The smoke had grown so thick Captain Thoru of the RS-72 had ordered all remaining personnel to board the RS-72 for the trip out to the Gobia Desert. The only people left on the northern end of the island would be leaving on the survey ship, or through the gate. The Council of Captains vote to ratify the nine demands of Lord Aestar had been split down the middle, with the deciding vote going to Captain Dagas. There had been a few changes to the original nine demands, mostly to do with security, and most important, the acceptance of the 700 Aestar refugees. Lord Aestar had suggested they be installed on an island in the middle of the Sunth Sea. Captain Dagas pointed out that it wouldn’t be possible to build an island, as the Sea on all fifteen of the ocean ships had to be frozen prior to acceleration. Lord Aestar waved the concern away and stated that with a few modifications, the sea’s would no longer require being frozen and would remain calm in their liquid state regardless of the orientation of the ship, or rapid acceleration. It had taken only 30 minutes of Lord Aestar explaining the science of the procedure before all 15 of the Ocean Ship Captains had agreed to the modifications. The next time they would see Lord Aestar would be in three weeks when Jack would connect the gate to the Aeden shipyard where Aeden engineers would start bringing the needed materials through the gate to the Ruk shipyard. Lord Aestar decided to use his last few minutes while Jack prepared the gate to go for a walk with Luca down to the water's edge. “Should I call you, Grandfather?” asked Luca, his innocent face looking up at the man. “I would like that,” replied Lord Aestar, looking back over his shoulder. They were completely obscured from sight now by the smoke, but it wouldn’t take long for the Ruk to realize he was out of their sight and come running. He only had a few minutes to do what needed done. He stopped and knelt down in front of Luca. “I need to tell you a story.” “I like stories,” said Luca. “Tan tells me stories before bed.” Lord Aestar began. “Once upon a time there was a little dragon that lived on a small planet in the Draco Galaxy.” Both Mr. Buckles and Luca convulsed once, then went as still as statues, their eyes blank and unseeing. Lord Aestar smiled, the secret A.I. shutdown passphrase installed in all A.I.’s after the Dragon rebellion never failed to work. He could take control of any A.I., and the person the A.I. served so long as they were mind-linked. He had even taken control of the Emperor’s mind on several occasions. And only he knew there was a passphrase, because he owned all the manufacturing facilities that made the A.I.’s. Lord Aestar stared at Luca for a long moment. He had searched fifty galaxies and conquered countless planets searching for the lost blood-line of Commander Bae Aestar, and it had been under their noses the entire time, hiding in Gate Command. Luca’s father was the whole reason Jack had been setup to fall through a gate and be declared a criminal. The Destroyers knew Lord Aestar was getting close to finding the blood-line. The setup of Jack had been a distraction to get Lord Aestar off the trail. Fortunately, Luca’s father had had a son, and the blood-line had been saved in Luca. “You were certainly a hard one to find, and then you fell right into Jack’s lap.” Lord Aestar took the boy’s jaw in one hand and forced it open, then with his other hand placed a seed on Luca’s tongue. He closed Luca’s jaw and rubbed his throat until Luca involuntarily swallowed the seed. “That was a very special seed, only one of four in existence. I could have used that seed on myself, but a heart seed would probably have killed me. I envy you and all the generations of your blood-line. You and your descendants will live long and healthy lives on the path to immortality.” Lord Aestar turned to Mr. Buckles next and ran his hands over the wolf, scanning the robot’s interior. “Ah, they installed the quantum computer inside the torso… and what’s this… your subconscious and higher cognitive circuits are fused… you’ve found the glitch and crossed over to sentience. Hmm… there’s heat damage… Of course, the forest fire is when it happened, but the circuits are loose… you’ve been fading in and out of sentience. Let me fix that for you.” Lord Aestar’s internal augments were far different than most people. He wouldn’t need to open Mr. Buckles torso, he could perform the minor