Chapter 26

“Open a channel to my father, Trigon,” she said. “I’m back, father.”

“Wren?” came his voice. “We thought that you just left.”

“What? I’ve been gone at least a whole day,” Wren said surprised.

“You’ve only been gone an hour at the most. Did you accomplish all that you had too?” her father asked.

“Yes father, I did, the universe, as I understand it, is safe,” Wren said. “Though explaining it might take far longer than I have.”

Her father just looked at her for a moment, then nodded in understanding. Wren could only stare at him confusion on her face.

“I’ll be landing in a few minutes,” she said. “We should be able to take the empire back in less than a few months.”

“With the plan we have, plus the dissension within her ranks, I agree. Though I think that the announcement of me being alive might help,” her father said.

In the far orbit of Ceti-5, Esmerelda was more furious than she’d ever been. She’d lost contact with her son, plus his ship. She didn’t think he was dead though, for a moment she was afraid.

It was an emotion that she hadn’t felt in a very long time. Why was everything they had planned falling apart?

It had to be because of that bitch of her husband. She smiled, her ex-husband. That bastard should have been dead long before now. Damn foreign asses could never go along with well-laid plans.

Then there was that bitch of a stepdaughter, huh, monster. She should have been dead by now. Thomas had never failed her before. For the first time in a long time, she was actually worried.

Her fleet, or rather what was left of it, was almost twice as strong as it had been. It was still no match for the defenses of Ceti-5.

She had been thinking for quite some time about it. She’d finally decided that she’d have to use her weapon of last resort. She’d have to make sure she was clear before she used it, but to destroy the Cetians was worth it.

She released a sigh she’d have to do the work without him. Knowing that lay about, she smirked. He was laid up with some alien whore in God knows where.

That was OK, she’d make the punishment fit his crime. She’d make sure of it.

Esmerelda had seen Wren portal back a few hours ago. There still wasn’t any activity on the planet.

She ran toward the bridge as a loud alarm went off. Esmerelda was shocked, then angered as she watched several hundred of her fleet leaving.

Then she almost fell as the ship was rocked by a few powerful explosions. “What the hell is going on!” she screamed as the ship rocked even more severely.

Over half of what was left of the fleet has veered away from us and the planet. Part of those are firing upon us. We’ve lost all engines!” the male said right before Esmerelda removed his head.

“All ships fire upon the deserters!” Esmerelda ordered, then noticed that they had nothing compared to what was firing at them.

“Empress, we need to flee, there are too many of them!” the crew member next to the dead one said.

“Those left avert with me, we will punish those that betrayed us,” Esmerelda ordered.

Wren smiled as she watched Esmerelda’s ship turn to flee. Now she thought it was the perfect time.

“Alright Trigon, as soon as her ship turns and drops battle shields to flee, I want her!” Wren said.

On board Esmerelda’s ship she was cursing doing her best not to kill the entire bridge crew. What was going on: She had a perfect plan.

The screen before her lit up as a male’s face, she thought to never see again, appeared.

“Citizens of the Empire, it is I, your Emperor Franklin Andrew Tenagram. I have returned, and I will punish the false ruler that has nearly destroyed the Empire.” Soon my people, soon we will be free again.

Esmerelda’s eyes grew large, then she screamed, an unholy sound from her throat. So angry she was, that she didn’t notice the beam ‘til it was too late.

Wren looked at the receiving unit, a dark look on her face. The many injustices she had done, she deserved to die slowly, agonizingly in complete terror. Then she sighed, releasing the anger.

No, Wren thought, that wasn’t her or the Empire, to kill one just to get to another. That was being a killer as much as the false Empress was.

She headed to the Decon system to advise her father that the fake was caught. She hoped that this might give him and, hopefully, the many she’d wronged, peace.

Peace, she thought, as the portal opened. For her now? There really was no peace, not with the emptiness in her heart.

As they entered the portal, everything seemed to stop. What’s going on, she thought as if I haven’t had enough go wrong.

Nothing’s wrong my dear, came the same voice she’d heard before. I just needed a moment to talk to and thank you.

Wren’s eyes got wide as she wondered what she might have done wrong. She thought she’d done all the voice wanted her to.

