Escape to Earth

The Legacy of a Conqueror

by Saxon Andrew

Chapter One

Jinks walked into Lukas’s office and saw him talking with Salud. Lukas turned his head toward him and Jinks held up his hand, “Before you say anything, there’s something I need to say.”

Lukas leaned back in his chair and said, “Go ahead.”

Jinks saw Salud sit down in the chair beside Lukas and he could see she wasn’t happy. As a matter of fact, she looked angry. “I made a mistake calling for Chris to be arrested for treason.” He saw Salud’s expression change. “He only did what I should have done but didn’t see.”

“What do you mean?”

Jinks shook his head and sighed, “I was so caught up in making the Invaders pay for what they did to Earth that I didn’t think straight. We destroyed a million of their warships without losing a single ship. Those green vessels stood no chance against us and I was prepared to destroy all of them. I was lost in a blood lust and failed to see that wasn’t the right thing to do. After the smoke cleared, Budge thanked me for calling off the attack. He pointed out that killing those ships would have been little more than murder.” Jinks shook his head, “He was right. The Green Civilization did not destroy Earth, those Orange Warships did. Chris doesn’t deserve to be in jail for this.”

“I know.”

Jinks stared at Lukas for a long moment and started shaking his head slowly, “You authorized his arrest!”

Lukas pointed at a chair in front of his desk, “Sit down, Jinks.” Jinks sat down and stared at Lukas. “Chris did the right thing but for the wrong reason. He didn’t have the casualty reports when he made his decision.”

“Then why did he call off the attack?”

Lukas pointed a remote at the large wall monitor and Jinks turned around to see what was on it. The monitor illuminated and he saw numerous Grey Warships firing missiles at a civilized planet. There were already numerous mushroom clouds rising from the planet’s surface and as Jinks watched, he saw a huge city blasted by a nuclear missile. “All of those missiles are hitting the planet’s surface sending tons of highly radioactive particles into the planet’s upper atmosphere. Within a few weeks, all life on that planet will be dead.”

“Where is that planet?”

“The leaders in M-87 ordered the Green Civilization to send every ship they had to attack Earth. None were left behind to defend their planets. Those Grey Ships came from M-84 to avenge a civilization that was ordered to be killed by those leaders. The Leader of the Invader Fleet told Chris that all of his civilized planets would be destroyed if he didn’t turn around and go back.”

Jinks continued to stare at the monitor and said, “Would that be a bad thing?”

“Are you willing to live with the deaths of trillions by stopping them?” Jinks turned around and looked at Lukas in silence. Lukas sighed, “I’ve said from the very beginning that our task is to defend Earth against all aggression. I also made it clear that we will not go out as conquerors.”

“But we’re not attacking those planets.”

“No, but standing by and watching another conqueror do it is the same thing if we can do something to stop it. I am genuinely surprised that Chris understood that lesson at the most difficult of times to see it.”

“Then why did you allow him to be arrested?”

“Because no one else saw it.”

“Budge did.”

Lukas smiled, “I suspect his brother did as well. But he didn’t know about the attacks on the Invader’s planets.”

“None of us knew.”

Lukas smiled, “Coming here and telling me you made a mistake reaffirms my belief in you, Jinks.”

“You still haven’t told me why you allowed him to be arrested.”

“Have you had any discussions with Piper?”

Jinks’ head jerked back and he wondered where that question came from, “No, I haven’t.”

His species is of the opinion that heredity has less influence on a being’s behavior than their experiences. I argued with him about that but, in the end, he makes a compelling argument.”

“What does that have to do with this?”

“I watched the recording of Chris’s meeting with the Fellowship Representatives.”

“And?”

“They weren’t happy that he was chosen to lead them; they preferred one of their own officers do it.” Lukas leaned forward, “Does that sound like someone that’s turned their backs on their old ways and embraced the concept of peace?”

“I don’t know that I would have felt any different. I honestly wouldn’t want one of them leading the attack.”

Lukas smiled, “You still have some growing to do, Jinks. However, you’ve not spent your entire history attacking other civilizations; they have.”

“But I’ve been a soldier defending the United States since I was eighteen years old.”

“That’s why you still have some growing to do. However, answer this honestly. Do you think any of the Fellowship Civilizations would have called off the attack?”

Jinks stared at Lukas and shook his head, “No, they would have destroyed them all.”

“Even if they knew their planets were under attack?”

“They wouldn’t care. They’re used to planets being under attack.”

“I allowed Chris to be arrested to see what the Fellowship will want done to him.”

“What are you going to do?”

“They are insisting that he be tried for his actions. I’m going to allow them to do it.”

Jinks’ eyes widened, “They’ll demand his execution.”

“We’ll see.”

“You need to tell them he’s your son.”

“Why?”

“That might make them pause.”

“I won’t tell them and you better not allow that information to get out.”

“But…”

“We’re at a critical point and we must know which way to go. This will help us make that determination.”

“I don’t understand.”

Salud looked at Jinks, “You will.”

Jinks looked at her and saw she supported this decision. “When will this happen?”

Lukas said, “I’m sending him in two days. The Welken Royal says he will be tried before all the Fellowship’s representatives. They’ll all be present tomorrow to discuss what happened before the trial starts.”

Jinks shook his head, “I’m glad I won’t be there to see it.”

“But you will.”

“WHAT?!”

“You and Chad will deliver him to them and stand guard over him during the trial.”

“Lukas, you’re asking too much.”

Lukas smiled and told him what he was going to have to do and, after several questions, Jinks smiled.

* * *

Audrey was holding Chris’s hands through the bars as she stood outside his cell, “They’re not allowing me to go with you. I hate Lukas.”

Chris shook his head, “Audrey! He’s doing what has to be done. I’m responsible for my actions. We are no longer fighting alone and I have to defend what I did to our allies.”

Audrey started crying, “They’re going to kill you, Chris!”

“But I’m not dead yet. I need you to be strong.”

Audrey wiped her tears on her sleeve and quickly nodded. She heard a noise and looked up the hall. She put one of her hands on her throat and Chris said, “What?”

Two eight-foot tall silver colored beings walked up to the cell. The armor they were wearing glowed in the overhead lights and Chris shook his head, “I didn’t know the new armor has been completed.”

A mechanical voice said, “We’re manufacturing it now. We will be taking you to the Welken’s Royal Planet.”

“Why the armor?”

“You possess considerable physical talents. It was deemed it was necessary.”

“I won’t resist.”

“That will make our task easier. Please come with us.” One of them unlocked the cell and Chris quickly stepped out, took Audrey in his arms, and kissed her lovingly. They broke the kiss and Chris walked up the hall with the two warriors. Audrey managed to hold back her tears until she heard the door close at the end of the hall and then she broke down.

* * *

The Welken Royal didn’t like what was going on. He didn’t want to have this trial and he certainly didn’t want to execute a human. But the other civilizations demanded justice and the humans had said they would not try the one that stopped the attack. They sent the human to be tried by the Fellowship. The Royal knew the human was the one sent to command their fleets. This was not a good thing. The room was loud when he called for the defendant to enter. When he was escorted in by two massive armored warriors, the room grew silent. A warrior on each side was holding the human’s arms and they brought him to the front of the huge room and sat him in a chair. They then moved behind him and each put an arm on one of his shoulders.

The Lead Prosecutor stared at them for a moment and then looked at the Welken Royal. The Royal’s expression showed his displeasure but he said, “You may begin.” He looked out at the huge gathering and saw they were anticipating a guilty verdict. Their lust for blood was obvious. There were some that didn’t share that view, but they were lost in the sea of faces.

The Droken smiled and said, “I am going to play the records of the battle along with the communications that took place. This won’t take a long time but all of us should see what happened.” The huge monitor behind the Royal’s chair came on and the assembly saw the gigantic fleet of Green Warships moving through space. The sudden appearance of the small Silver Ships hitting the center of the Invader’s formation startled the gathering and then they were lost in the madhouse of a space battle.

Chris sat in his chair and watched the video with the representatives and was amazed again at how quickly a million warships could be destroyed. He shook his head at the number of lives that were lost in such a short time. He heard his voice ordering Admiral Jekins to call off the attack and the anger he felt at having to do it. Chris shook his head and wondered if he would do it again after having time to reflect on what the consequences were. Before the recording ended, he decided he would do it the same way. He took a deep breath and blew it out. One of the hands on his shoulder lightly squeezed and he was thankful for the gesture.

The Prosecutor stood up after the video ended and looked at Chris, “Is that your voice ordering the attack to be called off?”

Chris looked at him and said where everyone in the room could hear, “It is!”

The Prosecutor smiled and said in a loud voice, “WHY DID YOU CALL OFF THE ATTACK?!”

Chris thought the silence in the room was almost deafening. It was amazing that a room could be this quiet with so many beings in it. “I communicated with the being commanding the Invader’s Fleet and he told me that he received a communication from his galaxy that all of his planets were being attacked by ships from another galaxy.”

“What is that to us?”

“The Leaders that ordered his fleets to invade had every ship sent in the invasion. None of his planets were defended and he was leaving to go and defend them.”

“I ask you again, what is that to us?”

“I told all of you in our first meeting that humans do not desire to conquer anyone. Our mission is to defend our galaxy against all aggressors. Those ships were leaving and no longer represented a threat to our planets. I decided that I would not participate in the deaths of trillions of defenseless beings in their civilization.”

“That’s stupid. It would take six months for them to return and most of their planets would have been destroyed by the time they arrived. This is the best thing that could possibly happen. Their entire inventory of warships would be destroyed and probably all of their planets as well. This is exactly what should have happened.” The room started a low current of grumbling and the Prosecutor yelled, “That’s what would have happened if you had kept your mouth shut and allowed us to do our job!! An enemy of this galaxy would have been removed from existence and they deserved it!”

Chris stood up and looked at the assembly. The loud shouts for his execution grew quiet and he said, “None of you have had your planets bombarded from space and every being on the surface killed. We’ve endured that! Standing by and allowing hundreds of thousands of worlds to endure the same thing is not the right thing to do!”

The Prosecutor started to speak but heard the cries for the human’s execution. He closed his mouth and looked at the Welken Royal. The Royal sounded a tone and the room grew silent. He stared at the assembly and then looked at Chris, “They were coming to kill all of us.”

“Yes they were, Great One. But they were totally incapable of doing it. Their ships stood no chance against any of our ships and they don’t represent a real danger to us. If they did, I would have done things differently.”

The Royal stared at Chris and looked out at the assembly that were shouting for Chris’ execution again. The Prosecutor yelled and the room grew quiet. He repeated himself, “It’s clear the human is judged guilty and the Assembly has called for his execution.”

The Welken looked at the Prosecutor and said, “I do not vote for execution.” He looked out at the gathering and said, “Who else agrees with me?” Silence dominated the room but after a moment, the Myot Ruler stood up and walked up to stand beside the Welken, “I also do not agree.” The Johan Ruler stood and joined them on the stage. “I also do not agree.”

The Prosecutor looked around and no one else stood. He smiled and looked at the three standing on the stage, “It appears the vote is against you.” He looked at the two warriors standing on each side of Chris and said, “You will turn him over to us.”

One of the tall warriors stepped forward and said, “I do apologize if you’re under the mistaken opinion that we were here to defend you from him. We are here to defend him from you.” Chris’s eyes widened and he looked at the other warrior standing beside him. The Warrior facing the gathering said, “Before any of you start thinking about doing something rash, you should know that this armor I’m wearing has the same power and weapons of the small ships you saw during the attack.” Suddenly, a white force field appeared around both warriors with Chris sitting inside it.

The Royal said, “What’s going on?”

“We needed to see if the Members of the Fellowship have learned from their past mistakes. We allowed him to be tried here to determine if you have become species that love peace more than war. It is clear that only the three of you have passed that test.”

The Prosecutor felt a slow sense of dread invade his soul, “What are you saying?”

“The three standing on this stage will be defended if any of you attack them. The rest of you will no longer participate in any attacks against forces from outside this galaxy. We will also not share any of our most advanced technology with you or allow you to take part in future decisions concerning how we will survive. You may go back to attacking each other and no one will stand in your way. I truly hope you destroy all of yourselves.”

The Royal said, “You can’t do this!”

“Royal, you’ve seen their hearts today. I can do nothing else. My Leader said to tell you that if you passed this test, he will agree to accept you and the others that passes as an ally. Now you have to decide what direction you’re going to choose to go.”

The Johan Ruler said, “I choose the humans.”

The Myot nodded, “I do as well.”

The Welken looked out at the stunned assembly and said, “All of you will leave this planet immediately and may not return. My people are no longer a part of the Fellowship. NOW LEAVE!!”

The Droken yelled, “You cannot stand against all of us!”

The Silver Warrior said in an amplified voice, “Three of our small ships can destroy every one of your warships and blast your planets into dust! All of you can’t stand against us.” The warrior paused and said, “Or do you want to try. I believe the Royal has ordered you to leave. We will start enforcing that order in ten minutes!”

The room emptied faster than a bucket with the bottom missing. The Warrior waited until it was clear and he removed his helmet. The Royal smiled, “It’s good to see you again.”

“It’s been a long time.”

“I heard you order him arrested for treason.”

“I still have some growing to do, Great One. I knew by the time I went home that I had made a mistake. Our Leader let this happen to allow you to see that nothing has changed with the other members of the Fellowship.”

“How can you trust us?”

“Because of your past actions, which have shown us that we can. You, and us, needed to see this.”

The three rulers on the stage nodded and the Myot said, “We were just like them until you save us, Your Greatness.”

The Welken put his hand on the Myot’s shoulder and nodded, “You are like my own family.” He turned to Jinks, “Perhaps that Green Civilization might learn from this experience.”

Chris shook his head, “They do not control their own destiny. It’s the species that’s directing that galaxy who’s to blame. However, even if they don’t, it was the right thing to do.”

The Johan sighed, “I hope I have the strength of your convictions if I’m faced with a similar situation.”

Jinks looked at the Welken and nodded toward the representatives fleeing the room, “You know that most of them will come to you individually to beg you to join our alliance?”

“What are you suggesting?”

“If you accept them, our alliance will be broken.”

“You don’t think they can change?”

“They’ve been working together for more than five years to meet a common enemy. If they haven’t changed during that time, when will they?”

The Welken looked at the other two Rulers and saw them nodding in agreement. “I was hoping the Fellowship would become something special.”

“They are what they’ve been. We will be leaving but if you have any trouble, contact us.”

The Royal nodded and looked at Chris, “Your heart is strong. Don’t lose it.” Chris nodded and turned to leave.

He looked at Jinks and Chad, who had removed his helmet. “Lukas?” Jinks nodded. Chris shook his head.

“He had to know where we stand.”

“I know. I just hate he allowed Audrey to suffer like this.”

“She was told what was going on as soon as we left the prison. She’s waiting for you in orbit.”

Chris smiled, “Perhaps I was a little hasty to be angry.” Jinks nodded and put his helmet back on as they exited the building. Chad followed his lead. “You just never know when trouble might raise its ugly head.”

“Jinks, when did the armor come online?”

“The first prototypes were approved five months ago. The miniature DE Reactors were installed four months ago. Making them small enough to fit was the main issue but Amanda and Trevor really performed magic with them.”

Chris’s eyes went wide, “The armor uses Dark Energy reactors!? I thought they would use Dark Matter Reactors?”

“That’s what’s taken them so long to come on line. However, the converters are producing them at a high rate and all pilots are going to be fitted for them before we start arming our ground forces.”

“They aren’t going to be very comfortable while flying the Pods.”

“They’re being made to replace the chairs in the Pods. You’ll be sitting on it; Press a button and the armor wraps around you in an instant. You’re going to like the features.”

Chris nodded as they approached the armored shuttle, “I look forward to learning how to use it. Chad, thank you for coming.”

“I didn’t want to miss it. Those Fellowship Reps are really a nasty bunch of punks.”

“Yes they are.”

“Chris, Lukas wants to see you as soon as you get back.”

“He’s going to have to wait.”

“Why?”

“Because Audrey and I will take some time to be alone first.”

Jinks smiled, “I’ll let him know.”

Chapter Two

Chris walked in the large office in Fleet Operations and sat across from Lukas and Salud. Lukas smiled, “It’s good to have you back. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about what was going on.”

“I understand why; you needed my reactions to be genuine.”

“Exactly.”

“I couldn’t hear the thoughts of Chad and Jinks in their armor. Is that a new development?”

“It is. Piper assisted us in finding the proper scrambling frequency to block a telepath from hearing the wearer’s thoughts.”

“Why would he do that? I would think being able to hear our thoughts was not something he would give up.”

“He has finally come to the point where he trusts us. We’ve been talking with Barbie while you’ve been incarcerated, and she showed us the strange thought pattern she detected in M-87. We are of the opinion now, after the fact, that pattern came from a scout sent there from M-84. It appears a species in that galaxy is telepathic. It also appears it is highly aggressive.”

“How did you come to that conclusion? They were attacked by the Green Civilization first. They only retaliated.”

“But look at how they retaliated. The Green ships destroyed three planets. They came in and attacked and destroyed thousands of planets and they didn’t back off until they were highly outnumbered with the return of the invasion fleet.”

“Why are you worried about them? We didn’t attack them.”

“No, but we led the Orange Ships chasing our scouts toward their galaxy. We actually caused the destruction of those three planets.”

“Do you think they know about that?”

“They’re telepathic. One of them would have learned that the Green Ships followed skip traces toward their galaxy. If you possessed that knowledge, what would you conclude?”

Chris shook his head, “They will eliminate the Green Ships as well as the Orange Ships. That only leaves us.”

“That’s how I see it. I’ve asked Piper to check and see if he can detect any strange thought patterns around our galaxy.”

“And?”

“There’s six of them out there waiting to signal the proper time to attack.”

“What are you going to do about it?”

“No, what are you going to do about it?”

“Me?”

“You are now in command of all our military forces and I’m counting on you to make the right decisions about defending us.”

“Why would you choose me instead of Jinks?”

“You are telepathic; he’s not. I believe the two of you aren’t that different in your command skills.”

Chris shook his head, “What do you see happening?”

“Piper says those scouts arrived after their attack in M-87. My real concern is that being telepathic, they will look at the thoughts of our pilots and learn about our technology. We have to prevent that from happening and we need to remove them as quickly as possible. We’ve developed a blocking field for our armor and ships that prevents telepaths from hearing the thoughts of our warriors but the armor hasn’t been distributed yet. We will be able to block them from learning anything from our warriors but we can’t block the thoughts of everyone on the planet.”

“You’re right, they have to be removed.”

“Yes they do, Chris, and in this particular case, it’s our own fault they are here. We caused it.”

“What about the Invaders?”

Lukas smiled, “We are about to enter an extended time of peace.”

“What?”

“The Invaders are trapped into a situation they can’t escape. If they send ships to the galaxy they conquered, M-84 will attack again. If they send ships here, M-84 and M-86 will probably launch against them.”

“M-86?”

“The Orange Fleets that were on their way there turned around and returned to defend their planets. For the first time in almost a hundred years, the civilizations in M-86 are not fighting for their survival. They have started banding together and have instituted a massive building campaign to manufacture warships. They’ve also launched a thousand ships to go to M-87 and deploy probes to keep an eye of them. If the Invaders go to attack M-84, they will seize the moment and attack them. M-87 has probes in M-86 and they have to know what’s happening. I’m sure they also believe we would join the fleets from M-86 in their attack.”

“We would go and attack them there?”

“We wouldn’t join M-86 because there is a real possibility that they would attack our ships as well, but they don’t know that. They would expect us to do it because that is what they would do in the same situation. A stalemate exists and we will have time to prepare for when the powder keg goes up.” Chris tilted his head and Lukas shrugged, “There’s too much anger and aggression out there. Eventually, someone is going to tire of waiting and go on the attack. That’s when all hell will break loose and we’ll be sucked up in it, along with the other three galaxies.”

Chris thought for a moment and shook his head, “If M-86 attacks M-87, then M-84 will not have to worry about being attacked and they will be freed up to attack us here.” Lukas nodded. “And if M-87 attacks anyone, the others will pounce on them.”

“Right again.”

“We need to really start building Pods.”

“There’s something else.”

“What is that?”

“We’ve always taken the stance that we will only defend ourselves against outside aggressors.”

“Yeah, I’m aware of that.”

Lukas looked at Salud and she said, “That is going to change.”

Chris looked at her and saw her anger. “What do you mean?”

“I’ve stood by and watched twice as another galaxy came to exterminate mankind and all I’ve done is live with my fear and pray we can survive. I’m done with that. I am not going to live in fear that my children are going to be blasted by an aggressive civilization that wants us dead. We will probably be the ones that light the powder keg.”

Chris looked at Lukas, “Do you agree with this?”

Lukas stared at Salud and then turned to Chris, “To a point. Those wishing our demise should be given an opportunity to change their evil ways, but if they refuse, then they deserve what they get. Being a father has changed my perspective.”

“How is that?”

“Do I want to wait for an intruder to enter my house before I defend my family or do I meet them outside?”

Chris lowered his head and nodded slowly, “Audrey is pregnant.”

Salud smiled brightly, “Congratulations!!”

Chris looked up at her, “I understand what you’re saying.”

Lukas shook his head, “No you don’t.”

Chris jerked his head from Salud to Lukas, “What am I missing?”

“You are chosen to be the Conqueror that goes out and removes those that pose a danger to us.”

“Conqueror?”

“You are tasked with removing any civilization that represents a threat to the planets of our allies and us.”

Chris shook his head, “I don’t see myself as a conqueror.”

“That’s why you’ll be a good one. I know you’re not ready to go out and take on those galaxies but we have some time to build the forces you’re going to need. We will announce your new position shortly and call for all of our planets to give you their total commitment and support to accomplish your mission.”

“Lukas, you should be doing this?”

“I don’t have the heart to do it. I would fail at the critical moment.”

“Just like I just did.”

Salud shook her head, “You didn’t fail. You told them that next time you would finish what they started. You actually wanted to finish it then but managed to stop and do the right thing. That’s what convinced us that you are the one destined to do this.”

“You think this is my destiny?”

“Lukas should have killed you before you were born to prevent the Stalkers from seeing you and learning that he was on Earth. He didn’t do it. You were created to do something remarkable. You are going to save us.”

Chris looked at them and slowly shook his head, “Can the two of you imagine how many intelligent beings I might have to kill?”

Salud’s smile turned hard, “If they were intelligent, they would leave us the hell alone!”

Chris stared at her and started chuckling. After another moment he started laughing. Lukas joined him and Salud said, “What’s so funny!?”

It took a minute before Chris managed to say, “We have to change the definition of intelligent life; coming after us is really stupid!”

Salud nodded, “Indeed it is!” Chris grabbed his ribs and laughed even harder.

Lukas laughed and managed to say, “She’s serious about this!”

Chris fell back in his chair holding his ribs and managed to look at Lukas through his tears, “You think?” Lukas had to stand up and bend over to breathe.

Salud stared at them and frowned, “I don’t see anything funny!” Her remark was greeted with another roar of laughter. Salud stood up and stormed out of the room.

After some time had passed and they had caught their breath, Lukas said, “The most dangerous of our species are the females.” Chris nodded. Lukas took a deep breath and blew it out. He leaned back and slowly shook his head, “I’ve watched her at night staring at our children with more love than I can describe. But I can see the fear in her eyes wondering if they would live a full life or be killed by alien invaders. I would not go out to attack but I can’t allow her and all the other mothers on Eden and Earth to live with constant fear for their children. We have to bring them peace.”

“Thanks, Lukas. I needed to hear this. I couldn’t understand why you’ve undergone such a radical departure from your previous views. Now, I do.”

Lukas looked at Chris, “I’m very proud of you. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to raise you.”

Chris smiled, “It was my destiny, remember. I suspect Pat had a hand in it but you’ve always been there taking care of me. It’s time I did my part.”

“Can you do this?”

Chris looked at Lukas and his expression turned dark, “I’ve heard the thoughts of real killers wanting our extinction. This conversation has freed me to look at them in another light.” Chris stood up, “I’m going to need enough ships to go out and do this. I can’t go and leave this galaxy and Eden undefended.”

“The population on Eden is growing at a tremendous rate. It appears when humans are stressed by fear of dying, their birth rate skyrockets. When the original colonists went to Eden, nearly all of them were at childbearing ages. We’ve also made a rather remarkable discovery.”

“What is that?”

“I hate it but our people on Eden are forced to be a part of a military culture. Even the children are subjected to the fears of being conquered by aliens. Amanda and Trevor have built small training pods for the young adults and teenagers to fly.”

“WHAT?”

“They love it. They aren’t armed with anything more than bright lights that replace their disruptors and they are not given any instruction except to go out and play.” Lukas looked at Chris, “They can do things with a pod that are absolutely impossible. They can already fly rings around our veteran pilots and they’re getting better as they grow up.”

“How many?”

“There will be more than a million in six years.”

“I do hope you’re looking for the leaders among them?”

“Piper is assisting with that task. I’ve also asked Pat to look in on them and he’s also pointing out the ones to keep our eyes on.”

Chris stared at Lukas, “I really hate that our children have to live like this.”

“Don’t. They love it.”

Chris stared at Lukas and said, “Are you saying our species is born for war?”

“No, I’m not. But I am saying that we’re really, really good at it.”

“I can live with that. I’ll see you later.”

“What are you going to do?”

Chris’s expression was a mask of anger, “The first thing I’m going to do is handle the issue of our galaxy being scouted. Then the Fellowship has to be dealt with.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Do you really want to know?”

“Not really, but Pat may not like your killing them after all he’s done to defend them.”

“Then Pat needs to wake up. I’m not going try hard not to kill them but I am removing their claws.”

“They deserve what you choose to do.” Chris and Lukas looked around and heard, “I felt responsible for who they are because of what my species has made them. I observed the trial. They cannot change and I am satisfied that the ones that deserve to live are now working with you.”

Chris felt the sorrow in Pat’s thoughts and said, “I am not going to kill them if it can be avoided.”

“I will not stand in your way if you choose to do so.”

“Thanks, Pat.” Chris walked out of the room.

Lukas watched Chris exit and said, “Thank you for not allowing me to kill him before he was born, Pat.”

“I didn’t prevent you. You did that on your own.” Lukas’ head went back and wondered about Salud saying it was Chris’s destiny to be a conqueror. He continued to think about it until she returned an hour later to apologize for her anger. He shushed her and pulled her into his arms.

* * *

Chris met Audrey at the spaceport and they boarded Barbie. “Why did you want me to meet you here?”

“I’ve been given a new job.”

“What is it?”

“I have been chosen to go out and conquer all the civilizations that represent a danger to Earth, Eden, and the Milky Way.”

Audrey stared at Chris and finally started shaking her head, “You have got to be kidding me! I thought your decision not to destroy the Green Fleets was justified because we are not conquerors.”

Chris shrugged, “That was then; this is now.”

“Why you?”

“Why not?”

“I guess I don’t see you as the blood thirsty type.”

“I’m not and I guess that’s part of the reason Lukas and Salud chose me to do it.”

Audrey stared at him, “No one else took part in the selection?”

“Do they not have the authority to make it?”

“I guess they do. I just wonder if all of the others would support changing our philosophy from a peaceful outlook to an aggressive approach.”

“How do you feel about it?”

Audrey thought for a moment and sighed, “I guess I’m glad we’re going to take this war to them instead of waiting for them to attack us.”

“Because….?”

“I don’t want our child to be put in danger.”

“Salud has children, Julie has babies, Sarah is pregnant, and my mother is also expecting a child. I’ve looked at the fleet personnel files and a huge number of our warriors already have children or are expecting a new arrival. Do you think they would feel any different than you?”

Audrey’s eyes narrowed, “Why is there an explosion of pregnancies?”

“Throughout human history, whenever humans have been at war, the birthrate sky rocketed. It’s part of our survival instinct when populations are under the threat of being killed. Lukas is going to announce the new structure shortly.”

“Did he say when?”

“I suspect after he discusses it with the Welken, Myot, and Johan. He wants me to have some time to get up to speed on the most recent events before he gives up with the task of organizing our forces. That’s why we’re here.”

“Oh?”

“Barbie.”

“Yes, Chris. And congratulations.”

“Thank you. Did you see anything that happened during the most recent invasion that I need to know about?”

“There are a number of events that took place which changes the overall picture.”

“Such as?”

“Our probes in M-87 have determined that the Green Civilization is no longer the chosen tool of the Legends. That role has been handed back to the Progen.”

“That is news.”

“You also didn’t know that the Commander of the Green Forces in M-86 decided to leave early with more than two million warships and return to M-87 before the Progen Warships arrived. His fleet arrived right after the attack from M-84 started and his fleets prevented thousands of their planets from being destroyed. The space battles continued until the main invasion fleet returned and ended it.”

“Do you know how many planets they lost?”

“No, but the number was in the tens of thousands. Your allowing the Invasion Fleet to escape saved a huge number of their worlds.”

Chris sighed, “I hope that was a good decision.”

“There’s something else.”

“What is that?” The Pod’s display illuminated and they saw a huge Black Warship appear outside a formation of Green Warships and, after a slight pause, it fired on the largest Green Ship and blasted it into ashes. “What happened there, Barbie?”

“That Green Warship was the flagship of the Commander that left M-86 early. The Legends punished him for leaving without their approval.”

Audrey shook her head, “Oh my God!”

Chris’s expression turned grim, “That Commander had to be one of his civilization’s great heroes after holding back the Invaders from M-84. This can’t sit well with them!”

“It doesn’t. The Legends also called the Commander of the Invasion Force in but declined to kill him when they watched the recording of the attack on his fleets. They realized it was good judgment to flee. They didn’t know you allowed them to go unharmed. I suspect if they did, they would have killed him as well.” Chris sat back in his chair and shook his head. “There’s one more thing.”

“Yes.”

“That Commander is now the Supreme Leader of his civilization. The surviving worlds demanded he be promoted to lead them.”

Chris nodded and wondered what that Commander thought about the Legends now. He stared at the display as it showed the destruction of the Green Warship again. “Where did that black ship come from?”

“It’s one of those defending the planet where the Legends are located. Our probe there has detected about a million of them around the planet.”

“What can you tell me about it?”

“It’s more powerful than any other warship in that galaxy.”

“Can we handle it?”

“I don’t know. The probe didn’t use an active scan on it. If it did, it would have been detected and probably destroyed.”

“That’s a question we are going to need answered eventually.” Chris ended the recording that was playing over and over, “Do you have the location of the six M-84 scouts here in our galaxy?”

“I do.”

Chris pressed his panel and Chad appeared, “Admiral, I am going to remove some hostile warships that are scouting our galaxy. I need you to assign three Pods to five of them and have them skip in and surround them.”

“What about the sixth?”

“I’m going to go and have a conversation with that one.”

“Should I send you two more Pods to go with you?”

“No, just be prepared to fire on those five if I give the order.”

“I’ll issue the order and have them ready in thirty minutes. Let me know when you want to do this.”

“We’ll go five minutes after the Pods are ready.”

“I’ll confirm our status when the Pods are ready.”

“That would be good.”

Audrey looked at Chris, “Is it a good idea to go alone?”

“The Green Warships were able to kill them. I don’t see a scout being a real threat.”

“Then why are you sending three after the other five?”

“I want them surrounded so they can’t escape.” Audrey nodded and waited for Chad to notify them the Pods were ready.

* * *

Chris looked at Audrey and said over his communicator, “We will skip out to our targets on my mark! Three, two, one, MARK!” Barbie ignited her thrusters and the B-Pod blasted through the void at her highest speed. She moved in on a small object in the distance at an incredible closing speed and Chris thought, “If you attempt to flee, I will destroy your vessel!” The small scout fired its thrusters anyway but the B-Pod was on it in an instant and the Scout saw the small Silver Ship rotate its three disruptors and lock them on him. The Scout shut down his engines and hung in the void. “I have your other five ships surrounded and if they attempt to escape, they will be destroyed.” Chris’s comment was greeted with silence. “Why are you here?” Again there was nothing but silence. Chris pressed his panel and said, “Destroy one of the ships.” An A-Pod fired its disruptor and the small ship that was surrounded was blasted into vapor by the Dark Energy beam. Chris said, “I will kill each one of them if you don’t answer my question.”

Again there was silence and Chris pressed his panel, “Destroy…”

“WAIT!”

“Cancel that order. Why are you here?”

“We are going to make you pay for your criminal act against my galaxy!”

“I am going to assume that you blame us for the attack done by the Green Civilization.”

“You led them toward us!”

“My ships were fleeing them. We weren’t going to lead them here. You happened to be on the path we used to escape.”

“It was not an accident. You fled toward my galaxy. You deliberately led them there. You will pay for your crime!”

Chris listened to the Scout’s thoughts and could feel its hostility and malevolence. It wanted to kill every intelligent being in the Milky Way. Chris didn’t like being dishonest and decided that nothing he could say was going to change the mind of this being. “You’re right. We deliberately fled toward your galaxy. If we could go back and do it differently, we would. However, what’s done is done.”

“You will pay!”

“Let me see if I can possibly talk some sense into you.”

“Don’t bother!”

“I feel it necessary that you know what you’re doing. We have not attacked your planets, yet!”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“If you send another ship here to scout my civilization, I will take my forces to your galaxy and find your civilization. I will blast your planets down to bedrock and destroy every warship you possess. If you aren’t willing to let this go and you choose to become a threat to us, I will remove you as a danger.”

“Your threats don’t frighten me.”

“Chad, kill the other ships.” Chris saw the horror in the scouts mind as it watched the signals from the other scouts disappear from its panel. Chris fired a Dark Energy beam a hundred yards away from the small scout and saw its force field drop. “I hope you got a good reading on that beam. I am going to allow you to go and tell your leaders that I will not tolerate your stupidity again! If I suspect you are even thinking about attacking us, I will visit your worlds and introduce them to thousands of those beams. Your warships will only need to know one of them.” The scout looked at his panel and read the energy of the beam that knocked out his force field. He instantly felt his anger disappear and turn into fear. Chris smiled, “Now leave or I’ll destroy you. Go tell your leaders what awaits them if they demonstrate their stupidity again. If you choose not to go, I’ll go tell them myself with my fleets!” The Scoutship ignited his ship’s thrusters and flew away in the void at its fastest speed.

“Was it necessary to kill those other ships?”

“Sometimes you have to get someone’s attention before they’ll listen to reason. They have to fear us and know we will not tolerate their aggression. We are still going to have to deal with that civilization in the future.”

“Why not now?”

“They are helping us keep M-87 in check. We need them to fill that role for a while.”

The wall speaker said, “Audrey, you didn’t hear that being’s thoughts. They do not know how to play nice with others and they are as vicious as any creature I’ve ever encountered. Chris is right, we will have to handle this issue eventually.”

Audrey sighed, “Ok Barbie.” She turned to Chris, “Is this how we’re going to handle things in the future?”

“I suspect things will get harder than this. I may have to kill trillions before this is over.” Audrey stared at him and Chris said, “I will not tolerate our baby being attacked by aliens.” Audrey started nodding and put her arms around his neck, “Do what you have to do. I will support your choices, whatever they are.” Chris hugged her and turned his thoughts to the Fellowship.

Chapter Three

Lukas looked at the three faces on the split screen monitor in his office, “It’s good to see all of you.”

The Welken Royal smiled, “The new communication probes are really remarkable. This saves a lot of time having to come to your planet to talk.”

Lukas smiled, “Thank you. We have a string of them set up between your civilizations and ours. We deem it important that we are all on the same wavelength.”

“Why have you asked for this meeting?”

Lukas stared at them and then said, “I have instituted a new policy on how we will deal with aggressive civilizations that intend to attack us and you need to know about it before we move forward.”

The Johan Ruler’s eyes turned into slits and he said, “I hope it has to do with stopping this waiting for them to come and attack us!”

“As a matter of fact, it does.”

All three Rulers’ were shocked by the statement. The Johan’s head moved side to side, “I was kidding.”

“Well, we’re no longer going to wait for our enemies to come and try to destroy our civilizations.”

The Welken leaned back on his throne, “Do you intend to go out and conquer them?”

“I do.”

“I thought you were steadfastly against doing that?”

“I have been.”

“Why have you changed your position?”

“Because the females in my civilization don’t deserve to live in fear of their children being killed by Invaders. I intend to remove their fear as well as remove those that wish us harm.”

The Myot and Johan looked at the Welken on their monitors and waited for him to speak. The Royal stared at Lukas and leaned forward, “My people fear the danger that your civilization represents to the universe. Your power has grown beyond anything I ever thought possible.”

Lukas nodded, “You fear that absolute power will corrupt absolutely?”

“That’s how it’s always been in the past.”

“You feel this way because your civilizations have not been given all of our technology?”

“Something like that.”

Lukas smiled, “All three of you have attacked my planet in the past. Can you understand why I might also worry about giving it to you?”

The three Ruler’s looked at each other on their monitors and the Royal finally said, “I think we can understand your reluctance.”

“You have proven yourselves during the trial of my Fleet Commander. I have made him the Supreme Commander of all my military forces and have charged him to assume the role of a Conqueror to go out and remove our enemies.”

The Myot nodded, “He would be a good choice. He is not driven by a lust to destroy and kill needlessly.”

Lukas looked at the Myot, “No, he’s not. But I know he won’t hesitate to kill where it’s needed. He just killed five Scout ships that were sent here by the galaxy that attacked the Green Civilization. He sent the sixth one back to that galaxy to tell its leaders that if they send another scout here he will take our fleets to their galaxy and burn all of their planets down to bedrock and destroy every warship they possess. You should know that threat was not made in jest. He is capable of doing it and will if they violate his prohibition.”

The Welken lowered his eyes, “I thought you didn’t believe in destroying planets with civilians on them?”

“Where are their warships being built?”

The Welken stared at Lukas and after a moment shrugged, “You are of course correct. You are sounding much more like one of my warriors instead of a human.”

“Actually, you should know that the human species has it in them to be the most vicious species in this universe, especially when defending their families. I’ve just fought that part of my mind in the past.”

“And you say this to make us feel better.”

“Your three civilizations are now part of our family. We will be giving you all of our technology and ask you to fill a role in the coming campaign to remove the threats to our people.”

The Johan moved side to side again, “I find it difficult to believe you would do that knowing we once attacked you.”

“I will ask you one more time, do you trust us to defend you against all enemies and can I trust you to defend us with all you possess if my people are attacked?” The three looked at each other and they all nodded.

The Welken looked at Lukas, “You mentioned we will fill a role in your plans. What role do you see us doing?”

“If you will look in your scanners, you will each see a large silver colored battleship just arriving above your planets.” The three looked away from the monitor and all of them showed their shock.

The Myot shook his large head and said, “My Fleet Commander says that ship flew through his defense formations faster than they could respond.”

“Those three ships are about as fast as our small attack ships. They are more powerful than anything we possess and our Dark Energy reactors power their weapons and systems. I am giving each of you the ship above your planet along with their blueprints and ask you to start building them. We will take them to have the special coating put on them when they are built and you will use them in the coming conflict. Those new battleships are capable of destroying our small ships.”

The Welken smiled, “So we really have no reason to fear you?”

“You don’t any way, Great One. However, your three species are used to flying large ships and I suspect you wouldn’t adjust well to flying our small ships.”

The Myot nodded, “I think you’re right. How do you see us using these ships?”

“We have developed a special suit of armor that is also powered by our new reactors. You saw two of them when the trial took place. We are building those suits at an incredible speed and we want you to take them and train your warriors on attacking the surface of a planet.”

“We’ve not done that in the past.”

Lukas looked at the Johan, “No, but you’ve dropped your forces on planets to take possession of them when you nuked one of its cities. You are equipped to use them to subdue the forces on a planet’s surface. Those battleships will move into orbit above a targeted planet and drop our warriors to the surface. My species will also have warriors in that armor that will go in first and soften up the defenses.”

“How will they get to the surface?”

Lukas looked at the Welken, “Their small ships will take them down and give covering fire. Once the major defenses have been neutralized; the heavies, that would be your warriors, will drop in and take control.”

The Welken smiled, “This would prevent having to destroy the planet?”

“It will be one way to take control but we won’t hesitate to bombard a planet if the situation calls for it. Your battleships would be used to do that.”

The Myot said, “You called our warriors the heavies. What do you mean by that?”

“My warriors will have a lighter suit of armor and will be built for speed. Your armor will have a heavy disruptor and a rotary cannon on them. Three of your warriors will be capable of leveling a city.”

The Royal started nodding, “I can see you’ve thought this through. Do you think we will have time to build the necessary forces to do this?”

“We are currently in a stalemate. The Invaders can’t attack us without the other two galaxies attacking them. The civilization that attacked the Green Civilization can’t attack us without M-87 attacking them. M-87 can’t attack them without the galaxy they previously conquered attacking them.”

“So everyone is frozen at the moment?”

“Yes, and all of them will be building up their forces at their fastest speed. At the moment, we have a lead in technology and we’ve not revealed most of our weapons to them…yet. We have an advantage and I believe we will have time to build.”

The three rulers looked at each other and Lukas knew what they were thinking. The Welken looked at him, “And your species will be commanding our forces?”

“Not like you think.”

“How is that?”

“The human you put on trial will command all of our forces, including our own. We will all follow his orders whether we agree with them or not. He will be our Conqueror.”

“So he will rule all of us?”

“Until his task is completed, he will. At that point, the four of us will sit down and determine how we will live and work together.” Lukas smiled, “Do you have anyone that is telepathic and possesses the skills he has demonstrated. I’m open to your suggestions.”

The Royal smiled, “You and he are related.”

Lukas was surprised by the Welken’s remark and he sighed, “He is my son.”

The Welken smiled, “That also makes him related to me. I will accept your suggestions and will do all I can to make them a reality.”

The Johan leaned forward, “I will also accept them.”

The Myot smiled, “I trust the Welken with my people’s lives. If this Conqueror is related to the Royal, I will also accept him.”

“Before you speak too quickly, you should know that he intends to clip the claws of the other Fellowship Civilizations.”

The Johan smiled, “That is where he should start. They would interfere if given the chance.”

Lukas looked at the Welken, “How do you feel about that?”

“I don’t like it but I will swear that my forces will follow his orders. I can live with doing what he directs us to do. I will not second guess him.”

“Good. I want the three of you to take a shuttle up to the battleship we’ve sent to your planets and go with them.”

“Where are they going?”

Lukas smiled, “To handle the Fellowship. You should bear witness to what happens.”

“Will you be going?”

“I will arrive in a fourth battleship within an hour.”

“May we take the Leader of our forces with us?”

“I would suggest you do. They should also see what’s going to happen.”

The three looked at each other and the Johan smiled, “Come on! You both know you want to see this.”

The Welken and Myot Rulers smiled and said, “We will be on board by the time you arrive.”

* * *

Jinks walked into Lukas’s office as the conference with the three rulers ended. It was fed to every monitor in the One World Military. Lukas saw Jinks’ expression and waited for him to speak. “I know you had to worry about how I was going to receive this promotion of your son.”

“The thought has entered my mind.”

“You shouldn’t worry about it Lukas. He proved to me during the last battle that he’s better for the job. It grates my nerves that I did come to the right answer but not fast enough.”

“That’s not why I chose him over you.”

“It’s not? Then why?”

“Because he’s telepathic and can hear the thoughts of our enemies during battle. The time saved by having him make immediate decisions instead of communicating what he’s learned to you could be the difference between life and death.”

Jinks nodded slowly, “That makes sense. I would have thought that you would take the position.”

“I’d choose you over me, Jinks. If something happens to Chris, you will replace him.”

Jinks tilted his head, “How am I a better choice than you?”

“Because the Welken Royal liked you from the first moment he met you. That is something that is worth much more than you know. Where he goes, the other two will follow. It almost made me pick you over Chris but his telepathic gift is the trump card.”

Jinks smiled, “I can see you still see the big picture better than anyone else. I’m glad we had this conversation.”

“Jinks, are you going to be ok following Chris’s orders without question?”

“He’s your son, Lukas. I’ll do as he orders and I’ll ask questions afterwards. However, I do suspect that what happens afterwards will probably clarify any issues I might have.”

“Jinks, I need you to get the warriors being chosen to drop on enemy planets organized and trained.”

“Actually, Stoney is perfect for that assignment. He was an incredible assault trainer.”

Lukas smiled, “You’re right; I should have seen that.”

“I’m going to get the children organized into a fighting force so they can step into our fleets as soon as they reach the age of maturity.”

“Have we decided what age they’ll be allowed to join our fleets?”

“We’ll start moving the sixteen year olds into our fleets as soon as we have enough to constitute their own units.”

“You aren’t going to mix them in with the veteran pilots?”

“Lukas, you need to see those kids fly. I believe they would be reluctant to use all of their skills due to the respect they feel for their elders. They need to be free to use their natural abilities and that will only happen if they are in their own units.”

“Are you going to allow them to wear our Drop Armor?”

“No. That will be the job for older more experienced warriors. I don’t want the children to have to be forced to kill thousands of civilians if it come to that.”

“Do you think our veterans can do it?”

“They will be protecting our children. That is what will allow them to do it.”

Lukas smiled, “You are really special, Jinks. I depend on you so much.”

“Thanks, Lukas. Don’t worry about me. My ego can handle this change.” Lukas nodded and Jinks left his office.

* * *

Lukas left Fleet Operations and took a ground car to the Montana. He exited the car and walked toward the stairs outside the landing bay. An Engineering Lieutenant saluted him as he entered and said, “The Admiral is waiting for you on the bridge.”

Lukas returned his salute and smiled, “Lead the way.” He arrived on the bridge and the crew jumped to attention, “At ease! Return to your stations.”

Loree lowered her salute and smiled, “It’s an honor to have you on board, Sir.”

“I assume you listened to the conference I just had with our allies?”

“I did, Sir. Does that mean I will not be commanding the battleships?”

“I am going to request that the first fifty built be given to you to go out and start scouting the three galaxies. You know your heart is in being a scout.”

Loree’s smile was huge, “It’s what I’m best at, Sir.”

“Let’s get underway.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to the Welken Royal Planet. We’ll leave with the Royal’s ship.”

Loree looked at Hawk and he smiled. He turned to his control panel and began using the steering thrusters to lift the huge ship. Loree watched him play his keyboard and felt her affection for him. Audrey was right. They had become close during their time together on the Montana. The Montana lifted and moved higher into the night sky. It arrived at the edge of the upper atmosphere and blasted away at top speed.

* * *

Chris looked at his display and said, “I’m not sure I want a bodyguard, Sir.”

“This is not something I will yield on, Chris. Four special Pods are assigned to your protection and they will go wherever you go. Your life is too important to risk.”

“Who will be flying those pods?”

“Four of our best sixteen year olds.”

