“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.”
Chapter 86
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.
Chapter 87
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 oblit
erate 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:
8.7
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.
Chapter 88
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.
Chapter 89
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.
Prophecy Page 33
