“Exactly! Is that not what I said?”
“Not exactly, but I’ll give you a pass this time.”
Then, Maddie turned to Zanna and hugged her saying, “Thank you, Zanna. It’s a masterpiece. How did you do this? And so fast?”
Zanna looked at Maddie with approval. “I have been doing this for many years, my lady, but I must say the look becomes you very much. Rayn will be greatly pleased when he sees you. Now, do not do anything to unravel these braids as Sharra is not capable of fixing them.”
“Ok, I won’t. I promise.”
“And, my lady? Good luck to you and my lord. Peetar and I will be praying for you both.”
Maddie hugged Zanna once more and turned to Sharra saying, “Will you help me with the jewelry and other items?”
Sharra assisted her in placing on the arm bands, belt and dagger and then attached the torc around her neck. Maddie went back down to her room to put a few items in a tote to take with her. She gathered her things together and took one last look in the mirror. She nearly didn’t recognize herself. She totally felt like a princess!
Sharra knocked on her door, and they started discussing their anxiety levels.
“I am so ready to get this over. I am so over being this nerved out.”
“Oh, I know what you mean. It’s been so difficult to eat lately! I’ve had dragonflies in my stomach,” Sharra explained.
Leave it to Sharra, Maddie laughingly thought. “It’s butterflies, not dragonflies.”
“Oh, yes, well that too. Anyway, it has been distressing, hasn’t it?”
They made their way down to the lower level of the compound. Then Sharra took Maddie to another area below the house she did not know existed. There was a hidden door that opened to an underground tunnel of sorts. Made of reinforced steel, it was brightly lit and as long as Maddie could see.
Up ahead, Maddie finally spied another set of double doors. Sharra led her through the doors and into a small chamber. When the double doors behind them closed, Sharra went to a pad on the wall that looked like a security system. The pad had unusual markings on it. Sharra walked up to it and quickly waved her fingertips over some of the markings.
Suddenly, a beam shot out of the wall and did a quick pass over her. She looked at Maddie and commented, “Don’t be frightened of this; it is a scanner that identifies us.”
Next, Maddie went up to the wall, and the beam scanned her as well. As soon as that was completed, the heavy steel doors slid open and they entered a large area.
“I had no idea this was all here, Shar!” Maddie exclaimed.
“Oh, yes, this is the real heart of the compound.”
Sharra explained the set up. They were several levels below ground. The compound could house over a thousand Guardians in times of crises. All the tech and security was generated from this locale. Previously, Maddie had only seen the barest of what they used.
It went on in every direction for miles. All this time, there had been an entire city beneath them, and Maddie hadn’t had a clue it was here. There were dozens of people down here that she had never seen.
Sharra explained, “Oh, that. They teleport back and forth from the various continents on Earth and also from Vesturon.”
“I cannot believe I had no idea this existed. In all this time, who knew?” she commented, shaking her head.
“Truthfully, Maddie, there really was no reason for you to know. Come, let us meet our brothers.”
Maddie followed Sharra for what seemed like forever. They finally stopped in front of another set of doors. Again, they proceeded through the body scans for identification purposes.
The doors slid open with a whoosh, and Maddie sucked in her breath because sitting in the middle of the room was not one, but several dozen…
“Oh… my… is that a spaceship?!” she shouted.
“Yes, but we call it a Star Transporter. It is like your… Star Trek, correct?” Sharra asked.
“Holy crap… moly, I mean. This is WAY COOL! When Therron said ‘Star Transporter,’ I thought he was referring to a fancy type of teleporting system or something. I never thought…” her voice trailing off. Maddie felt like she was in the launching pad area of the movie Star Wars.
All the brothers were already there, running checks of everything. They all stopped what they were doing when they noticed the girls enter the flight bay.
“Maddie, you look… well, you look stunning,” Rykerian quietly said. He couldn’t seem to tear his eyes away from her.