“LUKAS, YOU CAN’T SEND CHILDREN TO PROTECT ME!”

“Why not?”

“I’ll be going into very dangerous situations!”

“And you don’t want to risk their lives?”

“Exactly.”

“Then their presence might prevent you from doing something stupid. Your request is denied. The leader of the four is named Allison. I expect you to do a good job of training them. They will each be given a fleet of Pods once they’ve built enough pods for them.”

Chris looked at Audrey and shook his head. Audrey pressed her communicator, “Lukas, why did you choose these particular teenagers?”

“They participated in the last fleet maneuvers and they decimated the competition.”

Audrey smiled, “Just checking.” She looked at Chris, “Maybe they can teach us something.”

Chris pulled up the recordings of the last fleet maneuvers and watched the four teenagers in action. After fifteen minutes he started shaking his head, “A pod can’t do what they did in those maneuvers.”

“Lukas sent the best we have to protect you. If older pilots had won the competition, they would have been here instead of them.”

Chris nodded and blew out a breath, “What do you think about this, Barbie?”

“I want the updates their ships have.”

Chris smiled, “I’ll see about getting them once we complete this mission.”

“How do you feel about going to confront the Fellowship with the four Rulers?”

“It makes me nervous.”

“I can understand why. Here come your bodyguards.”

Chris looked at his display and saw a small silver object on his long distance scanner. “It looks like there’s only one of them.”

“Look again.”

Chris looked at the display and saw the object approaching at an incredible speed and in a moment he saw four pods flying so close together that they looked like one vessel. He shook his head at the skill needed to maintain that formation. In another moment he heard, “Sir, Ensign Simmons reporting for duty with my wing.”

“Has your wing been given a name?”

“We call ourselves the Falcons but we’ve not been given an official designation by Fleet, Sir.”

Chris activated his general frequency and said, “Fleet Control.”

“Yes 1-C.”

“What does 1-C mean?”

“You’ve been designated as First Commander, Sir.”

“That’s nice. What does it really mean?”

“Uhhh, Sir?”

“I know you fleet types make designations that have double meanings. What’s the real meaning?”

There was a pause and he heard, “First Conqueror, Sir.”

Chris knew the officer expected to be reprimanded for his remark but Chris was impressed with his honesty. “Fleet, the four pods assigned to me will be designated as Falcon One. Please repeat.”

“Ensign Simmons unit is now designated as Falcon One, Sir.”

“Thank you, Fleet. Keep up the good work.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

Chris changed the frequency, “I just looked at your victory in the last fleet maneuvers. I must say that you’ve impressed me.”

“Thank you, Sir.”

“How long have the four of you been flying together?”

“We started when we were thirteen, Sir.”

Chris shook his head, “I am going to ignore you for the most part. I expect you to decide what to do in any situation we are in. If I decide to issue orders, I will. However, most of the time I’ll be focused on other things and I expect you to do your jobs.”

“Yes Sir.”

Chris heard the young girl’s nervousness but he expected her to relax over time. He was surprised when the four pods moved in and assumed a formation around Barbie. They were all less than ten feet from his pod’s hull. “Uhhh, we might need to train with you before we can keep this formation.”

“That’s not necessary, Sir. Our ships will have direct contact with the flight instructions your computer uses. We’ll respond to them in plenty of time.”

Chris looked at Audrey and she shrugged. Chris said, “Barbie, we’re going to meet the battleships outside the Droken system.”

Barbie was actually hesitant, “On our way.” Barbie went to full thrusters and made multiple turns on the way to their destination. Chris and Audrey watched the four ships maintain their positions around them without a single waver. Chris knew of no pilot that could have pulled that off. He smiled and looked forward to getting to know these four superb pilots. He pressed his communicator and saw Lukas appear on his display, “How are our allies doing?”

“They and the leaders of their militaries are currently being taken on a tour of the new battleships. I’ve been told that they’re really impressed with what they’re seeing.”

“Have the Droken been contacted about our arrival?”

“They have and it appears many of the other civilizations are sending ships to their system.”

“The more the merrier.”

“Chris, this is your show.”

“I know.”

“What do you intend to do?”

“They have to understand their place in this galaxy. I understand that a large number of primitive planets have been discovered since the war with the Invaders started.”

“More than six hundred.”

“Do we know if any of them have been approached by a Fellowship Civilization?”

“Quite a few of them, as a matter of fact.”

“Does fleet have the location of those planets?”

“They do.”

“Is that how we know they’ve been approached?”

“Yes. One of them has been invaded by the Cosregs. It appears they no longer abide by the rules that the Sentinels established.”

“Do you know if the Cosregs have sent ships to the Droken?”

“They have.”

“I think we should wait a while for any others to arrive before we begin our soiree.”

“Make the announcement.”

Chris looked at Audrey and shrugged. He looked at the feed coming from the probe at the Droken Planetary System and saw more than two hundred thousand warships gathering above the planet. He set his board to the assigned frequency of the new battleships and pressed the activate button, “I am going to delay our arrival for a while to allow any latecomers to arrive. I want as many as possible to be present to hear what we have to say.”

Barbie said, “The four ships have acknowledged your request. We’ll be arriving at their location momentarily.” Chris watched his tactical and saw the distant ships hanging motionless in the void. They were growing larger by the second and he came flying in, along with his escorts at an incredible speed. He assumed a position in the middle of them and continued to watch the feed from the probe.

Chapter Four

The Welken Royal looked at his Fleet Commander, “Kyel, there are a lot of warships above that planet.”

“It does appear you are right, Great One.”

“You don’t sound worried.”

“Did you hear what we were told about this ships defensive capabilities, Sire?”

“I guess I was thinking about what was going to happen here.”

“Then, I’m thankful you invited me to come with you. We can escape anything they throw at us, if it comes to that.”

“Do you think it will?”

“You know the Droken Ruler. He desires to rule the Fellowship. You’ve stood in his way for a long time and I think he’ll act rashly.”

“But we are no longer a part of the Fellowship.”

“Which makes it even more important that he learns that he cannot act with a free hand without fear of consequences.”

“You’re starting to sound like the humans.”

“Thank you, Sire.”

The Royal smiled and chuckled, “You’re welcome.”

They turned and heard an announcement come in over the wall speaker, “Admiral Barber.”

“Yes Sir.”

“Link the firing systems on your four ships prior to skipping in on the planet.”

“Yes Sir.”

“You will not open fire unless you are attacked.”

“Order received and understood, Sir.”

The Royal looked at Kyel, “They appear to be quite disciplined and organized.”

“War will teach that, Sire. They’ve been bearing the heavy lifting in the fighting and I’m glad that we’re getting involved now. It’s time we did.”

The Royal nodded and looked at the huge tactical monitor above the large forward viewport. A large red X on the screen was designating all of the warships above the planet. Each X had a number one through four beside it. He looked at Kyel and he said, “The number beside each X designates which of our four ships has targeted it.”

The Royal shook his head, “We can target that many ships?”

“It appears we can, Sire.” The Royal turned back to the monitor. This was impossible.

The wall speaker said, “It appears all the attendees are present. We will skip in to the gravity limit in five, four, three, two, one, and NOW!”

* * *

The brilliantly glowing Silver Warships came out of the Void into normal space with a half a mile between them. Chris’s group of Pods were a mile above them and he pressed his communicator, “I didn’t know you were throwing a party for us. You really shouldn’t have.”

The Droken Ruler sneered, “Humor is not called for at this particular time.”

“Speak for yourself. I’ve brought the four Rulers of the Earth, Welken, Myot, and Johan Civilizations to tell you how things will be done in the future.”

The Droken’s face showed his anger, “Do you think you can dictate anything to us with those five ships!?”

“Actually, there are nine ships here. You need to take a closer look at the smallest vessel and you should see that there are five ships, not just one.”

The Droken looked away from the display briefly and then turned back, “Who do you think you are coming here issuing orders to us? Five or nine, you’ll need to bring more than that!”

“Actually, I’m not planning to get involved in any rough play that might happen. My friends here insist that I shouldn’t take part if anything nasty happens and I’m going to comply with their request. However, I will remove any ships that move toward me.” Chris paused, “But let’s hope that we can have an adult discussion without fighting among us. You should be familiar with someone ordering you around and telling you what to do.”

“I recognize you. You’re the one that was put on trial for your cowardice.”

Chris raised his index finger and shook it, “Now, now. Insulting me is not a good way to start our conversation.”

“Why are you talking and not the Welken Ruler? And just how do you say I’m accustomed to being ordered around?”

“I’ve been placed in command of all the Military forces of our four civilizations. They have given me the latitude to make the decisions concerning any civilization that is a threat to us. The Sentinels have ordered all of the members of the Fellowship around as long as you’ve existed. Being told what to do shouldn’t be something you’re unfamiliar with.”

“You’re not the Sentinels!!”

“Quite true. But you should understand that I’m not in the least bit concerned at how you treat each other like they were.” Chris muted the communicator, “Barbie, is this conversation being sent to the Rulers of the Fellowship?”

“The Probes we’ve put in place at their planets is relaying it to their worlds. Those that sent ships here are hearing it from them.”

“Make sure the message along with a visual feed is sent anyway. The feed from their ships might be interrupted.” Audrey looked at him with a frown. Chris shook his head, “Look at him. He’s spoiling for a fight. I’ll do what I can to avoid it.”

Chris unmuted his communicator and said, “I had to check to see if our conversation was being sent to all the members of the Fellowship. I have been assured it is. Now where were we? Oh yeah, we were talking about ordering you around.”

“I told you that you are not the Sentinels!!”

“Thank you for reminding me. My civilization as well as our allies really hoped that working together over the last five years would have taught all of you the value of peace and the worth of all people. The trial showed us that you have ignored that lesson and are pretty much the same aggressive species you’ve always been. We can’t allow you to continue that behavior in this galaxy. Before we go any further, I have a message to the Ruler of the Cosreg. I have ordered a fleet to the primitive planet you invaded and they are currently ordering your forces to leave. If they refuse to comply with that request, you will have fewer warships to command. Now, let’s get back to our conversation.”

“Telling his ships to leave or be destroyed is not a request.”

‘I’m sorry, you’re absolutely right. Remove your ships or we will destroy them. Now is that better?”

The Droken’s anger was approaching rage, “YOUR INSOLENCE IS INTOLERABLE!!”

Chris took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, “You’re right; you don’t deserve my dismissive attitude. Chris’s expression changed. “Here is how things will be from this moment forward. You will not attack any planet outside the Fellowship and that includes all primitive planets. Your warships may be used to defend yourselves against each other and any force from outside our galaxy that may come here. If any of your warships leave Fellowship territory, they will be destroyed. This ban does not apply to unarmed commercial ships and we encourage you to open trade with other civilization in our galaxy. However, I will not tolerate any outside aggression from any of your civilizations.” Chris paused and said, “I feel it necessary to tell you that we are fully capable of enforcing our demands and I genuinely hope you don’t act rashly and make me prove it.”

The Droken said, “I want to speak with the Welken Royal now!”

Chris thought about it for a moment and muted his communicator. He pressed another button and said, “Great One, from this point forward, I will probably not honor this type of request but since this is the first confrontation between our alliance and the Fellowship and I really do want to avoid bloodshed, you probably should communicate with him.”

The Royal looked at Kyel and he nodded. He turned to Captain Edwards and he handed him a portable communicator. “What do you want?”

“What gives you the right to come here and dictate to us?!”

“Have you been listening? I haven’t said a word.”

“So you disagree with this coward?”

“Not at all. But you need to understand that he has been chosen to lead our forces and we have sworn to follow him wherever he takes us without question. He has been directed to conquer any threat to our people. If you have any future questions, you should direct them to him. I will not be speaking with you again.”

The Droken’s face changed slightly. He was still angry but he gained control before it turned to rage. The Royal’s image disappeared and was replaced by Chris. The Droken’s First Assistant said off to the side, “Many of the other Rulers are calling for you to teach them a lesson about meddling in our affairs.”

The Droken turned his head slightly to hear his Assistant and Chris watched him carefully. He didn’t need to be a telepath to see what was going through the Droken’s mind. If he didn’t respond to this, he’d lose face in the Fellowship. If he did, he could lose a huge number of warships. Chris pressed the intership button, “Full Battlestations, there’s going to be a fight. Any warship above that planet that activates its thrusters will be fired on.” Chris looked at the Droken and quickly said, “You really don’t want to do this. I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t believe my ships could prevail against you. I waited until all the ships here arrived before I came.” The Droken stared at Chris and he tried one more time, “Any warship above your planet that turns on their thrusters will be destroyed. Don’t cause their deaths!”

The Droken’s expression changed and Chris heard his thoughts. “You know I have no choice but to do this.”

“There is always a choice!”

“Not in this case. If we don’t attack, many of us will believe that you couldn’t do what you say and will not follow your orders. More will die if your power is not shown here. Can you not see that?”

Chris’s opinion of the Droken immediately changed. He was not the evil twisted Ruler he thought he was. And he was right. Chris shook his head, “I’m sorry it has to come to this.”

“Will you agree to defend my people if the others combine against me?”

Chris stared at the Droken and, after a moment, nodded. Audrey listened to the exchange on Barbie’s wall speaker as she converted their thoughts into sound. Her tears started and she knew Chris was right when he said earlier that harder things were going to happen.

The Droken shouted over his communicator, “All Fellowship Warship, teach these arrogant Shifants that we will not be dictated to!”

The Fellowship fleets were just inside the gravity limit and thousands of them rushed out toward the glowing silver battleships. More than a thousand of them rushed at Chris’s pod.

The Fellowship warships began exploding like a giant string of firecrackers, as one after another was blasted by the Battleship’s Dark Energy beams. The numbers being destroyed were too numerous to count and their destruction was happening too fast to track.

Chris watched one of the pods around his ship leave to attack a group of warships approaching him. The other three moved into a triangle formation around his pod until the one that left returned and then they formed a square around him again. He saw a pod on the other side flash away and he kept it on his scanner.

The pod flew into the formation of attacking battleships and it twisted through them at incredible angles. Ships exploded on all side of it as it moved through the formation. The pod returned and the others moved back into a square formation. He hung his head and closed his eyes. After what seemed like an eternity he heard the Droken yell, “Stop attacking and return to the planet. STOP THE ATTACK!!”

Chris looked up and fought to pull himself together. The tactical display on his combat helmet showed countless ships that were burning in space in the middle of a giant debris field. Chris forced himself to look grim and activated his communicator, “If you refuse to follow my directives I will destroy every warship in the Fellowship if I have to.” He paused and said, “The Droken have suffered the most from this demonstration and have lost the most ships. It is unfortunate that they were the example for the rest of you to learn what awaits you if you violate our rules. We will defend the Droken from attack until they are able to defend themselves. If any of you attack them, I will remove your ability to wage war!”

Chris stared into the monitor and heard the Droken Ruler think, “Thank you! I hope you understand that I chose to prosecute you to gain political status. It was not done because I disliked you.”

“I understand. Take care of your citizens.”

“I will.”

Chris pressed his communicator, “All ships, return to your assigned posts.” Chris looked at Audrey quietly weeping and said, “Barbie, get us out of here.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Take us to Eden. There’s been too much death for one day.”

Audrey looked up and wiped her tears, “That will be the last time I cry for anyone that threatens us. Barbie, change course. I have a better place to go.”

Chris looked at her with his eyebrows coming together. “Where is that?”

“Take us to the beach on Barbados. Do you have Chris’s surfboard stored below?”

“I do.”

She looked at Chris and saw a small smile appear, “I think our conqueror needs a few waves to make him feel better.”

“Changing course.”

Chris shook his head and loved her more at that moment than he could describe. He shook his head and pressed a button, “Do any of you know how to surf?’

“I love it!”

Allison said, “Waver has been trying to teach us but we’re not in his league.”

“When we arrive at Earth, go and get your boards and meet me on the beach. I’ll teach you how to use a pod to do it properly.”

“Allllll Riiight!!” Audrey smiled and looked forward to meeting the members of the kindergarten. She knew they would help Chris deal with what just happened.

* * *

Lukas looked at Loree, “Why did you allow those ships to get close to Chris?”

“The Fellowship needed to have a recording of what our small ships can do as well. They should also fear them. If they weren’t involved in the battle, they may not jump high enough if we have to send one of them to enforce our directives.”

Lukas tilted his head and nodded, “That’s good thinking.”

Loree smiled, “Those pods around his ship are really good! They did things that I didn’t know were possible.”

“They are the best we have. You’re seeing the future of our fleets.”

“How is that?”

“All of them are sixteen years old.”

Hawk turned around, “Get out of here!”

Lukas smiled, “Could you have done what they did, Captain?”

Hawk turned around and shook his head, “I intend to learn some of their moves.”

“And you think you can do them with this battleship?”

“We’ll see, Sir.”

Loree looked at Lukas and he saw her nod. This pilot must really be good.

* * *

Lukas and Salud found Chris on the beach. They walked out on the sand and pulled up a chair on each side of him. Salud looked around, “Where’s Audrey?”

“She’s dealing with a case of morning sickness. She won’t be able to go out with me much longer.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I know what it feels like.”

Chris looked at her and smiled, “I imagine you do.”

Lukas leaned back and said, “You can’t beat yourself up over this.”

“I know.”

“I’m serious, Chris.”

“Do you have an idea of how many died?”

“More than a half a million.” Chris sighed and looked out at the waves. “There’s something you need to know.” Chris turned back to him. “When the attack began, hundreds of Fellowship planets were moving their ships outside the gravity limit to join in the attack. Once they saw what was happening, they called it off.”

Salud said, “Our Probes have also learned from recorded conversations that more than two hundred members of the Fellowship were organizing fleets to go out and attack primitive planets. Half a million died but ten times that number would have died later if it didn’t happen.”

Chris stared at them for a while and then said, “Killing people in this galaxy just doesn’t feel good. My ultimate task is to defend them.”

“Perhaps you won’t have to ever do this again. This had to happen!”

Chris looked at Lukas, “I know. If I had to do it over, I’d do it the same way.”

“Our Allies heard the mental conversation you had with the Droken.” Chris’s eyes narrowed. “Willow was on board my battleship and she played it over the loud speakers on the four ships. They know you tried everything possible to stop it. They also realized afterwards that it had to be done. I think they are now happy that they aren’t having to make those decisions.”

“Did they agree with my decision to defend the Droken from attack?”

“They have contacted the Droken Ruler and have informed the other members of the Fellowship that his planet is now a protected territory of our new Alliance. Anyone that violates his space will be severely dealt with. They have also opened a trade agreement with him. He has notified the Fellowship that he is withdrawing his membership.”

Chris smiled for the first time since the battle, “That makes it worth doing. I learned at the last moment that he isn’t an evil being. He was wise to see that the battle had to happen and he accepted responsibility for it. I actually ended up liking him.”

“Good.”

“I’ve been sitting here thinking about what I’m going to do next.”

“And?”

“I think you’re right about there being a long period of peace before hostilities break out. How long will it be before Loree gets her battleships?”

“Probably about a year before all fifty are completed. At that point, the Allies will be producing them in large numbers. It’s going to take that long to get the converters built along with the electrical systems used on them.”

Chris nodded at the four teenagers being dragged through the waves by their pods, “I’m taking the kindergarten out to take a look at the three galaxies. I need to see what’s going on. Once Loree can go out and take over the scouting, I’m going to stay here and focus on learning the capabilities of our new armor as well as organizing our fleets.”

Salud said, “I think that’s a good plan.”

“There’s one piece of it you might not like.”

“What is that?”

“Eve has contacted me telepathically and wants me to convince you to give her a training pod.” Salud and Lukas stared at Chris in silence and he said, “She tells me that you have told her no.”

“SHE’S ONLY SIX YEARS OLD!!”

“Chris raised his hands, “Hey, don’t kill the messenger!” They calmed down and Chris said, “I was nine years old before my telepathy developed. She’s far ahead of where I was at the same age. She’s listening to us right now.”

Salud’s eyes narrowed and she said, “THE ANSWER IS STILL NO!” Salud looked at Chris staring at her and said, “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!”

“Do you think it was any easier for Stoney and Mom to allow me to go and Eve is far ahead of where I was when they did it? It wasn’t so hard to allow someone else’s child to do it but you’re not willing to allow your own to do what is necessary for her development.” Salud stared daggers at Chris and he shrugged, “I’m just saying.”

“It was probably your talking with her telepathically that caused her to develop too quickly!”

Lukas looked at Salud, “Are you saying you don’t want her to develop at her pace but at a pace you choose for her?”

“Lukas, you can’t be agreeing with this!?”

“Ok, when?”

“When what?”

“When will you allow her to go out?” Salud stared at Lukas and shook her head. “It’s a simple question, when?”

Salud gritted her teeth and said, “Never!”

Lukas shook her head, “You left your parents when you were sixteen to enter college early against their wishes. Why didn’t you stay with them?”

Salud opened her mouth to scream at Lukas and stopped. She lowered her head and sighed heavily. After a few moments she said, “Because life was one long boring day after another. I had to find something to make me want to wake up in the mornings.”

Lukas reached over, put his hand on her chin, and lifted her face, “She’s just like her mother. If you try to hold her back, she’ll will hate you for it.”

Salud stared into Lukas’ eyes and felt her tears. “I always thought I would reconcile with my mother later. She died before I could.”

“What you experienced is what our daughter is feeling now.”

Salud sighed again and thought, “Is what he’s saying true?”

“Mom, my days feel like they’re forty eight hours long. I hate it.”

Salud looked at Lukas and said, “You may join in pod training.” All three of them heard eve’s telepathic shout of joy. “But promise me you’ll be careful!”

“I will, Mom. You know I will! This is incredible. I’m so excited! I’ll be careful!”

“Slow down, Eve. You will still come home at the end of every day.”

“May I bring my pod with me!?”

Salud looked at Lukas, “We’ll have a landing pad built for it, darling.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

“We’ll discuss this when we get home.”

“Thank you soooooo much!”

Salud looked at Lukas, “I didn’t think about leaving my family.”

“Now you know how your parents felt.”

Salud nodded and slowly shook her head, “They’re up in heaven making me pay for it now.”

Chris listened to them and saw what love really looked like. Later after they left he heard, “Thank you, Chris.”

“Don’t mention it, Sis.”

“I love you.”

“And I love you, too. Be careful.”

“I will. I have a lot to learn and I’m not rushing this.” Chris smiled and knew she meant it. She was extraordinary.

Chapter Five

Chris looked at the numbers of warships surrounding the planet and shook his head. The Civilizations in M-86 were wasting no time building up their fleets. This was the tenth planet he had moved in to scout and all of them were in full production. If this was happening all over the galaxy…he shook his head. They weren’t going to do all this building and then not use the weapons they were making. “What do you think about this, Allison?”

“I honestly don’t know what to think. Their entire economy is centered on the construction of weapons of war. I’d hate to live in that kind of society.”

“You weren’t here when the Progen were conquering them. Many civilizations were exterminated before they left. They’re doing this to prevent it happening again.”

“I guess I can understand it under those circumstances.”

“We’re doing the same thing.”

“Not really.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because everyone is not employed building our warships. I suspect only about a tenth of our population is actually building them?”

“What percent is in our military forces?”

“Touché. You’re right, a much higher percent but not near the percent of the planets I’ve seen in this galaxy.”

“The main reason for that is our converter technology.”

“Even without it, they’re building them faster than we are.”

Chris looked at the planet and nodded slowly, “Yes, you’re right about that.”

“Have you scanned one of their ships to see how they measure up to our fleet?”

“No.”

“Are you assuming we’re ahead of them?”

“I guess I am.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“You’re starting to sound like Audrey.”

“I have to take that as a compliment.”

“Why is that?”

“You married her. You must respect her opinions.”

“Touché right back at you.” Allison laughed and thought about the issue. “Allison, prepare to make a hasty exit.”

“You’re going to do it?”

“I am. Just be ready to run.”

“We’ll be with you. Just lead the way.”

“Barbie?”

“I’ve been listening to you. What do you want?”

“I want one of those ships in orbit to be scanned all the way down to the molecular level. Focus on their weapon systems.”

“That will take a few seconds.”

“How many?”

“To get everything, about ten.”

Chris looked at the planet and said, “Perhaps we should move a little further out before you do it.”

“I think that would be wise.”

“And Barbie.”

“Yes.”

“Don’t get any closer to that moon.”

“I’ll move us away from it as well.” Chris watched the planet move away from his viewport and marveled at how beautiful a habitable planet looked hanging in space. It was truly a miracle of creation and the grey-white clouds moving over its surface only accented its beauty. The ship stopped moving and Chris said, “How far out are we?”

“We’re just outside the gravity limit. We should be able to get out of here in a big way if we need to run.”

“Start your scan.” Chris watched the planet and said, “HOLY BLISTERS ON MY BUTT.” The entire planet looked like a huge hornets nest with thousands of hornets bursting out of it and moving their way. He looked at the moon and saw another huge cloud of ships rushing off the surface and headed his way. “Barbie?”

“Give me a moment.”

Chris watched the huge cloud of warships getting closer, “BARBIE!”

“Done.” The B-Pod and the four Pods around it went to full thrusters and shot away from the planet like a shot. Chris saw two more clouds of ships moving toward them from the fifth planet and Barbie turned and went vertical from the planet’s orbit. She accelerated to full speed and they left the thousands of pursuing ships far behind.

Chris sat back in his chair and then leaned forward. Thousands of warships were skipping in above them, cutting off their line of escape. As he watched, thousands more appeared ahead of them. “Those ships had to be waiting in normal space to get here without us seeing them.”

“I agree.”

“Can you outrun them?”

“Falcon One!”

“Yes Sir.”

“Go to reactor pattern bravo and be prepared to go to full thrusters.”

“Bravo Pattern engaged.”

“In three, two, one, go!”

* * *

The Commander of the pursuing fleets wondered what kind of ship his fleets were chasing. The fleets in normal space above the galaxy dropped into the void to cut them off and he smiled. They had it surrounded. Suddenly, the small ship’s thrusters grew extremely bright and it flashed away so fast it was out of scanner range in an instant. His mouth fell open and he looked at his Sensor Commander, who was shaking his head. “Did you get a reading on how fast that ship was traveling?”

“Not really.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“The maximum speed on my gauge was pegged. I know for certain it went that fast but how much faster, I have no way of knowing.”

“Did you get a color?”

“It was silver in color and there were five of them.”

“WHAT?”

An image appeared on the ship’s monitor and the Commander saw four small ships surrounding an identical ship in the center. All of them flew at the same speed. He shook his head. His communications Commander shouted from across the bridge, “I’m getting numerous calls questioning what kind of ship that was.”

“Tell them their guess is as good as mine.” The Communications Commander shook his head and began talking into his communicator. The Commander felt that the strange ships weren’t from the giant galaxy. He had never fought against ships that small. He was shocked that the ships had been able to get close enough to the planet to make a scan. How was that possible?

Then he remembered two Green Ships closing in on his vessel that suddenly exploded. Was this the ship that had saved him? He stared at the image on the monitor and looked at his Communications Officer. He saw the commander looking at him and he put his hand over his communicator. “Issue orders to all fleets that if they detect their planets being scanned, before they attack, try to open a channel to communicate.” Everyone on the bridge stared at him like he was crazy. He ignored them and wondered if it was his savior.

* * *

“I think I understand why you’re reluctant to make a scan, Sir.”

Chris laughed, “That’s a good lesson to learn, Lieutenant.”

“Uhhh, Sir, I’m an Ensign.”

“Not any more. Keep up the good work.”

“YES SIR!”

* * *

Seven years passed and Chris worked in getting the Alliance’s military forces organized into an effective fighting force. His original four bodyguards were eventually replaced by the newest hot shot pilots and the four were given commands of a fleet of Pods. Allison was placed in command of all the newest fleets as the children on Earth and Eden came of age. She was doing a remarkable job. The number of fleets now numbered more than two hundred with ten thousand pods in each.

Chris sat up on his lounge chair and saw Audrey walking down from their residence. He smiled and kissed her as she leaned down. “What ya doing?”

“I want to go sailing. I’m going to take the small boat out and get in touch with the ocean. Do you want to join me?”

“Actually, I do but Dad is coming down with two surf poles to teach me how to fish in the waves. I think he wants to talk about something but can’t bring himself to tell me.”

“He’s like that.”

Chris nodded, “Yes he is. Where’s Michael?”

“He wanted to go and play with Junior. He should be home by nightfall.”

Chris stood up and helped her pull the small sail boat into the water and gave her a push. She raised the sail and tacked away from the shoreline. He shook his head; Audrey was a fine sailor. The bright pink and blue sail moved quickly out into the waves. Hey, give me a hand!” Chris turned around and saw Stoney lugging two long fishing rods and a rather large tackle box. He ran over and grabbed the tackle box and Stoney whistled, “Man, I need to get rid of some of those lures!”

“You know that will never happen; you’re too much of a hoarder.”

Stone smiled, “No, I guess you’re right. I’ve tried before but all of those lures are tied to the memory of a large fish I pulled in. Here, let me show you how to bait your pole.” Chris smiled. Stoney had taught him to bait a line when he was just five years old. He handed the pole to Stoney and watched him.

Ah hour later, Chris cast the line far out into the waves and set the reel. Stoney cast his line as well and looked at Chris, “Son, do you miss not having a childhood?”

Chris looked at his father, “What do you mean?”

“You changed your DNA into an adult when you were ten years old. You missed so many of the things that make a childhood fun.”

“Such as?”

“Going to high school. Playing sports. Going on family trips. I could go on and on but I worry that we allowed you to grow up too fast.”

Chris said, “Sit down, Dad.” Stoney sat down in a folding chair on the beach and Chris joined him. “I had a great childhood. You and mom took me to all the meetings that happened here and also wherever you went. My telepathy didn’t start developing until I was nine and my childhood was spectacular up until then. Once I started absorbing the thoughts of people like Amanda, Trevor, Jinks, Lukas, Salud, you and mom, playing with toys just didn’t do anything for me.”

“But you missed graduating from high school and college.”

Chris shook his head, “Dad, once I absorbed the thoughts of our leaders, I knew more than most Ph.D.’s. Going to school to confirm it would be a waste of time. I’ve done things that are important and I also found a woman to love that loves me just as much. I have a six-year-old son and I just don’t see how life could be any better. You and Mom did a wonderful job of preparing me for life. I don’t regret anything.” Stoney smiled and reeled his line in. “Are you leaving?”

“I am.” Stoney looked out and saw the pink and blue sail far out on the waves, “She’s a pretty good ways out.”

“She’s an excellent sailor, Dad.”

Suddenly, both of them jerked their heads to the north as the giant defense disruptor discharged a giant beam into the atmosphere. Instantly, the force field protecting the island slammed into place an instant before a brilliant flash turned it black to prevent them from being blinded. The sound of the explosion directly above the force field was deafening.

* * *

Chris shook his head to clear it from the explosive noise and suddenly looked out at the ocean. The force field was still pitch black but he didn’t see the pink and blue sail inside it. Stoney saw him look away and he looked out to sea with him. He felt his heart go into his throat, Audrey had sailed outside the force field’s coverage. Chris screamed at the top of his lungs and turned to run into the waves. Stoney tackled him and held on with all his might. Chris was screaming Audrey’s name over and over. He pressed his wrist communicator, “GET A DOCTOR TO THE BEACH NOW!!!!” Stoney held on to Chris and saw a doctor and nurse running down from the shore. The doctor saw Chris’s hysteria and took a syringe out of his bag and filled it with a clear liquid from a vial. He pushed the syringe into Chris’s neck and pushed the plunger. A moment later, Chris’s screaming stopped abruptly and his eyes closed.

“What’s going on, Stoney?”

“Jinks, Audrey was sailing outside the coverage of the force field.”

“OH MY GOD!”

“I had a doctor sedate Chris. Send a transport to the beach; we need to move him to a hospital.”

“It’s on the way.”

“Jinks, how did this happen?”

Jinks forcefully blew out a breath, “I don’t have all the details yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out.”

Stoney nodded and felt his tears. His son’s wife, his step-daughter was just murdered. He saw Kathy running down the dune toward him and as soon as she saw his eyes she stopped for a moment and grabbed her neck. Then she ran forward and threw her body on Stoney and Chris.

* * *

Four days later, Chris sat in a wheelchair staring out of a large picture window in the hospital’s hall. His arms and legs were tied down with leather restraints to prevent him from hurting himself. The view from the window showed a large orange field where workers were harvesting the heavily laden branches. Chris’s eyes just stared straight ahead without blinking. Lukas, Salud, Jinks and Sarah walked up and looked at Stoney. Salud said, “Has there been any change?” Stoney shook his head. Salud bent down and hugged Chris as she kissed him on his head.

Lukas shook his head, “I don’t want to do it but should we bring Michael to see if it brings him out of it?”

“I’ve never been in it.” Everyone jerked their heads toward Chris as he twisted his arms and broke restraints on his arm. He reached down and untied his leg restraints and tossed them to the hospital orderly standing close by, “Use this on someone that needs it.”

Kathy jumped up and ran over to hug Chris. “It’s OK Mom, I needed some time to say goodbye.”

Kathy leaned back, “Are you ok?”

Chris’s eyes narrowed, “What do you think?” He turned to Lukas, “How did they get through our defenses?”

Lukas heard Chris’s tone and didn’t recognize it. “Our investigation has determined that seven years ago when you killed those scouts and sent the sixth back with a message, they launched a special ship. It was little more than a thin non-ferrous hull with an engine and drive field. It had just enough room to carry a shielded nuclear bomb.”

“How did it get through our scans?”

“It skipped in outside the coverage of our void probes and continued the journey in normal space. The pilot appears to have the ability to go into a suspended animation state. It took more than six years for it to arrive here through normal space traveling close to the speed of light.”

Chris nodded slightly, “Our detection systems in normal space were inadequate to see it coming.” Lukas nodded. Chris looked at him, “Tell me again why the main force field was off.”

Stoney said, “It’s not his fault. You know the power to keep it running would be too high to make it effective when it might have to be used. You approved not keeping it on along with the rest of us.”

Chris winced and shook his head, “I think I forced myself to forget that little piece of information. So no one here is to blame for her death?”

Salud nodded, “No, it was a freak occurrence that the attack took place on just the day she went sailing.”

Chris snorted, “Sort of like it’s a part of my destiny.”

“I’M NOT SAYING THAT! ACCIDENTS HAPPEN!”

Chris looked at Salud with dead eyes, “This was no accident.”

Lukas sighed, “Chris, we can give you some time off…”

“The only time I’m going to need is to go and take my son back to that beach to tell his mother good-bye.”

Sarah said, “What are you going to do?”

Chris looked at her and then turned to Jinks, “I want the top 100 Pod Fleets assembled in orbit three days from now.”

Stoney looked at Chris, “Son, you should wait to do this. You need some time.”

Chris smiled for the first time and put his hand on Stoney’s shoulder, “Dad, I told them seven years ago that if they sent another ship here I was going to eradicate them. They didn’t wait a month before they launched that ship.” Chris looked at Lukas, “What good are consequences if you’re not willing to enforce them?” Lukas could only shake his head. Chris’s face turned grim, “They learned seven years ago that our leadership was on this island. I’ve spent the last four days thinking about what happened and I wanted to blame myself for what happened to Audrey. I shouldn’t have let her go so far out; but she had gone there many times. I should have stopped her from sailing; but I go out surfing more often and sometimes further out. I want to be able to blame myself but I know that is a wasted effort and she wouldn’t appreciate my hypocrisy if I did.” Chris looked at those gathered around him. “The only ones I can blame are the ones that launched that ship. I intend to do something about it.”

Chris stood up and Lukas tilted his head, “Tell us what you need to go and keep in mind that Earth and Eden need to be defended in your absence.”

Chris smiled, “Thank you, Lukas.”

Lukas nodded, “If I lost Salud under the same circumstances, I would want to tear whatever they use for a throat out.”

Chris looked at Jinks, “Will you request the Royal to send me one planetary drop fleet? I also want the First Drop Pod Fleet ready to go as well.”

“Why just one?”

Chris’s eyes narrowed, “I’m only going to drop on one of their planets.”

Sarah said, “Which one?”

Chris looked her in the eyes, “The one where the being that sent that ship here is located.” Everyone there saw something had changed in Chris and the menace in his words could almost be felt.

* * *

Chris stood on the beach holding Michael’s hand in his right hand and a bouquet of flowers in the other. Michael was also holding a smaller bouquet and they stood there saying nothing. But Chris was speaking to Michael through telepathy. He heard Michael think, “I really miss her so much.” Chris squeezed his hand lightly and Michael looked up at Chris and thought, “She told me many times how much she was proud of you.”

Chris fought back his tears and shook his head as he blew out a breath. “The last thing she told me before she went out was that you were at Junior’s playing. I heard in her thoughts how much she loved you and how she thought you were the greatest person ever. Her love was more than I can ever describe to you, son.”

“I know.” Chris’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve been hearing her thoughts for a while.” He looked up at Chris and said, “I want to be just like you when I grow up. I think that is how I can honor her best.”

Chris’s tears started and took he Michel down to the waves and tossed the flowers out on the waves. Michael threw his in and Chris bent down, “Son, I’m going to be gone for a while and you’re going to stay with Lukas and Salud.”

“Where are you going?”

Chris looked out at the waves, “To find the one that did this.”

Michael looked out at the waves with him as they both cried for the wife and mother they lost.

* * *

Salud picked up Michael and said, “We’ll take good care of him Chris.”

“I know you will.” He kissed Michael on the cheek as his son hugged his neck. “I’ll be back.”

Michael nodded and put his arms around Salud’s neck. Chris walked away and entered a ground car to go to the spaceport. His wrist communicator vibrated and he saw the Welken Royal on the display. He pressed the activate button and said, “Good morning, Great One.”

“I received a request from Admiral Jekins and I had a few questions about it. He said I should contact you.”

“What questions do you have?”

“You’ve only requested one fleet of Drop Ships. That leads to me to believe that you intend to only drop on one planet. Is that true.”

“It is.”

“What do you intend to do with the others?”

Chris stared at him with narrowed eyes, “I don’t intend to leave anything on them worth jumping on.”

“I thought as much. If that’s the case, you might think about using the new battleships to make that happen. It would take tens of thousands of beam strikes from your pods to accomplish what you want. The Battleships have sixty major disruptors and their beams are a thousand times wider than the pod’s beams. It will take entirely too long to do it with pods.”

Chris stared at the Royal, “What do you think about my intentions?”

“I’m Welken. What do you think I think about it? We can’t shy away from doing what needs to be done.”

“How many ships can you spare and still defend your planets.”

“I’ll send you a number equal to the number of Pods you’re taking.”

“A MILLION!?”

“I can spare more but that would mean having ships without pods to defend them. I suppose you’re planning to send a hundred pods to each of their planets?”

“That’s the idea.”

“Send ten battleships with them and you’ll finish your mission in one third of the time.”

“Thank you, Great One. Please send them to Earth for departure. How long will it take to provision them and get them here?”

“When do you plan to leave?”

“Tomorrow.”

“They’ll be there tomorrow.”

The display went dark and Chris lifted his communicator. The organization for the fleets was going to have to be changed. Admiral Simmons appeared on his wrist unit and he said, “Change of plans.”

“Oh?”

“The Allies are sending a million battleships to join our efforts. Work on getting the formations changed to use them in the initial attack and the following cleanup.”

“Yes Sir!” The display went dark and he wondered if Allison ever smiled. She was the consummate commander and her demeanor told anyone around her that she would not tolerate incompetence or stupidity. She was twenty-three but an old twenty-three. He shook his head. There were none better than her at planning and implementing attack plans. He needed her in the coming fight.

* * *

“Barbie, are you ready to go?”

“Are we taking anyone else with us?”

“No, we’re going alone this time.”

“I’m so sorry, Chris.”

“Thanks. Take us out to the fleet and let’s get this over with.” The small pod lifted and accelerated out of Earth’s atmosphere. Chris didn’t need the scanner to see the gathering fleets. The one hundred fleets of pods had a thirty-mile separation between their tight formations. The battleships started arriving three hours earlier and they were flying in at high speed and forming up behind the long line of Pods. Chris pressed his communicator, “How long before we’re ready to go?”

He saw Allison’s face appear on his display, “The Pods are ready now. I’ve received confirmation that the last battleships will arrive in thirty minutes.”

“I didn’t expect them to get here that fast. Have you decided what formation we’re going to use when we arrive?”

“I have, Sir. I completed it last night and sent the coordinates for each fleet. I sent the battleship’s coordinates to them this morning.”

“How do you manage to do it so quickly?”

Barbie mumbled, “She has two computers on her Pod.”

Chris’s head went back and he said, “Do you have two computers?”

“I do, Sir. During battle, one handles flying and evading the enemy while the other operates the weapons. I discovered early on that it’s impossible to keep track of what the big picture is if I have to fly or fight my pod. Having two computers on board also allows me to use them to develop formations and get the information out in a timely fashion. I don’t have a bodyguard like you do, Sir. I had to find a way to do my job without one.’

“As soon as this mission is completed, you will select four ships to defend your pod while you’re directing our fleets.”

“Sir, I can handle it.”

“I’m not suggesting you can’t. But four of our pilots can learn a lot from watching you. We’ll select those that are fast tracked for promotion.”

Allison was silent for a moment and said, “You’re right. I learned so much from those years I worked with you and the other senior officers.”

“Such as?”

“Jinks and Stoney are incredible in coming up with fleet formations. They taught me most of what I know about it.”

Chris was slightly ticked. He didn’t want to but, when she remained silent, he asked. “What did you learn while commanding my bodyguards?”

Allison smiled, “I learned that you should never make a full scan unless you’re prepared to run.”

Chris actually laughed, “I remember that little episode. I learned something from it as well. Notify me when the fleet is ready.”

“Yes Sir.”

* * *

“Sir, the fleets are ready to skip out.”

Chris activated the main frequency on his communicator. “This is what you’ve trained to do for years. I know you’re ready for this and I expect the best you have in the coming fight. We will be skipping out to our arrival coordinates in a moment and once we’re there, we will assume the best formation to meet any forces sent out to stop us. Five seconds prior to our departure, everyone, and I do mean everyone, will activate their armor and keep it on for the duration of this mission. The species we’re going to be fighting are telepaths and your armor will prevent them from hearing your thoughts. Keep your armor on until I order otherwise. The Pod Drop Fleet will remain in formation around my ship behind the main fleet. We will be skipping out in ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five,” Chris activated his armor and it wrapped around him, “Four, three, two, one, Go!”

“The two million plus ships all disappeared at the same moment. Lukas watched the launch and shook his head, “Go with God, Chris.”

Chapter Six

The massive fleet of warships flew for three days and emerged into normal space just outside the edge of the giant lenticular galaxy. Chris stared at the giant and decided that the astronomer that described it as two Russian dolls dancing around a bright pole was pretty accurate. The brilliant jets shooting out of the central black hole were amazing. They weren’t as impressive as the hundreds of light years long plumes shooting out of M-87’s core, but they were impressive. Chris looked at the fleets in their formations in front of his pod and said, “Barbie, do you detect any scouts?”

“There are quite a few of them around us.”

“Too many to go after?”

“They’ll be hard to find, so you’ll have to send several thousand ships to take them out.”

“That’s not worth the effort. Are they reporting our presence?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe. I can’t understand what they’re saying, so many of them are yelling at the same time. Wait a moment!” Chris waited and watched the galaxy a hundred thousand miles away. “They’ve been ordered out. Their leaders don’t want them present when their warships arrive.”

“Good. That means we don’t have to go in looking for them.”

“Admiral Barber is entering normal space.”

Chris looked above his ship and saw the Montana breaking into normal space directly above his line of Assault Pods. “I was wondering when you were going to arrive.”

“It’s taken longer than I anticipated to collect and correlate all the data collected from my fleet of scouts.”

Chris pressed a button on his panel and linked Allison in to the conversation. “Admiral Simmons, Admiral Barber has arrived with the maps of that species planet’s locations. Admiral, please send a download of your information to both of our computers.”

“Sending it now.”

Chris watched the lights on his data board and saw them move across the panel. After ten minutes the lights went out. “How many of their planets were you able to find?”

“It’s taken about six years to map this galaxy and the civilization you’re looking for is the dominant species here. They live on more than a hundred and thirty five thousand planets.”

“Do they have a planet with a central government?”

“They do. Just type in the key word ‘Leadership’ and its location will appear.”

“Allison, I was planning to assign targets after the battle against their fleets but it appears it’s going to take some time before they organize an attack. Take the data and assign two hundred Pods and Battleships to attack one of their planets. I want you to also assign their second and third targets as well, if you have the time.”

“I’ll start working on it immediately.”

“Allison.”

“Yes Sir?”

“I will handle the planet with their central government.”

Allison paused and said, “Yes Sir.” There was a pause and she said, “Once the fleet breaks up to attack their assigned targets, I will join you.”

Chris nodded, “That would be good. Jinks is also joining me once his fleets skip to their targets.” Chris turned back to Loree, “Are you certain you have them all?”

Loree shrugged, “When searching a galaxy, nothing is certain. However, if we missed any I’ll be greatly surprised, Sir.”

“That’s good enough for me. Thank you, Admiral.” The Montana’s drive field came on and the huge battleship disappeared from normal space. Chris looked at the display, “Barbie, have you detected any changes in that galaxy?” The view of the fleet changed to a closer view of M-84. Chris saw a grey colored cloud forming just outside the edge.

As he watched, the view moved in closer and he was able to distinguish massive numbers of large grey warships moving into formations. The cloud was visibly growing larger each minute. Chris leaned back in his chair and looked at the empty chair beside him. He shook his head. God! He missed her so much. He looked back out at the much larger cloud of Grey Ships and said, “It won’t be long now, Darling.”

“Why are we waiting on them? Let’s get this party started!”

“Patience, Sis.”

“Hey, she was my sister-in-law!”

“Eve, vengeance is something to be savored. Your time will come shortly.” Chris shook his head, Eve was something else.

* * *

Salud and Lukas resisted but she finally prevailed a year ago and they allowed Willow to convert her DNA to that of a twenty year old. She had excelled to the point where Fleet needed to promote her to command the first Assault Fleet but she was just too young. She was ranked the best pilot in the fleet and that wasn’t her greatest talent. She possessed the hybrid mind of the Welken and Humans. Her reflexes were incredibly fast and her speed was beyond any of those in her class. Her skills in the Assault Armor were unmatched. She was beyond incredible.

