The Ghost of Sephera

by J. D. Tew

  My sword, Wrath, lay beside me. I drew my sword up from the wool blanket that had wrapped it securely, and gripped it in my hand. So many times I looked at it as a weapon, and it was never just that. It was a tool that experienced decades of instilling fear. The gun blade that I held in my caressing hands was battle-scarred by nicks and cuts. It was a one-million year old sword, proudly displaying its flecks of carbon and etchings of battle.

  I left my dorm to await my next guard shift, and caught a glimpse of Mariah in the ship’s solarium, watering the plants. I walked toward the garden area, and it seemed she was just finishing up.

  ‘Hey, Theo.’

  ‘You’ve never called me that before.’

  ‘I think it’s cute. If you don’t mind.’

  ‘Maybe I do...’

  ‘Maybe you’d prefer dork, ha-ha!’

  ‘Alright. How’s the garden?’

  ‘It just needs some tender loving care, like the rest of us.’

  ‘Yeah,’ I said, digging deep for some wit, but none popped up.

  ‘I thought about what you said. About Lincoln. You’re right. I will always miss him in my heart, but I know he would have wanted us to continue on with this mission.’

  ‘Well, you never have to stop grieving,’ I said.

  ‘But the question is, what would Lincoln do? If he were here…” A tear ran down her cheek. ‘God, he was so analytical. He would tell us to calculate the variables of our fight against Odion. He wouldn’t have wanted me to grieve.’

  I struggled for the right thing to say. ‘You’d be surprised.’

  Mariah wasn’t easily consoled, yet this moment was different. I was glad that she didn’t lambast me again. Suddenly, the ship careened slightly and Mariah stumbled toward me. I braced myself against her fall, but in the process grazed her left breast by accident with my left hand. My chin almost poked her in the eye. She cut short the awkward moment by snapping at me. ‘Nice, Theodore.’

  ‘It was an accident!’ I shouted, as she retreated to her room.

  Before her door closed, she acted as if she suddenly had a last-minute thought. She said curtly, ‘I’d like a pair of those flight boots please. Are there any more?’

  ‘There are a couple in the lockup. They don’t come in pink though. Ha-ha.’

  ‘Very funny,’ she said, laughing. Her door shut.

  As I departed to head to my quarters, the shade of the complexion on my face probably matched that of a ripe tomato. I was still embarrassed from accidentally touching Mariah’s boob.

  While in my dorm, I decided to activate the holigramicom. It was an elaborate communication table that projected a holograph of the person calling me.

  ‘Freebird, Give me a secure connection on the holigramicom. I want complete network encryption. Layer the security by sending nine separate simulated correspondent signals, with maximum encryption, to the other galactic quadrants.’ Only Freebird could understand this arcane space babble.

  ‘After initiating security procedure, who would you like me to contact?’

  ‘King Trazuline Halperin,’ I said.

  Freebird itemized her actions. She said, ‘Attempting to alter network. Sending faux and encrypted degenerating signals to galactic mast cells. Deactivating duplicate coil so that you may hear your own voice alteration. The nine signals are delivered and under current review, and now, contacting KTH on separate narrow juggled line with image filter and deception.’

  The communication table began to buzz, and an image of someone appeared on the table. I knew it was the king, but Freebird intentionally made the transmission staticky and distorted as if we were operating a damaged machine. This poor image ensured that the subsequent replication—if any—would not be discernible enough to any of our enemies picking up the call.

  ‘Hello sire. I am contacting you on a secure network.’

  ‘Ahoy, Theodore. That is what they say on Earth to a fellow captain, right?’ King Trazuline asked jovially, surprising me with his levity in light of these serious affairs, but it was a mask that he was wearing to cover up his true feelings.

  I really wasn’t sure of Trazuline’s assertion, but I laughed because it seemed like an outdated greeting. ‘I’m not sure. I want to be quick. I took all necessary security precautions before contacting you, but I think we shouldn’t stay on this line too long. We were able to access, retrieve, and secure our target. And now, we are on a current heading toward the planet Foita.’

