“What have you done to her,” she said throwing herself against chair restraints.
“Relax, she will recover just fine. It’s just a technique we use on difficult subjects. Just a stinging probe or two provides enough of a shock to coax the toughest individual to give us the information we need,” he said as he rose and stood before Tamika. “And you had better behave yourself or you might find yourself experiencing that same treatment. We don’t take deceit lightly, so you had better be who you say you are. That is all I have to say to you.”
Milanaka walked over to a control panel and pressed a few buttons that released Tamika’s restraints. She grabbed her wrists and rubbed them slightly. She followed the clumsy-looking Milanaka down a corridor. Stopping in front of a door, he pressed another button on the side panel, and the door slid open, exposing her mother lying on the floor of the small room.
“Go on in now,” Milanaka said, pointing with his spindly arm. “I am holding you here until I can prove you are who you say you are. I’ll be back for you two soon.”
Tamika reluctantly entered the small room; the door slid closed behind her, and she went over and knelt down by her mother.
“Mother, are you all right?” she asked as she stroked her head.
Luanren stirred and groaned as she lifted herself up on her elbows.
“Man,” Luanren said as she shook her head, “that was some jolt. These filthy beings resort to torture when they do not get what they want.”
“Mother, what did they do to you? Did you tell them anything?”
“Yes, I will be fine. Just give me a few minutes to get my composure, and no, I did not tell them anything nor did they tell me anything,” Luanren said now as she stood and took a seat on one of the chairs that their captors provided. “And I do not know if it was worth it. I just sat there and said nothing. That just enraged them.”
“Mother, you have to know where we are. It is incredible.”
“I tried to use my mental abilities to get through to them, but their minds are too dense,” Luanren said, not really paying attention to her daughter.
“Mother, listen to me,” Tamika said as she shook her mother by her shoulders. “I believe we have traveled back in time or something. It all makes sense now.”
“What are you talking about, my dear? Did they use that thing on you too?”
“No, I am fine. Listen, it all fits together—the missing Telenian after the explosion, the tachyon readings—those are associated with time travel. This strange vessel and our computer not recognizing it as being in service for a thousand years, yet our captain states this ship is only three months old.”
“You got my attention. Go on.”
“I found out they have the Rune on board this ship. This is the ship that deployed the infection to the Crystal Caverns.”
“So how do you expect us to stop them? We are imprisoned!”
“Only for the moment… I have a plan.”
“I got to hear this. Do tell me how you expect to get out of this?”
“He does not know that we are from the future, but I told him we were members of the Ackturrian High Council. He told me that this ship is on their way to try and trade for the crystals, and I might have said that we could strike up a deal.”
“Are you insane?” Luanren said, raising her voice. “They will kill us if they find out you have lied!”
“Shh, keep your voice down. We do not want them to hear us.”
“Okay, okay, what is your idea?”
“We just need to play along with them, make them think we are going to make a bargain with them. If I am right, in this era, they would not be able to communicate to verify our story until they are close to making orbit to Ackturra.”
The two discussed their plan and almost had all the details worked out when they heard a noise coming down the corridor.
“They’re coming for us. Just follow my lead,” Tamika said.
From the outside, they heard the sound of buttons, and then the door slid open. Milanaka stood at the door with his spindly hands resting on his wide hips.
“Well, now,” he said as he stooped down entering the small room, “looks like this is your lucky day.”
The stench of the Zelinite wafted into the small room and began to cause the two to cough.
“It has been decided by my advisors to entertain your kind offer to make a deal for the power crystals.”
“We will be happy to discuss the matter,” Tamika said, looking sideways at her mother. “But first, we need to be taken from this pathetic holding cell and given private quarters.”
“Oh but of course,” Milanaka said as he motioned for the two to exit. “Right this way. Just remember, you had better be telling us the truth. The alternative won’t be pleasant.” He laughed.
“Charming individual,” Luanren said under her breath.
The two were led out of the holding cell area and into a larger chamber. The smell was not quite as bad in the open areas as it had been in the holding cell. They continued to follow their new host as he brought them into what appeared to be the soldier barracks.
Milanaka pointed at two bunks that were suspended from the wall with an entire complement of soldiers in close proximity.
“Here, you can bunk with the other soldiers.”
“That is not acceptable,” Tamika said in a stuck-up tone. “You will have to do better than that. We are royalty. We require quarters that are secluded from these soldiers. You will put us in an officer’s room. We will only require one room for the both of us.”
“Hmm, I don’t have anything available,” he said, scratching the strange-looking hair on his head. “This isn’t a pleasure ship, you know. It’s a military vessel. We don’t have many luxuries.”
“I can see that,” Luanren said, now getting into the role.
Milanaka stood, looking at the two in confusion. He couldn’t think of anything to say in reply.
“Well,” Tamika added, “no private room, no deal.”
“Okay, okay, you can have my first officer’s quarters. Thakaro can bunk with me for the remainder of this trip.”
“That is more like it,” Luanren said with disdainful tone.
