Finding keepers a-7

by Andrew, Saxon

  Valerie stood and walked in front of the desk she was sitting, “There is something that all of you can do to help you survive if your planet is attacked. I want every citizen on every planet to have their teleport doors programmed with a location off-planet; preferably out of your galaxy. If you are going to be attacked by these creatures, go to the nearest terminal and teleport away. We are going to provide a list of open planets that you may want to consider for your escape. Check your terminals and there will be a list of places for each planet to use to avoid overcrowding. We are doing our best to delay these creatures, but we want to be prepared in the event that the worst happens. Please listen to the Stars Realm’s Representative from your local government and follow their instructions. The Stars Realm Military and the Royal Family are doing everything possible to protect you, and I thank you in advance for your support. Thank you for your attention.”

  Valerie stepped away from the desk and heard the news announcers cut in and tell the Stars Realm about their new Queen. The Realm learned that Valerie’s psychic abilities were the greatest in the Realm’s history, and that the Royal Family was unanimous in selecting her to rule during this time of emergency. She turned the monitor off and sat down. She wondered what Jake was doing.

  Jake was standing in the middle of a room with nothing on while he was being scanned by a huge machine. It was cold, and he was shivering. “Please be still during the scan.” He could hear Valerie in the next room making the announcement about the coming invasion and he was impressed with how well she handled herself. Then he heard, “Please raise your arms out to your sides.” He raised his arms and then heard, “Palms up, please.” He turned his palms toward the ceiling. “Now down.” He turned them toward the floor. This exercise had been going on for an hour and he had forgotten how many positions he was made to get into. Then he heard, “Ok, that’s it. You can get dressed.

  Jake stretched and then began putting his clothes back on. A Stars Realm Colonel came in and said, “You did very well; we should have your armor momentarily.”

  Jake started, “Tell me, Colonel, why was the Admiral so against me being given armor?”

  The Colonel stared at Jake and finally said, “You are being given one of the most powerful weapons the Realm has in its inventory. We do not give armor to anyone that has not passed our screens.”

  “You could always take it back.”

  The Colonel shook his head slowly, “The only way to take it back is to kill the one wearing it.”

  “What?!?”

  “The armor becomes part of your DNA and will always be a part of you. It is not something that can be removed.”

  “I thought you had to put it on or something.”

  “Mr. Talant, I want you to raise your right arm and salute me.”

  Jake looked puzzled but he saluted the Colonel.

  Now I want you to raise your left arm and grip the little and ring fingers of your right hand, but do not stop saluting.”

  Jake did as he was told, and as soon as he gripped the two fingers he felt a small shock over his entire body. Then he noticed that he was looking through a face plate with all kinds of readouts along the outer edges. When he looked at one of them, it grew larger.

  “Mr. Talant, come take a look at yourself.”

  Jake saw a mirror on the wall behind him, and he turned and saw himself. “Oh my great aunt! What happened?”

  Jake saw a red colored, shiny surfaced, coating covering his entire body. His head had a helmet that was no wider than his ears, but had a protruding front face plate that was opaque. There were no seams anywhere but when he bent his arm, the coating moved with the motion. The coating appeared to be constantly in motion with shifting different red hues.

  “My name is Manuel Busigleore. I am going to try and train you on your armor in the little time we have remaining before you leave. I wish we could go out and use it on live targets, but just teaching you all it can do will take up every minute.”

  “How do I get out of it, Colonel?”

  “You see down in the lower right corner of your faceplate a shape of a human body?”

  Jake looked and as he directed his attention to the lower right corner the various symbols grew larger. “Yes, I see it.”

  “Look at it and say “Off”.

  Jake said, “Off” and the armor disappeared. “Wow! Colonel, that is amazing.”

  “Call me Manny, but for right now I want you to go lay down on that couch in the far corner and put on the headband.”

  “Is this going to be another download?”

  Manny smiled, “Oh; you’ve seen how downloading works? Where did you get a download?”

  Jake smiled, “In the castle’s library.”

  “Well, this is going to be a little more intense than that.”

  Jake said, “Uh oh! I don’t know if I like that grin you’re wearing.”

  “I’ve always said be careful what you ask for; it may not be what you want.”

  “What exactly is going to happen, Manny?”

  “You are going to get the full download over the next twenty hours we normally do over a six week period. You will probably be somewhat sore when you wake.”

  Jake stared at Manny, “Why?”

  “Because your armor is going to be making connections to every nerve in your body and then testing each connection, Mr. Talant. Fortunately, you’ll be asleep. We will also be fitting the device to mask your telepathy at the same time.”

  Jake had a sick look on his face, “This is going to hurt, isn’t it?”

  Manny smiled again, “Be careful what you ask for, Jake. Now come lay down.”

  Jake sat down on the couch and saw ten technicians come in and surround him. Jake looked at Manny as he lay down and saw him shaking his head. Jake remembered what Cynthia said, “Oh, this is not going to be good.” A technician put the band around his head and he lost consciousness.

  Valerie looked across the table in her personal quarters at Cynthia Dodd. Cynthia had been called in for an audience with the Queen and she was uncertain about what to expect. Valerie said, “Are you always this nervous?”

