suspected.”
Cinny nodded and watched Grant move the scooter out of the landing bay and head toward the huge temple on the surface.
• • •
Grant landed the scooter outside the tall doors at the front of the Choten-Zan Temple and stepped off. The Head Servant was waiting on him and said, “You should leave your blasters here.” Grant stared at him for a moment and then lifted his two blasters out of their holsters and put them inside the bag on the left side of the scooter. The Servant smiled and said, “Come with me.” Grant followed him into the Temple and saw there were numerous Priests inside the structure; that was unusual.
“Cleve, how much farming activity is taking place?”
Cleve answered, “Not very much, Grant; most of the fields are unattended. The only fields being farmed are being attended by Priests in Orange Robes.”
Grant knew that the Priests still farming were the newly accepted. That meant the Ordained Priests were no longer in the fields. He continued to follow the Head Servant and knew he had come at the right time.
They entered the High Priest’s quarters and saw him sitting in his chair and pressing buttons on his console. He stood up as the Head Servant and Grant bowed. “Please be seated.” Grant was surprised the Head Servant was not dismissed. He glanced at the Servant and saw the bulge under his robe. He smiled slightly and saw the High Priest had seen him look at his Servant. “I’m not sure about you anymore. It pays to be careful.” Grant shrugged. The High Priest looked through his eyebrows, “Why are you here?”
“I think it’s time we cleared the air.”
The High Priest smiled and leaned back on a cushion, “I must confess that you surprised me when you found that ship. I really didn’t think you would.”
“You were worried about it when you sent us away from the Monastery.”
The High Priest’s head tilted and he said, “Oh?”
“You knew who we were. Ana told you what our purpose was and you agreed to take us in.”
“I would think you would be more appreciative of our doing that.”
“You did that for your own self-interests. It wasn’t done for any altruistic purpose.” The High Priest stared at Grant in silence. Grant lowered his eyes and said, “Ana told you that the Orion was a ruse but you weren’t sure about that. She said we were genetically evolved to fly it and you wanted to determine if that was also a ruse. If it was a ruse, then the Orion didn’t exist. If we were far advanced beyond other humans, you’d know the Orion did exist.”
“And what do you think I discovered?”
“That we were somewhat faster and more advanced than other humans, but we weren’t anything really special. You decided that we should be sent away from the temple to go out and face the Raiders; the possibility was strong that we would be eliminated by them.”
“Go on.”
Grant saw the High Priest’s small smile and wondered how long that was going to last. “When we came back looking to find out who we were, you decided that we represented no danger to you so you gave us the key.”
The High Priest’s smile disappeared, “Just what do you mean ‘no danger to me’”?
“By that time, the survivors from Avalon’s destruction had arrived and had begun building the weapons to defend your planet. You knew they had worked on the Orion and knew that it also wouldn’t pose a problem for you.”
The Head Servant said, “That’s a rather large leap.”
Grant looked at him, “No, not really.”
The High Priest said, “You’re assuming things without proof.”
Grant smiled, “Your priests assisted the Survivors in building those planetary defenses.” The High Priest nodded. “I had a long conversation with Mariah and she agreed after some prodding that the weapons installed on your planet were much stronger than the ones they designed. She finally saw that many of the improvements were a result of suggestions made by your priests. You learned that your technology was much further advanced than what Avalon had developed. Allowing us to know about the Orion was not a threat to you because you knew your weapons were more powerful than anything on it.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“It took me some time to really figure out why you wanted us to go and fight against the Raiders and Earth. You really didn’t expect us to survive and you hoped Earth was successful in their conquests of all the known civilizations.”
The Head Servant stood up, “We are against war! You’re being disrespectful to his Holiness!”
Grant looked at the Servant, “Am I?” He turned to the High Priest, “You were also hoping we wouldn’t be able to stop the new Invaders from finding and destroying Earth.”
The Servant reached for the blaster under his robe and Grant snatched it out and hit the Servant in the center of his chest with the flat of his hand. The Servant hit the floor struggling for breath. Grant stared at the High Priest as he raised his hands and tossed him the bla
ster. He caught the blaster and shook his head, “Hold your fire unless I order it.”
Two Priests rushed forward and began massaging the Servant’s chest and after a few minutes he managed to catch his breath and struggle to a sitting position. Grant looked at him and then turned to the High Priest, “There are some things you don’t know that will impact your plans. I came here to tell you what they are.”
“Do you honestly thing you know anything of value?”
“Did you notice how fast I disarmed your Head Servant?” The High Priest stared at Grant in silence. “Neither Cinny or I could move that fast when you were training us here. We discovered after we were killed the first time that there were blocks put in us by Earth to prevent us from using all of our genetic talents. Honestly, I could kill you and everyone in this chamber and you’d not be able to do anything to stop me.”
“Then tell me why I shouldn’t order my guards to kill you now?”
“Because it would result in your death. You also have come to the realization that if I were here to kill you, I’d have already done it. So why don’t we put aside this childish notion of who has the biggest stick.”
The Head Servant grunted, “You deserve to die for your disrespect.”
Grant snorted, “He doesn’t deserve respect.”
The Head Servant tried to stand and the High Priest said with deliberation, “You will remain where you are!” He looked at Grant, “I allowed you to come to my home. Don’t you have any manners?”
“I’m actually being very polite under the circumstances.” He looked at the Head Servant and said, “If you disagree with me after we finish this dialogue, I’ll apologize. However, wait until you’ve heard it all.” Grant turned back to the High Priest. “I wondered why the Choten-Zan had probes at all the known civilizations. What sense did it make? You couldn’t do anything to force them to follow your will but I understand that numerous civilizations challenged the Raiders when they placed a probe here. Why would they do that?”
“Perhaps they respect us, unlike you.”
“Or, they feared you.”