It was two days after Angel’s funeral and Matt was sitting on Aladdin reflecting on all that had happened. He was still feeling despair and was struggling to understand what had occurred. As he reflected he thought to Al, “I know you’re troubled and don’t know why this had to happen.”
Matt’s control board’s lights flickered. Matt had a brief smile and thought, “So that’s what it looks like when you’re surprised.”
“Caught me again, I didn’t think you saw those thoughts.”
“I didn’t. I’ve been having them so I knew you must be seeing it, too. I don’t have an answer either, Al. However, I know that it had to happen or we would all perish. I still wouldn’t have let her die if I could have stopped it.”
“Are you so certain you couldn’t have prevented it?”
Matt paused and thought, “I’m here, Al, and some of the most powerful minds in history tried to prevent it. I saw Angel dying in my arms. I didn’t know what caused it but I knew it was going to happen. There are forces operating here that are unimaginable. I have learned that the Kings psychic power protects him and will cause things to happen to insure his survival. I contacted him and asked him about that power and he confirmed it. He gave me enough examples of it from his meeting with Atlas to the death of Kosiev that convinced me that he is being accurate and honest. That forces me to examine myself. The King insists that my power dwarfs his and if that is true then consider this; my power can look at not only the present but also the future and force events that insure my safety. She had to die in order for something to happen that is important to my survival, and I think that includes the Realm’s survival.”
“I’ve arrived at the same conclusion. I just have no clue as to what it could possibly be.”
“Me, either.” Matt looked at the floor and after a moment thought, “Knowing it still doesn’t reduce my anguish.”
“I know.”
“I gave two of the green shards to Stem, Matt.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure. I just felt compelled to do it. I did tell him that the last one will remain in the box beside your chair and may not be taken. He agreed.”
“Thanks, Al. There it will remain.”
“Speaking of weeds, Sprig has just requested a meeting at a planet in the Algean Galaxy.”
“Do you have the coordinates?”
“Yes, but he did say that if you want to delay he would understand. That’s why he didn’t contact you directly.”
“Al, I’ve got to do something to try and stop this downward spiral I find myself in. I think I need to stay busy; tell him we’re coming.”
Aladdin disappeared and reappeared over a barren planet. “Looks like another world the Algeans conquered,” Al thought.
“Remarkably enough, Al, this planet has been barren since a time before my people started having to destroy planets.”
“Hello, Sprig. I understand you want to see me.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Searcher. I would not have called you but I need your assistance on a project we’re working on.”
“What project is that?”
“The ship we’re building for you. Now that the final system has activated, your development is at a point where you should be able to operate the ship.”
“I sense something is troubling you, Sprig.”
“The ship has stopped developing and will not go any further.”
“When did that happen?”
“As soon as your last system activated; we quite logically thought that it should have proceeded forward at an even faster rate but it has stalled and come to a complete stop.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“We would like for you to come and enter the ship and allow us to see if that starts it moving forward again.”
“Where is it?”
“I’ve sent the coordinates to, Al. You can just land your ship next to it.”
“On our way.” Aladdin teleported and landed on a barren plain next to a large facility. As soon as they landed both Matt and Al both thought, “HOLY GROAD!”.”
“What’s wrong,” Stem thought?”
“Where did you get the material to build this ship?”
“It was buried several miles under this planet’s surface. We only found it after we developed the instrument that measures psychic power. One of our vessels passed through this system and the instrument measured a huge psychic wave. We came back and dug it out of the ground. We tried to cut it with a Coronado power cell and the energy from the cell caused it to start morphing into what you see.”
Matt and Al looked at a ship that was made from the same crystal material that they had seen when they had contacted the Reg. It glowed with the same translucence as the towers they had seen on the Reg’s planet. Matt was stunned and he thought, “What do you want me to do?”
“I want you to sit in the command chair and see if it activates the ship.”
“On my way.”
Matt teleported to the crystal ships open port and saw Sprig and Stem waiting on him. He walked forward and followed them into the ship. “Matt, this is the control room for this vessel. This chair is the command chair and we want you to sit in it.”
