“Cassie?”
“Yes, Trey.”
“How are you able to communicate with me when all the others had compulsions to prevent any contact?”
“We are different from the others. You and I are the end product of a long evolutionary process that started with Tag and Danielle.”
“I’m not sure what you mean and how do you know this?”
‘You’ve looked at how psychic skills develop their power over generations in those that carry it passively and have no access to them?”
“Yes, I’ve seen how that works.”
“You and I are direct descendants of Tag and Danielle. You are a direct male descendent from Tag and I am a direct female descendent of Danielle. Our lineage has been unbroken for almost twenty thousand years and the psychic power has been building over that vast time. We can’t touch each other until we are mature enough or we could cause tremendous damage to creation. Just as you are able to sense danger, I am able to see truth. What I’m telling you is true.
‘Like when Tommy and Cassandra caused the energy nexus to heat up by making contact too early.”
“Yes, but much worse. We could also kill each other from the contact.”
“Then my original question still remains, why are we not compelled to avoid contact?”
“Because our minds will have to grow together for us to be ready; we need to be in contact to prepare ourselves. Haven’t you felt me watching you every day?”
Trey smiled, “Yes I have and the feeling is what makes my day bearable. I still hurt from the loss of my parents.”
Cassie hesitated but felt he had to know, “Trey, your parents had to die before you acquired your full power.”
“What!!”
“Can you understand that we are a product of the Creative Force that brought life into existence? Do you really understand that?”
Trey thought about the question, “I don’t really understand that mythical kind of stuff.”
“It’s not mythical; it’s a reality. You and I are direct descendents but your parents were as well. Obviously they would have to be for you to carry their power to the next level. Your developing mind would have killed them as you grew up because they were the source of your power; their death would have been painful. There is not enough room in this universe for the power in the three of you. This would have happened even if you aren’t released.”
“I would gladly die if they could have lived.”
“Their next child would have made the same thing happen. There was no escaping the reality of your building power. You must also remember that you are the reason for all of this taking place.”
“Why didn’t your parents have to die as well?”
“Because I’m a first generation psychic and you are a second. I don’t have the massive amount of psychic force that you possess and my parents have no psychic abilities.”
“Will we have to die if we have children?”
“No, I don’t see that. They will be psychic but not at the level you and I will become.”
“Cassie, I sense that your mind is different from mine. You feel…I don’t know…smarter.”
“I am my Father’s Daughter and you know how smart Carter is. He is the third element in our development that has also been developing for thousands of years. He is like a Catalyst. He is what will make our union truly dangerous.”
“When we finally come together, will I finally be able to understand what you’re saying?”
“Yes. Your mind will be changed in a remarkable way. I am already feeling great excitement for what you are going to become. I know we’re destined for each other and I have no choice in being with you but I want you to know that if psychic powers didn’t exist, I would still choose you to love. You are so remarkable.”
Trey saw her in his mind and smiled, “You are so much a part of me now. I feel you wherever I go and the feeling is what makes me whole. I know I should be angry at a force that caused my parents to have to die but I’m not.”
“There’s a reason for that, Trey.”
“What is that, Cassie?”
“I’m the gift to you to make up for your loss.”
Trey smiled, “I think my parents understood at the end what was happening. I know they knew their time was over and they faced it bravely. I felt their love and know they were complete. You were right that night.”
“What?”
“I already love you more.”
Cassie smiled and Trey held her feelings in his heart. He stood and walked over to the practice field and Grang said, “The Flyers are improving.”
“Are you looking forward to getting back into the fray?”
Grang smiled and nodded.
“It won’t be much longer, Father.”
“Good.”
Kreen and Day looked down on a planet that looked like the surface was alive. An entire continent was covered with billions of the wasp creatures. “Can you get a closer view?”
