Annals of the Keepers - Rage

by Christiaan Hile

  “No need to worry, Rels. My Xty warriors saw to my safety. I am glad you made your journey as well.”

  “If that’s what you want to call it. Thanks for the help, though.”

  She laughed.

  It was the first time I heard her giggle.

  “The galony can be a little rough. But, they do get you where you need to go,” she chuckled.

  I smiled and was about to respond when our host budged in.

  “I don’t think I called you, Yren,” Emvel stated.

  That got my attention.

  He continued, “I need you in the Forlet region. We need our best assets there.”

  “I have my warriors there. They don’t need my assistance. I’ve come to guide our Advocate in getting home to warn his people,” she followed, all humor gone.

  Emvel stepped up close to her.

  The bitterness was so obvious I was waiting for Mistuuk to tell me about it.

  Before he spoke, he caught himself and turned to me. “Excuse us, Rels. I need a moment with Yren. Kulee here,” he paused and motioned to a Sutii next to us before continuing, “Can show you the iron works. You and your friends can pick out some weapons for your journey tomorrow. I’ll meet with you later to discuss your return home.”

  I looked to Yren.

  She nodded.

  “Thanks for the meal, Emvel.”

  “You’re welcome,” he responded, his eyes already back on Yren.

  We left their…uncomfortable standoff.

  I could tell Yren was uneasy around Emvel. He seemed pretty pointed in his remarks towards her. I’ll make sure I have a personal conversation with him afterwards.

  I wasn’t feeling it from this guy. There were still too many unanswered questions that didn’t make any sense.

  He was supposed to be the Advocate?

  He destroyed a Gashnee wormhole?

  He led an insurgence with the Sutii?

  My mind was trying to grasp all that happened over the last few hours.

  Nothing in this mission stayed calm for long.

  We needed to get back to our sector and warn the Ordinance of an invasion by the Gashnee, and to find out why a Human was sent with the Gashnee, while one of them was left on Earth in return when they first made contact.”

  Our little guest Kulee led us through catacombs of stained, pillared rocks and dripping water as we entered another part of the underground city.

  I just hoped they had some decent weapons at this iron works of theirs. Sticks and rocks, I had a feeling, wouldn’t cut it for getting off this strange world.

  ∞∞∞

  I found myself wandering the empty halls of a miniature underground hovel. I couldn’t sleep. It was late into the evening and all the Sutii, and their Human savior Emvel, were all slumbering in their caves.

  The crystal cauldrons were covered, shadowing the rock cavern with their dim light.

  I thought about the altercation with Yren and Emvel.

  Something wasn’t right. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

  At that moment, a hooded figure came from around a stone slab. They couldn’t rest either, I guessed.

  “Yren?” I whispered.

  She removed her hood.

  “Follow me.”

  We left the open and deserted common area and ventured deeper into the cavern.

  Moving through twisting tunnels, we came back into the room with the loud flowing water from the above river.

  The crashing water that dropped down into the crevasse was a natural sound dampener, splashing against the rocks below.

  You couldn’t hear one meter outside the deluge of the plunging turquois water.

  She’d brought me here for a reason. She didn’t want anyone else to hear our conversation.

  “We don’t have much time, Rels.”

  “What’s going on, Yren?”

  She looked around.

  I could sense her uneasiness.

  “Tomorrow, Emvel will guide you to the temple where you will go back to your sector. There, you will find the Trandeshion tubes.”

  “That’s good news, right?” I asked.

  “Yes, but you must watch out. I do not trust him.”

  “You too, huh?”

  She moved close to me and took my hand.

  She placed a small flat stone in my open palm. “This is a Komesh stone.” She pointed to an engraved sigil on the side facing me. “It will glow and show who is an Advocate for the Gashnee.”

  The stone did not glow.

  “I don’t understand, Yren.”

  “You are not an Advocate.”

  “Isn’t that a good thing?” I asked.

  She smiled. “It is; for, if you were, I would have to kill you.”

  My eyes lit up. “That’s a good thing…but why would you have to kill me?”

  “You see, an Advocate is with the Gashnee. This person will merge the two races, completing the prophecy of: ‘In the time, many. In the time, one.’”

  “Wait, you’re saying this Advocate is Human?”

  “Yes. That’s why we rescued you from the Glyphtern giants. I had to be sure.”

  Now I was confused. “I thought Emvel was the Advocate?”

  “No. He is not, even though he says he is. I’ve established that while he slept. The stone did not give the sign.”

  “Then why the drug and flashbacks in the tree, Yren? What was that for?”

  “We tried to draw out any connections with the Gashnee you may have had as the Advocate. Since we didn’t see any, we needed to get you back to warn your people, but before we did, I needed to prove one last time with the stone.”

  Now, there was the question. It hung in my mind like a weighted stone, not moving amidst the torrent of rushing water that came against it.

  If we two Humans in this part of the galaxy were not the Advocate for the Gashnee, then who was?

  The thought of home came to my mind.

  This Advocate must be in Mydian.

  “So…this Advocate is among my people?”

