“Can any being ever get here, Kali?” I asked into the void around me.
“No. The danger is now truly ended.”
I could feel unlimited power flowing through the staff. With such power I could be a god. Was a god.
But before I could revel in the feeling, I remembered the old joke about the dyslexic atheists, who’d sat up all night arguing if there was, or was not, a dog.
I laughed to myself, and let the power dissipate.
As expected, everything went white, and I was fine with that.
Fifty One
I woke suddenly.
Angel was asleep next to me as she usually was, her head on the pillow beside mine. I stroked her a few times, and she began to purr. Above us, the view suggested I was in my bed on Haven.
Aline burst into the room.
“At last, you’re awake!”
She flung herself onto the bed next to me, and pulled me into a hug. Angel leapt up, waggled her back foot at us, and jumped off, streaking out through the open door.
“Don’t kill him, Aline,” suggested Amanda from the doorway.
With a bit of effort, I could see Aleesha was with her, both looking tired, but otherwise fine. Aline pulled away, kissed me instead, and then hopped back off the bed.
“Good morning to you too,” I said, smiling.
“Good morning?” she exclaimed. “Jon, it’s afternoon, and you’ve been asleep for a week!”
I looked at the twins. They nodded.
“We’ve only been up ourselves for a few hours,” added Amanda.
“A week?”
“Since we got back,” said Aline. “Although none of us know how we did. In fact, none of us remember what we did.”
Again the twins nodded.
I’d fully expected us to be left high and dry a billion lightyears from anywhere, with a dead staff, and nowhere to go.
I’d fully expected to just cease to exist, given the power I’d known we’d have to use.
I guess Kali did her ‘save us from non-existence thing’ again, and in the process, only I’d remembered what we did.
“But we know what everyone thinks we did,” added Aleesha.
“What do they think we did?”
They both came in to the end of the bed. I tried to sit up, and found myself too fatigued to do even that.
“Something impossible,” said Aline. “Jane, show him.”
A screen came alive on one wall. It showed a cross section of the stars of the galaxy, which I thought looked like it was from here. A caption appeared confirming that. A few seconds of nothing happening, and then a bright light shone from far away, dying to leave a small black hole where before had been stars.
The screen went black, then lit up again. The same thing only from another part of space, the caption telling me it was from Morocco, which was the closest inhabited planet to where the Darkness system had been. This time the white flash was much more spectacular.
The same thing from Karn. And again from Kelewan. Both of them on the other side of the core, and nowhere near each other.
And again from Keerah, and Ralnor.
All showing the same thing. Jane had put timestamps on all of them for local Haven time, showing they were all seen at exactly the same moment.
“That’s not what I was expecting.”
“Everyone thinks you made a star go supernova,” said Amanda.
“Why do they think it was me?”
“Enough people saw the three ships leave, and BigMother was the last to come back after the flash.”
“Hang on. That makes no sense. They can’t have seen a flash at this distance. Especially if it was a supernova. Even Morocco wouldn’t have seen it for hundreds of years.”
“We know,” said Aleesha. “But that hasn't stopped people speculating.”
Scientists were going to be short stroking this one for centuries, probably. It broke the laws of physics in a way no-one could explain. So they’d try really hard.
“What did we do?” asked Amanda, looking curious.
I told them, and they went away smiling. Aline helped me up, and we did the bathroom dance, and I went back to bed, this time not in uniform.
Over the next two days, I progressively felt stronger, and started meeting my key officers.
The three planet assaults had been mainly successful, although we’d had some casualties. Mainly troops not paying attention to their suit integrity, and continuing to fight when they should have pulled back to allow the suit to recover.
Jane showed me vid of various units fighting, the most interesting of which was twenty dragons running along, with Lufaflufs holding onto spine spikes with one hand, while they fired into the massed plants all around their dragon. The combination of fireballs, and rapid pulses in all directions, was certainly effective. Also entertaining were the big cat units, bounding along as only cats can, and rearing up onto hind legs, pulling guns off their backs, and roaring at the enemy. Those troops on vehicles simply mowed the plants down. Not as exciting, but it got the job done. And there was even several large farm implements actually mowing. I raised an eyebrow at Jane on that one, and she just grinned.
All three planets had been cleansed of Trixone, and on one, a small group of Roos had been discovered to have survived. The troops were already preparing for their next missions, and my four star officers had things in hand nicely.
The last person I needed to see was David.
He came to see me, and showed me reactions from around the Imperium to what had been seen. He confirmed every planet had seen the same thing from their viewpoint, at the same time. Which of course, was impossible. Debate on a lot of planets raged about the wisdom of having an Imperator who could destroy a whole system like that. I thought they were jumping to conclusions, until I saw David’s face when I said it.
I explained to him what I’d actually done. Nothing had been destroyed. Just moved. And most likely, the flare everyone had seen was just Kali making a statement. In no other way could something happening forty thousand light years away be seen in real time.
