Escape to Earth-The Legacy of a Conqueror (6 page)

“Make sure the message along with a visual feed is sent anyway. The feed from their ships might be interrupted.” Audrey looked at him with a frown. Chris shook his head, “Look at him. He’s spoiling for a fight. I’ll do what I can to avoid it.”

Chris unmuted his communicator and said, “I had to check to see if our conversation was being sent to all the members of the Fellowship. I have been assured it is. Now where were we? Oh yeah, we were talking about ordering you around.”

“I told you that you are not the Sentinels!!”

“Thank you for reminding me. My civilization as well as our allies really hoped that working together over the last five years would have taught all of you the value of peace and the worth of all people. The trial showed us that you have ignored that lesson and are pretty much the same aggressive species you’ve always been. We can’t allow you to continue that behavior in this galaxy. Before we go any further, I have a message to the Ruler of the Cosreg. I have ordered a fleet to the primitive planet you invaded and they are currently ordering your forces to leave. If they refuse to comply with that request, you will have fewer warships to command. Now, let’s get back to our conversation.”

“Telling his ships to leave or be destroyed is not a request.”

‘I’m sorry, you’re absolutely right. Remove your ships or we will destroy them. Now is that better?”

The Droken’s anger was approaching rage, “YOUR INSOLENCE IS INTOLERABLE!!”

Chris took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, “You’re right; you don’t deserve my dismissive attitude. Chris’s expression changed. “Here is how things will be from this moment forward. You will not attack any planet outside the Fellowship and that includes all primitive planets. Your warships may be used to defend yourselves against each other and any force from outside our galaxy that may come here. If any of your warships leave Fellowship territory, they will be destroyed. This ban does not apply to unarmed commercial ships and we encourage you to open trade with other civilization in our galaxy. However, I will not tolerate any outside aggression from any of your civilizations.” Chris paused and said, “I feel it necessary to tell you that we are fully capable of enforcing our demands and I genuinely hope you don’t act rashly and make me prove it.”

The Droken said, “I want to speak with the Welken Royal now!”

Chris thought about it for a moment and muted his communicator. He pressed another button and said, “Great One, from this point forward, I will probably not honor this type of request but since this is the first confrontation between our alliance and the Fellowship and I really do want to avoid bloodshed, you probably should communicate with him.”

The Royal looked at Kyel and he nodded. He turned to Captain Edwards and he handed him a portable communicator. “What do you want?”

“What gives you the right to come here and dictate to us?!”

“Have you been listening? I haven’t said a word.”

“So you disagree with this coward?”

“Not at all. But you need to understand that he has been chosen to lead our forces and we have sworn to follow him wherever he takes us without question. He has been directed to conquer any threat to our people. If you have any future questions, you should direct them to him. I will not be speaking with you again.”

The Droken’s face changed slightly. He was still angry but he gained control before it turned to rage. The Royal’s image disappeared and was replaced by Chris. The Droken’s First Assistant said off to the side, “Many of the other Rulers are calling for you to teach them a lesson about meddling in our affairs.”

The Droken turned his head slightly to hear his Assistant and Chris watched him carefully. He didn’t need to be a telepath to see what was going through the Droken’s mind. If he didn’t respond to this, he’d lose face in the Fellowship. If he did, he could lose a huge number of warships. Chris pressed the intership button, “Full Battlestations, there’s going to be a fight. Any warship above that planet that activates its thrusters will be fired on.” Chris looked at the Droken and quickly said, “You really don’t want to do this. I wouldn’t have come here if I didn’t believe my ships could prevail against you. I waited until all the ships here arrived before I came.” The Droken stared at Chris and he tried one more time, “Any warship above your planet that turns on their thrusters will be destroyed. Don’t cause their deaths!”

The Droken’s expression changed and Chris heard his thoughts. “You know I have no choice but to do this.”

“There is always a choice!”

“Not in this case. If we don’t attack, many of us will believe that you couldn’t do what you say and will not follow your orders. More will die if your power is not shown here. Can you not see that?”

