Ashes of the Realm - Greyson's Revenge (24 page)

Higlon and Steve Jamos entered the mine first and rapidly ran down the tunnel. They passed the guards silently as they hit them with the designator beam on their guns. Higlon and Steve split up at the first intersection. The three other Riders followed them and saw the guards glowing with the designator field as they passed. They split up at the intersection and followed Higlon and Steve into the mine’s depths. The guards heard something but didn’t see anything in the dark tunnels. After thirty seconds, Higlon looked at the counter on his gun and saw that eight guards had been designated. He fired eight sparks and continued moving down the tunnel. Steve felt the timer vibrate and checked his counter. He fired ten sparks and reloaded as he moved quickly down another tunnel breaking off the main Corridor. The sparks moved back up the tunnels and began hitting the guards that had been designated. The workers watched as the guards burned and then began running out of the shaft. They began pouring out of the mine’s entrance and heard their fellow workers yelling at them from the forest. They turned and headed for the tree line.

The two Riders following Steve saw the tunnel he had entered by the field glowing inside it and continued down the main shaft. The five Flyers killed eighty five guards in less than twenty minutes. Higlon thought, “Mraak, tell the workers to leave the mine and join those outside.”

The workers slaving in the mine saw the guards burned. They looked at each other wondering what to do but then they heard in their minds, “We have come to liberate you from those that invaded your world. We have removed your guards so it is now safe to leave the mine and join the others outside. Please take your time and don’t allow harm to come to your fellow workers as you leave.”

The workers looked at each other and wondered if what they heard could possibly be true. Then one by one at first and slowly the others put down their drills and started moving toward the surface. They exited the mine and heard the workers in the trees shouting at them. They ran and embraced their fellow captives in the forest and wondered if salvation was really happening.

Grace, we’ve only lost two Flyers. They were hit when they were firing their guns. The Capital is a different story. Those guards are dug in the Capital Building and are laying down a massive cover fire. Even sparks are being blasted out of the air.”

Grace saw the forces in the Capital were using Scanner Guided Guns. Even though they couldn’t see the flyers, the scanners did and directed heavy blaster beams at the Flyers. Eight had been killed when their force fields failed. “Virze, I don’t want to intervene in this fight. There will come a time when our ships are going to be fighting a space battle and we won’t be able to help our flyers. They must learn how to overcome this type of engagement.”

“What if they can’t?”

“Then we’ll have to find better warriors than the flyers.”

Higlon and Steve flew in to the capital and got a mental view of what was happening from their Flyers. Higlon looked at Steve and motioned him to join him on Mraak. Steve ran down the back of his Flyer and leaped on to Mraak’s back. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re going to come in at ground level and fire twenty exploding sparks at the first floor’s largest window. Then Greel is going to fly in over our head and hit the window feet first. We’ll then, like good neighbors, go in and introduce ourselves.”

“You know we’ll probably be killed trying this, don’t you.”

“Yeah, but what the hey, if we don’t we’ll remember today for the rest of our lives. Are you in?”

Mraak said, “If you two don’t mind, I’m going in while you make up your minds. I have some brothers being killed by those blasters on the roof.”

Greel banked left, made a circle, and picked up speed. Higlon saw him coming and picked up both guns and aimed at the building. Steve smiled and loaded a full chamber of sparks. They came zooming in just off the pavement in the parking lot and aimed at the large armored window. Three hundred yards out they fired all thirty sparks at it.

The Heavy Blasters on the roof saw the two Zord zooming in but couldn’t depress their barrels enough to aim at the street below. The troops watched as something on their scanners came in at high speed.

Mraak spilled the air from his wings and hit the ground running toward the building. They felt Greel pass over them so fast that the wind from his winds almost blew them off Mraak. Greel folded his wings at the last moment and his momentum carried him into the building hitting it on all four legs. The window imploded and took out fifty feet of the wall beside it. Greel shook his head and moved out of the opening. Higlon and Steve ran down Mraak’s neck and into the demolished room. Higlon went right and Steve left. They each fired thirty blaster seeking sparks that started flying through the first floor. They were set to explode and any guard struck usually killed every other guard within a forty foot radius. The first floor of the huge building was having explosions in every room.

