Trapped in Time-Extinction (27 page)

“Thanks, Sis.”

Andy looked at Harvey, “How long will it take for that object to arrive?”

“I have no idea. However, if the tail gets long, we’ll call for the communities to button up and go into hiding.”

Andy nodded, “I don’t know if this is it but I’m going to call in all the units that have been training. They need to be here working together before this thing arrives.”

“What about those citizens working in the fields?”

Andy looked at the twins, “We’ll hold off sending them out to the new communities as long as possible. If my daughters hear something, we’ll send them away immediately.” Harvey nodded and looked at Melody, “What are you going to do?”

“I’m staying with my family.”

Harvey nodded and blew out a breath, “I thought you might want to be at the Hole.”

Andy looked at Melody and she knew what he wanted. She waited for Andy to tell her to go but he held his tongue. Harvey watched them and wondered if they could hear each other’s thoughts. Finally, Melody turned to Harvey, “I’ll leave when you go.”

Harvey nodded, “I can use the help.” Andy looked at Melody and nodded. Harvey didn’t know she was expecting again. She didn’t want to leave but her unborn child didn’t deserve to be in a war zone. Andy took Melody’s hand and said to his daughters, “Let me know if you hear anything!”

“We will, Dad. Linnae, I’ll see you in the morning.” Linnae nodded and walked down the steps with Tyler. Harmony settled in and stared up at the object. She made a mental note about which stars it was located among and where it was located at this time. She would look again at the same time tomorrow night. She took an arrow and traced the stars into the sand next to the wall. She covered it with a jacket and went back to listening to the sky around the object. Was this the harbinger of destruction? Time was going to tell.

• • •

The warriors began arriving the next day and Andy met them and assigned them their living quarters. He announced the first run through of the plan for two in the afternoon and went to meet with Rory, Gordon, Maxius, and Mark on how it was going to be set up. There was so much to be done. Linnae stayed on the wall and gazed up into the sky listening for thoughts that were closer than normal. She remained there all day until the sun set.

Harmony arrived and Linnae hugged her before she left the wall. Harmony laid out a blanket and placed a pillow on it. She sat on the blanket and stared up at the darkening sky. Soon, she was lying down and listening to the sky. She waited until the priest blew the ten o’clock horn. She stood up, went to the jacket, and carefully lifted it off the drawing she made in the sand the previous night. She looked up searching the sky until she found the group of stars where the object was located the previous night; it wasn’t there. She rubbed her eyes and kept them closed for a minute. She looked at the sky again and after a few moments, she found it. It had moved to a different group of stars. She went down the steps and extinguished the two torches below her. She went back up and looked for the object again. She found it quickly and saw that it was slightly different. She lay back down and put her head on the pillow. She didn’t hear anything but there was a huge wave of thoughts originating a long distance away. She focused on them for a moment and heard a being wailing that their planet was burning. She stopped the thought and shook her head. That being was devastated and she could feel its sorrow. Its family was killed with the planet. She forced the thoughts out of her mind and wiped a tear. Her father was right, so much needless death. She stared at the comet and listened.

• • •

Five days later, Harmony could see the tail without the telescope. She had a priest build a mount for it so she would be able to keep it in sight. The tail was clearly longer than it was the first night she had seen it. “What are you doing up here every night?”

Harmony took her eye away from the telescope and was shocked that she had not detected the young man staring at her. “I’m looking at what might be the comet that is going to hit our planet.”

The young man’s smile was instant, “REALLY!?” Harmony nodded and wasn’t able to hear his thoughts. “May I see it?” Harmony nodded and stepped away from the telescope. The young man went to a knee and stared through the telescope and Harmony thought, “Can you hear me?”

The young man continued looking through the eyepiece and said, “I can.”

“Why can’t I hear your thoughts?”

He took his eye away from the eyepiece and she suddenly heard his thoughts. “I can block my thoughts from being heard.”

Harmony tilted her head, “REALLY!?”

The young man laughed, “I felt you and your sister listening to me three years ago and I didn’t know if I liked that. I felt you again later and I felt something click in my mind and your presence disappeared. I haven’t heard either of you since.”

