by Adair Hart
Dr. Snowden studied the tiles. “I can’t translate them …”
“If the universal translator cannot translate, that would indicate that this technology is from somewhere outside this universe.”
“Universal translator?” asked John.
Evaran shook his hand. “Not important.” He gestured at Leah. “Go ahead.”
Leah selected one of the tiles. The grid disappeared, and the tile now showed underneath the dot. She repeated this sixteen times, which caused the box to blink. The crystal rods shimmered for a moment before a light-blue semitransparent shield surrounded them. “Done.”
“Excellent,” said Evaran.
John slumped down against the wall and sighed. “This is the first planet I’ve seen that’s fought back. I’ve heard of others, but never seen it done.”
“What planet did you come from?” asked Dr. Snowden.
John eyed Dr. Snowden. “Leah and I are from Forath. Oddly enough, it looks a lot like this planet.”
“A parallel timeline maybe?” asked Dr. Snowden as he looked at Evaran.
“Possibly,” said Evaran. “These rift stones could be linked, so if they were split up across timelines, exciting them with exotic energy would seem to open a door between them.” He faced John. “I assume that this prison planet, however, is something else.”
John nodded. “Yeah … don’t really know much about that. Or what a … parallel timeline is.”
“You may know of it as an innerverse, same concept.”
John shook his head. “Yeah … don’t know about that either. We just know there’s a special destination. Makes the rift door have a red surface. From what I’ve heard, it strips nonhumans of their abilities.”
Evaran tilted his head. “Elaborate.”
“Well … not sure if strips is the right word, but people who pass through it have whatever makes them nonhuman taken out.”
Dr. Snowden wrinkled his eyebrows. “Emily had nanobots, so it probably would not have done anything to her, other than send her to wherever, right?”
John shrugged. “I … don’t know what nanobots are. I’ve only seen pictures of the prison planet rift door before.”
“I see,” said Evaran. “This rift technology is far beyond the Purifier knowledge level.”
“They aren’t Purifier technology. The overlord discovered them and adapted them for our use. He seems to be the only one that truly understands them. And maybe the high priests.”
Lord Vygon entered the room, carrying a sphere the size of a basketball. “Took me a while to find. Wasn’t where I was used to seeing it. The research lab had a different configuration.” He shook his head with a smile. “Nonetheless, here’s the quantum beacon.”
John tilted his head. “Once you find Azoculus, how are you going to get to it?”
“We are going to fly to it in my ship.”
John jerked his head back. “In your ship … as in through the air?”
Evaran picked up the quantum beacon from Lord Vygon. “Not quite. Leah, can you remove the shield and set the portal for Azoculus.”
Leah took a breath and then interacted with the rift controller. After a moment, the shielding disappeared, and a solid golden surface appeared between the crystal rods.
Evaran tossed out an orb from his belt. It projected an image of V in the Torvatta. “V, have you set up the tracer?”
“The tracer has been activated.”
“Excellent,” said Evaran. He walked over to the rift door with everyone in tow and then rolled the beacon through it.
“Transferring visual,” said V.
The projection changed to a diagram of multiple cylinders. A line zigzagged horizontally across the cylinders before coming to a rest. The line then disappeared.
“Analysis. Timeline 4501 is the destination.”
Evaran rubbed his chin. “Interesting. V, we are headed back. Are there any other Purifiers alive?”
“There are six. Two are in the medical lab, and the other four are under guard by the Ollikrin.”
“Very well. Once we are aboard, take us to Atlantis.”
“Acknowledged.”
“Leah, please shut down the rift door.”
Leah interacted with the rift controller, and after a moment, the golden surface disappeared. “Done.”
Evaran gestured toward the room exit. “We are done here. There are some things to discuss back at Atlantis, then we are off to timeline 4501.”
As they filed out of the room, Dr. Snowden smiled. He now knew where Emily had gone. Hopefully, the prison planet was not as rough as he was imagining, but knowing Emily, she would not only survive, but come out stronger. The question burning in his mind was how this would impact her long-term. He shook his head. First things first. Find her, then he would deal with that.
