Finding keepers a-7

by Andrew, Saxon

  “We have already gone. I was talking about you.”

  Jake smiled, “Good. I have a family that needs your protection.”

  Valerie looked at Jake and said, “Jake what are you talking about? You have me totally confused.”

  Jake sighed and said, “Ross is going to be attacked in about an hour by more than twenty million Searcher Class ships. Sprig’s galaxy was going to be attacked by ten million ships.”

  The silence was deafening. Then everyone started talking at once. AG sent a thought to everyone present, “SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!”

  Matt and Melanie were stunned by the power of that thought.

  “Thank you, AG. How long have you known about this?”

  “Sprig, I saw it before we entered the Kosiev.”

  AG’s statement silenced the Gardners.

  Jake turned back to the group. “Ordinarily I would have just gone through with my plans but I knew that if I did, you would have done something I wanted to avoid.”

  Tag asked, “What did you not want us to do?”

  Jake looked at him and said, “Prevent the destruction of the Stars Realm.”

  Joe looked at Valerie and said, “That sounds like treason to me, Jake.”

  AG looked at Joe and shook her head and whispered, “You must listen.”

  Tag said, “You must know we would never let that happen.”

  “That’s why we’re here having this discussion. It’s your fault that it’s happening.”

  Tag started getting angry, “Where do you get off making that accusation?”

  Sprig said, “Because it’s true.”

  Danielle put her hand on Tag’s arm and said, “Perhaps we need to hear what they’re trying to tell us?”

  Jake looked at Valerie and said, “I’m sorry, but I was not sent to save the Realm. I was sent to save you.” He turned back to the Gardners and said, “The Realm has been on the path to meltdown for more than eight thousand years and once the process started, there was no stopping it.”

  Cassandra said, “Oh, we can stop it.”

  “That’s what I’m trying to get you to avoid. If it weren’t for the Alexander Kosiev, I would have just ignored you. But I believe you could use it and destroy all the ships being sent against Ross and the Algeans. Cassandra I need you to ask it to delay and hear what I have to say before it decides to act.”

  They all heard, “I took an oath to destroy all enemies of the Stars Realm both foreign and domestic. I will be going to destroy those ships momentarily.”

  “What if the enemy is the Stars Realm?”

  Cassandra said, “Alex, you might want to hear what he has to say before you take any action.”

  “I will, but you’d better hurry it up. Those ships are forming up and will be here in fifty minutes.”

  Danielle asked, “How was this our fault?”

  “Because you were lazy and took the easy way out.”

  AG nodded, and Melanie and Danielle heard the truth in Jake’s statement.

  “You decided that you didn’t want to wait until the war with the Keepers started. You abandoned the Realm. You walked into the skin of the Kosiev and arrived thirteen thousand years later. Just like the Keepers, you took the heart of the Realm and removed it. You assumed everything would be fine and that the new leaders of the Realm would continue the ideals of the Realm without you. You were short sighted, foolish, and self-serving in your actions. You also created the structure for the Realm to self-destruct.”

  Tag said, “All of the Leaders of the Realm that replaced us had great psychic skills. They did a great job.”

  Jake shook his head, “That was your first mistake. You assumed that anyone with strong psychic power would be good. Did it ever dawn on you that the two most powerful enemies the Realm faced, the Eight Legs and Demons, were also psychic? Their main form of communication was telepathy. Even the Keepers were connected telepathically. Those Leaders you left behind ruled for their thousand year tenure, and they selected their successors who were often selected to continue their power. Those successors forced Sprig off the throne and put the real power and influence over the Realm’s members into the five provincial rulers. They changed the Realm’s history and the direction in which it was moving after you left.”

  Tag looked at Sprig and saw him lean right with his agreement.

  Jake continued, “The biggest mistake you made was dividing the Realm into five provinces with your family ruling them.”

  “We had to do that to save the Realm!”

