Ashes of the Realm - Greyson's Revenge (18 page)

Scotty looked at Julie, “Your child?”

“Actually, it’s our child and you need to be thinking of a name.” Scotty’s eyes widened and he stared at Julie as she nodded, “It’s true.”

Scotty grabbed her and embraced her. He leaned back and kissed her. Julie smiled, “We can make the announcement later. Right now we need to see what we can do about the Invaders.”

Scotty looked at her with love in his eyes and then said, “Grace, I am going to bring two Zord here to look at what you have in the way of defensive and offensive weapons. Alex, will you work with them?”

“Yes, I will but I don’t know what they can do to improve the weapons the Algeans built.”

“I don’t either, but that’s where we have to start. Will you send me a download of that ship?”

“Why do you need it?”

“I’m going to have to do some persuading of a King and get him to see the big picture. Your commentary on it would also be appreciated.”

BC said, “I have it.”

“Do you mind if I join you?”

Alex stammered, “What, what?”

“I’m serious, Alex. I’ve been thinking about it and you know you can run this facility by yourself. I think I was put here just to keep you company. I miss the freedom of open space when Melanie and I were working together. You’re going to have plenty of company shortly. I want to go.”

“Grace, we would love to have you. How are you going to make that happen?”

Alex said, “You’re going to take a Zeta.”

“Yes, I am.”

“What’s a Zeta?”

“Julie, it is the most powerful Searcher ever constructed by the Algeans. It’s capable of teleporting without using a screen that can be detected. Its beams are capable of penetrating any screen ever built by the old Realm and its screen can withstand the assault of more than five hundred Searchers. I plan to download into its positronic system.”

“Grace, I don’t want to lose you. You still can’t withstand that invader’s weapons.”

“I understand that, Alex. But before we take them on we are going to have to meet them on a united front. I can make a difference in making that happen.”

Scotty said, “How many of those ships do you have?”

“Only twenty.”

“Would it be possible for my Searchers to relocate into one of them?”

There were a few moments of silence and Alex said, “We’ll start with BC.”

“Alex are you sure about releasing these weapons?”

“Your Majesty, I am now going to swear my loyalty to you. If that invader wasn’t here, I would not be doing this but I see that I don’t have the luxury of time. I have to decide which side I’m going to take and I know that you are the best choice. When you didn’t kill that Magrum, I knew you could be trusted to maintain the principles I believe in. I am a replica of the Alexander Kosiev and I am a warrior at heart. My quest is the protection of this universe and seeing it thrive again.”

“Well, we now have nine Searchers that have sworn their loyalty to the Empire. I would like to move all of them into a Zeta starting with the original three.”

“You can start sending them now.”

“Grace, are you going to accept a partner?”

“Do you have one in mind?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.”

Julie looked at Scotty with raised eyebrows as he said, “Her name is Virze and I think the two of you will be a great match.”

“Will you wait for three hours while I make the transition to my new home?”

“We will.”

“BC, Alex will assist you in moving once I’m done. Then you can send the others.”

“We’ll get Jessica to bring the Zord.”

“I’ll be able to do that, Your Majesty.”

“Won’t it be cramped quarters?”

“Not really.”

BC said, “I wonder what this new home looks like?”

Alex said, “I think you’ll like it.”

BC said, “We’ll see.”

Ro entered Jilico’s chamber and bowed. “Have we found out where the enemy is coming from?”

“Not yet, Your Majesty. The attacks stopped as quickly as they started. Placing our ships inside the jump limit may have prevented further attacks.”

“I can’t conduct business in the Kingdom with my ships stuck inside the jump limit.”

Ro thought about the problem and said, “Let’s see if we can set a trap.”

“How would you go about doing that?”

“We’ll have three of our ships go out to the jump limit and all jump away together.”

Jilico nodded, “You’ll have them jump to a place where we will be waiting for them.”

“Exactly.”

“What if the intruders are not where the ships jumping away are located?”

“We’ll have ships from all our planets start jumping sequentially one after the other. If nothing follows the first three, we’ll jump the next three after we send the first three back.”

