Niles looked at his board, “Ok, starting run in 3, 2, 1 now.”
“Grace, I understand that you have an issue you want to discuss.”
“I do, Your Majesty. I think we need to think about using armor for our Riders.”
“You’re talking about the armor that was used by the Red Warriors?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Before I respond, tell me why you want to move in that direction.”
“You’ve just held the funeral for the Riders and Zord that were killed in defending Priven. We wouldn’t have lost them if they had been wearing armor. We are also going to face a highly advanced civilization in the future and we’ll need every advantage we can get.”
“Will that armor stand up to the beams of the Invaders? The Keepers were able to kill our warriors in spite of their armor. The only real advantage of it would be in our universe against the planets that are still aggressive. I don’t think that’s reason enough to release that technology here.”
“It would have saved those lost Flyers.”
“I know but sometimes a price must be paid for your actions. If we are able to sweep all opposition before us because of superior technology, it would only be a matter of time until resentment would rear its ugly head. We must persuade others to our values; not force them to it. Unless the armor is effective against the Invaders, I don’t want to use it against the planets in our universe. Will it be effective?”
“I don’t have enough information to know.”
“I’m like Alex on this issue Grace. Once that technology is released, it will be impossible to put back into the bottle. I’m uneasy about the Zeta Ships but we need them to face the coming invasion. I can also accept it because there can only be twenty of them. After this is over, I’m going to recommend that we put them back under Alex’s care. According to the defense database, once a person has armor; they cannot have it removed.”
“Then it’s a control issue with you.”
Scotty thought about it and said, “Yes, I guess it is.”
“Then only give armor to the Searcher’s Partners. I know you’ve screened them with the Zord and every other mechanism available to you.”
“Why are you so adamant about this, Grace?”
“If Virze had armor, she could have teleported down and saved those brave warriors. She could have also removed the cannon from the top of that building and they would still be alive. I think it’s better to have more options available than less. You just don’t know what we might have to face and I’ve seen what armor can do in the hands of the right warriors.”
Scotty didn’t want to give in. He struggled but then said, “Grace, have you allowed Bleath or Vring to take a look at the armor’s technology?”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“Have them look at it. Then I’ll make a decision.”
“What do you expect them to do?”
“Why see if it can be used against the invaders. I’d wait until the probe arrives from Niles first. It could make a difference in their analysis.”
Grace reluctantly said, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Niles watched the video of the Invader’s Black Ships attacking numerous planets. The giant ships would come in system sweeping away all the forces sent against it. Nothing survived the beams of the black ships. Once at the planet, it was called upon to surrender. Any delay was met with a devastating bombardment from orbit. Once all resistence had been annihilated, giant troop carriers left orbit for the surface. Thousands of large, orange colored beings spread out and took control of the inhabitants. Any that resisted were killed. The black ships detected their presence but didn’t stop their attack. In every instance another black ship was called in to confront the small ship. Each time a huge ship appeared the small ship jumped away.
“We need to go to another universe and see what it looks like when they complete their invasion.”
Toland looked at his scanner, “I have a coordinate from the track one of their ships left.”
“So you agree with me?”
“I do. What are they trying to do? There must be a reason for their attacking these universes. We need to find out.”
“Do you think that track will take us to a universe they’ve captured?”
“If they were going home they would use their dimensional drive. The coordinates I copied are to a universe. I suspect we can find out there.”
“Well, I’ll make sure the probe has our change in plans recorded. We need to see. Send me the coordinates.”
Toland touched his pad, “They’re on your panel.”
Niles hit the universal drive and watched as the universe changed.
“Grace!”
“Yes, Alex.”
“The probe I had attached to the Invader’s Ship has just returned. It appears our boys are avoiding being attacked.”
“Why, I thought they went to confront one of those ships.”
“They did but I think they are attempting to gather as much intelligence as possible. The Invaders chased them but lost them after a huge teleport. It appears they can scan about eighty light years but are not able to follow a teleport trail.”
“That’s a valuable piece of information.”
“Yes it is. They were smart to test their capabilities before taking on one of them on head-to-head.”
“I know the Emperor is starting to worry. Their probe has not made it back and I know he fears they were both lost.”
“I think those two will make certain the probe gets back. I suspect they are scouting the Invaders first. I really hope they make it back.”
“We all do, Alex.”
Niles and Toland scanned the planet and saw the inhabitants were working in fields growing a strange plant. It was orange in color and grew to about fifteen feet in height. The limbs spread out parallel to the ground and appeared to have one round fruit on each branch. The inhabitants were picking the orange balls with breathing masks on their faces and dropping them into a vehicle parked under each tree. As each fruit fell into the vehicle, one of the orange colored soldiers would wait at the end and supervise the removal of a clear package filled with an orange powder. They noticed in an adjoining field the inhabitants were growing crops to feed themselves.
All of the planet’s cities were abandoned and basic wood structures were built on the huge farms growing the plants. There was very little evidence of advanced technology on the planet. Their scans also revealed more than ten large cities had been hit with nuclear warheads.
“It looks like we have dimensional drug dealers.”
Toland said, “Watch this.”
One of the inhabitants picked one of the fruits and removed his breathing mask. It smelled the fruit and immediately fell off the ladder and tumbled to the ground where it spasmed so hard its arms and legs broke. Then the picker convulsed and its chest collapsed. An orange soldier walked up, pulled a gun, and shot the dead body incinerating it. The soldier then turned and shot the six workers that were picking fruit from that plant. It motioned for more workers to take the place of those killed.
“Niles, this is terrible.”
“You notice we have not been discovered. That means most of their ships are now in that other universe.”
“Niles, did you notice the color of the inhabitant that was burned.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m going to freeze the video.”
Niles watched as the picker that had breathed the fruit quit twitching. As the chest collapsed Toland froze the video. The formerly brown colored picker was now a bright orange color. “It appears the invaders are addicted as well as the population.”
“We need to collect one of those fruits.”