Matt looked around and saw another chair. He also saw a section of the wall behind the chairs that was recessed and strangely shaped. He walked toward the command chair and as he approached a golden light began emanating from it. “Don’t worry, that light only comes on when the person that the chair was designed for approaches.”
“How do you know that?”
“We discovered that when we found who the other chair was designed to fit. However, please sit down and tell me what you feel.” Matt furrowed his brow and sat down in the chair. The chair immediately started shifting colors rapidly from gold to blue to violet to red. “How does it feel?”
Matt sat there and the chair felt like it was made for him. It fit him exactly and when he placed his hand in an indentation on the chair arm it fit exactly. It fits me perfectly, Sprig. What is that indentation in the back wall?”
Sprig looked at Stem and then thought, “That indentation was the last thing to develop. Our engineers had no idea what it was so they called me in to examine it. I wouldn’t have known what it was six months ago but as soon as I saw it I knew what it was designed to hold.”
Matt tilted his head to the side and Sprig said, “It’s made for Al.” Matt and Al were shocked speechless. “Do you remember when you called us to your ship and I told Al about how he reminded me of the Captors and Atlas?” Matt nodded. “I looked at Al’s systems on that visit. That indentation matches his system’s shape perfectly.”
“Sprig, how long was this underground?”
“More than a hundred million years, Matt, and these are custom made for you and Al.”
Matt thought, “Al, what do you think of this?”
“I am almost shocked into a coma, Matt. How is this possible?”
Mat closed his eyes and forced his mind to go blank. He could feel the ship around him and as he let it slip into his mind he had a vision. He opened his eyes and looked at Sprig and Stem. “I know what’s happening and this ship will not operate right now; it may never operate.”
Sprig leaned right to show his surprise, “Why?”
“Because the race that made this will not allow us to use it unless we already know another way to kill the Eight Legs; the reason it quit developing was because I used this ships type of power to kill three of them.”
“What!”
“Those last two systems came from this ship, didn’t they?”
“Yes, they did.”
“I used the last system to fire some kind of psychic charge at the three Eight Legs that had boarded Angel’s ship and killed her. I saw all three of them totally implode.”
Stem thought excitedly, “That’s why they haven’t left the system yet.”
Matt looked confused, “What do you mean?”
“During their invasion of the first planet more than a third of their ships exploded off the planet and began frantically flying around the system. At the conclusion of the harvesting of the planet the remainder of the ships joined those flying around the system.”
“They’re searching for those three I killed.”
“That must be it, Matt. It also appears that they don’t know how it was done which leads me to believe that those three did not communicate the existence of invisible ships.”
Matt sighed and said, “That last system will no longer function on my ship.”
Sprig thought, “Tell us what you know.”
“I visited the race that made this ship. I learned that they are actually older than the Eight Legs and when they were invaded the first time they killed some of them until they learned that they were immune to the bite of those creatures. They just put up with them in every invasion after that first one. This race cannot take a life except in self defense nor can they directly cause loss of life. I asked them why they allowed so many to die without helping and they told me that killing one even if they are killing a million is just as bad as killing a million. They cannot directly assist us in killing the Eight Legs.”
Sprig and Stem were silent. “Then why did they leave this ship?”
Matt shook his head, “They are so far ahead of us psychically that it boggles the imagination. They knew millions of years ago that I was coming to communicate with them. This ship is proof of that. Consider this, if I wanted to help you but in doing so I would go against everything I believed holy, how could I help you?”
The two Algeans looked confused, “I can’t hand you a weapon to shoot somebody, but if I happen to lose the parts to make a gun and you find it millions of years after I misplaced it and then figure out how to build it, then they are not directly responsible for what follows.”
“That’s a thin line, Matt,” Stem said.
