by Karl Morgan
“Think about me with love tonight before you go to sleep,” Dave said. “Perhaps someone will wake you during the night. Nightsky out.”
Chapter 3
Dave Brewster was laying quietly in his bed, concentrating on his friend, Fa-a-Di. His spiritual light had flown from his body many times, but tonight nothing was happening. He knew his friend was in trouble, but could not figure out what to do to help. He sat up and dangled his feet over the side of the bed. He scratched his head and sighed. “Perhaps I’ve lost the ability now,” he said. He felt electricity coursing through his body and his hair stood on end. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something glimmer. He turned to see two amorphous blobs of light coalescing in his bedroom. After a few seconds, the blobs resolved into Elder Odo Pak and High Priest Obu Neela.
“Hello, Dave,” Odo said. “We have felt your struggles and thought we would come here to help you.”
“It is wonderful to see you both again,” Dave smiled. “I think about you often. How are things going in your galaxy?”
“As well as can be expected,” Obu replied. “The High Council has resigned following the revelations about the Zula and Boley. Antar and Wendo are doing their best to work with the regional governors, but tensions are rising quickly throughout the Society. As we envisioned, the future looks bleak.”
“But we are not here to discuss problems in the home galaxy, Dave,” Odo said. “You already know that is not your problem to solve. The elders of Nan have been trying to determine why you have the exceptional abilities you displayed in our galaxy.”
“I am beginning to think those powers have left me,” Dave sighed. “I have been trying for hours to reach out to my friend, General Fa-a-Di, but my light string doesn’t seem to be cooperating.”
“Dave, why would we be here now if we didn’t sense your concerns?” Odo asked. “When you were in the stone temple, did you try to leave your body to follow me?”
“No, my light just surged out of my body,” he replied.
“And when you left your body while orbiting Earth Prime, what did you do?” Obu asked.
“Nothing. I think I just fell asleep and it happened,” Dave replied. “I think you’re trying to tell me that I’m trying too hard.”
“Something like that, Dave,” Odo laughed. “The problem is not that your spiritual light is stuck inside you at all. You believe that string is an elemental part of your physical being. You may believe your body, mind and the Source are partners in your life. But that belief is false.”
“Okay, I’m confused again,” Dave began. “I’m sitting here, plain as day. My brain tells me my string of light is hidden inside me and can’t get out. That’s not true?”
Obu smiled and sat next to Dave on the bed. He put his hand on Dave’s shoulder. “No, it is not. However, we are not here to expose ultimate reality or anything of the sort. Each of us must come to our own understanding of the nature of existence. As High Priest of Lagamar Ulu, it is my job to listen to my people talk about their struggles and give them tidbits of what I know so they may progress themselves. Tonight we are here to tell you to be patient and relax. Everything is happening as it was meant to happen. You cannot beg or force your mental string of light to reach out to your friend. You must relax and be patient. If you mind decides to fly off to his home now, it will do so. Otherwise, it will not. You must have faith that you can help Fa-a-Di through his challenge. That is the key, Dave Brewster.”
“Dave, we have felt the pain in Fa-a-Di’s heart,” Odo continued. “Although he will deny it, the lesson of the Boley was too much for him. It reminded him that his people have been savagely brutal through most of their existence. Even though those days ended hundreds of generations ago, he cannot forgive himself or his people for their past.”
“But Fa-a-Di had nothing to do with the ancient past, any more than I bear responsibility for the brutality of ancient humans,” Dave said.
“Of course you are right, Dave,” Odo replied. “But that doesn’t change his feelings. Also, you do not know much about the expansion of the Galliceans into space. As leader of his people, he bears responsibility for everything. As a warrior, he has seen many battles and lost many friends. You and Fa-a-Di will have to opportunity to spend a lot of time together soon, and you can use that time to reach out to him and help him overcome the feelings he has now.”
“Fa-a-Di already canceled our flight over the planet tomorrow,” Dave said. “I am supposed to see him only at the ceremony tomorrow night, and then I will take my new fleet out of orbit immediately.”