Chris’s opinion of the Droken immediately changed. He was not the evil twisted Ruler he thought he was. And he was right. Chris shook his head, “I’m sorry it has to come to this.”

“Will you agree to defend my people if the others combine against me?”

Chris stared at the Droken and, after a moment, nodded. Audrey listened to the exchange on Barbie’s wall speaker as she converted their thoughts into sound. Her tears started and she knew Chris was right when he said earlier that harder things were going to happen.

The Droken shouted over his communicator, “All Fellowship Warship, teach these arrogant Shifants that we will not be dictated to!”

The Fellowship fleets were just inside the gravity limit and thousands of them rushed out toward the glowing silver battleships. More than a thousand of them rushed at Chris’s pod.

The Fellowship warships began exploding like a giant string of firecrackers, as one after another was blasted by the Battleship’s Dark Energy beams. The numbers being destroyed were too numerous to count and their destruction was happening too fast to track.

Chris watched one of the pods around his ship leave to attack a group of warships approaching him. The other three moved into a triangle formation around his pod until the one that left returned and then they formed a square around him again. He saw a pod on the other side flash away and he kept it on his scanner.

The pod flew into the formation of attacking battleships and it twisted through them at incredible angles. Ships exploded on all side of it as it moved through the formation. The pod returned and the others moved back into a square formation. He hung his head and closed his eyes. After what seemed like an eternity he heard the Droken yell, “Stop attacking and return to the planet. STOP THE ATTACK!!”

Chris looked up and fought to pull himself together. The tactical display on his combat helmet showed countless ships that were burning in space in the middle of a giant debris field. Chris forced himself to look grim and activated his communicator, “If you refuse to follow my directives I will destroy every warship in the Fellowship if I have to.” He paused and said, “The Droken have suffered the most from this demonstration and have lost the most ships. It is unfortunate that they were the example for the rest of you to learn what awaits you if you violate our rules. We will defend the Droken from attack until they are able to defend themselves. If any of you attack them, I will remove your ability to wage war!”

Chris stared into the monitor and heard the Droken Ruler think, “Thank you! I hope you understand that I chose to prosecute you to gain political status. It was not done because I disliked you.”

“I understand. Take care of your citizens.”

“I will.”

Chris pressed his communicator, “All ships, return to your assigned posts.” Chris looked at Audrey quietly weeping and said, “Barbie, get us out of here.”

“Where do you want to go?”

“Take us to Eden. There’s been too much death for one day.”

Audrey looked up and wiped her tears, “That will be the last time I cry for anyone that threatens us. Barbie, change course. I have a better place to go.”

Chris looked at her with his eyebrows coming together. “Where is that?”

“Take us to the beach on Barbados. Do you have Chris’s surfboard stored below?”

“I do.”

She looked at Chris and saw a small smile appear, “I think our conqueror needs a few waves to make him feel better.”

“Changing course.”

Chris shook his head and loved her more at that moment than he could describe. He shook his head and pressed a button, “Do any of you know how to surf?’

“I love it!”

Allison said, “Waver has been trying to teach us but we’re not in his league.”

“When we arrive at Earth, go and get your boards and meet me on the beach. I’ll teach you how to use a pod to do it properly.”

“Allllll Riiight!!” Audrey smiled and looked forward to meeting the members of the kindergarten. She knew they would help Chris deal with what just happened.

• • •

Lukas looked at Loree, “Why did you allow those ships to get close to Chris?”

“The Fellowship needed to have a recording of what our small ships can do as well. They should also fear them. If they weren’t involved in the battle, they may not jump high enough if we have to send one of them to enforce our directives.”

Lukas tilted his head and nodded, “That’s good thinking.”

Loree smiled, “Those pods around his ship are really good! They did things that I didn’t know were possible.”

“They are the best we have. You’re seeing the future of our fleets.”

“How is that?”

“All of them are sixteen years old.”

