Greyson came out of stealth mode and the planet saw the huge ship just before it disappeared.
Greyson teleported to the jump limit, “Do you think we should get permission before we get involved in this?”
“No, I do not.” Timmy concentrated and thought, “Virze, Nathan, James, are you available to assist me.”
“What do you need?”
“I just stopped a fleet from attacking a planet and nuking six of their cities. It appears that the attacker is in the business of slavery and I want to impress upon them that that behavior is not tolerated in this universe.”
“Stand-by.”
“What do you think he’s doing?”
“The same thing I would do.”
“Timmy, what are you up to?”
“I’m defending a planet that could not defend itself. I’m sending you the record of everything that happened, Your Majesty.” Timmy looked at his panel, “Send it, Greyson.”
“Timmy, I hope he understands. We have more than we can handle with the anticipated invasion.”
“Greyson, if we start to ignore our values because we’re too busy, then we really don’t believe in them. Even if he says no, we’re going.”
“Timmy, I’ve sworn to obey him.”
“With the exception that you will not be forced to watch an innocent planet being attacked. That’s why I’m here. To make sure we make a good decision.”
Timmy and Greyson waited and after an hour they heard, “Timmy, I’ve looked at your recording and I think you should return to Bristone and not get involved in this conflict.”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty, but I must refuse to follow your order.”
“What are you doing, Timmy?!?”
“The right thing, Nathan.”
“Timmy, if you value your position as a Searcher, you will return to Bristone now.”
“I will as soon as I resolve this issue. Once I’ve done that I will submit myself for punishment.”
“I will be joining him, Your Majesty. I believe in him and I know this is not something to turn our backs on.”
“Virze, you will suffer the same punishment.”
“I know, Your Majesty. And I will submit to it willingly. This is something that I can’t ignore. Timmy, I’m joining you.”
There was a long pause and Scotty said, “You will accept my punishment without complaint?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, I will.”
“And you as well, Virze?”
“I will.”
“Greyson, what about you? I’m ordering you to return to Bristone and bring your treasonous partner with you.”
“Your Majesty, I stand by my Partner. You may destroy me when we return.”
“I’m implementing your punishment immediately. Timmy and Virze you are hereby given the Royal Titles of Crown Prince and Princess and will succeed me to the Crown of the Empire. You have stood for our values even when you were faced with giving up everything of value.”
“Your Majesty, I’m not qualified for this.”
“Did you not say you would take your punishment without complaint?”
“Uh…yes.”
“Then be quiet. Nathan and James, you may join them and assist them in resolving the issue. Do whatever it takes to make sure those defenseless planets are not attacked again.”
“Your Majesty, I may need the Flyers help in freeing some of the captured colonies.”
“I’ve already ordered them to prepare before I contacted you, Timmy.”
Timmy frowned, “What if I had followed your command and returned?”
“Then you would not be the brave warrior I know you to be.”
“Thank you.”
“You deserve it Timmy. Now go resolve the problem. This will be a good time to test the Zord force field.”
The Neriff Fleet arrived back at their home world and contacted the Admiralty. The Commander sent the recording of what happened and was told to wait. He took a deep breath and knew he was in trouble. After fifteen minutes his display showed the face of the First Administrator, “So you ran and allowed my nephew to be killed.”
“No, he refused to follow orders and was killed for not doing so.”
“Your cowardice is what caused it. You could have combined and destroyed that intruder. You will be put to death for it.”
“Perhaps you would like to board a warship and allow us to see who the real coward is.”
The First Administrator grew angry and yelled, “You dare to say that to me.”
“I didn’t. I suspect it was that ship that we encountered and I do welcome you to come join us. Like them, I suspect you are too afraid to do it.”
Every warship in the system heard the exchange. There were more than eight thousand ships that had returned with spoils or were preparing to go out and attack new planets. The Fleet Commander heard, “You might want to keep your fleet outside the jump limit and witness what is about to take place. If you move toward the planet, we will treat you the same as the other fleets.”
He looked over at to his right and saw his com was on, “Attention all ships in the tenth fleet. Hold your position outside the jump limit.”
The First Administrator yelled, “You Coward. Find that ship and attack it.”
“I’m sorry, but we are not near that particular fleet but we are right above your planet. Perhaps you can now come out and play with us?”
The Administrator looked at his sensor panel and saw a large white ship parked just above the atmosphere. His fear took him and he said, “All Fleets; kill that ship.”
Eight thousand ships turned and started toward the White ship. Then the Administrator and the citizens on the planet saw disaster strike. The white ship erupted with hundreds of bright white beams hitting ships at a rate that was unbelievable. Half the ships were destroyed in less than a minute and the survivors attempted to turn and run. They were blown out of existence in less than two minutes. Where eight thousand warships were crowed above the planet, nothing remained. The Administrator was speechless. The Fleet Commander was stunned and knew he had been very fortunate indeed to have escaped.
Timmy sat at his board and gave a few moments for the magnitude of what had happened to sink home. Then he said, “I guess you won’t be coming up in a warship. I should have left one for you but forgot during the fun.”
The Administrator said, “What are you going to do?”
“I’m trying to decide if I should just destroy your planet and say good riddance to the scum that you are. However, I will allow you to live if you meet my conditions.”
“What are they?”
“You will order all your troops home and leave the planet’s you’ve conquered. You will be allowed to live in this star system; however, you may not go outside it. If you go outside of it, I will come back and finish what I’ve started. You will not have to recall the troops from the colonies of the Priven. We are going to remove them ourselves. You will have exactly thirty revolutions of your planet to make this happen or we will remove them as well as your planet.
“You’ve destroyed most of our ships. How are we going to transport them here?”
“That’s not my problem. You have six hundred ships I’ve not harmed. Use them and those that are not here. For the moment, I am removing all of your military installations on the planet and the factories that produce their ordinance. I will be back in thirty days to see if you have complied with my instructions. If you are not here, I will find you. Do you understand?”
