Prophecy (35 page)

Mariah’s head was down, her arms hanging loosely by her side. Her body was as motionless as stone. But she was intact and irrefutably alive.

Truly shocked, Ta’daeu’s thoughts collided into each other.
Converging energy beams ... capable of annihilating ... destroying millions ... Untouchable? ... Undefeatable
? ...

The creature’s head lifted, its eyes seeking his—and Meron Ta’daeu, Prime Commander of the Stirilium Cruiser
Seftiras
, experienced an emotion the Min’yel’os erroneously assumed eradicated from his genetic code: frigid, mindless terror. He nearly fainted when her voice came into his head, hollow with destruction, ominous with unmitigated power.

You just don’t understand, do you, Prime Commander. I told you I feed on energy. And you have just provided the boost I need to get into the Sho’revra. Now, withdraw your ships or I will obliterate them where they stand
.

Frightened but furious he raised his arm once again. Before he could let it drop, Mariah’s right arm shot out, her palm facing the foremost cruiser that had fired on her first, plus had been the point for the triple beam. She never took her eyes from Ta’daeu’s face. He watched helplessly as an eerie cold blue flame swirled at exceptional speed around her, flowing down her upraised arm until it exploded out of her palm, straight and true.

In a blinding flash of blue the
Ja’endarc
imploded like a hydrogen bomb. The detonation caused millions of its pieces to be flung into orbit. Many more fragments rained down like particulate from a volcanic eruption.

“Okay, my friends.” Mariah’s voice came through the NMIP’s speakers, filling the Offspring with her melodious voice. “I have bought a few precious seconds. The Prime Commander is momentarily flummoxed. However when he shakes himself a few times, he’ll remember he’s military and throw everything at me at once and I have no way of knowing if I can survive that. I am tossing an invisibility around you, so just stay put and be prepared.”

Sateron happened to turn to face the vid-screen on board the Offspring. His strangled cry caused the others to abruptly turn around—and all saw what they could hardly fathom:

And then it happened. Praying, Mariah opened her mind ... and Galaxaril was there, prepared and ready for his role in the salvation of his race.

Galaxaril had not found it by accident. He had been looking for something, anything he could use to destroy Them. He pondered, investigated, and spent an exorbitant amount of time studying the Sho’revra—every corner, every passageway, every place the Minister of Finance could go or had no need to go.

Even the minutest of anomalies were researched with diligence and attention to the slightest detail. Galaxaril was, however, extremely patient and, having nothing but time when not attending Them, he persisted. His theory was that anything created by sentient beings had flaws. Only One could make something totally impregnable ... and it was
not
the Min’yel’os.

And then one day strictly by accident his patience was rewarded. He was certain it had to be a boon from the Great and Glorious.

A drone reported insufficient airflow in bio-lab 42T. Instead of dispatching a maintenance android, Galaxaril decided to investigate himself. He quickly found the defect in a minor relay and adjusted it. For some reason unknown he decided to trace the line back to its source.

One relay linked to another: one connection precisely, faultlessly, coupled with its counterpart. Just when he thought that his regular tasks were better than this pointlessness, he discovered that which should not be.

It was a seldom used encrypted panel array designed to be a communication link between the Min’yel’os and the Synadracus council chamber. Some time ago, the Min’yel’os had used it to eavesdrop on the many strategies being formulated by his council. Now They had more sophisticated ways of spying on them.

Galaxaril frowned as he traced the network. It seemed to disappear below ground. Besides the worship shrine of the Seekers (which was well hidden from probe), there was nothing below the Sho’revra except biological laboratories ... or was there?

His curiosity stimulated, the Minister set about to covertly explore. But he found nothing more than this anomalous line. At least in the first round of his investigation. Because this was not sufficient to explain the abnormality to his satisfaction, he spent further time over the next several years, watching, studying...

...and finally, his persistence and determination was rewarded.

