The Ocoda Chronicles Book 1 Paladin

by Daniel OConnell

  Caleb sits up and says, "Put him through." Damn come on man, I need this.

  Jackson upset, asks, "Caleb! What the hell are you doing? You just can’t take Paladin out for a joy ride." Cale people here already think you’re unstable, and this isn’t helping at all.

  Caleb, relaxed replies, "Jackson look, I am not going anywhere and I’ll be back in a few days. I just need some time alone. For two years, I have heard every conversation on this ship. Every grunt, groan, and moan, and as for taking Paladin for a joyride. The ship is mine, I can do whatever I want with it, and you know I can’t live off the ship for more the two hours so give me a break will yeah." Well, that’s a first. I actually said what I thought to him. Hope he understands.

  Caleb takes a deep breath. He feels the silence in the ship and continues, "Look Jacks, if you need me to come back I will. Just tell the stuffed shirts to give me a few days. They owe me at least that.” Just a few days, please.

  President Baker, then speaks, "Caleb, I know you feel you deserve some private time. Nevertheless, that ship is the most dangerous weapon in the universe. It needs to be protected."

  Caleb replies, "Madam President, you have my command crew with you I assume?"

  Baker very annoyed replies, "I am sure you already know that I do."

  Caleb says, "Jackson, Qui Shi, please tell the President everything, including the classified stuff about me, and me alone. The rest is still classified. I will return in a few days."

  Jackson reluctantly says, "Ok Caleb, but keep Paladin on monitoring mode. I’ll let you know when we need you back."

  With that, Jackson stands and then calls Qui Shi to come up beside him and she addresses the assembly, "Good evening, I'd like to start by explaining who and what Caleb is.

  Caleb is an alien human hybrid. He is much stronger and faster than any human is, his senses are heightened, and he has many other abilities, but in order to live, he must stay on board Paladin for virtually his entire life. This may be as long as one thousand years, he can however, live off the ship for brief periods, up to two hours at the most during a twenty-four-hour period, any longer, and he will die. However, the most probable reason he has taken off alone, is that Caleb is so interconnected to everything on that ship that it is enough to drive a normal man completely mad. He hears everything, feels everything, which happens on that ship. I think that he has chosen to get away is not only necessary, but also may be safer for us all, because if he should go mad. I fear what he may do."

  Jackson then adds, "There's one other fact, some of you are aware, some not, the moment he leaves the Paladin Battleship, it shuts down. Paladin goes into a fail-safe mode, and it immediately cloaks with only thrusters working. Also, without Caleb on Paladin, Paladin will eventually revert back into its original structure the USS Massachusetts."

  Then Jackson says, "Madam President Mr. Secretary, and distinguished dignitaries, and esteemed military representatives. The following information I am about to tell you will not be very well received, but I think it’s time you are all told.” Ok, here it comes.

  "Caleb gave you the designs to create the Paladin class warships, but what he didn’t tell you is that they are not as powerful as Paladin. They are similar in design, yes. Nevertheless, the ships overall lack the ability to utilize the power as efficiently as Paladin, even with the restriction your ships are still extremely powerful. More than a match for most any T-Challa ship, but Paladin can link into all the ships for brief periods of time, and increase their power output. However, he can also shut them down.” Ok, let’s hear it.

  General Haggier stand up and yells, "Are you saying these ships are his to control at his whim?"

  Jackson answers, "No, General, not exactly, but he can make them stronger, or power them down through Paladin. However, you are all missing the bigger picture. We have an enemy that wants us dead. Caleb especially, and let’s not forget he has proven his loyalty to us over, and over again." I can see this is a great big waste of time.

  The General not impressed yells, "Well, let’s throw him in his ship's brig for a few months, until he releases those locks?"

  Jackson stunned replies, "General, you’re talking about locking up an international hero. The man that sacrificed his life to a commitment to protect us for ten lifetimes, and you actually think we can lock him up on his own ship?" I’ve been hanging around Caleb way too long.