  “Up until the events at the casino I was quite the happy-go-lucky individual.”

  Valerie nodded, “Things change quickly, don’t they?”

  Cynthia nodded.

  “Well I have you here for a reason. You are going to take Jake and go to that planet where the Searcher was killed. Those creatures that killed her are preparing to come and find us.”

  Cynthia was even more nervous after hearing that bit of information, “Is there anything we can do against them?”

  Valerie shook her head, “No, it is going to be up to Jake to save us.” Cynthia looked skeptical. Valerie continued, “He must find his initiator, and I believe she is in the Human population on that planet. Jake must go down to the surface and see if he can find her. I wish there was a safer way to make this happen, but there isn’t. You’re going to make sure he doesn’t get hurt.”

  “Just how am I going to do that, Your Majesty?”

  “At the first sign of him being captured or harmed, you will teleport him to your ship and teleport away.”

  Cynthia furrowed her brow, “It is my understanding that we were not to reveal any of our advanced technology around these creatures.”

  “Ordinarily that would be true, but not in this case. Cynthia, we are going to be conquered and put into communities just like that planet you’ve seen in their universe. This will happen after more than seventy percent of our population is stunned and transported to their worlds for consumption.”

  Cynthia was shocked, “How do you know this?”

  “I have seen all the possible futures that await us and in everyone we are defeated except the future where Jake finds his initiator. I have not seen what he does to save us, but I know he does. We cannot lose him. He must be protected at all costs.”

  Cynthia looked Valerie in the eyes, “Even if I have to give my life to protect him.�
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  Valerie sighed heavily, “Cynthia, I would gladly die to protect him. He’s that important to our survival.”

  “Just why is he so important?”

  Valerie got a faraway look in her eyes, “Because he will find the Gardners.”

  Cynthia had also downloaded the history of the Stars Realm and her eyes grew wide, “Are they still alive?”

  “Yes.”

  Jake opened his eyes and saw Manny looking into his faceplate, “I feel like eight miles of washed out bad terrain.” Every part of Jake’s body was screaming pain.

  Manny sighed and said, “I told the Royal Family that I wouldn’t put my worst enemy through what you’ve just endured, followed by what happens next. However, you must get up and start moving now. The pain will start to diminish over the next few hours. You’ve got to use your systems immediately after they’ve been connected. We have a set up a course for you to use your armor.”

  “Manny, I don’t think I can move.”

  “Just tell your armor to get up.”

  Jake was in torment, but he thought, “Get up.” His armor stood and held him erect. Jake couldn’t do much but just lean on it from the inside. Jake noticed his legs began to hurt slightly less as he took two stumbling steps.

  Manny pressed his bracelet and the two of them were teleported to a valley filled with a forest and lush vegetation. Manny noticed that Jake was swaying and he activated his armor and helped Jake stand. “Now listen to me, Jake. We set this valley up for you to trial your weapons. It is very much like the valley in which those three communities are located, and the landscape is almost identical. I can’t offer you any suggestions on how to use the various systems you now have because you don’t have enough time for me to go through all of them with you. Your downloads should allow you to pick the most appropriate tool, but you must find them quickly on your own. We have set up various ambushes and you’ve got to get through them and arrive at that peak on the other side of the valley in less than an hour.”

  Jake looked across the valley and saw the peak Manny indicated, and immediately saw on his display that it was forty miles away. “Manny, I can barely move.”

  Manny looked at Jake and slowly shook his head, “I’m honestly shocked that you stood up. I know that some of our warriors, not many of them, have an affinity for their systems and they use them almost like they were born to it. If you try to think your way to that peak you will not make it. You must quit thinking and just react to whatever you encounter. You almost have to become a passenger and let your armor’s download make your decisions. Do you understand?”

  Jake nodded.

  “No warrior has made it through this simulation the first time and they had six weeks to learn their systems, something which you do not have to help you. It is a just a simulation and all the weapons are designed not to kill or injure, but if one of the ambushers hits your armor with a solid strike your system will stop you wherever you are. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  “I will be following you keeping track of your actions to offer feedback afterwards. My armor will not be seen by the various devices in the valley. Are you ready?”

  “Of course not, but that isn’t going to stop this from happening.”

  Manny nodded and said, “You will start in ten seconds.”

  Jake looked out at the valley and decided to go down the peak he was standing on by jumping off the cliff into the trees below. It was only about two thousand feet. Jake wondered how he had come up with that plan, then he heard Manny say, “Go!” Jake turned on his armor’s weapons mode, jumped off the peak, and fell toward the ground far below.

  Manny watched him fall, “Now that’s unexpected.” He knew there were several ambushers in the trees below but it would be difficult, if not impossible, to see Jake through the tree’s canopy. His armor had been set to see Jake’s armor through the dense foliage and he watched as Jake picked up speed as he fell.