But there had been one interesting side effect. The Trixone had abandoned all the systems within a dozen jumps of Imperium space. Which indicated they thought I’d destroyed a system as well. They were still pushing into Keerah and Ralnor space, but nothing was coming at us anymore. The closest plant fleets to our frontier systems were heading away from us, not towards.
I thought it was strange the destruction of three of their worlds wasn’t enough to change them, but a flash in the sky was. Had I known that was all it took, I would have talked to Kali about doing said demonstration a long time ago.
I heard a chuckle in my mind, and ignored it.
David took himself off. I could see he didn’t believe me. I suspected he never would. But his job was now easier because I’d done something which moved the war away from directly threatening Imperium worlds.
It was enough the twins and Aline believed me, and the rest of the team would believe them. Although I wondered why Kali had taken their memories, until I remembered One saying even she hadn't remembered what was inside the cloak until we got there. Maybe it was safer that way.
Fatigued again, I left my office and slumped down in a chair in my living room. Angel jumped up, and sat in my lap, making it clear her fur needed grooming. I obliged.
My parents arrived not long after with Midnight, their own cat, followed by the team, and Aline’s team, and I let them fuss around me through dinner.
After they all left, and Aline had gone off to bed, I sat there looking up at the cosmos.
I’d solved the biggest problem for good now. And I hadn’t needed to kill anyone. And I could cope with being thought the man who’d destroyed a system in order to demonstrate he could.
The war would continue, but now we had the basics in place to fight it properly.
And maybe, just maybe, the Trixone would talk to us now.
It felt good being me.
&nb
sp; And I finally felt right being the Imperator.
The story continues
in
Rogue Unit.
But for those who wonder what happened to Thorn,
his story continues in,
Midshipman Spacemage
Galaxy Map
Core Imperium Map
Old Sector Maps
Before the time line shift.
Imperium Ranks
Marine, Fleet, Pilots.
Private, Apprentice Spacer.
Lance Corporal, Ordinary Spacer.
Corporal, Spacer.
Sergeant, Able Spacer.
Senior Sergeant, Petty Officer.
Master Sergeant, Chief Petty Officer.
Sergeant Major, Senior Chief Petty Officer.
Command Sergeant Major, Master Chief Petty Officer.
Master Command Sergeant Major.
Sub-Lieutenant, Ensign, Pilot Officer.
Second Lieutenant, Lieutenant Junior Grade (JG), Flight Officer.
Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Flight Lieutenant.
Major, Lieutenant Commander, Squadron Leader.
Lieutenant Colonel, Commander, Wing Commander.
Colonel, Fleet Captain, Group Captain.
Commodore. (Brevet rank only).
Brigadier General, Fleet Admiral, Space Commodore.
Lieutenant General, Rear Admiral, Rear Marshall.
Major General, Vice Admiral, Vice Marshall.
General, Admiral, Marshall.
Admiral of the Fleet.
Imperator.
Imperium Uniforms
Red for Command.
Green for Marines and Infantry.
Blue for Navy, including pilots.
Note: Belt buckle shows ship or command.
Imperium Insignia
Non-Commissioned:
Private: one downward sloping v-shaped stripe.
Lance Corporal: the same, but closed with a curve at the bottom.
Corporal: two open stripes.
Sergeant: three open stripes.
Senior Sergeant: three, with the lower one closed.
Master Sergeant: three, with two curved underneath.
Sergeant Major: three, with three.
Command Sergeant Major: the same, with a star in the middle.
Sergeant Colonel: the same, with eagle in the middle.
Note: These are not stripes to be worn on the sleeves, but badges to wear on the shoulders, top of the stripe pointing to the neck.
Officers:
Sub-Lieutenant: a thin bar.
Second Lieutenant: a thick bar.
Lieutenant: two thick bars.
Major: two thick bars with a thin bar between them.
Lieutenant Colonel: the Oak Leaf.
Colonel: the American 'Bird'.
Flag Ranks: stars, from one to four, in a row.
Admiral of the Fleet: five stars in a circle.
Imperator: Starburst.
Note: All are in gold colour, and look like metal badges.