Galaxaril wended his way through the maze of relays that kept the complex running smoothly from communication to food preparation. These relays were housed in the environmental wing of the Sho’revra, an area he had visited some thirty thousand years in the past. Turning a corner he nearly collided with a maintenance android carrying an electric drone over its shoulder. It had emerged from what he knew to be part of a structural wall. Galaxaril’s normally hooded eyes narrowed further as he caught movement—and witnessed a panel in the wall sliding seamlessly back into place.

He remained immobile for several minutes, his mind dissecting this aberration. Why would the Min’yel’os, sophisticated psychics that They were, have androids and drones moving through the complex using concealed wall passages rather than the corridors?

He smiled; a look both fiendish and delighted. He glided to a stop before the panel. He never would have seen it had he not been looking, such was the design cleverly concealed in the pattern of the wall with the minutest, barest hint of a seam.

Using his psychic power, he found the keying device after a brief search. It took some time to activate it, not having the code.

Nevertheless once found he was buoyed with a sense of elation as the panel slid open silently. Galaxaril wasted no time—there were Min’yel’os spies even among the non-sentient.

He endured the closing of the panel behind him with nothing more than a flicker of apprehension until he found himself enveloped in perfect darkness. Not his own hand could he see. Feeling slightly nauseated as panic began to bubble in his chest he flung his arms around ... and connected with something solid. Reaching for and gliding his hand over it, he knew it to be a railing and surmised he was standing on the platform of a LIMC. It was small, obviously designed for the very few who used it.

His heart began to beat a staccato rhythm. Momentary fear made him hesitate, but he had come this far and was not about to be dissuaded. Moving forward resolutely he found the panel array, unerringly punched the right button ... and the lift descended.

He knew not how close were the walls encircling the lift, but the LIMC did not stop. Galaxaril presumed the lift was designed to stop at but one single destination.

When the sensation of movement ceased, the rail parted and he took a hesitant step forward, now finding himself on another landing. He could see a faint light ahead which illuminated the short corridor before him. Drawing in a trepidant breath he moved cautiously down the hallway.

The light brightened as he came to the end of the passageway. His final step brought him to another landing. Looking around, Galaxaril trembled, shocked nearly insensible. After two million years of existence, Ton So’Galaxaril had believed there was nothing the Min’yel’os could do that would surprise him. But he was wrong, so very, very wrong. As his eyes devoured everything before him, a grin of wild exultation slowly lit his face.

He had found it. He had found that which could end the reign of the Min’yel’os. He would gladly sacrifice his essence to save his race. The Man’asorai would now have the element of surprise she would need to rectify Their sin.

Galaxaril had spent hundreds of thousands of years dissecting and experimenting, finally unearthing the psychic code that would deactivate the shield around the Sho’revra. The element of surprise would afford him—and the Hevru—the briefest moment in time.

It would be enough. It
had
to be enough. There would be no second attempt once the Min’yel’os realized the field had been compromised—and by whom. They would obliterate his mind as They had the young geologist, Maka’rius. Or at least what They perceived to be his total mind.

But if the Man’asorai prevailed ... no,
when
the Man’asorai prevailed ... there was yet one more piece of information he would need to impart. He would intone prayers of entreaty to the Great and Glorious that this human female would find her way through the destruction of his mind. And gain access to the deepest recesses where the Min’yel’os had never been and did not know existed. Only there would she find the unprecedented information that would save not only his race, but mayhap the entire galaxy.

Mariah knew she had scant seconds to get through the protective energy field around the Sho’revra. By force of habit she sent a quick prayer to God, asking that He make Galaxaril’s sacrifice meaningful.

She hit the viscous barrier like the defense blitzing the quarterback ... and felt an infinitesimal weakening. Frantic, knowing she had precious seconds, Mariah spent an extravagant amount of psychic energy lacerating the threads of the force field. A tremendous wind tore at her, designed to dismember her.

Suddenly she erupted through, landing hard on her stomach.

