by Saxon Andrew
“Show us Zreeg.”
The two saw the view of the city from space and then it grew closer and closer to the ground. The view stopped and a section of it grew larger. As it came closer, they saw thousands of women and children in a compound just south of the city. The prisoners were shabbily dressed, malnourished, and most were lying on the ground. The view backed out and then moved in closer and Mallory saw herself at a podium in front of the medical facility ten miles from the compound. She saw the Director of the facility on one side of her and Canton on the other watching the crowd closely. She knew the view was real. There was no denying that view.
Julie said, “I suspect you were flown in to the event from the north so you wouldn’t see that compound. I also suspect your travel while you were there was restricted to a limited area.”
“They said it was for my safety.”
Vreeg said, “I think they were right to do that. If any slave could get close to you they would have attempted to harm you. Their hatred for their captor is real.”
Mallory grew silent and Julie said, “Zreeg, take us down to the community.”
She remained silent for the rest of the day.
Chapter Two
“B C, are you ready to move in?”
“I am.”
“Grang, you want to say anything before we go?”
Grang leaned back in his chair and grunted.
“I’ll take that as a no. Take us in BC.”
The small white ship moved toward the jump limit and slowed as it approached. It stopped and BC said, “Grace, have you decided about helping us?”
“Yes, I have. I’ve decided to send you two teleport boards from the old Searchers repair inventory. They’re an older model and were manufactured before the Gammas. However, I’m uncertain if the defense computer will allow me to send them out to you.”
Scotty said, “What seems to be the issue?”
“We’ve had a major disagreement over my decision and I’ve warned him not to interfere with my decision or I’ll do all I can to remove him from the facility.”
Scotty stood and said, “Don’t send them, Grace.”
BC and Grace both said simultaneously, “What?!”
“Grace, your facility has the most dangerous weapons in this universe. You must not do anything that would weaken your defenses. It’s more important that those weapons are protected and prevented from being taken by those that could harm helpless civilizations. You must avoid doing anything that would weaken your ability to prevent their being taken. We appreciate your willingness to help us but I will not accept them under these conditions. BC, take us home.”
Suddenly they heard, “You’re willing to face defeat at the hands of the Searchers at New Ulmerton?”
Scotty thought a moment and said, “If it means weakening your facility, absolutely. If your advanced weapons were released into our universe, the resulting harm would be far worse than those six Searchers. I can’t accept that happening. We will deal with them with what we have.”
“Grace, I will not stop your boards from being sent.”
“What changed your mind?”
“This one understands the danger we represent. His refusal to accept our help when he needs it desperately has satisfied me that he will keep our existence secret. It also shows me that he doesn’t seek our advanced weapons.”
“Would you allow me to update his two older ships to the Gammas?”
There was silence and finally they heard, “Only Anglo. Jessica’s beams and screens are already stronger than BC’s.”
“What?!”
“BC, she was built for the Kosiev. Of course her armament would have to be strong enough to handle a Gamma. I will not allow a ship of that power anywhere near this facility. She can stay at the jump limit to be updated.”
BC said, “Who would have thunk it?”
Scotty asked, “Does Jessica know the power of her beams?”
“No, she’s never had the opportunity to really test them. That bunker she hit wasn’t hit when she was in control of her systems. The teens only used one of the reactors. The Gammas only have one reactor; Jessica has two that powers her weapons.”
“Grace will you send us the wiring diagrams so we can install the board?”
“I’ll do better than that. I’m sending some of my mechanical workers to install it now. It’ll take a few hours but it’s a lot safer than you attempting it yourself.”
BC said, “It’s here.” Scotty looked outside the viewport and saw a small globe next to the ship. “Open the landing bay, BC. And thank you for your help. Do you have a name?”
“Yes, my name is Alexander.”
“Any relation to the Alexander Kosiev?”
“I am a copy of his processing systems.”
“Now I understand your caution; you are driven to protect this universe. And again, thank you.”
“There’s something that I feel you should know.”
“What is that?”
“New Ulmerton is not your real problem.”
Scotty looked at Grang and saw him sit up in his chair, “It isn’t?”
“No. The King is actually in power because another one of the former Provinces allows it. It is there that your real threat lies. If you pressure New Ulmerton enough, he may call for help.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because that Duke has more than two thousand Searchers in his fleet; if you remove the King at New Ulmerton, you will certainly cause the other Duke to investigate.”
Scotty sighed and said, “One step at a time. This news certainly changes our options. Thank you for your help, anyway.”
Scotty watched the mechanical engineer come in and start installing the teleport board. He wondered if the former leaders of the Stars Realm had the problems that were facing his small empire. It was so fragile.
BC was just about finished with his update. Grace watched the work being done and said to Alexander, “How did you find out about the other Duke?”
“I wondered why New Ulmerton needed so many slaves. Any industrial society quickly learns that the price of using physical labor is too high. Then I saw ships leaving with raw materials. I placed a probe on one of them and discovered the former Province was alive and doing well out on the other end of the universe. It survived almost intact from the civil war and is now expanding its power. It sent two thirds of its ships to attack Ross and held two thousand in reserve.”
