The Fight for Creation: Book 03 - Ultimate Warrior
Page 16
Sam walked over to Gregory and pulled him and Sandra to the edge of the wall. Gregory looked out at the giant crowd as it exploded and smiled. He raised his arm and waved to them. The cheering continued for forty minutes until Gregory raised both arms and brought them down. The noise slowly abated and he went to the Microphone. “I know how all of you feel. I’m losing my best friends but I know what they are being called to do. No one can ever replace Duke and Duchess Robbins. They are unique in the history of the Realm and it is not my intention to do that. My intention is to make sure that you are protected and defended, and do everything in my power to make your lives the best they can possibly be. You have always had my love and there is no place in the Universe that is a better place to live than right here on Ross. I intend to continue that tradition. With your help, we can do that together.”
The crowd went crazy and Sandra joined Gregory and waved at the gathering. Later that day when Sam had the news agencies release all the things that Greg had done in running the planet the citizens stopped worrying. Their Duke had chosen well and they were going to support his choice.
• • •
Sam looked at Greg and Sandra, “Jon has approved your new position and your elevation in title. Take care of them, Gregory.”
“I have always done so, Your Highness. I always will.”
Sam and Jixie hugged Greg and Sandra and the four turned at the wall and waved to the gathered millions. Jixie leaned in and said, “How did you know they’d allow us to go?”
Sam continued to wave at the crowd and said, “This planet is where the Realm began. These citizens know the importance of doing their duty and they would never prevent me from doing mine.” Jixie nodded and knew that by allowing the citizens to make the decision, the transition would go smoothly. Sam’s wisdom always fascinated her. She knew she would miss Ross but was excited to get back in the fight.
• • •
Sam was packing a bag and suddenly felt a cramp hit him in the stomach and double him over. He fell to the floor and wondered if he was having a heart attack. The pain was incredible and he couldn’t even call for help. His mind was consumed by the agony as he tried to breathe. After a minute the pain began going away and he was able to struggle to his feet. He pulled himself up by the table and took a deep breath. He wondered what had happened. Jixie had not appeared so he knew she had not seen what was going on. He stumbled over to the closet and looked around the huge row of hanging clothes. “I wonder where Pixie put my old uniforms.”
“They’re in the staff’s main closet, Dad.”
Sam stopped dead in his tracks and thought, “Pixie, how did you hear me?”
Pixie paused and said, “I heard your thought.”
“But you’re not here.” Sam thought, “Jixie, will you come here a moment.”
Jixie materialized and said, “How are you broadcasting your thoughts?”
“Look at my thoughts.” Sam showed her his sudden spasm and immense pain.
“Why didn’t you call me!?!”
“I couldn’t. I couldn’t even think.” Sam thought a moment and said, “Do you remember when Queen Victoria suddenly acquired psychic abilities?”
“It was just before the Dremor invaded Bristone.”
“That must be what just happened to me. I don’t know what I did to trigger it.”
Pixie said, “Are you alright?”
“I think I am.”
Pixie said, “Dad, all of the Royalty used to be psychic. They lost those talents after the old Stars Realm fell. I suspect that the abilities are still dormant in most of the Royalty and yours just became active.”
“But why now?”
“I suspect the Creator has a use for you. I wondered why Mitch and Russell made us put a sword under our armor but we discovered they were needed against the blue ships. You are going back into the fight and perhaps this is another gift. I can’t see any other reason.”
Jixie said, “Pixie knows the Realm’s history far better than anyone I know. She might be right.”
“That comes from having so much time while you were carrying me, Mom. There wasn’t much else to do but look at the history.”
“Where are you Pixie?”
“I stopped by Mitch’s grave to tell him goodbye. I’m leaving here tonight. I want to visit his family before I go.”
“Be careful, I love you.”
“I love both of you as well. I’ll keep you updated.”
Jixie said, “I can hear your thoughts now.”
Sam smiled, “So you see what I’m thinking.”
Jixie smiled and followed Sam out of the closet.
• • •
Pixie arrived back at base and just managed to bring her sorrow under control. Her visit with Mitch’s family was almost more than she could bear. She knew that Mitch’s younger sister was going to join the Warriors when she came of age and it was going to break her father’s heart. She had a few years to get him ready, but it was not going to go well.
She jumped to the headquarters’ building and walked in. Sgt. Major Caldwell nodded her toward Russell’s door and said, “I’m so sorry, Captain.”
Pixie smiled and said, “We all miss him.” She knocked on the door and heard, “Enter.” She walked in and saluted but saw Russell stand and bow to her, “Welcome back, Your Highness.”
Pixie was startled by his response and said, “Sir, I am a Scout Warrior Captain and as such I am junior to you, withstanding any title I hold. You are my Commanding Officer and are not required to do anything to respect my title. Nor are any of the other members of this unit.”
Russell straightened and returned her salute. “At ease, Captain; sit down.”
