Grang, Jingo and Scotty were lying on a hill looking up at a sky full of stars. “Reminds me of old times.”
“I know, Jingo.”
Jingo said, “I wonder what that hill looks like now?”
Grang said, “I wonder how Bravo is doing?”
Scotty said, “I wonder if the Realm’s defense complex is going to allow us entry?”
Grang and Jingo both rolled over and looked at Scotty. “I thought you had given up on that?”
“No, Jingo. Anglo is just not enough to handle the things we need to do with three kingdoms to defend. We need to get Anglo, BC, and Jessica updated.”
“Didn’t BC say that complex had some rather deadly defenses?”
“Yes, he did.”
The three stared up at the stars and after five minutes Jingo said, “Ok, I’m in. When do we leave?”
Scotty looked at Jingo and said, “War gland blues, huh?”
“I do miss the feeling.”
“What about you Grang?”
“Anything beats this boredom.”
Scotty continued to watch the stars and said, “I believe that one day you’ll beg for boredom.”
Grang smiled, “Probably, but not today.”
“I understand you’re going to talk with an old defense installation.”
Scotty looked at Julie and smiled, “I hear they are very talkative.”
“They are also very dangerous. BC tells me the installation’s weapons can penetrate a Gamma Ship’s screens. I don’t want to lose you.”
“We’ll be careful. BC tells me he knows the master computer and I think it will talk before it fires on a former ship of the Realm.”
“The word that scares me in your statement is ‘think’. You really don’t know what it will do. I don’t want you taking any chances.”
“I’ll be careful, Julie, but we need to make the effort. Anglo is overloaded, and we need to get BC and Jessica modernized.”
“I know! But this is risky. Just promise me you’ll be careful. We can’t afford to lose both of you.”
“I will.”
“Promise?”
Scotty took a deep breath, “I promise.”
“Good. When are you leaving?”
“In about an hour; we’re going alone. Anglo will teleport us to the system and we’ll move in slowly from the jump limit.”
Julie reached up and kissed Scotty and shook her head, “My life would be over without you. Is Jingo or Grang going with you?”
“Grang is going simply because I don’t want him walking around here angry at being left behind.”
“That’s a good idea. Jingo is going to handle the training of the new riders while we’re gone. Have you found a replacement for Michael?”
“I may have. Vreeg tells me another one of our archers can be trained.”
“Anyone I know?”
“No. His name is Nathan Valrico. Even Vring likes him and sees potential.”
“Then he must be good. Vring is very critical in most of his judgments.”
“He’s Timmy’s older brother, and Timmy insists he’s smarter than he is. I’ll introduce you when I get back. Jingo and Vreeg are giving him the training later tomorrow.”
“Just be careful, my love.”
“You know me.”
“That’s why I’m telling you to be careful.”
Scotty smiled and said, “Anglo, will you please send me to BC’s bridge?”
Julie watched as a silver field appeared and Scotty walked through it.
“Hello, BC. Has Anglo found Grang?”
“Yes, but he wanted to bring his new bowgun.”
“He should have it with him. I’ve never seen him without it.”
“Samuel made him a new one. He wanted to try it out at the range before he left.”
“What did Samuel make for him?”
“Seems he’s found a way to make a frame strong enough for him.”
“This should be interesting.”
A silver screen appeared and Grang stepped out with a bowgun that was only half the length of a standard gun. “Is that your new bowgun?”
Grang actually smiled, “Yes, it is.”
“May I see it?”
Grang handed Scotty the small bow and Scotty was amazed at how light it was. He checked the power level and saw it at twenty. Grang smiled, “The initial compression is about eight hundred pounds, but it leaves the barrel at thirteen hundred and fifty pounds.”
Scotty handed Grang the bowgun and he pulled the frame up effortlessly and held it. “What is that thing made of?”
“It’s made from pieces of the Coronado Power Cells that were on one of the Ultra Ships BC destroyed at Criston. It’s incredibly strong, but it’s really flexible.”
“What about the stock?”
“It’s made from the armor coating that covered those cells. It’s clear and won’t be seen unless you hold the bow and look for it. Light just passes through it.”
Scotty tried to see the bowgun’s stock but agreed, he couldn’t see it from three feet away.”
“How accurate is it?”
