The Otherlings and the Crystal Amulet

by S V Hurn

  Jobar waved his hand at the wall, “Hey, look at these stones. They have some kind of symbols carved into them.”

  Dorathy bent forward to get a closer look. “I’m guessing, but they look to be some sort of constellations. Nothing I recognize, but then again, we are in a completely different part of space, God knows what they reference. Not to mention that,” she pointed up, the constellation of Orion, his belt gleaming brightly with his sword slug to his side, “I have always been fascinated by him hovering in the winter sky . . . but why is he here in this cavern?”

  Henry looked up and wondered the same thing as the image loomed above his head. “I have a feeling we will eventually find the answers. Everyone, look around and take images of everything, no matter how insignificant it seems.”

  After a couple more hours of cataloging, they were spent and made camp for the night in this mysterious place. They found comfort knowing they were nestled in their past, among the familiar eerie glow illuminating the cave. The All-Seeing Eye watched over them and the Owl of Minerva majestically kept guard with its wide glaring eyes and long talons, ready to swoop down on any threat that may lurk in the shadows.

  The day’s events had drained them of energy. Eating in silence, they bedded down for the night. Dorathy sat looking up at her Owl and said to Henry as he lay by her side, “I never thought in a million years that I would one day be sitting here. My father’s ring had that exact insignia engraved onto it. And there it is staring back at me. Life can throw you some real curve balls.” Dorathy chuckled as she continued, “In an odd way, I’m grateful to be here, no matter how bizarre this experience has been.”

  Henry rubbed her back. “Look, life has a way of working itself out. I could say the same thing about my own life. I often have to ask myself, how the hell did I get here? I was a nuclear physicist on a black ops mission. The Pentagon gave us the go-ahead and I carried out my orders. I wanted to pull the plug on the whole damn thing, but I didn’t, and I lost two good men. Then I dug my way out of the middle of that shithole Degraded Section. Our mission was to radiate the place to depopulate the area. I couldn’t morally do it, thought if I did, I’d lose my soul . . . but, I followed my orders. How can a person exterminate other human beings simply because their behavior is so different? God knows, with all the shit they dished out over the centuries the bastards had it coming. The people there are de-evolving . . . almost as if they weren’t firing on all pistons . . . you know what I mean.”

  Dorathy looked down at him, glued to his every word. “Yes, I do know what you mean. I wrote a book about how they seem to be missing the ability to evolve. My father and I spent a lot of time trying to help, in the end they all but threw us out for our efforts. Tell me, Henry, how did you come to be part of all this?”

  “Well after my unanticipated return, they had to shut me down. I knew too much . . . apparently it was a one-way mission and I had received a large dose of radiation. I was dying of radiation poisoning and so here I am, in this cave, thousands of light years away, with you, Dora. You know though, when I look into your eyes, I sing to myself, ‘Every little thing, gonna be alright.”’

  Dorathy started to sing the old tune, “Don’t worry, about a thing, cause every little thing gonna be alright.” They shared a laugh. If only for a moment their spirts were lifted. Dorathy yawned and Henry motioned for her to lie down next to him. They slept as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

  The long journey back consisted of further investigation of the city long forgotten, but offered nothing more in answer to the mystery; everything of importance had been taken along for whatever journey the citizens had departed on, and anything left behind had little more to offer.

  The team arrived at the ship, muscles aching and exhausted, but with a renewed sense of purpose to their mission, eager to discover what they hoped had been hidden in the data. Jobar and Coolie, as much as they wanted to stay, needed to get back to their homes. Their holiday season was ending, which meant it was back to work for them. “You will keep us apprised of your findings?” Jobar said, continuing, “I wish we could stay and help, especially now that we have learned so much. If you find anything worth investigating, you must let us know. This search has been a part of our lives for so many years, to be so close to finding the answers is very exciting.”

  “Don’t worry, my friends,” Henry said reassuringly, “When we know something, we’ll contact you immediately. “You both have been a great help . . .”

