Authors: Paula Bradley
One of the outstanding characteristics bred into the Shekron military was the ability to think logically under extreme conditions. Being unemotional was also prized especially if one desired to rise through the ranks. Meron Ta’daeu was all this, plus he had common sense. His extensive military training guaranteed his performance; the chip implanted in his brain guaranteed his loyalty.
Nevertheless he was as close as he had ever been to fear and indecision. This creature emerged through a secured communication port which meant it had the signature of their NMIP. Furthermore, it destroyed (
melted
) a panel made of indestructible components
with its mind
.
In his seven thousand years of existence, Ta’daeu had never encountered anything like this. Due to the heat it generated, he was sure this was no holographic image. He surmised correctly that he was in the presence of a being that could transport across vast distances without a transport belt.
Of a fact, it was
not
Anorasian.
And then it was gone, the only reminder of its presence the stinking mass of metal congealing on the forward compartment deck.
Aleris stared at Mariah when she appeared before them and received a wink and a grin. For several minutes nothing happened. Then Ta’daeu’s image once more appeared before them, his head held high, his nostrils flaring.
“I was prepared to destroy the
Lepitera
where it stands, but I have decided to allow you your last few moments of freedom while you attempt to formulate your insignificant escape plans. Do not, however, take this as a sign of weakness and waste more of my valuable time. I have other business that requires attention.”
Mariah grinned. She knew the pompous windbag had felt a chill down his rigid spine when she had worked him over. Shaking her head she realized that posturing was not proprietary to human males.
Let’s give him a few hours to sweat it out and then we will just cruise on down, nice and leisurely
, she sent to her traveling companions.
The smile evaporated as she headed for her personal quarters. She had no idea if Galaxaril’s plan would suffice. But it had to. She had to defeat the Min’yel’os and identify this murderous SOS before it destroyed her solar system.
The air was less dense than Earth’s and the atmosphere held more oxygen, but it didn’t matter; Mariah’s blue sheath made the appropriate adjustments to correct for the environmental change.
What did matter were the twelve Stirilium cruisers surrounding the Sho’revra. The gentle air currents caused them to bob in the inky black sky like helium balloons floating on the end of strings. As with her first sight of the
Lepitera
, Mariah was impressed with the Anorasian artistry in the design of their battleships.
They reminded her of an atom. The slightly cylindrical body of the ship would be the nucleus. Orbiting it were six bands of flashing lights that melded seamlessly where they overlapped. Unequal in width and length and totally encircling the ship, the bands were the delivery mechanism for the megacycle Gamma ray nuclear isomer energy beams. With a three hundred sixty degree range capability, the Anorasians had created a fighting machine that never needed to maneuver into firing position.
Mariah already knew the particulars on the Stirilium cruisers: long-range Intezelin torpedoes; close-range energy beam projectors; and stealth-producing energy fields affording them invisibility. Force fields provided nearly indestructible shielding and sensors picked up everything from radio waves to particle emissions. The Shekron knew of only one battleship that could penetrate the layered shields of a Stirilium cruiser: their own full-scale Voltrex war vessels, three times the size of the Stirilium.
The
Seftiras
was the only cruiser on the ground, positioned five hundred yards before the main entrance of the Sho’revra. Its energy bands were dark, inactive; however the incandescent lights on the bands of the twelve cruisers surrounding the complex illuminated the night sky and the Sho’revra.
Meron Ta’daeu had been taken off guard and bested once ... he would not make the same miscalculation again.
Welcome Wagon is here
, Mariah sent to her five traveling companions. They accompanied her in what she called “The Offspring,” a vessel one third the size of the MERS that served, under ordinary circumstances, as a transportable research facility. The Offspring was only a few thousand miles from the planet’s surface; the
Lepitera
remained ten thousand miles further. Sateron and Aleris had chosen this smaller spaceship for its maneuverability even though they knew they could never outmaneuver a Stirilium.
I do believe they are finally taking me seriously
. Her thoughts were a mixture of eagerness and consequence.
Time to see what they have.
Sateron knew that engaging the Shekron would be foolhardy, considering that one cruiser alone could annihilate their craft without using more than a micron of energy. Nonetheless they had come this far, had trusted her intelligence and psychic power, and he would not attempt to dissuade her now.
They came out of suspension and headed for the planet’s surface. All twelve Stiriliums oriented in their direction but did nothing to stop them. They discovered why when, four hundred miles out, the Offspring hit something that caused it to slew sideways. The on-board NMIP adjusted immediately and restored equilibrium. Half-heartedly, the craft tried to penetrate the unassailable barrier. It failed and then ceased before it burned out its drive core.
“Why does the Prime Commander erect this obstruction? Did he not learn from his previous contact with our daughter?” al-Amin’s voice was harsh, a mixture of concern and boast.
“It’s a warning, my uncle,” Mariah said, her voice soft, excited. “Meron Ta’daeu is just letting me know that he has a battalion of cruisers backing him up this time and I better not try what I did before. He’s positive I can’t take on all of them. He’s probably right, but maybe there is something I can do to shake him up just long enough to accomplish my mission.”
