Annihilation - Tommy's Tale (Annihilation Series (Book Four)) (40 page)

Sprig didn’t say anything. Tommy looked at Sprig and Twig and said, “Yes they would, Darling; they would do it because we started this war. We were the aggressors.”

Atlas said, “How do you arrive at that conclusion?”

Sprig looked at Tommy and said, “You see it now, don’t you?”

Tommy nodded his head slowly, “Atlas. What if we had decided to follow your original instructions and not go near the Captors and leave them alone; what would have happened?”

Atlas said, “Nothing, until they came to Earth’s system to inhabit Jupiter and killed everything in it.”

“That’s true, Atlas. But then they would have settled into the system and began building a new hive and only one system would have been destroyed. What we’re facing now is the possible extermination of the Captors or of the entire Stars Realm if we lose the upcoming battle. Our billions of citizens know that we started this fight. If we then exterminate them, our member planets will lose the high regard they now have for our government. They will also begin to fear our government. They will lose faith in us.”

Cassandra said quietly, “Our members love Rose and Danielle.”

Tommy nodded, “Rose and Danielle will not live forever and our members will be quite nervous about who might replace them. As time goes by and our Queens age; that fear will become a reality for them.”

Sprig and Twig straightened up and Twig said, “You see it truly, Tommy. We have to try and save the Captors to save our own souls from what will happen if we destroy them.”

Tommy looked at Cassandra and she looked into his eyes. She hesitated and then lifted her com and said, “Lt. Ortiz, I am sending you some coordinates; once you receive them, bring the Kosiev to that location and wait for me to arrive. Shut down all out going communications until further notice.”

“Yes, Duchess Gardner. We will arrive in ten minutes.”

Atlas asked, “What are you going to do?”

Tommy replied, “We’re going to go and talk with a certain 4,000 mile wide Captor. Let’s hope he listens.”

The Kosiev arrived and Atlas flew into the landing bay where the two Algeans and Humans walked out to go to the bridge of the Kosiev. Tommy looked back at the landing bay and saw that Atlas had not left. “Atlas.”

“I’m going with you.”

“Good, I hoped you would.”

Cassandra looked at Tommy, “I suspect that the Realm’s Leadership might not like us taking these actions without their permission.”

Tommy sighed and thought, “Rose.”

“Yes, Tommy.”

“Cassandra and I along with the Algeans are going to the Captors system and try to open a dialogue with them.”

“I’m sorry, Tommy. I can’t allow that without you being supported by the fleet.”

“Rose, I’m not asking you if I can go; I’m going.”

Rose stopped what she was doing and stood up from her desk. “Tommy, as Queen of the
Stars Realm, I’m ordering you not to go.”

“Rose, do you remember when you told Dad that you were going to go with him to the final battle with the Algeans.” Rose didn’t say anything. “You didn’t ask; you told them you had to go and it was not an option. I have the same situation now and I am going to go. There is a remote chance that we can end this war and we have to take the risk. You can arrest us when, and if, we return. I love you, Rose. We are terminating all communications now.”

Rose thought, “Wait!” But she could tell that Cassandra had blocked all communications both electronically and psychically. “Mom, Dad, Tommy is going to the Captors home system to attempt to talk with them.”

“Are you serious,” Danielle thought. “They can’t go alone, they could be killed.”

Tag asked, “How long ago did he leave?”

“Just a few minutes ago; I ordered him not to go but he told me he had no choice.”

Danielle started to feel real fear, “What are we going to do?”

Tag could see that Tommy, like Kosiev years before, was going to do it alone. He feared that like before, Tommy would not survive. Tag pressed his com and said, “Alexander, contact Mikado and get the fleet ready for an emergency jump to the Captor’s system.”

Kosiev asked, “Why, what’s going on?”

“Tommy is going there to talk with them. We know that they won’t communicate but will try to destroy who ever attempts to contact them.”

“There is no way we can get the entire fleet ready, however I will see how many ships we can get together quickly. I’ll get Mikado on it immediately.”

T
he First Male was jumping around the system making sure he did not present a target for the Stranger’s new missiles. He was talking with the Old Watcher. “Can you see anything in the energy nexus?”

“No, First Male, the particle that once existed in the center of the nexus has exploded and moved into another universe. There is nothing I can use to help us find the location of the Stranger’s home systems.”

“I’m concerned that you are stationary and not moving to avoid the Stranger’s missiles. I don’t want to lose you old friend.”

The Old Watcher paused and then said, “I’m getting too old to waste my energy flying around the system. It also appears that now that I can no longer read the nexus, I don’t really have a function in our society. For the first time in my life, I feel old, First Male.”

The First Male could feel the melancholy of the old Captor and he said, “Don’t be ridiculous; you’re only a little older than a hundred and fifty million years.”

“Maybe so, but I feel old. Even the stars energy no longer tastes good.”

The First Male thought, “You’re right about that.” The systems star had aged and no longer provided the high yield nourishment it one gave them.

Suddenly the First Male heard a voice. “I would like to talk with you about that, First Male.”

“Who are you,” the First male asked?

“I’m one of the Strangers that you have been fighting.”

The First Male extended his sensors to try and track from where the voice was coming but nothing was there to be traced. “How are you communicating with me?”

