The Way it Could Be ...Part 4

[KRM398]

The Saga Continues Book 2



Chapter 1: Alan’s Decision


The war was over, and Jake was both happy and sad at once. For a while there, he couldn’t wait to get it over with when he had someone special to share his life with, but now, he was friends with all the local pirates, and The Others, and he and his ship had no place to go but home. He thought about it for a LONG time, as Alan asked repeatedly what he was going to do. Finally Jake decided that he just wasn’t ready to settle down in some stuffy old station and said his goodbyes to Alan on board Jakes ship. Alan eyes filled with tears as they hugged for a second, and he knew Jake was running away to keep from thinking about Sherri, but he needed more time before he could decide what to do with his life, and Alan was going to give him whatever time he needed.

Alan told him how happy 21 was making him, that she looked very much like the Angel he had said, but she was just as human as he was, only on a different scale and much higher in both understanding and intellect. Jake just smiled, and said he was happy for him and left it drop, as Alan looked back one more time and entered his ship and went home. Jake ordered the jump drive online and as he jumped away, Captain Sillarn called over the Alan’s new ship and asked where Jake was going, and Alan dropped his head and just said,

“I don’t know.” The captain dropped his eyes too and they shared a quiet moment until the captain reached out and shut it down. Jake was out, looking for closure, and it might take a long time to find it.

Alan went back to his corvette and docked, he was very sad for Jake and wished he could do something to help him, but he didn’t want to intrude any further. In a second, 21 was there and she said that Jake had to make a real decision about his life, good or bad and they couldn’t rush him. Alan knew she had enormous abilities and her people were as one with their intellect, so he asked if someone could keep and eye on Jake as he traveled and she smiled and came and held him and said it was done and Alan smiled and thanked her.

It was time to get back to a more normal life and Alan was wandering what to do now. With the law license and all the fighting in the last few weeks he had some money, but he didn’t have a place to set up a new business, the asteroid belt here was gone and he didn’t have a clue what to do next. 21 smiled and said perhaps he was thinking to small, what about other sectors, or other businesses? Alan smiled again and held her close, she was exactly what he had always needed, and she was happier every minute to please him. He turned his new ship and started north as he said goodbye to Captain Sillarn and he wished him well. 21 asked him where they were going, and he said he needed a mineral scanner before he could think of searching for a new mine and she chuckled and said her ship had one built in, recourses was what they were all about, and Alan laughed, saying he should have guessed, and she showed him how to operate it. It wasn’t like any he had very seen before; it operated, like 21 said, with her thoughts and no buttons and wires, so he asked her for a map of Brennans Triumph showing all the asteroids there. The Others had not mined here and he was curious, so in a minute there was a 3d map of the sector with all the asteroids marked plainly and even a few as far out as the scanner reached, which for this ship was well beyond the sectors edge. Alan touched the screen and zoomed in on one asteroid after another to see the content, and his mouth dropped to see one far out in the east marked 12% Nuvidium. It was the richest Nuvidium asteroid he had seen and even 21 said it was a good mineral roid indeed. He was sitting wandering where the nearest place was to sell it, when the screen changed and the gate to 101 was highlighted, Alan smiled and thought, “what price can I get” and a price was shown, a very good price and Alan was getting cocky and thought, “how many children will we have” and the screen went blank and he turned and 21 was gone. He obviously had overstepped something somewhere and he said out loud that he was sorry, but she didn’t answer.

Alan called to his great-grandfathers shipyard and even before he could talk to the manager his grandfather was on the link.

“Alan thank god your alright, where are you?” he asked as Alan smiled and said he was in Brennans Triumph and he was looking at setting up an ore mine here for Nuvidium, he had the roid, and a place to sell it, but he needed a mine and he got a quick,
“It’s on its way.” Alan thanked him and they talked for a minute about Jake and the new ship, and 21. His eyes popped out as he said that the news had said the war ended and it was all a terrible mistake, all about mining machines, and Alan said

“Yes” they were large scale miners, and they literally ate asteroids as they traveled, but they attacked to defend their ships and we attacked to defend ours, it was all a sad mistake. Julian just nodded and dropped his eyes, it was always the way, mistakes are made and no one wants to admit they did it first, but luckily these new people were smart enough to see that honesty was worth the risk, and he asked Alan how he had met 21 and where she was. Alan said they were talking and he embarrassed her and she went to take a rest, as Julian looked at him seriously.

“Are they really human, I mean like us?” he asked as Alan smiled and said they were like, human angels, and she was instantly his best friend. Julian smiled and could see Alan was serious and said he’d very much like to meet one before he died and Alan said he’d see what he could do, and even before they finished speaking 21 was standing next to Julian at his home. Alan was shocked as was Julian and of course, Saya, but she said they needn’t worry; she was there because Alan wished it, and she would always do what it took to help him or make him happy. Julian and Saya smiled widely and they shook her hand and she hugged them and in a second was standing with one hand on Alan’s shoulder. Julian nodded his approval as the link went blank and Alan turned to apologize for his comment earlier.

“It was cruel of me to ask something so personal so soon, and I apologize.” He said out loud but she smiled widely and held him saying,

“It is too soon to see these things, we have a lot to do to learn about each other, and then we can have this talk.” And Alan hugged her close and she kissed his forehead and went away again.

The TL was there in a little while and Alan pointed out the roid, the captain said he wasn’t sure he’d trust the pirates with a new mine so close and Alan laughed and said he had no problem with them or them with him and the captain just nodded and set up the new mine. It didn’t surprise Alan to see that the mine didn’t cost anything, he had expected to pay something but not a lot, but free was good and he called and thanked Julian for his help.

“I thought I’d have to die to see an real angel, but you gave me that, so it’s the least I can do.” He said as Alan smiled and nodded, and Saya told him she was very impressed with 21, she was both beautiful and friendly. Considering they were enemies just days before she was a miracle indeed, and Alan nodded saying he and her were never enemies, he just didn’t know it yet. The coms link went blank and Alan docked at the new station. He called for his freighter to get energy cells from Aladna Hill and then went up to the office and stood looking out at the sector and gates well in the distance. It was nice being out here, it was quiet and peaceful, and after the last few weeks, peaceful was what he wanted right now. It didn’t take long for Alan to get moved in and he was all smiles, 21 beamed stuff right into place and as Alan looked around thinking, “I’ll need this or that” it appeared and Alan thanked her saying he could get stuff himself, she didn’t need to try so hard to help, but she said it was her job, to be there and help him and see to his happiness and he had a very wonderful thought for a second and she smiled sweetly and said that too, soon, and he was never so happy.

Alan sat alone eating a while later when 21 appeared and sat down across from him, she was draped in a fine red silk robe, and Alan said how beautiful it was.

“If we are to be One then it is a custom that no other may see me, so I am asking if this is appropriate.” And Alan said it was more than appropriate, it was truly as beautiful as she was. She smiled very wide and said she was getting ready, if he so wanted, they could be One, a couple for all time, and Alan smiled. He really loved her and couldn’t see any one in the universe who could please him better and said so, and she said she also approved. Then she said he needed to understand, they were different from a regular human they had enormous abilities, like beaming into his Julian’s home from far away, but that was because they were not completely solid, they could be either, but that was a decision they had to make, either one or the other, and she had to know for sure what Alan wanted from her. Alan looked up from eating and in his mind he could see them together, loving and being loved and how incredibly happy she could make him, and he her, and she grinned wider than he had seen yet and she agreed to his proposal. It was being considered by the Most High, and if it was approved it would be done. She would never again have the ability to beam across vast sectors on her own willpower, but she would still be much more than just another woman, she was just adding more physical being to her “being” and it was a serious step. Alan suddenly realized what she was saying and he stopped himself from thinking it any longer.

“I don’t want you to give up immortality for me, or your own life, I just love you, and what you saw was an expression of my love.” He tried to explain and she laughed as he sat smiling with a red face.

“We have such feelings too, don’t you feel my attractiveness for you? I may give up something now, but even your lifetime is a temporary thing, and I can be whatever I want later too, its not a permanent change, just one I WISH to do for you.” She said and leaned across the table and kissed him seriously and he could feel the pressure of her lips for the first time, she was already changing, he thought, she was much more “real” now than just a day ago.



Chapter 2: Losing Your Sorrow


Jake was having a tour of the galaxy, he was in sectors he hadn’t ever heard of and stopped at stations he didn’t know existed. His tour took him to sectors on the very edge of known space and into sectors of old enemies and pirate organizations so large that the Major Houses avoided them. His sorrow for his old love died hard, and he pushed his luck at every opportunity to see what he could do. The rush of battle gave him momentary relief and he slowly started to forget. It was a long road, and he had seldom spoken to friends or family, but now was the time, as he sat smiling on his bridge, he called across all known space for his brother to see what he had done with his life since the war and in the weeks after.

The coms link buzzed a few times as switching devices searched the universe for the other end, it took a few, but eventually the call was answered.

“Hello, Alan,” Jake said with a smile, it was good just to see him again.

“Jake, by the Maker, we thought you died, it’s been a long time.” Alan said smiling in excitement.

“I don’t die easily,” Jake said laughing for the first time in weeks.

“Where are you?” Alan asked as Jake just shrugged and smiled.

“Out on the frontier, doing a little law enforcement, what did you think?” he asked smiling as Alan nodded and smiled back, at least he was still the old Jake, and Alan was pleased just to know he was alive.
“The family almost gave up on you, it’s been months,” Alan said as Jake’s eyes dropped,

“I know it’s been a while, but I had some thinking to do, and I needed some time.” He said sadly as Alan stopped smiling as wide, he was still hurting, maybe just not as much.

“Do you still have 21?” Jake asked finally.

“Yes, we decided to be together for life, she’s my wife now.” Alan said smiling as Jake looked up.

“How is that possible, she wasn’t well, exactly human?” Jake stammered as Alan started to chuckle.
“Actually she was, just a higher form than us, and she… changed, to make it possible.” Alan said proudly, and waved as 21 walked into the screen range, wearing the red silk robe and a big smile, she was walking, not gliding along and Jake knew what that meant, she had given up a lot for him, and he was happy for the both of them.

“Thank you for your good wishes,” 21 said and Jake smiled he knew she could read his mind and he was telling her how proud he was to have her in his family. “Maybe someday we can offer you such happiness.” She said finally as Jakes eyes dropped but he continued to smile, just slightly.

“Someday,” Jake started and stopped to smile again, “I’d be honored, but not yet, and I don’t think even someone as beautiful as you could change me that much.” He said honestly as 21 and Alan both started laughing.

“WE don’t change people, Jake, we learn from them, and we adapt to make them happy, your time will come.” She said and blew him a kiss as Alan waved and the link went dead. Jake sat back and smiled widely, that was nice, and he had waited a long time to make that call, and he was happy with it.

He started along his usual route, making his patrol as he had done many other times, from Boron space down through Teladi space and into Merchants Haven. He had all but cleaned out the pirates there over the days and weeks he flew through there. They had given him some serious competition, and he had survived. Like the time they held back there best fighters till a cruiser had his shields almost gone to jump in. It took serious work and good timing, but he survived it and a lot of good pirate vessels didn’t. Then the time they called him out, and two Marauder patrols attacked him at once, 10 novas and 2 Marauders and still he lived, after all that, he had to see that there was something ahead for him, he didn’t know what, but if he was supposed to die young, he would have done it for sure. He was not bad off at all, hell, he could build any factory and start a business at any time, but this wasn’t home, and he hadn’t found it yet, so he kept searching and doing his job.

After a good hard patrol he decided that even a good enemy deserves a rest, and he started back the way he came. No big jumps, just flying sector to sector, and doing a little exploring as he went. He entered Midnight Star and started towards the north. He had never been there but there was a rumor that the Goners had a base there, a sector they had found and claimed. He had no quarrel with them but he didn’t have it on his map and he was being very careful to map every known sector. He kept flying in the direction he thought would show him the gate when he heard a call come in.

“This is Goner sector, Monks Retreat, please acknowledge, can anyone here us?” he followed the signal strength and called back that he had heard. They said that they were under attack and that a pirate fleet was trying to take over the sector. He finally found the gate and said to hold them off as well as they could, he was on the way. They didn’t think one ship was going to be a lot of help, but he just told them to keep calling while he tried. Of course they had no idea what ship he had, it wasn’t every day a Goner asked for help and a Ka’ak capitol ship showed up, but it was today.

Jake came through the gate to a very surprised Marauder patrol guarding it, He was behind the Marauder when he entered and they never had a chance to turn around. The novas were also caught off guard but they turned much better and got some good shot in quickly, but with 6 turrets and missiles the fight was a short one. Jake smiled and beamed in all the good missiles they dropped and started towards the center of the sector, calling that the pirate fleet had been eliminated, but the station said they weren’t, they could see them from the station, and Jake decided that another patrol must be over there and started in that direction. He was flying flat out towards these pirate scums when he saw the next wing of fighters, even more novas, and busters and this time 6 of them all calling they had seen him, but calling to whom?

Jake opened up on them and in a few minutes the battle was turning, he had killed a lot of good ships and he was wandering where they were all coming from. The last blew up and he stopped to recharge his shields and stole a little from the engines to do it while he gathered up missiles again, this helped a lot and by the time he saw the real fleet his shields were almost back up. The ships came around the station heading his way they were at maximum scanner range and for Jakes ship that was a lot. It was the best news he’d had today, because the pirates were very serious about taking this sector. Their in plain view was a pirate Carrack and a Carrier, not some little piece of junk cruiser pretending to be, this was a real, honest to the Maker carrier, and Jake was severely impressed. In all his fighting he had heard they had them but he had never seen one himself, and he had been perfectly happy with that.

The two big ships started his way and he decided that together they were more than he could handle, but with a little finesse’ he might be able to separate them. He started towards them at an angle and just as he was getting within range he turned and dropped 6 missiles as fast as he could on the Carrack. A few got picked off by turrets but some got through, and he was close enough for a good long turret hit before he pulled back. The carrier was in formation on the opposite side of the Carrack and couldn’t fire without hitting him, so they were helpless at the moment so they did what they were made for they launched another 5 fighters.

“How damn many of those do they have?” Jake asked himself out loud, but he was ready and his ship was faster than the carrier fleet so he ran straight away till the turrets did away with the fighters again, but he was being pursued and he had no time to rearm before the fleet approached again. He made another pass next to the Carrack and they traded a good long hit, and their shields were starting down but so were his. It seemed this captain had placed a few PPC’s on his ship and he had a bit longer range and a slightly harder hit than Jake did, he hated when people thought like that, and it hurt, literally to see it, but he kept on going. He made several passes and adjusted his recharger to throw more energy into the shields while slowly taking away from his speed. It was recharging faster than ever before, but those PPC’s were doing their job too, and Jake started to think maybe this wasn’t his fight, but he wasn’t going to leave now, and he knew it.
Jake started a plan, which was to hit the Carrack with everything he had and run a short distance to recharge. He had a lot bigger recharge than they did so what he took off their shields stayed off, but he gained a little every few minutes. It was his advantage and he was going to use it. This fight would take a long time, but he was confident that with patience he could win. He did it again and again and even dropped a few missiles on it at close range, but the Carrack stayed right with the carrier and Jake knew if he got careless that other ship was going to hurt him badly.

