“I have to tell you, you may see some things you can’t talk about.”
“That’s the usual drill,” replied Carter.
“Carter, you may see some things you have never seen before and I need your word you will keep it a solemn lifelong secret.”
Carter had served in a unique capacity for the military and he had served part of that time shoulder to shoulder with Livingston. They conducted the type of operations you never read about in the newspapers or online, and no one makes movies about them because real life often conspires to be one step beyond imagination. Together they had seen everything a military operation could muster. Carter was convinced he was going to see a new military technology that hadn’t been deployed yet, and that Livingston was about to deploy it against the Shumbrans. It couldn’t happen to a nicer group of fellows, he thought. “Your secrets are my secrets. I’m in” he told Livingston. And with that the planning began.
“I’ll need intelligence on the Shumbrans’ operations center,” stated Livingston.
“That would be in here,” replied Carter as he placed a file folder on the table, “I suspected this would escalate after the red nail incident so I took the liberty of discreetly obtaining information you might need to plan a strike. That is what we’re doing isn’t it, planning a strike?”
Livingston never ceased to be amazed at Carter’s instinct; it had saved his life on at least two occasions. The file had observations of Shumbrans arriving and leaving their headquarters on the wharf near Pier 13. There were estimates of total personnel, types of weapons likely to be encountered and very importantly how many were on duty at any given time. Once each month all the Shumbrans are at the wharf for a meeting.
“That’s the day we strike,” said Livingston.
“When they are all there?” asked Carter.
“The more the better,” replied Livingston, “did you get any information on the contents of the building?”
“Do you mean specifically the Usilite Corporation safe?” asked Carter with a satisfied look on his face. “It was delivered 9 months ago; there’s a copy of the delivery form in the file. It has dimensions of twenty by thirty-two on the inside, 10.5 feet high and it’s made of 18-inch-thick Usilite steel,” he said. “That puppy is virtually impenetrable,” remarked Carter.
“We’ll see about that,” replied Livingston who added, “we’ll need a tractor trailer and a fork lift.”
“I assume that means we are going to borrow the contents of that safe,” said Carter.
Livingston smiled, “That we are, which means we will need a crew on standby to load the contents after you and I are finished inside. By the way, see if the Perlucidians will loan us one of their new weapons.”
“Man, I’d love to get my hands on one of those for an afternoon at the practice range,” remarked Carter, “I’ll see what I can do but if the answer is no, how about getting a Perlucidian to accompany us?”
“Only if they won’t lend us a weapon,” replied Livingston, “the fewer potential witnesses the better.
Livingston wondered if the Perlucidians already knew about the incident at the museum and his daughter’s contribution to the Shumbran fight; he wondered if they might suspect him to have the same ability. It didn’t matter really, besides Perlucidians by nature are not rumormongers prone to gossip. It is entirely likely, he thought, that they know exactly what happened in the museum and it is also likely they won’t discuss it outside of their own collective.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE HALL OF HALLS
The origin of physical, temporal beings has been debated throughout the ages. The debate has raged on every planet, in every solar system, in every language in every universe known and unknown. For some the answer to origins is easy; for others, not so much. There are legends surrounding the origins of virtually every type of being in the universes, and legends regarding the Shumbrans are no exception. In fact, they are a favorite subject of legends and speculation; second only to the Desredeedese Shades. One legend maintains that the spirits of all beings return to their origin upon the death of their host, and are stored in clear crystalline phials until the day of some great future event whose details are known to few and speculated about by all.
But the legend also says that all spirits are not stored in the same manner and that each spirit is burdened, some less and some much more, by the realization of how its previous host conducted themselves during their physical life. When a spirit returns to the place of its origin it enters The Great Hall of Halls where all new and returning spirits are protected. Legend has it that there are three distinct sections of The Great Hall of Halls; the first is the unfettered section where spirit that has not yet been hosted resides. This is spirit that is completely pure, completely unspoiled and it is kept in The Hall of Virtues. It is not contained in a vessel or bottle or any other such device but it freely occupies space within the Hall, lingering in anticipation of its ultimate purpose, to be assigned to a living entity. The other two sections hold spirit that has been hosted, has returned, and that has disclosed itself. Legend has it that disclosure occurs when the previously hosted spirit arrives and enters The Great Hall of Halls and gathers itself into one of the crystalline phials in the foyer, also called The Hall of Returning. Once gathered, the phial is sealed and disclosure begins. If the spirit within the crystalline phial remains clear and embraces light, it blazes like crisp new sunshine and it is stored in the second section called The Place of Those Remembered. This second section is dazzling beyond imagination as the brightness of the phials stored there illuminates the room, its light dancing along walls, floor and ceiling, chasing away any possibility or hint of darkness. In The Place of Those Remembered there is only light; bright, clean, pure light.
