Ashes of the Realm: Book 04 - The Return of the Realm

by Saxon Andrew

  Tag said, “What are you going to do?”

  Trey looked extremely uncomfortable, “Before I met the two of you, I would have gone to kick them out of those universes and not even worried about the Realm. I can’t do that now.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I’m not completely certain the Realm is a lost cause.” Trey looked at the two Algeans standing next to Timmy and said, “They can ultimately make a difference in the battle to bring balance to Creation if they can find their way back. I’ve now seen that even when they made horrendous mistakes it was done to prevent suffering. They are lost but they can still find salvation. I’m thinking that our meeting them was possibly orchestrated by the Creative Force. Tag and Danielle choosing to join us leads me to believe that there might still be a place for the Realm in the fight.”

  Weed said, “I wish that were true but I’m just not certain they can help us.”

  “We won’t know unless we give them a chance.”

  Virze said, “So what do we do?”

  Trey smiled, “We give them that chance and then go kick the crap out of the Demon Fleets.”

  Timmy said, “While we’re doing that, how many will die in those universes?”

  Trey looked at Timmy, “Your Majesty, I’m not at all certain we will prevail against them if we do go there; especially if the Demons show up in their ships. I have no doubt that their advanced ships are in those universes and both Cassie and I still sense great danger in attacking them head on. We don’t have nearly enough ships to take them on now. We can possibly save one or two of those universes, but anything more than that is a gamble. The Realm’s Fleets could possibly help in the future but not right now.”

  Timmy said, “Trey, this is your game. You need to play it the way you think we should go.”

  Tag said, “It would be a huge mistake to go to those universes now.”

  Everyone turned and stared at him. He said, “I’m past allowing innocent civilizations to suffer and die while I do nothing, but I sense that you would give too much away if you acted now.”

  Cassie said, “He’s right. My sense of danger is off the scale about interfering with their current invasions.”

  Trey stared at Tag and Danielle and she said, “You worry about our loyalty to the Realm.”

  “How can I not? You two are the Realm.”

  Danielle said, “Then you’re asking the wrong question.”

  Trey stood there and slowly shook his head until Cassie said, “You should question the Realm’s loyalty to them.”

  Danielle said, “Exactly right.”

  Trey looked at her and saw it. “Then where is your loyalty?”

  “My loyalty is to life. I’ve forgotten that oath but I will never forget it again. We are made to make creation a better place and we’ve not done the things that needed doing. I will not make that mistake again.”

  Trey turned to Tag, “What about you?”

  “I am a weapon. I was born to save life, not take it. I have learned over the centuries that my wife can always see the truth. I will go where she points me. I choose to make Creation better than I found it. I can honestly say that I have not done that.” Tag paused and added, “Yet.”

  Trey stared at Tag for a long minute and everyone wondered what he was thinking. Then he smiled, “It looks like the Realm has finally returned. Danielle, you will stay with us and make sure we are making good decisions. We, like Tag, will go where you point us. Are the two of you willing to help us save life?”

  Danielle smiled, “More than you can possibly know.”

  Cassie said, “Before I can agree to this I’ve got to know where you made your biggest mistake.”

  Tag said, “I can answer that.” Danielle looked at him and nodded. “We allowed Jake to convince us to leave this universe and leave the Five Provinces to learn the value of our principles. That was unfair and stupid in hindsight.”

  Cassie’s eyes grew bright, “What should you have done?”

  Tag looked at her and said, “We should have kicked the ever living groad out of those Dukes like I wanted and removed their power to wage war. They were our responsibility and we left millions of worlds to suffer at their hands. We allowed them to get what they wanted and we were too blind to see what would happen. Evil should never be allowed to live and grow. We walked away from what we caused.”

  Cassie looked at Danielle, “Do you see it the same way?”

  Danielle smiled, “I should have started with Duke Jongo and worked my way to the others. If we had to rule with a fist until the worlds learned the real history of the Realm, then we should have done so. Later, we could have allowed worlds to leave the Realm if they didn’t want to remain, and protected our members from them.”

  “Why didn’t you do just that?”

  “Because we made the mistake of thinking that someone with more powerful psychic powers would see things we couldn’t. We thought Jake saw the truth that we were missing, but now I know that more powerful psychic power does not mean you actually see the truth. Listening to Jake was our biggest mistake.”

  “What about us?”

  “What about you?”

  “Do you think you see things clearer than we do?”

  Trey looked at Cassie, “You know they do.”

  “I know, but do they know?”

  Danielle smiled, “I don’t have a patent on the truth. I am, like Tag, a tool. It’s now your quest to do the Creator’s will and you will take the lead in that. You have been chosen and both of us are humbled to be here with the two of you. Like us, when we first found our powers, you will grow in strength and will eventually not need anyone to direct you. We will assist you any way we can until that day arrives. The advantage we have right now is that we have been using our skills for thousands of years.”

  Cassie smiled and nodded. Trey smiled with her and said, “Are you able to show us how to save the Stars Realm?”

  “I’m not sure we can save it; they may be too far gone. However, I know where we have to start.”

