Earth United

Jake always enjoyed dinner at home, just him, Uncle Ben and Aunt Jane. With Ben’s position in the Legion, it seemed that they were always at someone’s house or had guests over for dinner.

“Uncle Ben,” Jake said, “Can you tell us the story again of how you took out the Centans?”

Ben smiled. “The battle at Centaur is where I got this old war wound.” He slapped his bad leg. “That was my last fight. You like that story?”

Jake sat up straight. “Yeah, I do. They got your leg with a plasma gun, but not before you destroyed four Centans with one swipe of your sepder!” Jake swung his fork over his plate, barely missing his glass of milk.

“Okay, I will, but not right now,” Ben replied. “I need to get moving.”

“Why?” Jake asked. “You have someplace to go tonight, don’t you? I thought this was a little early to be eating dinner.”

“Yes,” replied Jane. “Your uncle has an important meeting he has to get to tonight.”

Jake looked back at Ben and tilted his head. “What’s it about? Will you be home in time for us to finish our Quantum Light Fighter game on the computer? I love that game. It’s so realistic!” The three-dimensional holographic images emitted from the computer were much more detailed and clearer than other computer games. Jake felt as if a miniature fighter was flying in his house.

“Not tonight, buddy. This will likely be a long one,” Ben replied. He took a bite of his roll.

“Okay,” Jake said, poking his fork in his roast beef. Roast beef was the one food he really didn’t like. And with this news, he had even less of an appetite for it. “Then can Cal spend the night?”

Jane shook her head. “Sorry, Jake, but his father is still away on patrol. And you know he doesn’t let Diane or Cal stay anywhere or have anyone over when he’s gone. Diane doesn’t need another boy to take care of, even though I’m sure Cal and you give her no trouble.” She smiled and raised an eyebrow.

Jake lowered his chin and laid his fork down. “I know, I know.” He knew Cal’s dad’s rule, but he had never really liked it. Cal’s dad seemed to be gone more than he was home. He could see his evening shaping up to be a pretty dull one. He would just have to make his own fun.

Jane looked toward Ben. “Where is your meeting?”

“In the headquarters building,” Ben replied. “The meeting was supposedly called by the president himself.” Ben took another bite.

Jake’s eyes widened. “Will the president be there? Will you get to meet him? Will he talk about secret stuff?”

“No, no,” Ben answered. “Nobody from the Presidential Sector is coming. The content and orders for the meeting were given to Commander O’Reilly. He’ll run the meeting.”

“Do you think they’ll send you out on patrol like Cal’s dad?” Jake asked. He picked up his fork and took a bite of roast beef. He chewed slowly and swallowed hard.

“No,” Ben replied. “They don’t send a cadet trainer out on patrol. My active days are over, buddy. And I’m not too disappointed. It’s more time that I can spend with you and your aunt.” Ben finished off his roll and meat and took a drink.

“But they value your uncle’s opinion very much,” Jane said, smiling at Ben. She looked at Jake. “That’s why he goes to meetings like the one tonight.”

“I don’t know about valuing it,” Ben said, “but they do ask for it, I guess. Maybe to make me feel good.” He laughed. “Now, I have to run.”

Ben wiped his mouth quickly with his napkin and got up, rubbing his leg. He gave Jane a kiss on the lips, then squeezed Jake’s shoulder and limped to the door.

Jake laid down his fork again. “Aunt Jane, I think I’m full. I’m heading outside for a while. Do you need any help cleaning up?”

“No, I have it,” Jane answered. “Go on.”

* * * *

As Jake was messing around in the back yard, he caught sight of a large, brightly colored lizard darting under the back steps of his house. He had never seen one quite like it. He liked how its color contrasted beautifully with the dry, rocky ground. With nothing else to do, he just had to try to catch it. But the lizard would let him get just close enough to make Jake think he could grab it, and then at the last second it would dart to the next bush or rock.