  Coolie interjected, “We have been a great help to each other, and we know we are very close to finding the answers that we have been seeking for such a long time.”

  The ship began its ascent up over the city, the light glowing dim as night was approaching. Dorathy looked out over the citadel one last time, sensing that somehow, they were not done with this place, that somehow, they had missed something. The ship hovered for only a moment and then shot up into the tunnel.

  Magnus was receiving a ship proximity alert reading as they crossed over the threshold of the force field. “Hey guys looks like we have company. I’m reading a ship to the port side as we exit.”

  Jobar was craning his neck to see the image of the ship. “Oh no, that appears to be Prime Minister Athanatos’ ship. What in The Maker is she doing out here? We have to escape them, or it will mean big trouble for all of us—you being undocumented aliens, and not to mention our cargo!”

  Dorathy shook her head as tears welled up. She huffed the laugh of someone who had a sudden realization of how immensely convoluted her existence had become. “Puts a whole new spin on the term ‘illegal aliens.’ And our cargo . . . well shit, if that isn’t the funniest God damned thing I have ever heard. Who knew that one day I would be an ‘Illegal’ trafficking drugs across borders? Man, you just can’t make this shit up.”

  Jobar looked confused by her attempted humor. “This is a serious matter, not to be taken lightly, and we MUST make our escape!”

  “Cool your jets, I’ll get us out of this,” Henry said as his mind was piloting the ship, preparing to activate the space bending device.

  Magnus checked his readings. “Ready to make the jump on your mark.” The ship was just clearing the surface.

  “Punch it!”

  Silas was suddenly getting a reading from the fast approaching ship, his fingers flying over the controls. “They are coming out hot. Engaging the graviton beam now.”

  Prime Minister Athanatos screamed, “Don’t let them get away. I want them captured alive, use the blast gun only to disable them!”

  The foreign ship was just clearing the surface; Silas’s eyes were ablaze by the sight, engaging the beam with lightning fast reflexes. The beam wrapped the ship in a brightly charged field and it shuddered momentarily. The outer hull changed from its stealth black and now to a brightly glowing red. A fog lifted from Kore’s memories, for this ship had a familiar shape and she knew immediately the importance of it. “My holy hell, could it really be . . . that ship comes from the other side of our existence. Get me that ship! She pounded a fist on the console beside her.

  Suddenly the travelers’ ship shot an electrified field of bright blue in all directions, frying everything on board Kore’s vessel. Silas played his hands across the controls to block the other ship’s path of escape, but it was useless. Smoke filled the cockpit with the smell of melted fuses and ozone. Kore shouted obscenities directed not only to her pilot. “Damn you! You will regret this! Their would-be captured prey bent the space around them, and they were gone in an instant only leaving a golden flash in their wake. Silas leaned back in his smoke-filled cockpit; his suspicions were correct about the origins of this transient ship.

  “Damn that was close!” Brenda, feeling exhilarated, said louder than she knew.

  Jobar and Coolie were obviously shaken. Coolie gasped, “That was Prime Minister Kore Athanatos’s ship. “Why was she out here in the outer region?”

  Jobar shook his head. “Makes no sense . . . how could she know
what we were up to and why would she care? We are just simple miners. We need to get to our ship before she figures it out, so we can make our escape!”

  Jobar grasped at the back of Magnus’s seat. “That electrified field was amazing. Where did you find such a technology?”

  Magnus looked at Henry with one brow cocked. Henry glanced back at Dorathy. “Seems that our ship is full of surprises these days.”

  Jobar and Coolie looked at each other, confused by the whole damn thing. Jobar stressed the need to get back to his precious ship. “Well, whatever you did back there I hope it’s enough to have disabled them long enough.” He gazed around their self-aware ship. “Although something tells me we are in the clear for the time being.”

  Magnus looked over his shoulder. “I have a feeling you’re right my little friend.”

