by Saxon Andrew
“Why?”
“I had the groad shocked out of me and all the hair on my head burned.”
Victoria giggled and Pride looked at her, “Hey, don’t try this at home.”
Some of the Elders hid their smiles but some had to turn their heads, “I remember when your hair was burned. I thought you said it was done in a battle?”
“It was; I was fighting that force field.”
“Why couldn’t you go through?”
“The Algeans say that size is an issue. The White Warriors are tiny compared to us and they can make it through. None of us can.”
“What about the kittens?”
Pride shook his head, “They’re ten feet long when they’re born. My understanding is that any creature bigger than ten feet will not make it through. Kittens are twenty feet long seven days after they’re born.”
“Can the White Warriors do it?”
“They could if they can get the teleporter next to their target. That won’t happen if the Dremor are there. They’ll kill the Warrior before he can teleport.”
Victoria looked at Pride, “Is there nothing we can do?”
Pride shrugged, “If we had enough time we could build ships that have both force fields around them. However, there’s nowhere near enough time to even start that progress. This will be over quickly.”
“We need to start anyway. Even of Bristone and Ross die, we will continue the fight.”
“The Algeans are moving forward in making that happen…but we’re looking at several years before we have any ships in significant numbers.”
One of the Senior Cats said, “Hundreds of thousands of planets could die in the meantime.”
Pride sighed mentally, “Possibly millions if the Dremor really push it. They won’t need the Megat to get them through to the other planets of the Realm.” Pride looked at Victoria, “You should remain here until this issue is resolved. You’re going to be needed by the Realm if Bristone and Ross fall.”
Victoria sighed and nodded, “Grainger is not going to leave. I’ve always wondered about him in the past and questioned whether he had what it took to be a good King. I’ve never been more proud of him. He’s found himself in this conflict.”
“He was not the designated successor, Your Majesty. He’s always operated in your shadow and now he’s free to be himself. You’re right; he’s found his inner core and we are just as surprised as you are.”
Victoria looked at the ground and then looked up, “I’ve always loved him. Now I admire him.” She looked around and said, “Do any of you know what happens to love when you admire the object of your affections?”
Pride smiled, “It’s like your former love is a shadow of what you now feel.”
“That’s it exactly and if he dies my loss will be monumental.” Victoria looked at the Cats, “Please don’t let him die.”
Pride slowly shook his head, “We’re trying to find a way to save him, Your Majesty.” Pride paused and said, “We have one thing that is an unknown that may offer hope.”
Vitoria turned and looked at Pride, “What is that?”
Pride smiled, “Three brothers.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Molly looked at Jon and said, “But Sir, we can’t do this!”
“You are going to do it and I expect you to do your best.”
“Dividing our forces is a mistake.”
Jon slowly shook his head and said, “Molly, Ross is going to be attacked along with Bristone. Now that the Queen is safe, we need to try and protect both planets. You will take your command and go to Ross and take over the defense of the Castle.”
Molly stared at Jon and used her last argument, “Bristone is the Capital of the Realm; it’s more important than Ross.”
Jon sighed, “I know that; however, this is not my decision. The King has ordered me to send one of my battalions to Ross. He also ordered me to send my best unit.”
Molly sighed and knew the argument was over, “When do we leave?”
“Your ship is in orbit waiting for you to board.” Jon looked at Molly and said, “Try to take care of my family, Molly.”
Molly stared at Jon and came forward and hugged him. He held her tight and then she stepped back, saluted, and said, “I’ll do my best, Sir.”
Jon smiled and said, “I know you will.” Molly teleported to her unit and Jon still felt her in his arms. He sighed and went out to discuss the armament locations being placed around the castle.
• • •
The Megat Ruler listened to the speaker on the wall on the bridge of his warship. The Dremor said, “I need your assistance in resolving an issue.”
“What is that?”
“A civilization has destroyed several of my fleets and we have determined that they must be held accountable.”
The Megat was surprised. He was surprised that anyone could defeat a Dremor Fleet. “Where is the civilization you intend to conquer?”
“An image of the planets is being sent to your ship.”
The Megat saw the image on his display and jumped up out of his command chair, “That’s Bristone and Ross! Those planets are defended by millions of warships. We could never break through their defenses.”
“You won’t have to break through. We will remove any ships that stand in your way. We need you to remove some installations that are orbiting the two planets. Our readings indicate your ships have the required energy to dispose of them.”
“What are they?”
“That is something you need not worry about. Your ships are powerful enough to destroy them. We only require that you destroy them and then you may leave.”
“Are you able to prevent us from being attacked while we move in on the planets?”
There was a long moment of silence and the Megat wondered if he had made a mistake questioning the Dremor. “We are.”
“I will need some time to assemble the ships needed to attack.”
“Why?”
“We can’t attack those installations with normal warships. If we move in close enough to hit them with a normal warship, the planet can launch their most powerful missiles at my ships. Are you able to stop missiles?”