Pixie sat down in the chair in front of his desk and said, “It was unfortunate that you learned about my title but nothing has changed from that discovery.”
“Then you don’t know the high regard that the citizens of the Realm hold for the members of Royalty. I know who your parents are and I’m aware of just how much esteem your family has in the Military. You are right, though. I was concerned about how we were going to resolve the rank and title in order to work together.”
“How many know about my title?”
“Only those that survived the cliffs and I’ve ordered them not to reveal your identity. So far, none of them have. All of them are now in Captain Clarke’s Company and the other three don’t know.”
“I really prefer to keep it that way, Sir.”
“I’ll do what I can. I’m really glad you came back.”
Pixie looked at Russell and didn’t say anything. Russell saw her expression and said, “It’s not what you think.”
“Oh?”
“I’ve fallen in love with Ana Tarver and there is no one else for me.”
Pixie smiled, “Congratulations.”
“I guess the close brush with death pushed both of us to do what we can to love each other with whatever time we have. I know she fills my heart and I miss her every moment she’s not with me. That tells me what you are enduring and I wish there was some way to help you through your grief but I know there’s not much I can do.”
“There is one thing.”
“What is that?”
“Release me to do whatever I see that needs doing.”
Russell leaned back in his chair, “Tell me what you mean?”
“If we go back into combat, allow me to go and take a full look at everything instead of just our responsibility. I need to see it all. I could also soften up the forces we’re going to face before the Battalion arrives.”
“I hate to ask this question, but I need to know if this comes from a death wish?”
Pixie laughed, “No Sir. It comes from a desire to explore my talents and to have a good time doing it.”
Russell smiled, “You are free to do whatever you deem is needed. However, there will be occasions where I’ll need you to provide me specific information.”
“That won’t be a problem.”
“That will also not be a problem. Am I being assigned to his company?”
“No, he doesn’t want that to happen. You will report to me and you’ll have freedom of movement to take whatever action you think is appropriate.”
Pixie frowned, “Why didn’t Clarke want me in his company?”
“You don’t really know him. Take a look at his files and you’ll understand. He makes decisions that I have to struggle with understanding what his motivation is but this one made sense. You outrank him by seniority and after I thought about it, it became clear that his Warriors do know who you are and he doesn’t want there to be any confusion about who is in command. Having the two of you in the Battalion really strengthens us in remarkable ways. Welcome back and again, I’m glad you decided to return.”
Pixie stood, saluted, and left Russell’s office. She went to Sgt. Major Caldwell and said, “I want to see Captain Clarke’s files.” Caldwell stared at Pixie and she said, “The Major told me to take a look at them.” Caldwell turned and pulled a disc out of the file and handed it to Pixie, “Get this back to me when you complete it.”
Pixie looked at the disc and handed it back, “Thank you.”
Caldwell stared at her for a moment and said, “You’re welcome.” Pixie walked out and Caldwell wondered how she could look at the disc and see what was on it. He shook his head and put the disc back into the file.
Pixie looked at the information and began to get angry. Clarke was lazy. She turned and went out to the field where his company was training. Clarke saw her coming his way and Pixie saw him smile. “What’s so funny?”
“You just saw my files.”
Pixie’s head went back and she said, “And just how did you make that determination?”
“Well, you didn’t get to know me during the fight at the cliffs so your obvious displeasure couldn’t have come from there. You are coming from the direction of Headquarters so it must be something you either heard or saw there. I’m reasonably certain Major Slade wouldn’t take the time to really discuss me on your first day back so that means you were given permission to see my files and you did.”
“And you saw that by the way I walked up?”
“Well, there were about fifteen other nonverbal clues but I won’t bore you with the details.”
“Why do you think I’m so angry?”
“For assumed inadequacy on my part.” Pixie stared at Clarke and he saw her confusion. “Captain Mille, my company is ranked number one in this Battalion and at the Cliffs I lost the fewest Warriors. Where some units lost more than fifty percent, I only lost three. The company you were with lost ninety percent. Before you start assuming things and take the stance that you know better than me, you should do your homework. If you doubt that, take a company and I’ll kick its backside all over the field. Until you can actually back up your indignation with facts, you should hold your comments…Sir.”
Pixie stared at Clarke, turned, and walked away. Semy watched her go and said, “You know who she is?”
“I do and perhaps she’ll get me kicked out of the service where I can start to relax again.” Semy stared at Ken and he said, “Lieutenant, all I see is another Captain that has a superiority complex. I don’t have time to waste on that.”
Semy shrugged and said, “We just beat Skylar’s Company.”
“I told you not to do that.”
“They just didn’t cooperate. They made it too easy.”
“Are the men getting that much better?”
“Yes Sir, they are.”
“Well, it looks like Mosby. This fish has gotten off the hook. Carry on Lieutenant.”
“Yes Sir.”
