The world around them stilled—nothing else existed.
Hours later, their passions abating, Ash straightened and threw her head back atop his shoulder. Every moment together was as the first. It was a reward without compare.
Their minds as tired out as their bodies, they lay quietly upon the silver thermal blanket, Ashlyn cuddled tightly at his side. Steven thought of the strange circumstances that had made it possible for his life to change in so many ways.
Together, they stared upwards at the beauty of the three rising moons which radiated brightly despite the late afternoon sky. The sight was breathtaking.
Deep in thought, they both realized how much they were going to miss Earth’s moon. It had been the inspiration of mystery, romance, and man’s quest for knowledge for countless ages.
“Steven, I’d wanted to ask you—how do you throw the energy orbs?”
He chuckled. “I really don’t know, either. I just knew that I could. Tynabo should have included an instruction manual for us.”
“Steven.” Her fingernail stroked him. “I have one more surprise to show you.”
As her touch aroused him, Ash interjected, “Not that kind of surprise. Come on, we have to go!” Ash bounded to her feet. “Come on, bum—you showed me how to navigate by the stars, now I’m going to show you the universe!”
They boarded the shuttle and lifted off. Steven sat in the co-pilot’s chair as Ashlyn began to explain, “There was something in the vision back at Sea Base that I’d not been able to explain. It was me standing before The Keeper, speaking with him in private—a conversation that I’ve now had.
“I was asking him about the three circular symbols, the orbs upon the Cherubim’s pedestal. My question triggered the revelation of one last secret that he was holding back.
“He was really excited to have gotten the question and he said it was his final Gift for us.”
“Where are we going?” asked Steven.
“That’s a really big question,” said Ash, the gleaming twinkle in her eyes denoting that she wasn’t going to tell him.
As the shuttle made a sudden turn, aiming them at the nearest of the three moons, realization dawned. “The three moons—they’re the three orbs?”
“And I bet you always snuck a peek at your Christmas presents too, didn’t you?” said Ashlyn.
She saw Steven’s grin. “I thought so!”
“That’s why the Keeper couldn’t track us sometimes,” said Steven. “His sensors are on the moons. It’s so obvious. I should have realized it. How are we for EPS suits if we need them?”
“We have them, but we won’t need them,” answered Ash.
He flipped a switch to open a channel. “Defender, this is Admiral Sherrah, aboard the Dolphin transport, Mayorta. I’m taking Commander Parker on a short sightseeing trip. No need to be concerned. We’ll be back shortly.”
“Aye, aye, Admiral! Enjoy the ride!”
“Did you detect a pun in there?” asked Steven.
Ashlyn grinned as she hit the thrusters bringing up the speed of the Dolphin.
It wasn’t long before they approached the nearest moon. “Scans are negative. No energy outputs, no structures, no bulk alloy composites,” said Steven.
“Well, Eden doesn’t show up on the planetary scanner either,” commented Ashlyn. “Let’s make a lower pass.” Ashlyn’s piloting skills were impressive. She nosed the craft down so that they were bobbing and dipping just meters above the surface. As they moved around to the backside, weaving round craters and spires, and small canyons, Steven tensed a bit.
Ashlyn never slowed—it was as if she knew the terrain intimately.
“Ash—I’ve got it. Circle round the northern hemispheres 19.5 degrees latitude as viewed from Hades.”
“Constructing grid—locking in.” Pulling the nose of the Dolphin up sharply, exiting over a canyon wall, she turned them around. “Thirty second ETA.”
Moving along Steven’s coordinates, it wasn’t long before a bright beacon of light pierced the darkness before them. It emanated from a small cluster of stacked stones that stood like a fossilized sentinel. The skids of the Dolphin transport touched down beside it. “Praise the lord! We’ve been shown the light!” Ash rendered in her best Southern Baptist Minister’s impression.
An alarm chimed. Steven studied the readouts. “Gravity is strengthening—a full atmosphere is developing.”