With a smile, she addressed them all, but her eyes were on Sateron. “Stay here. Don’t do anything, no matter what happens. But be ready to transport in a microsecond. The method I plan to use will be, uh, unorthodox. You’ve never experienced it before so don’t be frightened. Trust me.”
While she spoke, the halo around her head brightened. Her last word spoken, the light flowed downward, bathing her body in a vaporous radiance.
With a momentary flash of heat and light, she was gone. Aleris looked to her colleague, nodding her head. Nothing this human did truly startled them any longer. No doubt Mariah had created a hyperspatial transport hole without the use of a belt—had, in fact, followed the path of the cruiser’s beam back to its source.
Their vid-screen came on-line ... and there she was, not two hundred feet before the
Seftiras
. Somehow Mariah had caused the neural processor on board the MERS to broadcast her encounter with theShekron and beam it back to them.
“Prime Commander, the alien is before us.” The anticipation in the Bridge Pilot’s voice was tinged with awe. Meron Corvus was a trained fighter in an elite corps and the enemy was in sight; yet it did not look like it had previously when it materialized on their bridge and melted their nascent beam projector. The surreal light surrounding its body gave the illusion of its existence in another dimension. Yet somehow he knew this not to be true.
The twelve Stirilium cruisers hovering in the sky now brightened, their destructive beams pointing at their new target.
Mariah stood with her legs braced slightly apart, her arms folded nonchalantly across her chest. She grinned cheerfully up at him and Ta’daeu frowned. Was she so sure of her power that she was undaunted by this show of force?
Not in the least, Prime Commander
. Her melodious sending was filled with smug confidence and humor.
I am very much impressed by your fleet. However I would like to speak to you one-on-one down here. Unless you prefer I come aboard your vessel
?
Without hesitation, Ta’daeu turned to Bridge Pilot Corvus and, with his jaw tight, said, “I will transport down to the surface and converse with the alien.”
Alarmed, Corvus said, “Allow, Prime Commander, but is this prudent? We were witness to its display of might—he stared pointedly at the mass of metal that once controlled their nascent beam—and it could do you great harm.”
“Your concern is noted.” However he felt inside, Ta’daeu wasPrime Commander and would never show fear before his crew. “It could have eliminated us as it did the array, but did not. It could have caused irreparable damage to my mind, but did not. It will do me no harm unless provoked and then it will defend itself only, of this I am certain.”
Momentarily Ta’daeu wondered why he was able to speak with such certainty. But he was not designed to ponder philosophical questions. He shook his head and continued. “I will speak with it before we take it captive. Mayhap I can forestall avoidable trouble. Nevertheless be ready to respond immediately on my command.” Not waiting for further discussion, Meron Ta’daeu tapped the correct sequence of buttons on his personal transport belt and was swallowed upin a flash of blue light.
Lightly touching down he faced the alien as he had done aboard the
Seftiras
. Her hands now rested lightly on her hips. He was momentarily dazzled by the luminescence that encircled her body. Mariah stared into his eyes and Ta’daeu experienced an odd sensation: the assumption of defeat. It was an uncharacteristic emotion for an Anorasian, let alone one of the Shekron’s fighting primes.
“You are curious as to my body and facial features, Prime Commander.” He was startled by the sound of her soft, melodious voice mimicking his form of speech. It was, at the same time, pleasing and pretentious.
“Briefly: I am from a race called Homo sapiens from a planet called Earth formerly known as Touranim. It resides in the Sol star system which was colonized by Anorasians over sixty-five millions years ago. The Min’yel’os sent meteorites to destroy Touranim as a cover-up for the annihilation of Izorach, the only planet in their Empire where Eocene dicit’ledoni grew naturally. But Anorasian DNA on Touranim regenerated millions of years later. And, probably due to a virus, mutated eventually into
Homo sapiens
.” Mariah sent him an image of what she looked like before the mutations began.
“Humans do not possess strong psychic abilities as do Anorasians.” Her smile made visible her white, pointed teeth. It was not the kind of smile that filled him with great assurance. “I happen to be a mutation, if you understand the word. The two geneticists you label ‘traitors’ stumbled upon Earth over twelve thousand years ago and were astounded to find so many similarities between our two races. They conducted experiments that revealed some dark secrets about Anorasian history, mostly to do with your lack of evolution.
“And me?” He thought he saw the smile waver momentarily, but the dissertation belied the illusion. “I was given a dose of dicit by one well-intentioned human who, along with two others of his kind, resided with the geneticists in their hidden laboratory on Izorach.
“Coincidentally I happen to be a direct descendant of this human, many times removed. Therefore the combination of the dicit plus the
Joining
of his spirit with mine began a metamorphosis. I was already on the high end of human psychic ability; with the
Joining
, I suddenly acquired powers beyond imagining.”
Momentarily forgetting his beliefs and teachings, he was fascinated. Against his will his mind told him he was not being deceived. And how had she come to know of
Joinings
?
