“What are we going to do now, Leo. There’s not a war for us to fight.”
Leo smiled, “I think there will be plenty of fighting when we start our family. You know how teenagers can get pretty sassy.” Desiree stared at him with her mouth open and Leo smiled, “It’s time, my love.”
Desiree went into his arms and Bart said, “Yes, it is. And you still owe me a gold watch!”
Desiree and Leo burst out laughing and then hugged each other tightly.
Epilogue
Gem, Leonidas, Desiree, Kaylee and Gregor looked at each other on their monitors as they approached the permanent short-cut filament. “What about that Sand Civilization?” Gregor asked. “Are they going to be a problem?”
Leo shook his head, “No, Jek went back and they’re perfectly happy to be left alone. They were thankful for our assistance in removing the Tronan and have offered to help us if we ever need it in the future.”
Gregor sighed, “I hate that we spent all the time, materials, and energy to build up these SD Fleets and then we didn’t use them. I guess they were a huge waste of time and energy.”
Gregor saw Leo nod but Gem was silent. “Gem, what are you thinking?”
“I think I should keep it to myself.”
Leo lowered his eyes, “Oh, so now you’re keeping secrets.”
Gem sighed, “Trust me on this, Leo, you’d rather not know.”
Gregor waited and after a minute said, “Not knowing is worse than wondering what it is. I prefer to know.”
“Me, too!” Leonidas added.
Gem stared at them and then shrugged before saying, “I’ve been thinking about our new filament communicators.” Leo and Gregor nodded for him to continue. “I think the general consensus is that the filaments are not a natural phenomenon but were a creation of someone or something. Some of our engineers on Romania have even speculated that the original purpose of the filaments was to produce a means of communication around the universe. Using them to fly at super-light speeds was not their original purpose.”
Gregor stared at Gem and said, “What are you suggesting, Gem.”
“If our engineers are right, Gregor, what would that mean?”
Gregor and Leo stared at him and Desiree said, “That would suggest that whoever created them had a different means of moving at speeds faster than light without using the filaments.”
Gem nodded, “I’ve always been impressed by your ability to see things, Desiree, and you’re right. I’ve wondered if we could capture the energy of the filaments inside a field around our ships, would we need the filaments?” Gregor, Kaylee, Leo, and Desiree stared at him in silence. “And I’ve also wondered how long the filaments have been around.”
Kaylee said, “You know Gregor and I can control them to a degree and I’ve always felt they were ancient.”
Gem looked at her, “How ancient?”
Kaylee looked at Gregor and he shrugged, “Ancient doesn’t do justice to how old they feel. What are you getting at, Gem?”
“Well, we are now using filament communicators and we know that it’s instantaneous on every filament. What does that say to you?”
Desiree’s eyes flew open, “Whoever made them can hear our communications!”
Gem nodded. “I’m going to call them The Filament Makers. So, now we have an ancient, I can’t think of a better descriptive term, civilization, or artifact, or whatever made them, out there listening to us.”
“Do you think they’re still around?” Kaylee asked.
“I have no idea. They could have created the filament system and disappeared long ago.”
Leonidas said, “But…”
“If they haven’t disappeared, we know that they were in our space long ago,” Gem interrupted. “The filaments are here, so the Filament Makers must have been here at some time in the past.”
Gregor stared at Gem and said, “You were right. I shouldn’t have asked about what you were thinking.”
“Hearing them and knowing where they’re being used are two completely different things, Desiree.” Gem shrugged, “I may be worried about nothing and they disappeared from creation long, long ago. But it’s not knowing that keeps me up at night.”
“We need to find out!” Gregor said shaking his head.
“Be careful what you ask for, Gregor. Leave sleeping Dragons in their lair,” Gem said seriously.
“I’m not one to just wait and be surprised by events, Gem.”
“Then you had better make damned certain you’re fully prepared before you go looking, Gregor!” Everyone looked at him and Gem shrugged, “We might need a lot more than the SD Fleets.” Everyone was forced to agree with him.
Books by Saxon Andrew
The Annihilation Series:
Love Conquers All
The Power of a Queen
A Rose Grows in Weeds
Tommy’s Tale
Searcher
Demon’s Sacrifice
Finding Keepers
(The Seven books above are also audio books at Audible.com)
Prequel-Psychic Beginnings
Searching for a Hero
Dahlia’s Deception
Annihilation-The Complete Series Box Set
Ashes of the Realm:
Juliette’s Dream
Greyson’s Revenge
Death of an Empire
The Return of the Realm
Lens of Time:
The Pyramid Builders
Planet Predators
Pray for the Prey
The End of Time
The Worst of Time
Running Out of Time
Chosen to Die
The Fight for Creation:
Life Warrior
Scout Warrior
Ultimate Warrior
Star Chase:
The Lost Prince
(Also an audio book at Audible.com)
Nowhere to Run
Nowhere to Hide
Probe Predators
Jesse's:
Jesse’s Starship
Mike’s War
Joshua’s Walls
Nemesis:
Revenge is Best Served Hot
The Search for Orion
Trapped in Time:
The Time Takers
Taming a Planet
Extinction
Escape to Earth:
Running From Fate
Fighting for Space
Defending Holy Ground
The Legacy of a Conqueror
The Sequel Series to Escape to Earth - Defending Earth:
Searching for Death Feeders
Discovery Means Death
The Death Prophecies:
The Coming of the Prophet
The Prophet's Eyes
The Unknown Enemy Will Kill You
No Technology is Invincible
Survival is Never Free
The Last Prophecy
Stories from the Filament Universe:
Gregor’s Run
A Pirate’s Tale
Soul of the Swords
The Death Filament
Death Never Leaves a Calling Card
Jimmy’s Dreams
Coming soon
Jimmy’s Dreams II
A Recurring Nightmare
About Saxon Andrew
Saxon Andrew is a former social worker with a degree in Psychology and Education from Mercer University. He has taught school, managed several sales organizations and owned his own business.
He has devoured science fiction since he first learned to read and his stories are the product of years of personal experience and exposure to the universes created by the genre’s great authors.
He lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and two dogs who still appreciate his sense of humor after all these years. "Dogs are always ready to smile."