by Karl Morgan
Lauren London—She takes over as Captain of the Nightsky in the book when Jon Lake is reassigned. She and Jon are a couple. She first appears in The Second Predaxian War.
Lia Lawson—Communications Officer of the Nightsky, and Charlie Watson’s daughter. She has given up the opportunity to work with her mother on establishing new colonies in order to join the adventure. She first appeared as the assistant to the mayor of San Diego in Showdown Over Neptune.
Loni Arrak—One of the Chief Engineers of Tak-Makla Hive. A Hive is a device using billions of minds to explore Universal Power (the combination of Dark Matter and Dark Energy). Dave learned that humanity did not evolve on Earth from Loni in The Hive. She is a human from the planet Aranar Zu, an early colony of the Society of Humanity in our galaxy. Loni is in a relationship with Dave’s son, Bill.
Mantarcus—One of the founders of The Accord and the first to come to the Milky Way to look for others to join them. He was “the other” in Tears of Gallia who brought Zeet into their fold.
Margas Ongool—A Nan from Skee Lotho who is taken prisoner along with Dave and Zobu Inther.
Mencius—President of the Free Society of the Milky Way Galaxy. Mencius is a Kalidean, a human species with blue skin and large black eyes. His people came to Earth to end The War which almost wiped out mankind (Showdown Over Neptune). He also helped Dave to bring down the corrupt High Council and Brotherhood in the Society of Humanity (The Hive).
Michamanades (Mitch) Nolobitamore—A maklan from Neptune. He first appeared in Showdown Over Neptune as his team of agents attempted to find out why the Gallicean fleet was headed to his home world. He and his friend, Jacomofledes (Jake) Benomafolays, figure prominently in each of the earlier books.
Muncie Morgan—A senior leader in Earth’s Temporal Command. He traveled back in time to help Charlie convince Dave to come to the future in Showdown Over Neptune.
Nik Paka—Colonel in the Bandabar army and a close friend to Admiral Veek Alar.
Nisfaz of The Accord—One of Vanda’s loyal Friends.
Nostu of The Accord—A junior Friend who becomes close to Dave Brewster.
Obu Neela—Chief Priest at the Mount Alila Temple on the planet Lagamar Ulu in the Society of Humanity, and friend and mentor of Dave (The Hive).
Odo Pak—Senior Elder of the planet Nan in the Society of Humanity (The Hive), and one of Dave’s most influential and sincere friends.
Ondeen—A Bolofaz from Lubna. They are the guardians of time. He first appeared in Tears of Gallia.
Opala of The Accord—The second in command of The Accord, and former president of the planet Stit.
Palaba Quifer—Elder of the planet Skee Lotho.
Paranaxis Incatum Fodo—Chief Elder of the Nan planet Fistnan. He first appeared in Tears of Gallia.
Pardu—The leader of the human population inside Mantarcus’ vessel.
Pik of The Accord—The last surviving member of The Accord on Bandabar.
Pua Napale—The tekkan Chief Engineer of The Hive on Tak-Makla. She is the daughter of High Counsel Zee Gongaleg, and first appeared in Tears of Gallia.
Serena Vanatee—Chief Engineer of the Hive on the human planet Atar Pa. She debuted in The Hive.
Ulon Porto—Supreme leader of the Maklakar systems at the edge of the galaxy. The Maklakar are maklans, similar to those from Predax, No-Makla (Neptune), and Tak-Makla. The plight of their people is detailed in The Second Predaxian War and Tears of Gallia.
Ulook—A Zula who first appeared in The Hive. The Zula are lobster-like sea creatures who act as guardians of natural Hives.
Ulook (2)—A different Zula on Stit with a familiar name.
Umala Zingot—Platoon leader on Skee Lotho.
Vanda—Leader of The Accord and principle antagonist in the book. He was also one of the founders of that group.
Vard Kalak—Commander of the Maklakar Battle Station Mondor. Vard is a maklan and commands one of the thousand-mile diameter warships of the Maklakar planets at the edge of the galaxy. In Tears of Gallia, he and his ship are sent to find new worlds to help defend their systems from the Paxran Federation. When his ship is attacked by Zeet of The Accord, the Free Society comes to his rescue. That event ends the Maklakar isolation and adds both the Paxran and Maklakar to the Free Society.
