Cutlass Sharpened (57 page)

“
Enough, Renee. I know
already.” Jake said calmly as he uncovered his own dish. A heaping
pile of potatoes, cabbage, sausage and a thicker slab of steak than
Renee’s, but his was beef. “That is yers.”

“
Papa… I… I
mean…”

“
Lass, ye can’t hide a thing
from me. Ye’re a Beast-eater and it’s time ye accept yourself for
who ye are.”

Oliver uncovered his meal and it was similar
to Renee’s, but his choice cut of meat was a bit larger than hers.
Sparky and Rose uncovered theirs and inside was a few delectable
rabbits tastefully piled together.

“
Papa…”

“
Eat, Lass. Oliver, would ye
like some four hundred year old mead? I hear it is physically
impossible for ye to get drunk. I’d like to test that
theory.”

“
Mead is fermented honey
right?”

“
Aye.”

“
I’d like to try it.” And
Jake took Oliver’s mug and opened the barrel to scoop out the
drink. He did the same for everyone else. “It’s better than
whiskey.” Oliver said as he took a sip of the potently sweet
beverage.

Oliver knew about manners at a dinner table
and tried using a fork and knife when what he really wanted was to
pick everything up and eat barehanded. He commented after the first
bite of the softer mass “It’s not as good as fresh, but it isn’t
half bad. Thank you. What type of Beast is it?”

“
Viper. These two were found
near King’s Tusk and were young, but I traded off the Hunter with
one of my fine wines for the brains and the choicest cuts.” Jake
said as he took a bite of his boiled cabbage. On the other side
Sparky and Rose were loudly ripping the rabbits apart and
swallowing chunks since their teeth weren’t designed to chew.
“Lass, just eat.” He said kindly.

Renee had too many
questions, but it was too much to resist anymore. She grabbed the
fork and utensils to cut off a chunk of the sweeter desire. The
moment she popped it in her mouth she closed her eyes and moaned,
savoring the most poisonous part to so many others. It was
delectable and everything she remembered. She swallowed to say “I
forgot just how
good
Beast tasted.” It was the last thing said as she tore into the
meal without restraint.

Before she knew it all that remained was the
blood smears over the ceramic plate. “Here.” Oliver handed over his
plate with just under half the meat remaining. She smiled and
didn’t pass up any more of the meal she had denied for a
decade.

“
That
is how I taught ye to eat.” Jake chuckled. “Are ye not hungry,
Oliver?”

“
Not too much. I’m still
digesting the Fire Wyrm I condensed. I could probably not need to
eat for another three more weeks. Thank you for doing this.
Especially for Renee.”

“
Aye, she is a stubborn lass
though I know not where she gets it from.” Jake laughed a little
and took a large drink before refilling his mug.

Renee finished swallowing the last bite and
take a drink. “Papa, how long did you know?”

Jake’s humor sobered as supper was nearly
done. Sparky and Rose were sitting erect on their haunches, slowly
pouring a little bit of mead in their maws to savor the flavor.
“It’s why I invited the Drakes to supper. Oliver’s arrival made it
prudent certain secrets I’ve been hiding get spoken before it gets
ye killed.”

“
Papa? What does
Oliver…”

Jake held up a hand and she ceased talking
“Let me talk, Lass.” He stroked his beard and Renee knew it was her
father’s way of gathering his thoughts. His ancient green eyes fell
on Oliver. “Ancient One, it is an honor.”

“
Huh?” Oliver said and
Renee’s, Sparky and Rose’s eyes flew wide open.

“
Oliver, I have been
searching for ye for the past nine centuries after my blood
accidently splattered on the Geo Record cube. I was sixteen and cut
my hand on a chisel. When I slung a few droplets I was one of the
first lads to bear witness as the block’s odd and random patterns
rearranged themselves into the DNA helix we know and made for the
ability to do all the splicing we know and do today as well as made
way for the discovery of psionics.

“
I was born on Earth in
Scotland where I showed an aptitude for archeology and problem
solving methods few minds could compete with. When the first
advanced civilization not our own was discovered I was one of those
sent to uncover her secrets in the pyramid. Had I not cut myself, I
doubt there would be any way to have learned anything. The Geo
Record was like a sealed box, just waiting for the correct key. It
was a prevention for some reason I to this day, do not understand.
But my blood revealed the secrets it had hidden.

“
I was one of the first of
four to learn the new chromosome made psionics possible, to fight
back against Keptl and Beast which came later. But me raw power is
still the greatest even after nine hundred and ninety one years.
But from me calculations it is nothing compared to Creelin or yer
own people.” Jake said directly and in all seriousness. Renee had
gone sheet white and stared at Oliver with an expression he could
not understand. Rose and Sparky were both brightly glowing in
distress as a natural reaction to great emotion. “But there was one
large corner of the wall I’ve spent centuries trying to uncover.
The Solarian written language is much more complex than any other
on Earth or even Creelin. The language is read in more than one
direction and had thousands of meanings. Without a key to refer to
I’ve stumbled all this time and when we showed the Creelin the Geo
Record they suddenly made sure they would not help us translate.
All they said was that to advance ourselves we must go slowly and
learn. I felt they knew if they told us, our advancements would not
be sustainable and would cause more harm than good.”

The giant man pulled out a large obsidian
crystal and turned it on. “Show wall section five hundred, four A.”
The screen showed the section of the Geo Record with the complex
language that didn’t allow the eyes to rest anywhere.

It seemed randomly written,
but Oliver’s eyes unfocused as the ancient language began to unfold
and he spoke “
We of the first born
travelers of the universe are gone. The Creelin promised to look
after our peoples seeding throughout the fifteen thousand galaxies
we’ve been to, to allow life to prosper in the unforgiving cosmos.
We go to face the enemy no other can contend with. To protect those
unable to stand against them. Such is our code. The enemy comes for
our power, to send all back to the void in which sprang the stars
that created all life.

