Box Set #4: Sisterhood's End: [The 3 book 4th adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood]

by Robert Iannone

  “Tee’ka, tell me about them.”

  “I’m sorry, who?”

  “Your family and your childhood.”

  The girl was confused. “But I have neither.”

  “I understand that. If you did . . . what memories would you most treasure? What would have been your ideal family?”

  “Such a strange question. Would you let me think about that for a while?”

  “Of course.”

  They both were silent until Tee’ka asked, “On a more relevant subject, what is our plan?”

  “BreeZee said it best . . . there is no Hameggattic Sisterhood without Egg. So, let’s go get her.”

  At the prospect of Egg joining the fight, Tee’ka’s face lit up. “I like that plan. A lot.”

  *****

  “Grammy, what a pleasant surprise”.

  After exchanging hugs, Grammy introduced Ezra who stood and stared with a goofy grin on his face.

  “A pleasure, Ezra. Is there something wrong?”

  “Um . . . no, no. Sorry, I was just trying to process the fact that I’m talking to a dragon who is a professor of history and one of the original Hameggattic Sisters. Please understand that twenty-four hours ago, when I was just an ignorant earthman, I would have laughed at anyone who suggested such a thing was possible.”

  “Is it that shocking?”

  “My only exposure to dragons was from our literature. So I guess I was prejudiced by the usual depiction of your kind as wild beasts that humans occasionally tamed. No offense to Py’wackit, but without knowing anything about him, he would have fit the bill.”

  Aeri’elle eeked a laugh. “The power of the written word . . . I understand and take no offense. The truth is I always considered humans an inferior species. When the Queen put Egg in charge of the Quest, I was . . . well, angry. I thought she was making a huge mistake.”

  “Really? And now?”

  “Egg turned out to be . . . an adequate leader,” teased the dragon.

  “Adequate? That’s the least complimentary thing anyone has said about the young lady. I think she’s pretty darn extraordinary.”

  “You mean for a human.”

  Poor Ezra didn’t know he was being teased. His mouth dropped open and he struggled to find a suitable response.

  Grammy put her hand on her friend. “Ezra, dear . . . she’s joking.”

  He looked from Grammy to Aeri’elle. Trying to reclaim a little of his lost dignity he said, “Didn’t know dragons had a sense of humor.”

  “Most dragons are notorious for being grumpy. As to Egg, I consider her one of my closest, dearest friends . . . human or dragon. I love her with all my heart. As the Queen is fond of saying, Flying Girl is unique in this galaxy. My life is so much richer for having known her.”

  “Now that’s what I’m talking about” nodded the man.

  “Grammy, you have this man well trained. Congratulations.”

  “It wasn’t too difficult – he didn’t put up much of a fight. Anyway, let me tell you why we’re here,” and she explained about Egg’s meeting with the Empress and her subsequent capture and imprisonment.

  Aeri’elle’s eyes were wide with a combination of anger and worry. “What can I do? What does the Princess say? Has anyone contacted the other Sisters? Do you know if Egg’s alright? How are you holding up?”

  She could probably have continued for another five minutes but Grammy cut her off. “Big Bird - take a deep breath”.

  The surprise of being called Big Bird did the trick. “Sorry.”

  “And I apologize for calling you Big Bird.”

  Aeri’elle managed to smile again. “Promise you’ll send me a picture of this ‘Big Bird.’ I’m curious to see what Egg is referring to.”

  “I’ll tell you what . . . I will have Egg show you herself.”

  “That bad?”

  “You can judge for yourself.” Turning serious, Grammy explained the other reason she and Ezra were paying a visit. “Based on input from the Myst Tree, Ezra thinks that the Empress has the entire knowledge base of her Alliance at her fingertips. And we think she can control all of her technology the same way.”

  “How can that be?”

  “Egg said the Empress showed her a ‘live’ view of Peekaboo Prime. Apparently her scientists can transmit data in a similar fashion that the space portal transmits people.”

  “I see. How does this knowledge help us?”