The view changed and they watched as ships landed and started moving bodies of paralyzed captives into shuttles that took them down small avenues between mile after mile of small discs on the planet’s surface. The shuttle would stop and the Wasps would lift a body from the shuttle as another Wasp moved forward and stung it. They noticed that every one of the Wasps stinging the bodies had swollen abdomens. Once the body was stung it was lowered into a tube and a cap was placed on top of it. The workers then moved to the next tube to continue the process. Kreen changed the view to another area and they saw caps being pushed up by Wasps that were half the size of the adults. Once they emerged, the adults would put a device on top of the tube and suck out a dried out husk. The remains were thrown on a large vehicle that transported them to a building where they were dumped into a container that moved into the building.
Day took a deep breath, “This is not a good thing, Kreen.”
“They have no choice but to operate this way.”
“What do you mean? They’re killing millions of intelligent beings.”
“What happens if they don’t?”
Day thought about the question and saw where Kreen was going, “Then their population will decrease.”
“This is their only way to reproduce. They must have a host for their eggs and remember that the Wasp on the other planet was in agony to find a host when its abdomen was swollen. This is not an option for them.” Kreen paused, “Are they dangerous; absolutely. Are they evil; no they aren’t? They only took enough from the last planet to meet their needs and left many behind to start over. They are not eradicating any species; they’re just trying to survive.”
“Maybe so, but I wouldn’t want to be on a planet they invaded.”
“They would leave my species alone. We’re too big to fit in those tubes.”
“Oh, I’m sure they could make one to fit you.”
“They could, but they wouldn’t. It would be a horrible waste of real estate. Look at your data on wasps again and you’ll see that only one egg per host; two would end up eating each other.”
Day stared at the nightmare on the planet and said, “We should report back. I don’t know if I’ll ever get this image out of my mind.”
“It’s not so bad, Day.”
Day snorted, “This coming from a carnivore.”
Kreen smiled, “That does have a way of changing one’s perspective.”
“Get us out of here.”
The Flyer disappeared.
Paul watched an invasion fleet attacking a civilized planet. The planet didn’t have space travel and could only launch missiles from the surface that were hit by the attacking ship’s beams before they could clear the atmosphere. The Grey Ships sat in orbit and rained nuclear destruction down on the planet. The beings on the planet were defenseless and the ships showed them no mercy. Every city and concentration of population, even small ones, was hit by high energy beams or a nuclear bomb. The attack lasted two days and at the end, nothing could be seen alive on the planet. The Grey Ships scanned the planet and, satisfied they had killed everything they could find, turned and began moving out of orbit.”
Paul looked at Grej and said, “It appears they have no reason to be here except to kill the inhabitants of that planet.”
“I traced them here from six planets that they killed just like this one. They just show up and kill everything.”
“It looks like the fleet is dividing up into three units. I want you to take the one on the left.” Paul called in two more Flyers, “Each of you take one of the other two units and follow them. We still have a week left and I want to know what these ships are going to do and where their home world is located. Let’s hope one of those units is heading home.”
Paul jumped back to the assembly point and saw eight more probes had arrived. He decided that this universe was not a safe place to live. Perhaps the Flyers could change that.
Timmy, Virze, TK, Paul, Jingos, Grang, Jingo, and Trey looked at the display on the wall in the conference room on the top floor of the Capital Building on New Hope. They watched recordings of seven different species that were attacking other civilizations. The Grey Ships were the last one viewed and were clearly the most aggressive.
“I’m not so sure the Red Demons weren’t right about eliminating intelligent life. I understand there are six more aggressive civilizations that take slaves which are not included in this recording.”
Jingo slowly nodded, “There are many species that are very aggressive in that universe, Your Majesty.”
“Where do we start?”
“The Grey Ships are the most violent and they have taken complete control of three galaxies. I think they should be where our initial efforts are directed.”
Trey looked around the table and said, “What are your thoughts about the Wasps?”
Timmy looked at Trey and was amazed at the maturity of the twelve year old. He just acted, and sounded, much older. “They are certainly dangerous to other species. We need to handle them after the Grey Ships. Why do you ask?”
“I’ve had a discussion with Kreej’s son about them and I want to attempt something before we take any action.”
Timmy frowned, “Trey, I’m not willing to place you in danger.”
“That’s ok, Your Majesty. I can do it all by myself without your assistance.”
Grang tried not to smile but couldn’t help himself. Jingo saw him and had to turn away from the table to clear his throat to hide his.”
