“So what happened?” asked Jack. “I mean, if you had all this Ancient stuff, why couldn’t you use it to stop the Deathlords?”
“Because we were not aware of them and the threat they posed until they attacked,” explained Shepherd. “There had been rumors from the fringe of the Empire that an alien armada had been sighted here and there, but nothing concrete enough to raise any alarm. Besides, Regalus Prime was protected by the strongest space fleet known to man deep inside friendly space. Our military was second to none. We all believed our fleet was practically invincible, and no one would ever be able to attack our planet. Until the day the Deathlords appeared from hyperspace. Somehow, they had slipped past our checkpoints and sensors. They came to us, just as they did to Earth, with a fleet of Planetkillers. Their shards swarmed our defenses, allowing them to get into position. We had no idea who they were and what they were capable of until it was too late.”
“How did you survive?” asked Jack. “How did Anna?”
Shepherd sighed and looked down sadly, as though it pained him to talk about it.
“I was back at home visiting my wife,” he said. “She worked as the royal tutor for the Princess.”
“A teacher, huh?” said Jack.
Shepherd cracked a smile. “The best,” he said. “But she was more than that – almost like a mother to the royal offspring. It was her duty to raise them until such time as they could be brought into court when they reached their teens. Anna was the youngest, and the only girl, so Casca always had a special affinity for her.”
Shepherd stopped and gazed off toward a wall. Jack wondered if “Casca” was the name of his wife. It must have been hard to talk about, especially for a guy who seemed to prefer spending his time flying around and kicking butt with glowing stick things.
“When the attack happened, my wife made me take the Princess to an escape shuttle while she attempted to get the crown prince and his brothers off-world. It was standard procedure to evacuate the royal family in a time of crisis. Unfortunately, because of the chaos of the invasion, I was not able to go back for her. Enemy fire had collapsed part of the palace, and I had no choice but to leave with Anna.”
Shepherd swallowed hard at the memory. He turned to Jack and stared at him with his intense grey eyes.
“The fall of Regalus Prime was a huge blow to Imperial rule. Major trade routes and space lanes were interrupted. The seat of military command was destroyed, along with our parliament and other essential governmental bodies. The Empire was in chaos. Communications were unreliable, and enemies outside the Empire took the opportunity to claim territory that rightfully belonged to us.”
“Since that time, the universe has been reeling,” continued Shepherd. “The galactic economy is in ruins. Governance is still unstable, and many worlds are breaking off from the Empire or falling to hostile rivals, all of which weaken our ability to retaliate and defend ourselves. All efforts have been made to re-establish the might of our military, but we cannot protect our borders from pirates and rival governments as well as fight off the Deathlords at the same time. For even as we scramble and squabble amongst ourselves, the Deathlords continue their rampage, hitting the planets we need most in order to survive.”
“Sounds bad,” said Jack.
“It is bad,” replied Shepherd. “If the Empire collapses, there is no way to unify enough planets to mount an offensive effective enough to stop the Deathlords. But as our government struggles to survive, and entire planets live in constant fear of destruction, throughout it all, there’s the Princess… the only living member of the royal bloodline. The only one who has the power to control Ancient technology. The only one who has the key to possibly stopping the Deathlords. That is what brought us to your planet Jack. The belief that there was something there that could end this reign of terror that has descended upon our universe like a plague. Earth was our greatest hope. And now, so are you.”
Jack raised an eyebrow.
“Uh… me?” he said.
“For whatever reason,” said Shepherd, “you have a role to play in all this, Jack. I don’t pretend to understand why, or how, but it cannot be ignored. You’re the one the Princess was drawn to, which led to you opening the temple, which led to our finding this ship.”
Shepherd gestured to the room around him.
“I cannot believe that was all just a coincidence,” he said.
“What are you saying?” asked Jack. “I’m like some chosen one destined to save the universe or something?”
Shepherd chuckled. “I doubt it,” he said. “If there is such a thing as destiny, and anyone’s been chosen to save the universe, it’s Princess Glorianna. Only she has the power to unlock the mysteries of the Ancients. But that does not mean you do not have a role to play.”
“So what is it?” asked Jack. “What’s my role?”
“That’s the real question, isn’t it?” asked Shepherd. “Do you remember the talk we had earlier? When you came to detention?”
“You mean when you talked about taking responsibility for my actions and stuff?” asked Jack. It seemed like that was a million years ago, though it had only been that afternoon.
Shepherd nodded. “Since that time, I think you’ve indeed taken that advice to heart,” he said. “You protected Anna, and you may very well have helped us find the key to defeating the Deathlords once and for all. But I think maybe it’s time I take a little bit of my own advice, and start looking at my actions.”
“What do you mean?” asked Jack.
“I won’t lie to you, Jack,” he said. “Coming to your planet did put it in danger. That much I can’t ignore. But we did not destroy it. That blame belongs to the Deathlords, and to them alone. However, it was a consequence of the actions the Princess and I took. And now it’s time for me to take responsibility for it.”
Shepherd got to his feet and looked down at Jack.
“That’s why, when we get home, I am going to train you.”
Jack looked up at Shepherd and blinked.