An Argon patrol ran in and helped a little dropping missiles and lasers on the big ship while Jake dropped back and gained another 25% shields before the patrol was gone. It was his biggest gain and the target was down to almost 25% shields so he rushed in and dropped all his firefly missiles and a good round of laser fire across its side. The shields were down and he slowed down just a second to give it a more serious hit into the hull, but that wasn’t good, the Carrack opened up hard with PPC’s and several hits had him before he could get back out of range. It looked like they had moved them all to his side, and he was surprised they took the time to adjust, of course he would have, but then it was the first time a pirate had adjusted on him and he was impressed. He was obviously fighting an experienced crew, he decided and it pleased him to think he might have found his match in a pirate vessel, it was a sad irony, but he wasn’t dead yet, and he made another run, this time dropping his last 3 hornet missiles just as he was making his turn. The Carracks turrets hit him hard and his shields started to fail, he was too close and he made a tight turn, dropping literally everything he had into it and the big ship stopped dead as Jake barely got away.

He pulled back a safe distance and slowed down, the carrier was obviously impressed, and he needed that time to recharge, he switched every drop of power to the recharge and it overloaded and failed. He swore and reset it to standard. It was working, but he had overdone it and the high-speed recharge was too hot to reuse, now he had the same recharge as the other ships, and he wasn’t nearly as confident. He had no choice he stayed back until his shields were coming back up and slowly, so was the enemy’s ships. The Carrack was in bad shape and the carrier refused to leave it, and that Jake decided was his best hope. If he got that Carrack the explosion would rip a bug chunk off the shields of the carrier, it would give him a start, at least, and he knew it was his best chance. The good news was he saw cargos not too far away and ran over quickly and gathered up several more missiles, these he needed badly, and he started his next run.

He ran at full speed, now not what it once was, but still a tad faster than the carrier at least, he had 40% shields and he was sure the recharger was starting to cool so maybe he could sneak a little faster charge again in a minute or so. He dropped everything into the Carrack and the shields failed again and the hull started down, he dropped the last missiles into it and the big ship went up in flames as he turned and started away. He had done it, the big destroyer was gone, and the scanners said the carrier has lost 25% of his shields by staying so close, now all he needed was a little time to recharge and start again, but now he wasn’t going to get it. The carrier dropped its last fighters and they started in and Jake swore again, knowing they had held off until he was in the worst shape possible. These were experienced crews indeed and he was sure they knew exactly what they were doing. He opened up on them as they approached and the medium fighters were gone in a second but the novas were doing some damage to what was left of his shields and he was really getting worried. The last fighter died just as the last of his shields did too, and he breathed for the first time in a while, he was sure. The coms link opened as he looked up, and there was a tall split pirate applauding him and his ship, he almost felt good about it.

“Excellent, the best fight I have ever had, without a doubt, but now my friend its time to end this. You have cost me dearly and this sector WILL be mine as soon as you are gone. A pity we can’t make some kind of deal, you would be a very professional addition to my fleet.” He said smiling as Jake smiled back and bowed slightly.

“And you and your men have given me the best fight of my life and I see the experience in your face, well done.” He said looking quickly at his shield recharger, and tried bumping it up just a tad.
“Well before you can get a good recharge going I must stop this we are both professionals here, so please give me your best, I expect nothing less.” He said as the big ship started around and several missiles were launched. Jake made a sharp turn and started away, but now his top speed was just a bit less than the carrier and the only advantage he had was the distance between them which was closing slowly. The missiles were all shot down but 2 and Jake gritted his teeth as they slammed into his ship, almost dropping his shields to none. He set everything he had and locked onto the approaching ship. He dropped every missile, no matter what size and saved only mosquitoes for missile defense. He was counting off the distance and even stopped the faster recharge to gain a tiny bit more sped, but it wasn’t enough. He was running for his life and he knew it for the first time, he couldn’t get back to the gate and the Goners had no sector security force, at least not any more, so Jake just smiled his best smile and sat back to wait, the carrier was almost on him and he could see PPC fire coming his way,

“Maybe it would be quick,” he thought.

A second later a bright flash was seen right next to him, he though perhaps it was time but he looked over at a large capitol ship that just jumped in, it turned as he ran and placed itself between him and the carrier and the guns opened up in all their fury. Jake turned a good distance away and stopped, the carrier was caught flatfooted, and the big ship was dealing death in big gulps. It only took a second and the carrier was gone, and Jake could start to breath again. It said nothing, but just disappeared as quickly as it came and Jake knew the truth, he was supposed to live and in his mind it said,

“When you are ready, call me.” Jake had never heard that voice before, but he was sure he wanted to again, and he thanked her as he slowly went to the Goner station to rest and repair.

[Deleted User]

Nice beginning, for a minute there I thought Jake was in some serious trouble. Glad things are turning around for him now. Just hope they stay "good" this time. Doubt the poor guy could take another beating. Can't wait for the next part. You're a absolute genius KRM398, haven't enjoyed a fanfic this much. Keep it up..

[parameter]

Well! Amazing! I respond to the final part of Book 1 and you catch me out with Book 2.
Brilliant! Couldn't ask for more... Erm? No! I want more. Give me more!

[KRM398]

Chapter 3: Jakes Debt


Jake stopped at the Goner trading station and was met with high praise and well wishes. He had cleared the sector of all the pirates, a job only the Maker could see how he did it, and he was a hero of great proportions. He said he had help, there was an argon patrol and their people needed to know they had fought well, and then a friend jumped in and out at the last minute, and they deserved credit too, of course no one had seen the big ship but him and for a second there he wasn’t sure if he had either, but inside he knew, and he had a debt to repay.

He was given a huge salary for saving the sector and his name was added as sector defense. He said he wasn’t really from around there but the Goners said, when he would be needed again, the Maker would tell him, and he left it drop. He refused a salary for law enforcement and they added it themselves at 5% and he bowed a small bow to the head priest, as he said it was time for him to go again, he had to get to a shipyard and do repairs and they waved and wished him well. Jake pulled away from the station and went back through the gate; he stopped at the nearest ship yard and ordered the repairs done. They started immediately as he sat back having a good meal.

After all the repairs he felt much better, but he had many questions and he knew sitting here he wasn’t going to get answers, so he moved away from the station and flew to the edge of the sector, far away from all the stations and trade routes and that’s where he sat for a while, mulling over what had happened and why. Finally he sat back and closed his eyes and just started repeating over and over,

“Come here, I wish to speak to you, I am ready.” And he waited and he sat for quite a while until finally he had to stop, he had a bad headache and it didn’t seem like they were listening or maybe not nearby. He didn’t know what range thoughts might have, hell, he didn’t even know if he could think hard enough for them to hear, but he had tried and after taking a few pain pills, he sat back and said out loud.
“Ok, I called and you didn’t come, what good are your promises?” he asked with a little disgust in his voice. Of course they weren’t inside his ship so they wouldn’t hear, but he felt better giving them hell for not listening.
“And what did you think you were doing just now?” came a voice from far away.

Jakes eyes opened wide and he started to forget the headache.

“You read our thoughts always don’t you?” he asked aloud as the voice started laughing, a good, mellow, funny laugh and Jake had to smile in spite of himself.
“Your ego is outrageous!” she said as he started smiling even wider, this wasn’t the first time he’d heard that, he decided.

“OK, perhaps it’s a little extra compared to some others, but it has served me well.” He said and she was silent for a minute. “I would like to thank you for stepping in and saving me, it was a meaningful moment for me. I realized I have something to live for and I thank you.” Jake said very seriously and she still was silent. Jake was starting to think she left but in a second she came back again.

“It was asked that someone watch over you, it is my job, and I was chosen because we have, things in common.” She said finally.

“We do, like what?” Jake asked, this he had to hear, he decided.

“Is it so strange that someone besides you can enjoy a good fight, or the beauty of an alien sun, or maybe the purity of an untouched world?” she asked as Jake smiled widely, she was a romantic, and a dreamer, like him, so she was chosen to watch over him.

“I hope traveling with me has been enjoyable to you at least.” Jake said with a chuckle.

“Considering the limited design of your ship and the weakness of your enemies, it was satisfactory.” She said finally as Jakes eyes popped.

“The WEAKNESS of my enemies? Many times they outnumbered me and were powered with stronger weapons; it was a challenge to survive some of those encounters.” Jake complained as she laughed at him again. He started to chuckle to, and he didn’t even know why, but it felt good.

“Did I ever interfere with you before today?” she asked and he said no.

“Then, before today, you were in no immediate danger, you always were very careful to out CLASS the opponents you faced, and I saw that, you didn’t need help until today.” She said as Jake stopped to think, he had barely squeezed by more than once, but she had known he would ahead of time, how nice for her, he thought smiling.

“You really do try to stretch your understanding of the universe don’t you?” she asked immediately and he smiled, she had heard him thinking that time for sure. “Again with your smug comments, I feel like you are playing games with me.” She said and he wasn’t sure that was good.

“I seek to understand you, like 21 seeks to understand Alan and all the Others as they take part in our society, now, I only want truth and honesty, that’s all.” He said seriously.

“That’s not ALL you want.” She said with a serious laugh in the background.

“Hey, I’m being honest here, aren’t you allowed to do the same?” he asked straight out. It was a long pause before she spoke.

“You believe we are only here to help you for some unknown reason, or for some future advantage for us, but it is not true, what we do now with our new friends, is beyond your understanding.” She said seriously as Jake smiled and took a big deep breath.

“Teach me,” he said as she and he both started to laugh together.

“What an EGO, by the Most High, you are the most over the top human I have ever met.” She said as they both laughed.

“Is that bad?” he asked as she stopped laughing for a second to answer.

“I never said it was bad, just very unexpected.” She said as he thought he’d like to see her, and she chuckled again. “Not so much in one day, this is a big start for you, so I’ll think on it, maybe later.” She said and Jake at least asked to be able to see her ship, it was truly beautiful to him and she said nothing, but a bright flash was seen just a short distance away and there it was. Big and shiny and beautiful, it outsized his frig by 2x and he was very impressed and thought about jumping in the buster and going over, but a voice came back again, saying,

“I may invite you over some time, but don’t push it.” She said as Jake leaned back and started to laugh, he liked her, she had spirit and an ego as big as his, she loved her ship, and she wasn’t ready to share it just yet. At this thought she just growled for a second and yelled, “totally untrue, absolutely untrue, that’s enough of your insults for today, I believe.” And she went away.
“Not too far,” he thought sitting having a cup of coffee, this ship was very, very nice indeed.

Jake sat smiling, he had thanked her for being there when she was needed, and he knew they were here for some reason. No people would do everything they were doing so suddenly without reason, and Jake was impressed by them. It was obviously not hostile, but even if they wanted to help them, they had not yet decided that they needed to know.
“If we are to change so much, it is only right we know why.” He thought, and he knew this time she had heard, but said nothing, “I like you,” Jake thought, “Good night.” And he laid down for a badly needed sleep. In his sleep he was sure he heard something close to him, but he was sure the ship was sealed, and with her orders to watch over him, and her ship right next door, he knew he couldn’t be safer, and he smiled to himself and dreamed on.


Chapter 4: New Friends


Jake slept like a log, no small feat since he hadn’t slept this well in a long time. He got up refreshed and had a shower and some breakfast, he thought about asking his new friend over for breakfast, but he knew she wouldn’t accept, at least not yet. He finished eating and walked forward and looked over at her ship and it was gone, or it seemed like it was, he thought smiling. It was time to do something and he decided to just keep wandering around for a little while yet, he wanted to go see Alan and talk more to family, but he still had things to see and he could do those things anytime, he decided, and started towards the next gate.

He flew through one gate after another and even went into a new system he had heard about and added it to his map. It was a nice looking system and he liked it there, but it still wasn’t home, and he flew on still searching. From time to time he asked how his new friend was doing but she didn’t answer, and he thought maybe she was doing her reports on him or just being silent to feed herself, after all they had to eat too, and he wished her well whatever she was doing. He flew into another system, working his way slowly home, he would probably be in Omicron Lyre by this evening, he thought, but as he moved along he had a strange thought and he turned his ship to the south. There wasn’t any reason for it, but he had a…hunch…or something and he smiled after a minute to think she might be guiding him.

“You seek a new home, the one in your dreams?” she asked and he smiled and welcomed her back.

“You know I do,” he said as surely as she was here.

“Then continue on, and watch for your new life.” She said and again she went silent.

Jake flew on with a big smile, she was helping him again, why she cared where he was exploring he didn’t care, she was a true friend and she was right here, aiming his ship and his hopes for tomorrow.

“I like how you think,” she said after a minute, “You really do understand more than most, maybe someday we will have a better discussion, but for now you have much to do.” She said and she went silent again.

Jake checked his map, he was at the very edge of the system, heading into deep space and he had seen nothing yet, but he knew she wouldn’t lie to him and he was on target, or close enough, and he watched the scanners as on he flew. It was almost an hour later he saw an asteroid field ahead. It was virgin roids with really high mineral values, worth many times what his ship was worth, but he just marked it off on the map and started through, he was right in the middle when something caught his eye, just behind one asteroid was a glow he knew well. He slowed down and moved past the big rock to see a new gate sitting there. It had been hit by asteroids or something; it wasn’t standing straight anymore, or was it supposed to be that way? He didn’t know THAT much about gate technology, but it was active and the computer called it unknown and he stopped and called back to Argon Prime and reported it, Helena was all smiles, both to hear he was ok and to see yet another new gate being discovered, and Jakes name went on it, as she said, the sector behind the gate could be another empty sector, or an enemy that hadn’t met yet, or even leading into a star, no one would know till an exploration ship got there, and Jake sent the exact co ordinates to her to confirm the location. She thanked him and he closed the coms and started in. Even an exploration ship wasn’t any more heavily armed than his ship was and he was already there, so in he went with a big grin, after all, it was his system.

Jake entered into a beautiful blue system with a great looking water covered planet in it. He flew around a little and even though there were ample roids out side, the system was immaculately clean. It had just the one world, and a small moon, but as far as he could see, with the old Mk 1 Eyeball or ships scanners, it was just a doorway here, to this world. He went into a high orbit and sat back and smiled he was very happy here and he saw for the first time the planet in his dreams, and he was finally HOME. He smiled a lot and even sat and closed his eyes and wandered of there were animals or forests there. He might want to get an atmospheric shuttle and go see sometime, maybe even good hunting there, like wild animals from the first days of Argon colonization, but only time would tell. He opened his eyes and looked on its beauty just as the exploration ship came into the sector and he smiled widely and commed them saying,

“Welcome to Jakes World” he said smiling as they nodded and asked if that was to be official? He said yes it was his new world and his new home and he was going to set up a station right here and watch this new world just sit and spin for the rest of his life. They smiled, saying it was a beautiful place and the name was registered to him, the new sector was Jakes World, and would always be. He got a call from Helena and a few minutes later from Alan and Alan Sr. He was now a famous explorer, and he didn’t care. He had dreamed of this place for years, and he knew it was real, so now it was his own private world, and he was as happy as he could ever be again.