“Are they manned or mechanical?”
“Mechanical.”
“No, we cannot stop them.”
“Then I’ll need to bring in some of our Beam Dreadnaughts. They can hit those rocks from long range without being in range of the planet’s missiles.”
“Why do you need time to gather them?”
“They are not in this universe at this moment and are being used to bombard several planets.”
“How long will it take to bring them?”
“About two weeks.”
“Give us their location and I will dispatch a fleet to remove the forces you’re attacking. If we do that, how long will it take?”
“Six days to get them here and have them powered.”
“Give me their location and we will remove your problem at those planets.”
The Megat hesitated but had to ask, “You won’t injure my forces?”
The Supreme Spirit smiled; that was a fair question, “No, we’ll only remove those you’re attacking.”
The Megat Ruler smiled. The Realm was finally going to be destroyed. He said, “I’ll be waiting for my Dreadnaughts.”
The Supreme Spirit said, “We’ll be there waiting with you.”
The Megat didn’t know whether he liked that or not.
• • •
The Dremor arrived at Legend and moved in toward the planet. The fleet commander had received notification of the Dremor arrival and ordered all his ships away from the planet. He moved the twenty Beam Dreadnaughts out beyond the orbit of the inner moon and directed them to wait. He was quite happy that the Dremor were coming to remove this troublesome planet. The population was nothing but trouble. They were all natural warriors and they moved impossibly fast. Hitting one was not impossible but it was close to it. Even the beams being used
from space weren’t able to hit large concentrations. Somehow they just seemed to move right before the beams hit. He watched his display as the Dremor came flashing in. The huge grey shapes stopped and massive clouds emerged and headed toward the planet.
• • •
Jixie looked up at the sky and said, “It looks like the ghosts are here.”
Trex looked up and then back at Jixie, “How do you want to handle this?”
“I guess it’s every Warrior for herself.”
“You don’t think we need to take them on by combining our forces?”
Jixie closed her eyes and said, “That would probably be more fun but not as efficient.”
“I guess you’re right. We do outnumber them and all of us are armed with a sequential blaster. Have you determined how this ends?”
“No, but however it works out, we have to fight them.”
“Here they come.” Trex walked away and stopped about twenty yards from Jixie. She looked at him and frowned. He sighed and shook his head. He turned and walked around the corner of the building. Jixie smiled and watched the slow moving grey cloud come slowly toward the ground. She watched the individual Dremor start separating and move toward the city’s population; she was angry that only six had chosen her. They were racing each other to see who would get there first. She watched them come in and shot all six with her blaster. They sparked and she looked around hoping for another to come after her. This was more fun than she expected. She moved to the right and went out into the center of a park. She started jumping up and down while waving her arms and saw more of the grey creatures turn toward her. Oh goody. Ten were moving her way. They arrived ten feet from her and Jixie pulled her blasters out of her holsters and shot all ten Dremor before they moved another foot. She looked around and didn’t see any more of the grey creatures. She frowned, looked up at the sky, and made a motion.
• • •
The Dremor came flying in faster than the speed of sound and fanned out to devour the inhabitants. One moment there were more than a hundred million Dremor diving for the surface and less than a minute later every one of them were dead. The Dremor Transports parked high above the planet watched as every Warrior on the planet died. It was over faster than they ever imagined possible. The Senior Spirit looked at his First and said, “What just happened?”
“I have no idea. The inhabitants have killed every Warrior we sent to the planet. Look at this.”
The Senior Spirit saw a small pink colored creature standing still and suddenly shoot six Warriors rushing in on it. He watched as the small, slim, creature moved out into a clearing and holstered its two blasters. It stood there and ten more Warriors saw it and went rushing in. The small creature stood with its arms crossed on its chest and when the Warriors were right on it, it pulled the blasters and killed all ten. The small creature then looked up and motioned for them to send more Warriors.
“Send this to the Supreme Spirit. Get it out now!”
The Supreme Spirit heard his First say, “I have a message from one of our fleets assisting the Megat.”
“What do they want?”
“The inhabitants on the planet have killed every Warrior sent against them. None survived.”
“What!?!”
“I have a recording.”
“Show me!”
The Supreme Spirit watched the recording and saw danger. He looked at the psychic trace and saw that the danger the planet radiated was off the scale.”
“Why didn’t the Senior Spirit look at the trace before he attacked?”
The First said, “I don’t think anyone looked. You ordered the fleets out and I think they assumed we had examined the trace.”
“How could we? This wasn’t a planet we chose to attack. We sent out fleet to a coordinate provided by the Megat.”
The First looked at the Supreme Spirit and waited. The Supreme Spirit struck the First with a massive energy surge and watched it die. He contacted the Superiors and said, “My First has failed me. He sent one of our fleets to attack a planet without examining the Trace. I need another First and if you have anyone you would like to recommend, I can use them quickly.”
