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

by Robert Iannone

  Dead silence.

  Finally, Grammy responded with, “Dearest, with all due respect and the deepest love and affection . . . you are certifiably crazy if you think I’ll let my granddaughter do that.”

  “Grammy . . .”

  “Yes, Serenity?”

  “I think it’s a brilliant idea.”

  “This time you’re not being sarcastic, right?” asked Egg.

  *****

  Kathmandu

  They came to rest in the middle of the monastery. However, as they had approached to land, dozens of people had to scatter else risk becoming squished, squashed or splattered. Other than that, the three sisters were very impressed . . . no one showed any sign of panic at the approach of an alien dragon.

  “Why aren’t they scared out their minds?” asked Bl’azzz who was just a little ticked off that she hadn’t instilled fear in these puny humans.

  “I’m guessing our sister has been telling her new friends about us.”

  “Speaking of which . . . hi, Bree,” called Tee’ka.

  “Hi, yourself. What did you do to your hair? Oh, never mind . . . hello Syl, it’s great to see you again,” and she hurried over and gave her sister a warm hug.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m great. I was lucky enough to be captured by these wonderful people.”

  “Captured?”

  “I stepped into a net meant for wild animals. It’s not important.”

  “We should be going. Having humans meet Wind’dancers and dragons is not a good idea.”

  “But it’s already happened. Besides, I want you to meet someone.”

  “Well, okay. But just for a few minutes.”

  As they were talking, the old Master came out to greet his new guests. Word of the dragon’s landing had spread quickly.

  As he approached, so did everyone else. Within moments, the four sisters were completely surrounded. “I hope they’re friendly,” whispered Tee’ka.

  “They are such gentle and good people as any that I have ever met,” replied Bree.

  The old man finally reached his destination and bowed. Then he raised his head and stared at Bl’azzz. “What a magnificent bea . . . sister you have, dear BreeZee. She is everything you described and more.”

  “Master, this is Bl’azzz . . .”

  The dragon nodded and said “Hi.” The sound of the ‘beast’ speaking made everyone ‘ooh’. Even the old Monk raised his eyebrows in surprise.

  “This young woman is Sylvia and that is Tee’ka.” The girls said hello.

  “Most honored to meet you. Please, come join us for some refreshments. I have so many questions I wish to ask if it is permitted.”

  Sylvia stepped forwarded. “I’m truly sorry, your . . . your Holiness. But you should never have met us. Earth isn’t prepared for proof of extraterrestrial life.”

  He considered her words before speaking. “You are not alien. Where do you call home?”

  “I can’t answer your question. Sorry.”

  “I understand. And, you are probably correct about earth being ill prepared for such an encounter. But would it not be useful if . . . one of us knew about your existence. When the time comes for you to introduce yourself to this world, perhaps having a friend help with the introductions would be beneficial?”

  Sylvia smiled. “Perhaps. What has my sister BreeZee told you?”

  “Many things . . . most of which I freely confess that I did not understand.”

  “Let me tell you the most important part of our story. We are a sisterhood of seven women from four worlds that have, and will, come to the aid of anyone in need of our help. We do it because . . . well, because we can. We accept no payment, ask for no favors and truly hate any unnecessary accolades. Individually we are unremarkable. Together we are . . . a force for good. And now, we really must go.”

  “Most amazing. But before you leave, may I ask one question?”

  “Please.”

  “BreeZee said that there is a city that floats in the sky. Could you perhaps describe it to me? Such a thing seems . . . miraculous.”

  Sylvia smiled. “I have a better idea. I will show it to you.”

  Thinking she meant a picture or drawing, the Monk said, “I would be eternally grateful.”

  “Then take my hand” and she held it out.

  “I do not understand?”

  “Tell your people you will be gone for one minute and not to worry.”

  The old man smiled . . . intrigued by what the girl was implying. “As you wish,” and he told the others not to be alarmed by his disappearance. He chose the exact right word . . . accidently. He reached out and took the offered hand.

