Most heads around the table nodded bleakly as she continued. "There is new information, thanks to the stalwart efforts of our Earth Guardians, The Alliance and Tarafau's people. Based on that information we must form a solid plan to achieve the mission we have previously discussed. The Alliance has requested our continued support in eradicating the threat of domination, torture and destruction intended by a foe of which we know very little.
We will obviously not achieve that this evening, but we will once again set ourselves up in teams to work on the components of a plan that will be useful. Starting first thing in the morning, we will be separating into our groups after a briefing from each of the current teams. The last time we met we debriefed on our status at that time, but with the new information we now have acquired, we can move forward. Jenny, do you have anything to add?"
Along with the rest, Tarafau turned to look at Jenny, who stood. Jenny still surprised him, even after seeing her deal with multiple attacks, kidnapping and torture. She looked so incredibly young. And yet, Lizzie had been about that age when she became the Gate Guardian over 60 years ago.
As Jenny stood, she was silent for a moment, looking into each face and gathering her thoughts. "Thank you again for your solidarity and support. I look forward to working with all of you again and continuing my training in my posts of Guardian and Gatekeeper. I am designating Tarafau as the leader and coordinator of this mission, with Lova and Gariel as his counselors. Tomorrow we will assign team leaders and release you to your various stations. We have some additional support with us today as well. Tarafau, will you introduce us to your friends?"
"Please welcome my cousins, Sardina, Elgyra and Desminda. They are here as specialists in interdimensional science, cultural sociology and the science of war. They will be consulting with the various teams as we move forward and will participate in all further councils among us." Tarafau said, gesturing to the three of them.
Each of them had the same ethnic appearance as Tarafau, but considering that, they were all as different as could be in temperament, abilities and personal appearance. Sardina was the shortest of the three, his deep set eyes were the color of the darkest chocolate, nearly black. He wore his hair in the braided knot of a scholar, and he seemed to be constantly studying everything and everyone around him. His thin eyebrows were expressive as thoughts flitted almost visibly through his mind.
Elgyra was nearly as tall as Tarafau, but he was thin and wiry as opposed to muscular and squarely built. His hair was coppery, straight and unbound, hanging nearly to his waist. His eyes were amber, like Tarafau's, but with glints of green. He seemed to take in everything around him with an air of curiosity and interest. Constantly cheerful and optimistic, his broad white smile took in the entire assembly with a confident warmth that was very inviting.
Desminda, was also tall, but muscular and solidly built. Her eyes were a startling green in her dark face and her hair was a deep golden brown, curly and cropped short to her head. She always managed to look placid and was, for the most part a kind and gentle person, but woe to the enemy or trainee who took that for meekness or weakness. She was as deadly as any warrior Tarafau had ever met, excepting Arvid, and had a mind for tactics that even exceeded Gariel's.
The last time Tarafau had been home, he had recruited these three to add their significant talents to the Dimensional Alliance's mission to eliminate the menace of domination, torture and slavery that threatened the entire multiverse.
The enemy was a combination of three forces.
The Groga were a race of soldiers bred especially for that purpose by the Fleistians. The whereabouts of their home planet and dimension were currently unknown, as they had relocated after the last war with the Dimensional Alliance. Their only purpose was to fight for their masters, the Fleistians.
The Fleistians were one of two races living on a planet in a dimension that was only accessible through a portal that was not in the Alliance gateway network. Their goal had been to capture and dominate the multiverse to sap it of its resources, using the Groga to raid dimensions to steal technology and other valuable things, including slaves. Their plans had taken a step forward, however when a much more advanced race had forcibly taken the reins.
Now the Fleistians served the Insenium, a mysterious species from an unknown dimension who would use the Fleistians and the Grogans to achieve their mission of complete domination of every species in the multiverse, taking away every freedom to choose their own paths, down to the clothes they would wear, the occupations they would pursue and the level of education and resources that would be made available to them.
It was obvious that this could only be accomplished by eons of war and destruction. Therefore, the Dimensional Alliance committed themselves to remove this threat once and for all, if possible.
Tarafau had seen war on a somewhat smaller scale than this would entail, but devastating to a point beyond the ability of most of the dimensions in the multiverse to contemplate. Even the huge world wars of the planet earth were diminutive compared the destruction and loss of lives in the last war with the Groga, long before this new alliance of evil had been struck.
He watched the group as Jenny stood again. "Thank you, and welcome, Sardina, Elgyra and Desminda to our council. Now let's all get settled. As usual, Arvid has prepared a great meal for us. Let's meet back here in 2 hours for supper together. Then the rest of the evening is yours. We will begin early tomorrow morning with our workout and breakfast. After breakfast we will get organized into teams with individual assignments. Thank you again for being here and offering your strength, talents and support."