  Jackson continues, "No disrespect General, but he is already a prisoner on that ship for the next thousand years. He is forced to remain on Paladin, and I don’t think any punishment you can come up with will even compare with the restrictions put on him by the X’ena’s." Arrogant ass.

  The Russian delegate speaks out, "I thought I heard one of you say this before, One thousand years?"

  Qui Shi replies, "Part of the changes to Caleb is his increased life expectancy. It can be anywhere from eight hundred, to one thousand years. By X’ena standards, this is only one tenth of their life force. He has one other ability, the ability to heal virtually any wound to himself instantly, this power also allows him to heal others. He alone risked his life to save dozens of crewmembers, pushing that ability far beyond its design, in my opinion Caleb’s interest lies only in what’s best for us as a race."

  Secretary-General Chan asks, "If he cares so much for us. Then why has he put these blocks on our ships, and to what extent they will affect our ships?"

  Jackson answers, "For the most part none that you will really notice, the ship's power core is only seventy-five percent as powerful as Paladin was. The ships speed and weapons damage output are also the same, but in reduced power. However, the shields and cloak are equal in power to the way Paladin was when it left.” Ok, here it comes.

  Baker questions, "The way when you left, Colonel?"

  Jackson says, "The X’ena’s upgraded virtually every system on Paladin when we arrived. We took so much damage it was a miracle we survived. The X’ena’s rebuilt Paladin increasing its overall power." I feel like a sheep, bringing in a cart full of raw meat, to a pack of wild dogs.

  Chan anxiously asks, "When will we be seeing these advancements in our ships?"

  Jackson answers, "That’s up to Caleb, and if you will please just listen for just a minute. Caleb said something that I didn’t agree with at first, but you have proven what he said to me today. We have an entire universe that is now ours to colonize, and explore, but here we are arguing about how Caleb has cheated us out of equal power. Power and more power, so far, that’s all I’ve heard. Caleb is too powerful, and Caleb is limiting our power. Let me remind everyone in this room, if it wasn’t for Caleb accepting his fate to be imprisoned on that ship for the rest of his life, we would all be slaves or food for the T-Challa Empire.” Hell a lifetime, more like ten lifetimes and I’ve been giving him a hard time about his decisions. Wow, I really didn’t think about that.

  Jackson angrily, storms out of the conference room. Qui Shi glares at her father in disgust and follows him out.

  Over the next few days, there is much debate about Paladin, Caleb, and everything revealed by the crew of Paladin.

  Finally, Caleb calls the President, "Good morning Madam President, I’ll be bringing Paladin back in, but I will be making a short detour to Tel Aviv. I have a personal issue to address.” Try to be respectful, try.

  Baker cautious, says, "Caleb, I know we have little to no choice in what you choose to do. However, we need to sit down, and try to figure out what we are going to do with you and Paladin. The Colonels debriefing was very revealing. We will need to come to a better understanding of each other. You have every government, including mine trying to remove the safety measure you put in our ships."

  Caleb replies, "I will be going home soon. You can meet me there, as for trying to remove the programming blocks, you can’t. Maybe in a few thousand years you will be able to remove some of the blocks, but the human race is still far too young.” Caleb then thinks to himself. Thankfully, those blocks are nothing that any human at t
his point of your development will ever be able to find. Let alone remove.

  Baker asks, "So you feel that you’re mature enough to determine what we as a race are ready for?"

  Caleb answers, "As a human, no I am not, but part of me is from a race that was flying around the universe while we were still swinging from trees. That part of me was put in with its own fail-safes. You know most of them, like being trapped on this ship for next eight hundred years for one. I was also given wisdom from centuries of seeing race after race use power too quickly. The result was always the same. They destroyed themselves." Gotta knock off the holier than thou crap. "I am not completely human anymore Madam President, but I care very much for our world, so much so that I will sacrifice myself to ensure it remains safe."

  Baker replies, "Caleb, please call me Angela. I believe that you would sacrifice yourself for us, but you have put yourself in a position of power, a power so great that people will see you as a threat. Maybe as big a threat as the T-Challa are."