This time I have you, Jake thought. The lizard was a couple of inches from the tips of his fingers. Slowly, Jake thought, slowly. He paused for a couple of seconds, then lunged his hand forward, closing his fist. “Gotcha!” Nothing! He looked up just in time to see the lizard dart to the front of the house.

Jake jumped up and continued the pursuit. The lizard shot across the street. Jake, concentrating on the lizard, ran straight out into the street after it. He heard a roar and looked up, ducking instinctively. A hover car swerved just in time to avoid flying directly over his head. Even at that distance, the air pressure from the bottom of the car felt like a giant weight dropped on his shoulders. His knees buckled and he landed in the street. He pulled himself up into a sitting position and sat there for a moment, checking himself out. Everything seemed to work, and no pain. Wow, that was close, he thought. If Aunt Jane had seen him running into the street without looking, she’d skin him alive. Even little kids knew enough not to do that. What a dope! And he’d probably lost the lizard, too.

He got up and surveyed the other side of the street. He had to squint against the bright setting sun reflecting off the white domed houses. He shielded his eyes with his hand and looked closer. There! Darting underneath a parked hover car. He decided to turn the chase into a game. That was when he was the most successful. Just like when playing a computer game, or in a sepder battle with Cal. He could feel the confidence start to build up inside him. The game was on! He decided, I have to catch the lizard. It has a microchip explosive inserted under its skin. If it makes its way to the president, it’ll be remotely detonated.

He chased the lizard out of the residential section and into the military section. As he passed each of the white domed buildings, he pretended the lizard was getting closer to the president. First was the mess hall, then the training facility, on to the barracks, past the spacecraft and weapons hangars, and finally to the Legion office buildings. In among the office buildings, the lizard darted into a drainage pipe running up the side of one of the buildings. Jake lunged, but he was too late. The lizard was inside. Jake looked up at the building. He had been concentrating so much on the lizard that he had paid no attention to where he was. But he recognized the large white domed building instantly. He was standing right beside the Legion headquarters building.

* * * *

A small squadron of ten Craton fighters dropped out of quantum drive as they approached Earth. They were positioned near the Sector Four defense station, but out of visual range. For the moment, they were out of the range of Earth’s sensors, as well. The fighters were not small combat fighters, but larger transport fighters. They would be of little use in a dogfight against quantum light fighters, but they could do plenty of damage to ground troops, and each transport fighter could transport ten men besides the two pilots. Craton was located in a solar system near Earth’s. Like Earth, Craton was currently one of the more formidable military planets in the galaxy. Unlike Earth, however, Craton had not become powerful through the use of its own resources or alliances with friendly planets. Craton took whatever it needed or wanted from other planets by force.

Romalor Leximer was in the lead spacecraft, in the captain’s chair. His six foot six inch frame, which was large even for a Cratonite, filled the chair. He stood out from the others on the ship, in his dark red and black clothing, the colors always worn by the ruler of Craton. Like all Cratonites, men and women, he had a dark complexion and long dark hair. This made Cratonites attractive-looking, even to other species.

Romalor turned to his first officer, Raxmar, who stood at the control station. “Have you confirmed the intelligence that we received?”

“Yes, General,” Raxmar replied. “There are four Earth defense stations orbiting just outside the atmosphere. One for each of their so-called sectors. Each defense station emits some sort of impulse shield, connecting it to each of the other defense stations, creating a shield around the planet, just as we were told. Any object that touches the impulse shield is probably disintegrated immediately. The only way to pass into and out of Earth’s atmosphere is to go through one of the defense stations.”

“Very well,” Romalor said. “We will proceed as planned. Tell me when you receive the signal.”

“Yes, General,” Raxmar said.

An officer at the helm turned toward Romalor. “General, are you sure we are in the right position? Did you get the coordinates correct?”

Romalor lowered his hands to the arms of the chair and squeezed. He looked at Raxmar.

Raxmar quickly turned toward Romalor. “General, he’s new. This is his first assignment.”

