Pray for the Prey (30 page)

“Yes Sir.”

“What defense can you offer?”

“None, Sir.”

Arvolo looked at Riebbe and said, “You’re dismissed, Lieutenant.”

“Sir, I agreed with her decision and am just as guilty.”

“You had to go along with her.”

“No, Sir; I outrank her.”

Beth glanced at Riebbe and Arvolo snapped, “Keep your eyes to the front!” Beth jerked her eyes to the front and Arvolo said, “Just how did you come up with that?”

“I was promoted one day before her, Sir. I have seniority. I could have ordered her not to do it.”

Arvolo stared at Riebbe for a long moment and then said, “Lt. Hemer, you are dismissed.”

“Sir, I am the one responsible. Not Lt. Riebbe.”

Arvolo looked at Cyanna, “Someone has to pay for this. Who should we select?”

Cyanna said, “Both of them.” Beth and Reibbe both knew they were going to be drummed out of the service or put in confinement. Arvolo looked at the two and then turned to Cyanna, “Where should they serve their punishment?”

Cyanna slid a document in front of RV and he read it. “I think you have chosen an appropriate punishment.” Arvolo turned to them and said, “The two of you are hereby promoted to wing commanders and will assume command of the two wings of attack craft on the Havana. You will remain at the duty until you have served your sentence or promoted to a higher rank. Dismissed.”

Riebbe looked at Beth and couldn’t believe his ears. They were going to be stationed on the same ship. Beth had a huge smile and she turned to RV, “Uhhh Sir, how long is our sentence.”

“It will end twenty years after the two of you receive the Solar Star. You will be going with me to that ceremony momentarily. Does that answer your question, Commander?”

Beth turned and wrapped her arms around Riebbe’s neck. He held her tight and felt his heart beating faster. He whispered in her ear, “I couldn’t live away from you, Beth.”

“Then don’t ever go anywhere, Rieb.”

Arvolo smiled and looked at Cyanna. Their Admirals had approved their transfers to the Havana when they were told by their wing commanders how depressed the pilots were upon their return. After viewing the record of their actions, they agreed that it was a justified reward to put them together. Even Kate knew that promotions came fast and furious from the ranks on the Havana. Cyanna said, “I’ll give you an hour to discuss how you’re going to train our wings in your tactics. Then you have a ceremony to attend.”

Cyanna and RV left the room but Beth and Riebbe never got around to tactics.

• • •

RV, Cyanna, and Kenny were sitting in the Stargazer Restaurant on the fleet support ship. RV and Cyanna had told Kenny about their plans to be married and he was excited for them. Kenny gave Cyanna a hug and shook RV’s hand. RV smiled and said, “That’s not why I asked you to meet us here, Kenny.”

Kenny tilted his head and stared into Arvolo’s eyes, “Whatever it was; it must have happened.”

RV shook his head and said, “I just don’t understand how you can see that in my expression. Even Cyanna doesn’t see it.”

“I saw it but you told me, ‘later’.”

RV stood up and went and looked in the mirror behind the booth. He stared at his reflection and made several funny faces and then came back and sat down. “How am I supposed to keep a secret if you know I’ve got a secret?”

“Well, you kept this one.”

“And it should really remain a secret but I promised to tell you. I’m going to need both of you to promise you will not discuss this with anyone and I mean anyone. This stays with us and only us.”

“I will not tell anyone else.”

Cyanna smiled, “You know I’ll keep it between us.”

“Not with your wife, either.”

Kenny jerked and frowned, “RV, she keeps secrets.”

“I don’t care; this must stay at this table.”

“I can’t agree to not share it with Jess.”

“Ok, I understand.”

RV picked up his fork and began eating his pasta. Kenny watched him and said, “You really aren’t going to tell me.”

“That’s right.”

“OK! I won’t tell anyone else.”

RV looked at them and said, “I know where Zack and Izzy went.”

Cyanna and Kenny were both shocked at the statement. RV took another bite and Kenny said, “Why didn’t you go get them?”

“If I had, our universe would have changed dramatically.”

Cyanna looked at him and said, “How do you know?”

