by Reiter
Starblazer:
Through the Black Gate
To My Questors: Past, Present & Future –
… Roll me a D30!
A
Novel
In association with
© Lajko Press in association with Quicksylver Publications, 2018
Cover Art by: Thomas Wievegg
Book One of the
Beyond the Outer Rim
Series
By Reiter
Table of Contents
Prologue I
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Interlude II
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Interlude III
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Interlude IV
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Interlude V
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Interlude VI
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Ninteen
Interlude VII
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Interlude VIII
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Interlude IX
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Interlude X
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Interlude XI
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Interlude XII
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Epilogue XIII
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In a controversy, the instant we feel anger, we have already ceased striving for truth and have begun striving for ourselves.
Abraham J Heschel
(I)
“At last!” Her voice was soft, light in the thin air of the chamber. As dim as the area might have been, there was no shortage of the light in her eyes. The wait had been long indeed, but her time in the shadows was finally coming to an end. With the arrival of the one, she could at last set things in motion.
“How many times?” she whispered, recollecting the number of instances where she had wanted to approach the chamber in which now she stood. Her arms straightened out over the crystalline console and her head dropped between her shoulders. She exhaled, blowing out between her lips, savoring the moment. The thousands of attempts that had all met with failure at one point or another. She had made a conscious decision to not keep an accurate count when her twentieth scenario had imploded, almost literally. “How many times and how long?” The woman shook her head, removing the urge to answer her own inquiries. In the fullness of things, it did not matter. She knew for certain that she needed to be a student of history to keep from repeating it. Anything beyond that measure of respect gave way to obsession and ultimately distraction.
Her head came up and she looked at the last rod to be inserted into the console. “It is time, my gracious Lords and precious Ladies.” Her right hand slowly moved to the top of the crystal and her smile grew brighter. It took very little pressure to get the clear crystal rod to descend into the console, and the slow building of light inside the giant crystal construct was expected. As it grew in brightness, the figure stepped back from the console and took hold of another rod; one that had been at her side since before she came to this place. Red light shot from it, mixing in with the growing light of the console. For a time it too turned red but slowly became white again.
“Awaken,” the woman commanded, returning the rod it its sleeve. “Awaken, and take back what has always been yours!”
The floor shuddered and the woman’s head looked around in wonder. She combed back her long, thick, white hair and strained her eyes to see as the format of the walls began to change. What looked to be a seam formed in the middle of one wall, and the room trembled as the one wall became two. In moments, the four-sided room was six-sided and on its way to becoming eight-sided.
Light shot from the console down to the floor beneath the niche where the console had been carved. The shaft of light maintained a fixed width, reaching a crystalline pod wedged into one of the new corners. The pod took in every erg of the light, beginning to glow itself... or rather, the humanoid form inside the pod started to glow, slowly beginning to move around inside the pod.
A smile crossed her face, witnessing the awakening of an entity. She knew of their power, or the lower limits thereof, and it tickled her. To be creatures of incredible capability, they were like children at the moment; weak, naïve, and vulnerable. Another emission of light came from the console, striking another pod. The shell of the first was shattered; a slender female fist hammered through the crystal.
“This task has been resolved,” the woman said, smiling down as three subsequent beams were emitted, initiating the change inside of three more pods. The number of pods that received light was barely one-tenth of the total number of crystalline cases scattered throughout the chamber, but that was to be expected. The woman knew there would only be a few brought to this form of consciousness by what she had done. “At least for the moment, my work here is done!
“The shadows await,” she thought as she walked out of the chamber before the three-meter thick doors would shut behind her. She reached for the hood of her black cloak. Her fingers and thumbs ran down the conservative silver lining of the hood, locking it into place as she made her trek from the chamber. “I must take my place in the audience... and let the players work their craft.”
“Khiea,” the female said as her head came up through the shell and she opened her eyes. It would be more accurate to say that she lifted the lids from over her twin seeing-crystals as they received the light of the room. Her metallic voice did not echo, it was repeated by the chamber in the same intonation and pitch. At every sound she shuddered, straining to keep her eyes open. The crystals changed color as they continued to take in the energy in the light. She lifted her head to look up. As a male fist came through the shell of another pod, doors in the ceiling of the room began to open, revealing a large crystal glowing with power. Her eyes changed color as she gazed up at the power storage unit, and it responded by changing colors to mimic her eyes. When both points turned black, white light shot from the female’s chest to the large crystal. It returned the measure, but at over ten times the capacity. The woman shuddered once more and when the delivery was complete, she closed her eyes, pressing her lips together.
