Annihilation Series-Searching for a Hero (20 page)

“I should kill you.”

“Yes, you probably should.”

The Master was surprised by the Advisor’s agreement. He had arrested the Advisor as soon as the failed attack ended. The Advisor had positioned his fleet at the end of the long line and had not made it through the portal before it was disrupted. He dragged the chained Advisor into his chamber and had drawn an energy sword to decapitate him when he said, “You act like what happened is a bad thing.”

The Master almost swung the blade but stopped himself at the last moment. His curiosity got the best of him, “WE’VE LOST TEN PERCENT OF OUR SHIPS!!”

“And how many did the others lose?” The Master paused and narrowed his eyes. The Advisor continued, “We don’t have the most powerful warships; but we do have the most. All five Rulers lost the same number of ships; however, their loss percentage was much higher than our own. The Rageons lost a quarter of their ships. We are now a much better match against them. You know you’ve been worried they might attack us. Now they won’t dare do it. We are in a much better place because of this.”

The Master knew he should kill the Advisor but he was right. He was also at a loss as to how to use this new advantage. He stared at the Advisor and said, “And just how am I going to exploit this?”

“You move into the Shringa and annex the territory.”

“Are you out of your mind? The Rageon will immediately attack.”

“Not now. They’re too heavily outnumbered and they know it.” The Master stared at the Advisor considering the proposal, “You should also go to full capacity on ship building. We can build our ships much faster than the Rageon and this will put them in a secondary position to our power. We can build to the point where we can attack them and remove our long time enemy.”

“Just how do we build those numbers?”

“The Shringa has all the resources you’ll need.”

The Master stared at the Advisor, “I value your advice; however, you are becoming too dangerous to allow you to live.”

“I will agree to submit if you decide to remove me.”

“You know that agreement means nothing.”

“I’ll send you my first born to live with you as a hostage to ensure I keep my promise.”

The Master thought about the offer and knew the value of the Advisor’s First Born. “Call for him to come here.”

The Advisor was handed a communicator and he contacted his mate and demanded she send their child to the Master. Ten hours later he arrived and the Master released the Advisor, “Go and lead our forces into the Shringa.”

The Advisor rubbed his arms from the abrasions made by the Chains and bowed, “I will go and organize, Master.”

The Master watched him go and wondered if he was making a mistake. He shook his huge head and went back to his chair.

The Advisor left the chamber and maintained a stern expression. That son had been nothing but problems since the day he was born. Perhaps the Master would remove him before he was killed by my claws. Even his mate was glad to see their first born out of their home. Now he had to make sure the invasion into the Shringa was done by ships loyal to him. Once the ship building facilities were completed, there would be a sixth power and the Master would know the magnitude of his mistake.

• • • • •

Ping and Nicole were married and the trillions living in the Realm learned about their newest hero. Ping was the happiest he had been since Mios’ and Jodie’s deaths and he focused on the new love in his life. Even Scott came around and saw that Ping loved his daughter deeply and that he was a good man. He would be a good Prince of the Realm.

They sat on Ping’s ship above Earth and had just left visiting the ancient wall built by an ancient Earth civilization. “I knew you’d like seeing the wall, Nicole.”

“I’ve read about it but the thing I liked the most was you being there to share it with me.”

“I was such an idiot turning my back on you originally. You’ve brought me more happiness than anyone ever has. Thank you for forgiving me.”

“I love you, Ping. You’ve brought meaning to my life.”

“You know I’m going to have to go and search for the being that will lead us to victory.”

“Are you so certain it’s not you?”

“I am. I don’t quite understand the feeling but I know it’s accurate.”

Nicole put her arms around his neck, “Let’s not think about you leaving until the time comes. For the moment, we’re together and that’s all I want to focus on.”

Ping smiled and held his wife tightly.

• • • • •

Ping and Nicole were on Cainth visiting the memorials to Admiral Dorg when his wrist unit vibrated, “Hello, Sprigly. It’s been a while.”