No, no, my dear, you have done nothing wrong. I just wanted to let you know that soon all that you are hoping for will appear. I am sorry that you will have to wait. Here she wore she felt a hand on her stomach.

I thought that I was unable to, here she thought as she placed a hand on her stomach. Really? I assume that I can’t tell anyone even if they will know soon, right?

Yes, the voice said, it is for the best. You will know what to say, though most of it not.

Wren sighed as she touched her stomach again, thinking of her parents, her sister. Though she thought most of John. He already had two other women that she was sure he loved.

Everything will be as it should be in almost a year. I believe that all will be joyful in the end.

Wren nodded as she felt the voice seem to fade, then everything started to move again. That’s when she noticed that they had come out near the Ceti home world.

That’s when she noted that she was coming out near the Ceti world. Heading in to land, she thought this was going to be hard.

As usual, when she landed, Master Flugret was waiting for her. She bowed to him as both of them walked in.

“Master Flugret, I am afraid that I will no longer be able to release those in the chrysalis,” Wren said. “The reason why will become apparent soon.”

“Then I am afraid that all is lost, as you are the only one capable of releasing them,” Flugret said.

“No, there is another, though they are far away for now. I am capable of keeping the chrysalis charged until such time as they arrive. I will have to every month. Now, I came here for two reasons, that being the first,” Wren said.

“Two reasons? I hope that the second is not as grave news as the first,” Flugret said.

“I don’t feel that it is, though I need to talk to the headmaster. I am sure that he has been expecting me,” Wren said.

“I will advise,” Flugret started, when the oldest master appeared. Flugret bowed and left to his duties.

The master bowed, nodded to Wren, then waited ‘til Flugret was gone. “I was not sure about taking her on to keep her here for almost a year of your time. I have overseen the energy cell that you designed, and it is more than adequate.”

“I was hoping so, you more than any other would know if it would work. I should be able to transfer without any problem,” Wren said.

The first master nodded as they advanced to one of the few areas Wren hadn’t been in. She nodded as it was well isolated from the others.

She waited while the rest of the first masters made sure the area was as secure as possible. Then all ten of them turned and nodded to Wren.

“Alright Trigon, transfer the second saved pattern directly ten meters in front of me,” Wren said into her wrist com.

They all waited two minutes, then there was a hum as a beam appeared in the cell. A moment later Esmerelda appeared within the cell, a pissed-off look on her face.

“What in the hell is this,” she started as she walked straight into the force shield. She held there for a few moments, then was repelled across the cell into the back wall.

“Ah, so far it is working better than you projected,” the first master said.

“You can’t keep me here! I am the Empress of the Earth Empire. I demand that you release me at this instant!” she was nearly screaming.

“Not going to happen fake, oh, and your thing you call a son? I have him too though. I think I’ll keep him in stasis for quite a while longer. Bye queenie bitch, I won’t miss you!”

That, of course, had Esmerelda screaming even louder as the eleven walked away.

“No! You can’t do this to me, or him, we are royalty. Release me, release me,” she screamed ‘til the door was shut, then quiet.

“We are all in agreement that Flugret is not to be allowed near this room. She could escape if that happens,” Wren said, then turned and left.

Things continued on as Wren started to hunt down the last of the evil Empress’s people. Although there weren’t that many for a couple of months.

Every day, Wren looked at the storage unit that held only one pattern. She would sigh, his mother was one thing, her evil was not her own.

This mass murderer was another thing. He was mostly responsible for the deaths of billions of Earth people. A sin that she wasn’t sure that even she could forgive him for.

That was the thing though, if he ever got out, she knew he would leave a trail of bodies behind him. Releasing a huge sigh as she had thought there wasn’t really a viable solution for all this.

She shook her head as she left Ceti-5 and headed back to the new Earth as they were calling it. It didn’t take her long before she landed at the new star pad that had been built. It was the first that was complete, with ten more on the way in a few weeks.

She’d felt movement just lately, giving her the oddest feeling. She had talked to her mother about it, though her experience was different.

Her mother and sister continued to train with the masters. Both had reached the same threshold that she had though had a better time of it thanks to her.

Her mother had actually managed to reach level eleven. Her sister was rapidly approaching the ninth level. As yet, Wren felt that they were a lot safer.