“Hello, ladies! Everyone have a good day?” Tesslar asked. He approached Maddie and placed his hand under her chin, pushing it up. “Um, Maddie, you can close your mouth now,” he said grinning. “By the way, I agree with Rykerian. You could not possibly look more beautiful.”
“Thank you, all. That means a lot to me, but on another note, how did I not know about this? I… er… are we really going to be riding in this?!” Maddie exclaimed, turning around in a circle, taking everything in.
“Shar, have you given her anything yet?” Tesslar asked.
“What do you mean?” Maddie wanted to know.
“Oh, for space travel, so you don’t get space sick,” Sharra informed her.
Maddie started twitching, thinking about what she was actually getting ready to do.
“You know, I definitely need that stuff, but do you have anything for my nerves? I’m getting ready to blast off in space, and I… geez… I’m getting a little… you know… whacked out over here.”
Maddie was terribly fidgety now. As the realization hit her full force, her teeth actually started chattering.
“Hang on, Maddie. Here, hold this a sec,” Rykerian said as he handed her a duffle. He rummaged through it a minute, and the next thing she knew, he grabbed her arm and stuck something in it.
“Ouch! What did you do?” she said as she rubbed her arm.
“Oh, sorry… should have warned you… I just gave you a little something to calm you down.”
“Thanks! I didn’t think we were actually going to fly there. I hate flying. Did I forget to mention that? Yeah, I really, really, REALLY hate to fly. You know… no control, can’t see the cockpit, don’t know the captain. Not to mention being hurtled through the air in a metal tube at 30,000 feet. But this… this takes flying to a whole new dimension. Sorry, I’m rambling again. I do that a lot, you know, when I get nervous.” She secretly hoped the stuff Rykerian gave her took effect quickly.
Maddie really took a good hard look at the spacecraft and found it to be… well… now she hoped that medicine kicked in really fast… like right now.
The Star Transporter was not very big… about the size of a small jet, except it was shaped differently. It was much wider, and the wingspan was narrower. The wings were also located closer to the rear of the craft, rather than in the middle. A hatch in the back dropped down, and that is how they entered it. There were no wheels, Tesslar explained that the Star Transporter didn’t need speed or wind velocity to lift off; its engines would do that. The wings were more of a stabilizing factor for takeoffs and landings. In fact, the craft could fly without the wings, but it wouldn’t be as smooth.
Everyone loaded up and Therron looked at Sharra, “You ready? Let’s proceed.”
They started going through the routine checks, basically running down a list. They looked at everything. Maddie had no idea what they were referring to. There were transparent screens up all around the spacecraft with markings that looked like mathematical equations and ancient symbols. There also was a screen that looked like the plotted course they would take.
“Are you all sure this is really safe? I mean, it doesn’t look that big to travel however far Vesturon is from here.”
“It will be ok, Maddie. You will see. You have nothing to fear,” Rykerian told her.
“Yeah, right,” she muttered.
Finally, Therron asked, “Are we veiled and shielded? Are we muted?”
“Activating now… going dark in 3… 2… 1. Now un
dercover.”
Tesslar supplied Maddie with answers.
“We veil ourselves and block any noise the Transporter makes, which makes it undetectable to your radar here. We also shield our ship to make sure it doesn’t get hit by any type of space debris.”
“This is all so magical to me. I really feel like I’m in a Harry Potter novel,” Maddie breathed.
“Not magic, Maddie. Just technology. It’s a beautiful thing, is it not?” Tesslar asked.
She nodded back, impressed and in awe of everything, still not believing what she was about to do. She was still apprehensive over this trip. For some reason, she needed some reassurance, when she suddenly felt the vibrations of the engine. She automatically reached for Tesslar’s leg and put a major death grip on his thigh.
“It’s ok, Maddie. What you’re feeling are the engines. In another minute or two, those vibrations will cease, and then, things will be quiet for a few moments.” He put his hand on hers and threw his arm around her, allowing her to scoot closer to him.
