I transported myself back home, this time directly into the cavern. I opened the door to my ship and entered it saying “Keesha…I’m home precious…where are you?” I didn’t hear a response. I walked down the main corridors calling her name and looking in every room. As I moved through the ship my pace quickened and my shouts for her became louder. Soon I was frantic, where could she be? Then I stopped, smiled and in an epiphany, I realized where she was. “She’s checking on her Mom,” I said aloud. I ran through the corridor to the doorway, down the stairs closing the door behind me. I ran through the long corridor to the exit hatch and closed the door behind me. As I turned and began running toward the house, I saw Keesha emerge from the house. As she walked toward me, I saw her cup her hands over her face. She knew she was in trouble.
A bright flash of intense light with a defining [CRACK!] like a thunder clap, then darkness, I was pushed deep within the earth by a powerful beam or particle weapon. I was buried alive in an instant. Any other human would have been vaporized. Vaporized! Keesha! I started franticly swimming thought the dirt, rubble, and stones. As I breached the surface of what used to be my orchard, I saw Keesha lying in the distance, motionless. “Keesha!” I screamed as I ran to her side. I knelt at her side and I checked to see if she was breathing. She was. I checked her pulse. It was strong and steady. With my mind I looked deep into her body searching for injuries. I checked her extremities. No fractures. I check her head. I saw evidence of a mild concussion. Her chest looked fine, and then I checked her abdomen. I stood up filled with rage, the embodiment of hatred, and murderous vengeance. I looked up, closed my eyes, and then stretched out my arms to the sky; then released all of my power, to the farthest reaches of our galaxy and beyond. As my power touched each member of the Zet species they instantly and violently exploded spewing blood and guts everywhere. In a matter of seconds, the entire Zet species was exterminated and extinct. I slumped briefly to one knee then quickly recovered, scooped up Keesha and rushed her to the hospital.
Unconscious in the hospital, Bob reflected: “Vengeance belongs to the only righteous judge, the Lord God Himself, as he wept for Keesha and David.”
The force of the shockwave severely ruptured the connection between her uterus and the placenta, killing our developing child. The placenta was positioned in a tenuous location and the force of the blast made it tear from the inner wall of her uterus so violently she required an emergency hysterectomy in order to save her life. Luckily, the surgery went well, but she was still unconscious from the blast. She was feeling no pain. It would be a painful recovery both mentally and physically when she did awake. All I can do is be there for her, love her, care for her, and do everything in my power to comfort her. I don’t know why she hadn’t told me she was pregnant. Maybe she didn’t even realize it herself. I won’t say anything about our child unless she asks. The news of her hysterectomy will be traumatic enough. We will never be blessed with a child. The Zet killed my child and severely injured my precious love. The Zet deserved what they got.
I called Keesha’s mother, who lived just down the street from the hospital. Providing very few details, I told her what had happened. “Oh, My Baby! My Baby!” she screamed and began hysterically crying. “Stop that right now,” I shouted. “Pull yourself together and get over here. Keesha needs you.” Without saying a word, she hung up the phone and headed out the door to her car. She entered Keesha’s hospital room ten minutes later. She hugged me then went to Keesha’s bedside lifting her hand into hers and sat down. I walked over to her, put my arm around her and told her about the hysterectomy. She began weeping as she laid her head against me. I didn’t have the heart to tell her about the baby. She was in enough pain. I was still covered with dirt and my shirt was gone. My pants were charred and shredded. I told her that I needed to go home for a few minutes to wash off all the dirt and grime and put on some cloths. She agreed, but also questioned me about what happened. I told her that there was an explosion, and I’d fill her in on the details when I got back.
The Earth was still in turmoil from the alien attack and the other species on the Zet ships were, I’m sure, experiencing similar turmoil. I had wiped out their entire command staff and most of the crewmembers. I needed to go check on the aliens that were still aboard the ships. So, instead of driving home from the hospital I simply folded space. I couldn’t fold space to transport Keesha to the hospital, because I had never tried transporting anyone with me before. I didn’t want to risk further injury to my precious love, so I drove her to the hospital. Appearing in my bathroom at home I took off the tattered remnants of my clothes and took a quick shower. I put on clean clothes and transported myself up to the now helpless command ship of the now defunct Zet Empire. There was blood and guts everywhere. Standing by the command chair in the center of the bridge was Communications Officer Kindra Mattraya, still dripping with blood. “Are you alright Officer Mattraya?” “Yes, I’m not injured,” she said. “Did you do this?” “Yes, they opened fire on me and severely injured my wife killing my unborn child, so I retaliated. I killed every one of those murders throughout the Milky Way Galaxy. The Zet are extinct. She bowed her head and apprehensively said, “My King, what are your orders.”