Milanaka motioned them to follow him. They walked back to the large inner chamber and then down another narrow corridor to a large open platform.
“Step on up,” he said. “The officers’ quarters are on the upper decks.”
As they stepped on the platform, it began to rise up fairly quickly. They rose up five levels, and the platform came to a rest. Milanaka took them to Thakaro’s quarters and opened the door. Inside was another Zelinite that looked very familiar to Milanaka.
“Thakaro, you will be giving your room to these two Ackturrians as we travel to their home world. You will move in with me until we arrive at Ackturra.”
Thakaro, not looking real pleased, complied with his captain’s orders and grabbed a few personal effects and stomped out of his room.
“There is one more thing,” Tamika said as she folded her arms. “We want to see the Rune. We need proof that you actually possess it before we even begin to make a deal.”
Milanaka, not wanting to take a chance of the two changing their minds about making a deal, agreed with them as he slowly shook his head at their demands.
He took them up to the highest level of the ship and then down another narrow corridor to the end of a tall door. He opened up a control panel and pressed his spindly hand on a clear, smooth surface. A laser light began to scan his hand, and then with his other hand, he punched in a five-digit code. The door clicked and made some whirring sounds and then began to open before them.
As the door opened, it exposed a very large clear cylinder with metal end caps. Inside the sealed cylinder was a huge yellow-reddish glowing, jagged rock. The iridescent glow of the rock permeated the entire chamber and pulsated as if it had a heartbeat.
“There,” Milanaka said with great pride, “the Rune. Isn’t it beautiful?�
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* * *
Chapter 10 – Healings
Earth
Rosemont General Hospital
Year: 1983
Jhahnahkan sat by Kate as she lay in her room after surgery. She was in a coma and had not woken up since the surgery. He held her hand and stroked her forehead with his other hand. She had been in this coma for what seemed like hours. He reminisced the past several hours of the events that had unfolded that brought them to this point. He thought that this is just not possible; he couldn’t live with himself if he let something bad happened to Katie. He kept thinking only good thoughts and that she would be all right. He thought about the crystal in his cloak and remembered that his brother was trying to find him. If he used the crystal too much, his brother might be able to locate him in this timeline and could discover their plans for correcting the crystal infection. He couldn’t let her lie there in a coma and watch her possibly fade away forever from him. What would happen if she died? How would his grandmother be born? Even more puzzling, how could he and his brother be here if their grandmother was never born? These questions that ran through his mind were hard to comprehend; he couldn’t wait any longer for Kate to recover. He decided to take the chance and use the crystal to see if he could bring her out of the coma and possibly give her a faster recovery. He pulled out the crystal from his cloak and removed it from its cloth. He took the crystal in both hands, and it began to emanate a golden glow of shimmering energy. He held the glowing crystal over Kate and began to concentrate on its energy flow.
The shimmering energy surrounded them both, and he felt at peace, and there was great warmth. He then concentrated on Kate and attempted to reach deep down inside her mind.
“Kate, Katie, come on now. I know you are there. You must wake up. I need you to return.”
The surgeon, Dr. Sam Collins, opened the door to Kate’s room and stepped inside to check on her progress. He was taken aback by what he saw. He saw a shimmering golden light and this mysterious cloaked man holding an object over her. At first, he thought it might be the one who had shot her returning to try and finish the job. He shot a look over at Jhahnahkan and grabbed him from behind and pulled him back away from Kate.
“What do you think you are doing, mister?” Dr. Collins said as he shouted for security.
Jhahnahkan, taken by surprise, went over backward, and the two stumbled to the ground. Dr. Collins rolled on the floor and picked himself off the ground and started to charge again. He landed on top of Jhahnahkan, and the two wrestled around on the floor. Jhahnahkan pushed him back and rolled in the opposite direction on the floor so he could get his bearings. Dr. Collins started to charge once more, but Jhahnahkan put his arms out before him to stop the attack. A beam of energy discharged from the crystal and hit the doctor in the middle of his forehead, stopping him in his tracks.
“Easy now,” Jhahnahkan said. “I am not going to hurt Katie. I am trying to help her. Do you understand now?” He then concentrated on transferring the needed knowledge to the doctor so he could know that he was not the threat.
Dr. Collins took a chair and calmly sat and nodded his head in acknowledgment. The energy beam stopped almost as fast as it had begun. The door to the room shot open again, and two security guards stormed in.
“Is everything all right in here?” one of them shouted.
“We were told there was a perpetrator trying to hurt this patient,” the other said.
“No, everything is fine. You are both excused,” Dr. Collins said in a low, monotone voice. “It was a misunderstanding.”
The two guards sized Jhahnahkan up and down, looking for any obvious signs of him holding a weapon.
“What’s that in your hand, mister?”
Jhahnahkan stood up from the crouched position and faced the two guards. He held out his hand while holding the crystal in his other. “You did not see anything. Go back to your posts and report that everything is all right. Do you both understand?”
“Yes,” the two guards said simultaneously.
