“I have already appraised the captain and your aunts of the situation. He agrees with Oliver that you rest the remainder of the day. Through me he asks if Oliver can punch a hole through the mountain opposite the vortex? With a location it’ll make things easier and fix the air toxicity. Perhaps collapse the other hole.”
“Tell him I’ll do it Rose… after a long nap.” Oliver told her tiredly as she had used Sparky to narrow their location to use her telepathy. “I’ll calculate a way for a ship to be large enough to fly straight in after.” he hardly felt Renee use her bracelet to sew some surgical thread she kept in a pocket for emergencies and injected a broad spectrum antibiotic and painkillers just in case.
“Rest now. Let your sore mind recover.” And she left.
“Well I’m amped up on adrenaline. I’ll burn it off scouting the city.”
“Better not.” Renee shook her head while making a tiny spark to cut the thread stitched over the fourth gaping wound.
“We don’t know if anything is booby trapped. I can’t see there only being Ligers left to safeguard a city this big. They are protecting something. Why else do you think they were told to guard? If something is here, other measures will act as higher security. Later we’ll get Oliver to ask these Ligers and see if I’m right.”
“Hmmm.” Steven looked down the street as the pyramids were daunting. “Point taken, but there’ll be little chance for Visor to get hurt.”
“Guess not.” She admitted inside the crowded area of bodies.
“You heard the lady. Have fun and fill me in on what you see.” Visor nodded and flew of, watched by hungry eyes.
Oliver felt their desire for sustenance and looked Nova in the eyes to say “Go ahead and take whoever is hungry out to eat. Have your fill.” Joy radiated from the big cat as he licked Oliver’s whole hand in one rough swipe before getting up, making a grunt and leaping over the wall ten meters high to not run through the others. Mid-leap the collar released armor and it covered from snout to tail in blacks and silvers before even touching the top of the wall. Six other hungry ones followed Nova and in seconds they had vanished from sight being so fast and agile.
After the rest had met the others, the remaining five Ligers moved as close as they could to Renee and Oliver to lounge around as close to their new master as possible. One remaining male expressed he was very soft and warm, hinting Oliver would be welcome to lay with him and the offer was gratefully accepted. Being so close meant no walking. A little scoot across the floor and he was there. He slid on the armor again doing so. The exhausting pain of the ritual put him to sleep on a soft, furry arm in seconds of resting his head.
Sleep had never come so quick before.
Grimacing with a delicate frown, Renee gently brushed Oliver’s hair back and caressed his face, feeling the roughness of four day’s beard growth. Not since she first laid eyes on him had he looked so pale and frail. She blinked, noticing her fingers shaking as the adrenaline was wearing off and the turmoil was being relieved. Her jaw was still sore from clenching so her other rubbed the muscles. All the hours had taken their toll on her as she was finding out and without worry she grew tired as well. Getting closer she cuddled up to his unresponsive armored form, kissed his cheek and laid her head down on the cat’s long arm too. Falling asleep fast.
Sparky didn’t sleep at all as he laid among the fearsome felines and close to Renee in event it was a ploy. Meanwhile he spoke with Rose and the council on what next to do. Even hours later when seven full Ligers returned casually at their own languid pace did peace last.
Trauma took longer to awaken Oliver and before his eyes even opened he was warmly welcomed by Nova and the others. His mind had cooled down, but intense pain still burned in his upper body from wounds that would take a good week to fully heal on its own or a few days under Renee’s treatment she was sure to have done already. She didn’t like suffering.
Golden eyes opened to a sea of plush white fur that was the perfect warmth. Wincing, he sat up to pet the one who hadn’t moved and let him sleep. “Thank you.” The cat purred deeply. Laying beside him was his shield and blades.
“Thank Nova. He picked them up and brought them over. We were too distracted to bring them back.” Said Stone leaning against a nearby pyramid dwelling lightly coated in luminous moss.
Without needing to scan, Oliver felt out the Pride leader instantly and looked at him. “Thank you for fetching them.”
Nova got to his feet and in doing so showed Renee was scanning him and gave Oliver an irritated look which meant his interruption was untimely, but before he could dwell on it Nova sent Oliver a mental picture of him throwing the sparkling shield like a Frisbee. When the king asked, it made a chain reaction as the others thought it was the greatest idea EVER.
“What’s going on? Why did they all get up making that noise?” Steven asked as he came over carrying a filled water bladder from a fountain he already checked and was remarkably clean.
“They want to play. Apparently my shield was a game the Queen loved doing with them.” Oliver ‘listened’ to their excitement. Two or three lowered their heads and lifted their rumps like playful dogs.
“This I got to see.” Steven chuckled and ascended the wall for a good view.
“You guys want to play?” Oliver flipped the round shield, their excitement being contagious.
Their answer was unanimous in deep cheerful grunts and flicking tails.
Remembering how fast they were, he didn’t try limiting how fast he can sling his arm and snap the wrist. He had played Frisbee several times with Stone who taught how round objects can go further. It was a difficult art, but rather fun so he transferred the shield to his dominant left hand and threw it so hard it whistled through the air.