“Does it take slaves?”
“No, but it rules with a very heavy fist. Why have slaves when you can force your will on those you rule.”
“Are they aggressive?”
“Well, New Ulmerton is paying tribute to them in the form of raw materials and it is bankrupting their economy to do it. I’ve also seen hundreds of ships arriving with raw materials from other places. It appears that King is setting up many civilizations to absorb into this Kingdom. That Province still has the old technology of the Realm.”
“Do they have teleportation?”
“No, not yet, however, they are working on it.”
“It wouldn’t be good if they get it.”
“Tell you what. When Anglo comes in, give him a level ten beam and screen.”
“Why?”
“I want to see if he’ll refrain from using it except when absolutely necessary.”
“Why is that important?”
“If he can’t avoid using a ten, what will he do with a fifty level beam?”
“You make a good point. It sounds like you’re starting to trust them.”
“To a point; however, I still have the probes on them if needed.”
“I’ll send the engineers out to Anglo to do the updates. I agree, we should exercise caution in allowing anyone near us. I’m sorry, Alex; I didn’t think it through.”
“Thank you, Grace. You’re starting to see what I fear and it’s vitally important that we work together on this.”
June and Mallory were in the forest gathering
grellup pods with twenty children. Mallory learned two days earlier that she had been assigned to June to assist her in the chores she was assigned. The first two days were spent in silence as she followed the orders given her. She gathered pods and observed June. Mallory was amazed at how the children loved the beautiful black haired woman. She wondered why June was given such menial chores. She sighed and continued to pick pods. One of the children ran up and asked, “Miss June, can I come to your house and play tomorrow? Pleasssseee.” Immediately, ten others started yelling, “Me, too. Me too.”
June smiled and said, “Tomorrow is the full moons. I won’t be here but maybe I can see you the next day.”
“Awwwww, ok.”
Mallory picked a pod, looked at June, and asked, “What does full moons have to do with anything?”
“I go to the Zord community every month when the two moons are full to see if they will carry out my sentence.”
Mallory sat back on her heels, “What sentence?”
“I’ve been sentenced to death and my penalty can only be carried out during the full moons. So far they have not been able to get the ten elders together to carry it out. Maybe it can be done tomorrow.”
Mallory looked at June like she had three heads. “Are you serious?”
June looked at Mallory and smiled, “Yes, I am. I deserve to die for my crimes. I know Samuel will suffer when it happens but he understands why.”
“What did you do to get a death sentence?”
June lowered her head and said, “So many awful things that cause me misery at the thought of them.”
Mallory took her legs out from under her and sat down facing June. “Tell me what you did.”
June took a deep breath and sighed. Then she looked across the clearing and yelled, “Jinny, quit picking on Beal! You know that’s not how we treat each other.”
Mallory saw the young Cainth girl frown and say, “Yes, June.”
June looked at Mallory and said, “I was once the Queen of the Criston Kingdom.” Mallory furrowed her brow. June smiled wistfully and said, “Before I was queen, I was the oldest daughter of King Talben. I was married to a wonderful man named Lem and we had a son. That was the happiest time of my life. I loved Lem so much. But Lem died in a ship explosion and I was so angry at a universe that would take my joy. I turned bitter.”
“My son asked if I could find a kingdom for him and I thought of Criston. The King was young and had a daughter. I hatched a plan to kill his wife and replace her. My plan was successful. I made it look like an accident.”
Mallory was shocked. “Are you serious!?!”
“Yes, then I invited the King to come to visit and eventually had my father persuade him to marry me to join our kingdoms. I told him I loved him and he finally agreed. Once I was on Criston, I began bribing the nobles ruling the planets in the Kingdom to support me in replacing him. I made that happen by build hunting lodges on this planet and selling hunting permits to kill the Zord. We killed thousands of them. All the lodges had their heads mounted on trees.”
Mallory shook her head, “That’s terrible.”
“I know. Then I found out the truth.”
“What truth?”
“My father planned to use me to annex Criston into his Kingdom years before Lem died. He had Lem killed and suggested to me through someone else to kill Wesley’s wife. He twisted me and made me a monster and I went down the path never knowing what he was doing. My son knew it all and never told me.”
Mallory looked at June and said, “You never had a clue?”
“No, I didn’t. The Zord saw it in my son’s mind and allowed me to see what had happened. They graciously allowed me to go back to save my youngest sister; my father was arranging another accident to kill her and her family. I promised to come back for them to carry out my sentence if they would allow me to try and save her.”
“Did you…uhh..save her?”
“With the help of the Zord and Emperor Robbins, I did. I immediately abdicated the Throne of Talben and named my sister Queen. Then I came back to have my sentence carried out. Tomorrow, I will see if the Zord will do it.” June stood and yelled, “Alright children, let’s see who gathered the most pods.”
