Escape to Earth-The Legacy of a Conqueror
Read Escape to Earth-The Legacy of a Conqueror Online
Authors: Saxon Andrew
The Legacy of a Conqueror
Contents
Chapter One
J
inks walked into Lukas’s office and saw him talking with Salud. Lukas turned his head toward him and Jinks held up his hand, “Before you say anything, there’s something I need to say.”
Lukas leaned back in his chair and said, “Go ahead.”
Jinks saw Salud sit down in the chair beside Lukas and he could see she wasn’t happy. As a matter of fact, she looked angry. “I made a mistake calling for Chris to be arrested for treason.” He saw Salud’s expression change. “He only did what I should have done but didn’t see.”
“What do you mean?”
Jinks shook his head and sighed, “I was so caught up in making the Invaders pay for what they did to Earth that I didn’t think straight. We destroyed a million of their warships without losing a single ship. Those green vessels stood no chance against us and I was prepared to destroy all of them. I was lost in a blood lust and failed to see that wasn’t the right thing to do. After the smoke cleared, Budge thanked me for calling off the attack. He pointed out that killing those ships would have been little more than murder.” Jinks shook his head, “He was right. The Green Civilization did not destroy Earth, those Orange Warships did. Chris doesn’t deserve to be in jail for this.”
“I know.”
Jinks stared at Lukas for a long moment and started shaking his head slowly, “You authorized his arrest!”
Lukas pointed at a chair in front of his desk, “Sit down, Jinks.” Jinks sat down and stared at Lukas. “Chris did the right thing but for the wrong reason. He didn’t have the casualty reports when he made his decision.”
“Then why did he call off the attack?”
Lukas pointed a remote at the large wall monitor and Jinks turned around to see what was on it. The monitor illuminated and he saw numerous Grey Warships firing missiles at a civilized planet. There were already numerous mushroom clouds rising from the planet’s surface and as Jinks watched, he saw a huge city blasted by a nuclear missile. “All of those missiles are hitting the planet’s surface sending tons of highly radioactive particles into the planet’s upper atmosphere. Within a few weeks, all life on that planet will be dead.”
“Where is that planet?”
“The leaders in M-87 ordered the Green Civilization to send every ship they had to attack Earth. None were left behind to defend their planets. Those Grey Ships came from M-84 to avenge a civilization that was ordered to be killed by those leaders. The Leader of the Invader Fleet told Chris that all of his civilized planets would be destroyed if he didn’t turn around and go back.”
Jinks continued to stare at the monitor and said, “Would that be a bad thing?”
“Are you willing to live with the deaths of trillions by stopping them?” Jinks turned around and looked at Lukas in silence. Lukas sighed, “I’ve said from the very beginning that our task is to defend Earth against all aggression. I also made it clear that we will not go out as conquerors.”
“But we’re not attacking those planets.”
“No, but standing by and watching another conqueror do it is the same thing if we can do something to stop it. I am genuinely surprised that Chris understood that lesson at the most difficult of times to see it.”
“Then why did you allow him to be arrested?”
“Because no one else saw it.”
“Budge did.”
Lukas smiled, “I suspect his brother did as well. But he didn’t know about the attacks on the Invader’s planets.”
“None of us knew.”
Lukas smiled, “Coming here and telling me you made a mistake reaffirms my belief in you, Jinks.”
“You still haven’t told me why you allowed him to be arrested.”
“Have you had any discussions with Piper?”
Jinks’ head jerked back and he wondered where that question came from, “No, I haven’t.”
His species is of the opinion that heredity has less influence on a being’s behavior than their experiences. I argued with him about that but, in the end, he makes a compelling argument.”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“I watched the recording of Chris’s meeting with the Fellowship Representatives.”
“And?”
“They weren’t happy that he was chosen to lead them; they preferred one of their own officers do it.” Lukas leaned forward, “Does that sound like someone that’s turned their backs on their old ways and embraced the concept of peace?”
“I don’t know that I would have felt any different. I honestly wouldn’t want one of them leading the attack.”
Lukas smiled, “You still have some growing to do, Jinks. However, you’ve not spent your entire history attacking other civilizations; they have.”
“But I’ve been a soldier defending the United States since I was eighteen years old.”
“That’s why you still have some growing to do. However, answer this honestly. Do you think any of the Fellowship Civilizations would have called off the attack?”
Jinks stared at Lukas and shook his head, “No, they would have destroyed them all.”
“Even if they knew their planets were under attack?”
“They wouldn’t care. They’re used to planets being under attack.”
“I allowed Chris to be arrested to see what the Fellowship will want done to him.”
“What are you going to do?”
“They are insisting that he be tried for his actions. I’m going to allow them to do it.”
Jinks’ eyes widened, “They’ll demand his execution.”
“We’ll see.”
“You need to tell them he’s your son.”
“Why?”
“That might make them pause.”
“I won’t tell them and you better not allow that information to get out.”
“But…”
“We’re at a critical point and we must know which way to go. This will help us make that determination.”
“I don’t understand.”
Salud looked at Jinks, “You will.”
Jinks looked at her and saw she supported this decision. “When will this happen?”
Lukas said, “I’m sending him in two days. The Welken Royal says he will be tried before all the Fellowship’s representatives. They’ll all be present tomorrow to discuss what happened before the trial starts.”