Veek Alar—Admiral of the Bandabar Fold in the Andromeda Galaxy. His fleet captured a Hive planet Paranon Nar during Tears of Gallia as the Society of Humanity crumbled under its own weight and corruption.
Zee Gongaleg—High Counsel of the planet Tak-Makla. He and his people are maklans (spider like) and evolved from the same species as the Predaxians, Maklakar, and maklans of Neptune. He first appeared in The Second Predaxian War.
Zeet of The Accord—Master of the planet Bandabar in the Milky Way Galaxy. Zeet is a giant brain, controlling thousands of robots, who has enslaved the valakar (bird-like) citizens of the planet. He first appears in Tears of Gallia.
Zinka—A Zula, a lobster-like sea creature with hands instead of claws. They are the guardians of natural Hive planets.
Zobu Inther—Soldier on Skee Lotho who becomes Dave’s good friend.
Chapter 1
The defeat of the Donnaki invasion force at the hands of the Free Society should have ushered in a new era of peace and tranquility in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Paxran and Maklakar were overcoming their past hatred and trying to regain the spirit of Ai-Makla, with the support of the other maklan societies. The natural Hives on Zulanan and Fistnan should be able to provide security and supplement the power of the constructed Hives on Tak-Makla and Atar Pa. Yet Admiral Dave Brewster was obsessed with Zeet and the Bandabar. He knew it would take many years for Zeet to rebuild his robot army, but the power of that one decentralized brain had been amazing. Zeet had come within minutes of disabling the Maklakar battle station, the most advanced military hardware in the known galaxy. Dave also knew that Zeet was not unique. He had told his capturers of the other, another member of The Accord who had come to Bandabar to recruit new members. If there were more monsters like them, they could potentially take over the Free Society, and possibly the entire galaxy, with their armies of robots and lack of concern for sentient life.
“Jon, do you know what I find the most disturbing about the interviews recorded with Zeet?” Dave asked.
“No, Dave. The whole interrogation I witnessed was quite bizarre, so I’m not sure I could isolate just one thing,” replied the captain of the star cruiser Nightsky.
“It was the first question Commander Kalak of Maklakar asked. He said, ‘Who are you and why did you attack this station?’ Zeet said he didn’t understand the second question.”
“Yes, I remember that clearly now,” Jon answered. “It’s almost as if he doesn’t recognize life to be intelligent if it is not of The Accord.”
“Precisely!” Dave shouted. “Now can you see why I’m so preoccupied with The Accord? They think only their particular type of intelligence is meaningful. The entire population of the Mondor and all of our planets look like nothing more than a source of food to them.”
“Unless we accept the offer to be of The Accord as well,” Jon said.
“Maybe, but we don’t really know that for certain,” the admiral replied. “Zeet said there were hundreds more on Bandabar who agreed to join their little club, but there is no confirmation of that yet. Hopefully, Zee Gongaleg and his Hive can find evidence one way or the other. But I don’t think that’s enough.”
“Well, I’m certainly not taking this ship to the Magellanic Clouds to find out in person,” Jon laughed.
“You’re right, Jon, that suicide mission would only provide more refined metal and dinner for those animals,” Dave agreed. “But we need to learn more about what The Accord has done and what their plans for us are, and I have an idea.”
“I’m in, as long as there’s an escape route,” Jon said. “Ever since I left Far Sky, we have been on an incredible adventure. What’s the plan?”
“I’ve asked our
two Hives to look at as many barely habitable planets as possible in the Clouds. For starters, I want to check out some that have sentient life but no signs of The Accord. If possible, my team will use the natural Hive on Fistnan to jump to those worlds, leaving enough people behind to track our movements and yank us out quickly if needed,” Dave began.
“Barely inhabitable planets? I don’t understand, Dave,” Jon pondered. “Plus, I don’t think Mencius or the Council is going to send the Supreme Fleet Admiral into such a dangerous place.”
