by Karl Morgan
“Sorry, honey. Bill tells me that they are a real item now. They spend all of their free time together. It’s looking like wedding bells may be in their future. What do you think about that?” she asked.
“I think that’s wonderful news,” Dave said. Dave thought about his future granddaughter, Bea. He remembered meeting her back in the twenty-first when she was a barista at his local Starbucks. The day she came to his room and confessed about her role was a perfect day for Dave. After spending an hour or two with her, he loved her dearly. He smiled broadly and a tear slipped out of one eye.
“What’s up with you, Dave?” she asked as she wiped off the tear. “Are you okay?”
Dave pulled Darlene into his arms and kissed her. “Everything is perfect, sweetheart. I just can’t imagine how anything could get better.”
Chapter 11
Emperor Lok Zul of the Donnaki Empire sat at the center of the high semi-circular bench along with the eleven justices from the Imperial Supreme Court. His bright yellow feathers were immaculately combed in place, and his silver robes flowed off his shoulders. The justices were not happy to have their court commandeered by the Emperor, as their authority was in theory equal to his. They were old men though as attested by their gray, thinning feathers. They knew the Emperor was a popular leader, having grown the prestige of the empire greatly during his tenure. All the justices had been appointed by Lok’s father, Zia Zul. While Zia had been a competent ruler, he had continued in his family’s tradition of gradually reducing the emperor’s power. No new worlds had been settled during the reigns of the last five emperors. Those leaders were convinced the empire had grown too large for a single valakar to manage. They knew authority had to be shared with the regional viceroys or face eventual revolution and the collapse of the empire.
Lok Zul had a different idea. He grew up in military schools and graduated from the Supreme Academy on the home world of Donnaki. He was heavily influenced by the military commanders, who reminded him of the former greatness of the empire. There was a time when vast armadas of Donnaki cruisers dominated this side of the galaxy. Masses of ships would streak into the skies of a new world and destroy the miserable Beings who thought they controlled their destiny. During his father’s reign, the hideous Paxran had begun to attack their frontier. Dozens of worlds were invaded and countless lives lost. The military proved their resolve by pushing the enemy far back into their territory after an offensive that lasted ten years. They then repaid the Paxran by destroying many of their worlds. The back-and-forth war continued for hundreds of solar cycles. Late in life, Emperor Zia was able to establish a partial cease fire with the Paxran. Isolated incidents continued to happen, but both sides had so heavily fortified the frontier that neither could get a real advantage.
Upon his father’s passing, Lok Zul became emperor. He immediately changed the dynamics of the society by increasing support for the military and lessening the powers of planetary leaders. The Viceroys were replaced by regional Field Marshalls, and the Imperial Assembly, which represented the individual planets, was disbanded. When the military leadership told him about their new plasma weapon, Lok knew the time was coming to unleash it on the Paxran. He had no desire to take their planets. He wanted to exterminate them and all other maklan societies. Such nasty insects had no place in a civilized galaxy.
The plasma device required a group of ships to work together. All would fire at a single point in space, where their blasts would form into a ball of plasma which the lead ship would then direct at a target. Testing proved that a single plasma bomb would vaporize any known space ship. Multiple blasts could destroy an entire planet. Unfortunately, the one existing plasma bomb fleet was lost, which was why the emperor was sitting with the court.
The great admiral of the Donnaki fleet, Ski Zan sat at a small table in front of the bench with five attorneys. He looked frail and tired after a week of interrogation following the incident. All fifty captains of the plasma fleet were sitting in the gallery behind him, looking equally worn down. Dozens of reporters and several hundred guests filled the room to overflowing. A contingent of fifty Marines guarded the exits.
“Admiral Zan, I have reviewed all the reports from the High Command on this incident, and frankly, I still do not understand why you chose to attack that planet,” the emperor said. “I understand the humans violated our space, but you know your actions led to the loss of an entire fleet and our prototype plasma device.”
