Angel and Sprig were both shocked at the announcement. “Sprig’s leaves turned light brown and he thought, “We must hurry and prepare. There’s not much time.”
Chapter 7
“Atlas.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Have I ever thanked you for all the years of love you’ve allowed me?”
“No, but I have felt your happiness.”
“One of my children possesses what we’ve been waiting for all these years.”
“Thank you for accepting my gift. I know you were reluctant.”
“The Realm insisted on this succession to the throne.”
“You can’t really blame them.”
“No, I guess I couldn’t.”
“You and your husband are the perfect choice for the Realm.”
“Thank you, Atlas.”
“You’re welcome, Danielle.”
Matt was in orbit around the planet he had seen in the Map room. The crystal spires were beautiful and reached thousands of feet into the clear sky as if longing to leave the ground. He had entered the system and had flown in slowly instead of just teleporting next to the planet. The ships in the system seemed to stop what they were doing and watch as he moved toward the planet. He had finally reached orbit and stopped over the largest of the crystal cities. Al had listened for a frequency to contact the inhabitants but he did not detect any.
“Magic, it appears they communicate in a manner that I cannot detect.”
“Al, I believe they are telepathic. Their thoughts are very focused where they are not heard by anyone except the one they are directed. Let’s see if they can hear my thoughts.”
“I’m all ears, Magic.”
Matt smiled and then thought, “Greetings, this is the Stars Realm Searcher Aladdin. I would like to request a meeting with your leaders to discuss an issue that concerns your world.”
“Welcome stranger. We were wondering why you have come to our world. Is your vessel a warship?”
Matt knew his next few words were going to make or break the success of his visit. “It is armed to defend itself but we do not make war.”
“Does it possess the means to destroy our world?”
Matt thought about what to say but decided that there was no excuse for dishonesty. “Yes, it does.”
“Have you come to our world to harm us?”
“No, I have come to save you from harm.”
“Are you here to attack others that are coming here?”
“Only if they endanger you.”
“What if we tell you we do not require your assistance?”
“Then I will leave you in peace and pray for your continued existence.”
There was a long moment where nothing was said. Matt wondered if he had made an error and was going to be asked to leave. “We will come to you.”
“Thank you for allowing me to communicate with you.”
“A ship is lifting from the planet and coming our way,” Al reported.
The ship appeared to be made from the same substance as the tall spires. It was crystal and flashed brightly in the sun’s light. After an hour it parked next to Matt’s ship. Matt sensed three beings on the ship and he thought, “May I transport you to my ship?”
“Yes. We’ll wait for you.”
“I am going to teleport you to my bridge. My atmosphere is similar to yours; it does have slightly less nitrogen.”
“We will be alright. We can live for three deps without atmosphere.”
“Al, if you would do the honors.”
Suddenly the silver shimmer appeared and three beings appeared on the small bridge. They were different from any race Matt had ever seen or heard of; they appeared to be made of rock. The creatures glittered in the bridge’s light and appeared to be solid with no visible breaks or creases. They were about five feet high and three wide with irregular surfaces. They were basically triangular in shape with the top being somewhat oval.
“Welcome to my ship. My name is Searcher Gardner.”
“We are called the Reg. You could not pronounce our individual names but you can just look at whomever you wish to communicate. What is your purpose for being here, Searcher Gardner?
“I am a representative of a government that is attempting to communicate with as many civilizations as possible to warn them about an invasion that is coming to our universe and to try and help them survive.”
“Are you referring to the green eight legged creatures?”
Matt was startled, “Yes, I am.”
Matt could tell that they were communicating among themselves and then one thought, “They were here eight million planetary cycles ago and a sixteen million cycles before that. Are you expecting them?”
Matt was surprised by their answer, “They will return three cycles from now.”
“How do you know this?”
“I sense their coming. I am not alone in that estimate. My leaders also sense their coming.”
“So you are here to protect us from them?”
“Yes, we think we possess a generator that will surround your planet in a screen that will hide you from them.”
“Are you contacting other civilizations to protect them?”
“Yes, we are trying to contact as many as possible in the time remaining. We are going to peaceful civilizations first since they will not be able to defend themselves.”
“How do you know which ones are peaceful?”
Matt hesitated and answered, “I can sense them.”
“Show me which ones in this galaxy you think are peaceful.”
Matt thought about the map of the galaxy and sent the picture to the Reg.
There was more silence then he heard, “You are remarkably accurate. Only one is actually aggressive and they have been forced to peace by their neighbors.”
“Which one?” In his mind Matt saw one of the green lights turn red.
“Now your map is accurate. We appreciate your willingness to help; however, we have withstood four of their invasion attempts and feel that the fifth will also be a failure.”
Matt was stunned. “Is your race that old?”
“We are actually older than the green creatures. They will come and try to sink their fangs in us and make a nuisance of themselves for a few cycles then they will depart. They can only penetrate organic life so we are immune to their attack.”
Matt thought and then asked, “I suspect you could defend yourself if you chose to do so; however, you, like us, revere life in all its many forms.”
Matt could sense the surprise of the three beings, “You are astute in your observation. Your deliberately slow approach to our planet is what prevented us from taking action against your ship.”
“You took action against them the first time they invaded.” Matt again sensed their surprise.
“We did not know that they could not hurt us. Some of their captured warriors tried to bite us and failed. We determined that they could not hurt us so there was no reason to harm them.”
“How can you watch as these creatures kill so many in our universe?”
“We can only harm those that are able and willing to harm us. Harming one life form regardless of its actions would not allow us peace. Killing one life that is killing a million others would harm us just as much as killing a million.”