Jake sat back and wandered what to do next. After all this time his dreams had come true, well, all but one abut he wasn’t rushing things. He had to start a business to make a better living. He knew he’d never really stop flying or exploring, but he would want to have a regular home sometime, and this was going to be it. He decided that with the big asteroid field’s right out front and the beautiful new world to explore, then he would be able to live well and have lots to do for a long time to come. He wished he could buy just a home, he really didn’t need a business station in here, but he did need a nice comfortable home to live in, and he was going over all the different stations he had seen in his travels when he looked up and there, in orbit just a few km away was a Split trading station, more like a small town in orbit, it was a lot bigger than what HE needed, but it was a beautiful sight just floating there, and he started to laugh.

“I usually expect to pay for things myself.” He said out loud as a voice in the distance was laughing out loud itself.

“You did, “ she said and he looked at his account and it was definitely low now, but he was happy, it was definitely big enough for him and friends and family, his own city, and he was all smiles as he left the frig and beamed over. He walked through an empty street and past empty shops, and decided to see where he wanted to live himself. He went to the biggest building and went straight to the penthouse, and it didn’t look like anything a Split would have designed. It was perfect and he stood and smiled saying he was very pleased. She said thank you and Jake looked out his office window onto the city below. He was a King in his own system and she laughed yet again and said something about Ego again, and he reminded her she had built this place and the apartment just like this, what was he to think? And she said that this was his dream and his home and his business and soon he would have family here, both from outside and from inside and he smiled and said he approved and he saw her smiling face in his mind for the first time, and he was in love.

“How did you get that here so fast?” the exploration ship asked as it made a swing around the planet.

“I have great friends,” Jake said and smiled, this office was fully equipped and the apartment beside it was luxurious to boot, he smiled and thought, “I didn’t pay for ALL this,” And started to laugh as she growled at him.

“Want me to take it all back?” she asked and started to laugh as she knew better.

“You’re very generous, but it makes me feel like I don’t deserve it.” Jake said seriously as she started laughing and he just smiled.

“Who are you, and what did you do to my Jake?” she asked as he started to laugh even harder.

“Your Jake heh?” he asked and for a little while she was silent.

“I sent a message to 21, she and Alan will be arriving soon.” She said and Jake smiled a wide smile.

“Thank you, I’m ready now.” He said and he could see her face as she smiled and he heard her say,
“Good, I’m glad.”

The corvette dropped into the system just like Jakes new friend did her cruiser. It just appeared right next to the frig and he welcomed them to his home.

“I have to admit, you never do things in a small way.” Alan said as he and 21 beamed over. Jake was happy to see them and he hugged his brother and 21 walked up and he got a hug from her too. She smiled and said she was happy for him, they knew he had a good destiny and they held back from helping him to see if he could really do it himself. Jake was the first to say he had a really good friend helping him and Alan smiled and asked where she was. Jake just shrugged and said, she didn’t think he was ready yet, but Alan smiled widely and 21 started to laugh as she waved him to the window. He turned to see his own angel standing/floating there, she was a little more…busty than 21 but definitely fit, and he thanked her for showing up right now, it had made his day. She walked over and stood by him smiling and thanked everyone for coming to the grand opening, and Alan nodded and said he wouldn’t miss this for the world, and Jake pointed out the window with a big laugh and said they needed to get an atmospheric shuttle some day and go exploring, maybe hunting or fishing like the old days, and Alan agreed as Jake immediately looked at his new friend and said “someday” very quickly so she knew not to go popping in more free stuff for him.

“He doesn’t appreciate what I do,” she said to Alan and 21 and tried to look hurt, but they all smiled, she was a lot like Jake, Alan decided and that was not a surprise, it was the way it was to be and he knew. She looked up at him smiling,

“You are also a surprise, I wasn’t ready for two men with such a strong need to understand.” She said and 21 chuckled and said they had many good talks and he never failed to surprise her. Then she looked at her sister and said,

“Why are you holding back so much? You haven’t even told him your designation yet? Incredible!” she complained as Alan started to laugh and Jake chipped in,

“She doesn’t trust me yet.” And laughed as the new woman in Jakes life looked like she might swat him or something.

“I never said that, you had a lot to do and decisions to make that I had nothing to do with, so I was forced to wait till now.” She said as even 21 gave her a dirty look.

She looked at 21 seriously and they stared at each other for a few minutes while these “mere humans” stood looking on.

“I hope this goes well, or I’m in deep trouble.” Jake said as suddenly they both started to laugh.
“Would you stop complaining just for a minute, I’ll be right back?” She said to him with a wink and she and 21 went right back to it again.

Alan and Jake finally walked into the apartment and sat down the maker knows how long this would take and they started talking about the old days and those first busters.
“I still have mine, even after all this time.” Jake said and Alan smiled he knew his went with the station, but he wasn’t worried about it, he got more in return than any man deserved, and as he said that he heard a quiet, ”BS” and he smiled some more. Jake said he noticed Alan absolutely never stopped smiling now and didn’t that hurt after a while? And Alan and he laughed and said it was the best the two of them had felt since, well, maybe ever, and they both sat having a cup of coffee while the “girls” were having their chat. Finally Jake could stand it no longer and he knew what to say to start something, even before he said it he could here laughing and someone saying, “don’t you dare,” but he couldn’t resist.

“Isn’t it great to have two beautiful women around that don’t say much?” Jake said and started to laugh as Alan burst out too. In a second the girls walked in and Alan was trying hard to stop laughing as 21 came over and sat next to him.

“That was uncalled for,” she said and leaned in and kissed Alan on the cheek, and gave Jake a dirty look. Jake finally stopped laughing and apologized to them both saying the guys thought they were being ignored there for a minute or two and 21 looked over and said,

“You’ll get used to it after a while, these men are very needy.” And this time the girls got a laugh as the guys sat shaking their heads smiling.

“I hope you don’t mind, Alan but I wanted to compare notes on what you liked compared to what Jake does, after all we haven’t had any relationship yet and I’m more than curious.” She said as 21 immediately gave her a dirty look and for a second they were at it again. She immediately turned to Alan and said she was sorry, she didn’t mean to embarrass him, and he tried to smile and said it was alright, but she and 21 could see she had really made him uncomfortable.

“He never did know much about women,” Jake said and Alan gave him a dirty look as 21 slid close and said,

“You’d be very surprised.” And laid her head on his shoulder as Alan’s smile grew and grew. Jake was all smiles to but he was trying to behave, after all this was the first time in his new home and he wanted to not hurt any feelings.

“Good keep thinking that way,” he heard as he turned around and faced his new friend.

“So do I get to know what to call you, or can I make something up?” Jake asked and he thought something that 21 got the biggest kick out of and Alan was left wandering.

“I don’t like my official designation,” she said seriously, “it was for my ship and we all have a name we are given at birth but we seldom use, I am asking permission to use my real name instead and I have to wait and see.” She said being a little upset as Jake smiled and reached out and took her hand, she smiled for a second and didn’t stop him, but it was kind of funny because she was so lightly human he almost didn’t feel anything at all.

Alan turned and looked at 21,”You have a real name?” he asked as she was clearly embarrassed.
“You need to understand, even if we can use them, it’s possible you can’t pronounce them.” She said and Alan went,”Ah, I see,” and she could see he really did understand.

[parameter]

Well! Blow me down with a feather..! Jake's World. Couldn't just find a new sector to put a station in and give it a name he has to get a whole planet, a station and a sector..
The interplay is good, makes you wonder about possible futures for humankind! If we get past the first quarter of this century that is!
Anyway, well done Sir.

[KRM398]

Yes, we need out there, out there>>>>>>>>>>>>before some politician or religious nut kills everyone of us for spite, or profit..lol.

[KRM398]

Things are happening quickly now, new players will enter the story soon, including some old X favorites, so beware the real story is just begining...wooohaaaaaa

[KRM398]

Chapter 5: Getting all Set Up


They sat and talked both out loud and silently for quite a while, and finally they girls made an announcement, they had been given permission to use their given names if they so desired and they each leaned forward and whispered into their men’s ears, so they were the first to ever hear it.

Alan’s eyes opened wide and he stumbled for words trying not to embarrass himself,

“Beautiful and unique.” He said finally.

Jake was listening for a second and finally he just couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Is that all one word or one name?” he asked as she really did try to swat him, but luckily for him she wasn’t very solid right now. He jumped back and she drifted in like she was angry and gave him a serious face to face,

“It better than the sick name you wanted.” She said as he smiled and said he was kidding and they all sat smiling and thinking, finally Alan saved the day by saying,

“I’m sure we both agree your real names are great, but as 21 said very seriously first, we really haven’t a chance of pronouncing them, so I apologies to you ladies for not using them from now on, but I certainly appreciate the chance you gave us.” He said as 21 started to smile and Jake chuckled saying,

“Very well done, very diplomatic.” He said as 21 chuckled. He turned to look at his new friend and he asked,

“What can we do, I’ll compromise if you will.” She smiled and she and 21 had a short talk and decided that maybe letting the guys give them names they could use was workable, if they were civil about it, looking at Jake who immediately got a red face.

“There are literally thousands of names you can use from argon if you would, please lets just use one of those.” Alan suggested, “But of course, I’ll always remember my 21 as her first name, as she smiled widely and gave him a kiss.

“I will not be called 212 for the rest of my life, or at least, his.” She said as 21 looked over and asked why. “I am not a ship, I’m a person and I deserve some persons name no matter how simple it has to be.” She said staring at Jake who was looking around trying not to look straight at her.

“She really reminds me of someone,” Alan said laughing as she turned to give Him a look.
“And is that person a female maybe I can just steal HER name, “she said as 21 gave her a quick look, and she started to smile,”oh him,” she said and chuckled as Alan’s eyes opened wide and Jake looked up quickly,

“What? Alan don’t do this, I can see something in your eyes, please don’t,” Jake stammered as 21 started laughing and kissed him again,

“That’s brilliant, well done.” She said as she looked over at her sister and asked, “What do you think?” She sat for a minute and Jake was not sure what was going on but he knew somehow he was in the middle of it.
“I like it,” she said finally, “its simple enough and says a lot even about my friend and me and well, they can pronounce it.” she said smiling as 21 still gave her a quick stare. “well they CAN.” she said as Jake dropped his head and waited, she arose from standing over his shoulder and moved in front of him, and stuck out her hand,

“Jake my friend, I’m Jackie.” She said as he thought he’d throw up and 21 and Alan sat laughing out loud and he took her hand and kissed it and said hello.

So the big discussion was done and the girls were happy with the outcome and the guys actually knew who was who and Jake finally had a name to call her. It was getting difficult, he said to try to talk without one, and even she had to admit that was true. Alan and 21 decided that she didn’t mind it at all, and when Jackie asked her why she told her in human terms the number 21 was an age of maturity when you aren’t a child anymore, and with her Alan she was no longer a little girl but a human woman and Jackie said it was a little pathetic but it was up to her and they both just left it drop. Jake and Alan were finally smiling again, and even though Jackie was a lot like Jake and she was going to make him earn every bit of attention, he looked at her and thought that someday they would be very happy, and she told him that she thought it was possible, at least. He chuckled to himself thinking she was as hard to pin down on an emotion as he was as that wasn’t always a good thing, and she stopped to think and agreed that maybe they both could be a little more open and he smiled in agreement.

They talked for a while and Jake asked them to stay for a few days, and they all agreed. 21 said it would give her and Jackie time to talk up close and the guys nodded thinking she really meant that she was going to help Jackie to adjust to having Jake around, but as Alan thought that, 21 said she was doing ok, and she really was just happy to have another Other to talk to and Alan smiled and said whatever made her happy made him happy.

There were rooms set up for them in a flash and they sat and visited and 21 asked Jackie to wear something, even as calm and kind as Alan was this was getting a little hard to keep from looking, and she argued that if he was attracted to her it was a compliment and they both agreed, but 21 asked that since she was Alan’s wife she was trying to stop him from thinking things that might cause him embarrassment and Jackie started laughing, saying maybe not causing HER any embarrassment too, and they gave each other serious stares for a second and finally Jackie drew her hands up in defeat and wore a fine blue robe that everyone said was very nice and she admitted that she had planned on wearing this later on, after the joining because it was obvious that it was Jakes favorite color and at such a kind gesture 21 and Alan smiled and Jake thanked her seriously and for a second she smiled back and they were really happy for the first time together.

Alan and 21 went to their room and Jake went to get some sleep too. He was laying in bed thinking about how wonderful things had gone when Jackie walked in and asked if he mined her laying with him for a while and he smiled and said how beautiful she was. She reminded him they weren’t ready yet and he knew but she lay beside him for the first time and just having her there made him feel better. Tomorrow might be a great day, but right this second he was as happy as he had ever been and she kissed him very, very softly and thanked him for the compliment and he said honestly that she was all he would ever need, and he fell asleep in her arms and he dreamed wonderful dreams of their new life and his Brennan City.

The next day Jake and Alan called back home and talked to Julian. Jake informed him he needed a mine to start His new business and he would be glad to pay for it, but Julian said he gave one to Alan and he’d give one to Jake too. Jake thanked him repeatedly and told him where he wanted it sent, and he’d be there to show the captain what roid he wanted, and Julian said ok, and the deal was made. Jake and Alan beamed back out to Jakes ship and went for a ride, he knew where a few high level roids were, but he’d need to pick the one he wanted very soon. He checked his map and moved into scanning range and chose the asteroid he wanted, these were all high yield, but he chose a silicon asteroid with 40% silicon and then ordered a new freighter from the nearest shipyard, Alan scoffed and said he could at least have gotten it from Julian but Jake said he wanted to pay for something, and the mine was free so this way he knew he was going to be ok.

They sat for a while and waited, it was quite a ways out here, but that’s how sectors get explored and eventually the ship arrived and delivered the station. Jake was talking to Alan about how happy he really was and what it was like having 21 around and Alan was being very supportive and tactful at the same time. He left Jake know that as a woman 21 was all he’d ever need and as a friend she made him happy just to have her near, it was an incredible feeling and Jake smiled wide, he was getting happier with Jackie by the minute and if any of this was true, he’d be a happy man the rest of his life for sure.