“I‘m doing it telepathically; you cannot trace it electronically so you might as well quit wasting your time trying.”

The First Male sent out a message to all of the warriors flying around the system to increase their speed and to change their routes randomly. “You don’t need to worry about us attacking you or your warriors at this time. I want to discuss a possible way for us to exist peacefully and stop all the needless killing.”

“I see no reason for us to communicate. We will find you and we will destroy you.”

“The voice sighed and then said, “I didn’t want to have to resort to heavy handed tactics but you leave me no choice. First Male, we can destroy you anytime we choose.”

Suddenly a white ship appeared beside the First Male and then it disappeared. The First Male felt a surge of fear. That ship was right next to his screen and could have fired on him and he would not have had time to escape. “I am not here to harm you, First Male but I need you to talk with me.”

The First Male was terrified. He knew there was immense danger but he couldn’t bring himself to talk with an enemy of his race. The Old Watcher said, “First Male, perhaps it’s time to think in a different pattern. It won’t hurt to see what he has to say.”

“You can hear him?”

“Yes, I can, First Male. I don’t want to lose one of my oldest friends. I’ve already lost so many during this conflict.”

The First Male slowed his thoughts and brought his fear under control. The first Mother thought to him, “Talk with him. We can’t lose you.”

The voice said, “We would also like to include you in this conversation, Your Majesty.”

The First Mother thought back, “I will listen in; the First Male is the one you will speak with.”

The Warriors flying around the system were approaching light speed moving in different directions trying to find the Stranger’s ship that had put the First Male in danger.

“We are no longer in your system, First Male. Tell your warriors that we will not attack you. I can feel their fear for you.”

“Then you know that they have no choice but to do what they’re doing.”

“I know; but I do not want to harm any of you. Do you know why we have been attacking you,” the voice asked?

“Why don’t you tell me?”

“Because we know that if one of our ships had accidently stumbled into your system you would have systematically destroyed our entire civilization.”

The First Male answered quickly, “Of course.”

“I know this is foreign to your way of seeing the universe, but what if the roles were reversed. What if one of your warriors had stumbled into our system and we had come and totally destroyed you?”

The First Male thought about the question for a moment. “You are assuming that you possess the power to do it.”

“Just for the sake of this conversation, assume we could do exactly that.”

The Old Watcher interjected, “That is not a difficult assumption to make after all that has happened.”

The First Male thought about the idea and finally said, “Then you would represent a clear and present danger to my system and I would have to try and eliminate you.”

“Do you see any other alternative?”

After a long pause, “No, I don’t.”

“That is why we have been attacking you. We tried to communicate earlier but you attacked all of the communication devices and tried to find us to destroy our people. Is there any way you can peacefully co-exist with others?”

“No, unfortunately, our instincts take over anytime our home is threatened. A threat is anyone who knows where our home system is located. This is not a logical process; our instincts take control of our actions.”

“Do you understand what position that put us in?”

The First Male could see the Stranger’s point of view and understood where it led. “We can’t do anything about it. Our instincts have been engrained in us for millions of years. They control us; we don’t control them.”

Tommy looked at Cassandra, Twig, and Sprig and said, “Let’s hope he will understand our proposal and not lose himself to his instincts.”

The voice asked, “So the situation is that your race and ours cannot exist together in harmony. One of us will have to be exterminated because of your instincts.”

The First Mother said, “I do wish there was another answer but you’re right. You are a real danger to my children especially since you have killed so many of them.”

“Quite Frankly, First Mother, we have planned to totally exterminate your race and are moving in that direction, however,”

The First Male felt his instincts start to take control but stopped when he heard, “we think we have found a way around our dilemma.”

The First Male asked, “Logically, I see no other answer.”

“You may have noticed that the particle that existed in what we call the energy nerve center has exploded. That explosion has caused the formation of a new universe that is made up of the blast from that particle.”

“We call that the energy nexus,” the Old Watcher said.

“How much heat can you endure, First Male?”

“I’m certainly not going to tell you but why do you ask?”

“Because we can open a door between our universe and that new universe that would allow you to make a new home there; being energy creatures you might like it better than this one.”

“Why don’t you go there?”

“Because we are not energy creatures but organic; we could not exist in those conditions. You would be the only life in that new universe. There would be no one to endanger you.”

“Perhaps, but before that particle exploded, it killed one of my warriors who came too close to it and burned up.”

“The new universe is not as hot as that particle was before it exploded. The blast is expanding at light speed and the temperature is going down.”

“Well, I am not going to send one of my children in to see,” the First Mother interjected.

“So it is going to be war between us.”

“I’ll go,” said the Old Watcher.

The First Male was startled, “No you will not.”

“Yes, I will. Don’t you see that this is a chance for us to be safe for billions of years? I have seen millions of my brothers die in this war. I no longer want to exist in this current situation. I will go; I must go.”

The First Male could feel the Old Watcher’s pain. Then he had a thought, “How are we going to know if you survive?”

“We can keep a telepathic channel open with him and allow you to listen in,” the voice said.

“Tell me how to do this. I’m ready to go.”

“Old Watcher, are you sure this is what you want to do. Like you, I don’t want to lose another of my old friends.”