Lens of Time: Book 05 - Star Rover-The Worst of Time (21 page)

“No, there is absolutely no change.”

Gresha looked at Dat, “Maybe the frequency is affecting a different ship.”

Loree said, “We’ll scan the planet and see if anything shows up.”

Dat nodded, “Let us know immediately if you see anything.”

“Will do.”

Gresha showed her disappointment, “Don’t let this get you down.”

“I know; I was just so certain that something would happen.” Dat nodded and waited for the results of the scans to come in.”

• • •

Rayz stood up suddenly and looked across the field at his parents. They were getting old and an extra mouth to feed was taking a toll on them. He looked around him at the people toiling in the soil and knew that it was time. He picked up his shovel and walked across the field to his parents, “Father, Mother, it’s time for me to leave.” Their expressions became fearful and he continued, “You can’t continue to feed me out of your rations. It’s time.”

They hugged him and after a few tearful moments, Rayz handed his shovel to his father and turned and began walking out of the field. They watched him leave and knew there would be more food but they were going to miss their adopted son, even though he was really odd.

Rayz looked up at the sky and saw there was just a few more hours of daylight remaining. He stopped on a small rise overlooking the community and looked back at his home for the past ten years. He hoped his parents were going to be ok. He really loved them…but knew that was something he could not worry about. He walked below the crest of the hill and started running. He had a lot of ground to cover before nightfall.

• • •

Three days passed and nothing had happened to indicate that the frequency was working. Dat sat on the wall and said, “Loree, send the frequency to my ring. I’m going to send it from right on top of that ship to see if proximity might make it work.” Dat felt his finger vibrate and said, “Thanks, Loree.”

Gresha looked at Dat, “Let’s go give it a try.”

“You don’t sound optimistic.” Gresha shook her head and turned toward the field. Dat knew her level of frustration was getting higher. He really couldn’t blame her. His was also getting beyond the point of frustration. Twenty minutes later, they finally gave up.

• • •

Dat and Gresha were in Gresha’s home getting ready to go back to Earth. Gresha was holding up her wedding dress, “I really hate to leave this behind.”

“Put it on and wear it. You can change into a Fleet Uniform once we’re back on board.” Gresha thought about it and nodded. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door and she went and opened it. There was a young man with blonde hair and green eyes standing there.

Gresha looked at him with a furrowed brow, “Who are you? I’ve not seen you here.”

The young man looked at Gresha and saw Dat standing in the room looking at them. He looked at Dat and said, “The real question is; who is he?”

Gresha looked at Dat and turned back to the young male, “He’s my mate.”

The young male raised his hand and pointed his index finger at Dat. A bright yellow beam shot out and hit Dat in the forehead and he collapsed. Gresha rushed over and lifted Dat’s head, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?”

The young male said, “Correcting a mistake. That being is not one of us; he’s an alien.” The young male walked in and raised his hand again as Gresha stood up, drew back her arm, and hit him dead between the eyes with her fist. The young male’s head snapped back and his eyes glazed over as he fell to the floor. Gresha heard Dat moan and went to the floor and lifted his head.

“I’m so freaking tired of this.”

“Tired of what, Darling?”

“Getting slapped into next week and getting the crap shocked out of me.” Dat shook his head and tried to focus, “What happened?”

“That male just shot you with some kind of yellow beam.”

Dat leaned his head forward and said, “I thought none of your people used any technology?” Gresha’s head moved back and she turned and looked at the young male who was moaning and trying to raise his head. He looked at Gresha holding Dat’s head and said, “Why did you do that? Your mate is an alien.”

“I know that.”

“You know?!”

“Of course; he’s saved my life two times from the Masters and is one of the finest beings I’ve ever met.”

The young man dropped his head back to the floor and said, “You hit like a hammer.”

Dat said, “Tell me about it.”

The young man remained prone on the floor but started laughing, “Oh, you have experience.”

Dat looked up at Gresha and said, “More than I want. She packs a punch.” The young male stayed on his back and continued to laugh. Dat said, “Who are you?”

