as I saw it I knew what it was designed to hold.”
Matt tilted his head to the side and Sprig said, “It’s made for Al.” Matt and Al were shocked speechless. “Do you remember when you called us to your ship and I told Al about how he reminded me of the Captors and Atlas?” Matt nodded. “I looked at Al’s systems on that visit. That indentation matches his system’s shape perfectly.”
“Sprig, how long was this underground?”
“More than a hundred million years, Matt, and these are custom made for you and Al.”
Matt thought, “Al, what do you think of this?”
“I am almost shocked into a coma, Matt. How is this possible?”
Mat closed his eyes and forced his mind to go blank. He could feel the ship around him and as he let it slip into his mind he had a vision. He opened his eyes and looked at Sprig and Stem. “I know what’s happening and this ship will not operate right now; it may never operate.”
Sprig leaned right to show his surprise, “Why?”
“Because the race that made this will not allow us to use it unless we already know another way to kill the Eight Legs; the reason it quit developing was because I used this ships type of power to kill three of them.”
“What!”
“Those last two systems came from this ship, didn’t they?”
“Yes, they did.”
“I used the last system to fire some kind of psychic charge at the three Eight Legs that had boarded Angel’s ship and killed her. I saw all three of them totally implode.”
Stem thought excitedly, “That’s why they haven’t left the system yet.”
Matt looked confused, “What do you mean?”
“During their invasion of the first planet more than a third of their ships exploded off the planet and began frantically flying around the system. At the conclusion of the harvesting of the planet the remainder of the ships joined those flying around the system.”
“They’re searching for those three I killed.”
“That must be it, Matt. It also appears that they don’t know how it was done which leads me to believe that those three did not communicate the existence of invisible ships.”
Matt sighed and said, “That last system will no longer function on my ship.”
Sprig thought, “Tell us what you know.”
“I visited the race that made this ship. I learned that they are actually older than the Eight Legs and when they were invaded the first time they killed some of them until they learned that they were immune to the bite of those creatures. They just put up with them in every invasion after that first one. This race cannot take a life except in self defense nor can they directly cause loss of life. I asked them why they allowed so many to die without helping and they told me that killing one even if they are killing a million is just as bad as killing a million. They cannot directly assist us in killing the Eight Legs.”
Sprig and Stem were silent. “Then why did they leave this ship?”
Matt shook his head, “They are so far ahead of us psychically that it boggles the imagination. They knew millions of years ago that I was coming to communicate with them. This ship is proof of that. Consider this, if I wanted to help you but in doing so I would go against everything I believed holy, how could I help you?”
The two Algeans looked confused, “I can’t hand you a weapon to shoot somebody, but if I happen to lose the parts to make a gun and you find it millions of years after I misplaced it and then figure out how to build it, then they are not directly responsible for what follows.”
“That’s a thin line, Matt,” Stem said.
“Only if that gun is the only way I have to kill someone; if I already possess a means to kill them then they did not give me something I didn’t already possess; which means that before this ship will activate we have to find a way that will kill the invaders without using the power in this ship.” Mat paused, “I am so impressed with the beauty and integrity of the Reg and proud that they considered me a brother. This is the only way they can get around their principles to help. I felt that they wanted to help and this is evidence that supports that feeling.”
Sprig and Stem looked at Matt and said, “Then that suggests that a way exists outside of this ship to kill them or they would not have left this ship those million years ago.”
Matt nodded, “Logic absolutely supports that belief.”
“Then we have to find it, Matt.”
“Yes, we do.”
“I am calling a meeting of the Realm’s leadership in two days,” Sprig announced. “Will you please plan your schedule accordingly?”
“Al and I will be in attendance.”
“How do you know my schedule allows for that?”
Stem shook, “You bucket of bolts; we couldn’t keep you away. Tell him he can’t go, Matt.”
“You stay out of this you grass clippings.”
Matt and Sprig smiled glad to see them back at it again.
“First Fang, we have been unable to find the missing children.” Four days had passed and the entire system had been searched in great detail; no trace of the three was found.
The Ship’s Male was uncertain of what to do. His responsibility was to search this universe and see if it warranted a full harvest. He was given four intervals to make the decision and had not even used a thousandth part of one interval; however, this disappearance of the children was problematic for him. He searched the data records and determined that there was no record of any disappearances in the recorded history files. It was only three children of the billion on his ship the number was not important but their disappearance was. He was told by the Supreme Male that the Nest Mother suspected a highly advance life form existed in this universe. Could that life form have taken them? He pondered that question and then looked at the Sensor Male. “Are there any readings of any ships in the system other than the planet we just harvested?”
“No.”
“He knew about the crystal creatures in this universe but they had never disturbed them after the initial attempt at harvesting them. The Supreme Male had already decided to just ignore them as a waste of time. “Did you see a crystal ship in this system?”
“No.”
Most of the family was still digesting their last harvest and needed the four intervals to complete their meal. Should the timetable be moved up? The Ship’s Male wavered on what to do. Then he sat on his bed and quivered. His large black central section with the hour glass on the bottom moved down ten meters and he inserted his eight legs into their electronic receptacles. He replayed all that his children had seen in the system and just couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. “Where is the next harvest?”
“Do you want the closest or largest,” the Sensor Male asked?
He was tempted to go to the largest because unlike the rest of the family, his ship had not consumed as much as the others in the last harvest which meant his ship had already consumed their meal which was why his ship was sent ahead to scout. But, if there was danger then it was probably close to his current location. “The closest,” he responded.
The Sensor Male issued the order and all of the green ships in the system began reentering the mother ship, “Arrival in two measures, First Fang.”
The Ship’s Male settled in and decided that he would harvest the next planet and see if there was another disappearance; then he would contact the Supreme Male either way. The decision would then be his to make about what to do.
The Colonel in Fleet Command watched the feed being sent from the sensor probe at the harvested planet. He immediately pressed his com, “The ships are reentering the mother ship. They will be jumping soon.”
“Notify us of their jump track as soon as they leave.”
“I have the probe ready to follow and relay that information as soon as the track is read, Sir.”
Another planet was going to die. The Colonel waited for the information and felt anguish as he hoped that someone could find a way to stop these deadly creatures.
The meeting was room was full as Sprig called the room to order. He immediately turned the meeting over to Matt who explained the Reg and his beliefs about what they had done. Danielle looked at Matt as he spoke and saw that he was changed. She thought about what she would be like if she lost Tag and understood what he must be