Lukas and Salud tried their best to convince her to just be a pilot and to forget the notion of dropping on an enemy planet. Their best efforts failed. Eve loved using her armor. Lukas finally told Salud that she needed to consider what would happen if a fish was told not to go into the water, it would never get around on land like it could in the ocean. It lived to swim. Salud finally gave in but Chris suspected she would have fought it to the bitter end if she didn’t have another child. Adam was still at home and she prayed her daughter wouldn’t be killed doing what she enjoyed most. She was starting to worry that Adam was going to develop telepathy and leave home but she put the fear aside and enjoyed every day with him. Eve was promoted to command the First Pod Assault Fleet. Her ships would be used to drop on the Grey Civilization’s central planet and soften it up for the heavy warriors. He remembered Salud questioning him about having to use her fleet to drop in first.

“Why would you drop the Pods in before the Heavy Warriors? They’re better protected than the Special Force Warriors.”

“Salud, that planet has thousands of ground based disruptors. Their warship’s beams are nowhere near as powerful as those heavy weapons on the planet’s surface.”

“You don’t seriously think one of them would damage one of our battleships?”

“Salud, the battleships will have to drop into the atmosphere to release the Heavies transports. I agree that one of those beams wouldn’t damage the new battleship but a thousand of them could. I’m also pretty certain that the transports would not survive on hit.”

“They can’t be taken out from space?”

“Those installations are protected by a force field over them. The field is powered by a huge array of reactors. The only way to get at them is to attack them from the ground.”

“I thought you said they were protected by a force field?”

“They are but the field is over them; it doesn’t reach the ground around them.”

“Why don’t you just destroy the planet from space and be done with it!”

Chris remembered his anger as he said, “That is what we’re going to do with all the others. I intend to go down to this planet and find the one that ordered that ship here.”

“So you’re willing to risk the life of your sister-in-law to extract your revenge?”

Lukas said, “That’s enough, Salud!!”

Chris looked at her in silence and finally said, “Even if I agreed that extracting my revenge isn’t a good enough reason to do it, I’d still order the attack.”

“WHY?!”

“Because we are going to have to ultimately drop on the planet in M-87 where those Legends are. Our warriors have to be used to determining if that is a viable possibility. This planet is a good place to find out and it won’t be as dangerous as the planet of the Legends. I will not send them in without them having experience on what to expect.”

Salud stared at him and then turned to Lukas. Lukas shrugged, “He’s right.”

“I’ll order her not to participate if that’s what you want but her command will make the drop!”

“She’d never forgive us if you did that.”

“I certainly won’t tell her.”

“Get real. You wouldn’t have to. She’s telepathic and she’d know.” Chris stared at her and she finally shook her head and closed her eyes, “I’ll stay out of this.”

“She’s the Fleet Commander. She’ll be directing their activities and shouldn’t be involved in the heavy fighting.” Salud looked at Chris and raised her left eyebrow. “I know, I know.”

* * *

Chris sighed. He knew that Salud knew that keeping Eve out of the fighting just wasn’t possible. It was her taking on the risks her warriors faced that made them love and respect her so much. He looked at the display again and saw the grey cloud outside the edge of the galaxy was huge. He looked at the Pod fleets and saw they were still in their normal formations. He started to say something but decided to wait and see what Allison was going to do.

* * *

Allison watched the monitor on her panel and saw the outer edge of the enemy fleet start moving toward them slowly as more ships skipped in. “Alley, what’s the width of that mass of ships leaving the galaxy?”

“They’re about ten thousand miles wider than our formations.”

Allison nodded, “And the height?”

“A thousand miles above and below our formations.”

Allison pressed her communicator, “All Pod fleets will move in Formation Gamma, now! All battleships will form up behind them in Formation Epsilon.”

* * *

Chris saw the hundred pod fleets move as one. Each fleet of ten thousand ships formed ten lines of a thousand ships. The lines were staggered above each other with five hundred yards of spacing between individual ships in each line. The fleet formed into ten incredibly long lines in less than two minutes. The battleships broke into two groups and formed fifteen lines above and below the pods with eight hundred yards between them. The lines were also staggered so that each line above was slightly behind the line under it. They looked like a set of steps.

Chris saw the huge mass of grey warships start picking up speed as it moved out from the galaxy. Chris watched the recordings of the fleet battles against the Invaders and he thought that the giant fleets looked like a single organism. He saw it again this time. It was like his fleets were a single creature that moved in a smooth organized manner to confront the beast moving toward them. The giant grey cloud also appeared to move like a single creature as it left the edge of the galaxy as it twisted and coiled. He waited until the attackers were twenty thousand miles away and he lifted his communicator, “Commence Attack!”

The ten lines of pods were too long to be seen visually. He had to depend on his scanners to reduce the view so he could see what was happening. Space battles of this magnitude were not easily controlled.

* * *

“I love you, Roy!”

“I love you, too, Lynn.”

“We should have resigned our commissions and gotten married.”

Roy sighed, “Lynn, if we did that, our warriors wouldn’t have had time to learn a new commander’s expectations. They would be put in more danger if we acted selfishly.”

“I know. It’s your fault!”

“What?”

“You shouldn’t have waited until the very last moment to ask me to marry you!”

“I was afraid you’d say no. I couldn’t muster up the courage to ask.”

“You had to know I’d say yes!?”

“I wanted to believe it but I guess I was amazed that you cared about me at all. You’re just so wonderful and special that I…I just found it hard to believe you’d agree.”

“You didn’t have to wait until a day before we skipped out to ask.”

“Yeah, but it was the fear of the coming battle that gave me the courage to ask.”

“Roy, if you get yourself killed, I will never forgive you!”

“Uhhhhh…ok.”

“I’m serious!”

“I know, I know. Just be careful.”

“What disruptor has your company been assigned?”

“Number six.”

“I’ve been assigned number two. They’re nowhere near each other. I suspect fleet didn’t want us close to each other to prevent us from going to each other’s aid if things get bad.”

“Lynn, fleet doesn’t keep track of their warriors’ personal lives.”

“Fleet keeps track of everything.”

“Come on Lynn. They wouldn’t know about us?”

“Want to bet on that?”

“What’s the wager?”

“The winner gets thirty minutes of back rubbing.”

“I’ll accept that but how would you prove it?”

“Stay linked to me and listen in.” Lynn pressed a button on her console and Eve appeared on her display. “Sir, I’m getting questions about the coming attack. Has fleet determined when we’ll be dropping in?”

“I’ve wondered the same thing but was told that I needed to learn patience. I would offer you that same advice.”

“Yes Sir.”

“By the way, congratulations on your engagement, Captain. I’m sure you and Captain McAfee will have a very happy life.”

“Thank you, Sir.” Eve disappeared from the display and Roy’s face replaced hers. Lynn could see his stunned expression. Lynn lifted her chin and looked down her nose, “I will collect when we get back.”

Roy was shaking his head, “I’ll pay up. I need to check up on my company. I’ll talk with you later.”

“I love you, Roy.”

“And I love you, too.” The display went dark and Roy pressed his company’s frequency. Eve Axel knew they were engaged. How was that possible? Now he was going to have fatigued fingers because of this. How could Lynn possibly know? Roy smiled, maybe his rubbing her back would be interrupted with other activities. He really hoped so. He shook his head again, Eve Axel knew! He blew out a breath and pressed his communicator. The light turned green and he said, “We have some time before we skip out to our target. Take this time to check your armor’s magazines and make sure they’re fully loaded and I do mean fully. You’ve trained for years to do this and I expect you to follow your training! I know some of you are feeling fear at this moment and that’s ok. It’s fear that allows us to be brave and some of us to be heroes. I ask that you give me your best and look out for each other. Now take this time and check your munitions.” Roy heard over his frequency the forty warriors in his company yell, “YES SIR!” He clicked off his communicator and thought, Eve Axel knows we’re engaged! He shook his head and began checking his magazines.

* * *

Chris watched the Pods flying at a high speed toward the oncoming mass of Grey Warships. They were nowhere close to their top speed; it wouldn’t do to fly too fast into that huge formation of enemy ships. He saw the battleships moving in with them and the sight was awe-inspiring. The bright force fields lit up the darkness of space and their beauty belied the deadly intentions of both fleets. Then, the two fleets hit head on and the dance of death began.

* * *

Marty Helms flew her pod into the formation of Grey Warships and went to the left of the one directly in front of her. The A-Pod to her right swerved to the right of the huge ship. Her three-disruptor turrets swiveled and fired two DE Beams at the ship to her left and one at the ship to her right. She knew the pod of the right side of that ship would also be firing a single beam into it. She moved even with the stern of both ships as they exploded in two massive explosions. In an instant, she was between two more ships and she opened fire again.

Across the entire front of the huge grey cloud of warships, massive explosions erupted at an incredible number. Ten enemy disruptor beams from the next ships in front of her hit her pod but were shrugged off by her force field. She opened fire on them as she passed and checked her force field’s status on her combat helmet’s tactical read out. Its power level was slightly lower but she wasn’t in danger…yet.

* * *

Chris watched his command monitor and looked at the average force field level of his pods. It was dropping slightly. The Pods were incredibly small next to the huge Grey Warships. They looked like fleas running between the legs of Great Danes. He smiled, not many of the dogs were surviving them, those that did were cleaned up by the battleships that were following them. He felt his rage at them grow by the minute and he reveled in the destruction he was witnessing. The Pods and battleships blasted their way more than twenty thousand miles into the huge cloud of Grey Ships and Chris pressed his communicator, “All ships will fall back to their original location and reform.”

The giant Alliance Fleet went to maximum speed and was back in formation in less than thirty seconds. The oncoming Grey Fleet had to slow down to avoid running into the massive debris field in front of them. Hundreds of thousands of Grey Warships were either burning or blasted into rubble. The grey cloud split with half of them moving above and the other half below the debris field.

He heard Allison say on the general fleet frequency, “Pod lines one through five will move below the debris field and six through ten will go above it. The Battleships above or below those two lines will follow them in. Stay close to the debris field to prevent being attacked from above or below.”

Chris saw the two groups move apart and he said, “Commence the attack.” The two groups accelerated around the debris field and slammed into the Grey Ships again. He said, “How many ships have we lost?”

“A thousand Pods have been destroyed and one battleship. All of them were destroyed by accidently ramming into one of the Grey Ships. So far, none have been destroyed by their beams.” Chris nodded and watched the carnage continue.

* * *

Marty barely missed ramming a Grey Warship on her right when it swerved toward her. She moved out of its path, instantly fired on it with all three disruptors, and saw another grey ship swerve toward her from the left. They were attempting to ram her pod. She clicked her communicator and yelled on her Admiral’s frequency, “They’re trying to ram us! Evade above or below! Staying between them is suicide!”

The Admiral passed the message to the other ships in his fleet and the message was then passed on to the rest of the fleets moving through the enemy formations. Chris pressed his panel, “Jinks, you’re being very quiet.”

“I’m really here to observe. You and Admiral Simmons are doing an outstanding job. If I see anything that might help, I’ll be sure to let you know.” Jinks watched the battle and could see Chris’s malevolence toward the Grey Ships in his expression. He would not participate in commanding the fleets and take away from Chris’s joy of destroying this civilization.

* * *

Chris heard the message and recalled the fleets again. They reformed and Allison said, “Battleships will move in between the lines of Pods and you will stop in front of their formations and fire at them from a stationary position.”

Chris watched the fleets move into the new formation and said, “Commence the attack.” The two huge formations moved out around the giant debris field and flew in on the mass of grey ships that rushed at them without any semblance of order. They were on a suicide mission and they were being blasted along the entire front of the two formations. The Grey Ships spilled over the top and bottom of the front and were still hit before they could arrive at their enemy. Chris smiled, “How many of their ships have we destroyed?”

“There is no way to tell. The only way to find out will be to look at the recordings after this is over. If it’s ever over.”

Chris looked at his scanner and still saw huge numbers of Grey Warships moving out of the edge of the galaxy. He wondered if Barbie was right.

* * *

Between the seventh and eighth recall of the fleets, the Drop Battleships from the Allies arrived. “I was wondering when you might arrive.”

“Getting the warrior’s armor loaded with full magazines and charging their reactors to maximum took longer than I had anticipated.”

“I’m surprised the Royal allowed you to come with the fleet, Kyel.”

“He is of the opinion that before I can lead them effectively, it’s necessary that I see the warriors in action. I didn’t have to ask to come with them.”

“The Royal never ceases to amaze me.”

“He really is the best of us, Chris.”

“Have your fleet fall in behind the Assault Pods? We are holding here until the ships being sent to attack us are eliminated.”

My scanners show that you have been involved in a massive fleet action. There are also millions still coming at you.”

“I know.”

“Do you want us to join in the defense?”

“No, I’m only going to use the Assault Fleets if it’s absolutely necessary. Keep your sailors at battle stations in the event things get out of hand.”

“I will, Great Leader.”

Chris started at the honorific and turned his attention back to his panel.

* * *

It took twelve recalls before the ships coming out of the galaxy stopped. At the end, the Pods and battleships outnumbered the survivors and Chris issued the final order of the battle, “Each ship will select one of the survivors and destroy it. You will break formation…NOW!”

A huge number of Grey Ships broke off the attack and turned back toward M-84 but they had waited too long. The huge number of silver pods and battleships fell on them and none of them managed to make it back to the edge of the galaxy. The debris field extended over an immense area from just outside the edge of the galaxy to more than forty thousand miles out. Once the last Grey Warship was killed, Chris lifted his communicator, “All ships will form up in their fleets.” The hundred fleets of pods assembled in an incredibly short time. The battleships took longer; they weren’t as nimble as the pods. Once they were in formations Chris pressed Allison’s frequency, “Send the targets to all of our ships.”

“Yes Sir.” Thirty minutes later she appeared on his display, “The targets have been assigned.”

Chris activated his communicator, “All of you have been assigned multiple targets. You have been divided into two hundred ship units with an equal number of pods and battleships. Move into formation with the other ships you’re assigned with. Once you make formation, skip out to your first target and destroy it.”

Chris watched the giant formation break apart and ships began gathering in smaller units. Within twenty minutes, the units started skipping out. Eve appeared on his display, “Is it time for us to go?”

“We will leave after I receive confirmation that the first targets have been eliminated!”

Eve’s expression said it all but she said, “Yes Sir.”

Chris sat on board and waited. He wanted the leaders of the Grey Warships to know what was happening to their civilization before he attacked. His eyes were narrow and he relished what must be happening on their planets.

* * *

An hour later, the first confirmation came in and it was quickly followed by thousands of others. Chris smiled and said, “You have the coordinates of the planet we’re going to attack. The Assault Pod Fleet will skip out first and fight their way to the planet’s surface. The Heavy Drop Battleships will follow thirty minutes later. Admiral Axel, you are free to skip to your target.” Chris watched the two long lines of pods on each side of his ship. In five seconds, they were all gone.

Barbie said, “Looks like they’re in a hurry.”

“Yes…it does.” Thirty minutes later, the battleships and the three admiral’s B-Pods skipped out.

Chapter Seven

Roy saw the tactical corner of his helmet’s visor start flashing red. He glanced at it and spun to the right. Three low-flying, high-speed attack craft were coming in ten feet off the pavement toward his company. He extended his left arm, extended his fingers, and quickly pulled three of them back. Three small flashes erupted from his forearm magazine and shot out at the aircraft as his personal communicator activated, “Roy, have I told you how much I love you today?”

Roy leapt to the right and rolled as the three aircraft exploded and the debris flew through the place he was just standing. He came to his feet and pulled his hand blaster and fired on two snipers taking aim at him from the top of the building across the wide avenue, “Yes, you have, love. And I love you too.” Roy hit a knee and raised his right arm and extended his fist, pointed with his index finger, and pulled it back. A missile ignited in his shoulder magazine and shot out at an enemy heavily armored disruptor vehicle. It went up in a massive explosion, and Roy rushed across the wide street with his company of warriors running right behind him.

Lynn fired a bee missile from her left forearm at six enemy warriors firing out of the first floor of a skyscraper and then hit an armored disruptor with a Dark Matter anti-armor round. “I just want to make sure I have.” The round went into the huge disruptor vehicle and the turret blew a hundred feet into the air as the high explosive charge on the back of the round went off.

Roy’s company arrived across the street and he saw a massive fireball to the east. “Lynn, four of the ground disruptors have been hit. I don’t want to be the last one to take out my target. Forgive me but I need to focus on my mission.” Roy dove to the left behind the corner of a building as a disruptor beam sizzled by just missing him.

Lynn looked at her tactical display and saw he was right. Her company was not close to her target and she needed to get with it. “Sorry, Love. Talk with you later.” Lynn replayed the last thirty seconds of her company’s attack on her visor and screamed, “JELLY, IF YOU WASTE ANOTHER HEAVY BLASTER BEAM ON A MINOR TARGET, I AM GOING TO PEEL OFF THAT TIN CAN AROUND YOU AND BEAT YOUR BUTT!!”

“Sorry, Sir! I won’t, I mean I’ll only use it on proper targets. I’m sorry!”

Lynn’s visor went full red and she twisted to the left as a heavy explosive round glanced off her force field rolling her backwards. She heard her gravity compensator whine as she managed to stop her slide and jump to her feet. She dug her boots into the pavement as she slid to a stop. She whipped the heavy blaster out of its shoulder harness and fire at the mobile cannon.

The huge armored vehicle was melted into a huge pool of liquid. She looked around to see if anyone had seen her do what she had just reprimanded Jelly for and blew out a breath. Good, no one noticed. She looked at her tactical display and saw her company was still two miles out from the giant ground disruptor. She saw and heard a massive blast go off to the south and knew that she was running behind schedule. The line of buildings in front of her warriors was covered with enemy troops and heavy weapons were dug in inside the buildings. Her eyes narrowed and she clicked her communicator, “Alright, I’m getting tired of this! Pull your heavy blasters and take down the line of buildings in front of us. Once they’re down, jump over the rubble and take down the next line!”

Lynn raised her heavy Dark Energy Blaster and sighted at the third floor of the building directly in front of her. She pulled the trigger and moved the beam across the front of the building from the right to the left toward the ground next to the first floor.

The building stood for a moment and then slid to the left and toppled into the building next to it that was also sliding down. An entire mile of tall buildings fell like a line of dominoes and her company activated their boot thrusters and jumped over the high pile of rubble. It took her another twenty minutes to take down six more blocks of buildings between her and her target but her warriors finally arrived and saw the fifty story tall ground disruptor.

She yelled over her communicator, “Get out of here NOW!” Lynn pointed her right arm with her fingers extended at the giant disruptor. She heard a giant explosion to the west and knew Roy had taken out his target. She pulled four fingers back into her fist, turned, and ignited her boot thrusters as she felt four jerks on her back.

The four high explosive missiles leapt out of her back magazine as she blasted off the concrete and flew away from the disruptor like an artillery round. The surviving enemy troops on the ground tried to hit her with their beams but she was moving as fast as a bullet as she flew over them. She began her descent as the giant disruptor went up in a massive blast. She landed six miles away as her thrusters went to full power to slow her landing. She went to a knee as the massive shock wave from the disruptors destruction rushed in on her. She hit her gravity compensator and added a ton of weight to her armor and she fought being blown over by the massive blast. She looked at her tactical display and saw only one of the giant disruptors in her sector was still operational.

She gathered her company and saw the massive explosion as they moved out into the capital city. Her battalion had completed their mission but there were still hundreds of thousands of enemy troops and weapons still operating in the giant city. As she moved out, she heard, “I love you, Lynn.” She smiled as she began receiving enemy fire. Her tactical started flashing blue and she looked up. The huge battleships were a mile above the city and the sky was covered with large transports dropping to the streets with their load of Heavy Warriors. The sound of explosions began and didn’t stop. The Heavies were on the ground. “Call in your Pods and get into orbit!”

The Warrior’s Assault Pods came flashing in and the Warriors boarded them and took off at an incredible speed. Their sonic booms added to the deafening noise of the Heavies’ weapons. The Assault Pods flew into formation around the three Admirals and the battleships around them moved away to drop their loads of Heavies.

* * *

Eve and her personal force of 100 bodyguards moved in on the most heavily defended target on the planet. There were another four thousand Assault Warriors with her as they fought their way toward the giant spaceport. The spaceport had thirty ground disruptors inside its perimeter and these disruptors could fire at targets on the ground. Her armor’s computer was programmed to track those thirty huge weapons and alert her forces if any of them were swiveled to fire on them. Eve’s bodyguards were the best Assault Warriors in the fleet. They were the ones that rushed out and opened lanes into the huge facility. The city around the spaceport was on fire from the blasts of the massive disruptors.

The Assault Pods could do little to take them out. Each disruptor’s force field was powered by a massive array of huge nuclear reactors and they extended to within six feet of the ground around them. Getting close to them was fraught with danger. The only thing that made it even possible to try was the huge barrels of the disruptors could not be swiveled quickly. Eve’s armor was different from the other warrior’s armor. She had the incredibly fast speed of her father and she was strong enough to carry a heavier load of weapons.

Eve was crouching behind a blown out armored cannon and her bodyguards were scattered around her moving when necessary to avoid the disruptor beams. Eve said, “Seven,” and her communicator connected her to a Battalion Commander of Assault Warriors located directly across the sprawling spaceport. “Colonel Russell, open fire in ten seconds and then get your warriors out of there.”

“Yes Sir.”

Eve counted it down mentally and saw the Dark Energy beams erupt on the other side of the spaceport. The six huge disruptors a half a mile in front of her started swiveling their giant barrels toward the attack and Eve left the cover she was hiding behind. Her bodyguard used their tactical guidance programs and fired on anything that moved in front of them. Their scanners tracked the other giant disruptors and they prepared to move quickly to evade any that moved toward them. The line of ground bunkers in front of them began exploding as Eve crossed the open field at a blinding speed.

Eve focused on her tactical and used her armor’s scanner to determine what path she was going to take to the disruptors. Six rounds being fired from the left and five heavy blasters from just to the right of center. She swerved right and the explosive rounds hit behind her.

Three of the heavy blaster beams hit but her force field shrugged them off. She swerved back to the left as the enemy reloaded to fire again and then she dropped to the ground as a wave of beams and high explosive round flew over her. She was up in an instant and firing her DE Heavy Blaster directly in front of her. The six bunkers went up in massive explosions blinding the enemy trying to get a shot at her and, in an instant, she was under the first giant disruptor. She raised her right arm and squeezed her fist.

A magnetic bomb shot off her back and stuck to the wall of the disruptor as she ran out from under its force field and under the force field of another disruptor. The enemy warriors couldn’t fire on her without hitting the huge disruptors and they didn’t dare risk causing one of them to explode. There was a quarter of mile between each of the six giant buildings that housed the massive weapon and Eve crossed the distance between them in less than five seconds. She literally jumped between the last two as every enemy warrior and weapon fired at the ground they knew she was going to cross. She landed under the last disruptor and released another magnetic bomb. She jumped above the ground and gripped the wall of the giant disruptor as hundreds of enemy warriors ran toward her.

The mental timer she had running in her head reached zero and she smiled. The first disruptor tower exploded with a massive explosion and the concussion knocked all the enemy warriors off their feet. The last disruptor’s force field protected her from the blast and she dropped off the wall and ran out from under the force field. She ignited her boot thrusters as the shockwave rolled in behind her and she flew out barely ahead of it. The shockwave from the destruction blew through the bases of the other disruptor towers and blew them away. They all started leaning and then they went up like a huge string of firecrackers in giant explosions. The six shockwaves built on each other and rolled across the giant spaceport blasting all the armored bunkers out of the ground and sent them rolling in the supersonic winds that rushed into the bases of fifteen more disruptor towers. Eve flew ahead of the massive shockwave and landed six miles away. Every assault warrior gathered around the spaceport had hit their boot thrusters with the first huge explosion and they landed in the ruins of the burning city surrounding the spaceport.

The Assault Warriors’ force fields protected them from the heat of the burning city and the debris blowing out from the spaceport. Every building still standing within four miles of the city was knocked flat. The Warriors fell to the ground as the first shockwave blew over them and remained there until the even larger shockwave from the destruction of the fifteen disruptors rolled out. It passed over them and in an instant the Assault Warriors hit their boot thrusters and flew to the edge of the spaceport, flying over the carnage being caused by the shockwave that passed below them. They set up opposite the opening where the six disruptors once stood and opened fire on any surviving enemy forces.

It was poor planning on the part of the enemy’s leaders by not having the entire disruptor covered by a force field. When the twenty-one disruptors went up, the shockwaves knocked out the bases of the remaining nine. They fell and exploded. The final disruptors were located at the far side of the spaceport eight miles away and the third shockwave didn’t have the force of the first two. Eve crouched outside the remains of the armored wall and saw five huge battleships move down from orbit and drop their transports. Now that the disruptors had been removed The Heavy Assault Warriors could make their presence felt. The Heavies dropped in and the end was anticlimactic. The surviving enemy forces had nothing remaining in their arsenal that would stop the Heavy Warriors and in less than three hours of fighting, the spaceport was taken.

Eve stood up once the heavies were down and punched her communicator, “Alright, move out. There are a hundred more disruptors in the major city forty miles away. They’re not as dense as what we faced here so they should be easy work.” The four thousand Assault Warriors called in their pods and blasted over the horizon. Eve was in a state of ecstasy. This is what she was born to do and she loved every minute of it. She wondered how Chris was doing for a moment and then focused on her tactical screen.

* * *

Once all the disruptors were destroyed in and around the giant capital city, the Heavy Warriors dropped in and the Assault Pods moved to replace the battleships around the three Senior Commanders in orbit above the city. The destruction that was taking place in the city was clearly visible from orbit and Chris felt joy at the carnage that was taking place. The Warriors were given direct orders to stay away from the Central Government Building located in the center of the metropolis. That building would be taken last. The confirmations of the third target’s destruction had rolled in an hour earlier and Chris’s smile grew with each passing moment. He began to grow impatient to take the Government Center. He tried to distract himself by watching the massive explosions of disruptor towers across the northern hemisphere and he knew Eve was having the time of her young life. He hoped she wouldn’t take any foolish risks and he was shocked later when he learned about her attacking six-disruptor towers single handedly. But for the moment, he felt huge satisfaction at what his forces were doing to the planet. They deserved every bit of it. After what seemed like years, he received the message he had been waiting on.

“We’ve taken the Government Center and have the Leaders captured. It is safe enough for you to come here.”

Chris smiled, “Barbie, take us down.” He looked and saw Jinks and Allison’s pods were dropping into the atmosphere with him, “I think I can handle it from here.”

Jinks said, “I wouldn’t miss this, Sir.”

“Suit yourself, Admiral.” Barbie spiraled down and landed just outside the giant building in the center of the destroyed city. Chris jumped out of his cockpit and started walking quickly toward the blown out entrance. His four young bodyguards walked with him and kept their eyes on the rubble surrounding the building. One of them blasted a sniper with his heavy blaster but Chris ignored what was going on around him and only had eyes for getting into the building. Allison and Jinks followed him and saw an expression on his face they didn’t recognize.

* * *

Chris walked through the blown out opening all the way to the inner chamber. As he entered the room, he saw twenty bronze colored beings standing at the front of the room. Ten Heavy Warriors had them covered with their hand blasters and it was obvious that they were frightened. Chris walked up in front of them and removed his helmet. He thought, “Which one of you sent the ship to attack my planet?”

He listened to the thoughts of the twenty beings and heard, “We begged him not to do it. We told him he was being foolish but his arrogance was more than we could overcome.”

Chris’s head jerked toward a tall being in the back row of leaders that was looking at Chris with absolute fear on his face. Chris walked through the group of Leaders pushing those in his path to the floor and he grabbed the tall Leader by the throat. The others fell to the floor and prostrated themselves begging him for mercy. Chris lifted the Leader off the floor and everyone in the room heard his thoughts, “I was stupid! Kill me but please don’t kill my people!” Chris tightened his grip on the tall Leader’s neck and his expression was almost rapturous. The Leader’s pleas for mercy quickly stopped as Chris tightened his grip. Chris gave a squeeze and the entire room heard a pop as the Leader’s body fell away from his head.

Chris held the head for a moment and stared into the dead eyes before he swung his arm around and threw the head at the armored wall to the right. The head hit the wall in an instant and spattered. Chris pulled his hand blaster and said over his shoulder, “Order our warriors to kill every living being on this planet.”

He aimed his blaster at the other leaders and heard Allison say over his shoulder, “I have a much better idea.”

Chris turned around and saw she had taken off her helmet. He said in a raspy sneer, “What is that!?”

Allison looked at him and said, “Collect about a million of them and use the battleships to transport them to a holding pen on Earth. That way you could go out each day and squeeze the heads off ten or twenty of them to teach your son what kind of man he should grow up to be!”

Chris was on her in an instant and had his hand on her throat. She looked him in the eyes without fear and waited. Chris’s rage was overwhelming and he felt his hand tighten. She still showed no fear and after a moment he pushed her away into Jinks’ arms and screamed. Allison caught her balance and straightened up as she continued to stare at him. He pulled his hand blaster and pointed it at the leaders lying on the ground still pleading for mercy. He looked to the right where one of them was silent and he saw it was a female that was trying to hide a young child under her robe. She saw him look at her and her panic and fear took her as she curled around her child and closed her eyes.

Chris lowered his blaster and then lowered his head. He remembered Audrey sitting beside him weeping for the Fellowship crews that died when they attacked. He started slowly shaking his head and then lifted his arm. “All ships will stand down and reform with their fleets at the coordinates they skipped in from.”

Everyone heard a voice say, “Sir, we’ve not completed the destruction of our current target!”

Chris took a deep breath and said, “I am not accustomed to repeating my orders!” The Leaders on the floor grew silent. Chris took another deep breath, raised his head, and looked at Allison, “These are your children now. Teach them how to behave.” Chris turned and started walking out of the building.

Jinks shouted, “Chris, where are you going!?” Chris was silent and continued walking through the blown out opening. “Chris…!” Chris walked out of the building in silence.

Allison felt her eyes moisten and she turned to the Leaders still lying on the floor. She took a long breath and said out loud, “You can hear my thoughts?”

The Leader closest to her thought where everyone could hear, “We can.”

Allison said, “Two things; first, you will not build another warship. Second, you will never leave this galaxy. Do you understand!?”

“We do.”

“Don’t be confused by what just happened. I didn’t do this for you, I did it for him. I am sending probes out to keep watch over you. If you violate either of these sanctions,” She nodded toward the opening, “He will come back and finish what he started today.” The Leader’s glanced toward the opening and the Leader thought, “We will do as you order. However, how will we defend ourselves against an invader?”

Allison lowered her eyes, “You won’t. That’s part of the price of your stupidity.” Allison pushed a button on her arm and said, “All ground forces will stand down, board your transports, and report back in formation at the coordinates where we launched our attacks.”

A moment later, Eve appeared on her unit, “Where is First Commander Stone? I’m unable to reach him.”

“He is unavailable and has left me in command.”

“You can’t be serious about stopping the attacks!”

Allison’s face turned hard and she said, “Admiral Axel, you will follow your orders immediately or I will have you arrested!”

Eve’s face turned ugly and she forced herself to say, “Yes Sir.”

Allison looked at the Leaders and then turned and walked out of the room. Jinks and the Heavy Warriors followed her. They arrived outside the building and they saw Chris’s bodyguards standing in a group. Lt. Bigler looked at Jinks and said, “He ordered us to stay here.” Jinks and Allison climbed into their Pods and lifted off the planet. They arrive at the recall coordinates and found the fleets already in formation waiting for their arrival. Allison thanked the crews and warriors for their bravery and issued orders on where each fleet would go to rearm. It took three hours to finish the assignments and then Allison pressed her communicator and saw Jinks appear, “Admiral Jekins. Would you take over and get the fleets back.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to find Chris.”

Jinks nodded and said, “Admiral, what you did in there today was either the bravest or the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen. Which one was it?”

Allison sighed and shook her head, “It was a little bit of both, Sir.” Allison grabbed the flight controls and her pod went to maximum speed. Jinks watched her go and contacted Lukas.

* * *

Alley said, “Where did he go?” Allison felt her tears start and she put her head into her hands. “What’s wrong, Allison?”

“I stopped the only man I truly respect from getting closure today. I possibly harmed him more than he can bear and it’s all my fault.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“The only place he could go.” Allison switched all four reactors to power the thrusters and hoped she wasn’t too late.

Chapter Eight

Allison screamed through the void and entered normal space just outside the gravity limit. She slowed and entered Earth’s atmosphere and began the spiral down to the surface. Her display illuminated and Lukas appeared, “I’ve just spoken to Jinks and he told me what happened. I’ve been attempting to contact Chris since the call but he’s not responding.”

“Lukas, please wait and give him some room. You’ll only push him over the edge if you try to reach him now!”

Lukas stared at Allison and after a moment he said, “I need to talk to you as well, Admiral.”

“And I’ll meet with you later.”

Lukas stared at her and then the display went dark. Allison sighed and knew she would lose her stars over this but she didn’t care. She continued her flight to the surface and went to her quarters. She changed out of her sweaty uniform and hastily walked out the front door. She walked past the dune and down to the sand and saw the beach recliners ahead of her. She didn’t see anyone on them and she stopped and shook her head. She was wrong. She sighed and started to turn around and then she saw an arm reach over and take a glass off the sand. She blew out a breath, composed herself and went over to another recliner. She grabbed the end of it and dragged it over beside the other recliner and sat down on it. She didn’t look at him. She simply stared out at the ocean.

He didn’t look at her. He stared at the ocean in silence. They stayed that way for several hours. Finally, she heard Chris say, “Thank you.” She still didn’t look at him but she nodded. He remained silent for another hour and she said, “Have you gone to see Michael?”

“No, not yet.” She looked back out at the ocean and soon the sun was just a sliver above the horizon. “I would have killed them all.” Allison nodded again. He looked at her with those intense blue eyes and said, “If I had done that, I would have lost my soul.”

“I know.”

“That’s why you said what you did.”

“It is. I couldn’t let you do that to yourself,” she paused and finished, “or to Audrey’s memory.”

“I came close to killing you.”

“It was a risk I had to take.”

Chris nodded and looked back out at the ocean. They sat there in silence through the night until the first rays of the sun broke the horizon. Chris sighed and stood up. He looked at Allison and glanced back out at the sea, “I’ve asked her to forgive me.”

“She already has, Chris.”

Chris lowered his head and nodded. He turned and said, “I need to go and see Michael. Thank you Allison.” He walked up the beach, crested the dune and disappeared. She felt her tears start in earnest and she wept for what he had endured. She remained on the beach until noon and then went to her quarters and fell on the bed. It just wasn’t fair. She cried until her fatigue took her.

Chris activated his wrist unit and it immediately began alarming. He scrolled through the messages until he saw Lukas’s code numerous times; he pressed the button. Lukas appeared and before he could speak Chris said, “I’m going to see Michael. I’ll come to Fleet Operations in two days, if you’re ok with waiting until then?”

Lukas saw Chris’s expression and leaned back in his chair, “I’ll see you at ten in the morning.” Chris nodded and ended the call.

Lukas immediately called Salud and told her Chris was on his way to pick up Michael.

“Is he alright?”

“I don’t think he’s ready to discuss what happened so don’t pressure him.” Salud nodded and Lukas contacted Eve, “Chris is ok.”

“WHERE IS HE?!”

“Eve, he’s going to see Michael and he’s meeting with me in two days. Give him some space.”

“What happened to him?”

“I don’t know but I am not going to risk pushing him over an edge. Do not try to see him until after we talk.”

Eve’s expression showed her reluctance but then she nodded. Lukas contacted Jinks, “He’s coming in the day after tomorrow.”

“How did he sound?”

“Different.”

Jinks shook his head, “Let me know what happens.”

“I will.” Lukas leaned back in his chair and read the Fleet Reports on the attack. More than fifty thousand planets had been destroyed and nine thousand more heavily damaged. Lukas shook his head and blew out a breath. The cold hard reality of conquest was hard to bear. He began to understand what Chris might be going through.

* * *

Chris entered Fleet Operations at 9:55 and everyone who saw him grew silent. He took the lift to the top floor and walked down the hall to Lukas’s office. He pressed the button outside the door and the door slid up into the wall. He walked in and the door came back down. He saw Lukas and Salud sitting behind his desk and she jumped up and ran around the desk. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him, “Are you alright?”

“All things considered, I guess I am.”

Lukas smiled and said, “Please, sit down.” Chris walked to the chair in front of his desk and sat down. “What’s going on?”

Chris looked at them and said, “We were wrong.”

“About what?”

Chris looked at them and exhaled. “We decided that we would not continue to have all of our mothers live in constant fear of their children being killed by aliens. We decided to use that as a justification to go out and conquer them.”

Salud’s eyes narrowed and she said, “What do you mean we were wrong?!”

Chris looked at Salud and slowly shook his head, “If mothers weren’t afraid of Aliens invading, they would be afraid their children might be injured in an accident. They might fear their child will get sick and possibly die from a freak disease. The number of fears that mothers have for their children have no end. I’m a parent now and I constantly worry about Michael. Will he grow up and be a good person. Will he find love? Is he going to be a warrior like his father? There are so many things that make me worry about him and his future. Worrying about aliens attacking us is just one of the many things we have fears about. It is not a good enough reason to go out and kill any civilization that represents a threat to us. I suspect, matter of fact, I know I killed more children in a day than live on both Earth and Eden.”

Salud’s expression began to grow angry, “That civilization killed your wife!”

Chris looked at her and nodded, “That’s what I thought as well, but that wasn’t true either.” Salud’s mouth fell open and Chris said, “The first thing I learned when I confronted that civilization’s Leaders was that their Highest Leader was begged by the others not to send that ship.”

“They were lying.”

Chris smiled slightly, “Salud, I’m telepathic. I saw them trying in their thoughts. He was arrogant and would not listen to them. He killed Audrey, not the billions of children that burned on the worlds I destroyed.”

Lukas said, “What are you saying, Chris?”

“Our intentions are all wrong. I went out with the intention to eradicate every last person in that civilization. There was no other intention, only extinction. I didn’t even look for anything that might change my mind.”

“They are an enemy of ours, Chris.”

“I won’t argue that point. But the intention shouldn’t be to just go out and exterminate them. The intention should be to find a way to avoid it if at all possible.”

The chime rung and Lukas looked at the small monitor on his desk. He saw Allison standing outside his door with a strange being. He looked at Salud and saw her confusion. Chris looked at them wondering what was going on as Lukas raised the door.

Allison walked in with the alien and said, “I apologize for this interruption but this is a Leader of the Civilization we just attacked. She contacted me and asked to speak to Chris. I feel her request should be granted.”

Chris turned around and tilted his head. Allison nodded at the alien and she thought where all could hear. “When you pointed your blaster at me and my baby, I could see your thoughts. I knew for certain that we were both going to die. How you managed to not fire on us is beyond my understanding…but you didn’t. Now after it’s all over, I can’t find peace until I found you and thanked you.”

Chris recognized her and Lukas saw the anguish on his face.

“I understand you lost your mate to the ship our Highest Leader sent. I am so sorry for your loss. My mate was killed on a warship attempting to defend us from your forces. I miss him more than I can tell you and all I have left is my child. I feel your pain. I know what you’re going through. I’m living it. But I must say thank you for allowing us to live. I will remember him each day in his child’s smile.”

The female lowered her head and Allison said, “Thank you for granting her wish to speak.” Allison took the alien’s hand to lead her out of the room.

Chris said, “Before you go!” Allison and the Alien female turned around. “I thank you for coming here and sharing your thoughts with me. I know what it took to do it. I have some thoughts I want you to share with your other leaders. Tell them that if your worlds are attacked, I will come and defend them.”

The alien began shedding tears and the four humans in the room learned there was another species that cried like them. She nodded and said, “From what I’ve seen, you can do a better job of that than we could. My people thank you.” Allison looked at Chris and shook her head. She turned and led the Alien out of the conference room.

Lukas and Salud felt the alien’s sorrow and they saw what happened in her thoughts. Salud stared at the door she walked out of and Chris said, “I had my blaster out and was going to burn all of them. Then, I saw her trying to hide her child from me. She saw me look at them and I could feel her panic and fear. She curled up around her baby and closed her eyes expecting to die.” Chris looked at Salud, “No mother of any species should ever have to experience that if it can be avoided. It was her fear that showed me I had become a monster.”

Salud couldn’t get the image of Chris pointing a blaster at the alien mother with a mask of rage on his face. She lowered her head and Lukas said, “He’s right.” Salud nodded through her tears. Lukas looked at Chris, “So what does this mean?”

“If you’re looking for a conqueror to go out and exterminate all of our enemies, then I’m not your man.”

“This only proves to me you are. You’re right. We were selfish and got it wrong. So how does this change things? I’m also wondering how you’re going to send our fleets to M-84 to defend them?”

“We have to go out with the right intentions. Don’t get me wrong on this. I know that these are not the last planets that I’ll order to be destroyed. But in the future, any destruction will be done to prevent more carnage. You don’t have to worry about sending our fleets to defend them just yet.”

“Chris, I’m sure M-87 had probes in that galaxy and know that they can walk in and take control of that galaxy.”

“I’m sure they do know but they won’t invade.”

Lukas and Salud looked at each other and Salud said, “Why not?”

“Because they had probes watching our attack.” Lukas and Salud looked confused and Chris said, “Put yourselves in their place. An enemy of yours has just attacked and mauled a civilization in another galaxy. Would you send forces there to take possession of that galaxy?”

Lukas started nodding, “You’re right. Before I go anywhere, I’d do everything to remove the ones that attacked and barring that, I’d build up my defenses. I wouldn’t weaken them by sending my forces elsewhere.”

“That’s how I see it. They think that if they invade M-84, we’ll fall on them and start wholesale destruction of their planets. They’ll stay home until they can remove us as a threat.” Chris looked out the picture window and said, “I want one fleet of Pods sent to M-84 to keep the peace. We’ll relieve them after sixty days with another fleet.” Chris looked at Lukas, “Does that meet with your approval?”

Lukas nodded. Salud said, “What are you going to do now?”

“We need to collect some information before we do anything rash.”

“Such as?”

“I need to determine whether M-86 is a threat to us or not. Then I need to find out just how powerful those Black Ships around the Legends’ Planet are. Once we’ve made that determination, I can start planning our next move.”

“Chris, Eve is furious you allowed Allison to call off the attack on their government planet.”

“She didn’t call it off. I did before I left.” Chris looked up, “Willow, have you been listening in?”

“Of course.”

Lukas smiled, “You are one nosey space ship.”

“Hey, I need something to occupy my time. Why do you ask, Chris?”

“I want you to share the thoughts of the alien that came and spoke to us with Eve.”

“Sure, I’ll do that now.”

Chris looked at Lukas and Salud and shook his head, “She’ll still be angry and the alien’s thoughts won’t really have an impact on her right now. But later she’ll remember and they will.”

Lukas’s eyes narrowed, “Just when will that happen?”

Chris smiled softly as Salud said, “When she has a child of her own.”

He nodded and smiled, “Eve is one of our most dangerous weapons. We’re lucky to have her.”

“The enthusiasm of youth is hard to restrain.”

“Exactly right, Lukas. I’m giving the fleets a break while I go out and take a look around.”

“You probably aren’t going to like this but you will not be allowed to go out alone for a while.” Chris’s eyes narrowed. “Your loss is still too close and you’ve demonstrated that your judgment might be impaired.”

“So who is going with me?”

“The only one that can possibly restrain you, Admiral Simmons.”

“Have you told her about this?”

“We have and she’s not at all happy about it.”

Chris snorted, “It appears no one ever likes going out with me.”

“You married the last one that did. However, I really think Admiral Simmons is immune to your charms and will be what you need to make sure you don’t take any foolish chances.”

Chris stared at them and then shook his head, “You’re doing this because I grabbed her neck?”

“Among other things, yes.”

“I guess I should be happy you’re allowing me to go out at all. Would it help if I told you I’m ok and have found peace with what happened?”

Both of them chuckled and Salud said, “No. We’d know it’s not true.”

Chris shrugged and Lukas said, “You are still our First Commander but on any scouting mission, Admiral Simmons can veto any decision you make.”

“Guy’s, I’m not going to rush into danger to lose my life!”

“Good, then you shouldn’t have a problem with this.”

Chris waved a hand and said, “Have it your way.”

“We’re building a special Pod for you.”

“Oh?”

“It’s larger so both of you will have your own quarters and all three of the computers in your ships are being installed on board.”

“Barbie will be the lead computer.” Chris stared at them and then said, “When you promote her over me then she can have her computers in charge. Until that happens, my computer will be the lead.”

Lukas looked at Salud and shrugged. She lifted her eyebrows and Lukas said, “We’ll make it happen.”

“Good.” Chris stood up and shook hands with Lukas and hugged Salud, “Tell Eve to come see me after she sees the recording Willow has made.” They nodded and Chris walked out of their office.

Salud looked at Lukas, “Allison is not going to like this. We promised her the lead computer would be hers.”

“Then she’s going to have to deal with it. If she refuses, I’ll order her to go or turn in her resignation.”

“She might call you on it.”

“If she does, then so be it. Chris is needed more than any other leader we have outside of Jinks and Stoney. She’ll just have to accept it.” Salud nodded and wondered if they were going to lose a good commander over this.

* * *

Allison was hot! She left Lukas’s office and went directly to the beach where she found Chris and Michael. She stormed up and forced herself to gain control of her emotions. Chris saw her walking over the dune toward him still wearing her uniform. He then saw her expression and looked at Michael, “Why don’t you go and play with your toys in the sand?”

Michael looked over his shoulder and saw Allison walking toward them. “Adult stuff?”

“I think you could appreciate it but I don’t think she’d appreciate you listening.”

Michael shrugged and walked over to his sand fort building buckets and shovels. Allison saw Michael walk away and she picked up her pace. “You are going to do something about this!!”

Chris looked up at her from his chair, raised his sunglasses, and said, “Do you no longer salute a superior officer when you are in uniform?”

Allison almost lost it but quickly realized that Chris could have her tossed out of the service just as quickly as Lucas. She took a breath and came to attention and saluted. Chris returned her salute and said, “Sit down, Admiral. What’s got you cooking?”

“I was made promises and then they were broken. When I complained, I was offered the door to my commission.”

“They promised you one of your computers would be the lead.”

“They did!!”

Chris lowered his sunglasses and said, “After you kept your cool when I grabbed your neck, it surprises me that you’ve lost it now. You’re not really thinking this through.” Allison was ready to grab his neck. His cool, calm demeanor only infuriated her more. Chris took a small breath and blew it out, “Sit there and listen quietly, Admiral! Nod if you understand.” Allison’s face turned bright red with her anger but she forced herself to nod. “Whichever computer is chosen to be the lead computer, it should be the one that would offer us the best chance of survival. Nod if you agree.” Allison hesitated but then nodded. “The main two reasons of your having two computers on your ship is to first, collect data, process it, and then provide you with information to make good decisions.” Allison stared at him without nodding and Chris said, “I know. You also use them to fight your ship to free you up to keep a view of the big picture. Am I right?” Allison nodded.