Mariah’s body felt like white-hot flames were devouring it. In excruciating pain she tried to get her feet under her but failed, the pain excessive and horrendous. She was terrified; all the bravado and self-assuredness was knocked out of her and she was once again the human quaking before the unknown.

It appeared that her blue sheath was impotent against this heat.

She tried crawling on her belly, digging her elbows in while the field behind her instantly strengthened and began sucking her back into its clutches, anticipating her obliteration. Her head felt on the verge of rupturing and she fought to remain conscious.

And then she felt Michael’s spirit deep within her, their many
Joinings
now renewing the strength he gave her in this fight for her life. Frannie was here, too, her powerful love and deep passion always a blessing to Mariah’s soul. Even the
Joinings
with Emmanuel, his dicit combining with hers, augmented her energy.

And there, the final boost: the power of Thomas’ unconditional love fortifying her resolve as she battled to keep from being drawn back into the force field where disintegration awaited her.

Teeth clenched, Mariah used her forearms to drag herself forward ... and slowly, steadily, the sensation of being immolated lessened.

Her protective sheath had been working. It had boosted her physical and psychic energy, had kept her organs functioning, acting like an Anorasian self-regulating garment ten-fold. Still she was on the verge of collapse as her two hearts furiously pumped adrenaline through her body. Had it not been for the many
Joinings
with her loved ones that now suffused her spirit with strength, she knew the sheath alone could not have saved her.

Finally she managed to get to her knees and then to stand. Weaving drunkenly she faced the front portal of the structure. It reminded her of a camera iris, ready to open like a blooming rose. Still shuddering violently from the exertion, she nevertheless smiled devilishly. If they were watching, she wanted them to think she had come through unscathed.

With the last bit of energy in her body, she psychically blasted to the ones inside:
BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES! HURRICANE MARIAH HAS ARRIVED
!

Strength returned to her body quickly along with her psychic power. With her feet planted firmly apart and her hands balled into fists, her arms shot forward—and two supercharged bolts of energy hit the iris. She kept up the blast even though the backlash of pain was excruciating.

Mariah was rewarded when finally the iris began to turn blood red. Then it blackened at the core as the metal began to melt and fray.

A hole began to form. Her arms quivered with exhaustion, but she kept up the barrage until the hole was large enough for her to squeeze through. Not waiting for an invitation Mariah slid through the opening and stood inside for a moment to get her bearings.

So far, no communication from the Min’yel’os. She wasn’t surprised. She knew they were probably shocked by the breach of their force field and her method of entry through the iris. But she wasn’t cocky enough to assume they were frightened; they just had their own way of dealing with trespassers.

She psychically searched for Galaxaril, but there was nothing. They had, of course, discovered what he had done and had destroyed his mind as he knew they would. Grimly she headed down the long corridor ... something else for which they would pay dearly.

The sound of her footsteps on the metal floor echoed off the polished surfaces of the walls and ceiling. As she made her way forward she puzzled over the purpose of this corridor. There were no obvious signs of doorways on either side. The walls, floor, and ceiling were a metallic gray, stark and unrelieved by so much as a pattern anywhere.

She shook her head, a tight smile thinning her lips. Of course; with the fear-provoking and detestable presence of the Minister of Finance leading you to Them, this lengthy walk (and the noise it produced) was designed to further scare you witless. A picture of her old boss, Evelyn Stillwater, surfaced in her mind: she would have appreciated this form of mental torture.

Mariah continued, unchallenged. Interesting. For the first time she wondered if the force field outside the Sho’revra was set on automatic, more a token than anything. The Min’yel’os would never believe anything could get past the Shekron let alone through their well-protected shield.

The corridor finally ended at a wall. It was fitting that they would be behind it. With her psychic antenna set on high she felt the energy beyond the wall as if a nuclear reactor was charging and nearly ready. But other than blowing the wall to pieces, she couldn’t find the psychic trigger to get inside. Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes, forcing her mind to go blank.