  Ezra said, “If we can disrupt her communications, she just might be helpless. Egg thought this information might help K’ssss formulate a plan.”

  “Unfortunately I’ve been told the portal to Zynn-Zaz’zia has been closed. Hopefully our voice link is still working.”

  But that was as far as the conversation got. In the corner of the office, the air began to shimmer and sparkle. A moment later, someone appeared . . .

  Grammy and Ezra gasped. Then Grammy virtually ran up to her granddaughter and gave her a hug. “Oh, my. Sweetheart, what happened? Did you escape or did the Empress let you go?”

  “Please unhand me.”

  “Oh sorry.”

  Egg looked at the woman but, of course, didn’t recognize her. She looked at the man then at Aeri’elle. The dragon understood. “Serenity, may I introduce Egg’s grandmother Eloise and her friend Ezra.”

  “What?”

  “Huh?”

  “Oh, of course. It’s a pleasure to meet both of you. I apologize for the confusion. What you are looking at is an avatar I created.”

  Grammy and Ezra just stared . . . neither comprehending what they were hearing.

  “Serenity, let me. Grammy the person you are talking to is a . . . friend of the Sisterhood.”

  “Actually, Aeri’elle . . . Egg made me a sister. The others, except those still on Aerianna, honored me by voting yes.”

  “I see.” The dragon was less than pleased by the news. “Since that would be a majority, my vote carries no meaning.”

  “On the contrary. I promised myself that if all the sisters didn’t vote yes, I would resign.”

  The dragon weighed the words she had just heard. “May I ask why Egg did this?”

  The other girl hesitated out of modesty. “She mentioned what I did for Tee’ka and that I volunteered to help Spirit. In addition, she knows that the Empress would love to get her ugly hands on me to exact revenge for what my mother did to her.”

  “Which was?”

  “My mother died trying to perfect a device that would render all of Violetta’s advance technology inoperable.”

  Everyone went silent as they considered what they had just heard. Aeri’elle finally said “Yes.”

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Yes. I vote yes. You’ll make a wonderful sister.”

  Now the Egg avatar went silent. After a moment, she said, “Would I be wrong if I said that it was a Hameggattic tradition to give a new sister a hug?”

  “Not at all . . . you would be exactly right.” The dragon stepped forward and enfolded her wings around the other girl who returned it with a fierce wave of emotion. “Please know that this won’t become official until I hug the real you.”

  “Thank you . . . sister.”

  “I’m terribly sorry to interrupt . . . but I have no idea what’s going on.”

  “Grandmother . . . may I call you that?”

  “If you like.”

  “On Laff’Alott, I tried my best to get the Hameggattic Sisters to force your granddaughter out of the sisterhood. To say that I was wrong and misguided would be such an understatement as to be unnecessary. I have since apologized to her and the others. I mention this first to be honest with you and second to explain the avatars I created. This one – the one of Egg – I never used. I have yet to program it with artificial intelligence. The sisters were gracious enough to allow me to use it for the time being. Before you ask . . . I am bound to a wheelchair. I was injured in the same accident that took my mother’s life.”

  “Oh my. Well, I certainly have no ob
jections.”

  “How do you build an avatar?” asked Ezra who was dumbstruck by the idea.

  “May we postpone that conversation? We have more pressing issues.”

  “Sorry. Of course.”

  “Aeri’elle, let me bring you up to speed. The others in the Seven have been taken prisoner by Violetta’s soldiers. There is only Tee’ka, Jynx and me on board my ship.”

  “Oh no. Are they alright? How did you three make your escape?”

  “It was BreeZee’s last directive as acting leader. My ship can be cloaked and undetectable. Bree thought the two – I mean three – of us would have the best chance of doing some good. We all felt that if Violetta’s four warships didn’t capture us, they might have destroyed Zynn-Zaz’zia.”

  “But what will they do if they don’t find you aboard?”

  “They will find me . . . but I will be dead.”

  Grammy and Ezra gasped again but the dragon understood. “How did you build an avatar of yourself so quickly?”

  “I modified the one of Sylvia.”

  “Very clever. Do you think that will fool the Empress?”