The children screamed and ran forward to show June what they had collected.
Mallory sat and thought about what June had told her.
Later that evening, Mallory walked to Julie’s home and knocked on the door. Julie opened it to find Mallory standing on the porch. Julie stepped out, “Hello Mallory, how can I help you?”
“June tells me that she is going to the Zord to see if they will kill her?”
Julie stared at Mallory and said, “Yes, she is.”
“I just can’t believe that June did the things she says she did.”
Julie walked over to a rocking chair and indicated another chair. Mallory sat down as Julie looked up at the sky and said, “Just like you can’t believe your father has done the things we say he’s done.” Mallory nodded. Julie looked up at the sky again and said where Mallory could hear, “Who is on guard duty tonight?”
“I am, Your Majesty.”
“Will you ask Kreej to come see me?”
Julie waited and then they heard, “He’s on his way.”
Julie smiled at Mallory and said, “What do you think about our community?”
“You live in primitive surroundings. This is not an easy life.”
“We’ve been unable to develop our planet because of raiders that came and killed us on El Prado. This is the first time we’ve ever had peace.”
Mallory listened as Julie told her about the dangers that were on El Prado. She wondered what a Torg looked like and just how big the grey cats actually were. After what seemed like a very short time she heard, “I’m here, Your Majesty.”
Julie stood and Mallory followed her out into the small clearing in front of her house. A medium sized Zord was standing there. Julie looked up and said, “Kreej, this is Mallory Jongo.”
The Zord looked at her, “The New Ulmerton King’s Daughter.”
“Yes she is. She wants to know if June was telling the truth about her crimes.”
The Zord looked directly at Mallory and said, “You doubt that her father could have fooled her so completely.”
Mallory nodded, “I just don’t see that happening. June is a very smart woman.”
“Just as you are, Princess. Go sit in that chair on the porch and I’ll show you what happened.”
Mallory turned and went back up the four steps to the porch and sat down in a rocker. Kreej said, “We’ll start with the destruction of the hunting lodges and go forward from there. If you have any questions, just ask.”
Mallory closed her eyes and saw five runabouts chasing a Zord over the forest.
Julie knew it was going to take some time so she went inside and brought out a blanket and covered Mallory. She then went back inside and went to sleep.
“Grace, can you install Jessica’s board?”
“Bring her here.”
BC said, “Jessica, can you breakaway for a minute?”
“Sure, I’m at the learning center with Timmy.”
“Grace is going to install a teleport board if you’ll meet us here.”
They heard the excitement in Jessica’s transmission, “Send me your coordinates.”
Scotty looked out the view port and thought about the other Province with thousands of Searchers. He waited five hours for Jessica to arrive at the jump limit at Bristone’s system. Finally, Jessica arrived next to BC. “What do I need to do?”
Scotty said, “Just open your landing bay and the doors to your bridge. The engineers will arrive momentarily.”
“Hello, Jessica.”
“You sound familiar. Who are you?”
“I’m a duplicate of the Kosievs positronic circuits.”
“You sound just like Alex. Did you get his memories?”
“Yes I did.”
“Why did they leave without me?”<
br />
There was a long moment of silence and then they heard, “They didn’t know they were leaving until the very last moment. They had every intention of fighting the traitors but Jake talked them out of it. Before they knew what was happening, every teleport device was disabled and the Realm was transported away. We lost contact with the Realm the moment they disappeared.”
“I’ve wondered if I had done something wrong. Thanks for telling me.”
“I’m absolutely certain they would have come for you if they could.”
Scotty thought he could feel a sense of affection for the shuttle from the defense system. He wondered about Jess not being allowed near the facility. BC said, “Your Majesty, I’m going to teleport you to Jess and go find Anglo.”
“That’s a good idea, BC. Let me know what’s going on.”
“Will do.”
Nathan sat in his command chair and listened to Daulun’s transmissions as he screamed at the Searchers that had failed in protecting his daughter. “Boy, he’s hotter than an overused blaster.”
“Yes he is. Stand-by just a moment, I want to hear something.”
Nathan heard the communications and wondered what Anglo was focused on.
Greyson listened to Daulun’s rants and finally had enough, “Your Majesty.” Daulun stopped screaming and focused his anger on the ship that had the gall to interrupt him. Greyson continued, “Our choice was simple; we could protect you or protect her; it was impossible to do both. It was especially true if another Searcher Class ship was involved. Two of us went to the attack on the building facility and that only left four of us to insure you weren’t taken with her. Would you like us to focus on your daughter in the future? You know your safety is the most important thing to us and our loyalty and protection is to you first.”
Daulun was going to order the Searchers to fire on the disrespectful ship but then thought about what it said. If he destroyed it, his protection would be diminished. He fought hard and brought his emotions under control. Finally he said, “Ok, how do we find her?”
Greyson listened to suggestions from the other five and thought about why he interrupted Daulun. He felt sick to his being at what he had become. Then he heard Daulun sneer, “You don’t have any ideas?”
