Shadows of Golstar (50 page)

Talin was shocked by the revelation. “Thank the
Founder they failed. But what of the
Light Saber
and its crew? Did they
survive?”

“I do not know,” the Grand Patriarch’s smile had
disappeared. He said solemnly, “But I have grave doubts. We have no way of
knowing if there are any survivors. We only know for sure that my daughter and
Janus Owens managed to escape.”

“How did it happen?”

“The message was incomplete and did not include very
much detail but reading between the lines, it is safe to assume there was a
coordinated mutiny aboard the two other ships. Once the ships were taken over,
they must have turned and attacked the
Light Saber
together.”

Talin said quietly, “I see. Two against one, it would
be a miracle if the
Light Saber
survived. She must have been severely
crippled at the very least. What else did the message say? Do they remain on
the outsider’s ship?”

The Grand Patriarch scowled, “I wish you to stop using
that term. His name is Janus Owens and from this time forward, you will only
refer him by name. Is that understood?”

“I beg your pardon. I will do as you say.”

“Good,” the Grand Patriarch’s expression relaxed. “As
to your question, we do not know if they remain on the ship. The message is
automated and gave two courses of action that they might have taken. One course
was to make an apparent landing on Selane, but actually continue their flight
in space; the other was to land, in reality, and evade the mutineers on-planet,
while the ship continued on, unmanned. Since their attackers could also hear
the message, they did not reveal the actual course they would take.”

“The fleet will need to modify its strategy to
accommodate this new information,” Talin said thoughtfully. “Sharné and...
Janus Owens could have made for the planet’s surface, or they could have
remained on the ship. If they
are
on the ship, they are still being
pursued. We must split the fleet so that half of the ships will continue on to
Selane, while the other half is redirected to defend Janus Owens’ ship.”

The Grand Patriarch agreed.

“What else could Intelligence infer from the message?”
Talin asked.

“Not much else, I am sorry to say. However, I have
been assured our cryptographers continue to receive message fragments and more
information may be forthcoming.”

Talin stood up. He had to notify the fleet of the
change in the plan.

“Before you leave Talin, tell me, what is the status
of your search for the minister?”

“She has not been located as of yet. The city is large
and my people are spread thinly. I have called for additional resources from
other cities. They are being integrated into the search effort as we speak.”

“Good.”

“Do you still believe she was involved with this
incident? That it was she who put Sharné at risk?”

“Frankly, no,” the Grand Patriarch stood up. “I now doubt
she had the wherewithal to plan and coordinate such an undertaking. But I want
her apprehended, nonetheless. She defied my lawful order for her to present
herself before me. Such a flagrant violation of the law will not be overlooked.
The penalty is severe and must be administered.”

The Grand Patriarch smiled grimly at Talin, “This is
an opportunity to remove one of my harshest critics. The minister has provided
me the means to silence her. She has willfully broken our law and I will have
her pay for her transgression.”

“She wields significant power in the Assembly. Her
many admirers may cause trouble.”

“Nonsense,” the Grand Patriarch brushed aside Talin’s
concern. “Sever the head of the serpent and the body will soon perish.” Then he
looked pointedly at the Guardian of the Way. “I trust you to have your best
people on this. I want you to use all possible resources. Find her.”

“You have my assurance she will be found.”

“You have my trust in this, but make it soon.” The
Grand Patriarch waved his hand in casual dismissal. “I know you have many
important tasks before you, my friend. You have my permission to take your
leave.”

“I thank you for your trust,” Talin bowed deeply to
his leader and left the room.

The Grand Patriarch leaned forward in his chair and
took up the snifter once more. He held it, staring at it with a slight smile
tugging at the corners of his mouth. He became mesmerized by slowly turning it,
watching the facets of the cut crystal catch the subdued lighting. The snifter
rotated slowly, reflecting and flashing light, the polished planes in a
constant state of movement.

The shrine rotated slowly, reflecting and flashing
light, the polished planes in a constant state of movement. They made no sound.
The ancient mechanism had operated without interruption for thousands of years
and was constructed to continue its mysterious movements for thousands more.
Twelve kilometers down, directly below the shrine in a large circular, dimly
lit room a naked body rested on a raised oval pedestal.

A subdued, azure light reflected off the shiny
surfaces of room’s contents. These reflections came from metallic spheres of
various sizes that ranged around the pedestal. Some of the spheres hung
suspended, without apparent visible support, while others extended from the
walls and ceiling on articulated arms or telescoping rods. Along the wall were
a number of randomly placed panels. The panels were studded with oddly-shaped
levers, switches, gauges and winking lights.

Two silvery, head-sized spheres soundlessly lowered
from the room’s ceiling and settled just above the body’s torso, one at the
chest and one at the area of the solar plexus. Two smaller spheres, shimmering
gold in color, rose fluidly on thin flexible rods extending from slots opening
in the floor on either side of the pedestal. They sinuously positioned
themselves at the head of the body, almost touching the temples. Without a
sound, other spheres within the room began to move in closer to the body. They
changed positions and angles, retracting or extending as if guided by invisible
hands. The body was barely visible behind the crowding mass of spheres.

