Danielle then stood and said, “The name Moscow will never be assigned to another ship. It will be retired and will be the symbol of courage. From now on the Crimson Crown Medal will be placed above the shape of a Megaship with the name Moscow on it. His medal will be the only one ever given with just the Crown.”
The room started clapping and Danielle said, “I hereby order it by Royal Decree and the first recipient of the new medal will be Admiral Smith.” The room cheered her decision and for a moment their sadness was held at bay.
Chapter 15
Tag was sitting in the library at their castle staring at the map of the Plants Galaxy. Danielle came in and saw her husband looking somber and she knew that the loss of Kosiev had hit him hard. He had been in a depression since the funeral and she knew it was not getting better. She walked in and sat down beside him and he put his arm around her. Danielle looked into his eyes and she saw his pain. She then thought to him, “What Kosiev said has caused you pain.”
Tag remained silent for a moment then thought back at her, “If I had been with him, he would still be alive.”
“No, Tag, he would be dead and you would be floating in Plant space.”
“No, Danielle, you’re wrong. You know how Kosiev often reacted without thinking things thru and that’s exactly what he did this time and it cost him his life. If I had been there, my talent would not have allowed us to go alone. I would have stopped him and called in 20 more megaships to support his effort from Dremel. His reactors ended fifty miles from the target ships when all he had to do was get to within 200 miles and launch penetrators. With that many megaships there would have been twenty times the number of penetrators that he launched. We could have then turned way and used our jump drives to escape when the frequency generating ships were destroyed. The Planet was attacked thirty minutes after the frequency generating ships were destroyed so there was thirty minutes to get the additional ships to assist us. He died because I was not there. My psychic talents would have caused us to come up with a plan that worked.”
Danielle saw in Tag’s mind the plan as he described it and she knew that he was right. She felt his pain and her heart ached for him. “There’s something else.” Danielle leaned back and looked into his eyes. “I may be responsible for his death.”
Danielle sat up straighter and said, “Just how do you see that?”
“Danielle, you know what the Glod say about my talent. You also know that Sung Lea can see visions of the future and that we try to follow the best vision. I think that my talent could see that I was sitting back and letting Kosiev lead the war against the Algeans. Perhaps I knew deep inside that we would lose if we continued on the path we were taking and the only way to get me involved in the war was to remove Alex so I would be forced back into the fray. Remember, the Glod say that I will do things without even being aware I’m doing them and that my enemies will be destroyed. If our talents could bring us together even if the old Alliance had to fall in the process, do you thing losing Kosiev would just be another way to protect us.”
Danielle listened and though she wanted to believe otherwise what he was saying sounded true to her. She now understood why her love had been so depressed. If he had been involved, Kosiev might not have had to die. “So what do you do about it?” she asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Tag, why are you here instead of out there flying at light speed toward the enemy? Kosiev saw that you should be the lead in our attack on the plants. It scares me to have you in danger but Kosiev was right, we’re at our best with you in the lead. I think you are right in what you’ve said and if you are then it should tell you and me that you must take the lead in this war.”
“What about helping you in your duties ruling the Alliance and having to leave Rose?”
“Tag, do you seriously think that the Stars Realm looks to you for direction. You can still go out for walks in public and only get a small mob. I go out and riot police are needed.” He looked at her with a furrowed brow and she immediately said, “I am the one chosen to be the leader and sometimes I grow weary of the task. You are the one chosen to lead our military. You walk into a room of soldiers and they immediately focus on you and later look at me. We have our different callings. As far as you leaving Rose and me, how long would it take you to leave a battle and jump back to Ross?”
Tag thought a moment and said, “Well, with four jumps to different galaxies, forty five minutes.”
“Also consider this; how much real time have you spent actually planning and fighting battles? You could actually choose to jump home each day if you chose.”
Tag looked at his wife and knew she was right. He had taken time away from the conflict to be with his family and Kosievs death had jerked him back to reality. It was time to get his hands back into the fray. “I’ll start in the morning,” he said. “We need to establish our new command structure.”
Danielle looked at him and said, “We’ll have the meeting in the morning. Right now, I need you back with me.” She then put her arms around his neck and pulled him close.
Tag looked in her eyes and for that moment his pain was forgotten.
Upstairs Rose lay in her bed feeling her father’s anguish. Though she was only four, she understood what he had said. She sent a warm feeling of love to her father and decided that she was going to keep her eye on what he was about to undertake. She was not going to let him get hurt if she could prevent it. Then she went to sleep when she felt Tag release his pain.
Tgon-Gee, Terl, Misty, Admirals Dorg, Mikado, and Chen were waiting in Danielle’s outer chamber. They had been summoned by the Queen that morning and had come to Ross as quickly as possible. “I wonder what’s going on,” Admiral Dorg said.
Terl said, “It has to have something to do with the military. Perhaps Kosievs replacement is going to be announced.”
Tgon-Gee looked at Tel and said, “If that were so she would have asked the Stars Realm’s representatives for selections to consider and she has not done that.”
Danielle and Tag walked into the chamber and Danielle said, “Thank you for coming so quickly and if you’ll follow me to the library we’ll begin.” The group stood up and followed Danielle into a room that looked like it was a hundred yards square and had galactic maps covering the walls. Danielle asked, “Admiral Dorg, can you update me on how many megaships we have in our inventory.”
Dorg looked at his com and pressed a button, read the display, and said, “Close to forty thousand, Your Majesty.”
“Have we made any changes to these ships since we lost to the Plants at the Pydres’ planet?”
Everyone looked at each other and Tgon-Gee said, “Unfortunately we have done nothing. We are in a leadership vacuum and everyone is looking at everyone else to move us forward.”
Tag stood up and looked at the assembled leaders and they could see the resolve in his face, “That time is over. Kosiev was right, I should be involved in the fight and from this moment forward I will be. However, we must set up our leadership structure and unfortunately there won’t be a vote on what we’re going to do. As most of you know, I possess some psychic ability and though I can’t explain how it works, I know it does. I have discussed this with my wife, your queen, and she agrees with me.
Danielle stood and said, “I have issued a royal decree concerning the changes being made during this meeting and they will be effective immediately. My first decree is that Tag is the one designated to direct our war against the plants. I am going to insure that all our members are notified of the changes being made immediately. Tag will lead this meeting in my absence.” She then left the room.