“Sometimes you need to change the rules,” Odo replied. “After the Grand Conclave on Earth Prime and the ceremony tomorrow, you will be a very important man in the Free Society here. You don’t need to follow every order if higher priorities arise.”
“Get some rest now,” Obu said. “Don’t even think about visiting the general tonight. You cannot force that. On the other hand, he might. If he sincerely wishes you to visit him, your mental string will fly out of your chest whether you want it to or not.”
“Okay, I’ll try to relax and be patient,” Dave said as he lay back down on his bed. “Thank you both for helping me. I hope you both fare well with the events in the home galaxy.” He closed his eyes.
“About that, Dave,” Odo said. “I’ve decided to relocate to Nanda. The elders realized at least one of us should help with the integration of the Nanda into Nan culture. Since I’m the most senior, we agreed I could do the most good without requiring more than one elder to move. My family and I are jumping there in the morning. I hope we can see more of each other soon.” Dave did not reply as he had already fallen asleep.
“Honestly, Odo, I didn’t think your speech was boring,” Obu laughed. The two forms faded into blackness.
Chapter 4
“Captain, I have Admiral De-o-Nu calling for you,” Lia Lawson said.
“Put him on screen, Lia,” Jon Lake replied. The smiling face of Fa-a-Di’s brother-in-law appeared on the right half of the view screen. “Good day, Admiral, it is good to see you again. I have heard your fleet is joining with ours. Welcome.”
“Thank you, Jon,” De-o-Nu replied. “I never would have thought this would happen. A new adventure awaits us all.” Dave Brewster walked onto the bridge and sat next to Jon Lake. “Is that my dear brother, Dave? It’s so good to see you again.”
“De-o-Nu, it is our pleasure to visit your home planet,” Dave said. “I was looking forward to flying with the general today, but unfortunately he was unable to fit it in his schedule.”
“Yes, I know,” De-o-Nu frowned. “The planning for the ceremony has been very time consuming. Also, my brother-in-law must begin the Sojourn tomorrow. That is the other news I am calling about. After much cajoling, I have convinced Fa-a-Di to allow me to join him on the Sojourn. I know this trip is tearing him apart, and I cannot allow him to wallow in self-pity any longer. I have ordered several dozen cases of the best whisky to accompany us.”
“I suppose that will delay our first mission then,” Dave replied. “Or would you prefer to catch up to us later?”
“Dave, do you think we could continue this conversation in private?” De-o-Nu asked.
“Of course, brother,” he replied. “Lia, please send the call to my ready room.” Dave rose, left the bridge and walked into his ready room, where he sat at his desk. De-o-Nu was already on his view screen. “Okay, brother, I’m alone now.”
“Good. Dave, I am quite worried about Fa-a-Di,” he began. “The events in the Andromeda Galaxy have burned into him. The memories of those days are now intertwined with the solemnity of the Sojourn and my brother-in-law seems to be spiraling downward.”
“What is the Sojourn, brother?” Dave asked. “You keep mentioning that and if it is affecting our brother so deeply, I’d like to understand it.”
“Of course, Dave, I understand,” De-o-Nu replied. “As you know, the Galliceans were not always peaceful. In our antiquity, many factions rose
and fought bloody wars for dominance. Our hatred for each other only abated when we discovered how to travel to new planets. Suddenly, we were finding other Beings who also believed they were the only intelligent life in the universe. We began to see ourselves as one people, not a collection of different races.”
“That makes perfect sense, and we humans have a similar past,” Dave said. “We were fortunate the Kalideans stopped our self-destruction.”
“We were not so lucky, Dave,” De-o-Nu replied. He walked over to his credenza and withdrew a bottle of whisky and a glass. He sat and poured a full glass and took a large drink. “The first Galliceans to venture away from Gallia were shocked by the terrestrial life we found. We had no idea life could thrive on other types of planets. The creatures we found had advanced societies and large vibrant cultures. None of them dealt with the difficulties of life on gas giant planets. And they were horrified by our appearance. Our fear of each other led to war. Unfortunately for the others, our forces were far superior. There are not enough teras of data to list the names of those we killed. The ultimate irony was we could never inhabit their planets anyway. Many of their systems had gas giants and none of those cultures had any intention of occupying them. We fought and killed for glory and pride alone.”
