Melanie did a double take between Matt and Melanie and smiled, “You’re right. I keep forgetting.” She hugged AG and said, “We still have eleven years before you go. Like Rose said, we have to make the most of every day we have together.”
AG laughed, “That’s the spirit, Mom!”
Tag stood and said, “Are we all agreed on this course of action?”
Everyone nodded and The Kosiev said, “I’ll leave you my coordinates. I’m going to go now. I think it is better if we leave at different times so no one will notice.”
Danielle shook her head, “History will miss us. Someone is going to wonder where we went at some point in the future.”
Tommy said, “Everyone loves a good mystery. Let’s see if anyone figures it out.”
Danielle came back to the present as Tag finished telling the story.
Valerie looked at the Gardners and shook her head, “Time travel. It makes sense now that I know.”
Jake listened to Tag’s explanation and found himself staring at AG. He said, “AG, are you going to tell us about your vision now?”
The Gardners all looked at AG and Melanie said, “I forgot about that. What about it, Honey?”
AG looked around the room and smiled, “I came here to be with Joe.”
That statement stunned everyone. No one knew what to say. AG looked at Joe and said, “I saw you in Rose’s and my Father’s visions. I knew that you were the one I am destined to spend my life with. We are made for each other and I felt that as soon as I saw you. I just wanted to make sure before I said anything and now that I’ve seen you, I’m certain.”
Joe was stunned speechless. He was attracted to AG in a measure that he found impossible to understand. He looked at Valerie, then turned to AG, “You’re right. Now that I’ve seen you, I don’t want to see anyone or anything else but you.”
Danielle looked at AG, “Are you sure?”
“Danielle, look at him. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a mate. His psychic abilities are screaming to be released, and I’m the one destined to do it.” She looked at Joe and smiled, “Joe, are you sure?”
Joe looked at the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and said, “I loved you the moment you entered the room.”
AG stood and walked around the table and Joe stood and met her. They hugged and everyone felt the huge psychic blast that rushed out of the room.
AG looked at her parents and smiled, “Say hello to your future son-in-law.”
Joe only had eyes for AG.
Jake felt the blast and saw that AG’s powers had also increased. She was now the strongest psychic in the Realm’s long history. He was glad that she was distracted by Joe and didn’t sense what he was thinking.
He turned to Tag and said, “You mentioned that you might know where to find a weapon to kill the Keepers’ ships.”
Tag smiled and said, “I need to talk with a certain young spider about that.”
Jake looked at Valerie and said, “Why don’t we go to Ross and discuss it with him?”
Cassandra asked, “Won’t we cause a huge commotion if we show up?”
Jake shook his head, “No, you were written out of the Realm’s history more than ten thousand years ago. The current Realm doesn’t know anything about you.”
Matt looked at Jake with a stern expression, “Why did they do that?”
“Because the Realm does not appreciate war or warriors; the Realm’s leaders decided that it was not a good thing to reveal the wars that formed the Realm. We’ll discuss this later, but we should be fine going to Ross. I’m also going to invite Sprig to join us.”
Matt smiled, “That old weed; I’m looking forward to seeing him.”
Jake smiled and said, “And he you, Matt.”
Cassandra said, “Alex, can you find Ross?”
“Yes, it’s being moved around but I’ll have us there momentarily.”
The giant ship disappeared and came out of a teleport screen above Castle Gardner. Valerie looked at Jake and sensed he was hiding something. He should have been excited, but she could see that there was something else. She would ask him about it later. Right now, she was excited. She knew that the Realm was going to survive the Keepers, and that brought her joy.
Joe and AG were lost in each other’s arms.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sprig and the three young spiders were euphoric at seeing the Gardners again. They all teleported in to the map room and celebrated the return of long, missing friends. Tag updated them on why they had been gone, while Jake left the room and contacted Junior.
“How’s it going?”
“Great, Jake! My parents are being brought up to current technology and the work should be completed soon.”
Jake paused and said, “Junior, will Sprig tell the Gardners?”
There was a long moment of silence, and Junior finally answered, “No; it would only distract them from the task at hand.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I discussed it with him after our conversation. I told him that the plan has been changed and that I am following your lead. I suggested he might want to do the same.”
“What was his response?”
“Jake, you shocked him more than you can know when you caught him listening in on your meeting. He knows you possess knowledge that could disrupt his goal, but he also saw that you didn’t reveal it to Valerie or the other Gardners. He’s waiting to see which direction you intend to go. He had written off there being any possibility of a change in the direction of events, but he’s going to see if you can make a difference.”
“And the Spiders?”
“They’ve already carried out their part of events. They know they’re out of their depth from this point on. They have decided that if they are going to follow anyone it will be you.”
“What about Matt? They owe him much more than me. Can they be trusted to stay the course?”
“They know that if they don’t, Matt will be killed. They’ll do it to make sure he survives.”
Jake took a deep breath and said, “I’m going to need you quickly. Can you leave your parents?”
“What do you have in mind?”
“We need to move some planets and kill some ships. I think moving the planets will come first, but I’m not married to the order…yet.”
“I’ll let them know.”
“Thanks, Junior.
“You bet.”
Valerie came in and found Jake staring out of the window overlooking the Fleet Academy in the distance. “Jake, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Jake had sensed her coming. He turned and sighed, “I can’t, Valerie. I know you think it’s an issue of trust, but it isn’t. Who leads the Realm now, Valerie?”
Valerie was about to tell Jake it was an issue of trust, but she was stopped by his question. She thought about it and said, “You don’t think it’s me, do you?”
“Who will be making the decisions from this point on? It won’t be me and ipso facto, you either.”
“Why do you say that, Jake?”
“Who will control the weapon that can kill the Keepers?”
Valerie shrugged, “We will, Jake.”
“You’re exactly right, Valerie. Now before you make me tell you everything, I want you to think about what
