Origin Expedition

by Charles F Millhouse

  On the stone archway Colin saw the faded words, Cheyenne Mountain Complex. “You were right about the government facility being here.”

  “Wait,” Avara said and took hold of Colin’s arm.

  “What is it?”

  “Are you sure you want to go in? I mean the scavengers could be in there.”

  Colin gave Avara a long look, regretting he brought her along. After a long sigh he said, “That’s why we are here. We can’t go back now. Besides I don’t think the scavengers following us would allow that.”

  Avara glanced behind her. “No, I suppose they wouldn’t,” she said.

  “Then it’s settled. Just keep close and don’t go wandering off on your own.”

  “I don’t have any plans to do that,” Avara said, still holding onto Colin’s arm and following him through the arched entrance.

  Echoes filled the tunnel with hollow rushing sounds that Colin dismissed as the wind. He took two flashlights out of the bag he wore on his side and handed one to Avara. They pointed the light beams ahead of them. Dust in the air sparkled on the light and looked like dull glitter. Parked along the road were derelict vehicles – hover craft used over three centuries ago left behind. “It’s been a long time since these were left here,” Colin said, and he checked inside a couple of the disused cars. Some of the vehicles had deteriorated beyond recognition, just hunks of metal and wire. “Most likely they were abandoned during the purge.” He often wondered what it would have been like to have traveled great distances and be home within the same day. Caught up in his thoughts Colin jumped when he saw a rodent run across their path.

  Avara gave out a yelp and tugged on Colin’s jersey. “Sorry,” she said in an apologetic whisper and let go of him.

  When the road ended at a flight of stairs leading up onto a crosswalk, Colin approached with caution. The entrance set ajar. “You ready for this?” he asked glancing over his shoulder.

  “You keep asking as if I had a choice. Besides I wanted to come along, remember? I’m ready.” The uneasiness in her voice said otherwise.

  Colin led the way, he pushed open a broken door that hung on a single hinge; it squeaked like a shrieking cat when he moved it aside. When they entered the long dark corridor the pitch black sucked up the glow from their flashlights. Colin couldn’t see more than two feet in front of them.

  Avara moved in tangent with Colin. She stood so close to him he felt like his shadow had come alive. The air tasted stale and musty on the back of his throat. The corridors all looked the same. A series of doors lined the hall and Colin checked each one – all locked.

  “I think we should go back,” Avara said.

  Colin silently agreed but said, “I think it’d safer if we stay inside for the night. Let’s go further. If we don’t find anything we will go back.”

  “All right…” Avara said in a frightened whisper.

  They hadn’t moved over twenty feet when the lights along the ceiling flashed on. An eerie hum vibrated throughout the corridor.

  Colin froze, his eyes flashed white, the light blinded him. Hesitant he said, “Oh this isn’t good…”

  “You still don’t think we should go back?” Avara asked.

  Colin laid his right hand on her shoulder. “Listen…” Echoes of approaching footsteps came from behind them. He gripped Avara’s hand and pulled her along.

  “I thought we were going out,” Avara said when Colin pulled her into an alcove. He cupped his hand over her mouth.

  The footsteps became louder. He looked into Avara’s frightened eyes and her skin grew colder.

  “We know you’re here – we saw you enter,” a man’s deep voice called out. “Make this simple and you won’t be hurt.”

  Avara moved but Colin held her tight and shook his head. She struggled and dropped the flashlight out of her hand. When it hit the floor, the sound carried down through the hall like a bell sounding a toll. Avara’s eyes widened.

  A hand reached into the alcove and pulled Colin out into the hall. He lost his balance and fell to the floor; the plasma rifle still tightly gripped in his hand. He tried to stand but one of the assailants kicked him in his midsection. He dropped back to the floor; the air knocked from his lungs. Another kick followed preventing Colin from drawing in a breath. He let out a painful groan. His vision blurred. He saw Avara being force from the alcove. Again, he tried to stand, and again he received a kick to his midsection. The plasma weapon fell out of his hand.

  “Not a lot of you tribesmen come up into the black hills. And fewer still come to this place,” The deep voiced man said. “Even our kind rarely comes in here.”

