Niles took the Bristone out of the Defense Facility and looked at Toland, “I’m not sure I like this ship not using a force field. I feel almost naked.”
Toland looked up at the ceiling and then back at his display, “Well, that’s what trials are all about. You didn’t have to volunteer for this.”
“I know, but if we’re going to develop our ships from this model, I owe it to the Emperor to give it the best chance of success.”
“Even if you die in the testing?”
“Even if.”
“Well, our target is four hundred thousand miles ahead of us.”
“I thought we were its target.”
“Same thing.”
“Yeah, sure.”
Toland adjusted his scanner, “Emperor Robbins is out there with Grace watching what happens. Let’s make it count.”
“I just wish they weren’t using a Searcher fitted with the beams of a Zeta for our first effort.”
“If we can’t withstand that beam, then all this technology is going to be wasted. It’s been ten years and we can’t just start all over again. You know we can’t waste time.”
Well, let’s hope we survive this.” Niles took the controls and steered the ship on the correct heading and hit the teleport console. The Bristone appeared two hundred yards from the old Searcher and was immediately fired on by the unmanned ship. The huge white beam struck the Bristone and its entire hull turned bright white and then a beam erupted from its surface and struck the Searcher. The white ship vaporized into nothing but a cloud of gas.”
“Exercise over.”
Niles looked at the gas cloud and shook his head, “That’s it?”
“Yep.”
“Congratulations, Bristone. Your trial has been a success.”
Toland hit the com, “Thank you, Your Majesty. What do the scans reveal?”
“The beam that struck you was the strongest in our arsenal. The beam you fired back was ten times stronger than the one that struck your ship.”
“Actually, all I did was designate that ship with a cursor on my display.”
“That’s all it takes, Toland. Good work, you can take it back to port.”
Toland turned off his com and looked at Niles, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping there would be some kind of back and forth between our ships. After all the years of preparation, this was anticlimactic.”
“Say that when you’re facing one of those invaders.”
“It might be nice to invite them to a pub to discuss old times before we designate them with a cursor.”
“Think they would go with you?”
“After we’ve shot the pants off em they would probably order the first brew.”
“Ummmmmm. Make mine a beer.”
Niles smiled and turned the Bristone to teleport to the Defense Facility.
“Greyson, what are you doing?”
“I thought I would take a little time and get familiar with the new scanners I’ve been given.”
“Is that why we’re jumping around the edge of all these galaxies?”
“Yes, I want to see how far they will penetrate. It looks like my active scan can detect a ship more than ten light years out.”
“That’s good. That still doesn’t tell me why you’re looking at all these galaxies.”
“Timmy, this universe used to be filled with millions of planets that were members of the old Realm. I know that this sector has not been examined by King Borders, and Daulun just operated in his galaxy. I just think it might be a good idea to just take a quick look. We don’t have much to do, so now would be a good time to do a little scouting.”
“Then quit making excuses and teleport into the middle of them and make a scan.”
Greyson jumped and made a scan, “Timmy, there is a battle taking place at a planet eight light years from here.”
“Let’s go take a look.”
Greyson emerged in stealth mode and scanned the attacking ships. “Those ships were not made by the old Realm. I don’t have anything like them in my databanks. They must have been manufactured since the Realm left.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because they are using the beams and missiles of the old Realm but their ships do not have Power Cell hulls. They are also communicating in the language of the Realm.”
“What are they saying?”
“..You will stop firing or we will start destroying cities on the planet’s surface starting with the largest. Your fleet has been destroyed and you will not survive if you do not follow my instructions.”
“We’ve seen what survival looks like under the rule of the Neriff. We prefer to die than be forced to endure your brutality.”
“If that is your wish, I am more than happy to comply. I’ll start with your largest city.”
“Greyson?”
“I’m on it.”
A nuclear missile left the large ship and accelerated toward the planet. Just before it entered the atmosphere it exploded.
The invading fleet’s commander watched the missile explode and yelled, “Launch six more at their six largest cities.”
Six missiles erupted from the ship’s hull and started scattering as they targeted their targets. All six exploded halfway to the planet. The Commander watched his display and didn’t see what had stopped the missiles. He hit his com and ordered, “Land the transports and begin the looting.”
“You will exit this system and return from where you came. Any ship that moves toward the planet will be destroyed. You have been warned and I will not tolerate any failure to follow my instructions.”
The planet and the attacking fleet heard the transmission and silence ruled the frequency. “Where did that transmission originate.”
The Sensor Officer looked at his panel and started shaking his head, “I don’t register anything on my board.”
A voice came on the channel, “Who are you? We thank you for your help but want to know who you are.”
“Stand-by, we’ll communicate once this fleet has departed.”