  ‘Excuse me? Did you say Foita?’

  ‘Yes sire. We are considering examination of the temple Eppa in the city of Diode.’

  ‘Well, I can’t blame you for taking charge and setting goals. Eppa is an excellent choice, as I agree that it may have some of the secrets necessary to defeating Odion. The thought has crossed my mind, but I’m thrilled that someone like you is finally checking out this possibility. I apologize for my absence. I still would rather not share my location in the event you are arrested. I understand this is your first venture to Foita. I suggest you make entry at the city of Booyang, it is the most neutral city. You will find that the closer you get to Diode, the more saturated the sectors will be with Council officials.’

  ‘Sire. I know it’s off the subject, but before I investigate Eppa, I still need Lincoln. Once we retrieve him, my crew will be complete. There has to be a way to find him and to restore his memory.’

  ‘Lincoln, huh? I warned you, he is still not the person you knew, and he will not be turned.’ He sighed. ‘Nonetheless, just like you startled me when you just told me that you were considering Eppa, Lincoln could be another part of a brilliant plan. A Sepheran’s powers could be very valuable to our side, especially if it was Lincoln. The war against Odion is not going well, so we do need some drastic innovation in our approach. And I may have an idea for getting you into Diode without raising alarm.’

  ‘Those are just a few reason why I am pursuing Lincoln, sire.’

  ‘Very good. When you reach Booyang we will finally meet. Be at the Xolothion Square once the simulated sunscape changes—as the sun starts to drop below the horizon. In the square, you will see numerous ice sculptures, particular to Foition culture. I will be adjacent to the statue of Gillard Tannon, a famous soldier in the fight against Odion. If for some reason, our meeting is disrupted I will have to retreat, but not without sending my most trusted comrade, Pritok. He is one of my most tactically proficient officers in that sector. He should be able to provide some guidance. I warn you about his candor, he’s a man who’s wholly dedicated to the Opposition, yet he is not quite sold on you personally. Don’t take it personally.’

  ‘I won’t,’ I said.

  ‘Good. Godspeed, Theodore. We have been riding this com-signal too long. Trazuline—out.’

  I couldn’t help but feel the king was sounding defeated. He was purposely avoiding discussing with me about plans to rescue Tezmarine. It was if his hopes had fallen off dramatically, akin to the time my ship had careened down the giant space nebula, the Cliffs of Divinity. After a moment of reflection, I walked around the ship, as I always did when my crew was resting. I checked the security display to check everyone’s vitals. Freebird monitored the crew’s brainwaves through the smart pillows and monitored vitals to pick up on any disorders. On the display, I noticed Mariah was labeled as showing signs of depression. There were helpful automated medical comments on how to best alleviate Mariah’s despondency, but I knew that the safe retrieval of Lincoln was the answer to her grieving.

  After checking on the crew, I stood near the front command window. ED was piloting the ship. It was so handy having a robot for a pilot, because they never needed sleep—just brief charging periods.

  ‘Is there something you would like to talk about, Theodore?’

  ‘I was just thinking about Nilo. I hope he is alright.’

  ‘Theodore, if it is any consolation, I must explain to you a bit of what I know about people. Nilo is a survivor. A mercenary is, by nature, very resourceful. While there is
an inkling of doubt in my programming, it tells me he is likely alive and well. But as they say on Earth... to each his own.’

  ‘I suppose you’re right. He’s probably kicking some butt as we speak!’

  “ED started laughing with his awkward forced robotic laugh and I reacted with a laugh of my own. I looked out into outer space and thought about Nilo as he rose up to our aid at a critical moment of the war, just as we were engulfed in an epic battle with a Driad on Tritillia. I didn’t know much about Nilo or his past, but what I did know was all I needed.”

  13 NILO: MISSION - SAVE THE BOY

  I arrived at the Capitol—which was also named Karshiz, same as its planet—and walked in, without incident. It was just as I had remembered it not too long ago, even if it was currently under Zane’s iron grip.