  “No you didn’t, Matt! You could have each taken Searchers and Red Warriors and assumed the responsibility for a sector without actually segmenting the Realm. You created five mini-Realms with five ambitious Dukes that gazed at Ross and longed for the Crown. You divided the Realm and lost the cohesion that held it together with a common bond. Now you had five ambitious Dukes sabotaging anything the Realm did and putting a different slant on its intentions. They painted the Realm as heavy handed in their lust for the Crown. The Dukes also applied pressure such that the Ruler of the Realm was not always the strongest choice for the succession. It was the Dukes that got the Government on Ross to vote that the Star’s Realm King or Queen could only serve for a thousand years. They used the structure you set up for the Provinces and said that was what you intended. You weren’t here to dispute their claim. Sprig was forced to choose a successor and the Algeans knew at that moment that the Realm, the real Realm, was a thing of the past.”

  Danielle said, “I see it, now.”

  “You don’t see all of it, Danielle. You’re missing the part about how peace destroyed the very spirit the Realm was founded on.”

  Danielle furrowed her brow and then said, “If we stop this rebellion we will destroy everything the Realm has stood for.”

  “Now you see it.”

  Tommy looked at Danielle, “Mom, what are you saying?”

  Danielle sighed heavily and started crying, “We didn’t know. We just didn’t know.”

  Tag put his arm around her and turned to Jake, “Please, help me understand.”

  Jake sat down and took a deep breath. “We’ve had thirteen thousand years of peace since the Demons were defeated. Do you know what happens when you never know war or conflict? You forget the price that was paid for that peace. You also develop disgust for anyone associated with the military. The early wars of the Realm were erased from the Realm’s history because the Realm’s population viewed those wars as tools for power mad beings to take control over every planet it could conquer. This view was promoted by the Dukes.”

  “Why did they get that notion?”

  “Joe, the history was removed to prevent the Realm from feeling disgust for the savagery and conquests of the founders of the Stars Realm.”

  Tag said, “What do you mean?!?”

  “The Realm has enforced its peace on all the millions of members. They have never experienced the fear of being killed or destroyed until the Keepers arrived, and they view that early history differently that those that were there to witness it. They ask, why does the Realm need a huge military complex if there has been no one to attack the Realm? They read the history and saw Humans living on just one planet attacking two civilizations and forcing them to join their government.”

  “That’s not what happened!”

  “That depends on your point of view, Tommy. Did the Cainth really have a choice about joining you? What would you have done if the Cainth had not decided to make Earth a Clan Member? You were there with a fleet to blow them back into the Stone Age. There was no real choice. Join or die.”

  Tommy said, “That’s not the way it happened.”

  “Remember, they look at the facts, not the underlying forces. Then these Humans, with their two allies, defeat an Alliance of more than 800 planets, to take power over them, so they can attack the Algean Galaxy.”

  “Sprig, you know that’s not true.”

  “Cassandra, it’s not what I know to be true. History asks this qu
estion, “Did the Algeans attack you first, or did you invade my galaxy and conquer us? They also see that you threatened to destroy our only remaining natural food if we didn’t yield to your forces. They weren’t there to see the debt we owed you for giving us our lives back from the never-ending hunger that was our daily meal. That part was removed from the history of our war. The Provinces view the Realm as the aggressor.”

  Jake nodded, “The people of the Realm saw Ultimate Warriors in the Gardner Family. Warriors that had the reputation of being unbeatable and endowed with mental powers that none could survive. They know the power of the Algeans, yet the Stars Realm’s military, with a fleet less than a thousandth of their ships, brought them to their knees. The members of the Realm feared what the Realm was at its founding. The defeat of the Eight Legs and Demons only solidified their belief that the Realm was forced on them.”

  Joe asked, “How did they possibly think that they were forced into the Realm?”

  Danielle quit sobbing and said, “We told them to join the Realm or we wouldn’t protect them from the Eight Leg invasion. The people saw the Realm using the invasion to expand our power. Planets were forced to join the Realm in order to survive. It was just another example of what we forced on the Cainth.”