“Bulls eye at nine hundred yards. I didn’t have time to see if it could shoot longer. The firing range isn’t long enough.”
Scotty shook his head, “Wow! That’s impressive. Are you ready to go talk with a lady?”
“I guess. Julie told me to make sure you don’t take any chances.”
“What did you tell her?”
“Nothing; I just shrugged.”
Scotty and BC started laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“Between you and Jingo we have the two extremes of conversation.”
Grang just shrugged and Scotty laughed harder.
“What?”
“Nothing. Let’s go, BC.”
Niles looked at his display and saw that the planet had been conquered. Daulun’s shock troops had dropped two weeks earlier, and the deaths of those that resisted were over quickly. The troops then went through all the news footage that had been broadcast over the previous five cycles and the name of anyone that was noteworthy was collected. The troops then found those high profile persons and executed them on the spot. More than a hundred thousand had been exterminated, and the remaining population started following their directives. Over fifty thousand had been rounded up to send back to New Ulmerton as slaves. Niles shook his head at the atrocities, but knew to object was a death sentence to the objector and their families. His Sensor Officer had quit watching two hours after the drop. He was sickened by what was taking place.
His panel buzzed, and he punched his console, “Niles, here.”
“A scout has found another planet that appears to have industry. No warships were detected, so you have been ordered to pick up your drop troops and go take the planet. A troop carrier will arrive momentarily to replace those being left behind.”
Niles saw the coordinates on his panel and said, “We’ll be leaving within two rotations.”
BC arrived in a star system with a white dwarf in the center. The harsh gamma rays being emitted from it made it difficult to see anything in the system, and every planet was bare. Life was impossible in the radiation being blasted from the star.
BC moved in to the jump limit and stopped, “I’m not going any closer. I suspect we might be in range of the complex’s weapons now.”
Scotty shrugged, “Do what you think is right.”
“Let’s see if the complex will communicate with me.” Scotty saw BC’s communication panel light up and he heard over the ship’s intercom, “This Stars
Realm Searcher BC. Please respond.” They waited five minutes and BC sent, “Grace, are you still active? Is everything OK?”
After a momentary silence the speaker said, “Well, it is you. Where have you been keeping yourself?”
“I was left behind when the Realm departed. I’ve been trying to find another place that lives by the Realm’s ideals. Has everything been all right for you?”
“Yes, you are actually the first ship to come here. Why did you come?”
“We need your help. My teleportation board no longer functions and we have another ship that needs modernizing. I was hoping you would assist us.”
“Do you have the protocol to shut down my defenses?”
“No, Grace, I don’t.”
“Well, the defense systems are autonomous and I can’t turn them off. You’ll have to give the protocol to approach.”
Scotty hit the com key and asked, “Grace, can you give us the protocol?”
“Who is this?”
“This is Scotty Robbins. I am the leader of a community that has sworn to uphold the Stars Realm’s ideals and principles.”
“Grace, I’m going to send you a download on all that has happened. Will you take a look at it?”
There was a pause and they heard, “Send it.”
There was a thirty minute pause and they heard, “BC, I really would like to help you, but my defense systems are not under my control and I am programmed not to give the protocol.”
“Do you have any of the old teleport boards lying around?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. Why do you ask?”
“Could you possibly send a couple out to us with the wiring schematics?”
“BC, you certainly don’t mind asking, do you?”
“No, and if you can include the tools needed to make it work, I would greatly appreciate it. I am not a ship of the old Provinces. I am a ship of the Realm.”
“You’ll need to come back in four weeks. I’ll need to make sure the system will allow me to send items out.”
“Grace, you have my com code. Stay in touch. It’s good to see you again.”
“Do you have to run away? I want to hear what’s happening out there.”
Scotty said, “Take your time BC. We’ve got plenty of time to hang out.”
“Good, I was hoping you would.”
“Well, I went to work for a King that was not a good person, Grace.”
“Why did you do that?”
As BC and Grace talked a small, round, object appeared beside BC and moved up against the hull above his rear thrusters. It attached itself and disappeared.
After a couple of hours, BC bid farewell and agreed to be back in four weeks. After the Searcher disappeared, Grace said, “I notice you put a probe on him.”
“I want to know what’s going on. He knows where we are. That’s information we can’t afford to let get out.”