They walked through the new station until the new ship full of energy cells showed up and it officially was started, Jake decided that he could haul energy cells in and silicon wafers out and do very well, after a short time he would have several running at the same time and he wouldn’t have to worry about being a success ever again. Alan informed him that the girls were born business people and he was thrilled at how quickly 21 had caught on to the business world. If he wasn’t there for calls, she was and their Nuvidium mine was having to great run, and he was a wealthy man. Jake said he’d gladly sell his silicon to the Others if they wanted, he didn’t care because they were being so good to him and he would return the favor. Alan laughed saying he started to make deliveries, but now they have a ship sitting by his station just hauling it away, at least until they get their new world built, but he would be more that wealthy by then and he wasn’t too worried. There were other places to sell it, and Jake agreed that mining was a steady job that will always be needed. They saw to it the station was running and went back to see the girls and get some food. Jake said he had to be careful, if he said he was going to get something Jackie just got it and had it sitting there, and Alan laughed and said he had said the same thing to 21 when they met but now they lived off of the income from the business and she didn’t do that anymore. Jake smiled and said he asked her not to, but she had a mind of her own and he knew she was a lot like him. If they could reconcile their ideas into one plan they would have the world in tow, and Alan agreed that’s how he and 21 had it. They laughed and talked and flew back to the girls, who had a meal ready the second they walked in, if this wasn’t paradise Jake didn’t know what was.



Chapter 6: Hand Over Fist


Jake and Jackie were doing very well, once the locals found out he had a silicon mine out there, he sold as much as he could mine, in a few weeks, he was thinking of starting another and Jackie was always supportive. He got the second mine going and she mentioned that with success comes trouble and even though they had never seen any, she thought he might want to get a few fighters for station defense, and he gave her a serious look and agreed. She sent a message and in a day 5 new Other fighters were in the station and he asked her why those and she smiled and asked if any of the other fighters he knew of had point to point jump drives on them and he just laughed and said she won again.

She was always saying things that worked out right, like asking if he had advertised their new world, it might be good to see about some merchants and skilled tradesman and give them free shops in the city. He had just smiled and always accepted, as she was very, very seldom wrong. He loved her more each day and in a few weeks she said she was getting ready for their new life and he was very happy. 21 had mentioned at Alan it wasn’t a permanent deal, that after he was gone she could always go back again, so Jake didn’t feel as bad knowing his beloved would have a new life after he was gone too. He just smiled and said as an old man he would have the prettiest wife in argon space and she held him and said she was happy to be his.

The 3rd month after the opening of Brennan City they were finally an official couple. Jackie was by now much more comfortable with Jake and she did everything in her power to make him happy, which for an Other was quite a lot. She was always happy and she made him stay clean and well groomed, no more 2 day old beards and messy hair, he was as neat as Alan or Jackie made sure he heard about it. Alan and 21 were doing extremely well also. He opened a factory making electronics and he sold everything he could make. There was a revolution going on with the help of the Others in things like the new ships with point to point drives on each one and new computers that were all but alive. Even entertainment was revolutionized as now things weren’t always ON the screen but the screen was replaced with projectors that focused the pictures into midair like a hologram only a thousand times clearer. It was a wander to see and the Brennan family was once again in the forefront of the revolution. Everyone in the family was doing well, and Jake invited anyone who wanted to come and live in Brennan city. The older Brennans were just happy for them but they had spent their entire lives in argon and they weren’t leaving now, even when Jake told them that it WAS argon space he had claimed it and named it and the argon government was the official government of the sector. Of course no one from the senate had ever seen it, but they knew it was there, and after the planet started being colonized, people from all walks of life were seen coming and going. It was an instant success and Jake owned it like the city and he had no money worries the rest of his life for sure.

One day while watching the news Jake saw something he didn’t like. They were still doing research into that wormhole in Hatkivtwas Faith and for some time now they had worked on sending scout drones through and into some of the other sectors. One turned out to be as completely empty as the drone could see. It was like a doorway into dead space, maybe a thousand light years from no where. Another had a new planet system with several different planets including one with huge saltwater oceans and even though no one had made it there yet, the Borons went to the Federation council and asked to claim it. It was the first new world in the wormhole to be claimed and there were Boron’s ready to go through right now.

The scientist’s said that yes, they could send ships through, but they had never tried sending organic life in to see what would happen and special experiments were undertaken to see what could be done. The first try the insects and small animals died almost instantly, but then better scans of the bodies found the cause and soon a modified shield was fitted and they tried again. The second time not a single animal died and they considered it a success. The Borons were quick to adapt their shields and got permission to try, and a small explorer ship went to see the new world. They were there still, sending back signals saying that it was pristine, and except for a few predators, it was a perfect Boron world.

With all this new exploration Jake was sure that sooner or later they would find new enemies and he didn’t see why everyone didn’t just sit back and live their lives for a little while instead of rushing in to see new things and possible new perils. Of course, as he was told, he wasn’t one to preach, he had made a huge fortune in exploring and it was his life’s work. Even at this young age he was known from one edge of the galaxy to the other as an explorer and fighter, and everyone admired him. He thought it was all too much and it had all happened too fast for him, but he was happy with the way his new life was working out so far, he had never been happier.

While sitting eating a few days later Jake said that he was worried about the new exploration, something about it bothered him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Jackie was listening quietly and he wandered why, she almost always had something to say about him worrying or something of the sort, but this time she was very silent and he looked over at her and asked why. She smiled and said she thought he was just having such a good time here he suddenly couldn’t see why people went out to do exciting things anymore, and he laughed. It hadn’t been that long since she helped him find this place and she had done everything in her power to help him get it set up, and he was happier now than ever before and she was smiling saying she was happy too. So, he asked, did she think there was a chance of finding new enemies or not and she just looked away for a second like she had to think about it.

“I suppose it’s possible,” she said finally and since Jake had learned by now she was never wrong, he stopped to look at her more closely.

“When, do you think?” he asked as she just laughed and said he was worrying too much. By now he knew she was avoiding the discussion, and even without saying a word she was giving him a lot to worry about.

“Jackie, honey, what aren’t you telling me?” he asked as she tried laughing and changing the subject, she came around the table and gave him a huge kiss and said she needed him so badly, but he saw it coming and even though this would have worked, and did a dozen other times, this time he really did see through her.

“Its close now isn’t it?” he asked as she suddenly wasn’t as happy as a second ago.

“Why, Jake, why do you need to know so much that you cant do anything about, cant you just stay here with me and be happy?” she asked and he smiled and said,

“Yes, he could very definitely stay with her happily, but he still needed to know. Who was it and when was it starting, he wanted time to prepare,” and she smiled and said they already had started, They were in a badly hidden system, colonizing a new, perfect world and they had people from every walk of life here with them and he stopped and sat back. She wasn’t talking about a war, she was talking about Armageddon, and she looked away and walked from the room.

Jake was more worried than ever before, she hadn’t told him anything specific, but he knew that the Others knew it all. Maybe that’s why they suddenly started being argons friend, they felt they wanted to help a few of them to survive, but how soon? He wanted his whole family here, and all their friends and he needed them here right now. He started by calling Alan and he got him on the line in a few seconds.

“I want you to move here, permanently.” Jake said suddenly and for a second Alan looked worried, but then he smiled a slow smile.

“I know, we’ll be there in time.” He said and Jake asked him when he knew.

“21 was really worried a few days ago and we sat down and talked, did Jackie tell you all the details?” Alan asked as Jake said no, she was trying to keep it from him.

“I was told that the new wormhole is a cyclic thing, it opens and closes every 10,000 years. When it’s open all people can travel it, and there is a civilization that the Ancients started in there long, long ago. It’s their way of helping the galaxy to evolve quicker, only the strong survive, so the galaxy is in better hands for the next ten thousand years.” Alan said as Jake just sat back with a thud. The Ancients again, he was really getting tired of hearing what THEY wanted; he just wandered when this catastrophe would start.

“How soon do you think?” Jake asked and Alan smiled and said that they were already modifying shields and they were starting to colonize some of the other worlds, and the Others were helping to scatter people from the core sectors out into space, into all the little cracks and crevasses that they thought they’d be safe in. That is why it was so important that Jake stay out there, looking for his home, because a lot of peoples lives were going to be at stake soon and the ones there had a better chance of survival, with the hidden system, and the Others help, they were going to be the next generation to rule the galaxy after the cataclysm.

“My god,” Jake said sitting there in disbelief.

“We have a point to point jump drive in 21, and we can get there no matter what, we may then have to shut down the gate for a while, to make it look like the system is dead. Or at least the gate is, the Others said that the old enemy never did have jump drives, so they were crippled by the speed they could travel by, so they had to wait until the cycle before they could leave their worlds and swarm the galaxy again. If we can get through now, it will only be a matter of time.” He said and Jake decided that he needed a lot more things done before he was going to call this place ready.

[collins50]

Very good, and interesting story line.

Is it possible that we're not alone?

[KRM398]

Chapter 7: Getting a new start ready


Jake could now see much more clearly, Jackie was always just mentioning things and he did them without thinking. She had helped him find the place and she helped him get colonists on the planet, now there were farms and people were buying bits of land for their own places. “Buying” Jake thought shaking his head; he opened the coms and sent a message to the entertainment channel. Anyone who would settle on Brennans Planet in the next two weeks would get 100 acres of land free. It didn’t matter where they settled it was going to be a one time only thing and he closed the coms as they started broadcasting it everywhere. If he was to own the only planet to survive, or one of them, he was going to save as many people as he could.

He was beginning to wander what happened to Jackie, she knew what he was doing, she always knew but she wasn’t there saying a word and he was worried. He went into the next room and saw her sitting on the bed and it looked like she was meditating. He knew better, she was talking to Others and telling them he knew. It might change a few things they had planned and he didn’t even know how long they would have to stay locked up in this system, but he knew that he was going to see to it the people here were protected from any random outsiders that might happen in by accident. She heard what he was thinking for sure and he thought he wanted more fighters, lots more and he walked away and left her to her report.

He sat down to think, they had some weapons, his ship, the cruiser 212, and Alan would be here with 21. He had some fighters and he was going to get more, so they had a start of technology for the future, but they didn’t have any technology manufacturing stations or ships. If they were here for generations, they might lose their advantage, so he called across to his Grandfather and ask him about the best mobile technology available. He looked worried and Jake said nothing as he told him of hybrid ships that were huge freight haulers and mobile stations in one and Jake wanted one, in his sector as soon as possible and Julian nodded. He knew something bad was wrong, and that Jake knew it, but he was an old man, and the Maker had settled all this weight onto the youngest generation, and he was sure they could do what was needed, Julian wasn’t sure what was coming, but he knew the Brennans would survive it. The ship was ordered with every technology advantage possible, and sent on its way, it was big and slow, but he saw it had a jump drive and it would be in Jakes World in a day or less.

Julian sat back and called his old friend, the head of the Goner church in cloud base southwest. He was a little surprised to talk to him after all this time and Julian smiled and asked him what was coming. He knew the Goners knew more than anyone else could imagine and Julian said the word was out and he wanted to know how long he had. The Priest looked very distant and worried, he had known Julian for many years, and his father before him, and he knew he wasn’t bluffing. The youngest would survive he was sure they had new mates from the Others themselves, and they were protected, but all of those older hero’s and friends, wouldn’t stand a chance.

“None of us have much time, I’m afraid,” he said seriously and Julian’s eyes popped open.

“Your family will survive, my old friend, as will many others because the Others are protecting them. The ancients have set this in motion, and they are going to clean the galaxy of the weak and the corrupt, but it will be quick and clean, and it will be soon.” He said and closed the link as Julian sat back to think, if this was the end, he had things he wanted to do too, and he opened the coms channel and start giving orders.

Alan knew things were happening fast now. Jake knew and Alan had been told that he was going to be one of the last to know, because he would panic and start things in motion perhaps too soon. But it had happened, how he didn’t know, but it did. He knew Jake would see to it that he saved as many people as possible, and that the Others would know what he was doing. He saw the ad running almost immediately saying free land and dozens of would be farmers ran to collect. Alan also knew he’d worry about ships and weapons, but probably not about technology for the future, of course he had been surprised about Jake before, but he sent a ship full of the best high tech electronics to the station and docked it there. That would help a little, he thought and he started thinking about what else he could send in or take along. 21 was there in a second, smiling and saying that she was so proud of him, and she would help too, they had a lot of good people on the way to Jakes World, but she made sure that an entire hospital was sent there too, and they set it up on the planet for immediate use. Alan kissed her warmly and thanked her, and said that the Others would have to let them know when to come back out and she smiled, they would know, and it wouldn’t take as long as you might think, the wormhole would finish opening soon and then it would use up the energy and start to close, the whole process only took 50 years or so, but the galaxy would be a terrible place when the swarms came through, and she knew they were getting ready right now. So that’s why the Others had been created, to be here to help and see to it that Man had a better chance after the holocaust than he had before. Alan was very sad, but very happy he had been chosen to see it, and she said that the big player had always been Jake; it was him they gave the dream to and he that had to find the system and start the process. If he hadn’t passed all the tests they set out for him, then none of this might have been possible. Alan smiled and asked for one favor, and she smiled a sad smile and said that the elder Brennans would never have to feel the pain of being eaten alive by the swarms, she promised it, and Alan kissed her and started packing some personal things so he wouldn’t forget at the last minute.

Helena was at her desk when she saw the ad, so, Jake knew, she looked up as her man walked in, smiling a wide smile. He sat across from her and she asked how soon. He just said there was time yet, and she was very torn. It had been her job to see to it argon was ready for war. To defend itself against any enemy, but when Number 10 had come to her and they started their life together, he had told her she was going to leave argon before the last battle. She had thought such a thing impossible, but he showed her the swarms in her mind and said that the chosen few would survive. The ones that had gone into the face of death to help others and returned victorious, and she smiled widely. Her family, among a few others would be the core of a new world, and she wandered where it would be. Then a few weeks ago, Jake discovered this hidden system and she knew. Now the rush to colonize and she was sorry she couldn’t save everyone she had ever known, but it wasn’t possible, and number 10 told her not to worry. The Others had plans to help them until the last, and she was glad.

They had a new corvette class sitting in the dock of the argon one and she would go and stand beside her family when the time came, and the gate would be closed because the swarm had to use them to move quickly, and they would not be allowed access there. The Others were immune to their horror, so they would stay be hind, all except for those with human mates, and they would start a new kind of human, half human half Other and they would be the core of an even better galaxy.

She smiled at him and number 1 said things were speeding up, but not to worry, they would be in Jakes World long before the first swarm was in argon prime. She smiled and thanked him and started gathering her personal possessions. He knew she would be ready and Alan and Jake were doing what they did best right on time, and even the elder Brennans were doing something to help the future, and he was pleased, it was this kind of actions to help others that had guaranteed them a place now, and he was sure that the future was in good hands.
Jake sat back to relax, he had done everything that he could think of and he was exhausted as Jackie walked back in and knelt before him.