  “Yes. That is why we must get you back as soon as we can; to warn them of the impending invasion and the end to Humans and all other races within this galaxy.”

  Another voice broke my doomsday thoughts.

  “Not good, Rels. Not good.”

  My little partner came from around a pillar and sauntered right up to us.

  “How long have you been there?” I asked over the thundering noise cascading within the stone foyer.

  “I heard everything.”

  “How is that possible? I can’t hear myself think a meter away from this thing.”

  His big floppy ears perked up over his head.

  Huh. Didn’t know he could actually move those things.

  “Right. That makes sense.”

  “You have an Advocate in your ranks, Rels. We have get to the Ancients and find out who it is,” Mistuuk said in a serious tone.

  That tone sounded strange, coming from him.

  “That is not possible,” spoke Yren.

  I was getting tired of this whole game.

  “Why not?”

  Mistuuk echoed, “Why not?”

  “Rels…” Yren said with affection. “You will be captured. You won’t make it to the inner chamber of the temple. Even if you did make it, the Insights are reflectors of the mind.”

  “The…what?” I asked.

  “They can control one’s thoughts at close range. You would not have power over your own facilities. They will enter your mind and you will be lost in your own conscience, doing what they willed.”

  “Is that why the Xty are the guardians of this place? They’re being controlled?”

  “To some extent, Rels.”

  I couldn’t wait to hear the rest.

  “And?”

  Yren’s head went down.Her shoulders sagged.

  “It’s not because they want to, Rels. It’s because they had given up their ability to choose. That one freedom they had between wha
t inspired them and what their response would be to those things around them. They chose to not think for themselves and to allow others to decide what and how they should feel. They willingly sacrificed their dignity.”

  “That’s why you are part of the resistance.”

  “Yes. We fight to be able to choose that freedom that will determine our own course. Just as you do.”

  She moved towards the entrance of the passage. “I’m sorry. We need to get you back as soon as we can so you can counsel all the races of your sector about what’s to come.”

  I looked at Mistuuk.

  He wanted us to go to these Ancients, here, to find the Advocate. Yren, with her soft, blue, glowing eyes wanted us to escape; both the planet as well as the same fate as her people.

  Could we find out who the Advocate was without this knowledge of the Gashnee the Insights held?

  That was the question.

  More questions and riddles within riddles.

  I knew one thing for sure.

  The Gashnee were going to invade and take Humanity as their own to be reborn amongst the stars according to their damn prophecy.

  If that happened, we would be giving up our own freedom to choose.

  Time was against us. Everything was against us.

  We had a decision to make…and we needed to make it now.

  DATA CELL 41

  Morning came fast in the underground hovel.

  The heavy work activity of the Sutii didn’t wake me up from the few hours of sleep I got.

  But the continuous pounding on my door did.

  I was just getting comfortable in the makeshift bed Emvel had the Sutii had made up for me when Mistuuk strolled into my little rock-walled abode when I didn’t answer his drubbing on my door.

  He was followed by Blink…then Kayasa.

  Mistuuk had a big ole’ goofy grin on his large face.

  “Are you ever not cheery?” I grumbled at him.

  “Me, Human?” Kayasa asked.

  I groaned. This again.

  “No. Not you, happy. The little guy.”

  “I got us a better weapon, Rels.”

  “Oh, you mean something better than the pokey sticks and crystal swords they made us?”

  He walked up to me and dropped the item on by bed.

  It looked like a gun. Please let it be a gun.

  “Is that what I think it is?”

  “It is, Rels. I had one of the Sutii make it. Though he was reluctant to make it at first, I persuaded him.”

  “I can’t imagine how you did that.”

  He was about to respond, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to mess with him. He deserved it for waking me up. “You talked about jojo fruit to him?”

  “No, Rels.”

  “You talked about random pets from your home world?”

  “Nuh-uh.”

  “You talked about who was taller?”

  “Umm…no, Rels.”

  “No. You didn’t speak about any of those things? What did you talk about then? I must know.”

  “Well, first I talked about-”

  “I don’t actually want to know, my pudgy friend. So how does it work?” I asked, pointing at the strange weapon.

  He blinked at me with his mouth half open.

  That was worth it.

  He proceeded to show me the makeshift firearm.

  I had to admit, at least the little guy’s mind was in the right place.

  This weapon was unique.

  It had a hollowed-out rock casing with a leather-wrapped grip. There was a slot on the top that housed two different colored crystals. The barrel ran about ten centimeters. The trigger was at the bottom.

  Mistuuk explained that, when the trigger is pulled and held for a brief time, it brings the two crystals together, which is held by a smaller divider inside the chamber. The nature of the different crystals causes a reaction. Once the trigger is released, the divider falls, the crystals collide, and the resulting discharge fires out of the barrel as the crystals move back apart.

  He said it could kill a Btrenon, one of those camouflaged flying creatures, with one shot.

  That will do.

  He also said to not depress the trigger for too long or it could explode. How long was too long? He didn’t say, but said the Sutii told him, you’ll just know when it’s time to let go.

  That’s comforting.

  I was just getting the feel of the pistol when the door flew open and Yren rushed in.

