by Saxon Andrew
“No, I don’t.”
“Is there anything you know?”
“I know something big is happening and we’re out of the loop. Several of the Bristone Allies are also starting ship construction and they’re moving to a wartime footing.”
“Is your source absolutely certain this is not directed toward attacking the Realm?!”
“He is, Thele.”
“Then there’s another danger out there we don’t know anything about.”
“It does appear that is true.”
“It’s interesting that the Gardners show up and now there’s an immediate buildup of military forces in Bristone. Why have we not been contacted by them?”
“I suspect they know about our plans to exclude them from taking power.”
“How would they know about that?”
“They do have an Algean working with them who is telepathic. We’ve also been active in broadcasting the new law excluding any Royalty from ruling the Realm. It wouldn’t take a genius to see we are at odds with them.”
“But if there’s a real danger, wouldn’t they want to protect the Realm they founded?”
“Thele, they may no longer see the Realm as theirs. They may not feel the need to defend us any longer.” Thele was silent as he thought about it and Merele said, “They’ve also not contacted the Algeans. It may be that our attack on their former allies excludes them as well.”
“Do you really think there is a danger to us?”
“My source says the King’s fear is real. There’s also been sightings of the Zord and Cats at the castle.”
“Where are our Warships stored?”
“They’re in mothballs near a system ten-light year from Ross.”
“Start getting them activated and start a search for the necessary pilots to fly them.”
“The Algeans may not like that.”
“Then tell them to find out what’s going on and convince us they won’t be needed. We’ll gladly stop if they can offer us a reason not to do it.”
“Those ships are pretty old.”
“They’re better than no ships at all. Get moving and tell the Realm that we’re making improvements to better defend the Realm. There’s nothing for them to be concerned about.” Merele nodded and left the room.
Thele sat back and knew there was some sort of connection between the Cats and Zord that had to do with…with…danger. But he knew looking in the history books would be a waste of time. They had all been rewritten and he personally ordered all the old copies destroyed. What was it about the Zord and Cats? He struggled but couldn’t remember. He contacted Curan and he appeared on the monitor, “What’s up, Boss?”
“I need you to try and find an existing copy of the Realm’s history.”
“Just pull one up on your monitor.”
“I’m talking about the real history!”
“That’s not going to be easy. Every copy in every official location has been removed.”
“There must be a copy somewhere?”
“I’ll put our computer whizzes on it. They’ll start a search of all the citizens’ computers to see if any of them have a copy stored away.”
“I’d recommend starting with everyone even distantly related to the former Royals.”
“Good idea; they have more reason to keep one. I’ll get on it.”
Chapter Seven
“Your Majesty, we’re running into an issue with the Psychic Ships.”
“What is that, Carter?”
“You know that they operate by using psychic energy their crews possess. We’ve only found five-hundred Royal couples that barely have enough energy slightly to activate them.”
“Are you saying we can only build two-hundred and fifty of them?”
“Unless you can come up with another source of psychic energy.”
“Keep building them.”
“But…”
“If this is a Creation crisis, the crews will show up somehow. Our history has shown that to be true in the past and I have to depend on it happening.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Have we had any further contact from the Algeans.”
“No, we have not,” James answered.
“Good. Let me know if we do.”
• • •
Jabel looked up from the panel being installed in a console and said, “This circuit appears to be ready.”
“Why is it taking so long to get them done?”
“BC, we’ve never built these ships. The ones that built them originally are long gone and we’re having to learn as we go.”
“I thought the Zord understood electronics just by looking at them.”
“We can track the circuits and see how they function but there are thousands of them to learn. We’ll get better with each ship we build.”
“Do we know if the Gardners have found the menace?”
“They’ve not returned.”
“I hope they survive the effort.”
The Zord tilted its giant head, “If they don’t, then I don’t see much hope of us surviving. The Alexander Kosiev is the most dangerous warship in this universe.”
“That’s the other thing, Jabel. I need them to share the Kosiev’s technology with us to improve our weapon and defense systems.”
“I know. We can only wait until they show up. How are the Primes going?”
“They’re being built at a high rate. The autonomous robots are churning them out at a thousand-a-day.”
“Do we have enough pilots?”
“We do now. They’re not operated psychically like the old Searchers. The pilots are connected directly to the ship by Thought-Helmets like the Algean Warships. They function as well as the old psychic system.”
“Can the Psychic Ships use the same technique?”
“Ummm…that is a possibility. But the Psychic Blasters won’t work without a psychic crew.”
“Aren’t our new blasters as powerful as the old psychic blasters?”
“I think so.”
“If the Gardners will give us the diagrams for the universal and dimensional drives, they should be able to perform similar to what they once did.”
“I’m going to produce a new circuit to incorporate the Thought Helmets into the ships we’ve built and the ones we’re building. Do you think you and your crew can make the change?”
