The Warrior's Destiny (The Annihilation Saga Book 2) Read online

  The Annihilation Saga

  The Warrior's Destiny

  Saxon Andrew

  Copyright © 2017 Saxon Andrew

  All rights reserved.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, organisations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please go to any online ebook store and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter One • Chapter Two • Chapter Three • Chapter Four • Chapter Five • Chapter Six • Chapter Seven • Chapter Eight • Chapter Nine • Chapter Ten • Chapter Eleven • Chapter Twelve • Chapter Thirteen • Chapter Fourteen • Chapter Fifteen • Chapter Sixteen • Chapter Seventeen • Chapter Eighteen • Chapter Nineteen • Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  Books by Saxon Andrew

  About Saxon Andrew

  Introduction

  Tag walked through the portal onto the Alexander Kosiev’s bridge and glanced at the wall-chronometer. It was two in the morning ship’s time and he couldn’t sleep. He left Danielle sleeping and managed not to wake her, as he slipped out of bed. He half-expected either, or maybe both, of the ship’s computers to greet him but neither did. Alex and Grace must’ve picked up he was troubled and decided to wait and see what was going on before saying anything. After all the years they’d been together, they knew his moods better than he did.

  Tag sat down in his command chair and looked out of the viewport at the giant Defense Facility filling the forward view. He pressed a button on his panel, activating the steering thrusters, and pushed a small toggle, turning the giant two-mile long warship ninety-degrees, stopping once the center of Bristone’s Galaxy appeared in the viewport. He leaned back in his chair and stared out at the glowing galactic center. Unlike the Milky Way, Bristone’s center was not obscured by massive clouds of dust and the brilliant light emerging from the central black hole was easily seen from the Kosiev’s current position.

  He gazed at the twenty-thousand light year-long flare that shot out of the top of the central black hole and extended out into open space above the huge spiral galaxy. He knew an identical flare was coming out of the bottom, but he couldn’t see it from the Kosiev’s current position. He stared at the image and remembered the first time he came to this galaxy long ago. It wasn’t a fond memory.

  He remembered vividly Trey and Cassie Robbins’ arrival in the Dark Dimension, where they threatened to lead the Demons to the Stars Realm. Tag’s expression remained neutral as he remembered feeling anger, at discovering the billions of beings that died in the civil war that followed the Milky Way and Algean Galaxy leaving the Realm’s Universe for the Dark Dimension.

  Sprig’s removal of the probes left behind prevented them from learning that the Demons were invading the Realm’s Universe, again. The Demon’s arrival, ultimately, led to an even greater loss of life than the civil war. Sprig insisted he removed the Probes to save the anguish they would cause if the death and destruction taking place during the civil war was witnessed. But a by-product of his actions was the Demons were not seen by the Algeans, Spiders, and Humans when they arrived.

  Tag really didn’t fault Trey and Cassie for their anger at being left behind. The Bristone Royal Couple fully expected the Realm to come and prevent the massive loss of life taking place but, with the destruction of the probes, the leaders of the Realm were never made aware of the carnage taking place in the Realm’s universe. The survivors of the civil war were now facing the new Demons and the new Bristone Empire started by Scotty Robbins was decimated by their attacks. Only sixty-six planets were moved out of the Bristone galaxy before all intelligent life was wiped out. Trey held the Realm responsible for those losses along with the deaths of his parents and grandparents.

  • • •

  The corner of Tag’s mouth went up as he recalled Danielle’s reaction to what happened. She was devastated by what the Demons were doing and challenged Sprig to explain his destruction of the probes without telling anyone. Sprig didn’t have a good answer and Danielle asked Trey to take her back with him to Bristone. In the end, the Demons were defeated but at a terrible cost. Cassandra and the original Alexander Kosiev Warship died in the final confrontation. Danielle still wept some nights at losing her dead son’s wife in that war.

  They weren’t the only losses; Jake and Valerie Gardner died as well. Tag knew that Jake’s death still didn’t atone for all the billions that died, after he convinced the Stars Realm to leave the Realm’s Universe for the Dark Dimension. But he at least tried to atone for his actions.

  Tag closed his eyes, leaned back a little more reminiscing of the peace that followed. Their son married Trey and Cassie’s daughter and they united the Bristone Empire and the Realm into one family. Soon after that, Atlas came back and extended their lives again. It wasn’t long after that, he left with Danielle to go out into the Realm’s Universe to fight against aggressive, evil civilizations that threatened peaceful civilizations. They left the Realm in good hands with the Bristone Royal Couple.

  He remembered participating in the wars in Pixie’s and Dahlia’s universes against the giant Hornets and was surprised how they had all turned out well. Sprigly joined them at that point and they left the Realm’s territory to go out and fight against all evil civilizations once more. They’d been doing that for three-thousand years.