“Trey, I’m serious about this.”
“So am I. You can’t stop me from going and I will do what my senses tell me must be done. I will not allow the Empire to be endangered by not acting on what I see.”
Timmy glanced at Virze and turned back to Trey, “Tell me what you see.”
“Kreen showed me his recording of the planet attacked by the Wasps. They did not bombard the planet from orbit and cause massive destruction on the planet’s surface. They left more than fifty percent of the population behind. I also watched as one of their leaders was furious over the behavior of one of his warriors that frightened the captives. Kreen is right. The Wasps are acting humanely within the requirements of their reproductive needs.”
Virze shook her head, “They are eating intelligent creatures.”
Trey shrugged, “In order to reproduce. How do you know they don’t need an intelligent species in order for their offspring to develop intelligence?”
Virze narrowed her eyes but didn’t know how to respond. Timmy said, “They are killing innocent civilizations.”
“Yes, they are and that’s what needs to be changed. I want to see if I can make that happen.”
Paul said, “You are not going to stop them from taking hosts for their eggs.”
Trey smiled, “I don’t intend to.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
Trey smiled, “I’m going to make them an offer they can’t refuse.” He looked around the table, “I’m leaving after this meeting onboard Greyson with Kreej, Kreen and Day East. By the way, you need to promote those two as soon as possible. They are a remarkable team. TK, you, Paul, and Jingos are welcome to go with me but I’m not going to wait on you.”
Timmy looked at Virze and she knew that Timmy had been right; Trey would tell them when he was ready to rule.
Grang said, “I would like to attend as well.”
“I’m sorry; but you and Jingo should pick one of the aggressive species and start your planning to neutralize them. TK’s command will handle the Grey Ships and Wasps and join you once they’re handled.
Jingo said “Do you thing you can handle them in time to assist us?”
“If everything goes according to plan, we’ll be there before you are.”
TK looked at Paul and he nodded. She turned to Timmy, “Your Majesty, we will go with Trey. If it meets with your approval, we will postpone this meeting until we see what Trey is going to do.”
Timmy stood and everyone rose and bowed, “Make sure he is not put in jeopardy.”
TK looked at Trey who had a huge smile. She shook her head, “I’ll do what I can.”
Jingo looked at Grang and made eye contact. They both knew TK was going to have her hands full trying to make Trey do anything. They both smiled and turned to leave. Scotty would be proud.
TK looked at Trey, “Where are we going?”
“To see if we can set up a conversation with the leader of the Wasps.”
“Just how are you going to do that?”
Trey smiled, “Oh, we’ll just scout around first.”
TK looked at Paul, “I’m not sure about this.”
Paul looked at her, “You don’t have to be; he is.”
The seven teleported aboard Greyson and Trey said, “Did you get the coordinates from Kreen, Greyson.”
“I have them locked in.”
“Go to full stealth mode and take us there.”
The new Zeta-A that Greyson had been moved into disappeared.”
The Nest Master watched his display at the civilized planet he was scouting. This was going to be the next place to gather hosts and it felt bad that the beings were going to have their lives disrupted. There was just no other option. Suddenly it heard a thought, “There is another option and I would like to discuss it with your leaders.”
The Nest Master stood and saw that everyone on the bridge heard it as well. He looked at the Sensor and saw that it was not detecting anything. “Use a full scan.”
“The ships in this system will see us.”
“We’ve already been seen. Make the scan.”
The Sensor made a full active scan around their ship and nothing showed up, “Nothing!”
“You can quit wasting your time trying to see us. However, I need you to assist me in having a conversation with your species’ leadership.”
“I am not going to lead you to my home world.”
“You don’t have to; I’ve already been there. I must say the number of cells on the main continent is amazing.”
The Nest Master felt immediate fear; what was this? The Sensor still showed nothing on his scans. “I’m still not going to take you there.”
“That’s a shame, I really didn’t want to destroy your planet but I will if you don’t agree to help me.”
“Raise all screens, power all weapons, and fire a spread around our ship.”
