“Ha! You’re lucky,” Smigyl laughed. Again, he liked her bluntness. “We’ll be getting underway shortly. So please, if you will, unlatch whatever hatches you think appropriate.”
She pulled two levers. The craft’s wings rotated upward, making the rear hatches accessible. She pulled three more levers, unlocking three hatches. Smigyl shifted his eyes to the control booth. Two individuals entered the hangar. From their clothing, rank, and insignia, they were senior engineers, probably both Nephilim. One carried a clipboard. They walked to the main hatch and slid back the small panels that covered the locks and handles. They repeated the process for the other two, smaller hatches on the opposite side, making notes the entire time.
The engineer with the clipboard approached Pegasus’ left window. He had made a surprisingly accurate sketch of the transport craft, with small arrows pointing to the locks on each hatch. “Ma’am. If it is now safe for us to open the hatches, please sign here.”
At first, it seemed an odd request. Then she realized it was something you would ask an enemy when approaching the enemy’s ship. Any seasoned engineer embedded in a long and bitter war would be wary of booby-traps. She signed the clipboard and handed it back to the engineer. He gave a slight nod.
An assistant emerged from another door, ran to the engineer, took the clipboard, and ran back. It was obvious the engineers knew the functioning of typical Lanonandek transports by the way they monitored each other’s movements while opening the delicate hatches.
Pegasus appreciated their care, and then realized their highest God would soon be traveling in this ship, so they should be careful not to warp a hatch. These types of ships were designed around flexibility, which meant that the hatches had to latch perfectly in order to maintain a seamless flexibility for the entire structure.
As soon as the hatches were open, the lead engineer gave a hand signal. Doors around the hangar opened and several workers carrying boxes swarmed in while the engineers scrutinized their activity.
Pegasus jumped when she realized Smigyl was still at her window and she had been ignoring him. Smigyl respectfully stepped back. His politeness intrigued Pegasus. She had heard horrible things about Smigyl all her life — impolite, rude, self-aggrandizing, self-absorbed, mean, brutal, arrogant… evil… Pegasus realized he had stepped back so she could watch the engineers do their job. He was going out of his way to be polite to her, and she wondered why.
“You’re going to be the one who flies me to Eden and then on to Salvington in a prototype transport, right? Wouldn’t you be polite, too?” Pegasus looked at Smigyl. He just stood there, relaxed and calm. Is he that good at throwing his voice? Or were those words only in my head?
“Please excuse my irritability. In my message to Patanjali, I told him he was to board the moment you landed. Did he listen?”
Pegasus shook her head no.
“For over six hundred years, he has been the highest ranked Demigod on this mud pit called Urantia. Clearly, it has gone to his head.”
His eyes narrowed to calculating slits. “I think it’s time for me to send my wayward son a strong message. If I may, I would like to ask a favor.”
Chapter 13
The Gods Are Watching
It’s perfectly fine to piss-off the Gods of your enemy. It is not fine to piss-off your own. This is especially true if your God is The God of Light.
—Guru Patanjali
The Celestial Realm of Planet Urantia, Mansion World I Space
Continent of Atlantis, Prince Caligastia’s Palace
Pegasus understood how senior officers could trap subordinates who screwed-up — opening up opportunities for them to bury themselves and giving them enough rope to hang themselves. Luckily for her, Pegasus was fairly astute about her actions and the reactions of those around her — with the biggest exception being her affair with Kuko Kiena. She had taken a big hit for that one.
Even Mac and Ka, who had been her strongest critics because of the Kuko affair, were professional, even-tempered, and kind compared to the horror stories she had heard about Lord Smigyl. Even monsters like Prince Beliar, The Beast himself, could not compare to the cruelty of Lord Smigyl. Pegasus had seen the look in Smigyl’s eyes. Patanjali was about to take a hit, and it would stay in his memory for a very long time.
Dressed like the Demigods they were, Smigyl’s two sons, Rahu and Patanjali, and Smigyl’s niece, Chismael strolled through the hangar door. They glowed with Celestial lights, energized from all the Indu Spice, or metabolic energy they had sucked from Urantia’s loyal minions. They were ready to dazzle the cattle of Eden and suck more Indu Spice from them.