  They landed back on the old mining outpost with Jobar and Coolie collecting their precious cargo and parting ways just in the nick of time. As Jobar piloted his ship away from the small mining operation, he could make out the old timer running down the airstrip in distress, waving for them to land. Jobar ignored the old fellow as he put the ship in fast ascent.

  Coolie asked again, “Are you sure he can’t track us?”

  “Not to worry, I gave him false documents when I paid him off.”

  “Oh my,” Coolie said with despair riddling his voice. “I hope you’re right about this, because if she tracks us down, we’re finished!”

  Jobar pondered the circumstances for a moment and said nothing. Thoughts of the wrath of his sister Mares were almost as bad as thinking about the wrath of the Prime Minister. He glanced to his side where the crate of poppies had been thrown in their haste to make an escape.

  Coolie saw the determined look on his face. “Yes, and what about those poppies? You have gotten us in quite a pickle, my friend, and the sooner we get rid of those the better I’ll feel.”

  Jobar rolled his eyes. “You will feel better when you have your half of the credits in your hand. Why don’t you have a drink? It might make you a little less irritating.”

  Coolie bit his lip and reached for his bottle. “One day this shit is going to catch up to us.”

  “Coolie, my friend, no matter how much crap we have done together you can’t say we were ever bored out here.”

  Coolie slugged down another gulp of his fermentation and thought about it as he handed the bottle to his oldest friend. He began to laugh. “The shit we’ve pulled off . . . hell, wouldn’t have it any other way. A couple more operations and we can finally retire.”

  While sharing their thoughts on the last couple of days, they arrived at their destination. As Jobar slowed to sub-speed he caught sight of the ship waiting for them. Coolie sat back in his seat trying to stay calm. “I hate dealing with these gangsters.”

  Jobar looked Coolie in the eye. “Look you really have to learn to relax. They can’t see you sweat, or we’re toast; now go get our blast guns.” Coolie did as he was asked, then took a long hard swig on his bottle, cursing under his breath.

  The other ship slowly drifted to initiate the docking procedure while Jobar pulled the large crate of poppies over to the airlock. The link secure, Jobar pulled the lever on the inner hull door to the airlock passage-way.

  Dressed in fur coats with crudely sewn thick-hide pants tucked into tall boots, two tall, thin and pale humanoids waited on the other side of the hatch, their guns drawn. “You’re late,” the elder of the two said. Jobar made no move from his position blocking the entrance to his ship, his awkwardly large blaster gun pointed upward with one hand, and the other on the lever of the airlock. Coolie gave a hard shove to the heavy crate and it slid to rest at their guests’ feet. The elder of the two gangsters motioned for his companion to evaluate the quality of the cargo. He opened the box and cradling one of the poppies, took a small whiff of the fragrant flower. His bloodshot eyes rolled back into his head and he muttered, “It’s prime product.” Clearly no stranger to the effects of the poppy, he reached into his coat and jerked out a bag of credits. Jobar flinched, stopping just short of pulling the trigger. The man laughed loudly, baring his stained and broken teeth. “Easy there little fella,” he sneered as he tossed the bag of credits to Coolie. Coolie quickly counted the credits and nodded. “Not to worry little man, it’s all there. Once again you have come through with excellent product. I need not remind you that you don’t know us.”

  Jobar said arrogantly, “We are just as guilty as you, so likewise. Our business here is finished, so if you don’t like the coldness of space, I suggest you get off my ship. He tightened his grip around the airlock lever.

  “Now that’s not very hospitable.” The man could sense Jobar was getting nervous. But it was not worth aggravating him any further, particularly since Jobar had the upper hand and could easily blow them out into space. “Until next time, my little friends.” They turned and walked the short narrow passage of Jobar’s ship’s airlock opened the hatch to their ship, disengaged and were gone.

  Jobar was at the controls where he had already plotted his course and punched it in with a firm hand. They made their escape before their business associates got any ideas about engaging in foul play to maximize profits by taking their ship.