The scout looked like it was on fire as it fired a barrage of beams around it. Suddenly a bright red beam blew through its force fields and cut off the top of a rear stabilizer fin.
The Sensor yelled, “That beam was strong enough to cut us in half.”
The Nest Master looked at Weapons and it shook its head. They weren’t hitting anything. Another bright red beam blew through the force fields and cut the top of the second fin. “Cease firing, cease firing.”
“That’s wise of you.”
The Nest Master looked around his bridge and pointed to the Driver as he said, “You should know that I will not lead you to my home world even if it costs me my life.”
“I’m not asking you to lead me there. I just want you to go back and ask for a meeting. If your leadership agrees, come back here and tell me how they want to handle it.”
“And if they don’t agree to your meeting?”
“Do you see the large moon circling the eighth planet?”
The Nest Master nodded to the Sensor and the moon appeared on his display, “Yes, I do.”
Suddenly the moon exploded in a blast that vaporized it. Not even debris was left behind. “I really think your leaders should consider my meeting. I do not intend to harm your species at this point but if you refuse to discuss my intentions, I will fire a much stronger beam into your home world. I’m sending you the coordinates of your home world now.”
The Sensor looked at its display and the Nest Master saw its immediate fear.
The thoughts of the being continued, “You are aware of how long it takes the planet you’ve been watching to make a full rotation?”
“Yes.”
“You have that long to come back. Or you have that long before your planet dies. One or the other is going to happen. It’s your choice.”
The Nest Master saw several ships moving toward him and nodded to the Driver. The Wasp Scout disappeared.
TK looked at Trey, “What do you want to discuss with them?”
“Their choice of hosts.”
Paul burst out laughing, “What a great idea. I should have thought of that.”
TK, Jingos, and Day looked at each other. Thought of what?
The Wasp Scout arrived in its home system and immediately sent a communication to Ship Control. “They want to do what?”
“They insist that our Leaders meet with them or they are going to destroy our home.”
“Let them come; they won’t return.”
“You don’t understand. They do not appear on our sensors and they fired through my force field like it didn’t exist. I’m sending you a demonstration of their weapons.”
The Ship Controller watched the recording of the moon being blasted and keyed his com, “You’re saying that you couldn’t see them on your sensors and your force field was ineffective?”
“Do I have to keep repeating myself? Whoever did that could come right in to our system and kill our planet. Now notify the Hive Rulers and show them what I’ve given you. If we don’t meet with them in two thirds of a rotation, they are going to attack.”
The Nest Master waited and saw that his crew was worried. He hoped those at Ship Control understood the danger but you never knew about them. He decided to go over their head. He commed his nest brother, “I need the Hive Mother’s connection.”
“Hello, Tel. And how are you?”
“This is serious, Zel. Our planet is going to be destroyed if I can’t speak with our leaders. You must help me! I’m deadly serious about this danger and the clock is counting down.”
Zel looked at Tel on his display and saw his fear. What convinced him was the fear of his crew behind him. “This is the code to the Hive Princess. Show her what you have.”
“Thank you, Zel. I may be tried for treason but I’d rather die than see our families killed.”
Zel saw Tel’s face disappear and decided that something was terribly wrong. He pushed a code and said, “Your Grace, I need you to look into something that is going to be sent to the Princess momentarily.”
“Zel, you know it’s forbidden to contact me directly?”
“I do, Your Grace. And I will submit to your justice and face my execution willingly if as a death wish you will look into what Tel is sending to the Princess.”
The Prince stared at Zel and decided that something was seriously wrong if that rich playboy was willing to forfeit his life. He disconnected the call and went to the Princess’ chambers.”
Jingos looked at Trey and said, “What do you think is going to happen?”
“I think we’re going to be attacked.”
“What!!” Everyone on the bridge was stunned at Trey’s response. Trey said, “How easy would it be for a ship commander to get a message to our Emperor? How many channels do you think he would have to go through before he could be heard? You saw the recording of that planet. The larger the population, the more difficult it is to get to the decision makers.”
“Then why did you set such a short time frame?”
“Before they will listen, they must be convinced that we can do what we say. I suspect they will test us first and then make their decision about communicating. At least, I think that’s what we would do in their place. Do you see it differently, Jingos?”