The experience of time slows as one moves up from the Plancks, through the Thicypher realms, to a Material planet, through the Celestial Mansion Worlds, and finally to Havona. The three Demigods had kept Pegasus waiting eleven Urantia solar days, which on Jerusem, a Mansion World III was a mere twenty hours. They probably thought Smigyl would not notice if they were a little late picking him up.
Pegasus scanned the hangar in search of Smigyl. Her attention landed on a worker with intense blue eyes. She was not sure what Smigyl had planned, but he was still in his simple, neutral-colored pants, comfortable-looking shoes, and an open-necked shirt. He was sweating, carrying large boxes with Shorinam. It appeared to Pegasus that Smigyl had told Shorinam something, because his dark brown face beamed with delight.
Smigyl’s face, however, was not filled with delight as he carried boxes back and forth, right in front of the three Demigods. Each time Shorinam passed them, he stared at his Guru Patanjali with a huge grin and twinkling eyes.
What a marvelous prank the great Lord Smigyl is playing on my master, Shorinam mused to himself. Soon my master’s God will miraculously appear right in front of him. And won’t my master be so delighted. This is going to be a marvelous journey!
Pegasus began to wonder if they would ever notice. After a few hours, as the last of the boxes were loaded, Smigyl gestured for Shorinam to set a box against the wall. Smigyl took a seat with Shorinam at his side, eagerly awaiting his next order. Smigyl motioned him to come closer and then whispered something in his ear. Shorinam immediately trotted out the door and within seconds came back with his ladder. He set it up just outside Pegasus’ right window.
“My master’s God wishes to ask a favor of you, great pilot!”
“Of course, Shorinam. How may I be of service to Lord Smigyl?”
Pegasus kept glancing at the three Demigods as Shorinam explained several times, in different ways, how, because the craft’s internal communication systems had been removed, Lord Smigyl wished her to compose a short note to her passengers regarding safety — how to buckle up and what type of turbulence to expect.
Pegasus realized Shorinam did not understand what he was requesting, especially why the communication tubes had been removed to begin with. She opened a small compartment, pulled out a pad of paper and a pencil, and quickly composed instructions. Shorinam watched intently. After she handed him the instructions, he descended the ladder and almost skipped to his master, Guru Patanjali.
Patanjali glanced at the list, refusing to touch a piece of paper soiled by a pigeon. Then he shooed Shorinam away as if he were a troublesome bug.
Smigyl had probably told Shorinam what to do next. Shorinam held the paper for Rahu, who likewise only glanced at it. Chismael had the same response. Finally, Shorinam brought the paper to Lord Smigyl, who graciously thanked him, and then patted the top of the box and invited him to sit beside him. Together they studied the instructions with Smigyl patiently explaining everything to Shorinam.
Finally, it happened. Patanjali turned to see where Shorinam had gone and saw his servant sitting on a box with someone. Pegasus could not see Patanjali’s face, but she clearly saw his body tense.
Smigyl looked up. After that, the three Demigod’s travels did not go so well.
Chapter 14
Ouch!
Our God told us what to do. We ignored him. We
got what we deserved.
—Rahu, Patanjali, and Chismael
In the Celestial Waters of Satania, in route from Urantia to Jerusem
Eden year of: 9,054,538.358
This date marks the beginning of Lord Smigyl’s historic journey to Salvington to ask The Blind King permission to construct his Tower of Light.
The three hyperventilating Demigods scrambled into the front, senior officer’s cabin as soon as Smigyl had strapped himself in. They fell to their knees, kissing the floor in front of him. Smigyl allowed them to remain there while their ship was towed for takeoff.
“Okay. That’s enough abasement for now. Later we will speak more about my disappointment because of your disobedience,” Smigyl said quietly. “We will be taking off soon. The ride might be rough, so get up and strap in.”
And once again they ignored their God’s instructions.
“I told you, didn’t I?” Smigyl said calmly as Guru Patanjali smashed against the ceiling again.
“AHHHHH!!” Chismael screamed as she flipped over, the craft now jerking as if some giant gravity-manipulating hand had grabbed her and mistaken her for a saltshaker. Rahu had taken a big hit seconds after takeoff. His semi-conscious body ricocheted from wall to wall and floor to ceiling.