But there is another possible fate of returning spirits that becomes evident at disclosure. Not all phials remain clear and light but some turn dark and prevent light from entering or passing through. The darkness within those phials swirls like the blackness of the deepest night caught in a whirling wind as if it wished to deflect every ray of light and blanket itself in abject darkness. Those phials, with their dark impenetrable darkness, are stored in the third section. There are not nearly as many phials there as in The Place of Those Remembered, but sadly there are some. The dark phials that fight against light and seek to prevent all illumination are sent to The Place of All Consuming Fire.
Those who are the purveyors of legends say a being named Lieetien from the planet Elduarn, suffered greatly in sorrow because of the loss of her greatest friend, Shumbrie, and desired to know at any cost his fate. Shumbrie, in a fit of anger had acted rashly, disavowing any and all commitments to Elduarn and befriended the worst possible person, a Ragolian who pretended to share his concern about the future of Elduarn. The association only darkened Shumbrie’s mind, clouding it with ideas that were only dark, only bitter, only open to confrontation and always sinister. He fell deeper and deeper into despair, believing only the worst of every situation and no longer claiming those once dear to him as friends.
Shumbrie draped his new contempt like a jacket around his shoulders for everyone to see and in so doing he became the perfect patsy. The Ragolian knew he was vulnerable; he knew Shumbrie had let his disagreement with the Elduarn fester and spoil his mind and he acted quickly, framing Shumbrie for an act he didn’t commit, although given the opportunity he may have willingly completed the deed, such was the state of his mind. Shumbrie, having fallen in despair so deep it was virtually inescapable defiantly paid the ultimate price for his dissention. Lieetien pleaded many times on his behalf - that his spirit be given access to The Place of Those Remembered - but once Shumbrie’s spirit made its journey to The Great Hall of Halls she had no way of knowing his fate. It’s not the purview of beings living physical, temporal lives to know the mysteries concealed in the Great Hall of Halls. But Lieetien was sure there must be some way of finding out Shumbrie’s fate, she would do anything to know what happened to hi
m.
Against the counsel of a very close and trusted friend, Lieetien consulted a Seeker. Very little is known about the Seekers; where they came from, how they obtained their powers and whether they act with or without permission from those greater than themselves. But most of all no one really knows if they are trustworthy. Lieetien was unfazed and words of caution and patience offered her no solace. She was so determined to know Shumbrie’s fate she enlisted the help of a Seeker to take her spirit into The Great Hall of Halls to seek out Shumbrie’s spirit, to know where it was held.
Decayne the Seeker agreed to carry the spirit of Lieetien to The Great Hall of Halls and do her bidding. On the appointed day Lieetien’s spirit accompanied Decayne the Seeker and they entered the area where disclosure occurs. But in that place, there were no clues to Shumbrie’s location. They searched The Hall of Those Remembered but to no avail; the spirit of Shumbrie was not there. Lieetien knew there was no reason to search The Hall of Virtues but she couldn’t resist because the alternative was too painful to consider. Decayne the Seeker transported her spirit to The Hall of Virtues. The light was soft and bright, intense but subtle, spectacular and stunning but most of all it muted all the pain and worry Lieetien felt. It was like a soothing salve on a throbbing wound. In that moment Lieetien came to her senses. She remembered the advice of her trusted friend on Elduarn and she decided to return to home, to the physical world.
But Decayne the Seeker had other plans. He did not come here to help Lieetien, he used her, he needed her to get into The Hall of Halls. He had his own plan, to find and free the spirit of his brother Putrephe. Against her wishes, Decayne the Seeker transported Lieetien to The Place of All Consuming Fire. She was furious that he would defy her wishes and renege on their agreement. Their spirits struggled, whirling around the room and in an attempt to throw her off Decayne hurled them both against a wall and into a rack of phials. Spirit has no corporeal body, but it has tremendous power. The impact overturned the storage rack and all the crystalline phials fell to the floor and shattered into thousands of pieces. Lieetien shrieked in rage at what Decayne had done. The spirits of countless malicious beings drifted from their broken prisons and mixed together in the air becoming a vile and contemptibly dark amalgamation. In that very moment a swirling flash of brilliant blue white light gathered the amalgam, binding it so its components could not escape, and cast it from The Place of All Consuming Fire to the surface of a dark planet, a planet of shadows and heavy mist, an incubator that would someday give rise to the Shumbrans.
The spirit of Decayne the Seeker was imprisoned in a crystalline phial and placed on a storage rack in The Place of All Consuming Fire, where he would never be permitted to leave until the end of all things. The spirit of Lieetien was stored for a short time in The Hall of Returning since she was neither unfettered nor had she been disclosed. After much consideration Lieetien’s spirit was returned to her home planet Elduarn where she assumed her natural physical form. The story she relayed to her friends about what she saw and her struggle with Decayne the Seeker in The Place of All Consuming Fire is considered proof of the legend of The Hall of Halls. Her story is also considered the definitive answer to the fate of Shumbrie of Elduarn, who afterward was known as father of the Shumbrans.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
VENGEANCE IS MINE
“Everything is ready Livingston. I’ve got a crew standing by in a parking lot at the wharf about six blocks from Pier 13 with a tractor trailer truck and forklift – that should hold the safe contents. I told them to look like they are waiting to pick up a shipment from Pier 7. The Perlucidians were reluctant to loan me one of their new weapons, reluctance may be an understatement, but they agreed to have one of their specialists accompany our crew in case he’s needed; they seemed to know more about what we were planning than they should have,” said Carter, waiting for a response from Livingston.