“Only if that gun is the only way I have to kill someone; if I already possess a means to kill them then they did not give me something I didn’t already possess; which means that before this ship will activate we have to find a way that will kill the invaders without using the power in this ship.” Mat paused, “I am so impressed with the beauty and integrity of the Reg and proud that they considered me a brother. This is the only way they can get around their principles to help. I felt that they wanted to help and this is evidence that supports that feeling.”
Sprig and Stem looked at Matt and said, “Then that suggests that a way exists outside of this ship to kill them or they would not have left this ship those million years ago.”
Matt nodded, “Logic absolutely supports that belief.”
“Then we have to find it, Matt.”
“Yes, we do.”
“I am calling a meeting of the Realm’s leadership in two days,” Sprig announced. “Will you please plan your schedule accordingly?”
“Al and I will be in attendance.”
“How do you know my schedule allows for that?”
Stem shook, “You bucket of bolts; we couldn’t keep you away. Tell him he can’t go, Matt.”
“You stay out of this you grass clippings.”
Matt and Sprig smiled glad to see them back at it again.
“First Fang, we have been unable to find the missing children.” Four days had passed and the entire system had been searched in great detail; no trace of the three was found.
The Ship’s Male was uncertain of what to do. His responsibility was to search this universe and see if it warranted a full harvest. He was given four intervals to make the decision and had not even used a thousandth part of one interval; however, this disappearance of the children was problematic for him. He searched the data records and determined that there was no record of any disappearances in the recorded history files. It was only three children of the billion on his ship the number was not important but their disappearance was. He was told by the Supreme Male that the Nest Mother suspected a highly advance life form existed in this universe. Could that life form have taken them? He pondered that question and then looked at the Sensor Male. “Are there any readings of any ships in the system other than the planet we just harvested?”
“No.”
“He knew about the crystal creatures in this universe but they had never disturbed them after the initial attempt at harvesting them. The Supreme Male had already decided to just ignore them as a waste of time. “Did you see a crystal ship in this system?”
“No.”
Most of the family was still digesting their last harvest and needed the four intervals to complete their meal. Should the timetable be moved up? The Ship’s Male wavered on what to do. Then he sat on his bed and quivered. His large black central section with the hour glass on the bottom moved down ten meters and he inserted his eight legs into their electronic receptacles. He replayed all that his children had seen in the system and just couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. “Where is the next harvest?”
“Do you want the closest or largest,” the Sensor Male asked?
He was tempted to go to the largest because unlike the rest of the family, his ship had not consumed as much as the others in the last harvest which meant his ship had already consumed their meal which was why his ship was sent ahead to scout. But, if there was danger then it was probably close to his current location. “The closest,” he responded.
The Sensor Male issued the order and all of the green ships in the system began reentering the mother ship, “Arrival in two measures, First Fang.”
The Ship’s Male settled in and decided that he would harvest the next planet and see if there was another disappearance; then he would contact the Supreme Male either way. The decision would then be his to make about what to do.
The Colonel in Fleet Command watched the feed being sent from the sensor probe at the harvested planet. He immediately pressed his com, “The ships are reentering the mother ship. They will be jumping soon.”
“Notify us of their jump track as soon as they leave.”
“I have the probe ready to follow and relay that information as soon as the track is read, Sir.”
Another planet was going to die. The Colonel waited for the information and felt anguish as he hoped that someone could find a way to stop these deadly creatures.
The meeting was room was full as Sprig called the room to order. He immediately turned the meeting over to Matt who explained the Reg and his beliefs about what they had done. Danielle looked at Matt as he spoke and saw that he was changed. She thought about what she would be like if she lost Tag and understood what he must be enduring. She was surprised that he was holding up as well as he appeared. After Matt finished and took his chair, Tag said, “How are we going to find the means to kill these creatures?”
Sprig thought, “We are going to have to attack them and use anything we can think of to hit them.”
Matt leaned forward and said, “The danger of attacking them has gone up tremendously.”
Tag flinched, “Why?”