The Fleet Commander now knew that it wasn’t the planet that had stopped his missiles. “Whoever you are, you are interfering in something that does not concern you. Our rulers will not take this interference kindly.”
“I don’t care how they take it. You will turn your fleet around and leave this system or I will start destroying your fleet starting with the closest ship to the planet and then start destroying every other ship one by one until you comply.”
The Commander looked at his Sensor Officer who shook his head. He looked at his board and saw that one of his largest battleships was eight thousand miles from the planet and had its force field at full power. Then he heard, “Times up.” The battleship was hit with a bright white beam that vaporized it. One moment it was hanging in space and the next there was nothing but an expanding vapor cloud.
“You now have one minute until the next ship is eliminated.”
“Get us out of here! Do it now!”
The invading fleet of six hundred ships turned and began accelerating toward the jump limit. The Fleet Commander saw one of his ships remaining behind and yelled, “Captain Delo, what are you doing?”
“I saw where those beams came from and I’m firing on it.”
The Commander knew that Delo was a nephew of one of the high rulers and was a hothead. He wanted command of the fleet and this was just another example of him disobeying orders. “Get your ship out of there!” He watched as Delo fired and saw the beams stop against…something. Then that terrible white beam hit and Delo and his ship were an expanding vapor ball.
The Commander looked at his Communications Officer and yelled, “You better have a recording of what just happened.”
“I do.”
“His father and Uncle are going to want blood for this.”
Then he heard, “We will gladly give it to them if they return to this planet.”
The Commander looked at his display and knew that whoever it was, they were able to scan through his screen. “Move to maximum speed.” The fleet arrived at the jump limit four hours later and disappeared.
“Thank you for your assistance. We are the Priven and we have been fighting the Neriff for more than ten years. They have enslaved three of our colonies and killed more than forty percent of their populations while forcing them to do slave labor. They would have defeated us if you had not intervened.”
“It was the right thing to do. We do not condone the killing of those that can’t defend themselves nor do we tolerate slavery in any form.”
“They will be back with a much larger fleet. You have only delayed the inevitable. Our ships have been destroyed and our installations above the planet have used up all of their ordinance holding them off. However, we do thank you for the additional time before they destroy us.”
“I notice that your planet is highly industrialized. Shouldn’t you be able to produce the ships necessary to hold them off?”
“They are just too numerous. They have worn us down over the long years of fighting and now there’s not enough time to replace the ships we’ve lost. They destroyed more than four hundred in the current battle.”
“Why didn’t you just take the war to them instead of just waiting to be conquered?”
“We do not attack anyone except in self-defense. To leave our system would violate our beliefs. We were forced to build the warships to defend ourselves but we cannot use them away from our world.”
“Even to defend your colonies?”
There was a long silence and then they heard, “Even to defend our colonies. We have suffered because of that decision but just couldn’t force ourselves to do it. By the time we decided to assist, they were overwhelmed and conquered. We waited until it was too late.”
“Timmy, that fleet’s jump tracks are still there.”
Timmy thought a moment and then commed, “I’ll be back. I need to persuade that fleet not to return.”
“They will not listen.”
“I really hope they don’t.”
Greyson came out of stealth mode and the planet saw the huge ship just before it disappeared.
Greyson teleported to the jump limit, “Do you think we should get permission before we get involved in this?”
“No, I do not.” Timmy concentrated and thought, “Virze, Nathan, James, are you available to assist me.”
“What do you need?”
“I just stopped a fleet from attacking a planet and nuking six of their cities. It appears that the attacker is in the business of slavery and I want to impress upon them that that behavior is not tolerated in this universe.”
“Stand-by.”
“What do you think he’s doing?”
“The same thing I would do.”
“Timmy, what are you up to?”
“I’m defending a planet that could not defend itself. I’m sending you the record of everything that happened, Your Majesty.” Timmy looked at his panel, “Send it, Greyson.”
“Timmy, I hope he understands. We have more than we can handle with the anticipated invasion.”
“Greyson, if we start to ignore our values because we’re too busy, then we really don’t believe in them. Even if he says no, we’re going.”
“Timmy, I’ve sworn to obey him.”
“With the exception that you will not be forced to watch an innocent planet being attacked. That’s why I’m here. To make sure we make a good decision.”
Timmy and Greyson waited and after an hour they heard, “Timmy, I’ve looked at your recording and I think you should return to Bristone and not get involved in this conflict.”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I must refuse to follow your order.”
“What are you doing, Timmy?!?”
“The right thing, Nathan.”
“Timmy, if you value your position as a Searcher, you will return to Bristone now.”
“I will as soon as I resolve this issue. Once I’ve done that I will submit myself for punishment.”
