by Frank Carey
"Energy signatures?" Tayla asked.
"First pass, only life signs. Second pass, we picked up hundreds of low-level readings from the city."
"Analysis?" Jacob asked.
"A lot of equipment on standby. One, though, stood out like a flare in a dark warehouse." She tapped another key. the view shifted to the lower left quadrant of the city. They could see a straight line gouge running from the southwest edge directly west. At the end of the gouge was a flashing red dot.
"Part of the FTL?" Tayla asked.
"I doubt it," Mac replied. "The signature is that of an Elven Industries universal suit power supply. We had no suits or power supplies stored in that section of the ship. I ran a quick inventory and there is only one suit missing; the one Dr. Gray was in."
"Wait a minute," Bryntana said. "That suit was over two hundred years old."
"I think I found the answer," a tan-furred Storen said as she walked in. "Keela Trill, forger," she said as she walked over to where the others were standing.
"We're all ears, Ms. Trill," Alex said.
"I just checked storage and Dr. Gray’s temporal stasis unit was opened and resealed about a month ago. According to the container's log, a faulty Alue power supply was removed, neutralized, then replaced by an EI universal. The container was resealed and sent to Ventos Prime." By the way, the container itself is nothing like anything I have ever seen nor does the design appear anywhere in the engineering data downloaded into my brain during the trip here."
"Keela, you were trained as an engineer?" Mac asked.
"Yes, sir. What would be more fitting for a forger?"
"I've been looking for you, darlin’."
"Well, you found me," she said with a twinkle in her eye.
"Are you saying that a two hundred-plus-year-old suit survived a catastrophic ejection, an uncontrolled reentry, followed by ground impact?" Tayla asked.
"Its power supply did," Mac explained. "As for the suit? No clue. The sat cameras don't have enough resolution for us to tell."
"We have to go there and check," Tayla said. “He might be hurt.”
"It might be a pile of rubble," Bryntana said. "We don't have time for this. We have to..." She stopped when she saw the look in the Sokuhl first officer's eyes. For the first time since leaving her first and only husband, Bryntana feared for her life.
"Sister, stand down," Jacob said while trying to pat down Tayla's threat display of raised hair. "Governor, may I suggest we divert one of the mapping drones to overfly that part of the city?"
"Excellent idea. Ms. Zarn, make it so."
"Aye, sir. Diverting drone 113. It'll be a few hours before it arrives on-station."
"Excellent. Tayla, are you all right?" the elf administrator asked.
"Yes. I apologize for my outburst. It was ill advised."
"No apology needed, Commander. We're still new at this. What do you think is going on?"
"I think the city was cloaked with a sophisticated hologram," Tayla said. "Something or someone turned it off so we could see the city it was hiding."
"I wonder if there are other cloaked structures out there." Bryntana asked while keeping a wary eye on Tayla.
"We'll have to do a detailed analysis of the before and after scans to see if we can find some kind of signature for the cloak," Tayla explained. "We can then scan for that signature."
"Who can do the analysis?"
"Tayla can," Jacob said. "My brilliant sister is well-schooled in numerous disciplines including data analysis."
"Anyone else?"
Bryntana slowly raised her hand. "Damn computer has a sense of humor."
"Why yes I do," Jenna said. "Sorry, I wasn't here sooner, but even I have limits. I was meeting with the other AIs."
"Jenna, how are the other colonies doing?" Alex asked.
"Good. All of them are up and running. They all have scouting parties out exploring the area around their towns. With your permission, I would like to forward our latest findings."
"Please do. Ok, we have this under control. Tayla and Bryntana will analyze data. The rest of us need to get back to work. Our first order of business is to find locations to plant crops. So much to do," Alex said as he walked out of the room.
"Now, that's an administrator," Shelly said as the hatch closed behind the governor.
CHAPTER SIX
Back on Ventos Prime...