  “For awhile . . . long enough to try and do something with the element of surprise.”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “First, to get Egg. Do you know where she is?”

  “On Violetta’s flagship.”

  “Well . . . that’s a bit of a complication. No matter, Tee, Jynx and I will go fetch her.”

  “Before you go, I have some information for you,” and she told the girl about the Myst Tree, Egg’s encounter with the Empress and Ezra’s suggestion about disrupting the communications flow to the Violetta.

  “Oh no. Oh no. Oh no,” and the Egg avatar shocked the others when it began to cry.

  “What is wrong, dear?” asked Grammy with real concern. But Serenity was now hysterical and couldn’t seem to stop.

  “It’s her mother, I think,” said Ezra in a soft voice.

  Aeri’elle asked, “Her mother?”

  “Yeah. I think she was going about it the wrong way. Instead of building something that must have been so mind-bogglingly complex that it could interfere with all of the technology at the source; all she needed to do was create a device that could interrupt the information flow to the Empress. Much simpler.”

  Grammy had her hand over her mouth, her eyes gathering moisture. Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer, walked up to Serenity, and hugged her close. The girl came willingly, buried her face in the woman’s shoulder and cried her heart out.

  After a few minutes when the sobs became less intense, Aeri’elle said, “Sister, I think it’s time to revenge your mother.”

  Serenity disentangled herself from Grammy. “Thank you, grandmother. That was very kind of you.”

  “It’s Grammy and you are welcome. Never underestimate the power of a shoulder to cry on.”

  “I won’t.” To Ezra she said, “That was a brilliant piece of logic. How strange . . . my mother had an IQ that was so great that it was not measureable. Yet, she couldn’t see the simple, elegant solution. Her mind only saw the challenge of the more complex resolution.”

  “I only get an assist . . . the talking tree pointed us in the right direction.”

  “Don’t be so modest.” To Aeri’elle she handed a small box-like contraption. “This is a communications device of my own design. The Empress won’t be able to stop it from functioning or to decipher our messages. I’ll keep you informed of what we are doing. You, in turn, should find a way to let the Queen know.”

  “Thanks, I’ll figure out something. And, Sister . . . good luck.”

  “Tell that to Violetta . . . she’s going to need it. Between me and Egg, she doesn’t stand a star’s chance in a black hole.” With that, the light shimmered and Serenity disappeared.

  *****

  Egg involuntarily giggled from the vibration. “What the heck?” She reached inside her pocket and pulled out the gift from Serenity. “I knew it . . .”

  “Knew what?” said the miniature image of the newest sister.

  “I knew this thing wasn’t just a pretty piece of jewelry.”

  “It’s even more than you think it is. How are you? Is the Empress treating you well?”

  “Yeah, no problems. What’s going on? Where are you?”

  “Aboard my ship. The big cheese sent four warships to capture Spirit and me. Bree decided that in order to protect her home world, the Seven would be taken by the bad guys. So it’s just me, Tee’ka and Jynx.”

  “I told Soo to make sure Spirit got away too.”

  “It wouldn’t work. If they didn’t get at least one of us, they would continue their search and maybe destroy Zynn-Zaz’zia to make us surrender. As it turns out, it was their lucky day - they got me also. I put a look-alike avatar on the ship.”

  “Clever.”

  “Not so much. Anyway, I wanted to thank you for making me a sister. The others all voted yes. I just spoke with Aeri’elle and she did too. Egg . . . I’m just so sorry for ever doubting you.”

  “Forget it . . . all that other stuff is old news. You’re going to make a great sister. So, what’s your plan?”

  “To rescue you.”

  “That might not be so easy.”

  Serenity laughed. “Oh yes it is. Are you ready to leave?”

  “Now? I guess.”

  “Put the jewelry on a table and stand a few feet away and off to one side.”

  “Okay” and she did.

  “Here goes . . .,” and a blinding light flashed from the jewelry. An instant later there was the Egg avatar standing next to the real girl.

  “Oh my gosh . . . that is too disappointing.”