“If we have some time, it shouldn’t be an issue.”
“I’ll have them to you in four days.”
“Thanks, BC. They should make a big difference.”
Jabel went back to work and wondered where the thought about using the helmets had come from. He heard a sound of engines behind him and stood up. An ancient Searcher was landing in the cavernous landing bay and he heard, “Doesn’t anyone say hello anymore!?”
“GRACE!!” BC yelled with excitement.
“Hello, BC. If I were an enemy ship I could have waltzed right in and blown everything to hell and gone.”
“Sorry about that. We’re sort of busy. What brings you back here.”
“I’m looking for Alex.”
“He’s gone scouting for aliens with the Gardners. I thought you were with them.”
Grace sighed, “I left them a thousand-years ago to go out and do a little searching, myself. I grew weary of the constant wars the Gardners were fighting.”
“You’ve come back at a bad time. It appears we are amid a creational crisis.”
“What’s going on?” the computer asked.
“According to the Cats, another powerful force is going to invade.”
Grace paused before saying, “I wondered why I felt the need to come back. Now I think I understand. Tell me what you know.”
“I’ll update you while I’m working on a new circuit for the psychic ships we’re building.”
“What kind of circuit?”
“I’m going to put a Thought Helmet in line. There aren’t enough crews with psychic skills to fly them.”
“I encou
ntered a species on the other side of the known universe that use an insert to make those that aren’t telepathic able to communicate telepathically with those that are. The males don’t have telepathic skills and this insert makes it possible for them to communicate with the females directly.”
“Show me a diagram of this insert. Better yet, show it to Jabel.”
“Who is Jabel?”
A huge Zord walked up and said, “I am. What is this insert you’ve been talking about?”
A small robot walked out of the old searcher’s port and held out a small device. Jabel looked at it mentally and shook his head, “BC, this is far beyond our Thought Helmet’s technology.”
“Send me a diagram of the circuits.”
“Give me some time. This appears to operate much faster than the circuits in the helmets.”
BC was silent for a moment and then said, “I suspect you came back to bring us this.”
Grace chuckled, “Do tell.”
“We can use this in the Primes as well as the Psychic Ships. Welcome home, Grace.”
“Home isn’t here…yet.”
• • •
It was late and the Bridge was empty except for Danielle and Tag. Danielle stared at the monitor as a large fleet of Black Warships attacked a planet. She sighed and Tag asked, “What’s wrong?”
“If I knew what I know now, I would have never allowed Atlas to extend my life. All I’ve known is death and destruction.”
“But think about all the good we’ve done.”
“Let someone else do it! I’m weary of this. I miss all the old friends and my children. It’s not right that we outlived them.”
Tag lowered his head, “Who do you miss the most?”
“I miss Tommy and Rose so much. Casandra’s death put an end to that time in my life. Now they’re all gone.”
Tag nodded, “You’re right. I find that I really miss Kosiev. The popcorn we shared are some of my fondest memories. I also miss Dorg and Tgon-Gee.”
Danielle looked at him, “I didn’t intend to cause you to be depressed. I just…feel like I don’t belong here.”
“Do you know what bothers me the most?”
“No.”
“It’s the depravity of the Stars Realm. The attacks on the Cainth and Glod have removed any positive feelings I had for the Realm.”
“I know.”
“And I’ll tell you another thing that just crocks my pot. We get our universe in some semblance of order and now we have civilizations like that showing up!” Tag said as he pointed at the black ships on the monitor. “Whatever happened to the days when civilizations stayed home in their own universe?”
Tag paused and Danielle quickly interjected, “What’s really bothering you?”
“I heard in the Cat’s thoughts that it was going to force the King of Bristone to examine the Empire’s History during the time when it was attacked by the Demons.”
“I heard that as well.”
Tag looked at Danielle, “We’ve given our lives to making the stars Realm something that we can be proud of. The blood and tears shed to make sure it survived are beyond measure and now all that history is lost. Nothing remains of the great heroes that fought and died; all that remains in a false history made of fabrications built on lies and half-truths. When you lose your history, you lose yourself. The Stars Realm threw away their history along with everything that made it great. They have nowhere to go to provide them a moral compass.”
“At least Bristone kept theirs intact, Tag.”
“But their history didn’t even start until after we moved the three loyal galaxies to another dimension. The Realm had thousands of years of history before that and everyone important to the Realm’s survival have been erased and forgotten. They’ve even built a web of lies around us. I don’t want to admit it…but what we built so long ago died and is long gone.”
Tag stood up and walked up to the viewport. He stood there looking out and Danielle stood up and walked over beside him. She sighed and said, “I even miss the little shocks we once felt when we touched each other.”
Tag smiled, “That first one was a doozy.”
Danielle’s smile was immediate, “It unlocked our psychic skills. The shocks grew smaller and smaller until they disappeared.”
