The Ocoda Chronicles Book 4 Present Future Past

by Daniel OConnell

  White shakes his head as the smile quickly disappears.

  Caleb, sighs as he continues, “I’ll keep an eye on them for you, but I think you’ll need a little more support on the council, so I’m going to push Rachel, who is already in charge of the seventh moon anyways to participate more in the council meeting, which by the way she has decided to name Whitefeather.”

  Cooley now annoyed, says, “Hey, killjoy! I was going to surprise him with that name.”

  White astounded by Caleb’s revelation states, “Cale, that’s a great idea and all, but we have more than a few problems there, one, you shouldn’t be setting up leaders of the council, or assigning their strength in a vote, especially, if you don’t want to be part of this government. Secondly, the science guys say that no one can live on that moon for another thirty years, so really, what kind of weight can she add to any vote?”

  Caleb shakes his head in agreement, saying, “You’re right Reg, but I think we will get it to happen.” Caleb stops and reaches down into a case, which he has lying beside his chair pulling out a long metallic cylinder. He holds it up to White, and says, “The Meli destroyed thousands of races and those other races need to be saved as well. Reg, I’m going to be leaving for a time. My goal is to save as many of those other races as I can, but only after we save this specific race right here.” Caleb holds the cylinder out for both to see clearly.

  Cooley looks at the tube, and easily notices the marking on it, and in a gasp, says, “Those are T-Challa markings.”

  White confused, cautiously asks, “Cale, just what the hell are you planning?”

  Caleb focused on White says, “The southern domed city I quarantined off is about two hundred ten miles wide by three hundred miles long, and large enough to complete the next phase of my plan. I will need you to make sure that everyone stays away from those quarantined domes. I plan on saving a very important ally to help us, and she will be a great aid to you.” Caleb looks directly at White.

  White confused asks, “Cale, stop talking around my questions and just answer them.”

  Caleb reluctantly reports, “The Meli’s first race it destroyed was the T-Challa. I plan on cloning the Queen here.”

  White’s eyes go wide yelling, “Cale, are you insane! No way, am I going to allow that!”

  Caleb shakes his head and says, “The T-Challa Queen is perhaps the most powerful psychic creature in the galaxy, save only my daughter. You will need her power and influence to maintain your own authority. She will be a very powerful ally to you Reg.”

  White looks to Cooley, asking, “Did you have a vision of Caleb losing his mind and me having to kill him? Cause I’m pretty sure that’s gonna happen.”

  Caleb smirks, saying, “The T-Challa are a harmless race, which were corrupted by the Meli. This D.N.A. sample is the one I got from Toth, and is untainted by the Meli. The T-Challa Queen is not inherently evil, she will be young, impressionable, and you and Rachel will raise her to understand her role within this society.”

  Cooley lowers her head and says, “Reggie, as strange as it sounds Caleb is right, we do raise it. I saw it in my vision, and Caleb’s also right, it’s not evil. It is a little creepy looking luv.”

  White throws his hands in the air, saying, “You’re both crazy. That thing is beyond hideous, and extremely large. Hell Cale, didn’t you say it can create a million of those warriors in a year, and they can live for like two hundred years, not to mention the Queen itself. It lives for hundreds of years.”

  Caleb shakes his head, saying, “Reggie, it can easily control how many of her children it will create. It can also transfer her psyche to the next Queen, and to the next, and so on. So how you teach this Queen to act and behave will in turn decide how our people will live.”

  White is completely overwhelmed. He sits down at the helm and says, “Cale, I love you and all, and I know your crazy ideas oftentimes work. However, there ain’t no way we are going to convince all these people to accept a T-Challa as an ally.”

  Caleb grins from ear to ear, saying, “A great thing about psychics Reggie is if they don’t want to be known. They won’t be.”

  White grabs his head and says, “Cale, you’re making this so much worse.”

  Caleb, still smiling says, “Reggie, I’ve already pushed the envelope further than it’s ever been pushed, so there is no reason to start tiptoeing now.” Caleb pauses as he thinks to himself, finally saying, “Reggie, once the T-Challa Queen is cloned and the domed city is completely secured I’ll be leaving for a few months, possibly as long as a year, so I hope you can handle all this.”

