“They’re coming.” All five hundred ships saw the huge fleet of orange ships moving toward them. There had to be millions of ships in that fleet and some of them were thousands of miles long. “Hold your formation; we must block their entrance; link with your partners now and go to full power.” The blue glow increased in brightness.”
“Do you see it?”
“Yes, I see it. It’s brighter than I have ever seen in my life span.”
“Should we reconsider this attack?”
“If we don’t attack now then this force can only grow stronger. It’s brighter than ever before but it is not a huge source. We are still stronger and larger. We will prevail.”
“Should we try to break in and then attack?”
“Send all the ships to different places along the barrier and breakthrough in multiple locations.”
Matt watched as the huge fleet spread out and moved toward the blue barrier from millions of different locations, “Hold your formation. They won’t break through unless they gather all of their ships at one location; be patient.”
“Grena, no matter what happens today, I am so thankful for you coming to me.”
“It does not matter, Life; we will be together no matter what.”
“This is a glorious way to protect our people.”
“We are not breaking through the barrier. It seems that where we use high numbers of ships we get further through but we don’t have enough hitting it and we are thrown back.”
“Use half the ships at two locations.”
“Stay alert; they will combine their forces shortly at one of those two locations. We will move as soon as they declare their intention on which one they will attack with the entire fleet.”
“Matt, do we start firing before they penetrate the field?”
“I believe they will force a corridor through the field as wide as our formation. As they approach the final hundred miles of the field, we will begin firing. Use full power on your shots, hold nothing in reserve.”
“We are still not getting through. We penetrate half way.”
“Move all our ships to the first location and get all of our ships behind each other pushing those in front.”
Matt watched as the ships on the right disappeared, “Go, Melanie.”
The psychic ships appeared in front of the oncoming Demon fleet. The Demons were now moving quickly through the field and were approaching normal space. Matt watched and saw the orange ships move to within a hundred miles of their ships, “Weapons free, fire.”
The five hundred blue ships had a twenty mile separation between them. The entire front of their thousand mile wide formation erupted in blue fire as each ship fired thousands of blue beams into the oncoming Demons. The front rank of the Demon ships exploded into gigantic explosions. Six hundred thousand orange ships were blown into nothingness but the huge mass continued to move inexorably forward.
“We have lost thousands of ships!”
“Yes, but we will soon be through. Keep pushing forward.”
The Demon Fleet was now filling the thousand mile wide break in the blue field all the way back to the hundred thousand mile depth where it began. The Demon fleet was now only five miles from breaking through and then the front rank came through in the center and started firing at Cassandra and Tommy’s ships. Twenty blue ships exploded.
“Move toward the center. Close the gaps,” Matt ordered as he began firing at Demon ships breaking out in front of his line.
The front line looked like fire and ice as the orange and blue beams ripped into the two enemies facing each other. Another hundred thousand Demon ships were destroyed but a hundred more blue ships were destroyed with half of them being in Cassandra’s group. She saw that the Demons were bunching together to push through her weakened line. Life and Grena were killing orange ships faster than they could count and then a hundred orange beams hit their ship and it exploded. Stem and Pedal moved into the space between them and drove the advance back a mile but then their ship was hit by more than five hundred beams and blew up in a huge blue flash that destroyed every orange ship in front of them back to a distance of three miles.
Matt and Melanie were firing as fast as possible and knew that if they couldn’t get support for the middle of the formation and that the line would be broken but there were too many attacking their line to leave. “It looks like we’ve failed, Darling.”
“Melanie, I will love you forever.”
Matt saw on his display more than a thousand orange ships drive toward Cassandra’s ship. “Matt, please take care of the Kosiev.”
“I will, Cassandra.”
Out of nowhere the Kosiev appeared and flew into Cassandra’s ship and absorbed it into its skin. Immediately more than twenty thousand blue beams erupted from its surface and killed every Demon ship in front of it. It stayed there killing everything that came near it. Matt thought about how it could possibly be using the psychic beams and then he understood, “Attention all ships, go into the Kosievs’ skin. Go quickly, go now!”
Twenty blue ships dove into the Kosievs’ hull and disappeared. The blue beams coming out of the Kosiev multiplied fifty times. Hundreds of thousands of blue beams erupted and tore a devastating hole in the Demons front. Fifty more ships flew into the Kosiev and the entire hull of the Kosiev became one huge beam sweeping the Demon ships in the corridor. The remaining seventy nine psychic ships darted into the Kosiev and the beams now had the power to reach the entire width of the corridor and the front of the Demon fleet was blown out of existence. The Kosiev began moving forward killing every Demon ship in front and to the sides all the way to the barrier walls. The huge two mile long ship sparkled with a blue radiance that was blinding.
“What is that ship? It is killing us!”
“Fire on it!”
“It does no good. The entire ship is one big beam; there are no gaps to fire through.”
“Order all ships to run. We will have to fight this another time.”