  Caleb answers, "Angela, you know I can’t live for more than two hours outside of Paladin. I am a prisoner to this life, and my future is bleak at best. Just let me do this one thing first, and I will try and work on an agreement that works for you, the international community, and me." The transmission ends.

  Paladin says, "Caleb, several governments are planning on ways to terminate you, or to try to control you. I have been monitoring them for the past few days."

  Caleb sits back, shakes his head, and says, "Take us in please Paladin, I might as well try, and do some good for now." Why is it I can see the picture so clear. Yet everyone else sees it so differently.

  Paladin asks, "Cale you often ask yourself questions, and speak to yourself, and yes it does confuse me. Especially when I know you know the answers, yet you ask the questions over, and over?"

  Caleb replies, "Sorry friend, I know it weird’s you out, but I have always questioned myself for most of my life, and my thoughts have always been my own. So I often take for granted that you share those thoughts."

  Paladin replies, "Well, we have a few hundred more years to get used to each other." With that, Paladin arrives cloaked, just minutes off the coast of Israel, only two miles from the hospital Ichilov where Kitanna Cohen is visiting her father.

  Caleb closes Paladin in very close, and then levitates some eighty yards to the hospital roof. Caleb quickly enters the hospital, as he moves swiftly through hospital floors searching, where he finally sees Kitanna. Better do this fast, I’m sure Paladin made enough noise to alert the locals.

  Caleb enters the room, asking, "Hello Kitanna is this is your father?" Looks to be in rough shape, I hope I can heal the damage to his mind.

  Kitanna shocked, asks, "Caleb? What are you doing here?"

  Caleb smiles, "If you don’t mind, may I try to help your father please?"

  Kitanna stunned asks, "Can you cure him?"

  Caleb answers, "No, that is a power for God alone, but maybe I can give him a few more years of dignity, for both of you." Wish I was on Paladin for this. Not sure how much I can heal off the ship like this.

  Kitanna stands up and moves out of the way, as Caleb lays his hands on Kitanna’s father. She stands near the doors, as she sees security and Doctors rushing to her father’s room. She slams the door, and locks it. Caleb holds her father, and begins to glow blue, then he yells out in pain, and starts to speak Hebrew, Caleb falls to his knees. Moments later, the security guards break down the door, and enter the room.

  They see Kitanna helping Caleb up. The guards draw weapons, pointing them at Caleb.

  Caleb smiles and says, in Hebrew, "I mean no harm. I just came to help a friend, I will leave now, if you would be so kind to let me, I have a planet to protect." Wow, I feel weak, and very confused.

  That was such an odd sensation. I was actually reading his mind, while I was repairing it.

  The guards immediately realize that he is Caleb and lower their weapons. Caleb then walks slowly to the roof, leaving Kitanna to be with her father.

  A few moments later, Kitanna’s father regains conscience. His mind is clear, and he recognizes his daughter for the first time in years. Kitanna cries, and yells out in joy.

  Elsewhere, Caleb, weak from healing reaches the roof. He slowly levitates back onto Paladin, and as he touches the deck, he feels rejuvenated, and quickly regains all his strength, as he is engulfed in a blue light. He thinks to himself, Oh yeah, that’s it. Wow, feels like I just sat in a Jacuzzi.

  Paladin sets course, returning to Battleship Cove in just minutes. Paladin sets down where the USS Massachusetts had set for over a century before, and their Paladin uncloaks.

  Paladin reports, "Val is calling, he says Carla wants to see her dad."

  Caleb, smiles, saying, "Tell him to bring her home."

  To be continued in

  Lost Heroes Book 2

  Ronin Book 3

  Present Future Past Book 4

  The Paladonians Book 5

  Family Ties Book 6

  Enemy Myself Book 7

  Hope Book 8

  Begin Again Book 9

  Daniel O'Connell

  Author

  Rio Villegas

  Artist