“Majesty, it was a foolish act, but I did get receive the attack orders from the High Command once they realized it was not a real planet,” Ski squeaked. “When we first engaged the planet, we intended to use it for target practice only. Our sensors recorded anomalies after we fired our standard weapons. Those sensors showed the planet was hollow. It was the High Command that confirmed it was a human colony in a false planet.”
“Yes, I read that as well,” Chief Justice Bon Ika replied. “Majesty, should we have abandoned the fight and let humans continue to violate our space?”
“No, I suppose not,” Lok said. “Still we are now without a plasma device and have fifty fewer ships. If the Paxran attacked us today, we could be in very serious trouble. Perhaps you are correct this was just a mistake, but the effects have been very severe. What do you think I should do, Justice?”
“Majesty, a new plasma device is under construction and should be ready within a few weeks,” Ski said. “We have enough ships and are already constructing more. In less than one solar cycle this will all be behind us.”
“Your Majesty, I concur with the admiral’s assessment,” Bon replied. “It was a blessing none of our troops were injured. If the enemy had been Paxran instead of human, I shudder to think of the loss of life.”
“Do we know how the humans were able to accomplish all of that?” Lok asked. “It is amazing to me that the crews from fifty cruisers could be instantly transported more than one thousand light-years to this planet. The crews we sent to recover the fleet reported no remnants of the ships. They arrived at the scene of the battle within ten hours of the event. This all seems impossible.”
“Majesty, we believe this false planet was something called a Hive,” Ski replied. “It is rumored a Hive holds billions of humans who can interact with the fundamental essence of the universe, enabling them to do incredible things. Our scientists have no idea how it works, but have been recommending we pursue this technology quickly. If the humans can jump our people long distances, they might show up in orbit here and transport all of our citizens into the sun!”
“Yes, I have heard these requests before,” Lok sighed. “Unfortunately, we must balance our competing needs against each other to prioritize. The humans have left our space and have never been hostile to us before this incident. Our first priority must be to rebuild our fleet and get at least ten plasma fleets ready for battle. Our primary enemy remains the Paxran. We must use this weapon on them to push them back from our borders. Once they see our power, they will run like the cowards they are. Perhaps then we can work on this Hive technology. There is still the matter of the lost fleet to deal with.” The emperor stood and everyone else came to their feet.
“Shall we retire to consider our verdict?” the Chief Justice asked.
“No need for that, Bon,” Lok replied. “I have made my decision.” He drew a blaster from his belt and shot Admiral Ski Zan in the forehead, who fell to the ground dead. “Admiral, you are discharged. The officers of the High Command are fired. I will personally appoint a new High Command. The fifty captains here are reduced in rank to lieutenants unless they wish to join Admiral Zan. This court is adjourned.” Emperor Lok Zul walked out of the room.
“Clear the courtroom! And get this body out of here!” the Chief Justice shouted after the emperor left. The crowd had erupted in panic at the shot and headed for the exits. The Marines tried to restore calm, but no one was interested in them. They just wanted to escape before more blood was shed. Several of the disgraced captains came forward and
carried their leader’s body out of the chamber.
When the room was empty, Bon Ika turned to face the other justices. “This is preposterous, gentlemen. This flagrant disregard for the sanctity of this court is totally unacceptable. We must protest and file an action against Emperor Zul. Otherwise, we might as well turn in our robes and run to our homes like frightened children.”
“Be careful with your words, Bon,” cautioned Justice Nook. “I agree with everything you said, but Emperor Zul has been following this path for years. The Assembly is gone and the Viceroys have been replaced by soldiers. If we push too far, we may join Admiral Zan in death. The court will likely be abolished in time. I don’t know if we can affect that eventuality.”
“Okay, Nook, what do you think we should do?” Bon asked. “Should we sit in our offices in our robes until the firing squad comes for us?”