“I will be joining him, Your Majesty. I believe in him and I know this is not something to turn our backs on.”
“Virze, you will suffer the same punishment.”
“I know, Your Majesty. And I will submit to it willingly. This is something that I can’t ignore. Timmy, I’m joining you.”
There was a long pause and Scotty said, “You will accept my punishment without complaint?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I will.”
“And you as well, Virze?”
“I will.”
“Greyson, what about you? I’m ordering you to return to Bristone and bring your treasonous partner with you.”
“Your Majesty, I stand by my Partner. You may destroy me when we return.”
“I’m implementing your punishment immediately. Timmy and Virze you are hereby given the Royal Titles of Crown Prince and Princess and will succeed me to the Crown of the Empire. You have stood for our values even when you were faced with giving up everything of value.”
“Your Majesty, I’m not qualified for this.”
“Did you not say you would take your punishment without complaint?”
“Uh…yes.”
“Then be quiet. Nathan and James, you may join them and assist them in resolving the issue. Do whatever it takes to make sure those defenseless planets are not attacked again.”
“Your Majesty, I may need the Flyers help in freeing some of the captured colonies.”
“I’ve already ordered them to prepare before I contacted you, Timmy.”
Timmy frowned, “What if I had followed your command and returned?”
“Then you would not be the brave warrior I know you to be.”
“Thank you.”
“You deserve it Timmy. Now go resolve the problem. This will be a good time to test the Zord force field.”
The Neriff Fleet arrived back at their home world and contacted the Admiralty. The Commander sent the recording of what happened and was told to wait. He took a deep breath and knew he was in trouble. After fifteen minutes his display showed the face of the First Administrator, “So you ran and allowed my nephew to be killed.”
“No, he refused to follow orders and was killed for not doing so.”
“Your cowardice is what caused it. You could have combined and destroyed that intruder. You will be put to death for it.”
“Perhaps you would like to board a warship and allow us to see who the real coward is.”
The First Administrator grew angry and yelled, “You dare to say that to me.”
“I didn’t. I suspect it was that ship that we encountered and I do welcome you to come join us. Like them, I suspect you are too afraid to do it.”
Every warship in the system heard the exchange. There were more than eight thousand ships that had returned with spoils or were preparing to go out and attack new planets. The Fleet Commander heard, “You might want to keep your fleet outside the jump limit and witness what is about to take place. If you move toward the planet, we will treat you the same as the other fleets.”
He looked over at to his right and saw his com was on, “Attention all ships in the tenth fleet. Hold your position outside the jump limit.”
The First Administrator yelled, “You Coward. Find that ship and attack it.”
“I’m sorry, but we are not near that particular fleet but we are right above your planet. Perhaps you can now come out and play with us?”
The Administrator looked at his sensor panel and saw a large white ship parked just above the atmosphere. His fear took him and he said, “All Fleets; kill that ship.”
Eight thousand ships turned and started toward the White ship. Then the Administrator and the citizens on the planet saw disaster strike. The white ship erupted with hundreds of bright white beams hitting ships at a rate that was unbelievable. Half the ships were destroyed in less than a minute and the survivors attempted to turn and run. They were blown out of existence in less than two minutes. Where eight thousand warships were crowed above the planet, nothing remained. The Administrator was speechless. The Fleet Commander was stunned and knew he had been very fortunate indeed to have escaped.
Timmy sat at his board and gave a few moments for the magnitude of what had happened to sink home. Then he said, “I guess you won’t be coming up in a warship. I should have left one for you but forgot during the fun.”
The Administrator said, “What are you going to do?”
“I’m trying to decide if I should just destroy your planet and say good riddance to the scum that you are. However, I will allow you to live if you meet my conditions.”
“What are they?”
“You will order all your troops home and leave the planet’s you’ve conquered. You will be allowed to live in this star system; however, you may not go outside it. If you go outside of it, I will come back and finish what I’ve started. You will not have to recall the troops from the colonies of the Priven. We are going to remove them ourselves. You will have exactly thirty revolutions of your planet to make this happen or we will remove them as well as your planet.
“You’ve destroyed most of our ships. How are we going to transport them here?”
“That’s not my problem. You have six hundred ships I’ve not harmed. Use them and those that are not here. For the moment, I am removing all of your military installations on the planet and the factories that produce their ordinance. I will be back in thirty days to see if you have complied with my instructions. If you are not here, I will find you. Do you understand?”
The Administrator was visibly shaking. All he could do was nod.
“Greyson, do you have them plotted?”
“Yes, I do. Are you sure you want to destroy those facilities? There will be a huge loss of life.”
