Lost Empire Ch. 71

0001 - Tempro

0003 - Conner- Thomas

0097 - Ace - Zimmel

0098 - Lucy

0101 - Shelby (mother ship)

0125 - Lars

0200 - Ellen

0250 - Tendra

0301 - Rodrick

0403 - Johnathon

0667 - Marco - Brown

0778 - Jan

0798 - Celeste - Shelby (human)

0805 - Toran

0808 - Radella

0908 - Tara - Mara

1000 - Sherry

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Ungrown - unnumbered

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0999 - Zan - still lost

Rescued from Tendraxians

so far

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6 on Shelby

8 on Lucy

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Known and OR numbered

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0100 - Derry (father ship)

0501 - Thaddeus

???? - Lena

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Still with his mouth slightly agape, Emperor Kandra shook his head. He'd have to talk to his chancellor and advisor's. This was going to take all the knowledge he could amass before he made a decision. With a nod he thought, this could be a turning point for the empire.

A deep sigh escaped his throat as he started to punch in the codes to all of them. He was the ruler true, though he considered himself to be a smarter ruler.

He felt the blood lust for battle rise in his blood a moment then squashed it as quickly. This wasn't the time to go off on a battle rage, losing almost all that he and his family had built.

No Kandra thought, he had to remain calm, use his second best muscle, his brain. Even as he watched the probes move closer, suddenly two were obliterated. A high, ear piercing, signal came from the screen before him.

Just as suddenly, a voice sounding almost mechanical followed. "Attention, to whomever is monitoring this frequency. I am the chief law enforcer for the Emperor. Your incursion into Imperial space, near the Imperial planet could be interpreted as an act of war. I will offer you one chance to explain, before an offensive stance is taken."

Emperor Kandra's head snapped back at this. He had obviously far underestimated this empire. Thinking for a moment he nodded his head as a decision came to him.

"To the chief law enforcer, this is Emperor Kandra of the Delcron Empire. I am on my way to your planet to demand justice for a grave misjustice against our empire. I wish a parley with your emperor to come to an amicable position." Emperor Kandra stated.

"Thank you sir, please do not move your satellite. I will advise the Emperor, then contact you." Mary said then the line went dead.

Kandra nodded his head, there were protocols to adhere to after all. The same was true in his own empire, though as he'd found before, it was still frustrating as could be.

Derrick was relaxing, after all that had taken place the last few months he needed it. With a relaxing sigh he tried not to think of the fact that, that damnable duke was still on the loose. His admiral was still out there with four females that had almost died. It finally seemed that things were starting to settle down, then the Delcron empire decided to invade. Though, Derrick had a suspicion that they might be justified.

It seemed that he'd just closed his eyes when a soft chiming awoke him. His eyes popped open as he activated the shield on his shirt.

"I am sorry for disturbing you sire," came the voice of Mary. "It appears that the machines that were sent near our orbit, were from the Delcron Empire."

Derrick immediately sat up at the mention of the Delcrons. "You have had contact with them I take it?"

"Yes sire, I have talked to the Emperor his self. He wishes to have a parley with you. He stated that he is on his way here for justice for a misjustice against his empire." Mary replied.

Derrick sighed it was as he thought. This had taken place in the Delcron empire's space, the rules of Derrick's empire were in fact immaterial. He needed to talk to this emperor before making a decision.

"Alright Mary connect me with him as soon as you can." Derrick stated a moment later.

"Yes sire, it might be a while, the last of their machines, aren't the best." Mary told Derrick.

"Do what you can Mary, the sooner this is over the sooner we can take care of other problems." Derrick told Mary.

Mary nodded to Derrick then vanished. She felt that Emperor Kandra, would be waiting for her call.

Rayburn's smile was getting larger and larger They already had four gigabytes when they started this. Looking at the data he saw that they had just loaded fourteen more. At this rate they should have the data in the box far sooner. The thing was even after a continuous fourteen gigabytes, Kimison was still going with the data stream stable.

Obviously whatever Kimison had gained in his last download, was making all this possible.

"It appears that we have all of the personality loaded. Many of the ship parameters are loaded also. Is it possible that the A.I. could do the rest?" Rayburn asked.