“
From this record we leave
behind our most basic knowledge so that should the enemy return,
there will be a chance. If you can read this, know the first people
are gone. This record has been cloaked of its information within so
that the enemy does not uncover how to exploit any younger race
that has yet begin to blossom and follow in our path. To have read
this means your life stems and branches from us. You are our
legacy. Our one reason for hope that our sacrifice was not in
vain.

“
Heed our next words
carefully.

“
There is one who is lost
and by writing this I commit treason highest of my people. One who
will need guidance to be your shield if we fail to kill our
ruthless foe. For he was our greatest warrior and our last
salvation. Our people mate for eternity and is also our weakness
and strength.

“
Beware should the warrior
find one strong enough to be his mate for he will chose
once.
Only
once.
Should his chosen die he will destroy everything in madness. Should
he die, she will follow. He was stripped of everything and I bore
witness to his resting place, to awaken again should there be need.
Protect the last warrior, but if he finds one who can survive his
offspring, protect that female at
all
costs for he is the system
destroyer and protector depending on her. Our females lead us and
we defend them from all dangers. This is our instinct.

“
Our first law and natural
instinct.

“
We leave the final clues to
where the warrior slumbers for all eternity and hope that he stays
there. I hope he is never needed to awaken. My hope is we can win,
but I make this secret passage in event we do not. With war upon
us, my fear is we fail and their numbers aren’t as devastated as
our own. They come from far beyond us and won’t stop unless we do
it for all races.

“
In event this record is
read by the enemy, they will not find the last warrior. Their
biology is not of us.

“
He sleeps in the womb.
Protected by sand and from change. Sealed and warmed by a neutral
blue star within this distant galaxy. To not be disturbed by any
interior or exterior force till the time is right. Search only in
need and awaken if you absolutely must.
”

Jake sat in silent astonishment like the rest
of the room. “Oliver, ye can read this? How?”

Oliver was quiet, holding a suffocating
breath as he came to realize something. “I’m a Solarian aren’t
I?”

“
Aye. This I believe to be
true. I didn’t know everything or that yer people had done this,
but I was able to pick up just six of these interconnected symbols.
Warrior. Sand. Blue. Star. Sleep. And lastly Awaken… the rest was
gibberish. Ye were found in a stasis that has never been humanly
conceived and sealed for tens of thousands of years. Ye wield a
genuine Star-saber, multi-tool
and
malleable armor. Ye can learn at near instant
rates. Ye have the densest bones and can move at inhuman speeds in
gravity that would kill nearly everyone else. But how can ye read
it when there is no reference?”

Oliver scratched his head. “I don’t really
know. It’s like when I read and process information, but this was
different… it was like I saw images inside my mind working
together… like I watched a short movie I could explain as it went
along.”

“
Papa! What about me?!”
Renee could not hold back such an outburst any longer. “If what we
heard is true then what am I? His mate for eternity?! What am I? A
Solarian clone?”

“
Don’t ye dare assume that.”
Jake turned full attention to her and spoke. “Ye listen good, Lass,
ye are
not
a clone.
Ye are me very flesh and blood as well as yer Ma, Isabella’s. Ye
were born just like the rest of us. Ye are of my loins, but ye are
more than any human too.”

“
I need…”

Renee went to flee, but she found herself
glued down by her father power. “Do not act as if this is news to
ye and run from me. Ye already know yer DNA strands aren’t human
and I’ve known ye hunted Beasts not long after ye learned to walk.
This was the main reason why I said we should have supper and
invited Sparky and Rose because not only do I trust them to keep
what I’m about to say secret, yer bond with Sparky won’t allow ye
to lie to him.

“
Before I gave parental
consent to allow ye to have the chip implant, I made sure I could
access yer files at any time I wanted. I know about ye mapping out
yer own genes… so ye know damn well Isabella and I are yer parents,
but what ye must understand is a fact few know about
Solarians.

“
Nearly every fossil
uncovered is between pairs and most of the time it is between man
and woman. Always in pairs unless a child is discovered. We
couldn’t find out bone density because minerals were replaced by
rock, but in each of those cases the female was often found with
markings indicating they stabbed themselves directly through the
heart beside their men who suffered different injuries that were
always fatal.

“
It was theorized by yer Ma
that Solarian mates need one another. A symbiotic connection. Just
as we humans pair up, but as each man died, their women took their
own lives and it had nothing to do with their customs. Oliver’s
translation proved yer mother correct. They bond as deeply as ye
and Sparky have, if not more.” Renee and Sparky looked to each
other. “Add her theory to mine about the six words I managed to
decipher and yer Ma also knew that if there was one warrior, he
needed someone strong and someone very much like
himself.”

The bearded captain took a deep breath.
“Isabella then came up with an idea that what if all the splicing
diagrams on the Geo Record were something more and worked to try
the inconceivable by everyone. She spent thirty years on it and as
ye know she was the foremost geneticist in splicing. Yer Ma then
brought her results to me and we decided it was at long last we
have a daughter of our own after being married for six and a half
centuries. It was long past time fer us.

“
She found a way to take
pieces from every splicing sequence on the Geo Record to modify her
own ovum. I’ll tell ye later what for. We made love many times till
she finally got pregnant with ye… but there was one side effect.”
Renee fought back the tears about to drown her. “Because yer mother
made you a Solarian… ye required a
lot
of energy… energy she in turned
craved. Isabella desired Beasts and though it nourished ye in the
womb, it gradually weakened her till ye were born. Without yer
Solarian ability to negate Beast poison she died.” The tears broke
free and Jake pulled Renee into his chest and let her cry loudly
and beat on his chest.