by Randal Sloan
“If you believe their promises,” Yegir told him. “What if they lie?”
“If they come down here, we will kill them,” Gauqur told him. He laughed. “It doesn’t matter — it’s already started.” He pointed to their view screen on the wall, clicking the remote held with his fore appendage. A newscast was playing with a horrific sight on display, a repeating view of the Galactic station as it exploded.
“… no one knows what happened but a horrible disaster has struck the Galactic station. It appears that the station just exploded! No one aboard could have possibly survived, although a single ship appears to have made it down to the ground. We’re not even certain of that because an explosion was spotted near its flight path. A spokesman for the Imperial government is scheduled to speak shortly. So far, we believe it to be some kind of accident on board the station —”
Gauqur turned it off. “Now that the Galactics are out of our way, we will launch our attack at sunset as planned.”
Yegir tried to interrupt, but Gauqur gave him a look of disgust as he concentrated on him, using his mental control ability. The fool’s mouth moved, but nothing came out as Gauqur took control of his speech box. Just for added effect, he also took control of his breathing ability, leaving him gasping for breath.
“Enough!” Gauqur told him. “The Children of the Night will rise as prophesied and the Order of the Dark Illumination will be glorified!”
He walked out of the room, ignoring the complaints of the Council. Soon he would rid himself of this meddlesome bunch and pick people who could lead under his guidance. Now that would be glorious!
Rae of the First Assault Squad, Warrior Prime of the Order of Dark Illumination, sat in meditation as he prepared himself to lead the attack on the Imperial Palace. He intended to not leave a single stone standing in that wretched place. The Imperial reign was about to end and the Children of the Night would take their rightful place.
He allowed his mind to travel back into the past, a vision he had been shown more than once by the Master, to the day the Imperials attacked his people and the Children were forced underground. His Master’s brothers and sisters had fought a delaying action and unfortunately had all been killed, but that had allowed a handful of their people to escape, taking refuge in the cave system the Children built when they’d first arrived on the planet.
That’s when Master Gauqur became High Master of the Order, despite his young age at the time. Already strong in the powers of the mind, Master Gauqur began teaching others his way. He was the first to preach the Prophecy of the Rise. Rae could scarcely believe the Master had chosen him to be the one leading the assault.
Rae’s meditation was interrupted. He looked up to see the High Master, but before he could rise, the Master spoke.
“Do not get up, my Brother. I don’t need your bows or other affirmations. Instead, I need your abilities. Soon we will rise from our underground world to once more control the light. You will lead the attack on the Imperial palace as planned, but I have also received word that we have a few Galactics on our world. After you finish with the destruction of the Palace and the Imperials, I need you to lead your team to attack and kill those invaders.”
“How dare they set foot on our world,” Rae proclaimed. “Surely they must know it is ours? Or have the Imperials deluded them?”
“It doesn’t matter. They cannot be allowed to live, nor any that have been corrupted by the touch of the Imperials.”
“It will be done as you say, Master. I will crush our enemies and then I will rid our world of these meddlers. They will rue the day they came to our planet.”
Master Gauqur returned to his private quarters once more. His own meditation was in order. Something about those Galactics really worried him. Why could he not see it? The Prophecies could not be wrong — it was time for the rise of the people, he was certain of that, so why couldn't he figure out where they fit in?
He couldn’t help but wonder if he was deliberately misleading himself into believing they were like the Imperials. He shook his head. He couldn’t see it, and surely it was of no consequence. It doesn’t matter — the course is set, he told himself.
He didn’t really believe that, so instead he worried.
Master Barsyan once more began one of his meditative sweeps across the galaxy. He was anxious to find the clues needed to complete his duty, so that he could move forward with the tasks needed before meeting the Golden One. He knew that whatever was coming, it had to happen soon.
Just as he was about to give up once again, he felt something. He’d been concentrating most of his attention to the area in human space that had piqued his interest, there in that place far out on the Rim of their sphere, and that’s where he found it.
Ah, I’ve not felt that signature in a long time. I thought you had all died, my old friends.
The shock of it was almost enough to bring him out of his meditation, but he managed to hold it together long enough to be sure. Yes, it was indeed the ones he’d known from such a long time ago. He himself had only been a youngster of a few centuries when he had last touched that signature, so it had been a very long time ago.
The Master quickly sent a mental message to his young assistant. Young Master Lucaris, I need you, he sent.
The message was sent with enough urgency that his assistant came running. “What is it, Master?” he asked, concern on his face. Octarians never got in a hurry, so something terrible must be wrong.
“Sorry, son, I’ve been thinking about the humans too much, and since this involves them, it’s actually rather urgent. I need all the information you have on the Oidhche Order of the Dark Illumination. I thought they’d all died, but apparently they merely fled underground.”
At the questions in his assistant’s eyes, he went on, “The awakening of the Oidhche Children of the Night means that the secondary Prophecy regarding them is now in effect. We must be prepared to respond as needed.”