As they waited, staring out the forward window, a small outpost shimmered into existence. They watched as the familiar blue canopy, like the one that enclosed Eden, enveloped the outpost, covering it from end to end. Pulsing yellow lights in the ground appeared, outlining the walking path they were to follow.
The alarm chimed. “We have full atmosphere,” said Steven.
“Think of what a great caterer The Keeper would make, Steven. He can blend a drink that gives eternal life, prepare a food that gives you the power to shape-shift, and turn a desolate moon’s outpost into an oxygen-rich habitat, all in two minutes flat.”
Steven agreed. “The Keeper is impressive.”
Ashlyn pressed the green button on her console that opened the side hatch door. Exiting to the ground, they were greeted by The Keeper’s familiar voice. “Welcome, my friends. Follow the lights to my command center, where I may share with you the grand future that awaits you.”
Along the path, they passed by several smaller, windowless buildings, most of which were arrayed with large antennae.
The path ended at the largest of the nine buildings. As they neared it, a small portion of the wall dissolved. Stepping inside the dark room, it illuminated, revealing two very ordinary looking pedestal chairs in the center.
“Enter, my friends.”
“What is this place?” Steven took note that the wall again sealed seamlessly behind them.
“You would call it an orientation room. Please be seated.”
Sitting, the room dimmed into darkness. Before them a blue shimmering containment field appeared. Coalescing in the center of the field was the figure of a youthful looking man, hands folded together, his head bowing in respect. It was The Keeper, in the image of an Anunnaki. He wore the standard white robe and had white hair with silver-blue eyes.
“Hello, Lord Steven and Lady Ashlyn. What questions do you wish answered?”
“I haven’t told him anything yet. I left that for you, Keeper. It was always your Gift to give,” chirped Ashlyn.
“It is my Gift, for both of you,” corrected The Keeper. “This place is designed to guide you, allowing you to move on to the next phase.”
“Next phase?” said Steven.
“Perhaps it would be best, if I showed you.” The walls of the room sprang vividly to life, surrounding them in scenic beauty. “Does this place look familiar to you?”
“It’s Eden,” said Ash.
“It is, but it is not. You see, this place is not on the world below us. The Eden that you know is merely a small representation, a likeness of that which you see before you. What you see here, is on the planet, Heaven. This is the Anunnaki home world.
“They hold out to you, the offer to live with them!”
“On the world that you’re showing us?” asked Steven.
“Yes, but this is only one of the worlds they inhabit. They travel amongst the stars to distant places, to see sights and wonders your human mind has never conceived.
“The Gift of Knowledge that you and Ashlyn possess is designed to be a doorway, allowing you to enter into the heart of other cultures. You will be able to interact with other species as though you were truly one of them.
“The marvels are too many to mention, but you will have eternity with which to explore them. The universe will be yours.”
“It’s beautiful, Steven. The children will love it!”
For the first time, they saw the full value of the Gifts. The gift truly was knowledge. And in knowledge lay the future for an immortal.
“Keeper, yes, we would like to go, but firs
t, I must be assured that our children will be permitted to accompany us, even though they have not received the Gift of Knowledge.”
“They are your children, so yes; your four children will be permitted. Once we reach Heaven, the Anunnaki will help your children to receive the second gift.”
“We only have three children, Keeper,” said Steven.
“Excuse me, Lord Steven—but Ashlyn is with child!”
“I’m pregnant?” said Ash excitedly.
“Yes, you carry a male child!”
“I’m carrying our son, Steven!” Ashlyn threw her arms around Steven’s neck in a tight embrace, but almost as quickly, she turned and asked, “Keeper, how old is the child?”
“Three hours, twelve minutes, forty three seconds.”
Steven, he’s my child, the me that I am now! He’s—our child.” Tears filled Ashlyn’s eyes as she held Steven’s hand tightly in hers.
