The Needs of the Many

by Christina McMullen

  Mikk was the first to notice their arrival and alerted the others with a very un-leader-like squeal as she rushed across the half-unfinished atrium, arms open wide for a hug.

  “Bethany! I’m so pleased you’ve returned, but…” She took a step back and eyed the Earthling critically. “Where are your bells?”

  “My what?”

  “The bells you referenced wearing when you confirmed our request to alter your flight. Admittedly, I was not sure of their significance, but I assumed you had your reasons.”

  At that, Bethany and Ellie shared a look before they both went into hysterics.

  “Mikk, for one so obsessed with Earth culture, you sure have a lot to learn about idioms. I’ve missed you, your highness.”

  “And I have missed your honesty, my friend. But what we need right now is your ingenuity. I trust Ellie has explained her dilemma.”

  “That’s putting it mildly.”

  “Now, now, no need to get cynical before we even begin,” Vonsse admonished as he came over to welcome Bethany back. “Since we’re all here, we might as well get started. I maintain that nothing is impossible if we put our best minds together, but I do admit, this one will be something of a challenge for us all.”

  “Let me finish setting up,” Mikk said and went back into a wide conference room, where she was arranging a number of screens and stacks of paper at the head of the table.

  Ellie followed, noticing that in addition to Vonsse and Mikk, Gri was in attendance as well as the rest of the Blue Crew. Unsurprising, as they had been promoted to advisory positions with the military, but the presence of other Eidyssic made Ellie slightly uncomfortable. Not that she expected them to outright make fun of her, but proposing an idea based on spotty information received from her supposedly dead great grandfather while in an alternate dimension would be a hard sell given the popular belief that transcendence was nothing more than a myth.

  “I have been giving this some thought,” Mikk said as she arranged her notes on the table. “Nyessovor’s reaction to your return was quite noticeable, Ellie.” Mikk looked to Gri for confirmation.

  “Mikk is right,” Gri said with a nod. “He was more than willing to negotiate for territory after we recaptured Sintar. In fact, had you stayed away a week longer, it is likely the peace treaty would have been agreed upon. But I am now uncertain as to whether or not it would have lasted.”

  “You mean I would have shown up and ruined things,” Ellie muttered.

  Bethany frowned. “I don’t think it’s you, Ellie, but I think the council is right. Whatever this entity is, it’s attached itself to you and affects those around you.”

  “Are you saying you’re affected?” Ellie asked, just barely suppressing the hurt in her tone.

  “No, but remember, I don’t want to rule the world. Er… worlds.”

  “I left my brother to sort the affairs of Fhasmyr,” Mikk added with a shrug. “But Nyessovor, for all his accommodations, still sees himself as a leader, but with the added complication of his heritage.”

  “What about his heritage?” Ellie asked, partially out of curiosity and partially out of exasperation for yet another wrench in their plans.

  “He’s Helsynnic,” Mikk explained. “Half the reason we don’t have a tidy resolve already is because the guy won’t budge on issues that he sees as making him look weak in the eyes of the Huptsovians.”

  “Okay, but it can’t be with me at all times,” Ellie countered. “Gevandar was so twisted by it that he tried to kill me in public, but then on Fhasmyr, he acted like he was sorry and even turned himself in.”

  “Prince Gevandar is something of a special case,” said Re’geya, who came in and sat down next to Bethany as he spoke. Ellie tried not to think about the fact that he added to the number of skeptical Eidyssic she would have to speak in front of.

  “Yeah, that’s a nice way of saying it,” Bethany added, making a face. “But seriously, after he tried to kill you, Gevandar had a huge come to Jesus meeting with himself.”

  “He found Terran religion?” Mikk asked, confused.

  “Figure of speech,” Bethany explained. “He talked my ear off the whole way back to Earth about how he always saw his ambitions as strength. From all his yammering it was pretty easy to see he was the perfect target for the entity. In fact, had he been an adult when your grandmother went looking for a patsy, he would have fit the bill better than Svoryk. But apparently after he tried to kill you, something snapped. He grew a conscious or something because that boy is full of regrets and remorse. Something tells me that when he caught up to us, he was already soured on the idea of world domination.”