“Why would you want to hide from us?”

He looked into the eyepiece again and shrugged, “I don’t know. I guess I’m insecure about revealing everything I think.” He moved his head back from the eyepiece and stood up, “However, I never saw either of you until now. I think from now on I’ll leave my mind open to you.”

Harmony’s eyes narrowed, “Why would you do that?”

He smiled and said, “Because you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. A guy would have to be crazy not to want you talking with him.” He headed toward the steps and Harmony said, “What is your name?”

“Just look in my mind, you’ll see pretty much everything you’d want to know.”

He moved down the steps and Harmony thought, “I will not take that information from you. If you want to tell me, then do so.”

She was suddenly shocked when she heard him think to her, “Michael Anderson Thomas, my friends’ call me Mat.”

“Are you telepathic?”

“I am, but not at the level you and your sister are. I block my thoughts to also stop me from overhearing anyone else’s private thoughts as well.”

“Why are you here?”

“Haven’t you noticed; all the warriors participating in the final confrontation have been called in. I’m one of those answering the call.”

Harmony stared at the young man as he walked toward the houses being used by the warriors. She heard Linnae in her mind, “Huba, huba, he’s beautiful.”

“Oh, Linny.”

“How did his mind feel?”

Harmony smiled, “Pretty good.”

“I noticed.”

“You should be asleep.”

“I heard him send his thoughts to you. It woke me up. I’m surprised that he wants that comet to be the one that hits us.”

“He wants to take part in the final fight. He’s worried it won’t happen until after he dies.”

Linnae mentally sighed, “He should be careful what he wishes for.”

“Maybe.”

“What do you mean?”

“I sense he thinks that we’ll lose our edge as warriors if we have to wait too long. He wants to face them when we’re at our best.”

“I didn’t see that.”

“He probably kept you from seeing it.”

“You saw it.”

Harmony smiled, “Yeah, I guess I did.” Harmony looked back up at the sky but her focus wasn’t on alien thoughts for several hours.

• • •

The starship fled from an enemy that had come out of space and attacked their home world with a savagery that was unbelievable. The ships defending the planet were helpless against the attacker’s lasers and force fields. The Royal Family managed to barely escape the large warships and their ship only just managed to jump away with three enemy warships in pursuit. The Regent saw his planet burning just before his ship disappeared into hyperspace. The beings on his ship were the last of his species and the enemy ships were gaining with each jump. The Regent knew the next jump would bring them into firing range of his ship. His sorrow and rage were overwhelming and as his ship entered normal space he mentally screamed his rage at the three ships. He waited for them to fire but they remained stationary where they had emerged into normal space. His pilot started to jump away but he placed a hand on his shoulder and thought, “Wait.” The three ships began drifting and he saw one of their force fields disappear. “Scan that ship.”

“Regent, every being on that ship is dead.”

“What killed them?”

“I don’t know. They appear to have grabbed their heads and collapsed to the ship’s deck. My sensors show more than eighteen hundred of them died at the same moment.”

“What about the other two ships?”

“They aren’t moving so I have to believe that all of them are dead as well.”

The High Female said, “I felt something when you screamed at them.”

The Regent looked at his mate, “What?”

“I felt something in my mind when you turned your thoughts toward them and screamed.”

The Regent stared at his mate and saw the rest of the crewmembers were staring at him. He shook his head and said, “We have to know if their deaths were caused by something I did.” He looked at his Sensor Operator, “Find a habitable planet. We have to determine what happened.” The Sensor Operator nodded and activated the long-range sensors.

• • •

Linnae jumped up and Harmony immediately joined her mentally. She focused in on the thoughts she was hearing and Harmony called Andy and Harvey to go to the wall. They arrived right behind Harmony and she said, “Be quiet, Linnae is listening in to a conversation.”

Andy and Harvey suddenly heard the thoughts of another being as Harmony fed them what she was hearing in Linnae’s mind, “You found how many planets?”

“Three.”

“Which one is closest?”