John and Leah sat to the right of Evaran in the council room. Delia, Lord Noskov, and Lord Vygon had taken their seats to the left of Evaran, along with Captain Laban.
Dr. Snowden also had a seat next to Leah at the table. He had not expected to be sitting there. Looking around the circular table, he noticed it was almost filled. Helian elders Cyrus and Ira rounded out the table.
Evaran raised a finger. “The Purifier base has been captured. There were heavy casualties, but the Purifiers will no longer be a threat to this planet for the time being.”
“That’s good news,” said Cyrus.
“Yes,” said Evaran. “However, I have some points to go over before I leave.”
“You’re leaving?” asked Cyrus.
Dr. Snowden noted the concern in Cyrus’s voice. Evaran had been the unofficial leader which is something that seemed to happen whenever he was present. Maybe it was Evaran’s confidence, which he exuded, or the way he backed up his talk with actions. Either way, Dr. Snowden suspected that Cyrus was not looking forward to having to deal with Daedroulds and others on equal terms.
“I am,” said Evaran. “Dr. Snowden’s niece, Emily, is still missing. We know where she went from here, and we are going after her. I am not asking for anyone to come, as there is important work to be done here.”
Lord Vygon slapped Lord Noskov on the back. “I’ll let Lord Noskov speak for the vampire houses while I’m out with Evaran.”
Lord Noskov jerked his head back. “What? I’m no politician.”
“Then don’t be one,” said Lord Vygon. “You know the issues as well as anyone. Be yourself. Once I come back, assuming I do, I can rejoin the effort.” He faced Delia. “Any concerns?”
Delia eyed Lord Noskov, then shook her head. “None. He has shown himself to be a leader, and I accept him as such.”
Lord Noskov raised his eyebrows.
Dr. Snowden chuckled. He had come to like Lord Vygon, and even had a begrudging respect for Lord Noskov. Having Lord Vygon along made him feel better. Not just for himself, but for Evaran as well. Dr. Snowden now knew that Lord Vygon and Evaran would become great friends, and that he and Lord Vygon would be as well at some point. Lord Vygon was easy to get along with, was knowledgeable, and, if it came down to it, was a force to be reckoned with in a fight. He shook his head. Lord Vygon would be the perfect traveling companion for Evaran. Maybe he was at some point in Evaran’s future.
Evaran cleared his throat. “First point, there are sentinels still out and about. Each sentinel has an implant, and it can be detected. I will transfer that information before leaving.”
“How many are we talking about?” asked Cyrus.
“Unknown. The sentinel we spoke to said there were one hundred twelve, but the attack on Atlantis had thousands. The cleanup effort will take some time, but with a unified council, it should be a top priority.”
Captain Laban raised a finger. “I will guarantee it will be handled.”
Lord Noskov flashed a fanged smile. “For the first time, I find myself agreeing with a Helian.”
“The sentinels’ teleporting weapons won’t have any impact now. However, they still carry weapons and can b
e dangerous.”
Captain Laban glanced at Lord Noskov. “I think we can handle it.”
Lord Noskov smirked and nodded.
Dr. Snowden thought it was interesting that two people who formerly would have been enemies were here now agreeing to work together. He knew that bonds forged in battle could be strong, and maybe Evaran’s insistence that the Helians be involved in the base fight was to bring that about. It seemed to be working.
“Point two,” said Evaran as he gestured to his side. “This is John and Leah. They are Purifiers who cannot go back since the rift door is no longer active. They were administrative staff, and I do not want them punished.”
Ira narrowed his eyes. “Purifiers … and you want to just let them go?”
“Yes. They were able to operate the rift door to help us.”
Ira snorted. “Sorry … if you think Purifiers are going to be treated with any respect here after what they did … you’re crazy.”
“We aren’t really Purifiers by choice,” said John. “The Purifiers took over me and Leah’s world, and you either joined or died. We decided to live.”