The young male blew a breath out and struggled up on an elbow, “You called me.”

“When did I do that?”

“You’ve called my frequency constantly over the last five days.”

Gresha and Dat looked at the male and their shock was clear on their faces. The young man saw it and said, “Why are you surprised? You did call me.”

“We thought we were sending a frequency to activate the ship under the field.”

The young male showed his surprise, “You know about it?”

“We do.”

“Well the only one that can activate that ship is me and I’m not going to do it without a lot more information.”

Gresha shook her head, “Who are you!?!”

The young man managed to get to his feet. He shook his head and said, “I guess you could call me a guardian of sorts. The ones that created me called me Caretaker. The name I use with the people is Rayz.”

Dat struggled and stood up; he stared at the young male. “Are you saying that you are a creation of the ones that built the ship?” Rayz nodded and bowed to them. “How long have you been here guarding those ships?”

Rayz looked sharply at Dat, “You know about the others?”

“I do.”

Rayz said, “That is not a good thing. However, to answer your question, I’ve been here twenty eight hundred years or so.” Gresha stared at the young male and sighed. He looked at her and said, “What’s bothering you?”

“If you were created by my ancestors, you are pretty much worthless. You’ll never release the ships because you don’t have an ounce of bravery in you. You’re beneath contempt.”

Dat and the young man looked at Gresha and saw she was growing angrier by the moment and neither one of them wanted to be close to an angry Gresha.

• • •

“Jon.”

“Yes Jill.”

“I miss you.”

“Why is that so hard for you to say?”

“I’ve been in love with Dat for years. I’ve always wanted him back. This is just so sudden.”

“Jill, have you really wanted him back or did you want that time in your life back?”

Jill thought a moment and said, “I’m not sure what you mean?”

“You were a top graduate from the academy, you were newly promoted, and the universe looked like it was your oyster to open. You were certain there was a pearl inside and life was going to be one large fairy tale with a happy ending.”

Jill sighed heavily and said, “I was so excited at what the future had to offer.”

“I can relate. However, your mother pretty much turned her back on you and sent you out alone to scout distant galaxies and denied you frequent liberty. She deliberately kept you isolated so you would not become a strong political figure that might one day challenge her.”

Jill leaned back in her chair and said, “I guess I never looked at it that way. I always suffered through the boredom of scouting one boring galaxy after another.” Jon stared at Jill and remained silent. She looked at his expression and said, “You’re holding something back. What is it?” Jon shook his head and remained silent. “Tell me, Jon.”

Jon looked at her and decided, “Jill, Dat Arvolo’s fast advancement was due to the work he did in galaxies he scouted.”

“Yes, I know that.”

“You were assigned galaxies to scout that had already been scouted by other Rovers and found to not hold anything of interest.” Jill was shocked speechless. Jon said, “I’ve looked at Admiral Hull’s database and found that she was ordered by your mother to do it. I didn’t want to tell you but you deserve to know that your chances of promotion were deliberately sabotaged by your mother. She kept your abilities hidden. I suspect she was extremely jealous of you.”

Jill’s expression changed and she looked at Jon with a hard expression, “Were you ever planning to tell me about this?”

Jon lowered his head and sighed, “I kind of thought I would lose you if I did; I don’t want to ever do anything that would add to your sorrow. I think your reluctance to accept the command system was due to your feelings of inadequacy that were caused by what your mother did. I guess it’s important to me that you know you are so much more than you think you are.”

Jill stared at Jon and said, “So you are willing to allow me to hate you for not telling me before now?”

“If it will help you know who you really are and give you confidence in commanding our ships, I guess I am. Have a good day, Admiral.”

“Where are you going?”

Jon looked at Jill, “You just said you hated me.”

“No I didn’t.”

“Yes you did!”

“I said you were willing to allow me to hate you; I didn’t say I did.”

Jon furrowed his brow and replayed the conversation in his mind, “I guessssss you’re right. Do you hate me?”

“Jon, I have only thought about you since that night you danced with me. You are the only person since I dated Dat at the Academy that made me feel special. It was that feeling that made me want Dat back; he made me feel special.”