• • •
Pixie listened to Clarke’s thoughts and felt her temper rise but then became curious. She took another look at his training records again and saw the speed of his analysis of enemy formations. This idiot was a weird concoction. She went back to headquarters and pulled all the training records and saw Clarke was right. His unit was the best. She leaned back and wondered if they were that good in spite of him or because of him. She decided to find out. She also noticed that she had not thought about her sorrow since she had left Russell’s office. That was a good thing.
Chapter Fifteen
Sam and Jixie sat in Sprigly’s office and listened to him, “You’re right; one would think that the new armor and ship’s skins would just absorb the Carnivore’s beams and not be harmed. But their beams are different from any we’ve encountered and there are ten more aggressive civilizations that use a similar beam.”
“I thought you told us that the beam would just pass through without damage?”
“An energy beam would.”
“Well, isn’t their beam an energy beam?”
“Yes and no. It is a combination of high energy with physical particles accelerated to the speed of light. It is a hybrid of energy and physical. The skin can absorb energy or physical items. It can’t do both at the same time. That makes us vulnerable.”
“Can our normal force fields stop it?”
“No, it’s too powerful. We still don’t have a force field to handle that amount of energy.”
“Then how have we managed to defeat them?”
“The fleets have outnumbered them and the Warriors fire first. Whoever fires first wins.”
“That sounds dangerous.”
“More than you know. Those creatures are extremely fast and have lightning reflexes. We’ve found that if we teleport a ship in and immediately out, another ship can come in instantly on the other side and get off a shot. It’s still a crap shoot. We lose ships when we face off with them.”
“Can they see us?”
“This is the first species we’re run across that can see a teleport signature.”
“That’s not good.”
“No, it isn’t. Our ships have to teleport in and immediately teleport to a different location and start attacking. There can be no delay or the ship is dead.”
“Have you come up with anything to defeat their technology?”
Sprigly leaves turned light brown, “No and the other species we’ve uncovered are worse than the Carnivores. Their technology is even more advanced. We’re staying away from them at the moment.” Sprigly thought a moment and said, “Why all the questions; are you planning something?”
Sam looked at Jixie and turned to Sprigly, “I want to kill their home worlds. We can’t just continue to react to their invasions.”
“I was afraid you were going to say that. Those particular nuts will not be cracked easily.”
“Can they be cracked?”
“Let me get with Admiral Mirabal and see what he has collected from the Zord. Give me few days.”
“Do you have some ships I can use?”
“I’ve had twenty of the latest model sent here for you to start training on.” Sam and Jixie stared at Sprigly and he said, “I saw your announcement and figured you would be here shortly. I went ahead and ordered them.”
Jixie smiled, “You know us too well, Sprigly.”
“This time I’ve had enough time to trial them.”
• • •
An Algean appeared and said, “The Realm’s Fleet is preparing a preemptive strike on a planet the Carnivores have been occupying.”
Sam said, “I didn’t think they attacked an entire planet.”
The Algean said, “They don’t. But they’ve consumed the largest city and are mobilizing their forces to attack a city two hundred miles from the one they’ve just killed.”
Jixie said, “That planet is not designated by the Blue Ships or they would have already removed them.”
Sprigly said, “You are not ready to take part in any action at this time. You need to select your pilots and familiarize yourselves with
your new ships.”
“Do you know what unit of Life Warriors they’ll be sending?”
“The First Regiment of the Twelfth Division.”
Jixie said, “That’s Pixie’s unit.”
Sprigly shrugged, “They are the ones most familiar with the Carnivores. It makes sense they would be sent.”
Sam looked at Jixie and said, “We need to get Jason moving on getting a squadron of pilots for us.”
Jixie nodded, “I wonder if there are any that were in your old unit still around.”
Sam did a double take and said, “Now that might be possible.”
Jixie looked up at the ceiling and said, “Senior, I apologize for interrupting your study but I have a question I need your help in answering.”
“What is it, child?”
“Am I allowed to use my invisibility field when fighting with my playmates?”
“Have they invented it?”
“I thought the convention didn’t say anything about the playmates inventing it. I thought it only said they had to be using it.” Jixie waited and only heard silence. “My daughter is human and she is currently using it. Does that allow me to use mine without violating the convention?”
“That is a fine distinction you are trying to make. She received it from you.”
“Yes, but she is not restricted in using whatever she received from me. Since it is being used here, I won’t be doing anything they are not currently doing.”
“I must also look at the spirit of the convention as well as the letter, Jixie.”
“When has that ever been done? You know the last Senior ignored any spirit of the convention in his efforts to make me go home.” Jixie paused and said, “You know what they’re fighting for here, Senior. That is the spirit that should direct your decision.”
“I will allow you to use it but only in your immediate vicinity.”
“You better tell me what that means. I don’t want to guess what that distance might be.”
“Twenty of what they call a mile.”
“Thank you, thank you.”
“I honor your determination to follow our conventions. I can defend this with the others. The people are very proud of you and your family.”