Matt looked at Sprig and then said, “Because we have uncovered how they knock out ships so quickly, Your Majesty.” Matt put on a glove and reached over and unfolded a white cloth in front of him. He lifted a green colored pointed shard and held it up for the attendees to see. “This is what killed Angel and damaged her ship. Each of the three Eight Legs all fired one of these when they entered the ship and all three hit her.”
The attendees all looked at the shard and Danielle asked, “What have we learned about that, Searcher?”
Matt looked at Sprig and Twig and said, “Not a lot but we can surmise several things. If I am wrong about anything, please correct me.”
Sprig thought, “Please continue, Searcher.”
“It appears that the Eight Legs can actually see intelligent life even through solid walls. The only holes in Angel’s ship were made in a direct path from the three that penetrated her hull. All three of them fired at the only life on the ship and there was no other damage anywhere else. These shards went through our strongest materials to hit her and were not affected by the passage; the holes they made left no residue when they passed through. It is my belief that this is one of their weapons systems but they only use it when they penetrate a ship so that they can consume what they hit. The shard was covered in an extremely powerful neurotoxin that paralyzes the victim it hits giving the Eight Leg time to consume the victim before they die. Another by product of this toxin is that it holds the brain in a stasis so that even if the body dies the brain can still be consumed giving up any memories it holds.”
“Why does that make attacking them more dangerous,” General Durk asked?
“Imagine a fleet of our ships attacking them and the invaders fire a barrage of these shards. Our sensors would not detect them coming and they would penetrate our screens and hulls before we even knew they were approaching. Just because they have only used them on ships they’ve penetrated in the past does not mean that is the only way they can be utilized. I suspect that if the invaders learn that we can teleport away before they can land on our ships that they will fire first and then harvest the crew. If we dared to use our warriors against them, they would fire these shards right through their armor and devour them at their leisure.”
The room was silent. Everyone understood the implications of what he said.
“The attack on Angel also removed one of the methods I was planning to use against them.”
Sprig leaned right and said, “What was that, Searcher?”
“I was planning to teleport the mother ship into the heart of the hottest star in our universe.” The room stirred at the idea. “However, it won’t work.”
“Why not,” Twig asked?
“When I teleported Angel’s ship to my location, which was a very dangerous thing to do in hind sight, however, I wasn’t thinking clearly at that moment; the three inside her ship were left behind. It appears even our teleportation screens are ineffective against this material. This also means that we will be unable to teleport any kind of weapon into their ships.”
“Every time we discuss these creatures they seem to become more powerful and dangerous,” Tag observed.
“Not necessarily, Your Majesty. I have been concerned from the start that these creatures may see all of the ships and planets we’ve hidden behind the red screens simply by reading the energy emissions coming from them. They may be invisible visually to them but the planets stand out like a flaming torch with the energy it emits. After I killed the three Eight Legs, their entire fleet searched the system looking for them. Our ships emit energy but they obviously didn’t see Angel’s ship. The only way they found her was by the shadow that her ship cast on the moon’s surface. It defies all odds that one of their smallest ships just happened to be located where that shadow was cast.” Matt paused and the room could see his anguish. Matt took a deep breath and continued, “However, it gives us information that is vital. I think this mother ship is here to scout our universe and see if it warrants a full invasion. Right now it is only going to planets that show intelligent life, however, the full invasion would examine every star. We know how to bend light around planets psychically. If we can prevent the member planets from casting a shadow then they should truly be invisible to them. I think the data supports that they ignore any kind of energy and use their vision only that allows them to see those systems that have intelligent life. It may be that the substance they use to cover all of their creations prevents them from seeing energy. When they look at a galaxy, all they see is where intelligent life is located; I don’t think they even see the stars.”
“That is the first good news I’ve heard,” Danielle responded. “What else have you surmised?”
“We don’t need to waste time hitting them with any energy weapons. If they are immune to teleportation then I think we can rule out all forms of energy.” Matt looked at Sprig.
“You are probably right, Searcher; but we still should verify that beyond all doubt.”