They all stood then, breaking into conversation groups and many of them headed up the stairs to the various rooms and suites provided for them.
Lova was chatting amiably with Tarafau's cousins. Jenny and "the girls" were laughing and pointing at Burt, who actually stuck his tongue out at them! The various Guardians were either catching up or heading for their rooms to freshen up. Tarafau marveled at how close they had become since Jenny had joined the team and took up the reigns of leadership, however reluctantly. There was a new camaraderie brought on by a shared crisis and the need to work together closely over the past few months.
Bob slapped Burt on the back and the two of them chuckled at some shared joke. Tarafau strolled over to Arvid. "This is some gathering. Do you remember ever seeing any meeting of the Guardians so convivial before?"
Arvid shook his head. "Even Miriha never pulled them together like this. I feel like this portends something significant. It's like a spark has been struck into well prepared tinder. These individuals were ready to rise to a higher level and when the opportunity presented itself, they all stepped up to the task with enthusiasm. Lizzie would have loved to see them like this."
Both Tarafau and Arvid had been close to Lizzie, Jenny's aunt and the former Guardian of the Los Angeles gateway. Tarafau had been Lizzie's Guide for over 60 years and she had been like a daughter to him. Now Jenny, after inheriting the post from Lizzie, had also taken a portion of his heart. It saddened him that the lifespan of a human was so very short.
Burt beckoned him over where he and Bob stood with heads together, looking at something on a tablet.
"Hey, Tarafau, Bob was just showing me the specs on his two new bots. He had some questions about how he could enhance them to be more flexible in other dimensions, without using any D.A.T. in them."
"D.A.T.?"
"Bob's shortcut for 'dastardly alien tech'," Burt said, rolling his eyes.
Tarafau shook his head. "O.K., would you like to meet my cousin, Elgyra? He is definitely the one to talk to you about it and you should include Sardina and Desminda in that discussion. Elgyra? Sardina? Desminda?" he sent to his cousins who were having an animated conversation with Adelle and Dhakira. They nodded and the whole group, including Elgyra, strolled over.
Tarafau explained Bob's request and, before he knew it, they were off and running, each giving enthusiastic input to Bob and
Burt. He shook his head with amusement. The creative brain power in that one group would be enough to solve just about anything given time and facilities to do so. He would leave them to it.
Jenny was talking with Lyra, Nona and Mynn as he strode up to the group. "How about a workout? Shall we grab Arvid and use up some energy before supper?"
Jenny smiled. "Sounds good to me," she said and turning to the girls, "How about it?" They nodded and grinned enthusiastically.
"I'll meet you in the workout room in 5 minutes," Tarafau said and turned to the most likely place to find Arvid, the kitchen.
Sure enough, Arvid was in the kitchen energetically chopping carrots and putting them into a large simmering pot. "Are you up to a workout, dwarf?" he asked Arvid.
"Ready? Do you remember who you're talking to, old cat?" He turned the fire down under the pot. "It has to simmer for about an hour anyway. I'll have Lova come in and give it an occasional stir." He clapped his large square hands together with a solid, "Whack!", rubbed them together with a wicked grin and climbed down from the stool he used in the kitchen. Arvid was short, shorter than pretty much any of Tarafau's friends, with the exception of Arvid's nephew, Ingot, who served as Chief Councilor of the Dimensional Alliance. But you only ever underestimated him once.
They walked through the dining room into the lobby which was currently hosting a few different casual discussion groups, although, at second glance he realized it wasn't as casual as it appeared. Each of the groups looked as if they were poised to start a race. Faces, as they pursued mindspeech conversations, were animated and the mood was intense. Tarafau thought that they would all have preferred to get right to work, even before supper. So, in lieu of that, they were getting a jump on it by discussing their different specialties and potential team assignments.
As they entered the empty workout room, Arvid turned to Tarafau. "How is Jenny, really? I know she is as strong as any young person I have ever met, but the last few months haven't exactly been easy on her."
"I think she is doing a lot better than any of us expected, but I also think she isn't letting on very much. I think she worries she will be a burden on the rest of us. She is maturing much faster than most young people would at her age. Of course, in our dimensions, as long lived as your people and mine are, we don't even consider them adults until 60 or more years. They have to live fast, these Earthlings."
About that time, Jenny and her Guards came in laughing about some private joke. They had bonded quickly in the short time her Guards had been assigned by the Alliance. "OK, let's get going!" Jenny said aloud with enthusiasm.
