There was a moment of silence and I feared we lost them again. Then Stahl almost pushed Harris aside. "We are sending a shuttle right now, Midshipman. Do you need medical assistance?"
"No Sir. I repeat, no casualties here."
He looked relieved and said, "We are almost 500 light years from your location, so it will take the shuttle a little time to get there, but we will keep in contact and try to hurry."
INTERLUDE: LARTHOP
It was not as easy as she said it was and it took him quite a while to get the hang of this dangerous, four-wheeled contraption that kept bouncing like an unruly beast of burden over the uneven ground.
It didn't help that she made fun of him and told him that it would take Terran kids a few minutes to learn how to drive one of these. He asked her why the most advanced civilization in the galaxy was not able to produce something more civilized and perhaps robotic and fully automatic. The Union had so many technical marvels after all.
Her answer was that Terrans did not want things like that automated and loved to drive themselves.
While he was thinking about the crazy and barbaric Terrans, who by all natural means should not even be one of the most powerful members of that cursed Union, he did not even notice the passage or the effects of a trans-dimensional trip, shortcutting 90 000 light years to a four hour motorcycle ride through a bat-infested cave. He had seen the swarms of bats stuck to the ceiling and their nervous movements, but they had passed underneath before any of them decided to attack.
They emerged through a similar gate into the open and Larthop could somehow feel that they were no longer on Wichita planet and had indeed traveled to another world.
Here on the other side of the cave tunnel also was a collection of prefab buildings, but none of the security measures of the entrance.
She stopped her bike and said, "Here we switch to a flyer. There is an ocean between us and the continent where the Cave of Things is."
He wanted to say something when he saw a huge gray monstrosity coming up a narrow path.
He could feel the monster's mind and knew it was not an animal but an intelligent being. "What is that?"
Cherubim answered, "This is a Huffh, the owners of this world. They are also real Terrans so shield your mind when you think negative things about Earthers. They are gentle for the most part but like all true Earthers, they do have a violent temper. This one is coming to the station, most likely for medical attention. I don't see any other Huffh, which would mean a funeral procession."
He followed her to an open flyer while he kept looking over his shoulder at the approaching giant. "The more you talk the less you make sense! How can these be Earthers?"
She activated the flyer and he climbed in. Two humans and a Petharian in uniforms of the medical branch of the Science Corps stepped out of one of the prefab buildings and greeted the Huffh. One of the humans waved to them as the mysterious woman steered the flyer into the sky.
He leaned back into the seat and asked her, "Isn't it treason what you are doing? What would happen if that robot did make a report?"
"Treason against whom I would ask?"
"The Union of course, the government you are protecting and if the legends are true you have been doing it for millennia."
"I think it won't hurt to let you know a few things. I was chosen by the Guardian, long before Stahl or McElligott or some of the others. I was chosen to be the eyes and the ears of Earth, and by identifying any potential danger, exposing any enemy as early as possible. This is the reason I still exist and this is all I am loyal to. I am loyal to the Union as long as Earth is part of the Union, but I am loyal to Earth and humankind first. Chances are Earth will be Terra and a Union member for all foreseeable future."
She pointed at him. "You are not interested in the Union, you care not about Saresii. You hold no allegiance to the Kermac or anyone else. You seek to resurrect a power so immense, all else does not matter. Union, Kermac, Saresii, Earth and the rest of the galaxy means nothing compared to that power. This is what this quest of yours is all about, is it not?"
There was no sense in denying anything. "Yes, that is what consumes me to the last fiber of my being. The Church of Darkness is nothing more than a vehicle to get me where I need to go. You know it all!"
He spoke with such intensity and conviction; it was a relief finally to talk to someone who already knew. Was that her true motivation; was she after the same thing? No other explanation was possible in his mind. She had admitted to him that she had studied the same things and it seemed she was indeed an Immortal and had been on this quest much longer than him. Maybe she knew how he could get out of the control of the Brotherhood. He needed to learn all she knew.
Cherubim stared at him from beneath a simple face that was most certainly another disguise. "My Immortal colleagues put their hope and trust in a simple boy from a cold planet. I don't."
She fell silent as she pointed the nose of the fast flyer downwards towards a single mountain, most likely an old volcano sticking out of the surrounding forest-covered landscape.
She landed on a narrow rock ledge from where a short but steep path led to another cave entrance. Larthop held his breath, he knew without a doubt this was the Cave of Things. He carried the wafer-thin Disc he had found underneath the mountains of Koken with him in a hard shell case like a large purse strapped to his body. Following an impulse, he took out the Disc and it no longer showed a star map as it had before, it showed an image of this very mountain and illuminated the path to the cave entrance, the very path that was now before him.
This time he was leading the way, Cherubim the Terran enigma was right behind him. He had only eyes for what was ahead, that the woman had pulled her blaster and was aiming it at his back, he did not notice. She said to him while they climbed the path, "We have little time. A fleet of military ships and freighters of the Science Department are almost here. They went the long way because no one knows how secure and stable the trans-dimensional tunnel is and they are bringing big equipment too. Lots of scientists, Xeno tech experts and a load of Security."