“Then you have to hit them outside the jump limit and jump away immediately. Make ten fast, and I do mean fast, jumps and then teleport away. I hope they can’t follow fast enough and conclude that they missed arriving at the last jump track before it dissipated. Reading jump tracks, since they use the process to travel, is probably something they are capable of doing. We can’t reveal that we can jump inside the jump limit or use teleportation. This race is so old that they may have the information in their stored data that would allow them to develop the processes if they ever suspect that it is actually being done.”
“We could also land all our ships and just ignore them until they leave,” Tag said.
Matt looked at the King of the Stars Realm and said slowly, “I have thought about that, too, Your Majesty. However, that would be a weight on our civilization that would ultimately lead to our downfall. Are we going to sit by and watch millions of civilizations we were unable to contact be killed as we hide? The Reg didn’t leave that ship because they wanted to help. They left it because their civilization is in decline because of the horror of what they are unable to stop. I could feel the pain they felt for all the ones that have been killed. We are here today with an opportunity to stop these creatures and save all of the universes in creation. If we ignore that opportunity, what will we become after they leave? I have tried to find a reason for Angel’s death and until this moment I have only suffered because I can see no reason. The odds of what happened to her are so high against it happening that it staggers my sense of reality but I now know that it was for a reason and the death of these universe killers must be it. I do not believe that we should just hide, Your Majesty.”
Danielle looked at her husband and he saw her expression. She didn’t need to say anything, he could feel her. He felt her love and remembered when he vowed upon learning that she was going to have their first child that he was going to make sure that they would be safe even if he had to destroy the entire Alliance of Worlds that was bent on annihilating the human race. If he could have hid then, would he have allowed that danger to always be shadowing their lives?
Danielle watched Tag closely and could see the struggle he was having and then she saw him decide.
“Even if we die in this struggle, to turn away from this fight and allow so many to be destroyed would be something that I believe would kill us just as certainly as the Eight Legs. We will not turn away at this critical moment.”
As Tag spoke, Danielle thought back to that meeting that had changed both of their lives so substantially twelve hundred years ago. Rose called them in to a meeting of the First Family where all of the representatives of every Stars Realm member and Rose had been attempting to choose the military leaders of the future. The meeting had lasted six days and no one could agree on any selection until Rose had presented a radical choice. After very little back and forth, all the members agreed. Danielle and Tag arrived and found the entire assembly and Rose waiting in silence for them. Danielle took one look and knew something monumental was going on.
Rose stood and said, “Mom, Dad, the elected representatives of the Realm have decided who is to lead us in the coming years. We have struggled and we could not find consensus until I suggested a leader we could all trust.” Rose paused, looked at the First Family and then said, “I hereby abdicate my throne and the First Family has voted unanimously that Thomas Anglo Gardner, Sr. will be named the new King of the Stars Realm.”
Tag’s mouth fell open and he said, “I cannot and will not accept this position. You are so better qualified than I that this is a bad decision. What possessed you to even consider this?”
“Come sit down and let me explain.” Tag and Danielle took their seats in front of the gathering and Rose said, “We know the Eight Legs are coming. It could be a week or it could be a thousand years, however, we know without doubt that they are coming. Whoever leads the Stars Realm must possess psychic talents; one of which is the ability to sense when danger approaches. Dad, your sense is the strongest in our family; there’s no sense is even thinking about denying that much.” Tag looked at her and then nodded. “Further, your talents lie in the province of being a warrior. Tgon-Gee says that you are death incarnate and cannot be defeated. Dad, the Realm now needs a warrior to lead it into the future; it needs you.”
Danielle said, “What she’s saying has merit, Darling.” Rose looked at Danielle and Danielle thought, “Uh oh!”
“This is where you will have the most trouble with what we are asking of you; the Realm requests that you allow Atlas to extend your life spans again.”
Danielle stood and said, “We will not!”