Twelve Ligers roared in challenging fun and seemed to have vanished as they tore through the city entrance and down the road. His chip calculated his throwing speed at six hundred and thirty eight kilometers per hour and the Ligers were averaging around five fifteen. The shape of the shield made it lift and turn into the breezy room, but the Ligers were all radiating pleasure and joy for playtime.
Before it could ricochet off the far wall one of them pushed off the wall of the gradually slowing shield and caught it in its mouth, but the game wasn’t over. It ran for Oliver while being harassed rather roughly by the others wanting to steal it. But no one was hurt. They liked playing a little rough.
“Well you broke the fastest human Frisbee throw clear out of the water.” Satellite laughed, standing up on the pinnacle of the pyramid Stone still leaned on.
The Liger who caught it proudly came to a stop and dropped the shield. Caught up in the antics Oliver cocked his arm back and flung it again, this time in a different direction. They were all off. This time Nova brought it back and stumbled on the next for another to catch.
Oliver did this for nearly twenty minutes and they barely breathed hard, showing they had tremendous endurance. When it returned covered in saliva and dirt he said “That was it for the last time.” Some pawed the ground, retracted nails coming out to scratch the surface. “No, that is enough playtime for now. I promise later.” They weren’t happy, but knew he made a promise and knew they could play more later. “It’s time to work.”
Work. They knew work. Round ears swiveled on him. They liked work.
“Nova,” The new name had the king’s extra attention. “Are there any traps or dangerous areas that might kill any of us?” Needing to ask after Renee had voiced the concern between the game and had even thrown a few times herself.
The response was near immediate as images came up around places the Pride avoided completely. Places that cut, burned and crushed the unsuspecting. Only one very complex route was safe to move through. “Good thing none of you left the immediate area. Nova told me this place is riddled with still active traps and only one safe path. Traps that cannot be detected. He told me the Queen activated them before she left to fight something he knows is very bad. The traps are
unable to be disarmed except by a console in the castle. If you try disarming there is a laser at the top of the central pyramid they call a castle, that will cut through the person till life signs cease. He says not even my power could stop the beam. It is too thin to see and has power equal to a million Solarians focused to a point that the atoms are lined up.”
“Oh shit.” Steven got away from the road leading deeper into the city. “So if we were to walk straight down the road…”
“You really don’t want me to answer that. Visor and Satellite only survived as they weren’t seen as a threat to the city’s defenses.” Oliver said. “You guys ready?”
“What about making a hole to the surface? Jake and mine council are eager to come see this place.” Wondered Sparky.
“Well it would not be a great idea. If I pump out that much power it’ll violate the city and I’ll be hit. I got lucky when their armor disguised them as boulders and I flew us all away. Any more than that and Nova tells me I’m in deep trouble. They’ll lead us safely through the gauntlet so Renee and I can deactivate the systems.”
“Then we must proceed. My mate is anxious to reunite.”
“Behave yourself.” She playfully scolded from afar.
“Nova, please guide us safely to the castle of your former mistress.” The Liger gave an affirmative grunt and led the way with the others spread around the Hunters, Solarians and a Drake being ridden in the rear.
Nova gave impressions he missed people and that once this city was loud, thriving and a lovely place to raise and give his cubs to worthy children to grow up with who wanted to be warriors. It had been silent for too long, but still he and the others stood watch as loyal sentinels. Their joy to belong to a master again was what they had so longed for.
Turns, bends and pathways were almost confusing, but each time they did turn Stone dropped a transmitter and cut an arrow in walls to double up which directions they had to take in event that the defenses couldn’t be dropped. Some areas were of yards that had run wild with underground plants that thrived in the moist rich city. Water was a main scene, but was made to highlight how the winds breezed majestically in artful dances throughout the city.
Casual walking took close to four hours before at last arriving at the front door to the centrally placed towering pyramid that nearly reached the highest point in the domed interior. The space to enter was large and sealed by none other than a nano-wall. “What does it say?” Visor asked about the writings on the onyx wall.
Renee unfocused her eyes and translated as best possible “The castle is closed. Please return at a later time unless there is an emergency. If you are of sufficient rank return with your Match to gain temporary access. The Queen holds court for all citizens each morning, if an arbiter determines she must see you. Any deliveries must be placed in the sorter to the left. The Queen is sorry for any inconvenience.”
“Then it seems like we’re up.” Oliver said.
Renee dismounted and absorbed the gauntlet to expose her hand just like Oliver. The cool hard surface reacted just like the Solarian battleship’s nano-wall. Soft blue light surrounded their palms like a shadow, but this time no words greeted them. There was a chime sound that was pleasant.
Without waiting or being told, Nova walked through the wall first and the others followed. Oliver shrugged and stepped right in, taking Renee’s hand.
Inside was a grand hall that had been left relatively untouched. Aside from a light sheen of dust to tell not even the Ligers had been inside since the wall closed, the room was rather inviting. Soft music played as dancing streams of water whipped around from careful jets of wind so the eyes could visually see how air moved. The air was old and stale, but not entirely unpleasant. Far away sat a throne and banquette table along with stone pallets Nova expressed were was where they laid beside their master long ago. Four pillars showed they doubled as winding staircases much like the nursery on Havannah, going up through to upper levels. Precisely placed were lifelike statues made of pure white marble of pointy eared men and women in scantily clad attire in positions that gave the viewer a sense of dancing freely in the air.