  Jake nodded, “And once they were members of the Realm, we would not allow them to step out of line or they would see the business end of our ships. We have stepped in thousands of times to prevent planets from attacking their neighbors. We’ve also prevented the provinces from attacking each other.”

  “But that was to maintain peace.”

  “No, Melanie, the provinces viewed that as a way to enforce the Realm’s control over them.” Jake looked at the Gardners and said, “And the ones that could teach them about the importance of those early conflicts were gone. The beings that lost loved ones to save the Realm’s members were absent. The ones that the trillions of citizens respected and loved were nowhere to be found. And no one knew why you left.

  “You abandoned your legacy and left it to the whims of historians that hated anything warrior. Historians that never faced the horror and death associated with survival. They viewed your wars as the grasping of power. The five provinces began selecting their own Searchers for their fleets and those Searchers owed allegiance to the province, not the Crown. The millions of planets actually looked at their provincial governments as a shield against the Crown’s dictatorial edicts. The provincial Searcher’s and Red Warriors no longer go to Glod to grip the two swords. They no longer have the Crown and SR on their ships. Now they are coming to destroy the Royal Family that has exercised its will on them for thousands of years. They are coming to fight for their freedom from a Ruler far removed from their daily lives. “

  Cassandra started crying, “I’m the one to blame. I didn’t want to wait the long years until the Keepers invaded. I just couldn’t bear the worry of waiting so long.”

  Jake stared at Cassandra and then looked at Tommy. Jake decided they needed to know the whole truth. “It was your fault, Cassandra and you made that decision based on faulty information. You had it all wrong.”

  Tommy looked angry, “How do you stand there and say that?”

  “Because it’s true. Why were you so reluctant to wait the long years? Was it because of the stress and fear you lived with every day waiting for Matt to come?”

  Cassandra looked up and nodded.

  “But that stress came from not being able to control your psychic powers. That problem had been eliminated with Matt’s arrival.”

  Jake turned to Tag and Danielle, “The two of you ruled during those years. Were they unbearable?”

  Tag looked at Danielle and said, “No, they were the most exciting time of our lives. We knew the Eight Legs were coming and we led the creation of the Searchers and the search for other worlds to defend.”

  Jake looked back at Tommy and Cassandra, “This time would have been no different. Your family would have energized the Realm and begin working on possible weapons to use against the coming invaders. Instead you took the easy way out and the Star’s Realm not only lost its way, it also lost thirteen thousand years of time to develop a defense against the Keepers. This time would have been happy and exciting for all of you.”

  The Gardners finally saw it. Sprig could see and feel their sadness.

  Jake stood up and turned toward the maps of the galaxies covering the walls. “And now, if you send the Alexander Kosiev out to destroy the attackers, their beliefs will be proven to be true. You will prove yourselves to be nothing but warriors and tyrants maintaining your power. They will all fear the Realm and will one day rise up in rebellion. Ross will ultimately be destroyed when one ship eventually gets close enough to fire on the planet, and the Realm will celebrate its independence.

  “Manny told me that there were more than five hundred Searchers in the Brez Division alone that owed their loyalty to one of the Provinces. All it would take is for one of those ships to get close enough to Ross and the Royal Family will be gone and a foot note in history.”

  Jake turned around and looked at the Garners, “You will have no choice but to enforce peace among the members, and you’ll become the dictators they think you are.”

  Tag looked at Jake and said, “I just can’t stand by and watch the Stars Realm commit suicide.”

  “The real Stars Realm is not in danger.”

  Matt said, “But you just said Ross is going to be attacked.”

  Jake walked over and took Valerie’s hand and pulled her up out of her chair, “This is the Star’s Realm.” He looked at Tag and Danielle and said, “Do you not remember what Tgon-gee said at the founding of the Realm?”

  Tag and Danielle looked at each other and shook their head.