Hawk turned around, “Get out of here!”

Lukas smiled, “Could you have done what they did, Captain?”

Hawk turned around and shook his head, “I intend to learn some of their moves.”

“And you think you can do them with this battleship?”

“We’ll see, Sir.”

Loree looked at Lukas and he saw her nod. This pilot must really be good.

• • •

Lukas and Salud found Chris on the beach. They walked out on the sand and pulled up a chair on each side of him. Salud looked around, “Where’s Audrey?”

“She’s dealing with a case of morning sickness. She won’t be able to go out with me much longer.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. I know what it feels like.”

Chris looked at her and smiled, “I imagine you do.”

Lukas leaned back and said, “You can’t beat yourself up over this.”

“I know.”

“I’m serious, Chris.”

“Do you have an idea of how many died?”

“More than a half a million.” Chris sighed and looked out at the waves. “There’s something you need to know.” Chris turned back to him. “When the attack began, hundreds of Fellowship planets were moving their ships outside the gravity limit to join in the attack. Once they saw what was happening, they called it off.”

Salud said, “Our Probes have also learned from recorded conversations that more than two hundred members of the Fellowship were organizing fleets to go out and attack primitive planets. Half a million died but ten times that number would have died later if it didn’t happen.”

Chris stared at them for a while and then said, “Killing people in this galaxy just doesn’t feel good. My ultimate task is to defend them.”

“Perhaps you won’t have to ever do this again. This had to happen!”

Chris looked at Lukas, “I know. If I had to do it over, I’d do it the same way.”

“Our Allies heard the mental conversation you had with the Droken.” Chris’s eyes narrowed. “Willow was on board my battleship and she played it over the loud speakers on the four ships. They know you tried everything possible to stop it. They also realized afterwards that it had to be done. I think they are now happy that they aren’t having to make those decisions.”

“Did they agree with my decision to defend the Droken from attack?”

“They have contacted the Droken Ruler and have informed the other members of the Fellowship that his planet is now a protected territory of our new Alliance. Anyone that violates his space will be severely dealt with. They have also opened a trade agreement with him. He has notified the Fellowship that he is withdrawing his membership.”

Chris smiled for the first time since the battle, “That makes it worth doing. I learned at the last moment that he isn’t an evil being. He was wise to see that the battle had to happen and he accepted responsibility for it. I actually ended up liking him.”

“Good.”

“I’ve been sitting here thinking about what I’m going to do next.”

“And?”

“I think you’re right about there being a long period of peace before hostilities break out. How long will it be before Loree gets her battleships?”

“Probably about a year before all fifty are completed. At that point, the Allies will be producing them in large numbers. It’s going to take that long to get the converters built along with the electrical systems used on them.”

Chris nodded at the four teenagers being dragged through the waves by their pods, “I’m taking the kindergarten out to take a look at the three galaxies. I need to see what’s going on. Once Loree can go out and take over the scouting, I’m going to stay here and focus on learning the capabilities of our new armor as well as organizing our fleets.”

Salud said, “I think that’s a good plan.”

“There’s one piece of it you might not like.”

“What is that?”

“Eve has contacted me telepathically and wants me to convince you to give her a training pod.” Salud and Lukas stared at Chris in silence and he said, “She tells me that you have told her no.”

“SHE’S ONLY SIX YEARS OLD!!”

“Chris raised his hands, “Hey, don’t kill the messenger!” They calmed down and Chris said, “I was nine years old before my telepathy developed. She’s far ahead of where I was at the same age. She’s listening to us right now.”

Salud’s eyes narrowed and she said, “THE ANSWER IS STILL NO!” Salud looked at Chris staring at her and said, “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT!”

“Do you think it was any easier for Stoney and Mom to allow me to go and Eve is far ahead of where I was when they did it? It wasn’t so hard to allow someone else’s child to do it but you’re not willing to allow your own to do what is necessary for her development.” Salud stared daggers at Chris and he shrugged, “I’m just saying.”