When the last sphere became motionless, the lighting
changed in both color and strength. Colors of varying intensities and hues
began to strobe across the body’s flesh. Not a sound was produced by the
enigmatic ballet of dancing lights. It was over in a few seconds. The flashing
colors disappeared and indirect lighting was again gently illuminating the
room’s interior. With the return of the azure light, another change had taken
place within the room. The walls were now blank, featureless; no panel marred
their surface. All of the spheres save one, retracted back into the walls,
ceiling and floor. The one that remained, glowed with a warm white light. It
hung motionlessly at the foot of the pedestal, suspended by unseen energies.
The body on the pedestal stirred.

Owens slowly returned to consciousness. Fuzzily, he
became aware that he was lying down, flat on his back. He lay there for a
while, trying to remember what had happened. His mind felt sluggish, as if he
was waking from a long sleep. Try as he might, he could only recall that he had
been talking to Sharné when he experienced a bright flash of light, then nothing
more until he awoke.

As his alertness sharpened, he became aware of a
gentle flow of comfortably warm air caressing his body. He had a vague feeling
of soreness, as if as if he had engaged in some strenuous physical exertion. He
cautiously opened his eyes to the barest of slits. All he could make out was
that he appeared to be in a dimly lit room.

Now fully awake, it dawned on him that he was no
longer outside, on the planet’s surface. Automatically, he began to consider
his situation. Believing that it was likely that he was being observed, he
chose to remain still. Warily, he opened his eyes a little wider and allowed
them to wander at random as if he was only just beginning to rouse.

He saw he was in a large room and the wall and ceiling
in his field of vision were curved. He listened for any sound, but heard
nothing. He ignored an impulse to move and instead continued to evaluate his
condition. Other than the dim ache in his body, he seemed unharmed, but
whatever had been done to him could have some other side-effect. Ignoring the
urge to sit up, he took further stock of his body and surroundings.

He was laying flat. The surface he was resting on
seemed firm but slightly yielding. He had no trouble maintaining an easy and
natural breathing pattern. There was no real pain that he could feel and even
the slight discomfort he had originally felt was already beginning to fade. He
lightly clenched his fists and slowly wriggled his toes. So far, everything
felt right; all seemed normal except for his mysterious surroundings and the
fact that he had just noticed that he was naked.

Still trying to appear disorientated, he put on a
confused expression and turned his head from side to side while his eyes
explored the rest of the room. As far as he could see, no one else was in the
room. Then, deciding he had nothing more to gain by staying still, he raised
his head and looked down at his feet. He was mildly surprised to see that the
only thing in the room, besides him and whatever he was lying on, was a single
softly glowing sphere.

Seeing no physical restraints, Owens slowly raised
himself on one elbow and looked closer at his body. The membrane bandage
covering the shallow wounds on his chest was gone, along with the wounds. He
could discern no scars; the skin was smooth and unblemished. Nothing else
seemed amiss. He raised both knees slightly off the platform and was gratified
to note he was not restrained by a tangle-field either.

A soft voice began to speak.
**Be at ease. No harm
will befall you in this place.**

Owens sat up and looked around. He was still alone in
the room. “Who is speaking?”

**We are the Controller.**

“Where are you?”

**We are not physically present in this chamber. We
are speaking to you through the mechanism within this vessel.**

Owens saw the sphere bob up and down once. He looked
closer at the shining ball of light. There were no markings he could see, just
a glowing, featureless ball a little less than a meter in diameter. “You
 
identified yourself as the Controller. Are
you with the Golstar government?”

**No. We are a part of this facility, a linked machine
mind. Our presence on this and other planets within this system spans thousands
of your human-reckoned years.**
Before Owens could ask anything further, the Controller went on,
**We regret
that we cannot provide you further explanation. Without certain conditions
being met, we are limited in what we can provide.**

“I see,” he said, but he didn’t. He found it a little
odd that he wasn’t frightened or the least bit nervous by the mysterious
presence of the Controller. In fact, he felt quite the opposite. He was totally
relaxed, almost sleepy. He vaguely wondered if he was reacting to some
side-effect from an anesthetic. He addressed his question to the sphere. “Have
I been drugged?”

**No. However, another mechanism within this vessel is
producing subliminal frequencies outside of your range of conscious hearing. In
combination with a benign form of radiation, these frequencies have been found
to be soothing to humans and have been used to relieve anxiety in your
species.**

Owens blinked and vaguely looked around the room
again. “Can you tell me where I am and why am I here?”

**You were removed from the planet’s surface for your
protection. You are presently situated in a healing chamber within an
underground facility.**

A number of questions came to Owens’ mind, but he was
hard-pressed to put the words together.
 