“I was always the chosen for you, and not that the time is short, I am more proud of you than you can imagine.” She said as he held her and asked if he was doing the right thing, and she laughed, saying he could never do the wrong thing in this situation, it just wasn’t in him, and yes he was doing just what was expected. Alan and even Julian were all doing things that would help and the Others had decided that they were in better shape than they had even planned, and they were very happy. Jake smiled and she held him close. It will only take 50 years, more or less for the wormhole to close and they would retreat from this galaxy when it was time, so all they had to do was hold the system and live normal lives until then, and she was more than confident that she had everything they would need.

Jake smiled and nodded, he had done his best and he knew Alan would to, so as soon as everyone got here, the gate would close and the new future would begin, “now where was that technology ship?” He thought and Jackie just laughed.

Chris was in a photo shoot when she heard her friend call, she stopped for a break and walked into her dressing room and he was there. She had never been as happy as now and he wanted her as much as she him. He smiled and held her close for a minute and whispered, “Its time” and her eyes flew open wide. She had hoped this was all a bad dream, but it was not. They had sit and talked and she knew the sad truth and the glorious details all at the same time. Jake was the family hero this generation, and even the Others were impressed. It wasn’t all about him, but the family for as far back as Kyle Brennan, and the original experimental ship. They were a family chosen, not just to act as an example for all, but to live through one trial after another, and they had.

She took off the designer gown she was wearing and dropped it to the floor; instead she put on her old jumpsuit she liked to wear when she was just relaxing with family and friends. She was a Brennan, and argon and she liked to kick back as much as everyone. But from now on, this was all she’d need and she was happy to get away from the lights and all the publicity, even though she was sad it had to happen this way. They walked to his ship and she looked around with a tear in her eye, there were friends here, and she would miss them but Number 30 had her arm and gently guided her on board. The corvette slid from the hanger and into open space and jumped.

The corvette just appeared in Jakes World as a call came across the void.
“Welcome to Jakes World,” he said as first an Other replied and then Chris answered smiling widely.

“Hello, Jake it’s been a while,” she said and he nodded.

“Please dock at the station, we have a floor in the high rise for you.” He said and she smiled, he was ready, she saw, and beside him stood HIS Other and she was pleased. Chris smiled and nodded and the ship docked and they walked down the streets lined with shops and merchants and into the main building. Jake met them and they exchanged hugs and kisses and he shook Number 30’s hand smiling.

“Thank you for bringing her here.” Jake said as 30 just smiled saying he could never leave her behind, they were One, and Jake nodded and Jackie showed them their rooms and they set things up the way they wanted.


Chapter 8: Time runs short



Alan was loading things on his ship when 21 came to him smiling.

“I know,” he said and she walked on board just as he sat down in the captain’s chair. The little ship backed away from their station and he turned it into deep space and in an instant they were gone. 21 kept saying how proud she was of him and he asked her if she was sure they were ready, and she laughed saying that even the Others were impressed, in this great emergency, the Brennans had outdone themselves, and their new world had a look of a dozen generations almost immediately. The planet had hundreds of colonists on it now, with some coming every day, and the station was filled with merchants and tradesmen, and they could disappear from the universe today and they would survive for generations.

“That’s the idea,” Alan said as she reached over and held his arm while they flew, in a second the drive kicked in and they were gone, and a few seconds later, they were in Jakes World, and he welcomed them personally saying they had docking permission and he had rooms already set up for them, after all this wasn’t their first trip, but it was definitely going to be their longest.

Alan and 21 went into the station and she looked around almost as impressed as Alan was, the place was alive with people, and the merchants were hocking their wares and tradesmen were building new things while people watched. Alan smiled to think many of these people had no idea what was happening, and he felt sad for them as she led him into the high rise and Jake met them there smiling.

“I’ve been told we have done an exceptional job.” Alan said as Jake laughed for a second.

“Like we had a choice,” he said and even the girls smiled wider than usual. “Chris just arrived.” Jake said as Alan nodded and she had her own Other he knew, he was wandering if his dad and mom would be coming but no one said and he took that as a bad thing. Jake took his arm and they walked to his office and stood talking, looking out on the city and the planet below. They stood and talked and even they were impressed by the calmness they were starting to feel, after all they had done their best and now time was the only thing against them. Jake told Alan he had ordered a technology ship and it was due and he smiled a wide smile. Alan just nodded and said he wasn’t sure but it was no surprise to him that Jake had thought ahead. He told him he had a freighter docked full of the latest equipment he sent himself, and Jake chuckled saying it was already unloaded and in some of the shops.

“What about recourses?” Alan asked , but Jake had asked that and Jackie had said that they had more than enough recourses on the planet for many generations, and Alan agreed, saying after all, this was a custom made world, and it was jakes dream to find it in time, and he had. Jake shook his head and they looked up as the gate opened and the big tech ship entered.

“This is Technology One to Brennan City, Mr. Brennan, where do you want this?” he was asked and he said to pull into high orbit and park there away from the station a bit and in a few minutes it was done

“I was told by Julian Brenan that you needed a few first class technicians here, so I brought my family and a few guild mates, that’s ok isn’t it?” he asked a little embarrassed and Jake smiled wide, Yes that fine, they could live on the ship or the surface and he’d help set them up, free, and they were overjoyed, this was a chance of a lifetime, and he smiled and agreed. They thanked him over and over and Alan was all smiles, they had no idea, but then they would all have a rude awakening soon, but it was not his job to decide when and he knew it was soon.

“That’s a few more people, and skilled technicians, that’s very good.” Jake said as he and Alan sat down and waited, he didn’t know what else was coming, all the ships and equipment he ordered were here, but he really wanted some others to make it, yes, his father and mother were married and they didn’t have an Other for them, but they were still young and he wished they could make it and he heard in his mind not to worry, and he smiled as Alan looked up.

“Mom and dad might make it too,” Jake said as Alan smiled widely, he had asked about them too, but it hadn’t been decided. Now perhaps it was, in the least it was being considered.

In a minute there was another gate activation, and an Earth style light carrier came through,
“This is Argon Carrier number 2 requesting permission to enter Jakes World,” he heard as he looked at Alan and smiled widely.

“Permission granted,” Jake called and he was informed that yesterday Helena had ordered the carrier to supply itself for a long range mission and to take their families with them and they were so ordered to be the military presence here to defend the colony. Jake was thrilled and said they could live on board or on the surface and he didn’t care they would be well taken care of and the captain said he’d have to see what the Commander said, and he nodded and closed the coms.

“Does Helena have an Other?” Jake asked with a big grin and Alan shrugged, and they both smiled. In a little while another ship jumped in and it was another Other corvette class, Jake smiled to think these ships were being used as shuttles, but then they did a great job and he had thanked the Others for them a lot of times since this started. The coms came on and Helena smiled.

“I see our military defense force is here.” She said and Jake and Alan smiled, and nodded.

“I have rooms set up here in the high rise for all family members.” Jake said as she smiled and nodded, they docked and were welcomed by the rest of the family and Helena introduced her Other to the family too. They were all happy they had made it, but Jake was starting to worry again, with all these Others here, he hadn’t seen Jackie or 21 since Alan arrived and that couldn’t be a good sign. He was thinking this when a voice came to him and he smiled.

“You’re so damned needy,” she said and he just smiled to him self and said he missed her and she said the same, but time was short and a few things needed done right away, he mentioned to her how proud he was she was here with him, and she was silent for a second and finally said it was she who was proud, she was a chosen one just like him, chosen to be his friend, his wife and the mother of his children, and she was ecstatic about the possibilities, and Jake sat back and waited just a little more.

Alan Sr. was in his office when a call came in, it was Julian, and Alan smiled widely.

“What can I do for you?” he asked happily.

“I want you and Cathy to go to Jakes World, right now!” Julian said as Alan’s face fell.

“Why, what’s going on that this important?” he asked as Julian tried to keep from crying, and Alan could see it easily.

“It’s the End, and the Goners know and Jake was our savior, and the Others are here to help, it’s a new beginning for Mankind, and your too young to sit here and wait for it to happen.” Julian said as Alan’s face fell, he was serious, but how did he know?

“I spoke to an angel, and she told me first, then I asked the Goners and they agreed, the time is Now and I want you to survive this, we have many family there already, and I want YOU there, so go!” he said and closed the link, Alan was in shock, Julian was not a doom person, he was always very careful what he said and did, so maybe…he called for Cathy to grab a few things, they were leaving for Jakes World, and it was an emergency. She was in shock, this was so sudden, but she complied and in a few minutes they had a few cloths and some personal effects that Alan grabbed and she wasn’t sure even now what was going on, but Alan drifted the Marauder out of the station for the first time in recent history and the jump drive was active. He started the countdown and set it for Jakes gate, in a few minutes he’d know more, but he was sure Julian had never panicked in his life and he was Now, and Alan decided that being with Alan Jr. and Jake wasn’t a bad idea, even if he found out it was some strange joke, and the ship entered Jakes World.

Jake and Alan were still in the office, it had a great view, and he could see the gate off to the side and the world on the other. He was happy here, he knew he couldn’t save every friend or even family, but they would be taken care of at the last minute, so they wouldn’t suffer, and that helped him to know.

They were talking about the many Others there so far when the gate opened and in came an old Marauder, and the station was commed. Jakes eyes filled with tears as Alan started to laugh and cheer, he opened the link as Jake cried and said welcome and they docked and were led into the building with the others. They met everyone, and soon saw that they were the only ones without an Other of their own, and it was said that they were young and happy and that giving them another was not necessary. It wasn’t planned to make them come or have them come with their Others like the family here had, but they were welcome here as family and new colonists and Cathy went with the other ladies to talk and Alan Sr. went to the office where he and Jake and Alan Jr. hugged and they said they were glad he had made it. He asked what was going on, he was ordered here by Julian and the boys both smiled, they had known that he wasn’t through yet, and they sat back and explained things a step at a time as first Alan Sr’s eyes opened wide and he too had to stop and cry for a moment.

All those poor people, and all his friends, who had to make that list up, who decided who lived and who died? Alan Jr and Jake dropped their eyes too, they had asked that same thing a few days ago, the Others saw the future, and they saw the cataclysm that was coming, and they were saving the best of the best, it wasn’t a perfect solution, but it beat the alternative by a lot, and finally Alan Sr. agreed. They were the Brennans in Brennan City and it was their job to have children and teach them and be the kind of example they had always been and Alan Sr. just nodded saying the job had fallen to these two, and he was more proud than he had ever been, and if they ever wanted advice he was going to be there, and he and Cathy say up their living space with the help of 21 and Jackie.

Alan Sr. was impressed to say the least as Cathy’s mouth was wide open as they told of the great trials that Jake had to overcome and the exploring and discovering the world. If he had failed just once this would not happen and the universe would be wiped clean, but the Ancients were kind and they had chosen him as their hero and their champion and he had not let them down, and for this the rest of Humanity here would be saved and they smiled and said how extremely proud they were of him and Jackie introduced herself as Jakes wife and 21 as Alan’s, and they smiled a huge smile. It was their job to keep them happy and sane and give them children for the future and they were ready to do their jobs as well and Alan Sr and Cathy hugged them and welcomed them to their family.

[KRM398]

Chapter 9: The Science Team

In Hatkivtwas Faith things were going along as usual. The first Boron ship to go through was calling back that things were great there, and they had scanned and were ready to set up a new colony as soon as they could get them there. They had become a space faring people after so long, but this was a chance for them to return to their roots, a new pristine world and their leader, Bala Ti was happy, even thrilled to set up this colony at record speed. He was told by the science team he was running recklessly into this but he just laughed and he asked Borons from all over to come and see the new world, he had a few small ships equipped with the new shields and was ferrying a dozen or so at a time to this new Boron Home world and he had the sector Named for him as the first explorer, and he said that it was time that Borons went back home, to the seas and oceans of this new world, and he was applauded as being an old fashioned frontier explorer.

He was setting up new underwater habitats and giving away places to live to the chosen few he thought were worthy, scientists fresh out of school, young technicians and the best and youngest of the old world. He had a team scouring the college campuses asked for volunteers and many were as thrilled as he was, a new world, being set up to run the old way, no big space stations, no big capitol ships, just boron’s doing what they had always done, swimming and living and having a more peaceful lifestyle compared to the one they had learned to live, He had sent and asked for a member of the Royal family to come to but they smiled patiently and said perhaps they would send someone to visit when he had his new home finished and even though he asked repeatedly they smiled and refused. It upset him, he was loyal boron and the Queen and her family were a part of boron life, but he dare not say why things were so desperate, it wasn’t allowed.

He turned from watching the construction on his new home to look at his friend, The Other was all smiles, saying that he alone would save the boron people, and he begged that a member of the Royal family was needed to continue the line, but he smiled and said their would be a new Royal family, the one that had heard the call and answered it. The one that worked to save their people, in these few weeks he had over 200 boron’s either living there or working there, and it didn’t matter. They would be saved and HIS family would be the new Royal family when this was over. The old family was corrupt and lazy and it was a sign to him never to forget, be there, be the example they all needed and they would all survive and he would be the savior they had needed at the right time.

He nodded as the work continued and he asked again if they were sure this new world would be overlooked and he smiled. The wormhole leading here was protected by a rare form of radiation that they had to modify the shields to travel through, any normal ship could not travel here without all the people on board dying from it, just think, he said about a creature, living its life in space. It had to wait till the time was just right, when the Hole was wide open and they could travel through, they were not a real civilization, they were animals living and dying in space, and here, they could not come and Bala smiled, that was good enough for him.

Bala had seen the ads suddenly appear, and the great discovery that a Brennan had discovered a great new world, and he had asked and yes he was told there were Others there too. He smiled to think that as Allies all these years the argon and boron’s would be saved while many others, like the Split and Paranid would not. He was reminded that not all argon were being saved just as not all boron’s would make it, and he smiled and nodded, The Brennans, he thought and the Other smiled widely, he did understand after all.

The science team had sent in a probe with a good shield to try to communicate with these new people in the 11th wormhole down the tunnel. They couldn’t send in ships either, but they had a small probe that defended the Hole and it made no sense that they had this technology but no ships to communicate with. They tried all the different friendly calls they had invented, and even expanded to unknown frequencies and still nothing. The team captain was upset this was a terrible waste, he knew right where they were, the hole at least, but they refused to talk to him. He sat running all the different frequencies that the probe was made for and then started back down the spectrum again. He always had tried the frequencies from the old style radio to the new more modern kind, but they said nothing. He called again and again, and even the probe stopped shooting after a while, and the shields held. The alien probe was scanned and it was very advanced, so where was the ships? He finally sat in disgust just slowly dropping the frequencies below coms channels into almost audio and the scan continued, it was a waste of time, but he had tried everything else, but there was no sound, even high frequency sound in space, and he was getting tired when he heard something. It was a low growling sound and he stopped to listen, he ran it through the universal translator and after a long time it started to be heard more clearly.

He locked onto this signal and called over to them and for a second they stopped making sounds, and he took that as a sign they had heard. He called again offering friendship and finally a call came back.
“Who are you, are you the Ancients?” it said as he started to grin, he had finally done it.
“No we are argon, and we speak to you as friends, we know you are there and we call in friendship.” He said, smiling to himself.