“Cak,” the male announced and his voice was also repeated by the chamber. He was followed by Tilu, Naf, Poma, and Boj as each one of them went through the same process. When the last burst of light was received from the storage unit, the six looked at one another and then back up at the large
crystal. Something was very wrong.
“Where is Eesa?” Khiea asked. Each one of their eyes glowed with light, but for barely a second.
“She has been violated,” Cak announced. “Another has taken her form and fouled her body. She cannot form here. Not on this awakening.”
“One who calls herself Xaythra is the one who has prevented Eesa,” Tilu added. “She inhabited our sister, believing her power was much like that of our Sister Star.”
“An unhinged goddess,” Naf informed, taking his left hand to touch his right arm. The living metallic skin was intact, but his body had not formed as it should have. He was weaker than the others, thinner and more frail. A moment of concentration and he could see his celestial body being siphoned, fed upon, and it had affected this representation of his essence. “But I do not sense a malicious intention so much as a lack of awareness.”
“If Eesa cannot form, we should allocate her birthing power to Naf,” Poma suggested. “He too has been violated, though not to the same degree as Eesa.”
“I concur,” Boj added as he stepped from his pod onto the floor of the chamber.
“There is no disagreement,” Khiea declared as she looked up at the storage unit. The others looked up in unison and their eyes all began to change colors again, signaling the crystal to deliver the last of its power. Another blast fell to Naf and he went from being slightly smaller than his brethren to over twice their stature. His skin looked more like glass than metal, and light shone from the center of his chest. A small star had been created inside of him and with that power came greater knowledge and capability. He closed his eyes to take in the power as the others looked at one another. Without a word spoken, it was decided. Khiea would be their leader, the Conductor of their Chorus, and Naf would be their Baton.
“Much has happened since we last looked upon ourselves and our flocks,” Khiea announced. “Much has passed since last our voices were heard in this body.”
“But we cannot recall why we slept,” Boj added, closing his eyes when the doors to the storage unit thundered closed. Nearly depleted of its power, it would once again begin the process of collecting light, knowledge and cosmic essence. “We should not speak until the veil has been lifted.”
“There is no disagreement,” Khiea stated, turning to face Naf. “You must go to Eesa’s celestial body and see what has happened to our sister. Our eyes can only see so much from this place.”
“That too is in error,” Tilu added.
“Agreement,” Khiea replied. “We will acquire knowledge before we take action. There is no disagreement. Baton, you are dispatched.”
“I understand and obey!” Naf said as he ascended from the floor at the speed of light, shooting through the ceiling of the chamber in neutrino form. It would not be long before he was at the place the light recipients had labeled Tau Upsilon.
“While our Star Brother investigates this matter, let us look to the light and see what we and our unformed brethren have done in the absence of these forms. What have the Stars told these sub-forms?”
** b *** t *** o *** r **
She opened her green eyes as her lungs filled with air. She was breathing again, sitting up quickly from the rocky surface upon which her body had been laid. Her blue hair blew in the breeze as the small field of atmosphere was beginning to disperse. She did not need oxygen to exist, but Xaythra was not about to let her emotions lead her to yet another irrational decision, only to find herself disciplined like some petulant child who had lost sight of their place. She looked around and engaged her control over gravity to keep the remaining air around her. She had been deposited on a floating rock in space, but she had not been abandoned alone. The Legerian had seen to it that she could not simply fly off after him… not unless she wanted Hanvashi to perish.
“I couldn’t care less about Gregoran,” she thought.
“This has so little to do with what you think!” a voice spoke softly to her as an image slowly began to take shape in front of the would-be goddess. It began, but it did not finish, remaining only as a dark gray blur of light and chaos. Xaythra did not need to see who was speaking, she could tell by the sound and presence that accompanied the voice… it was her creator, her mistress! It was Neve! “The cost of your continued education begins to wear thin on me, Xaythra. No matter what the others may come to think of you, it was my power that brought about your creation.”
“I remember, Neve,” Xaythra said, lowering her head and her tone.