They all sat themselves on the huge mat that covered half of the workout room to begin their breathing and relaxation exercises. It seemed such a simple thing, but Tarafau knew that Jenny understood the value of this now. On more than one occasion, she had used these exercises to distance herself from pain and torture in extremely dangerous conditions. Lova had continued to work with her to expand her abilities which, according to Lova, were prodigious. Lova told Tarafau that they hadn't begun to reach Jenny's limitations in this regard.
As he focused on his breathing, he saw in his mind's eye, like a movie playing at fast forward, everything that had happened in the past few months. So many hurdles and so many obstacles. The price had been high, and they would soon pay much more. Of that much he was certain. His wife encouraged him and stood behind him staunchly, because she also believed in the cause he upheld, but he knew she worried every time he left home to return to his post. Guiding Jenny was high priority, if the Alliance was ever to remove this overwhelming threat.
As they all rose and warmed up with the forms in unison, Tarafau glanced at Jenny beside him. She was fast becoming more than a novice in her martial arts training. He was looking forward to the next part of her training, in which he would be introducing Jenny to his culture. They would depart as soon as they completed setting up the teams and turning over their part of the mission to them. He hadn't told her yet that they would be leaving the next day from Sanglarka and was looking forward to her surprise.
Jenny would seldom find herself relaxing in her little house on Infinity Loop anytime soon, Tarafau admitted to himself with a sigh. Besides Guardian training, there was an interdimensional war to win and then her final training as a Gatekeeper, upon which she would be an ambassador to all dimensions, meaning she would be traveling just as much with many more responsibilities. For now, they just had to focus on protecting the dimensions from this vile dictatorial regime that was intent on ruling the multiverse.
As they split up into dueling pairs, Tarafau smiled at the progress Jenny was also making in the martial arts part of her training. She seemed to have an instinct for it, once she got established in the basics. She and her Guards flowed through their fights as if it was rehearsed. Jenny was very clear that her life would potentially be on the line if she didn't progress as fast as possible.
Arvid tapped him, not so lightly, on his elbow. "Earth to Tarafau!" he shouted. "This is not creative writing!!"
Tarafau refocused and nearly succeeded in getting a tag in. He had never managed to get past Arvid's guard in a quarterstaff bout. Nor had he ever managed to throw Arvid, even though he was two feet taller than him. The little man came from a race who were known for their considerable agility and speed. And their added advantage was the fact that they were almost always the smallest person in the room. People tended to relax their guard with them until they quickly realized they were outclassed, and how ferocious these tiny people were in a fight. For instance, Arvid could jump high enough to kick Tarafau in the head.
Arvid finally called a halt and every person was sweating and panting with big smiles on their faces. There was something very satisfying about this kind of workout with this group. Not a one who did not put their utmost into it.
By the time supper gong had rung, all were cleaned up and ready for a good meal and Arvid did not disappoint. The stew Arvid had made was accompanied by toasted croissants and a salad that was almost to pretty to eat. For dessert, a cheesecake topped with lingonberry preserves. He had learned over the years to eat many strange things, but he thought Arvid could even make cat food taste good.
About the author:
Bonnie K.T. Dillabough
To write or not to write has never been the question…
She wrote her first 26 line poem at age 8, entitled “My Christmas ABCs”. She then memorized it and performed it for the church Christmas party. This wasn’t terribly surprising. She started reading before Kindergarten and Dr. Seuss was one of her favorite authors, so rhyme came very naturally to her. She has been writing all of her life, as long as she can remember. A lot of poetry, short stories and, of course, the usual school reports. she always got high grades on my writing assignments, even when she didn’t in other classes, simply because she loved to write.
Then, adulthood set in. Always a voracious reader, she dreamt of writing a novel, but got gloriously side-tracked with a wonderful husband and six amazing children. During that time, she still wrote: Musical plays for my kids at church and school, songs, poetry and even an occasional newspaper article streamed from her pen.
Then, she got involved in jobs that required clear concise writing and a lot of marketing copy. She put up her first website in 1996 and made her living on the internet for over 20 years, writing everything from blog posts to sales copy to scripts for online videos, not to mention copy for the websites she built for her clients.
Now, at age 65 she has finally published the first novel in an ongoing series. “The House on Infinity Loop” is the first book in a trilogy that will become just the first part of the Infinity series.
When she is not writing, she likes to read, crochet hats for the homeless and gifts for friends and family, is active in her church and looks forward to being very involved with the fans of her books from her website: DimensionalAllianceHeadquarters.com.
llabough, The House on Infinity Loop
The House on Infinity Loop Page 40