“Is either of your computers telepathic?” Allison’s eyes narrowed and her head tilted. “Are they?”

Allison said, “No.”

“Barbie is telepathic and has saved me numerous times when she heard the thoughts of the crews on enemy ships. She has reacted fast enough to save us from ambushes and she has also been able to home in on the thoughts of our enemies. If one of your computers were the lead computer, she would have to tell it when to run and give detailed instructions on how to steer toward the thoughts of another ship. Does either of your computers possess a skill that would trump her telepathic ability?”

Allison stared at him and then took a deep breath, “No, they don’t. You’re right, your computer should be the lead.”

“The real problem with your accepting this is one of control.”

Allison’s eyes narrowed as she tilted her head, “What?”

“You’ve always had control of your ship from the moment you became a pilot. Even when you were leading my bodyguard, you made all the decisions about when to defend, when to attack, you controlled their actions. Sure, you followed my orders but you determined how to make them happen. By not having one of your computers in the lead position, you would not be in control and that is something that frightens you. You trust your own judgment more than anyone else. You can’t accept the role of being a passenger on our ship.”

Allison had regained her composure and thought about what Chris said. Chris looked at her and smiled, “You are still missing the obvious.”

Allison looked up, “What is that?”

“Whose ship is it?”

“What?”

“Whose ship are we going out on? Do you think it’s your ship?”

“My two computers are being installed on it.”

“So?” Allison’s eyes widened and Chris nodded, “You see it now. Once Lukas determines that I don’t need someone with me, I will not be the one leaving. Of course, if you’re promoted over me, then you will keep the vessel.”

“I don’t see that happening.”

“It very well could, Admiral. You’ve demonstrated superior command talents and you’ve risen quickly in this navy.”

“I wouldn’t accept the position.”

“Pray tell why not?”

Allison blew out a quick breath and shook her head, “I could not make the decision on who lives and who dies. Someone else will have to do that. Give me a target, and I’ll remove it. Beyond that, I don’t want it.”

“No one does, Allison. It’s forced on you and you do the best you can with the information you’re given. I think you would do much better than you think. However, I pulled rank and forced Lukas to make Barbie the lead, not because of her telepathic ability, although that is reason enough to do it, but for the same reason you wanted it: control.”

Allison stared at him and looked out at the ocean for a moment. “I’m being stupid, aren’t I?” Chris smiled and nodded. “Not only is Barbie telepathic, you are as well. You also know more than I ever will because of that ability.” Chris tilted his head and nodded again. “You will also be making the decisions and I can only stop you; I won’t be deciding what we do.”

“And what do you glean from this realization?”

Allison shook her head, “I need to go put on a swimsuit and come back to discuss what we’re going to do.”

Chris laughed, “Take your time. I’m going to spend some time with Michael before we start prioritizing our goals.” Allison stood up, saluted, did an about face and headed toward the dune. Chris shook his head. He remembered when she first showed up to lead his bodyguard at sixteen years old. She looked so young! He chuckled and then it struck him. He was ten years old when that happened. She was six years older than him then as well as now. No wonder she balked at giving up the lead. She was twenty-three now and she probably saw him as a sixteen year old. He thought about it and wished he was ten again.

He looked out at the ocean and remembered a pink and blue sail. No trace was found of the small boat carrying Audrey. It was vaporized in the nuclear blast. He sighed and was thankful he could remember her the way she looked as he pushed her out into the waves. Her smile was radiant and she was so beautiful. The blast happened so fast that he didn’t even have time to connect telepathically. He nodded and knew he could always come here and see her traveling across the waves anytime he wanted.

Chapter Nine

The Greatest Leader had learned how to manipulate the Legends. They had contacted him to order him to resume the invasion of the spiral galaxy and all he had to do to stop them was to suggest, “Great Leader, if I send my warships to invade the spiral galaxy, the evil ones that attacked the Others along with the ships rebelling in the other galaxy will combine and attack us here. They will probably target your planet first.”

“HOW DO YOU KNOW THIS?!”

“It’s what you would do. Did you not have us invade the first time to kill that entity there that was leading our enemies?” The Progen waited a moment and then gave them a way to save face, “Besides, you’ve seen the power of their new vessels. I need time to modernize my fleets to a level where they can stand up to them.”

“Then we should go back and retake the other galaxy.”

“The same thing will happen if we do. The attackers of the Others will return along with the forces from the Spiral Galaxy. Until we can match their technology, I would not want to see you placed in danger.”

The Legend disappeared and didn’t contact him again…until after the attack on the galaxy that invaded. He was ordered to send his fleets to take possession and knew he had no choice but to do it. But he was saved by the spiral galaxy. As his ships organized outside the edge of the galaxy, a giant fleet of ships arrived and hung in space waiting. They didn’t attack; they just held their formation and waited. The Legend’s Leader contacted him and called off the invasion of the Elliptical Galaxy. He moved his ships back into the galaxy and the giant fleet of ships hanging in open space disappeared.

His fleets still outnumbered the fleets sent from the spiral galaxy and the Legends were still unaware of the new technology he was using to strengthen his warships. He was also building new warships at an incredible rate. He wondered if they could stand up to the Silver Ships that invaded the other galaxy. He didn’t know but he had his engineers continue to work on even newer technology to handle that issue.

He left his tub and flowed to the table and inserted an appendage into the receptacle at his station. He watched the recordings from the probes that were placed in the Elliptical Galaxy and didn’t like what he was seeing. He pressed a button on the table and flowed back to his tub. He informed the lead scientist that if he didn’t develop the technology to defeat the ships from the spiral galaxy, that he, along with all of his team, would be replaced by those that could. He didn’t have to say the scientists would not be alive to witness their replacement. He smiled at the fear of the scientist as he ended the call. Sometimes, a little motivation was needed to get things done.

* * *

Allison sat on the beach chair waiting for Chris to return from putting Michael to bed. He finally returned and smiled, “Michael took a little longer to settle down. He’s aware that I’ll be leaving again and he worries about me.”

“He’s a fine boy, Chris.”

Chris stared at her and said, “You mentioned before that you challenged me because of your concern about me. I could look at your thoughts but I thought we would start this mission with the understanding that your thoughts will be kept private. I won’t violate your privacy. Why did you say that?”

“Because you were about to cross a line that you would never be able to return from. I knew that once you cooled off and looked at what you did in cool reflection, you would never be the same. You’d know that Audrey would have never approved of your actions and that realization would drive you insane. Your only option would be to become a real monster hell bound to kill every intelligent being you saw as a danger to Earth. I had to stop that from happening.”

“How did you know that?”

“Because I know you. Those years protecting you and Audrey gave me the opportunity to learn who the two of you were. You were almost a single person and you lost half of your life when she died. You had to be given the time to bring her back into your psyche. You didn’t take the time to do it before you left to attack M-84.”

Chris nodded. He looked out at the ocean and said, “That night you found me here…I asked her to forgive me and I knew I had done something she would have never accepted. If she had been with me when I confronted those leaders, she would have seen that the High Leader was the only one responsible for what happened.” Chris looked at Allison, “She’s with me now and I’ll never lose what she taught me. Now I have to live with all those that were murdered because of my rage.”

Allison hesitated and then said, “After the fact, it’s better it happened the way it did.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because it would have to happen before enough fear could be generated in M-87. They take us seriously now. However, to have carried our attack further would have left our forces with a monster leading them. You also had to learn a lesson.”

Chris sighed and nodded, “I never knew you were this wise.”

“Me either.”

“Huh?”

“I wish I could describe what was going on in my mind when I was watching you kill that Leader but I could see where you were headed. I had to stop you for your sake and for selfish reasons.”

“Selfish?”

“I didn’t want to lose the best warrior in our fleets. I had to try and save the conqueror we were all going to follow. I didn’t want to lose my soul with yours.”

Chris stared at her for a long moment and said, “I have to confess that I did not want you going out with me!”

“I felt the same.”

“But now I think you will be an asset. You’ll see things I miss.”

“Thank you, Sir. Coming from you, that means a lot.”

“I think I can convince Lukas to relieve you of this burden.”

“No, I think I want to see what a telepathic ship can do and you’ve tickled my curiosity. I need to see what we’re up against to plan an effective counter. Thank you for helping me see the situation. You did it nicely and I don’t know if I would have showed your patience.”

Chris nodded, “Let’s talk about what we need to do.”

“Obviously, we need to look at M-86 and then see where the Progen are in their ship developments.”

“Where do you think we need to go first?”

“M-86.”

Chris laughed, “Well you know what they say about great minds. M-86 it is.”

“Why do you want to go there first?”

“Before we can take on the Legends and their forces, we have to see if the other galaxy represents a danger to us.”

“That’s how I see it.”

“I want a few more days with Michael and I understand our ship won’t be ready for another week. If you want to take a look at what they’re building for us and offer suggestions, I’d appreciate it.”

“My time is free and I’ll be glad to handle it.” Allison stood up and stretched, “I’ll go and start doing that in the morning. I’ll stay in contact and let you know if I see anything you would want input on.”

“Thank you, Allison.”

“Glad to do it.” She grabbed her towel, turned, and headed up the beach. Chris stayed and saw a pink and blue sail in his mind.

* * *

The next morning Allison parked the pod outside a giant manufacturing facility and walked through the entrance. She saw the giant converters scattered around the building and started walking into the giant structure. She walked up on an A-Pod that was being finished and saw the engineer working on the scoops. “Excuse me.”

The engineer looked up and saw the woman dressed in a military uniform. He looked closer and saw the two stars on her collar. He jumped up, “I’m sorry Admiral. I didn’t see you coming!”

“That’s ok. Can you direct me to Amanda and Trevor Ambrose?”

The engineer turned and pointed to the north end of the building, “They’re working on a ship over there.”

Allison smiled, “Thank you.” She walked away and the engineer watched her leave. He was stunned by what he saw. Her red hair was as fine as silk and her complexion was flawless. She moved with a smoothness he had never seen before. If ever an image was needed to show perfection, a picture of her would do it. He stared at her until she disappeared around the bow of the ship he was working on and he shook his head. He bent down to continue working but couldn’t get the image of the woman out of his mind. It was an image he would remember for the rest of his life.

There were numerous engineers that stopped what they were doing to watch Allison pass through the building. She was quite unaware of how beautiful she was and didn’t notice the stares as she moved between the ships being built in the huge facility.

She walked around the nose of a B-Pod and heard, “Allison, we’re over here!” She looked to the left and saw Amanda jumping out of the port of a large ship. Of course large was a relative term. It was small when compared to a battleship but it was twice the size of the pods. Amanda ran up and hugged her, “It’s good to see you again.”

Allison smiled, “It has been too long. How’s Trevor?”

“He’s inside installing the three computers. Come on, I have a lot to show you.”

“Lead the way.”

“You’re going to like your new ship. It’s really something.” Amanda started talking at a fast rate and though Allison wanted to interrupt her to ask questions, there was no way to get a word in edgewise. She mentally listed the questions and decided to hold them for Trevor. As they walked closer to the huge pod, Allison saw four disruptors instead of the usual three. They were lower on the hull and the twin barrels extended out of the ship’s hull from about six inches above. Amanda pointed at them and said, “Those are the new disruptors. Each of the two barrels pack the same power as the old single barrel mounts. The barrels can fire in unison at a single target or they can be independently targeted. The smaller mounts allow them to swivel at three times the speed of the old mounts.”

Allison shook her head, “The old mounts weren’t slow, Amanda.”

Amanda paused her running commentary and said, “Compared to the new ones they are.”

She began speaking again and Allison stared at the new disruptor barrels. They were three times the diameter of the old. She stopped walking and said, “How can these be powered without weakening the defenses?”

Amanda stopped talking and Allison discovered how to get her questions answered. Amanda could talk up a storm but didn’t miss anything that was said. “That’s one of the real surprises I was telling you about.”

“Oh?”

“The four DE reactors have been taken out and they’ve been replaced by one larger reactor.”

Allison stopped walking again and looked at Amanda. Amanda saw her expression and stopped talking. “Amanda, we switched between those reactors to use them where they were most needed. We could increase the power to our thrusters, disruptors, or force field.”

Amanda smiled, “Allison, the new reactor is more than ten times more powerful than all four of the ones they replace. You can still increase the power wherever you choose but there is a lot more of it than before. There is also no delay in making the changes unlike the switches that had to be used before.”

“How long will a full charge last?”

“The ship will have its mini-scoops extended whenever it’s not being hit by an enemy’s beams. The new reactor stays at full charge and will keep its charge a lot longer than the old reactors.”

“That’s incredible.”

Amanda smiled, “It is, isn’t it? Come on inside and take a look at the new stardrive.”

“New stardrive?”

Amanda lowered her head and leaned in to Allison and whispered, “The universe just got a lot smaller.” She grabbed Allison’s hand and started running toward the port. Allison started running with her and wondered if Amanda ever ran out of steam. It appeared she didn’t.

After meeting Trevor inside, she made a decision. She pressed her wrist unit and saw Chris appear, “Sir, I really think you need to come here and meet with Amanda and Trevor.”

“But I want to…”

“Bring him with you. It’s time he started learning about our ships.”

Chris looked away and she saw his lips moving quietly and then she heard, “ALLLLLL RIIIIIGHT!!!” He looked back at Allison and said, “We’re on our way.”

* * *

Two hours later, Chris was sitting in one command chair with Michael on his lap. Allison sat in the other command chair and Trevor and Amanda sat in folding chairs they brought in for the meeting. They brought Chris up to speed on the new armaments and reactor and Michael’s eyes stayed wide the entire time. Allison was shocked the young boy didn’t interrupt them once and then she realized that Chris was answering his questions telepathically.

Chris said, “I don’t understand what you mean by this new stardrive being faster.”

Trevor raised his hand and Amanda closed her mouth, “Let me try to explain.” Amanda leaned back in her chair and nodded. Trevor looked at Chris and Allison and smiled, “We discovered something entirely by accident. We had an A-Pod’s stardrive go haywire. It was attempting to skip back to Earth to have repairs done before it quit working all together. The thing is, the probes kept detecting it disappearing from the void and then it would reappear in a different place a lot further than it could have traveled in normal space. After the last attack, an alarm was sounded and a squadron of A-Pods was sent out to intercept it. They found it skipping in and saw it repeatedly disappearing and reappearing in the void. When they contacted the pilot, he kept telling them that he had not entered normal space. He insisted he had never left the void.”

Chris tilted his head, “Where was it going?”

“No one knew and they contacted us as it moved closer to Earth. The thing that didn’t make sense was that each time it disappeared, it would reappear a long way ahead of the Pods escorting it back to Earth. They were all traveling at their maximum speed so there was no way that pod should have been able to move that far ahead of them. I ordered them to stop the pod and have it remain stationary in the void. It still disappeared and reappeared.”

“What was going on?”

Trevor tilted his head and smiled, “Chris, something remarkable. We took a repair team out to the ship and managed to get an engineer on board before it disappeared. He hooked up his analytic computer to the drive and discovered that the stardrive’s frequency modulator was going out. It couldn’t hold a frequency.” Trevor smiled and said, “It wasn’t going into normal space. We activated its scanners and found out that it was going into a small area of space that separates normal space from the void.”

“Say what?”

“The engineer on board was able to get a reading on the frequency that the stardrive was using when it disappeared. It took us a few weeks but we were finally able to duplicate that frequency and set a pod up so it could switch between the normal frequency and the new one. When we switched to the new frequency, the pod disappeared.”

“Was it able to see anything from that band?”

“Remember, the pilot never had any indication that he left the void. He was able to see everything in the void just as he normally would. We also discovered that he could see normal space as well.”

Chris looked at Allison and saw her shaking her head. He looked back at Trevor and said, “This is a way of hiding that can’t be traced.”

“Not until another species finds that barrier. We can track a ship in that barrier because we know its frequency. But that’s not the remarkable thing about this.” Chris stared at Trevor and he said, “We can travel to the Virgo Cluster almost instantaneously.”

“WHAT?!”

Amanda couldn’t restrain herself any longer. “We decided to check it out for speed and we set our course for open space in the Virgo Cluster. We overshot it by a million light years.”

Chris looked at Trevor and he nodded. “How were you able to find your way back?”

“M-87 can be seen from a lot further than that. We reduced the power going to the thrusters and found we could modulate the speed, but it wasn’t easy. We’ve developed a new system to make it easier but you don’t want to go to full thrusters. You could end up at the other end of known space. Maybe even further.”

“Have you tried firing a disruptor from that barrier?”

“That’s also something you don’t want to do. We used an unmanned Pod to do it and it blew up in a rather big way. You’ll have to leave the barrier and go into normal space or the void to use the ship’s weapons. That band is more sensitive to them than the void.” Trevor paused and said, “There’s one more thing.”

“What is that?”

“The gravity limit has no effect on a ship traveling in the barrier.”

Michael looked at Chris and said, “AWESOME!”

Everyone laughed and Chris looked at them, “And you’re building this ship with that new stardrive?”

“Yes, we are.”

Chris looked at Michael sitting on his lap, “I guess you know what this means.”

“What?”

“If I need to take a nap or break, I can be home to do it with you.” Michael’s eyes went wide and his mouth went wide open. He wrapped his arms around Chris’s neck and squeezed him tightly. Allison watched them and felt how much they loved each other. She thought about what she heard and knew her old fleet formations could now be thrown out the door. This was a new era in controlling fleets of warships.

Chris looked at Trevor and Amanda, “Are you going to update our fleets to this new technology?”

Trevor looked at Amanda and then looked at Chris, “It can’t be done. These new ships take a lot longer to build because of this new technology.”

“What about the battleships?”

“It’s even more difficult with them. We’ve also measured the barrier and it’s a lot smaller than we thought. This vessel is about the largest that will safely fit inside it.”

Chris stared at them and then looked at Allison. She knew what he was thinking even though she wasn’t telepathic. She nodded and he turned back to Trevor, “You will immediately stop all construction on the Pods and battleships. You will focus on building as many of these new ships as possible.”

“I was hoping you would do this.”

“Why didn’t Lukas authorize it?”

“Because we are heavily outnumbered and outgunned. He feels we need as many ships as possible to avoid being overrun by numbers we can’t deal with.”

Allison shook her head, “Lukas hasn’t led a fleet of ships in combat. Quality trumps quantity.”

Chris smiled. He could see why Lukas had not committed to the new technology. Allison reassured him he was right. “Do as I order and I’ll handle any issues.”

Amanda jumped up and hugged Chris. Things were going to change.

* * *

Jinks walked into Lukas’s office and said, “Chris has ordered all construction be devoted to the new ship.”

“He is in command.”

“The reports I have coming in from the probes in M-87 show a massive buildup of warships.”

“What are you saying, Jinks?”

“If you have an invincible warship, it could not stop a million ships from attacking. They would swarm by it and attack around it.”

“Do you remember what the Silver Ships’ relatives are currently doing?”

Jinks looked at Lukas and tilted his head, “They’re hiding behind their force field while they’re building ships.”

“It may be that we will be forced to do the same. I agreed to not second-guess our chosen Commander. We will do what he wants.”

“You’re the boss.”

“No, he is, Jinks.”

Jinks smiled, “Yes, I guess he is.”

“You need to get busy.”

“Doing what?”

“These new ships aren’t going to fly themselves no matter how good they are. You need to get with Trevor and Amanda and develop a simulator to train the crews chosen to fly them.”

Jinks’ eyes went wide, “You’re right. I didn’t think about that. I’ll see you later.”

Jinks rushed out and Lukas sighed. He hoped Chris knew what he was doing. He had also seen the reports from the Progen building efforts. It was something to be very concerned about.

Chapter Ten

Chris looked at his panel and had to look for the controls. He had been studying the control panel for three weeks but it was nothing like the panel he was accustomed to using. He shook his head and looked at Allison who was also looking around her panel. “Allison, we should take some time to really learn this ship’s controls before we go out.”

Allison stared at her panel a moment longer and looked up, “This is frustrating. It would have helped to have a simulator to work on before we were handed this Rubik’s Cube.”

Chris shook his head and remained silent for a few moments and then said, “All right, we’re going to make multiple runs between Earth and Eden. We’ll continue the process until we can do it without looking at our panels.”

“That doesn’t help us operate the weapons.”

“No, but you have to learn to walk before you run. We’ll use it in the void and normal space and then we’ll try using the new drive to go in and out of the Skip Barrier.”

“You’re flying the ship, what am I supposed to do while you’re doing that?”

“I could make some suggestions but we both need to know how to fly it. I’ll fly it to Eden and you’ll fly it back. Then we’ll swap and do it again.” Allison threw up her hands and nodded. Chris looked at his panel and found the coordinate keyboard. He typed Eden’s coordinates into it and gripped the steering wheel. He squeezed the trigger under his right index finger and the ship blasted away from Earth at a speed that was previously impossible. “Allison, call out the percent of power being used by the various systems.”

“You’re at five percent now.”

“Going into the void.” Chris pressed the dark blue button on the center of the steering wheel and the ship immediately entered the void. “Boy that was quick!” He pressed the right pedal under his console lightly and the ship accelerated like a bat out of hell. He raised his foot and the ship slowed. “This is going to take some getting used to.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I’m going to make a turn and see how she responds.” Chris turned the wheel slightly and the ship immediately started a turn. He smiled and turned it more. The ship made a hard left turn and he was turned a hundred and eighty degrees as the gravity compensators issued a small whine. He turned it again faster and the pod reversed course faster than he could imagine. “These steering thrusters are amazing!”

“Eleven percent.”

Chris maneuvered the small ship for an hour getting a feel for its capabilities and then smiled, “Let’s see what she’s got. He pressed the right pedal and he had to make a radical turn from running into the bright light of a star. He whipped the ship back and forth and in less than a minute he was out in open space between the Milky Way and Andromeda. He pressed the pedal all the way to the floor and the distant speck of light named Andromeda grew at an enormous speed. He pressed the pedal under his left foot and the ship decelerated as fast as it flew. Andromeda hung in front of them and Chris was amazed.

“What’s wrong?”

Chris shook his head, “This ship might be more than a human can handle. It’s like putting a piece of sophisticated machinery in the hands of an infant.”

Allison shook her head, “If you’re having that much trouble with your superior reflexes, I don’t know if I can handle it.”

“We could always do it for you.”

Chris sighed, “I know, Barbie, but I suspect if you’re going to be handling anything it will be the disruptors, cannons, and guns.”

“You’re probably right. That system is really something else as well and getting the speed down on the turrets as they swivel isn’t easily done.”

Allison shook her head, “Alley, can you fly this ship?”

“Yes, but we’ve decided that we should divide the weapons between us and each of us operate a system.”

“Which on are you handling?”

“I’ve got the guns and cannons.”

“What about you, Gene?”

I’ve got two of the disruptors and Barbie has the other two.”

Allison shook her head, “The disruptors must be a bear if each of you are handling two.”

“I suspect we’ll get better over time but Trevor and Amanda have outdone themselves on this one.”

Chris looked at Allison, “It’s your turn. We have plenty of time. Let’s do this until we feel comfortable with the controls.” Chris stood up and Allison sat down in the command chair. Chris had to admit she did much better than he thought she would the first time. It took two weeks before they could fly the ship without having to look at their controls.

Chris smiled, “I guess we can go home and take a break before we shove off.”

Allison looked up from her console, “What about the weapons?”

“We won’t be operating them. The computers will handle them.”

“What happens if the computers are knocked out?”

Chris stared at her for a long moment, “Seriously?”

“Yes.”

“If the computers get knocked out, pretty much all the controls will go with them.”

“This ship has manual overrides. We could still operate it.”

Chris leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling with an expression showing him attempting to keep his patience. “Allison, activate the manual override on one of the disruptor modules and turn it ninety degrees.”

Allison’s expression changed and she pressed a button on her panel. She grabbed the small round knob on the panel and began turning it. Twenty seconds later, it completed the one-quarter turn. She looked at him with a contrite expression, “I guess you’re right about trying to operate them manually.” Chris gave her an ‘I told you so look’ and she said, “But that doesn’t mean we can’t fight the ship.”

“Are you always this much of a perfectionist?”

“When it comes to living or dying, I am.”

Chris stared at her and leaned back in his chair. He thought about the issue and said, “Before we even think about using the weapons, I need to see if I can fly this ship manually.” Chris activated the manual overrides and gripped the steering wheel. He moved the ship forward and it responded quickly. It was when he attempted to turn that the ship responded like trying turn a bolder rolling down a hill. “The steering thrusters aren’t nearly as responsive. I can turn it but not very fast. I’m going to have to press the thruster controls and hold them down as I turn the wheel. That will take some getting used to.”

Allison nodded and looked at her panel. “So we have good straightaway speed but need a lot of room to turn.”

“Until I can get a grip on the thrusters, yes.”

“Then we’re going to have to fight the ship like the old jet fighter pilots did.”

“How so.”

“We fly directly at a target and open fire when we’re in range.”

“That leaves us wide open to attacks from the rear and sides.”

“If we can fly at full speed, I doubt anything can get to us from the rear.”

“But we can’t fly at a target at full speed. We’d be past it before I could fire the weapons. I also have to get it lined up in the target sight.”

Allison thought for a moment and nodded, “You’re right.” She looked at the four little knobs on her panel and said, “What about this. If we’re forced to do this manually, I’ll turn one disruptor directly toward the bow, and the other three toward the sides and rear. You will fire the disruptor pointed to the front and rear and I’ll handle the two pointing to the port and starboard.”

“The scanners won’t be operational.”

“We’ll just have to fire using our tactical helmets. They’re not connected to the ship. You’ll have to move the ship up or down to get the target acquisition site on what you want to hit.”

“Ok, let’s give it a go. What are we going to use for a target?”

“Take us back to Earth and we’ll go through the asteroid belt and fire at rocks as we pass through them.”

Chris activated the power systems and skipped into the Milky Way.

* * *

The ship went through the field of asteroids and targeted smaller boulders. Chris shook his head, “I can’t fly very fast and avoid hitting them.”

“Don’t beat yourself up. You’re moving faster than the pods did when they attacked the ships outside M-84.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“No, you’re doing quite well, however, we won’t have a force field to protect us.”

“But we will have the silver coating and it can take a huge amount of punishment.”

Allison smiled, “I didn’t think of that.”

Her eyes narrowed and Chris said, “What?”

“Take us outside the belt for a minute.” Chris turned the ship and exited the asteroid belt and brought it to a stop. “Check and see if the black cloud emitters still work.” Chris pressed a button on his panel and the black mist surrounded the ship. Allison smiled. “Now fly at the speed you were just traveling and see if the cloud stays around us.”

Chris pressed the right pedal and the ship moved forward. He looked outside the viewport and the black mist was still there. “It’s sticking to us but it won’t do us any good if we can’t see through it.”

“Stop the ship.” Chris brought the ship to a stop and Allison pushed a slide on her console.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m manually extending some of the antennas.” She waited for a moment and then put on her combat helmet. She remained silent for three minutes and then said, “Put on your helmet and go to the scanner program. In the receiver subroutine there’s a choice to select external sources.” She watched him put on his helmet and after a moment said, “Do you see it?”

“Not yet.”

“It’s the second from the bottom.”

“Got it.” Suddenly, Chris saw everything outside the ship. “How did you think of this?”

“Like you said earlier, I’m somewhat of a perfectionist. I studied our helmets for the better part of a year, learning everything it can do. The antenna still receives impulses even though our computers won’t receive their signals; our helmets can link with them. This eliminates us having to use our eyes to see our targets and really increases our range.”

Chris chuckled, “You really are amazing. Let’s try it again and see how we do.”

The rocks being hit on their second pass through the asteroid belt were doubled. Allison shook her head, “It takes a lot of concentration to fire just as a target enters the sight.”

“It’s easier head on and to the rear. I just have to move the ship slightly to line them up.”

“If I tell you right or left, roll the ship slightly in that direction, it’ll help me get a shot at targets to the sides.”

“The control knob should move the disruptors enough for you to aim them.”

“I’ve already been doing that but a slight movement left or right will make it a lot easier.”

“Let’s do it again and see if I can do the roll and keep a target in my sights.” Eight hours later, they decided that they were not going to improve beyond their current skill.

“Are you ready to go home?”

“I guess. I can’t think of anything else.”

“We’ll plan to leave in three days. Take a break and go see your family.”

Allison’s expression changed slightly and she said, “I think I’m going to stay on board and see if there’s something I’ve missed.”

Chris saw her expression and wanted to say something but decided it might not be the right thing to do, “I’ll see you in three days.”

* * *

Chris was sitting on the beach watching Michael build a huge sand fort. That boy was incredible with his sand toys. He leaned back in his beach chair and looked at the gulls circling overhead. He kept seeing Allison’s expression in his mind when he asked her about her family. He looked at Michael and then lifted his wrist unit. He scrolled through the contacts and pressed a button. “Good morning First Commander. How may I be of service?”

Chris looked at Alice Gomez and smiled, “Alice, I need some personnel information on Admiral Allison Simmons.”

Alice had been with Fleet Operations from day one and no one knew the computer system better than she did. “What is it you need, Sir?”

“I want to know about her family.”

Chris saw Alice’s smile disappear. “Sir, she has no family.”

Chris was shocked by the revelation, “Why is that, Major?”

“I don’t have to look this up. Her father was a wounded veteran of the Iraqi War. He refused to leave Earth.”

“Why?”

“To begin with, he wasn’t chosen to go early, Sir. His disability eliminated him. Even when the ships were opened for those that weren’t selected, he refused to go. He felt that he would not be able to help the colonists because of his disability and would only be another mouth to feed. His wife would not leave him and both of them decided to force Admiral Simmons to leave and go with a family of friends. The Admiral was forced to board the colony ship, Sir.”

“How old was she?”

“Twelve, Sir.”

“Any brothers or sisters?”

“No, she was born before her father shipped out to Iraq. They didn’t have any more children after he was brought back.”

“How do you know about this, Alice?”

“I was on the ship when she was brought on board. I saw the family hold her against her will and carry her on board. I’ll never forget her extreme sorrow. She ended up curled in a ball and wept all the way to Eden. She never accepted that family and entered the Navy as soon as she came of age. I kept an eye on her and as she moved up in the ranks, I was really proud of what she had accomplished.”

“What about the family that took her to Eden.”

“That’s not hard to figure out, Sir. She blamed them for taking her from her parents. That’s why she never accepted them.”

Chris nodded, “Thank you, Alice.”

“She’s really something special, Commander. Her scores on the aptitude tests prior to joining the Navy are the highest we’ve ever seen. Those that know about her are proud of her. Her parents did a good thing forcing her to go.”

Chris ended the call and sighed. This explained a lot. She was fighting every day to be someone her father and mother would be proud of. Her world became one big competition. Now he understood her anger at not having control of the ship. The only time in her life where she wasn’t in control was when she was forced to leave her parents. He shook his head and pressed his wrist unit again, “What are you up to?”

“I’ve brought the ship back to Trevor to see if he can’t improve speed of the manual override systems before we skip out.”

“So you’re here on the island?”

“Yes.”

“Well why don’t you come down to the beach and watch Michael built a fort big enough to defend the planet.”

Allison laughed out loud, “Now that I have to see. I’ll be right down.” Chris smiled and thought that maybe she didn’t have a family but he could take the role of being her brother. Eve was a great step-sister and Allison would be someone his family would like. She arrived and went straight to Michael and ooo’ed and ahhhh’ed.

Michael picked up a sand form and held it out to her. She jumped right in. Michael gave her directions and she followed them to the letter. In no time, both of them were laughing. By the end of the afternoon, the fort was about twenty-five feet square and four feet high. Chris came up and admired their work as Michael took his and Allison’s hands in his, “This is the best I’ve ever done.” He looked up at Chris, “Right?”

“It can defend the Planet.”

Michael looked up at Allison, “Can you come back and help me build a bigger one?” Allison started shaking her head and Michael said, “PLLLLEEEEAAAASSSEEE!”

Allison sighed and blew out a small breath as Michael was jumping up and down. “Alright. How can I say no to jumping up and down that high?”

“YAAAAYYYYYY!”

Allison looked at Chris, “But your father has to approve it.”

“You are certainly welcome to build any structure he might choose.” Chris looked at the fort and held out his arms, “But this! I don’t see how it can ever be improved on!”

Michael shook his head, “Just wait!”

Michael released their hands and ran up the beach toward his home. Allison turned to Chris, “That’s some boy you have, Chris. He’s going to be something special when he grows up. Thank you for inviting me. I need to go check on the ship.”

She turned and started walking toward the dunes and he shouted, “You know he’ll be heartbroken if you don’t keep your promise?”

“Don’t worry, I will.”

Chris watched her go and then turned and stared out at the ocean. It took a few minutes before he saw the pink and blue sail. He sighed and then turned to catch up to Michael.

* * *

“All systems operational.”

Chris pressed the thruster control and the pod leaped off the spaceport at an incredible speed. Chris slowed the ship before it broke the sound barrier and caused a sonic boom so close to the ground. He shook his head and looked at Allison, “All of that manual flying has messed up my coordination. I need to take her out and spend some time getting it back.”

“I’m fine. I didn’t fly it manually so why don’t you get your touch back heading out toward M-86.”

“Good idea.” It took no time to get the feeling back and Chris pressed the center red button on the steering wheel and the distant galaxy moved toward them at a speed that was breath taking. Chris pressed the center button again and the ship left the skip barrier and returned to the void just outside the giant elliptical galaxy.

Allison said, “Now that was impressive. You had me grabbing the arms of my chair.”

Chris shook his head, “I am going to be extremely reluctant to use the barrier inside a galaxy.”

“Do you see the purple button directly above the barrier button?”

“Yes.”

“You can set it to automatically activate; if you press it and hold it down it will always activate as you enter the barrier. It will attenuate the thrusters so you can fly at speeds you can control in the barrier. If you leave the barrier, the system will automatically disengage.”

Chris turned and looked at her, “How did you know that?”

Allison shrugged, “Remember I went back and worked with Trevor. He told me about it.”

“Then we’re going into the barrier to scout this system. If that system operates like you say, we don’t need to hide inside the cloud.” Chris pressed the purple button and held it down; it remained illuminated. He then pressed the red button and the ship entered the barrier. Barbie, do you still have the coordinates where we escaped the ships around that planet that was building warships.”

“I do.”

“I’m giving you control of the ship, take us there.” Chris looked at Allison and saw her smiling. “What?”

“This is where you taught me the dangers of making a full scan. The four of us were really impressed that day.”

Chris chuckled, “I understand why and yes, it is.”

* * *

Lukas sat in his office and tried to capture a thought that eluded him. There was something in the back of his mind that needed release but he just couldn’t grab it. It had been bugging him for a long time. He sighed and put it aside. He just couldn’t get it out. He looked out the window at the thriving spaceport that was growing every day. The rest of the planet was pretty much lifeless except for the force field emitter stations that had a team of engineers assigned to them but some of the population on Eden asked to return to their former home. Looking at the absence of intelligent life made him think that humans were the aliens taking the planet. He shook his head and the thought that had been eluding him came crashing through. His expression changed to concern and then to fear as he thought it through. “PAT!?”

“Yes, Lukas.”

“When you allowed your consciousness to go to M-87, were you able to see the ones called the Legends?”

“That’s what allowed them to see my location.”

“What did you determine about them?”

“They’re very much like my species but younger. They’ve not evolved as much as we have.”

“How many were there?”

Pat paused and said, “Around fifty or so.”

“How many Sentinels are there?”

“More than a billion scattered around Andromeda. They don’t tend to stay in a group. Our curiosity makes us explore wherever we are. Many of those that were out exploring returned when the danger to us was uncovered by Pat.”

“Wouldn’t that also be true of them?”

“I don’t know. When I saw them, they were all located on just one planet.”

“Pat, they couldn’t have originated in M-87.”

“What?”

“Think about it. There’s not enough of them. We know it took more than ten thousand years to subjugate all of the civilizations in that giant galaxy. If they evolved in that galaxy, it would have had to have started millions of years ago for them to be where they are now.”

“You’re right.” There was a pause and Pat said, “There are more of them somewhere else and M-87 is just an expansion of their domain.”

“There has to be.”

“This is not good!”

“No, it isn’t. Even if we find a way to remove the fifty or so of them, I suspect we won’t be able to prevent a distress call.”

“There’s no way you could stop them from doing that, Lukas. They would all have to be killed so fast that they couldn’t get a thought out and I don’t see any way that could be done.”

“So, what does that mean to our plans to attack M-87? Should we back off?”

“With the current stalemate happening there, I’m reasonably certain they have contacted Legend Central, wherever it is, and told them what’s going on.”

“Do you think those Black Ships around their planet represent the pinnacle of their technology?”

“I have no way of knowing without going out into the universe searching for others of their kind, and you should know what will happen if I find them.”

“They’ll see you and where you’re located.”

“Exactly, and then you’ll be facing more than just the forces in M-87. I suspect a lot more forces.”

Lukas started slowly shaking his head, “Pat, what should we do?”

“I’ve looked at the new ship Chris is using and it is incredible. That ship wouldn’t exist except for the wars you’ve been fighting and the accident that allowed you to learn about the barrier. In all the millions of years we’ve existed, we never knew about it. Your technology has exceeded my wildest expectations and to stop fighting will only cause your developments to stagnate. You have to hit them in small hits and not cause the Legends to panic. I would suggest that you keep their forces contained in their galaxy and build this new ship as fast as you can. When you’re capable of attacking and removing them, then you’ll have a difficult decision to make.”

“Won’t that bring in the others?”

“That’s what makes it difficult. Yes, it will bring them to M-87.”

“They’ll learn who we are.”

“Not if you pull a little Maskevera.”

“What is that?”

“You plan a deception. You attack from either M-84 or M-86. You make them think their attackers are coming from either of those two galaxies and not this one.”

“But that would put those two galaxies in danger.”

“Lukas, I had to make a choice when I used Earth to divert the Invaders attention from the Fellowship. You will have to make a similar decision, it’s them or you.”

“Pat, I can’t put a whole galaxy under the gun for our actions.”

“Then tell me another way to prevent the destruction of Earth again? Your allies will also go with you next time around along with all the Fellowship planets. Quite frankly, I made a bad choice choosing Earth to die. After the fact, I can see that the Fellowship wasn’t worth saving.”

“Three of them were.”

“It would still be better in the long run for Earth to have survived. Look at what the few that survived have done compared to the Fellowship.”

“This is something I have to think about, Pat.”

“Trust me, I know. It took a thousand years for me to make the decision.”

“I don’t have that long.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I also don’t have your mental skills.”

“No, you don’t.”

“There’s not much time to get these new ships built either.”

“No, there isn’t.”

“Pat, that’s enough of the word no”

“Yes, it is.”

Lukas laughed and shook his head, “I really haven’t wanted to like you but darn it, I just can’t help it.”

“Hey, I’m a very likable being. Would you like to see my resume?”

“I don’t have time to read it and if you say ‘No, you don’t’ I’m going to tell the Legends where you are.”

There was a pause and Pat said, “You’re very observant.”

“That’s just as bad.”

“You didn’t say I couldn’t say it.”

Lukas laughed, “I’ll talk to you later.” Lukas thought about the revelation for an hour and then pressed his panel, “Trevor, Amanda, please report to my office at your earliest convenience.”

Trevor looked at Lukas, “Is something wrong?”

“I want you to go to Eden and convert all of our facilities there to building the new ship. I’m going to have Jinks and Stoney to start selecting the pilots who will be flying them. I’ve talked with Admiral Simmons and she says the new ship is a bear to learn how to fly.”

“It is.”

“Then I’m having all of our flag officers to start working on the simulators immediately. Allison also told me that having more than one computer was necessary.”

“She told us the same and we’ve incorporated her suggestion into the design. It’s slowed us slightly, but we are making progress.”

Lukas stared at Trevor and saw Amanda looking over his shoulder, “I don’t want to do this, but I’m going to be forced to separate you. One of you will go to Eden and the other will stay here and keep the building going. I’m also bringing in enough of our building contractors and Engineers to build other plants on Earth.”

Trevor looked over his shoulder and saw Amanda’s distress. “Sir, we work better together.”

“I know that, Trevor. How am I going to get Eden on board and make sure we don’t fall behind here without sending one of you there?” Lukas saw him pause and look at Amanda, “Look, if one of you go to Eden in one of the new ships, you could come back almost instantly and spend every night together.”

Trevor looked at Amanda and saw her smile. “You’re right, Lukas. We’ll do it your way.”

Lukas nodded and pressed another button, “Jinks, I need you and Stoney to come by my office.”

“We’re on our way.” Lukas leaned back in his chair. He thought for a minute and pressed another button.

“Yes Sir.”

“Admiral Goddard, I want you to keep your fleet at M-84 and make sure none of the planets there are attacked.”

“Sir?”

“The Sentinels are defending Eden. First Commander has promised the civilization he attacked that he would defend them.”

Jason tilted his head and said, “Yes Sir. How much longer will we be here? The crews are missing their families.”

“I’ll relieve your fleet in another week. You’ll come back to Eden for a month and go back.”

“Yes Sir. I’ll notify my fleet.” Lukas nodded and ended the contact. He thought about what he was considering and didn’t like it. But he had to at least leave the possibility open. He shook his head and looked out at the spaceport.

Chapter Eleven

“They’ve been really busy!” Chris nodded. Allison extended an antenna out of the barrier into normal space and made a ping scan. Chris looked at her and tilted his head. She shrugged, “I know we can see normal space above us but I’m wondering what they have waiting for an intruder.” Chris nodded and looked at the large monitor over the front viewport. Thousands of ships were moving at maximum speed toward the antenna’s location in the void. Allison pulled it out of normal space and sighed, “We should be able to see them without the antenna in a moment.” She was right, the mass of ships blew past the antenna and came to a stop a hundred miles past them.

“Their detection system is pretty good.”

“Not as good as the Orange Ships.”

“Why do you say that, Barbie?”

“The Orange Ships that detected our probe’s scan outside M-87 only went a few miles past the antenna’s location.”

Allison nodded toward the monitor, “They’re coming back.”

“Were the Orange Ships moving as fast as those ships, Barbie?”

“No.”

“Then the jury is still out on their capabilities.”

Allison nodded, “I think you’re right, Chris.” A moment later, thousands of ships appeared above them in normal space. “This really looks familiar.”

Chris laughed and listened to the thoughts of the crews in the void and focused on finding the leader of the ships. He finally found him.

“…and I did not open fire on the location, Commander but there’s nothing here.”

“It could be hiding behind that black cloud they use to hide their ships.”

“If it is, it’s no longer here. We could see the swirling of the cloud if it was this close.”

“Spread out and see if you can find anything. Don’t open fire without direct orders to do so.”

“Yes, Commander.”

Allison looked at Chris, “Why are they withholding their fire?”

“It appears that whoever is in charge here has ordered them not to do it.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I really don’t know.”

“Chris, we now have about a hundred thousand ships swarming in the void below our current position and an equal number above us in normal space.”

Chris looked at the void below the barrier and saw massive numbers of warships moving around them. “Gene, where did you detect those ships coming from?”

“Pretty much from every direction.”

Chris nodded and focused on finding the being that communicated with the leader of the ships in normal space. There were so many thoughts that he couldn’t locate him. “Barbie, can you isolate the thoughts of the one that communicated with the ships in normal space?”

“I’m listening to him now.”

“Link me in with him and put the conversation on the speakers.”

“Commander, that has to be one of the Progen ships that’s come here to scout us.”

“Prove it is by finding it.”

“We must destroy it before it can skip away and report on our location.”

Chris thought, “We are not a Progen ship.”

The being’s thoughts immediately froze and then focused on Chris, “Who are you?”

“I come from a galaxy the Progen attacked.”

“How can you prove that?”

“I will not do that by revealing my ship and open it to attack.”

There was a long pause and the Commander thought, “Have you been here before?”

“I have.”

“Was it your ship that we chased away?”

“It is.”

“Was that the only other time you’ve been here?”

“My leader was here years ago scouting the change of the Orange Ships to the Green.”

“Did that ship he was on do anything while it was here that would allow us to see it?”

“It destroyed two Green Warships pursuing a Black Ship that ambushed some of them.”

“THAT WAS ONE OF YOUR SHIPS?!”

“Yes.”

“STAND DOWN. ALL SHIPS STAND DOWN AND RETURN TO YOUR ASSIGNED POSITIONS!”

“But Commander!”

“Do as I order!”

Chris looked at Allison and she was shaking her head. What was going on?

The being thought, “I was in command of that Black Warship and your leader saved my life along with my crew. We were dead and the two Green Ships chasing us exploded just before they opened fire on my ship. Please accept my thanks for his actions and please tell him as well. I would not be here without his intervention. I’ve been hoping I would one day find out who did it.”

“That’s why you ordered your forces not to open fire on us?”

“It is. I believed that if the being that saved me came here once, he might come again.”

“I don’t know if that was a good idea.”

“We’re here now communicating. I will reverse those orders immediately.” There was a pause and the Commander said, “Why are you here now? There aren’t any ships here from that galaxy of monsters.”

“I know that but I felt we had to find out if your civilization was aggressive and represented a danger to us.”

“The only galaxy that’s in danger from us is the Monster Galaxy. If you’re their enemy, you are my friend.”

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“Exactly right. Was it you that invaded their galaxy and caused them to leave here?”

“No, that was from the elliptical galaxy located to the east of here.”

“So they were invaded as well.”

“Not really.”

“What does that mean?”

“Two of our scouts were being pursued by a fleet of Progen Ships and they turned and fled toward that galaxy to prevent them from thinking they came from our galaxy. The Green Ships later launched an attack and killed some of the planets on the edge of their galaxy to teach them a lesson. I suspect that galaxy is also targeted for a future expansion.”

“So, they attacked out of revenge for that attack.”

“Yes.”

“You’re not saying something.”

“How can you tell?”

“Your thoughts have changed and your sentences are shorter.”

Chris looked at Allison and she shrugged. He was on his own. “That galaxy knew that they were attacked because we led the Progen toward them.”

The Commander was silent for a long moment and then thought, “What happened?”

“They sent six scouts to my galaxy to plan an attack on us for our actions. I destroyed five of them and sent the sixth one back with a warning that if they sent another ship to my galaxy, I would eradicate every one of them.”

“They ignored your warning.”

“Their species were telepathic and their scouts learned the location of the planet where our Leaders are located. They sent a stealth ship that launched a nuclear missile at their location.”

“How many did you lose?”

“Just one, my wife.”

“You carried out our threat.”

“I did.”