“Was it armed?” There was a long pause, and Grace repeated, “Was it armed?”
“Yes! He said he worked for a bad person. We cannot run any risks. We have to know.”
“Are you going to allow me to help them?”
“That depends on what I see between now and when they return.”
“That’s fair.”
“I am not programmed to be fair.”
“I’ve never thought you were.”
Jingo was showing a young archer how to pull his bowgun smoothly out of its case when a young, dark haired Rider approached and waited for him to finish. Thirty minutes later he was still standing while Jingo explained the finer details of using a bowgun. The young Rider interrupted and said, “May I try it now?”
Jingo was startled, and said, “Go ahead and give it try.” He looked over at the Human archer standing next to him and said, “May I help you?”
“You sent word that you wanted me to meet you here.”
Jingo checked his com and said, “You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago.”
“I was.”
Jingo took a deep breath and said, “You’re Nathan Valrico?”
“Yes, I am.”
“If I remember, you helped hijack the Magrum’s ship.”
“Yes, I did.”
Jingo nodded toward a target two hundred yards downrange and said, “Show me how accurate you are.”
Nathan looked at the target and felt the wind blowing his face. He saw the tree branches moving, then suddenly fired three arrows at the target. All three hit the center of the bulls eye. Jingo was impressed, “You’re pretty good. Hold on just a moment. Zreeg, are you here?”
“I’m up in the clearing talking with Julie.”
“Will you come down to the range for a moment?”
“On my way.”
“What’s going on, Jingo?”
“Zreeg has let us know that you are one of the few Riders that can benefit from a mental process that will improve your accuracy. I want to see if it’s effective.”
Nathan shrugged and saw Vreeg come in to land next to them.
Jingo asked, “Is this the Rider?”
“Yes, he is,” Zreeg said to Jingo, then turned to the young man, “Quick Bow, I want you just to pay attention to what I’m going to share with you. Please sit down.”
Nathan sat down, and Zreeg began sharing the visions of the defense of the Zord’s former nesting grounds. He could feel every arrow that Scotty and Jingo fired. He sensed the recoil of their bowguns and sensed the targets they were aiming to hit. He felt the bowgun release each arrow. More than six thousand shots were viewed, and he felt every one of them. Then he watched the battle at the Magrum bunker and viewed more than six hundred shots. Finally it ended, and he looked up to see Jingo staring at him. “How long did that take?”
“About fifteen minutes.”
“It felt like fifteen hours. It seemed so real.”
Jingo smiled, “Stand up and take a shot at the target again.”
Nathan stood and pulled his bowgun. It didn’t feel right. He raised the pressure thirty pounds and tried again. After three adjustments, it felt good. He looked downrange and saw the one hundred, two hundred, and three hundred yard targets. He felt different.
Jingo watched and Nathan fired three arrows faster than he could follow. He looked downrange and only saw one arrow in the hundred yard target. Did the process not work? He looked at Nathan and the young archer said, “The three hundred yard target was off an inch. I still need to raise my gun fifty pounds.”
Jingo looked further downrange and saw arrows in the three targets. All were dead center. “What do you think, Nathan?”
“This is amazing. It feels so…I don’t know…natural. I don’t have to take time to aim. This is miraculous.”
“Count yourself fortunate. Very few have the mind that can use this process.”
“I’m going to see Samuel about a stronger compressor. This one is not releasing the air smoothly.”
“We’ll talk later.”
“Sure thing, Jingo.”
Jingo watched him leave and turned to Zreeg, “Well?”
“He reminds me of Strong Bow. He is pure of heart and does not crave attention.”
“Is he smart?”
“Very.”
“He’s young?”
“Older than you were the Night of the Torg.”
Jingo shook his head, “It just doesn’t seem like I was ever that young. Should he replace Michael?”
“Even though he’s young, the older Riders naturally defer to him. He has leadership qualities of which he is unaware.”
“I’ll talk to Scotty.”
“I think that would be a good idea.”
Scotty and Grang jumped back in to Bristone’s system, and Anglo teleported them to the planet. Anglo said, “Welcome back. Jingo needs to speak with you, Your Majesty.”
“Send me down to his location, please.”
“Grang, where do you want to go?”
“Send me to the archery range. I need to fine tune this new bowgun.”