The Fifty Superiors said, “What happened?”
“One of our fleets was killed attacking one of the Megat conquests. It appears the planet’s inhabitants are much faster than our Warriors, just as we are much faster most other life forms.”
“We’ll send you another First.”
The Fifty started communicating, “This one has already lost a fleet.”
“It just needs time to settle in.”
“Are we sure this planned attack is a good decision?”
“Why do you ask?”
“If we’re going to kill those two planets because of the danger they represent, are we now going to have to go and kill that planet that just killed another fleet? We’re ignoring the trace and deliberately moving into dangerous situations. I’m not at all comfortable with this path.”
The oldest one spoke, “If this attack on the two planets fails, we need to reexamine our choice.”
The Fifty Superiors shared their thoughts and decided that the Supreme Spirit’s continued rule would be determined by the result of the coming attack.
• • •
The Supreme Spirit said, “Recall all fleets and notify the Megat ruler to have his ships here in four days or we’re going to visit his home world in force.” The Second Spirit sent the message. The Supreme Spirit was angry. He shouldn’t have bargained with the organic. He should have forced his will on the Megat and now he had lost another fleet.
• • •
The Megat Ruler looked at his communication panel and felt his fear. He sent ordered all the Beam Dreadnaughts back to base and recalled the fleets attacking the four planets. He knew that his relationship with the Dremor had just undergone a metamorphosis; his species were now slaves instead of an ally.
• • •
Trex came over and looked up at the sky with Jixie. He looked at her and saw her sadness. “I guess we scared them off.”
Jixie sighed, “Even the slow movers are leaving. Now things are going to be dull again.”
“Maybe they’ll return one day and we can play some more.”
Jixie shook her head, “No, I think they’re gone for good. She sat down on the ground and said, “Maybe we should use our ships again.”
Trex shook his head, “No, that won’t happen.”
Jixie wailed, “Why not?”
“We’re not old enough to play with those toys yet.”
Jixie dried her tears and said, “Well, it won’t be much longer.”
Trex smiled, “I know.”
Both of them suddenly looked up at the sky and saw a giant winged creature flying toward them. Jixie looked at Trex and they both saw the creature was not armed. They stood and watched it gliding in and land in the park twenty feet away from them. They heard, “I think you have done a remarkable job in taking on the Dremor.”
Jixie heard the creature’s thoughts and thought back, “Is that what they called themselves.”
“It is.”
“They have been the best playmates we’ve ever had come here.”
The Zord stared at the small creature and thought, “Playmates?”
“You know; creatures bent on killing you that invade periodically.”
“You are only the second species to ever face them and live to talk about it.”
“Really? They weren’t that good.”
“They have killed trillions of innocent civilizations.”
“Why did they come here?”
“They want to use the creatures that were bombarding your planet to attack another civilization.”
“Why?”
“The civilization they’re going to attack has a force field to keep them out. They need the other creatures to remove it so they can attack the people on the planet.”
Jixie looked at Trex, “I guess that makes sense.” Jixie
looked at the Zord and said, “Ask them to come back here and we’ll gladly play with them.”
The Zord realized he was communicating with children. He smiled and said, “I don’t think they’ll bother you again. I appreciate you communicating with me.”
“Are you leaving now?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Why did you come here?”
“I was hoping you could help us fight them off.”
Jixie moved her foot back and forth and said, “We can’t leave here until we’re old enough to be responsible.”
The Zord smiled, “You are very wise.”
“Thank you. Will you come back and visit?”
“You may rest assured that when you’re old enough to leave, I will come back and ask for your help against those that are attacking innocent civilizations that cannot defend themselves.”
Jixie’s expression turned serious, “Is that happening?”
The Zord looked up at the sky and said, “It’s taking place in millions of civilizations as we speak. I hope you can help us stop it one day.”
Jixie looked at the giant creature and said, “One day I will join your efforts. Don’t forget me.”
The Zord smiled, “I won’t.” The Zord spread his wings and lifted into the atmosphere. The two watched it climb and disappear.
Trex said, “That creature can teleport.”
“Yes, he was really nice.”
They looked up at the sky and Trex said, “Do you see the damage our playmates are causing?”
“I do.”
“It’s a shame we can’t do anything about it.”
“I know.”
“Jixie, why are you being so short?”
“I’m asking mom if we can go out and play with them now.”
“What did she say?”
“She said absolutely not.”
Trex frowned and said, “Let’s go home.”
“I’m right behind you.”
One moment there were two small creatures standing in the park and the next they were gone.
• • •
The Zord that had been scouting the Megat Attack Fleet was amazed at the small creatures he had just communicated with. They were children but he could tell from their thoughts that they were tremendously advanced mentally. He shook his head at calling the Dremor playmates. Some day in the future, those children could make a difference.
