Astra Pt. 08

After losing 13 of my own damned children in the fight and another 27 non-combatants caught in the air. I was accused of being a vigilante and a messiah in the same damned press conference. The one reporter who asked questions about the fight is the one reporter I brought. She deserved this exclusive. *

The president groaned, * She fed it back to her station. Tera news just broadcast it to the entire Tera system; all those tuned in anyway. I am dropping out I have the VP contacting me. *

Jack sighed, *Any more questions on this issue? *

He got whispered 'no's' from both of them. He looked at Astra, "The reporter sent it to Tera news and they just ran it."

He contacted his son Jake, "How is the crew taking it?"

He sighed, "Surprisingly well. There are some who want to go back to Tau Ceti."

Jack nodded, "Get me numbers. I can get them there; we might have enough left to handle one dreadnaught the rate we are losing people. Then we must recruit like hell. I just did it here."

He nodded, "How many did you lose on your battleship?"

He sighed, "Too many. 42 of my own children and 8 of those are hybrids. Because of the flaming cross, the press tried to hang me upon during that news conference. Let us not forget the assassination attempts."

He sighed, "I will talk with those going back and make sure they understood the impact of that message. I back you."

Jack nodded, "I know, we never kept it from any of our children and then them asking if Terra was worth it? That broke me that they even had to ask that."

He heard panic on his son's end, "We got more ships jumping into the Jupiter area. Jack turned his ship as contacts appeared in fields of lightning behind him, "Battle Stations all unit's report in. All crew off the ship remain where you are until we ascertain 'friend or foe.' He looked up at as 6 jumped on his screen one after the other. Soon he had 24 Drakor cylinder ships 10 times the size of the Colossus. 5 times the size of the Drakor Capital ships he had seen.

He called out, "Stand down. Do not approach. Those are Drakor ships."

He thought, * Justice Incarnate, I did not know your kind liked to jump through time on their own. Still in Tau Ceti. There are more at Jupiter. Which also means more in the outer rim. Also, check the Hector orbit. *

He thought out, * This is Command Admiral Jack Travus, Dispenser of Justice. I have contacted the Drakor of this timeline. Justice Incarnate, who will be here shortly to provide assistance. I encountered one of your scouts in our battle with the Brelan it was damaged but recovered by me and passed directly to the Drakor. In this timeline we graduated, we have our own swords. *

He contacted his son Jake, "Jake, caution, advanced Drakor Mega-Dreadnoughts. They are fucking huge. Undock and go talk to them alone. Give them your name and your sword name. Tell them Justice Incarnate will be by soon or his associates."

He heard back, "Admiral we have 18 of them here near Jupiter."

He finally heard, * Dispenser of Justice, take a shuttle and come alone. *

He got up, "I was just contacted they want me in a shuttle."

He got down to his shuttle and Astra opened the bay door for him, He put on an EVA suit not knowing what their atmosphere might smell like. As he approached a door that opened and he was pulled inside by a tractor beam. Once it stopped, he thought, *Awaiting further instructions. *

He grabbed a pad and downloaded the recent meeting with Justice and the three leaders and ensured Astra was included. He downloaded all the battle footage with the Brelan. He finally heard, * Come. The environment is suited to your kind now. Leave your pad. *

Jack removed his EVA suit and left the pad. He walked into a room, where the door sealed. He was asked, * Telepathic or telekinetic? *

He replied, * Both. *

Lights showed up around the room, * The weights are written so you can understand them. Lift the one that you are able. *

They started at 5 kg and went to 160kg. He started with the largest and worked his way down the line until he had them all in the air. He set them down.

He heard, * Defend yourself. *

He got hit by a telepathic attack and he pushed back. As it racked him in pain. He built a wall of Titanium-H in his mind in which to block the assault. When it looked like it would weaken, he covered it in the Black onyx.

He slammed in his new shields and repaired everything. It was not enough, it felt like an hour, as they finally broke his defenses down. They contacted him again, *Draw your weapons. *

He summoned up his katana.

