by Saxon Andrew
“I guess Ross is out of the question?”
“There will be too many questions there.”
“That also eliminates Bristone.” Ken nodded. “What about Glod?”
Ken smiled, “I’ve never seen the Quilleron Temple. That would be a great place to visit. I’ve always wanted to touch the two swords.”
“I don’t know if they will allow you to do that. The Glod are somewhat protective of them.” Pixie paused, “However, I might be able to pull a few strings and make it happen.”
Ken smiled, “If all else fails, contact Telah Dorg; she can help us.”
Pixie’s eyes widened and she smiled, “Now that is a good suggestion.”
• • •
Jason looked at Mica Robbins and said, “We have a rather nasty civilization that is moving in on an innocent planet that hasn’t discovered jump technology. Can you get your fleet moving within twelve hours?”
“Yes, I’ll issue the orders now.” Mica paused and said, “I’ve not heard anything from the Zord or Cats. Is something going on?”
“Duke Robbins asked me the same question yesterday and they have not responded to a request for information from him. I’ll see if I can’t find out what’s going on but I need you moving now.”
“I’m on it.”
Jason watched the display go dark and sat back in his chair. He had contacted Eyes and asked why there was a no contact and was told that he would be informed about what was going on at the appropriate moment. He contacted the King and was told that he had been given the same statement. Something big was happening and it appeared the Cats weren’t going to reveal it to anyone. He thought about it and placed a call to Commodore Clarke. He was interrupted by Eyes, “The Commodore is not available for assignment at this moment.”
Jason realized that the Cats were keeping close watch on the Realm. “What’s going on?”
“This is not something the Realm should be involved in, Admiral. You will be told at the appropriate moment. Until that time, you should refrain from any investigation unless you want the Realm destroyed. Is that clear?”
Jason felt fear take hold of his mind. “I understand.” Eyes thoughts ended and Jason knew that something big was about to happen and Clarke was right in the middle of it. He was still sitting at his desk when Sam contacted him.
• • •
Sam ended his call with Admiral Mirabal and looked at Jixie, “Where is Pixie?”
“I don’t know, Sam.”
“What do you mean you don’t know?”
“I’m not able to see her when she’s with Ken. He has a field that blocks my ability to see them.”
“Jason is of the opinion that they are involved in something that is extremely dangerous. Do you know what they’re doing?”
Jixie struggled but knew that she just couldn’t lie to her husband. She sighed, “They are in the process of taking on the most dangerous species in Creation. Ken has been designated by the Creator to perform the tasks of removing them.”
“ARE THEY CRAZY?!?”
“Sam, they told me to stay out of this.”
“I don’t care what they told you. We need to know what’s going on.”
Jixie stared at Sam and said, “I’ll do what I can to find out.”
Sam sent a thought to Eyes and did not receive a response. “Jixie, get on this. The Cats and Zord are not communicating. I’m not going to sit by and watch my daughter get killed.”
Jixie nodded and looked up at the ceiling.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Pixie and Ken stood at the two pillars at the entrance to the Quilleron Temple on Glod. The honor guard of Glod Warriors stood at attention as Ken grasped each sword and felt the history in them. He saw the two blades buried more than two feet into each pillar and knew that Thomas Gardner had thrown them into the pillars more than five thousand years in the past. He was humbled by all that had happened from that event.
Ken released the swords and he heard Eyes in his mind, “You need to leave Glod. Duke Robbins has issued a command that anyone in the Realm that sees you or his daughter is to report it immediately.”
Ken saw Pixie had heard the thought and they pressed their wrist units and teleported to Pixie’s ship. They teleported out just before Sam’s ship arrived. The King of Glod said, “They were at the Quilleron Temple moments ago, but disappeared along with their ship.”
Sam slammed his hand on his command chair’s arm. He looked at Jixie, “Why are they avoiding us?”
“I’m sure they have a good reason.”
He turned to the King and said, “How long have they been here?”
“A week, Your Highness.”
“Thank you for your assistance.”
“Is something wrong?”
Sam stared at the King and said, “I really don’t know. But I intend to find out.”
Pixie looked at Ken and said, “You know that as soon as you leave, my mother will be able to see me.” Ken nodded. “I also know that you are not being honest with me.”
Ken looked at her, “What do you mean?” Pixie stared at him not saying anything. Ken looked in her eyes and blew out a breath, “I am not going to risk having you die.”
“That should be my decision. You aren’t allowing me the choice and you know you would demand it if you were in my place.”
“How long have you known?”
“It just occurred to me.”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t see it.”
“I’d probably feel the same way if our roles were reversed.”
Ken slowly shook his head, “Pixie, your life is just beginning. You will live far beyond my life span and I don’t feel it’s the right thing to do.”
“You are either going to honor my love for you or end our relationship now. We will live or die together. I will not have it any other way. I loved Mitch. He will always have a special place in my heart but I realize now that you are the one that fills my heart and answers all my needs and desires. If you don’t come out of this, I don’t want to go on. You need to decide.”
Ken stared at Pixie for a long moment and pressed his wrist unit, “Sprigly, how is the ship coming along?”