“So what do we do when they attack?”
“Kreen and Day along with Kreej and I will go out and kick the ever living groad out of them.”
“Don’t forget me.”
“Oh yeah, and Greyson.”
TK said, “Trey, this is not a game. I really don’t think you should do this.”
Trey shook his head, “I have to Aunt Tommie. I need the stress to move into the next level of my psychic abilities. This is a ‘must do’ for me.”
Paul put his hand on TK’s shoulder and shook his head. TK didn’t want to go along with the plan but knew Paul must know something she didn’t.
Trey closed his eyes and said, “Alright, it’s show time. Day, you and Kreen teleport out to the port side of the ship and handle anything that even remotely looks like it will get through Greyson’s defenses. Kreej and I will handle the starboard.” Trey and Kreej activated their armor and Trey said just before he disappeared, “Give em hell, Grayson.”
The three remaining onboard heard Greyson say, “Oh, you can count on that.”
Trey and Kreej teleported out to fifty miles from Greyson’s position and saw a massive number of stars being blocked by a huge shape. “We can’t see them Kreej.”
“That will pose a problem.”
Trey worried about his Aunt onboard Greyson and worried that he had promised too much. Suddenly a blue field extended from him and rushed rapidly away. He could see the ships coming. “Kreej, Kreen, I’m locking your display to my view. Use it to pick your targets.”
Day suddenly saw thousands of ship approaching their position. “This should be fun.”
“Wait on Trey to fire the first shot.”
“For the Creator’s sake why?”
“They may just be a unit to protect the Wasp Leader coming here to communicate with us.”
Day stared at Kreen and said, “You don’t really believe that line of Torg Groad, do you?”
“Of course not. They wouldn’t be coming in stealth mode if they were here to talk. I was just checking to see if you were on your toes.”
“Give the Zord a prize.”
“Oh shut up and pick a target out on the edge.”
“I’ve selected ten. We’ll start with the one at the front edge and work our way back.”
“Front edge it is.”
Trey watched the mass of ships approaching and suddenly saw dark places in their ranks. He smiled, “I’ve always wanted this.”
“Wanted what, Trey?”
“Kreej, do you see the dark places scattered in the ranks of those ships.”
“I’m getting those from your sensors aren’t I?”
“Yes. I want you to take us through those dark places whenever you can. They won’t be able to see us if we can stay in those areas. Their sensors will not be scanning those patches.”
Trey hit his com, “Greyson, I’m feeding you the scans of my armor. I’m able to see through their stealth mode. Do you see them now?”
Greyson put the view up on the wall display and TK saw the thousands of ship approaching, “Greyson, can we handle this many?”
“I don’t know, but it’s going to be fun trying.”
Paul just shook his head and leaned back in his chair.
Trey thought to the incoming ships, “You’re ahead of schedule; however, I don’t believe you’re here to communicate. I would highly recommend that you withdraw and use your remaining time to bring someone here that can speak for your species.”
The Leader of Ship Control heard the thought and suddenly felt nervous. Whoever was here could see them. He had disregarded the Scout’s request and had brought a half a Hive of ships. He shook off his fear and sent a command to his fleet, “Find that ship. It has to be here somewhere.”
Trey watched the incoming ships start to spread out and shook his head, “Sometimes I wish I was wrong.”
Kreej immediately responded, “Wouldn’t be as much fun if you were.”
“Link to my thoughts, Kreej, and go where you see in my mind.”
Trey and Kreej flew into the outer edge of the fleet and flew between two ships and Kreej fired his main beam at the one on the right and Trey fired at the ship on the left. Both exploded as the Flyer flew between two more exploding them before they could respond to the first ships killed.”
Day saw the ships explode across the formation and smiled, “Let’s go, my brave Zord.” Kreen accelerated along the edge of the fleet and ten ships exploded as they turned and moved into the huge mass of ships.”