  White huffs, “Really Cale, you’re just going to be dropping bombs in my lap every few weeks and taking off.”

  Caleb unconcerned states, “Reg, I have to install that masking device on the crystal planet in T-Challa space. The voyage at Paladin’s top speed will still take me five to six months, and that’s provided I don’t have to dance around any T-Challa patrols, or X’ena exploration ships.”

  White very confused asks, “Why bother Cale? You said it yourself the T-Challa never discovered that world before. Why try and mask it now?”

  Paladin responds, “My data shows that the T-Challa Empire has not yet reached the system of the crystal entities we know call the Phace’mal. It is more plausible that Caleb took this device from the previous timeline and hid the planet from their ability to find it. I have been modifying the masking field to improve its overall cloak.”

  White sighs, saying, “This time travel stuff, is giving me a massive headache.”

  Paladin states, “Reg, I have taken the liberty to draft a set of laws which is loosely based on the laws that your government incorporated. I have transposed them for the Paladonian’s understanding. I expect you will be busy with the council for the next few days getting these laws passed.”

  White shakes his head, saying, “Yeah, I’m sure I’ll have my hands full.”

  Cooley says, “Gabe will be back to help you luv. He should be back in about eleven weeks, and once we get the gateways operational in the next year or so you’ll have so much more fun with all these refugees.”

  White unamused looks at Cooley and, saying, “That’s not helping.”

  Cooley, with a big smile replies, “Made me giggle luv.”

  Caleb gets up with the cylinder in his hand, saying aloud, “Reg, I’m going to finish setting up the cloning engine in the domed city that I’ve got quarantined off. Once I finish setting it up, I’m turning over its care to Rachel. Make sure she gets all the help she needs to ensure its survival.”

  White, once again becoming frustrated, asks, “Discussion is not really a word in your vocabulary Cale, is it?”

  Caleb stops, looks at Reggie, saying, “Reggie, I know you don’t like what I’m doing, but to be honest this has to be done. You know you can trust me Reg, and I now I can trust you. That’s all that really matters”

  White frustrated, puts his hands over his face, saying, “I really, really hate you sometime Cale.”

  Caleb pulls out the Flower Stone from his pocket, and says, “Well you’re going to really love this part. I decided that the T-Challa Queen will be the guardian of the Flower Stone.”

  White astounded asks, “Cale, does it even need to be protected? Who would want to harm it? Hell, can it even be harmed?”

  Paladin states, “The Flower Stone is a cosmic seed of the multiverse, which for some unknown reason did not expand. Its power is near absolute, and it is perhaps the most dangerous weapon in the universe. If someone was able to find a way to get it to expand, it could ultimately destroy this universe.”

  White’s eyes go wide, as he shakes his head, looking up at Rachel he says, “Old bald and wrinkly.”

  She simply smiles.

  Several weeks pass by, as Caleb keeps to himself. He has been working exclusively on recreating the T-Challa Queen clone. Now, after all his weeks of work Caleb has finally succeeded. Caleb opens the massive incubator doors, as the T-Challa Q
ueen falls out to the ground.

  The construction of the cloning device took Caleb, working alone, with only Paladin’s help over a month to construct. Caleb is restricted for how long he can stay off the ship, and with only two hours available to him each day the project took far longer than he wanted.

  The Queen in its infant size, it is still over sixty meters in size. Caleb slowly approaches the infant Queen. He then uses his limited psychic power to make contact with the massive creature and in a single moment, Caleb transfers almost of his knowledge directly into the infant Queen.

  After an hour, the creature awakens. It stands upward, towering within the massive dome. She is aware of all that Caleb has bestowed upon her. Frightened of him, she asks telepathically, “I know all that you have imparted upon me. Your knowledge flows through me to my very core. However, I know of your fear that I may still have some of the genetic coding from the previous Queen and that I may be a threat.” The Queen pauses as it stares down at Caleb and asks, “If you find that is the case and that I may become evil, will you kill me?”

