“Then you above all should know how easy it will be for me to shred your mind, Carina.”
“Carina felt excruciating pain, and blackness approaching as Tara began to mentally destroy her.
Suddenly, Carina felt warm as her mind clouded then went blank. She had fainted.
Just then, Alex stepped through the door.
“You’re a sadistic bitch, Tara,” he coldly stated.
“And, so the other comes to me,” she mockingly greeted him.
“You felt sorry for your mother when you left Cradle. Didn’t you?”
“Interesting, you’ve been in my mind… Yet…?”
“That’s right, you didn’t feel me, Tara.”
“Maybe you already knew about Cradle. Anyway, mother was useless to us.”
“Why? Because she wanted children like us?”
“Don’t flatter yourself. You are both weak and disposable.”
“I don’t want to kill you, Tara. But, if you go on like this, you may leave me no choice.”
“I can take you any time. Destroy you, or bed you even.”
“You’re sick, Tara,” Alex shot back while thinking about how he could do what he had to do to Tara’s mind. But first, he needed a distraction.
Earhart. Call me. Alex sent. And the room comms beeped.
“We’re ready to go, Alex,” Earhart’s voice rattled around the room, causing a surprised look to cross Tara’s face, distracting her momentarily.
Alex was in Tara’s mind like a flash. He knew exactly what he needed to do, and where, to render Tara harmless for now.
Then Tara made a whimpering sound and collapsed to the floor.
Alex ignored her while he lifted Carina onto Tara’s large bed, then entered Carina’s mind.
Three minutes later, Alex was satisfied that Carina would wake up none the worse for her ordeal, except for a sore head.
Now for Tara, he thought as he lifted her comatose body onto the bed and laid it next to Carina.
This’ll be interesting to see when they both come around and realize that they’re lying next to each other, he thought to himself.
Alex knew that Tara would be bewildered when she came around and that he would have to spend time with her later to help her come to terms with her new reality. And, hopefully, an acceptable reality. However, he couldn’t help wondering what her reactions to that would be.
Chapter 26
We thought you were dead
It seemed a long time before Frank, Susanna, Cindy, and Gerry were summoned to the central reception area of the Starship Ronin, that Delta had brought from 2620.
Although the seating that had been provided looked luxurious, it was merely a Holographic Projection. However, the projection was dense enough to give the seats enough solidity to support the human bodies.
“It’s been an interesting experience, so far,” Gerry remarked, trying to break the ice.
Frank didn’t reply, but he was thinking about this Captain Gerry Stevens. He knew that Gerry was a level two, which meant that he had been rated high enough to have had two brain-cell injections. But, Cindy must be at least a level five, so could run rings around Gerry if she wished.
“Maybe so, Frank,” Cindy agreed after catching his thoughts on Gerry.
“Sorry. It’s so boring. Just thinking about things in general,” Frank explained.
Frank, then continued thinking while trying to suppress his radiated thoughts from Cindy.
He and Susanna had reached level five, the same as Cindy. But, Charlotte, Alex, and Corina were all level six, with Helen only a four.
Frank wasn’t sure what level Charlotte’s offspring, Garth, and Tara were now, although he suspected that they had been given all of Charlotte’s cell supply.
So, he thought, since the mental level rating was directly related to the number of brain enhancement cell injections used. Then it seemed reasonable to assume that Charlotte’s prognosis was correct and that the improper use of the Brain-Cell Enhancement Program was a mistake.
Frank then thought a shot of whiskey would be good, right now, and was bemused to see a glass of simulated whiskey materialize in front of him, hovering ready for him to take a sip.
Thinking about it, he wasn’t really surprised at this technical achievement. After all, Ronin’s designers had come from the future and were more than 300 years further ahead than Frank’s counterparts.
Frank smiled as he watched the other three, having sensed what had happened to him, summon up their own drinks.
A short time later, the small greenish colored interface sphere that answered to the name Ronin detached itself from the ship’s real AI and appeared in the reception area.
The ship’s AIU or artificial intelligence unit was safely located within the vessel and had access to a vast amount of information on which to base its recommendations and actions.
Frank had already noted that the same faint green glow of entropy that surrounded Ronin hugged every part of this ship. And, that the risk of being yanked back to the 2620 time-period with this ship, was a distinct possibility.
“We will be rendezvousing with Tamar’s vessel in twenty-minutes,” Ronin informed. “Tamar is the Varon’s High-Seer. He will explain the reason why you four are here, and the tasks that they have set for you.”
“And, if we don’t agree with this, Tamar?” Gerry asked.
“Then, you will not be caught.”
“Caught doesn’t mean anything to us, Ronin,” Susanna pointed out.
“I only know that if you succeed, you will be caught after the event.”
“What event?” Cindy asked, finally engaging Ronin.
“Time, of course. No more questions. Tamar will explain all.”
With that, Ronan vanished. Then reappeared briefly, as the sphere started to merge with the ship’s AIU, and just for an instant, a wall of flickering lights appeared to engulf Ronin, then the small greenish interface sphere vanished.
“Well, that was informative. I don’t think,” Gerry grumbled.