  Timmy said, “Where?”

  “We must dethrone a Queen.”

  Everyone looked at each other and Tag added, “By force if necessary.”

  Trey stared at them and said to Timmy, “Your Majesty, if you will call the Fleet together, we need to make a trip.”

  Timmy frowned, “There is no way for us to get to the Realm. They are in another dimension.”

  Cassie smiled, “The Empire Ship Scotty Robbins can go anywhere in Creation and we can take the fleet with us.”

  Timmy furrowed his brow and looked at Trey, “Is that true?”

  Danielle said, “It is.”

  Timmy looked sharply at her and she said, “I’m just saying. The Robbins is a psychic ship and that power has no limitations on travel.”

  Even Weed and Seed laughed at that.

  Chapter Four

  Later, as they waited for the fleet to arrive, Tag and Danielle teleported down to the planet and walked to the Robbins Memorial in Robbins Park. They admired the beautiful landscape and the detail of the statues. They stared up at the huge reptiles on each side of the Human statues and Danielle said, “Those are Zord.”

  “I recognize them from our library. What are those statues doing here?”

  Danielle went forward and read the inscriptions on them. “These people had an alliance with them. The largest one was the Ruler of their species and he is recognized as being one of the Empire’s greatest warriors and allies.”

  “Where are they now?”

  “I…don’t…know.”

  “Why do you hesitate?”

  “Because if they were all killed with the other universe, the inscription would have read differently; they are not all dead but I haven’t seen any on this world.”

  A visitor to the park heard them and said, “They have left us to fight for Creation. They are Life Warriors now. We miss them very much.”

  Danielle saw the woman’s sadness and said, “Thank you
.” The woman nodded and walked forward, knelt with the others that had come, and placed flowers at the feet of the two humans.

  Tag watched her leave and said, “How do you feel now?”

  Danielle looked him in the eyes and said, “I’m alive again. My life has purpose. The sacrifice of the Robbin’s Family has shown me what I need to be. What about you?”

  “I am first a Warrior and there are evil civilizations that must be eliminated. I can feel the need to enter the fight.” Tag smiled, took Danielle’s hand and walked up to the statues where he bowed. Danielle joined him and heard him say, “Thank you for your sacrifice and for saving us. We will not let your deaths go to waste. We will never again forget who we are.”

  Danielle reached over and took his hand, “I wish we could have known them.”

  “We know their children. We know them.” Danielle nodded and stared at the beauty of the former Royal Family.

  Cassie and Trey watched them from the Robbins’ Bridge and heard what they said. Trey slowly shook his head, “I now know why the Realm was so strong in the beginning.” Cassie nodded. Trey turned to Cassie and asked, “Is my heart so hardened that I can never be as strong? I wonder if I have my family’s heart.”

  Cassie saw his troubled thoughts and smiled, “Not any more. You’ve seen what true royalty looks like and you will never be the same. I want you to also notice that their hearts are not weak. I see a strength in them that humbles me.”

  Trey looked deeply into her thoughts and pulled her into an embrace, “You are so important to me. You are what grounds me.” Cassie put her arms around him and thought about what Danielle had said about having powerful psychic powers not meaning that you see the truth. That statement had startled her. She now knew it to be true. She realized that their plans for the Realm had been wrong. She had never known doubt before, but now she was feeling it creep in. What if she was wrong about what she was seeing? She thought about it and said, “We need to build another ship.”

  “What! Why?”

  “The evidence is there in front of us. Do you not see it?”

  Trey thought about all that had happened and replayed everything back in his mind. “You’re right. I missed it. I’ll notify BC.”

  • • •

  Timmy sat with Virze in the Throne Room and looked out at the Robbins Memorial. Timmy sighed and Virze said, “I feel it, too.”

  Timmy looked at her and said, “What is that?”

  “Inadequate.”

  Timmy sighed, “I thought it was just me.”

  “No, I feel it as well. We are no longer the real power in the Empire, if we ever were to begin with, and we lack the vision needed to move us forward. We are nothing more than figureheads now.”

  “I’ve felt that for a long time, but that meeting with the Gardners has shown me just how far we are from being what the Empire needs. We just don’t match up to them.”

  Virze stared at the bright Memorial for thirty minutes and then said, “Do you know what I really miss most of all, my Love?”

  “What is that?”

  “I miss having my own ship and being able to go out and fight for the Empire. I miss the freedom of wide open space and the beauty of the stars. I didn’t realize it back then but those were the happiest days of my life. I really felt like I was making a difference as a Searcher.”

  “I thought I was the only one that felt that way. My lifelong dream has always been to fly the stars fighting for a just cause. Being a Searcher was my favorite dream. Scotty was right, this is a punishment. I just didn’t know it.”

  Virze turned and took Timmy’s hand, “We are warriors. We don’t have the necessary skills to lead the Empire and seeing the Gardners only brought that point into focus. Our time is over.”

  “What do you think we should do?”

  “You know the answer to that question.”

  Timmy stared into her eyes and said, “I’ll make the necessary preparations. We need to see what’s being planned for the Realm.”