“Well it seems Alleia the AI we met wasn’t underdressed at all.” Renee commented dryly. “It seems like men and women alike here saw their bodies as beautiful and clothes were only a way to decorate it. I can practically see their perky nipples and vaginas by the thin wisps of cloth and the bulge on the men hide nothing to the imagination. But I don’t feel bad. The women are as big boned as me and not fat. Not like human twigs. These statues are quite beautiful too.”
“When things settle I hope to see you wearing something similar… to her.” Oliver pointed and it made the other men chuckle.
“Nice choice, Olly. She is sexy. Hmmm… sure. I’ll do it if you wear what… he is.”
“Done.” He laughed, but stopped as he held his chest as the pain told him laughing wasn’t a smart plan.
“So where do we go?” Visor wondered, standing tall on his partner’s arm.
“Nova tells me we need to go straight to the top floor, but he knows a shortcut.”
“By all means. Shortcut away.” Steven chuckled.
Moving deeper they recorded it all and came closer to the throne of the Queen, made of platinum and wide enough to sit three people. Nova led them behind the throne and had everyone group close together before his azure collar shot out a tendril that connected to a tiny port in the back of the throne. There wasn’t even a flash and suddenly they were in a much smaller area.
They were teleported.
In the middle of the room sat another large sphere that glowed brightly within. Six rifle drones lifted from recesses as another AI of a well built man in colorful and wispy pants, naked from the waist up said “De cleto, reish Mantiv, Reten. Cloen kappal.” His speech was hardly welcoming.
“Easy.” Oliver held a hands up in surrender and found the connecter for his brain-hacker to connect and lifted his right hand. From the Valek shot a tendril.
“Language updated. State your reason for violating royal decorum, Generals, or be killed. You haven’t the access permitted to enter this room.”
“I come by taking Queen Fru’s Ligers as my Pride. His collar allowed us to come here as the Queen has died as has all my people to the full extent of my knowledge.”
“One moment. I will verify your claim.” The half naked man vanished and the enormous sphere became too bright to look directly at. No one spoke as the guns were still trained and moved fast to any slight movement and no one wanted to test how fast they could fire. A minute later the bright light dimmed and the man appeared. “My apologies, General. I have scanned all known galaxies that retain power within my connected network and have verified that only you and General Reten are the last living peoples that first reached the stars. As there are no Queens to refute this claim, I’m yours to command. We have never met so you may call me Vladamin.”
“Then Vladamin, please lower the defenses throughout the city of wind.”
The droned dropped to the recess’ in the floor. “Defenses are down, General.”
“Thank you. Just so you know, I’m called Oliver Void in this tongue and this is Renee Void, my wife.”
“Updated. Proceed with inquiry.”
“What do you have stored in your memory?”
“All significant memory was previously transferred by Queen Fru 26,313 Earth Years, 88 days, 9 and 53 minutes ago at the request of your younger brother, the Galactic King. This galaxy was the final and furthest to be summoned for battle. Stored within are just the names and life records collected from this galaxy’s nurseries of all Solarian births and recorded deaths, the three hundred laws and one part of five messages that must be pieced together by a mind of the Slooitiesh caste. Lesser minds will break under the third part of five I have stored.”
“Am I of this caste?”
“Yes, General. Your records exceed all known tests given. Your mind will be safe to be shown for you, to my knowledge des
igned it. General Renee and the humans recorded by Alleia within the transfer you’ve given me will not be capable. Their minds cannot survive the strain. If you wish to view it, they must leave.”
“Before that, this connected network you said you have… can you access the other four castles from here? Can you use it to show me where they are located… or possibly show me an updated place to narrow down where to look next?”
“Going in order of the inquiries. The four other centralized castles that regulate the colonies once lived in by my creators are still in operation so yes, I can access them to communicate. Unfortunately they too had all vital memory transferred to another location that cannot be located from here. Transferred to my awareness so as to not inundate another species in advanced technologies beyond their grasp of comprehension should the war end badly, which it seems to have. Many inventions you made, General, were transferred as well. You were the inventor warrior all males strived to emulate. Only your brother was equal in technical understanding to imagine the possibilities. Your greatest invention being the manufacturing of the Valek you currently wear.” Vladamin pointed to Oliver’s right forearm. “That is but one of the many inventions I have within your standard personnel files.
“To the next inquiry, Yes, my systems can locate the exact current coordinates to the precise placement of the remaining four worlds of this galaxy. Would you like to see them?”
“Please.”
The AI lifted his hologram hand to show up in the open area above their heads the current view of the Andromeda galaxy with points flashing in five areas for several seconds before the five places pulled away from the sparkling disc and lined up in individual solar systems to narrow further to the planet in question. From left to right was Zerika, the water planet with much more landmass than what Alleia had stored, but was still over ninety percent blue ocean. Third was Drakken Prime. Number four turned out to be a frozen planet and five was a volcanic hellhole that looked most ominous of all.
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