  To her sisters, Sylvia said, “I’ll be right back.” She touched her ring and they both vanished.

  The other monks squawked in alarm and started to protest. BreeZee called out loudly, “Please . . . he is fine. He’ll be back in a minute.”

  And sixty seconds later, he was.

  His face still reflected the awe he felt from looking over the balcony on Q’umulus. “Astonishing,” was all he could muster.

  Sylvia gave him a hug then whispered, “Remember, we are the Hameggattic Sisterhood.” Out loud, she said, “Now we must go. Ladies, climb up on Bl’azzz,” and they did. “Till we meet again,” called Sylvia. All three girls waved, and then with a touch of her ring, she and the others vanished.

  The monks stood there . . . mouths agape, eyes wide.

  “Master, what has just happened? Where did you go?” asked one of the monks.

  “I am not sure how, but I was transported to their floating city.”

  “But how can that be?”

  “An excellent question for which I have no answer. Now, I must consider all that has transpired this day. There is much to contemplate.”

  “What shall we do with this information? Should we not tell the world?”

  “We will record this visit and the memory will be passed down from generation to generation. When our friends return, then we will come forward and vouch for their good intent. Until then, their existence is our secret. I have given my word.”

  *****

  Grammy’s

  “I think we should talk this through,” suggested Grammy who was actually demanding it but was too polite to phrase it that way. “First of all, are you going by yourself or is Serenity going with you?”

  “Together, of course.”

  “I apologize for saying this, but won’t it be more difficult . . .” but she stopped, embarrassed and not sure how to phrase her concern.

  “Grammy, this wheelchair is not quite like any you may be familiar with. For instance . . .” and she tapped a control and the chair began to hover above the floor.

  “Oh my. You mentioned the hover jets but I really wasn’t sure what that meant. That certainly is a nice enhancement.”

  Serenity smiled. “Since this chair is my . . .” She almost said prison but decided that would make her sound like she was feeling sorry for herself. “This chair is my home so I’ve added most everything I could think of to make it perfect for my needs. For example, the computer system is incredibly powerful in quite a few ways that I won’t bore you with, the chair responds only to my bio-signs, and I recently added a little something to help protect me . . . a force field.” She tapped a control and a shimmering light engulfed her. “Egg, toss something at me.”

  “Sure,” and the girl picked up a pillow and threw it. The pillow hit the dancing light and fell straight down. “That’s awesome. How come you didn’t use it when the gators were attacking Jynx?”

  “Honestly, I was so rattled to see poor Jynxie in trouble that I just forgot. I’ll need to rethink the controls . . . maybe have the computer recognize danger and automatically activate it. On the other hand, the field isn’t really perfected. I’m still experimenting with the mathematical and electro-mechanical equations that generate it.”

  “How fun,” replied her friend with a wry smile.

 
“That was sarcastic, right?”

  Egg just stuck out her tongue.

  “Ladies, please,” begged Grammy. “That is all well and good but I still don’t understand why Serenity needs to put herself at risk too.”

  “I think it will help convince the military that these two are for real,” suggested Ezra. “Besides, there’s always safety in numbers.”

  “I’ll defer to your military expertise . . . but reluctantly,” answered Grammy. “Now . . . tell me exactly what you plan to do.”

  *****

  Grammy didn’t like the plan in the least and made her opinion known in no uncertain terms. But Egg was determined to save her sister sooner rather than later. Trying to come up with a full-proof plan seemed like a waste of time. In a very rare show of independence, or was it rebellion, she overrode her grandmother. “Gram, I’m sorry but this will work. If it doesn’t, I’ll think of something else.”

  “Ezra, what is your opinion?” the elder Eloise asked her husband. She included one of those looks that said ‘you better back me up or else’.