Twenty Flyers came screaming in and their Riders dismounted and followed the two that had breached the wall. Now they were in familiar territory. One Rider would explode a door and the other would fire ten sparks through it. The troops tried to hold them off but the sparks followed the blaster beams to their source and killed the weapon holder. The twenty two riders were joined by thirty others and in fifteen minutes had made it up twelve stories.

The General directing the fight was on the roof top watching the Scanner Directed Guns firing at an impossible rate. What were they seeing? Suddenly the armored door to the roof exploded outward and bright fireflies erupted out of the opening. He ran and jumped behind a heavy gun as a bright light passed him, turned, and zoomed back toward him. He knew he was dead and pushed the bulge in his front pocket.

Now the Flyers flew in and eliminated the troops still holding out on the ground around the building. Their cover fire was gone and there was nothing to protect them from the avenging Zord and their Riders.

Higlon and Steve looked over the roof’s edge and jumped back as a blaster bolt sizzled up from the ground below. Mraak said, “We have it under control. Take a break. I know that climb had to be tough.”

Higlon sat down heavily and Steve joined him. The other flyers spread out and started sniping at targets on the ground. “You were right.” Higlon looked at Steve with a furrowed brow. “I will remember today for the rest of my life.” He leaned forward and shook his hand.

That’s when they felt the first explosive charge go off on the first floor. The last act of the General before he died was to press a self-destruct control. The building began exploding one floor at a time in rapid succession and it started tilting. Mraak and Greel lifted and flapped their wings as hard as they could and flew toward the tilting building. They saw Higlon and Steve jump off the roof at the last moment as the building collapsed. They came close but the two Riders were falling too fast and died as they hit the pavement. Mraak and Greel screamed their agony. All twenty two riders on the roof along with thirty more inside were killed in the falling building.

The Zord that lost their Riders turned and flew toward the ground looking for Neriff troops. Thirty of the Zord were killed but more than six hundred troops were torn apart by claws or bitten in half. Mraak and Greel joined Higlon and Steve in death as they screamed their anguish at the loss of their Riders.

Many of the Neriff troops tried to surrender but the rage of the Flyers at their losses was too much. Sparks flew by the thousands and within ten hours the fight was over. The local population began coming out to find that there were no Neriff left alive on the planet. The celebrations began but the Flyers had teleported out to mourn the loss of their comrades.

“Grace, if we had stayed at the Capital instead of going around the planet we could have saved those Riders.”

“I know. I shouldn’t have delayed assisting them.”

“No, WE shouldn’t have delayed. I’m also accountable for this.”

“I keep seeing those two heroes falling to their death.”

“What have we learned?”

“It’s time to do away with the Zeckas.”

“What!”

“I’ll discuss this with Emperor Robbins.”

“Discuss what, Grace?”

“Armor.”

Ten year old Robby Robbins sat at the table in the learning center with the headband on his head and watched the early history of the Stars Realm. He always liked to see Tag hiding behind his teacher. He closed his eyes and wished he had the psychic powers of the founder of the Realm. Being able to hide was a great gift he wished he had numerous times.

“You will have them eventually.”

“Who invited you here?”

“Come on, Robby. You know you like me, why don’t you just admit it.”

“Because I don’t.”

“You say that now but one day you’ll change your mind.”

“What do you want, Dani?”

“I want to say good-bye.”

Robby took the band off his head and stood up, “Where are you going?”

“So you do care!”

“No, I don’t. I’m just glad you’re not going to be around interrupting my thoughts.”

Robby heard a deep sigh in Dani’s thoughts, “We’re moving to New Hope.”

“Why for the Creator’s sake?”

“My Great Uncle is going to abdicate the Crown and the people have insisted that my Mother come and take it.”