Pausing only a moment Kimison answered, "I am hoping that with what we have it will. I still want to get the last of the parameters loaded before we let the A.I. try to take over. I think that would be advisable, don't you?"

Rayburn had been going over the data the whole time Kimison had been working. Looking it over again he finally nodded.

"I agree, having all the parameters in, does seem to enable the A.I. to the point that you mentioned. Though with only fifteen gigabytes, do you assume that the A.I., will be able to completely take over?" Rayburn asked.

This time Kimison did pause, then he rapidly advanced through all the readings that Rayburn had just perused.

"From what I see, the A.I. should be capable, after this last gigabyte is added." Kimison stated as he went back to adding the data at a blurred speed.

It was a mere two minutes later that Kimison stopped then stepped back. "There, I think that should do it."

A few moments later there was a static sound coming from the speakers. Slowly the sound started to clear with a voice emerging.

"Hello? Is anyone there? I seemed to be a little lost." The voice stated.

Kimison smiled at Rayburn then looked at Tempro. "I think that it's time to call the Emperor."

"Contacting him now Coronels." Tempro responded.

Derrick was still waiting for Mary to get back to him, when his com went off. Looking over to it, he could only sigh. Now what in the hell had they done?

Clicking on the comp. Derrick could see the anxious faces of Kimison and Rayburn. "So," Derrick started, "seeing as both of you aren't worried I take it you have good news?"

"Yes sir, we have. We have the complete personality loaded along with the basic parameters." Kimison reported.

Derrick was nodding as Rayburn continued where Kimison left off. "We both believe there is enough for the A.I. to take over the rest of the data transfer."

Again Derrick was nodding when an extremely familiar voice spoke up. "Can someone please explain to me what is going on?" Derrick froze, holy shit! That was his voice! Well pretty damn close to it.

The day most definitely went from strange to absolutely weird. Derrick opened his mouth to speak then closed it. He did this a few timers before he was able to get the words out.

"I don't remember telling you to give my personality my voice." Derrick said a little sternly, causing both Kimison and Rayburn to have hurt expressions on their faces.

"Sir? We didn't, that was all the voice synthesizers. We can put in suggestions, though we have no say so in the final voice." Rayburn explained.

Derrick looked at each man, not completely sure he could believe what they had just said. With a smirk he continued to stare at both of them.

"I want to see the data on this," Derrick finally stated.

Both men again had a hurt expression on their face, "sir? You don't believe us?" Kimison asked.

"Knowing the both of you, as I do the rest of the men. I wouldn't put it past either of you at this point." Derrick said another smirk on his face.

"You could just give them the benefit of a doubt." They all heard the Empresses voice behind Derrick.

"Under normal circumstances I would. You have to realize Shelby, these two are too smart for their own good. Then there is their propensity for jokes when they are bored." Derrick explained.

If looks could kill, both men felt that they would have died a few thousand times, from the look Shelby gave them.

"Let us hope," she stated her voice tight and terse. "That the will refrain from this in the future. I can make sure they are NEVER bored again!"

Both men shivered at the implied threat that Shelby had just issued. They both quickly turned to Derrick.

"The data is all there sir. It is dependent upon the A.I.'s personality." Rayburn stated.

Derrick's smirk hadn't completely disappeared as he rapidly went through the data. Nodding he looked at both men then Shelby, "alright I believe you. At least this time there is actual data to back you up."

"As many machines as we have here, there is little time to become bored." Kimison said both men purposely turning toward Shelby.

This time it was Shelby's turn to smirk. "I hope that is the truth gentlemen, I have more than enough to keep the both of you busy the next few years."

Both men nervously bowed to Shelby, "it is mam, on our honor."

"I really hate to barge in on your conversation but, can someone help me now?" The A.I.'s voice broke in.

"Sorry," Derrick said, "I'm not even sure what I should call you."

"Sir? You are the emperor are you not? I don't have all the parameters download yet, though I know you are very important. I would be honored if you named me, if that is appropriate?" The A.I. voice replied.

Both men and Shelby turned toward Derrick as he thought a moment longer. "After thinking about it the only name I could think of was Derry. It was a name that Captain Mara used to call me when she was much younger. What do you think?"

There was silence for a few more moments the A.I. spoke up. "I am honored to be named a name you were once called. Thank you sire, I will do my best to not bring dishonor to it."