Rose looked at her mother and Danielle saw the sadness in her eyes. “Mom, none of Cassandra’s or my children have manifested any psychic skills. They do not possess the necessary vision to know when danger approaches. The Realm needs a ruler that has the psychic skills that you, and I, possess. Mom, I need to be with my children and move them from Castle Gardner. They cannot succeed me and they need me close to them. If you do not accept this role, then I will be forced to it and I say to you from my heart that I cannot continue in peace.”
Tag saw her sorrow and said, “Tommy and Cassandra can take your place.”
Rose shook her head, “You know the danger inherent in Cassandra’s lack of control of her power. The stresses of the crown would be too much for her. They have agreed to extend their lives if you will accept this responsibility. Cassandra wants to see the child in her vision and will wait until he arrives. However, the Realm has voted unanimously that they want the two of you to be the Royal Couple leading the Realm toward its coming confrontation with the Eight Legs. They call upon you to serve.”
Tag looked at Danielle and took a deep breath, “It will only be until Cassandra’s coming child reaches maturity; he can replace us at that time.”
Danielle looked at Rose and asked, “Are you going to extend your life?”
“No, I do not want to live longer than my children. I have no need to live that long and Michael agrees. You must accept; the Realm needs a warrior to lead it and I am not a warrior.”
Danielle move forward and embraced her daughter, “We will reluctantly accept, Darling. All I’ve ever wanted is your happiness.”
“Being with my children for the time that remains in a normal human life span is what I desire most.”
Danielle looked at Tag and shrugged. Tag looked at the First Family’s representatives and said, “We will accept your decision. We will do all we can to protect the Realm against the coming storm.”
The entire assembly rose and cheered. Danielle held Rose and thought to her, “You gave them the idea, didn’t you?”
“Yes, Mom, I lied about not having a vision.” Danielle stepped back from Rose and looked her in the eye. “I saw Dad and you leading the Stars Realm a thousand years from now. You have to do it or the Realm will die.”
Danielle pulled Rose close and nodded already missing her daughter knowing she would die long before the thousand years was over.
Tag stood and Danielle was brought back to the present. It was this kind of moment that showed her why she loved him so much. She was proud of him beyond measure and the Realm’s decision twelve hundred years earlier to select a warrior to lead them into the future was vindicated in this moment.
Tag saw her admiration and felt twenty five years old again, “We will fight this fight. I stand with you, Matthew Anglo Gardner and I welcome you into the Royal Family. You are hereby selected to succeed me as the Realm’s ruler at the conclusion of this nightmare and I charge you to protect it as we have. Please bow.”
Matt was stunned. He didn’t want this responsibility. The King and Queen stood and walked around the table to his chair followed by the representative of the Glod Union and Cainth Empire. Matt rose from his seat and bowed before them. Thomas Gardner drew a fencing sword from a scabbard at his waste followed by the Glod drawing a Glod long sword and the Cainth drawing a short sword. The huge Glod tapped him on both shoulders with the long sword followed by the Canith and then Tag tapped him on each shoulder, “I hereby name you Prince Matthew Anglo Gardner, defender of the Realm, and charge you with the safety and well being of all its subjects. Your decisions will be followed by all and we charge you to continue the Prime Directive of the Royal Family to protect the life of the Realm and all those that cannot protect them self.”
Matt was humbled by the words. This was too much for him to take on but then he thought about Angel and knew he could not decline the title; it would diminish her sacrifice. He said, “I swear to keep the faith of the Realm and do all within my power to protect her.”
“Please rise, Prince Gardner.”
The first to arrive to congratulate him was Anglo. “I have been waiting for you, cousin. Welcome to my family.” He stepped forward and embraced Matt. The rest of the room joined Anglo in greeting the Royal Family’s newest member.
Stem and Al watched the meeting from orbit and Stem said, “I hope we’re not demanding too much from him at this sad time.”
“I believe he needs this, Stem. It gives reason to Angel’s loss and he needs something to take his mind away from her death.”
“You’re probably right, Al. Take care of him; the life of our universe is depending on him.”
“I will. I also depend on him.”
“You need each other, Al.”
“More than you know, Stem.”