“Are you, alive?” it asked and he said,

“Yes we live just as you do, but we want peace from all creatures and we ask this of you.” He said smiling even more.

“We live in peace, except for once in a lifetime, and then it is our duty to clean and return. Do you speak to the Ancients?” it asked again and he was confused.

“No we do not, we speak as one race to another, we are many and we are friends, how many are you?” he asked recording it all.

“We are more than the stars in space and more than the imagination can express, we are the cleaners of the universe, we are the Swarm.” It said as his eyes popped this couldn’t be good, and he called to argon science command to see what he was supposed to do next, it relayed the message to argon Command and in Jakes World the call came in and Helena answered it. They said what had happened and they were talking but they said they were cleaners, and that they outnumbered the stars, what were they to do now, she looked away with tears in her eyes,

“Keep them talking for as long as you can, we may still have a chance to make some kind of deal.” She said and when she closed the link her Man was there holding her.

“It wont be long now.” He said and she asked if it was possible to make a deal of some kind and he said no, they slept for thousands of years and when they awoke the only place they had ever fed was this galaxy, and all the ships and all the food stuffs in space would not be enough to satisfy them, it was the way of things, but he was proud of her that she gave them things to do, right up to the end, they wouldn’t even see it coming, and she smiled and said good.

The order was made and the team made new contact, saying that they would deal for peace and the link was quiet for a long time.

“What deal could you make, we are the Swarm we live to clean and we clean to live, without this we would all die too, and we must do what the Ancients order of us.” It said and the team said if they were in need of food they would help them and they sent a load of meatsteaks across and asked if that helped, they growled and said it did but for only a few, they still needed more than these little things could ever handle, and the tone of the discussion was getting serious, they had been given a taste, but it was not enough to even make a good drop in the bucket.

The team called science command again and said it sounded like an attack was imminent, and they had a idea, They sent three ships in with more food, but told everyone never to even touch the ship, they had spiked the food with every known disease and it was a bad way of doing things, but they needed to make a move soon or they would all be in trouble. The ships went in and in a few minutes they called again, saying that they were sending more food and the call came back saying it was not enough, a million times this much was not enough and they growled loudly and the link went blank. They could only hope, they thought and they sat back and waited.

The Others suddenly jumped to attention, this was all wrong, it couldn’t be, but it was. The Swarm was massing to enter as expected, but they were getting weak, and many were dying even now, it was possible they had stalled until many were starving, but that was impossible. Then suddenly it was plain, the science team had done something, something, extreme and even the Others were in shock, how could they? How could they drop so much pestilence on a new world they had never seen? The Swarm was getting sick by the thousands, if this had happened months ago, then perhaps it would have given them a chance, but they stood ready to launch, and even now they were awaiting their orders. This cant be, when they come through it will be the greatest spread of disease in history, many Swarm were dying and maybe this would be the end of them some time into the future, but now, they were carriers of every sickness man had ever fought and the universe would be contaminated for century’s, and it didn’t stop them either, it just made them sick and cruel and even slower than was planned, They turned to each other and cried, it was possible that when the time came to go again, the ones the furthest away would be too weak to make it, and the Swarm in all its sickness and filth would stay behind in some colonies, not able to jump away and return home in time.

It was not just the end of the universe this time; it was possibly the end of everything that had come before. The old worlds that the swarm would attack would be contaminated for century’s as the cleanup would commence and these, these insane humans were considering what ELSE to do, like this wasn’t enough, and together the Others decided they had no choice, with their chosen ones and the pristine worlds there the universe would still have a rebirth, but it would be slower and maybe in a century or two, it would be the way they had planned, they immediately took all the info about every known sickness from the databases all over space and stored it and they started even now to make up this huge, human error, and in these last few days, the gates had to be closed and the wormholes sealed, perhaps for centuries to come.


Chapter 10: The Big Surprise


Jake was laying with Jackie in happiness and bliss when she started to cry. He turned and looked at her and she nodded, it was time. Jake got dressed and walked into his office just as he saw the gates beautiful blue vortex go dark. They were coming, he thought, he looked up and asked the Maker to protect them and he hoped they were listening. He called to all the Others to tell the Ancients that he had done as he was asked and they were ready and in a second there was a hugely powerful voice he had never heard before, and he turned to see a metallic being standing there smiling.

“You and your family has always done well for us.” It said as Jake smiled and nodded.
“But things have changed, and this colony will exist for many centuries and we will watch over you and your offspring into the future. There will be trials, but you have never disappointed us before, so we will not hesitate to ask you again.” It said as Jake pulled himself up to his best height and said he was ready.

“It might not be your trial, you have seen and won all yours, but there will be new trials, and other members will be asked to try to help, your leaders have made a poor decision, and they have poisoned the Swarm, they will, eventually die off completely, and this will never have to happen again, but the period between now and then will be a long one and you have planned well, and we are happy with you.” It said and turned and walked away, into a cloud and disappeared. Jake stood shaking his head, the leaders of the federation had made a mistake and now the 50 year wait was going to be a lot longer, he had seen the sickness and the dying Swarm and he knew they would be exterminated eventually, but the clean empty worlds the Others had planned were now going to be saturated with sickness and it was going to be a long time before they could expand their civilization beyond this gate again, at least we have each other and a beautiful new world, he thought and he turned to see all his family and their Others standing watching in awe, only he had ever called and an Ancient had come even the Others had mental contact, but here he was a mere human and they were happy with him enough to come in person and give him the sad news. Jake immediately became a member of the Most High and the President of this new colony.


Jake cried and the family gathered around him, Jackie held him as Alan Sr. and Cathy stood in wander. He was their son, the combination of their bodies and their love, but he was sooo much more. He had always been more exciting, more dangerous, than even Alan but this was, just incredible and they knew that even they had been created for this thing and this time. Jake looked up after a minute and said that the colony would need to know that something terrible was happening, they would have to know they could not leave and the gate was closed. It was important they understand that a terrible war was going on and that they were safe here. He saw in his mind the pain they would feel about this but it was bound to happen, and they would suffer for a while just like he was, but then they would adjust, and like him, they had a destiny to meet. The Others in the room all smiled and stepped to the one side together, they held hands as the humans watched and they told everyone the sad truth, they were alone but they had a great new world and a great chosen leader, and they would survive, and their children and grandchildren.

The colony was in torment and shock. They had just arrived, and some were still living in their ships as new places were set up. To tell them it was all over, their home worlds were gone by some huge cruel war, they couldn’t grasp it for days and days. Finally one merchant opened his doors as his neighbors watched and some walked over and asked why, they were alone and they were stranded here, and he smiled and said he was a merchant, what else would he and his family do for another few generations? And some finally smiled and they went to work too and opened their shops and even began making new things, things they had seen in their heads and never tried. They had the time, and the perfect place to work, and even the ancients had smiled on them and one had been seen by many people in real life. They were no legends anymore, they were real and they were watching over this place and they realized they had something to live for and life went on.

Jake sat at his desk as Alan walked in.

“You wanted to see me?” he asked as Jake looked at him and laughed.

“Hell ya, we have a lot to do, and I have something for you that needs done, will you accept the job of representative to the colony? I can’t go down all the time, so I need someone they will trust and look up to, what do you say?” Jake asked with a big grin. Alan couldn’t help but smile if Jake was so sure then he was too and he agreed, Jake said, “the first thing was to see that the colonists had a good place to live and enough food. Make sure the farmers know they were going to be counted on a lot and that their work was appreciated,” and Alan smiled, diplomacy was his thing and Jake knew it. Alan nodded and Jake thanked him and he started away, this was an important job and this soon, things were going to be a little tense he was sure.
As Alan left, he passed Helena walking towards the office and she smiled as he waved and went on, it looks like Jake is started to get things organized and she was happy to help out.

“Hello Mr. President,” she said as she walked in and saluted. Jake looked up and laughed, saying she was being silly, but she was NOT she informed him that as military leader she had a job to report to him and he was HER superior officer and she waited for him to return her salute. Finally he saw no other alternative and stood and saluted her and she smiled and sat down.

“That was not necessary, I don’t care,” Jake said and she just smiled, he had a lot to learn. “I have to ask, as military leader here, how hard will it be to keep the ships and men ready if we need them ?” he asked as she gave him a serious look.

“The ancients said they were going to protect us and we have the Others here to help a lot, do you think we’ll need a regular military here?” she asked as he smiled and leaned back.

“We both know we have Others whose job it is to keep us happy and busy, they will be helping us a lot, but we have people here that have careers in the military, and we have ships, and a colony to protect, and sometime in the future we’ll need a military again, so it might be a good idea to keep it going, use it to help train others, maybe do patrols and repairs and other things, just give them something to do.” He said as she smiled a wide smile, he really did have a great grasp of what was happening, and she wasn’t sure it was all just him, but then he was perfectly right.

“I see what your saying, so maybe keep the military and do sector patrols and even a little exploration to see what’s nearby and then some of use will have something to keep us busy.” She said giving him a wide grin as he started to laugh.

“Well I know what our friends are here for and they are all very good at pleasing us, but just remember that they are also well above us in evolution so we are really playing catch-up here, so instead of waiting on someone else to do these things lets show we can do a lot for ourselves and they can worry about the future and we can deal with the present.” Jake said as Helena thought and nodded he was right there was a lot to do to protect a new colony and a new sector, even if they never hoped to see the enemy, it was always a chance and she smiled and saluted again and he returned it and she went to work.

Jake got a cup and sat back for a while he wasn’t sure what else to do but for the first day he decided that he was doing ok. This Most High and Mr. President thing was a pain but he hadn’t chosen it and he was probably as stuck with it as they were here, he thought smiling.

“Stuck with it indeed!” he heard and he asked who that was and the eldest Other identified himself. He was Helena’s friend, and husband and he was telling Jake that as the chosen he had huge responsibilities and Jake said very loudly he KNEW that, but this was just a small colony and it was just as important to be friendly instead of so official all the time and after a long talk, he thought perhaps too much too soon wasn’t good for such a small colony or its new leader and Jake thanked him.

“There is one more thing I just thought of,” Jake said while he had someone of the higher Other with him. “People will have to get used to working and coming home and eating and it all becomes a pattern after a while and I always sat back to relax and watched the news after work. Of course we don’t really want to see what’s going on outside, but maybe news that tells us what WE are doing, the military training new people, the miners finding new ores, even congratulations for children being born or any other good news we can find. There has got to be something happening everyday somewhere so lets share it and let the people see that their efforts are well appreciated.” Jake said finally and waited. His friend seem to think a while and then he did admit that it would make the whole daily routine a lot easier to handle, and giving people credit for good deeds was a fairly good idea, he admitted.

“Fairly good idea?” Jake asked as he said,

“Well, yes of course, we’ll discuss it and see what we can do.” And he went away, as Jake sat back with a big grin and tried hard not to be funny.

[parameter]

So, totally isolated from the X Universe, creating their own civilisation, interbreeding with old far.. Ahem! Ancients, Oh! Sorry! with the 'Others'... and you still have more characters to turn up?


Lead on!

[KRM398]

Chapter 11: Good news all around


A few weeks went by and things fell into a real pattern just like normal. Daily routines became just that and with the daily news, people could see what the others on different parts of the planet were doing and they got credit for good deeds and good work. Alan was seen a lot, talking to farmers or helping with some emergency, and Jake was happy things were working out so well. He was just leaning back thinking about his lovely wife when Helena called.

“Yes Helena, what can I do for you today?” he asked but she was being serious.

“We just intercepted a call,” she started and that alone was a miracle, Jake thought. “It appears that the Swarm is getting so sick that they are having a hard time overrunning some colonies, they are being beaten back on a couple fronts because so many have died that they cant just overwhelm them with numbers any more.” She explained and this sounded better and better. “I’m asking permission to send out a corvette to scout the area and see what can be done, if they are getting this bad, then instead of seeing millions we might see a few here and there, and if that’s true, we might be able to help save a few people or even a colony or two.” She said as Jake could see she was very happy. It gave her hope and the military something to do, but he wasn’t sure.

“You do realize even we find and save a few people, we can never bring them back here, we cant expose our people to any chance of getting the sickness, we may be the only uncontaminated people left very soon.” Jake said and it clear she was trying not to think like that, but it was true.

“But what about the patrol? We can send a corvette class, against a few swarm it should be very well protected, and with the point to point jump drive they could easily escape in an emergency.” She was pleading and he knew he’d hear this sooner or later.

“Alright, but no physical contact, any ship or person that gets touched is just out there, understood?” he asked and she nodded and the link went closed. “You’re a fool.” He heard and in his mind he said, “If they’re all dying and we can help save anyone, then it’s worth it, just so long as the ships don’t bring contamination back with them.” Jake declared and the voice stopped.

In a few hours Helena was in his office with a vid clip, she played it and it clearly showed many dead swarm creatures and some destroyed ships and stations. It appeared these creatures were very tough, some of these stations were literally torn apart in search of food, and she agreed saying she hadn’t given them enough credit, in good physical condition they were very powerful for sure.

“And you had the ship scanned and it wasn’t contaminated?” Jake asked and she said yes, she had asked for one of the Others to join her crew and they scanned for them so they were absolutely sure.

“Well, you know how tough they are just by looking at this, so we better stay away from getting in any fights, even our corvette class probably would have a hard time.” He said and she slowly agreed. “Did you figure out where the distress call came from?” he asked and she said that’s why they ran here they were calling right up until they jumped into the system and it stopped, they were just a few minutes too slow, and Jake shook his head and smiled,

“You gave it your best shot and we tried at least so maybe we can just monitor coms and see what happens, we cant get into it with a whole gang of these but if there’s a chance we can help someone, then we’ll think about it, until then maybe we can set up a patrol and wait and see where they are and what there doing.” Jake said and Helena agreed and went away.

“Her people were very lucky,” Jake heard and he said, “You know where they are and what shape their in, if we make a mistake and get hit, and then I’ll hold you responsible for not telling us up front.” And again the voice died and Jake sat back to think. If they knew that small groups were ill and alone they could do something, they could wipe them out a few at a time and maybe, just maybe save someone else, but he didn’t get an answer and he closed the office and went into the apartment for the evening.

Jake and Jackie were sitting watching the local news when he couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Why does the Others want to give up on everyone, I know that they were a little surprised by the germ attack, but are you saying that they didn’t see that coming?” he asked but Jackie was quiet for a minute and he stared at her and waited.

“We make mistakes too, and we were involved in setting up everything on the colonies we wanted to save, so we weren’t looking for something that different, so, yes, maybe we missed it or weren’t looking for a few minutes, but this is still the best place and time for you all.” She said finally. Jake didn’t doubt for a minute that they were doing a great job, but things DID change, and it’s very possible that the Swarm was dying off at an incredible rate, and they could help, maybe in time to save a few other planets or some people who had survived the first wave, and she looked up.