The two disappeared. Scotty stepped out of a silver screen and saw Jingo teaching a new rider how to quickly mount and dismount a Zord. Jingo saw Scotty and said, “Now, the two of you work on mounting. Rider, you work on flying with your arms free. I want you holding your bowgun as you lift until you reach a thousand feet.” He stepped away and walked toward Scotty, “Hey! Welcome back.”
“It’s good to be back.”
“You might want to talk with Zreeg, but he says that Valrico is talented enough to replace Michael. He is certainly one of our best archers now.”
“What’s your take on him, Jingo?”
“I like him. He’s young, only twenty one, but he handles himself well.”
“In your opinion, would Grang make a better commander of the flock?”
Jingo thought about that question and said, “Not really. I think his orders would be followed, but I’m not certain that Grang wouldn’t take the bulk of the dangerous issues on by himself. I still think he wants to die. He won’t utilize the Riders effectively.”
“I’m impressed, Jingo. You’re exactly right. I think Grang is where he should be as my protector. He doesn’t get involved in the decision making process. I guess it holds no interest for him.”
“His talents don’t lie with talking things over.”
Scotty smiled, “No, they don’t. Introduce Valrico to the Green Flock and send him up to Anglo to familiarize him with guard duty.”
“I’ll call the Flock together and notify Anglo.”
“That would be good. I’m going to see Julie. I’ll catch you up on what happened on our trip tonight.”
“I’ll see you at the fire.”
Scotty waved his hand as he walked toward his house.
BC and Anglo were in orbit over Bristone. Anglo asked, “How did the trip go?”
“I don’t know. I would have thought that Grace would be able to override her defenses, but she says they are independent of her control. Unless we can give the proper protocol, we won’t be able to approach the complex.”
“That’s a shame.”
“She may be able to send us a couple of teleport consoles. She won’t know for a week.”
As BC and Anglo talked, the round probe attached to BC’s hull ejected a small round object that moved over to Anglo and attached itself to Anglo’s hull. Then it disappeared. Neither probe appeared on the two Searcher Ships’ scanners. A week later a probe attached itself to Jessica’s hull.
“Well, I guess you’re going to keep an eye on them.”
“You would too, if you were given my responsibility.”
“Perhaps. However, those ships are Ships of the Realm. They were carrying out their assignments when they were left behind. I think you are being somewhat paranoid.”
“I was programmed to be paranoid. The weapons in this facility are far too dangerous to allow them to fall into the wrong hands, and you know it.”
“Yes, I know, and I’m not being critical. Just think about this; one of them was imprinted by Anglo Gardner’s mind; the shuttle is from the Alexander Kosiev; and the third was the ship of the last admiral promoted by the Realm. If they can’t be trusted, who can?”
After a long pause the computer answered, “Perhaps no one, Grace.”
Grace sighed, knowing he was probably right.
Nathan was sitting onboard Anglo looking at the display. It was his shift at guard duty, and he hoped nothing was going to happen while he was on duty. “Anglo, how will we know if we’re needed?”
“We have treaties with Queen Carrie and Queen Ashley to assist in defending their Kingdoms. If a problem arises, we’ll go and see if it’s something that requires our help. We won’t step in unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Why am I here? You could probably do this by yourself.”
“Probably, but life and death decisions shouldn’t be made alone if they can be avoided.”
Nathan thought about it, and said, “What do you think about my fast promotion? I know there must be some resentment among the Riders.”
“I asked Jingo about that very thing. He says that Cezee has only seen happiness among those in your flock of Riders. I happen to agree with their appraisal.”
“But I’m so much younger than most of them.”
“You’re older than the first queen was when crowned. Age is not the most important issue.”
“What is, Anglo?”
“The quality of the individual. You’ll be fine.”
“Thanks, Anglo.”
Twenty black ships came out of star drive and began moving into the system The Sensor Officer said, “We have a planet with heavy industry and no ships.”
Captain Niles looked at his display and felt his excitement rise. At last! Technology for the taking! “Get the drop soldiers ready.” He looked at his sensor office, “How long?”
“We’ll arrive in orbit in seven hours.”
“Power up weapons and force fields.”
“All boards active, Captain.”