“Not at all, Bon,” he replied. “We must file a complaint with His Majesty. However, the document must be carefully worded to avoid a confrontation. I believe he will understand our concerns and vow not to repeat such actions in this building again. He is a rational man. That will give us time to allow Fate to intervene. Perhaps these human Hives can one day help us become a freer society that can live in peace with them.”
“I think you are dreaming Nook,” Bon said. “Why would the humans want to help us? We tried to destroy their Hive. We have never been a peaceful society. And even if they did decide to help, it will take a long time, and the Emperor will have killed us and abolished this court long before that can happen.”
“There is much truth in what you say, Bon,” Nook replied. “It seems we have two choices in my mind. We can confront the Emperor now and be dismissed or killed today. Or we can soften our complaint and live longer. We are all old men. The Emperor would much prefer us to retire and allow him to appoint a new court. Even if the humans never reach out to us, we will live out our lives with great honor as retirees from the top court in the Empire. I prefer the second option.”
The other justices agreed and nodded their approval. They all knew that confronting this emperor would be suicidal.
“Nook, you are correct again. I am assigning you to draft the complaint to the emperor. Please take a few weeks to get that done. Once the memory of today’s events begins to fade, Emperor Zul’s anger will subside. He will probably make a weak apology which we will gladly accept,” Bon said. “I am too old and tired to try to change the Empire. Let’s allow the next generation to fix it for us.”
Chapter 12
The small star fighter descended quickly through the atmosphere to the planet Tak-u-Baka on the Paxran side of the Donnaki frontier. Tak-u-Baka had once been a garden planet home to five billion Paxran. Large fleets of Paxran cruisers left from here to invade the Donnaki Empire generations ago. Over the following centuries, it changed hands between the two combatants many times. After the Donnaki were pushed back the last time, the planet became a massive military base with heavy fortifications and hundreds of star ships based there. Five artificial moons orbited the planet. Each was home to sensors arrays, blaster stations and more than a hundred fighters.
After drifting down through a cloud bank, a huge military complex appeared below the ship. Dozens of landing platforms and hundreds of weapon stations dotted the landscape. The ship headed for a small platform near a large building. Laser cannons marked the corners of the building. The craft extended its landing pylons and touched down softly. The engines slowed and stopped. The ship’s ramp descended and two Paxran pilots stepped out onto the platform. They pulled off their helmets, exposing their pale blue skin. Rain started to pelt the platform so they hurried to a door leading into the building. One Paxran tapped a code onto a keypad and the door opened.
Two armed guards were waiting on the inside of the door. When they saw the two pilots, they snapped to attention and saluted. The pilots saluted and hurried down the corridor. They entered a lift which shot downward into the planet. After several moments, the door opened and they rushed to the single door ahead of them. They knocked on the door and immediately entered a large control station. The walls were covered with video screens showing different parts of the planet as well as the space nearby. Hundreds of Paxran sat at consoles reviewing the screens and tapping comments on their keyboards. In the center of the room was a single glass-walled office. The two pilots rushed to the office and entered.
“Welcome home, guys,” General Abala Konole said. “I’m a little busy now. What do you want?”
“General, we need to tell you what we saw,” Captain Ollo Niqir said.
“I’m a busy man, Ollo. I’ll read your report in due course,” Abala replied.
“With all due respect General, I think we need to talk now,” Commander Vi Aku said. “This information is too vital to read in a report.”
“You two are the most melodramatic team I have,” Abala said as he pulled a bottle of whisky and three glasses from his desk. “Okay, sit down and have a drink. Then you can tell me what is so important.”
The pilots had been on a reconnaissance mission deep in Donnaki space, one of several hundred fighters that flew missions daily to keep track of the enemy’s actions. Several days ago, they had encountered a large fleet of Donnaki cruisers traveling across the region they were scanning. The fleet was headed away from the frontier so they decided to follow them. After a day of travel, the fleet arrived at a large dead planet around five thousand miles in diameter. They thought the planet must have been hurled away when its sun exploded as there were no nearby stars. The surface was heavily burned and scarred as a planet blasted by its sun would be.
