“We looked at our database rather extensively, and we found that one of our brothers developed a cutting device that he used to cut off a piece of our ship’s hull to build a statue. We contacted him and Leonardo reproduced it for us. Remarkably enough, it is also activated by thoughts. It may be effective against their hull material. We won’t know if it will work, but we want it included anyway. We are working to see if we can make this into a weapon but again, we won’t know unless we get an opportunity to trial it.”
David sat in his chair and tried to determine what should be done. He felt unimaginable fear and was paralyzed about what he should do. Elizabeth looked her husband, then at Valerie, and nodded. Valerie stood and looked at her father, “Father, it’s time.”
David started and looked at his daughter. He turned to Elizabeth and Joe and they nodded to him. David sighed and stood, “I hereby abdicate the throne of the Stars Realm and designate my daughter Valerie to be the new Queen of the Stars Realm. May she protect us against all enemies.” He sat back down and felt tired. The entire room was stunned by the announcement. Even the spiders were at a loss.
Valerie looked at the people around the table and said, “I didn’t want to take control this soon, but time is growing short. All of you must believe that.” She turned to Admiral Zergl, “Prepare his armor.” She looked at Cynthia, “You will also have your armor modified with the new items.” She then turned and said to everyone present, “They are coming and they will be here before you know it. Get back in your labs and develop the things we’ll need to defend ourselves. Otherwise we will end up like those colonists.” Everyone looked up at the screen where the picture had frozen as the colonists had fallen on the belt.
Cynthia looked at Jake, “I have a bad feeling about this.”
Jake smiled and said, “Stick close to me.”
Cynthia shook her head, “As if I have a choice.”
Jake looked over at Valerie and she saw him staring at her. He thought to her, “I will never forget you, Val.”
Valerie felt a tear, but she quickly wiped it away. She turned and left the Room.
David sat in his chair and held Beth’s hand. “It’s up to her now, Love.”
Beth smiled, “It has always been up to her, my Love.”
Chapter Five
The Stars Realm was surprised to hear of the King’s abdication, but was curious about the scheduled announcement that was going to be made in three hours. It was a rare thing indeed for the Royal Family to interfere in the normal day-to-day activities of the Realm. Everyone in the Realm wondered what was going on. Finally the designated time arrived, and Valerie appeared on every electronic monitor in the Realm.
“Good evening, citizens of the Stars Realm. My name is Valerie Rose Gardner and I am the new Queen of the Stars Realm. I know most of you are wondering why I have been selected for this title, and I must say that I wish I did not have to accept it.” Valerie looked into the screen and continued, “The Stars Realm is going to soon be attacked by a civilization that lives in another universe.”
The trillions watching their screens caught their breath. The Realm had been at peace for thousands of years. What was she talking about?
“As most of you know, the Royal Family has a high level of psychic abilities, and one of those is to know when danger is coming. That feeling has grown to the point where we now know that the attack is going to happen soon. We have also discovered the creatures that will be coming, and they have starships that are immune to any weapon in our military’s arsenal. They also possess a beam that goes through our most powerful screens and destroys our ships. We are working hard to develop a defense against these creatures, but we are not there yet.”
Valerie stood and walked in front of the desk she was sitting, “There is something that all of you can do to help you survive if your planet is attacked. I want every citizen on every planet to have their teleport doors programmed with a location off-planet; preferably out of your galaxy. If you are going to be attacked by these creatures, go to the nearest terminal and teleport away. We are going to provide a list of open planets that you may want to consider for your escape. Check your terminals and there will be a list of places for each planet to use to avoid overcrowding. We are doing our best to delay these creatures, but we want to be prepared in the event that the worst happens. Please listen to the Stars Realm’s Representative from your local government and follow their instructions. The Stars Realm Military and the Royal Family are doing everything possible to protect you, and I thank you in advance for your support. Thank you for your attention.”
Valerie stepped away from the desk and heard the news announcers cut in and tell the Stars Realm about their new Queen. The Realm learned that Valerie’s psychic abilities were the greatest in the Realm’s history, and that the Royal Family was unanimous in selecting her to rule during this time of emergency. She turned the monitor off and sat down. She wondered what Jake was doing.
Jake was standing in the middle of a room with nothing on while he was being scanned by a huge machine. It was cold, and he was shivering. “Please be still during the scan.” He could hear Valerie in the next room making the announcement about the coming invasion and he was impressed with how well she handled herself. Then he heard, “Please raise your arms out to your sides.” He raised his arms and then heard, “Palms up, please.” He turned his palms toward the ceiling. “Now down.” He turned them toward the floor. This exercise had been going on for an hour and he had forgotten how many positions he was made to get into. Then he heard, “Ok, that’s it. You can get dressed.
Jake stretched and then began putting his clothes back on. A Stars Realm Colonel came in and said, “You did very well; we should have your armor momentarily.”
Jake started, “Tell me, Colonel, why was the Admiral so against me being given armor?”
The Colonel stared at Jake and finally said, “You are being given one of the most powerful weapons the Realm has in its inventory. We do not give armor to anyone that has not passed our screens.”
“You could always take it back.”
The Colonel shook his head slowly, “The only way to take it back is to kill the one wearing it.”
“What?!?”
“The armor becomes part of your DNA and will always be a part of you. It is not something that can be removed.”
“I thought you had to put it on or something.”
“Mr. Talant, I want you to raise your right arm and salute me.”
Jake looked puzzled but he saluted the Colonel.
Now I want you to raise your left arm and grip the little and ring fingers of your right hand, but do not stop saluting.”
Jake did as he was told, and as soon as he gripped the two fingers he felt a small shock over his entire body. Then he noticed that he was looking through a face plate with all kinds of readouts along the outer edges. When he looked at one of them, it grew larger.
“Mr. Talant, come take a look at yourself.”
Jake saw a mirror on the wall behind him, and he turned and saw himself. “Oh my great aunt! What happened?”
Jake saw a red colored, shiny surfaced, coating covering his entire body. His head had a helmet that was no wider than his ears, but had a protruding front face plate that was opaque. There were no seams anywhere but when he bent his arm, the coating moved with the motion. The coating appeared to be constantly in motion with shifting different red hues.
“My name is Manuel Busigleore. I am going to try and train you on your armor in the little time we have remaining before you leave. I wish we could go out and use it on live targets, but just teaching you all it can do will take up every minute.”
“How do I get out of it, Colonel?”