They stated, *You are a Justice they have two weapons. *

He sent them the images of his graduation ceremony and the explanation that was given. The other he carried floated out, * What of this one? *

He thought to them, *A sad but beautiful reminder that something corrupted can be turned into something beautiful and deadly. *

He sent them the images of the ninja attack and then finding the one who created them and his sword ceremony.

He stopped. His sword floated back into its holder.

He saw a pair of red blades approach and he went into a defensive stance. He heard, * Hold, why do you wait to attack? *

He replied in his mind, * Nos clypeum donec opus sunt gladii destricti. We are the shields until the swords are needed. There must be a balance. They bring red swords; I bring a defensive stance as a shield. They are the aggressors in this matchup.

I have never faced a Drakor with a sword and I know they have flexible limbs and bodies. I must gauge the attacks they use before I go on any offensive. *

He heard, *All weapons in here will cause a pain effect, nothing more. We want to know how much you know of the way of the sword. *

Jack waited, the two approached. The first came in from the left. He blocked his blade and swung around and hit the first one on the back. He had used the first as a shield. The second came in and used an elongated downward thrush. He put a wall in the way and struck the 'man.' He saw the second group of 4. 2 blues and 2 reds.

One of them tried a strike at distance on him. He rolled toward the strike and did an elongated strike on that man's arm. That took him to 3 and he approached them with his sword at his side and behind him, like it was sheathed.

Red did not disappoint. Jack knocked his blade up spun and stabbed him in the chest with enough force to send him sprawling backward 7 meters.

He switched styles and went into an attack pattern with the one blue while the second went to flank. When that one came it to strike from behind, he parried it up and increased speed. He one-handed an elongated stab into the one behind him in mid-strike. He pulled it forward and tried to slide from the groin up but it was blocked. He backed a few steps and switched styles yet again. He went into a long and intricate kata from his Iaioda days. Then went in for the kill and he sped up and blocked. He nodded to his opponent. He went into a full barrage attack on him at 5x speed until he struck home.

He saw a blue circle. * That is the safe spot. The challenge. Not to get hit before getting to it.*

Jack was getting tired but his adrenalin was going. He had 20 swords rushing him from that location. He rolled forward went into a run and then went insubstantial through the attackers and into the circle. It was quiet for several seconds then he heard, * That was a test to see how you would do against 20 attackers. *

He thought back, * You told me to get to the circle without being hit. I complied. If you want me to fight 20 attackers I will. I am not afraid to take a hit. That was not the test you described. I wear a telekinetic belt as well; always on when awake and off when intimate with my mates or sleeping. Though I do not require sleep the ladies still enjoy the feel of human normalcy. *

He readied himself for an onslaught that did not come. The blades went out and they walked away. He stood there for several minutes. * Justice Incarnate said you were special. We said we would be the judge of that. Your people are not ready to graduate. You are. What do you do? *

He thought back, * I am curious what does it mean to graduate a second time? *

He heard, * The answer to that is only found by going through it. *

Jack thought back, * Would it take me away from humanity and what I have been doing? *

He heard back, * Yes. *

Jack shook his head, * My duty is not for self-gratification. It is to try and get humanity on the right course to be seen worthy of graduating. Some we cannot help. They made a choice. *

He sent them a map. * Those that go there are technically human, I call them sub-human as they fear the realities. They feel that burying their heads in the sand is the right action. Like an ostrich. The universe has many mysteries to us and many threats. It is my job to keep the sword and shield balanced. Diplomacy if possible.

Distance if agreed to. Defend if attacked, and then annihilate them for attacking us if a true and lasting peace could not be had. Like the Brelan you followed, they were destroyed by us. We adapted. We know we have 5 potential time jump point magnets travelers seem to come in at. I sent my son to talk with your compatriots in the Terra system.

We knew of your arrival and could make an accurate guess at your numbers. I am the one who has taken up the mantle to teach them, but not to lead them. Politics leads to corruption. Own your actions, mistakes, and successes. Learn from them. The other choice is to die. I want them to learn. The task is not easy and I have been at this for only 20 years.