The cruisers began to blast away at the planet. The pilots realized the Donnaki were doing target practice and turned to resume their mission. Their sensors suddenly detected a massive power surge, so they turned back. All of the ships fired at once to a spot miles from the planet. The beams fused into a massive ball of plasma which then shot toward the planet. When the ball hit the planet, a huge explosion occurred and thousands of tons of rock were blasted into space. The cruisers fired two more times and more debris shot into space. Then the ships stopped firing. They scanned the fleet but could not register any life forms. It was as if the crews had disappeared. After an hour, the Donnaki ships began to disintegrate into pieces. The shards fell onto the planet where the blasting had occurred. Within a few minutes, the Donnaki fleet was gone. After another hour, the planet began to move on its own away from the scene. They followed the planet for several hours. They closed on the planet to see the attack site better, but before they could get close enough, the planet simply disappeared.
“You two weren’t drinking out there, were you?” the general asked. “You have all of this recorded, I hope.”
“We recorded everything, General,” Ollo confirmed.
Abala took a long drink of the whisky. “Well, if it’s true, that is a very disturbing report. The Donnaki have a new weapon that could destroy our fleet and planets. They also have another enemy who can move planets and melt ships for scrap metal. The planet really disappeared?”
“Yes sir,” Ollo replied. “Our sensors recorded it there one minute and gone the next. There was no sound or light or explosion. It was just gone.”
“We do have an idea about the planet, General,” Vi said. “Shortly before the ships began to crumble apart, our sensors detected humans on board. They were just like the planet though. They were there one minute and gone the next.”
“Humans, that’s a ridiculous comment, even for you Vi,” Abala laughed. “That civilization is too small and weak to do anything. Our agents proved there are only a few human worlds and they are on the other side of the galaxy. You must have misread the sensor readings. Maybe they were valakars too. The Donnaki have plenty of enemies among their own race.”
“General, the sensors clearly showed them to be human,” Ollo replied. “Perhaps there are other human worlds we do not know about.”
“I suppose that is pos
sible. Okay, what is the bottom line of all this?” Abala asked.
“We think the planet was hollow, and the humans were using it a space ship,” Ollo said. “There have been rumors around the empire that other civilizations have developed the ability to control matter and energy with a technology called a Hive. It is possible the false planet held a Hive as well. We must find a Hive and capture it so we can learn their secrets.”
“We must defeat the Donnaki who can blow up our planets. We must capture a Hive that can magically disappear from space. You have a lot of confidence that our inferior military can beat them, guys. This is becoming surreal. My head is pounding and it is your fault,” Abala replied. “You two get out of here and get some rest. Have your report to me by the end of tomorrow. If everything is confirmed, we’ll forward it to the Chiefs of Staff and let them decide what to do about it.”
Chapter 13
The morning sun peeked over the horizon and the light of a new day poured down the streets of Sakar, capital city of Aranar Zu. Six inches of fresh snow had fallen over night and snow plows moved about cleaning the wide boulevards. A large crew was assembled in the central square and park clearing snow and assembling grandstands for the day’s events. Snow removal shuttles skimmed the tree tops to clear the new snow. They were followed by crews installing lights in the trees.
On the north side of the park stood the Planetary Council Building, which housed the offices of the two hundred councilors who represented the different regions of the planet, as well as their support staffs. All the buildings in the city were made with thick stone walls. The Council Building was faced with polished white marble. Few lights were on in the building at this early hour. The east side of the park was home to the Military High Command. On the south were the regional and city government buildings along with several office buildings. More commercial buildings were on the west side, including the Aranar Grand Hotel, currently hosting Loni Arrak, her family, the Brewsters and many guests from around the planet and the Society of Humanity.