“You killed all of them?”

“I managed to stop before I killed them all. But more than fifty thousand planets were burned into slag before I did.”

“They weren’t able to stop you?”

“I destroyed every warship they had before I attacked their planets.”

“You know telling me this is not a good way to open a conversation.”

“I know.”

“I wouldn’t have stopped.”

“You would have been less if you didn’t.”

“Why do you say that?”

“The intent should have been to remove them as a danger, not to kill trillions of children that had nothing to do with the attack. I discovered that their Supreme Leader ordered the attack when all the others tried to stop it.”

“That didn’t remove their responsibility for it.”

“Arrogance of a Leader is not something a child can stop.”

The being was silent and then another being thought, “So what’s the end result of this?”

“I have promised to defend them against any attack on their surviving planets.”

“You have given me something to think about.”

“Get in line.”

The being chuckled, “You’re more and less than what I thought. I suspect you are also unwilling to exterminate the Orange and Green Civilizations in the Monster Galaxy.”

“If a species ordered you to attack my galaxy and, if you didn’t do it, all of your worlds would be exterminated, would you attack?”

“Are you sure they could destroy my worlds?”

“Yes.”

Then, I’d not have a choice.”

“Neither do they.”

“So there’s more going on in that galaxy than I knew?”

“Yes. However, the Progen are an aggressive civilization and they don’t need much prodding to carry out their orders. The Green Civilization is different but they have no choice but to do as they’re told. The Green Commander that took his ships away from your galaxy was executed for leaving without orders to do so.” The beings were silent and Chris said, “That Commander arrived just in time to defend his planets from the attack of the ships from the other galaxy.”

“I imagine they didn’t appreciate him being executed.”

“We’ve listened to their transmissions and you’re right. They are not happy with the Legends.”

“Is that what the name of the ones calling the shots?”

“Yes.”

“But they’ll have no choice but to follow their orders.”

“It does appear you are right; but for the moment, the Progen have been put in charge again.”

“I wondered why they haven’t returned. They’re frightened of your attacking if they send ships here; am I right?”

“You’re wise. That is exactly what’s happening.”

“We should get together and discuss this.”

“I am not going to land on your planet.”

“Then how do you think we can meet? By the way, where are you?”

“I’m right where you detected me. Do you have a large ship you can bring out?”

“How large?”

“One of your battleships will be large enough.”

“What are you intending to do?”

“I will land my ship in your landing bay.”

“Are you serious?”

“I am. I will leave my force field on but I will come out and meet with you.”

“Do you think your ship could prevent me from then taking it to my planet?”

“My ship could probably destroy every ship you have in this planetary system.” The being’s thoughts underwent a change. “You have no reason to fear me. After all, the enemy of my enemy…”

“…Is my friend.”

The being paused and said, “I’ll board a ship and be there shortly.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing you.”

Chris broke the mental contact and Allison said, “You can’t do this!!”

“I imagine his subordinates are telling him the same thing.”

“But you’re too important, Chris.”

“I’m going to wear armor.”

Allison paused and shook her head, “Even so.”

“Allison, we saved his life. That is what will make the difference. This being is in command because the warriors following him love and respect him. Those qualities are rare in a commander and I’ll be safe. Beside, you will be inside his ship ready to do whatever is needed to defend me.” Allison shook her head and Chris smiled, “Do you honestly think they’ll have a portable weapon strong enough to threaten me inside his ship?”

“No, I don’t suppose they will. Perhaps I should go and meet with him.”

“Are you telepathic?” Allison sighed and shook her head. “And you don’t know their spoken language. This is my responsibility.”

“You and your logic. I get so tired of you being right all the time.”

“I was wrong when you stopped me.”

Allison stared at him and then nodded.

* * *

“They’re on the way.”

Chris looked at the tactical monitor and saw a giant warship leaving the planet’s atmosphere. Allison smiled, “That’s something new. I think he’s trying to prove he has the biggest…”

“That’s enough. Boys will be boys.”

“They’re no longer boys when their toys are warships.”

“Yes they are. The only difference is that the playpen gets larger.”

Allison sighed and said, “MEN!”

Chris smiled, “This coming from the definition of competitive.” Allison’s head went back. “Don’t deny it. You know you are.”

“How do you know that?”

“Barbie, how long before they arrive?”

“I asked you how you know?”

Chris smiled and said, “You will take the lead Command Chair while I’m gone. Link your two computers to my chair.”

Allison snorted and began pushing buttons on her panel. Chris watched the huge ship move into normal space directly above him and he pressed the blue button on his steering wheel. The Barrier Pod emerged into normal space and flew toward the open landing bay door.

* * *

The Scan Officer looked at his panel, “Where did that ship come from?”

The Weapon’s Officer looked up with his eyes wide, “Its force field is stronger than any I’ve ever detected.”

The Commander looked over his shoulder, “What level is it?”

“It’s pegged the reading. How can a ship that small have a force field that strong?”

The Commander smiled. He was right about his assessment of the being he was meeting. He didn’t say anything that he didn’t believe to be true. His ship probably could destroy all his ships including the one he was on. Well, let’s see what steps out of that marvel, he thought.

* * *

Chris flew the Pod into the landing bay and left it hovering two feet off the deck. “The ship is yours.”

Allison moved next to the command chair, “Please be careful!”

Chris nodded, “Barbie, send my conversation to the speakers.” He turned to Allison, “This species is not telepathic. If you think of something I’m missing, send me a thought through Barbie.” Allison nodded and Chris activated his armor and stepped out of the chair. Allison took his place as he stepped off the small bridge and walked to the port. He opened it and stepped out. He walked through the force field and saw many different species standing away from his ship watching him. One of them stepped forward and bowed slightly, “If you will follow me.”

The bronze colored being turned and walked toward a large portal. Chris remembered the female that came to see him. This species was the same color but was very different. It stood about five feet tall but was four feet wide through its heavily muscled shoulders. Its head sat on top of the shoulders but it was flexible enough to turn around, even without a neck. Its eyes were completely black and deeply set. It had two heavily muscles arms that hung below its waist. Chris tried to count the number of fingers and finally saw three fingers and one opposable thumb. They were so thick, it was hard to distinguish them. For a being as big as it was, it moved quickly. This being had to evolve on a high gravity planet. The uniform it had on was loose but Chris knew the being’s entire body was just one big complex of muscles.

He followed the being through a long maze of corridors and finally arrived outside a door. The being opened it for him and motioned him inside. He entered and was stunned by what he saw. The being that stood up was at least seven feet tall and an exact duplicate of the being that led him to the room. Its power and strength was something to see.

“I imagine you’re confused by the difference in size?”

“I am.”

“I can reduce my height but I thought for my own ego I would be at my largest size.”

Chris smiled, “My ship is smaller than yours.”

“I think both of us know that size is not what makes the difference.”

“My crewmember might disagree with that.”

* * *

Allison turned red. She shouldn’t have used the analogy of who had the biggest one.

Chapter Twelve

Chad stood up from the simulator and shook his head. He looked at Stoney and yelled, “You have to be an octopus to fly this thing! I need at least six more arms and ten hands!”

Stoney laughed, “That’s not possible.”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell you!”

“No, I mean ten hands with just six arms.”

Chad sighed heavily, “You get the point, I hope.”

Stoney worried about Chad’s response. If he was having problems… Stoney looked at him, “Chad, you’re trying to do too much.”

“THERE’S TOO MUCH TO DO!!”

“You are going to have to ignore the targeting monitor and only focus on flying the ship.”

“How can I do that? I have to know if the targets have been eliminated before I fly the ship near them.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why?”

“Just answer the question. What will change if they’re not eliminated?”

“They’ll be able to fire on my ship!”

“So?” Chad opened his mouth to respond and then closed it. Stoney saw him thinking and he smiled, “If any ship can defeat your force field and the silver coating…”

“Then I would already be dead.”

“Exactly.” Chad sat back down and Stoney said, “It only takes ten percent of the reactor’s power to operate the thrusters. Any more than that and you’d never be able to fly slowly enough to attack anything. The disruptors and the other weapons only use twenty percent of the reactor’s power. That leaves you seventy percent to power the force field and other defensive systems.”

“What other defensive systems?”

“The black cloud emitters and the barrier controls that will throw your ship into the barrier.”

Chad lowered his head and said, “I could always duck in the barrier and then come out after each attack.”

“That’s using your head.”

Chad looked at Stoney, “How am I going to fly this ship and command my fleet?”

“You could always allow one of your computers to fly the ship while the other controls the weapons.”

“But that would weaken the weapons.”

“So you only do it when you’re not actually attacking enemy ships?”

Chad nodded and pressed a button on his panel. The targeting monitor went dark. Stoney smiled as Chad said, “I need to focus on flying the ship on a path that offers the best route for my weapons to hit targets.”

“That’s the plan.”

Everyone in the room listened to the exchange and Chad said, “Let’s try this again.”

Stoney pressed his hand control and Chad’s screen appeared on the classroom’s central monitor. Chad flew through the simulated warship formations around him and ships began exploding at an incredible pace. Stoney moved to the back of the class and saw the other students turn off their targeting monitors. He smiled; now they were making progress. In another week, Chad turned on the targeting monitor and his score doubled. Stoney was learning how to train the classes that would follow this first one. Chad was right; these new ships were incredibly difficult to master. He was thankful their ships wouldn’t be ready soon; they needed the simulator time before they actually started flying them. He hoped Earth had enough time to get them ready.

* * *

“Lukas, what’s bothering you?”

“Why do you think something is bothering me?”

Salud lowered her eyes and raised her left eyebrow, “Seriously?”

Lukas sighed, “I guess you know me too well.”

“What is it?”

Lukas sighed and told her about the conversation he had with Pat. “”That’s really scary.”

“I know. I’m just torn at putting another galaxy in danger because of our actions. We’ve done that once and you know what happened.”

Salud reached over and took his hand. She looked out at the ocean and said, “I love this beach. So much has happened here.” Lukas smiled and nodded. Salud turned to him, “You don’t have enough information.”

“What?”

“You don’t know the magnitude of that species that might come calling if you destroy the Legends.”

“I can’t let Pat look for them. They’ll see him and come here.”

“Why does Pat have to do it?”

“What do you mean?”

“Our ships are capable of pretty much going anywhere in no time at all. If we go out scouting for them, they’ll only see the one that finds them.”

Lukas’s eyes narrowed and then went wide, “Pat!”

“Yes.”

“You mentioned the Sentinels didn’t know about the barrier we discovered between the void and normal space?”

“They do now.”

Salud tilted her head, “What are you thinking?”

“We stay in the barrier when we’re searching for them.”

Salud thought for a moment, “If our ships really go a great distance from here, how will they find their way back?”

Lukas pressed his wrist unit and Amanda appeared, “Hello, Lukas.”

“Amanda, didn’t you say that we can communicate while we’re in the void?”

“Yes. The frequency is different but it works.”

“I was wondering about putting a beacon in the barrier that broadcast on a regular pattern. How far away could that beacon be seen?”

Amanda’s eyes narrowed, “I honestly…have…no idea.”

“Can you check it out and get back to me.” Amanda had a far-away look and Lukas knew her mind was somewhere else. “AMANDA!”

“Oh, uhh, what, excuse me I was…”

“Don’t worry about it, get back to me on this!”

“Yes Sir, I will…”

Amanda’s voice trailed off and Lukas ended the contact. “She’s really good at what she does but boy she can be distracted.”

Salud smiled, “She won’t do anything else until she finds out.”

“I know.”

“You might mention to her that if the beacon works, we’re going to need a lot of them.”

“Why?”

“We’ll need to drop one where we find them.”

Lukas smiled, “I keep forgetting you’re a physics professor. You are really amazing, my love.”

“And don’t you forget it!”

Lukas smiled and squeezed her hand tighter, “I never will.”

* * *

“Sit down. Are you comfortable in that armor?”

Chris smiled, “No, I’m not taking it off. I’m comfortable enough. Besides, my sensors tell me that the atmosphere on this ship is much denser than what I’m accustomed to breathing along with the level of gravity being maintained.”

“These crewmembers are all from heavy gravity planets. I should have brought a different ship.”

“Then you would have to wear armor.”

The Being smiled, “You are right, of course. My name is Kilon.”

“My name is Christopher Stone. Call me Chris.”

“So what do we do about this situation?”

“Obviously, we try to come to an understanding about how each of us will conduct ourselves when we encounter each other.”

“Can you make agreements for your civilizations?”

“I’m surprised you say civilizations.”

“I assume there are more than just one intelligent species in your galaxy?”

“You are right. The ones fighting the war against what you call the Monster Galaxy are working together. There are four of us.”

“What about the others?”

“They are sitting this one out.”

“By choice?”

“No, they would attempt to take advantage of any situation to conquer new territory. We deemed them…unreliable. However, I can make agreements for our Alliance.”

“Unfortunately, I cannot. I am in the position of the commanding all of our forces but my fleets come from more than six hundred different civilizations. They understand that someone has to be in a position to make decisions but that will end if we win this war.”

“That’s unfortunate.”

Kilon nodded, “Its worse than that. There are numerous civilizations that actually bonded with the Invaders. They want the Monsters to return and are actively working against us.”

“They’re attacking your fleets?”

“No, they’re not that stupid but they are working behind the scenes trying to turn our members against our efforts.”

“It sounds to me like you’ll have a civil war if you’re successful.”

Kilon smiled, “Nothing brings beings together like a common enemy. I do expect some…adjusting to new circumstances, if we win, but even civil war will be nothing compared to fighting off the Orange Ships.”

Chris looked out of the room’s viewport, “Whose planet is that?”

“That’s my world.” Chris nodded and continued to stare out of the viewport. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m glad I saved you. I can see in our thoughts that this war against the Progen has hardened you but you are honorable. I can work with that.”

“What do you mean?”

Chris thought, “Barbie, do you have the blue prints of the fusion reactor and the disruptors they fired on the Attack Pod?”

“I do.”

“Transmit them to my data center.”

Allison thought, “Is this a good idea?”

“You’ve been listening to the discussion. What do you think?”

“Why do you want to do it?”

“They won’t be strong enough to defeat our ships but his ships will be strong enough to stand up to the Orange Ships and shorten any civil war that follows.”

“I’m not so sure they’ll stand up to the new Progen Ships.”

“If they get close enough, they will. That’s all I can give them.” Kilon watched the small being and knew he was communicating with his ship. He waited and then Chris said, “I’m downloading some plans on a fusion reactor and a beam weapon that uses the reactor.” Chris saw the data complete downloading and said, “Do you have an input for your computer?”

“How do I know you’re not downloading a virus?”

Chris shrugged, “You don’t. But you can isolate this ship’s computer until your engineers can look at the data.”

“You say a fusion reactor?” Chris nodded. “Why would you do this? What are you looking for in return?”

“Actually, I don’t expect anything in return; this is old technology for us now. However, I know your principle weapon is your missiles. They won’t be enough against the Progen’s new warships.”

“You still haven’t told me why you’re doing this?”

“If we somehow defeat the forces in the Monster Galaxy, this will shorten the civil war that follows. Choose carefully who you share this technology with.”

“You’re setting me up to be the ruler of this galaxy.”

“Only if that’s what you want. You’ve been chosen to lead them now; who would be better to give this to?” Chris paused and said, “Try to keep the death toll as low as possible if civil war breaks out and be generous in your terms of surrender.”

“I didn’t expect this when I offered to communicate.”

Chris slowly shook his head, “There is also a selfish reason for this.”

“What is that?”

“If any of your civilizations attacks my galaxy, I will be the one to punish the offender. I don’t want to kill like I did the last time. I’m really hoping you can prevent any of your civilizations from forcing me to do that.”

“What’s to prevent you from conquering my galaxy?”

“That’s simple.”

“What?”

“Just don’t attack us and you’ll be safe.”

Kilon stared at Chris, “You’re serious.”

“I am. My Alliance is not aggressive. We do not intend to take territory. But we will be the worst nightmare of anyone foolish enough to attack us.”

Kilon pressed a button on his desk. A tall black being entered and Kilon said, “This being has just downloaded some data into our network. I want you and Grel to take a look at it and tell me what it is.” The being bowed and walked out. “How were you able to stop from exterminating the ones that killed your mate?”

“It took one of my Senior Officers pointing out what kind of example I was setting for my son to follow.”

“I can’t believe you took that very well.”

“I had my hand on her throat in an instant.”

“She must be very brave.”

“She’s the bravest person I know. She saved me from losing my soul.”

“Do you honestly think you would have?”

“Do you have children?”

“A son and daughter.”

“You will find yourself looking at them and realizing how many sons and daughters your actions killed. You will never be the same if you don’t control your intentions.”

* * *

Allison listened to the conversation and sighed. She should have acted earlier. Chris just told her what he was thinking every time he saw Michael. He carried a heavy burden and she didn’t see any way for him to ever find redemption.

* * *

Kilon stared at Chris and said, “I will consider what you’ve said.” He looked up as the door opened as the tall black being rushed in and said, “Commander, this is incredible. This is far beyond anything we’ve ever seen.”

“Can you build them?”

“With these plans, an idiot could build them.”

Kilon looked at Chris, “Thank you. Your galaxy has nothing to fear from us as long as I’m in command.”

Chris nodded, “That new reactor plans also include the schematics of a thruster system that will allow you to travel to the Monster Galaxy in three weeks.” Kilon looked at the tall engineer and he nodded. Chris said, “Use them wisely.”

“I will, my friend. You’ve probably saved me again.”

“Make it worth it, Kilon.”

Chris turned and Kilon said, “Take him back to his ship.” The engineer nodded and led Chris out of the room. Kilon sat down and thought about a species that strengthened strangers and expected nothing in return. He thought about the Green Civilization and began having second thoughts about their destruction.

* * *

Chris walked on the bridge and Allison got up and went to her chair. Chris deactivated his armor and stretched. He turned the ship and moved out of the huge landing bay. He moved it a mile away and dropped into the barrier. He skipped out and Kilon heard, “Commander that ship disappeared from our scanners as soon as it entered the void.” Kilon nodded and continued to think about what he was going to do with this new technology. His crew thought about a ship that was undetectable with a force field beyond anything ever encountered. Their fear was real and the message went out about a small invincible ship.

* * *

Chris looked at Allison, “M-87?”

“I think we need to go home first?”

“Why?”

“There’s been a development that Lukas wants to discuss with you.”

Chris tilted his head, “Do you know what it is?”

“No.”

“I want you in the meeting with me.”

“Why?”

“I need your insights. You see things I might miss.” Allison nodded as the ship appeared above Earth. She shook her head. The universe had gotten much smaller. She didn’t have time to think about why they were recalled before they were standing in front of Lukas and the rest of the Leadership Team. She looked at Chris and realized he saw the same thing. She didn’t know if this was a benefit or not of their new barrier drive. She didn’t even remember to ask Chris how he knew she was so competitive. Along with the entire Leadership team the Welken, Myot, and Johan Rulers and their fleet commanders were present. Something radical must have happened. Five minutes into the meeting, she and everyone else in the room saw Chris was not happy! And she really couldn’t blame him. She could see in his eyes that his nightmares were alive and well.

Chapter Thirteen

“I don’t care why you want to do it, it’s not the right thing to do and it won’t work.”

Lukas and Jinks looked at each other and Jinks said, “Chris, if we are going to continue this war against the Legends, we have to prevent them from connecting us to it.”

“First of all, you’re being foolish to go out looking for them now.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s downright foolish to give the others the opportunity discover us now. That would bring all of them into the fight before we can even build enough ships to beat the ones in M-87. You can’t risk that before we’ve built enough of the new Barrier Pods.” Jinks stared at Chris and then looked at Lukas who shrugged. Chris shook his head, “Second. The species in M-84 is telepathic. Every pilot we have assigned there will have to wear their armor a hundred percent of the time to prevent them from seeing what you’re planning to do. We’ve already lead one aggressive civilization to their galaxy and what do you think they’ll feel after they’ve been promised we’ll defend them? They’ll know they’re being set up again and if I were in their place I would fight you to the last. It’s unethical and I’m ashamed you’re even considering it.”

“But what choice do we have?”

Chris looked at Lukas, “It wouldn’t deceive the Legends. The whole idea is flawed.”

“Why?”

“They aren’t stupid. If they are led to believe that their attackers are in M-84 what will they find when they go there and look? None of the planets there have ships like ours and I’m going to guess that the Legends will be able to see that their species are not flying the ships that attacked M-87. They’ll search that galaxy for humans and, not finding them, they’ll come to the conclusion that the ships had to of come from our galaxy. The only way to prevent that is to have a planet in that galaxy with a large enough population of humans to make them believe it. Are you going to take half of Eden’s population and move them there? Are you willing to allow them to be the sacrificial lambs to save the rest of mankind? You should also know that the Legends currently in M-87 know that silver ships come from the Milky Way!”

Chad said, “We could paint the new pods a different color.”

Chris shook his head, “And the first time one of their beams broke through our force fields that paint would be burned off revealing the silver hulls underneath.” Chris looked around the group sitting around the table and lowered his eyes, “Don’t think for a minute that the Legends don’t have weapons powerful enough to break through our fields. The silver coating will help a ship escaped before it fails but they will see that the ship’s they’re attacking are actually silver in color.”

Sarah looked around and said, “Uhhh, exactly when did they see one of our Silver Ships?”

“Nudge and Budge attacked the advanced ships they sent to Earth. Are you going to count on them not having been seen them and the image being sent back?”

Jinks looked at Lukas and he tilted his head, “What about using M-86 instead of M-84?”

Chris shook his head, “I’ve just left there after establishing a good relationship with the being commanding their fleets. Now you’re considering using them as a target for our actions. Hell, the Virgo Cluster has 2000 galaxies, why pick one that we have promised to defend or will possibly work with us in attacking M-87? However, all of you should know that there is probably intelligent life in all those galaxies that are not enemies of ours. Are you this cold to even consider it?”

Lukas stared at Chris and said, “Pat?”

“Yes, Lukas.”

“He has raised some good points.”

“Yes, and he’s right about setting up a planet in another galaxy to make it appear humans live there.”

“What?”

“The Legends won’t believe it without a planet to prove that’s the galaxy attacking them.”

“You mean we have to send humans to another planet to be attacked by the Legend rescuers?”

“I thought that was clear.”

“No, it’s not and we will not do that.”

“Then they will know you’re in this galaxy.” Lukas shook his head and then Pat said, “There is one way to still make it work.”

Chris closed his eyes and shook his head as Lukas said, “How?”

“Build a force field around a planet in one of those two galaxies and use your ships to fight off the Legends when they attack. At the critical moment, recall your fleets and the Legends will move in and start bombarding that force field. When the bombardment is at its highest, remotely shut down the force field.”

Chris’s expression showed his disgust, “That way every being on the planet would be incinerated instantly and they wouldn’t be able to see that it wasn’t humans on it.” Everyone looked at Chris. “That is exactly what Pat did with Earth.”

Salud leaned forward in her chair, “But humanity survived?”

“If you say so.”

“What does that mean!?”

“Pat allowed the Invaders to find Earth before the other fleet arrived. They were hell bound to find Pat and they would ignore every other planet until he was found. With the blackouts, there was a good chance they would have had to leave and come back later.”

Lukas looked at Chris, “What are you saying?”

“Three billion stars would have to be searched to find Earth and I don’t care how many ships they had. At their maximum speed, it would possibly have taken years for them to find it. We had the silver coating and a pod that could handle their ships possibly before they could.”

Everyone was silent and Pat broke the silence, “You’re right. But how could I have planned for your discovery of the coating on your ships? It had to be done with the information I had at the time.”

“And five billion humans were killed because of your decision.”

Lukas’s expression showed his shock, “Pat, are you suggesting that he’s right about Earth surviving the two invader fleets?

“There was a chance they wouldn’t find Earth but they would have found the fellowship and probably destroyed them before they left.”

Chris shook his head, “If one of those ships deviated from their orders to find you, it would have been destroyed by one of the Legends’ Black Ships. Every Invader knew it and they wouldn’t have done anything but look for you in the time they were able to stay here. As long as the Fellowship did not attack them, they would have been ignored.” Chris paused, “I’ve been listening to the Legends’ thoughts in M-87 as they issued their orders and their arrogance is beyond any being I’ve ever encountered and that includes the Sentinels.”

Stoney looked at Chris, “You don’t know that Earth would have been missed?”

Chris looked at his father and sighed, “You’re right. I’m Monday morning quarterbacking here but the numbers indicate that it would have taken them a while to find us. They entered the Milky Way on the far side of the galaxy and all it would have taken is for them to miss once. Then they would have had to withdraw the bulk of their forces to go back for provisions. That’s two years to make the round trip.”

“But they would have left ships to continue looking.”

Chris looked at Chad, “We still had two small fleets that threw their lives away defending Earth. They could have been used to take on the invader ships left behind.”

Lukas stared at Chris, “How long have you known this?” Chris stared at him and lowered his head. “Chris? How long?”

Chris took a deep breath and blew it out. He managed to keep his composure and looked up at Lukas, “After I killed trillions in M-84, I took some time and looked at what I’d done. I thought about what I should have done and I felt more shame than any of you can imagine. After I examined what I did, I thought about what brought me to that point. It was the destruction of Earth along with Audrey’s death that allowed me reach the level of rage I experienced. I thought about Earth’s destruction and realized I was wrong. This became clear to me during the time I sat on the beach mourning those I killed and the loss of Audrey. I decided at that moment that I would never throw away lives needlessly and that includes allowing innocent beings to die so I can satisfy my anger or allow us to live. There has to be another way to survive that doesn’t include killing those that are not responsible for our choices.”

Allison watched Chris as he spoke and she felt something change inside her. She knew Chris was only eighteen years old chronologically and that she was six years older. She sometimes thought of him as a young boy who was very smart. She realized she was wrong. He possessed the wisdom of someone much older and she was amazed at what he saw and the heart he had to say it. She looked down and shook her head. This took a lot for him to admit it.

Lukas stared at Chris and looked at Salud. He saw the moisture in her eyes and he looked at the others gathered at the table. “Pat, would you do it differently if you had the chance?”

“Lukas, I’ve said that my species is far from perfect. What has happened here has only proved it. I’ve told you to never allow us to become a part of your civilization, we would only mess things up. I’ve been acting superior and better than them but it’s clear to me that I’m really no different. Even in offering my self-sacrifice to save the Fellowship, I messed things up. I should have done all I could to hide Earth and prevent it being found. Instead, I led the Invader Warship to your planet. After the fact, I would change many things I did.”

“I am going to call on you to make that sacrifice before all of this is over.”

“What do you mean?”

“You told me that you could kill the Legends if you could get at them without being killed by their beams.”

“That is true.”

“We’re going to get you close to them and I expect you to kill them or die trying.”

“I will do what you ask. Earth deserves my best effort.”

Lukas looked at Chris, “We will not use another galaxy or species as a shield to protect us. I’m done with deliberately allowing intelligent beings to die without putting up a fight to the end. We will fight them head on and we’ll worry about the consequences when we have to.”

“So you’re going to delay going out to find the other Legends?”

“I am; at least until we’ve built up our numbers of Barrier Pods.”

Amanda shrugged, “You don’t have to go out looking for them to determine if they can see us in the barrier.” Everyone in the room looked at her and she shrugged, “Just send a ship in the barrier above their planet in M-87 and see if they respond to it.”

Chris looked at Amanda and shook his head, “You have always amazed me at what you see that everyone else misses. You are exactly right.”

Amanda smiled brightly, “Thank you.”

Lukas nodded, “He’s right, Amanda. You and Trevor are a godsend to us. We’ll send a ship once our number of new ships are higher. If they don’t detect the pod in the barrier, we’ll send out scouts to try and find out what we’re up against if we attack.”

Chris walked over to his chair and sat down as the discussion changed to the status of the simulators and ships completed. Allison put her hand on his arm and whispered, “That took some courage to say. I’m proud of you.”

Chris looked at her and nodded, “That means a lot. Thank you.”

* * *

“Greatest, one of our probes in the conquered galaxy has detected a small silver ship at the ship building planet.”

“Show me.” The Greatest Leader saw the small silver ship appear in the void beside a giant black warship. “That ship didn’t skip in.”

“No, it did not, Greatest.”

“Where was it before our probe detected it?”

“It must have been in normal space.”

“Was it seen by one of the probes we placed in normal space?”

“We didn’t have one close to that location.”

“How did it manage to move through their space and enter normal space without being detected?”

“We have no evidence of its moving through the void to that location.”

The Greatest looked at the third, “Doesn’t that prove the use of a Dark Matter Mist?”

“It does.”

“And one wasn’t detected?”

“No, it just suddenly appeared beside that warship.”

“Was the probe able to intercept any of their transmissions?”

“That’s also strange, Greatest Leader? None were detected from the Silver Ship?”

“What about the Black Warships?”

“We heard their leader order all their ships to stand down and return to their positions. That was all.”

The Greatest’s body slowly flowed left and right, “Something is going on here and we need to find out what it is. A ship appears out of nowhere and communications can be heard. Order all our ships to be on the alert for one of those small ships. If one is seen, I want to be notified immediately.” The Third bowed and the Greatest flowed across the floor and went into his tub. The nutrients he started consuming made him relax and he thought about what had happened for a long time. He played the recording of the small ship’s appearance over and over at slow and fast speeds. Something was different.

* * *

The meeting ended and Lukas walked over to Chris, “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For helping me see the reality of all that has happened and will happen. What are you going to do now?”

Chris looked at Allison and turned back Lukas, “We were headed toward M-87 to take a look at the Progen’s latest technological developments.” He looked at Allison again and said, “However, Michael will never forgive me if I don’t stop by and spend some time with him.” Allison nodded. “I’d also like to maybe take a day or so and go through the simulators Dad and Jinks have developed. We might learn something we’ve missed.”

“You should also talk to Amanda about picking up one of the new beacons to drop in the barrier near M-87.”

“What is the beacon?”

“You know that the barrier occupies a very small layer separating the void from normal space?” Chris nodded. “Well, Amanda built a beacon that pulses out a frequency every three seconds. It can be heard in the barrier pretty much wherever you are.”

“Certainly there’s a limit to it?”

“She started one in the barrier and skipped out in progressively larger skips. It was still coming in loud and clear more than six billion light years away. Trevor measured the signal for attenuation and didn’t find any even at that distance.”

“You want to drop it near M-87 so that if another species in the universe uses a barrier drive it will lead them there?”

Lukas looked at Allison, “Have I ever told you how smart I think he is.”

“I think you just did, Sir.”

Lukas smiled, “That’s exactly why. However, if we ever go out to find out if other Legends exist, we’ll have the scouts looking for them dropping beacons using a different frequency near their locations.” Lukas paused, “I also think you should take a look at the simulators. You might not learn anything new but you might see something that needs to be included in their programming.”

“We’ll do that tomorrow. I’ll also forward my conversation with that being in M-86 to your desk.”

Lukas smiled, “Tell Michael to come see us. Luke loves playing with him.”

“I will. Thanks for being patient with me, Lukas.”

“It is I that appreciate your patience. I could see you weren’t happy.”

“No, I guess I wasn’t.”

Lukas smiled, “See you later.”

They watched him walk over to the Admirals waiting to meet with him and Allison sighed, “He’s really something.”

“Yes he is.” Chris turned to Allison, “Are you ready to build that sand fort?”

“Not really.”

Chris’s disappointment was clear, “Why not?”

“Because that fort is going to take most of a day and we don’t have enough time to do it today. I’ll take a raincheck and do it when we have more time.”

“Where are you going now?”

“I’m going to have Trevor check out the ship and see if there’s been any changes while we’ve been gone.”

“Always the perfectionist.”

“When it comes to living or dying…”

Chris laughed, “Let me know what you find out.”

“I’ll see you at the simulators tomorrow and let you know.” Allison turned and walked out of the huge conference room. Chris saw she hadn’t pinned up her hair and he was surprised at how long it was. It hung past her shoulders and looked like a brilliant light surrounding her head. He blew out a breath and turned to talk with Stoney about scheduling a simulator for him and Allison. He finally left and looked forward to seeing Michael. He immediately asked about Allison and showed his disappointment at her not coming. He finally smiled when Chris said, “Maybe next time. Today I start teaching you how to surf.”

* * *

The sessions on the simulators eventually ended and Stoney shook his head, “I’m glad you came. I didn’t know about flying the ships manually. We need to set up an advanced program to bring the pilots back in after they’ve mastered flying it normally.”

“Don’t mention it, Dad.” Chris hugged him, “We’re shipping out in the morning. Keep an eye on Michael.”

“We love doing it.”

“I’ve started him skim boarding so he can learn how to surf and he may pester you to take him.”

“I’ll let Kathy take care of that.”

Chris nodded as Stoney walked away to assist some students still on the simulators. Chris looked at Allison, “How about a meal before I run over to see Michael?”

“Sure.”

They ordered a meal and enjoyed it immensely. Weeks of eating food pellets made the normal food taste extraordinary. Allison brought him up to speed on the new developments and he questioned her at length. Finally, after a few moments of silence Chris said, “Allison.”

She looked at him, “Yes.”

“I know about your family.” Allison’s smile disappeared. “I’ve wondered why you never leave the ship whenever we have leave. So, I contacted Fleet Personnel and asked about your background.”

Allison’s eyes narrowed and she stared at him in silence. Chris waited for her to respond and she eventually said, “I was about to tell you that it was none of your business but I guess anything known about those under your command is your business.”

“You don’t like that I looked?”

“No, I don’t. That’s something that’s personal.”

“All I wanted to say is that I would love to have you be with my family as much as possible. I could possibly be the brother you never had.” Allison stared at Chris and then stood up and picked up her tray. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Allison turned and he saw something in her eyes that made him lean back. “You will never be my brother!” She turned and walked away and said over her shoulder, “Never!” Chris watched her go and knew he had made a terrible mistake. He went and picked up Michael and that evening when he put him to bed he punched her number on his wrist unit, “Allison, I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to hurt you.”

Allison stared at him and then sighed, “Forget it. Let’s just forget it happened and go back to being normal.”

Chris nodded, “I’d really like that. Thank you for accepting my apology.”

“No problem.” The call ended and Allison sat on her bed for a long time staring at her wrist unit. She finally took it off and got ready for bed.

Chapter Fourteen

Chris looked at the fleet of large Orange Ships going through maneuvers above the planet where they were being built. Allison’s demeanor was normal and it appeared she had forgotten what happened. He watched the ships and shook his head, “I think the ships in M-86 would stand no chance against these ships, even with the fusion reactor and new disruptors.”

“I hate to agree with you but you’re right. I do think the M-86 ships will be slightly faster.”

“I agree but the speed of the Orange Ships has gone up considerably. I don’t know how strong their beams are; they’re using training beams in these maneuvers.”

Allison looked at her panel and then looked at Chris, “There are ten of the Orange Ships moving in normal space toward a large asteroid. They might be taking target practice.”

“Send me the coordinates.” Chris saw them appear on his drive board and he skipped the ship through the barrier toward the asteroid. They arrived twenty miles from it in the barrier as the ten Progen Warships moved in. The ten ships stopped thirty miles away from the giant rock and the disruptors on one of them started glowing. “Record this!”

“I’m on it.” Chris watched the Progen Battleship fire a brilliant beam at the end of the asteroid. A large piece of it was cut off. Chris’s eyes narrowed as Allison said, “A large ship is being towed in the void below us.”

Chris looked at his monitor and saw a large black ship being towed by a large shuttle. The shuttle dropped the line to it and the Black Ship’s force field came on. “Allison, is that one of the ships we saw in M-86?”

“It looks like it but without doing a full scan, I won’t be able to tell for certain.” Allison paused and smiled, “And you know about making a scan without proper preparation.”

Chris laughed, “Indeed I do. What do you think they’re doing?”

“What we do. They’re checking out the weapons on two newly built warships.”

“We couldn’t have asked for something this good.”

“I know.” Chris looked at the monitor tracking what was happening in normal space and saw the ships move out to forty miles. Once again the asteroid was hit on the end and another piece was sheared off. “They’re launching a missile!”

Chris tore his eyes from the monitor and looked at the monitor showing the void. A missile leapt out from one of the ten orange warships that had dropped into the void. The missile closed the gap between the two ships so fast he had to replay the recording of what happened in slow motion. The missile hit the Black Ship, blew through its force field, and burned a huge hole through the center of it. “This is not good!”

“It’s not as bad as it looks.”

Chris looked at Allison, “Oh?”

“The new ships can handle the beam.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because we also practice with our weapons on asteroids. By comparing how long it took for the piece to shear off with our own beams, they aren’t powerful enough to penetrate the force field or the silver coating on our new ships.”

“What about ten of them?”

Allison looked at her panel and shrugged, “That may be a different story.”

“What about the missile?”

“They fired it from twenty miles. The new ships can easily avoid them by going into the barrier and allowing them to fly right by. They’re traveling so fast that, if they miss their target, they’ll run out of fuel before they could turn and come back.” Chris raised his eyebrows. “I had Alley do an analysis of it. It appears a force field generator has taken up space for fuel. Only a fifth of it is used for fuel.”

“They built it with our former ships in mind.” Allison nodded. “A ship that can’t go into the barrier will be in real trouble.”

“Our old pods and battleships can handle a few of them but a salvo of thousands would take out those that are hit by eight or more.”

“We won’t be able to face off against them like we did in our battle in M-84.”

“No, their beams would start hitting us from fifty miles out and the missiles from even further.”

“And they still outnumber us by the millions.” Allison shrugged. “We have to develop new tactics if we’re going to use the pods and battleships.”

“This will require some rethinking about how to attack them.”

“CHRIS!”

“Go ahead, Loree!”

“Something has entered M-87and is destroying all of our probes ahead of it on a line from the edge of the galaxy directly toward the Legends’ planet. The probes have not seen what is killing them.”

Chris’s eyes went wide, “If you have any of your scouts near that line, get them out!”

“Already done but we have no way to know what’s doing it.”

“I’m going into the barrier and see if we can find out.” Chris looked up, “Barbie, do you have the line the probes are being taken out?”

“I do.”

“Give me the coordinates in the path of whatever is doing it. Do not pick a location close to the Legends’ Planet.” Chris saw the numbers appear on his panel and he turned the steering wheel and pressed the right pedal. He saw Allison buckle in and activate her armor. He pressed a button on his chair and his armor immediately surrounded him. The Barrier Pod skipped across the giant galaxy in an instant and came to a stop at the coordinates on his panel. “Estimate on how far out it is?”

Allison looked at her panel, “It will be here in less than ten seconds. Chris keep your foot on the pedal and be ready to get out here!”

Chris stared at the void monitor as he said, “Why?”

“This may be more Legends.”

Chris’s eyes widened and he started to run but it was too late. They stared at the void monitor and saw a ship coming at them that was beyond their worst nightmares. It flew past them in an instant and Chris held his breath. He waited for it to turn and come back toward them but it continued toward the Legends’ Planet. Allison was shaking and she looked at him, “Why didn’t you run!?”

“It was on us before I could. I was too stunned to react.”

Allison blew out quick breaths and fought to gather control of her breathing.

“I guess that answers one question.”

Chris exhaled, “What is that Barbie?”

“They can’t see us in the barrier.”

Allison shook her head, “That’s a helluva way to find out!”

Chris thought for a long moment and looked up, “Barbie, disable the telepathic broadcast portion of you module.”

“Done.”

Allison shook her head, “Chris, what are you thinking about?”

“Allison, they didn’t detect us.”

“They might have been traveling too fast.”

“I’m shutting down all non-essential systems and I’m going to move toward the Legends’ Planet until we can optically see what’s going on.”

“Chris, this is crazy!”

“Loree.”

“Yes!”

“I’m sending you what we recorded. Get it out to fleet and I’ll contact you later.”

“What are you doing, Chris?”

“That thing that destroyed our probes is a Black Ship that’s nearly the size of a small moon. It blew past us and did not see us in the barrier. I’m going to move until I can see it on my most powerful passive scanner. If it moves toward us, I’m going to run.”

“You shouldn’t be the one doing this!”

“I have the only ship in the fleet that can! We have to find out what’s going on!”

Chris shut down the communicator before Loree could respond. Allison began shutting down most of the systems on her panel, “I have the passive scanner searching ahead of us.”

“I’m going to give us a push and coast toward them.” Chris tapped the right pedal and watched the normal space monitor. The star the Legends’ Planet circled was a small light in the distance but it grew larger. Soon they passed the outer planets and the Legends’ Planet appeared on the monitor. He softly tapped the left pedal and the ship slowly came to a stop. Chris saw Allison was shaking almost uncontrollably. He said, “I’m not going to use my telepathy. Barbie, record that ship and anything it does along with any thoughts you hear. Allison, start the passive scanner recording.”

Allison nodded, pressed a button on her panel, and then pressed another. Chris looked at the central monitor and then both of them heard a loud thought flood their minds, “YOU DISGUST ME.”

“LORD, TEACH US WHAT TO DO.”

“I’VE DESTROYED MORE THAN A THOUSAND PROBES ON MY WAY TO YOUR PLANET. WHY HAVE YOU NOT REMOVED THEM!?”

“LORD, WE DEPEND ON OUR TOOLS TO PERFORM THAT FUNCTION.”

“THEN YOU NEED TO SELECT A BETTER TOOL!”

“THEY’RE THE BEST WE HAVE TO WORK WITH.”

“SEND OUT YOUR SHIPS IMMEDIATELY AND REMOVE ALL OF THEM.” Chris shook his head as hundreds of thousands of Black Ships orbiting the planet ignited their thrusters and blasted away. “WHO PUT THOSE PROBES HERE?”

“LORD, WE DON’T KNOW. WE WERE UNAWARE OF THEM.”

Chris didn’t want to do it but he activated his communicator, “LOREE, RUN!” He shut off the communicator and breathed a sigh of relief. His transmission wasn’t detected. Allison looked at him and shook her head. He nodded and mouthed, “No more.” Allison nodded again and turned back to the monitor as she fought her to control her shaking hands.

“IT APPEARS THERE IS A BETTER TOOL THAN THE ONE YOU’VE CHOSEN. FIND THEM AND FORCE THEM TO YOUR WILL.”

“YES LORD.”

“YOU CAN START BY COLLECTING ONE OF THOSE PROBES AND DETERMINE WHERE IT IS SENDING ITS SIGNALS.”

He looked at Allison as she pressed her panel. She quietly said, “Fleet. Destroy all our probes in M-87 immediately. This is a Red Flag Priority.” She turned off her panel and looked at the giant ship in orbit above the planet. After a moment, she started breathing again. She looked at Chris and he nodded. She was right to do it.

* * *

Jinks rushed into Lukas’s office, “We’ve received a message from Chris to destroy all our probes in M-87! It was a Red Flag!”

“JINKS DO IT NOW!”

Jinks nodded and ran out of his office talking loudly on his wrist unit.

* * *

“LORD, WE HAVE REPORTS OF THOUSANDS OF PROBES EXPLODING ALL OVER THE GALAXY!”

“THEY ARE WATCHING YOU! FIND THEM!”

Chris turned the bow away from the planet and pressed the right pedal to the floor. The Pod flew out of the giant galaxy in an instant and Chris brought it to a stop more than a million light years away. He looked at Allison and shook his head. “Gene, keep an antenna in the void and let me know if you see anything moving our way.”

Allison began pressing buttons and her panel lit up. Chris began activating his programs and he stared at the void and normal space monitors. His fear was almost overwhelming. After two hours, he deactivated his armor and saw Allison turn hers off as well. She jumped up and ran across the small bridge and threw herself in his arms and started weeping. Chris held her and stroked her hair. “We’re alright! We’re alright!”

* * *

Loree ordered her scouts out of M-87 and they went to full speed. The new battleships flew out of the galaxy at a speed that left M-87 quickly behind. The Montana flew into a dwarf galaxy circling M-87 as Loree looked at Janice, “Show me the last images we received from the probes!” Janice pressed a button and they saw a huge Black Ship moving quickly toward the probe. The view ended and other views began appearing. The Black Ships were moving toward the probes at an incredible speed in every image. Then the images stopped as the probes self-destructed. She looked at Janice.

“Sir, none of our probes are operational.”

“Did you get a reading on that black ship’s speed?”

“It was moving faster than we can fly, Sir.”

Loree punched her panel, “ALL SCOUTS, STOP AND ACTIVATE YOUR BLACK CLOUD! EVADE, EVADE, EVADE!”

Loree looked at Janice, “Sir, ten ships have failed to respond.”

Hawk looked at Loree and nodded toward the tactical monitor, “Sir!”

Loree looked at the monitor and saw a huge Black Ship blow past them at an incredible speed. “Take us into normal space and keep the cloud around us.” Hawk nodded as they saw the black ship start a wide turn on the monitor as they left the void.

The Montana entered normal space and Loree yelled, “RUN TO THAT MOON AND LAND IN A CRATER!. DO IT NOW!”

Hawk accelerated the huge battleship and dove into a deep, high walled crater. Loree grabbed her chair and knew they were going to crash. How Hawk managed to prevent it was beyond her. She looked at Janice, “Kill all power to the ship; keep the black mist flowing around us!”

“Sir, the bow is not completely covered, yet.”

The inside of the entire ship went black. The only light they could see on the bridge was through the small section of the view port not yet covered by the black mist where the top of the huge crater wall above them was in direct sunlight. She stared at the top of that wall and saw a giant shape pass over it. Then the dark cloud covered the entire ship and they were in pitch-black darkness.

* * *

Finally, Allison stopped crying and stood up, “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. I almost ran to you.”

Allison wiped her face with her sleeve and shook her head, “Uh Unnn.”

“No, honestly.”

She exhaled and moved back to her chair. “How long are we going to stay here?”

“We’re leaving now.”

“Where are we going? Please don’t say back to that planet!”

“No.” Chris looked up, “Barbie, do you know the coordinates of the place that ship entered M-87?”

“No, but they should be easy to determine. I have the line it followed on its way in.”

“You have the ship. Take us to a location far enough out where we will be able to see if that ship leaves.” The ship moved back toward M-87.

* * *

“Chris, I have us three hundred thousand miles out. Our optical system should be able to get a very good view if that vessel returns this way.”

“Thanks, Barbie. I want you to activate the receiving portion of your telepathy module. Focus in on the Legend’s and convert what you hear to our speakers.”

“Is that a good idea!?”

Chris looked at Allison and saw her fear, “They won’t be able to detect anyone listening.”

“But they can hear our thoughts!”

“Barbie will leave the transmitter off. They might get a line on me if I tried to listen because I could not avoid thinking about what I hear. However, Barbie can shut it off entirely.” The wall speaker came on and they heard:

* * *

“…PERFORMED DEPLORABLY AND YOU SHOULD BE PUNISHED OR REMOVED FROM YOUR STATION.”