“I’m going to start giving start asking questions and see if your answers tell you where they are.”

Kenny shrugged and Cyanna said, “Go ahead.”

“How many crewmen did the Ninja have on board?”

Kenny said, “Twenty total. That doesn’t tell me anything.”

“Be patient, grasshopper. How many of them were women?”

“Ten.”

“How old was the oldest crewmember?”

Cyanna said, “Uhhhhh, twenty eight.”

“And the youngest?”

“Twenty one.”

“Very good. What can you conclude so far?”

Kenny thought about it and said, “You had ten couples.”

“And what do couples do?” Cyanna took a quick intake of air. “Do you see it?”

“See what?”

“I’ll keep asking questions, Kenny; tell me when you see it.”

“OK”

“What happened to the Ninja?”

“It was forced into the past by a Violet Ship attack.”

“If they are never found, what will those ten couples do?”

Kenny stared at RV and said, “They’re on Earth.”

“That’s how I see it.” Cyanna and Kenny remained silent as they thought about what they had just learned. RV said, “When I discovered that humans and the Jenze have the same DNA, I knew something out of the ordinary had to happen for that to occur. So, I started a little investigation. Did you know that there are more than two hundred species in this galaxy that have similar DNA to humans?”

“No, how can that be?”

“My best guess, and it is only a guess, is that a species millions of years ago traveled among the stars seeding planets with it. Looking at those that have the DNA, I think the race that did this did not have a stardrive and traveled by accelerating close to light speed to use relativity for travel between planets. The Jenze planets were seeded first and Earth received it millions of years later. I’m sure the best candidates on planets were selected and given the DNA. In our case, they chose primates. I think the same is true on the Jenze planets.”

Cyanna said, “But the Jenze were identical to us.”

RV sighed, “The Jenze are us. And we are as well.”

Kenny shook his head, “You’ve lost me.”

“On Earth between two hundred and three hundred thousand years ago, the Neanderthals were flourishing. They used tools, they had a language, they killed large animals and predators, and were the top of the evolutionary chair. However, over a very short time they disappeared and were replaced by homo-sapiens. The funny thing is, they were very close to each other DNA wise and homo-sapiens and Neanderthals could interbreed. It has been confirmed that one third of current human populations have Neanderthal DNA.”

“Are you saying over time the Neanderthals would have evolved into homo-sapiens?”

“Or something so close as to be indistinguishable.”

“So what happened?”

“The crew of the Ninja wiped them out.” Kenny and Cyanna stared at RV with shocked expressions. “I’m sure they didn’t intend to do it but they ultimately had no choice.”

“Why not?”

“Because there was going to be war between them; limited food supply drove them into conflict. The Neanderthals that weren’t killed were assimilated into the new species and their children had the traits of the new.”

Cyanna and Kenny thought about that prehistoric world where sabre tooth tigers and woolly mammoths ruled the plains.

RV said, “The Ninja was damaged and I know Izzy loved looking at the ancient light from Earth’s past. I’m sure she was doing that when Zack took them through the time field.” He paused, “I can picture it in my mind. The Ninja had enough power to land on Earth but not enough to lift. There were ten couples in their prime years for children. I asked Dr. Forrester at Harvard how many couples it would take to build a civilization from scratch. He laughed and accused me of tricking him into the Adam and Eve question.”

“What is that?”

“There are many scholars that say just two cannot make a viable civilization. There would be too much inbreeding.”

“Go on.”

“He said that you would have to have at least six couples for it to be viable. He also said it would stand a better chance if there were different races in the sample.”

Kenny said, “I wondered why you did that.”

Cyanna looked at Kenny and said, “What did he do?”

“There were three Asians, four Caucasians, five Hispanics, four Negroids, and four New Zeeland Indians assigned to the Ninja. You knew this was going to happen?”

“I did.”

“How?”