Finally, he asked, “My protection?”

**Humans armed with energy weapons were positioned in
your vicinity on the planet’s surface. It was determined their intent was to
cause you bodily harm. When you were fired upon, we shielded you from most of
the weapons’ discharges. You were rendered unconscious and your death was
simulated. To the other humans, it appeared their weapons were effective.**

Owens wondered why this Controller had intervened.
Before he could frame the question, the Controller continued.

**You were later subjected to an additional energy
discharge, but as you remained in our protective field, there was no further
harm. When you were left unattended, out of direct human observation, your body
was transported here, your superficial wounds were healed and biological
functions were fully reactivated.**

 “But why…” he yawned. “Why did you save me?”

**As a descendant of General Golan Berral Light, you
are afforded our protection under the Compact.**

The Controller’s declaration came as a distant shock.
It took Owens some time to assimilate the statement. His mind still felt
sluggish. Finally, he said, “I don’t recall being a descendant of General Light
and I don’t know anything about a Compact.” Still trying to focus his thoughts,
Owens waited for the Controller to respond. The silence stretched and Owens was
about to break it when the Controller answered.

**Your tissues were sampled when you approached this
complex. Microscopic samples were obtained remotely using the same transfer
technology employed to bring you to this chamber. All beings are sampled when
they cross the outer defense boundary. Allowing for your heavy-gravity
mutations, you possess the requisite number of genetic markers to invoke a
unique exemption within the Compact.**

Owens hesitated, still trying to clear his head, “What
exactly, is the Compact?”

The Controller did not respond to Owens’ question.
Instead it said,
**Please recite the access key code.**

“A key code? I’m sorry I don’t know what you’re
talking about.

**The information that you request cannot be provided
without the proper access key code.**

“Well then, is there anything that you
can
you
tell me?”

**As an additional measure to ensure your safety, this
planet’s defensive systems were deactivated on your arrival on the surface.**

Damn it, he was having trouble focusing. He shook his head,
trying to clear his mind, “Uh.., you mean the Sentinels? You turned them off.”

**Yes, along with a number of other defenses. Your
heritage provides you with special, though limited protections, under the
Compact. The Guardian units were modified long ago for exclusive human command
and control. Therefore, the only alternative was to override the on-board power
components temporarily.**

That explained why the inactive Sentinels looked like
they had suddenly been switched-off, because they had been. As he started to
frame his next question, he was nagged by a distant awareness that his mind
still felt a little out of focus. He had thought to ask whether the Controller
had anything to do with the strange feelings that he had experienced just
before he was shot, but he still lacked clarity and was having difficulty
finding the right words.

As he struggled with the question, he gradually came
to the realization he was asking questions out of habit. He wasn’t overly
concerned about the answers. He yawned widely, his feeling of relaxation now
bordered on lethargy. Something still nagged at the back of his mind. He knew
he should be feeling some sense of urgency, not this sleepy, lazy feeling of
contentment. If the Controller were to be believed, the entity had saved his
life. But something was wrong; he still didn’t feel right. What had the
Controller said about the sound waves?

It slowly dawned on him that he
was
somehow
being tranquilized. Could it be the sound waves that the Controller mentioned
earlier? In the strongest voice he could muster, he said, “Controller, I’m not
comfortable with being exposed to these subliminal sounds. You said you are
acting in my best interest. If that’s true, then please turn it off now.”

 
**We did not intend for it to cause you
distress. We apologize; you are not accustomed to this form of therapy. We will
therefore comply with your request. The emitters have been turned off.**

Immediately, it felt like a fog was lifted from his
mind. His senses became sharper and a familiar feeling of alert caution quickly
asserted itself. He was back to normal. Now with his head clear, he reviewed
his conversation with the Controller. While under the globe’s influence, what
had he missed?

“Controller, just before I was shot, I experienced an unusual
sensation. It was if I was being drawn to a certain location. Were you
responsible?

 
**Yes. You were drawn to the Messenger for
your protection.**

“Messenger? Please explain.”

 
**It is an artifact designed to draw the
attention of intelligent life forms within its vicinity. Its physical
appearance was designed to be intriguing to the ocular appendages of other
intelligences. It presents a pleasing kinetic display of universal shapes and
colors. It broadcasts a beacon over a broad spectrum of energy bands. It also
contains a number of different communication and translator devices. It can
establish communications using light, sound and other sensory mediums.**

 
At
least he hadn’t been going crazy, he thought.
As he pondered his
follow-up question, he was again drawn to his stark surroundings. Looking
around at the featureless walls, he was bothered by something he was
forgetting, something very important. A feeling of alarm grew as tried to
remember what it was that eluded him. Then it suddenly dawned on him that he
was alone. A wave of nausea lapped against his stomach. How could he have
forgotten? He almost shouted, “Sharné, what about Sharné? The woman, the woman
who was with me, was she injured? Is she all right?”