“Thanks, Tesslar. I really am a scaredy cat when it comes to flying or anything that leaves terra firma. Just not a fan, I guess,” she explained. “Hey, don’t we need seatbelts or something?” She felt like a big sissy pants, but she just couldn’t help herself.
Tesslar answered, “Not yet, but we will later.”
Maddie didn’t really understand that, but oh well.
Suddenly, the side of the building started to slide open, giving Maddie a view of the starlit night. Then, she realized that Sharra was the one at the helm when she said, “It’s time for the movie!”
Maddie looked over at Tesslar with a puzzled look on her face. He started cracking up and said, “It is showtime, Sharra, not time for the movie!”
Maddie, with the realization of Sharra’s faux pas dawning on her, rolled her eyes and shook her head.
“Sharra, you sure you can fly this thing?” Maddie asked. She never had thought about Sharra’s ability as a pilot. It was strange to think that her friend was going to be the one that operated this spaceship.
“Helllooo… I’m the best pilot in the family, am I not?”
No one spoke up, trying to egg her on. Finally, Maddie piped in, “Please to God, someone tell me she knows how to work this thing!”
They all started talking at once.
“Not to worry!”
“She’s the best!”
Tesslar added, “Sharra is actually a 1st Class Commander, Maddie. She has the best piloting skills around. That also includes evasion tactics and strategic moves. She could take on an armada of ships and avoid getting hit. You should be with her when she flies through an asteroid field, and she is really impressive in a dog fight!”
Then Maddie heard Sharra say, “Do not worry, Maddie. I could do this in my sleep. It is a piece of pie.”
That broke the ice for Maddie, and she replied, “Cake! It’s a piece of cake, Shar. Now, please pay attention to where you’re driving… er… flying!”
Maddie watched as Sharra navigated the Star Transporter up and out of the opening and into the starlit sky. She noticed all the lights dotting the Earth getting smaller and smaller.
“This is it,” she thought. Suddenly, the aircraft lifted up higher and higher and burst through the atmosphere. There, in her direct line of vision, was the moon.
“Holy crap! The moon! It’s unreal!” she shouted.
Tesslar grabbed Maddie’s head and turned it to the left and said, “Maddie, look out that window over there.”
Maddie had her first view ever of the planet Earth.
“Oh. My. Gosh!! Is this for real?” she sighed. “I can’t believe this! I never thought I would see something like this: the Earth from space. This is epic, you all! I can’t believe I’m doing this. Can you pinch me or something? This really is happening, right? This isn’t a dream, is it? How come it doesn’t even feel like we are moving?”
Spellbinding was the only way to describe it. Her life had become one spellbound moment after the other. Was she lucky… or cursed? Only time would tell. Surely, she would be cursed if she couldn’t be with Rayn. Yet, still, she felt beyond lucky. No one ever got to do this kind of thing… flying through space on a journey of a lifetime.
“Sharra, I know it’s not on your plotted course, but why don’t you make a pass around Saturn so that Maddie can see how spectacular the rings are,” Rykerian suggested.
“Great idea! You’re going to love this, Maddie,” Sharra said.
She stood up and went over to one of the screens, waving her fingers over the lines. They rearranged themselves, and the craft started to shift. The stars were flying by, but it didn’t feel like the ship was moving much at all. “I cannot believe how cool this is!” Maddie exclaimed, still in shock over the whole experience. She was really enjoying this… so much more than she thought she would.
“Coming up on Saturn,” Sharra announced.
Rykerian grabbed Maddie’s hand and pulled her out of her seat. “Come to the main viewing platform, Maddie. You need to get a good look at this.”
They went up to the front, next to where Sharra was controlling the ship and Rykerian pointed out. Maddie, following the direction of his arm, saw her first look at Saturn, and she was once again, mesmerized by the view.
“This is so not happening! This is so not real. The colors of the rings… what color is that on the very end? I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before! It’s not… what IS that?”
Sharra and Rykerian exchanged looks and both said simultaneously, “She is seeing the additional color in the spectrum,” and “She cannot be seeing that… she has human eyes!”