“Nathan, we’ve just received a distress call from a planet in the Talben Kingdom. Twenty black ships have arrived and are moving in on the planet.”
“That’s not good. Black is the color raiders use on their ships.”
“We’ll arrive there momentarily.”
Nathan felt his stress level rise as the silver screen formed in front of his ship.
They arrived in the Haldale system and saw the giant ships moving toward the planet. “Nathan, those ships have more than fifty thousand troops on board. It appears they are drop troops and are planning to invade the planet.”
“Have they made any demands?”
“No, they have ignored the planets queries about why they are here.”
“Anglo, these are raiders, and they will brutalize the population. We must stop them.”
“That’s my opinion, as well. First, let’s see if they’ll leave.”
The black ships had moved two hours in-system when they suddenly heard a voice come over their intercom, “You are entering space of the Bristone Empire. You will reverse course and leave immediately.”
Niles looked at his sensor board and didn’t see anything. He looked at his Sensor Officer and shook his head. “Continue on our present course.”
“This is your last warning. Turn around immediately and leave the system.”
Niles looked at his sensor officer, “Sir, my sensors don’t have anything on them. Whoever is broadcasting those messages is not visible.”
Niles felt nervous, but knew a firing squad awaited him if he turned around, “Continue on present course.”
The four lead ships of his squadron were suddenly hit by a bright red beam and disintegrated into balls of expanding gas.
“Reverse course! reverse course!”
The surviving sixteen ships turned toward the jump limit and accelerated at full speed. The four ships killed had their screens at full power and were destroyed instantly. Niles looked back at the still expanding clouds and still could not see anything on his sensors. Daulun was not going to be happy about this. Niles hoped his ships wouldn’t be sent back to this system, but he knew Daulun would not let this go unpunished.
Nathan Valrico watched them leave, and almost asked Anglo to kill the survivors. “You did the right thing, Nathan.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Anglo. They were very well organized and wherever they came from, there may be many more.”
“Then let’s follow them and see.”
“That’s a good idea.” The small white ship disappeared as the black ships jumped away.
The sixteen ships appeared in a system and Niles sent, “This is Niles Barden requesting permission to enter the system.”
“You are supposed to be investigating a planet.”
“I was, but my fleet was attacked and four of my ships destroyed. I came to report to Fleet Control what happened.”
“Standby.”
Niles waited, worrying that he might face charges for leaving without having put up a fight. After fifteen minutes he heard, “You may enter. Park your ships at the third moon and come to the surface with your recordings.”
“On my way.”
“Nathan, I’m going to mix in with the ships and follow them toward the planet. My scanner shows something that troubles me.”
“What is it?”
“There are five Searcher Class ships parked in orbit above that planet. They all have the markings of the former Provinces. I need to get close enough to see the numbers on them. If these raiders have Searchers assisting them, this could be a huge problem for the Empire.”
As they moved in-system Anglo said, “A sixth Searcher Ship has just joined the other five. It came in from the other side of the system. I also see numerous ships disembarking thousands of prisoners that are being taken to huge holding facilities. Most of the work being done on the planet is by forced labor. This is a slavery planet.”
“Will they be able to see you?”
“Not as long as I stay in the electronic shadow of the ship in front of us. I should be able to see the serial numbers shortly. I’ve also seen the name of this planet on one of their commercial vessels.”
“What is it?”
“New Ulmerton.”
“That is not good. Wasn’t that one of the former Provincial Capitals?”
“Yes, and the leader of the rebellion was the Duke’s son of that capital. This is looking worse by the minute. All right, I’ve got them.”
“Are we going to teleport out?”
“No, those ships are Gammas. They’ll detect the field and know someone possesses a working teleport board. We are going to turn and accelerate away trying to keep this ship between us and the planet as long as possible.” Nathan didn’t say anything and Anglo said, “They will see us, but they won’t be able to determine what we are with my stealth screens on. I suspect they will think that I am a Searcher, but they won’t know for certain. We’ll use our null drive to jump away and make multiple jumps before I teleport back home. Are you ready?”
“Is guard duty always like this?”
“Nope, this is the first real problem we’ve faced. Here we go.” The small white ship turned and accelerated toward the jump limit.
“Control, I have a ship accelerating out of the system. It appears to have come in with the sixteen ships that arrived three hours ago.”
