Escape to Earth-Living Legends (3 page)

“Good boy!”

“Chris, he doesn’t want it. He’s being forced to do it.”

“I didn’t want it, either.”

“But…”

“Allison, he is the best one to do it. You have to know that.”

Allison sighed, “I guess.” She looked at him and said, “You’re hiding something.”

Chris jerked his head around, “Are you finally telepathic?”

“No, I just know you. I’ve seen it since you were asked to be the First Commander again. Is there a reason you turned the position down that I don’t know?”

Chris sighed, “I’ve never discussed it with you.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re surrounded by telepaths. It was all I could do to keep it hidden from them.”

“Not anymore; you do everything possible to avoid them.”

“That’s the reason.”

Allison saw his expression and finally said, “Are you going to tell me?”

“I need to tell someone. I keep going around in circles wondering if I’m right.”

“Tell me, Chris!”

Chris looked out at the ocean for a few moments and then looked at her, “Do you remember when we went on a scouting mission to look at M-86 and M-87.” Allison nodded. “We saw the Progen’s new ships actually firing their weapons. Remember?”

“I do.”

“Then that Giant Legend Warship came into the galaxy and we learned about the existence of other galaxies that the Legends controlled.” Allison stared at him wondering where this was headed. “Then we learned that they could not detect us in the void.”

“I remember.”

“Do you remember saying that the scouting mission accomplished everything we needed in just one trip and that it was almost too good to be true.”

Allison nodded and saw Chris staring at her in silence. Her eyes narrowed as she remembered and then they went wide open, “It was too good to be true!”

Chris blew out a loud breath, “Just like all the coincidences that happened to Lukas when he escaped to Earth, the odds of them all happening randomly were astronomical.”

“You believe there’s something else operating and exerting control over events.”

“I’ve tried to find evidence to prove me wrong.”

Allison waited for him to continue speaking but he remained silent, “But you only found more to show you were right?”

Chris nodded, “Why did Lukas send the Sentinels to the Legends’ Planet in M-87? Their presence is what turned their massive attack fleet around.”

Allison lowered her head and then looked at him, “I have no idea.”

“I asked him.”

“And?”

“He didn’t really know, Allison. He just said the thought occurred to him and he did it.” Allison continued to stare at him and Chris sighed, “Do you remember Lukas saying he thought Pat stopped him from killing me before I was born?” Allison nodded. “Lukas told me later that Pat didn’t do it. He said Lukas did that on his own.” Chris sighed, “Lukas’s mind at that time was primarily that of a Welken Warrior. He should have done it. It was the strategically right thing to do.” Chris took a breath and looked out at the ocean, “Salud said I was saved because I had a destiny to save all of us. I thought she was out of her mind…but now I wonder.”

“Could one of the Sentinels be doing it?”

“Pat told Lukas he didn’t stop him and I know that Pat would have seen another Sentinel if it were operating near him. I hate to say this, but I think the Sentinels are probably being controlled as well. Pat could have been pushed to do all the things he chose to do.” Lukas paused and said, “There’s one other thing.” Allison held her breath. “You know about the Stalkers that were trying to find Lukas on Earth?”

“Yes.”

“They always changed their DNA to that of the intelligent species on every planet they went to find a prey. They had been doing it for thousands of years.”

“What are you saying, Chris?”

“Over thousands of years, none of them ever lost their Stalker intellect…ever.”

Allison saw it, “But Lukas’s brain was fused with the Human Brain and he became a hybrid of both species.”

Chris nodded, “And his children inherited that brain along with telepathy. His DNA after he was changed into a human was dominant…just like Eve’s…just like mine…and just like our children. Something changed his DNA as Willow changed him to human form.”

“Then why didn’t you accept the position to lead us?”

“Because now I know and if I’m right…”

Allison sighed, “The ones doing it will know you know.”

“They probably already do. I suspect they’re listening to us now. That’s why I had to decline the position. I can’t make decisions with the idea that there is something operating as a safety net. It might not be there and my decisions could lead to disaster.”

