by Saxon Andrew
“I’m going to use my favored status with you to ask for some of your protectors.”
Trey smiled, “Now you know that my two Father’s would not appreciate me giving you preferential treatment.”
“I know, but I have a valid reason for my request that they can’t match.”
Trey tilted his head to the right and smiled, “What would that be?”
“My Division is the first to leave for another universe and I barely have enough time to get your protectors acclimated to their units.”
Trey’s expression turned serious, “When are you leaving?”
“The Scouts are jumping out in two weeks and the remainder of the Division two weeks later.”
“Why are you rushing this?”
TK looked at Trey and shook her head slightly, “I’m not sure, Trey; but I sense a need to do it quickly. I just get a feeling that…I don’t know; I can’t explain it.”
Trey thought about TK leaving with her Division and looked at the level of danger. He then thought about her delaying her departure and his sense of danger increased, “You’re right; something is going on in that universe that is important for our survival. You can take all but ten of them.”
“What do you sense?”
“There is something dangerous there. You need to be careful and make sure you’re not traced back here. How many Scout Units do you have?”
“Eighty at the moment.”
“Then take eighty of the Protectors and assign them to their commands today. I’ll keep twenty here to start training the next hundred on the list.” Trey paused, “Who is in overall command of your scouts?”
“I am.”
Trey shook his head, “That’s not going to work. You’re going to have to stay here to get the main body of flyers ready. It’s not good tactics to force your troops to have to contact you in another universe to get approval for their actions or questions answered. I have someone here that has been instrumental in training the Protectors and he will assume command of your scouts as an advisor. I know you’ll be pleasantly surprised at his abilities.”
TK thought about giving up command of her troops to a stranger but Trey had made some good points, “Who is he?”
Trey turned and said, “Here he comes now.”
TK turned and saw a handsome young man walking toward her. He smiled and she recognized him, “You’ve grown up.”
“It couldn’t be avoided; time has a way of doing that.”
Trey saw that the two knew each other, “This is…”
TK interrupted, “Paul Blake.”
Trey heard the way she said it and knew, “It appears your time has come.”
Paul never took his eyes off TK as he said, “Yes, it has.”
TK ran forward and wrapped her arms around Paul’s neck and an incredibly bright blue flash jumped out of them. Paul smiled, “I’ve looked forward to this day since your Father’s birthday.”
“I’ve forced myself to not even think about it.”
Paul looked at Trey, “Your sense is right. There is a species in that universe that must be slowed down in their conquests.”
Trey and TK looked at each other and Trey said, “Do you see them?”
“I do. You should also get either Grang’s or Jingo’s Division ready to follow up on the initial incursion.”
TK held Paul tight and said, “Perhaps you should be in overall command and I should go with the Scouts; I can see your abilities are more advanced than mine.”
Paul laughed, “Your Flyers love you. You would only hurt their moral to make that change. Think about it for a moment and you’ll see it.”
TK closed her eyes and after a moment opened them, “You’re right.”
Paul turned to Trey and said, “You need to get the Protectors that are being reassigned moving so they can get their units ready. We barely have enough time.”
“Barely enough time for what?”
Paul looked at TK and said, “Why, to have a wedding before we leave.”
TK’s smile was dazzling and Trey knew that his time was still several years away. He really envied them as he watched the two nineteen year olds walk away to be alone for the first time. He shook his head and sent a thought to Jingo and Grang, “Fathers, it looks like it’s back to war. Please plan to meet with TK in an hour.” He watched as TK put her arms around Paul’s waist as they walked away and he smiled, “Better make it five hours.”
Vring watched as another ship melted in the star’s outer corona, “This is not going to work. Weed leaned back and said, “It appears you’re probably right.”
Eight ships had been burned in the effort to develop a hull that could absorb the energy of a star before it would burn. All eight attempts were failures.
Kreej said, “Call Carter.”
Weed leaned back, “What is he going to be able to do that we haven’t?”
Kreej smiled, “Even the Spiders said the Humans were smarter than they were. There are different types of intelligence and Carter has it in abundance. Call him in; what could it hurt?”
Alex said, “I’ll make the call.”
Weed shrugged and felt it was a waste of time.
Four days later, Carter looked up from the down loads of the eight failures and smiled, “Well, you can’t say you haven’t tried to make this happen. I also agree with Vring that this is a step in the wrong direction.”
Alex waited a moment and said, “Why do you say that?”
“Because you throw away all the work you’ve done designing the reflective hulls. Those are still formidable weapon systems that can’t be used if you move in this direction. You’re also expecting a physical material to handle the atomic heat at the core of a star. I just don’t see that happening.”
The group was silent and Kreej said, “Thanks for your input, Carter.”
“I said it can’t be done using the current process; I didn’t say it couldn’t be done.”
Weed turned sharply and said, “What do you mean?”
“You’re trying to move energy into a container. It’s the highest level of energy in creation and if you’re going to do that you have to fight fire with fire. You’ve got to move it with energy not a physical substance.”
