Andrew Saxon - Demon's sacrifice

Destiny looked at his children and said, “How many members does the Realm have?”

“More than twenty million and another eight million independent planets.”

Newton shrugged, “That’s less than lived on two of our old main ships; I would be happy to assist in this project.”

Sprig shook his head, “Sorry, but you three are being given Royal Titles and will become my direct assistants. You’re the one’s that will be used to handle our most difficult issues.”

The three spiders looked at each other and Newton jumped straight up four feet and yelled, “Allllllll Riiighttttttt! This is going to be fun.”

Destiny looked at Sprig, “What about me? You must have called me here for a reason.”

“You will be my Chief of Staff directing all of the Crowns actions. For starters, I need you to choose those of your children with the right temperament to become our ambassadors. I need your help, Destiny.”

Destiny stuck out his leg and Sprig took it in a branch and shook it, “Like the lad here said; this is going to be fun.” They turned and watched the three young spiders jump around the room in glee.

Sprig looked out at the multitude of beings surrounding Colony Park. He tuned his thought recorder to verbal and stepped up on the dais, “I welcome all of you that have made the journey today to honor our warriors that once again have given their lives for the Realm. I’m sorry that all of you that requested to come were not allowed to attend. We can only accommodate twenty million and more than sixty billion asked to be here. For those of you watching on your home worlds, the Realm appreciates your viewing this ceremony. One thousand warriors on five hundred ships confronted a race of beings that were ancient when our universe was born. That race evolved to become universe destroyers and designed species to go from universe to universe killing all intelligent life. Their technology was so far ahead of us that we had no chance of matching them for their destructive capability. A race in our universe called the Reg built ships for us to meet them in battle, and without their help we would not be alive today. The Reg have now left our universe for a new home in another dimension and we will greatly miss them.”

Sprig paused a moment, “The Reg told us that they would provide the ships but we had to provide the warriors. We were also instructed that the ships would select the crews. The five hundred ships chose their two man crews and the ones chosen were the best our Realm had to offer. Out of five hundred ships, only a hundred and fifty survived. Just like the public square where our marines confronted the green horde, the numbers are identical. I don’t know what this means and greater minds than mine will ponder the significance of those numbers for centuries to come but we paid a heavy price for the continued existence of the Stars Realm. One of those lost was one of my children and his mate. They moved into the Demon’s attack and gave precious seconds to reform our line. Two Gresh gave their lives to slow the tide of Demon ships and there were many other sacrifices made by those who faced the Red Demon attack. I am going to show you a recording of the battle so you can see what those brave warriors faced to save our universe from destruction.”

The monitors began showing the battle as the huge fleet of Demon ships arrived a hundred miles from the line of blue ships. The Realm saw the savagery of the battle and saw once again that the Realm’s warriors did not flee but stayed and fought even when it looked hopeless. The appearance of the Kosiev and the sudden turn of tide as all of the remaining ships except Matt’s dove into the Kosievs’ outer skin made the viewing trillions marvel at the power of the two mile long ancient ship as it moved forward and destroyed the Demon Fleet.

“The Reg provided us with the most powerful ships in the universe but they would have failed except for the arrival of one of the Realm’s ancient ships. The Alexander Kosiev once more proved that it is the most powerful weapon ever built. That ship has now become intelligent and is the Stars Realm’s newest member. As king of the Realm, I have granted it the complete freedom to fight the enemies of the Stars Realm.”

Sprig paused and looked out at the huge gathering. “We are making a change to the hallowed ground we are standing on today. The cleared section next to the statues honoring the colonists killed on Ross to start the Realm will be dedicated to those that gave their lives saving the Realm from its most deadly foe.” Sprig turned and nodded.

A blue field appeared and suddenly a statue of the Kosiev and one blue ship appeared firing a bright blue beam into bright orange ships. The statues were made from the crystal structure left behind by the Reg and would last for eternity. The detail of the ships was incredible and the Realm gasped at their beauty. Sprig turned back to the gathering, “Those were created by the Reg and given to us for what we accomplished. Every warrior that fought in that battle is awarded the Crimson Crown and will be interred here with all of the Realm’s heroes. Those that survived will be brought here on their death and will be interred with their fellow warriors.”

Sprig paused and then turned back to the podium, “Those that perished with their ships will have a marker with their name on it placed here beside the statues. The name of this place will be changed from Colony Park to Life Park to honor those that placed their self in harm’s way to protect us all. It is a place for all of us in our universe to come and see that our Realm has been built and maintained by the lives of those that believe in what we stand for and were willing to die for its continued existence.”

The huge gathering erupted into a roar of approval. It continued for thirty minutes and grew in volume. Sprig raised his branches and the crowd grew quiet.

“We are going to change the structure of the Realm immediately.” The trillions of viewers leaned forward and listened for what was to follow. They knew something monumental was about to be announced. “We have made progress, but we are not doing the things necessary to insure the Stars Realm’s continued peace and prosperity for its members. The Realm has grown too big to rule from just one location. We have learned that there has been an emergence of pirates attacking ships and killing innocent crews. Planets have been attacked by fleets of ships robbing them of their riches and valuables. Some members do not understand the responsibility of being a member of the Realm and protecting every other member as if they were a member of their family. Other members joined to save themselves from the attack of the green invaders and have not truly accepted the Realm’s ideals and principles.”

“There are also planets that have been colonized by our members; colonies that have declined to join the Realm and are currently causing havoc against our members. I am telling every member today that you will be allowed to leave the Realm immediately if you prefer to be independent; we will freely allow you to choose your own course with absolutely no interference from us. Every member will be contacted within the next thirty days to make your choice. We will not force any world to be a part of what we are building. You must freely accept our company; no one will be coerced.” The huge crowd was silent. Sprig then turned and said, “Will the Gardner Family please join me.”

The five couples move up to the platform and stood behind Sprig. The members of the Realm saw the humans that so much had been written about and so much witnessed. Sprig turned back to face the gathering, “The Realm will be divided into five provinces. The first province will be named Life’s Land for the Gresh who died in the final battle. The second will be named Grena’s Glory for his mate that died with him. The third will be Stem’s Ground for my child that died. The fourth will be called Petal’s Path for his mate that died with him. The fifth will be called Kosievs’ Quest to honor the ship that saved the Realm in three wars.”