Allison shook her head and they sat in silence for a long time. She finally said, “There are other things that support your belief.”

“I know.”

“We can’t let anyone know about this.”

“I know; that’s why I’ve never told you.”

“Why are you telling me now?”

“Because all of our children are grown and have learned that listening to others thoughts without permission is beyond being impolite. I had to wait until they learned it and reflexively lived it. They will not invade your privacy.”

“I remember your expression that day. I saw something bothered you but you changed the subject.”

Chris smiled, “You’ve always been the one that sees things in me that others miss. I’m glad of that now.” Allison stared at him for a very long moment and then shook her head and looked back out at the ocean. “You can’t bring yourself to ask, can you?” Allison took a deep breath, blew it out slowly, and then shook her head. “I’ve thought about that question every day since then.”

“And?”

“Audrey was not the one chosen for me.”

Allison lowered her head and closed her eyes, “You can’t be sure about that?”

“Oh I believe she and I were intended to have a son. But she had to die so I would attack the Goran so viciously. I also believe that you were nudged to stop it. Why did you do it?”

“I just saw that it would destroy you if you continued.”

Chris took her chin and stared into her eyes, “Where did that thought come from?”

Allison stared at him and he saw her struggling with the question, “I could see it happening to you in my mind.” She continued to stare at him and finally said, “I was nudged.”

“You were chosen to be with me. Audrey couldn’t have done the things you did after you were ordered aboard my ship. It was you that allowed us to survive and learn what we needed to know to defeat the Legends in M-87. Things just happened…”

Allison interrupted him, “That would have never happened without something operating to cause it.” Chris nodded. Both of them turned, looked back out at the ocean, and without making an agreement, they didn’t mention it again. After two hours, Allison said, “We can’t go back to Earth.” Chris nodded. “Averel will see it.”

Chris took her hand, “Not in me but you won’t be able to hide it. We’ll set up a residence here on Eden and convince our children to come see us here. We have to avoid the Goran.” Allison nodded and continued to stare at the waves.

M
ichael walked through Fleet Operations carrying a box filled with items he took from his former office. This was the last box and he was glad to be done with moving. Luke asked him why he just didn’t order some junior officers to move his things. “Luke, there are some very valuable things that I’d never get over if they were damaged. Besides, I threw away more than I moved. I don’t mind doing it.” One thing that he didn’t know if he liked was the size of his new office. It was actually larger than Luke’s with a brace of huge wall monitors. Oh well.

He walked through the main communications center and Averel thought, “Michael.” He stopped and looked at her. “Admiral Greenwall has requested you contact her about the maneuver schedule.”

“Don’t you have the schedule, Averel?”

“I offered to send it but she insisted she would have some questions that only you could answer.”

“Have Audrey send it to her and answer any questions she might have.” Averel started laughing and Michael shook his head. “Averel.”

Averel straightened up and said, “Yes, First Commander.”

“Until further notice, you will do all you can to prevent my having to communicate directly with Admiral Greenwall. I am holding you responsible for making that happen. Do you understand?”

“She can’t be that bad, Michael?”

“Do you understand!?”

“I will do my absolute best, Sir, but she is absolutely the most diabolical human I’ve ever met at getting her way.”

“If she gets through you…”

“I know, I know.”

Michael turned and walked toward his office. Admiral Katy Greenwall! She had decided during the second year of their Advanced Studies that Michael was going to be hers and telling her no only made her more determined. She threatened and intimidated all the other girls in his class into avoiding any contact with him. He was shy at that age and thought they resented him because of who his father was. He learned to live with it. It took Audrey to tell him what was going on.

Audrey was several classes behind him but she was telepathic and had no problem listening to the thoughts of those around her. She was the most obstinate of Chris’ children about respecting other people’s privacy. She finally got the message when Josh started repeating out loud what she was thinking where everyone around her could hear. She was furious and Josh finally managed to get her to see that what she was doing was no different. However, she told Michael what Katy was doing. He broke a long-standing principle and listened to her one day. He confronted her and told her what he thought about her and told her she would never…ever…hold his interest.