“Look at what this planet has done to those they’ve conquered. It has no soul and perhaps by destroying their capacity to make war they will know we mean business. I’d rather destroy those facilities than have to destroy the planet. This should make sure they listen.”
“Will you do that if they don’t comply?”
“Greyson, is this not an innocent planet?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve scanned it. Every place celebrates their conquests with banners and posters. Look for yourself.”
Greyson scanned the planet. “We should just destroy them now. They’ll never change.”
“First we allow them to get their troops home. They can do it a lot faster than we can if we are forced to go do it ourselves. After that, they can live in splendid isolation. I suspect they’ll destroy themselves if there are no other targets for them to go after. Or they’ll violate the border we’ve imposed and we’ll remove them. This is a hard decision but we have to be willing to make it. This cancer cannot be allowed to spread.”
Greyson began firing at the planet’s surface and the Administrator watched his display as thousands of facilities were destroyed. He slammed his arms on the table in frustration. Then he heard, “I’ll be back in thirty rotations.”
The huge white ship disappeared and he hit his com, “Commander Losel, dispatch your fleet and start moving our troops back. We don’t have much time.”
“I’m sorry, Sir, but you have condemned me to death. My fleet will not follow your directives. Find someone else to carry out your orders. We’ve been attacking planets at the direction of you and your council for years and we will no longer take part in your crimes.”
“Surely you are not going to allow our world to be destroyed. We must have your assistance. Please.”
“Fleet Control, are you listening in to this conversation?”
“Yes we are.”
“The only way we will assist is after you have arrested the Administrator and his assistants and put them on a ship and send them out of the system to us.”
“But that ship said I’ll be killed if I leave!”
“Let us hope you’re good at hiding. You have my conditions.”
“We will do as you ask, Commander. You are now the Leader of all our forces. Please make the return happen as quickly as possible.”
“I’ll leave when he leaves.” Losel waited for an hour and saw a small ship leave the planet and head toward the jump limit.
Fleet Command commed, “If you will leave a ship to escort them out, you can start moving our forces.”
Losel watched his monitor and sent a destroyer in to meet the ship. He waited until it arrived next to the small ship and said, “You will turn on your video and show me who is on board that ship.” The video came on and he saw all of the Leadership Council. He activated his com, “Carry out your orders.”
The destroyer fired on the small ship and blew it into six pieces. “We will now start moving our troops. Contact them and tell them they are ordered home. I suggest you find new leaders that will make us work together.” The fleet jumped away.
Virze and Grace looked at their scans of the planet below and saw thousands of soldiers on the surface forcing the population to work at hard labor stripping raw materials. “How many sites do we have to handle?”
“I count more than a thousand with a hundred or more troops at each.”
“Some of those troops are mixed in with the workers, Grace. It’s not going to be easy to hit them from space.”
“No, we’ll have to depend on the Flyers.”
“That’s going to require them to come close to their targets. We’ll lose some if we’re forced to do that.”
“Vring and Kreej have developed a mechanism on the Rider’s guns that may prevent that.”
“Oh?”
“You know the guns are powered by a small red generator.”
“Yes.”
“Well, they’ve added a force field that will surround the Zord and Rider once the gun is activated. It will turn off to allow the sparks to fly out and then reactivate. The Flyers will only be exposed for a very small interval. It should reduce our losses.”
“So how do we do this?”
“I’m teleporting five riders to each site and fifty over the capital. You and I will send the ships parked in orbit home to assist them in getting their troops off the other planets.”
“Do you think they’ll go?”
“I’ll make an offer they can’t refuse.”
Virze laughed, “You’ve been watching some old videos.”
“I found them in the learning center. Are you ready?”
“Yes, start sending them.”
“Anglo, this is Grace. I’ve sent you the coordinates for the Flyers. Please start them coming now.”
“They’ve been getting impatient. The first five hundred groups will arrive in thirty seconds.”
“Grace, let’s go talk to some ships.”
The Commander of the military transports in orbit above the planet sat in his chair eating a meal and suddenly heard over his PA system. “Good morning, please continue you meal while I tell you what your next actions are going to be. You will take your ships back to your home world and assist them in moving troops back home from the planets you’ve conquered. You have exactly one minute to start moving toward the jump limit. I’ll kill any ship that doesn’t follow my instructions.”
The Commander looked sharply at his Communications Officer, “There is nothing on my scanner.”
The Commander looked at his display and said, “I cannot leave without direct orders from the First Administrator.”
“Well, unfortunately, he and his entire Leadership Council are now deceased along with the eight thousand warships that were there. I really don’t want to make an example of one of your ships to prove I mean what I say, however, I will.”
The Commander yelled, “Raise all screens; power the weapons.” The Commander watched the force field form around his ship and then saw a bright beam blow it apart.