Therron shot forward and asked, “Maddie, what color does it resemble most?”
“It looks like a cross between red and… I don’t know, maybe purple? But it’s iridescent! It’s beautiful!” She was, again, overwhelmed by everything.
“She IS seeing it!” Rykerian exclaimed.
“Well… what do you make of that?” someone else asked.
“What are you all talking about?” Maddie asked.
“Maddie, Vesturions can see an extra color… it is an extension of the color spectrum. The human eye cannot detect it, but it would seem you can. Your Vesturion blood must be very strong… stronger than we originally suspected,” Therron supplied.
“Wow! Another color…? I’m not sure how much more of this stuff my brain can process.”
“No doubt,” Sharra agreed. “Hey, everyone,” she continued, “we are getting ready to hit the final boundary of the Milky Way Galaxy. I am going to prepare to move to super propulsion. It is time to harness up.”
“What does that mean?” Maddie asked.
Rykerian explained, “Once Sharra enters our final destination, she is going to program everything, and we will be making the move to superdrive, or 5th gear, if that makes sense. We will be traveling faster than the speed of light, which will obviously make our trip shorter than the years it would take at this speed.”
“Wait, I didn’t think it was possible to go faster than the speed of light… you know… Einstein’s theory and all.”
“Well, under your technology, it would not, but we overcame that issue hundreds and hundreds of years ago.”
“Tesslar, get her strapped in and get ready. I am all set to make the move,” Sharra said.
Tesslar pulled Maddie to her seat and put on the body harness and then strapped himself in.
“All set.”
“Ok, everyone, we activate in 5… 4… 3… 2… 1.”
Everything lit up at once like a Christmas tree, surprising Maddie. She sucked in her breath and then everything went to black.
“She’s out,” Tesslar said. “She dropped like a rock.”
“I am not surprised. This is really a lot to take in. I cannot imagine what she is feeling,” Rykerian said.
“Sharra, I hope she does not feel sick when she regains consciousness.”
“Whatever you do, do NOT let
her flop over. If she messes up her hair, I will not be able to fix it.”
“How much longer until we stabilize?”
“In about 10 seconds; then, beware. If she gets sick when she comes to, you are going to have to help her. Whatever you do though, do not let her mess up her hair.”
The first few times anyone travelled in space could be extremely disorienting. The body had a difficult time adjusting to the speed and motion. Flying through the universe at speeds faster than light wasn’t a simple thing for the body to adapt to, so it was very common for some to suffer from severe motion sickness. The good thing was that it didn’t last long, but while one was experiencing it, it was dreadful.
“Get ready, Tesslar.”
“Oh, boy, here she comes!”
Maddie’s eyes drifted open, and she felt awful. “Oh, God, help me! I’m dying. I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Put your head between your knees, Maddie. It will help. And take long slow breaths,” Tesslar offered. “Do not worry. It will not last long.”
“Ugh… I’m going to lose it here.”
Maddie went to stand up, but she didn’t get very far because she was strapped into her seat. Then, she felt serious stinging in her arm. She saw Rykerian pulling a syringe out. Minutes later, she started feeling better.
“What’d ya give me?” she slurred and shook her head. A minute later, she added, “Better.”
“Good. It was just something for the motion sickness. You will be better momentarily.”
She was gray and clammy, but she did start feeling better. Finally her head stopped swimming around, and she was able to lift her it. She still looked awful, but she was making progress.
“Boy, I didn’t expect that. Hey, where are all the stars?” she asked.
“Well, that is a good sign,” someone commented.
“We are traveling faster than the light is, which is why you cannot see any stars. They are out there, you just cannot see them,” Tesslar explained, still kneeling next to her in case she became sick.
“Thanks, Tesslar. You’ve been a good teacher so far… and a good nurse! Thanks for taking care of me.” She patted him on the cheek and weakly smiled.
Guardians of Vesturon 2 - Resurrection Page 10