“And so on until one of the groups is followed.”

Ro nodded.

“And if none of them are followed?”

“We’ll start the process all over again. Something should happen. You don’t always catch a fish with the first cast.”

“How many ships will you have waiting to spring the trap?”

“Six hundred.”

Jilico jerked his head back, “Do you think we need that many?”

“I don’t know so I’m taking no chances.”

Jilico smiled, “That’s why I trust you.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Ro bowed and left.

“BC, I sense you’re reluctant to change ships.”

“I am, Julie.”

“Why?”

“I’ve lived here so long it’s like this ship is my body. I just don’t know about changing.”

“All right, I’m ready. Are you ready to see my new body?”

BC said, “You have me curious, Grace.”

Suddenly a ship appeared next to BC and Scotty and Julie were stunned at what they saw. It was at least three thousand feet long and was the brightest white Scotty had ever seen, “Wow! I thought Searchers had to be small.”

“It has to be this size to contain all the weapon systems.”

BC looked at the ship and said, “I’ve got to get me one of those. Are you saying that the systems are tighter than mine?”

“Much more than yours, BC. They have also been miniaturized as much as possible.”

“Alex, I’m all yours.”

“Here are your coordinates.”

“Welcome to our motley band, Grace.”

“Where do you want to go first?”

“I want to take Julie home and then pick up Virze to take a short trip.”

“On my way.” The huge ship disappeared.

Grace appeared above Bristone and Anglo came in at high speed challenging, “You will leave this system immediately or I will open fire.”

“Relax, Anglo. I’m bringing Emperor Robbins and Her Royal Highness Juliette home.”

There was a moment of silence and they heard, “Grace? Is that you?”

“Yes it is old friend.”

“Wow! You’ve changed.”

“How do you like my new clothes?”

“Quite impressive.”

“I’ve sent you the entry protocol for the Defense Facility and Alex will be waiting for you when BC returns.”

“Why is he waiting?”

“You are going to be moved into a Zeta Ship. We need to upgrade you as soon as possible. Alex will explain when you get there.”

“Are you in a Zeta Ship?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I kinda hate to leave this ship. It’s like family.”

“We’ll save it for you and you can return once we resolve the issue confronting us.”

“Fair enough.”

“I think you’ll like your new home. Let me know what you think.”

“I will.”

Scotty hugged Julie, “Grace, please send Julie down to the community and see if you can find Timmy and Virze.”

“It’s good to meet you, Grace. I look forward to working with you.”

“Thanks, Your Highness. Congratulations on your pregnancy.”

“You’re welcome. Scotty, are you coming back to make the announcement with me?”

Scotty took a deep breath and said, “There are some things that take precedence over work. Grace and I will delay until we can make the announcement together. I’ll join you after I meet with Timmy and Virze. I may still want to delay the announcement based on what we plan. Are you ok with that?”

“You know I am, Scotty.”

“Your Majesty, Timmy is with Greyson in the Life Province. Virze is at the learning center.”

Scotty smiled and kissed Julie, “Go home, I’ll be there momentarily. I need some personal time with you to celebrate.”

Julie hugged him and disappeared from the bridge.

“Grace, please teleport Virze.”

Suddenly Virze appeared and was shocked at her sudden appearance on the bridge with Scotty. “What’s going on? Oh, excuse me, Your Majesty.”

“There’s nothing to be excused, Virze. I want to make you an offer and see if it interests you.”

“What offer?”

“This is the first of a new class of Searcher Vessels. The ship’s name is Grace and I want you to be her partner.”

Virze’s eyes grew wide and she sat down on the floor, “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I am. I’ve seen how you have taken part in the planning for Bristone’s defense and I confess that I’ve been highly impressed with what I’ve seen.”

Virze looked at Scotty and then said, “Grace, does this meet with your approval? I know I’m not worthy of you but I do promise to do my best to be a great partner. I’ve been so jealous of Timmy having Greyson as his partner.”

“The fact that you asked about my approval goes a long way towards making me feel good about having you. Welcome aboard.”