“LORD, WE HAVE TOTAL CONTROL OF THIS GIANT GALAXY, WHICH WAS THE MISSION WE WERE GIVEN.”

“I REALLY CAN’T FIND FAULT WITH THAT BUT EXPANDING THIS DOMAIN HAS BEEN A HUGE FAILURE.”

“THINGS WERE PROGRESSING MARVELOUSLY UNTIL WE DETECTED THAT MENTAL ENTITY IN THE SPIRAL GALAXY FIFTY MILLION LIGHT YEARS FROM HERE.”

“WHAT?”

“WE DETECTED THE MENTAL PRESENCE OF AN ENTITY HERE AND TRACED IT BACK TO THAT SPIRAL GALAXY. IT WAS INCREDIBLY POWERFUL AND WE DETERMINED IT HAD TO BE KILLED BEFORE WE COULD CONTINUE OUR EXPANSION. IT REPRESENTED A DANGER TO OUR SURVIVAL.”

“SHOW ME WHAT YOU DETECTED!”

There was a long silence and Allison looked at Chris, “Can anyone hear their thoughts? I heard them when we were at their planet with the thought blocking system at full power.”

“If a telepath projects his thoughts, then those he’s focused on will hear them. However, if the telepaths power is large enough, everyone nearby will hear them. You heard them because of our close proximity to the planet.”

“Shouldn’t our armor have blocked their thoughts?”

“These creatures are an entirely different level than regular telepaths. The power of their mind is such that they sound like a person who can only talk by yelling at the top of their voice. The power of their thoughts overwhelmed the power of our blocking circuits in our helmets.” The speaker came on again and they turned to it.

“THIS BEING APPEARS TO HAVE A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL OF ENERGY THAN US.”

“LORD, IT COULD BE A REAL DANGER TO US IF NOT FOR OUR DISRUPTOR FREQUENCY.”

“YOU WERE WISE TO DIRECT YOUR EFFORTS AT FINDING IT.”

“IN ORDER TO KILL IT, OUR TOOLS HAD TO FIGHT THEIR WAY THROUGH THAT ENTITY’S WARSHIPS THAT WERE AT A HIGHER TECHNOLOGICAL LEVEL. WE WERE FORCED TO SEND THE MAJORITY OF OUR FORCES TO THAT GALAXY TO KILL IT. OUR LOSSES WERE INCREDIBLE AND WE LOST CONTROL OF THE GALAXY WE INVADED DUE TO HAVING TO PULL OUR FORCES FROM THERE.”

“ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU KILLED IT AND DO YOU KNOW THAT WAS THE ONLY BEING LIKE IT IN THAT GALAXY?”

“WE SAW ITS STRUCTURE HIT BY NUMEROUS DISRUPTORS AND IT FELL APART. WE’VE NOT DETECTED ANY OTHER PATTERN LIKE IT AND WE’VE BEEN SEARCHING THAT GALAXY FOR A VERY LONG TIME.”

“BUT IF THERE’S ONE, THERE HAS TO BE OTHERS.”

“THAT’S WHY WE CONTACTED YOU, LORD. THAT BEING’S SPECIES MAY ISOLATE THEMSELVES IN DIFFERENT GALAXIES SIMILAR TO HOW WE FUNCTION. WE FELT THE INFORMATION SHOULD BE PASSED ON TO YOU.”

“IT APPEARS YOUR CONTROL HAS SUFFERED FROM YOUR ACTIONS.”

“THERE ARE THREE GALAXIES THAT ARE WAITING FOR A WEAKNESS TO ATTACK OUR FORCES. WE ARE REBUILDING OUR FORCES TO REGAIN CONTROL BUT WE HAVE SUFFERED A SETBACK THAT WILL TAKE SOME TIME TO OVERCOME. HOWEVER, WE WILL REGAIN CONTROL.”

“THAT TIME SHOULD BE SHORTENED WITH THE ADDITION OF THE NEW WARSHIPS I’VE BROUGHT YOU.” Chris looked at Allison and shook his head. “YOU SHOULD USE THEM WISELY.”

“LORD, WE WILL USE OUR TOOLS TO DO MOST OF THE FIGHTING. THEY NEED TO HAVE THEIR NUMBERS CONTROLLED OR THEY MAY EVENTUALLY REBEL.”

“YOUR TRAINING IS NOT AS BAD AS I FIRST THOUGHT. I CAN NOW SEE HOW YOUR EXPANSION WAS SLOWED. IT DOES APPEAR THAT YOU SHOULD GO AND MAKE THE ADVANCED CIVILIZATON IN THAT SPIRAL GALAXY YOUR NEW TOOL.”

“ONCE OUR TRAINING IS COMPLETED, ONE OF US WILL TAKE CONTROL THERE.”

“YOUR TRAINING WILL BE COMPLETED WHEN YOU REGAIN CONTROL OF THIS GALAXY AND REMOVE THE THREATS TO YOUR TOOLS.”

“THANK YOU, LORD. THAT IS OUR FOCUS AND THE SHIPS YOU BROUGHT TO US WILL HELP MAKE THAT HAPPEN.”

“DON’T DISAPPOINT ME AGAIN!”

“YES, LORD!”

* * *

Chris looked at Allison, “I want you to turn off all our monitors and send the passive controls to my console.”

“Why?”

“I need to conduct an experiment. I want you to sit in your chair and tell me when that ship moves toward our position.”

“Without my scanners, that’s impossible.”

“Humor me and focus on seeing if you can feel them. Gene, Alley, Barbie, do not tell her anything.”

“Chris why are you doing this?”

“Allison, I can’t tell you until that ship leaves this galaxy. Then I’ll explain what’s going on.”

Allison sighed and nodded. “I am going to assume the last thing they said indicates that it is departing.”

“I’ve arrived at the same conclusion.” Allison sat back in her command chair and closed her eyes. Chris kept his eyes on her and fifteen minutes later, she started squirming in her chair, then she started shaking followed by opening her eyes and looking at Chris in a panic, “They’re here!” Chris looked at the monitor and saw the massive black ship blow past the edge of the galaxy and then accelerate away at an incredible speed. He got up and went to Allison and went down to a knee in front of her. He grabbed her hands and shook his head, “You are not afraid! What you’re feeling is caused by that ship. It’s not real, it’s induced.”

Allison was shaking and she saw that Chris appeared to be calm, “You’re not showing fear!”

“Because I suspected it wasn’t real and that allowed me to fight it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me!?”

“I had to know if I was right and I had to see if it affected normal people that aren’t telepaths.”

Allison took deep breaths and in a minute shook her head, “This feeling is overwhelming but I’m fighting it. What happened and how did you know they caused this?”

Chris held her hands and looked back at the monitor, “You showed me it wasn’t real.”

Allison’s head tilted, “What?”

“You came into my arms in stark uncontrollable fear. Allison, you are the bravest person I’ve ever known and that is not like you. Something overwhelmed you emotionally and it had to be artificial.”

Allison’s breathing began slowing and she lowered her eyes as she focused on the feelings threatening to overwhelm her. She looked at Chris and he said, “Are you alright?” Allison nodded and Chris stood up and went to his command chair.

“How does this happen?”

Chris exhaled loudly and looked at her, “I’m not really sure but I suspect that the Legends emit either a technological energy pattern or their minds naturally give off a field that causes any being they encounter to have the part of their mind that controls their emotions to be adversely affected.”

“But the only emotion I felt was fear.”

“The first emotion I felt when I saw that ship moving toward us was fear. It was that emotion that was enhanced to the point where it ran out of control. I don’t know if I’m right but if they’ve conquered a species that now worships them, it would be that adoration that would be exploited.”

“That would almost be addictive.”

“It would be addictive. That is how they control the galaxies they conquer after enough time has passed.”

“Why haven’t the two species in this galaxy learned to adore them?”

Chris sighed, “I hate to say this but the Legends here may be children of their species that are being taught how to conquer a galaxy; the part of their mind that creates that field is not fully developed yet.”

“Children?”

“I’m strictly guessing but the being that came here sounded like an adult scolding them.”

“They’re the nastiest children I’ve ever seen.”

“And they’re going to get nastier. If they win this war, one of them is going to come to the Milky Way and take control.”

Allison shook her head, “Chris, how can we fight them if we’re immobilized by fear?”

“That is going to have to be handled by our engineers. The thought blocking systems have to be greatly strengthened before we can take them on directly.”

Allison nodded, “That’s why we weren’t able to think clearly at their planet?” Chris nodded. “We had all the evidence we needed to know that they could not detect us in the barrier but we refused to do anything. Our fear paralyzed us.”

“But you overcame that fear to send out an order to destroy the probes. It is possible to do things even when you’re being assaulted by your emotions.”

“Now that I know it’s not real, I think I could do more.”

Chris nodded, “That’s the reason I could function when they moved past us. You can do it as well.”

“You felt that much fear!”

“Maybe more. I’m telepathic.”

Allison smiled, “I’m impressed. What do we do now?”

“We go back to the Legend’s planet and take a look at the ships that monster delivered. We are going to have to find out if we can stand up to them.”

“You will not go there and pick a fight.”

“That’s not my intention but why do you say that?”

“Because if you do and we happen to win, that monster ship will be called back.”

Chris smiled and nodded, “You’re right and we’re not anywhere near being ready to take on their tools much less their ships.”

“This looks worse than when the invaders originally attacked Earth.”

“Perhaps.”

“Get real, Chris!”

“They don’t know about the barrier and their ships are slower than the new pods. We haven’t fired a dark energy beam at one of their warships and, if they can damage them, we’re in better shape than you might think.” Allison tilted her head and nodded. Chris stared out of the viewport and turned to her, “Are you ready to build that fort?”

“What?”

“We have to take what we’ve found out back to the Leadership Team. I think you’re right about staying away from the Legends for the immediate future. The Team is going to need some time to mull over what we’ve learned and decide what should be done. We’re going to have some time. Actually, if we drew up a perfect plan to scout here, it couldn’t have been better than what actually happened. We determined the Progen’s new warship’s capabilities, we discovered there actually are Legends out in the universe and we recorded one of their ships and we now know they can’t detect us in the barrier. We could have made countless scouting trips to gather that information but we got it all in a very short time.”

“It actually sounds too good to be true.”

Chris paused and forced his face to remain neutral. He smiled and said, “Let’s not look a gift horse in the mouth.” He said, “Barbie, the ship is yours; take us home.”

The Pod’s thrusters ignited and they were in orbit above Earth in a few seconds. Allison sent the recordings to Fleet as Chris collected his things and left the ship to get Michael. He thought about the giant black Legend Warship but the memory of Allison crying in his arms kept interrupting his thoughts. His arms still tingled when he thought about it.

Chapter Fifteen

The Greatest Leader slammed the side of his tub with appendage after appendage. One would appear and hit the tub’s wall as another appeared to hit it again. The force of the strikes rocked the entire assembly the tub was hanging from. The other Leaders stayed in their tubs and waited for his rage to diminish. They understood his anger. The Legends had sent a ship that witnessed one of their newest warships in action. Now they were ordered to send the new technology to the Green Civilization. Their probes did not detect the Black Warship and the Legends wasted no time contacting the Greatest to issue their orders. The Leaders waited and knew they had no choice but to comply. The Audons were going to get their hard work and there was nothing they could do about it. They waited as the room reverberated with the blows of the Greatest against the walls of his tub.

* * *

The High Leader looked around the chamber at the new members of his civilization’s ruling council. Most of them served with him in the Fleet. They understood the dangers of being a Legend Tool. The Leader responsible for communications raised a large tail over his head, “It does appear to be true, First One. Our engineers have received the building plans for the new Progen Battleship and they agree that they are as far ahead of our ships as the Legends ships are ahead of them. We would stand no chance against this new warship they’ve built.”

The Audon Supreme Leader looked at the Council Member in silence as his tail moved up and down behind his body. It stopped for a moment and he said, “Do you think they sent everything to us?”

The Councilor shrugged his lower shoulders, “They have analyzed the plans and there are no holes in the systems. They all appear to be interconnected and nothing is missing from the circuitry. I also firmly believe that, even they, would not withhold anything. The Legends would see a difference in our ships from theirs and their Greatest Leader would pay the price for any omission.” The councilor looked up at the Leader, “The Legends have ordered us to rebuild our ships with this technology and to waste no time making it happen.”

The Leader’s tail disappeared, “Read exactly what their order says.”

“You will take the Progen Technology and update all your ships immediately!”

The Leader started nodding and the Councilor responsible for ship construction looked at him, “What are you thinking, First?”

“Did you get a printout of the power of the beams the Progen developed?”

“I did.”

“How does that beam compare to the beams used by the ships that attacked us during the invasion attempt?”

The Councilor shook his head, “It’s nowhere near as powerful.”

The Leader smiled, “Why do you think the Legends want us to update our ships?”

The eight Councilors stared at him in silence until the Political Councilor said, “They’re planning another invasion of the spiral galaxy.”

“Very good. And what do you think will happen if we participate in that invasion?”

The New Fleet Leader went to all fours and sat on his bottom arms, “With our combined forces, we will probably prevail against them but there will be massive losses in the process.”

The Leader nodded, “And with the Progen in command, whose vessels will lead the attack? How do all you feel about that?” His question was greeted with silence. The Leader’s tail reappeared behind his head and fanned out as it moved quickly side to side, “If I can’t depend on you to speak honestly with me, then I need others to lead!”

The Political said, “I say the Spiral Galaxy should be left alone.”

The Fleet Leader moved his head left and right and his deep-set yellow eyes took in the entire group, “They could have destroyed all of us if they chose but they allowed us to return and defend our planets. I have no taste to repay them by attacking them.” The Leader stared at him as he looked around at the other leaders, “I also suspect that it wouldn’t matter how many ships we send against them, they would maul us.”

The Leader’s tail slowed as it moved side-to-side showing his agreement, “Do any of you see anything different from this opinion?” All of their tails moved directly over their heads showing they didn’t.

The Council’s Communicator looked around and turned to the Leader, “What are we going to do?”

“Exactly what they’ve requested.” The Councilors looked at each other and the Leader said, “Order all of our ships to our construction facilities for the modifications.”

The Fleet Leader’s tail disappeared behind him, “Did I hear you say all of them?”

“You did and I want one system installed at a time. When the first one is completed, install the second.”

“But that will extend the build time…tremendously.” The Leader looked at the Construction Councilor and after a moment the Councilor smiled, “It will take a very long time to update our fleets.”

The Fleet Leader stood up on his lower arms and the talons made a scrapping sound on the floor, “And what happens if our planets are attacked again?”

“Where will all our ships be located?” The Fleet Leader stared at him and then smiled. “There will be many ships waiting to be updated. Those ships can defend us against an attack. However, all of you have seen what the ships from the spiral galaxy did to the civilization that attacked us. I don’t expect another attack from them.”

“What about from the spiral galaxy or the conquered galaxy?”

The Leader shrugged, “I would guess that the conquered galaxy has a much bigger issue with the Progen than us. Their heavy-handed tactics there will make them the target of that galaxy. I believe the spiral galaxy will see that we’re not involved in an attack on them and also ignore us.”

“And if they don’t?”

The Leader shrugged, “I’ll ask them to ignore us.”

“Do you think they’ll listen?”

“They have once.”

“And what happens if the Legends grow impatient and demand we send our ships to participate in an invasion?”

“We’ll tell them that we’re following their instructions and that every one of our ships are being modified and are unable to fly.”

The Political smiled, “That strategy will probably work. They already think we’re stupid. They can’t do anything but see we’ve done exactly what they ordered. They’ll have to blame themselves for not giving us more detailed instructions.” The Leader nodded.

The Religious Councilor lowered his head into the green feathers on his chest, “This will only delay the inevitable. We will eventually have to join in the invasion.”

The Leader nodded, “The Legends have never shown patience and I suspect they will go ahead without us. This will give us a few years of being left alone. They’ll know we aren’t available to carry out their orders. This is worth doing if for no other reason than showing them our tails for killing our Hero.” The Councilors all raised their tails to the Leader’s comment.

* * *

Chris woke the next morning with Michael jumping up and down on his bed, “Fort, fort, fort, fort…”

Chris rolled over, “What time is it?”

“Time to build a super fort. The sun is up!”

Chris picked up his wrist unit from the bedside table and shook his head; it was six-thirty in the morning. He scrolled and pressed a button, “Are you up?”

“I’ve been up for an hour.”

“Can you hear Michael?”

Allison listened closely and heard, “Fort, fort, fort…” in the background and laughed, “I’ll change and be there shortly. You might want to order us something to eat before we start.”

“I’ll have it waiting on the beach.” The image disappeared and Chris struggled out of bed. God, where did he get the energy?

* * *

By noon, the fort was bigger than the first one they built. Chris was amazed at the effort to build it and was more amazed that Allison kept pace with Michael. The orderlies had come and removed the remains of their breakfast and replaced it with a lunch. He looked at the two builders and yelled, “Hey, take a break and let’s eat.”

“Awww, Dad!”

“You can go back after lunch.” Allison took Michael’s hand and walked with him over to the table. Chris laughed, “Both of you need to hit the water jets and wash the sand off.” Michael looked up at Allison and she said, “I’ll hold the hose first.” Michael nodded and sprinted up the beach to the spray pole next to the dune. Allison smiled and walked behind him.

Chris turned and looked out at the ocean. He had tried all morning to see the pink and blue sail and failed. All he could pull up was the darkened force field that slammed down. He shook his head and quietly whispered, “You’re punishing me for what I did.”

“What?”

Chris looked up and saw Allison and Michael standing next to him. Allison’s bathing suit was pink and blue. Chris shook his head, “Nothing. I was just thinking out loud.”

“When you start answering yourself, I’m going to start worrying.”

“It’s ok to answer yourself, just don’t ever say ‘huh’.”

Allison laughed and picked up a sandwich. Chris sighed and watched Michael dig in to the plate of chips, “Hey, hey, eat a sandwich with those!” Michael sighed and picked up a baloney sandwich. They ate in silence as their mouths were full of food. Afterwards, Michael and Allison ran back to the fort. Chris watched them for a few minutes, then looked out at the ocean again, and stood up. He walked over to them and picked up a bucket and shovel. Michael looked at him and Chris said, “Hey, can you use the help or not?”

“Dad, this is our fort. You can help build the next one.”

Chris looked at Allison and she nodded, “It’s like us carrying heavy loads and you come in to help lift the last two bags.”

Michael nodded, “EXACTLY!”

Chris saw Michael’s stern expression and he burst out laughing, “Ok, ok. I know when I’m not wanted.”

“It’s not that, Dad. It’s finishing what you start.” Chris and Allison looked at Michael and then at each other.

Chris nodded and said, “I get it. Make me proud of what you build.”

Michael picked up a shovel and started shoving sand into a form, “We will!”

* * *

By mid-afternoon a crowd had gathered around the fort as Allison and Michael finished the wall around the buildings in the center. It was four feet tall and Michael wanted to make it higher. Chris looked at the crowd and said, “If you do that, none of these fine people will be able to see over the wall. They’ll miss the giant city you built in the center.”

Michael looked at the people watching them and he looked at Allison who said, “Hey, you’re the general contractor. I’m just a sub.”

He turned to Chris, looked back at the fort, and then looked at the crowd. He turned to Allison, “The city is the best part!” Allison smiled and nodded. Michael looked at the crowd and bowed, “Our fort is done.” The crowd broke out into cheers and Michael turned red. He took Allison’s hand and said, “Bow.” They both bowed and the cheers grew louder.

* * *

The sun was setting and Michael was asleep in Chris’s arms. He looked over at Allison and said, “Am I going to have to carry you up the hill, too?”

Allison didn’t open her eyes, “No, pieces will fall off if I move too fast, though.”

Chris laughed, “Come on, I’ll give you a hand.” Chris stood up with Michael and offered Allison a hand. She took it and he pulled her out of the chair and heard her moan. “You should have let me help.”

Allison stumbled up the beach and said, “Not on your life. This was something between Michael and me.” Chris saw her fatigue and he took her to her door first. She opened it and she stumbled inside, “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Why?”

“The Leadership Team has called for the meeting to discuss our findings.”

“OOOOOOHHHHHHH.”

“I’ll postpone it until eleven.”

“Thanks.”

Chris pulled the door closed and carried Michael to their quarters. He looked out on the beach and saw the huge fort they built. It was really something special. The high tide would wash out most of it but it would never wash out the memory of that day. He was certain that Michael would never forget it. He put Michael to bed and took a shower. He went to bed and looked up at the ceiling. He wasn’t the only one that would always remember it.

* * *

The next morning Chris contacted Allison on his wrist unit, “You can sleep in.”

“Why, is the meeting delayed?”

“No, Loree’s ship just arrived. She had to fight it out with one of the Black Ships and the Team wants to hear what happened before they make any substantive decisions.”

“I’m going!”

“What?”

“I need to hear what happened.”

“I’ll pick you up. They’re starting in thirty minutes.”

“Give me twenty and I’ll be ready.”

* * *

Lukas lowered his wrist unit and said, “We’re going to delay the meeting for a few minutes to allow Chris time to arrive.” Everyone nodded and turned back to their conversations. Six minutes later, Chris and Allison walked quickly into the room. “Sorry I’m late.”

“It was my fault.”

Lukas looked at Allison and once again marveled at her hair. “Let’s get started.” Everyone moved to a chair and Lukas looked around the room. Everyone grew silent and he looked at Loree, “Why don’t you fill us in on what happened.”

Loree looked around the room and then began speaking, “I lost twenty-one of my battleships to the Black Ships. I ordered all my scouts to escape and those that were the furthest from the Legends’ Planet managed to get away. Twenty-two of us were on the Legends’ side of the galaxy and weren’t able to escape before they saw us. I had a Black Ship blow past my ship at an incredible speed and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to outrun it. I ordered my ships still in the galaxy to use their dark matter clouds to hide them. The twenty ships that were destroyed had to slow to prevent the clouds from being stripped away.” Loree looked around the room, “They could see the cloud if the ship was moving.”

Jinks said, “How do you know that?”

“I’ll explain in a moment.” Jinks nodded. “My ship had run to a dwarf galaxy circling M-87 but I was followed there. The Black Ship was making a turn to come back at me just as I ordered the ship into normal space. We emerged into a planetary system and I ordered the pilot to land on a small moon that was close by and take the ship into a crater. I knew the Black Ship would have to come back to where we entered normal space to be anywhere near our exit point. My pilot did an impossible job of landing the ship in a huge crater just as the Black Ship entered normal space and started looking for us. The black cloud was still being emitted and my ship was almost covered but not before I saw the Black Ship fly over the crater. The cloud covered us and we waited to be attacked. All of us were frightened out of our wits and we remained in that crater for three days. I had an antenna extended beyond the cloud and saw on our passive sensors that the Black Ship was still holding orbit above the moon. The ship’s power had been shut down and we were all living in our armor. We were too frightened to do anything but time was running out on us. We had to turn on the environmental systems or we were going to run out of power in our suits and die.”

Lukas looked at her, “How did you escape?”

“Actually, we didn’t.”

Allison said, “Before you continue, Admiral, you mentioned that all of you were frightened?”

Loree looked at her and nodded, “We all knew that we were going to die. There was no way to escape.” Allison nodded and Loree said, “We were saved by my Aman, my weapons officer.” Loree took a breath and smiled, “I think he took all he could take and couldn’t take it anymore.”

Jinks said, “What did he do?”

“He turned every disruptor on top of the ship toward the Black Ship and opened fire.” Loree took a breath and slowly exhaled, “I was ready to strangle him but the disruptor beams blew through the black ship. It didn’t die before getting off two shots at us and it couldn’t miss. We were a sitting duck in that crater. Once again, it was Aman’s fast thinking that prevented our destruction. Immediately after he fired he activated the force field to full power. The first disruptor beam was slowed by the force field and the silver coating stopped the second. The coating was melted but it stopped the beam from penetrating our hull. The black ship blew up in a massive blast before it could fire again. I ordered the ship to full power and we got out of there in a big way.”

Stoney said, “Did you reprimand Aman for his actions endangering your vessel?”

“No, I’m putting him in for the Fleet Crescent.” Stoney’s eyes narrowed and Loree said, “I wish I could describe the emotions we were all experiencing. None of us were thinking clearly and we probably would have died there doing nothing. He saved us.”

Chad said, “Admiral, First Commander Stone has postulated that the Legends are able to generate a field of some sort that amplifies emotions to an unbearable level. Your experience would appear to confirm that idea.”

Allison said, “Admiral, did your fears start to go away after you fled?”

“We destroyed that attacker, so there was nothing left to fear.”

“But they didn’t disappear immediately, did they?” Loree stared at Allison and, after a moment, nodded.

Lukas looked at Allison, “What are you suggesting?”

“Sir, I experienced losing control of my emotions. I was almost paralyzed by fear. Commander Stone suggested that this field that causes the amplification of emotions is either a mental field produced by the Legends’ minds or a technological device. I think we can now assume that it’s done by technology.”

Everyone in the room stared at her and Loree said, “And you arrived at this conclusion by…?”

“The ship that had you trapped did not have a Legend on board.”

Jinks eyebrows wend up, “There’s no way you can know that one way or the other.”

Allison tilted her head, “Look at the conversation we recorded between that Legend Leader and the Legends on the planet. The Leader ordered them to send their ships out to destroy the probes and he continued talking to the Legends on the planet after that order. That means the fear that was being generated in Admiral Barber’s crew had to be done by a device on that Black Ship above her.”

Everyone stared at Allison and Salud said, “What difference does it make how it was done?”

Amanda spoke up, “It makes a huge difference.”

Everyone turned to her and Salud said, “How is that?”

“Because stopping telepathic fields is a different kind of beast from an electronic field. An electronic field can be blocked by the application of more power.”

Lukas leaned forward, “Are you saying we can stop that field?”

Amanda sighed, “Sir, we only use three volts to power the thought blocker.”

“What?”

“We didn’t think more would be needed. We can directly wire the blocker into the armor’s main power supply and I can assure you no electronic field will get through it. If it were telepathic, stopping it with more power would be very iffy.”

Jinks shook his head, “Do you know how long it will take to rewire all those suits of armor.”

Amanda looked up at the ceiling and after a few seconds she said, “About twenty seconds, if you take your time.”

“What?”

“The helmet is set up with subroutines to reroute power to all of the systems it uses. I’ll type up the instructions on how to do it and send it out on a mass message.”

Chris looked at Allison, leaned over, and whispered, “This is why you insisted on coming? You knew about that sub-routine.”

“Yes, but if it wasn’t electronic, more power wouldn’t have necessarily worked.” Chris nodded and straightened up.

Jinks looked at Loree, “Admiral, are you saying the Legends’ warships can destroy our ships.”

“Twenty of mine did not make it out of M-87.”

Chris looked at Loree, “How were your reactors configured?”

Loree looked at him and thought for a moment. She started nodding as she said, “I think I know what you’re asking. Most of the reactors were directed to the thrusters.”

Chris nodded, “Since your ship couldn’t outrun them, if you had put most of your power to the force field and disruptors…”

Loree nodded, “It would have made a difference. I had the reactors shut down so I couldn’t reroute them while we were hiding.”

“How many reactors were powering the weapons?”

“Four.”

“I suspect the ships you lost were attacked by multiple black ships and they only tried to run because of the fear that was overwhelming them. If the disruptors had twenty reactors behind them, it may have had a different result.”

Lukas looked around the room, “We need to have our engineers look at the hull of the Montana and we need to examine Admiral Barber’s recordings. Everyone plan to meet here the day after tomorrow so we can share our findings.”

The meeting broke up and Loree came over to Chris and Allison, “What can you tell me about that ship that destroyed our probes?”

Chris said, “Give me a moment. Gene, do you have the analysis you did of the Legend Supership?”

“I do.”

“Transmit it to my wrist unit.” Chris felt his wrist unit vibrate and he connected it wirelessly to the huge wall monitor. He activated the download and the three of them walked up to the giant monitor. Loree shook her head, “I don’t know how you had the courage to follow that monster if you were as frightened as I was.” The other attendees watched their discussion and moved over to look at the wall monitor with them. They began asking questions and Chris and Allison answered them. Soon all the chairs were in front of the monitor. Lukas watched them and knew he had a great group of officers. He was going to need them.

Chapter Sixteen

Lukas stood up and said, “Let me summarize what we’ve decided. We are going to let sleeping dogs lie as long as possible while we build up our forces, right?” Everyone around the table nodded. “Next, the survivors of Admiral Barber’s Scouts are going to be given the new Barrier Pods to scout any targets we select.” Lukas looked around and everyone nodded. “We are going to remove our fleets from M-84 on the off-chance that their presence might provoke the Legends to attack them there.” Lukas thought for a moment and looked at Loree, “And you are going to go out and start searching for the source of that giant Legend Battleship?”

Loree stood up, “Sir, I have no idea how I’m going to find them. It’s a large universe.”

“Would it be inappropriate for me to interrupt?”

Everyone heard the thought and Loree said, “No it wouldn’t, Barbie. What’s on your mind?”

“Well, it may be easier to find them than you think.”

Everyone in the room looked at Loree in surprise as she said, “You never cease to amaze me, Barbie. Just how would I go about it?”

“We know what line that ship came into M-87. Line your scouts up on that line and go to full speed in the barrier.”

“But I’d be moving too fast to be able to see them.”

“You don’t need to see them, just stop when you feel frightened. Turn on your armor’s thought blocker and look around.”

Chris started laughing and everyone looked at him. Chris shook his head and smiled at Loree, “Thank you so much for allowing me to use Barbie on my ship but I think it’s time the two of you were reunited. You belong together.”

“What about your ship?”

“I have two computers fully capable of replacing her. You need to select who your co-pilot will be.”

“That’s been done.”

“Oh, who?”

“Commodore Hawk Red-Feather will be flying with me.”

Chris smiled. He remembered Audrey recommending Loree get to know him. He felt a wave of melancholy sweep through him and he forced himself to smile, “He is an excellent choice, Admiral.”

Lukas looked at Chris, “Are you going to replace Barbie?”

“No, I think I’ve seen that two computers are capable of performing all the tasks required of them.”

Allison looked at him, “Neither one of them are telepathic.”

Chris nodded, “I’ll discuss that with Piper later.” Allison nodded and wondered why Chris was giving up the lead computer.

Lukas looked at Joey, “How are the assembly plants coming along on Eden?”

“We’re building complete Barrier Pods now. The assembly lines will start moving at full production in less than a month.”

Lukas looked at Stoney, “Where are we on trained Pilots to fly them?”

“All of the senior officers have completed simulator training and are practicing on the Training Pods until their ships are ready.”

“What’s the hold up?”

“The Senior Officers want their computers installed in their personal ships.”

Lukas tilted his head, “Can’t say I blame them for that.” He looked at Chris, “What are you going to be doing?”

“I’m considering stepping out of the ranks for a while to go and visit M-84.”

Lukas stared at him and Allison grabbed his sleeve and shook her head. Chris looked at her and she said, “You have to go back to M-86 and tell them what’s going on.”

Chris stared at her. This was the first time he heard about the necessity of going there. “Are you sure about that?” Allison nodded. Chris looked at Lukas, “I think Admiral Simmons makes a good point. Since I’m the one Commander they know, I should be the one to go.”

Lukas nodded, “I think that is wise. If you don’t mind my asking, why do you need to go to M-84?”

Chris stared at him and sighed, “Redemption and I intend to go to every planet my fleets destroyed and say a prayer.”

“That’s thousands of planets, Chris.”

Chris looked around the room, “I don’t think you’ll be needing a conqueror anytime soon. I’ll come back when you need me.”

Lukas looked at him, “We may need you rather quickly.”

“I’ll take a Barrier Pod. I can be back before you stop asking me to come back.”

Lukas stared at him and nodded. Lukas looked at Allison, “You should start thinking about someone to replace him.” Allison stared at Lukas, and then nodded.

* * *

Allison sat on the Barrier Pod in the giant black ship’s landing bay while Chris was meeting with the Commander of M-85’s forces. She was fidgeting and she heard Alley’s thought, “You can’t let him do this!”

“I know, but how can I stop him.”

“Tell him.”

“No!”

“Then you will watch him leave and he won’t be back. He’ll have his own ship.”

Allison shook her head and fought with the thoughts running through her head.

* * *

“This is not good news you brought. Why are you telling me?”

“I suspect some of the civilizations you’re leading are growing impatient to go and take their vengeance.”

“They are.”

“If you initiate an attack on the Monsters, you will be eradicated and it will probably cause the Legends to use their ships to come here and finish the job.”

“How can I stop them? If I don’t act soon, they’ll replace me.”

Chris reached across his panel and inserted a connection into his computer console. Kilon watched him and when Chris withdrew his hand he said, “What was that?”

“It’s a recording of the Legend Ship that eliminated my probes. I’ve also included a recording of the ships around their planet as well as the destruction of the Green Flagship by one of the smaller Legend Ships.”

“Oh, is that all?”

“No, I’ve also included the field trials of the new Progen Battleship. Share it with your civilizations. That should give them pause.”

The Commander stared at him. Then he said, “If we attacked, would you come to our aid if we were pushed out of the Monster Galaxy.”

“No!”

“Why not?”

“Because we don’t have enough of our new ship to take them on. They are more powerful than our previous model.”

“That’s scary.”

“And it’s also true. You need to develop new technology before you take them on.”

The Commander shook his head, “We’re at our developmental end. The new reactor you gave us is now on our ships.”

Chris sighed, “I included a diagram of a new reactor.”

“WE JUST INSTALLED THE ONE YOU GAVE US BEFORE! WHAT KIND OF REACTOR IS BETTER?”

“It’s a Dark Matter Reactor.”

“Say what?”

“I’ve included a detailed description on how to collect dark matter to power them.”

The Commander stared at Chris and exhaled a huge breath. “That should give me something to slow them down.”

“If it doesn’t, start the civil war early and force them to not go there.”

“WHAT?”

“Trust me on this, fewer lives will be lost than if you choose to invade the Monsters. You are nowhere near being able to match their current technology. Your ships will bear most of the load and you’ll be so weakened, you will lose in the following civil war.”

“You’re serious about this?”

“As a supernova.”

The Commander nodded and said, “I’ll do what I can.”

Chris stood up and smiled, “I know my way.”

The Commander nodded, “Don’t be a stranger. Come back and see me when it’s not an issue of life and death.”

Chris nodded, “I’ll see what I can do.” He turned and left the room.

The Commander sat down and shook his head as his two senior engineers rushed into his conference room, “WHAT DID I JUST SEE IN THE DATABASE?”

The Commander shook his head, “Take a seat and perhaps you can tell me.”

* * *

Chris entered the Pod and said, “Alley, take us back to Earth.” He looked at Allison, “Have you decided who will fly with you.”

“Yes, I’ve decided.”

“Who?”

“Don’t worry about it, Chris. You go and do what your soul calls you to do.”

Chris nodded and the Pod arrived at the space port ten minutes later. He stood up and hugged Allison, “Thank you for all you’ve done. You made the difference in getting things accomplished.” He released her and walked out of the small ship.

“ALLISON!!”

“Be quiet you two! It has to be this way.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“That’s insubordination!”

“Tell it to someone who cares. You’re an idiot!”

Allison watched Chris walk away and shook her head. Idiot wasn’t a strong enough term.

* * *

Two days later, Chris picked up a single Pilot Barrier Pod and moved his backpack on board. He looked around and said, “Computer, what should I call you?”

“How about Willow?”

“WILLOW!!”

“Lukas thinks I should go with you.”

“That is the best news I’ve heard in a very long time. Let’s get out of here.”

“Give me a little time to familiarize myself with the systems. I hope you don’t mind if I fly around a while.”

“Take all the time you need. Time is what I now have in abundance.”

Willow spent an hour learning the systems and then said, “Off to M-84.” Chris smiled and watched the outer edge of the huge elliptical galaxy appear on his display. “Where do you want to go?”

“Let’s go visit the Leaders first. Give me a moment to call Allison and wish her good luck on her new partner.”

“Uhhhh, you might want to delay that call.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Admiral Simmons has resigned her commission.”

“WHAT?”

“She’s no longer in the navy.”

“WHAT?”

“I just told you, she resigned.”

“WHY!!”

“She wouldn’t give Lukas a reason. She turned in her resignation and he told her he wouldn’t accept it. She said he had no choice and he told her that she didn’t have a choice. She told him to arrest her and put her in jail but she was leaving and not coming back. She walked out and Lukas didn’t have her arrested. Now you have the whole story. I’m skipping to the planet where the leaders are located.”

“Take me back to Earth!”

“Will you make up your mind!? We just arrived!”

“Willow, take me back to Earth NOW!!”

“Alright, you don’t have to be so pushy. All you had to do was ask.”

“I did!”

“Boy, you’ve gotten a lot more impatient since the last time I flew with you.”

“I’m sorry, Willow. Forgive my manners but get me back to Earth!”

“Is there anywhere in particular you want to go? I hear the weather in Florida is outstanding and the Emitter team there have a nice community.”

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“It is, what’s going on?”

“You tell me. Why do you think she walked out?”

“I have no idea.”

“Then you’re not as bright as you come advertised.”

“WILLOW!!”

“Why do you think Lukas wouldn’t give me to you?”

“Because the two of you have a close relationship. You’ve been together from the beginning.”

“What would happen if I were destroyed?”

“He, and I, would grieve and then he would have to take another ship.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“He needs a way to go out into space.”

“How could he possibly want to go if I couldn’t take him?”

“Because he needs to be able to go out to know what’s happening. How would he ever get back to Eden? How could he visit the ones he loves there?”

“So you’re saying his life would be less if he didn’t take another ship?”

“Exactly.”

“Think about that and then you tell me why she walked out.” Willow skipped back to Earth in an instant and Chris sat on board in silence. Willow sat on the concrete runway at the spaceport for an hour and Willow left him alone with his silence. Another two hours passed and then Chris sighed. “Willow, take me home.”

The Pod lifted and flew away.

Salud and Lukas sat in chairs next to the huge window in his office and stared at the pod sitting off to itself for the entire three hours. They ordered a meal brought in after the first hour and then continued to stare at the barrier pod sitting on the concrete. Salud held Lukas’ hand and shook her head when the pod lifted. She held her breath expecting it to leap into high atmosphere…but then…it slowly turned and headed toward the officer’s quarters near the beach. She looked at Lukas and he sighed.

Willow landed just outside the officer quarters and Chris stepped out in silence. He went to his quarters and looked around. The place felt empty without Michael. He was with his grandparents and Chris decided to leave him there. He changed clothes and put on a bathing suit. He grabbed a towel and headed toward the beach. He walked down the slope from the dunes and headed toward the beach chairs. He looked hard and saw Allison sitting in a chair. He took a breath and walked down to the chairs and pulled one up next to her. She glanced at him and then turned back to the ocean, “I thought you left.”

“I did.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I want you to tell me why you resigned.”

“That’s really none of your business.”

“Don’t force me to look at your mind.”

Allison looked at him, “YOU PROMISED YOU WOULDN’T!”

“Then don’t force me to do it. Talk to me.”

Allison sighed and shook her head. Chris looked out at the Caribbean and waited. After two hours passed, he was glad Allison hadn’t walked off and left him there alone. He said, “I didn’t understand why you said I could never be your brother.” Allison looked at him, “I understand now.”

Allison sighed and looked back out at the ocean. He remained silent and after a while she said, “Did you know before I became your bodyguard that I had a thing for Jake.”

“He’s a great person and has become a great Admiral.”

“He never understood why I lost interest in him.”

“Why did you?”

“I decided that I wanted more.” Chris remained silent. “I watched you and Audrey while I was your bodyguard and I decided that I wanted someone like you in my life. I’ve been searching for that person ever since.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Allison shook her head, “Your heart belonged to another and it always would. What you and Audrey had is a once in a lifetime love.”

“Audrey died.”

“I know. But your love for her never will. I’ve watched you spend hours staring out at the ocean seeing her sailing across the waves.”

“How did you know that?”

“Your smile.”

“I can’t see her anymore.”

Allison looked at him, “Why not?”

“I thought it was because she was ashamed of me for what I did in M-84.”

“She would never be ashamed of you for that.”

“Why?”

“Because she would know you did it because of how much you loved her. Your stopping would have made her very proud.”

Chris stared at the waves for thirty minutes and shook his head, “Now I understand why.”

“What is that?”

“She’s angry.”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve stopped my life and I’ve only lived to see her on this beach. She’s furious that I haven’t moved on.”

Allison stared at him and then looked back out at the ocean. After a few moments, she said, “I can’t fly with anyone else.”

“Why?”

“They wouldn’t be you.”

“That’s why you resigned.”

Allison nodded and looked at him shaking her head, “I tried, Chris! I tried really hard but each candidate they brought for me to interview only showed me how much less my life would be without you with me. I just couldn’t do it!”

“You left your only family.”

“They are not my family!”

“I was talking about Alley and Gene.”

Allison’s frown vanished and she shook her head. “They’re furious. They argued for hours telling me to tell you.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I stopped you once from getting closure when I stopped you in M-84. I couldn’t stop you from finding redemption.” She paused and said, “I really don’t think I could have stopped you anyway.”

“Why not?”

“Because you chose to leave without discussing it with me.” She looked out at the ocean for a few minutes and said, “Why did you come back? If it’s to convince me to keep my commission, you’re wasting your time.”

Chris looked out at the ocean and said, “Do you know what the first thing I did when I arrived at the edge of M-84?” Allison shook her head. “I told Willow I wanted to contact you to wish you good luck with your new partner.” Allison looked out at the waves again. “He told me you resigned.” Allison lowered her head and looked at her hands. “You’re remembering when I held your hands after my little experiment.”

Her head snapped around to him, “You said you wouldn’t look at my thoughts!”

“I’m not. I have remembered you in my arms weeping pretty much every day since. It is that memory that convinced me to leave.”

Allison looked at him, “I don’t understand.”

Chris sighed, “Allison, you fit too perfectly.” Allison lowered her head and looked at the waves. Chris looked at the waves and sighed again. “It was after I could no longer see Audrey’s sail that the first thing happened that made me realize I loved you.” Allison’s head whipped around and Chris continued to stare at the waves. “It was Michael holding your hand after the two of you built that first fort. However, my mind refused to recognize it. The second fort brought it into focus. Holding you in my arms and holding your hands after your incredible bravery removed anything preventing me from seeing it.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You had already told me you would never accept me as a brother. I saw myself as damaged goods and honestly thought you could do a lot better than a broken man with a seven year old son.”

Chris looked at Allison, “I’m not here to persuade you to take your commission back. I’m here with my hat in my hand asking if you will fly with me for the rest of my life.”

Allison was in his arms in a heartbeat and she cried in racking sobs. Chris stroked her head and said, “We’re all right, we’re all right.” He put his head on top of hers and looked out at the ocean. The pink and blue sail was skipping across the waves. He smiled and said, “I love you, Allison.”

She kissed him and he opened his thoughts to her. She lost herself and Chris kissed her harder. When they finally broke the kiss he said, “You are all I could ever want.”

“I’m not Audrey, Chris.”

“That’s what allows me to love you. Michael also loves you. I never promised not to look at his thoughts.”

Allison kissed him again and he held her tight until the moon was high overhead. He walked her to her quarters and said, “I am going to discuss this with Michael in the morning. I’ll come and get you afterwards.’

Allison nodded and kissed him goodnight. She went inside and worried about how Michael would respond and then she would hug her pillow yelling, “He loves me!” It was a long night.

When they showed up the next morning, her heart went into her throat. Michael looked extremely angry. She closed her eyes and Michael said, “My father says he wants you to be my new mother! Do you want to be my mother?” Allison opened her eyes and nodded. Michael turned, looked Chris, and then turned back to Allison, “They why is he leaving so soon! I want you to stay here and be with me for a while!!”

Allison’s eyes opened wide and she bent down and lifted Michael off the ground and hugged him tightly as she swung him around. Michael laughed and said, “See, Dad. She agrees with me.”

Chris smiled and shook his head, “Michael, before she can be your mother, she must first be my wife and she hasn’t agreed to marry me yet.”

Michael looked at Allison and said, “You have to agree. Say yes. Say yes. Say yes!”

“He hasn’t asked me, Michael.”

Michael turned around and looked at Chris with surprise written all over his face. “YOU HAVEN’T ASKED HER?!”

Chris shook his head and went to a knee and held up a ring, “Allison Delany Simmons, will you marry me?”

Allison looked up and pursed her lips while Michael kept repeating, Say yes!”

Allison burst out laughing, “I will.”

Michael yelled at the top of his voice, “YAAAAAAAY. Now all three of us can build forts.”

Chris put the ring on her left hand, stood up, and leaned over to kiss Allison. She went up on her tiptoes and returned his kiss. They broke the kiss and Chris smiled, “Indeed we can Michael.”

Allison looked at the ring and saw a diamond that was incredibly beautiful, “How did you get this ring so fast?”

“I told Lukas last night what I was considering and Salud came and gave it to me. The diamond is one that her father originally made for her to build her force field.” Allison stared at its beauty shaking her head. This was beyond value.

Michael looked at Allison, turned to Chris, and whispered, “She really loves you!”

“How do you know?”

“It’s in her mind.” Chris’s eyes went wide and his tears began. Allison looked at him, “What’s wrong?”

“Michael hasn’t shown any signs of being telepathic for a very long time.” Allison looked at Michael who said, “I’m sorry, Dad. I didn’t mean to make you sad.”

Chris took him out of Allison’s arms and smiled, “You have just made me happier than you can ever know. Look at my mind.” Michael squinted and smiled a huge grin. He hugged Chris as Allison went under his free arm.

* * *

Lukas and Salud were going over the building reports when Alice stuck her head in the door and said, “The First Commander wishes to speak to you.”

Lukas and Salud looked at each other and Lukas said, “Send him in.” Alice Gomez opened the door and stepped aside as Chris walked in with Allison in civilian clothes and Lukas said, “What’s going on?”

“I wanted to stop by and let you know that I’ve hired an engineer to fly on my ship.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I think they’re very qualified to do it.”

Salud smiled, “And just who is this engineer?”

Chris looked at Allison, “Engineer Simmons.”

Lukas started laughing and said, “Why doesn’t she just accept her commission?”

“Because I am her employer, not Fleet. She can’t be assigned elsewhere without my approval.”

“She couldn’t anyway.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, who has the authority to move her?”

“You do.”

“No I don’t. You’ve been chosen to lead all our forces. I only control Earth’s military. No one outranks you.” Chris’s eyes narrowed and he looked at Allison. Lukas said, “If you choose to assign her permanently to your staff, she would also be above the control of all the others in our Alliance.” Lukas paused and then sealed the deal, “The retirement pay of a fleet admiral is much higher than what an engineer would get.”