First things first; I was sure that the Zet attacked me, but I needed her to confirm it for the sake of my own conscience. She said that as soon as I left the meeting, I had with the ship commanders they began plotting their treacherous attack. They used the communications device I was carrying to home in on my location and then opened fire with the command ship’s main gun. Their particle beam weapon emits a short blast of energy capable of penetrating deep within the surface of a planet. Deep manmade reinforced caverns weren’t even a safe refuge against its force. I could attest to that. I was pushed several hundred feet deep as the beam shattered the earth and rock beneath and around me. It’s a formidable weapon. Then I asked if she was in communication with all the other ships of the armada. She said that communications were open to all the ships and her own home world. All the ships had replied and were awaiting further instruction. Her home world had relayed that as far as they knew, all the Zet were dead and the Empire had fallen.
I asked her if the remaining beings on the vessels could successfully traverse the space voyage to their respective home worlds. She explained that there were not enough trained personnel to operate all the ships. So, I replied, “They’ll need a leader and someone to organize the training necessary to operate the vessels. Okay Kindra, you are now in command of this armada.” I instructed Fleet Commander Mattraya to pool her resources and man only as many ships as could be safely navigated. I acquired a new communication device and reminded the good commander about what happened to the Zet. She assured me of her loyalty and the loyalty of the other species aboard the vessels. “We are forever in your debt for destroying the Zet and their evil Empire. We are your loyal subjects forever.” I smiled a tentative smile, mildly disbelieving her, and bid my farewell and reminded her to keep me informed of her progress.
I transported directly down to Keesha’s hospital room. Her mother was still their looking soulfully into the expressionless unconscious face of her child. I startled her as I walked up behind her. She gasped, and then placed her hand on my chest. “Sorry Mom, how are you holding up?” “I’m doing okay now, but Keesha still hasn’t woken up.” The doctor that treated Keesha came in just after I arrived, and explained to us that Keesha had a mild concussion and due to the concussion and the trauma of the injury and surgery, Keesha would probably sleep a long time. He also told us about the baby Keesha lost. The news devastated her mother. Tears began to flow as the doctor continued speaking, and explained that he had ordered pain medicine and that they were starting the medicine now so that Keesha wouldn’t be in as much pain when she woke up. I consoled her as best I could, and could see that the day had taken a heavy toll on her.
I sent her home when it got late and I stayed with Keesha. During my vigil, I reflected on the turmoil of the past 24 hours. I saved the Earth, but millions had died in the process. China’s population was decimated, as were the populations of several countries. The United States experienced a great deal of destruction and a severe breakdown of governmental infrastructure. Riots and looting abounded, but according to the news anchor on the TV most of our people survived. My precious Keesha was severely injured, and we had lost our child. There was no possibility of trying again to produce a precious child of our own. I had reached out through time/space and exterminated an entire species. I was beginning to feel a little remorse. Perhaps not all of them deserved to die? Well, it’s too late now. They’re gone. As all of this ran through my mind over and over again tears welled up in my eyes and I began sobbing intermittently as the night waned.
Just before dawn, I received a communication from Commander Mattraya. She said that of the 5,652 ships of the armada they will be able to staff 50 of them. They could not be assembled, cross trained and ready to depart for several days, but she had appointed commanders for the ships and they had begun planning. I instructed her to proceed and to take into consideration, during the training and planning phase of the operation, to train her personnel so that a crew of a single species could handle each ship. Because that way, as a species approached their home world, they could navigate home without the rest of the fleet. “I anticipated that and have already initiated the training. I have assigned ship commanders from each species and will have all the personnel trained to sustain a species-specific crew on each vessel.” “Outstanding,” I said. “You’re a competent and efficient leader Kindra…may I call you Kindra?” “Yes, my King, and thank you.” “Keep up the good work Kindra, and keep me informed of your progress.” “I will my King.”
As dawn broke, I was still sitting beside the bed holding the hand of my precious wife. A nurse walked in to take Keesha’s morning vital signs, check her IV and administer her medicine. She quickly and silently performed her task. “She’s doing great; her vital signs are stable and strong. She’ll be up and about in no time,” the nurse said while departing the room. I looked back at Keesha and she opened her eyes and grimaced for a moment. In a caring, but somber voice I said, “Good morning precious.” She turned her head toward my voice and with squinted eyes said, “Good Morning. Where am I?” And before I could answer, her eyes grew wide. “David, are you okay. I saw something hit you. Are you hurt?” Tears instantly began to flow and I laid my forehead on her shoulder and began to cry. This precious gift from God was more worried about me, the indestructible master of the universe than she was about herself. She reached across with her other hand and began to run her fingers through my hair saying, “Don’t cry, everything is okay.” I looked up, tears streaming down my face and said, “No precious, everything’s not okay. I’m fine, but that blast that hit me hurt you very badly and knocked you unconscious. You’ve been in the hospital for about 12 hours.”
