“Oh, I’m sorry; I didn’t tell you. We moved that first planet you looked for and replaced it with a barren planet.”
Destiny laughed, “I should have guessed. Well, it should make for interesting viewing. I do expect them to send fifty or more ships to investigate the system those two main ships were destroyed.”
“Let them. That is only going to make them wonder what happened.”
“I’d hate to be their Supreme Male when the Nest Mother is asking for answers.”
“I’ve heard he’ll taste good on a cracker.”
Both Destiny and Eyes laughed at that.
“Attention all Searchers, this is Fleet Command. We will be tagging you to the invader’s ships as they enter our universe. Stay with your assigned ship and be prepared to launch your penetrator on command. We anticipate a four or five month delay until the main body starts arriving so be patient and don’t lose your assigned ship. If the invader has launched ships before the fire command, notify us so we can send support to knock out the small ships. The remainder of the Searcher fleet will standby awaiting the coordinates of those mother ships that have launched ships.”
Life waited and watched the ship he was assigned jump away and join the other ships as they formed a wall a hundred thousand miles from the entry point. He read the jump track and knew that his assigned ship was not moving very far so he held his position another hundred thousand miles further out. He was sorry that he was going to be forced to kill that huge ship but more would die if he didn’t. He looked over at the mass of ships around him with their red screens glowing and felt a sense of pride at being a part of this group of fine pilots. It seemed the war with the trade planets was just yesterday and he still remained thankful for the people who had come and given his people new meaning for their lives. He waited and anticipated the coming conflict. He knew it was going to be unlike anything he had ever imagined. “Wild Man, are you locked in on our ship?”
“Yes, Life, I’ve got him covered like the seat of your pants.”
Life laughed and felt the bond between him and his ship.
Colonel Brez stood in front of General Durk. The Commanding General of the Red Warriors had called him in and he was wondering what was going on. “He’s probably angry about that attack ship that managed to land on one of the megas during the last battle.”
General Durk looked up from his desk and Brez snapped to attention. Durk returned his salute, “Sit down Colonel.” Brez took a chair and Durk said, “We are anticipating that we will not be able to hit every invader ship before they launch their ships. We also know that there is a good possibility that some planets may have invader ships landing on their surface. We are not going to just stand by anymore and watch as civilizations are destroyed. You are promoted to the rank of General and will assume command of the Third Division and will be the first unit teleported to defeat the invaders on the ground.”
Brez was stunned, “Sir, there are many higher ranking officers than me. Why have I been selected for this duty?”
“Because Prince Gardner has been observing you and has issued commands that you be placed in command of one of our divisions. We happen to place great faith in his opinion and in his psychic abilities to make the right decisions. I expect you to have your warriors ready to defend an entire planet against millions of those green monsters. You’ll be heavily outnumbered but I expect the best from you and your men.”
Brez looked at General Durk, “I will do my best, General.”
“From what I’ve heard, your best is pretty good. You’re dismissed. Your unit will be waiting for your arrival.”
Brez snapped to attention, saluted, and ran from the room before Durk could return his salute. Durk shook his head and thought, “I imagine those creatures will have more than they can handle with this Red Warrior.”
Matt and Melanie were sitting in the map room at Castle Gardner with Tag and Danielle. They were watching the feed from the entry point as more and more of the huge green ships came through. “There as so many of them,” Danielle said.
Matt nodded and continued to watch.
“I pray we can survive this.”
Matt looked at Melanie and said, “We can.”
Melanie raised an eyebrow at him, “How can you be so sure?”
“Because the ship the Reg gave us is now fully active.”
Tag and Danielle both said, “What!”
“The final system on Al is now working so that tells me that the ship is now operational.”
Tag looked at him and said, “Why haven’t you told us?”
“Because we are never going to use it; we are going to return it to them.”
All three just stared at him.
“I understand your shock about this but I know that if we use it the Reg will die. They will not be able to endure what the use of that ship causes. I cannot allow my brothers to suffer that fate.”
Melanie looked at him and said, “Are you sure about that?”
“I know that they have decided as a race that they would rather die than allow further loss of life by those invaders. They think that death is better than life knowing how many will die due to their inactivity. We have to win this war on our own. Are you willing to allow those that may someday cause the defeat of these creatures to go to their death? I believe that with enough time they can overcome the forces than compel them not to act. That is one ship; they can produce millions of them if they are able to beat that compulsion. I can’t risk the fate of untold billions of future civilizations on the chance that we might win using it.” Matt looked at Tag and said, “If you command me to use it, I will obey. I just cannot do it if the decision is mine.”
Danielle looked at Matt, “Can we win without it?”
“I honestly don’t know.”
Tag and Danielle looked at each other. Tag walked over and put his arm around Matt, “Nor can we take that kind of action knowing it will cause the death of an entire race.”
“I was hoping you would feel that way.”
Sprig and Twig stood with Edison looking at the device he had built. He explained how it operated and they saw that he had actually found a better way to work the system. Sprig was actually amazed at how simple the device operated. “You say you did this after learning that we were able to teleport?”
“Yes, I assumed that it must work around null space and move directly to the location you desired to travel.”
“You’re right. You also mentioned that you might be able to teleport into another universe.”
“The principle is really no different than moving around this universe; the initial coordinate is different, though.”
“What do you mean initial coordinate?”
“Each universe has its own frequency. You wouldn’t know that because you have existed only in this one. To teleport to another universe you need the initial numbers from that universe and the coordinates of the place you want to go.”
Sprig looked at Twig, “Can your device teleport to another universe?”
Edison turned his head sideways indicating a laugh and said, “No, I’m missing some of the functions necessary to make that happen.”
Sprig said, “But you said you could teleport the green substance and also teleport ships back to where they came from.”
“Oh it can be done; Einstein has promised me the equations in another seven days.”
“Who is Einstein?”
“He’s one of my brothers. He is fascinated by the laws that govern physical properties. He chose that name because of the famous ancient human. He’s actually much smarter than I am. I’m more of an engineer; he’s the one that comes up with the principles I use to design my devices.”
Sprig and Twig were dumbfounded. Twig keyed her com, “Destiny.”
“Yes, Twig.”
“One of your children has taken the human name Einstein. Would you please teleport him to our location.”
“Why, has he caused trouble?”