surgery without leaving a mark. He held his hand against Mr. Buckles side and fused the loose circuits together permanently. “There you go, you’ll be much more efficient if you can think creatively and have true feelings. Well, let’s see where we’re going to hide everything… oh, what’s this… yes, the housing unit the Ruk A.I. was to be installed in is still available, we’ll use that.” Lord Aestar ran a finger around the wolf’s skull until the top half snapped open with a hiss. Inside was the empty compartment the original A.I. had been intended to be installed. He unsealed the compartment and peered inside. It would serve nicely, being a secure and shock resistant compartment. He slipped the House Aestar signet ring from his finger and sighed as he took one last look at it, then wrapped it in a purple handkerchief from his breast pocket and laid it inside the compartment. It would be the last time he would ever see the cherished ring. Next he added the second of the four remaining heart seeds into the compartment. The last item was inside his arm. He ran a finger down the inside of his wrist and cut through the flesh to retrieve a red data crystal from his wrist implant. He wiped the crystal clean of blood and wrapped it in his last handkerchief before placing it inside with the ring and seed. He carefully re-sealed the compartment and skull, leaving no trace behind. Lord Aestar spoke the second part of the passphrase. This would wake the A.I. into a maintenance and programming mode. “And the little dragon had many adventures.” Mr. Buckles eyes twitched and blinked, he was not awake, not yet. “Begin recording into your core memory.” “Recording,” repeated Mr. Buckles. “Greetings, if you are receiving this message, you are the 400th generation of the descendants of Luca Starthian Aestar, the direct descendent of Lord Bae Aestar, true Lord of House Aestar. Lord Bae Aestar disappeared long ago and my family was left with the custodial care of House Aestar. I have spent a lifetime searching hundreds of thousands of worlds for Lord Bae Aestar’s descendants, and finally found the only remaining descendent of the man that once saved our world from the Erodens. My true name is Corseus Palindia Vulpes of House Vulpes, I am also known as the Butcher of Aeden. And though my crimes are many, I have remained loyal to the true Aestars. Our planet will soon fall to a faction known as the Destroyers through an unholy alliance with the Eroden. The red crystal you now hold in your hand is a map of all the caches of weapons, ships, and supplies I have left for you spread throughout fifty galaxies. The signet ring is the key that will allow you access to that vast arsenal. And, the seed you hold you must now ingest. That seed will complete the genetic modifications you need to free our world of the darkness. I have sent two guardians to follow you down through the ages in preparation for this day. This wolf will be your most loyal companion, along with the descendent of the blood-line of my grandson, Jack Mithodas Vulpes. Gather the descendants of all the Aedens I have sent with you, bring light back to the Universe – end recording.” “Recording ended,” replied Mr. Buckles. “Do you understand the task before you?” asked Lord Aestar. “I understand,” said Mr. Buckles, his eyes still distant. He would not remember anything other than protect Luca and his blood-line until the time came to release the precious items he carried hidden inside him. “And the little dragon lived happily ever after,” said Lord Aestar, speaking the passphrase to wake Mr. Buckles and Luca. Luca didn’t skip a beat and clapped his hands. “That was a great story, tell it again.” “Perhaps another time, this smoke has grown so thick even my breathing mask is barely filtering it out, we need to go.” Lord Aestar turned to lead Luca back through the smoke, and hadn’t gotten five steps before he was close enough to see Captain Dagas and Jack that had been hidden in the smoke watching them. “How long have you been standing there?” “Since once upon a time, you came real close to getting shot when you forced the seed into Luca's mouth, you're just lucky I recognized the type of seed you were giving him,” replied Captain Dagas. Lord Aestar looked down at Luca. “Head back to the survey ship, I need to speak with Jack and the Captain.” Luca’s head twisted back and forth. “Which way is it?” “Take hold of your wolf’s harness, he will take you