  As Jake started falling, something happened to his perceptions. He felt a small shock and everything slowed down. He felt like he was falling very slowly toward the ground and he noticed a bird flying over the trees below him that appeared to be almost stationary. He looked at the ground below and saw eight thin black lines extending from his faceplate into the trees below. Without thinking he raised his right arm and activated his arm projector, which immediately fired a small wasp at each of those black lines. He watched as the wasps took off at normal speed as he continued to fall slowly. Each of the small projectiles followed the black line straight into the trees without veering. As they struck, a bright red light appeared. He heard Manny say over his com, “Each time you hit an ambusher, a red strobe light will go off indicating that they have been eliminated from the simulation.”

  Manny had jumped behind Jake and had used his armors jets to fall slowly to the ground. He saw Jake, falling quickly and picking up speed, fire the small wasps and was amazed at his accuracy. He also noticed that he could not see those ambushers; he wondered how Jake could.

  Jake saw the ground coming up, so he pushed his armor’s jets to max power and came to a halt on the ground. Jake was wondering just how he had timed that jet burst so exactly. He suddenly turned sideways and watched as a small wasp went by his right shoulder. He saw it coming. It was moving so slowly that he could have reached out and plucked it out of the air. “This is not part of the armor’s systems,” he thought. He began moving to the left at a fast pace, then realized this must be part of his psychic ability which had come out due to the stress he was experiencing. Valerie said that some of his skills may emerge if he was stressed enough. He also noticed that he no longer felt any pain.

  His sensors tracked the wasp back to its source and saw the ambusher standing behind a tree. He saw another black line between him and the attacker and fired another wasp. He looked away from the wasp he had fired and began running. He saw nine more black lines going out into the forest in front of him. He heard his sensor unit announce, “Attacker hit,” as he raised his left arm and fired nine rounds out of his auto cannon; one for each black line. He saw numerous rounds of projectiles coming towards him, along with twenty wasps. He moved to the right quickly and saw a dark shadow coming up to about three feet off the ground. He dove and rolled into the shadow. The projectiles and wasps all passed overhead; he came to his feet running.

  Manny followed Jake and saw the ambusher’s red lights going off so fast that it was hard to keep track of them. He was amazed at the speed Jake was making and he knew that Armor was not designed to travel that fast. What was going on here?

  Jake saw a black line over his head and he fired a hornet at it. An armed floater came roaring up and the hornet hit it, causing a bright red flash. The floater stopped and moved away from the exercise, having been deemed destroyed.

  Jake saw ambushers on all sides, but no black lines. He felt like he was moving at normal speed, but their motions seemed to be taking place in extremely slow motion. He saw that he had passed those on either side before they could target their weapons.

  Jake saw another black shadow ahead six feet off the ground. He jumped and entered the shadow just as a volley of slugs passed under it. He grabbed a light grenade off his armor as it rose up out of his chest plate and tossed it at the weapons platform hidden in the trees to his left.

  The ambushers manning the platform fired at the approaching target, but it was moving faster than their sensors could track. The gunner tried to sight visually but could not keep up with the speed of the approaching figure. He decided to fire a spray of projectiles in front of the oncoming target. Suddenly an object came at them and hit at the base of the platform, covering it in red light. The platform’s red light activated and they were out of the exercise. The gunner commed, “Platform Alpha is out.”

  Manny commed, “What happened?”

  “I don’t know Colonel. Whoever that warrior is, he’s moving faster than any armor I’ve ever seen. He somehow sensed our targeting and mov
ed out of our sights faster than we could fire. He just hit us with a light grenade and then passed us before the grenade went off.”

  Manny tried to keep up with Jake, but he could see red lights being activated more than four miles in front of him. This was impossible.

  Jake moved through the forest and fired his weapons every time a black line appeared. If he saw a shadow he moved into it, then ran toward the shadows ahead of him. He knew his armor could run at sixty miles per hour on open ground, but he saw that he was moving much faster than sixty in dense forest. He finally emerged from the forest and climbed the peak. He covered the forty miles in less than twenty minutes. He realized that he had traveled faster than a hundred miles per hour, but to his senses he was moving normal speed. He saw everything around him start speeding up, then he sat down on the ground as his pain returned with a vengeance.

  Manny jumped on his armor’s jets and arrived at the peak right after Jake sat down. “What did you just do? There’s no way your armor could have moved that fast. Also, according to my sensors, you didn’t miss a shot. Quite frankly, that’s impossible.”

  Jake looked up at Manny, “I think the stress of this simulation released a psychic ability. I have no idea how I did it.”

  Manny stared at Jake, “Well, your armor training is over. I think there’s nothing we can do to improve on what you’ve just accomplished. How do you feel?”

  “If there’s a part of me that doesn’t hurt, I’ve been unable to find it.”

  Manny raised his com, “Bring a floater to my location and take Mr. Talant to the corps hospital.” Jake looked up. “Mr. Talant, we can give you something for your pain now. We couldn’t do it before this exercise because it would have affected your reaction times.”

  Jake nodded, turned off his armor, then his eyes glazed over and he fell back unconscious. Manny took a reading of the energy used by Jake’s armor and discovered that it was still at a hundred percent. If Manny had not witnessed what Jake had done he would never believe it. This was just not possible.