“My next shot will not be at the edge of your force field.”
He looked over at his scanner and saw that the beam had not been slowed or reduced in power. He watched as all one hundred ships had their force fields blown away. “Get underway, start moving toward the jump barrier!”
“That is very wise,”
“What about my troops on the planet.”
“You’re talking about the ones that murdered almost half the planet’s population. We’ll remove them. You don’t have to worry about them.”
The Commander felt a cold shiver go up his spine. He knew that they weren’t talking about relocating those troops. The Communications Officer looked at his board and said, “The General Officer of the military forces on the surface is demanding to know where you’re going.”
“Ignore him. I suspect he’ll know in a few moments.” He looked at his navigator, “Get the fleet to maximum speed.”
Higlon leaned right as Mraak banked hard right and screamed in from high altitude. The young Cainth Rider locked in ten sparks and set the gun for blaster-organic. He left his second gun in the holster on the bindings and listened as the gun’s tone announced that targets had been acquired. Mraak banked in on the large crowd gathered around the small rail cars that were transporting the gold ore they were being forced to load. Fifty troops stood and watched with their blasters in their hands as the workers struggled shoveling the huge mound into the cars. Higlon pulled his trigger ten times and Mraak banked hard left. Higlon held on and turned to watch. He saw his partner come in right behind him and fire ten more sparks. As they banked left two more flyers came screaming in at high velocity from the opposite direction and barely missed hitting them head on. Forty more sparks were released as Higlon banked back and fired ten more sparks from his second gun. All fifty guards were hit in less than ten seconds and were burned into small piles of ash.
The workers laboring over the huge load were stunned at how quickly the guards were killed. One of them picked up one of the blasters that had fallen to the ground and ran over to the mine entrance. Fifteen more workers joined him and stood to either side of the entry way. Twenty five guards ran out of the mine. They heard the screams from the burning guards and knew something was happening outside. They rushed out and were blasted by the waiting workers.
Higlon turned off his Zecka and flew in and landed next to the mine. The workers were shocked at the size of the creature coming in to land and initially raised their blasters until one of the workers yelled, “They must be the ones helping us.”
The workers lowered their weapons as Higlon and four other Riders dismounted. Higlon said, “We’re going after the other guards in the mine. Set up a defensive perimeter around the mine and get out of the open.”
One of the older workers started yelling instructions. They all gasped as the five beings disappeared. The Zord watched the workers and as the crowd scattered toward the forest, they heard in their minds, “We are freeing you from the invaders. Please get undercover and await further instructions.”
The workers looked at the huge winged creatures and then they disappeared as well. The leader yelled, “Get into the tree line! Those with blasters set up coverage from the mine.” The thousands of workers ran toward the forest.
Higlon and Steve Jamos entered the mine first and rapidly ran down the tunnel. They passed the guards silently as they hit them with the designator beam on their guns. Higlon and Steve split up at the first intersection. The three other Riders followed them and saw the guards glowing with the designator field as they passed. They split up at the intersection and followed Higlon and Steve into the mine’s depths. The guards heard something but didn’t see anything in the dark tunnels. After thirty seconds, Higlon looked at the counter on his gun and saw that eight guards had been designated. He fired eight sparks and continued moving down the tunnel. Steve felt the timer vibrate and checked his counter. He fired ten sparks and reloaded as he moved quickly down another tunnel breaking off the main Corridor. The sparks moved back up the tunnels and began hitting the guards that had been designated. The workers watched as the guards burned and then began running out of the shaft. They began pouring out of the mine’s entrance and heard their fellow workers yelling at them from the forest. They turned and headed for the tree line.
The two Riders following Steve saw the tunnel he had entered by the field glowing inside it and continued down the main shaft. The five Flyers killed eighty five guards in less than twenty minutes. Higlon thought, “Mraak, tell the workers to leave the mine and join those outside.”
The workers slaving in the mine saw the guards burned. They looked at each other wondering what to do but then they heard in their minds, “We have come to liberate you from those that invaded your world. We have removed your guards so it is now safe to leave the mine and join the others outside. Please take your time and don’t allow harm to come to your fellow workers as you leave.”
The workers looked at each other and wondered if what they heard could possibly be true. Then one by one at first and slowly the others put down their drills and started moving toward the surface. They exited the mine and heard the workers in the trees shouting at them. They ran and embraced their fellow captives in the forest and wondered if salvation was really happening.
Grace, we’ve only lost two Flyers. They were hit when they were firing their guns. The Capital is a different story. Those guards are dug in the Capital Building and are laying down a massive cover fire. Even sparks are being blasted out of the air.”