  Tag thought about how he didn’t really notice the passage of time, while they fought against so many enemies, and creation knows, there were so many of them. Some of the aggressive civilizations they fought took hundreds of years to ultimately defeat and there always seemed to be another enemy showing up to fight, once a war was over. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed and he wondered, was it coincidence that a new enemy always appeared at that moment? Now three-years of fighting had passed since the Creatures and Black Warships arrived in the Realm’s universe and they were no closer to finding a way to win this war. The six-years since their arrival back in the Realm had flown by and seemed like yesterday.

  “What’s going on, Tag?”

  Startled, he turned to see Danielle standing behind his chair. “Can’t sleep,” he answered.

  “What’s bothering you?”

  Tag pointed to her chair next to him and Danielle sat down. “I’ve been thinking about everything that’s happened since we lost Cassandra.” Danielle’s eyes moistened and Tag reached over and took her hand, “I miss her, too, my love.”

  “She was the last of our original children.” Tag nodded and Danielle continued. “I know her death was needed to win against the Demons but I still hate it to this day. That price was too high!”

  “She was going through the motions of living after Tommy died in an accident, Danielle. She’s found peace and is with him now.”

  “I know.” Danielle sighed, “I experienced what she was going through when I thought I had lost you to the Dark Energy Creatures three-years ago.”

  Tag stared at her in silence and finally asked, “Danielle, why is it that we never felt the urge to come back to the Realm until recently?”

  Danielle shrugged and turned to Tag,
“I don’t know. I guess we were too caught up in the fighting against aggressive civilizations that we lost track of time.”

  “But three-thousand years? We should have been at least slightly curious about what was going on in the Realm.” Danielle nodded but remained silent. “I mean…look at what we found when we came back; the Realm had morphed into something evil. Why didn’t we feel the urge to return earlier?”

  “Tag, if like you told me, we truly are a tool of Creation, our attention would not be devoted to just the Realm; it represents too small an area of creation.” Tag turned back to the viewport and stared at the distant black hole. “What are you thinking, Tag?”

  “Danielle, if you have a great warrior that is more powerful than any other in the universe and now peace has descended on the Realm…what would happen to him?”

  Danielle lowered her gaze, as she thought about the question. Tag continued to stare out of the viewport and, after a long silence, he heard her say, “When did you figure this out?”

  “I’ve been struggling with it in my subconscious for a while. It seemed to float to the top tonight.”

  “This actually helps me deal with some of the guilt I’ve been feeling. It’s not our fault, Tag.”

  Tag turned to look in Danielle’s eyes, “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

  “Tag, every time the Realm entered a period of peace, what did we do?”

  Tag’s eyebrows came together as he answered, “We’d leave the Realm in the hands of a capable ruler and go out to explore our universe.”

  Danielle sat back in her chair, “We justified that by saying we needed a break. And pretty much every time we came back the Realm was in some sort of jeopardy. The first time was when we left Sprig, as the King of the Stars Realm, and came back to find the Dukes were going to start a civil war and attack the Realm. That led to the Realm being moved to the Dark Dimension, after the Keepers were eradicated; you know how much death happened because of that.” Danielle lowered her head before continuing, “I’ve been feeling terrible about our constantly leaving and causing the Realm to be endangered. I’ve often questioned what would have happened if we remained ruling the Realm and never left. If what you’re suggesting is accurate, we were forced out; we had no choice but to leave. We were pressured by Creation to leave.”

  “You know we’ve always felt it wasn’t a good thing to have the same rulers over the Realm for an extended period,” Tag replied.

  “Where did that thought originate, Tag?”

  “What?”

  “If we are a weapon created by Creation to defend our universe, what do you think we would have been pressured to do?” Tag was silent and Danielle continued, “Creation would want us to keep our edges keen and sharp and the only way to do that was for us to keep fighting. Peace in the Realm would have dulled our edges.”

  “So, you’re saying Creation manipulated us into leaving.”

  Danielle’s expression turned angry, “I am and Creation kept our attention away from the Realm while we were gone.”

  “But three-thousand years…”

  Danielle interrupted him, “Tag! Even though the Realm was evil, it was still at peace. Creation was not facing a crisis there.”

  “What about the destruction of the Glod and Cainth!?!”

  “There are millions of civilizations in the Realm’s space and the loss of two of them is minute, when put up against the larger backdrop of our universe.”

  Tag thought about it and sighed, “What would have happened if we remained in the Realm?”

  “Tag! We’ve been manipulated! You can’t be suggesting that it’s a good thing!?”

  “I know that, Danielle! Now answer my question!”

  “I’m so angry, I can’t think straight.”

  “You need look no further than the Algean Warships.”

  Danielle’s eyes narrowed as she glared at Tag for a long moment, before her eyes widened, “They weren’t advanced enough.”

  Tag nodded, “Both Sprigly and Alex immediately saw that they weren’t as powerful as they should have been, especially, after so much time had passed. When we arrived, the Kosiev could have taken on thousands of them and won. While we were gone, our edges, as you say, were sharpened. Think about what would have happened if we didn’t have the new blaster lens or new scanner provided by the Hallan when we returned. Those blasters are the only weapons we have that can defeat the Black Warships. Peace does not lead to advancement in weapon technology.”