Greyson moved forward toward the center of the formation and began firing his twenty beams continuously. A hundred ships saw the source of the beams and fired but saw their beams stopped by a force field. The hundred that fired only fired once and were destroyed before they could fire again. The Ship Control Leader saw hundreds of ships had been killed and the killing was picking up speed. He knew that he had made a terrible mistake and
that there was no way to correct it. Suddenly a command came in over his board that was broadcast on an open frequency, “THE SHIPS OF THE HIVE WILL STOP ATTACKING AND WITHDRAW IMMEDIATELY.”
The Ship Controller saw that it was being broadcast on the Prince’s frequency. He turned his ship around along with the remaining survivors and rushed away from the site of the battle. Trey activated a matching frequency, “Cease firing; stop all defensive activities!” He looked at his scanner and saw a huge ship at the jump limit, “Now that’s what I’m talking about.”
“What is that?”
“The one I’ve been attempting to contact has arrived. Take us back to Greyson.” Trey changed frequency, “Day, you and Kreen need to move back onboard Greyson.”
“On our way.”
The Wasp Prince had watched the recording of the conversation between the Scout and whoever was trying to set up a meeting. He saw that the Scout’s scanners revealed nothing and its force field was pierced easily. When he saw the large moon exploded he immediately contacted Ship Control, “Yes, Hive Prince.”
“How good are our Scout’s scanners?”
“They are the best in the Hive Ships.”
“What about their force field?”
“It’s as strong as any we possess.”
“I wish to speak to Ship Controller.” There was a long pause and the Prince said, “I’m not going to tolerate a delay.”
“I’m sorry, Hive Prince. He has taken half a Hive of Ships and left to attack a foe of the Hive.”
“He did what!?!”
“He left a third rotation ago.”
“Get my ship ready to leave and you had better hope I arrive in time or you and your entire organization are dead!”
The Prince arrived at the solar system scheduled to be the next planet to gather hosts and saw the battle taking place. He looked at the Nest Master, “Tell me what you see.”
“More than nine hundred of our ships have been destroyed; now it’s a thousand.”
“A hundred were killed that fast?”
“Yes, it is now twelve hundred,”
“Give me an open frequency now!”
The Prince sat at the jump limit as the survivors moved out and surrounded his ship. The Ship Controller took his position and knew his life was forfeit for his acting without permission. He hoped the Prince would leave because he now knew the remaining ships could not protect him if the agency attacking his ships decided to go after his ship.
Trey looked at the others on Greyson’s bridge and said, “Now it starts.” He sat down in Greyson’s command chair and sent a thought, “I’m glad you were able to arrive before our deadline was over. May I assume you are here to communicate with me?”
The Prince was staggered by the comment. The one communicating with him didn’t mention the destruction of more than thirteen hundred of his ships. Almost as if they didn’t matter and were no consequence. He decided that the Hive was in great danger and he needed to be very careful, “Yes, that is why I came here.”
“Good, I’ll lift my threat to destroy your home world. Do you have the authority to speak for your species?”
“I can speak for my Hive.”
“What about the others?”
The Prince paused and decided to be honest, “The others will follow my lead if I show them what happened here. May I assume you can carry out your threat?”
“If you would like to pick a planet without life, I would be more than happy to demonstrate our capabilities. I would suggest picking a large planet so you can get the full effect.”
“No, that won’t be necessary. Why did you want me here?”
TK said, “He get’s straight to the point.”
Paul nodded and whispered, “Listen.”
“I am part of a civilization that lives by a number of principles that we hold to be inviolate. One of those is that we will protect those that cannot defend themselves against aggression. As you probably already know, this civilization cannot stand against your coming attack. They are peaceful and do not have the capability to defend themselves. The first thing I want you to know is that this planet will not be attacked. Do you agree to this?”
“I can agree to this planet, however, you might as well go ahead and destroy us because we are going to attack planets to acquire the Hosts we need.”
“That is the real reason why I wanted this conversation. We observed that you treated those you attacked at the last planet you invaded with dignity. We know you only took the number you needed. Did we see that correctly?”
The Prince was stunned that this being already knew about his species requirements. “You are correct. Our Hosts are honored by us and we feel sorrow at having to take them.”
“Not so much sorrow to not do it.”