Grace saw the forces in the Capital were using Scanner Guided Guns. Even though they couldn’t see the flyers, the scanners did and directed heavy blaster beams at the Flyers. Eight had been killed when their force fields failed. “Virze, I don’t want to intervene in this fight. There will come a time when our ships are going to be fighting a space battle and we won’t be able to help our flyers. They must learn how to overcome this type of engagement.”
“What if they can’t?”
“Then we’ll have to find better warriors than the flyers.”
Higlon and Steve flew in to the capital and got a mental view of what was happening from their Flyers. Higlon looked at Steve and motioned him to join him on Mraak. Steve ran down the back of his Flyer and leaped on to Mraak’s back. “What’s the plan?”
“We’re going to come in at ground level and fire twenty exploding sparks at the first floor’s largest window. Then Greel is going to fly in over our head and hit the window feet first. We’ll then, like good neighbors, go in and introduce ourselves.”
“You know we’ll probably be killed trying this, don’t you.”
“Yeah, but what the hey, if we don’t we’ll remember today for the rest of our lives. Are you in?”
Mraak said, “If you two don’t mind, I’m going in while you make up your minds. I have some brothers being killed by those blasters on the roof.”
Greel banked left, made a circle, and picked up speed. Higlon saw him coming and picked up both guns and aimed at the building. Steve smiled and loaded a full chamber of sparks. They came zooming in just off the pavement in the parking lot and aimed at the large armored window. Three hundred yards out they fired all thirty sparks at it.
The Heavy Blasters on the roof saw the two Zord zooming in but couldn’t depress their barrels enough to aim at the street below. The troops watched as something on their scanners came in at high speed.
Mraak spilled the air from his wings and hit the ground running toward the building. They felt Greel pass over them so fast that the wind from his winds almost blew them off Mraak. Greel folded his wings at the last moment and his momentum carried him into the building hitting it on all four legs. The window imploded and took out fifty feet of the wall beside it. Greel shook his head and moved out of the opening. Higlon and Steve ran down Mraak’s neck and into the demolished room. Higlon went right and Steve left. They each fired thirty blaster seeking sparks that started flying through the first floor. They were set to explode and any guard struck usually killed every other guard within a forty foot radius. The first floor of the huge building was having explosions in every room.
Twenty Flyers came screaming in and their Riders dismounted and followed the two that had breached the wall. Now they were in familiar territory. One Rider would explode a door and the other would fire ten sparks through it. The troops tried to hold them off but the sparks followed the blaster beams to their source and killed the weapon holder. The twenty two riders were joined by thirty others and in fifteen minutes had made it up twelve stories.
The General directing the fight was on the roof top watching the Scanner Directed Guns firing at an impossible rate. What were they seeing? Suddenly the armored door to the roof exploded outward and bright fireflies erupted out of the opening. He ran and jumped behind a heavy gun as a bright light passed him, turned, and zoomed back toward him. He knew he was dead and pushed the bulge in his front pocket.
Now the Flyers flew in and eliminated the troops still holding out on the ground around the building. Their cover fire was gone and there was nothing to protect them from the avenging Zord and their Riders.
Higlon and Steve looked over the roof’s edge and jumped back as a blaster bolt sizzled up from the ground below. Mraak said, “We have it under control. Take a break. I know that climb had to be tough.”
Higlon sat down heavily and Steve joined him. The other flyers spread out and started sniping at targets on the ground. “You were right.” Higlon looked at Steve with a furrowed brow. “I will remember today for the rest of my life.” He leaned forward and shook his hand.
That’s when they felt the first explosive charge go off on the first floor. The last act of the General before he died was to press a self-destruct control. The building began exploding one floor at a time in rapid succession and it started tilting. Mraak and Greel lifted and flapped their wings as hard as they could and flew toward the tilting building. They saw Higlon and Steve jump off the roof at the last moment as the building collapsed. They came close but the two Riders were falling too fast and died as they hit the pavement. Mraak and Greel screamed their agony. All twenty two riders on the roof along with thirty more inside were killed in the falling building.
The Zord that lost their Riders turned and flew toward the ground looking for Neriff troops. Thirty of the Zord were killed but more than six hundred troops were torn apart by claws or bitten in half. Mraak and Greel joined Higlon and Steve in death as they screamed their anguish at the loss of their Riders.
Many of the Neriff troops tried to surrender but the rage of the Flyers at their losses was too much. Sparks flew by the thousands and within ten hours the fight was over. The local population began coming out to find that there were no Neriff left alive on the planet. The celebrations began but the Flyers had teleported out to mourn the loss of their comrades.
“Grace, if we had stayed at the Capital instead of going around the planet we could have saved those Riders.”
“I know. I shouldn’t have delayed assisting them.”