  CHAPTER 38

  Kore sat in the darkness of her cold mountain home, her beloved feathered and furry winged creature sitting loyally by her side. She rarely gazed into the night sky. It had become a constant reminder of how many worlds existed in the far reaches of space. She had spent so much of her life trying to discover the truth of where she had come from that she had withdrawn from others and turned within for comfort. All were inferior to her. She believed she had a special purpose in this life, if only she could find the missing pieces of the puzzle.

  She had taken out the old images that had been stored away for so many years and spread them around her. Sitting on the cold stone floor with a stew bubbling over the fire, Kore brushed away the dust with the sleeve of her cloak and stared at the images that had been passed down from generations a long time dead. She didn’t have even a clue about who these people were, where they were from, or when, but today she had a glimmer of hope revealed to her in the shape of a ship that was familiar to her. She rapidly flipped through the images and came to rest on one in particular. “Ah, there you are my pretty.” She adjusted the lenses on the end of her long nose, and she ran her fingers over the image. Somehow, touching it gave her hope of finding the truth. “Yes, there you are in all your splendor. Who are you and where did you come from? I must find you if I am ever going to get the answers I need.” She hit a button and the picture expanded to 3D imagery, slowly rotating in the smoky air of her cold dark room, glowing black and red, the wing tip moving over her head. Her beloved pet, startled at first, reached up but only managed to grasp at the air as the image distorted momentarily by his attempt. Kore patted the top of his head as he reached for her hand. “For all the creator’s damnations you have just stepped into my world and I will possess your secrets, my fleeing friends.” She looked down and smiled as her gaze met the yellow glow of her companion’s eyes lovingly staring back at her.

  “We depart on a journey tomorrow, my love.” Feathers and fur ruffling, the creature jumped up and down, baring his teeth in a smile and clapping his clawed hands in excitement. He was rarely allowed the simple pleasure of leaving his bleak surroundings.

  CHAPTER 39

  After hours of reviewing data from the lost city, Dimitri rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair putting his feet up on the table and sipping from the bottle of the concoction Coolie had given them. Magnus returned with his usual cup of hot tea. “You know my friend that shit will kill you.”

  He muttered a reply that sounded suspiciously like an obscenity. “I have been dead before and you know sometimes I think that would be better than what we are doing out here in the middle of fucking nowhere.”

  Magnus gazed at him over the top of his cup, steam hazing his vision, “Yes, I do r
ecognize the fact we are on an impossible mission but given the alternatives at the time our options and our lives had become somewhat limited, to say the least.”

  Dimitri shot back, “Yes but we would be a long time dead by now enjoying whatever kind of life waits for us on the other side.”

  Magnus laughed. “You are forgetting one key element . . . we ARE on the other side.”

  Dimitri frowned for a second and laughed his big Russian laugh and chided him by saying, “You are so smart, no wonder you were MI6.” Magnus shook his head with a smile as he caught the implied insult.

  Brenda sauntered in and knocked Dimitri’s feet off the table. “What the hell is so goddamned funny? Aren’t you two supposed to be analyzing the data?”

  Dimitri slapped her on her back side. “Hey, woman, we have been at it for hours; we need a break!”

  Brenda took a seat at the table, grabbing a glass off the counter and pouring herself a shot of the backyard moonshine. “Well, tell me what you guys have so far.”

  Dimitri, with a heavy sigh, punched a few keys on his console and a 3D image of his work appeared hovering over the table. “This is un-coded DNA data I retrieved from the tombs. Each one is different, but somehow related.” He added, “There is a pattern here, but I have not been able to ascertain which order to read the data. I have tried repeatedly to connect the individuals’ patterns but they just don’t match up.”

  Magnus scrutinized the images floating over his head while sipping his tea and suddenly noted that something appeared repetitive but almost superfluous. He hesitated momentarily, running it through his mind before speaking, not wanting to give Dimitri any evidence that he was lacking in intellect. He wasn’t quite sure what it was he had just spotted but deemed it important enough to mention regardless of Dimitri’s onslaught of insults over the years. He stood and pointed to the area in question. “That there seems to be a primmer of sorts.”