“I took a sample of Izzy’s DNA from her hair brush on the Ninja after we discovered Zack’s DNA was identical to ours. I later took it to John Hopkins University and gave it to Dr. Leopold Gretzen. He is the world’s foremost authority on primitive human DNA. I asked him to compare it to his samples and three months later he demanded to know where I got it.” RV paused and saw their expressions of disbelief. “Izzy’s DNA is in every human on earth. It appears that Zack’s and Izzy’s children were married to many of the others and their DNA was passed on.”

Silence ruled the moment. RV finally said, “The Ninja’s force field would still be operational and they had the ship’s beams and hand weapons. That kept them safe for two hundred years, maybe longer, if they didn’t use full power. That allowed them to have their children and grow their numbers. The Ninja’s medical supplies insured that most of the first children were born safely.

ChildChild mortality rate at first would have been very low. Finally, the reactors died and the Guns ran out of power. The Ninja was no longer a safe place to stay. But now their numbers were in the thousands and they were a force that could defend themselves. They divided into groups and left to find food to sustain them. Over hundreds of thousands of years, the memory of the Ninja was lost.” RV remained silent and after ten minutes said, “The Neanderthals never had a chance. They were faced with a species that had been at war for thousands of years and were much smarter. Scholars wondered how they were eradicated so quickly. Now I think we know.”

Kenny said, “If you went back and rescued them…”

“We would not exist today.”

Cyanna looked at RV, “So you let it happen.”

RV stared at Cyanna and said, “I didn’t want to lose you. I’ve lost too much for one life.”

“Is there any way to prove this?”

“Someday, if we really scan Earth for the reactor materials used in the Ninja, we’ll find what remains of that ship. That is the only way. We will not go back to that time and look.”

“Does George know?”

“I believe he does.”

“How do you know?”

“He said that they were lost and could not be found. He asked me if I agreed.”

“I remember that.”

“He knows. He also knows that they will not be found. He would never allow the search.”

“Do you think they knew after they landed?”

“I know they did and I believe they were happy. All of Zack’s questions had answers and the Jenze Warrior in him was glad to be a part of what was to come. I believe their lives were full and, in the end, they were content.”

Kenny had his head down and then looked up at RV, “Thank you, my friend. Their sacrifice gives me more strength to face the trial ahead of us. This is a wonderful story I will never be able to tell.”

Cyanna came into RV’s arms and snuggled close. RV could imagine the world that Zack and Izzy were now going to make their home. He would have loved the challenge. “Good Luck, my friends.”

• • •

“Do you think they will ever find us?”

Zack smiled and said, “No.”

“I guess there just isn’t any way for them to know where to start looking.”

Zack took his new son from Izzy and held him close. He looked out at the force field two miles away and saw another group of Neanderthals casting their spears at it. Initially they had just run into it, but the shock had killed those that made that error. He had turned the power down to a level where it would just knock them unconscious. He really didn’t want to harm them but he knew that one day this problem would have to be resolved. The animals on the plain had learned the lesson of avoidance that the primates just refused to learn. He looked at Izzy and said, “I think they know where we are.”

Izzy looked up sharply at Zack as she fed Arvy’s twin sister, “What?”

Zack smiled, “RV knows.”

“Then why hasn’t he come to get us?”

“Izzy, Izzy, you know why.”

“I just worry about our children.”

“Don’t be worried, my love. Our children are going to take on this dangerous planet and one day take on the universe. They are going to become the difference makers in our species future.” Zack looked over at the Neanderthals that has ceased their attack and were moving away. “They will tame this planet and one day reach for the stars. That future would cease to exist if they came and rescued us.” Zack looked down at his son sleeping in his arms and said, “This gives me more time to be with you, Izzy. I need that time to love you for what time remains in my life. We know how this story turns out and my pride is so great for what our descendants are going to do.” Zack looked up at the full moon overhead and smiled, “I wouldn’t change this for anything.”

Izzy finished with Arlene and came over and snuggled under Zack’s arm. She closed her eyes and softly said, “Neither would I.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

“T
hey are starting to come together.”

“I see that. Is there any way to delay them?”

“We can’t do it, but our friends may be able to distract them.”

“How?”

“Get them to look in another direction.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Greed.”

• • •

Meisa rushed into the Command Center and said, “George, the beings in the White Civilization have sent a message.”