by E L Russell
As their matriarch, a term Leeth often used in referring to her, Mother spoke to them. Neither blame nor encouragement entered her tone. She simply stated facts. "You will do this because that is the window of time we will have. You must execute your skills faster. Do it again.”
And they did try again, and again, and yet again, without success. When Yasmin cried it couldn't be done, Finna yanked her arm. "It can be done, and you will do it. It is God's will. Jamal is waiting for us."
* * *
With a good deal of anxiety, each of the three couples began repositioning inside their designated sphere. Finna's reaction to her first success at repositioning her personal through two nested spheres was to see if her partner Miri had been successful.
Miri’s personal sphere appeared almost immediately and then she repositioned out of it to sit cross-legged on the correct side of the giant twelve-sided sphere Mother called the floor.
Finna sat next to her with her legs extended, crossed at the ankle, supported by both arms looking very much like a chaise lounge. “That was fucking freaky.”
Looking above and around, Miri commented, “I know where my personal sphere is, but why can’t I see it?”
“Viz Mother’s sphere with your mind, not your eyes.”
Miri closed her eyes. "Holy shit. I see . . . Three large spheres, two small ones inside each and they’re all inside the top half of Mother’s giant sphere.” She opened her eyes and blinked rapidly. Finna grumbled at her anxiety. "I'm still calling them bubbles, and I can't believe they're as strong as Leeth says."
Through dream training, Finna and the others learned to fly the bubbles in space, but confidence was at low tide.
Birds flew, not people.
Leeth, seeing their uneasiness, forced more dream training sessions on them and then ordered the teams to take their collection of spheres outside of Mother’s Huge Globe to take a spin.
"You mean to fly in circles in space?" Yasmin asked.
That was exactly Finna’s Question. Sometimes the man made no sense at all.
“It means a trial run.”
“That’s no help, Seeker.”
“Lord,” he said in exasperation. “Extrapolate. Use your mind.’
“How about elaborate. Use your words?”
"For god's sake, it means to practice. Now you know, how to fly them, remove your collection of spheres from inside Mother's sphere and fly it outside. You know. In space. Fly it around Mother's sphere to get the feel of controlling it."
“You lackwit. We will run into each other.”
"It won't matter. The spheres are indestructible, and you'll just bounce off. You won't even feel it."
Jamal would love all this.
A small grin twisted Finna's lips. Then panic set in. Thank the god's space was big because control of the thing seemed a misnomer. Flying the bubbly thing would take some practice.
* * *
It worked. The bubbles did behave as though they flew and it was possible to control their direction. In fact, it was an exhilarating experience, and Leeth had trouble convincing everyone to return inside Mother's sphere. When the others departed with great enthusiasm for a much-needed break, Finna held back. Hesitantly, she approached Mother and Leeth, who were once again engaged in close conversation. They formed a united unit. They fit together. They were more than friends. She stopped a few feet away and stood with her hands stiff at her sides. There was something about Mother that mystified her, troubled her.
Leeth extended an arm, inviting her to join them and Finna shook off her musings and moved closer.
“We need to get Jamal,” she said, “and the others, of course, but why do we do it as though we’re stealing something?”
Mother gave her a humorless smile. "Because in essence, that is exactly what we are doing. We are stealing, and we cannot let anyone know what we have done. It cannot become part of Silva's history. The Silva must think the people in the cylinders perished in the Maelstrom. In our future, the Silva records show that more than five hundred rebels perished.
“Vald’s reported mass killings created dire consequences that reverberated through time.” When Leeth began to speak, Mother placed her hand on his arm to stop him.
Finna found the scope of Vald’s killings hard to grasp. “Why do the records show we save more than five hundred? Aren’t we expecting three hundred?”
Mother’s eyes narrowed. “The numbers are growing. Our initial reports were inaccurate.”
Finna has observed enough to know that Mother didn't wish to talk about numbers at this time and changed direction. "Are the Liberi we're going to rescue like us, Leeth? Do they have special powers? Where will they live after we rescue them? Will you take them . . . And us, to Torg to live?" When he hesitated, she said, "You have often spoken of moving from one world to another as if it were as simple as a walk to the horse shed. Why take the ones we rescue to Torg only to move them to another world later?"
Finna wondered if Leeth and Mother had a long term plan or just one to address the imminent danger.
69
Perspective
Size Matters
Much to her surprise, Mother tilted her head toward Finna and answered her questions. She couldn't believe it. It had gotten, so the last thing she ever counted on were answers.
“The Liberi are like us, but for now, our primary goal is to give them a safe place to hide and heal. Once the Time Lords have examined the timelines and find it safe to do so, we will offer the Liberi the choice to relocate far away. We can’t risk searching for such a place until we know more of the future and the Silva.” She settled herself more comfortably and went on.