Larthop only listened with one ear as he reached the cave entrance and without pausing went straight in, holding the dinner plate-sized Disc with both hands before him, almost as if he was carrying a religious symbol.
The cave they had entered was clearly made by someone or something; the walls of this perfectly hemispherical hall were lined with a smooth gray material. Red-colored light illuminated the place but neither of them could really say where the light source would have been.
The cave was empty except for a pedestal made of the same gray material in the center of this cavern that measured perhaps 100m across. A narrow ring of white light lit up as they went closer to the pedestal, centering on that dais at about 80m.
They both stopped without saying a word, wondering if the ring of light had any significance or effect. It was completely quiet; there was no sound other than their own breathing. Right above the pedestal formed a purple light ball that pulsated. From it formed a strange-looking thing. Larthop tried to describe it by comparing the apparition with two snakes, with heads that reminded him of a sewing pin of old, with a hole in the blunt end. Each of these loop-like heads had a glowing blue light in the middle and the bodies of both snakes were intertwined and reminded him somehow of a representation of a DNA helix. The thing, so he guessed, was at least two meters tall. A sexless voice spoke to them both acoustically and mentally. "This is the Dualix, we are from the beginning and wait for the coming and the choice."
Both Larthop and Cherubim knew that this was an entity, not a projection or a machine. It was alive, they both were certain, but on a level completely alien to them. The Dualix addressed Cherubim first. "You are from the place the One has chosen. You are servant to one known as the Guardian, you are an agent of his will. The vessel is here!"
Then the Dualix spoke to Larthop. "You are from the ones that have been blessed by the Pree. You are the one that ventured to
Narth Prime, the first non-Narth. Yet your mind and your spirit were too weak, too small to contain what you have found there, what you seek is not for mortals, yet you carry the Disc and Dualix will answer."
All around the wall, alcoves appeared and each held an item, some of the things were clearly weapons yet of such alien design that neither of them could even begin to guess their function. Larthop's voice trembled as he said, "Which one is the Token of Power?"
"The One was here and taken what was his. This place contains weapons from cultures and civilizations of many realities and many universes. Each one had been conceived to be the ultimate weapon and to defeat the One. They all failed, as powerful as these weapons are, they failed to prevent the One from destroying, killing and obliterating."
Larthop kept holding the Disc, he did not realize he was crying in frustration as he yelled at the being in front of him, "You tell me I came here for nothing? The Token is gone? To the deepest pits of Under-all with you! I was promised you would tell me how to obtain it."
"We are the Dualix and we must obey the holder of the Disc. Find the key hidden on a cold world and guarded by a white god and with it, you can obtain what is on Narth Prime."
The purple glowing snakes started to fade away.
Larthop screamed, "I am not done with you! Tell me where to find that cold world!"
"You are a fool. You were within reach of it already; all you had to do was be patient and learn what the Narth Supreme wanted to teach you. It would have been yours for the asking! Yet you tried to steal and cheat. Now with the Disc, you had control over the Dualix, and all knowledge we contain, yet you commanded me to the deepest pits of Under-All and this is where the Dualix now must go. Find me there and I will answer more of your questions."
The Dualix vanished but the strange entity managed to leave with quite human-sounding laughter.
In a fit of rage he flung the Disc after the vanishing apparition, but it passed through thin air and fell to the ground on the other side. The alcoves closed before he could reach even one. Larthop was near insanity as he hammered his fists against the smooth gray metal. He was about to give up. A cold planet guarded by a white god – that was certainly not enough of a clue. The universe was full of cold worlds and there were millions of legends about white gods in a million books and scrolls. He dropped to his knees and kept banging his fists against the wall. This was not fair, this was simply not fair. He was supposed to be a villain, a man on his way to become a god! He had felt the power, he knew it existed. How could the universe be so cruel to wait until he had come with that woman Cherubim. She was much older than him and she was after the same, she would be his guide and help him to find the next clue, there were supposedly 12 Tokens out there and each held tremendous power.
He looked up and saw her picking up the Disc.
"What now, Miss Cherubim? Where do we go from here?"
"You have done all I needed you to do, you found the Disc and gave it up of your own free will. You know I could not have taken it from you; the Disc only works for its rightful owner. You have been that rightful owner by finding it first. Now you tossed it and it accepted me. I actually almost pity you, Mr. Larthop. First the Narth, then the Dualix and now you threw away the Disc that is showing me the location of another Token."
Larthop could not believe his ears. He slowly got up and said, "What will happen now, are we going to find the next Token?"
Cherubim raised the arm holding her blaster and fired. Larthop died instantly and she continued to fire until his body was completely consumed and nothing more than atomic dust. "That is what will happen. I said I almost have pity, but then I am not known to be the emotional type."