Romalor stared at the officer. His mind raced: ignorance, insubordination, stupidity. Questioning Romalor. How did someone like that ever make it into the military, let alone become an officer? He wanted to lunge out of his seat and terminate the officer permanently. No. At least, not now. He needed every hand for the mission. He couldn’t afford to lose a helmsman so early. He would have to deal with him later.

But he still needed to put the officer in his place, if for no other reason than to keep the rest of the crew confident that he was in control, and, of course, to keep them intimidated. Since advancement in the Craton military often came by the elimination of a person’s direct superior, it was important that he maintain a certain level of fear. He knew it generally took more than a few men to overthrow a general, but he wouldn’t take any chances by showing signs of weakness. “Do you question me?” he thundered. “Have I not led Craton in more battles than you can count? Taking anything and everything we want! If you ever so much as look at me with a question on your mind, I will terminate you where you stand!” The officer shrank back in his seat, shaking.

“I’m getting a signal now, General,” Raxmar said. “It’s an all-clear for entry.”

Romalor felt the tension leave him. He grinned. “Excellent.” He slowly fingered the assortment of ropes, chains, and necklaces hanging down the front of his steel-coated black military vest. Some were plain, and others had medallions, symbols, wood carvings, or other trinkets hooked to them. He had a custom of taking something from everyone he killed—or at least, from everyone he killed that wasn’t disintegrated—and making it into a necklace. He had hundreds of them. He wished he could wear all of them at once. He slowly ran his fingers over one particular necklace, the saber-toothed bear teeth. He remembered vividly the victim from whom he took the necklace, and the look on the man’s face as Romalor ended his life. “Soon I will add to my collection. Proceed at once.”

* * * *

Captain Absolan Williams sat alone in his quarters in the Sector Four defense station, staring out his small window into the darkness of outer space. His first command. But then again, let’s not get too excited, he thought. Commanding a defense station wasn’t a glamour assignment. But there were only four defense stations, so he was one of only four captains chosen for such a command. Not bad.

His thoughts were brought back to his room by a voice coming over his com. “Sir, this is Hart. Something appears to be wrong with the defense shield.”

Private Amy Hart was currently operating the main terminal in the central control room of the defense station. A good soldier, but green. He wasn’t concerned. Young privates always had a tendency to overreact. He pressed the com. “What is it, Private?”

“Well, sir, the defense shield appears to be down between the Sector One defense station and us,” Private Hart answered.

Absolan pressed a different com control. “Su, run a diagnostic on the system. I’m on my way.” He had better go down there, if for no other reason than to instill some confidence in the privates.

“Already on it, sir,” Private Cheng Su replied in a heavy Chinese accent.

Absolan walked into the central control room with quick, long strides and immediately took his seat in the center of the room. “What do we have, Su?”

“Everything’s coming up fine,” Private Su replied. “There’s nothing wrong with our system. The shield must really be down.”

“Let’s not jump to conclusions too quickly,” Absolan responded. “It takes four different codes to access the defense shield system, and those codes are all held by four separate people. The president is the only person who possibly could obtain all four codes. But even then, there are numerous backup fail-safes.” He could feel a few beads of perspiration forming on his forehead. Maybe this wasn’t the slow, behind-the-scenes assignment he thought it was. But there had to be an explanation. There hadn’t been a defense shield failure since EarthNX developed it. “Run a diagnostic on the diagnostic program.”

“Already done, sir,” Private Su said. “Everything is coming up clean.”

Absolan wiped his forehead with his arm. “Okay, we know that any spacecraft attempting to enter or leave earth’s atmosphere anywhere other than through one of our defense stations will be disintegrated when it hits the impulse shield. If the shield is down, we’re vulnerable. What or who could be causing the problem, or trying to make us believe there’s a problem? Are there any foreign spacecraft currently being inspected or detained in the gatekeeper cell?”

Private Hart replied, “No, sir. And I just received a report of our external sensor readings. All indications are that the shield is definitely down between us and Sector One.”