  “Which is why we like it,” A second less frightening scavenger said in a weaselly voice. He tapped Colin with his foot.

  Colin rolled over and he pushed himself up on his arms. His gut wrenched, and a rusty taste filled his mouth. He felt a hand from one of his attackers pulling on the hilt of his sword. With a new burst of energy, he leapt to his feet and shoved the scavenger away and pulled his sword from his back. He swung it with a wild attack, but the blade cut through air.

  “Get that away from him!” the man with the deep voice shouted.

  Colin refused to surrender his father’s sword and pulled it in close to him. He spat blood on the floor, tightened his grip, said, “You will have to take it from my dead hands lads, before I give this sword up.”

  “Forget him then – kill the girl,” the leader’s deep voice said without reservation.

  Colin’s brow furrowed. His vision clearing, he saw Avara standing tall. Brave girl, he thought. Before he leapt forward in her defense, weapons fire filled the corridor. Pandemonium erupted. The weapon blasts were deafening. Between plasma bursts Colin ran toward Avara, grabbed her by the arm and forced her to the floor. He covered her with his body, protecting her from the blasts. Seconds later the weapons fire stopped, the scavengers were dead on the floor and when Colin’s eyes cleared he saw two men standing over them.

  “Help the woman up, Martin,” a round pudgy man said. He wore fine silk robes and a dark bristly beard on his face.

  The second man, much younger than the other, placed the plasma rifle on his hip and reached down to lend Avara a hand off the floor.

  She lay motionless, looking at Colin for a sign of what to do.

  Colin eyed the larger man with a fixed gaze. He stood, helped Avara up, cocked an eye and asked, “Who might you be?”

  “My name is Hek’Dara Tannador,” the bearded man said like it meant something important.

  “Tannador?” Colin questioned. He’d never forget that name. Avery Lexor spoke of Da’Mira Tannador, the woman who took his sister away from the breeding facility. “Where’s my sister,” Colin blurted out and lunged toward Hek’Dara.

  Martin blocked Colin’s advance and shoved him back.

  “You want to challenge me lad – come at me again,” Colin said. Anger tore through his voice.

  “Steady on now – steady,” Hek’Dara said and placed a hand on Martin’s shoulder easing him back. “We haven’t come here for a fight.”

  Colin’s black eyes narrowed, said, “Well you’ve got one. Where’s my sister?”

  Hek’Dara cocked an eyebrow and replied, “How in hell would I know that?”

  “Took her you did, from the breeding facility in Scotland!” Colin shouted, his faced reddened. New hopes of finding his sister welled up inside him.

  Hek’Dara’s face washed clean of emotion and said in a surprising voice, “A short dark-haired girl, with lavender eyes?”

  “Aye,” Colin said, lowering his sword.

  “She’s with my daughter Da’Mira – off planet,” Hek’Dara said.

  “Off planet?” Colin questioned. He took a step back and looked at Avara.

  “Yes… they’re on an exploration ship in deep space.”

  Colin withdrew and turned away. Surprised and elated. He knew his sister’s fate. But in space, it stunned him. He and his sister use to trade stories of traveling i
nto the stars. They would muse of the alien worlds they would travel to, rich worlds teeming with clean air, valleys of food and drinkable water that weren’t run through a purifier a dozen times. He looked back at Hek’Dara and asked, “Why are you here?”

  “Seems our paths are destined to cross,” Hek’Dara said with a coy smile, but then cleared his throat and said with a hint of skepticism. “I was told to come here – that you’d be here.”

  “Who told you?”

  “Moyah Everhart. Does that name have any meaning for you?”

  Colin shook his head, and said, “Just another filthy high-born.”

  “You mind your tongue,” Martin snapped and strong-armed his way forward.

  Hek’Dara took a step-in front of his security man and said, “It doesn’t matter, Martin. Besides I’m not sure this Highlander isn’t right about us high-born.”

  “What does Moyah Everhart have to do with this?” Avara said stepping into the conversation. Her eyes were fixed on Colin telling him to calm down.

  “You know about Lady Everhart?” Hek’Dara asked.