Allison blew out a breath, “Then swear me back in, Sir.”

“It’s not necessary. I never accepted your resignation. Is there something else you want to tell me?”

Allison looked at Chris and he said, “I’ve asked her to marry me and she accepted.”

Lukas smiled, “Now that is the smartest thing either of you have ever done.” Salud and Lukas stood up, came around the large desk, and hugged them. Lukas looked at Allison and said, “Welcome to the family.”

Allison’s tears were immediate and Salud leaned in and whispered, “Your ring really looks good on your hand.”

Allison smiled, “You shouldn’t have.”

“This is exactly what my father would have wanted.” Allison smiled and hugged her again.

Alice slipped out of the door and squealed. She ran to personnel to tell everyone. They celebrated a happy ending and beginning. The loudest squeals came out of a Barrier Pod right after Allison entered wearing her Admiral’s uniform. She felt her heart swell with the joy of all that had happened. She had a family and it was incredible. She knew it couldn’t get any better but Stoney and Kathy showed her it could.

Chapter Seventeen

Lukas, Jinks, Chad and Stoney sat around the conference table and stared at the star map on the wall size monitor. They looked at it in silence and Jinks sighed, “Are the scouts pretty certain about this?” Lukas nodded. The Milky Way was centered on the map with the giant Virgo Cluster looking like a small ball to the northeast. There was one red light flashing in it. Spread out above the single red light were thousands of galaxies with flashing red lights. There were no red lights to the east, west, or south of the Milky Way.

Lukas stared at it and shrugged, “They are expanding in our direction.”

Stoney nodded, “That explains why there are so many of them in M-87.”

Lukas nodded, “Let’s designate that galaxy Monster One, and you’re right. Once they take total control of that giant galaxy, they will expand out into the cluster and conquer the surrounding galaxies. Each of the Legends will then build conduits and take control of the other galaxies.”

Chad exhaled softly, “Once they control that piece of our cluster, they’ll be coming this way toward us and Andromeda.”

Jinks slowly shook his head, “I think they would have, under normal circumstances, gone to Andromeda. It’s larger than the Milky Way.”

Lukas nodded, “Our attacks will probably put us ahead of it.”

Chad shook his head, “I’m not so sure about that.” The three looked away from the map at him. Lukas said, “Why not?”

“Is it possible they will scout the two galaxies before they invade?”

“I’m sure they’ll start that process before they finish with the Virgo Galaxies. Our Local Group will come next.”

“There are millions of Sentinels in Andromeda, aren’t there?”

Lukas’s expression showed his shock and he stood up shaking his head, “They’ll launch everything they have at Andromeda. There will be no way Eden can avoid discovery!”

Chad gave a quick nod, “They will leave no stone unturned.”

Lukas sat down, “They may even call in help from other galaxies if they see how many Sentinels are there.”

Jinks looked at Stoney shaking his head and blew out a hard breath, “This is beyond frustrating.” Everyone looked at him. “We lose Earth to their first invasion and then kick their backsides during the second invasion. Now we’re at a technological advantage and where we can finally go after them in Monster One and discover there’s more of them than we knew…a lot more. This Pandora’s box just keeps spilling out all kinds of monsters and demons.”

Lukas looked at Jinks and lifted his wrist unit, “Chris, I need you in the conference room in Fleet Operations.”

“Lukas, I’m on my honeymoon.”

“I really hate calling you in but we’ve discovered some things that you’re going to have to decide on how to confront.”

“Me?”

“You are the overall commander. This is really scary stuff and we can’t delay deciding what to do.”

Chris looked at Allison who was listening to the call on the wrist unit’s speaker. She nodded, “We’ll finish it in space.” Chris shook his head and Allison smiled, “Chris, there are some views out there that make this pale in comparison.”

Chris looked out at the sun setting on a beach in Tahiti and knew she was right. “We’ll be there within the hour.”

“Thanks, Chris.” Lukas looked at the war leaders and nodded toward the door, “Let’s get something to eat. I suspect we’re going to be busy for a long time.”

* * *

Chris and Allison met them in the cafeteria and picked up a tray before sitting down. The four Senior Members of the Leadership Team congratulated them on their union and asked questions about all that had happened to bring them together. Before they finished, Salud, Sarah, Julie, Kathy, and Joey joined them. After another hour, they all stood and left for the conference room.

Lukas led the presentation bringing everyone up to date on what had been discovered and what they expected to happen once the Legends sent out scouts to Andromeda and the Milky Way. Lukas saw the fear on all the women’s faces. He knew what they were feeling. At the end, Lukas looked at Chris, “We’re at a loss on what we have to do to meet this threat. There’s no way we can build the numbers we’ll need to meet what they can throw at us.”

Chris stared at the star map for a long time in silence. The group watched him waiting and after ten minutes he looked around the table, “You’re presented a rather scary nightmare here.”

Lukas nodded, “I’ve thought that maybe we should pack up and move everyone on Eden to a planet in a very distant galaxy to prepare against the day when we could face them.”

Chris smiled and pointed at the star map, “How many galaxies would we be facing if we did that? Our entire future existence would be packing up and running like gypsies. Perhaps finding a distant planet to start a small colony would be an insurance plan to continue the species should we fail but running away from this will only make it worse.”

Lukas nodded, “I’ve seen that as well. But staying assumes there’s a possibility of success.”

Chris smiled and said, “I heard you talking to your friend Jack at your wedding. I had only recently become telepathic and I was curious about everything and I had absolutely no problem invading everyone’s thoughts.” Chris looked around the table, “Don’t worry. I’ve stopped that now that I’ve matured.” He looked back at Lukas, “You told him that Earth was Holy Ground for our species and that we would never…ever…allow it to become the property of another species. You promised him he would be buried with Mary and that we would never give up until we were back.” Lukas lowered his head. Chris shook his head, “If we run, I can assure everyone here that Earth will be settled by the enemies that killed all of us that were still on it.” The room grew silent, “And Jack’s and Mary’s graves along with all the other graves, will be desecrated when the new conquering species move in and dig them up to build on the land they’re on.” Chris looked back at the star map, “There are some things that are worth dying for to prevent.”

Julie smiled, “So defending Holy Ground is something that will be our goal in what’s going to happen?”

Chris looked at her, “It is.”

Jinks listened to Chris and sighed, “All righty then. How do we do it?”

Chris looked at him and smiled, “Jinks, I’ve wanted to be like you from the first time I met you.”

“What?”

“There is no subterfuge in you. You see a goal and go after it and to hell with the consequences. That is what we’re going to need to have the courage to do this. I’ll tell you how we’re going to do this, we’re not going to do it alone.”

Salud leaned forward, “What do you mean?”

Chris looked at Salud and smiled, “Professor, I need you to come up with an instructional program.”

“Say what?”

“You are going to collect the recordings of everything that has happened to our species since Lukas arrived here on Willow up to the scouts that went out and found the galaxies the Legends control. You will narrate the final recording and describe how we have managed to develop our technology each time to confront our attackers. You will describe everything our ships were able to do in the past as well as what they’re capable of now. You will include what I did to M-84 and the horrible mistake I made.”

Salud shook her head, “That’s not a good idea. It gives the wrong impression.”

“You will not attempt to justify what we’ve done. You will simply explain what happened without explanation. The recording will not be propaganda.”

“What do you intend to do with this?”

“I am taking it to Piper and ask him to deliver it to the members of his species that are on the force field protected planet.” Everyone stared at Chris in silence.

Salud shook her head, “What do want to happen?”

Chris looked at the star map with the thousands of flashing lights and said, “I’ve really felt bad for things we caused that led to the deaths of others.” He turned and looked at the group, “I felt that we had caused the Invaders to come and attack our galaxy. But I was wrong. They are coming here no matter what we’ve done in the past or what we do in the future. The only issue that has to be resolved is whether or not we meet them united or fall individually. There’s really no other question.”

Salud nodded, “The recording of what you just said will end the documentary.”

Lukas nodded and said, “So what do we do now?”

“Is the force field active at Eden?”

Julie said, “Not yet.”

Chris looked at Lukas, “Make it happen, quickly.” He looked at Jinks, “Where are we with the simulators?”

“They’re really good. The new pilots are doing a great job when they get their ships.”

“What are you doing with the ships they left behind?”

“Nothing, at the moment.”

“You will find pilots from them. We are going to need every ship we have to meet them. I know our older models won’t match up to the Legends’ Black Ships, but the Legends won’t be coming alone. They’ll be bringing all the tools they have with them. Our older models are not something to ignore. They can still take on and destroy the new Orange and Green Civilization’s Ships. They’ll need to do that while our Barrier Pods take on the Legends’ fleets.”

Chad looked at Chris, “Do you honestly think this will make a difference?”

“Before I stopped prying in everyone’s mind, I took a look at Jason Goddard’s. He had a conversation with Piper when they first met and Piper told him there were more than a billion of his species scattered around the universe. If they agree to join us, what do you think?”

Chad shook his head in wonder and said, “But are they able to stand up to the Legends?”

“After we give them our Dark Energy and Barrier Drive, I suspect they’ll give a good accounting of themselves.”

Chad’s face became anxious, “Chris, they were going to force us to leave Andromeda. If we give them that technology, they could conquer Andromeda and the Milky Way!”

Chris smiled and shook his head. He looked at Lukas, “Do you think the same?”

Lukas stared at Chris and then looked at Chad, “The only way that would happen is if we put our technology in the hands of a conqueror. The Silver Ships could have conquered Andromeda long before we showed up but they didn’t. They chose to go out and see the universe instead. I would guess that conquering a galaxy would seem like picking up a grain of sand on the beach and acting like it was a grand accomplishment. Once you see the universe, conquest is silly. You could never…ever…get it all.”

Stoney shook his head, “Then why would they be even slightly interested in joining us if they are so far removed from war?”

Chris smiled, “Because members of their family live on a planet in Andromeda. You never outgrow love, Dad.” Stoney smiled and then nodded.

Salud looked up from the notes she had been making, “Is there anyone else you intend to send this to?”

“I am going to take it to the telepathic species in M-84.”

Everyone grew silent and finally Lukas said, “Why?”

Chris looked at Joey, “How do you see our shipbuilding coming along?”

“It really started slow but it’s picking up speed. I’ve had four more construction facilities built and they’re starting to really deliver. By the end of sixty days, we’ll be churning out more than six thousand a week.”

Chris looked at the group, “At that rate, all of our older ships will be stripped of their crews and we will have difficulty finding the number needed to fly them. Remember, Eden’s population is under a billion and a third of them are children. Those telepaths can pilot our old ships as well as the new ones.”

“Chris, you can’t trust them with our weapons!”

Chris looked at Sarah, “Possibly not. But I intend to go and really take a good look at their hearts. I didn’t do it the last time I was there.”

“They hate you!”

“And I felt the same about them.”

Everyone didn’t like this development, but the First Commander had decided.

* * *

“Alley, have you installed Piper’s module.”

“I have. I have to say that this is something that is going to take some getting used to.”

“Why is that?”

“The range of my telepathy is huge. I can hear thoughts from all over the galaxy and it is one big intermingled conglomeration of mush.”

“You should contact Willow and get her to help you learn how to focus on individual terms you might be searching for.”

“I’ve already had her assistance. I think the real issue is that Willow is much further along than I am in my development and she had the intellect to make it work. I’ll get better after some time has passed.”

Chris looked at Allison and she shrugged. Chris sighed, “Alley, we’re going to depend on you to help us avoid trouble.”

“I know. I’m probably going to be much better at this when we’re outside a galaxy. Just trust me, I’ll get better.”

“Gene, have you pulled up the coordinates of the Leader’s planet in M-84.”

“I have. And they call themselves the Gorans.”

Alley said, “That’s a funny name for a species.”

“Actually, it’s the name of the planet where they evolved.”

Allison smiled, “We did the same thing, Alley. We call ourselves Earthlings.”

“Uhhhh, I thought you were called human beings?”

“That, too.”

“Alley, try an experiment. Think of Goran Leaders and see if they hear you.”

Allison looked at Chris and he shook his head. After a moment Alley said, “Holy guacamole. One of them answered.”

“Ask them if we have their permission to come speak with them.”

There was a pause and Alley said, “The Goran Leader said and I quote, “Do we have a choice in the matter. I’ll call all of the others in.”

“They don’t sound happy about us visiting, Alley.”

“This one wasn’t, Allison. I did hear that it’s going to take about an hour for all of them to arrive at the government center.”

Chris sighed, “Why don’t we go back in the main building and get something to eat.”

“Sounds good to me. We’ll be back shortly, guys.”

“I’ll let you know if they call.”

“Don’t get a big head about contacting them, Alley.”

“You’re just jealous you’re not telepathic.”

“Probably, but you sounded rather smug.”

“I did feel kinda proud I could contact them that far away.”

“Alley, was it you or are they that good?”

There was a pause and Alley said, “I don’t know, Gene. If it wasn’t me, then that seems to say they can watch us from their galaxy.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Then what?”

“They sent scouts, Ally. If they could observe us from that far out, they wouldn’t have had to send them.”

“You’re right. But they heard me!”

“I suspect they can hear a thought with their name in it. Let’s make sure we get Chris to ask what their capabilities are.”

“Gene, it was them.”

“What?”

“I’m focusing on them and I’m not hearing anything. It had to be them.”

“I think I know why they had to send scouts.”

“Why is that, Gene?”

“Hearing thoughts doesn’t really give you a map or visual of where they’re located. If the being you’re listening to isn’t looking at a map, you don’t really get a view of the territory and you’d need that to launch an attack.”

“That makes sense. Uh oh!”

“What?”

“They’re all there now.”

“Contact Chris and tell him.”

* * *

Chris sat in his command chair and looked at Allison who nodded. “Alley, take us there and land just outside the center.”

They arrived in five seconds and took two minutes to make it down into the atmosphere. The Barrier Pod landed outside the government center and Chris stood up, “Aren’t you going to wear your armor?”

“Not this time.”

“But…”

“Allison, I’ll go armed and I’ll know if anyone is planning an attack.”

Allison nodded and pulled a blaster out of the arm on her command chair and put it in her holster. She followed Chris out of the Pod’s port and walked up the steps to the tall building. “They’ve done a remarkable of repairing it.” Chris nodded and looked at one of the Goran Leaders standing at the top of the stairs waiting for them. They arrived at the top and the Leader turned and led them into the building.

Chris followed him into the building and Allison didn’t need to be telepathic to see the guards they passed weren’t at all pleased to see them. She looked at Chris and knew he was hearing their thoughts. She sighed and followed the Leader into the chamber where Chris had killed their Supreme Leader and threatened all of them.

They stopped directly in front of the nineteen leaders and the Female Goran that had come to Earth stepped forward, “I’m going to speak so your new companion can hear what we’re saying.”

Chris nodded, “Thank you for that courtesy.”

“It’s not for you, it’s to show her our thankfulness.”

Chris nodded, “I understand.”

Allison shook her head, “I don’t.”

The Female looked at Allison, “When he came here, all of us could see the rage in his mind. His joy at killing our supreme leader was almost orgasmic for him. When he ordered all our people on this planet killed and he pulled his blaster, all of us knew we were dead. His mind was completely consumed by his rage at our killing his mate. We knew nothing would stop him.”

Chris nodded, “You are right. That is exactly how I felt.”

The Goran looked at Allison, “But you stopped him by pointing out the example he was setting for his child. We saw his rage pointed toward you and when he grabbed your throat, he was going to kill you. But…he saw your courage and your eyes never wavered from his. It made him start thinking and when he threw you back, he was still determined to kill us.”

The Female looked at Chris, “It was me attempting to hide my child that stopped you.” Chris nodded.

The Female turned back to Allison, “We all know that you did what you did to save him, not us. But it took remarkable courage to do what you did and we were saved as a result. It doesn’t matter why you did it. It stopped him from exterminating all of my species.”

“He still suffers from what he did to you.”

All nineteen leaders turned and looked at Chris. The female said, “Why are you hiding your thoughts?”

“Because I’ve come to ask you to do something and I don’t think my feelings have anything to do with the decision you’ll make.”

“What is it you want?”

Chris handed her a data cube. “Will you look at this?”

The female took it and frowned. She turned and handed it to a Goran wearing a white robe. The being took the cube and inserted it into a panel beside the Leaders. Chris pressed his wrist unit, “Alley, please convert the narration to thoughts.”

“Will do.”

* * *

A huge monitor to the right of the Goran Leaders illuminated and everyone saw millions of warships outside the Solar System following Earth as it orbited the sun. The Narrator began, “The Fellowship pursued a Welken Warrior and his escape pod to our planet.” Chris and Allison sat down in a chair in front of the seated Goran Leaders and waited as the recording played. Four hours later, it ended with the star map filled with red lights.

The Female stood up and looked at them, “So you are here to ask us to help you against the Loud Thinkers?”

“The what?”

“That’s what we call the ones you call Legends. Their thoughts are easily heard.” Chris nodded. The Female turned and looked at the other Goran Leaders and their expressions pretty much said it all. She shook her head, “I’m probably the only one here that has even small positive feelings for you and that is because you didn’t kill my son. But you did kill my mate. You have a lot of gall coming here asking us to do anything!”

Allison looked at her and then looked at the leaders. “When I was twelve years old, my parents took me to a family that had boarded a starship heading for a planet where Earth was sending some of its population to save the species. I fought them tooth and nail. I refused to leave my parents behind. I lost and was taken away.” The Goran Leaders stared at her. “I was willing to give my life if someone would just kill the family that took me away.” She looked at Chris, “That’s how you feel about him, isn’t it?”

The Female nodded, “Yes, I guess it is. However, I see in your thoughts that if you had stayed, you would have died.”

“But I would have died with my family.” The Gorans stared at her and Allison sighed, “Now, I see that they took me because they loved my parents. And I’ve found a new family and love. I was wrong to hate them for so long.”

“What are you saying?”

Allison turned to Chris, “Open your mind!” Chris shook his head, “If you want them to understand, they have to see, OPEN YOUR MIND!” Chris looked at her and shook his head. He lowered his head and closed his eyes.

Every one of the Goran Leaders flinched as they received Chris’s thoughts. The Female shook her head. The Leaders looked at each other and Allison knew they were communicating. The Female looked at Allison, “You were right to stop him.”

“I should have done it sooner. The damage was done.”

“I can see his pain for his actions…but how can we do anything that would help his species? You killed trillions of our people.”

“How can we not?”

All of the Goran Leaders turned to a Leader standing in the rear. The Female lowered her head and said, “High Leader, how can we?”

“I ask you again, how can we not?”

“I don’t understand.”

“You need look no further than the recording we just witnessed.”

The Goran Leaders looked at each other and a tall Leader in the front row said, “What have I missed, High Leader?”

“Did you not hear this human tell our scout that if we sent a ship back to his galaxy, he would come here and eradicate all of us? Or did you not hear it that way?” The Goran Leaders said nothing. “Did this being not do exactly what he said would happen? Do we not accept the consequences of our decisions anymore?”

“But High Leader, it was Vezal that sent the ship!”

“So you’re saying decisions made by our leader has nothing to do with the rest of us? All of us knew that sending that ship would cause retribution, but we didn’t remove him for his position. WE ALL ALLOWED HIM TO DO IT! We are all responsible for what followed.”

The tall leader looked at Chris, “Even so, how can we do this to help the one that killed so many?”

“Because he didn’t do what he threatened. He managed to stop himself. Can we say the same about us when we invaded the Green Civilization?” Every one stared at the new High Leader. “We invaded and we destroyed planets until we were forced to flee. Left alone, we would have killed them all. All of you know I’m right. None of us gave a second thought to the trillions of innocent babies and children we were killing.” The High Leader pointed at Allison and Chris, “They did and they still do!”

The female looked at Chris and then turned to the High Leader, “Are you saying they are better than we are?”

“Isn’t it obvious!?” The other Leaders stared at him. “You’re looking at him and seeing all those that died. We all were on our faces begging him for mercy and miracles of miracles, he granted it. You should look at all those that he allowed to live. He had the means and capacity to kill every one of us.”

Chris sighed and Allison took his hand. The High Leader said, “All of us can see the love the two of you now share and I am truly thankful the God of your species has granted you a new one.” He turned to the other leaders, “Besides, we wouldn’t be doing this to help him or his species.”

“What?”

The High Leader turned back to Chris, “You’re doing this to make sure we’re defended in the event something happens to you and your species.”

The other Leaders all turned as one and looked at Chris. “I’ve promised to defend you after what I did. I’m worried that if my civilization dies in the coming war, there won’t be anyone to protect you.”

The High Leader nodded, “And that is the real reason you came here to ask us. You’re not doing it so we would help you.” Chris nodded. The High Leader looked at the others, “If it were us that came in his place to attack, would we have allowed any to survive?” The Leaders looked at each other and after a few moments, they lowered their heads.

The High Leader looked at Chris, “I will take this request to our people and ask them what their will is. I will contact you when the decision is made.”

Chris nodded and turned. Allison held his hand as they followed one of the guards out. They boarded their ship and lifted. Once they were in space, Allison said, “Chris, how can we arm them? They will use our ships against us.”

Chris looked at Allison and smiled, “Allison, they’re hurting and not seeing things clearly. I saw the High Leader’s mind. They have really chosen well this time. He is wise and able to see things from outside the emotions of what happened. They’re telepathic and they will be forced to look at the truth. They can’t avoid it. Let’s wait and see what happens.” Allison nodded, went up on her toes, and kissed him.

Chapter Eighteen

Piper played the information on the data cube and looked at Jason’s ship hanging in space beside him. “You included that it was one of us that led the attackers against our family.”

“You can remove it if you choose. Our supreme leader insisted that everything be included.”

“I will take this to my Elders and see what they want to do about this.”

“Thank you, Piper. You’ve really been a good friend to us.”

“Not really, Jason. We’ve treated you with suspicion from the beginning. The fact that you shared all of your developments with us is the only thing that kept us from doing something stupid.”

“Well, I know it had to be you who pushed for patience from your leaders. Thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome, Jason. I’ll let you know.”

Jason watched Piper disappear and shook his head. He didn’t expect them to help. They had no reason to do it. They were free to go anywhere in the universe and events in one or two galaxies weren’t really an issue for them. He sighed and entered the barrier. His new pilots had to be integrated into his fleet.

* * *

A month later, Piper appeared above the planet with a force field surrounding it. “YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE! WHY DO WE HAVE TO KEEP TELLING YOU!?”

“I have some information from the species you assisted.”

“Why did they not bring it?”

“Because it is our responsibility to do it.”

“Why would that be the case?”

“I’m transmitting the information and will stand by to answer any questions you may have.”

“You may leave. We won’t have any questions for you and your kind.”

“This time, I think you will.” Piper began the transmission.

Four hours later, he heard, “IT WAS ONE OF YOUR KIND THAT CAUSED US TO BE ATTACKED!!”

“It was.”

“YOU ARE AN ABOMINATION!!”

“Yes we are?”

“WHY WOULD HE DO THIS?”

“Because he missed you too much to live in peace.”

“WHAT!?”

“You don’t understand how much you mean to us. You are our family and we feel empty without you. Being unable to communicate with you is a void in all of us that make our existence longer than it should be. The one who did it was hoping you would call on us to help you. It was a feeble attempt to bring us back together and we’ve punished him for his crime.”

“What did you do to him?”

“We exiled him from communicating with any of us ever again. None of us will ever respond or speak to him.”

“What are you going to do with this information?”

“We are going to gather here and help the others meet the Legends.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because your planet is in this galaxy and we will not allow it to be destroyed.”

“You are being stupid!”

“We do not expect you to understand. This is a choice that all of us agree must be done.”

“I see that you included a design for a Dark Energy beam.”

“It is something developed by the Humans and we believe it will help you if we fail. My Elders asked me to tell you that they are extremely sorry for what one of us did. We wish you a happy existence.”

Piper activated his drive field and he heard, “WAIT!” Piper paused before he skipped out and he heard, “You’re doing this to prevent us from being killed?”

“Yes.”

“After the way we’ve treated you over the eons?”

“You are our family.”

“Your willingness to die for us is not something we would ever expect you to do.”

“We’ve always been willing to do that.”

“Is that why none of the conquering civilizations in past ever found us?”

Piper hesitated and sighed, “It is. I know you told us not to meddle in your affairs but we couldn’t prevent ourselves from stopping them.”

“Is that the reason most of you have remained close to this galaxy?”

“It is.”

“Piper, you are worthy of being one of us. Ask your Elders to come and discuss this with us.”

“Why?”

“There is also a void in us and it is that void that has caused our anger. It’s time we talk about this. Ask your Elders to Come.”

“I will. And thank you for your very kind words.”

“You deserve them.” Piper skipped away and his existence no longer seemed so long.

* * *

Chris sat outside Andromeda staring at the Beach Nebula. Allison was sitting on his lap and she sighed, “This is so beautiful!”

“Not as beautiful as you.”

Allison giggled and kissed him on the cheek, “I love it when you say that.”

“You are so beautiful, Allison. Do you not know that?”

Allison sighed, “I guess I’ve been so stern most of the time that no one felt I was approachable. I guess I look ok.”

“Trust me on this, you are much more than ok.”

She kissed him again, “You’re so sweet.”

“And honest.”

Allison giggled and the display illuminated, “Commander, I’ve received a message from Piper.”

Allison stood up and went to her chair. Chris saw the concern on her face. “What did he say?”

“He says that the Silver Ships have chosen to join us in our effort to meet the Legends.”

“ALLLL RIIIGGGHHHTTTT!”

“There’s more.”

“What?”

“Their brothers on the Grey Planet have agreed to join them in the effort.”

“This is too good to be true!”

“It appears Salud’s video made the difference. What we didn’t know was the Greys have been building ships ever since they activated their force field and they have millions of ships ready to fight with us.”

“Did Piper say how they match up with him?”

“He was as surprised as us. They have been building ships with the silver coating. They are as powerful as any in our fleets.”

“We need to get with them to see how they want to conduct operations.”

“Sir, Piper and the Greys have decided that you will lead our efforts.”

“What?”

“They insist that you have the best information on what we should do and they trust you to lead them.”

“Contact Lukas and tell him the good news.”

“I told him first. He said that now the ball is in your court and that he will wait for your orders.”

“I’ll get back to him shortly. Thank you, Jason.” Jason nodded and the display went dark. Allison jumped up, ran across the small bridge and jumped into his arms. He stood up and swung her around in circles.

“Chris.”

Chris stopped spinning Allison and put her down, “Yes Alley!”

“I’ve been asked by the Gorans to come to their planet.”

“How did they sound?”

“I couldn’t tell. The one that sent the message was very short with me.”

Chris’s smile disappeared and Allison said, “Hey, this is still much more than we expected.”

“I know. Let’s go see what’s been decided.”

* * *

Chris and Allison stood in front of the Goran Elders. The new High Leader stood up and said, “What is it exactly that you want us to do if we decided to participate in your plans?”

“We want your warriors to take our ships and learn how to fly them.”

“What ships?”

“The ones that were sent here to attack you?”

The Leaders all looked at each other and the High Leader’s expression changed, “You would give us ships that powerful?”

“We’ve developed a new ship that is much more powerful but we also want some of your warriors to learn how to fly them as well.”

“You have to know that we could use them against you if we chose?”

“I know.”

“Why would you do this?”

“It’s the only way I can be sure you can defend yourselves.”

“I’ve looked at some of your ancient history and there have been civilizations where if a person caused the untimely death of a family’s provider that the one that caused the death must take the fallen ones family into his own. Is that what you’re doing?”

Chris’s surprise was clear for all to see. “How did you see our history?”

“We can see more than you know. Is that what you’re doing?”

Chris sighed, shook his head, and nodded, “It is.”

“So you look at us as your family.”

“You are just as important to me as my own species after what I did to you.”

Chris grabbed his head and Allison screamed. The Goran Leader thought, “He’s all right!”

“WHAT’S HAPPENING TO HIM!?”

“All of the members of our species are linked in to this conversation. They are deciding what we will do.”

She went to her knees beside Chris and pulled him into her arms. After a few moments, he shook his head and opened his eyes. He looked at Allison with wonder on his face and the High Leader smiled, “It appears our people have accepted him as their father.”

Allison looked at the High Leader, “What?”

“They refused to believe what we showed them. The only way for them to know the truth was for them to see his mind with us. They have felt his pain for what he did and they see his feelings are genuine. We will do what we can to help him defend all of us as well as the others he is defending.”

Chris’s tears fell as Allison held on to him. The Female Leader stood and said, “We have lost much…but so has he. What we lost will bind us.”

The High Leader looked at Chris and said, “You know what has to be done immediately.”

Chris wiped his eyes and lifted his wrist unit, “Admiral Barber.”

“Yes Commander.”

“You will have all your scouts report to the Goran Government Center to pick up one of their Scout Warriors to join the pilots on your ships?”

“Sir?”

“You need to go back out and take another look at the galaxies beyond the Virgo Cluster.”

“Why?”

“I suspect you didn’t get the whole picture. Now get your ships moving!”

“Yes Sir.”

Chris looked at the High Leader, “I will be sending a colony ship here to pick up ten thousand of your warriors to teach them how to pilot our ships on the simulators we’ve built. I’ll send another ship with the things needed to build the simulators here.”

The High Leader nodded, “They will be waiting on the ship’s arrival.”

Chris looked at the Leaders, “Thank you.”

“Your thanks does not belong to us. It belongs to all of us.”

“I will have the Leader of my Species contact you to set up what happens next.”

“Are you not the leader of your species?”

Chris smiled, “I am the leader of all the species taking part in meeting the Legends.”

The High Leader smiled, “It’s good you see it that way.”

Chris nodded, “Yes, it is.” The Goran Leaders left their chairs and came down to talk about what had happened with Chris. The Female Leader carried her child with her and Allison took him in her arms and hugged him tightly. The child whimpered initially but started laughing as Allison spun him around. The Female watched him and, after a moment, laughed with him.

* * *

“WHY ARE YOU NOT READY TO FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS!?!”

“Greatest Legend, did you not order me to modify all of my ships immediately?” The Leader of the Audons waited and said, “I have moved every one of my warships to their planets to be updated to the new technology.”

“WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG!?”

“We are manufacturing the systems to do it but we can only produce one system at a time. Our facilities are overwhelmed producing just one of the needed changes.”

“YOU ARE STUPID DOING THIS WAY!!”

“Greatest, you ordered they all be modified immediately. I’m following your orders exactly. Should I have done it differently!?”

“YOU WILL DO IT FASTER!!”

“I will do so to the best of my ability, Greatest.”

The Leader leaned back in his chair and the Fleet Leader smiled, “That is one unhappy Legend.”

“You think?” They looked at each other and tried not to laugh. The Legend may have still been watching.

The Goran Scout looked at Daphne, “He’s working against them.”

“What?”

“He’s deliberately making the changes at a slow pace. He doesn’t want to help them against your species.”

“Why?”

“Because our Father didn’t destroy his fleets when he could have done it. It’s good to know our Father is consistent in his mercy.”

Daphne Smiled, “Indeed it is. Contact your liaison in Fleet Operations and tell her what’s going on.” The Goran nodded and sent the message.

* * *

Jinks, Stoney, and Lukas looked at the star map. Jinks shook his head, “We missed a lot.”

Lukas nodded, “It appears we did.” The old map showed a triangle of red lights that extended away from the Virgo Cluster. The new map had a wide front of red lights that extended much further than before. The numbers were now in the tens of thousands.

“Are we going to change our plans because of this?”

Lukas slightly shook his head, “That is something Chris will decide.”

“If you were making the decision, what would you do?”

Lukas shrugged and waved his hand at the map, “All of that is superfluous to knowing if we can do anything against them. We have to see before we move to that map. I would move forward and attack the Monster Galaxy to see where we stand.”

Stoney nodded, “Then that is what he’ll do.”

Lukas looked at Jinks, “How long will it be before all of our forces are ready?”

“The Gorans are incredible on the simulators. Willow converted the verbal instructions to thought patterns and they pick it up three times faster than our students. They’ll be joining our crews on the Barrier Pods shortly.”

“Are we that far along in our construction efforts?”

Jinks nodded, “Joey was conservative in his estimates. We’re having about eight thousand of the new pods rolling off every week. The Gorans have taken possession of all of the older models and we’ll need them to help fly the new pods very quickly.”

“And Chris is certain they can be trusted?”

Lukas smiled and looked at Jinks, “Haven’t you listened to Averel?”

Jinks smiled, “You’re right. She’s really remarkable. If all of them are like her, we just might have a chance.”

“To answer your question, I trust them. There is no deception with telepaths. What you see is what you get.”

Jinks nodded, “The numbers we have to use is beyond anything I could control. I just don’t see how they can all be coordinated in an attack.”

“That’s why Chris is in command.”

Stoney smiled and said, “That’s my boy!”

Jinks looked at Stoney and patted him on the back. He looked at Lukas, “What about our landing forces?”

“Eve is commanding them. She’s been given enough Barrier Pods for every warrior in her command. Each new pod will deliver three warriors. The Welken have moved out of their battleships and will be learning how to pilot the new pods.”

Stoney looked at Lukas, “Explain why we’re doing it this way? I’m not clear on why we made the change.”

Lukas shrugged, “We have to thank Eve for that. She took one of the new pods and actually brought it out of the barrier a hundred feet above Mars’ surface.”

“I though the drives wouldn’t work in a planet’s gravity.”

“A standard stardrive won’t but the barrier drive isn’t affected by gravity. We just didn’t know that the barrier exists pretty much everywhere, even in the atmosphere of a planet. Once she found that out, it didn’t make sense trying to drop our warriors on a planet from orbit or high atmosphere. They drop out of the barrier next to the target planet’s surface and start doing what they do best.”

“What possessed her to even try that?”

Lukas sighed, “She’s my daughter and wasn’t satisfied with putting her warriors in so much danger.”

“And you approved her doing it?”

Lukas looked at Jinks, “What do you think?”

“She did it without asking?” Lukas shrugged, “I thought Salud was going to kill her. But after the fact, it worked, so she couldn’t take it too far.”

“Eve is a loose cannon.” Lukas nodded. Stoney smiled, “But she’s doing what she loves.” Lukas snickered. Stoney raised his nose and looked down it at Lukas, “That’s your girl!”

“Indeed she is.”

* * *

“Chris.”

“Yeah?”

“I notice you’ve not included M-86 in your plans.”

“They aren’t at the point where they can be trusted.”

Allison’s head tilted, “Why not?”

“They are consumed by vengeance and hatred of M-87. They have been occupied by the Progen for so many years that they have nothing in common except their hatred of their occupiers. Without a common enemy, they would fall on each other very much like the Fellowship.”

“That’s a shame.”

“It is, but it is what it is. I suspect we will have to confront them in the future if we happen to be successful against the Legends in M-87.”

“And if we’re not?”

“I suspect the Legends’ retaliation will include them.”

Allison shook her head. “It all seems like such a waste.”

“The product of hatred is often more hatred. They are not telepathic and are trapped with their thoughts and emotions without the means of seeing themselves. If your existence is filled with hatred, then you end up hating everything around you as well.”

“What makes us different?”

“Lukas loved the Welken. It was his love of his former species that colored all of our early actions. He tried desperately to get them to learn to care about others and they eventually did. It was love that made me stop killing the Gorans.”

“I don’t understand?”

“It was your pointing out what example I was setting for Michael that stopped me. I loved him too much to allow his heart to be shaped by hate. You said the only thing that would make me stop and think.”

“I’m glad it worked.”

“You have no idea.”

Allison smiled, “I think I do.”

Chris looked and her and smiled, “I suspect you do.” Chris looked at his panel, “I’ve been asked by Piper to meet him in orbit above Eden. Alley, take us there.”

Chapter Nineteen

The pod broke into normal space and they saw Piper in orbit above Eden, “Hello, Piper. How’s it going?”

“Pretty good. I have some questions.”

“Fire away.”

“I’ve been chosen to be the War Leader of our forces. Before I can organize, I need to know what role you see us doing in the coming attack.”

“Congratulations, I see your forces being the tip of our spear against the Legends’ fleets.”

“I suspected that. How do you see us matching up with them?”

“I need to know how you match up with our new pods. You’ve never really shared how powerful you are.”

“We’ve added the barrier drive as well as the DE Beams. We considered including a force field but we honestly don’t see our hulls being penetrated.”

“Piper, we’ve coated our ships with that silver coating as well and Admiral Barber’s ship had a section of her hull melted by a beam that penetrated her force field.”

“I know. But how thick is the coating on your ships?”

Chris looked at Allison, who shrugged, and then said, “Gene, do you have an answer?”

“No, but I know who does.”

Chris looked at his panel and saw Blane appear on his panel, “Budge, do you know how thick the coating is on our ships?”

“Just a second.” Blaine looked away for a few moments and turned back to them, “It’s about ten molecules thick.”

“What?”

“The liquid won’t go on any thicker than that. It spreads out and that’s as thick as we can make it.”

“Thanks, Budge.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Chris turned back to Piper, “Did you hear that?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“Our hulls are made exclusively of that material. They’re three feet thick.”

“Wow! I’m really glad you were patient with us.”

“Me, too.”

Chris thought for a moment and said, “How difficult would it be to build a force field?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I’m concerned that the Legends might see how your hulls are so strong and go looking to find out how to duplicate it. If you have a force field that’s close to your hulls, it would be hard to determine if their shots are stopped by the field or your hulls.” Piper was silent and Chris said, “Piper?” He waited a few more moments and said, “If it’s going to cause a delay, you can just use your hulls.”

“You make good sense in your observation. I was just looking at my old systems and I still have an old force field we used early in our movement into our ships.”

Chris suddenly saw a bright field appear around Piper. He looked at his scanner, “Piper, that force field is as strong as the one on the New Pods.”

“I’m sure all of us still have it. We’ll just need to rewire it into our central module.”

“Piper, it only took you a minute to activate it.”

“Like I said, we have it, we just haven’t used it in thousands of years.”

Chris shook his head, “I’m going to assign the Legends’ fleets to you. I need you to keep them occupied so they won’t be able to hit our landing forces.”

“Why are you going to drop forces on their planet?”

“We’re going to need to remove the planetary disruptors and don’t even think about trying to take them out from orbit.”

“Why not?”

“Have you taken a look at them?”

“No.”

“Gene, send him the optical scan we took.”

Piper was silent for a few moments as he looked at the scan and said, “That’s an impressive weapon!”

“And it’s force field protected. It may be powerful enough to even penetrate your hulls.”

“I wonder about that but I don’t know if I want to find out.”

“Our drop forces will take them out on the surface. Once they’re removed, I’m bringing someone in that can kill the Legends.”

“Who?”

“A Sentinel.”

“Why doesn’t he just go and do it and save us all a lot of trouble?”

“Those disruptors can fry his nervous system. They have to go before he can do his magic.”

“Well, I see you have a plan. We’ll organize to take on their fleets. I’ll let you know what we decide.”

“How many ships do you intend to use?”

“I could use all of us but I don’ think that would be a good idea.”

“I agree, but why do you feel that way?”

“Whatever we do there will be transmitted to Legend Central, wherever that is, and it’s never a good idea to reveal everything.”

“That’s how I see it as well.”

“What about the ships you’re going to use to handle their tools?”

“I’m also only going to use the numbers needed to get the job done.”

“And the others?”

“They will be in the barrier waiting to take on any response from that Legend Central you mentioned.”

“So you’re only going to use the older models to fight the tools?”

“That’s how I see it at the moment. I’ll make changes if something goes wrong.”

“Sounds like a plan. I’ll get with you once things get straightened out.”

“Thanks, Piper.”

“No, thank you. We’re finally a family again and we know we owe it to your species. I’ll discuss this with you later but for the first time in such a very long time, we are happy.”

Chris nodded and Piper skipped away. “I’m so proud of you!” Chris nodded and said, “Alley, I believe we were looking at a beach earlier.”

“The Beach Nebula it is.” The Pod skipped out and returned to open space outside Andromeda.

* * *

“This is ludicrous. Waiting on those idiot tools is delaying us getting our own galaxies.”

“Every day adds thousands of warships to our tools forces.”

“That may be true with the Progen but the imbecilic birds aren’t building anything. They are preventing us from completing our task.”

“Greatest, if we go and fail, the Lord will make us pay for it. This is not something we can rush into without being prepared.”

“We could use our old ships to go with the Progen.”

“That is an idea but we know the ships that have been attacking us know the location of our world.”

“How do we know that?”

“Because the Lord told us we were being watched when all of those probes began exploding.” The Greatest showed his displeasure. “I agree with you but I think you should do what you told the Lord.”

“And that is?”

“We use our tools for the dirty work and we clean up behind them if they fail.”

“We’re looking at years before those stupid birds are ready.”

“What’s a year to us? We’re going to live for hundreds of thousands of years. I caution patience, Greatest.”

The Greatest’s blue aura flashed his agreement.

* * *

“They’re waiting on the Green Civilization to complete the updating of their fleets.”

“Notify Averel.”

Chris received the message from Fleet Operations and looked at Allison, “I need to make a trip.”

“Where?”

“I need to speak with a certain Green Commander.”

“Are you sure about this?”

“Of course not. But I suspect something that I need to confirm.”

Allison stood up and went to her command chair. She donned her armor and Chris’s eyes narrowed. “The Legends are telepathic.”

Chris sighed and activated his armor. “Alley, take us above M-87 and stay in the barrier. See if you can find the commander of the Green Civilization’s Fleets.”

“Do you want that particular commander?”

“Why do you ask?”

“He may not be alive now. You know the life expectancy of tool leaders.”

“Just find the current leaders and I’ll recognize the pattern of the one I spoke with.”

Gene said, “You actually want Alley to take us above M-87 where the Green Civilization is located?”

Chris nodded, “Sorry, you’re right, Gene.”

The Pod disappeared from Andromeda.

* * *

The Leader of the Audons sat at his desk and looked at the latest building reports. He heard in is mind, “I see you’ve made some interesting choices.” He froze and his eyes went wide.

The Fleet Leader jumped out of his chair, “WHAT’S WRONG?!”

The Audon Leader raised his arm and shook it. The Fleet Leader slowly sat back down. “You told me there is always a choice.”

“Yes, I did.”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m trying to determine if I need to finish what I started.”

“I really hope you don’t.”

“Tell me why I shouldn’t.”

“May I assume you’ve seen the new ships the Progen have built?”

“You may.”

“I’ve been ordered to update my fleets to match them. I’ve done all I can to delay that happening.”

“I can see that.”

“Once that is done, I’ll be ordered by the Legends to attack your galaxy.”

“And?”

“What choice do I have? Even with the updates, my ships will not stand up to the Legends’ fleets. They will start destroying my planets until I follow their orders.” The Fleet Admiral listened to the Leader speaking his thoughts and felt his fear start growing.

“What you say is true.”

“Then tell me what you would do in my place?”

“Will you do it?”

“We always have a choice.”

Chris laughed out loud, “Yes, we do. Continue delaying and refuse to join the Legends when they order an attack.”

“That’s the choice you would make.”

“Yes. I would refuse until they destroyed one planet, then I would comply.” The Audon Leader was silent and Chris said, “The civilization that attacked your planets has asked me to apologize for their actions. They admit they were heavy handed and made a mistake. You also have a choice on whether or not you will accept their apology.”

“Their apology is accepted. We brought that on ourselves.”

“You were ordered to do it.”

The Leader smiled, “There is always a choice.”

“You are wise. I’ll tell them.”

The Leader continued standing and no more thoughts entered his mind. He sat down and the Fleet Leader blew out a breath he had been holding, “What’s happening?”

The Leader looked at him, “I believe the Legends are going to be attacked.”

“Were you told that?”

“Not is so many words but the meaning behind them made it clear they are.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Speed up the construction of our ships but keep it hidden.”

“Why?”

“They may need our assistance. I want to be able to give it.” The Fleet Admiral nodded and wondered if his species was doomed.

* * *

Chris listened to the exchange and smiled. Add one to the list of Allies. Allison listened to the wall speaker as Alley converted the thoughts to electronic waves. “What about the Progen? Are you going to contact them?”

Chris shook his head, “No.”

“If you don’t, you’ll have to destroy them. Are you up to that?”

“To a point. They would become conquerors if the Legends were removed; they are aggressive by nature. They even tried to deceive the Legends about their capabilities so they could take on the Green Civilization as well as M-86.”

Allison sighed, “I just don’t want to see you suffer anymore.”

Chris smiled, “Suffering comes from wrong intentions. My intentions won’t be wrong in handling them.”

“Are you sure?”

“If I have to destroy every one of their planets, it will be due to their actions. I will not suffer from that decision. Destroying them may be a part of my Legacy the universe will cheer after all is said and done.”

Allison nodded as Chris took the ship back to Earth.

* * *

Eve watched her warriors training on the mock disruptors built in Australia. She watched them as the mock towers would spin at an impossible speed and fire a wide, bright light at them. They still weren’t fast enough. She shook her head and pressed a button, “Nudge, I need a change in the armor’s software.”

“What’s the problem?”

“There are so many disruptors that will have to be avoided that my warriors aren’t able to keep track of them.”

“They do have overlapping fields of fire.”

“Tell me something I don’t know?”

“But they can’t fire through each other.”

“What are you saying?”

“The safest place to be is next to a disruptor. Is that what you’re doing?”

“Not really.”

“There’s so many of them that your warriors can make their initial drop next to the base of one and then go at full speed to the next closest one.”

“What about the ground forces?”

“Are they going to fire at their ground disruptors? Anything powerful enough to penetrate the heavy armor’s force field will probably take out the disruptor as well. Anything less, your warriors can ignore.”

“What about the explosion the disruptors will make going up?”

“That’s what the barrier button is for.”

“I wish we could just run in the barrier to the next target.”

“You know they would run off the planet and into space if they tried.”

Eve sighed and Nudge said, “What I can do is add a subroutine to their scanner system to give them an overlay of the fields of fire from the disruptors around them. That would at least tell them where they would be in the most danger.”

“How long will it take you to write the program?”

“I’ll have it within a week and transmit it to their helmets.”

“Can you do it faster?”

“Hold on.” Eve waited and watched more of her warriors being hit by the wide lights. “Budge will take some time from his project and help me get it done. I’ll have it by tomorrow afternoon.”

“That’s great. I’m ending this exercise until you can send it.” Nudge disappeared from her display and she shook her head. Getting the barrier drive into the armor was a miracle and she had to credit the twins for making it happen. They were so…incredible. Especially Nudge. If this worked, she was going to take him out for a good meal. She smiled and wondered if she would take him out if it didn’t and decided she would.