Jinks shook his head, “I’m glad I won’t be there to see it.”
“But you will.”
“WHAT?!”
“You and Chad will deliver him to them and stand guard over him during the trial.”
“Lukas, you’re asking too much.”
Lukas smiled and told him what he was going to have to do and, after several questions, Jinks smiled.
• • •
Audrey was holding Chris’s hands through the bars as she stood outside his cell, “They’re not allowing me to go with you. I hate Lukas.”
Chris shook his head, “Audrey! He’s doing what has to be done. I’m responsible for my actions. We are no longer fighting alone and I have to defend what I did to our allies.”
Audrey started crying, “They’re going to kill you, Chris!”
“But I’m not dead yet. I need you to be strong.”
Audrey wiped her tears on her sleeve and quickly nodded. She heard a noise and looked up the hall. She put one of her hands on her throat and Chris said, “What?”
Two eight-foot tall silver colored beings walked up to the cell. The armor they were wearing glowed in the overhead lights and Chris shook his head, “I didn’t know the new armor has been completed.”
A mechanical voice said, “We’re manufacturing it now. We will be taking you to the Welken’s Royal Planet.”
“Why the armor?”
“You possess considerable physical talents. It was deemed it was necessary.”
“I won’t resist.”
“That will make our task easier. Please come with us.” One of them unlocked the cell and Chris quickly stepped out, took Audrey in his arms, and kissed her lovingly. They broke the kiss and Chris walked up the hall with the two warriors. Audrey managed to hold back her tears until she heard the door close at the end of the hall and then she broke down.
• • •
The Welken Royal didn’t like what was going on. He didn’t want to have this trial and he certainly didn’t want to execute a human. But the other civilizations demanded justice and the humans had said they would not try the one that stopped the attack. They sent the human to be tried by the Fellowship. The Royal knew the human was the one sent to command their fleets. This was not a good thing. The room was loud when he called for the defendant to enter. When he was escorted in by two massive armored warriors, the room grew silent. A warrior on each side was holding the human’s arms and they brought him to the front of the huge room and sat him in a chair. They then moved behind him and each put an arm on one of his shoulders.
The Lead Prosecutor stared at them for a moment and then looked at the Welken Royal. The Royal’s expression showed his displeasure but he said, “You may begin.” He looked out at the huge gathering and saw they were anticipating a guilty verdict. Their lust for blood was obvious. There were some that didn’t share that view, but they were lost in the sea of faces.
The Droken smiled and said, “I am going to play the records of the battle along with the communications that took place. This won’t take a long time but all of us should see what happened.” The huge monitor behind the Royal’s chair came on and the assembly saw the gigantic fleet of Green Warships moving through space. The sudden appearance of the small Silver Ships hitting the center of the Invader’s formation startled the gathering and then they were lost in the madhouse of a space battle.
Chris sat in his chair and watched the video with the representatives and was amazed again at how quickly a million warships could be destroyed. He shook his head at the number of lives that were lost in such a short time. He heard his voice ordering Admiral Jekins to call off the attack and the anger he felt at having to do it. Chris shook his head and wondered if he would do it again after having time to reflect on what the consequences were. Before the recording ended, he decided he would do it the same way. He took a deep breath and blew it out. One of the hands on his shoulder lightly squeezed and he was thankful for the gesture.
The Prosecutor stood up after the video ended and looked at Chris, “Is that your voice ordering the attack to be called off?”
Chris looked at him and said where everyone in the room could hear, “It is!”
The Prosecutor smiled and said in a loud voice, “WHY DID YOU CALL OFF THE ATTACK?!”
Chris thought the silence in the room was almost deafening. It was amazing that a room could be this quiet with so many beings in it. “I communicated with the being commanding the Invader’s Fleet and he told me that he received a communication from his galaxy that all of his planets were being attacked by ships from another galaxy.”
“What is that to us?”
“The Leaders that ordered his fleets to invade had every ship sent in the invasion. None of his planets were defended and he was leaving to go and defend them.”
“I ask you again, what is that to us?”
“I told all of you in our first meeting that humans do not desire to conquer anyone. Our mission is to defend our galaxy against all aggressors. Those ships were leaving and no longer represented a threat to our planets. I decided that I would not participate in the deaths of trillions of defenseless beings in their civilization.”
“That’s stupid. It would take six months for them to return and most of their planets would have been destroyed by the time they arrived. This is the best thing that could possibly happen. Their entire inventory of warships would be destroyed and probably all of their planets as well. This is exactly what should have happened.” The room started a low current of grumbling and the Prosecutor yelled, “That’s what would have happened if you had kept your mouth shut and allowed us to do our job!! An enemy of this galaxy would have been removed from existence and they deserved it!”
Chris stood up and looked at the assembly. The loud shouts for his execution grew quiet and he said, “None of you have had your planets bombarded from space and every being on the surface killed. We’ve endured that! Standing by and allowing hundreds of thousands of worlds to endure the same thing is not the right thing to do!”
The Prosecutor started to speak but heard the cries for the human’s execution. He closed his mouth and looked at the Welken Royal. The Royal sounded a tone and the room grew silent. He stared at the assembly and then looked at Chris, “They were coming to kill all of us.”
“Yes they were, Great One. But they were totally incapable of doing it. Their ships stood no chance against any of our ships and they don’t represent a real danger to us. If they did, I would have done things differently.”