He shook his head. If she had just been nice, she might have gotten him to notice her. She was really beautiful and had a steel-trap mind. Her scores rivaled his and she didn’t have the benefit of telepathy. But she was remorseless. He remembered her telling him that he would change his mind. He knew a human would fly like the Green Birds before that happened. She prevented him from having a relationship with a girl before he graduated and went to the Fleet Academy. Now he really wanted to thank her. He didn’t have the time, or the inclination, to be involved in a relationship; he had too much to do. But thanking her would lead to requests to allow her to come visit and he grew weary of dreaming up reasons why she couldn’t. One time he had told her that he no desire to be around her. She replied that if he would he’d want to do it more. He wasn’t looking at her thoughts but could actually see her winking in his mind. He broke the connection. Now, he would see if she could get through Averel.

He walked in his office and set the box down. He saw the light on his desk unit illuminate and he glanced at the identity of the caller and saw it was Admiral Greenwall. “AVEREL!!!”

“SHE BYPASSED MY PANEL AND WENT THROUGH PERSONNEL!”

Michael shook his head. After a moment, he thought, “Audrey.”

“Yeah, Michael.”

“One of your Admirals is going around the chain-of-command and calling me directly.”

“Katy at it again?”

“I don’t want to shut out all the others just to stop her. She reports to you, can you do anything?”

“Maybe you should give her a chance.”

“Maybe you should kiss an eel!”

Audrey laughed out loud. “I’ll call her in to my office and make it clear that she hasn’t learned proper protocol. I’ll tell her that all of her inquires will go through my desk first and that if she contacts one of my superiors without going through me, it had better be because I’m not available and someone is about to die.”

“Do you think that will do it?”

“She is ingenious.”

“Give it a shot. Let me know if you have any problems.”

“I’ve about had my fill of her. I should have battered her ears in when we were in school.”

“She’s pretty good in hand-to-hand.”

“Does she have our father’s reflexes?”

“No, but she will resort to dirty tactics.”

Audrey smiled, “I wrote the book on that. Besides, in her case, I will look at her mind.”

“If it comes to that, kick her…”

“Be nice.”

“Thanks, Sis.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Michael didn’t receive any more calls from Katy. She wondered how Audrey did it. He found out when Averel sent him a thought recording of the personal one-on-one hand-to-hand training Audrey ordered Katy to go through to ensure she was up to fleet standards. He watched the recording and winced several times. Now he understood.

• • •

“Hengel, it’s good to see you. Are you here to relieve me?”

“I am.”

“Congratulations on your union. Was the time off fun?”

“You better believe it. I’ve struck it lucky with my mate. How are things going here?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary.”

Hengel looked at the distant speck of light and furrowed his brow, “Why are you so far out from the planet?”

“If I moved any closer their ships would start moving toward me.”

“Have they improved their detection of the barrier this much in my absence?”

“If we move in five miles, they’ll start moving toward us.”

Hengel shook his head, focused on the Legends’ Planet, and then turned his attention to the monster ship being built. He listened closely and shouted, “They’re already installed the bulk of the reactors!!”

“But…how! I’ve not heard any orders to start the installation!”

“Jeeren, focus on workers complaining about working too hard.”

“They all complain.”

“Look for the ones complaining about having to work in heavy suits!”

Jeeren focused and a moment later said, “You’re right. There’s only ten reactors left to install. How did I miss this!?”

Hengel thought, “AVEREL!! THE GIANT SHIP HAS MOST OF ITS REACTORS INSTALLED!!”

“WHAT!?”

“Jeeren missed it. Notify Michael immediately. If he doesn’t take it out quickly, it will be fully operational in six days!”

• • •

The klaxons were blaring at full blast in fleet operations as Michael ran into the building, “Averel, where are we?”