“No, WE shouldn’t have delayed. I’m also accountable for this.”
“I keep seeing those two heroes falling to their death.”
“What have we learned?”
“It’s time to do away with the Zeckas.”
“What!”
“I’ll discuss this with Emperor Robbins.”
“Discuss what, Grace?”
“Armor.”
Ten year old Robby Robbins sat at the table in the learning center with the headband on his head and watched the early history of the Stars Realm. He always liked to see Tag hiding behind his teacher. He closed his eyes and wished he had the psychic powers of the founder of the Realm. Being able to hide was a great gift he wished he had numerous times.
“You will have them eventually.”
“Who invited you here?”
“Come on, Robby. You know you like me, why don’t you just admit it.”
“Because I don’t.”
“You say that now but one day you’ll change your mind.”
“What do you want, Dani?”
“I want to say good-bye.”
Robby took the band off his head and stood up, “Where are you going?”
“So you do care!”
“No, I don’t. I’m just glad you’re not going to be around interrupting my thoughts.”
Robby heard a deep sigh in Dani’s thoughts, “We’re moving to New Hope.”
“Why for the Creator’s sake?”
“My Great Uncle is going to abdicate the Crown and the people have insisted that my Mother come and take it.”
Robby sat down, “How does she feel about that?”
“She doesn’t want it but Uncle Jeramiah insists that in order for the citizens to take the last steps toward accepting our values, she will have to lead them. His children have also contacted Mom to let her know they support her selection.”
“But why do they want your Mom?”
“When my Grandfather came to destroy the planet she was there to stop him. Everyone heard her challenge him and they now love her for saving their lives. Over the years, they have built her into an almost mythical being.”
Robby waited and finally said, “You’re not saying something.”
“I believe that I’ve caused this to happen.”
“How?”
“Because I’ve continued communicating with you.”
Robby sat there and didn’t know what to say. Finally he said, “You think we’re like Tommy and Cassandra.”
Now it was Dani’s turn to be silent. She was shocked into silence.
Robby said, “I know you’ve felt the repulsion between us. Even though we can communicate telepathically, I feel like I am almost forced to dislike you. There is no one on the planet I dislike but you. There has got to be a reason for that. I started doing some research into the Gardners and the only thing that makes sense is that we are a danger to each other. I think you’re probably right, psychic forces are causing events to keep us apart.”
“The forces are getting stronger, Robby. I’ve felt them growing since my seventh birthday. Now I’m almost ten and I can feel them. I’ve refused to give in to them and now this.”
“I’ve felt them, too, Dani.”
“If we are like the Gardners, you know what that means?”
“Yes, I do. And I’ll be waiting for the right time to come.”
“As will I, Robby.”
“Until that time arrives, we need to avoid each other. I think it will hurt our development if we continue to make contact.”
“I agree. We’re leaving tomorrow. Good-bye.”
Robby took a deep breath and said, “Good-bye, my love.”
Dani rolled over on her bed and cried. Mallory thought she was heart broke at having to leave Bristone but it was really at being forced to wait for the future happiness she knew was too far away.”
Robby thought about the young girl that had been born two months after him. He had felt her before he was born but somehow he had come to dislike her. Knowing why didn’t change the emotions so he didn’t fight them. It was those feelings that would make her absence bearable. He sighed and put the headband back on. He lowered his head and said to himself, “Please wait for me.”
Dani rolled over on her bed and thought, “I’ll wait patiently.” Neither heard the other but they were connected in ways they never suspected.
Timmy and Greyson teleported in to orbit above Priven and said, “I’m sorry for the delay in coming back.”
“We have been contacted by our colonies and they tell us that you have freed them from the Neriff.”
“We have. We have also made them understand that they are no longer allowed to come here. Your war with them is over.”
“Why did you do this?”
“It’s what we believe. We cannot stand by and allow an innocent civilization to be attacked. We wish you a bright future.”
“Are you just leaving without asking anything in return?”
“Well, yes. Why would we ask for anything?”
“Would it be possible for us to have discussions with your leadership about opening formal relations with your government?”
“We are preparing for a war with invaders from another universe. I understand your stance on non-aggression and at this time we need to find those civilizations that can help us in that coming conflict.”
“We will assist you any way we can. We owe our existence to you and that debt must be balanced. We have seen what happens when one chooses not to defend themselves. We have a planet that is highly industrialized. We want to help.”
Timmy thought about it and said, “I will bring our leaders to discuss this with you. Thank you for your willingness to help us.”
Timmy and Greyson teleported away and Greyson said, “We did the right thing. They can help our efforts.”
“I know, but we lost so much. I know the Flyers are mourning those that were killed. I feel responsible for those losses.”
