Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
But it seemed that those needs were going to go unmet and the love that had bloomed between them in such a short time was doomed to end almost before it had begun.
Forty-Five
“Commander Terex, may I introduce you to Torri,” Vic said formally, speaking to his current Commanding Officer over the newly repaired com-link viewscreen. “She is an Earth female and she has been most helpful in my mission on her world.”
“Hello.” Torri nodded. “Uh, nice to meet you.”
“Greetings, human female.” Commander Terex, the head of the Kindred High council nodded at her briefly and then turned to Vic. He was a Blood Kindred, with the cool demeanor that was usual for his kind. “VIC Unit,” he said, speaking as formally as Vic had. “I am surprised to hear from you. “You went so long without sending any communication we assumed the humans had disabled or decommissioned you and that your mission was a failure.”
“My positronic net did suffer a malfunction that kept me out of action for some time,” Vic acknowledged. “But then I met Torri, and my net began to repair itself. The two of us were able to escape the place where the humans had incarcerated us.”
“They locked you up?” Terex’s eyebrows lifted and he frowned.
“The country I was attempting to start negotiations with thought I was a threat to their leader,” Vic explained. “I could not tell them otherwise because my positronic net was disabled at the time.”
“All right. I suppose that’s understandable.” Terex nodded. “Go on, VIC Unit.”
“After we escaped, we made our way back to my ship where I found that my com-link was broken,” Vic went on. “This necessitated a trip to Gemma Alpha Three to get it fixed. We have just left the Gemmite atmosphere so I am calling at once to ask you to send emergency aid to Earth.”
“What?” Terex frowned. “Why should we send aid? I thought you said you weren’t able to communicate our offer to the leaders of Earth.”
“I wasn’t, but there is no time for negotiations right now,” Vic said grimly. “The Scourge are on their way to despoil the planet and kill the inhabitants. The Kindred must come to their aid now, before it is too late.”
“The Scourge?” Terex’s blue eyes grew wide. “Have you seen their scout ships hovering around the Earth?”
“No,” Vic said. “Torri has been having visions of the AllFather and the Fathership coming towards her planet for some time. In the last vision she received, she was informed that the Scourge would be there in less than one solar week.”
Terex frowned.
“So you are certain the Scourge are coming because your companion is prophetic? Is she a priestess of some sort?”
“Um, no—I’m a bank manager.” Torri’s cheeks were red. “Look—I know it sounds crazy, but I inherited these…these visions from my grandmother. She used to call them ‘Seeing Dreams’ and they’re never wrong.”
“I have seen her visions, Commander Terex,” Vic told him. “I am positive Torri is correct—the Scourge are coming to Earth very soon. And the humans, as you know, have such primitive technology that they will be completely overwhelmed unless the Kindred are there to help them.”
“You have seen her visions? How?” Terex demanded.
“I saw them while I was Dream Sharing with her,” Vic said, lifting his chin.
His commanding officer frowned.
“VIC Unit, it should be impossible for you to Dream Share with any female—you are only partially organic.”
“I’m aware of that, Commander,” Vic said steadily. “But while my positronic net was inactive, the organic part of my brain was forced to take over. It was then that I began sharing Torri’s dreams at night—most of which were set on board the Fathership of the Scourge. I recognized their writing as well as the ship itself. And since no one on Earth has ever had any contact with them before, I knew at once that Torri could not be imagining or making up what her visions revealed.”
“I still find it strange that you should have been Dream Sharing with a female,” Commander Terex said. “But very well—you have never given us bad information before, VIC Unit, so I will talk to the High Council and we will prepare to fold space so that the Mother Ship can come through to the Earth’s solar system.”
“How long with that take, please?” Torri asked, speaking up again. “I mean, I have a feeling the Scourge are really close,” she added.
“The problem is, we cannot fold space instantly for the entire Mother Ship the way we can for a smaller scout ship or shuttle,” Commander Terex told her. “Folding space is dangerous for pregnant females, so we must remove all those that are carrying young at this time and bring them to your solar system via a system of stable wormholes. In addition, there are other preparations to be made as well.”