  “Well at least that’s one megalomaniacal jerk the universe doesn’t have to contend with.” Ellie sighed. Sure, it was good to know she had one less antagonist to deal with, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay in good spirits as the truth of the situation made itself known. Whatever this entity was, it wasn’t going to make things easy for her. “So what about the rest of you?” she asked, eyeing everyone in turn. “Anyone here suffering a sudden need to destroy me and take over the galaxy?”

  “I have enough on my plate as an advisor to the Alliance military,” Bryotonnae said with a flash of amusement.

  “You’ll find it is a certain type of person who is most affected,” Mikk added. “Everyone here has already attained more than they wished. But understand, Ellie, anyone who is unsatisfied with their lot in life may be adversely affected.”

  “Great,” Ellie muttered. “So where does this leave us? I can’t exactly go off and secretly explore Helsyn if my presence is just going to make people crazy.”

  “Do you truly believe what you’re looking for can be found there?” Yuraelli asked.

  “In all honesty, I don’t know,” Ellie admitted. “But it’s the only lead I’ve got right now,” she added with a heavy heart. “And the most impossible.”

  “Maybe not,” Bethany said. Though she was speaking to Ellie, her eyes were on Re’geya. “You all can do that thing, right? Where you change your appearance?”

  “Within reason,” Reg replied, frowning at first, but his eyes went wide with recognition as he realized what Bethany was asking. A moment later, he stood up, his features slowly shifting, skin growing darker, and his hair growing longer until he looked just like Ellie.

  “Impressive,” Ellie said, hiding the slight discomfort at realizing how easily her people could disguise themselves as someone else. “But what’s the point of two of me?”

  “We have Gri set up a meeting and suggest it be on Helsyn. Play to Nyessovor’s ego. Tell him you want to hold the meeting there because Ellie prefers to be around the superior tech or some nonsense. We’ll all travel together as an escort, but I’m certain Nyessovor will request the meeting be with only Ellie or at most, the two of you. This leaves Ellie, Mikk, and me free to explore the planet and see if we can find out anything about this hidden info.”

  “The fake-out is a pretty good idea, but you’re forgetting that I can’t change my appearance and I’m not only pretty unique, but my face is probably known to everyone as enemy number one.”

  “No, I didn’t forget, but it seems you forgot that the Empire’s soldiers wear those freaky faceless masks that look just like your exo-shield? Reg still has the uniform. If we’re spotted, you can say you found us poking around and are transporting us to your superior officer for processing.”

  “Okay, that is a good plan, but Bethany, how much time do you think we’ll have? Even if Reg can keep up the illusion that he is me, and remember, our voices don’t change, that gives us a couple of hours at best to what? Ask around? I don’t even know what it is I’m looking for let alone where to look for it.”

  “You may not, but I’ve an idea where to start.”

  All eyes turned to Gri, whose expression was tense and curiously, guilt ridden.

  “Why do I get the impression you’re going to reveal something that is useful knowledge we probably should hav
e had earlier?” Bethany asked without hiding her sudden perturbation.

  “If I had any information that I thought would be of help, I assure you, I would have said something,” Gri countered. “But my silence has been more for the safety of our people than anything else. Before the war, there were some Eidyssic who did not obey the edict of noninvolvement.”

  “We know that,” Ellie said. “I mean, not just the Merata, but Master Yellenoae mentioned that the Helsynnic tech was basically what we shared with them.”

  “True, but what Master Yellenoae could not know is that some of our people chose to stay on Helsyn. When the war began, many left, but those who would not or could not for whatever reason, went into hiding in a remote island community.”

  “And you think that’s where we will find the information Androyo mentioned?”

  “I believe so,” Gri said, adding with some discomfort. “After all, his sister was one of the exiled who stayed behind.”