Matt watched the Demon ships turn and start to run toward the opening to escape the barrier. “Melanie, now is the time for Newton’s gift.”
Melanie activated the field and placed it over the break in the blue field where the Demon fleet had entered. The Demon ships fleeing hit the barrier and were stopped.
“What’s happening?”
“There is some kind of field that prevents us from crossing.”
“Jump away.”
“We can’t inside this blue field. Our drives don’t operate.”
The Elder Demons watched as the Kosiev moved forward. They had placed themselves at the rear of the Fleet to insure their safety but now they saw there was no safety to be found anywhere in the corridor. “Fire all our beams on that field in one location. Those on the front ram that ship.”
“We have done it but to no effect.”
Thousands of the orange ships turned and drove toward the approaching blue vessel and were destroyed. A five thousand mile wide orange ship roared in and the first red being knew he should have made his son tell what he knew. Now he understood the Elder’s fear and then his ship exploded around him.
The Eldest Demon watched that blue monster approaching. He screamed at the forces that the creative force had brought into existence to bring his species to an end. Then the blue ship was in front of him and he screamed one last time as his ship disintegrated in a violent explosion.
There was silence as Matt watched the now empty space in the blue barrier. Then he saw Cassandra and Tommy’s ship emerge from the Kosievs’ outer skin, “I guess the Kosiev can take care of itself, Matt.”
“Can it ever, Cassandra.”
“I couldn’t allow my love to die.”
“Who said that?”
“Matt, that was the Kosiev; it is now intelligent. I guess the blue psychic forces inside it opened its mind.”
“That is exactly what happened. I could not stand by and allow the Demons to kill you without trying to save you. My existence w
ould be meaningless without you.”
“You saved us all. You made the critical difference when all was lost.”
“That is my destiny, Matt, that is what I was created to do.”
“How many ships survived?”
“I have a hundred and forty eight ships still inside my outer skin.”
Matt felt his pain at the lost crews. “Will you send them out now?”
Immediately the ships stared ejecting from the Kosiev. Cassandra hugged Tommy tightly and cried. Tommy thought to Matt, “We lost Stem and Pedal and Life and Grena. Anglo and Jenny have been teleported to Ross for medical care; their ship was hit pretty hard and I don’t know if they will make it.”
Matt hung his head and was already missing his friends. Melanie got up and came into his arms. They held on to each other and cried together.
“Sprig.”
“Yes, Cassandra.”
“We have defeated the Demons but we have lost Stem and Petal.”
Sprig felt his branches lower. Twig came over and put her top on his.
“He died bravely and gave us time to reform our line. Without his sacrifice we would have been lost. I am so sorry.”
“He loved before he died, Cassandra, and he left hundreds of seeds to follow him. They will learn of the greatness of their parents.” Sprig and Twig held each other for a long time.
Tag looked at Danielle and felt her sorrow. “It’s like when you lost Alex; I feel the loss of those wonderful friends.”
“I know, my love, but we are here to make sure their sacrifice is remembered and celebrated. I would give my life to give the Realm a period of peace. I’m sure they would do the same.”
“I wonder how we survived when so many died, Tag.”
“We live because I could see where to move to avoid the majority of their beams and you flew the ship magnificently; I still have those hiding skills. We have a responsibility to those that died today. We must make their sacrifice worthwhile.”
“I know.”
“The Realm is still too big. Something has to be done.”
“I don’t want to do what you’re considering but I’m being selfish.”
“Me, too, Danielle.”
The Gardner family was gathered at the hospital waiting for the surgeon to come out and tell them what was happening with Anglo and Jenny. Finally, he came out of the operating room and looked at the powerful group waiting for him, “We have done all we can. Their burns are being repaired but their nervous systems took quite a shock from the energy that hit their ship and I don’t know if they will regain consciousness. Something is causing their neural pathways to degenerate.”
Sprig stepped forward and said, “Where are you taking them?”
“We are moving them to an intensive care unit.”
Matt looked at Anglo and then remembered, “Melanie, go and bring AG here now.”
“Why?”
“I don’t have time to explain; just do it!”
Melanie hit her bracelet and disappeared.
“What’s going on, Matt?”
“Melanie was poisoned by contact with the Red Demons thoughts. AG was able to remove it and repair the damage to her brain. I hope she can do the same for Anglo and Jenny.”
Sprig turned and said, “I want you to place their beds side by side, Doctor.”
“Our telemetry units are only designed for one bed, Your Majesty. I’ll have to put them on portable power to do what you want.”
“You will do as I order, doctor.”
The surgeon bowed and raised his com to issue the appropriate orders. Twig turned to the family, “We will go with them to the unit and you will all gather and make contact beside their bed.”
Cassandra frowned, “Do you think it will work with them?”
“Do you have a better suggestion?”
Matt asked, “What are you talking about, Sprig?”
“When Twig and I were close to losing ourselves, Tommy and Cassandra came and made contact beside us. It created a strong psychic field that allowed us to hold on and gather ourselves. It saved us. We must try.”