“De-o-Nu, that was long ago and those days are over,” Dave replied. “Your civilization is great and peaceful today. It’s time to let the dead rest in peace.”
“If only it were that simple, brother,” De-o-Nu said with a slight smile. “The souls of our people have not changed that much, I’m afraid. Our first response to trouble is to draw our daggers and fight. When the Predaxians controlled our High Command and several Commissioners, the rest of our planet seemed happy to go back to strict discipline and conquest. It is only the Sojourn that keeps us from slipping back into our ancient ways. It was the events on the Tears of Gallia that made us look at ourselves and see our warrior ways could never bring happiness or peace. The memory of those events forces us to reevaluate our lives and ambitions and to calm down.”
“I still don’t understand, brother,” Dave said. “Can you tell me more about the Sojourn and the Tears of Gallia? Please believe me, I really want to understand and help.”
“Of course I will, but you must know these things are very personal and sacred to our people. Please do not tell anyone, even my sister Darlene about this,” De-o-Nu warned. “There is nothing illegal or immoral about talking about them, but they do bare our souls in an uncomfortable way.”
“I promise I won’t tell a soul,” Dave replied.
“Well, I recommend that you get a glass of whisky for yourself, as this will be a long story,” De-o-Nu laughed. “First, did you ever wonder why my people are called Galliceans when the planet name is Gallia?”
Dave sat down again after retrieving a glass of Scotch whisky. “Frankly, I never thought about it.”
“Throughout all of our history until we left Gallia, we called ourselves galli,” the Gallicean replied. “We found several systems nearby with no sentient life and settled them first. But the old animosities between the races continued. In the beginning, the High Council suggested each race be given its own planet, similar to the Society of Humanity. But with hundreds of races and a few planets, it could never be done. Then we began to encounter other civilizations. Many resisted our incursions which infuriated our people. We vastly increased our fleet of warships and attacked. Over the following generations, we conquered dozens of other civilizations and grew our society to two hundred planets. The last of those planets we settled was given the name Gallicea.” De-o-Nu rose and filled his glass with ice and returned to his seat.
“So, your people named their race after that planet,” Dave said. “Why is that?”
“We’ll get to that, Dave,” he replied. “There was one inhabited terrestrial planet in that system. The name and appearance of the Beings there has been lost in time. All we know now is they were gentle and peaceful Beings who welcomed us to their system. They were eager to forge peace and trade treaties with us. However, our High Commissioner at the time, Za-a-Za was still consumed with blood lust. He ordered the fleet to attack the terrestrial Beings and slaughter them.” Dave could see a tear slip down De-o-Nu’s cheek. “Our people were happy to do exactly that.”
“That is appalling, but also long ago,” Dave replied. “We can’t raise the spirits of the dead now. None of you were there or had anything to do with that.”
“Yes, but the story did not end there, brother,” De-o-Nu continued. “Our colony on Gallicea stood up for the poor Beings on the planet and demanded our forces end their attack. That made Za-a-Za mad with rage. He did withdraw our forces but sent them directly to Gallicea to put down the colonists. Za-a-Za led the attack himself. You can imagine the sight of hundreds of thousands of warriors fighting in the gas above the large Ka-la-a. The colonists were outnumbered fifty to one. But somehow, the colonists won.”
“That’s amazing,” Dave said. “How could so few defeat the massive army?”
“No one knows, Dave,” the Gallicean replied. “Those answers were lost long ago. The remains of the dead have been recycled through the Dar-Fa a million times over. History tells us a young priest named Fa-u-Bay fought with the colonists and personally killed Za-a-Za in combat. His forces declared him High Priest of Gallia. After the defeat of the army on Gallicea, no one dared to deny him anything and he became our High Commissioner for the next two hundred years.”