They both stared out of the viewport for a long time until Tag said, “I’ve always believed that we were created for a purpose. All the wars we’ve fought and the friends we’ve lost were fighting against civilizations that killed wantonly. I now believe that those civilizations will always be out there no matter how many we take on.” Danielle nodded as Tag continued. “We were blessed with talents that made a difference. Now…I wonder if I’m still up to this. I think one day you and I will be a footnote in history that is erased and forgotten.”
Danielle continued to stare out of the viewport and said, “One thing I don’t regret.”
“What is that?”
“My love for you has only grown larger over the thousands of years we’ve been together. You make each day bearable. She reached for his hand and suddenly jerked it away as both flew away from each other. They landed on the floor and Danielle yelled, “ALEX, GET US OUT OF HERE NOW!!”
The view on the monitor instantly changed as Black Ships began turning toward them. They arrived in another dimension as Alex asked loudly, “Where do you want to go!?”
“Get us back to our universe!!” Danielle replied.
Tag shook his head and tried to regain his senses, “Wha…what happened?”
“The shock is back! And it’s stronger than the first time!!”
“What does that mean?”
“How would I know?! I just know it’s back!”
Sprigly came running on the bridge, “WHAT’S GOING ON?”
Tag answered groggily, “We don’t know.”
“My psychic meter just blew apart in my lab.”
Danielle shook her head, “It appears Tag and I are now charged psychically. We almost made contact and that is what you saw in the meter. It also appears those Black Ships detected it.”
Sprigly looked out of the viewport and saw the darkness of dimensional space. “What are you going to do?”
“If we’re going to release this huge charge, we need to be in our own universe. I need some time to get my thoughts together to try and figure this out.”
Tag looked at Danielle and immediately saw some differences, “Your hair is blonder than I’ve ever seen it and your eyes are so blue they look like they’re on fire.”
Sprigly looked closely at Danielle, “He’s right. Something has changed.”
Alex interrupted them, “I’m not going directly back. The two of you stay away from each other until I make sure we aren’t being followed.”
“I thought we’ve determined they don’t have a dimensional drive, Alex.”
“Sprigly, take nothing for granted. If I’ve learned anything in these long years of fighting wars, it’s to always assume the worst and hope for the best. I’m taking the long way home.”
“That’s a good idea, Alex.”
Kogo and Dela came running on the bridge. Kogo looked at them and said, “I can hear the thoughts more clearly. Something has happened.”
“What are you hearing?” Tag asked.
“We should go back.”
Danielle nodded and said, “Don’t waste too much time, Alex.”
Sprigly helped Danielle to her feet as Kogo pulled Tag up from the floor. Kogo suddenly looked at Sprigly and said, “You need to do what you’ve been planning now before we arrive.”
“I don’t know if it’s safe?”
“I’ll be there to help you.”
“Are you sure, Kogo?”
“The voice is.”
Sprigly nodded and ran off the bridge. Kogo left right behind him. Danielle looked at Dela, and she said, “No, I have no idea what they’re talking about.” She turned and ran off the bridge behind them.
Tag looked at Danielle, “
What’s going on?”
Seedel still does not remember anything.”
“So?”
“Sprigly is going to try and release her.”
Tag stared at her and then understood. “Is this safe?”
“I really don’t know,” Danielle answered. “Alex, don’t go back until I let you know.”
“I thought you wanted me to get back as fast as possible?!”
“Things change.”
“Do they change that fast?”
“It appears they do, Alex.”
• • •
Sprigly arrived on his small vessel in the landing bay and found Seedel outside the ship with her feet buried in a depressed section in the floor filled with golden colored soil. Sprigly shook her and said, “I need to discuss something with you.”
Seedel shook her branches and came out of the process of organizing all the day’s events in her mind, “What’s going on?”
“How do you feel about me?”
“What?”
“It’s a simple question, Seedel; how do you feel about me?”
“You are…incredible. Your mind is the most remarkable I’ve ever encountered and all the things you know are…are…amazing. Why do you ask?”
“Is there someone you left behind.”
“What?”
“Is there someone you left that you are attached to?”
“No, the Elders would never allow that to happen. What’s going on, Sprigly.”
“I want you to unite with me.”
Seedel didn’t move for a long moment before saying, “Sprigly, I am in no way qualified to be your mate. The Elders would never approve our joining and you deserve someone with a much higher standing in our community.”
“Name anyone whose parents were Senior Elders.” Seedel tilted left showing her confusion and Sprigly said, “You are your parent’s memories. I knew them and I know how great they were among our people. By uniting, your memories will be released and you will know everything I know.”
“So, you want to do this to gain access to my memories?”
“No! I want to do this because I’ve come to admire you over the time you’ve been here and I know there’s no one else that would ever gain my attention. I fought against telling you this because I thought you’d not believe me. I was going to give it more time to allow you to decide that you wanted me as much as I want to be united with you.”