I know I am an anomaly and that scares a lot of my people. I also told them I would be an explorer and first contact diplomat. My ship has an E designation that was changed earlier. It is the only Wormhole drive we have built. I must teach others to be able to move Colossus. To be able to colonize other worlds before these magnet locations destroy us.

My mind constantly creating new defenses and new weapons, personal items, and lots of miscellaneous things. If it keeps doing that then we can work to keep pace with whatever jumps through that magnet jump point next. I will get my mind focused on time travel. Not to do it. To build something to stop it at these locations. A dampener if you will much to study on that subject. *

He replied, * You are long-winded and knowing those you cannot save; that is not a failure. They will be assessed separately in time. You made an agreement to never go there. The Drakor never made such an agreement. We understand there will be others who refuse to listen. Getting most of the population who balk at your aid is the challenge you have taken on. We wish you well Dispenser of Justice. You may go. *

He bowed to them and walked away. Though he saw no faces he knew there was a crowd of thousands watching; if not millions. He knew this ship and they wanted to see what he was capable of doing.

He went to his ship and powered up as the doors opened and he returned to his battleship his necklace went off, every wife tried to talk to him at once, and Astra jumped in.

He called out. * Calm down. There are from the future. Apparently, Justice Incarnate told them I was special. They wanted to evaluate me. I passed. I could have graduated. I was told that meant leaving all of you. Instead, I told them I was tasked to help humanity and I cannot abandon that task. One at a time. Mr. President? *

He sighed, * Did those magnetic jump points you talked about for these time travel events getting bigger? *

Jack chuckled, *Massively. Especially the one on the outer rim. It is a clear and present danger and we should be working technology to negate those fields and put a dampener at each location. Time to build a bigger shield. Time to find a way to earn the people's trust because constantly saving them just makes them fearful of the power I am amassing.

I am working it to be able to move Colossus through a Jump Point. Eventually unassisted. That is my goal; I just pick up other talents along the way. Colossus is a colony mover and it is a troop transport. It is a fully functioning dry dock with two factories aboard. It is the future of humanity if we cannot stop these time travel events.

I am the only one right now; from a leadership role to an industry role in Terra, attempting to work these problems. I have been pushing and financing it all, even the penal colony. The colonies have been great in their co-op style at supporting my projects while I get anything and everything built for them.

Let us continue this discussion aboard my ship if you like. My head is pounding after the mental exertion they put me through. Astra, please have lots of food ready for me, and the others. With a case of mead. *

The others went quite thankfully and he got the shuttle down in the shuttled bay cutting groove marks on the floor. He opened the door and he had 2 mechanics insist on helping him out of his seat. One looked at him "Admiral you look like hell."

He nodded, "Like a 12-hours sparing with Aiko and Ash at full speed."

Astra swopped in, "I got him! Thank you."

They nodded to her. "Wives want you straight to bed."

He looked over. "Which is why you will follow my orders on this. I need to eat. I need to finish getting this off of my mind else I won't rest."

She nodded and got him to the bridge, the food and the wives were waiting ahead of him Grace looked at him, "What did they do to you?"

He smiled." They tested my powers, my ability. Justice Incarnate told them I was something special. They tested me to see if I would pass. I did apparently. I could have graduated whatever that means. I figure it was another test. To see if my resolve for humanity was broken. It is not. I am going to keep pushing on and plowing you ladies."

They laughed at that and gave him time to eat, at 3x speed, through 3 steak dinners and a whole cherry pie as the other walked in. They sat down as his fourth empty mead bottle hit the table. The president looked over, "What in the hell happened?"

Jack skipped over most of the details of each test just telling them it was very tiring then he looked at them. "The last test, or should I second to the last test was 20 of them charging me with swords."

The President asked, "You beat down 20?"

Jack shook his head, "The goal was to get to the blue circle without getting hit."