  “He said ‘The Queen is what will unite us. We will handle our own worlds, but she will decide all issues between us. She will not be an honorary Queen but one that rules us all.’”

  Danielle smiled, “I was petrified at the responsibility.”

  Jake looked at Valerie and she could see his love, “The chosen ruler of the Realm is the Stars Realm embodied in one person. Without the chosen Ruler of the Realm, there is no Realm. Every planet in this universe knows that if the Royal Family is eliminated, the Stars Realm will be destroyed.”

  Jake looked at Tag and Danielle, “Danielle, what would you have done if the worlds you ruled decided they did not want you as Queen?”

  “I would have sent them on their way and wished them luck.”

  “What if they weren’t allowed to go their own way, but were instead forced to remain?”

  Danielle thought for a long moment and said, “I just can’t envision the Stars Realm I love doing that. We should never force anyone to be in the Realm.”

  Jake said, “The members of the five provinces decided centuries ago to handle their own affairs and no longer accept the rule of the Stars Realm’s monarch. However, they were given no choice because of the Realm’s Fleet and Red Warriors. No one was willing to face the consequences of doing anything that would bring that might down on them. If you destroy those ships, you’re sending the message that membership is not optional.”

  Jake paused. “Now, they see the war we just fought as another attempt by the Queen to expand her control into other universes. The Keepers didn’t come here first. We sent one of our newest and most powerful warships into their space to spy on them and, as a result of our action, they attacked our innocent planets out of self-defense. Now that the Keepers have been exterminated, their fear becomes monumental. The Realm now feels that the tyrants on Ross must be stopped before their lives are threatened again. The rulers of the provinces are playing to their fears. Two of the Dukes have been deliberately killed; one by the Realm and one by Ales Jongo. We were forced to do it in self-defense and Jongo for in his lust for power. In both instances, billions died. To protect the Royal Family from the Five Provinces, trillions will have to die. I’m not prepared to do that, are you?”

  J
ake looked at the silent group considering his words and continued; “Now, the provinces are sending thirty million ships to destroy the Rulers of the Realm and the Realm’s tool makers. Sprig knew this was coming and made plans to save his species. He no longer trusted the Realm’s leaders to do the right thing, and he was right to do so. The Spiders also saw what was coming and could not take part in the coming civil war. They will not kill again after their destruction of so many universes. The Algeans also knew that stopping the founders of the Stars Realm from preventing the coming civil war was impossible. They knew you would take action to preserve the Realm you created. They saw the civil war that would follow would be unimaginable. They both knew that if you did use the Kosiev to attack the traitors, the consequences would be catastrophic.”

  Cassandra was clearly distraught, “Jake, how can we stand by and allow billions to die?”

  “The same way we sat and watched Ulmerton die at the hands of the Keepers. The same way you allow a child to fall and hurt itself while learning to walk. The Algeans and Spiders will never take part in killing another creature. They build the Realm’s weapons because they saw the Realm as a peace maker that would never use them inappropriately. They also began to see long ago that the Realm was turning into something that made them fear the possible uses of their creations.” Jake paused, “The Algeans have been building those weapons so that if the Realm should ever forget its ideals, the weapons could no longer be used.”

  Everyone in the room looked at Sprig and he leaned right showing his agreement.

  “Now, as a result of their actions, the provinces forfeit the Realm’s protection and are no longer in the Realm. They want freedom, they will have it. The only territory remaining loyal to the Stars Realm’s Queen, Valerie Rose Gardner, is the territory she rules. This galaxy is the Stars Realm’s holy ground and always has been. It is the only place the Realm actually rules. All the other galaxies now belong to other kingdoms. This galaxy is where eight hundred planets begged to be allowed to join the Realm. Those planets knew the horror of war. This is where the Cainth and Glod gave their eternal allegiance to the Queen. This galaxy is the Queen’s Royal Fief and we are not going to allow it to come to harm.”