Gloria paced the room while waiting to see her cousin, Prince Lucien Irithyl. She walked back and forth, her tail swishing about as if possessed by an agitated cobra.
"Honey, you're wearing a trench in the floor," her husband, John Taggart said from his seat at the side of the room.
"What? Oh, right. Sorry," she said before walking over to sit next to him. "Do you think Lucien's angry?"
"Have you ever seen your cousin angry?"
"No."
"Then you're fine. He probably wants to find out what happened and how to prevent it happening in the future. Anyway, you're family. I hear elves can't kill family."
"Right. I thought you met my aunt, Queen Mother Lenora."
"I have. She is a wonderful elf with a unique outlook on life."
"And a damn sharp sword..."
"Dr. Aymar-Taggart?" an aide said from an open door. "The Prince is ready to see you."
"I'm going to die, aren't I," Gloria said as her eyes went wide.
Shaking his head, John took her gently by the arm and led her through the door with the aide walking ahead of them. When they reached Lucien's office, the aid stopped, knocked, then stepped aside while opening the door. Inside, a tall, elf wearing a business suit, sat at a large desk, taking notes on a pad. He looked up and smiled, then frowned when he saw the look on Gloria's face. "Hey, cuz, what's wrong?" he asked as he got up and walked around the desk.
"She's terrified by the thought that you're mad at her," John replied.
"You silly goose," Lucien said as he took her in his arms and hugged her. "When have you known me to get angry? You're fine, so stop the trembling. I just need some information."
She stopped shaking. "You're really not mad?"
"God no. Now, you and John have a seat while I get you some nice hot tea, you silly woman."
A few minutes later they were sitting with tea in hand while Lucien asked some questions. "OK, I take it you both saw the reports from Alyson?"
They nodded.
"Good. Ciara had her people investigate and it looks like someone pasted the wrong sticker on the Boris unit's stasis crate making it look like it was a modern container. With all the suit models Elven Industries makes, your people couldn't have known they were playing with a two century old model."
"I’ve got an idea how we can fix that," John said.
"Good, though I doubt this problem will crop up again. Dr. Gray was a unique individual for back then and even now."
"So it was him?" Gloria asked.
"Commander Tayla Hardy talked to the suit before it ejected the core. It was the BORIS prototype, and it identified itself as Dr. Joshua Gray. I've arranged for a team to search the tombs for the apparatus that was used to transfer his consciousness into the BORIS unit."
"How the hell could twenty-first century Earth pull that off? They had neither the computers nor the technology to fabricate a soul transfer unit." John noted. He should know, he built one from scratch back in the day.
"I think they had help. Back then, Earth had five alien races running around--the Grays, the Alue, the Anunnaki, the Reptillians, and the Nordicans--causing no end of trouble. Only the Alue remain, and they came from another, nearby universe. The other four disappeared before Earth joined the League. I think one or more of them--excluding the Alue, who would have told us--were supplying earth with tech, probably so they could steal it back before leaving."
"Didn't the Nordicans do just that?" John asked.
"Yes, about the time Joshua 'died.' The reports are a little hazy."
"Lucien, you said you had questions?"
<
br /> "Yes, I do. Were you able to review the old records pertaining to the BORIS unit?"
"Yes. It was a tank. Bipedal with two arms and four manipulator tentacles stored in the torso. It would be a match for a modern EMEF suit."
"In your expert opinion, could it survive an orbital reentry?"
"What did you say?"
"Could it survive an orbital re-entry?" he asked again while handing her satellite imagery of the cloaked city. "That red dot is an Elvin Industries power supply. That trench is too large to have been made by just the power unit."
She pulled a strand of hair over one of her pointed ears while staring at the picture. "My gods... Yes, it's possible that enough of the unit remained intact to protect his consciousness, if that's what you're thinking, especially if the power supply is still active."
"I will pass your opinion on to our contacts on Alyson. Do you two have any questions?"
"How's the project going?"
"Too soon to tell. We still have no idea who sabotaged the FTL."