"Good, rest soon you will have all the parameters you need. Then, we can get you whole, helping the others that we need to regrow." Derrick stated as Kimison and Rayburn clicked off.

Shelby moved to Derrick a moment later. "Derrick? Is something troubling you?"

Taking a deep breath Derrick nodded, "I am going to have to set a meeting with the Delcron Emperor. How I can do this, in person, without Mary and his guards trying to start a war, has me somewhat frustrated."

Shelby lightly touched the side of Derrick's face, sending what felt like an electric shock through him. "I am sure you can think of something, especially as brilliant as you are."

Derrick's head snapped up to stare at Shelby, looking closer he didn't see deception. What he did see was an adoring love in her eyes.

Emperor Kandra of the Delcron Empire, wasn't as patient as he often let on. Even in the instance of dealing with another emperor of another empire. He'd expected the non Delcron emperor to get back to him as soon as possible.

Kandra was about to begin pacing again when Mary's voice broke his thoughts. "Sir, I have talked to the Emperor O'Toma. He also wishes to discuss this with you. I shall be connecting you to him in moments."

"Good, I look forward to putting this all to rest." Kandra replied, then sat hoping this could be resolved soon.

Derrick almost jumped when Mary came back on. "Sire, I have Emperor Kandra of the Delcron Empire. Sirs, due to the equipment we are transmitting through, I am afraid that the quality of the transmission will be poor."

Both males were nodding at this, Kandra decided to start first. "Emperor O'Toma, I am afraid that according to our customs, your officer is scheduled to marry my daughter. Our law dictates that if he defeats her in courting battle, she belongs to him in marriage. When he left as quickly as he did he dishonored her, this I can not allow to go unchallenged."

Derrick was nodding his head with a sigh, it was about as he thought it had been. He had half a mind to have Mary transport Jimison onboard Emperor Kandra's ship. Shaking his head he knew this wasn't the way to do things.

"Emperor Kandra, since this accrued within your empire, our laws do not apply. Though we do not want an incident that would make our empires enemies, is there any way out of this? I do not want your daughter dishonored any more than, I want any of my officers." Derrick replied.

Kandra was silent for a few moments then spoke up. "The only thing I can see, is if another female issued a challenge against my daughter. That way her honor as well as the family's could be restored. Of course, if my daughter wins the challenge then my daughter would still belong to your officer, then we're right back where we started."

"That is a definite possibility, though could your daughter take defeat twice?" Derrick asked.

"I would say that she would, she is after all a very honorable warrior." Came the voice of Difina.

"Emperor O'Toma, may I present my daughter Difina." Kandra said.

"I consider it an honor to meet you Princess Difina." Derrick stated.

"Please sir, I prefer Warrior Princess. I also wish to let you know that I will not go easy on whom ever I face. Your officer is the only male that has ever gotten close to, let alone beaten me. I can not just let this go, there is too much concerning both empires to do so." Difina informed both of them."

Derrick looked at the poor hologram of the two beings before him. They were most definitely strong that was a fact. "I am trying to come up with a meeting between us, that will not touch off a war. One that I am afraid neither of us would be able to stop before there were many severe causalities."

"I agree, though we do often crave conflict, we avoid it, if, it is unnecessary. I feel that it would be in this case." Kandra stated.

It was true that he and his daughter had been shocked when the poor holographic images finally started to come through. Though these humanoids didn't appear to be as strong as they were, they were a hell of a lot more technologically advanced than him and his people were.

"There is a planet a few days from where you are. Might I suggest that you, your daughter, my self and the Empress meet there. I know the rest of your fleet will want to be there though, I suggest we leave them all back, agreed?" Derrick suggested.

"It is agreed, might I also suggest no weapons. It might be hard to do that though we can try. We'll see you in a few days." Derrick stated then clicked off.

Derrick let out the breath he'd been holding, he could only shake his head, that had been far too damn easy. If he didn't know better, Kandra was up to something though at this time Derrick wasn't sure what.

At the other end, Kandra was thinking the same thing. This humanoid Emperor had been far to placid by his reasoning, no, this Derrick O'Toma was up to something.

Johnathon Hartwell was at his wits end. Not only were the four Tendraxian females being difficult, now it appeared that his sister as joining in with them. Then, there was the fact that one of the recon agents was hiding on board. The other two not able to provide much help either as one was married, leaving the last as overwhelmed as he was.