“Train me?” said Jack. “Train me in what?”
“In the ways of the Free Mind,” said Shepherd. “I’m going to train you to be a Paragon.”
Jack got to his feet. “You mean… I get to wear armor and learn to kick butt and stuff?”
A lopsided smile grew on Shepherd’s face. “My order is a very old brotherhood, Jack. A Paragon is one who learns to master his own mind… to free it from its confines. To see beyond what many believe is possible and to manifest that which they see.
The fall of Regalus Prime called me to become a Warrior Paragon, but there are others who devote themselves to art, science, music, literature… whatever calls to them. And by freeing our minds, and believing in ourselves, we are able to manifest anything we desire.”
Shepherd held out his hand. The air around it seemed to ripple, and suddenly, there was a baseball there. He tossed it to Jack, who caught it and looked at it in amazement.
“How’d you do that?” asked Jack.
“The same way I created my armor,” said Shepherd. “The same way I created that gun I gave you. I thought about what I wanted in my mind, and I manifested it into reality.”
“Whoa…” said Jack. “You mean… that quantum physics stuff the Professor was always talking about… you can do that?”
Shepherd nodded. “It is the way of the Paragon,” he said. “It is the way of the Free Mind.”
“Then why can’t you create a weapon to destroy the Deathlords?” Jack asked. “Why can’t you just make them all disappear with your mind or something?”
“It may be possible to do that,” said Shepherd. “We Paragons have the belief that anything is possible. But unless a mind is totally free, there are still limitations to what one is able to accomplish.”
“So you’re saying none of you guys has figured out a way to do that yet?” said Jack.
“Freeing a mind from its own bonds is a complicated process, Jack,” said Shepherd. “Even after a lifet
ime of study and practice, it may not be enough to achieve a truly free mind, one capable of manifesting anything.”
“How long would it take to achieve one that’s just capable enough to stomp the Deathlords into mush?” asked Jack.
Shepherd smiled. “I don’t know,” he said. “Would you like to find out?”
Jack met Shepherd’s gaze and nodded.
“Heck, yeah,” he said.
Chapter 18
Shepherd and Jack entered the bridge together. Jack looked around at the state of the command center and was relieved to see things weren’t nearly as bad as they were when he had run out earlier. The viewscreen was in full working order again, and most of the control panels looked as good as new. Professor Green was busy tapping away on a console with Anna assisting him.
“What’s our status, Professor?” asked Shepherd as he approached them.
Anna looked up at Shepherd and then over to Jack. He had hung back a bit, not wanting to get too close after the embarrassment of his last episode around her. She quickly looked away and moved to another control panel on the other side of the bridge.
“Engines are now fully repaired,” said Green. “I’ve diverted system focus to the hyperdrives, so those should be ready in a few more minutes. Our shields are still in need of repair, as are our weapon systems, but for the most part we are looking A-Okay.”
Shepherd glanced out the viewscreen. “Do what you can to speed things up,” he said. “Looks like the Deathlord’s search grid is closing in. They’ll be on top of us in fifteen minutes, maybe ten.”
“We should be ready before then,” said Green. “But I must remind you, as soon as we power up our engines, they’ll be able to pick up on our energy signature. I don’t doubt they’ll be upon us in moments.”
“You hear that, Jack?” asked Shepherd. “You’ll have to make the jump to hyperspace as soon as you engage the engines.”
Jack nodded. “Got it,” he said.
“Don’t do anything fancy,” said Shepherd. “Just get us out of here.”
“I understand,” said Jack.
Shepherd nodded. His eyes flashed to Anna, and then back to Jack before turning his attention to the console on which Green was working. Jack took a deep breath and walked over to where Anna was running a system scan by the captain’s chair.
“Hey,” said Jack.
“Hello, Jack,” said Anna. “How are you doing?”
“A little better,” he said. Jack felt awkward talking to Anna again for some reason. He stuck his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet uncomfortably. “Listen, about what I said before…”
“It’s okay,” said Anna.
“No, it’s not,” replied Jack. “I was being a jerk. I should have never said those things.”
“You were upset. It’s understandable.”
Jack nodded. “I, uh… had a talk with Mr… Paragon Shepherd. He told me about what happened to your family.”
“I’m glad he was able to explain things,” she said. “I know this whole ordeal is probably very confusing for you.”
Jack shrugged. “Well, I wanted to let you know that… I’ve decided to go into training to become a Paragon.”
Anna looked at Jack with a hint of surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah. Shepherd said he’d train me once we get you back home.”
“That’s… wow…” said Anna.
“I know, right?” said Jack. “Can you imagine? Lord only knows the kinds of things my mind will manifest.”
Jack and Anna shared a laugh at that.
“I’m sure you’ll make a fine disciple,” she said.
“Well, anyway… I wanted you to know, because I’m going to be pledging my service to you and your bloodline and stuff.”
Anna smiled. “And stuff?”
“Yeah, Shepherd said a bunch of things I had to swear allegiance to… I don’t know. Anyway, my point is that I’m gonna be there for you. No matter what.”
“Very well,” said Anna. “I look forward to accepting your pledge of service.”