Dr. Collins looked on in amazement as the two guards left the room.
“I fully understand now, Jhahnahkan. I know who you are and why you are here. I even know how this happened to Kate,” he said as he put his hand on the back of his neck, thinking of the events that had flooded his mind.
“I am sorry,” Jhahnahkan began. “I did not intend for you to get involved. The only way I could stop you was through memory transference.”
“That’s quite all right. I often wondered if there was other life in the galaxy. Now I know that there is.”
Jhahnahkan interrupted him. “You must not tell anyone of this. It is imperative that you do not. Events might be changed and could affect the entire timeline.”
“What if you could wipe those memories you gave me? If I could just help you before that, I really am just glad I know the truth now. Anything I can do, you just name it,” Sam said with sincerity.
“I do not think that wiping your memory will be necessary. I also received some of your memories and experiences. I feel I can trust you to keep this to yourself.”
Sam was thankful to Jhahnahkan for his kind words as his integrity was something that he was very proud of.
“You can be of assistance,” Jhahnahkan said as he motioned for him to step over to the other side of the bed.
“What do you need me to do?
Jhahnahkan resumed holding the crystal over Kate with both of his hands. “Simply put your hands over mine and concentrate on reaching Kate.”
Sam again nodded and rested the palms of his hands over Jhahnahkan’s. The crystal began to glow once again with the golden shimmering light.
“Do not be startled at what you may experience. It will be all right. Just keep concentrating on Kate as I do.”
The glow surrounded the three of them and filled the entire area of the room with a golden and whitish glow that sparkled different colors. The two concentrated on reaching Katie to bring her back from her deep coma. Jhahnahkan and Sam suddenly found themselves standing in the center of a sphere. Standing in the center of them was an energy being.
“Do not be concerned,” the entity said. “I am that which is within the crystal you hold. This is not real but only in your minds. This is the only way you can comprehend. I understand you need your loved one to return to you.”
“Yes,” Jhahnahkan answered, “we do seek to bring her back from the depths of her mind. Help us reach her and bring her back from this coma.”
“I will try. Continue to focus your minds on reaching Kate,” the entity said as it took a pose as if standing on the edge of a diving board. Then it jumped up and dove down into the bottom of the sphere and disappeared into nothingness.
“What’s happening?” Sam asked.
“Keep concentrating, Doctor. This is going to take all the energy you have. Do not be concerned with these images,” Jhahnahkan said.
They continued to concentrate for several minutes when the bottom of the sphere began to ripple like waves in a pond after a rock had been tossed in. The sound of rushing water flowed all around them and then from its center rose Kate up from the bottom of the sphere. She was now at the center of the sphere, Jhahnahkan on one side and the entity holding her uprigth by her legs. She looked white like the light from the crystal, and her eyes were closed, and her hair glistened behind her. Jhahnahkan was very happy to see her and, in his joy, held the sides of her face and brought her lips close to his. When his lips touched hers and he began to kiss her, she opened her eyes and saw Jhahnahkan and returned the kiss, throwing her arms around him.
The golden shimmering light faded, the sphere they were standing in disappeared, and they returned to the room they had been standing in. The room returned to normal illumination. Jhahnahkan opened his eyes and saw Kate lying on the bed with her eyes open and looking back at her lover. Tears began to well up and fall down the cheeks of Jhahnahkan as he saw her fully awake.
“Hi there,” she said wit
h a scratchy voice. “What is all this fuss about?”
Dr. Collins took his stethoscope and checked Kate’s heartbeat and then checked her blood pressure.
“You gave us quite a scare. You would not wake up after your surgery,” Jhahnahkan said.
“She is in perfect health now, other than letting her wounds heal,” Sam confirmed. “Just give her some time to get her strength back, and then you two can get on with your quest.”
“So can I ask what happened to me?” Kate asked.
“You were shot. Do you remember?” Jhahnahkan said.
“Yeah, I remember now,” she said.
“I’ll be right back. You two get caught up,” Sam said as he left the room.
“Does he know?”
“Yes, it is all right. We can trust him.”
“How much does he know?”
“Just about everything, but it was unavoidable. He saw me standing over you holding the crystal. He thought I was going to hurt you so he attacked me. It was simply instinct to do the memory transference so he would understand that I was not going to harm you.”
“My tummy still hurts,” she said as she felt her incision. “This is in a bad place. I remember Helen saying something about ensuing paradox. Will I be able to bear your child, Jhahnahkan?”
“We do not know. Only time will tell, but for now, you just need to get your strength up.”
“Well, I am not staying here. Help me get dressed. We need to get back with the others.”
The doctor stormed back into the room with a panicked look on his face.
“Hurry,” he said, “we have to get you two out of here now!”
“What is wrong?” Jhahnahkan asked
“It’s the sheriff. He is snooping around out by the nurses’ station. Says he’s looking for two fugitives, one wearing a cloak and the other had a gunshot wound.”
“Stall him. We will get out of here using the crystal,” Jhahnahkan said.
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