by Frank Carey
"You created a rift spanning a hundred and fifty thousand light-years? You can do that?" Kylie asked. "I knew you were powerful, but really. Is the rift still open?"
"No. I closed it as soon as the ship went into orbit. I haven't seen or heard from her since."
Jenna sat back in her seat and sipped her wine. "Red would have not gone to that much trouble if she had tried to off the refugees in the first place. The century ship, the DNA repairs, having you rift her back home, none of it are actions of a killer. From Kel's report it looks like she's hiding her true nature from her people even though she has full immortal powers while she's in the LMC. Why?"
Kylie got up and paced the room. "We need help. Professional help..."
"I'm not that depressed!" Bob said.
Jenna cuffed him.
"The answer lies in those records Dr. Aymar and Dr. Orsi unearthed," Kylie said. "There's a lot of data to analyze and those two are damn good at sifting through it. I think we need to tell them who we are and ask for their aid."
"Have you lost your mind?" Jenna asked. "What if it gets out that the League's computer systems are inhabited by immortal has-beens?"
"What if it does? They accepted the Alue even though their claim to fame was abducting sapients and mutilating bovine herd animals. We helped to usher-in Olympian civilization, which helped usher in human civilization."
"And don't forget the Katalans," Bob added.
Jenna looked first at Bob, then Kylie. Sighing, she said, "OK, but just Orsi and Aymar. No need to start a damn cult."
"Good, I'll just..." Bob started to say.
"Sit down, lover. I'll talk to them," Kylie said. "You need to let things calm down after that lightning bolt stunt."
"She's right," Jenna added. "You and I are going to suit up and go have a talk with some of the Sokuhl historians, see what they know."
"Speaking of suits," Kylie said. "There's the matter of the prohibition of taking corporeal form."
"Oh yeah, that," Bob said as he brought forth his staff and jabbed it into the floor. "Rescinded."
"You're kidding. It's that easy?"
He nodded.
The three disappeared in a puff of smoke.
###
The mixer for the colonists and the historians was underway when Kylie arrived. Unlike her usual body, her real one was the one she was born in back in the day. A little older with a more Rubenesque figure, she stood there in her Grecian gown and looked around the room for Dr. Aymar. "Oops, there's Joshie and Tayla," she said, referring to her son and daughter-in-law. "I'm not ready to deal with them right now." She continued her survey. "Ah, there she is." She took a circuitous route around the perimeter of the room until she reached Tannith.
"Dr. Aymar? A word," Kylie said.
"Excuse me," Tannith said to her companions. She and Kylie walked over to a spot out of earshot from the rest of the party. "Yes?"
"My name is Kylie Gray and I'm a friend of Bob's."
"Kylie... Kylie Gray is an AI."
"Ever hear of a being named Mnemosyne?"
"Yes, Olympian goddess of memory, A Titanide and mother of the muses by Zeus. She and the rest of the Olympian pantheon were carried over to Earth when an Olympian ship landed there in ancient times. Why?"
"I'm her," she replied as she manifested her suit's glove on her right hand. "And Bob is my ex-husband," she continued as a golden lightning-bolt pendant appeared around her neck
"Wait, are you trying to tell me that Bob is..."
"Zeus. And Jenna is Aite. Ain't that a kick in the head?"
"Oh my. You're an immortal."
"Yep, and the three of us need your help."
"Wait, you were a god-figure. What help could I possibly be to a being such as yourself?"
"Have a seat," Kylie said as she walked the stunned historian over to a table and waved a waiter over. "Two unicorn farts, please. Sure, Zeus, Aite, and I are immortals, and yes, we've been around since day one, but we're not brilliant historians who can see patterns in white noise. You are that historian."
"What do you need?" Tannith asked as the drinks arrived
After the waitress left, Kylie filled the historian in on Red. "She's a demigod, just like Hercules, but none of us know anything about her except that she seems to be a brilliant scientist. I'm convinced that though Red may have created the 'Cure,' she wasn't responsible for its deployment. We're hoping it was an accident."
"That would be a scenario which would have explained her presence on the century ship. She could have been placed on board to keep her quiet, or she may have volunteered to join the survivors," Tannith added.
"This would explain her request for her father to reprogram the ship’s computer. Doctor, you have your work cut out for you."
"Can I have Doc Orsi's help?"
"Of course, and you have the three of us at your disposal."
"And what if I find out Red is a monster?"
"Let us deal with that. You have enough on your plate; you don't need to concern yourself with immortal insanity."
"And this will help Kel and Sheila?"