Imperium Fleet
BigMother – Imperator’s Command Carrier
Titans
Valkyrie – Marshal James Bigglesworth
Trident – Admiral Darius Jedburgh (****)
Hammer of Thor – Vice Admiral Susan Bentley (***)
Sceptre of Kali – Rear Admiral Sato (**)
Orion’s Belt (Carrier) – Rear Admiral Chet Hallington (**)
Orion’s Stars (Carrier) – Rear Admiral Daniel O’Neil (**)
Claymore Task Force
Shade (Chaos class dreadnaught) – Fleet Captain Chris ‘Dreamwalker’ Ecclestone
Bludgeon (Chaos class dreadnaught) – Commander Gertrude ‘Knüppel’ Simhausen
Claymore (Scimitar class carrier) – Wing Commander Guy Gibson
Katana (Scimitar class carrier) – Wing Commander Pierre Clostermann
2 unnamed cruisers, Commander William Bishop, Commander Werner Voss
super destroyers – Crusader, Chivalrous, Whirlwind, Wizard, Zealous, Vigilant
super corvettes – Tenacious, Redoubtable, Paladin, Pathfinder, Rigorous
Havoc Task Force (Chaos class dreadnaughts)
Havoc – Fleet Admiral Ron ‘Starman’ Greer
Mayhem – Fleet Captain George ‘Dragon’ Murdock
Turmoil – Fleet Captain Annette ‘Nightshade’ Bronson
Furore – Commander Leonard Cheshire
Frenzy – Commander Kenneth Cross
Uproar – Commander Albert Ball
Bedlam Task Force (Chaos class dreadnaughts)
Bedlam – Fleet Admiral Miriam ‘Stiletto’ Young
Chaos – Commander Grace ‘Chaos’ Tapping
Calamity – Commander Eddie Rickenbacker
Anarchy – Commander Richard Bong
Entropy – Commander Clive Caldwell
Dauntless (Relentless class dreadnaught) – unnamed Bhockah Fleet Captain
Explorer Task Force
Galactica – Fleet Admiral Frank Hunter
Enterprise – Fleet Captain Trisha Fox
Prometheus – Fleet Captain Wayne Noland
Goliath
Hercules
Wayward Task Force (various dreadnaught classes)
Unassailable – Fleet Admiral Jane
John Wayne – Fleet Captain Tanaka
Relentless – Unnamed Cheetah Fleet Captain
Defiant – Fleet Captain Karen Gillan
Undaunted – Fleet Captain Scott Renaud
Short Wind Squadron
12 unnamed super-Gunbus corvettes with Japanese crews.
Fearless (super-cruiser) – Commander Nathan Lowell
Homer (cruiser)
Bonko’s Club (cruiser) – Fleet Captain Bonko
General Custer (frigate)
General Patton (frigate)
General Montgomery (frigate)
General Slim (frigate)
Unnamed ex-Trixone battleship
Unnamed ex-Trixone battleship
Unnamed ex-Trixone transport
Unnamed converted freighters
Fighters
Excalibur mark IV heavy fighter
Brawler medium fighter
Eagle Wing
Space Commodore Algernon Lacey
Wing Commander Alexander Brown
Commander Manfred Von Richthofen (unnamed cruiser)
Commander Erich Hartmann (unnamed cruiser)
Commander Ernst Udet (unnamed cruiser)
Order of Capital ship sizes
Corvette
Frigate
Destroyer
Cruiser
Battlecruiser/Scimitar class carrier
Battleship/BigMother
Dreadnaught
Behemoth
Titan
Acknowledgements
Thanks to –Jeff- for the model of BigMother and Orion’s Stars.
Thanks also to Egosoft for the background image, from the game X4: Foundations.
A Message to my Readers
One of the joys of the way I write is when a character, quite often Jane, asks a question not even I had thought of. It can be an OMG moment, or a WTF moment, or even an AHA moment. This book had an OMG moment, which set up the ending very nicely, and tied it back to the first series in a way I’d not considered until I got there in the writing. As a popular character used to say, I love it when a plan comes together! Especially as in this case, the plan wasn’t all there when I started writing, for once.
One of the aims of this book was to finally put in place the last of the world building for the Imperium. It sets up a galaxy wide network of different species and political entities, linked with common purpose around a war which has only just begun.
There are still two books in planning for this series, but my intention is for it to be open ended, coming back to write more as I get the ideas.
Timewise, we’re still around the same time as Destiny Stone in the Gaia galaxy.
&n
bsp; Lots to come. Please stay with me.
If you’ve enjoyed this book, I hope you will take the time to leave a review on the Amazon site. All reviews are greatly appreciated, as they help assist purchasing decisions by other readers.
Sales and reviews help me to focus on my next challenge. I'm a full time novel writer and as such, sales and KU reads pay my bills, and my ability to continue writing is dependent on sales of this series, and what comes after.
As well as individual book reviews, I hope you will visit the Amazon series page, and leave a series review. The series page can be accessed from any book page.
I thank you for your support, and hope you will continue to read my next book.
Please join me on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/TheHunterLegacy
You are welcome to discuss the series on the Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TheHunterLegacyUniverse/
If you would like to be kept informed of new eBooks, updates and information from The Hunter Legacy universe as it happens (instead of waiting 4 days for Bookbub, or sometime in 60 days to never for Amazon), join my mailing list at http://eepurl.com/bqMgVz. This list is not a newsletter, and is only emailed for new releases or important announcements.
Thank you.
Timothy Ellis
Also by Timothy Ellis
These Kindle eBooks can be found on
Timothy Ellis’ Kindle Author page.
Receive new release notifications fastest by joining http://eepurl.com/bqMgVz