  She closed it behind her. “Rels. We don’t have much time. You must listen to me,” she gasped, out of breath.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Soon, Emvel will come to tell you how to make it back home. I wanted to tell you a few things about the temple.”

  “Please.”

  She sat down. “The Trandeshion tube chamber within the temple will have one hundred transporters. You want the one with this symbol above it.” She handed me a drawing of a pictogram. “This tube will get you the closest to your world. It’s on a Vrae moon.”

  “Of course, it is,” I muttered.

  Kayasa shot up out of her seat. “Which one?”

  “I do not know, Kayasa. All I know is that it’s in an old, buried shrine there.”

  “Do your moons have atmospheres?” I asked Kayasa, not without a bit of sarcasm.

  “Yes, Human,” Kayasa snapped and crossed her arms.

  “Good. That’s all we should care about. You know, arriving alive.”

  “Now, Rels,” Yren continued, “There’s one last thing. An insider has shared the Gashnee arrival points in your sector at great expense to their life. It seems there are two wormholes connected to dark matter tethers left.”

  “Do you know where they’re located?” I asked, hoping it would be an easy answer.

  “No. We had tracked three, but one is no longer showing active on the temple corridor grid. We don’t know why.”

  “I know how to track dark matter tethers,” Mistuuk chimed in.

  “What?” I asked, incredulous.

  “I thought I was tracking Gashnee hyperspace signatures when I ran into your Orion’s Rage. Gashnee drive tech uses dark matter. It shouldn’t be too hard, Rels,” the Cuukzen shared as if he was presenting his academy science project.

  “That’s a plus. Now, if we can make it off this planet, don’t get killed by the Vrae on our arrival, find the wormholes, and identify the Advocate we should be good to go.”

  “I would have killed you already, Human. Don’t worry about my people. I know how to deal with them.”

  “Fantastic, Vrae.”

  “It’s time to go, Rels.” Yren approached, taking my hand. “Hold onto this. It will help you find the Advocate among your people.”

  She handed me the sigil stone.

  “Thank you, Yren.”

  “Now go.”

  As we headed out the door, I stopped and went back to Yren. “Do you have any more of that telyrum on hand?

  “Why?” she asked.

  “Call me curious.”

  “I have some.”

  “Could you bring it before we leave?”

  “…I can.”

  I smiled at our new friend. “See you before we leave, Yren.” I turned, heading back to catch up with the others.

  ∞∞∞

  We all headed out of the hovel and towards the main hall.

  It wasn’t long before Emvel showed up.

  “Today’s the day. Let’s go over the planning. Follow me if you please.”

  He led us to a room with a large table strewn with a large map.

  “We are going to cover how we plan to get you inside the temple, Gnotok. Let’s start with our location here,” Emvel said, pointing to the Turquois River on the map.

  Creative guy isn’t he, I thought. Surprised we’re not in Waterfall Cave.

  “You will travel by galony to this point downriver. It’s about a day’s journey. Once there, you will meet up with Kulee, my sergeant of ar
ms.”

  Kulee walked up next to Emvel.

  His beady little black eyes just met the top of the table by a hair.

  Emvel continued with the plan, “We will be using a drift log as a raft. It’s been modified for all three of you to fit inside.”

  “Interesting,” I remarked.

  “You’ll see why in a moment, Rels. Now, the log will go down the rest of the way until the river meets the temple. Here.” He pointed at the map with the temple crossing the river. “Is where the logs and river debris merge. They corral it near the entrance of the main tower to take to market. They do this twice a year, so this is our chance. The tower shaft here pulls the water in which leads to the inner chamber. This is where you will exit the log and enter the main draw.”

  “Question.”

  “Yes, Rels.”

  “So, we are going to be swimming underwater into the water compartment of the temple?”

  “Correct. Let me show you.” Emvel moved the large map aside and exposed a diagram of the temple underneath. “You will swim amongst the logs and debris until you reach this point here. From there, you will need to dive under this gate and swim the canal that leads into the side of the temple. As you get closer, it will get easier as the suction will do the rest.”

  “Suction?”

  “The pumps that feed the Insights’ holding chamber. They move the water up.”

  “Okay.”

  At this moment, the hovering black bot Blink, hovered in front of me and over the map Emvel was pointing at.

  I was polite and shoved her out of the way, but not before giving the Cuukzen a wide-eyed look.

  He just shrugged his shoulders.

  I mouthed to him without speaking, I hope Blink can swim.

  Emvel continued. “Now, as you get pulled up into the column of water, there is a covering grate to block any objects moving farther into the temple. At this point, we will have an inside Xty open a side grate and allow you to get in and out of the water.”

  “And if they don’t open the grate, we drown, right?” I pushed.

  Emvel smiled. “Trust me, Rels. We have this covered.”

  “Right.”

  “And we have an oxygenation accelerant you can take to increase your time spent under water.”

  “Sounds fun.”

  “That should work, Rels,” Mistuuk said.

  “What? The plan?” I queried.

  The little guy rolled his eyes at me. “No. The oxygenation accelerant, Rels.”