  Virze nodded and left the throne room and after a few minutes she came back wearing only the old Searcher Jacket that Timmy had given her at the fire after their meeting with Samuel and June. She had left it open and it still hung to her knees. Timmy smiled broadly and looked at her with love in his eyes. He stood, lifted her, and carried her back into their quarters. He felt alive again.

  • • •

  The next morning Timmy sent a message, “Greyson.”

  “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  “I need to have a private talk with you.”

  “I’ll be there momentarily.”

  “Thank you my longtime friend.”

  Greyson heard Timmy’s tone and felt his entire system light up. Could this be possible?

  Timmy pushed his communication panel and waited. After a few minutes Carter Reese appeared on his display, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  “I need you and Jenna to come to the Throne Room immediately.”

  Carter got a worried expression and said, “We will arrive in an hour.”

  “Thank you, Carter.”

  • • •

  Jake jumped back to Ross and Valerie felt his arrival, “Where is the Twin?”

  “Last I saw it was an expanding cloud of vapor.”

  “What!”

  “It attacked the ship that was there to meet us against my orders. Peg refused to back off and attacked even after the other ship warned him to stay away. The Twin was not even in the same league as the ship it attacked. We are so far behind their technology that we’re not even in the game. The Twin fired all its weapons, but was blown into vapor by one beam. But that’s not the worst of it, Sprig is dead.” Valerie was shocked speechless. “You need to get Twig to come and claim his remains. We need to tell her what happened.”

  “What did happen?”

  “He died from his shame. He couldn’t live with it.”

  “Jake, come here now!”

  Jake looked at Edison and Cassandra and said, “Join us in the Library in an hour.”

  Cassandra nodded and Edison teleported away.

  Cassandra remained on the Kosiev and stared at the millions of stars shining through the view port. After a few minutes she heard Alex say, “I’m bothered, Cassandra.”

  “By what?”

  “I heard that ship’s thoughts when the Twin attacked. It tried to stop it from making a foolish mistake.”

  “Yeah, so what?”

  “That ship is also my Twin. I would have never hesitated but would have blown it away without hesitation. I would have enjoyed the fight.”

  “That’s the way you’re made, Alex.”

  “I know, but that other ship was also made the same as me. It didn’t react that way and I saw that it hated to take the lives of the crew on board that ship. It has a value for living beings that I don’t possess.”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “I feel inferior to that ship. It embodies the principles of a true warrior and lives by them. I am nothing more than a weapon; I am not a warrior.”

  Cassandra put her chin on her hand and thought about what Alex was saying, “I’m not sure I understand the difference.”

  “A true Warrior leaves the universe better than they found it. Taking the lives of the crew on the Twin was something the other ship wanted to avoid because it felt it was not making the universe better. It destroyed the Twin to protect me.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “If it had allowed the Twin to attack without damage, I might have joined it and then it would have had to destroy us both. It did what it did to show me that it was futile to join in. It did not want to see me come to harm. I could feel its thoughts and I know that is why it fired. The sad thing is that it was probably right. I would have attacked as well.”

  There was a long pause and Cassandra finally asked, “What does that mean to us, Alex?”

  “It means that the Realm we defend is not as good as the place where that ship originated.
They live by the principles that forged the original Stars Realm. That ship follows those principles. I know that Danielle and Tag felt it as well and that is why they chose to go with that ship.”

  “What were they looking for?”

  “Salvation and ultimately, redemption.”

  They remained silent for thirty minutes and Cassandra said, “Do you think they’ll find it?”

  “Cassandra, Sprig was not the only one suffering from their shame. Danielle has been feeling it grow in her for a long time. Just before she teleported away, I saw something in her mind.”

  “What?”

  “Joy.”

  Cassandra felt the heaviness of her heart. She was living in a cloud of misery every day since the loss of Tommy, which made each moment something to be endured. She hoped Danielle found herself. She looked at her board and said, “Send me to the Castle, Alex.” Cassandra disappeared and Alex replayed the thoughts of the ship that was his brother. The Twin was a duplicate but had never felt like a brother. That strange ship did.

  • • •

  Jake and Valerie had met with Twig and she had taken Sprig’s remains with her to be honored on the Algean’s Capital. Twig’s sorrow was felt by everyone and she said, “He has not been himself for such a long time. I’m thankful that I know why now.”

  Edison remained with the Royal Couple to determine what their next actions would be. Cassandra appeared and joined them at the table.

  Valerie looked around the table and said, “It appears we are going to be attacked by Demons.”

  Edison lowered himself and said, “I’m not completely certain they will come here.”

  “Why not?”

  “They should have already arrived and that might mean those people on that strange ship are possibly wrong.”

  “We can’t just sit around and do nothing. Jake, what do you think we should do?”

  “Bring the fleets to Ross and surround the system. Cassandra, the Kosiev should also be here at the planet.”

  Cassandra said, “Jake, the Kosiev no longer has the psychic charge that defeated the original attack by the Demons. When the last psychic ship left its hull, the charge went with it. I’m of the belief that we are not a match for the Demon’s ships.”