“I’ll have it ready in two more days.”
Ken slowly shook his head and said, “Put another chair in it.”
“What?”
“Just do it.”
“Is this a good idea?”
“No, but things will fall apart if you don’t.”
There was a long silence and then they heard, “I’ve already installed it. I knew you’d want it when the Duke called for Pixie’s location to be disclosed.”
Ken smiled, “You are without doubt the smartest being I have ever known.”
“I take after my Great Grandfather. I suspect you might want to come here. My staff is sworn to secrecy and the Cats will prevent you being interrupted if your presence is discovered.”
“Thanks, Sprigly. We’re on our way.”
Pixie pressed her communicator and said, “We’ll be there in two days.”
Ken looked at her as she wrapped her arms around him and said, “I want to have some time with you.” Ken took her in his arms as they committed themselves to each other. Live or die, they would not be separated again. Pixie had reasoned out that if his field hid him it would also hide her. He worried about what could happen but deep inside he was happy she was going to be there at his side. She wouldn’t want it any other way. Then he lost himself in her arms and all his worries disappeared.
• • •
Ken looked at the control panel and turned to Pixie, “Are you ready?”
“I guess. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I’m going to look at the pattern around the planet and see if there is a place where I can get in, get out, and do the most damage.”
“That means you’ll have to get in closer than twenty five thousand miles from the planet’s surface.”
“It does.”
Pixie
looked up and said, “The warships are packed in pretty tightly at that range.”
“I see that. I’m seeing a pattern of motion among them that indicates that some of them are being relieved by other ships.”
Pixie stared at the planet and said, “Yes, I see that but they aren’t moving more than one ship from any location.”
“I’m looking for one of the heavies to leave. There is about a two second window before the next ship takes its place.”
“Can you see it move, enter the coordinates into the system, and arrive in less than a second? That’s all the time you’ll have to make this happen.”
“The board is thought driven and I’ve discovered a little talent during my last trip that might allow me to do it.”
“What talent is that?”
Ken tilted his head and said, “I have a way of slowing things down. I need you to hang on and let’s hope this works.”
They stared at the planet for six hours and then Ken said, “Get ready, one of the heavies is warming up its drives.”
• • •
The giant red ship received the message to exit the coverage and it warmed up its drive tubes. It turned and moved out of the pattern and then after it was clear of the surrounding ships it jumped away.
Suddenly a tiny grey ship appeared and then disappeared. Two hundred ships read the teleport signature and disappeared right after the small ship. A large round object was left behind and it exploded in a massive blast. The Captor ball didn’t damage the ships in orbit above the planet but it did push them away from the blast center. The blast expanded and hit the planet’s surface, burning everything off the continent directly below the incoming shock wave. Two thousand more ships disappeared chasing the ship that had appeared above the planet.
• • •
Ken teleported the small ship into the gap in the coverage and activated the escape coordinates immediately upon emergence into normal space. The teleport field immediately surrounded the small ship but didn’t cover the Captor Ball that ejected as soon as the ship appeared. As soon as the small ship teleported away, Ken jumped the control room out of the small ship into the layer at the Hornet’s galaxy. He kept his screen around the small control room and held his breath as the two hundred ships arrived with the mother ship he had jumped out of. The grey ship began teleporting automatically as the red ships pursued it. Two thousand more red ships jumped in and joined in the pursuit.
Pixie stared out of the layer they were hiding in and said, “They’re here.”
Ken looked out and found one of the red ships was being pursued by a Hornet. In five seconds, a hundred of the red ships broke off chasing the small grey ship and opened fire on the giant creature pursuing one of their warships. This time Ken saw the giant creature shutter with the hits it was taking from the red ships. It shook them off and continued its pursuit.
The grey ship was killed and the remainder of the red ships joined in the attack on the giant Hornet. The Hornet must have collected what it needed because it launched a white ball at the ship it was pursuing and then turned to attack the other red ships. A hundred Hornets arrived and flew through the purple field around the first Hornet and then turned on the other red ships. The first Hornet was hit by more than a thousand white beams and it disintegrated. The other Hornets moved at a speed that was incredible and Ken saw that they became impossible to target. Red Ships began disappearing at an alarming rate and then the survivors disappeared. Pixie and Ken watched one of the Hornets go back to the nest and huge numbers of Hornets flew through its purple field.
“Ken, the Red Ships are coming back for more.”
Ken turned and saw more than a million red ships appear and start attacking the Hornets. Ken looked back at the nest and it looked like it exploded. Space was filled with the giant creatures as they attacked the invading Red Ships. Two million more Red Ships appeared and the battle took on a fury that was incredible in scope. Ken and Pixie were stunned at the magnitude of the battle. The tide of Red Ships turned into a flood and the entire galaxy was filled with the space battle. Ken made up his mind and he jumped the small capsule away and arrived at the small vessel waiting on him. Pixie continued to watch the battle and saw that the Red Ships were just as tenacious as the Hornets. Neither side backed away nor sought escape and the numbers fighting swelled into the millions. Pixie looked back at the Hornet nest and saw a massive cloud of Hornets disappear. She turned back to the battle and saw that hundreds of thousands of the Hornets had been killed but now the numbers were overwhelming and though red ships continued to arrive, it was clear that the end would be over quickly. Once the final Red Ship was destroyed, the giant cloud of Hornets disappeared. Pixie looked back at the nest and none of the Hornets had returned. She looked at Ken and saw that he knew they had gone to attack the red ship’s civilization. Ken looked at Pixie and said, “Let’s go home.” She nodded and the small ship disappeared.