  “My tribe has heard legend of the mysterious Moyah Everhart. Is it true no one has seen her for a long time?”

  Hek’Dara smiled at Avara, and assured her, “Even I’ve never seen her.”

  “But if she sent you –”

  “It’s a long story. Needless to say, I’m here, to give you this,” Hek’Dara said and pulled a black crystal from inside his robe. The onyx drank up the light from the corridor and shimmered as if it were a living thing.

  Avara marveled over the crystal; her honey eyes transfixed in a hypnotic stare. “What is it?” she asked.

  “I wish I could tell you that – but I don’t know. All I know is it’s meant for you,” Hek’Dara said and pushed the crystal toward Colin.

  Colin also stood over the black onyx spellbound but cautious. “What the hell am I supposed to do with it?”

  Again, Hek’Dara pushed the gem toward Colin, and instructed, “Like I said, I’m not sure. It could make you wealthy beyond your wildest dreams. It could give you the meaning of life. Or it could be nothing more than a useless bauble. If you really want to find out, I suggest you take it.”

  Colin’s face tightened and before he considered his next move he snatched the black rock away from Hek’Dara. He held it in the palm of his hand. It didn’t weigh very much, half expecting it to do something unexpected, even if he didn’t know for sure what. He studied the stone; the crystal was smooth on both sides. There were no markings of any kind. When Colin reached out to take it in his other hand, the crystal spun in his palm. Slowly at first but it twirled faster and faster. Colin looked at Hek’Dara. Nervous, he said, “What’s happening?”

  Martin ushered Hek’Dara away, warning, “Please, Milord, you should stand back.”

  The crystal gyrated out of Colin’s hand and shot straight up into the air. It whizzed about spinning around Colin’s head and then around Avara like a bothersome insect, as if it had a mind of its own. The crystal shot down the hall, racing away from Colin and the others, but stopped several feet away and raced back toward Colin, it hovered in front of him for a moment then returned to the other side of the corridor. Colin stared at it, hesitant.

  “I think it wants you to follow it,” Hek’Dara told him.

  Avara looked at Colin, her face twisted with apprehension. “Are we going to follow it?” she asked and took a step back.

  Colin reached down and picked up his plasma weapon, he looked at Hek’Dara, “Are you coming?”

  Hek’Dara shook his head, and replied, “I have more pressing matters to attend to in orbit.”

  Colin looked at the crystal that hovered several feet down the corridor. “My sister – I…”

  “I will make sure she finds you when she returns to Earth. Good luck, Colin McGregor. I hope we meet again some time.”

  Colin looked at Hek’Dara for another moment. A queer feeling tingled across his skin and he responded with a nod, and shared Hek’Dara’s belief as if they would meet again. He snagged Avara’s hand into his and pulled her up the corridor chasing the black crystal out of sight.

  Kepler 369

  The Temple Complex

  May 7, 2442 – Earth Time

  I AM ORIGIN> a thunderous voice echoed through the ornate chamber.

  Charles Long watched Da’Mira hang suspended in midair. Unable to help her he turned his interest to the disembodied voice. “You are origin?” he asked.

  A DEPOSITORY OF ALL KNOWLEDGE IN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE – I AM ORIGIN>

  “A computer?” My Own asked.

  “It would seem so,” Charles replied.

  “Like ORACLE?”

  Charles shook his head and said, “I’d gather it’s far, far more advanced.”

  “What are you doing to Da’Mira?” My Own shouted out toward Origin.

  Charles strong armed past My Own and said, “Our friend is important to us.”

  SHE IS UNHARMED AND WILL BE RETURNED>

  The lights lowered Da’Mira back down. When they released her, she folded to the floor exhausted. My Own raced over and knelt down next to her.

  “Out of my way, slave,” Gregaor said and shoved My Own aside.

  My Own bounced back to her feet like a cat and attacked Gregaor pushing him, exclaiming, “I am no slave and if you touch me again I’ll rip your throat out!” She bent back down to Da’Mira.

  “Savage!” Gregaor stood and brushed off his clothes.

  “Enough of this – both of you!” Charles roared.