“The ancients set this all in motion, and we have no right to dismiss what they are doing, the cleaning was considered necessary, but your people have all but stopped that, so now we just want to finish this new world and save you from the swarm, and maybe from yourself.” She said and got up and walked away. And maybe, Jake thought, what you have planned isn’t exactly what the ancients had planned either, but she said nothing.

Jake sat there and he was furious, this wasn’t what he thought would happen, yes, they were a pristine world and the people here were safe, but there were others that survived and after a few weeks the enemy was weak and dying, why couldn’t they step in and help, maybe save some of the friends that had been left behind?

“Because they were meant to die.” Was the answer and he looked around and the ancient was standing there again.
“Why, why do they need to dye?” he asked and it smiled and said,

“The cleaning is a way of finding out who can survive and who cant, we set it in place millions of years ago to test people , all the civilizations that live in the universe, and they have to prove they have the right to exist.” It said.

“But we were taken out and spared the attack, so isn’t it our job to help others as well? Didn’t you set the president when you gave the Others this job, to save us and themselves?” Jake asked.

“We didn’t give the Others this job, they talked to us and they saw what we planned for the future, and they acted. You were loyal people that served us well and we thought that someday you’d evolve into a being strong enough to defeat the swarm and then you’d be worthy of ruling the universe.” It explained.

“And isn’t that what we’re in the middle of doing right now, defeating the swarm and claiming the universe?” Jake asked and the creature looked at him and smiled and went away without a word. “That’s what I thought,” Jake said to himself, and he called Helena and asked for a meeting.

Jake was in the office waiting as Helena walked in wearing a long robe and Jake smiled.
“Sorry, time off is a minimum I see, but we need to talk.” She nodded and sat down.

“I just had another meeting with the ancients,” Jake started as her eyes popped open, this was incredible to hear she had thought the first was their way of warning him, but a second was of historical proportions.

“They told me our friends the Others didn’t get ordered to save us, they acted alone and the ancients set all this stuff in motion to see who had the right to live or die depending on who was strong enough to defeat the swarm.” He said and she nodded

“I asked him point blank, isn’t that what we’re doing right now? Defeating the swarm, and he stopped talking and smiled and left. I think this is another test they have us in, and we are failing to see it. They want to see if we are strong enough to defeat the swarm and they already said that they may all die from the diseases we gave them, now if we can finish them off, we will have done what the ancients have always tried to find out, who was strong enough to rule the universe? “Jake said as Helena’s eyes dropped and she said she wasn’t sure they could and he looked at her carefully.

“You said that we had a chance at least, and that we might be able to save some others if we acted at the right time, and Jackie told me that the ancients started all this as a test, and they admitted it, so what makes you think we cant make a difference now?” he asked and she looked away and started to speak.
“Number 10 told me the reason we were saved is because we are on the edge of evolving like them, and our children will have a lot of their powers and abilities, if we can just take the time to start this new race, then this future will never happen again, and we will win anyways. Is it so wrong to let love win instead of war and killing?” she asked and Jake had all those same thoughts, when he was with Jackie and he knew now that those thoughts were not always his or hers.

“We are already winning, and the swarm is dyeing and will disappear forever, so this future will not happen again, but we can still evolve into those people, I love Jackie as you do Number 10 and Alan does 21…but we can do both, finish this enemy and win the war, the last war, and then sit back and have our children and watch them grow.” He said and she smiled like he didn’t understand and walked away.

“So it comes down to this, mind control” Jake said out loud as the Others sat back quietly.

“The ancients say that you were not ordered to help but you did, and now I know it’s not ALL for us, it’s for you too, why? Did creating all this perfection cause you problems, are you all sterile??” he screamed as Number 10 and Jackie walked in and he turned, red faced to see them and she smiled.

“Only with our selves, we are no longer compatible with our own kind and we are NOT immortal, so we chose you, and your people who were already about to join us, so why not? Is it so bad that we want to survive and we want you as our own? As members of our family forever, is that so bad that you’d give all this up for one more war?” she asked with tears running down her cheeks, and Jake swallowed hard, he loved her so much and she was right, they had given them a lot, but the test was still there and it wasn’t their test it belonged to all of humanity and he said they could still have their children and live as one family, but he was going to pass this test with or without them, and they turned and walked away.


Chapter 12: The Last War


Jake was as upset with himself as with his friends he hadn’t seen it till now, and they had left weeks go by, but they were very professional at controlling others minds, and he wandered if he had any help left. He called Alan who immediately answered and asked what was wrong? He said he needed to see him in his office right away and he agreed. He then called Alan Sr and he also said he’d be there and he started to smile, they might not be an army, but they were sure as hell not just a couple of pilots.

They were in Jakes office talking and he left them know the real reason things were going the way they were. The last war was being won, by germ warfare, but the Others needed them for their own reasons and even that Jake wasn’t upset about, but first things first, and he said the test was this, can they help finish the swarm creatures now that they were sick and dying, and can they save a few others that might still be alive? He admitted that he wouldn’t want to bring people back here, many would be carrying the sicknesses themselves, but if they survived the war then the Others and ancients could help them with the germs and many other people would be alive to help the Others as family members. Both men agreed it was a good plan but they needed ships and weapons and Jake looked up smiling and said,

“Anyone feel like a little heist?” and they all started laughing. “Grab a flight suit and meet me down stairs.” Jake said and they all took off running. It was a long shot but he thought it was worth it. The Others could join in if they wanted, but he got no response so he just smiled and said he loved Jackie very much and he’d be back.

Jake was in his old suit ready to go as one by one the Brennan men came walking up. They all nodded and they started towards the docks, there were several corvette class ships there and Jake walked onto one and waved for Alan to follow. He did and Jake said to take him to the cruiser sitting further out and Alan smiled.

“Jackie might get upset about that.” He said and Jake knew she heard him but if she wanted him alive, then he needed all the firepower he could get. He made sure he said it just like that and Alan docked and the cruiser left Jake in. He smiled and said thank you, and went to the bridge.

Jake started up the big ship and turned, he called over that they would start out small, the sector right next door was a small colony to begin with and with luck their wouldn’t be much there to stop them and they agreed. He ordered them one last thing, if they were overrun, then immediately jump back to this sector to safety, they could always try again, but they didn’t have enough good men now and they would need everyone. They all agreed just as the coms came on.

“What are you doing, sir?” the captain of the carrier asked, obviously Helena was not here to help.

“We’re going out to see what’s up, have a patrol ready, if we come in what creatures hanging on us we’ll need a cleaning crew.” Jake said and the captain nodded, he didn’t know why Helena wasn’t around, but this was his president and that was good enough. Jake called ok, and the three ships jumped, and in a second they were right next to the old gate, hiding in the asteroid belt. Jake scanned the system as gar as he could see and saw nothing, so they started out towards the north gate.

They moved slowly with the cruiser and a corvette on each side, he was armed to the teeth and so were they and he was sure it would take a lot to mess with this crew. They were almost to the center of the system when he saw three creatures still clinging to an old mine.

“Three on that mine, let’s get a little closer, and waste them.” He said and everyone agreed. They were 5 miles out when they left go of the mine and turned to see the fleet. They rushed it at good speed, and Jake scanned and saw it was 85mps... He would remember that, and he called the speed out, the corvettes were actually faster than the enemy and they all made a note of it. At three miles the guns started and only one even got close the ships. The turrets and main guns cut them up in a minute.

“Ok, if their that easy, why were we told not to try?” Alan asked and they all nodded, the Others were being very silent. They continued on and in a few minutes the system was considered clear. They scanned the stations there and they were all empty, so they didn’t help anyone here, but they got some payback and went on.

“Let’s head towards Omicron,” Jake said and they nodded and went into Black Hole Sun. They emerged slowly into the system and looked around. The scanners showed nothing in range and they started north running through to see all the stations that were there. They scanned each one and they all had massive damage done and no one was alive. They looked sad as they made the turn and started towards Treasure Chest as a call came in.
“We see you on scanners, we are the xenon, how is this possible? How is it you survived the cataclysm?” it asked and Jake smiled, obviously mechanical creatures are not very edible.
“WE are the Brennans and the ancients protect us, will you help or will you tell the ancients that we have no allies?” Jake asked as waited. He figured this might take a while but in a few minutes a xenon J entered the system with a patrol.

“We are here, allies, and we come to help you finish this terrible swarm. How did you kill so many with so few?” it asked as Jake just smiled, they didn’t need to know, so he said they were given the ability to kill from a great distance but now they called on all friends to help and they agreed.
“Ok, men and friends lets go on now.” Jake said and everyone agreed and they entered Treasure Chest. They were well into the system when a swarm patrol was seen it had a dozen in it and it saw them and rushed in. The xenon carrier launched ships and the corvettes opened fire, and the fight went on for a few minutes until the last swarm creature was dead. Jake smiled and the fleet went on and entered Omicron Lyre and started to scan the system. Many of the stations were badly damaged but there were two that still scanned as having power.
“This is Jake Brennan is there anyone here?” he called and a second later people started calling saying that the fleet had held the system for days, but eventually they were all destroyed and they shut down all but emergency power to look dead. He agreed that it was a good idea, and said he had a small fleet and that he was patrolling to see what was still here. They told him they were seen coming in from the west every time and he said they had already cleared Black Hole Sun and Treasure Chest and they were overjoyed. He asked if anyone was sick, and they stopped short, they said everyone was sick, it was the plaque the swarm carried and he said to do their best to take care of each other, he was moving on and they blessed him.

They entered Nyanas Hideout and they saw the first big swarm. It had more than 20 and it saw them and rushed in. The carrier launched more fighters and Jake and the corvettes each launched missiles as they ran towards them. The missiles did good work and when they got close all the ships turrets were opened at once and the xenon J moved up and got its turrets online too, the shields were taking a big hit, but these were animals, not ships and they were trying to claw their way in but one by one the corvettes cleaned them off the J and cruiser and in a few minutes they were clear again.
“Well done, hold position to recharge.” Jake said and they gladly agreed. They had cleared several sectors so far and they had taken a few good hits, but they were all in good shape yet. Jake decided that with all the help they could muster they would have a better chance and spoke to the xenon once more.
“How many of your people have survived?” Jake asked.

“We survive as they don’t feed on us, in the first days we helped our allies like you, but they lost and we returned home thinking that everyone was gone, but now we see that it is not true, and we are sending messages to others to come and help. They will follow us and we will once again rid this area of these creatures.” Xenon said and Jake smiled,

“If we are lost, do not stop your attack, the ancients are waiting to see who can defeat these things and we are honored you are here with us, so we will work together to defeat them or we will die as allies.” He said as the xenon replied with a determined sound in his voice, “Until victory then” and Jake smiled and nodded at the screen and they continued.

They were almost to Scale Plate Green when coms traffic was heard, a xenon ship was coming their way and was under attack, and they rushed in. The battle continued for quite a while and finally the creatures were all dead. The xenon K was hit hard, but they were in auto repair and Jake told them they would all return to his base and they could repair in safety. They asked for the co ordinates and Jake sent the two corvettes ahead, saying that now they had been in combat the corvettes couldn’t dock anymore, and they agreed, they jumped in close and parked and went across with their suits as Jake and the xenon fleet jumped in a little further out.
“We see your colony, friend Brennan and we see that the ancients truly are protecting you. We will repair and wait until tomorrow for you to get some rest. “And Jake agreed and they all went on board.
Jake went home and got some food and Jackie was noticeably absent. He missed her and said so, but she didn’t respond. He asked if any would talk to him after this first day and the leader asked again if it was all worth it.
“If we can prove we have good friends and allies that will stand with us, then yes, it is worth it, but we will not turn our backs on you, even though you have on us, because we are as good as our word, and we love you all as friends and more. If we die in this battle we die for all of the universe, our xenon friends, and all the Others in the universe who need us. It is our way and you knew that when we started this, so either join us or sit here and wait, and we will let you know when it is safe to come out.” Jake said loudly and he went to bed, alone.

Jake had a serious problem getting some sleep as he was sure the others were too, but after a while he found himself falling asleep and in his mind he saw an invisible hand helping to guide him and he thanked her and he got some rest.
They were up and around the next day ready to go, they stood on the docks looking out at their ships floating a few miles away and Alan shook hi head and started to walk towards the door, but Jake stopped him for a second as Alan sr. looked over too.
“Even this small task is beyond you now?” Jake asked and in a second they were all on board and they sat back and smiled. “Thank you for your assistance.” Jake said sarcastically and he sat back and called his friends.

[parameter]

So, the miserable, selfish 'Others' just want humans for sex, heh?

Must admit I was trying my hardest to slow my reading down but, since I read 1700 pages in 3 .5 hours minimum, I find myself at the end growling with frustration...! Then I have the happy thought that you will set the precedent for others by writing a never ending story..

[KRM398]

This is a hint, this is a multi part (book?) story..as I once told my freind
Novacat, if theres a Brennan alive the stroy goes on.

[parameter]

Talk about writers cramp! You may end up with mental cramp at this rate!


I wish you well in your Brennan epic and any other story you care to produce.

[KRM398]

Chapter 13: Resistance


“I think for some reason the humans are the answer here, we are being tested more than many others, so let’s clear all the local Human sectors, and then work from there.” As Alan, Alan Sr and all the xenon ships agreed they all jumped into Wastelands. The name didn’t do it justice; the sector was a scrap yard of gigantic proportions. Every station was gone and some were literally torn into pieces, and they knew no one had survived here, so they moved into Interworlds and checked there. The sector was almost empty, almost, but one station was still livable and Jake called over as a very surprised station crew answered.

“I thought we were all alone now.” They said and Jake informed them that a resistance was under way to help finish these creatures once and for all. They found that exciting saying for two weeks they had started running on emergency power and hiding all sign s of life so no one would see and Jake said it was a good idea at least for a while. He asked if they saw any more to call and he’d send help and they were thrilled and they went on towards Belt of Agular.
In midnight star they found a swarm group numbering maybe 20 and they attacked with a force. The xenon moved forward and dropped a lot of fire against the enemy as they ran towards Jake and his men, and they dropped missiles on them and reduced them even more. The battle continued for a little while longer but the xenon had really stepped in and Jake thanked them, they took the biggest hit but they did destroy the biggest amount of the creatures and Jake gave them credit for it.

“We don’t need to fear them we neither get the sickness or eaten, but you do and if the ancients protect you, we will too.” Xenon said and Jake bowed and said he appreciated it.

They moved on again and into Belt of Agular, here they found a mine still intact and Jake was really surprised, he called over and the crew called and said that their was a big creature group here just a little while ago, and they just went into Midnight Star and Jake laughed and said they were all dead and asked if they had seen any more after and they said no. the creatures always seemed like they were working to the west when they saw them and Jake asked how they were keeping from being seen and he said they were but they couldn’t get through the ore, it was very high for Nuvidium and they didn’t seem to be able to claw through, and Jake smiled, another weakness, he thought and they stopped to have a meeting.