“Do you ever get the feeling that we’re going to regret being here?” Susanna asked.
“Ever since we arrived,” Gerry muttered.
“Cindy, do you know how Delta managed to pull this ship back from 2620?” Frank asked.
“I imagine Delta would have had to use four of their Time-ships locked together to provide a large enough time bubble,” Cindy replied.
“Why four ships,” Susanna queried.
“The time-shaft, or elevator if you like, can only support four ships passing through it at any given moment.”
“But, you seem to be able to bend this shaft to suit the necessary Timeline correction, Cindy,” Gerry stated.
“Not actually bend it, Gerry. But we can create a spur to exit the time-shaft at any date and time along it.”
“And steer the end of the spur to the target?” Frank asked.
“Exactly.”
“So, Delta’s Temporal Anchor in 2725, the one you and Charlotte mentioned. Is that just at the end of a spur?” Frank asked, pressing Cindy.
“No. The Anchor is the source. Up and Downtime starts there.”
“But, the source would have to know billions of time points, Cindy,” Susanna interjected.
“Not necessarily. The source is a massive crystal, which creates the Temporal shaft, whose Temporal field stretches up and downtime.”
“So, the Time-ships can control the actual time-stops, and spur creations, themselves,” Frank ventured, having thought about it a bit more.
“Not a good move, Frank,” Cindy stated, catching Frank’s wayward thought.
Frank ignored her. He’d already been told about the thousands of sensors across space that continuously updated Delta’s temporal overlay, by Charlotte.
And, about the misty-red third overlay that was panicking Delta’s predictors.
Suddenly all four found themselves involved in a mental conversation as to what this meeting was about.
&nbs
p; Twenty minutes later, Ronin reappeared.
“We have exited warp and are waiting next to our designated Varon vessel,” he told them. Surprising them all, as no-one had felt Ronin’s exit from warp, let alone the fact that Ronin had already come to a halt, one hundred meters from the Varon's vessel.
“Ah. High-Seer Tamar is now ready to commence,” Ronin added. As a spherical area of mist formed in the center of Ronin’s recreation area. Then solidified and became a transparent display, with the Varon vessel appearing to hang majestically in its center.
The vessel was massive compared to Ronin. The silver-colored cylindrically shaped hull was populated by rows of lit windows that gave the appearance of a luxury liner. But that’s where the similarities ended.
The Varon vessel, unlike the Earth Starships with their sleek curving surfaces, had numerous objects protruding from her hull. And at each end, a raised ring held her jump exciter rings.
“Bit of a tub,” Gerry stated.
“Don’t let looks deceive you, Gerry,” Ronin corrected.
“You will join me,” a different sounding voice then stated, with the command appearing to come from Ronin.
Frank knew that the voice had to be Tamar’s.
Suddenly, Ronin’s transfer discs formed beneath their feet, and their minds went blank for a second.
Then Frank saw that they were no longer on Ronin but were standing in a large chamber onboard the Varon vessel.
Frank was impressed and wondered why they’d had to use the capsule to transfer from Andromeda when they could surely have used these discs. Perhaps it was because we had our belongings with us?
The Alien facing them was a seven-foot-tall and frail looking biped. With an over-sized hairless and boyish looking head that was much larger than a human’s and supported two large black colored round eyes and a small, almost mean looking mouth. All of which, gave the Varon a hard look, conveying power.
The Varon was wearing a long red robe that almost touched the floor. The robe itself was adorned with various golden shapes, including a large eye that probably denoted his standing within the Varon race. While a wide, gold colored and sturdy looking sash hugged the Varon’s waist. The belt had several pouches, and two other objects attached to it that gave off a yellowish glow.
“Tamar, I assume,” Gerry said stating the obvious.
The Varon touched one of the two glowing objects before answering.
“I am Tamar. High-Seer of Varon,” the being confirmed. “Your ship, Ronin, suggests that you would prefer speech if possible.”
“Yes. Just in case we miss something, Tamar. We all have different mental levels,” Frank explained.
“Understood,” Tamar agreed.
“Err, what do we call you?” Gerry asked, wondering what sex Tamar was.
“Irrelevant. I am called Tamar.”
Chapter 27
Lexington or die
Carina awoke with a sore head. She shuddered as the memory of her ordeal with Tara returned. Then realized that she was lying flat on a bed in Tara’s cabin.
Carina struggled to sit up not knowing if their plan had succeeded. Then her hand touched a still body lying next to her. She looked, and to her horror saw it was Tara.
“Damn,” she said. “Alex!” she called out as Tara stirred.
It’s Okay, I’m here, Alex mentally acknowledged.
Tara… Is she safe? Is it safe for me to be here? Carina asked.
Yes. Tara will be a bit bewildered when she comes around. You’ll have to help her accept her reality without her power.
Geeze. If I must, Carina sent back.
I’m working on Earhart’s bolt-hole to extract Garth’s plan to take over the Lexington, Alex informed her.
Alright. Let me know when you’re done.
Tara slowly came around. Then her eyes locked onto Carina.
