and were only too willing to help relieve our plight as the Transport carried only limited medical facilities.
I arrived on the bridge just as we were coming out of Translight speed. Immediately on the screen in front of us was the Solaran battle carrier, Antilles, with a battle cruiser escort. I had seen both types of ships on Sontral on the flypast that had been staged for me at the Prime Minister’s residence, but I was still taken aback by their sheer size compared to our comparatively small Transport ship. After permission was given to land, we passed through an invisible force field and touched down on one of the internal flight decks. Medical teams were on standby to immediately rush the badly injured to the hospital facilities, leaving the walking wounded like myself to make our way there under our own steam.
My comparatively minor wound was attended to by a medic who applied what I would call a patch bandage. He said it would be fully healed in seven to ten days. As I sat there, I realised just how lucky I had been. The Captain then introduced himself. During a subsequent conversation with him, I informed him of the sad loss of Kronos and Adema on Tyros and he said he would personally convey the terrible news to Sontral. The Doctor in charge then gave me an update on the medical situation concerning the wounded. After discussing the Vogarans’ needs at length with Crixas and the others, it was agreed that the more seriously wounded would be kept on the carrier until they could be transferred by hospital ships to the nearest available planet for more specialist care. As for the ones that were not going to make it, they would be put into stasis and allowed to go back on the Transport. As Crixas said, if they were going to die, it would be back home on Tau Seti with their families and loved ones.
After that very painful conversation, we all made our way back to the flight deck in silence. On entering the flight deck proper, the crew of the carrier had been gathering around the edges of the flight deck as well as on the balconies above. As soon as we were spotted, a huge cheering roar erupted from all the crew members.
I gestured to Crixas and the others and shouted, “These are the men, along with millions of others like them, who brought the Kaytons down. Don’t ever forget that.”
Then there was complete silence as one by one in single file, the men who had been put into stasis filed past us on what I can best describe as hospital beds with see-through Perspex screens covering them. Each one was being pushed by a white-uniformed medical orderly. The beds themselves were utilising the same anti-gravity technology I had witnessed before on Tyros. As they passed us, we bowed our heads in silence as a mark of respect. You could still see the men’s faces as they went by, but within the confines of the enclosed spaces of their beds you could see a silvery damp mist swirling around. This was what must have been keeping them in suspended animation.
Once the last one was loaded on to the Transport for the long journey home to Tau Seti, I started to make my way on board, only to be abruptly stopped in my tracks by Crixas.
“And where do you think you are going, Guardian John?” he demanded.
Stunned, I replied, “Well, I’m making my way back on board.”
“No, John,” Crixas said, “your fate now lies along a different path to ours. You have done all that has been asked of you and more. Now you must return to your loved ones on your home world the same as we must return to our loved ones on Tau Seti.”
“Are you absolutely sure?” I asked.
“Yes, we are all in agreement.”
One by one, I said goodbye to my little band of heroes to whom I owed my very life. On reaching the big guy, I looked up and said, “Goodbye, big Fella.”
He looked down on me and amazingly, in a slow but measured voice, replied, “Goodbye, John.” Then, with a grin on his face he gave me a huge hug… like a grizzly bear, he wrapped his arms around my mortal coil of a body, completely enveloping me in his overpowering grip.
After I was released, I turned to Crixas and embraced him. “Goodbye, my dear friend and thanks again to all of you for saving my life back there on Tyros.”
Looking me straight in the eye, he replied, “No, John, thank you for freeing us from slavery and the unspeakable horrors we were forced to commit in the name of the Kaytons.”
“I promise I will come and visit you all on Tau Seti once you are well on the road to recovery,” I told him. “And of course I have a promise to keep to a certain young man.”
“And you will be most welcome by my people and our leaders who will be looking forward to that day,” Crixas replied. “Of course, we have a lot of reconstruction ahead of us but at least we can move forward now. The Kaytons arrived on Tau Seti not long after the arrival in the sky of the comet Kahooteck, the appearance of which in our history has always been a sign of bad things to follow. Yes, those Kaytons attacked us after travelling halfway across the Galaxy in their smart uniforms and shiny boots. They thought we were going to be a pushover but we turned Tau Seti into the graveyard of the Kayton army. Let that be a warning to any other powers who have designs of conquest on us. They called us savages because we fought so hard for the planet we loved, as I’m sure, John, you fought with the same sentiment to protect your home planet.”
How right he was in that last part of his statement, but of course I could not tell him just how close to the truth he was. “Yes,” I agreed, “you and your people have won a great victory today but don’t become belligerent or inward-looking in your outlook. I know of a place where a great war was fought but because no proper institutions were set up after hostilities ended to ensure peace, another great war broke out just over twenty years later. Only after the successful conclusion of that war did people come together to ensure no major conflict occurred again. Don’t let all the sacrifices be for nothing. Work with the Solarans and the Hellertrons to ensure a lasting peace and prosperity for all.”
“I will convey your words to my leaders and hope they will draw the appropriate conclusions from them,” Crixas replied. “I look forward to seeing you soon.”
I wished them all well and a safe journey and waved them goodbye as I watched them board the Transport, leaving them to conclude their long journey home. As for me, it was time to decide my next move. I asked the captain if any of his ships were making the journey back to Sontral. He told me one of his battle cruisers was making the journey back to Sontral for repairs after sustaining battle damage. It would take three days to make the trip. I asked if I could travel back with them. I knew I could have Transported myself but I wanted time to adjust and come to terms with what had happened. Of course, the captain readily agreed and soon I, too, was on my way after I had bidden the crew goodbye and thanked them for all their help.
Twenty-eight
On Sontral, everyone was in jubilant mood. The war was now over and the lockdown of the S.I.S. Command Centre had been lifted, much to the relief of the Hellertron Ambassador, who immediately took the opportunity to make his way back to his Embassy to find out through his own communications system how things were going in the Hellertron sector of the battle front. The Solaran broadcast network had informed the people of what had happened and that later on that day the Prime Minister would make a live statement on air to the whole of the Solaran Commonwealth. Celebrations had already broken out in the streets, as the Prime Minister had promised during his speech in parliament, with strangers kissing and hugging each other in ecstatic scenes of joy, all of them so very grateful the war was now over.
This was the mood prevailing in the command centre. Of course, Freema was apprehensive as she was still waiting for news about John to feed through. Then, like a bolt from the blue, a message was received by one of the operators from the battle carrier Antilles, after which she raised her hand for the supervisor to come over. The message was printed out and the supervisor told the operator not to say a word to anyone else as she passed on the message to Commander Vadoran. He in turn reported to the Prime Minister who, in sombre mood, made his way over to the front of the upstairs balcony.
“Please co
uld I have everyone’s attention,” he began, “as I have an important statement to make to you all. A moment ago I was handed a priority communication from the battle carrier, Antilles. The first thing I have to say is that John is all right. He has been superficially wounded, but will make a full recovery. But I have to tell you all now, it has been confirmed that Kronos and Adema were killed during the assault on the Drone Command Bunker.”
Screams of anguish and horror rang out from around the room. Some could not control their emotions of despair; others, like Horace, just sat there impassively with tears rolling down their cheeks, thinking what a price had been paid to attain victory.
The Prime Minister continued, “This is the saddest news I have ever had to announce but I won’t let their memory fade. I know it was a passion of Kronos to get other powers like the Hellertrons to join the Commonwealth and to this end I will take up the baton and work towards the fulfillment of his dream, thereby creating a lasting legacy we can all be proud of. Now, if you will excuse me, I would like time on my own to come to terms with the fact that I have lost two very good friends.”
Such was the anguish that pervaded the command centre, most people could