I will. I wouldnt want to be on that planet when Daulun takes his vengeance over those lost ships.
Hell probably kill most of them and make the rest slaves.
That would be a huge waste of a good planet.
Has that ever stopped him before?
No.
Ill keep you updated.
The probe listened and waited.
Chapter Fifteen
Anglo teleported to Bristone and Nathan immediately commed Scotty, Your Majesty, we have a planet in the Talben Kingdom that is going to be invaded by ships that are supported by six Gamma Class Searchers.
What?!?
Anglo quickly brought Scotty up to speed on what had happened.
You say the planet attacking them is named New Ulmerton?
Yes, and I believe the two Searchers that were chasing me went there after I left. Im certain the ruler of that planet will invade.
BC, are you listening to this?
Yes, Your Majesty.
Anglo, send me to BC.
Your Majesty, BC cannot defeat that many Gammas. Two of them could overwhelm his defenses.
Hes right; if they have six Gammas we cant win a shootout.
Julie listened to the conversations and grabbed Scotty by the arm, You will not go to that system without promising me you will not take on those Searchers.
Scotty stared at Julie, and finally said, BC, can you hide from them?
Yes.
Scotty stared at Julie and said, I give you my word that I will not take action against them until we have better odds in our favor.
Julie looked at Jingo and said, Go with him. Make sure he comes back to me, Jingo.
Jingo looked at Scotty and said, If you want to make sure he does, you have to go.
Jingo!
Youre right. Julie turned to Scotty, Im going with you. If all youre going to do is hide, then I have nothing to worry about.
Scotty sighed heavily, BC?
Yes, Your Majesty?
I am commanding you to make sure we do not endanger ourselves. That command is to be followed until we return.
Julie, Ill make sure he stays safe.
Julie hugged Scotty tightly and stepped back. Scotty looked at her and said, I promise.
Julie nodded and Scotty stepped through a silver screen.
BC, how are we going to jump in to that system without being detected?
I have a suggestion.
What is it, Anglo?
There is a large planet outside the jump limit with a thick atmosphere. Ill teleport you into the backside of that planet inside the atmosphere. If there is a Gamma in that system, Im reasonably certain theyre inside the jump limit to scan the area around the planet. Even a Gamma cant scan through a planet. BC can just stay in the upper levels of the planets atmosphere and scan from there.
BC?
That should work. We can jump away if we have to.
Ill be waiting at the coordinates I just sent you. Make numerous jumps if youre discovered and Ill teleport us away.
Scotty sighed and said, Send us, Anglo.
The small white ship disappeared.
Julie was crying and Jingo put his arm around her, BC wont allow him to be harmed, Julie.
You know him, Jingo. Will BC be able to stop him?
He will this time. Julie looked up at Jingo. He made a promise.
Greyson sat in space looking down on the planet, marveling at the recovery many worlds had achieved after the civil war. This one had been hit by beams during the war, but had recovered. Cities were thriving, and the population was growing. He listened to the leaders of the planet attempt to contact him, but all ships of the New Realm were forbidden to communicate with any planet not in the Realm. It appears the planet had been threatened with invasion and the leaders were attempting to surrender to him. The ship that had attacked the fleet must have been the one that threatened them. Well, Daulun would sort this out. Greyson worried that Daulun might be heavy handed with the planet, even though it had not been the attacker of the fleet.
Greyson?
Yes; go ahead.
Were on the way. Has anything happened?
No, the planet has tried to surrender to me. It appears the ship that attacked our fleet threatened them with invasion. They think Im the one that made the threat.
A new voice came on the channel, So my fleet was attacked so someone else could take this planet?
That is what I believe happened, Your Majesty.
Stand by.
Greyson knew something bad was going to happen. Daulun was not happy. He looked at the planet again and remembered the world where he was built. It was radioactive dust now, but it was once a beautiful planet very much like this one. He hoped the planet would continue to look beautiful, but he was beginning to fear for its life.
Scotty, the Searcher in this system has no pilot on board.
How can you tell?
The voice is pure electronic. There is no variance in the tone.
What do you think that means?
The Ruler must not trust any anyone with the power of these ships.
A small bubble left BCs tail and disappeared. It reappeared next to the Searcher at the planet and it attached to the ships rear fin.
Three Searchers arrived at the jump limit and began moving in-system. Greyson mentally sighed and knew trouble was on the way. After six hours the four ships were together above the planet. Have you scanned the planet?
Yes, Your Majesty. It is beginning to develop, and cities are located on every continent. There isnt any high technology, and it appears to not have much of a military. As I said earlier, the planets President has been offering to surrender to me. He says they are incapable of defending themselves and will follow whatever directions we choose to give them.
Daulun looked at the data and his eyes narrowed. Do you think the ship that attacked my fleet is here?
I havent been able to detect any ships in this system.
If it were a Searcher, would you detect it?
Probably not, Your Majesty.
Destroy the planet.
Your Majesty, it would be an easy conquest.
Im not accustomed to repeating myself.
Greyson knew he had no choice. He powered his main beam and fired at the planet. It exploded and blew apart.
Scotty jumped up out of his chair and yelled, NO!!
BC felt rage build, but managed to get it under control. Theres nothing we can do, Scotty. Its over. Then they heard over their speakers, I dont know if the ship that attacked my fleet is here, but let this be a warning to you. If you interfere with my ships again, we will destroy any planet you attempt to defend or invade. There will be no exceptions.
Daulun looked at his display hoping for an attack, but nothing appeared. After five minutes he said, Take me back to New Ulmerton.
Should I stay and see if that ship returns, Your Majesty?
Daulun thought a moment and said, No. Theyll see from outside the jump limit that it was destroyed. We have other worlds to conquer. I think theyll get my message. The four white ships moved out to the jump limit and jumped away.
Scotty sat in his chair in shock. BC remained silent and waited. After an hour, Scotty looked up and said, We have to warn the kingdoms about this.
Fortunately, I dont think they learned about the two kingdoms. That man is a demon.
Hes what the Provinces would have become if they had won against the Realm. They subjugate and enslave the worlds they conquer. Scotty paused, Is there anything we can do?
I thought about going to their home world while they were here, but Im sure the other two Searchers were there. What will we do if they attack another member of the Empire?
You saw what will happen if we attempt to defend them. Well have to watch them invade.
Anglo is going to take this personally.