  Egg knew that look all too well and intervened in an effort to spare her grandparents a potentially nasty argument. “Ezra, stop. As much as I trust your views, I’m making this decision. Gram, no more arguing. Just wish us luck.”

  “But . . .”

  “Gram, please. Trust me.”

  The older woman took a deep breath . . . to calm herself and to buy a little time before answering. “You know that I only have your best interest at heart. But when I foolishly caused the sisterhood to be disbanded, I gave up my right to tell you how to behave. You are Flying Girl and you have proved yourself in the face of much greater danger. I apologize and . . . and I withdraw my objection.” At that moment, she had never felt older or less relevant. It took all her inner strength not to tear up.

  But Egg was Egg, and she was Flying Girl, and the Leader of the Hameggattic Sisterhood . . . but more importantly she was little Eloise and a most loving granddaughter. She stood up, walked over to her grandmother, and hugged her for all she was worth. “You have given me such wonderful advice for so many years and I can never repay that debt. I love you as much as you love me. But I’m a woman now . . . and we both know that I need to make my own decisions. Whether they’re right or wrong, they will always be based on all the things you’ve taught me over the last eighteen years. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. You are the most important person in my life . . . now and for always.”

  Not a dry eye in the house.

  About two minutes later, Grammy felt she could trust herself to talk. “Go on, you two. There’s a Hameggattic Sister that needs your help.”

  “Thanks Gram . . . I mean, thanks Grammy.”

  *****

  Area 51

  “Colonel, you better get over here right away.”

  “Sir?”

  “Double time, Mister.” Generals could talk that way to lowly colonels . . . but usually didn’t.

  Colonel Korn did as he was asked and hurried over to the central administration building. The male secretary sitting outside the office told him to go right in. He knocked once then opened the door. “Sir, you wished to see me?”

  “These young ladies wish to speak to you.” He pointed at the two sitting off to one side.

  Korn noticed them for the first time. “Sir, I don’t understand?”

  “They claim that they’re friends with your alien.”

  That did more than startle the other officer . . . it shocked him. The presence of the alien was classified top secret. There was no way in the world anyone would know . . . especially these two girls. Well, unless they actually were her friends.

  Still, he was surprised the General would so easily be convinced. “How very interesting. And are you two aliens, also?” He was being facetious.

  “I am,” said Serenity.

  Playing along he asked, “And what planet do you call home?”

  “I was born on Laff’Alott . . . but now I live on Aerianna.”

  “Laugh a lot?” He turned to the General and said “Sir, is this some kind of prank?”

  “Not at all, Colonel. I was as skeptical as you are now. But these ladies can offer proof.” He turned to Serenity and asked, “May I?”

  “Please.”

  “Colonel, do you have a pen?”

  “A pen? Yes, sir.”

  “Throw it at the young lady in the chair. Throw it hard.”

  “Sir?”

  “Do it, Mister.”

  “Sir.” He did as he was told. The pen hit the force field and fell straight down.

  “It’s a force field that I designed. It still needs a little tweaking.” She turned it off, reached down and picked up the pen. Then she lifted the chair with the hover jets and returned the pen to the open mouth Colonel.

  “Okay, that’s impressive. It doesn’t prove you’re an alien, however.” Then he turned to Egg. “And what’s with your costume? Who are you supposed to be?”

  “You may call me Flying Girl.”

  “Oh, please. And what planet are you from . . . Krypton (referring to Superman’s home world).

  “Actually, I move around a lot.”

  “General, this is crazy.”

  “How about this?” said Egg. She touched her ring and disappeared. A split second later, she reappeared behind the Colonel. She tapped him on the back and said, “Tag. You’re it.”

  *****

  The Colonel brought them to Deep 6. He placed his hand on a scanner. The computer verified it was him and opened a massive door. “This way, ladies.”

  They entered and saw the pod sitting in the middle of the huge room.

  “Where is she?” asked Egg.

  “Spirit is inside. She refuses to come out.” And now they knew who they were rescuing.