  “I know I got the coloration a little wrong . . . but I don’t think the Empress will notice.”

  “Not that. I always thought I looked way sexy in this flying suit. At best, I’m maybe passably cute.”

  “You’re too skinny, is all.”

  “No way. You can never be too skinny.”

  “Now’s not the time to argue . . . but a few more pounds, and a lot more curves wouldn’t hurt your image in the least.”

  Egg smiled. “True dat. Now what?”

  “Now, welcome aboard the Shadow,” and Egg vanished into the jewelry – her atoms sucked in much like a vacuum cleaner pulling in dust.

  Chapter 9 – The Cheese Stands Alone

  Q’umulus

  Py-wackit landed on the balcony of the floating city and his two passengers slid off as gracefully as they could (riding dragons is really a young person’s game).

  “Thank you, Py. Sylvia was right . . . you are a wonderful mode of transportation.”

  “You’re most welcome, Eloise. It was my pleasure. Ezra, take good care of this lady. You don’t want to make a dragon angry,” he teased.

  “I will, Py. And thank you. Maybe someday I can bring my airplane to Aerianna. Then I can teach you what flying is all about.”

  “Ekkk. A human teach a dragon about flying . . . not likely.”

  “Py, may I ask you a personal question?”

  “Of course, Eloise.”

  “Are you married?”

  “Dear lady, I’m flattered but it will never work between us.”

  “What? Oh my, no,” and Grammy blushed. Realizing he was only joking she waggled a finger at him. “Shame on you . . . teasing an old woman. Anyway, the reason I asked is . . . well, have you ever met Bl’azzz?”

  “The Hameggattic Sister? No, we have never been introduced. Why do you ask?”

  “It’s what meddling mothers and grandmothers do back on earth . . . they try to play matchmaker.”

  “Sorry, I don’t know what that means.”

  “It’s okay. However, when all this is resolved, would you do me a favor and introduce yourself to her.”

  “Well, sure . . . I guess. She’s really famous and I’m pretty much a nobody. If it wasn’t for my friendship with Benny, I wouldn’t even be allowed at court.�
�

  “Benny?” replied Grammy with a grin.

  “Sylvia called him that. Only a Hameggattic Sister has that much courage. You’ve just got to love them.”

  *****

  On Board the Shadow

  “Geez, that was a little weird.”

  “Are you alright. You might be a bit disoriented for a minute or two.”

  “I’m disoriented most of the time,” teased Egg. “Thanks Serenity. Tee, you doing okay?”

  “I’m very worried about the others. I didn’t want to leave them. I hope I did the right thing.”

  “I think Bree’s plan was great. I knew I picked her for a reason.”

  “Grrrrrrr.”

  “Sorry, Jynxie”. Egg walked over to the Shamie and knelt down to give her a hug. “It hasn’t been that long, you goofy pile of fur.”

  “Grrrrrrr.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I like hugs too.”

  “Egg . . .”

  “Yes?”

  “My mother . . . my mom, she died needlessly.” The thought still weighed heavily on the girl’s heart and she needed to talk about it . . . to be able to get beyond her grief.

  Egg glanced at Tee’ka who just shook her head sadly. “She was trying to stop someone who needed stopping. That’s not needless . . . it’s heroic. You should be super proud of her.”

  Serenity managed a teensy smile. “I am proud . . . but that’s not what I meant. You’re . . . um . . . Ezra was absolutely correct. The way to stop Violetta was never at the source of her power like my mother believed. It’s disrupting her connection to it.”

  “Ezra’s really smart but the Myst Tree kind of pointed us in that direction. Your mom didn’t have him around to help her.”

  “You’re right. She only had me . . . and I wasn’t up to the task. I should have known better. I’m as much at fault for her death as the Empress.”

  Egg’s reaction to that confession was exactly what you would expect. “Are you crazy? You were what . . . thirteen, fourteen years old? If your mom couldn’t see the right way to solve the problem, how the heck could you? Serenity, you have to stop blaming anyone other than Violetta. She’s the one that’s guilty . . . not you, not your mom.”