Steven understood her excitement. The child had been conceived after Ashlyn melded with Renee. The child was borne from the love of the three of them. “Yes, he is our child.”
“And as your child, he too will be born with all of the Gifts. Your other children will be helped to receive the Gift of Knowledge once we arrive at Heaven.”
“Thank you,” said Steven and Ashlyn together.
“If you are ready, my children. You must now travel to the second moon; a ship, the Destiny, awaits you there. It, I, will take you to Heaven. You need do nothing. Along the way you’ll see wondrous things that others have only dreamed of.”
“The Destiny. It’s a beautiful name,” said Ashlyn to The Keeper.
“I thought the name—appropriate—based upon my knowledge of the two of you.”
“It is Keeper, it is!” said Ash.
“Destiny is being prepared as we speak. All your needs for food and clothing are being attended to.”
“Why, Keeper, I didn’t know you knew my size?” Ash quipped.
“I did find the thin necklaces a—challenge,” The Keeper jested. “I had seen they were your choice of clothing when I searched your mind in the Garden.”
***
A pillar of light led them to a large crater on the second moon. Landing beside it, they exited to the ground outside.
“You must simply wait, my children.”
Ash noticed it first. “Do you hear it? There’s a hum.”
The ground rumbled beneath their feet.
Steven touched Ashlyn’s arm, garnering her attention. He pointed toward the high peaks that formed the crater’s rim. They were transforming into the tips of a large vessel’s fins. The transformation descended, revealing large pointed arrays. The sweeping wave enlarged, moving at a quickening pace toward them. As they spun around, taking in the vastness of the appearing ship, the ground beneath them dissolved, engulfing them in a white brilliance.
Destiny was shaped like an ultra-sleek tri-hull wedge. Huge pointed arrays were mounted at the base of her wings and close to the hull. Sitting atop her hull to the aft was what appeared to be an enclosed observation deck, entirely transparent. She was as graceful and sleek a vessel as any their imagination could have conceived. Brightly lit from bow to stern, her white hull glistened like snow.
The platform lowered them into an impressively large bay that would have held a hundred Dolphin transports without being crowded. Overhead, the bay began to seal. Molecular manipulation, said Steven. Probably not a lot different from our ability to shapeshift.
“Now this is impressive!” said Ashlyn.
“This way, my friends.”
At the far end of the room, a wall dissolved, revealing an arched doorway. The light beyond invited them. They were led to the aft of the ship, to the lounge-style observation deck that they had seen from the outside. The surround style view was breathtaking. It was like standing in space itself.
They stood in silent awe as Destiny rose from the ground and headed into space.
“Keeper, we should inform Defender that we’re a friendly vessel. Tell them that Ashlyn and I are aboard.”
“I have already done so, Lord Steven.”
Two minutes later, they were gliding through Hades’ atmosphere.
Slowly, to not scare the people below, Destiny set down in the desert, far outside the wall surrounding the pyramid. The crowds spilled out from the city, gathering. A small chime resounded, and then suddenly the entire lounge area was lowered to the ground below.
As the crowd arrived, and they again beheld Steven, the chant began, “Enki.”
Steven now understood how easily it had happened on Earth, so long ago. Early man had worshipped the Anunnaki as gods who had arrived in ships from the sky.
Ashlyn let Steven know that she was going to take a shuttle to retrieve the children. Meanwhile, Steven needed to prepare Brooks for his departure.
Brooks came walking up and beside him was Novacek.
“Gordon!” Steven gave him a big, big hug. “You’re alive?”
“I certainly hope so!” he said, returning the hug. “The crew is fine too. Stratton is aboard Defender, making sure the injured are all being taken care of. We lost fourteen people, but as they say, you should see the other guy. Enlil lost thousands. I kept expecting more from him, but he was kind of a dumb-bunny really. Didn’t have a lick of strategy.”
“When Ashlyn said the mountain had been destroyed, I’d thought the worst.” Steven shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re really here!”