“And that excuses your involvement?” asked Ira.
Delia raised her hand. “They can stay with us.” She looked at John and Leah. “My domain is … not technology based like here. It’s mostly forest and grasslands. You can choose to stay here or make a new life in my domain. Obviously, Purifier ideology won’t be tolerated.”
“Well, I was a farmer before all of this,” said John. “While I’d like to go back to my home world, it would be suicide and … they killed my family.” He looked at Leah. “Maybe we could have a farm?”
Leah smiled and nodded. “Considering the alternatives, I’m okay with that.”
Ira slammed his hand on the table. “They. Need. To. Be. Punished.”
“Then let’s vote,” said Delia, shooting an icy gaze at Ira. “All council members who agree to allow John and Leah to come with me, raise your hand.”
Lord Noskov, Lord Vygon, Cyrus, and Delia raised their hands.
Delia nodded. “It is settled then. They will come with me.”
“This is ridiculous,” said Ira. He crossed his arms and sat back in his chair.
“What about the other Purifiers?” asked Lord Noskov. “They were guards, trained to fight. I don’t think they would want to settle down.”
“They are welcome to come with me if they wish,” said Delia. “I suspect imprisonment here is not high on their list.”
Ira shook his head. “Someone has to pay for this. If not these two, then the other ones should.”
Evaran eyed Ira. “That decision needs to be agreed upon by this council. You need to remember … if Delia and Lord Noskov did not come to your aid, they would be making this decision … with no Helians around. You should be thankful this council even exists.”
“I agree with Evaran,” said Captain Laban. “I will abide by this council’s ruling.”
Evaran nodded. “That brings me to my third point. I want Captain Laban on the council. He has proven himself to be honorable and of sound mind.”
“He’s just a captain,” said Ira with wrinkled eyebrows.
“Perhaps, but he is trained in leadership, and has a battle bond with Delia and Lord Noskov, something neither you nor Cyrus have. That balance will be needed.”
“No problem here,” said Lord Noskov.
“Likewise,” said Delia.
“Same,” said Lord Vygon.
“Then it is settled. Captain Laban, do you accept?”
Captain Laban did a Helian salute. “I will do my best.”
“I know you will. That is all I ask,” said Evaran. “Point four. As you all may or may not know, I am a time traveler. As such, in future meetings, I am not to be made aware of any event I may have participated in, unless I mention it. A protocol will need to be established to deal with that.”
Dr. Snowden smirked. “The Evaran Protocol.”
Evaran nodded. “Yes. As I will be around this planet for some time, there is the possibility that I may interact with this council. Just ensure that if you meet me, do not volunteer information unless directly asked. If it appears I do not know of the event, assume I have not experienced it yet.” He eyed Lord Noskov. “It will get harder in time to remember that, but I wanted to at least put it in place.”
“Why’re you looking at me?” asked Lord Noskov.
Lord Vygon chuckled.
“Also, as part of this protocol, my involvement in any event should be scrubbed from the records,” said Evaran.
Cyrus jerked his head back. “Okay … I understand the first part, but why the second part?”
“As a general rule of time travel, you should not know what your personal future holds, and if it is recorded, it could be used against me.”
Cyrus glanced at Ira, who shrugged.
Evaran half smiled at Cyrus. “Point five. Communication will be critical. As such, I will update your communication technology. I do not typically interfere with technology in a given time period. However, since I will be here for a long time, I will make this one exception.”
“Our technology can already do that,” said Cyrus.
“Not securely,” said Evaran. “Nonetheless, I would suggest that Atlantis house one representative of each faction for a general assembly. The communication upgrade will allow the representatives to communicate back to their faction in a secure manner. Each communication channel will be specifically encrypted for that faction.”
“You think we’d spy, don’t you?” asked Ira.
“Of course. I have monitored your communications and have seen your spying apparatus at work. Also … it is not something that goes away apparently in the future.”