Pixie looked at Ken, “What’s bothering you?”
“I thought those creatures were indestructible.”
“It appears they aren’t.”
“They don’t deserve what’s been done to them.”
Pixie didn’t know how to respond. One thing she did know was that any single Red Ship would have killed every ship in the Realm. And this wasn’t the most dangerous of the three species that were expanding. She looked at Ken and saw that he knew it as well. She began to feel fear permeate her soul.
• • •
Jixie saw the incredible battle taking place and knew that Pixie and Ken were involved in it. She still couldn’t see them but she knew where they were going to be. She thought about what to do.
• • •
Vremel looked at Eyes and thought, “I’ve never seen such horror.”
“There’s only one remaining. The Realm can handle any of the others that remain.”
“The outcome of this last one is not certain, Eyes.”
“I know that. But if the last one can be weakened enough to give us time, we may one day be able to match them.”
“Mother’s Creation is being forced to suffer.”
Eyes looked up and said, “She is hurting from this but she knows it must be done.”
Vremel looked up and said, “She didn’t know they could be killed, did she?”
“No.”
“The evil ones have grown stronger than we knew.”
“But there is only one remaining.”
“I wonder if the creatures can handle that last one.”
Eyes flipped his tail, “That is not my main concern.” Vremel looked at eyes and he said, “I wonder if they can be lured to the creature’s galaxy.”
Vremel could only nod.
• • •
Ken and Pixie sat in Sprigly’s office and Sprigly said, “I don’t know if you are going to be able to go in and then get away from the last species.”
Ken sighed, “I suspect it is not going to be easy.” Ken thought a moment and said, “Sprigly, are we capable of seeing where a ship teleports from?”
Sprigly leaned forward and said, “Yes, but that was a recent development. If we have a scanner operational it will be able to see back through a teleport field to the origin. Why do you ask?”
“If you can do it, I’ve got to believe that the final species can do it as well.”
“You have no evidence to support that belief.”
“If this last species is the most dangerous and is far ahead of the Red Ship civilization, I have to believe they are also light years ahead of us in their ability to detect teleportation.”
“You can find out easily enough.” Ken looked at Sprigly. “Teleport a ship into their domain and see if they show up where it jumped from.”
“I don’t think a ship would do the trick.”
“Why not?”
“They’ll just destroy it and ignore the source.” Ken leaned back, “But if you teleport a Captor Ball into their domain…”
Sprigly vibrated his bran
ches, “That would get their attention.”
Pixie looked at Ken, “Just how do you intend to teleport balls from the creature’s galaxy?”
“One at a time from distant locations.” Ken turned to Sprigly, “Do you have any idea how long it takes for a Hornet to lock in the pattern of an invader?”
“It appears they get the ship pattern instantly but it takes longer for it to get a species pattern. Tell me what you want to do.”
“Sprigly, I want ten ships that can teleport Captor Balls into the final species domain. They should also be able to rapidly teleport to different locations.”
“I need to know how you see them being used to be able to manufacture what you need.”
“We’ll probably need to do a trial. I want to teleport a Captor Ball into one of their home systems and I don’t care if it arrives close to the planet or not. I want it set to go off as soon as it enters normal space.” Ken looked at Pixie and then said, “I want the ship that sends it to immediately teleport away to another location.”
“Why do you want that?”
Pixie smiled, “He wants to see if those beings can follow a teleportation trail. I know that Matt Gardner discovered thousands of years ago that teleportation is not instant. He actually saw the paths different planets took when they were moved. It’s a good possibility that those beings can see the paths of objects that use teleportation.”
Sprigly thought a moment and said, “On the first trial, do you want to send the ship to the Hornet’s galaxy?”
“No, it wouldn’t make much sense. I’m sure the ship would be destroyed so fast that they would be gone before the Hornet could arrive on the scene. Besides, we don’t know if this strategy will work. If they can’t follow a teleport path back to its beginning, we’re going to have to plan to go into their domain.”
Pixie looked at Sprigly, “Do you have any information on what makes this next species so dangerous?”
Sprigly paused and said, “Eyes has shared a recording of an attack they did on a civilization.”
“Will you show us what you have?”
Sprigly turned and the main display illuminated on the wall next to their table. A silver colored ship hanging in space above a planet appeared. It was hard to determine its size but it wasn’t as large as the two previous species’ ships. Sprigly said, “That ship is about a mile and a half long. It has just appeared at that planet. The planet’s fleet of warships is about to appear. It was located at the orbit of the first moon and the ships are on the way. I’m going to play this at normal speed and then I’ll slow it down.”