  Theodore always said, ‘My greatest victories came with a cost.’ I knew what it meant for Theodore. After turning his father over to the Earth police, he was without a mother and father, since his mother suffered a nervous breakdown afterwards and committed herself into the psych ward of some hospital. Theodore found his way through pain and loss, and so did I.

  To say that the feelings I experienced while serving Theodore’s team were complicated would be a preposterous understatement, and I’m just not that golo.

  During our time on Freebird, we were always living within inches of our deaths. However, as long as I was tormented by my own detractions, I knew that I could compromise my battle-ready alertness, and in the process unwillingly disrupt Theodore’s mission. Therefore, as long as I had my doubts, I had to go, and abandon Theodore in the Windled Desert, on Karshiz.

  Before I joined Theodore’s crew, time policing was the nature of my business; I had an affinity for it that was a result of the mystery surrounding my mother’s disappearance when I was thirteen years old.

  My birth name was Nilo Tannon.

  When I was six, my father died—my real father. He was a man I’ll never forget and his name was Gillard Tannon. He was serving a three-year tour in the Galactic War. He and forty other men infiltrated the Dacturon planet of Cordiont and took out three generals in one night. However, when the Dacturons counter-attacked, he got caught in the line of fire and died on the spot, but not without facilitating the escape of fifty slaves. My father knew King Trazuline, which explained the business relationship between the King and I. Trazuline vowed to keep me safe, but the king’s motives are often centric to his own life.

  Two years after my father died, my mother, Delion, met and fell in love with a man named Shad Egbertice. After she married him, their relationship was passionate, volatile, sometimes violent, and ultimately, brief. It only lasted five years which were firmly imprinted in my memory due to the screams of anger that often punctuated the house, including my bedroom walls. One minute they would be sharing an intimate kiss in the kitchen, then an hour later, throwing things at each other. I could never figure out why my mother loved him and stayed with him. Unlike Ted’s father, Shad never laid a hand on me. My surname was changed to Egbertice, just for the sake of Shad’s pride.

  As I reached my teens, I gradually learned my stepfather was a time violator. It was his side business, one that was very profitable for him. My mother hated it, and whispered to me about how abhorrent it was. As she continually voiced her disapproval of his illegal enterprise, the fighting between them just got worse.

  Then one day, they both disappeared. I was thirteen.

  Just like that. No trace. No sad note streaked with dried-up tears. No notice to the army that guarded our town.

  With no other family to claim me, I lived my entire teen years practically all on my own. I took over ownership of the house, and neighbors just fed me because they felt sorry for me. This house is still mine. I could sell it now and recover a paltry sum, but why bother? Besides, with Zane in control, is anyone still allowed to own property?

  Even though it has been seven years since my mother’s disappearance, I am still haunted. Not a day goes by when I don’t think of my mother. In fact, it is much worse when I am depressed or lonely, then I obsess over her—a lot. And I blame my stepfather’s illicit time traveling activities for my mother’s disappearance. What if he went back into time, and he possessed the memory that she luckily avoided a fatal incident? What if he merely altered history, purposely plotting to let the sinister undercurrent of time overcome her? I have no idea why he would do that, but then again, I am driven to seek the answers. And by excelling in time travel myself, I may just find out. Since Karshiz rigorously polices time travel, I can only indulge in this precariously risky activity on behalf of the state. If I ever go rogue, they will treat me as just another time travel violator—and execute me without hesitation.

  The intelligence I usually received for missions of that type was minimal and left me on edge. The people hiring me usually were as discrete as possible, avoiding divulging their own identifying information to me. The golos that traveled to the past were desperate, and desperate men could be dangerous.

  The hunt can be a menacing journey, and sometimes I would shoot the time violator dead before he could even utter the words I’m sorry or I had to do it. Those were the most commonly used excuses. The more tricky time travel violators were ingenious enough to use more elaborate excuses in order to, ironically enough, beg for more time. They all met the same fate regardless—a plasma load from the barrel of my phaser.