“I understand, Master. I’ll endeavor to move more quickly than normal,” his assistant replied, his mouthpiece corners bent in an Octarian smile.
“Thank you, Lucaris. If I had been more prepared, such urgency would not be required, but one must do his duty.”
Lucaris’ smile grew bigger as he bowed and left to do his master’s bidding. The advent of a secondary Prophecy was something he had never expected to see, so he was anxious to see it through. Amazing, first the Golden One and now this! All within my third century…
Master Barsyan mentally began preparing himself. Already, he suspected he would need to speak with the Golden One again. He relished the idea of the contact. His own mouthpiece bent at the corners in a smile.
Jenn was still in total shock when she arrived at the safe house, really an underground bunker. Jeff had been quite excited when upon landing they were met by a couple of Imperial Marines with some type of armored vehicle. The Marines helped hide their shuttle, using some kind of specialized material that would hide its radar signal, and then they brought the two of them into the city to this location. She’d not paid them much mind other than to wonder why the Marines were there.
There wasn’t supposed to be such a presence on the planet. Her preliminary scans of the accounts while en route to her destination hadn’t indicated it either, which threw up a red flag for her. But one didn’t look a gift horse in the mouth, so she graciously accepted the ride offered her. The two Marines had been extremely polite, something else that surprised her. She’d always imagined Marines to be gruff and rough.
She really wasn’t surprised when, after being given a room to freshen up in, another one of those too polite Marines invited her down to meet with his boss. It had been phrased as a request, but Jenn knew it was still just a polite order. She wasted no time, nodding her head for him to lead the way.
When the young man indicated she was to enter a room after a short walk, Jenn didn’t argue that either. However, when she passed through the doorway she drew up in surprise. The room was full
of some of the highest tech she’d ever seen.
“Thank you for coming, Miss Makenze,” came a man’s voice from the other end of the room. “Welcome to our little War Room,” he told her.
Jenn’s nerves were not eased when she realized the voice came from one of the biggest men she’d ever seen. He was also in a Marine uniform, but this one was a little different. Jenn knew enough about Marines to know he wore a Master Sergeant’s uniform.
She didn’t have long to speculate. “Don’t worry,” a girl spoke up. Sitting near the Master Sergeant Jenn saw three teenage girls apparently making themselves at home in the room. The blond was the one speaking. “He’s just a big teddy bear. Although if you were one of the boys, I don’t think you’d see him that way.”
Master Sergeant Gibbons wanted to answer her with a growl, but he refused to take the bait. Instead, he gave Jenn a smile. “Just ignore the riffraff. They think because we’re on their home turf, they have a say so. They’re under our protection just like everyone else, including you.”
His eyes had a bit of twinkle to them as he continued. “You, on the other hand, Miss Makenze, are now the sole remaining civilian representative of the Galactic Empire for the Provisional Government, which makes you Acting Governor.”
“I think that would make her Governess,” the redhead said. She appeared to be quite serious.
“Wait a minute,” Jenn said. “What?”
“Well, in fact, you’re the only Galactic civilian,” the brunette said, apparently determined to have her say too. “Robert just drafted your pilot, so he’s no longer a civilian. As he said, that makes you Acting Governor, or Governess, as Krissy asserts.”
“But I have no idea how to be a Governess,” Jenn told them all. “I’m just a forensic accountant on my first assignment. Surely you’ve got it all wrong.”
Robert shook his head. “No mistake, Madam Governor. But you have good advisors — we’ll all help you. I also think you’ll find these three a useful resource.”
His smile grew to cover his whole face. “Don’t worry. It’s only for a day. The Princess is on her way and I'm pretty sure she’ll be here by tomorrow morning. Although —” this time there was definitely a twinkle in his eyes “— she may well leave you in charge, unless you do an atrocious job. You can’t do worse than the late Governor, who refused to meet with me so we could warn him of what was coming.”
His eyes turned sad. “If he had, perhaps we could have saved quite a few of them.”
That reminded Jenn of what she’d just witnessed, a stricken look crossing her face. Realizing what he’d done, Robert rushed to help her to a chair as she turned rather weak in the knees in reaction.
“Sorry,” he said. “I know you saw it all firsthand and up close.”
“All those people,” Jenn said. She couldn’t hide the break in her voice. “And the Flax. I didn’t care for her or her captain, but they didn’t deserve to die.”
“I know,” Robert told her kindly. “Unfortunately, it appears we’re at war, and this place just happens to be at the center of it. But I promise you this, we’re going to do our best to protect you. You and all the others we’ve gathered here in this little oasis.”
“But for now, Madam Governess, we have some things we need to discuss. If you would, let us adjourn to your conference room.” He indicated a small room off to the side.
Still a little shaky with her apparent change of station, nevertheless, Jenn finally nodded her acceptance. She also rose on shaky legs to enter the room.