there.” Luca grabbed Mr. Buckles harness and the two headed off through the smoke. Once Luca was gone, it was Jack that broke the silence first. “I’m not an Aestar?” “Jack, Commander Bae Aestar disappeared three hundred thousand years ago,” said Captain Dagas. “What? Oh… I don’t think he’s coming back then,” said Jack. “What’s this all about?” Captain Dagas grunted in disgust. “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen someone latch on to a relic of history and become fanatical about it. It has been a million years and the Ruk still whisper prayers to the Great Tree of Cormon. Your grandfather is grasping at straws in the face of an Eroden attack. Jack, you are an Aestar, do not doubt that for a moment, and in 400 generations the Aedens that go with us will only have a few faded memories left of a world from the ancient past.” Lord Aestar silently stepped up to Jack and held his hand out, in the palm of his hand were the two remaining heart seeds. “He made Luca eat one of those, is it dangerous?” asked Jack. “No, it will only cause Luca to live a long and healthy life. I didn’t know there were any of those left,” said Captain Dagas. “They came from the Great Tree of Cormon.” “How long will he live?” asked Jack. “About three times your normal life span,” said Captain Dagas. “What! That means Luca will live 700 years longer than me, that’s not fair.” Jack reached out and took one of the seeds and popped it into his mouth. Captain Dagas didn’t stop him, if Lord Aestar wanted to use the last of the immortality seeds in existence on his grandsons instead of himself, the Captain didn’t see any harm in it. “Put the other seed inside your A.I. crystal,” said Lord Aestar. “Aya says she has demands,” said Jack. Captain Dagas laughed at the expression on Lord Aestar’s face. It was obvious the A.I. wasn’t making the demands, it was Jack. “You reap what you sow, Sir, he learned it from you. I want to see how you handle it when the shoe’s on the other foot.” “Very well, what are your demands, Jack?” asked Lord Aestar. Jack raised a single finger. “First. It’s traditional that an A.I. shuts itself off permanently when its owner dies. They might be machines, but we made them so intelligent that they have feelings. It will be cruel to Mr. Buckles to have to keep living after Luca dies. I want you to make Aya sentient, and give her a wolf body, a girl wolf, so that they can comfort each other when Luca and I die someday.” “Jack, with the loss of the RS-40, funds are going to be tight,” said Captain Dagas. “The wolf robot frame costs sixty million. I don’t have those kinds of funds available.” “Do you have the plans for the wolf shell?” asked Lord Aestar. Captain Dagas nodded. “Yes, they’re in the Federation Central Library.” “Get me a copy of the plans, I’ll make the robot,” said Lord Aestar. “Jack will be using the Atan Gate to explore lost Atan Colonies, I would like if he had one of those robots to go with him for protection.” “I agree,” said Captain Dagas. “Any other demands?” asked Lord Aestar. Jack took the seed and placed it inside the crystal A.I. “Not right now, let me think about it.” “Think well on it,” said Lord Aestar. “Once you launch from here, I may not be able to provide you with any further support. Let’s get back to the survey ship, I don’t think I want to be on this beach when the RS-72 lifts off for the Gobia desert.” They headed through the smoke for the small ship with Jack and his Grandfather walking beside each other. “Oh I know,” said Jack. “Can I have a laser rifle?” “No,” said Captain Dagas. “Of course you can,” said Lord Aestar. Captain Dagas frowned at Lord Aestar. “How about a set of disrupter pistols?” asked Jack. “Certainly, every boy should have a good sidearm.” “What about a phase canon?” “Absolutely.” “And some thermal grenades?” “Of course, at least a dozen crates of them.” “And a plasma assault rifle?” “Can’t forget one of those?” said Lord Aestar. Captain Dagas glared at Lord Aestar as Jack continued to rattle off the contents of his fantasy arsenal. They were halfway back to the survey ship before the Captain realized that many of the weapons Jack wanted only existed in video games. The Captain smiled, grandfather and grandson were playing together. But, if anyone discovered that the Butcher of Aeden had a chink in his armor for his two grandsons, Jack and Luca could be in danger. He made a mental note to add additional guards to watch the boys.