  “So, you don’t have a problem with being manipulated?” Danielle asked sarcastically.

  Tag shrugged, smiled, and raised his hands, “It depends on who’s doing the manipulating. You’ve manipulated me over the centuries and I’ve grown accustomed to it; I’ve always appreciated what came out of it. Now answer this honestly; did you ever really enjoy ruling the Realm day-to-day?!” Danielle lowered her eyes and Tag said, “Be honest!”

  Danielle continued glare at him and then her expression softened, “Not really. I was always thankful to turn it over to someone else.”

  “We’re warriors, Danielle…both of us. We have always been where we should have been. The problem is that we see ourselves as the rightful rulers of the Realm and insist that it follow our standards.”

  “How should we see ourselves, Tag?” she asked softly.

  “We are what we were created to be, my love. We are defenders of our universe; the Realm is just a small piece of our responsibility.”

  “If that’s true, why do we keep getting pulled back to the Realm when a crisis takes place?”

  “Because that is where all the forces we can call on to assist us are located. We are, after all, legends in the Realm.” Tag replied.

  “Why do you think we’re being allowed to see this now?”

  Tag sighed, “I think it has been forced into our subconscious…but it troubles us. Creation does not want to force us to do what must be done; it prefers our complete cooperation. Perhaps we are being told that our destiny will end with this war. Maybe…” Tag grew silent.

  “Maybe what?”

  “Creation is forging another tool to replace us?” he answered hesitantly. Danielle stood up, went to Tag’s chair, and sat down in his lap. She put her head on his shoulder. She heard Tag ask, “Alex, do you see it any differently?”

  “Actually, my responsibility is much smaller than yours and I don’t have a subconscious to trouble me.”

  “Oh…why is that?”

  “My responsibility is to keep the two of you safe; that is what keeps me in the present. If you were to die, I would not survive the loss.”

  “Alex, what about me?”

  Alex paused and then they heard him reply, “You’re right, Grace. Now that you’re here, I do have a reason to go on.”

  Danielle giggled and closed her eyes. Tag was still alive and she had reason to continue her life as well. Tag smiled and said softly, “Love does conquer all, Alex.” Tag pulled her close and stared out of the viewport. A few minutes later, he joined Danielle in a deep sleep.

  • • •

  Grace contacted Alex over their closed circuit and asked, “Do you believe they are going to be replaced?”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know if that is even possible. Tag is this universe’s ultimate warrior; I just don’t see anyone on the horizon close to his talents.”

  “Jimmy is developing similar talents.”

  “And just when have you observed him picking up a sword?”

  “Touché!” Grace replied. “I don’t see this war ending any time soon, Alex.”

  “You’re right. Perhaps this replacement, he’s suggesting, is in the future, if they really exist.”

  “We’ll have to wait and see. Let me know if you see anything.

  “You’ll be the fourth to know. Tag and Danielle will the first to see it.”

  Chapter One

  Rose sat in her history class listening to the instructor answering questions from her fellow classmates. This
class was on the ancient history of the Stars Realm and Rose knew more about it than any student in the class; she probably knew more than the instructor. Most of her classmates were from the Bristone Empire and they had a slight advantage in Bristone’s history, but very few could match her knowledge of the Realm’s history. She usually chose to not answer questions; she didn’t like showing off. She glanced to her left and saw JP staring at her from the next row of desks. She focused her mind and thought, “Is something wrong?”

  “No, I just can never get enough of seeing you.”

  Rose tried to act angry but couldn’t pull it off. She smiled and asked, “Oh, you like younger females!”

  “You’re only a little over two-years younger.”

  “But you’re seventeen; you should choose one closer to your age.”

  “When I’m thirty and you’re twenty-seven, the difference won’t matter.”

  “What makes you think I’m even remotely interested in you?”

  “Because I can see you look at me, too.” Rose’s snorted and JP quickly added, “I’m not telling anyone, Rose, about our feelings or your telepathy. And I do realize neither of us are old enough, yet. I just think you are the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen. I’ll try to watch my behavior.”

  “See that you do!” The bell rang ending class and several female students went over to JP’s desk to flirt. Rose kept her face neutral as she put her teaching module in her bag and watched JP out of the corner of her eyes. She packed up slowly to see JP’s reaction. Alexandra Gardner was batting her eyes at JP, but he smiled at the girls, stood up, and turned to go to his next class. Rose understood the attention JP received. His father was the Crown Prince of the Bristone Empire and being James Carter’s son carried its own weight. She had to admit he handled it reasonably well, for the most part. Unlike her, JP was the most popular student in her school.

  She was just a commoner and went mostly unnoticed by most of the high-ranking students in her classes. The only reason she was there was due to Danielle requesting King Robbins to take care of her after her family escaped to Bristone from Earth before the galaxy was moved to the Dark Dimension. That was six-years earlier and she adapted to living on Bristone instead of Earth.