Unfortunately, Robert couldn’t give her the time he knew she needed. “I’m sorry to say, but we have a bit of circumstance we need to discuss…”
Chapter 10
Final Prep
On board the Katarina, Jarra had grown more and more agitated. She had always known that time was running out. When Galen first displayed the shortcut through the core that Adrihel had given Sara, he warned her that it carried a higher risk and it would have been impossible for a ship without the void drive. She knew he was just doing his job, but she didn’t hesitate in the slightest.
“Do it!” she’d told him instantly and seeing the look in her eyes, even Jason, who’s job as XO was to second-guess any questionable decisions, didn’t argue with her. It had worked too. They were almost through the core now, and they’d done it in what she would have thought an impossible time. Even better than Galen had anticipated. The course from Adrihel had made all the difference. Fortunately, they’d gained a lot of experience with the void drive on their return trip from Aerstone space because Galen had been running it at one hundred percent the whole time they were crossing the core.
At the insane speed they were moving, Galen estimated that they would arrive at their destination in a couple of hours. Later they would all look back on their time to cross the galaxy in amazement and disbelief, knowing they could never duplicate it.
It now looked for sure that they would beat her cousin to New Earth, but not by much. Amazingly, John had been able to pull off a record time of departure and he had used every trick of navigation he could come up with to speed up their passage, using the enhanced shields of their ships to move within hyperspace channels that before would have been impossible for them. No, Katarina would still beat them, but not by much.
Jarra was still worried because something told her it was going to be very, very close. Nevertheless, she knew she needed to get a handle on her nerves. With nothing for her to do for the remaining travel time, Jarra made a decision. “I’m going to my quarters to meditate,” she told her team. “Call me when we get close.”
Her thoughts were on her training from Master Kadash, the martial arts instructor from her younger years. One of the most important tenets he had taught her was the importance of meditation. If he could see her now, he would give her quite a few words. It was important to keep oneself centered, the Master would have told her after assigning her several tasks as punishment. No need to tell the Master, she thought guiltily. Still, she knew it herself.
She settled in, sitting on her bed in the lotus position. She had just gotten deep into her meditative state when she received a surprise. Once again, Master Barsyan of the Octarian Order of the Absolute Truth spoke to her mind-to-mind.
Jarra’s meditation had done more than relax her nerves and calm her body. It opened her mind up to hear the telepathic call Master Barsyan, the head of the Octavian monks, had directed toward her. Jarra immediately responded.
“Master, I hear you,” she sent back. “Has something changed? Is our mission to come see you a problem?”
“Nothing to do with that!” came the reply. “I needed to talk with you about your current mission. There is a new force in the galaxy that you need to be aware of. I have felt their psychic energies and they have triggered a secondary quatrain in the Prophecies. It appears you must deal with it now.”
Jarra shook her head. She knew the mental image of that would be visible to the Master. “I still haven’t figured out how we can survive the rest of the primary Prophecies. What is this secondary Prophecy you’re talking about? What do I need to do?” she asked quietly.
“It involves the peoples of the planet you’re rushing toward across the galaxy even as we speak. The ones I speak of, the aliens, call themselves the Oidhche, or ‘Children of the Night’ as it translates, and they and their people represent the possible future of the Aerstone. You see, these Oidhche fled over a millennia ago from their home in Aerstone space, and since then, they have developed separately from their brothers. They settled on the planet you humans are calling New Earth and they have just come from underground where they have been living for some time.”
Then he dropped the bombshell. “Unlike their brothers, they still have biological bodies.”
“Sasha suggested something along those lines,” she replied. Suddenly a thought popped into her head. “Does that mean what I think it means?” Jarra asked, her mind once more considering the possible implications. She hadn�
�t seen it while talking with Sasha, at the time her concern for the situation on New Earth blinding her to the full implications.
“Yes, you see. They can die but more importantly, they can and do have children.”
Momentarily unable to respond, Jarra was even more so caught by surprise by what he told her next.
“It is up to you to save them from themselves, for they represent the future of their race.”
The Master went on to give her what he knew about the Oidhche and how he thought this triggered the secondary Prophecy, but obviously it was going to be up to her to figure it all out. He had raised more questions in her mind than answers.
Then he gave her homework! “There are two things I need you to practice. The first you’ve already come close to doing on your own, but you’re really going to need to use it to its fullest when you arrive on your New Earth.”
“Just tell me what I need to do, Master.” Even with the mental connection, Jarra recognized the change in the Master’s tone. Before it had been Master to one of high regard, now it was Master to student.
“You must slow time for yourself. It requires intense concentration, but it allows you to appear to move faster than otherwise would be possible. You’re going to need that when you arrive on the planet.
“The second thing I need you to do is what you would call mental projection. You already do this to some extent also, but like the first, it requires your concentration to do it correctly.
“I need you to spend time on both of these in the time you have remaining. You must practice both at first as part of your meditation, but the ability to freeze time, you should work on with some of your teammates afterwards.
His visage took on the appearance that all Masters must use at times when trying to impart the importance of a skill to a student. The look wasn’t lost on Jarra, nor the following words: “Both are extremely important for you to successfully complete your mission.”