“I hate to interrupt your honey moon but I wanted you to know that we’ve developed a mechanism that will allow our ships to create a portal to enter the other creation. We should have it installed on most of our ships within five months. About half of them will be available when you’re ready to begin your search.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I also have a ship built for you to use when you go. You’ll be able to conceal your presence from the enemies there.”

I’ll come see you before I leave to get trained on it.”

“That would be good. Tell Nicole hello.”

“I will.”

• • • • •

Six months had passed quickly and, finally, one day Ping turned to Nicole and said, “It’s time.”

“Are you sure?”

“I am; I need to start the search.”

Nicole held on to Ping, “I’m so worried about losing you.”

“Sprigly has built me a new ship that should prevent my discovery. I’ll come back and keep you updated on what I find.”

“I hate the long separation. We won’t be able to keep in touch mentally while you’re gone.”

Ping sighed, “I hate that as well, but you know I have to do it.”

“I know. I’m just being selfish.”

“I need you to make sure the Realm continues to build up our defenses. Don’t let them lose this initiative.”

“Father understands. Are you sure we should wait to invade?”

“I need to find the one that will lead us before we do that. I don’t think it’s a good idea to start the offensive before I find them.”

“Just don’t stay gone too long, My Love.”

Ping kissed her and teleported to his ship above Sprigly’s lab.

He placed a helmet on his head and waited as the ship’s control systems were downloaded directly into his memory. After an hour he removed the helmet and checked to make sure the ship was still connected to his brain. “Display,” he thought and the main display on the wall activated showing the space dock around his ship. He smiled and said, “Port Control, I am exiting the system.”

“You are cleared for departure, Your Highness.”

Ping flinched at the honorific. Being married to Nicole carried a title with it but he just didn’t feel comfortable when others used it to address him. He activated the teleport system and said, “El Prado.” The small ship disappeared from orbit above the Algean Planet.

• • • • •

Ping arrived in orbit above El Prado and teleported down to the clearing. He was surprised that no one was present. He walked over to the edge of the forest and sat down on a root from a giant Ging Tree. He looked out at the vast plains extending to the horizon that were darkened with massive herds of Torg. The vicious animals stayed away from the forests and he didn’t sense any of them close by. He knew that all of the humans, Cainth, and other civilized beings had left El Prado with the Zord to move to the original home of the Zord. They lived there and built an empire until Bristone was destroyed by the Demons. The new capital of the Empire was also called Bristone and that’s where one of the Royal Families of the Empire lived.

“I didn’t sense you coming.”

Ping looked behind him and saw Rider walking out of the forest, “I’m going to start my search and I wanted to have a short discussion with you.”

“What’s bothering you?”

“How do you know something’s bothering me?” Rider stared at Ping and he finally shook his head, “I guess I wouldn’t have come here is everything was ok.” Rider nodded. “Rider, why is there only one created at a time?”

“That’s not entirely true.”

“Oh?”

“The first one was Anthony Gardner. It’s true he was a single creation; but Thomas and Danielle were born at the same place in time.”

Ping thought a moment, “Are you saying this being I’m searching for might have a connection to me?”

“I have no idea.”

“Couldn’t you ask?”

Rider made a sigh that sounded like a low growl, “Since peace has come to Creation, we are no longer able to speak with the forces of Creation.”

“Why not?”

“When evil had conquered such vast tracts of Creation, the forces of Creation were driven into a smaller and smaller place. When it was that condensed, we could communicate with it. Now it has expanded out into all of Creation and we can only feel it.”

“Then how did you know to search for me?”

Rider looked at Ping, “All of us heard the same message one night.”

“What was that?”

“It said, ‘Find him!’” Ping’s eyes narrowed and he was puzzled by the statement. Rider stared at Ping and after a moment said, “You’re wondering how we knew that you would be used in another Creation?” Ping nodded. “The voice was a male voice; not the voice of our Creator.” Rider looked up at the bright blue sky, “The Three Brothers were from another Creation. It appears it’s now our time to pay back the gift we were given.”