“All too late, I’m afraid,” the image replied. “Who gave you leave to take action against Freund?! On second thought, don’t answer that. I and whomever you might mention are both better off with me not knowing. Suffice to say that because the encounter was so poorly handled, our first best stride has been undone! My plans have been spoiled, and I must now engage a contingency.” The image started to fade and Xaythra bowed before its power.
“Whilst I collect myself, child, do what you can to make amends. I have not yet decided what I will do with you because of this. Endeavor to brighten my perspective!”
In an instant, the presence was gone, leaving Xaythra with her thoughts, fears, and frustrations. Without having another target to receive her rage, Xaythra thought of Austin and the way he had treated her.
“You have cost me much, Legerian. Yet you were right about one thing: as immortals, there is no need to rush. Make no mistake, cretin, I will have my revenge!
Do you hear me, Legerian?” she spoke softly, knowing the mysterious Austin received every word. “Another time!”
“I would be lying if I were to say that I wasn’t looking forward to our next encounter, goddess,” a whispering voice responded and her hands clenched tight, causing the asteroid to quake. “Until such time, however, might I suggest you monitor those your current form imitates? Trust me on this Xaythra, you will find it difficult to keep power over us until you come to have an understanding of what we are. But that’s just my opinion, entity to entity. Ciao, bella!”
Xaythra looked at the stars, feeling the presence that had been monitoring her slowly slip away like a soft breeze. With Baron Zoll and the High Priest Gregoran still unconscious, she was, in effect, quite alone. She looked at the planetoid and tried to isolate a single vector of gravity. The objective was to increase the isolated line of force while negating all others. The Legerian had left her in quite a position and she was much weaker than she had estimated. She had to use her hands to guide her mind and her power.
Before she had created the effect she was looking for, the large rock in space started to move, but very slowly, and only with a concerted effort did it manage to pick up some velocity. Xaythra knew to collect ice and debris along the way and use them to sustain her two followers.
Her lips curled in anger, the muscles in her body taut with anger and the strain of her toiling. “Another time, indeed,” she thought as the planetoid accelerated.
** b *** t *** o *** r **
The Observation Chamber was one of Austin’s favorites. It was a place where he began the approach to omniscience with the thousands of devices he had scattered throughout the Rims. The particular planetoid Xaythra now used as her cosmic chariot was just another one of his more clever constructs. It had been made from his ship and was therefore part of his provincial pantheon. While she remained on it, he could control the level at which Xaythra could employ her abilities, and monitor her without her notice.
The Legerian put his hand to his lips and allowed his eyes to squint in consideration. Virgil walked into the room, carrying a serving tray with a hot cup of tea already prepared.
“Well, that was certainly unexpected,” Virgil said as he set the tray down.
“To say the very least,” Austin muttered his agreement. “What have we stumbled across on this passing, my confidante? The fledgling goddess is one thing, but this... this is a bend in the road that was not originally on our maps.”
“Are you lost?”
“Interesting inquiry. It w
ould be complete delusion not to consider how greatly this latest encounter changes things. The would-be goddess bows to another.”
“The god of a god!” Virgil exclaimed. “I just love it when we find ourselves in the middle of something–”
“The one to whom Xaythra was speaking was no deity,” Austin declared as he continued to ponder what he had just witnessed.
“...new.” Virgil finished, speaking flatly as the news surprised him and explained why Austin was so deeply invested in his thoughts. A moment of thought and Virgil gasped, placing his fingertips to his chest. “The little bitchlet was duped again?!”
“She certainly was,” Austin said as he directed Virgil’s attention to one of his many screens. “And thank you for the tea,” he added as he reached for the cup and saucer.
“You know you’re always welcome,” Virgil said, half-distracted as he looked at the readout in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. “MannA?! That image was some sort of spell?”
“Look at the scale of the MannA intensity recorded,” Austin directed just ahead of taking a sip of the tea. His eyebrows lifted over his eyes, sweetly surprised at the lemon flavor. “Excellent as always.”
“Thank you.”
“I especially appreciate the change in the flavor. It is a very welcome surprise.”
“My pleasure,” Virgil replied, as he frowned. “I don’t want to sound stupid here.”
“Impossible!” Austin argued before taking another sip. “No, what you’re seeing should be confusing. Our lessons in MajiK have not reached this level. That is nearly sentient energy in that expression.” A soft beeping noise came from another screen and Austin quickly set down his saucer. “A-ha!” he barked loudly, nearly making Virgil jump in surprise. “And that is the point of origin of the casting!”