Jack smiled. “Man, you make it sound like I’m gonna be your personal slave or something. I’m actually sort of scared now.”
“Once you’re in my service, you’ll be honor-bound to do whatever I say,” teased Anna. “But be more afraid of Shepherd than of me. He’s a lot less forgiving than I am.”
“And a lot less fun,” said Jack. “I’ve already been through detention with the man. I’m really afraid of what he’s gonna have me doing once there are no child labor laws or anything holding him back.”
“One can only imagine,” said Anna with a smile.
Jack stared at Anna awkwardly for a minute before pulling a small, lilac colored flower from his pocket.
“I almost forgot,” he said. “I had Shepherd manifest your favorite flower for me. You know, to apologize for shoving you like I did.”
Jack presented it to her. “An urthma!” said Anna. She smiled and took the flower, smelling it. “That’s very sweet of you.”
Jack tried not to blush. “Yeah, well… you know…”
Anna leaned in and gave Jack a gentle kiss on the cheek.
“I know,” she said.
Jack’s nerves shot through him like an electrical current. “Okay then!” he said a little too loudly as he clapped his hands together. “I’m, uh, just gonna fly the ship into hyperspace now and try again not to get us all killed.”
“Good luck with that,” said Anna.
“Yeah… thanks,” replied Jack.
Jack turned and hopped back up in the captain’s chair. He laid his hands on the domes, and they lit up in response to his touch. He was once again tuned into the ship.
Stupid, thought Jack. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Way to end a conversation – promise not to get her killed. Brilliant.
Jack called up the status of the ship. Engines were just about ready to go, as was the hyperdrive, but shields were still down and weapons were inoperable. He checked the Entanglement Engine and found it had stopped charging while the ship made its repairs, but it was almost ready to be used again as well.
The outer hull of the ship had been badly damaged in the blast, but the major weaknesses had all been fixed. The ship wasn’t in anywhere close to as good a shape as it had been when Jack had first found it, but it was better than flying around in space with a bunch of holes in the hull. However, without shields to protect them, Jack knew it would only take a couple of direct hits to do some serious damage.
Jack suddenly felt very guilty. He’d just gotten the spaceship, and already it was trashed. If he had just listened to Shepherd and had jumped when they had the chance… but he’d never have forgiven himself if he hadn’t tried to save his mom.
“Engines are fully repaired,” said Green. “Hyperdrive is ready, as well.”
Sure enough, Jack knew all that, right as Green had said it. The ship gave him the green light on all navigational systems.
“Okay, Jack,” said Shepherd. “When you’re ready, power up the engines and open our hyperspace window.”
“You’ve got it,” said Jack. “Starting engines now.”
Jack kicked the engines into life. As soon as the ship started moving, he turned it to match the jump coordinates Green had programmed into the navigational computer.
Alarm beeps sounded from the ship’s radar as enemy contacts began to adjust course toward them.
“We’ve been sighted,” said Green. “Deathlord shards are inbound.”
“Make the jump, Jack,” ordered Shepherd. “Now.”
Jack commanded the ship to open the hyperspace window. But nothing happened.
“Um…” said Jack.
“Jack,” said Shepherd urgently, “do it now!”
Jack tried again. And again, nothing happened. Jack asked the computer why it wasn’t working, and some information popped up on his holoscreen.
“Uh, oh. I think we have a problem,” said Jack.
“What is it?” demanded
Shepherd.
“There’s too much debris,” said Jack. “The ship can’t open a hyperspace window, we’d be flying right into their gravitational shadows, and we’d get ripped apart.”
“Oh, dear,” said Green. “Jack’s right. I forgot to account for the planet’s remains. If we were to open a window now, in the condensed reality of hyperspace, we’d be emerging into the equivalent of a brick wall.”
“Blast it!” said Shepherd. Just then the proximity alarm on the bridge sounded. The shards had just entered their firing range. “Jack,” he continued, “get us out of the debris field. Quickly!”
“Already on it,” said Jack as he adjusted the ship’s course. Without other ship’s systems to worry about at the moment, Jack pushed as much power as he could to the engines, giving them a burst of speed just in time to avoid incoming enemy plasma fire.
“Professor, get our shields back online,” said Shepherd.
Green furiously typed away at his control panel. “I’m working on it, dear Paragon,” he said.
In the captain’s seat, Jack could feel the small impacts from the tiny rocks of what used to be Earth that surrounded them as the ship flew to escape the oncoming shards. Bigger rocks were floating in space, and hitting those would definitely slow them down and affect the ship, so Jack had to adjust course to fly around them.
Meanwhile, the shards were gaining on them, and avoiding the plasma blasts and space debris while trying to outrun their pursuers was starting to become quite a challenge.
Jack accessed a map of the debris field the computer had generated for him. He was almost to its edge. The minute they were through, he’d be able to open the window into hyperspace.
“Almost out,” he said to himself. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to get as far away from the Deathlords as he possibly could.
Suddenly, the ship was rocked from an impact. Red lights flashed on the bridge as an alarm sounded. Jack immediately knew it was from enemy fire.
“We’ve been hit!” said Green.
“It’s okay,” said Jack. “We still have engines!”
Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet Page 19