* * *

Nudge stood up and stretched. He had a lot to do and it was for Eve. He smiled and remembered her face. He took a breath and turned to his computer.

* * *

Eve moved through the field of huge disruptor towers and saw the dark green field on her tactical monitor. She ran around the edges of the green-colored ground and moved in under another tower. She looked at her status square in the top of her visor and saw that she had lost a tenth of the warriors that had been knocked out of the previous exercise and more than fifty percent more towers were knocked out. She took out the disruptor tower and saw the ground around her turned green. She pressed her barrier button and saw four beams flash through the air above the ground she was standing in but she was in the barrier and wasn’t hit. She waited until the ground lost the green coloring and then she sprinted to the next tower.

* * *

Nudge was sitting at his desk working on a program to smooth out the application of the new pod’s force field and he heard a commotion behind him. He turned around and saw Eve walking through the lab directly toward him. He smiled and stood up just as she arrived. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard! “You brilliant man. You have saved so many of my warriors with your program.”

Nudge shook his head, “I take it worked for you?”

Eve kissed him again and then broke the kiss. Nudge turned bright red and quickly said, “I can design something else for you. Just tell me what you need!”

Eve laughed out loud, “I take it you want another kiss.”

Nudge smiled, “Something like that.”

Eve kissed him again and said, “I’ll be back to take you out to dinner this evening. Is seven a good time?” Nudge could only nod. Eve smiled, “I’ll see you then.” Eve turned and left just as fast as she arrived.

Nudge fell into his chair as Budge walked up, put his elbow on Nudge’s shoulder, and watched Eve depart, “Did you tell her I helped?” Nudge put his hand on his lips and nodded. Budge sighed, “Well, so it goes.” Nudge looked up at him. “You need to go and clean up. Don’t embarrass me.” Nudge stared at him for a moment and then stood up and sprinted out of the room. Budge smiled and went back to his computer.

Chapter Twenty

The meeting room was full. Jinks tried to remember the last time there were this many in attendance and he gave up. The Welken, Johan, and Myot Rulers were present with their Fleet Leaders. The High Leader of the Goran was there along with the leader of his fleets. The entire Leadership Team was present along with the most senior fighting Admirals. Jinks smiled as he remembered Julie as a college junior commanding one of the Gold Star units. Now she was the Mother of two and an Admiral of fifty thousand Barrier Pods. Of course Chad and Loree were also present. He looked at the wall monitor and saw the view of two Silver Ships in orbit above Eden. Piper was one of them and the other was a ship from his relatives at the Grey Planet.

He looked at the row of chairs along the wall and saw the Droken Ruler. Chris asked him to attend just to keep him updated on what was going on. Jinks suspected it was to also keep him in a high position in the Fellowship. Oh well, he wouldn’t have done it but he knew Chris had a good reason for doing it. He saw many things that Jinks missed. Jinks looked at Lukas. Chris was very much like his father. Michael was there sitting between Stoney and Kathy.

Jinks sighed. Michael had gone through the metamorphosis from being a child to a mind that was incredibly active. He was ten years old but his eyes showed something else. Those children born with the Welken-Human hybrid brains were really a different species. He wondered if Chris was going to allow Michael to change his DNA. Michael looked at him and lowered his eyes as he smiled. Jinks sighed, he was listening to his thoughts. He tipped an imaginary hat to Michael and he smiled and looked away.

Eve was sitting beside Salud and Jinks shook his head. She was so much like both of them; the brilliance of her father and the hardness of her mother. Eve looked at him and he looked up at the ceiling. Eve laughed as Jinks thought, “Can a brother have a silent conversation with himself?” Salud looked at Eve and asked why she laughed. She told her and Salud looked at him and started laughing as well. He rolled his eyes and saw Averel laughing as well. He looked at the floor and turned back to looking around the room. So much had changed. So much. Six people nodded at the table. Jinks tried not to but he started laughing. He heard a noise and turned around. Chris and Allison entered the room and everyone rose to their feet. Chris smiled and said, “Please sit down.” Everyone sat down and Allison joined Chris at the center of the huge round table

“High Leader, I understand one of your scouts has heard the Legends saying they will order an invasion shortly.”

“That is true, Father.”

“Then we will commence our attack when they start forming their formations.”

Kyel looked at Chris, “Why have you waited until they plan to invade?”

Chris smiled, “That’s a good question Uncle. I thought it might be easier to go after them when they were in one large group rather than having to go ferret them out from thousands of planets.”

Kyel looked at Chris and smiled, “You make an excellent point.”

Chris smiled and looked around the table, “This meeting is to make sure all of us know our roles in what’s coming.” Chris looked at the High Leader, “Your forces will go after the Progen ships when they form up outside the edge of M-87.” Chris looked at Vanger, “Are your fleets of Pods ready?”

The short Goran nodded, “They are. They’re armed, provisioned, mobile, hostile, and agile.” Chris laughed and Vanger smiled, “What I’m trying to say is that we’re glad the waiting is almost over.” A number of Amens followed his response.

Chris looked at Kyel, “Your battleships will join Vanger’s pods in their attack. Have the two of you worked out a plan on how to work together?”

Kyel nodded, “Vanger will be in overall command. He will be able to send orders telepathically much faster than I could electronically. I’m thankful for him.” Vanger looked at Kyel and nodded at the compliment.”

“Jinks, you will be in command of the ships watching for the retaliatory forces that Legend Central might send to support those in M-87.”

“Kyel, how many battleships will be sent to me?”

“Half of them?”

“Are you sure you can afford to send that many?”

Vanger said, “If we run into trouble, I’ll call them in.” Jinks nodded.

Chris looked at Jinks, “You are going to have all of the Barrier Pods. If we run into trouble at the Legends’ Planet, I’ll start calling them in by fleet number.” Jinks nodded again. “I’m hoping I don’t have to do it. I’d rather keep them as a surprise to use against the response to our attack. But if they’re needed, I will use them.”

Everyone heard Piper say, “Are you really worried about their ships?”

“Piper, we’ve not seen what those new ships the Super Legend brought in can do. Until we do, I’ll be nervous. It would be good for you to not assume anything as well.” Piper was silent and the Grey Leader said, “Arrogance should be checked at the door.”

Everyone smiled and Chris nodded, “Something like that. I’d suggest not getting too close until you determine what they can do.” Chris looked at Eve, “Have you assigned the targets?”

“I have, Sir. We’re going after all the ground disruptors on the side of the planet where the Legends reside.”

“You have a tough task, Eve. If it gets out of hand, take out enough of them so we can skip in the Barrier pods.”

“I’m checking my arrogance here. I won’t be taking it with me.”

The group laughed and Chris said, “Pat.”

“I’m listening.”

“I’ll be taking you with me.”

“Is that a good idea?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m expendable, you aren’t.”

Piper said, “I happen to agree with him.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed and he began hearing others join them in their protest at his going into danger. “A good leader takes the risks of those he commands.”

Salud said, “Save that mush for someone who believes it.” Chris looked at her and she shook her head, “You and Lukas are so hard headed. Getting you to see your value is just not possible.”

Lukas said, “Wait a min…”

Salud said, “Shut up. You know I’m right. We almost had to hog tie you to take you to Eden.” Lukas closed his mouth. Looked at her, turned to Chris and shrugged. Salud looked around the table, “Is there anyone here that would respect Chris any more than you do if he went into combat?”

The High Leader said, “I’d actually respect him less.”

Chris’s eyes narrowed, “Why is that?”

“Because you are what unites us. If something happened to you, it would all unravel. Putting yourself in a position where that is even a possibility shows a lack of respect for those serving you.”

Chris took a deep breath to voice his opinion and blew it out when Allison said, “You have to know he’s right.” Chris looked at her and she shook her head, “Salud is right. You have no concept of what you mean to those in this room.”

“What about us?”

Allison looked up, “And the two of you as well, Piper.”

Jinks looked at Chris, “So you go dropping on the Legends’ Planet and leave us without overall leadership to coordinate our forces if the other Legends send a huge retaliatory force from the other galaxies.”

Chris looked at Lukas, “I could use a little help here.”

“Sorry, I happen to agree with them and I must say I’m starting to understand the problems I’ve cause in the past.”

Salud muttered, “About time!”

Chris shook his head with his lips pursed and he said, “Piper, you will not take Pat into combat. You keep him safe until the moment he can safely be taken to the planet.”

“Of course. As the Leader of my forces, I understand that I have to be in a position to see the overall picture of what’s going on.”

Chris looked up and rolled his eyes, “Don’t tell me you will stay out that easily?”

“Ok, I won’t tell you.”

Chris laughed and everyone joined him. Chris sighed and said, “All right, I’ll stay in the barrier and move between our forces where I might be needed.” The entire room exploded with applause. “Sarcasm doesn’t become you.”

Eve said, “Yes it does.”

Chris laughed and looked around the room, “I’ve brought a list of questions on what ifs. I’d like to know how you would respond to them.” Chris looked at Vanger, “What if the Legends send some of their fleets to organize with the Progen?”

“That’s when you’ll have Piper send a corresponding number of his ships to join us.”

Chris nodded, “Very good, Vanger!”

* * *

Allison sat in her chair and watched Chris ask his ‘what if’ questions and wondered how she had been so lucky to have ended up with him. She looked at the attendees and saw that the High Leader was right; he was what united them.

* * *

Finally, the meeting ended and Chris said, “The Pods and Battleships will leave immediately for M-87 and wait for the Progen to start forming up.”

“What are you going to do?”

Chris looked at the Welken Royal, “Some Silver Ships and I will be leaving for the Green Civilization.”

“Why?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be getting involved in anything that happens there and I really hope nothing does.” Everyone looked at him and he said, “Hey, everyone, chill out. I’ve got the message.”

Vanger looked at Averel, “What does chill out mean?”

“It means shut up.” Everyone heard the exchange and the entire room burst out laughing. It took ten minutes to restore order. It could have been done quicker but Chris was laughing as much as everyone else.

Finally, the meeting ended and the massive forces going to M-87 began moving. The long awaited confrontation with the Legends had finally arrived.

* * *

Allison activated her armor and looked at Chris who already had his at full power. He looked at her and smiled, “The new visors are incredible. The tactical is just like seeing everything around our ship.” Allison nodded. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m frightened, Chris. What if after all we’ve done to get ready, it’s not enough.”

Chris went to her and knelt. He took her hands and smiled, “Then we start over. Winning this is a journey, not a destination. This is just the first step.” Allison smiled and nodded. “We’re not going into normal space or the void. You and I will remain in the barrier and direct traffic.”

“I know. It’s just…”

“We could lose a lot of friends in this fight.”

“So many have died before.”

“They gave everything so we could arrive at this moment. Now it’s up to us to make their sacrifice worth it.”

Allison nodded and turned to her console, “The Silver Ships have arrived.”

Chris turned off the thought blocker and thought, “Are you ready to go?”

“We are Commander.”

“Medley, long time no see.”

“It’s good to be back. How do you want to handle this?”

“I’ll let you know when to drop out of the barrier and take them.”

Allison looked up from her panel, “The scouts say the Legends have ordered their tools to form up.”

“That’s our cue, Medley.”

“Lead the way.”

Chris took the controls and pressed the right pedal. The Barrier Pod skipped away from Eden at a speed that was too fast to measure. The pod arrived above the Green Civilizations Capital and hung in the barrier with the hundred Silver Ships around it. He focused on the Leader and heard, “You have been ordered to move your ships to the edge of the Galaxy. The Progen are waiting on you to join their formations.”

* * *

The Leader of the Audons shook his head, looked at his Fleet Admiral and Councilors gathered in the room and said, “I am sorry but I must refuse.”

“YOU WHAT?!”

“I cannot comply with your orders.”

“YOU WILL COMPLY OR YOU WILL DIE!”

The Leader saw the fear of those gathered in the room and he took a deep breath, “I cannot attack the species that allowed my ships to escape.”

A moment later, fifty huge Black Ships appeared above the planet. “YOU WILL START YOUR FORCES MOVING NOW OR YOU AND EVERYONE ON THIS PLANET WILL DIE!”

The Leader knew the being said he should wait until the first planet was destroyed before he followed their orders. He never considered that the planet would be his. He looked at the others and saw they had gathered their nerve and nodded toward him. They were willing to die with him. The Leader said, “Die and rot in the underworld!”

Chris said, “Take them Medley.”

The hundred Silver Ships came out of the barrier directly above the Black Ships and opened fire with their Dark Energy Disruptors. Forty of them exploded and the ten survivors opened fire on their attackers. The Silver Ships dodged their beams at an incredible speed. Two of them were hit and one of them had its force field collapse. The hull absorbed the beam as the two ships moved out of the fire coming from the Black Ships. The other Silver Ships opened fire on the ten survivors and they exploded.

The Leader fell back in his chair. The monitor on the wall showed the destruction of the Black Ships in orbit above the planet and he was stunned at how fast they were destroyed. Chris thought to him, “I had to wait and see if you would stand by your choices.”

The Leader calmed his breathing, “Would it be too much to ask to not cut it so short next time?”

Chris smiled, “No, we’ll do what we can.”

“How can I help you?”

“Stay where you are and move enough of your ships around this planet. If they come back, this is where they’ll come. I would also suggest you and the other leaders leave, board ships and get off the planet.”

“I won’t run and leave my citizens.”

“You need to think this through. The building you’re in will be the first target. Leaving your citizens without leaders is something you should not allow to happen. Don’t let your pride get in the way of making good choices.”

The Leader nodded and said, “We will leave immediately. When will they come back?

“I’m hoping they are too busy to worry about you. We’ll see how it goes.”

“What’s happening?” The Leader waited but the being had gone. He looked at the Council and said, “Get on a shuttle and join the fleet in orbit!”

They rushed out of the room and the Fleet Leader said as they ran out, “What do I do?”

“Get enough ships here to put a barrier around the planet. If any more black ships show up, attack them and don’t stop.”

“Yes First.”

The Leader of the Audons ran aboard the shuttle and flew at high speed into orbit. He landed in the landing bay of the Fleet Admiral’s battleship and saw tens of thousands of battleships skipping in above the planet. In less than twenty minutes, a hundred thousand were forming up above the planet as thousands more continued to arrive. He shook his head at just how large an area a million ships could cover. He activated the general frequency and said, “If a Legend Battleship shows up, every ship above the planet will attack it.”

He heard the Scan Officer yell, “There’s fifty more of them!”

The Green Battleships fell on them and all opened fire. More than eighty thousand Green Battleships were blown apart but the Legends were destroyed. Four hundred thousand more Green Battleships arrived and more continued to come. The Audon Leader smiled. Now it was up to that stranger to make this count. He would hold them off.

Three larger squadrons of Legend Battleships arrived but, after massive losses, they were destroyed. Then…they no longer appeared. The Audon Leader wondered why.

* * *

Vanger looked at the massive formations of Orange Ships and smiled. He thought, “Fleet Leader, if you will move your ships behind their formations, I will attempt to keep their attention directed toward their front.”

“Skipping now.”

Vanger thought, “Keep the thoughts of their blaster operators in your minds and act accordingly.”

“Vanger, the Green Ships won’t be coming, start your attack.”

“Yes Father.” Vanger smiled and said, “Hit them hard!!”

Vanger and his body guard of four thousand Pods stayed far out in the void as the gigantic formation of Pods skipped in at an incredible speed, went into normal space and were on the Progen formations before they could react. Vanger moved his formation into normal space and watched his ships attack the Progen formations.

The explosions in the Progen formations were too numerous to count and they broke formations without concern about the ships around them. The thousands of collisions only added to the total frenzy and confusion around them.

* * *

Gelza flew into the giant formation of Orange Ships and listened to the thoughts of the Progen manning the blasters. She left the firing of the disruptors to the computer and she saw what the blaster operators were seeing. One of them was moving his disruptor toward her ship and her computer fired a DM round into it.

The Progen blaster crew was blown apart by the DM round, hitting the line feeding energy to the blaster. Gelza turned her ship sharply left and a blaster ripped by the bow of her ship. All three disruptors opened fire on the battleship below her and one of the DE beams hit the missile stores. The ship blew up so fast, it was firing beams one second and was a vapor cloud the next. Gelza turned toward another battleship and turned away. Six blaster crews were moving their barrels to fire at her. They missed the pod coming in below them. The battleship blew in half and then both halves disintegrated.

* * *

The Greatest Leader was screaming, “GET OUR FLEETS MOVING!!”

The other Leaders were punching their panels at their highest speed but they could not regain control of their fleets. It was a mass killing field and making sense of what was happening was impossible. It was at that moment that the giant battleships ripped into their fleets from the rear.

* * *

Gelza came over the top of a battleship and opened fire, it blew up in an instant and she immediately saw that ten disruptor operators on the battleship next to the one she killed had her in their sights. She screamed her rage, turned her pod and flew directly at them as her ship was vaporized. The ship that killed her was blasted into rubble by a DM cannon round that hit the ship’s reactors dead center. The rubble then blew up as the reactors reached critical mass and went up in a nuclear blast taking out four more orange ships around it.

* * *

The massive formation of Alliance Battleships flashed in on the rear of the Progen formations and turned in unison and unloaded a broadside of more than ten million disruptors. They then turned in unison and blew into the Progen ranks. It took some maneuvering to get around the massive debris field but their powerful force fields shrugged off most of the small debris and flew around the largest pieces. They split into two groups and went over the top and bottom of the disorganized Progen Battleships.

* * *

Kyel watched his ships and ordered them out to reform twice. It was sheer suicide to try to move in that maelstrom of wildly careening warships. The battleships moved together and created a devastating crossfire. Kyel wondered how the Goran could possibly survive in that impossible madness but they did.

* * *

Scraer dove under a Progen Battleship and blasted every disruptor above him. He stayed there firing at other Progen Battleships as they passed. The commander of the ship he was under was furious. He ordered the ship to roll to bring disruptors to bear on the small ship and his fury grew into rage as the small ship rolled with him keeping the destroyed section above it. There were too many Orange Ships around him to fire missiles at the ship. They would have blown out the missile launch tubes too fast to make a turn around his hull. He pounded the arm of his tub and his rage ended. The small ship blew away a section on another ship close by and moved toward it. It fired all of its disruptors at the ship that had been its shield and it blew up in a huge blast.

* * *

Vanger looked at his monitor and shook his head. He tried to think of a way to describe what his ships were doing and he had to use a metaphor from the humans. The battle looked like giant sharks with Remora following them. What a novel way to attack. The giant Orange Ships did all they could to shake the Pods but they were too nimble and heard the thoughts of the pilots and reacted as soon as they decided to make a move. Finally, the Orange Ships had more than they could stand and opened fire on the pods clinging to other ships. The Goran heard the thoughts of the blaster operators and moved before they could be hit. They moved to another ship and repeated the process.

* * *

The Progen Leaders watched the battle in silence. There was nothing they could do. All of their Senior Fleet Leaders were the first ones killed and anyone that tried to assume command died immediately. The Greatest tried unsuccessfully to contact the Legends. He knew something dramatic was happening. They never failed to respond in the past. The Greatest was numb from pounding his tub and all he could do was watch and see his beautiful fleets being destroyed on a scale that was impossible. He finally had enough, “Order the survivors to flee!” He knew that order was his death warrant. The Legends would kill him for it but he no longer cared.

* * *

Vanger watched the thousands of Orange Ships leave normal space and go into the void attempting to escape. He thought, “Pick a ship and destroy it. Kyel, move your ships into the void and join my pods.”

The battleships went into the void and the Progen ships were amazed at the speed of the ships pursuing them. There were millions of Progen Ships in formation when the attack started. Only slightly more than two hundred thousand managed to escape. Vanger looked at the space outside the edge of the giant galaxy and knew that the debris field would be a navigation hazard for centuries to come. He looked at his panel and said, “Admiral Jekins, we have completed our mission. I will be recalling my ships and sending them to join your forces.”

“Have them form up over the top of my formation. Notify Kyel to move his ships in the formations of battleships.”

“Yes Admiral. We will be there momentarily.”

Vanger looked at his command circuit and saw that a hundred thousand pods had perished in the fight along with fifty thousand battleships but it was a victory. Costly, but worth it. He sighed and entered the void. The day wasn’t over. There would be more fighting ahead.

Chapter Twenty-One

Chris watched the fighting above the Audon’s planet and determined they could take care of themselves in the short term. “Medley, have you notified Piper about the power of the black ships?”

“I have.”

“And?”

“I told him that the older ships they sent here were able to penetrate our force fields and we were fortunate we outnumbered them. He’s changing the attack plan as we speak.”

“How long before he’s ready?”

“About another five minutes.”

Chris nodded and pressed his panel, “Eve, are your warriors in place?”

“Their Barrier Pods have dropped them off and they’re standing by in the barrier. The pods have skipped out and are standing by to pick us up if everything goes to hell in a hand basket.”

Piper is starting his attack in less than five minutes.”

“Thanks for the heads up; I’ll pass it on to my unit Commanders.”

“Eve, what the group said to me about not participating in combat operations also applies to you.”

Eve sighed, “There’s a big difference between what we do, Chris.”

“Oh? How is that?”

“I’m going to be right in the middle of Legend Land and the quickest way to get killed is to just stand around watching things happen. I have no choice but to do what everyone else is doing, stick and move.”

“Your warriors will lose their spirit if you’re killed.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. It will piss them off so much they’ll really take it out on the Legends. Don’t worry, all my units have trained to work individually and together. They’ll do the job whether I’m leading them or not. I’ve also made the chain-of-command clear to everyone.”

“Will you just be careful!?”

“Hey, careful is my first name.”

“No it isn’t.”

“It is now.”

Chris looked at his panel, “Piper has started his attack. That’s your cue to go on stage.”

“If you say break a leg, I’m going to slap you the next time I see you.”

The display went dark and Chris shook his head. It was obvious that she was her parents’ daughter. Chris turned his attention to the gigantic space battle with the Progen Fleets and saw it was too early to make any changes. He then turned his monitor to the Legends Planet and shook his head.

* * *

The Legend Leader was screaming, “Get the outer fleet ready to go to the Audon Central Planet and I want it blasted to rubble!!”

“Greatest, we’ve sent three hundred ships!”

“SEND A HUNDRED THOUSAND. I WANT THAT INSOLENT BUG KILLED!!”

“GREATEST, THE PROGEN FLEETS ARE BEING ATTACKED!”

The Legend Leader looked across the galaxy and saw a space battle that rivaled anything he had ever witnessed. In all the former encounters, the enemy would attack and flee. They were not fleeing this time and the Progen were being blasted. “CANCEL SENDING THE SHIPS TO THE AUDONS. ORDER THEM TO GO AND ASSIST THE ORANGE TOOL!”

His Second looked at him and the Leader lashed him with a violent electrical current that shot out of his outer aura, “DO IT NOW!!”

The older model of Black Ships above the Legends’ Planet began moving out of formation to skip away and just as they activated their stardrives, the Silver Ships blew into their ranks and opened fire. They began going up a giant string of firecrackers and the Second yelled, “DO NOT LEAVE!!! RESIST THIS ATTACK!!”

The Leader looked at the giant battle taking place over the planet and ordered the inner layer of new ships to meet the attackers. A few moments later, the first two thousand ground disruptors went up in massive explosions. “HOW DID THOSE FORCES LAND?!”

“I DON’T KNOW! THEY JUST SUDDENLY APPEARED!”

“FREE THE DISRUPTORS TO HIT THEM ON THE GROUND! DO IT NOW!!”

“IF WE DO, THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO FIRE ON THE SHIPS ATTACKING OUR FLEETS!”

“THEY WON’T ANYWAY! THOSE ATTACKERS ARE MOVING TOO FAST TO TARGET. FREE THE DISRUPTORS!!”

* * *

The Heavy Armored Assault Warriors took out their initial targets unopposed. Eve sprinted to the giant tower next to her first target and blew a hole through its force field and fired her heavy DE Blaster at the reactors located in the base. She gripped her thumb with the four fingers on her right hand and disappeared into the barrier as a massive blast blew out from the giant structure. She used the heavy blaster to cut the first tower at an angle and it slid down the cut and crashed to the ground. She saw the second disruptor was spinning its turret around and the giant barrel was moving toward the ground. It was too late to cut it. She waited in the barrier until the massive blast blew by and was thankful for Nudge again.

There was a huge disagreement on where to place the button that would activate the barrier. She was in favor or having it on the back of one armored glove and her Senior Unit Commanders all wanted to put it somewhere else. They insisted it would interfere with activating their missile systems. After three days of argument, she saw an outsider would have to make the decision. She called Nudge in to the meeting and he politely listened to every proposal. At the end he slowly shook his head, “All of you are wrong.”

Everyone looked at him and Gen. Gene Armstrong looked at him and said with dripping sarcasm, “So you’re going to tell us how to fight our armor? How many drops have you made, Scientist?”

Nudge looked at him and ignored his comment with a cool detachment, “How fast will one of those towers go up if you hit the reactors?” Gene stared at him and Nudge said, “Pretty much instantly, won’t it?” Gene nodded. “So all of you are proposing to place a button on your armor that will have to be pressed by one of your fingers, right?”

Eve said, “That’s how we see it being done.”

“And if you’re having to fire your hand blaster to hold off enemy forces attacking you, you put the blaster away and then press the button? How long will that take?” Everyone stared at him in silence. Nudge pulled out a stop chronometer and said, “Each one of you show me how you would press the button with the hand extended that you would use to press it.”

All of the officers showed him and he timed them. When the last one demonstrated his move, Nudge looked at the chronometer and said, “The fastest time is three tenths of a second.” He looked at Eve, “You did agree that the reactors would go up almost immediately?” Eve nodded. “You’ll be dead if you do it any of these ways you’ve shown me. I also assume you’re going to have to use your heavy blasters to take them out.” He looked at Gene who reluctantly nodded. “Am I mistaken, or does it take two arms to hold and fire it?”

Eve sighed, “You’ve made your point. What would you suggest?”

He handed Eve the chronometer, “Time me.” She held up the chronometer and he immediately gripped his thumb with four fingers.

“Wait, I wasn’t ready.” Nudge held up his arms like he was holding a heavy blaster. He looked at her and she nodded. Nudge dropped his thumb into his four fingers, without releasing the trigger finger. Eve shook her head. “It’s faster than I can press the timer.”

Everyone looked at each other and Nudge said, “This barrier button is the one thing that will save your lives and you have to do it without thinking. It must almost be trained into a reflex.” Nudge held out his hand and gripped his thumb. “All of you give it a try.” All of the warriors in the room did it and Gene said, “I apologize. But can this motion be made to activate the barrier?”

“We use similar motions to launch your missiles. This one can also be programmed into your software.”

It was at that precise moment that Eve fell in love. She was very attracted to Nudge before but she saw his brilliance in that moment and knew there wouldn’t be anyone else for her. She looked at her Officers as they continued to grip their thumbs. She looked at him and smiled, “How long will it take to change the software?”

“I’ll write the program and transmit it over your general frequency to all of your command. You need to tell everyone about the change before I send it so they’ll know to be careful.” Eve nodded. “I’ll have it ready for transmission within an hour. Just let me know when to send it.”

“Thank you Mr. Bennett.”

“Sure, I’m glad I could help. Is there anything else?”

“No, I think that about does it.” Nudge nodded and left the meeting.

General Thompson shook his head, “I’ve heard about the things he and his brother have done developing our ships. I have to say I am impressed.” Robby looked at Gene, “What do you say, Gene?”

Gene shook his head, “Next time, someone slap me before I put both feet in my mouth!” Everyone laughed as Eve watched Nudge walk out of the room. His ego wasn’t so large that he had to rub it in to the one that insulted him. After the coming fight, she was going to talk to him about his future plans. She was going to inform him that she wanted to be a part of them.

Eve saw the shock wave roll away and released her thumb. She left the barrier and saw green ground to her left. She sprinted right and then zigged left as the ground turned green in front of her. The ground under her turned green and she instantly gripped her thumb again as four disruptor beams blasted the ground she was standing on. She waited and saw the ground change to normal color and she came out of the barrier, leaped the large holes in the ground made by the disruptors, and finished her run to the next tower. These disruptors were nothing like what she faced on the Goran Planet. They were a hundred feet taller and the blasts from the destroyed disruptor towers did not penetrate the force fields of the towers around them. Each one of them had to be taken out individually. She looked at her visor quickly. Eight hundred casualties so far. It would have been a disaster without the tools Nudge had developed.

* * *

Robby Thompson rushed toward his next target and saw the ground turn green under him. He gripped his thumb and the disruptor beam exploded the ground he had been standing on. He waited for the color to change and it didn’t. He looked at his target and the beam continued to point at the place he entered the barrier. As long as it had its giant barrel pointed at him, he was trapped. Suddenly, the tower went up in a giant blast and he was out of the barrier in an instant and sprinting toward another tower.

* * *

Eve was trapped in the barrier by a disruptor that refused to turn away from where she entered. She looked at her tactical and saw all of her warriors were in the same predicament. The Legends must have changed the targeting commands. She sighed and started to call in the pods to pull them out and then had a thought. If all the towers were locked on one of her warriors…She activated her communicator, “Attention all pods. You will move in to the area my forces have cleared and enter normal space and sweep the area around you with your DE Beams. Make the sweep quick and get back into the barrier. Spread out and prepare to fire on my command.”

* * *

Leader, the attacks on our disruptors have stopped.”

“Where do those attackers go?”

“They must go into the void. They’ve managed to put a small stardrive in their armor.”

“But a stardrive will not activate inside a planet’s gravity well!”

“There is no other explanation. They must be…” Suddenly, thousands of disruptor towers started collapsing to the ground. All of them had been cut through their bases and they collapsed like a row of cut trees.

* * *

“FIRE!” The pods entered normal space above the ground and opened fire with all four disruptors. The beams swept around them and then the pods disappeared and Eve’s command reappeared. Eve sprinted toward a disruptor tower half a mile away and marveled at how much ground the pods had cleared. Her tactical began beeping and she looked up in the corner of her visor. A long column of heavily armored vehicles were moving into the field of disruptors. Eve continued to run watching the ground around her. She raised her right arm and extended four fingers, she heard the instant ping and made a fist. The missile shot out of her back magazine and flew at blinding speed toward the armor convoy. It arrived over them and exploded in a blast that rolled forty of the armored vehicles and set the rest on fire. Eve never looked toward the convoy, she continued her sprint toward the next tower.

The Legends looked out of their gigantic armored residence and saw all the disruptors around the residence were dropping in a huge circle. All of them within twenty miles were burning or toppled to the ground and still the towers continued to fall. They would pause, then hundreds of them would collapse and then the steady destruction continued as the giant circle grew larger. “They are removing our ground defenses.”

“Why?”

The Leader looked at the others, “Once they’re clear, I believe they will be coming here.”

The Second’s thought was filled with rage, “Let them. They’ve not see what we can do.”

The Leader looked at him, “Would you like to go show them now?”

The Second’s rage evaporated in an instant, “We should do it together.”

The Leader showed his disgust for the Second and looked out at the towers as they continued to fall. “Set the disruptors to fire continuously around them.”

“Leader, they’ll run out of power if we do that.”

The Leader’s outer aura pointed out the window, “We’ll run out of towers if we don’t.”

* * *

Every Assault Warrior went into the barrier as every disruptor began firing around its base and sweeping outward. The beams would then move back to the base to sweep outward again. Eve watched the horrific beams and kept her thumb gripped. The firing continued for an hour and she glanced at her tactical status in her visor.

Her eyes narrowed and she pressed her communicator, “My scanner indicates the beams are no longer powerful enough to penetrate our force fields. We will wait ten more minutes and then we are going to go after them at full speed.” She waited and then counted it down. She came out of the barrier and sprinted toward the closest tower and used her heavy blaster to cut it down. Her armor was being hit repetitively but she ignored it until her force field failure warning buzzer went off. She went into the barrier and waited until the force field had recharged and then she rushed out again. She glanced at her status square and saw 4,458 casualties. Sixty percent of her force was still operational. The destruction of the towers took on a new frenzy. The remaining warriors had learned how to survive in the deadly climate they inhabited. They learned the most important lesson: barrier first, think second.

* * *

Allison was watching the warriors fighting their way through the disruptor towers as Chris kept his attention focused on the space battle. She shook her head, “Why don’t the Legends have any kind of air support for their disruptors? That would make a critical difference in their defense.”

“They’re too paranoid to do it!”

Allison looked at Chris, “I’m not sure I follow your reasoning?”

“The disruptors are controlled directly by their computer system. There’s no possibility of their being a danger. An aircraft would have to be piloted and it could be used to attack the Legends. They won’t allow that possibility.”

“They have ground forces with heavy armor.”

“That could be vaporized by the disruptors if they even hinted at moving close to them.”

Allison nodded, “You’re right.” She turned back to her panel and watched the Assault Warriors slug it out with the Legends’ defenses.

* * *

The Silver Ships flew into the formations of the older Black Ships, and the entire outer layer of them was demolished. The second layer died almost as fast as the first but they had time to start firing against their attackers and thousands of Silver Ships saw their force fields blown away. Chris saw a sudden change in the Silver Ship’s tactics. Instead of moving in and firing at any Legend ship in their paths, they started twisting, turning, and dodging at an unbelievable speed. It was like a dragon fly on speed moving through a swarm of mosquitoes. The Legend Battleships looked like they were standing still as the Silver Ships twisted among them killing huge numbers as they passed. It took more than four hours for the last of the older model black ships to die. The battle at that point took on a frenzy that was impossible to follow.

The new battleships were far more powerful and faster than the older ships and their beams were devastating. Those ships were capable of killing the Silver Ships if they could fire on it and keep it locked in the beam longer than a second. Chris saw thousands of blasted silver hulls floating in space. But he never saw a Silver Ship destroyed, they moved too fast to be followed by their tracking systems.

Allison came over and pressed some buttons on Chris’s panel. The display moved back ten minutes. It slowed to super slow motion and they watched the battle at a speed they could follow. They saw a Silver Ship twist at an impossible angle and bore in on a huge Black Warship. It fired its DE Beam and the black ship exploded into two pieces. The Silver Ship was then hit by a Legend disruptor beam and its force field collapsed. The beam hit the hull but the Silver Ship changed course in a radical turn that prevented the disruptor from tracking it. They followed the Silver Ship and once it was out of the disruptor beam, its force field reappeared and it twisted away from another beam fired at it. “Chris, those newer Legend Battleships are a match for the Silver Ships.”

“Not really.”

“Yes they are.”

“Allison, if you put one of their ships up against a Silver Ship, they would lose every time.” Allison stared at him shaking her head and Chris said, “Did you see the new mini-atomic subs designed to deliver a single missile.”

“You mean before Lukas showed up?”

“Yes.”

“They are incredibly fast and nimble. Nothing in the Russian or Chinese Navy could catch them.”

“I remember.”

“But it would be impossible for that sub to catch a bottle nosed dolphin, even though it had a higher speed.” Allison stared at him. Chris nodded at the display, “That’s what’s happening out there. The sub’s pilot would have to operate its controls and move it via flaps and propellers. The Dolphin would just swim away from it. The sub operator could not match the mammal’s reaction time or its turning ability.” Chris shook his head, “Oh, they’ll get lucky and manage to hit some of them with more than one beam and some Silver Ships will die. But they stand no chance of matching their maneuverability. The Silver Ships are simply flying in space without thought about it. They focus on the enemy ships and react to what they see. The Legend’s crews have to turn steering wheels, turn nobs, press buttons, and all the other things that a crew have to do to fight a ship. They’ll never match the speed and quickness of an intelligent starship.”

Chris pressed the ‘Live Button’ and Allison saw the flashes of the Silver Ships on the screen. She couldn’t see them. Chris smiled, “Neither can the Legends’ Crews.” She looked at him and he smiled, “I don’t have to look at your thoughts to know what you were thinking.”

Loree broke into his display, “Chris, the Legends are calling for help.”

“Let Jinks know and tell him to get his units fired up.” Loree nodded and disappeared from his display.

“What do you think is going to happen?”

“Whatever it is, I think all of us are going to be shocked by it.”

“I really hope you’re wrong,” but Allison knew he was probably right.

* * *

The Legend Leader watched his fleets being decimated above the planet and he said, “I’m calling for help.”

“If you do we will be punished for losing control.”

“Would you rather be dead?”

“We can fight our way out.”

“And go where? Either way, the Lords will know we’ve failed. LORD, WE ARE UNDER ATTACK AND OUR DEFENSES WILL SOON BE OVERRUN!”

“WHAT!! SHOW ME!!” The Legend Leader sent the mental images of what had happened and the LORD was enraged, “YOU INCOMPETENTS! WE ARE COMING!!”

* * *

Loree and her Goran Scout watched the galaxies that were bunched up in a distant star cluster and saw a massive wave of warships start moving out of them. The wave didn’t pause to form up but just began moving at high speed toward M-87. Loree looked at the Goran, “Evidently their tools are better trained than the ones here.”

The Goran nodded, “It appears you are right. Twenty galaxies are sending warships.”

“Send what we’re seeing to Chris and Admiral Jekins.” The Grogan nodded and continue to stare at the monitor.

The Grogan said, “The giant Black Ships leading each of those formations are not moving ahead of the tools they’re bringing with them. Their black warships are also holding formation around them.”

Loree stared at the wave that continued to grow as millions of ships came out of the galaxies and formed into one giant flood of ships. She sighed and said, “Let them know the wave will arrive in about two hours.” The Goran nodded.

* * *

The last Legend battleship died an hour and a half later. Piper looked at the white mist glowing in his ship and said, “The warriors have destroyed all the disruptors on the surface that could fire at you. It’s time for you to go and introduce yourself.”

“What are you going to do?”

“All of my family are going out to meet the attacking force coming to save them.”

“How large is it?”

“You really don’t want to know. I’ll wait for you here.”

Pat left Piper and moved toward the surface of the planet and he had to admit the warriors had really done a number on the planet. The land around the Legends’ Residence looked like the surface of a moon with too many craters to count. He could see the Legends gathered in their central chamber and he smiled.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Lukas sat in fleet operations and watched Averel’s thoughts as the Goran Scouts reported in. He saw the massive wave of ships moving toward M-87 and knew there was going to be a massive loss of life. He shook his head and looked at the floor. There were just too many. He looked at Averel, “Show me a closer view of the fleets moving in.” The image appeared in his mind and he was stunned at the sized of the giant Legend Ships. They were as large as some moons. He looked at Averel, “How many of those giant ships are coming?”

“There’s one for every galaxy sending ships.”

“Show me one again.” The image appeared in his mind and he saw the giant ship was in the center of the giant fleets accompanying them. All of their Black Warships surrounded them and his eyes narrowed. He looked up, “Are you seeing this?”

The Sentinel Leader said, “I am. The numbers are staggering.”

“You must go to where Pat is now!”

“Why. Those ships have disruptor beams that can kill us, as well.”

“The difference between you and the Legends is you aren’t afraid of acting. Now do as I ask. You owe us this!”

“But…”

“If you are placed in danger, flee. But go there now!” Lukas listened but the Sentinel’s thought pattern had disappeared.

* * *

Pat arrived at the residence of the Legends and he swept into the room. He immediately hit thirty of them with an extended piece of his aura and they screamed as they fell to the floor and began withering into a fading blue glow. The Legend Leader screamed!

* * *

All of the assembled fleets waited in the void outside the edge of M-87 and saw the approaching tsunami of ships moving toward them. They were still far out of scanner range but the wave was so large it could be seen covering the void as far as the scanners could see. He heard Medley say, “Admiral, all of my family members are here and we are going to wait outside the coming ships. When they arrive, we will go after the Legends in those fleets.”

“That would be good. All ships, go to combat operations. You will hold your positions until I order the attack.”

Julie contacted Chad, “This looks like the end.”

“It certainly doesn’t look good.”

“Are you always this much of an optimist?”

“You should know by now that the fight isn’t over until it’s fought.”

Everyone heard the Goran Scout yell, “In coming ships!”

Jinks jerked his head around to his rear view tactical monitor and saw millions of Green Battleships moving in behind him and falling into formation at the ends of his formation. “Admiral, I hope you don’t mind if we crash this party.”

Jinks shook his head, “The more the merrier. We can use your help.”

“I don’t know how much of a difference we’ll make but we’ll do all we can. You are in command, Sir.”

“Form up on our wings and wait until I order the attack. At that point it will be every ship for itself. The word of the day is fight and survive.”

“That’s more than one word.”

Jinks started and then smiled, “It is, isn’t it. You get the idea.”

“Indeed I do.”

Jinks looked out at his massive fleets and saw millions of force fields activate. “Jester, we’re not going to sit this one out. Every ship will be needed.”

“I look forward to it, Jinks. It’s been a real pleasure working with you.”

“I feel the same Jester.”

* * *

The Legend Lord heard the Leader scream and yelled, “WHAT?”

“THE BEING WE THOUGHT WE KILLED IS HERE AND HAS KILLED THIRTY OF US. NOW THERE ARE MILLIONS OF THEM AROUND OUR PLANET!! The Legend Lord heard the death scream of the Legend Leader move out into the universe. Then he heard a single thought as Pat screamed, “COME ON!! COME ON!! I OWE YOU A DEATH.”

His thought was followed by millions of other highly energetic thoughts screaming for them to move faster. They were waiting.

* * *

The massive wave of ships rushed up on the combined fleets and Jinks said, “Steady…on my command.” He watched the tidal wave of warships rolling toward him and he lifted his communicator. Suddenly, it stopped…turned…and fled. Jinks watched them flee and shook his head. He had pressed his communicator to order the attack and he said where everyone could hear, “Was it something I said?”

Chad nearly fell out of his chair laughing. He looked at his tactical and managed to say, “Look at your monitor, Admiral. The Legend Ships have fled, leaving their tools behind.”

Jinks looked at the monitor and saw Chad was right. He said over his communicator, “Well, we’re dressed for a party, we have a ticket to be present, and so, we might as well dance. All ships, attack their formations, NOW!”

* * *

Scholars tried for years to determine how many enemy warships were destroyed that day and failed. Even examining the million light years long debris field in normal space wouldn’t yield a number. When the Legends fled, every ship they left behind was less powerful than the millions that left with them. The Legends would never allow a tool to build a superior warship. The Alliance fleets ripped into them and the tools were too frightened to do anything but run. If their Masters were frightened, then they knew they stood no chance.

When the billion Silver Ships slammed into the sides of the giant enemy formation, the devastation was total. The Legend Fleets arrived a tidal wave and the ships that managed to make it back to their galaxies were little more than a ripple. Jinks eventually called off the attack and ordered the fleets to go home. Going after the Legends on their planets was something that would have to be planned in advance. The fleets turned and began their journeys back to their respective galaxies.

* * *

Jinks returned to Eden to the cheers of millions as a conquering hero and some historians gave him the credit for the incredible victory. But those that later studied the recordings and records knew the truth and the final record was written by them. The Legacy of the Conqueror was written to make all understand that the greatest hero’s greatest trait was mercy. His son followed his example when he led the fleets out to resolve the problem of the Legends.

Epilogue

“I understand the Alliance has added some new members.”

Chris nodded and lifted his sunglasses, “The Goran and Audons have come to like the other members. They have also been well received by the others.”

“What about the Progen?”

“That’s not my problem. The Audons will have to bring them in line.”

“One of the Goran Scouts reported last week that M-86 has kicked off their civil war.” Chris lowered his sunglasses and laid back on his beach chair. “Not your problem, either?”

“Nope.”

“Chris, the Legends are still out there!”

Chris sighed and looked at Allison. Her large belly was bigger than it was the day before. “My job is over. I’ve accomplished the task I was given and I’m finished.”

“Everyone is cheering Jinks and he doesn’t understand the admiration he’s receiving.”

“Don’t clue him in. I’d rather he be the center of attention.”

“But…”

Chris put his finger on Allison’s lips, “I intend to devote the rest of my life spending every waking minute loving you and our children. That is where I find peace. Everything else is just a distraction.”

“The Goran have forgiven you.”

“But forgiving myself is not as easy. Loving you is where I find the most comfort.”

“Our children will be faced with the Legends.”

Chris smiled, “And they will be equipped to handle the problem. What good is retirement if you don’t use it?”

Allison smiled and reclined on her chair. She reached over and took his hand. He wrapped his fingers around it and held it tenderly. He smiled as he heard Michael screaming as he jumped another wave. Alley was getting pretty good at pulling him. He raised his head and saw a pink and blue sail moving on the waves out from Michael. Audrey’s spirit was watching her son grow up. He lowered his head and was amazed at his good fortune at having two incredible women love him. Now it was his turn to return it. He had a lifetime to catch up.

A Barrier Pod flashed overhead trailing a rope; it was Willow. He looked up in time to see Luke run by with a surfboard under his arm yelling at Michael. He sat up and saw Lukas and Salud following Luke. Right behind them, Stoney and Kathy came down the dune pulling a large wheeled cooler. Allison struggled to sit up and Chris pulled her up. “Hey! You can’t start this party without us!” They turned and saw Eve and Nudge walking down the dune with Chad and Julie. They all carried two large bags of food and the Mitchell children ran past them toward Michael and Luke. Allison looked into Chris’s eyes and saw his happiness. He was right. He was right where he belonged; surrounded by those that loved him. She resolved to never ask about the future again or worry about it, either.

An hour later, the family that forced her to go to Eden arrived and Allison ran to greet them. She walked with them down to the beach and smiled. She realized she didn’t need anything more than her family who were now here with them on this special beach. She would never want more.

The End

Books by Saxon Andrew

The Annihilation Series:

Love Conquers All

The Power of a Queen

A Rose Grows in Weeds

Tommy’s Tale

Searcher

Demon’s Sacrifice

Finding Keepers

Prequel-Psychic Beginnings

Searching for a Hero

Dahlia’s Deception

Ashes of the Realm:

Juliette’s Dream

Greyson’s Revenge

Death of an Empire

The Return of the Realm

Lens of Time:

The Pyramid Builders

Planet Predators

Pray for the Prey

The End of Time

Star Rover-The Worst of Time

Star Rover-Running Out of Time

Lens of Time-Chosen To Die

The Fight for Creation

Life Warrior

Scout Warrior

Ultimate Warrior

Star Chase

The Lost Prince

Nowhere to Run

Nowhere to Hide

Probe Predators

Jesse’s Starship

Mike’s War —

Joshua’s Walls

Nemesis

Revenge is Best Served Hot

The Search for Orion

Trapped in Time

The Time Takers

Taming A Planet

Exinction

Escape to Earth

Running From Fate

Fighting for Space

Defending Holy Ground

The Legacy of a Conqueror

Content

Escape to Earth
The Legacy of a Conqueror
by Saxon Andrew

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Epilogue

Books by Saxon Andrew