Greyson was silent until they arrive at Bristone and finally he said just before Timmy teleported down to the planet, “Our existence is for the purpose of making this universe a better place. You are going to one day have to make decisions that will lead to us to being put in harm’s way. You know that if you hesitate to pay the price, we’ll lose everything. That’s the price of being in command. Never waste your forces, but you have to do what’s right. I know if you really look at what just happened, you’ll know you did. There are four worlds that have been saved from the brutality of the Neriff. Those billions are worth what we lost and more.”
Timmy sighed and then smiled, “There is that, my friend. Send me to Virze. I need to be with her.”
“Yes, Your Grace.” Timmy flinched. “You’ve forgotten.”
“Yes, I guess I did.” Timmy disappeared from the bridge.
Rehoben rushed into Jilico’s personal quarters. The King had been trying to activate his broadband communicator and Rehoben was worried. Jilico had not been happy for many years and he had noticed a change in his personality. He was trying to do something. But what was it. He rushed up to the armored door and waited. After an hour it slowly swung open. Rehoben walked in and saw Jilico next to his communication panel. He looked up and said, “Why is my broadband communicator not working?”
“Your Majesty, all broadband communicators on the planet have been disabled to prevent any messages being picked up by the invader’s ship. Only those we send through Fleet Control are active.”
“You will activate my panel immediately.”
Ro lifted his communicator and sent a message to Admiral Hulent. He said where Jilico could hear him, “The King wishes his communication panel to be fully active.”
“I’ve made the connection, Sir.”
Jilico looked over at his panel and pressed the broadband button. He saw a red light illuminate on his panel. “What are you doing, Your Majesty?”
Jilico looked up at Ro and snarled, “I’m ending this charade. I’m going to ask the invader to allow me to assist them in the takeover of this universe.”
Ro didn’t move but said softly, “Why would you do that?”
“My military no longer follows my orders. My subjects show me no respect. I’ve lost all my power to that cursed white haired Emperor.”
Ro took a deep breath. He knew Jilico was right. Once the real history of the Old Realm had gotten out, there was a general disgust of all the Provincial Rulers. The only thing that kept Jilico in his throne was the insistence by the Emperor that to make a change might trigger the invasion. “What if they don’t accept your offer and come to destroy our world.”
“They can have it. I’d rather die than continue with this mockery of my title.”
“All of your subjects could die with you, Your Majesty. Surely you don’t want that to happen.”
Rehoben saw the first smile from Jilico since the masquerade had started. “I’m going to insist that the invaders kill everyone on this planet if they agree to help me. I’ll move to another world and continue my monarchy.” Jilico lifted the com and said, “I’m addressing the black ship that is holding station in the dust cloud in the outer system. Your presence was discovered ten years ago and we have been pretending to have a make believe war to delay your attack until weapons could be developed against you. I want to help you conquer this universe. I will assist you and all I ask is that you allow me to continue to rule my Kingdom. You may even destroy this planet if you choose.”
Rehoben slowly shook his head. Jilico looked at him and said, “What?”
“Your panel has been connected to all monitors in the Kingdom. They are not broadband so the message will only be heard on those monitors. I’ve struggled with the history the Emperor gave us not wanting to believe that the Provincial Rulers were as evil as that history painted them. Now you’ve proven to me that they were exactly that.”
Jilico sneered, “You just don’t have the guts to make hard decisions.”
Rehoben pulled a blaster from his robe and shot Jilico’s head off. “That’s not the only thing you’ve been wrong about.” He put the blaster back in his robe and pushed his com, “Admiral, did you get all of this?”
“I did, Your Majesty.”
Ro flinched, “I’m not royalty.”
“You are now. The military and Searchers will only follow your lead. Lead us to a better day, please.”
“The King’s Family?”
“Already executed. They were in on this and had left the planet for Mabry. We met then at the port. We’re glad you anticipated this happening and we look forward to our future.”
“Will you notify Emperor Robbins of the change in leadership and request his approval.”
“I have and he has.”
“Let us pray our charade is working.”
The large orange colored being looked at his Communications Office, “Sire, we have a message hitting the force field.”
“Open it and tell me what it says.”
“Sire, we have been ordered home. This universe will be taken at a later time. Another one is now ready and we have been ordered to take part in the invasion.”
The orange being shook his head and looked at his display. So much wasted time. He had left five years earlier and had returned a year ago to replace the ship that relieved him. Well, by the time this war was over here, this one would be easy. He looked at his panel one last time and ordered, “Take us to that universe first. I want to see what we’re facing.”
The Navigator said, “Yes, Sire.” He noticed the fluctuation of the cosmic rays but said nothing. The giant ship disappeared.”