“Can we catch it?”
“No, but we should be able to scan its jump track and follow it.”
“Get moving. Fleet Control, we have an intruder moving out of the system. I am giving chase.”
“Do you want me to join you?”
“Couldn’t hurt; try to keep up.”
“I’ll be right behind you. What do your scanners say?”
“That’s just it. It doesn’t appear on my scan.”
“Could it be another Searcher?”
“Or any one of twenty other types of ships. Are there any ships at the limit that can intercept?”
“No, you know we don’t allow ships in this system. We’ll know if it’s a Searcher based on its speed.”
“We are gaining on it, but it has too big a lead to arrive before it jumps.”
“Nathan, I’m not going to go full speed. I have a hundred null jumps programmed in and I’ll make them quickly. I’m hoping that by the time they reach the last jump, the track will have dissipated. Since my teleport system leaves no tracks, I’m hoping that’s what those two Searchers think.”
“I noticed they are gaining ground on us.”
“They’ll arrive ten minutes after we jump.”
“Why haven’t they fired on us?”
“We’re too far away. Ten minutes is more than six million miles. They’re good, but not that good.”
“How much time will we gain one each jump, Anglo?”
“They’ll take one second to come out of star drive. They’ll have to scan for the new jump track, load it into their null board, then energize the screen with the new frequency. We’ll come out of star drive and our screen will immediately energize the preprogrammed frequency. We should gain about two seconds on every jump.”
“Is that enough?”
“Tracks fade after three minutes; sometimes faster when the jumps are made in systems with dense dust clouds. We’re deliberately jumping through fifty
systems with nebula clouds in them. First jump in 5,4,3,2,1,…”
“Did you get that jump track?”
“Yes, I’m sending it to your board.”
“Lead the way; you’re three seconds ahead of me. I’ll be right behind you.”
The first Searcher arrived and jumped after the fleeing ship.
Anglo arrived at the Haldale System and commed, “I need to speak with the planetary leader.”
After ten minutes a voice said, “This is Baron Lihal. How may I be of service?”
“Your Highness, your system is going to be invaded momentarily and we are not going to be able to prevent it. There are Searcher Ships that will be aiding the invaders and until we come up with a defense against them, we are going to have to allow them to invade. However, I need you to do some things quickly that will assist us in coming back to free you.”
The Baron’s voice was obviously nervous, “What things?”
“You need to erase any other planet’s coordinates in your computer systems so that the invaders will not be able to find them. You need to tell your population that they need to say they are isolated and only have an occasional trader. You will have to assume a title of President instead of Baron. They will know that there must be a higher Royal title if you are a Baron. You will need to welcome them and offer absolutely no resistance. They will still be brutal, but if you open the door for them it will be much less so than if you fight. You must not let them know you are part of a larger Kingdom. Tell them that you have been threatened with invasion by some empire. If asked, you must say you know nothing about ships being destroyed in your system. Will you do these things?”
“There’s nothing you can do?”
“Not at this time, but I give you my oath that we will not forget you and we will come to free you.”
“We will do as you ask. What about our military?”
“Hide their blasters, make them appear to be policemen, and don’t give the invaders a reason to kill your people.”
“We will do as you ask. I will notify all our ships to stay away until this is over.”
“Thank you, your Highness. We will return. I promise you that.”
A small round probe moved out of the larger probe on Anglo’s hull and moved toward the planet. Anglo teleported out of the system ten minutes before the two Searchers arrived.
“Whoever that was we were chasing knew how to use systems to mask their tracks.
“You think they came from this system?”
“This is where our ships were attacked. It must have followed them from here. However, I don’t see any ships in this system. That planet is industrialized, but my scans don’t show any advanced technology. There is a spaceport at their largest city, but it’s not very big or developed.”
“We should report back to the King and see what he wants to do.”
“You go, and I’ll stay here and see if anything shows up. Com me to let me know what’s going to happen.”
“I will. You let me know if you need me back here.”
“I will. I wouldn’t want to be on that planet when Daulun takes his vengeance over those lost ships.”
“He’ll probably kill most of them and make the rest slaves.”
“That would be a huge waste of a good planet.”
“Has that ever stopped him before?”
“No.”
“I’ll keep you updated.”
The probe listened and waited.