“All right,” Absolan replied. He had to remain calm and in charge. This situation was exactly what all of his years of training were for. He would continue to follow protocol. A solution would have to arise. He started running through the possible problems and the protocol for each in his mind. Besides the central control room of the defense station, each defense station’s computer system could be controlled from the defense station’s Legion headquarters down on the planet, and from the combat room underneath the Presidential Mansion. The next protocol was to contact sector headquarters and then the Presidential Mansion. He turned to another Legion private at the communications station, Max Troutman. “Troutman, get me in touch with Sector Four headquarters.”

“Sir,” Private Troutman said, “communications are down.”

Absolan pounded his fist on the arm of his chair. “Then get me the Presidential Mansion.”

“Sir,” Private Troutman replied, “I mean, all communications are down, not just communications to headquarters. We can’t send or receive any communication signals. I’ve been trying to contact the Sector One defense station to see if they are getting the same readings we are. But I can’t get a signal out.”

“Captain,” Private Hart interrupted before Absolan could reply, “I’m picking up a sensor signal. It’s detecting ten spacecraft entering Earth’s atmosphere. Coordinates zero-one-hundred-fifteen. That’s about two miles from us. They appear to be headed for Sector Four headquarters.”

Private Su jumped in. “I’ve checked every system on the station. Whatever’s happening to us is being controlled from Sector Four headquarters or the Presidential Mansion. It’s nobody here, sir.”

“Scramble every quantum light fighter we have on the station,” Absolan demanded. “Send them after those spacecraft. If the spacecraft don’t respond and retreat, the order is shoot to destroy.”

“Yes, sir,” Private Su responded.

“Captain,” Private Hart said, punching controls on her computer terminal, “the signal’s getting stronger. The spacecraft clearly are headed to Sector Four headquarters.”

Absolan noticed Private Su’s eyes widen as he stared at the screen in front of him. “What is it, Su?”

“Captain,” Private Su paused for a moment, “it appears the quantum light fighters’ docking locks have malfunctioned.”

“What!” Absolan jumped up, this time hitting both fists on the arms of his chair. Is this some kind of a test? he thought. Surely all of this couldn’t go wrong for real. Maybe Legion headquarters was testing him. No, the Legion didn’t operate like that. This was a real problem, and without communications, it was his problem.

“The fighters are locked down, permanently,” responded Private Su. “The computerized locking mechanisms are being controlled by whoever is controlling the station. They won’t release the fighters. They seem to know every single one of our protocols.”

“Then have the pilots work the manual overrides at each dock and physically open the locks,” commanded Absolan. This might be a new command, and his first command, but he wasn’t going to give up. Wherever those spacecraft were from, he couldn’t let them get through, not on his watch.

“They’re already working on it, sir,” replied Private Su. “But whoever is doing this has changed the manual override codes. All of them. It’s going to take some time for us to crack the codes to be able to work the manual overrides. Headquarters’ system has the ability to crack codes like this in minutes, but since we can’t access headquarters…” He paused again. “Well, it’ll take longer.”

Absolan shook his head and turned away from the others, gritting his teeth. He took a deep breath, then turned back. “How long, Private?”

“Twenty minutes, fifteen if we’re lucky,” Private Su answered slowly.

Absolan looked at Private Hart. “Hart, what’s the ETA for those spacecraft to hit Sector Four headquarters?”

Private Hart turned to Absolan. He could see from the blank look on her face that he wasn’t going to like what he heard. The answer came softly. “Five minutes, sir.”

The room filled with eerie silence. Absolan had one last question, one last chance, but he knew what the answer would be. “The station’s plasma guns, Private Su?”

Private Su shook his head slowly. “The spacecraft have never been in range, sir.”

“They even had that calculated to perfection,” Absolan replied. He felt the weight of defeat pressing on him. Earth was being invaded on his watch, and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. “Who is doing this, and why?”