Seed interjected, “You have something in mind to make that happen. What do you see?”
Carter said, “Alex, when we teleport objects, where does the teleportation happen? Does it take place at the back of the teleport screen or at the surface?”
“I’m not really sure. Weed, your species developed this process. Do you have the answer to this question?”
Weed looked at Seed and they thought about the teleportation process. “We believe it happens at the surface. We can run some experiments to confirm it but why do you ask?”
“I looked at your earlier efforts to teleport energy into the ship’s hulls and noticed that energy was moved but the teleportation module melted quickly after the process started. That leads me to believe that a star’s energy can be moved; you just can’t do it with a physical module that would be exposed to the heat of a star.”
Vring listened and thought he understood Carter’s point, “So you’re saying we have to move it without using a machine to make the transfer?”
“Yes, and that can be done, I think.” Carter turned back to Weed, “How thick is the teleport screen?”
“About six inches thick.”
“And how thick is the Coronado Power Cells that make up the hulls of the new ships?”
Kreej yelled, “You’re absolutely right, Carter! We can do it.”
Weed, Seed, and Vring stared at Kreej as he excitedly continued, “We make the ships the teleportation module and move the energy directly into the hull.”
Carter smiled, “That’s the direction I would go. Extend a teleport screen one inch above the ship’s surface and teleport whatever hits it directly into the skin. If you can make that happen, the heat would not get through the field to burn the ship.” Carter paused and said,
“And you could use the reflective surfaces on top of the normal black hole screens. They could be charged with the energy stored inside the skins and they should be able to handle the beams of any ship imaginable.”
Weed and Seed turned to each other and started thinking. Carter saw them not moving and asked, “What are they doing?”
Vring said, “They are processing the possible equations needed for your idea to happen. They could be unavailable for a while.”
“I thought Algeans thought at an incredible pace.”
“They do. Give them some time and we’ll see what they come up with when they finish.”
Alex said, “I’ve run some initial computations and they look good.”
Carter smiled and thought about Jenna and Cassie. Cassie was growing up fast and he already missed them. He wondered what Cassie’s role was going to be in the coming conflict. He knew she was psychic and she must have a role. He decided to go home after he left here to see them. But first, was this idea possible; he had to know. He looked out the viewport and saw the unblinking stars filling the view. There was still so much to do.
Chapter Nine
The Distributor heard the alarm and sat up from its couch. It silenced the Alarm and turned his boards to the scans of the eight universes that had been destroyed. He went through the summary and saw that no ships had entered any of the eight universes since their destruction. He turned the knob and viewed the data from the current universes being harvested and saw that the ships that had been attacking had not been seen.
It was glad that it had ordered all the starships that were not on the planets being attacked in those eight universes to be destroyed before the fleet left. Ummmm, it checked the inventory of the new Distribution Center and saw that after eighty turns they were not being affected by that dangerous spore. Now he could contact the Four Council Members and tell them that they were back to the level before the spore killed their supply. The position was still available on the Council after the Second Council Member was removed and he hoped they would choose him to be the replacement.
It turned off its board and thought about all that it had done. “Have I anticipated everything?” It didn’t see any loose ends, so it activated its board and sent the report to the Council. He stopped the scans of the eight universes and turned his system to scan the next ten systems to be invaded. He set the threshold of threats to awaken him, reclined on his couch, and lost himself in the ecstasy of the drug.
Jingos watched as Ron Kune yelled at the Flyers taking part in target practice at the edge of the clearing, “NO! NO! NO! Decrease the width of your beam to two inches. You’re cheating yourselves of the skill you’re going to have to possess to be successful.” The ten Flyers weren’t happy. Hitting those discs flying across the clearing while hovering was next to impossible, and Ron heard their thoughts. Uleeh flapped his wings and Ron rose into the air and yelled, “Send me ten discs.”
The ten Flyers heard him and thought he was crazy, hitting ten discs was impossible. The ten discs flew out across the clearing and Ron hit all ten before they make it halfway across. Jingos and the ten flyers were amazed at the shooting exhibition. Jingos was angry that he had been moved to second in command to Ron by the Division Commander. Now he wasn’t so sure about his feelings. He heard Ron say, “Everyone on the ground.”
The ten Flyers landed and Ron jumped off Uleeh and walked in front of them with his hands on his hips, “What are you going to do if an enemy has hostages and is holding them at gunpoint? You’re going to have to hit a target the size of those discs to be able to save the hostages and you’ll have to do it while in flight. If you can’t do it here; you can’t do it in the heat of battle. You’re cheating yourself to take the easy way out during this training.” Ron stared at the flyers and said, “You can do this. I know you can do this if you’re willing to work hard at your accuracy. This isn’t something that can be learned without your best effort.” He looked at the Flyers and said, “Let’s try it again.”
The ten Flyers were amazed at the Rider’s shooting skill but Ron saw their determination. Jingos jumped on Hileeh and lifted, “Send me five.”