“The first one is five thousand light years from here.”

“Does it have intelligent life?”

“There’s no way to make that determination this far away.”

“Go to the closest and we’ll see if this new weapon works.”

“Yes, Regent.”

“If there’s no intelligent life, we’ll go to the second and if necessary, the third. I’d like to trial it on an intelligent species.”

Andy saw the planetary system in the being’s thoughts and knew the planet they were going to first wasn’t Earth; it had yellow clouds above it. This had to be the Aliens coming. Linnae broke contact with the alien and Andy said, “Can you find them again?” Linnae nodded. Andy looked at Harvey, “I want every glider brought in with enough people on board to harvest the entire crop of pods. Start sealing up the caves and get the people to harvest the crops they’re growing at the new communities as well. The event is coming and I believe those aliens will arrive before that comet.”

Harvey looked up at the sky, “That Comet is still a long way off.”

“Even so, we will start our preparations now.” Harvey stared at Andy and then nodded.

Linnae listened to them discuss their plan and felt Harmony listening in as well. “Hi, Sis.”

“It looks like the end game is about to play out.”

“Indeed it does. How much longer are you going to play with Mat?”

“I’ve been waiting for him to make the first move.”

“You might be waiting a long time.”

Harmony sighed, “I believe you’re right. For someone as talented as he is, he doesn’t have much of an ego.”

Linnae shrugged, “I really think you intimidate him. If time is running out, you’re going to have to take the initiative.”

Harmony didn’t respond but thought about what Linnae was saying.

• • •

The next night Mat walked up the steps and joined Harmony on the wall. She stared at him and he smiled, “I’ve opened my thoughts to you.”

“Why don’t we just talk like normal people? You’re still keeping some things hidden from me.”

Mat smiled, “I’m not at all sure I know what normal is. Everyone possesses a unique collection of talents. I think all of us are different in one-way or another. What have I hidden from you?”

Harmony smiled, “But some of us are more different than others.” Mat shrugged. “Why have you hidden your telepathic ability for so long?”

“I didn’t want to make others around me feel uncomfortable. I really didn’t see a use for my talent, so I kept it hidden.”

“I’ve told my father about you.”

Mat’s eyes narrowed, “Why would you do that?”

“Because he needs someone to lead the intruders that can hear the aliens’ thoughts. Linnae and I are going to be tied down to the initial confrontation, so you are a blessing he didn’t expect.” Mat stared at her for a long moment and Harmony said, “I’ve done a little research and discovered that you are a Master Warrior and the people in your unit respect you highly. Why are you showing reluctance to help where you’re needed most?”

“I don’t want to leave my unit. Their welfare is important to me.”

“Is it more important than the survival of our species?” Mat’s eyes narrowed again and he didn’t respond. “If it will help you feel better, Dad is planning to assign your unit to Maxius.”

Mat tried not to smile but failed after a few moments, “I suspect he’ll do a better job at protecting them than I could.”

“I doubt it but he will not put them in jeopardy without the situation demanding it.”

Mat leaned against the wall and shook his head, “Are you saying I’m as good as Maxius?”

“No, I’m not.” Mat nodded and Harmony said, “I actually think you’re better.”

“Now wait a minute…”

“Come on, Mat! Your unit won the last battle skirmish and it was due to your coming up with tactics that were out of the norm. You have a good mind for war and, according to Gordon and Rory, you are a rare commander indeed.” Harmony smiled, “I do find that difficult to believe, especially at your age, but I think it’s probably because you could look in the minds of our senior warriors and learn from what you saw.”

“Do you think I’m too young to command?”

“Tyler was seventeen when he took command of the fliers that took the Care Center in the war with the Destroyers. You’re nineteen; no, you’re not too young to play an important role in the coming fight.” Mat stared at Harmony and turned to leave. Harmony shook her head, “And while we’re being honest here, you lied to me about why you shut me out.”

Mat stopped dead in his tracks and turned around and looked at her. “What?”

“You shut me out of your thoughts because you felt me in your heart and were afraid that I would see it.”