“And I’m the payment?”

“It does appear that you and Nicole are.”

“How does Nicole fit into this!?!”

“She was needed to release your powers. She’s not just here for that alone. The two of you are part of the payment.” Rider shook his head, “How that works out is beyond me.”

Ping stared at Rider, “So what role do you play in this?”

“We’re waiting for you to tell us.”

“What?”

“We’re no longer connected to what gave us our ability to see what was coming. Your connection is much stronger than ours and we sense that you will direct us in where and what we must do.”

“I certainly don’t see anything at the moment.”

“We’re patient.”

Ping stared at the giant Cat and blew out a breath, “I’ll let you know if I see anything.”

“We’d greatly appreciate it. Things are starting to get boring.”

“Be careful what you wish for.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know; but we do hope we get it.”

Ping nodded and teleported up to his ship in orbit. He thought a moment and heard, “Hello, Your Highness, how may I serve you?”

“You can start by dispensing with the Your Highness.”

““I’ll be glad to, Your Majesty.”

“Sprigly!”

“Sorry, all of my species are required to recognize those that are Royalty in the Realm.”

“But I’m not Royalty.”

“Actually, Ping, you are probably more Royal than the King.”

“That’s absurd.”

“Who’s the one chosen to lead the Realm?”

“What does that have to do with Royalty?”

“Look at your history and see how many of those that led the Realm were placed in positions of Royalty. You are Royalty and you need to accept that.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re going to have to make decisions that will impact the lives of millions of our warriors; you must believe in yourself to do that.”

Ping shook his head and pushed the issues aside, “Have you developed the mini-portal?”

“I have.”

“Does it work?”

“Yes, it does. I’ve taken my ship there and came back. However, there is one item that might be a problem.”

“What is that?”

“Wherever a ship enters that other Creation; that is where it must go to leave it.”

“Why is that?”

“It seems that the portal recognizes the pattern of whatever goes through it. It won’t allow anything else to come back. And the ship can’t open a portal in that other place anywhere else. The only place it can return to its origin is where it entered. Once it comes back through, the portal closes.”

“How much longer will it take to get the system put on all of our ships?”

“We’re working on it now. Give us six months and the Zord and Slegan will also be updated.”

“I’ll check back with you in about four months.”

“Be careful.”

“You know me.”

“Be careful.”

Ping laughed and ended the call. He really had grown close to the Algean. He looked up at his display and saw the coordinates of where the Silver Ships had come through. He teleported to the location with full power to the fields hiding his ship. He arrived in the middle of ten thousand Slegan Warships and none of them saw him as he activated the portal and disappeared from normal space.

• • • • •

The Ship’s Commander watched his display and saw three of the small Red Ships pass by close to his hiding location. His ship was in a crater on a large asteroid, moving into the planetary system of a major civilized planet. He searched for this hiding place for three months before he found it, landed in the crater, and waited as it moved inexorably forward. Now the chunk of rock was hurtling through space toward the inner system of the star and his ship had moved in with it for six months. The huge civilized planet was in no danger of being hit and the defenses in the system chose to just allow it to fly through instead of hitting it and breaking it apart. Then they would have to chase any pieces that moved away. The rock had been scanned but the ship had not been seen. Its power was off when the ship came close and it was impossible to see the ship in the crater’s shadow. The asteroid moved through Ross’ system and it wouldn’t be long before the ship exacted its revenge.

• • • • •

Ping passed through the portal and looked out at the universe around him. He saw the massive extent of the Silver Ships’ territory. They had enslaved millions of species and they were still attacking intelligent civilizations. Ping shook his head and teleported his ship ten thousand miles from a huge Silver Warship moving in on a planet. He moved closer until he was less than a half a mile from its force field and he decided that his stealth systems were capable of keeping him hidden.