"Yes, and my daughter, Clio, as well."
"Then I’d better get to work."
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Captain Nesta, Commander of the SIS Cruiser Tracker, glared at the view screen as the image of the head of the Sokuhl Space Navy faded away to be replaced by a view of the star field from the forward cameras. "Comm Officer, get Agent Sage up here on the double!"
"Aye, sir!" she replied as she suppressed a threat display. "I hate spies," she grumbled under her breath.
"As do we all, Lieutenant," the captain noted as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "What I wouldn't give for a nice, big Goranthi battle group right about now."
"Sir, I know this Martok who has access to a cruiser..." First Officer Seer noted as the door opened followed by Agent Sage walking in.
"Yes, Captain?" Sage asked as he moved to stand next to the captain's seat.
"Seer, hold that thought for a moment. Agent Sage, how nice that you could join us. We just intercepted a message from the head of the Sokuhl space navy, you know, my boss. He's ordered us back to the barn. It seems that Patriarch Zor never authorized this sortie and he wants us, and the Sun Fall, to return to base, ASAP. Both Zor and the Admiral sounded very cross. Why is that?"
"Captain, this ship and the Sun Fall will continue on course to Alyson and the asteroid Dawn. Once there, your Marine force will take control of Dawn and secure the gate. Further orders will follow. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir. I understand completely," Nesta said between clenched jaws.
"I'll be in the lounge if you need me," he said as he walked off the bridge, much to the relief of the crew.
Sage returned to the ship's rest and relaxation area and ordered what humans call a depth charge. Taking his drink to a table next to the forward windows, he looked out onto the bow of the ship, beyond which the plasma streamers of other-space moved past the ship in their multi-color glory. His comm took this moment to beep.
"This is Sage."
"Agent, this is the comm officer. You have a message from SIS Headquarters. They say the train station is ready."
"Very good. Have the captain set course for the third planet of the Vesper system and increase speed to maximum. Let me know when we arrive. Sage out." He put the comm unit away before dropping his shot glass of whiskey into his pint of beer and drinking it down all at once. "Waiter, another round please." The waiter brought the beer and shot and sat them down on the table in front of the agent. "I hate my job," Sage said as he dropped the shot into the waiting pint.
###
Sage's comm beeped again two hours later. "Go for Sage."
"This is the captain. We have arrived at our destination. Your presence is required on the Bridge so you can explain what the hell is going on."
"On my way. Sage out."
The agent hurried to the bridge. When he arrived, he found the crew watching a large
spherical object in orbit around the third planet. A station-ship floated nearby. "We're here, Agent Sage. So, what is here?"
Sage smiled. "A Mark 3 Erdexi gate sphere. Its twin is sitting in the Alyson system, an hour away from the Dawn asteroid."
"I was wondering what the hurry was considering it was going to take us a week to get to Alyson. Now I see you found a shortcut."
"Yes, I have. Captain, contact the Sun Fall and have them follow us through."
"Roger that," the captain said while nodding to the comm officer.
"They signal ready, sir."
"At your convenience, Agent Sage."
"Excellent. Captain, please have your comm officer send "Alpha-one-three-tango" on encrypted channel five."
"Comm, send the signal."
"Yes, sir."
The main viewer lit up as a small sun formed around the spherical object, the manifestation of an Erdexi spacial wormhole forming between the object and its twin in orbit around the Alyson sun.
"Take us in, Helm. One-quarter speed."
"Aye, sir, one-quarter speed."
"First Officer, bring the ship to general quarters."
"Aye, sir," she replied as she pressed the intercom switch on her console. "All hands, go to battle stations. This is no drill. All hands to battle stations. Comm, signal the Sun Fall that we are at battle stations."
"Aye, ma'am!"
"Entry in three... Two... One... Mark!"
First, the Tracker, then the Sun Fall entered the gateway only to emerge instantly in another part of the galaxy, beyond Martok space and in orbit around Alyson's star. "Report!" Seer ordered from her station behind and to the left of the captain's seat.
"We are inside the Alyson asteroid belt, approximately one hour travel time from Dawn assuming max safe speed."
"What about at max military speed?" Sage asked.
"Never. We would end up splattered on an asteroid, unless you plan on us moving out of the belt and being seen by monitoring satellites of which there are hundreds."
"No, that would not be prudent. Can we scan the asteroid without being detected?"
"Scott?" the captain asked the sensor officer.
"Sir, yes, sir. We can run a nanopulse scan. What are you looking for, Agent?"
"I need to know if the gate is still open."
"Can do, sirs."