At least the fourth female's readings were starting to grow more stable and healthy. "Johnathon...," Hartwell started.

"She should be waking up in no less than a hour. The addition of prime Lucie has gotten her well out of danger. Though many of her reactions toward you are a bit puzzling." Johnathon informed Hartwell.

Hartwell nodded they should be to him also, though for some reason, they seemed almost what he'd expect from his sister.

"Bee, I have good news." Hartwell addressed the female that he'd rescued.

Bee immediately ran to him throwing her self at his feet. "Yes Lord sir, how can I be of service to you?"

Hartwell, groaned as the naked female remained on the floor in front of him. Damn, he was starting to hate the males of her people more and more.

Hartwell, took a deep breath, then decided now wasn't the time for that discussion. "According to the medical machines, your sister is recovering far better than we hoped. She should be awake very soon."

Bee's face lit up as she launched her self at Hartwell, thanking him while squeezing his legs. A moment later her eyes grew wide as she backed up laying prone on the floor.

With huge tears falling her eyes she started to beg. "I am so sorry Lord sir, I did not mean to forget my place. It will not happen again. I beg of you not to punish the others for my stupidity."

It took all that Hartwell could do not to scream out in anger. Even more to control his fists as they started then stopped curling into fists. Luckily Bee hadn't seen this.

As gently and calmly as he could he knelt down to Bee, then gently tilted her head up. "You will never be punished for being happy or sad, not in this empire."

For the umpteenth time Bee looked shyly into Hartwell's eyes seeing the truth there. With a small shake of her head, she still was having a hard time believing, there was a place like the Lord Sir had described.

Hartwell let out a little sigh. At least now she wasn't running off in terror each time she looked at him. This had to be a good start right. Then there was the part about having to claim her to get her to completely obey him.

As far as he was concerned that was a marriage, something he still was not in the market for.

Bee smiled a little smile up at the Lord Sir, she could see that he was finally starting to change. Though was she female enough to change an obvious warrior's hardened heart? She didn't know, though she felt that if she and the others were going to survive, she had to no matter what.

Just for a moment, Hartwell saw something else in Bee's eyes. A something he wasn't too sure he wanted to find out what was.

Hartwell then looked up, "Johnathon, contact the Emperor. I need to report the changes."

Again Derrick had just managed to go to sleep, when that damnable chiming went off for a fourth time. "Sire? Again sorry to interrupt Admiral Hartwell is calling."

Somewhat groggy Derrick shook his head. "What's wrong now Joseph?"

"Just wanted to give you a progress report. Johnathon said that the fourth female should be up in an hour. We should be able to travel soon after that." Hartwell said.

"Bout damn time I got some good news. Seems the Delcron Emperor and I are going to have a meeting. It's about time we have the command structure back here. I'll get you up to speed after you're back." Derrick said still feeling the sleep.

"Alright sir, see you when we get back." Hartwell said.

"Another thing, get some sleep, you look worse than I do. Johnathon, Imperial order, if the Admiral doesn't lay down? Zap him to sleep, do I make myself clear?"

Hartwell stared a little wide eyed at Derrick, then he and the A.I. both answered yes sire. Derrick smiled at the both of them, then clicked off. Hartwell just shrugged then went off to his rack.

Derrick eyed Shelby who was sitting nearby trying to hide her smile. "Mary?" Derrick stated as he laid back down.

Mary's visage appeared a moment later, "Sire?"

"I do not want to be disturbed for at least ten hours." Derrick held up his hand as Mary was about to speak. "I am granting almost full temporary power to the Empress for the next ten hours. If she can not handle it it will have to wait. You are only to wake me if it is major, like another invasion, understand?"

"Almost full power?" Shelby asked.

"Short of declaring war, ordering an execution, appointing new people to the ranks, and negotiations with the enemy. I think the rest you are more than capable of." Derrick replied.

Shelby was shocked at first. "Thank you for having the confidence in me."

"I know you can do it you are as smart as I am. I have seen your problem solving capacity, I KNOW you can do it. Hopefully nothing big will come up in the next few hours." Leaning up Derrick lightly kissed Shelby again feeling a shock go through both their systems.