Dave sighed, “Yeah, it’s going to be a hard sell, but I think I’m the only one who can pull it off. I’m the one with the strong connection to Universal Power, and I think I can convince Odo Pak and Obu Neela to stay on Fistnan to extract us when necessary.” He stood and walked over to the coffee station and refilled his cup, then walked over to the view port in his ready room and looked out at Tak-Makla from the ship’s high orbit. “I’m looking for miserable planets because I think that is what would remain after The Accord extracts all the metals. A creature like Zeet will always need more metal to replace and expand his fleet of robots, not unlike our own military. Such a beast could stay longer to finish feeding on the life-forms, but if there was a problem requiring new metal, it would be putting its own life at risk. I don’t think a logical creature would do that.”
“Why not use the Hives to jump a group of Maklakar battle stations there?” Jon asked. “They would provide a lot more defense.”
“That is true, but they would also provide a bounty of new metal that The Accord would be thrilled to have. Zeet, a single Being, almost defeated the Mondor. For all we know, there could be thousands or millions of Zeet-like creatures waiting there. If it’s just a few humans, maybe they won’t notice or care, especially if we are on a planet with little or no metal left,” Dave said.
“That makes sense,” Jon agreed. “I assume Hive agents will do all the investigation so there will be a strong likelihood of success before we put people in harm’s way.” Dave nodded. “I can’t help but think this is not the mission we signed up for, Dave. What about founding new colonies for the Free Society? And what does Darlene think about this?”
Dave laughed. “Yes, I’ve thought about those issues. Darlene will try to convince my superiors I am too valuable to risk. I appreciate the sentiment, but I have no intention of getting myself or anyone on my team killed. I’m even thinking about adding her to the team. Her diplomatic skills are phenomenal, and that’s what we’ll need when we encounter intelligent life. Also, the idea of The Accord is pounding in my brain like a gong. You know, if you and I found a thousand new planets this week, it is possible an invasion force from The Accord could destroy all of that life in hours. By us placing infrastructure on a new planet, we’re giving The Accord exactly what it wants, more food and metal. I can’t live with that.”
“But that may never happen, Dave,” Jon argued. “As far as we know, Zeet is the only member of The Accord in this galaxy.”
“That’s exactly why we have to go to the Magellanic Clouds, Jon,” he smiled. “If we determine The Accord is no threat, I will be the happiest guy in the galaxy. You and I can go on with our mission, confident that we are growing the Free Society. However, if an invasion is imminent, we will be forewarned and can take defensive measures.”
“What do you think we will find?” Jon asked.
“They’re ready for an invasion,” Dave said coldly. “The evidence is too strong for me to ignore.”
“What evidence is that?”
“Jon, when Lini and I were traveling back to this time after our imprisonment on Solander, we were sidetracked and stopped for a few moments deep inside Zeet. We also stopped on the Mondor and saw the Predaxian agents. Universal Power is not random and took us there for a reason. I had heard of the Maklakar battle station but had no idea about The Accord. Universal Power wanted me to see Zeet. The only reason I know of would be as a warning. I have been warned about The Accord, and now it is up to me to find a way to stop it,” Dave said and then sat heavily in his chair. “Jon, I know this isn’t what you signed up for. While I’m gone, De-o-Nu is going to continue our normal mission. You can certainly go with him. I won’t need Nightsky where I’m going.”
“Dave, do you remember when I was about to be elected head of the High Council on Far Sky? I gave it up to follow you and it wasn’t about building new planets or growing our cultures. It was about the adventure. Now you’re telling me that mobs of robots could swarm into our galaxy at any time and lay waste to our civilization. Of course, I’m going with you. If there is any chance my help will stop The Accord, I’m going,” Jon smiled.
A tone sounded on Dave’s control console and he pressed the flashing button, “Yes, Lia, what’s up?”
Communications Officer Lia Lawson’s face appeared on the screen. “Dave and Jon, Greater Gallia advises that Zeet is on the move. Captain Lake, De-o-Nu is requesting one Maklakar battle station and ten cruisers to jump to that location as soon as possible. I have already communicated with Tak-Makla, and they are prepared to jump us there on your command. The Mondor and twenty Galliceans cruisers are already at the scene.”
“Tell Tak-Makla to make the jump in thirty seconds,” Jon said. “Dave and I will be on the bridge in ten.” The two men rose and rushed through the doorway and onto the bridge where they sat in their command chairs. On the viewscreen was the face of Loni Arrak, Chief Engineer of the tekkan Hive.