"As I mentioned, the Time Overlords will spend years studying the ripples of disruption caused by the wars the Silva have created on this side of the galaxy. While their research tells us we may enjoy at least fourteen centuries without being detected if we stay on Torg, the current Silva Empire of twenty-one planets expands each year and the chances of being discovered on Torg increase with the passage of time." She lifted a palm to close the topic. "That's an issue for the future. First, we must rescue Jamal and the others Vald would hurl into the Maelstrom."
Yasmin gasped, and Leeth clapped his hands to refocus his unit. The others had returned, and Leeth told them what would happen.
“We will reposition Mother’s sphere closer to the Maelstrom where we will be close enough to Vald and his assembled forces and prisoners to keep an eye on him while still being in position to save our people. The Silva, with their inferior skills, will not be able to detect us. We will be invisible to them.”
The fighting unit assembled at Mother’s dining room table for final orders and Finna reached for Yasmin’s hand. “Courage. Our rescue begins.” They joined the circle with the others.
“After we reposition Mother’s home sphere,” Leeth said, “I’ll give you a short review of the plan and final instructions, then you will locate your team collection-spheres according to the positions we rehearsed. That will put us as close to the Maelstrom and Vald’s launching platform as possible without being sucked in or seen.”
Finna held her fingers to her temples and shut her eyes. Surely what these two powerful people said made sense. Why couldn’t she understand it? She turned to Leeth. “What little I know of the galaxy, says it is huge. You use the distance light can travel in a whole year as a basic measure. You once told me the galaxy is 100,000 light years wide. How could the Silva possibly find us?”
When Leeth opened his mouth to answer, Mother patted his arm and spoke. “Jamal once translated the Liberi of Lux as The Children of the Light, remember? Those prisoners are perhaps the last of our kind, the last of the Liberi. Leeth and I count ourselves in those numbers.”
“Why do the Silva fight so hard to eliminate your people?” Finna asked.
“You tell her,” Mother said, turning to Leeth.
He placed his hands on Finna's shoulder and leaned close. His voice, now gentle, remind
ed her of her of her father trying to explain the facts of life to her as a young girl. "Finna, I believe you intuitively know what I mean without understanding each word I say. The Children of the Light are people, who like the Silva, will Awaken and have powerful abilities."
“But you also said we, including Yasmin and Jamal, are like the Liberi. We will have a Second Awakening that comes with more powers, which gives us an edge over the Silva.”
The old woman raised her chin. "Vald correctly believes the Liberi are another species of human, but he has erred in assuming they are a sub-species of the Silva. That is a secret we must keep from him until we have sufficient numbers to force an end to his quest for galactic domination."
Finna frowned. “How old is Vald? He looks like he has lived for centuries.”
Mother sneered. “Oh, he’s old, all right, but whether or not Vald believes rumors of a Second Awakening are real, he desperately wants it to be true for him. With a second awakening, he thinks he could be the ruler of the galaxy.”
Leeth thumped his forefinger on his chin. “That little bastard can’t tolerate the possibility that anyone might have more power than him. That is what drives him to annihilate the Liberi.”
He glanced at Mother and paused before continuing. After scratching the back of his head, he held his chin and said, "Other than that, none of us should ever die. We can self-heal and have no . . . No reason to die. Mother?"
The old woman smiled. “Don’t you understand, Finna? Our bodies and minds will go on forever. We are immortal.”
A friendly voice filled Leeth’s mind.
Leeth had the good sense not to respond.
70
Stuck
The Unknown
They found themselves sitting on the floor of Mother’s mansion in a large carpeted room free of furniture. Finna swallowed her doubts and looked at the others. They were a team with a common goal.
The walls, decorated in what Mother called Earth’s Victorian Era, were the only indication of their location. While she liked the gilded mirrors, she found the dark wood as depressing as the black dress the old woman wore. It seemed to be the only one she owned. Leeth rose and directed them to follow him outside to a garden.
He held his arms wide to embrace the view of the sky above. Not a blue sky, but black space filled with specks of light in every color of a rainbow. Off to the right, a huge multicolored globe reminded her of Earth. "Behold the planet Spes, Vald's home world as seen from space." He laughed. "Don't worry; we are in a high synchronous orbit too far to be seen from Spes."
As if they’d taken a vow of silence, they stood in awe, devouring the view of the majestic heavens, splendid in the adornment of multi-colored stars.
“Take a good look,” Mother said. “Shortly, we will leave this solar system for a special selected point near the Maelstrom.”
Finna thought of her father’s efforts to show her the difference between stars and planets. To Finna, everything about the upcoming rescue operation was as magical as anything she accused Leeth of doing. Even measures of distance made no sense.
“Just how far away is Spes?” Miri asked.