“What are you saying?”

“You’ve believed in me. You placed the Wing’s safety in my hands and you protected me from any fallout from what happened. You made me your second-in-command.” Jill paused, “And you danced with me and made me feel like a woman again. I will never dance with anyone else but you.”

“Where are you?”

“I’m with six thousand ships in open space outside the Masters’ galaxy.”

“You can come home. The civilizations in M87 have all seen the recording of the Masters and the civil war ended faster than it started. They are now opening dialogues and the fighting has diminished. You can bring your fleet back and I’ll be here waiting on your arrival.”

“Do I need to change what I’m wearing?”

“Just make sure you have on your dancing shoes.”

Jill smiled, “I love you, Jon.”

“I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you, Jill.” Jon paused and said, “So I guess you don’t hate me after all.”

Jill’s smile grew larger, “I guess I’ll just have to prove it when I get there.”

Jon’s smile was huge, “I really look forward to that.”

Jon heard just before the display went dark, “Not as much as I do.”

• • •

“What do you mean you have been to their civilization and joined their military?”

“It was the only way for my mate and me to be together. They don’t allow civilians onboard their ships.”

“The people cannot be part of a military!”

“Oh! Why not?”

“Our people are incapable of taking life.” Dat sat in a chair and listened to the back and forth. This was proving to be informative. However, it was clear Gresha did not like Rayz.

“Is that so?”

“Yes!”

Gresha stared at Rayz and said, “Let me clue you in to a little piece of information that might be a news flash to you.”

“What’s a news flash?”

“It’s…oh, forget that. However, if I had a blaster in my hand and one of those Masters was in front of me; I’d burn it into ash and then burn the ashes. I’d kill every one of them given the opportunity.”

Rayz stared at her and said, “You say you would but when the moment came, you wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“Where do you get off saying that?”

“We tried and failed.” Dat sat up straighter in the chair and Gresha stared at him saying nothing. Rayz looked at her and said, “We built the ships to prevent their attacking our people. We sent a ship out to attack them when they moved closer to our world and none of the people could force themselves to fire our weapons. We are incapable of taking life.” Gresha shook her head. Rayz said, “We sent every ship out and none of them could do it.”

Dat said, “So you removed any evidence of technology and hid the ships.” Rayz nodded. “Why did you hide them? Why didn’t you just destroy them as well?”

“My creators thought that another species might someday appear that would be worthy of using them.”

Gresha said, “Well a species has been found.”

Rayz shook his head, “There have been others that have come and were found wanting.”

“What!?!”

“Before we were taken by the Masters, numerous civilizations came and requested our assistance in fighting them off. They were examined and found that they could not be trusted to use our ships properly. They showed the traits of conquerors. We would never allow our technology to be used as a tool of conquest.”

Gresha looked at Dat and sneered, “He is a waste of good energy. We’re wasting our time and need to go back.”

Dat shook his head, “Wait a minute. Why do you say that?”

“Our ancestors could have stopped those monsters and prevented the millions that have died in their embrace. They were cowards then and this creation of theirs is no different. I hate them and him for their fear and my people feel the same.”

Rayz looked at her and said, “You couldn’t do it either.”

“Oh no!?!”

“You couldn’t.”

Gresha turned to Dat, “Do you have a blaster?”

Dat jerked his head up and said, “Why do you ask?”

“Do you?”

“Well…yes.”

“Give it to me.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Prove to this imbecile that he’s dumber than a tree trunk.”

Dat said, “Is this a good idea? We might be able to convince him that we’re worthy.”

“That will never happen, Dat. Anyone that is willing to fight for their survival will never meet this idiot’s standards; give me the blaster.”

Rayz listened to the back and forth and was somewhat surprised by Gresha’s request. He knew she would never be able to follow through on what she was considering. Dat looked at Rayz and saw the smug expression on his face. He shrugged and had the ring eject the blaster. He handed it to Gresha and without hesitation she pointed it at Rayz and pulled the trigger. The beam shot out and hit Rayz in the head and he instantly vaporized.