“And then, I started to change radically. My physiognomy began to resemble Anorasian. But I have developed a talent even unknown to these geneticists which is the absorption and usage of energy at the subatomic level. When I became psychically stronger than either one of them, they brought me to their lab. There I encountered the dicit growing naturally, not the hybrid that is biologically-engineered on Hakilam and injected into Anorasians during their life span.”
She seemed to grow in stature. He hoped it was an optical illusion based on his confusion and apprehension. “For your information, the dicit on Izorach is sentient and has racial memory. It surrounded me, entered me, and further changed me. Before we came to Hakilam I entered a canyon and absorbed a tremendous amount of energy from the supercharged environment. And was further altered into what you see before you, including this blue sheath and the halo of light around my head.”
Mariah stopped to gauge Ta’daeu’s reaction. She expected either outright disbelief or fear. What she got was a narrowing of his eyes as he assimilated the information, neither dismissing it nor totally accepting it. When he didn’t speak, she continued.
“You need to have one more bit of information. I was able to open a Permanent Data Storage Unit created by an Anorasian priest named Hesad who lived on Touranim sixty-five million years ago. He recorded it right before the Min’yel’os destroyed Touranim. Hesad alludes to a Prophecy you know nothing about. It has to do with what he thought was the creator of all life, the Shen’dalah. The Prophecy tells of a tremendous evil that must be destroyed before it systematically annihilates each star system and refers to the birth of an entity that will either destroy the evil or is the evil itself.”
His eyes widened imperceptibly. His heart uncharacteristically beat erratically in his chest. He remained still; he knew the alien was not through.
“The Shen’dalah called this being Man’asorai,” Mariah continued. “And there is a good chance I am it. Without a doubt, the Min’yel’os know more about this Prophecy than did Hesad and it all ties in with their fear of Anorasian evolution.
“Why have I come to Hakilam? I am here to talk to the Min’yel’os about the Prophecy and see if they can help me figure out what I am supposed to do.”
Meron Ta’daeu’s mind finally balked. While he felt the truth in her words, his military training and the implanted chip in his brain forbade him the luxury of defying his orders.
“Your request for an audience with the Min’yel’os is denied,” he stated flatly. “They do not confer with aliens. Your traitorous allies will be brought before Them and dealt with accordingly.”
He paused. Mariah just stared at him, her expression one of regret. It momentarily confused him; the alien should be worried at this point.
“As for you and the other three humanoids; the Min’yel’os will determine if your minds are capable of reprogramming and of some use to Them. If not, you will all be eliminated.”
Drawing himself up stiffly, Ta’daeu concluded. “Communicate with your vessel. Instruct them to land on the designated pad immediately.” He indicated a well-lit helio pad to his left.
She shook her head resignedly at his stubbornness and he took it for her answer.
Ta’daeu’s right arm shot up. One cruiser’s orbiting rings turned red as its energy beam projectors came on-line.
One look at Mariah’s grinning face told Ta’daeu all he needed to know. He dropped his arm by his side and the cruiser fired a blistering scarlet ray out of the ring—and hit Mariah dead center in the chest.
A millisecond before the beam hit, the color of her sheath intensified to midnight blue. When the beam struck, everyone watching could see its energy being diffused throughout the sheath until she was completely engulfed in the brilliant glow, giving the appearance that she was being consumed by flames. She staggered several steps backwards, nearly knocked off her feet, but managed to maintain her equilibrium.
For several seconds the beam tried to cleave her down the middle. The five aboard the Offspring held their breath.
Finally it stopped. Mariah’s sheath continued to diffuse the energy particles. Its task completed, it lightened in color until it was again a soft, serene blue.
Although emotions such as terror had been bred out of the Shekron, Ta’daeu felt a hollow sensation in the pit of his stomach and lightness in his head. He saw his reflection in her eyes which were totally black and as unfathomable as the cold sky he knew so well. But he was not going to let this
astrologamage
, this sorcerer, make a mockery of his command.
Again his arm rose, this time along with three fingers. As before, he snapped his arm down as though he was cracking a whip.
Two red and one white energy beam shot forth from three cruisers, converging at a point some five hundred feet in front of the one most forward, forming a triple intensity of blinding coral brilliance.
Mariah’s energy sheath turned black just as the beam struck. So concentrated was the blast that she was lost in the intensity of the light.
She cannot survive this,” Emmanuel sobbed hoarsely, tears coursing down his cheeks. At his side al-Amin groaned, his fists clenched by his side, his eyes bright with tears. Siddhartha’s jaw tensed so extravagantly his back teeth nearly cracked. Sateron gripped the edge of the panel array, the only sign of his pain a growl issuing from the back of his throat.
Whether from the intensity of the beam or her ability to defy gravity, Mariah, still engulfed by the radiance, began to rise. Arms outstretched to the side, head back, she momentarily remained suspended in its grip three feet above the ground. And then slowly the light dissipated as she descended.
Aleris had remained impassive throughout this display. When the protective sheath around Mariah faded to its characteristic pale blue, she smiled broadly, something she rarely did.