The President looked at Jack as he had them all on the edge of their seats. Jack brought up his arm with his sword in hand and passed through the table. "I ran through them."

He put his sword away. "I got enough things that people are freaked out that I can do. I don't advertise everything I have I can do. Taking my body into the astra plane, like my sword. Some of the wives have seen me do this in medical before the wedding. Yet, this was longer and harder to do. The last test, from my point of view, was to see if I had given up on humanity to get there.

To graduate, just myself, and leave you all behind. No details were given when I asked...other than I would leave you all behind. I was concerned it would mean the end of humanity and myself for failing in my duty to get the people ready. To check if I was selfish. Even if my perception of this test was wrong, I wanted to remain with humanity because I want a better result than one getting there.

I don't believe they are expecting humanity to all have powers. They just need to accept the fact that some do and it is for a good reason. Break down what we know Astra and what we think will happen."

She sighed, "We had 6 events in Tau Ceti, 10 on the Outer Rim, and then 6 at Jupiter. This latest round it started with 4 more on the outer rim, this time they came in groups of 6 at Jupiter and Tau Ceti, each ship jumping individually which appears to the Drakor way of doing it. After which it was 14 events on the outer rim, instead of 16, while the other two remained constant at 6 each. If it holds this pattern the next 6 or12 jumps in time will be near Jupiter's orbit. The information is from the satellite; it wasn't destroyed."

Jack shook his head, "Those ships are massive and they move them through wormholes and time. While we have just gotten one battleship to do it through a wormhole. Astra in this time period, who are the 5 top scientists in the study of time travel."

She went through her data, "There are only 3, they are working on it together Two more would graduate soon."

He paused and thought for a second. "Check fields of study that deal with time travel and use current listing of all those studying it. I might have children doing some of this as they come into or out of college. Some might have started masters or doctorate program. Their elevated intelligence in all the children.

If they are not geniuses, they are close to it. I need Paul to throw into the schedule the building of 2 more Dreadnaughts, different styles. I will draw it up later. It will be a very powerful carrier. Maybe 300 aircraft. Tag these as CHG craft. I want the additional constant support on my home." He got two nodding heads from the local leaders.

He smiled, "Paul is working fighters for my Colossus; If he could move that work to your 2 spaceports, he might be able to start on those carriers sooner. After the next 6 or 12, they will be back here." The 2 nodded their understanding. "The need for the caterpillar is worth the risk on the return jump.

Astra, take us to the caterpillar. We will need your Security Service to dock or use our shuttle bays. We might have room for them on the return. He walked out to comms, "Shuttle bay when we have all our shuttles returned how many open slots will we have?'

He laughed, "None."

He nodded, "We need your Security Service guys to dock and they can use our shuttles to escort you down."

The President looked at Jack, "What are doing?"

Jack sighed, "Those hatches will be blocked unless they are already docked. We can adjust the side to keep them cozy.

The president made the call and they waited for them to be docked, "Astra, docking protocol with caterpillar with the 2 destroyers factored into the simulation. She expanded the caterpillar arms enough and moved inside while taking it to within centimeters of the bridge.

She brought in the arms around the Katana's frame. She then accessed the auxiliary arms he built into these arms and clamped perfectly to the outer hull. "Astra how much bigger will we have to make the hole to take the caterpillar through? She looked "20% should give us a good safety margin."

He nodded, "Master Chief, Deck 10 storage and platform 6 and another 8 cores." He heard her groan, "That is the last platform that will fit in here. I am running out of room to walk Admiral." Jack chuckled, "You want more room to walk, invert the shield generator and mount it to the bottom of one of the platforms. You must move it anyway. That is where the next power cores would go."

She laughed into the comms, "I like the idea for the shield generator More power cores along the bottom? I am surprised I'm not glowing."

Jack smiled, "Go to medical and see if you're pregnant. Then we will know. Seriously, that was my plan if I had to boost the physical power more."

She sighed, "That explains the extra length on the power regulators cabling."