Virze looked around and said, “This Bridge is a lot bigger than Greyson’s. How large are you?”

“I’m a little more than 3,200 feet long.”

Virze sat there with her mouth open. Then she asked, “Am I the first one to be a partner on this class of ship?”

“You are.”

“Outstanding!! Now Timmy can see what jealousy feels like.”

“Virze, Greyson will be moved to a ship just like me soon.”

“Yes, but I got my ship first. Now I can give him his jacket back and get one of my own.”

“You’ll find it in your personal quarters.”

“How do I get there?”

“Just step up to the bridge’s exit and say, “Personal quarters” and step through. When you’re ready to return; say bridge and step through your door.”

Oh, Grace, this is going to be the most exciting time of my life. Thank you so much for allowing me to join you!” Virze jumped up and ran to the door and said, “Personal Quarters,” and stepped through.

Grace said, “She reminds me of Melanie when she first joined me all those centuries ago.”

Scotty watched Virze disappear and said, “I want you to take her to the Life Province and meet Jessica and Greyson. She and you need to evaluate what’s going on and help me formulate a plan on what to do next.”

“We’ll leave as soon as she comes back to the bridge. I need her to get imprinted to the systems so that she can use them.”

“Thanks, Grace. You know your opinion carries a lot of weight with me.”

“That means a lot. I’m sending you down to Julie. Congratulations, again.”

Scotty disappeared from the Bridge.

Virze reappeared yelling, “It fits perfectly. How did you know?”

“I looked at you in Emperor Robbins’s mind and teleported it in.”

Virze tilted her head, “Are you telepathic?”

“Yes, I am. Once you’re imprinted on my systems you will be able to contact me telepathically as well.”

“Will that make me telepathic?”

“No, only with me.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t act so disappointed. Once Timmy is imprinted on Greyson, you’ll also be able to communicate with him mentally through our communications’ system.”

Virze’s smile was huge, “Great. I hate being separated from him.”

Grace felt her feelings for the young woman grow. She was also an extreme level passive psychic. Her children wouldn’t need a ship to communicate telepathically. “Virze come and sit in the command chair and place your right hand in the indentation on the chair’s arm.”

Virze ran and jumped into the chair and put her hand on the arm and closed her eyes and began seeing the structure of the most powerful ship ever produced in the universe.

G
reyson and Jessica were in stealth mode over the Capital of Life Province. There were a hundred Searchers with their screens overlapping Olympos protecting it. Timmy said, “I don’t see anything we can do. We might as well go have a shot at some of their ships.”

“Actually, the two of you have been given other plans for the near future.”

“Tesa, who said that?”

““I don’t know.”

“Greyson, do you seen anything?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Oh, relax. It’s just me and my new partner.”

Timmy frowned, “Virze, is that you?”

“Yes it is, Tim. I’ve been sent here to get you and Jess to go to the Defense Facility for further upgrades. I’ve sent you some coordinates and we’ll meet you there.”

Greyson said, “New Partner?”

“You’ve got me. I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

“Let’s go see. We’re wasting time here.”

Greyson and Jessica teleported to the coordinates and saw a huge gleaming white ship in front of them. “Hi, what do you think of my new partner.”

Timmy was stunned, “How, what, who..”

“Emperor Robbins asked if I would accept a post as a Searcher on this ship and Grace allowed me to join her.”

“Hello Greyson and Jessica.”

Jessica said, “Well, I am jealous of your new outfit. If my scans are right, you are a handful of trouble for somebody.”

“Thank you, but don’t stay jealous too long. You and Greyson are going to move into one of these ships as soon as Alex finishes with Anglo.”

Silence ruled the channel. “By the way, I sent one of my probes through those Searcher’s screens and we can listen in to the King’s conversations. I’ll patch you in so you can listen while you’re being upgraded.”

“You sent a probe through their screens?”

“Yes. I could just explode the castle but we have a bigger problem than that king. Alex will update you when you arrive. I’ve also given you the entry protocol for the Defense Facility. You need to go now so we can start making plans. Greyson, if you will contact your family and schedule them for the upgrade I would greatly appreciate it.”