“Good luck, Nightsky,” she said. “Jumping in five, four, three, two, one. . . .” The planet below them was gone. Now they were surrounded by warships firing at a plasma ball from the Mondor.
“Target any plasma balls!” Jon shouted to Frake Landres, his Chief Weapons Officer.
“Aye-aye, Captain,” the large man bellowed back. “Those robots are attacking the Dar-Fa, sir. Their captain reports dozens of hull breaches and many casualties!”
The screen split and Fa-u-Nu, captain of the Dar-Fa, was staring at them. “My ship is lost! Please get the Hive to evacuate my crew! We’ve only got seconds left.” His image disappeared. In the view screen, the horrified bridge crew could see thousands of small robots hacking away at the hull of the Dar-Fa. The giant cloud of robots was rushing toward the failing ship until the hull was covered in them.
“Jon, this is Loni, we’ve evacuated all life from the Dar-Fa,” a voice said over the intercom.
“Lia, put me in contact with all warships now!” Jon shouted. She pressed the buttons and nodded back at him. “Fleet, this is Jon Lake. All Galliceans have been evacuated from the Dar-Fa. Train all fire on that ship’s engine nacelles. A single coordinated attack from our weapons should start a chain reaction which will hopefully stop the robots! Fire now!”
The plasma balls from the Mondor arrived at the Dar-Fa as the same moment as the fire from the cruisers. All the view screens blacked out due to the intensity of the explosion. The crews were tossed about in their ships as the shock wave struck and pushed them away at near light speed. Most ships lost all power and hung in space for several minutes before systems started to regenerate. “Jon, this is Ka-a-Fa of the Kong-Fa. Where is our fleet? Is anyone out there?”
“Ka-a-Fa, it’s good to hear another voice,” Jon replied from the darkened bridge. “Our power is just coming back on now. Our instruments show we are one hundred million miles away from our original location.”
“Jon, we’re starting to hear from other ships now,” Ka-a-Fa replied. “We are not reading any robotic activity at the original position, so I think your plan worked. Where did you come up with such an idea?”
Jon chuckled and said, “I used to be a physicist and starship engineer. The intensity of the fire seems to have created a tiny singularity which then exploded. It was kind of like our own little Big Bang. By the way, I’m still in the dark here.”
“Hailing all ships. This is Commander Vard Kalak of the Mondor. Has anyone taken any casualties? Our thick outer shell protected us quite well. We have adv
anced medical facilities if you need them. And Captain Lake, thanks for the quick thinking. It definitely seems our friend Zeet learned from our first encounter.”
“Where the hell is Dave?” Jon gasped. “We just got our lights back on and Admiral Brewster is not here.”
“Obu, why am I here?” Dave asked. He was sitting in the small open temple at the Mount Alila Temple on Lagamar Ulu. The High Priest was walking toward him with two glasses of brandy. “Why did you take me away from the battle? What happened? Did they defeat Zeet?”
“Your fleet is fine, Dave,” Obu replied while handing him a glass. “Only the one ship that was attacked by Zeet was destroyed. Unfortunately, a hundred Galliceans were killed before the evacuation due to hull breaches. But to your first question, I did not bring you, so I cannot say why you are here.”
Dave touched his glass to his friend’s and sipped the drink. “Well, I wonder who did this. Can you help me get back to my ship?”
“Of course, dear friend,” Obu smiled, “but I think it might be important to determine why you are here and who brought you first. It seems odd that you would arrive without any reason. What exactly happened back there? I did feel an enormous disturbance in the Source. Did you do that?”
“Not that I know of,” Dave replied. “Jon ordered all the ships in our fleet to fire at the crippled Gallicean cruiser at the same time. When all the fire hit that ship, I was just here.”
“Well, I’m no nuclear engineer, but it seems the attack may have created a minute singularity,” Obu said. “All of the plasma striking the engines of the starship compressed to a tiny spot of nearly infinite density. When the external pressure dropped, the singularity exploded. That could open thousands of wormholes through space and time. I suppose it is possible one of those openings sucked you in and delivered you here.”
Dave laughed. “I think the odds are pretty small there. A random wormhole could have sent me anywhere or any time, but I came here. Something must have directed me to you.”