As if responding to Finna’s thoughts, Leeth said, “Just short of two hundred fifty thousand miles.” He rubbed his chin. “Uh, let’s see, that’s about the distance from Earth to Earth’s moon.”
Miri dropped her chin and spoke with some impatience. “How about using an example from a planet I’ve actually been to.”
A snort escaped Finna and Leeth called her prickly.
He puckered his lips and cleared his throat. “Hmm. The distance from Torg to its largest moon.”
“I prefer the small red one.” Miri retorted.
Finna laid an arm on Yasmin’s shoulder and felt her quaking. “I know you are terrified for Jamal, but soon we will have him back.” In truth, she was no less frightened than her friend. The boy had been with them through all their harrowing escapades. He and his mother were her family and she loved them as such.
Leeth joined them and touched Yasmin's other shoulder. "That's exactly what we came here to do. After we rescue Jamal and the others who have been captured by that snake, Vald, we'll bring them here to Mother's sphere. The Liberi won't make a dent regarding the capacity it can carry and sustain. This orb is big enough to house a small island. There is plenty of room for more than five hundred. We'll slip away to Torg once we're sure we rescued everyone Vald sent to the Maelstrom."
Finna tried to shake the fear of failure. She couldn’t wait until the retrieval was over.
Sensing her panic, Leeth reassured her. “We have the time to practice until everyone is an expert.”
Finna nodded and studied Mother while she spoke. Her features were familiar, her movements, too. Everything about her was young except her looks. For all that she looked as old as dirt itself with wrinkles on wrinkles, her mind was sharp and decisive. Hmm. She pulled her bottom lip. Also strange was the fact that although she addressed everyone else with confidence, she never made direct eye contact with her.
Suddenly, the sky turned a deep black. Mother had made the jump to the Maelstrom. Finna remembered the blackness from the first time she'd seen the black hole from inside a Silva metal box of a spaceship with crystal portholes. This unfettered view had a clarity Finna could never have imagined. A thick swirl of dense white lights drawn inescapably into the gravitational pull of the mammoth vortex spiraled toward the Maelstrom.
“One by one, each point of light will dim and explode into oblivion, never to be seen again,” Leeth said. “They’re all stars, Finna.”
“Huh?”
"Although you'd have to stare for centuries to be aware of their movement, those millions of pinpoints of light are stars, like our sun, marching toward extinction."
A growing understanding of the size and scope of what she witnessed added to Finna sense of inadequacy. Her inability to shove the feelings aside added to the anxiety that filled her. “I feel like we’re falling into the Maelstrom. I thought we were here to rescue people, not to join them in their death march to oblivion.” She would die and never see home again.
“From this distance, we are safe.” Mother had come up behind her unnoticed. “Even if I were to do nothing to remove the sphere from this path, we would fall for more than a year before we become forever trapped by its pull.”
“Meaning,” Leeth said, “we will be able to do our work much longer in this and still be safe from slipping past the point of no return. Vald won’t want to wait a year to see his work done. He’ll catapult the prisoners much closer than where we are now.”
Tood spoke, which was unusual. “How can you be sure he won’t see us?”
Mother slapped her hands together so hard she startled them all. “Did you forget our spheres are invisible from the naked eye when viewed from the outside? We cannot be seen and the Silva’s minds are not strong enough to detect us from the distance we will keep.”
Finna looked away and shook her head.
How is that possible?
Finna scanned the interior of the huge bubble and envisioned huge castles surrounded by forests and fresh water. She imagined huge spheres hovering over planets and gained a glimpse into understanding the primary purpose of Mother’s huge sphere. It wa
s to sustain life for long periods of time in space. It would be like a traveling world. Its own planet. This beautiful bubble was the creation of a Seeker who had had a Second Awakening. This is what her new species could do, what they would do.
Mother gave her the slightest nod and continued speaking to everyone. “We rescue all of them or die trying.” Finna heard the determination in her voice and would have said the same thing were she in Mother’s place. It was no surprise that Leeth, in a gesture of solidarity, stepped next to Mother and crossed his arms across his powerful chest.
Leeth added. “We’ll remain in this space until Mother and the Time Overlords determine it is time for us to move on to Torg.”
Finna’s heart hammered in her chest and if it was caused by that thing Leeth called adrenaline, she hated it. An overwhelming feeling of calamity filled her and she sucked in great gulps of air.
Once more, Leeth settled a hand on her back.
“Easy, breathe in slowly. You can do this. Breathe out slowly. Now in.”
Finna reached for Yasmin’s hand to check how she was doing and noticed even rough-tough Miri was green around the gills. In fact, Knosh and Tood didn’t look so good either. The three teams repositioned into their three collection spheres and waited for Mother’s signal to reposition their spheres outside of Mother’s. It was time.