Ron watched as the five discs flew out and Jingos hit three of them. He knew that was an incredible score and that Jingos had natural talent. He came back that evening and saw all eleven of the Flyers were still working. He smiled knowing that the Zord’s wings would be strengthened from the work and the Riders would become very dangerous warriors. If they continued at their current rate of improvement, he could put Jingos back in command and move to another unit; but not before they were ready. Jingos would know who he could count on under his command for the difficult assignments and they had to be proficient. It was better to have five units thoroughly competent than twenty only partially ready. He left to work in another clearing with ten more flyers. Time was growing short and he had been told there was trouble waiting for them in the universe they were scouting. Uleeh thought, “You’re going to need to get some rest soon.”
Ron sighed and felt his fatigue, “Later we’ll have time to rest. Now is not the time.” Ron touched the medallion on his chest. It had been given to an ancient ancestor who was the brother of a Searcher that had fought for the survival of the Stars Realm. He bore that Searcher’s name and he was not going to be less than what that medallion meant. He shook off his fatigue and lifted for the other group of trainees.
Jingos watched him leave and saw how tired the former Protector was. He vowed to be as good and drove himself every waking hour to perfect his accuracy. Within two weeks he was hitting fifteen discs with a half inch beam. He began assisting Ron in getting his Flyers ready and learned that impossible was no longer a word in his vocabulary. His unit became famous for Jingos’ favorite saying, “Shut up and shoot.”
At the end of training, Jingos and the ten Flyers could hover, teleport to different locations, and hit a continuous stream of discs flying over the clearing from eight different directions. Jingos was given his command back and he made those ten Flyers the commanders of ten of his units. His friendship with Ron lasted throughout their lives and he eventually made Ron his second in command. He learned what his Father had felt for the white haired Human and knew that he was better for the love he felt for the former Protector. Ron never told him but knew that Jingos had become a better shooter. Some things were best left unsaid.
Paul reclined against a log with TK and looked up at the stars from one of the clearings. They had a small fire burning and they didn’t say anything but just felt each other’s presence. TK thought about her parents and missed them so much. Paul felt her sadness but was not going to diminish her loss by depriving her of the feelings. He pulled her closer and stared at the sky. “I used to sit with my parents and gaze at the stars for hours. Those times were some of the best in my life. I’d give anything to do it again.” She turned and looked up at Paul, “But this comes close.”
Paul smiled and leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
TK said, “You know you should have command of the Division.”
“Not really. It’s the initial contact that’s critical and I can be used best during that phase of our training. You’re right where you should be. You are the Division’s Heart and they’ll gladly die to support your commands. That’s a lot more important than skills, my Love.”
TK sighed, “Are your Scout Units ready?”
“They’re as ready as they can be given the time we had to prepare. We aren’t going to start a fight but to see what we have to face. We’ll wait until you arrive with the Division before we start shooting.”
“Paul, I don’t want to lose you. Please, be careful.”
Paul didn’t say anything but pulled her tighter and looked back up at the stars.
TK knew one could never anticipate what would happen during battles. She prayed she wouldn’t lose another love in her life. She looked back up at the stars and felt her fears slowly evaporate. Creation looked down at the two lovers and smil
ed back at them.
The eight thousand Flyers were gathered in a huge clearing on Criston and TK was standing in front of the eighty units. Jingos had command of forty Hundred Units and Paul commanded the other forty. The eighty Protectors had left to train the main units waiting for the Scout’s findings and Grang and Jingo had joined them to speed the training process. TK looked at the Flyers and could feel their anticipation at being back in action. She sensed they were ready.
“We are depending on you to collect the information we need to make a difference in the universe you are about to enter. You know our values and principles and I expect you to live and, if necessary, die defending them. I know you’ll make the Empire proud of you. I already feel that pride just standing here with you.” She paused and said, “I want you to remember that it is critically important that you not be discovered while you are gathering information. You are Scouts and you must avoid being seen so that our main force will be effective. We sense there is a danger lurking in that universe and I’m depending on you to find it and report back. I wish you the best and I know you’ll carry out your assignments.”
She nodded to Paul and Jingos and they turned to their units. Paul yelled, “You have your assigned coordinates and the place to report. Are you ready!?!”
The eight thousand screamed, “FOR THE EMPIRE!”
Jingos yelled, “Go to your assignments….now!”
The eight thousand Flyers disappeared from the clearing leaving TK to worry about their safety. She walked over to Malah and said, “Let’s go home.”
The huge Zord and TK disappeared
Day East and Kreen came out of their universal jump just outside a Galaxy that was absolutely beautiful. It had recently merged with another galaxy and the birth of bright blue stars filled it from one end to the other. Day stared at the billions of stars and sighed. He knew that recently was more like sixty million years earlier but that represented just a moment in the life of a galaxy. Galaxies merging seldom harmed stars in either galaxy because of the space between them. Gravity would usually attract any stars that came close to each other and lock them into a double star orbit around each other. The galaxy that emerged from the merger was twice as big and made young by the process.