For the remainder of the trip, Smigyl sat grinning while the Demigods bounced around inside the cabin in front of him — a perfect penance for disobedience.
When they landed on Jerusem, a tractor was waiting to pull them into the same hangar Pegasus had entered before. When the tractor departed, a door opened and Lieutenant General Kshiel Ellis approached Pegasus’ window, followed a few seconds later by a shuffling, ambivalent, teeth-picking Commander Vegu-Aniel Odinero.
Pegasus rotated the left wing upward, and as Smigyl and she had agreed before leaving Urantia, she pulled the handle for the small hatch that opened to the senior officer’s cabin. After carefully opening and latching the hatch in place, Aniel placed a small set of wooden steps in front of the hatch.
Smigyl unbuckled his seatbelts. He took off his helmet and gloves and set them down on the seat beside him. Then he stood and took off his padded jacket, a vicious smile on his face.
Ellis, reminding herself of Sipheria’s instructions on etiquette stepped forward and bowed at a carefully calculated angle. “My dear Lord Smigyl. Welcome back to Jerusem. I trust that you had a pleasant journey.”
Aniel, two paces behind Ellis’ right shoulder, reluctantly bowed as well. He would have rather tossed Smigyl into The Lake of Fire.
“Hello, General Ellis, Commander Odinero,” Smigyl replied, returning the hypocritical bow. Ellis was immaterial. And he kind of liked Pegasus. However, he wished someone, anyone, could finally get lucky and collect Odinero’s Ratna. What a pain in my ass this ape is.
“Why yes, and thank you for asking. Most entertaining,” Smigyl replied, glancing back at the three bloodied bodies.
“Lord Smigyl,” Ellis continued. “We were wondering if you might enjoy a short break here on Jerusem to stretch your legs. We have a very limited menu, but still, may I offer you some refreshment?”
“Very nice of you, General. Just some fresh fruit would be nice.”
Ellis gave a subtle nod to Aniel. Aniel gave a remarkably polite bow, turned, and strolled back to the exit.
Pegasus unbuckled herself and stepped out to stretch, noticing Aniel and Ellis were still in their dress blues. She approached Smigyl. “My Lord, may I now be allowed to greet you properly?” She waited for him to nod. She placed her hands and arms into a specific configuration and bowed at an exacting angle in the way she had been taught when greeting an Overlord.
It was not the exact greeting Lord Smigyl preferred from someone of Pegasus’ rank and position. Still, he appreciated her effort to be polite.
When she straightened, she found her eyes drifting up to the officer’s cabin.
“Wanna see?” Smigyl asked with a grin. He stepped back and gestured with an open palm, offering her a better view.
Pathetic, Pegasus thought, amused at the bloody sight. She had heard the heavy thuds of bodies tossed about, and felt pleased that her not-so-subtle liberties within the flight paths had been a direct cause of the carnage. Following Smigyl’s instructions, she had done her best to ensure they would get tossed every way possible.
Even though the carnage deeply pleased her, she looked for only a second. From her point of view, this was a private family matter. What Demigods looked like after an Overlord had decided to correct bad behavior was really none of her business.
Aniel returned with a large bowl of fresh fruit. He brought it before Lord Smigyl and bowed. Aniel, uncertain what to do next, stood in front of Smigyl holding the bowl. Smigyl said nothing, waiting to see how the tough old warrior would handle this diplomatic situation. Ellis and Pegasus were also curious to see how their undiplomatic, pal would handle it.
Finally, he spoke. “My Lord. I’m really not sure what to do next. Do I hold this for you? Let you hold the bowl?” Then he had an idea. “Peg, you hold this. I’ll get a table.”
Smigyl held up his hand. “I appreciate the effort, commander. But let me ask.” He looked back and forth between Pegasus, Ellis, and Aniel. “If I were a peer, what would you do?”
“We’d go over there, allow our honored guest to sit first, and the rest of us would fill in the circle. I’d put the bowl in front of you, and we’d eat together.”
“Very well.” Smigyl said with a nod. “Let’s do that then.”