  Caleb smiles, as he answers aloud, “If I feel that is the case, then yes, I will have to kill you, but I also scanned your mind as I was giving you information, I did not sense the evil of the Meli within you. Let’s us hope that it is not hidden inside you.”

  The Queen, aware of Caleb’s conversation with White and Cooley asks, “You believe your friends Reginald and Rachel will be good guardians for me, father?”

  Caleb is taken aback, as the Queen calls him father. He smirks, as he looks down, saying, “I guess in a way I am your father.” He pauses, as he is amused by the reference, saying, “I trust White and Cooley to be there to help you, as you will help them.”

  The Queen lowers her massive head down to Caleb, and says, “I will try father, but I am very frightened. Reginald does not like me. He thinks I’m a monster, and your other friend, the one called Gabriel. I know he will be mean to me father. He is mean to everyone.”

  Caleb looks at the massive Queen and says, “I am an alien just like you.” Caleb pauses, as he thinks of what name he should call the gigantic T-Challa Queen.

  Aware of Caleb’s thoughts, the Queen telepathically says, “You kept referring to me as Allie. I like that name father. May I be called Allie?”

  Caleb smiles, saying, “Allie, hmmm, I like that. Ok Allie it is, and don’t worry about White or Benton. It will take them some time, but eventually they will come around.”

  “Cale!” A surprised voice yells from behind, it is Rachel Cooley. She stares in total shock at the massive T-Challa Queen, which stands ominously before Caleb. She continues, saying, “Paladin had asked me to come down here today, but I wasn’t expecting this.”

  Allie says aloud, “Caleb has told me all about you and Reginald. I hope that I will not be a disappointment to you and him. I will do my best to obey your instructions.”

  Caleb smiles, as he walks to Cooley, and says, “Rachel, please meet Allie. She is in a sense, my daughter, and I’m going to ask that you and Reggie treat her as such when I leave.”

  Cooley, still stares in complete shock at the massive creature, she waves at it slightly, saying, “Hi, please don’t eat me.”

  Allie immediately begins to sob aloud, saying, “She is freighted of me father! She thinks I will hurt her. Please don’t leave me father!”

  Caleb glares, at Cooley, saying, “Not funny Rachel, although she is self-aware, she’s still basically has the mind of an infant.”

  Cooley, now concerned says, “Bloody hell! I’m sorry Allie, I was only joking.” Rachel stops for a moment and says, “Look luv, you can look into people’s mind right? Well, look into mine”

  Allie looks to Caleb, asking, “Father has taught me not to use my power without permission. Would this be considered permission?”

  Cooley looks over at Caleb, back to Allie, saying, “It's ok Allie, I want us to know each other. Please luv, read my mind, I don’t want you to be frightened of me.”

  Allie looks to Cooley, and in that instant, the two minds are locked. The entire ordeal takes just a moment, but to both it was as if it took a lifetime.

  Allie now more confident speaks, “Father, I like Rachel, she doesn’t take crap from anyone. I’m going to like her.”

  Caleb frowns as he looks at Cooley, saying, “Yah, not the direction I was going for, but at least Allie will be able to deal with Gabe.”

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  PROMISES

  Two months have passed since the creation of the T-Challa Queen Allie, and is going well as Rachel is finally bonding with Allie. Caleb, feeling comfortable with Allie growth is finally able to fulfill his promise to the Phace’mal, so in the dead of night Caleb and Paladin leave without anyone’s knowledge, other than White, and Cooley. Caleb leaves to keep a vow he made to the Phace’mal, as he travels all alone, as Paladin automated systems allow Paladin to be controlled by a single person. A technological marvel created by Noskcaj in the alternate timeline.

  During the months of Caleb’s journey, he spends every waking moment of his time using the psionic recording device from the future, recording everything that he can, in the hope of helping his daughter. His plan on the having the descendants of the Paladonians give the device to his daughter, should they succeed in changing the timeline? Caleb is often seen carrying the device as it is designed to records thought.