* * * *

Jake looked at the pipe into which the lizard had scampered. It was just big enough for him to fit in on his hands and knees. He had just knelt down to crawl inside when he heard voices coming from the front of the building. He saw two Legion guards, heavily armed, checking very closely the credentials of everyone entering the building. He cocked his head in their direction, but it was no use. He could hear voices, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Should he crawl into the pipe or not? Any movement in that direction could give him away to the guards. Maybe he should play it safe and head home. No, he knew the lizard was in the pipe. The game was still on. He had to save the president.

Once inside the pipe, there was enough light coming from the outside that he could see the lizard scampering up ahead. He would just go as far as there was light, he told himself. The farther inside he got, the slower he crawled until he hit the end of the light. Neat, he thought. The pipe turned and headed straight upwards. He could see light at the top and it lit the sides of the pipe. There were ladder rungs on one side. It was made for climbing. He could feel his heart start to race and his hands getting damp with excitement and nervousness. No longer were his thoughts on the lizard and his game. Now he could climb to see what was up there! He started up.

As Jake slowly climbed the pipe, he started to hear faint voices from inside the building. As he reached the top where the light was entering, he discovered that the pipe was hooked to a large air duct. Jake crawled into the air duct toward the voices. He wondered what was going on. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to check it out.

Jake crawled slowly. He couldn’t make any noise. The slightest tap on the metal duct seemed to vibrate all along its surface. He proceeded toward the voices and a faint light coming into the air duct up ahead. As he reached the light source he could see that it was a vent in the ceiling of one of the rooms. Jake carefully moved into position to see through the vent. He was forced to squint as he moved his head into the light. He blinked a few times until his eyes adjusted. He could make out the people in the room. They were Legion soldiers. And there was Uncle Ben. This must be his secret meeting!

Jake saw that his Uncle Ben was talking with the Sector Four Commander, Ted O’Reilly. Mr. O’Reilly had been over for dinner plenty of times. They were close enough to the vent that when Jake focused on them, he could make out their conversation.

“So Ted, you don’t know why this meeting was called?” Ben asked. “But the briefing notes sent to me from the Presidential Mansion said that you were in charge and that you had the agenda and orders. I spoke with a couple of other officers as well, and they said the same thing. I assume it’s about the crystal, right?” Ben motioned toward a small case sitting inside a glass enclosure at the back of the room.

“Like I said,” Ted responded, “my briefing notes came from the same place, but they said that one of the officers had been briefed and would provide me with the details. I’ve been trying to find out who that is.”

“It’s not me,” replied Ben. “And besides, why was every officer and most of the guards at the headquarters ordered to attend? That breaches every protocol I know, as well as common sense. One division is still out on patrol, and another is on R and R. That leaves two here, and one of those is mostly made up of cadets. Who in their right mind would then put all of these officers and guards in one room?”

“Easy, Ben,” Ted said. He put his arm on Ben’s shoulder and grinned. “You would be right in wartime, but since we’re at peace with every planet, those protocols are relaxed. I’m sure the Presidential Mansion knows what it’s doing. Now, let’s find out who knows something more about this meeting than we do. I’m the commander of this sector and I don’t even know what’s going on.” Ted chuckled.

“And you’re telling me to take it easy,” Ben said with a slight smile.

* * * *

The Craton spacecraft approached Sector Four headquarters with Romalor’s fighter still in the lead.

“They have finally detected us, General,” Raxmar said, watching his monitor. “You were right. They’re too late.”

“Yes,” Romalor said. He stood up. “The Legion has become complacent. They’re so used to nothing coming close to any of their headquarters without first being notified by one of their defense stations. Their overconfidence has worked well for us.”

“Shall I take us in, General?” Raxmar asked, looking up at Romalor.

Romalor clenched his fists. “Yes, we need to hit them before they can sound an alarm. They’re so arrogant, sitting underneath their precious defense shield. The guards are probably sleeping right now.” Romalor pointed to the central command building on the viewing screen. “Are those the coordinates that we were given?”

“Yes, General,” Raxmar replied.

“Then fire!” Romalor commanded.