When one wasn’t forthcoming he continued, “We only have one problem,” continued Carter, “we don’t have anything to cut through that safe.” Before Livingston could comment Carter continued, “I looked up its specifications, which was a complete waste of time, so I dialed up the Usilite Safe Corporation and spoke to one of their technical representatives. He was very careful to not tell me what I wanted to know, although he did explain emphatically the company’s policy on cutting open one of their safes – you can’t. He said if for some reason a safe owner can’t access the contents of his safe an engineer from Usilite will come to the safe’s location and make the cut for them. Then he asked if I was having trouble with my safe. I tried to dodge the question but he pressed the issue and asked where my safe was located. I know they keep detailed records on the locations of their safes so I couldn’t give him a bogus address and when I finally admitted I didn’t actually own a safe, he hung up.
People are fairly uptight over at Usilite; it must be a high stress environment if you know what I mean.” Coming from a man that made his living doing the most dangerous jobs in the solar system that statement would have been funny if any normal people had been present to hear it. But Carter didn’t hang with many normal people, and if someone had happened upon their meeting and had overheard what was said they wouldn’t have been in a position to consider something was funny. Think - trussed, blindfolded, and stowed in a dark claustrophobic inducing place.
Livingston waited until he was sure Carter was finished. He had learned from years of working with him that Carter was mind-numbingly detailed, and as they say, the devil is in the details.
“Carter, I think I have an answer to the safe conundrum.”
“I was hoping you would say that”, replied Carter, thinking he was going to have a chance to witness some new military technology.
“Here’s the thing,” responded Livingston, “no one except you can be in the building when we open that safe, absolutely no one. So, we don’t call the crew until the safe is breached.”
“That’s the plan boss; no one enters that building except you and me until the deed is done.” With that Livingston and Carter left the building, communicated their status to the crew and climbed in a transport. “It doesn’t take long to get there,” said Carter, “but I’m going to take the long way and plan for our arrival on or about 14:30 IPT, that will give all the Shumbrans plenty of time to make their meeting.”
“Let’s talk about our plan,” said Livingston.
“Right,” replied Carter, “we cased the building and their meeting will be on the first floor, in a large open area about 70 meters south of the safe.”
“Are we sure of that,” asked Livingston.
“One of my men stopped by very early this morning to take a peek through a roof hatch,” said Carter. “There are ten large tables on the ground floor and 80 chairs. I think we can count on 80 attendees and a few stragglers,” finished Carter. “That’s not going to be a problem is it boss?” he added.
“It won’t be a problem at all,” said Livingston, “in fact the more the better; I’d like to send a strong message, one even the Shumbrans can’t misunderstand.”
“Livingston, I didn’t notice you bringing any special equipment for today’s little foray, are we good to go?” inquired Carter.
“We are good to go,” came Livingston’s quick reply, “you are going to see something today you’ve never seen before Carter, it’s a shame we won’t be able to tell anyone about it. I should probably explain so you’ll be prepared.” Livingston told him everything; about his mother, about the incident in the alley, about his secret practice sessions in the woods and by the creek. He also told Carter about his daughter and what really happened at the museum.
“You’re not pulling my leg, are you?” said Carter, “because that’s some strange stuff. And if you’re not pulling my leg, dang Livingston, I can think of more than a few very tight jams we’ve been in where we could have used some of that lightning or whatever it is – Jensis 9 and the Quadrilian Plain among others.”
“Don’t think I w
asn’t tempted on both of those occasions,” said Livingston, “and several others, but if anyone had witnessed what you are going to see today, I would have ended up a lab rat in some lost and forsaken military research center, and that was not going to happen. I would never have seen Linda and Joules again.” They sat in silence for several minutes while Carter cruised the city.
“It’s 13:45 IPT; I need some coffee; you want coffee?” asked Carter.
“Coffee sounds great,” responded Livingston, “let’s have a sandwich to go with it. Pull into Ratseod’s and I’ll buy.”
At 14:30 IPT Carter pulled the unmarked transport into the building parking lot. “They know we’re here,” said Carter pressing an ear bud with his hand, “our man on the roof of the next building witnessed the guard reporting in.”
“Perfect, replied Livingston, “you know what to do.” Carter backed the transport out of the parking lot and cruised away from the building several blocks, made a right turn, a left turn and another left.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Ready,” came Livingston’s reply.
Carter adjusted his mic, “We’re in position, I need clearance on cross streets 1, 2, 3, and 4.” “Cross traffic on 1, number 2 is clear, cross traffic on 3, number four is clear,” came the replies. “Update cross-street clearance,” requested Carter.
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