  Egg tapped her communications crystal. “Hey, Spirit, come out, come out wherever you are.”

  A second later, the Thought Weaver’s head appeared in the pod window . . . followed by a huge smile. She disappeared for a second then the door slid opened and she came running out. “EGG,” she cried and gave her sister a big hug.

  “Egg?” said the Colonel.

  “That’s alien talk for hello,” said Serenity.

  “Oh.”

  “Let’s get out of here,” Egg told the others.

  “Wait. You can’t just leave.”

  “Why not? Are we prisoners?”

  “No, of course not. But . . . but we have to take this opportunity to find out more about you. Please?”

  “Korn, this meeting was an accident. You’re not ready to meet extraterrestrials.”

  “But we did meet . . . regardless of the reason. You just can’t . . .” but he was interrupted by the warning coming from the pod. “What’s that? What’s going on?”

  “The pod is about to self-destruct,” explained Serenity.

  “WHAT?”

  “Calm down. It’s not going to explode. It’s going to implode.”

  “If you people won’t stay and talk to us, I’m going to at least save the pod and its technology,” and he dashed off and ran inside the little ship.

  “Egg, in about twenty seconds, the Colonel will be killed if you don’t get him out,” said Serenity with some urgency.

  “I’m on it,” and she literally flew into the craft, grabbed the unsuspecting Colonel and flew him out. Three seconds later the pod crumbled into a pile of useless metal.

  Korn just stood there with his mouth open. “You . . . you just saved my life.”

  “Now we’re even.” She reached up on tippy-toes and kissed the handsome man on the cheek. “Take care, Colonel.” She walked over to her two sisters who each took one of her arms. She smiled at their host, waved . . . then disappeared.

  Chapter 10 – Back to the Future

  Ezra’s Hangar

  “They’ll remember Spirit and Serenity . . . but because of my suit, they won’t remember Flying Girl.”

  “On the other hand,” added
Sylvia, “the Monks won’t soon forget the day they met a butterfly girl and a dragon.”

  “What about the pod, Serenity?” asked Ezra. “Will they be able to salvage anything useful?”

  “I’m afraid not. Everything on the inside was reduced to its component elements. Even the remains of the ship itself will be unrecognizable as ever having been metal. If they were advanced enough, however, they could glean some very valuable knowledge at the sub-atomic particle level. But, I doubt that they will even think to look.”

  “Egg . . .”

  “Yeah, Tee?”

  “I think you forgot something.”

  “What’s that?”

  “They won’t remember you . . . but their cameras will.”

  “Oh my gosh, you’re right.”

  “Is that a problem?” asked BreeZee.

  Ezra answered. “The military has face-recognition software. They could conceivably compare Flying Girl’s face with every other face in their database. Eventually they could identify Egg. It’s a long shot . . . but not out of the realm of possibility.”

  “But why would they even think to do that? I didn’t tell them I was from Earth.”

  “They don’t remember you . . . or any conversation they had with the girl in the flying suit. All they know is that there was an unexplained visitor in Area 51. . . which they will assume was an earthling. They will investigate.”

  “Doesn’t matter.”

  “Why, dear?”

  “Cause I’m not staying on Earth. I’m moving to Aerianna.”

  *****

  Everyone turned from Egg to Grammy then back again . . . waiting.

  If Grammy was surprised by her granddaughter’s pronouncement, she didn’t show it. After a few tense seconds, the older Eloise said, “Of course you are. That’s where you belong. However . . .” and she paused for dramatic effect. “However, there are a couple of things to settle.”

  “Grammy, I’ll visit you as often as I do now. I promise.”

  “Thank you. That was one of the items. The most important one, however, is your parents. What were you planning to do about them?”

  Egg shrugged. “I’ll have to take them to Aerianna. Hopefully Meggy and . . . and maybe Dazzle, will help me explain why I have to do it.”