  But many of the time travel violators were discretely working for Odion, trying to alter the timelines of several leaders of the Opposition or leaders of key planets. It was a cowardly and backhanded way by Odion to fight his war, but then again, Odion had never felt restrained by war codes of conduct. I felt that I had to do my part against Odion in something I excelled, and that if Theodore was doing something so magnificent and selfless, I too needed to go back to my calling. Odion had conquered the majority of Tritillia, with exception to the large tribe that Theodore liberated; rumors suggested that Odion had just sacked the planet Marcan, and it seemed he was plucking the smaller systems one by one. I thought it wouldn’t be long before Odion would try to overcome Karshiz and Earth, or even the advanced Foita.

  I never once told Theodore how I felt about him, yet he was the greatest person I have ever known. He reminded me so much of my father, or at least, what I knew or remembered about my father. There was no immunity strong enough to halt Theodore’s courage; his heroism was virulent. But sadly my father died fighting Odion, and I feared the same fate for my new friend.

  Although Karshiz was now under Zane’s control, the time travel policing still continued as an independent self-policing force, ostensibly with Zane’s blessing, since he also feared anything that could disrupt his march to power.

  After Shad disappeared, I latched into my innate knack for entrepreneurship and started a time mercenary business. Regardless of Zane, it was the nefarious Odion that I feared, as his presence alone could cause the inner recesses of someone’s mind to revert, turning that person to evil, or causing a seizure—and probable death—if that person were incapable of altering the fundamental essence of his identity. Unfortunately, I have heard tales of Odion’s victims turning to evil, because they always had that sliver of vice deep within their hearts, and never knew it. It was the only way such victims could survive, by holding on to that smidgeon of hatred within. It was a vile choice for Odion to impose upon his prey.

  I was a target of Odion, especially after the ninety-ninth arrest that I carried out just before I jumped to Theodore’s crew. My meddlesome involvement meant that almost every time I policed a time violator, I foiled evil, as Odion’s planetary plunders were accomplished by time violations; his twisted schemes pervaded the cosmos almost every day. The Council destroyed almost all unsanctioned time traveling devices, but there were still a couple remaining. Still, dutiful citizens were reporting violations to the Council, and thanks to their alerts, the Council was steadily eliminating the violations.

  I wanted my return to
time policing to be inconspicuous and without incident. My assignment as a time enforcer was to hunt down those who attempted to alter the timeline for their own selfish purposes, and also those who chose to merge their current existence with that of their past.

  As the average citizen can comprehend, the usual reason for time travel is to alter the future to one’s own advantage. It is the coward’s way—to gain a windfall that one had avoided in a past life for whatever reason—lack of ambition, pure bad luck, or simply put, fate. As Odion is the Supreme Coward, he deviously and shamelessly exploits time travel as much as possible, to alter the future of people he knew have become the most effective generals and commanders in the war against him. Thankfully, nearly all his attempts have failed, due to diligence by the Council.

  Anyway, today, after checking my encrypted messages at a public console in town, I learned that I was to report to the appointed ruler of Karshiz—Xalag, who was rumored to have betrayed King Trazuline in exchange for his position as commander under Zane. Theodore, however, had told me a different story. He said that Xalag was a pretender; a double agent who would protect the realm of Karshiz on behalf of his countrymen. But, as a bitter life experiences had taught me—trust no one. I was willing to make an exception to that rule for only two people: King Trazuline, still effectively my king, and Theodore, my friend.

  It was time to find Xalag. To do this, I had to cross the bazaar to enter the palace, which he occupied as his administrative residence.

  The prevalent smell of body odor and cheap perfume hung about as I made my way through the bazaar. The necklaces and trinkets hanging from the shacks and shanties rang about, chiming from the passing whirls of sand. Every step I made was greeted by jostling of the coarse-haired customers that swarmed the bazaar, looking for bargains. Before I neared the castle, I heard a sultry voice from behind. “Hey, ya looking for a good time, soldier?” a shapely female Skiorf asked. She caressed my shoulder, and my leather hoodie slipped off my head slightly.