Romalor watched as four blasts from the fighter’s plasma guns obliterated the Sector Four central command building. “Excellent. That should stop any alarm from sounding or communications from going out.” His fighter turned and he saw a number of Legion soldiers scrambling toward the closest quantum light fighters. “Take out those fighters before those soldiers get to them.”

Raxmar fired the plasma guns. Romalor watched as the other fighters opened fire as well. The ground seemed to explode as all the quantum light fighters in sight went up in balls of flame, along with any Legion soldiers unfortunate enough to have made it to the fighters or who were too close.

“Where are the meeting coordinates?” demanded Romalor as he turned back toward Raxmar.

“Right there,” Raxmar replied. He pointed toward the headquarters building.

“Land in the front,” Romalor said. “And signal two more fighters to land with us. Leave the other seven in the air. Tell them to take out any Legion fighters trying to get off the ground. They can’t let any get airborne.” He knew that if they let any quantum light fighters get off the ground, his larger, less mobile transport fighters would be no match for them.

Thirty Craton troops exited three spacecraft ahead of Romalor. Raxmar was at his side. Immediately, the headquarters’ guards and a number of other Legion soldiers scattered about opened fire with their sepders.

“Stay in formation,” Romalor yelled. “Take them out, quickly.” The longer it took him and his troops to get in and out, the more chance Legion troops would assemble and overtake them. Although, the attack was perfectly timed and orchestrated, with two Legion divisions gone and most of the command trapped inside. Just as he had been told. He felt very confident in their chances of success. Everything was going as planned. His troops were well prepared, and the Legion soldiers were disorganized. He watched his men quickly dispatch the Legion soldiers.

* * * *

Jake could hear the plasma guns and sepder blasts. What was going on? He could feel the sweat beading up on his forehead. He had to run. He had to get out of there. But what if they were coming up the drainage pipe? No, surely not. He had to go. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t make himself move. What would happen to Uncle Ben? Would he fight the invaders? Jake watched as the Legion officers and guards inside the meeting room began to organize. A loud blast came from outside the room.

An officer shouted, “Whoever it is has just entered the building.”

Jake watched, his eyes frozen on the scene below him. Ted O’Reilly immediately took control of the meeting room. “Guards, give any extra weapons to any unarmed officer. Divide in half. You men, get to that side of the door.” He motioned to his right. “You men,” he signaled to the remainder, “take the other side.”

Jake could see that there was only one way in or out of the room, and there were no windows. Jake knew from his many video games that this was a bad situation for the Legion. The room was designed to be a highly confidential meeting place, not to defend against an enemy attack. Jake also knew that the double doors at the front of the room opened automatically, but only by entering a code from one side or the other.

Ted continued to shout orders. “Each side, form two lines. Everyone in front kneel. Everyone in back, fire over their heads. Angle toward the door so you don’t hit each other. The rest of you get back here with me.” Ted pointed to four guards and Ben, who weren’t placed beside either door. They ran to the back of the room and crouched down in front of the hilaetite crystal.

Ted leaned over to Ben’s ear and spoke softly. “If we’re lucky, they will be afraid to shoot toward the crystal for fear of blowing themselves up along with us. That might buy us more time to take them out.”

“Depending on how many there are,” Ben added.

Jake heard a shout outside the door. “Clear!” Jake knew what that meant. He pressed the palms of his hands against his ears. The sound was deafening. The sight was worse. Half the guards positioned on each side of the door were blown up when the plasma bomb detonated. The door and three feet of the wall on either side of it took out a few more guards as they were hurled through the air. The remaining guards near the door had stumbled backwards. They pulled themselves up, shaking their heads. Jake thought, hurry up, shoot. The invaders poured through the opening, firing. Jake recognized them as Cratonites from their large size and protruding chests, which he knew came from a third pectoral muscle that all Cratonite men possessed. But Cratonites? Here?

A few of the guards got off a couple of shots from their sepders and smaller plasma guns, and a few Cratonites fell. But what were left of the guards by the door fell quickly.