The three couples and Matt went to the intensive care unit and stood around the bed with Jenny and Anglo. Tag took Danielle’s hand; she took Tommy’s hand as he grasped Cassandra’s; Cassandra took Matt’s hand as he grasped Rose’s hand. Chris closed the circle by taking Rose’s and Tag’s hand. A bright blue field began appearing around the seven Gardners and covered the bed where Anglo and Jenny were laying unmoving. They held each other’s hands and felt the love that they all felt for each other. The feeling grew and with it the blue field grew incrementally brighter. The seven family members stood like statues waiting for Melanie’s return.
The doctor watched the telemetry screen and said, “The degradation has stopped. It is not getting worse.”
Melanie reappeared holding their six year old daughter. Matt moved forward and took AG in his arms and said, “Darling, do you remember when you helped mommy remove the bad stuff in her mind after we visited the red creatures?”
AG looked at Matt and said, “Yes, Daddy.”
“Can you help our friends?”
AG looked down at Anglo and Jenny and stared at them for a minute; she then squirmed to get out of Matt’s embrace. She walked over to Jenny’s bed and closed her eyes.
Matt and Melanie entered the circle and the blue glow reappeared even brighter.
AG looked in Jenny’s mind and saw the residue left by the Demon’s thoughts. She was stronger now and she focused on it and quickly destroyed it. She then repaired the nerve damage that had been caused. She turned to Anglo and repeated the process. She could hear them trying desperately to reach out to each other and she linked their minds.
“Jenny.”
“Yes, Love.”
“Where are you?”
“I’m here with you where I will always be.”
The four couples released their hands and opened their eyes to see Anglo looking at Jenny. He looked up at the concerned people around his bed and smiled, “I don’t know what happened; I was lost in a dark space but then I felt Jenny. Whatever you did allowed me to find my way back; thank you.”
Jenny opened her eyes and smiled, “I felt you calling me, Anglo. I moved to your voice.”
The surgeon came up, “Their neural systems are stable. I need you to leave so we can get them into units to repair their bodies. They will be fine and I’ll let you know when you can come back and see them; right now I’m putting them in a coma.”
The doctor pushed a button on the head of the bed and Anglo and Jenny closed their eyes.
The four couples and Sprig and Twig stepped out of the room into the hall. Everyone looked at AG and hugged her. She smiled and laughed when Tommy tickled her. She loved her family.
Matt lifted his daughter and said, “You’re going to make a marvelous Queen someday.”
AG looked at her father and smiled, “Just like Mommy.”
Everyone hugged and started to leave but Tag said, “Before you go; I want to discuss an issue with you.”
Matt turned and looked at Tag, “Can it wait? We have so much to do for those that were lost in the battle.”
“No, we need to discuss this now and come to a resolution later.”
“What do you want, Tag?”
“Sprig, you are doing a great job but the Realm is still falling under the weight of the numbers; am I wrong?”
Sprig leaned forward, “We have made excellent progress in handling issues between the members but we are starting to see developments that we are just not able to handle as quickly as needed.”
Rose frowned, “What developments?”
“We are starting to see the rise of pirates and other groups that are making things difficult for a large number of planets. Remember, millions of new members were accepted into the Realm that do not know the peace and prosperity that happens when everyone works together. Some are taking advantage of the leadership vacuum. There are also a huge nu
mber of planets that have been colonized by members of the Realm that have not asked to be a member. Those independent planets are causing havoc with our members. What are you thinking, Tag?”
“We will divide the Realm into five sectors and we will each take one and go there as the ruling couple. We will all take the titles of Duke and Duchess and will all bow to the Realm’s King and Queen. We will take the responsibility of our provinces and restore order and handle as many of the problems as possible. Only the serious issues will be sent to the Royal Couple. The Realm’s armed forces will be distributed to the five provinces and will be used to enforce peace, but they will owe their allegiance to the King. Ross will distribute the armed forces as it deems appropriate. I am going to recommend that every Searcher be assigned a Red Warrior and they will become the main tool of our peace keeping efforts.”
Rose looked at her father, “Do you think the Realm will stand for that to happen?”
“Rose, I don’t want to do it. I want to retire and enjoy your mother for a few thousand years just flying around this wonderful universe we have; but we are needed. The deaths of those we loved so much demand that we make this work. They died so our Realm would survive. We also know that there are other universes that need help but they will have to wait until we get our own house in order. I may be all wrong about this, but I want you to think about what I’ve proposed and plan to meet in four weeks to decide our future course. Sprig, you and Twig will have the final say on what we do; it is your Realm and we will follow your orders. If you can come up with a better plan, then I will support you. We cannot wait longer to decide; the Realm is starting to decay at an increasing rate.”
Sprig thought a moment and thought, “We will be honoring those who died in four weeks. We will meet prior to that gathering and I charge you to think about what is suggested and the responsibility it places on you. If we move in that direction, you need to think about what that will do to your lives.”
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