"What are the odds of what happened actually occurring?" John asked. "As I understand the situation, the ship would have exploded if the right suit had been loaded."
"Yes. Even an EMEF power suit couldn't have ripped the door off or pulled the damaged emergency manual release. Only the BORIS or a crane could have done it. Long shot doesn't even begin to describe the odds that ship has beaten." He looked at the antique chrono on the wall. "Oops, I need to go. Royce was hoping you could meet him downstairs in the bar before you head back to the Cube," he said, referring to Gloria's brother, EMEF General Royce Aymar, Lucien's brother-in-law and friend.
"Great!" Gloria said. She handed back the photos. "Keep me posted."
"You are in the loop, Cuz," Lucien said as he hugged her and shook John's hand before showing them to the door. "Have a good day."
Once they were gone, he sat down and stared at the picture. "Too close," he said before grabbing his attaché on his way out to his next appointment.
###
The tension in the ship's terminal room was palpable as Tayla and Bryntana worked on a way of detecting a cloaked structure. Finally, after having had enough of the strained silence, Jenna took matters into her own non-corporeal hands. "So, Tayla, why are you so intent on finding the BORIS unit. Bryntana's right, it may just be scrap."
Tayla sat back and stared at the ceiling. "It's a Sokuhl thing," she finally said.
Bryntana looked at her. "I must have missed something during our sleep education. Your file doesn't mention any Sokuhl 'Things.'"
Tayla sighed. "My people believe we are on a journey to enlightenment. This journey includes self-sacrifice. Dying to save a thousand strangers is less a step and more a leap. I am honor-bound to see to it that Dr. Gray's soul isn't trapped in that suit. He must be allowed to travel to the next level unimpeded."
Bryntana looked at the young Sokuhl in disbelief. "You're kidding, right?"
"No, I am not kidding. He died twice saving people. He may actually travel to the ultimate destination, a place where he can have tea with the Creator and have all his questions answered. It is the ultimate honor and I have to make sure his path is free of obstacles."
"Rubbish. There is no afterlife."
"I'm not talking about an afterlife. I'm talking about becoming something more than what you are now. You evolve into a higher form of life. This evolution is the foundation of the Sokuhl. Remember, we've been around a lot longer than most of the other races, so we've had more time to consider the possibilities."
"You really believe this?"
"With my very soul. Think about it. Dr. Gray died over two centuries ago so he could save our asses before dying again. What are the odds against that happening?"
"A littlelover two billion to one," Jenna said. "Give or take."
Bryntana frowned. "Are you sure?"
"Yep."
The quiet returned. Finally, Tayla asked a question.
"Bryntana, what... I mean, how..."
"How did I become an assassin?"
Tayla nodded, not sure she wanted to know the answer.
"My father sold me to my first husband. They're both dead now. The experience showed I had the skills necessary to be a good assassin. Alex saw this and hired me. He's one of the few people in my life that I don't think I could kill. That's why our relationship works as well as it does."
Tayla growled something in Sokuhl as she got up and walked over to where Bryntana was sitting. Before Bryntana could say anything, Tayla wrapped her arms around the elf and hugged her while still speaking in the ancient tongue.
"Excuse me?" Bryntana said.
Tayla let her go, then walked over to her pack and pulled out a flask and two glasses. She filled each glass with brown fluid from the flask before handing one to Bryntana. "Drink!"
Unsure what to do, Bryntana drank. "What the hell was that, battery acid?" she said between bouts of coughing and sputtering.
"Kinosh wine. You are now a member of Family Hardy. You are my sister as Jacob is my brother."
"Wait just a damn minute..."
"No thanks are needed. You do us honor by accepting our gift."
"I didn't..."
"Bryn, accept the gift," Jenna said. "I will explain later."
"But..."
"Accept the gift. It's always better if you have a family, especially a family of Sokuhl."
Bryntana looked at Tayla and saw a pissed warrior woman with her back-length hair standing on end in the ultimate threat display. "Great. Thank you. I'm honored... Sister."