Robby sat down, “How does she feel about that?”

“She doesn’t want it but Uncle Jeramiah insists that in order for the citizens to take the last steps toward accepting our values, she will have to lead them. His children have also contacted Mom to let her know they support her selection.”

“But why do they want your Mom?”

“When my Grandfather came to destroy the planet she was there to stop him. Everyone heard her challenge him and they now love her for saving their lives. Over the years, they have built her into an almost mythical being.”

Robby waited and finally said, “You’re not saying something.”

“I believe that I’ve caused this to happen.”

“How?”

“Because I’ve continued communicating with you.”

Robby sat there and didn’t know what to say. Finally he said, “You think we’re like Tommy and Cassandra.”

Now it was Dani’s turn to be silent. She was shocked into silence.

Robby said, “I know you’ve felt the repulsion between us. Even though we can communicate telepathically, I feel like I am almost forced to dislike you. There is no one on the planet I dislike but you. There has got to be a reason for that. I started doing some research into the Gardners and the only thing that makes sense is that we are a danger to each other. I think you’re probably right, psychic forces are causing events to keep us apart.”

“The forces are getting stronger, Robby. I’ve felt them growing since my seventh birthday. Now I’m almost ten and I can feel them. I’ve refused to give in to them and now this.”

“I’ve felt them, too, Dani.”

“If we are like the Gardners, you know what that means?”

“Yes, I do. And I’ll be waiting for the right time to come.”

“As will I, Robby.”

“Until that time arrives, we need to avoid each other. I think it will hurt our development if we continue to make contact.”

“I agree. We’re leaving tomorrow. Good-bye.”

Robby took a deep breath and said, “Good-bye, my love.”

Dani rolled over on her bed and cried. Mallory thought she was heart broke at having to leave Bristone but it was really at being forced to wait for the future happiness she knew was too far away.”

Robby thought about the young girl that had been born two months after him. He had felt her before he was born but somehow he had come to dislike her. Knowing why didn’t change the emotions so he didn’t fight them. It was those feelings that would make her absence bearable. He sighed and put the headband back on. He lowered his head and said to himself, “Please wait for me.”

Dani rolled over on her bed and thought, “I’ll wait patiently.” Neither heard the other but they were connected in ways they never suspected.

Timmy and Greyson teleported in to orbit above Priven and said, “I’m sorry for the delay in coming back.”

“We have been contacted by our colonies and they tell us that you have freed them from the Neriff.”

“We have. We have also made them understand that they are no longer allowed to come here. Your war with them is over.”

“Why did you do this?”

“It’s what we believe. We cannot stand by and allow an innocent civilization to be attacked. We wish you a bright future.”

“Are you just leaving without asking anything in return?”

“Well, yes. Why would we ask for anything?”

“Would it be possible for us to have discussions with your leadership about opening formal relations with your government?”

“We are preparing for a war with invaders from another universe. I understand your stance on non-aggression and at this time we need to find those civilizations that can help us in that coming conflict.”

“We will assist you any way we can. We owe our existence to you and that debt must be balanced. We have seen what happens when one chooses not to defend themselves. We have a planet that is highly industrialized. We want to help.”

Timmy thought about it and said, “I will bring our leaders to discuss this with you. Thank you for your willingness to help us.”

Timmy and Greyson teleported away and Greyson said, “We did the right thing. They can help our efforts.”

“I know, but we lost so much. I know the Flyers are mourning those that were killed. I feel responsible for those losses.”

Greyson was silent until they arrive at Bristone and finally he said just before Timmy teleported down to the planet, “Our existence is for the purpose of making this universe a better place. You are going to one day have to make decisions that will lead to us to being put in harm’s way. You know that if you hesitate to pay the price, we’ll lose everything. That’s the price of being in command. Never waste your forces, but you have to do what’s right. I know if you really look at what just happened, you’ll know you did. There are four worlds that have been saved from the brutality of the Neriff. Those billions are worth what we lost and more.”