“They have all been working west from here, so we know we got all these, lets jump back into Omicron and check again and then we’ll decided. He said and they all agreed and in a second they entered Omicron and saw the first friendly ship in quite a while, running from the trading station back towards a mine.

“Be careful they don’t see you,” Jake said and they thanked him saying that they needed medicine so they rushed over and got what they could while the creatures were away, and Jake asked if they had seen any and they said yes, they had seen a group go into Circle of Labor but they hadn’t returned. Jake nodded and they started north and entered the sector. It was in bad shape and he didn’t see anything still useable but in a second the north gate opened and they saw a large group of creatures running towards them. There were a lot and Jake called to get ready to jump away and the xenon said they would try to hold them off if that’s what they needed and Jake said thanks, but he wanted them to survive too, they were still needed, so they through everything they had into this mass of enemies and then just as everyone’s shields started to go Jake yelled “Jump” and they all did, one by one they entered Nyanas Hideout again and he looked to see everyone made it.
“Ok recharge and rearm if needed.” He said and even the xenon had to say that was a heck of a fight, and they were just starting to have fun. Jake was all smiles, he knew the Others were evolved xenons and he was watching it happening again, these xenons were starting to enjoy the fight and the excitement and he knew their evolution was close at hand too. They waited a few more minutes and then Jake figured they were ready, they had hurt them badly and their numbers were a lot less now so they jumped back in and the fight started all over again, but this time the enemies weren’t as many and the fleet was just starting to have fun, so they stayed a few extra minutes and the battle was won.

“I have something I want to see.” Jake said and they moved up into the next sector, that’s where the swarm had come from and he made sure they were ready, there was another group, but much smaller and they were watching the north gate, but Jake didn’t have to look long to see it wasn’t on, so the Earth fleet was safe, they had seen or heard this all and shut down their gate and saved themselves. It was a smart move and Jake smiled, they weren’t the only ones out here, and he was glad.
“Are you sure?” he heard in his mind.
“See for yourself the gates locked, they locked the enemies out, so they survived too, and that means the whole Earth system, this was the only joining gate.” Jake thought and they were very surprised.
“Its getting easier to surprise you now, so I guess we’ll be even somewhere soon.” Jake said and then he ordered the fleet to jump, into Akeelas Beacon. In there he saw a big fleet had been wasted, he didn’t recognize some of the ships, but they were really torn apart. He looked around and they started towards the gate to Aladna Hill and he got another call.
“Who are you and what do you want?” they demanded.
“I am Jake Brennan and we are finishing off the swarms as we travel, who are you?” he asked.
“We have a shipyard around the side of the planet, we saw the battle and sent ships to help, but there were just too many of them, so we killed all power and waited till they left, there is a lot of them around so be careful.” They said.
“We could use all the help we can get, if you can’t send more ships how about some supplies? We could sure use some missiles right now.” Jake said and they mumbled to them selves a while.
“We have a ship on it way to help and it has extra weapons on board, if we can help you get rid of these creatures we’ll definitely want to try.” They said and Jake didn’t even ask who they were because they were friends and in a few minutes as they approached the west gate a new heavy cruiser came running in.
“Nice ship, cruiser right?” Alan asked and they chuckled,

“Not here, this is a shield frigate and we have auto repair, if you can help cover me we can always repair our hull after a fight, and that makes this a great little ship” the captain said and Jake agreed, they gave all corvettes several good missiles and they fell into formation. Jake said to go and they went through to Aladna Hill and right into a real mess. There was a large group here too and they saw them from all the way across the system. Jake called for everyone to form up and they wormed into a delta and waited. The xenon carrier launched fighters and they ran in spraying laser fire and killing quite a few, The big guns on board were active a second later as both corvettes dropped missiles and everyone opened up with their guns, the firepower was devastating and in a few minutes they had them reduced to just a few hanging on the cruiser and frig.
“Get these guys off us.” Jake called and the fighters ran in and dropped a stream against them at close range and the last blew up. “Good fight everyone, and thanks xenon for the cleaning service.” Jake said and laughed, he had forgotten how much he missed this crazy ness and Alan and Alan Jr were pretty much thinking the same thing.

“How many sectors have you guys been through?” the frig asked and Jake smiled and said from Belt of Agular and he was very impressed. “I didn’t think anyone could travel that far ever again.” He said and they all laughed and they crossed the sector and looked around. They moved over towards the west gate and Jake said they needed to go into Light of Heart and see what was there. The xenon K said they would and if there was trouble they’d call and Jake said ok, and ordered the J to sit next to the gate if they needed help quick, then he and the other ships started checking for survivors in the sector. To his anger there were none and this was a sad day, he had been through there many times and he knew business people here, but now they were all gone. He called the xenon and asked if they found any and they said yes but just a small group and they had it under control and Jake waited as they returned. The sector was a wreck and they saw no survivors there either and Jake was getting depressed, of course he had been surprised by the few he did see and he was hoping for a lot more.

He sat and waited and gathered his fleet again and said he was ready to move to Elena’s Fortune, it was close to argon space and before he called it a day he just had to see. They all agreed and they jumped in together, and a good thing. The sector was crawling with swarm creatures and they started shooting the second the ships arrived, Jake called to retreat back to Aladna Hill on his mark and they were all dropping everything they had on the sector and he waited till the last minute and yelled jump, and they did, one by one they made it back, but one corvette was hurting bad, so Jake called it a day and said for everyone to find a place to get some rest for the night and meet back here tomorrow, then he sent a personal message that the xenon could come with them but he didn’t trust the new mercenary ship to know where his system was and they said they understood. They all made it back home and they were glad they had a safe place to rest. The ships were in need of some repairs and they all knew it, but they didn’t have any repair bots to do it, so they went on board and got some food and when Jake sat down to rest, Jackie was there smiling sweetly and she said she was sorry for the fight they had, and she understood now that he was doing what he thought was right and she would accept it.

They sat together and they talked and in a while they retired for the night, Jake was tired but they hadn’t been together for a while so he certainly wasn’t going to turn her down and even though he was exhausted to start with she made him feel a lot better and they smiled and kissed and she said she was sorry again, and he fell asleep in his wife’s warm, arms.



Chapter 14: The Coalition


Jake was ready to go but he was worried, they had taken some damage yesterday and if they weren’t careful the ships would start to come apart from all the fighting they were doing. They got ready and were sent back over thanks to their friends and they were checking systems and armaments when Alan called back..

“I think we have some help, Jake, this isn’t even the same corvette I had yesterday.” He said laughing as Alan Sr said the same thing, they were brand new and fully loaded with heavy missiles, and Jake smiled a wide smile and said he thanked them for the help.

“Go to sector 101 to pick up more help, oh, Most High.” He heard and he smiled.
“Ok, first into Aladna Hill to make sure we can keep the system clear then into sector 101, it’s a request from our friends.”” Jake said and everyone agreed. “Xenon, do you have lot of fighters left?” he asked and they said they lost quite a few yesterday, but one of their shipyards was back on line and they could get replacement soon, and he said he was happy they were there and they thanked him.
“May I come along, Mr. President?” and everyone started to smile. There was Helena standing in her uniform asking permission to join the fleet.
“I wish we could take the carrier with us, but we need it here for sector defense, but if you want to come into battle with us then I would be honored.” Jake said and in a minute she was on board, and Jake smiled at her and she nodded, it was time.

“Ok, then lets go to Aladna Hill.” Jake said and they all jumped. They were in sector in a minute and he called out to his friend from yesterday, “You still alive?” he asked and in a minute the frig came through from Light of Heart and called back.

“I had to leave once, a big group came in, but I’m ok.” He said and Jake thanked him for staying around to help. “My boss says they are trying to repair a couple ships and get ready to accept sector patrols here, if we can do it, then he’ll protect these argon sectors from enemy forces while we continue on.” He explained and Jake smiled and said it sounded good to him. They both nodded and he closed the coms and Helena said they were a mercenary corporation and they had very strong custom ships and even argon had wandered about their intentions there for a while, but Jake said they offered this ship and crew and they had fought all day yesterday and was back again, he still wasn’t real sure they could be trusted, but it was looking better all the time, and she agreed.
“Ok, we’re ready on to sector 101…” he called and they entered the west gate.

They passed through without a problem and Jake was happy, they gave a quick look around and kept going into 101, he wanted to see what his friends were planning to do. As they entered a fight was going on at the south gate and Jake called for fighters to assist and xenon launched several fighters that screamed in that direction.
“These creatures were guarding the gate, trying to get in, but we surprised them on our way out.” The voice said and Jake said there were reinforcements on the way and they thanked him. In a minute the fight was over and the fighters returned and joined formation with the carrier again. The Others came forward and said they decided that if this was the way to the future they wanted to be a part of it too and Jake smiled and welcomed them. They had brought 2 new cruisers and 4 corvettes with them, a second small fleet and Jake saw some definite possibilities here, with what he had and theirs, they could move through several sectors at once ,at least until they hit a big group, then they could all join in together, and everyone agreed.
“Ok, Other fleet, start here and work your way towards argon, we will jump ahead to Split Fire and clear that sector, then we will have a safe place to rearm and recharge our shields, no fight to the death, we want to cause huge damage and jump away, understood?” and everyone said they did and Jake smiled and turned to Helena, “How am I doing so far?” he asked and she started to smile,
“Not bad, not bad at all.” She said and Jake laughed as the Other fleet started into Danas Chance and Jake ordered the fleet to jump into Split Fire.

In a minute they were in battle, the sector had a good supply of creatures in it, but nothing a few good ships and some friends couldn’t handle, they fought them to a standstill and in a few minutes the sector was clear. Jake called for everyone to recharge and rest and they all agreed.
“I am being recalled to the shipyard, we now have some more fighters for our fleet,” Xenon said and Jake smiled widely and said anything they could get would help, and he’d wait here for them to return, and they agreed and the J jumped away.
“Everyone is trying to help, they see this as the ultimate challenge, and we are doing all the organizing and welding this new coalition together.” Jake said to Helena and she smiled wide,
“What do you mean WE, I haven’t done much to help, I’m afraid, I left my personal feeling get in front of my duty, and I’ll always be ashamed of that.” She said and looked away, as Jake smiled,
“They were custom built to please us, how could you possibly resist when he was trying so hard? When this is over and we have cleared the galaxy again, then we can lay back and enjoy our new loves and have children and do all those great things, but first we need to do what we do best, help others and our selves, and then we can relax.” Jake said as she smiled and thanked him for understanding.
“Understand?? Have you seen Jackie?? hmm “ he said and they both laughed and Jake heard a small chuckle in the distance,” caught you” it said and he smiled a wide smile, ”You certainly have” he thought and by then the xenon were back.
“We are ready, and we have more help to offer.” They said as Jake smiled wide this was getting better and better, the xenon returned fully loaded with two xenon P corvettes and he was very confident they weren’t going to have a much trouble now, and they all agreed and they started into Elena’s Fortune. Jake told Helena this was as close as they had made it yesterday, and she smiled and nodded, and it wasn’t much better. They entered the gate to a cloud of black as the guns started firing immediately and every ship was dumping everything they had into it. The fight went on for a few minutes and Jake called for retreat to Split fire and they fell back to repair and recharge, Everyone made it except a couple of fighters but by now the xenon were having a great time and they were talking about it loudly.
“Did you see that, K those creatures were running off our backs like water, and we were dealing them what they deserved in great amounts, this is great, the others should see us now.” The J called over and the K was LAUGHING as they compared notes. Helena’s eyes opened wide and Jake sat back laughing,
“We all are making a few changes, it seems” he said as she looked over in amazement, “the xenon, laughing and enjoying themselves in battle who would have ever guessed that?” she thought and a voice in her head chuckled and said they would, it was an unexpected addition to this strange universe, the universe of the Changing.

Everyone had their shields up again and Jake had a plan, they seemed to be watching this gate waiting on them, so he asked the xenon carrier to jump in at the north gate very carefully, when they would enter, if they were all watching this gate, then they could drop a massive fighter force on them before they could see what was going on. They agreed and gave a loud cheer as they jumped in and Jake heard them say that, yes, the south gate was loaded full of enemies and they were in the clear and launching fighters. Jake waited just a second and ordered everyone in, and the fight began again, only this time the xenon was working from behind them and the fleet from the front, and they were taking a huge beating, The creatures started seeing this plan and some turned towards the xenon carrier, but that just split up their numbers and the force at the gate was finally defeated. Jake ordered the corvettes to help the carrier who was under a solid attack and they all flew forward and engaged as Jake and the others tried to get their shields back up. They traveled into the center of the system and waited and in a minute the creatures were all dead and the xenon were having the time of their lives.
“We are sending images of this to Home, and we are getting good results, all are being happy and seeing this enemy fall they are rushing to join.” They said as Helena started to laugh, they were killing creatures and gaining allies everywhere they went, and it was an amazing thing to see. ‘News is, we will have other ships soon, where do we need them?” xenon asked and Jake started to smile.
“Where will they be coming from?” he asked and they said all sectors were getting ready, either adding ships or repairing old ship they hadn’t used in many years, and Jake said to coordinate with Helena, she would be in control of all xenon ships and she smiled and thanked him silently and he nodded as she gave orders for them to meet in a central location and form a new fleet. They agreed and she sat back looking over as Jake watched settings and talked to the rest of the fleet, this was the new leader they had all waited on the Most High and the universal hero, she had seen his greatness as a child but she never would have thought this.
They had finally taken back Elena’s Fortune and the scans for survivors went on but none were found, he wasn’t surprised, this sector was a hive of swarm creatures and they didn’t leave a thing behind. He sat back thinking, it would take years even like this to seek out all the creatures in the galaxy, and there still might be patrols coming through and he suddenly thought that and he asked where the Others fleet was and they said waiting in Split Fire, the sectors between were clear for the moment and he said he had a serious job for them, go to Hatkivtwas Faith and attempt to hold the wormhole, if they were over run, fall back, but do as much damage as possible and call if they were in trouble, they agreed and they jumped into the sector to begin the daunting job of guarding the back door.

[parameter]

So! the creatures don't like chewing nividium?... Hmm! Maybe I should coat my ships, missiles and stations with the stuff, not forgetting a liberal dose of 'Buzov'.


I like the evolution idea of the Xenon; metamorphosis happening elsewhere?
didn't mean to steal ideas..

Keep on Sir...

[KRM398]

oK, we have an understanding, I write like a maniac, you read like a maniac, so maybe we'll wait on a few others to catch up..lol. Time out for a day or two..

[parameter]

I agree! Must give yourself a break from the screen, other than sight problems you could start to lose interest...
That would be terrible!
Stick your head out of your window and breathe for an hour, then get back..!

Seriously, give the brain cells a different topic(s), show your girlfriend you are still alive and kicking, go to a cinema.. Well! You know what you need to do. Enjoy!