  Chapter 11

  Ellie sat stunned for a moment. That her great grandfather neglected to tell her she had family on Helsyn was a strange omission considering he was sending her there to search for hidden information. But what bothered Ellie more was that this was something the Eidyssic, at least some of them, had been aware of. Everything she’d learned, from her parents, the council, or even from her friends, seemed to suggest that outside of the occasional curious Kyroibi master, the Eidyssic kept to their own planet and didn’t intermingle.

  Technically, it wasn’t a lie in as much as an omission, but it still bothered Ellie that no one felt this information might be of value when trying to take down the empire, let alone stop the battalion.

  “Understand, Ellie, that those who left did so against the wishes of the temple council and in secret,” Gri said, correctly interpreting her anger.

  “Right,” Ellie said, taking a deep breath and composing herself. “So do we know where this community of exiles is or is this yet another mystery we’ll need to unravel?”

  “The enslaved would know,” Re’geya said with a pained expression. Ellie turned to him in horror.

  “There are still enslaved Eidyssic within the Empire?”

  “We’re still at war,” Gri reminded her.

  “I guess I just assumed… never mind,” she mumbled as heat filled her cheeks. Of course the enslaved would still be there. The Eidyssic people were prisoners of war, just as the Sintarian and Fhasmyrric had been before the liberation of those planets and it was likely there would still be many of them in enslavement as well. The worst part being that many were tricked into being captured by her own grandmother.

  It was simply difficult for her to come to grips with the fact that unlike Julian, there was no measure of control being held over them except their continued existence. Re’geya had been one of them until they rescued him and the other survivors from Svoryk’s ship.

  “So we’re all in agreement?” Bethany asked, looking around the room for approval of her plan.

  “Not so fast,” Ellie cut in and turned to Re’geya. “You might be able to look like me, but you don’t sound like me and if the Emperor is planning some sort of aggression, it is possible we’re sending you into a dangerous situation.”

  “Not just possible, but that’s exactly what we’re betting on,” Gri answered. “I am agreeing to Bethany’s suggestion based on the expectation that Nyessovor is going to make an attempt to either imprison us or worse. Re’geya will only need to be a decoy for a brief time. As soon as the emperor shows his hand, we will act accordingly.”

  “That still sounds like putting lives in danger,” Ellie protested.

  “We’re at war,” Bethany said. “Lives are always in danger.”

  “Besides,” Re’geya added. “If it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead. So would everyone else you rescued from Svoryk’s ship.”

  “Fine,” Ellie said with a sigh. “Tell the emperor that I would love to set up a meeting. But I do not want to go into this blind. I want recon. Any and all information we can get about Helsyn and the Eidyssic who lived there, I want it.”

  “That sounds reasonable to me,” Mikk said with a shrug and a glance at Vonsse, who nodded.

  “Just as long as the emperor knows that I will be in attendance at said meeting,” he added. “He won’t like it, but I think it would look rather suspicious if you were to simply agree to a clandestine meeting with the enemy and not bring a high ranking military official.”

  “Indeed,” Gri agreed. “I’ll make the arrangements and send word when I’ve received confirmation. In the interim, I recommend setting up a task force to do as Ellie asked and collect as much information as possible about Helsyn and where the information we seek may be located.”

  “Do you think I’ll have time to return to the temple?” Ellie asked. “I would like to see if Androyo can shed any more light on the matter.”

  “I was just about to make the suggestion that you accompany me back. If there is nothing pressing, we can leave immediately.”

  “I believe we have everything under control here,” Mikk confirmed.

  “And if we don’t, we’ll figure it out. Now get out of here,” Bethany added with a wink.

  Once they had secured a vessel and were on their way to T’al Eidyn, Gri finally turned a concerned eye on Ellie.

  “I’m sorry, but for my own piece of mind, before I sign off on this to the rest of the assembly leaders, I need to be certain. Are you sure the information on Helsyn is worth the risk we’re all about to take?”

