“All of them?”
“Yes, we will take no chances of failure. I will notify everyone that we will be going in three nems. Make sure you are ready.”
“I will have my ships ready.
“Melanie, why did you pull the punch on that ship?”
“He was sent here to see what we are capable of doing and I didn’t want to give them anything. It still almost totally destroyed his ship.”
“Yes it did; I’m surprised at how much effect our shot had at one hundredth power.”
“That was a small ship, Magic. I’m certain they have larger vessels.”
“I think it’s time to gather the crews. It won’t be long before they return.”
“I’ll send the word out.”
“Thanks, take us to the psychic ships; we’ll wait there for everyone to come.”
“Tommy, we have been ordered to report to our psychic ship.”
“I’m ready when you are.”
“I’m worried about the Kosiev; it knows I’m going into battle without it. I can sense its unease.”
“I’m sure it knows what’s happening. It just doesn’t want to lose you again. I really think this ship loves you almost as much as I do.”
“Maybe more; it might not listen to reason like you would. I’ve powered it down and ordered it to wait for my return. I hope it listens.”
“Me, too; I don’t want to see it hurt by the Demons; that orange energy could destroy it.”
“I know. I’m sure it will stay.”
Tommy and Cassandra teleported away from the Kosievs’ bridge to their new ship and left the bridge deactivated….until a light came on in the sensor array. The array aligned itself to the edge of the universe where the psychic ships were gathered and remained locked on that region of space. The weapons console suddenly lit up and began running self tests on the ship’s systems. The Kosiev disappeared.
“Citizens of the Stars Realm, our war with the Demons has begun today. We have fought off one of their ships but we know that their fleet will be coming soon. Please think about our brave warriors who are confronting the enemy and wish them success. We will keep you informed about what happens. If we lose, please make plans to try and hide from them. Use the teleport systems and do all you can to survive; we are doing all we can to protect you.”
Matt sent a thought to the Reg, “Brother, can you tell me how the Demons will enter our universe?”
“They will have to use all their ships at one location to break thru the psychic barrier we have made. That is where you will have to hold them off. If you can destroy enough of their ships, they will delay their entry until a later date. You must not let them break thru the corridor they attack.”
“Are we strong enough to win?”
“We don’t know; all of our visions stop at this moment in time. We believe that the future from this point forward is undetermined. It can go either way.”
“Do you have any suggestions as to how we should meet them?”
“No, you are the warriors.”
“Thank you, Brother for helping us.”
“It is something we had to do.”
Chapter 13
“Attention all Psychic Ships. We are going to organize into five groups of a hundred ships in each group. The command vessels for the groups will be as follows: the center will be commanded by Tommy and Cassandra Gardner; the right of Cassandra will be Rose and Chris Gardner; the left of Cassandra will be Thomas and Danielle Gardner; the left end of our formation will be Anglo and Jenny Gardner; Melanie and I will have the right end of our formation. The command ships will place themselves behind their hundred ships and move to support wherever needed. I want your fields extended to their maximum power and each ship will overlap their screens. If we lose a ship, then extend your screens to cover the gap. I know that the power will be reduced but we cannot allow breaks in our formation. Once your fields are extended, I will lock all of you into Melanie’s board and she will jump our formation to stay in front of the Demons. You do not need to focus on where we move; we will handle that for all of us. Are there any questions?”
“Yes, how do Fly Girl and I move into our ship?”
“I don’t know, Al. Perhaps if you just move next to it and make contact it might make the move for you.” Matt watched as Al and Fly Girl approached their ship and moved slowly forward and touched the ship’s hull.
“We’re in; we’re teleporting our ships to a safe location.” The two Alpha ships disappeared.
Matt thought privately to Al and Fly Girl, “Where is Junior?”
“He’s with Stem and Petal’s seed. They are going to Atlas and Diana to start their training.”
“I hope Atlas and Diana are up for the effort. Those two should be a handful.”
“You have no idea; junior has already exhausted our libraries.”
“How do the two of you like being in one ship?”
“Matt, this is the greatest feeling I’ve ever had; I love being this close to Fly Girl.”
“Me, too, Matt, this is wonderful.”
“Take this time to familiarize yourself with your new ship.”
“Already on it.”
“Good, Al; I’ll see you after the battle.”
“Count on it.”
“Jenny, do you feel like I forced you into being with me?”
“Oh, Anglo, don’t be ridiculous.”
“No, I mean it. I pressured you a lot.”
“Silly, I was already trying to figure out how to get your attention before anyone said anything. I couldn’t be happier.”
“Thanks, Jenny; I love you.”
“We have time before the Demons come; let’s make good use of it.”
“Oh, Jenny, come here.”
“Rose.”
“Yes, Chris.”
“I feel so unworthy of having you.”
“Why, because I’ve been a queen?”
“That’s part of it. You’re just so beautiful and your mind is extraordinary. I am so thankful you chose to be with me.”
“Chris, that decision was made millions of years ago. You are what completes me and don’t sell yourself short; you are a powerful psychic generator.”
“I’m still not sure what that is, Rose.”
“I am able to use psychic abilities to a very high level; you understand that don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Well you have more psychic power than I do. When we are linked, I can use your power to make my abilities more than ten thousand times stronger. You are the power that will make this ship deadly. You are probably more important than I am in the coming battle. Without you, I wouldn’t be strong enough alone to survive.”
“Then we need each other, Love.”
“More than you will ever know. I’ve needed you my whole life and I didn’t know it. Now my life is complete. No matter how this turns out, the time we’ve been together has been the best of my life.”
“And mine, too.”
“We just have to make sure we win. I want to enjoy this for a very long time.”
Tag looked at his board and then said to Danielle, “We are practically one person now.”
“Yes, Love, isn’t it great?”
“Yes but there is something you must do during the upcoming battle.”
Danielle could hear his concern, “What is that?”
“Part of my talents revolves around being able to see places where we won’t be in the line of fire. When you see a dark shadow around us, you must move the ship into it. Time will also slow down and we’ll be moving much faster than the ships around us. I’ll be busy with the weapons and I have to depend on you to keep us safe. Can you do what I’m asking?”
“Yes, I’ll make sure we move toward the psychic shadows you see. You just make sure you use your weapons effectively.”
“I only have one weapon that is some kind of beam. I’m sure I’ll be able to target the enemy. You keep us moving.”
“I will. I still look forward to retirement.”
“Are our ships ready?”
“Yes, they are.”
“Is everyone prepared?”