  “I will not be spoken to in this manner!” Gregaor sneered. Van took Gregaor by the arm, and it seemed to calm him, but he jerked it away and stepped back brooding.

  Disregarding Gregaor, Charles asked, “What kind of knowledge?”

  The voice did not reply.

  Charles asked again, “What information do you store?”

  And again, the voice did not reply.

  Da’Mira sat up. “He is origin,” she said trying to stand.

  Charles thought a moment and then asked, “You are origin?”

  I AM ORIGIN>

  “What information will you share?” Da’Mira asked getting to her feet with some help from My Own.

  YOU ARE THE BLOODLINE – YOU ARE THE ONE – WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO LEARN>

  Charles looked at Da’Mira and asked, “Are you all right?”

  She nodded and took him by the arm, said, “The lights… they… they drained me. But I absorbed something from them – knowledge about Origin.”

  YOU ARE THE BLOODLINE – YOU ARE THE ONE>

  “I am the bloodline? What’s that supposed to mean?” Da’Mira asked.

  Charles placed a hand on Da’Mira’s arm. “Are you strong enough to go on?” he asked.

  “I’m all right,” Da’Mira said and brushed him aside with a wave of her hand.

  “Look at her – she doesn’t look well, professor,” My Own said still holding on to Da’Mira.

  “I said I’m all right,” Da’Mira snapped.

  “You’re not… but as I was reminded just a bit ago from Lord Xavier, I’m just a slave.”

  Da’Mira stepped away from My Own after giving her a pursed smile. “This is too important to stop now, My Own,” she said.

  “I know I’m not that important, but I thought – well I thought,” My Own fumed and grunted, mumbling loud enough to be heard. “I’ll join one of the other groups, at least I’ll relate better to them.”

  Da’Mira eyed My Own. She gave her a meaningful smile.

  My Own looked at Charles; he folded his arms against his chest. He wanted to say something to her but held his tongue. He liked the Scotts girl, owed his life to her, but even she would not keep him from his discovering something new. Da’Mira needed to be a part of it, she…

  “Now isn’t the time to appear weak, My Own,” Da’Mira said and lightened her gaze. “We are here to discover something incredible. I can’t stop now. I feel for the first time I might
have found my reason in life. I hope you understand that.” She paused for a fleeting moment as if to allow her words to sink in. She added, “But stay close just in case…”

  My Own acquiesced and stepped back.

  Charles let out a silent sigh and asked, “Are you ready?”

  “You are Origin?” Da’Mira asked.

  I AM ORIGIN>

  “What bloodline?”

  THE FIRST ONES – THE CREATORS – THE ONE’S AT THE BEGINNING>

  Da’Mira looked at Charles, said, “That didn’t make much sense.”

  “Come back to that… ask about the planet,” Charles suggested.

  “What can you tell us about this planet?” Da’Mira asked.

  YOU ARE ON SHIN’NOR’EE – A PLANET ONCE HOME TO THE TRIAD AND A BEACON OF HOPE THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSE>

  The walls came alive with images in a shimmer of events – a timeline that flashed out different planets, cultures and histories of times unseen for eons. Charles sent his team to work gathering information. The holographic pictures were endless and went on forever inside the vast chamber. “Inscribe everything in as much detail as you can,” Charles told his team. He and Da’Mira stayed together, centralizing their efforts on the images in front of them.

  They studied the depictions and read the inscriptions that cascaded across the wall. Written in English, Charles assumed it was because the lights scanned Da’Mira, and through her, Origin used that knowledge to collate the information in an idiom useful for them.

  Charles studied each pictograph. When the images of the first two races of the Triad appeared on the panel he wasn’t surprised. He’d found references to them both on some of the first digs he worked on. He’d studied those notes extensively over the years. He wished his palm devices were working. Updating his notes with the new information could be priceless.

  “I don’t know if I should be excited by this, or horrified,” Da’Mira said.

  Charles shot her a glance and returned to the images. He saw the horned bull-like race of warriors called Kavarie. They were brutish, headstrong, powerful and uncontrollable. They were a formative force of police that patrolled between the systems.