Ira snorted. “More of this time-travel ridiculousness.”
Lord Vygon smirked. “I just realized, he doesn’t know how Delia and Lord Noskov knew to come. We time traveled back three years to get them to consider it, then picked them up on the day the sentinels attacked. You may not believe in it, but the results are clear.”
Cyrus extended a hand. “It’s not that we don’t believe it isn’t possible, it’s just that we have never seen it and our research shows it to be impossible.”
“I will leave that up to Delia, Lord Noskov, or Lord Vygon to elaborate on should they choose to do so. The less people know about it, the better,” said Evaran. “My final point deals with slavery.”
Cyrus cocked his head.
“Alien slavers have been raiding this planet for a while. I know the Helians have been fighting them. As a cornerstone of this council’s new policies, I want to ensure that it is kept as a high priority. With the new communication technology, hopefully that will be easier to accomplish.”
Dr. Snowden smirked. He knew that in 1534, the Helians would sign a treaty with the Kreagan Star Empire on this subject. That was almost 4,169 years from now. He wondered what happened during that time, since from what he knew from traveling with Evaran, it was the Helians and them alone calling the shots. Given how volatile and ambitious this new council was going to be, he suspected there was a breakdown somewhere in that time and the Helians went at it alone. Evaran would know this as well, but maybe at least while this council is active, things would be better.
Cyrus nodded. “We will make it one of our priorities.”
The council members all nodded.
“Very good. I will take my leave then.”
“You’re coming back, though, right?” asked Lord Noskov.
“Yes. I will have to if Lord Vygon is coming with me,” said Evaran as he stood. “I will also check in to see how things are going. Is there anything anyone needs from me before I go?”
John and Leah shook their heads and stood. They crossed their hands against their chests and bowed.
“Thanks for being kind. We … are not used to that,” said John with misted eyes.
Leah nodded.
Evaran half smiled. “If I stop by your farm, I ex
pect a vegetable soup.”
“You got it.”
Captain Laban stood and saluted Evaran. “Good journey. Fight well.”
Evaran saluted back.
Lord Noskov rose and shook Evaran’s hand. “Well … this’ll be interesting.”
“You can do this.”
Lord Noskov smirked.
Delia rose and bowed. “Travel safe, and may nature guide you. It was an honor to finally meet you.”
Evaran bowed. “The honor is mine.” He did a Helian salute to Cyrus and Ira. “Good luck, and I shall see you all again soon, assuming things go well.” He gestured for Lord Vygon and Dr. Snowden to exit the room. “Let us go find Emily.”
Emily pulled out her PSD and turned on the illumination aspect of it. She jerked her head back as embedded light strips lit up on the sides of the ramp. Running her hand along the walls verified it was made of some type of metal. It reminded her of a space station, and the high-tech nature of it stood out to her.
The dust particles in the air made her sneeze when she took a few whiffs. Her head cocked and her breathing intensified at the sound of the pyramid sliding back over her after she was halfway down the ramp. The impulse to run back out swept over her, but she figured if the area had been designed to be a death trap, there would have been more effective ways do that.
Her breathing normalized as she continued down the ramp to a doorway. She peeked her head in and looked around a circular room with four doorways, two on her left and two on the other side. Her attention was drawn to the ceiling. It was made of a black glass-like material and reminded her of the black strips she and Dr. Snowden had seen when Evaran rescued them from an alien ship. They had been used for holographic technology. Maybe these served the same purpose.
As she approached the center of the room, a beam shot down from the ceiling in front of her. She jumped back and whipped her PSD forward as a hologram of a thin three-foot-tall beige humanoid with a dinner-plate-shaped head appeared in front of her. The wide black eyes were on the underside of the head, and a small mouth was just south of it. It wore a blue jumpsuit with silver lines and black boots. The top of the head looked armored with bumps, and the skin on the rest of the body was smooth. The being was similar to the one she had seen at the podium before. A second beam shot down and enveloped her, causing her to shudder. It disappeared as quickly as it came.