The pain medicine was slowing and clouding her thoughts. She tried to sit up and felt the savage grip of pain tug at her abdomen. She grimaced in pain for a moment then gasped and placed her hand on her abdomen. “The baby? David…is the baby okay?” Tears welled up again in my eyes. “The baby’s gone precious.” She screamed, “No!” and began crying inconsolably. I held her hand and cried with her. Several minutes passed and as her crying became gentle sobs, she asked, as if she knew the answer, “Will I ever be able to have a baby?” Hesitantly I said, “No Precious.” She screamed, “No! No!” and again began crying inconsolably. As she calmed down, I explained what had happened, and told her that her Mom would be in soon to see her. Then with the most savage vicious look I had ever seen on her precious face, she said, “Did you kill those evil murders that did this to us?” “Yes precious, they’re all dead and Earth is safe. They won’t ever hurt anyone again.” Folding her arms across her chest defiantly and with smug contempt in her voice she said, “Good, those murderous monsters deserved it.”
As we talked, and cried, consoling each other her mother walked in. When Keesha saw her Mom she said nothing, just reached out her arms to her and began crying. They cried and talked and comforted each other for the rest of the morning. True to my word, I had told her mother every detail of what had happened, but she had a great deal of difficulty believing most of what I told her, so she questioned Keesha about it. As Keesha explained all that I had shown her and told her, her mother became increasingly nervous and avoided looking at me. After all the information sunk in, she looked over at me with fear in her eyes and a tremble in her voice. “You would never hurt us, would you?” Before I could say a word Keesha came to my defense. “Mom…he just saved me and the Earth. He only hurts evil people or things. You know him…he’s the same man he was last week. Did you love and trust him then?” Looking down in shame, Keesha’s Mom said, “Yes, I’m sorry baby, it’s all just a little frightening to me.” Keesha still holding her mother’s hand, gave it a little squeeze, and as her mother looked up, they both smiled at each other. Moments later the doctor came in and examined Keesha. “You’re doing great, I think we’ll let you go home the day after tomorrow, but you’ll need strict bed rest for a couple of days, and I’ll need to see you in my office each day for the next few days to make sure the stitches hold and you don’t have any complications. Here’s my card with my office address and phone number. Call to make an appointment and feel free to call if you have any questions.”
As the doctor left the room, I received a call from Commander Mattraya. “Yes Kindra, what’s up?” Keesha in a jealous voice demanded, “Who’s Kindra?” “Excuse me a moment,” I said, as I placed my finger over the receiver. “Precious, this is one of the good aliens that were being forced to help out the bad aliens. I’m helping them get back home and Kindra was the most experienced officer, so I put her in charge.” Keesha still with a slight hint of jealousy in her voice said, “Oh, okay…sorry.” Removing my finger from the receiver I said, “I’m back Kindra, what’s up?” “There are some essential systems onboard that none of us have been trained to operate, could you assist us, my King?”
“My King?!” Keesha jealously interrupted. “Yes Commander, I’ll be there in a little while.” Keesha was lying in bed, jealousy beaming from her precious face, her lips pouting with her arms crossed defiantly over her chest. I leaned over placing my hands on either side of her on the bed with a stern look on my face glaring down at her. She broke into a huge smile and chuckled at me. Because she knew I was kidding. She reached up and I hugged her, gently kissing her on the neck and cheek, and then looked into her beautiful sparking eyes and said, “I love you, my Queen. I’m yours forever.” She hugged me again then pushed me away. “Go help those aliens; I’ll see you in a little while.” “Okay precious, I’ll be back soon,” I said with a smile, and then vanished before their eyes.
I appeared on the command deck of the command ship, and Kindra was there to greet me. Keesha had a right to be jealous. Kindra was beautiful. Her species developed almost exactly as ours did, and as usual in parallel evolution, they looked just like us. Well to be precise, all of their people looked like our planet’s oriental race.
Unconscious in the hospital, Bob rebutted: “Parallel evolution? What a goofy notion. I can’t believe I actually believed that in my recent past.”
Their species had less genetic diversity and had a different genetic makeup than us. They looked like us externally in every way and were even sexually compatible, but their internal organs were different. They had the same internal environment (more or less), but the organs were shaped different and varied in size and position from ours. Again, although sexually compatible, the coital union of one of them and one of us could never produce a child. Kindra was a very attractive, intelligent and capable example of the female gender of her species. I’m glad I chose her for this job.
“What can I help you with?” I said, walking over to her. She explained the systems she was having trouble with and we went to work correcting her crew’s inadequacies. One of the systems that the Zet never allowed any other species to know about was the weapons systems. Several of the commanders wanted access to them, but both Kindra and I felt that would be unwise. With the Zet conquered and exterminated, there was no need for weapons in this sector of our galaxy. The other species in this sector of the galaxy were relatively benign, but a couple did have a mild propensity toward violence, including our people (the people of Earth), so giving these aliens or anyone this technology and firepower would be (in a word) stupid.
I completed a computer training program to train key members of each vessel and gave them hands-on training. The computer program and the hands-on training made it possible for them to teach the rest of their crews. I then transported back to the command ship. I bid my farewell to Kindra and asked her to keep me informed of her progress. With the task at hand complete, I transported myself back down to Keesha’s hospital room to spend the night at her side.