“Wow! Fa-u-Bay must have been an incredible soldier,” Dave said. “What happened to Gallia during his terms in office?”
“That one event changed us forever,” De-o-Nu said. “We never attacked another planet and began to forge peace treaties with new societies. Our educational system was overhauled and began to focus on science and the arts instead of military studies. But none of those were his greatest legacy. Fa-u-Bay ordered all of our people to leave the Gallicea system forever. Gallicea and the terrestrial world were to be maintained as the most sacred sites in Greater Gallia and were off limits to settlements. He named those two planets the Tears of Gallia since they symbolize our regret and sorrow for the evils of our past. As the final atonement for our past, we were all to be known as Galliceans from then forward, so we are constantly reminded of the senselessness of war. He also commanded that every one of us visit the planets at least once every ten years to atone for the violence in our past and the blood on our hands. That trip we must take is called the Sojourn.”
“Incredible, brother,” Dave said at last. “Can I ask you just two more questions though?”
De-o-Nu shrieked with laughter. “Dave, I know you too well. Yes, Fa-u-Bay is my brother-in-law’s ancestor; and yes, you can come with us.”
Chapter 5
Dave Brewster was busy putting on his dress uniform for the ceremony to be held in the Grand Courtyard in No-Ja in one hour. Special transparent pressure suits had been made for Dave and Charlie so they could be better seen by the audience. Their face shields were based on the technology of the Society so they could enjoy the drinks and dinner after the ceremony. The breather packs containing their air supplies also utilized Society technology, doubling their capacity while reducing the weight by more than half. They would have enough air for several days, even though they were planning to return to Nightsky in four or five hours.
A tone sounded and he crossed the room to answer the door. It opened to reveal Charlie in his Commodore’s uniform inside his clear suit. “How do I look, Dave?” he asked.
“Uncomfortable, I’d say,” Dave laughed. “Please come in. I’ve asked Jake and Mitch to jump us down to the Grand Courtyard in a few minutes. Perhaps we have time for a quick drink. To tell the truth, I’m pretty nervous about this.” Dave returned to his bathroom to finish donning his pressure suit while Charlie put ice and whisky into two glasses.
Charlie sat carefully on a couch and said, “There’s nothing to worry about, old friend. I think the odds of being laid-off here are c
lose to zero.”
Dave was laughing as he entered the room and sat across from Charlie. “Thanks for the drink, buddy. I’m not worried about being fired or anything. It’s just standing in front of those people and receiving a promotion. I don’t know what I’ll do or say.”
Now Charlie was laughing. “Let me get this straight. You’re nervous about being recognized by your friends, but you had no problem staring down the entire High Council of the Society and putting all of our lives in extreme danger. You never have a problem talking, Dave. And I should know. I’m as full of it as you are.” Both men were laughing when Jake Benomafolays and Mitch Nolobitamore popped out of thin air.
“Mitch, these guys started without us,” Jake said. “They’ve got whisky and are laughing it up. What’s going on you two?”
“Yikes! You two almost scared me to death,” Dave replied. “I’m going to put a bell on you two so I can hear you coming.”
“Jake and Mitch, please help yourselves to the Scotch,” Charlie said. “Dave was telling me how afraid he is of talking in front of the crowd tonight. Can you believe that?”
“That is pretty funny, Dave,” Mitch said. “I’ve never seen you at a loss for words.”
“I think I’m just used to having Darlene around to make me feel safe and secure,” he replied. “She’s my anchor. When she is around, I know I have to do my best or I won’t hear the end of it.”
“She’ll be jumping back in a couple of days, buddy,” Charlie said. “But I hear you won’t be here. There’s some trip you’re taking with Fa-a-Di. What’s that about?”
“I can’t really talk about it now, guys,” Dave replied. “Jake, I was hoping you could join us. Most of the trip will be either on a gas giant planet or the Kong-Fa. De-o-Nu is making all the arrangements, but being able to jump out quickly if necessary would be good.”