“If it comes down to choosing whether we survive or not, I must admit we choose to be the ones that live.”
“Do you ever worry that one of the planets you attack will develop enough to come pay you back for your actions?”
“If that happens, they are justified. We can’t blame them for seeking balance.”
Trey smiled, “That’s a good word, balance. We are faced with a dilemma. If we turn our backs to your taking Hosts, we violate those principles we are sworn to follow. If we follow our principles, then we will have to destroy your species to stop you from attacking innocent planets. We need to find a way to resolve this issue.”
“Once again, I see no way for us to prevent you attacking my Hive. We have no other choice for our survival.”
“There is a way.”
The Prince was preparing to jump away to order evacuations but stopped, “What do you mean?”
“I noticed that you do not kill everyone when you attack and you try to avoid unnecessary destruction on the planet. What would you say to another species that did kill every living creature on a planet?”
“I would say they are committing a blasphemy. That violates all that we believe is true. I know you may find this hard to believe but we don’t want to kill anyone but we are forced to take hosts. We never feel joy at what we are forced to do.”
“I’m sending you a recording I would like you to view. Will you look at it?”
“Send it.”
Trey said, “Greyson, send the attack done by the Grey Ships.”
“Done.”
Trey waited and after ten minutes he heard, “This is blasphemy. Those creatures are the epitome of evil. These are the ones you should be eliminating.”
“We can do that. However, it was our thought that if you must have Hosts, those creatures on those ships would be some you might not feel bad about taking.”
The Prince looked at his display with a Grey Ship on it, “You’re right about that. However, how long would they be able to supply my Hive? We would have to return to our usual taking once they were gathered.”
“How long would it take before you would return to a planet you’ve attacked?”
“Usually a hundred revolutions around our star.”
“Well those creatures have conquered two galaxies and are moving into this one. I suspect that they would provide you with Hosts for hundreds of thousands of years if not indefinitely.”
“Do you know where they are located?”
“We know where ten of their home worlds are. I suspect if you send scouts you will discover thousands of their planets.”
The Prince felt something inside him that was good. He felt redemption. “By attacking these creatures, we will be protecting those that we’ve attacked.”
“Yes, you will. You will need to make sure those you’ve attacked understand why you took their populations and attempt to repair the damage you’ve done. Otherwise they will be looking for their own justice. Our principles demand that this kind of evil must be eliminated. We can take on the task but we feel that by giving that task to you, we will be able to become a friend of your species instead of a destroyer.”
“What happens if we eventually run out of Hosts one day in the far future?”
“We’ll move you to another universe and allow you to start the process again.”
The Prince was stunned, “You can do that?”
“Yes and we will assist you technologically to strengthen your ships if needed. However, we will require you to agree to only attack those creatures that are violent and aggressive. Are you able to make that promise and keep it? As you might suspect, we do not tolerate broken promises.”
“You don’t need a promise for us to attack those creatures. They kill for no reason. We will attack them even if we have no agreement. However, I can make an oath that we will not attack a non-violent civilization without communicating with you first.”
“Does your promise carry enough weight to be followed by your entire species?”
“Yes, it does.”
Trey was shocked. He thought this would have to be negotiated with numerous worlds, “I am somewhat surprised by your answer. What is your position with your Species?”
“I am the Oldest Male of all our Hives and my orders will be followed. If anyone violates them, I will see that they are punished; just like these ships that were sent to attack you without consulting with me first.”
Trey said, “I humbly ask that you spare them.”
“Why, they showed stupidity coming here.”
“It was necessary for them to come so you could see that my threat was real. You should be thankful they did. Would you be working with me on this agreement if you had not seen our battle? I do ask that they be forgiven. You’re also going to need every ship you possess to take on the massive force you’ll be facing.”
The Prince knew that the being communicating was someone that would could keep a promise. Forgiveness was a higher principle than most species were not capable of following. He hoped those planets his ships had attacked would one day forgive his Hives. “I will do as you ask to honor our agreement.”
Trey said, “Remove our stealth, Greyson.”
The Prince saw a bright white ship appear next to the hull of his ship with its force field down and he smiled. This being was also able to trust.