Cherubim secured the Disc in a pouch and went outside the cave. There she used her PDD and spoke into it. "That keeps the Disc of Koken out of the hands of the Brotherhood and it is in working order – that unlucky Larthop gave it up of his own free will. It turns out that Neo Viking has received the ring from the Coven and gathered whatever was here. We'd better keep an eye on him and if he is really The One we must be prepared to terminate him before he becomes too powerful."
A male voice answered. "Do you really believe all this meta mumbo-jumbo about dark powers and god-like beings? I was there when he was in that cave and all he picked up was a simple ax."
"I have been doing this far longer than even you, old man. This Disc and the Dualix are proof that this is quite real. The Narth would not guard one of these Tokens if it weren’t dangerous. I am not sure what the role of this Neo Viking is in all this, but I think we need to be very careful and keep close watch."
"Thanks for the update; we keep this quiet for now. I don't want the old warrior to get wind of this and I certainly don't want anyone else to know."
"I am going after that not-so-dead-ex-Admiral now. It might be a while before I contact you. His trail has gone cold."
***
When the D40 long-range shuttle of the Devi arrived a few days later we had time to complete our shuttle landing deck. We had not started on the actual spaceport landing field. The plans called for a medium sized planetary base since it would take our robots many months to prepare the foundations and pour thousands of tons of Duro-Crete, but the landing deck on top of the base was more than adequate to accommodate a D40 shuttle.
We had remained in contact with the Devi and transmitted a detailed written report. We had all assembled before the entrance to the landing platform elevator, wearing fresh clean uniforms and had our luggage ready behind us.
From the now-landed D40 emerged Captain Harris and the Admiral himself, behind them a group of Fleet officers with Science Team badges on their sleeves and five Marines stepped on the platform.
I called my friends to attention and the Admiral gave us a short crisp inspection before he allowed me to put them at ease. I said, saluting them, "Admiral, Sir. Quagmire Bog forward research base Cara Paterhum ready for your inspection."
Harris stood behind him and asked, "Cara Paterhum, what does that mean?"
"Sir, Fleet Regulation 4539-575 subsection eight pertaining the establishment of new bases upon previously unoccupied spatial bodies gives the officer in charge the right to name said base, if no name has been chosen by Fleet Command prior to construction. We decided to name this base after the so-named local temple that used to be here, in doing so we wanted to honor the original inhabitants of this world."
Both of them raised their eyebrows simultaneously and in almost the same way, attesting to the fact how long these two men had served together. Harris nodded. "Fine sentiment, Midshipman."
We gave the arrived officers a tour of the facility and showed them the captured snake beings held in stasis. Wetmouth explained to them that the crates in another storeroom held the salvaged alien machinery from the cave we had assaulted and other crates were filled with pieces of temple artefacts, and collected plant and animal specimens.
Near the end of the short tour, while Wetmouth and Cirruit showed off golden artefacts and jeweled statues that were part of the temple treasures she was able to excavate and secure, Stahl stood in the back and said quietly to me, "I understand the military greeting and I appreciate the crisp and professional way you are displaying but all this quoting of military regulations and handbooks seems out of character, Mr. Olafson. What has happened that changed you?"
"Admiral Sir, we are at war with the Nul are we not?"
"No son, we are not at war with anyone at the moment. Why do you say that?"
"We have working GalNet terminals and we figured only a war could have kept you all that far away. None of our enemies has the technology to jam GalNet communications after all, besides it is beyond my understanding of Fleet regulations why Fleet Command saw it fit to send Midshipmen to this planet without clear instructions or adequate equipment. Therefore I came to the decision to stick to the military rules and regulations and quote them where ever I go, since they seem to have very little meaning to some, Sir."
The
re was actually something like pain in the old warrior's face and I already regretted my sharp tone, but I had to put the anger I felt into words.
"Son, I was not aboard the Devi for the last six weeks and Captain Harris did not know you were gone. There is a pile of manure crawling with vermin on the Devi and we will clean house when we are back, you have my word on that."
I wanted to apologize for my choice of words but he stopped me. "I want our future officers to speak their mind. I understand your anger and while I appear calm, I assure you there is a volcano boiling inside me for what has been done right under my nose. There will be an eruption and it won't be pretty!"
I officially turned the base over to Lieutenant Strasenburgh and his team; it was him who had come along with the Captain and the Admiral. We briefed them on the conditions on the planet and then, as we boarded the shuttle, I could almost sense the relief my friends felt.
Returning to the Devi was like coming home. We were checked out in sickbay and after we had time to clean up we were summoned by the Captain himself to the big auditorium on Deck 54. All other Midshipman groups were there and to our pleasant surprise, we saw Lt. Merkus. He was standing next to Lt. Clusen. The chief instructor tried to look indifferent but I sensed how displeased he was to see us. He could not completely hide his nervousness as he nibbled on his lower lip.
Suppor and the Red Team were there, sitting prominently in the lower middle. The Thauran was much less successful at hiding his feelings when he saw us.
The Captain greeted us and asked us to join him at the podium while Admiral Stahl stood in the back by the main entrance with his arms crossed before his chest.
Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 7 Page 43