  Four months have passed since Paladin left the moon of the first ones, as Paladin alerts Caleb, “Cale, I’m detecting a world on the edge of our scanners. This world is under heavy planetary bombardment from the T-Challa Empire. My historical records show this world as Sephil. The planet is home an amphibious race called the Sephillo, and my records show this race was completely wiped out by the T-Challa.”

  Caleb pauses, as he stands up, asking, “Pal, can we get there in time to save any of them?”

  Paladin responds, “It will be very close Cale, but it may be possible. We could save some small group of the inhabitants, but we are not really stocked to support a large contingent of survivors.”

  Caleb sits back down, stating, “We’ll make do Pal. Set course and get us there at top speed.”

  Paladin changes heading and shifts the massive ship to the doomed world. The journey takes the better part of a week, during the journey, the T-Challa continual bombardment of the planet has turned into a radioactive wasteland.

  Paladin finally arrives and immediately detects over seven hundred T-Challa Cruisers, Heavy, and Medium, as well as fifteen Rail gunships. The same style ships they used to kill Caleb’s wife and son, as well as a hundred million other humans.

  The Rail gunships are launching a nonstop mass driver assault on the doomed planet.

  Paladin announces, “Cale, our cloak is working as we expected, it is far too advance to be detected by any ship of this time. I have just completed a detail scan of the Planet and discovered a small group of three hundred Sephillo’s in the southern hemisphere, they’re approximately a hundred meters under the surface of the planet and located in an underground cavern. By best estimates they will not survive for long, I’m detecting the T-Challa Rail gunships will strike there within the next hour.”

  Caleb looks over the bombardment in total disgust. He asks, “Pal how do we get through a hundred meters of solid rock, without drawing attention to us, or that area?”

  Paladin the responds, “Cale, you could attempt to shift down and try to shift them out. However, even shifting with two at a time you will only be able to save a few dozen. We will need to somehow blast the top of the cavern off and project a force field ramp to get them all on board at once. However, the energy reading of that type of explosion will easily be detected by the T-Challa sensors.”

  Caleb grabs the Paladonian shift cloak activating it as it sends him directly into the cavern. There he sees the Sephillo all cowering in large groups crying. The Sephillo, are very similar to a salamander in appearance on Earth as they walk on all four limbs, but can
stand up right when needed, they are however, over eight feet tall standing.

  Caleb uncloaks showing himself to the survivors. Paladin can translate languages instantly and is part of Caleb, which also allows Caleb the ability to speak any language. He yells out, “The T-Challa will strike this cavern within the next few minutes! I can, and will save you, but I need to blast a hole in the top of the cavern. I will need you to find shelter from the blast, and then as soon as you see me, you will need to move as quickly as possible to my ship. We will only have a few minutes.”

  One of the Sephillo frightened, asks, “Who are you that you wish to save us?”

  Caleb lowers his head and responds, “Someone that wishes he could do more.”

  Caleb shifts back to Paladin yelling, “Paladin lowest yield possible. Fire the light cannon on the roof of the cavern!”

  Paladin responds, asking, “Cale, I have scanned the cavern and they are not all cleared from the blast field. Unfortunately, we do not have time to wait. Shall I fire?”

  Caleb angered yells, “Damn it all, Fire!”

  Paladin fires four directed light cannon charges at the roof of the cavern. The first at full power rips a whole almost fifty meters into the solid rock, while the next three plasma strikes are significantly less powered. Each surgically rips through the last fifty meters of the cavern roof.

  Regrettably, time is not on Caleb’s side. Many of the Sephillo did not take cover, and some are seriously injured by the blast.

  Paladin immediately maneuvers the cloaked battleship down to the cavern roof, as Paladin hastily extends a force field to allow the Sephillo to escape, and to protect the survivors. Caleb yells, “Quickly, get onboard!”

  The Sephillo are racing up to Paladin, as Caleb witnesses several others desperately trying to help the wounded up to Paladin.

  After five long, agonizing minutes, Paladin reports, “Cale, as we expected, the T-Challa have detected the energy discharge in this region. They have begun to scan this area. I’m also detecting a mass driver launch directed right at us. It will strike in the next ten minutes.”