“Don’t bother to try and control me, Tara,” Carina calmly said. Seeing a look of frustration and fury cross Tara’s face as she realized her mind control mechanism had been altered.
“What have you done to me,” Tara angrily yelled as she sat up.
“Alex blocked your enhanced cell matrix.”
“Garth will kill you both for this,” Tara snarled. “He’ll soon remove your stupid block.”
“I’m afraid you are delusional, Tara,” Carina said, trying to calm her while maintaining her own air of confidence.
Tara slumped back on the bed. “We’ll see about that,” she replied.
“No. You will not be able to contact Garth until this Trexis quest of yours is over,” Carina coldly stated, as a mental question from Alex registered in her mind.
How is Tara?
Grumpy.
She’ll be fine… I’ve left it so that she can use her mental communication ability, but only for short range.
Makes sense, Alex. What did you get on Lexington and Garth’s three ships?
We’ve got Garth’s plan from Earhart’s bolt-hole. The timings were already programmed into Invincible’s navigation system. And we’ve synced it all to Victor and Excalibur.
So, your plan seems to be on track right now, Alex.
Looks that way. I’ve sent an update to Lexington, so she’ll know how I expect things to pan out. Invincible’s security AI has just confirmed Helen has boarded the Arrow, and she should converge with Lexington at Monitor station, MV210, as scheduled, Alex told her.
Good. Helen will be fine. She knows what she must do.
Yes. Helen’s a spunky kid.
She’s not a kid. She’s my sister, and she’s only a year younger than me, Carina corrected him.
Whoa. Don’t take it the wrong way. She’s just full of life and more outgoing than you.
Meaning, I’m dull?
That’s not what I meant, Carina. Anyway, it looks like we’ve eight minutes before we are scheduled to jump for the Lexington.
What about Discovery?
She’ll stay ready but clamped to Invincible for the duration, Alex said.
Just then, Intrepid’s Captain Adams call interrupted Alex’s conversation with Carina.
I’ve got to go. Just keep an eye on Tara.
Okay, Carina acknowledged, then she was mentally alone again.
“Comms open, Alex,” Captain Banks confirmed, and the image of Intrepid’s Captain Adams appeared on Alex’s Tactical screen.
“I assume you’re ready, John?” Alex asked, knowing that both he and Sitrea were.
“As instructed, we’re both synced for a ten ship-minute delay after you jump.”
Captain Sitrea’s face then joined Captain Adams’ face, on Alex’s display.
“My Battlesphere is synced with Intrepid,” Sitrea confirmed.
“Then we’re set. Just keep to the plan, and we’ll end this Trexis threat once and for all.”
“Count on us,” both Captain Adams and Captain Sitrea said as their faces vanished from Alex’s screen.
“Six minutes, Alex,” Captain Banks prompted.
Alex smiled to himself even though he knew his plan was risky, and that Garth was going to be a hard nut to crack.
“Where are you father, when I need you?” Alex muttered.
Chapter 28
An unwanted truth
Frank waited for the Varon High-Seer to take them somewhere more comfortable, as the holographic seats weren’t as good as they had hoped. But that seemed unlikely as Tamar showed no sign of moving.
They all watched as a massive disc-shaped holographic scene gradually built, forming a virtual Galaxy that hung four meters above their heads.
“Please remove your mind blocks,” Tamar ordered. And the humans reluctantly complied, even though they couldn’t see the reason for Tamar’s request.
“I will tell you of our coming,” Tamar then said.
“Uh, since we’re not going anyplace soon, can we at least have something more comfortable to sit on?” Gerry asked.
“You will be returning to Ronin very soon,” Tamar stated,
as a horizontal green line formed on the holographic image, just below the Galactic Plain. With several points of light along the line, marking critical events in the human’s timeline.
“Is this copied from Delta’s data, Tamar? Or, are you in competition with them?” Frank asked, thinking that the Varons didn’t seem that far advanced.
Tamar ignored Frank. “I will tell you of our coming,” he reiterated
“Not too long a story, I hope,” Gerry muttered.
Tamar ignored Gerry’s remark and continued.
“A long time ago, my Varon species home star became unstable and was on its way to becoming a Super-Nova. So, while we still had time, we spent many years searching for a new home planet.
When we eventually found a planet that was suitable for us, we dispatched our first three groups of settler vessels.
We only had a limited number of small faster than light ships to go around, so each settler ship was accompanied by one FTL ship. Nevertheless, the groups were well equipped with everything they would need to survive. Including a Hyperlink system that would enable the groups to keep in touch, knowing that some years later our main Varon armada would follow.”
Tamar’s expression seemed to grow sadder for a moment.
“One of the three original groups dispatched was destroyed by the Crillons at a place you call Kepler 186,” he told them. Then paused again before continuing.
“Nevertheless, our armada finally left our home world.”
Then Tamar’s face seemed to brighten again.
“Our vast fleet of larger ships carried several million Varons in cryo-suspension. As expected, the fleet had been designed to incorporate all the necessary manufacturing equipment and life support systems that would be needed to enable us to rebuild our society again. This we succeeded in doing.”
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