###
Three hours later, Jacob's nap was interrupted by an angry elf assassin running into his room and jumping on top of him. She sat on his chest looking down at him with anger-filled eyes. "What the hell did your sister just do?" Bryntana yelled.
"Put honey in your tea by mistake?" he choked out.
"If I may," Jenna said from a ceiling speaker.
"Please," Jacob said while trying to figure out how to survive the current encounter.
"Bryntana and Tayla were trying to make conversation when Bryntana told Tayla about her background. Tayla, probably feeling bad about what happened in the control room, performed the ritual of Cathabrill. You two are now siblings."
"Hey, Sis. How about you let me up so I can breathe?"
She sat back on his legs and glared at him. "Explain."
"The Sokuhl weren't always the nice, stoic, calm reptilians they are now. Long before your people or mine figured out clothing, they were waging war on their home world. Strong family units formed to protect the children from other Sokuhl alpha males and females, hell, even their own alphas. A female anything is a protected gender to the Sokuhl. Your story touched the inner warrior of my sister, so she did what any breathing Sokuhl woman would do. She brought you into the family. I suggest you accept it and try not to piss-off anyone outside the family."
"Why?"
"Ever see a murder of wombats stampede?"
"They stampede?"
"Yes, when they try to jump a Sokuhl family group and threaten the children. The older, sapient wombats know better. The youngsters need to be taught."
"I thought the Sokuhl were pacifists."
He shook his head. "They make it a point to talk themselves out of doing anything violent, unless it involves females or children. Welcome to the family, Sis."
"Don't call me that, dammit. Wait a minute, did you have to drink that foul brew when they adopted you?"
He nodded. "I still gag when I smell it. That stuff is nasty. Supposedly it helps them meditate." He stopped when he saw her tail staring at him from over her shoulder. She saw his look.
"What?" she asked.
He pointed to the curious appendage.
She turned and saw it hovering there. "No, no, no!" she yelled as she grabbed it while jumping off him and running out the door.
"I'll have to talk to Shelly about this tomorrow," he said before going back to sleep.
CHAPTER
SEVEN
Kylie Gray sat on the sofa and watched as the vintners worked the vines at the back of the villa. She sipped her wine while trying to forget her biggest failure--the death of her son. Two hundred years ago, while she was off on--in her words--a stupid vacation, her son, Joshua Gray, died while saving Area 51 and the State of Nevada--hell, the whole damn planet Earth--from annihilation while she, Kylie Gray--a.k.a. the goddess Mnemosyne--was off on vacation with a few of her other children. "I should have told him the truth," she said into her drink. "I should have been there to save him. Hell, a snap of my fingers and I could have sent that damn suit into the ether."
"Mom, you couldn't have saved him," her daughter, Thalia, said as she put on her sweater. "You know Dad would have had a fit if you pulled a stunt like that."
"He would have understood," Kylie said as she hugged her pillow.
"You have met my father, haven't you?" Ever since the volcano incident, he's been a stickler about him, you and the other Olympians and Titanides not interfering in the affairs of any of the mortal races."
"You and your sisters can meddle. Why can't I?"
"You know why. We only inspire. We don't throw malfunctioning bioengineered robots into high orbit. Now, can I leave you alone for a while? I have a lunch date with Urania."
"I'll be fine. Go and have lunch with your sister. Speaking of sisters, have you heard from Clio lately?"
"I have. She's hanging with a dragon named Kellan."
"A dragon? Clio? Wow. OK. Didn't see that coming. Well, tell Urania I said hey."
"I will," the young goddess replied before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Kylie went back to staring out the window. Without warning, alarms went off.
The room was replaced by a control room. "Computer, report!" Kylie yelled.
"The Ventosian Century Ship Valera has dropped into orbit from other-space. They are experiencing an in-flight emergency."
"Kill the alarms. Specify emergency."