“We did all right,” affirmed Novacek. “You would have been proud of the crew. They fought hard.”
“I am proud. Of them and you!” said Steven.
“So—it looks like you’re rather popular round here,” said Novacek looking around at all the wide-eyed people that were staring at Steven. “They seem to think you’re the messiah.”
“Well let’s not promote those ideas any further. If they depend on someone else to solve their problems, they’ll never learn how to solve them for themselves.”
“Maybe, sir. But perhaps a little faith isn’t so bad. Considering all that we’ve overcome, don’t you feel like maybe—things worked out just the way they were supposed to?” said Novacek.
“I guess you would know,” said Steven, his look conveying far more than his words. “My brother.”
Novacek nodded warmly.
“Am I missing something here?” said Brooks.
Steven smiled. “When you get the chance, tell him everything, Gordon. We’re all family.”
Steven turned to Brooks. “Share the Gift with Gordon, Stratton, and then give it to the rest of our crew. There’s also a man here, Erich Guerling. Goes by the name of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.” Seeing their look he continued, “Don’t ask. Give it to him and his family. He’s earned it. After them—it’s all up to you. Some of them might be a little rough around the edges, so be careful.”
“I remember Erich Guerling. He’s here?” said Brooks.
“Yup, ask around. They have an underground city beneath the Citadel. You’ll find him there. Though, I’d wager he’ll find you first. They were living underneath Enlil’s nose the whole time.”
“We also found an underground city. The river’s diverging path to the right led to it,” responded Novacek. “We only came out of hiding once we got news about Defender’s arrival. The news of Enki’s fleet traveled fast. Oh, by the way.” He reached into his shirt’s breast pocket. “I have Ashlyn’s locket—can you give it to her for me? Believe it or not, Enlil gave it to me.”
“Wow. I hadn’t expected that,” said Steven. “She’ll be happy to have it back.”
“And—do you want to know what happens next?” added Novacek.
Steven cocked his head, contemplating his words. “It—it—it was you, Gordon? You gave Renee the vision. I couldn’t figure it out.”
He nodded. “I’m sorry if it caused you trouble.”
“That’s a hard question to answer. I don’t know, maybe it’s like you said—things worked out the wa
y they were supposed to.
“And no, I don’t want to know what you see in the future. If you say one word, I’m going to slap you up-side the head like a red-headed alien!”
Novacek smiled. “Ok, but don’t say I didn’t try to warn you, brother.”
“Do you know where you’re going?” asked Brooks of Steven.
“I’ll tell you after he leaves,” offered Novacek with a knowing grin. “Let’s just say, he’s going to have his hands full!”
“Keep your eye on him, Brooks, he’s too clever for his own good!” said Steven with a laugh. “And, Gordon—you’re right—I will have my hands full, both of them! I knew that before you did, ha.”
“You’re a lucky bastard!” said Gordon.
“Yes—I am,” replied Steven, who then informed Gordon and Brooks that while Ashlyn was off retrieving the children that he was going to make a quick trip back into Enlil’s throne room, beneath the pyramid. He told them of the underground fortress and that he wanted to retrieve the Sword of truth.
***
As Steven entered the underground chamber, he hastily made his way through the maze and into the weapons vault he’d seen when he was on his search for Phillip.
He’d paid little attention to the statue the first time he had seen it, but now—thinking back, he realized that the statue was of an Anunnaki, holding a sword. The sword stood upright, its point, touching the base of the pedestal.
Now, standing before the statue, he translated the Sumerian words, “The Sword of Truth.”
Removing the sword, he held it up with pride, wielding it. He had found his prize. He would return it to the Anunnaki home world, to Enki—to its rightful owners.
***
Within hours, all the goodbyes behind them, and back aboard Destiny, The Keeper took them to the third moon, which concealed a cloaked Stargate that would start them on the journey to the Anunnaki home world of Heaven.
Ashlyn Chronicles 1: 2287 A.D. Page 38