Ted, Ben, and the four guards at the back of the room opened fire on the Cratonites. Jake watched in terror as the mass of Cratonites struggled to squeeze through the opening and over dead bodies. It didn’t seem real. This couldn’t be happening.

The delay from the crush in the doorway helped the six Legion soldiers to finally start knocking off the Cratonites. Yes, Jake thought. Now the Legion will win. They have to win.

But a few Cratonites started to fire at the six remaining Legion soldiers, hitting two of the guards before a very large Cratonite burst through the opening and shouted, “Don’t shoot, you idiots! That’s the crystal. You’ll blow us all up.”

Jake’s eyes widened when he saw the large Cratonite. He recognized him from news photos and even computer games. Romalor Leximer, the Cratonite ruler. He had never seen anyone so big in person. But how could Romalor be attacking the Legion Headquarters? How could he have gotten through Earth’s defense shield?

The Cratonites immediately dropped their plasma guns, pulled out their goliaths and charged. Ted, Ben, and the remaining two guards were able to take out a few more of the Cratonites before they were overtaken. Once the Cratonites were upon them, they stopped firing and turned their sepders to swords, engaging in hand to hand combat. Jake held his breath. The four remaining Legion soldiers were outnumbered almost six to one at this point. The two remaining guards who were out in front went down first, a goliath penetrating each of them in the chest. Ted was fighting the one Jake had heard called Raxmar and two other Cratonites, and his Uncle Ben was engaged with Romalor.

“I have to help,” Jake whispered to himself. “But how? I can’t.” He again tried to leave, to get help, but he still couldn’t make his legs move. He just lay there, staring down into the carnage in the meeting room.

Jake’s vision blurred, his eyes filling with tears. He angrily brushed them away. He would be brave, like Uncle Ben. Ted took a goliath stab to his left side, then another. His left arm went limp. Ted tried to defend himself with just his right arm, but Raxmar and the other two Cratonites were too strong. He took a stab to his right shoulder and his sepder dropped. He just stood there as Raxmar delivered the killing blow, driving his goliath deep into Ted’s chest. Jake bit back a cry of horror. His uncle was fighting alone.

Uncle Ben was faring better, probably because he had more combat time and training, but there were still too many Cratonites, and Jake could tell that Uncle Ben’s bad leg made it difficult for him to move. Come on, Uncle Ben. Come on!

Romalor delivered a stab into Ben’s left bicep. His left arm hung limp. Ben raised his right arm and swung his sepder, but Romalor blocked it. With Ben’s right arm in the air, blocked, there was nothing left with which to defend his body. Romalor brought his goliath around and struck Ben in the right shoulder. His right arm went limp and his sepder dropped. Ben stood there, helpless to defend himself, staring bravely into Romalor’s eyes without so much as a flinch. Romalor drew his goliath back and then immediately surged it forward into Ben’s chest. Jake didn’t think. He shouted, “NOOOO!”

His uncle crumpled to the ground. Jake lay in the duct, frozen, as Romalor slowly looked up and caught his gaze. Romalor smiled.

Raxmar reached up and yanked the ventilator grate out of the ceiling. Jake, stunned, fell at Romalor’s feet. He couldn’t move. “A child,” Raxmar said contemptuously. “Do you want us to kill him, General?”

Romalor replied, “No, he won’t give us any trouble. Besides, this will teach him a good lesson, not to mess with Craton. He can grow up with the fear of knowing what happens when you do. And he can teach all his little friends to fear us as well. I think his influence on the next generation will do us good.”

Romalor walked over to Ben’s body, lying on its back. He bent over and grasped the necklace that Jake had given Ben. With a quick jerk, Romalor snapped it off Ben’s neck and tied it around his own. “This will do perfectly,” Romalor said. Romalor looked at Raxmar. “Do you have the crystal secured?”

“Yes, General,” Raxmar replied, pointing to a thickly padded pouch that he was holding.

“Then let’s go,” Romalor replied.

Jake’s mind was blank. He couldn’t think, or do anything. He just lay there staring at his Uncle Ben’s lifeless body.