by Saxon Andrew
June grabbed Carrie and hugged her, “I am so sorry.”
“I know.”
The children looked up and wondered what had June upset. June released Carrie, wiped her eyes, forced a smile, and said, “All right, it’s time to go and pick-a-pod or two. Who’s with me?”
The children screamed and started skipping along beside June as she relieved their parents from the high energy of their children, Carrie watched her go as Michael came up and put his arm on her shoulder. Carrie looked up at Michael and said, “I was wrong. That’s not Maranda.”
Michael looked at his wife and said, “No, she isn’t.”
Chapter Fourteen
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 ra
nge 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 telep
orted 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.”