Jerusem: Capital of the System Satania
Mansion World III Celestial Sphere JV3
“Shorinam. Go ahead. Take another quick look,” Guru Patanjali whispered. Shorinam apprehensively looked at his master. It was all good and fine to assist your master’s God by carrying boxes and running errands. However, this was different. His master was asking him to spy on HIS God. Shorinam knew his position. He served Guru Patanjali and none other. He straightened himself, gulped, and took a deep breath. In a flash, he stuck his head out of the cabin, saw the four sitting in a circle, and then jerked his head back.
Patanjali did not rush him. Connected for a long time, he knew very well the limitations of his servant. Shorinam turned around — his eyes downcast — still in deep contemplation of what he saw.
“It seems that your Lord Smigyl is in a very good mood,” Shorinam reported. “His back was to Shorinam. But he felt happy. Your God seems relaxed. The white pigeon is very clever with words. But I don’t know anything about the tall green pigeon and the big dirty ape.” Shorinam’s head danced happily on his shoulders as he thought more about what he saw. “But I would say they are keeping Lord Smigyl entertained.”
Guru Patanjali liked what he heard — glad that Smigyl had found a source of entertainment that did not involve him flapping about the inside of a cabin. Best of all, somehow Shorinam has charmed Smigyl. This gives me a good clear shot back into his good graces.
“You go ahead, Shorinam. Just be yourself. Go and serve Lord Smigyl until we’re back in his good graces. I’m sure our God will be happy to see you.”
‘Our’ God? Shorinam thought. Oh Shorinam, my master Guru Patanjali has just elevated us!
Shorinam skipped to the circle where Smigyl smiled and patted the concrete between him and Pegasus.
“Did you enjoy your flight, Shorinam?” Lord Smigyl asked after Shorinam found his seat and devoured a few grapes. For a moment, it seemed that Shorinam had not heard as he continued to move his gaze between Ellis, Aniel, and Pegasus, chewing hungrily, wearing a big grin. Finally, his brain caught up. Shorinam suddenly remembered he was sitting right beside the great Lord Smigyl.
“Oh, I am sorry, my God Lord Smigyl. Shorinam forgot that you were here. Yes, my Lord. A most remarkable flight. But for some time, Shorinam considered that the pige…” Suddenly, he realized he was no longer on Urantia and maybe the ‘p’ word was not appropriate. He had a brilliant insight — the words ‘pigeon’ and ‘Pegasus’ both began with
the letter ‘p’.
“…that Pegasus,” then he looked at Pegasus with wide eyes, wondering if he had insulted her by being too informal. His eyes grew wider still as he saw something he had not noticed before. In their previous interactions, he had focused on Pegasus’ face. Now with her sitting at the same level with nothing blocking his view, he saw how big she was.
Pegasus determined that at least part of his problem was he had never used her real name. “I am honored for one such as you to call me Pegasus,” she said with a smile. From her perspective, Shorinam was one of the most honest and nicest creatures she had ever encountered in the Overlord structure. “Please tell us Shorinam. You were about to say you considered that I was…? had…?”
“Oh yes.” Shorinam became excited again. “Shorinam considered that you had gone quite mad. And…”
Pegasus laughed out loud, throwing her head back. Shorinam looked around at the others. They too were smiling. Shorinam was confused.
“Shorinam,” Smigyl said kindly. “Pegasus and I discussed these matters before we departed. Remember the safety instructions I asked her to write down and the warning of turbulence?”
“Oh, yes. Shorinam remembers now. They were very clear instructions. The pilot is very clever.”
“So. Pegasus flew the way she did because of the nature of the Celestial Waters we were in. Couldn’t you see the turbulence?” Smigyl fully understood she had intentionally slammed them one way and then the other on their five-day trip, just the way he had asked her to do.
Shorinam’s face became quite serious. He had not put these things together. It would be several moments before he could make any further comments.
Chapter 15
The God of War
Over the eons, my God has gone by many names. I love them all. Since the very beginning, long before Smigyl’s rise to power, he was known as Indra, the King of the Gods. Whenever he incarnated into flesh to crush the civilizations of bone, mortar, stone, and steel, our own secret name for him was Ramptha.
Lilith: Eden's Planetary Princess (The Michael Archives Book 1) Page 9