  Ellie let out a small and mirthless chuckle. “No, Gri. I’m not. But I don’t see as we have any other choice. I mean, other than…”

  She trailed off with a grim look, but Gri only registered confusion.

  “I can follow in the footsteps of those who went before me and allow myself to be the sacrifice the Kyroibi needs to again go dormant.”

  “Ellie,” Gri began, but she shook her head and went on.

  “I don’t want to and I’ll freely admit that the idea of dying a hero’s death holds no appeal to me. The needs of the many may outweigh the needs of the few, but that doesn’t make the few any less cowardly. But I would do it. I would command Julian, override the free will that I’ve given him, and…” Ellie shuddered at the thought. “He would have no choice but to destroy me and pass the Kyroibi onto my successor. But not only would that not solve the problem, but I would be condemning my successor to death if they could not discover a way to permanently deactivate the battalion.”

  “And that’s only if you could transfer the Kyroibi at all,” Gri added, causing Ellie to start. “It is good you are sitting down for this,” he added with a sympathetic expression. “When El’iadryov wrote the Kyroibi into your genetic makeup, I believe he intended for you to be the last of our kind to shoulder the burden.”

  “So my father intended me to be a sacrifice?”

  “On the contrary. I believe your father’s intention was for the Kyroibi to die with you, but not in the same manner as the former masters. Understand, Ellie, that while he explained his intentions, I am at this point speculating. I believe your father thought that if the Kyroibi could not transfer at death, the battalion would be rendered dysfunctional.”

  “Well if that’s the case…” Ellie began, spirits lifting for the briefest of moments before she caught the hopelessness that flashed undisguised across Gri’s diodes. “You don’t think that’s the case…”

  “I’m sorry, Ellie,” Gri replied with eyes downcast. “If the council had taken a more active role in the protection of our people years ago, we might know more than we do now, but alas, all I have is my own speculation based on what I’ve learned.”

  “And that is?”

  “Should the Kyroibi be destroyed, the battalion would be unstoppable in their quest to fulfill their ultimate purpose.”

  The end of all life in the galaxy.

  Ellie made an unintelligible noise and turned away, unable to hide the disgust, anger, and absolut
e fear that lit her face in a blaze of light.

  “Is there any scenario that we’ve been able to find so far that doesn’t end with the destruction of life as we know it?”

  “We have a team of researchers working on the possibility of extraction, but I must confess, without knowing how the Kyroibi was created, we have little hope for an effective process.”

  “Then our only hope lies on Helsyn.”

  “Indeed it does,” Gri said with a grimace. “Though I still maintain it is a slim hope.”

  “Have we anything better at the moment?” Ellie asked, unable to keep the bitterness from her voice.

  “No,” Gri admitted with a sigh. “I’ll speak with the Assembly. Theoretically, they’re behind us one hundred percent, but I’d still like to find a way to frame our actions that doesn’t suggest we are about to risk all of the progress we’ve negotiated for.”

  “Yeah well, it’s not like we have a lot of choices. I know they were all expecting Julian to have a quick and neat resolve.” Ellie flinched and tried to keep her worry and upset from showing, but couldn’t. “I just wish I knew what he was up to. He won’t return any of my messages.”

  “In all fairness, he might not be able to,” Gri noted. “I am no scientist, but I have heard the Star of Eidyn emits a strong interference that grows stronger with each fortification.”

  “That must be it. Surely, you’re right,” Ellie said as a small measure of hope again swelled inside her. Gri’s speculation may or may not have had merit, but she clung to the theory rather than face any of the other, darker ideas that were trying to edge into her brain.

  “He sure has been gone a while though,” Gri added, unintentionally shattering the tenuous calm he’d instilled in her. But did not press the issue. He knew that if anything were to happen, Ellie would be the first to know. “You know, it might be in your best interest to travel to Ia’na Eidyn and find out exactly what he is doing. For all we know, he may actually have a way to disable the battalion. Perhaps it is something that takes time.”