"Do it," Nesta ordered.
"Aye, sir. Initiating scan... The gate is still present, sirs."
"Agent Sage, what is so damn important that we are risking war to get it?"
"Captain, call me when we reach Dawn. I’ll be in my quarters, nursing a headache. Good day, sir," the agent said as he walked off the bridge.
When the doors closed, Nesta turned to his science officer. "Hal, I want to know what the SIS finds so damn important about this sector. Start with current happenings and work your way backwards."
"Aye, sir."
The captain sat back in his chair and contemplated the fate of his career while watching plasma streamers pass across the view screen.
###
Alex walked onto the bridge of the Valera and found Captain Jacob Townsend bent over staring over the back of Alex's administrative assistant, Felicity Zarn as she manipulated controls at the science station. "Jacob, have you stolen back my assistant?" Alex asked.
"Hey Alex, and no, I have not stolen her back. We needed her help with some strange sensor readings we've been getting from the asteroid belt."
Alex's ears turned toward the captain while his tail formed a question mark. "What kind of odd readings?"
Felicity brought up a chart on one of the stations display. "This kind," she said. "Jenna is double-checking, but I swear this is from an Erdexi gate forming."
"Wait, I thought they stopped using those things when they couldn't lick the explosion problem," Alex said.
"Perfectly true. Even smugglers refuse to use them due to their tendency to blow up, at least the single point units."
"There's more than one kind?" Alex asked.
"A thousand centuries ago, the Erdexi were forced to develop single-point units as a response to the Martok incursion into their space. The design was based on the proven two-point design that required two generators--one at each end--to create a stable worm hole. Unfortunately, the single-point variation had a tendency to explode with dire consequences."
"Is this one of those single-point units?" Alex asked.
"No," Jenna said, "it's the signature of a dual point unit, a bridge. Someone placed an Erdexi gate generator in our asteroid field. Alex, did I miss a memo?"
"No, dammit, you did not. Felicity, can you check the scanner logs for any anomalies?"
Felicity's fingers danced over the keyboard as she queried all the sensor logs. "There was a narrow scan of Dawn and it wasn't by us."
Alex thought for a moment. "Jacob?"
"We've got at least one ship out there hiding in the field, probably headed directly toward Dawn."
"Dammit. Jenna, ETA of the Sokuhl battle group?"
"Seventy-two hours, Boss."
"We've got people in that asteroid, dammit."
"Sir, a suggestion," Jenna said.
"What do you have in mind, Jenna?"
"Let Bob, Kylie, and me man Dawn while the others standoff in a shuttle. Once the colonists leave, you can remove the docking enclosure."
"You three are not expendable."
"We three can escape instantly through the InterWeb if we need to."
Alex looked at Jacob. "What do you think?"
"I have to agree with Jenna. Jenna, Bob, and Kylie are the logical choices to guard the gate."
Alex nodded. "Jenna, grab you friends and get over to dawn while we issue a recall of the colonists."
"On it, Boss," she said.
"Raul," Alex said to the Valera's comm officer, Raul Nogar, "Recall the sentry team from the gate and have them find a hiding place behind a nearby asteroid and await further orders."
"Aye, sir!"
"When you're finished, Raul, get me Bryntana on the line."
"Aye, sir."
Alex hoped his sister had information to fill in the gaps they were finding with this insane narrative.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Raul handed Alex a handset. "Bryntana, it's Alex. What have you found out about our Agent Sage?"
"A few things. What's up?"
He explained the events of the last hour. "Jenna, Kylie, and Bob are keeping watch while the security team monitors from a secure location. Have you found out anything?"
"Yes, a great deal, actually. Agent Sage from a long line of Sages who have held the position he's held since coming of age. This line stretches back thousands of years. According to my sources, there was a plague shortly before the founding of the League. It was s nasty one, killing off a significant fraction of the population."
"Was the plague natural in origin?"
"No one is sure. There are vague references to a specific subset of the population being adversely affected. Most recovered, but twelve million did die."
"I hate vague. It sounds like a conspiracy of silence. So this Sage can trace his lineage back to the time of this plague. Isn't SIS an odd place to have a familial dynasty established?"
"That's what I was thinking. Anyway, there's one more mystery associated with that span of time."
"And that is?"
"One morning, the Sokuhl woke to find a century ship missing. They were in their expansion phase and had a few of these behemoths built. Just after the plague subsided, one of them went missing."
"What about this Dr. Rufus," he asked, referring to the woman in the film.
"She disappeared about the same time as the ship. Dr. Scarlett Rufus was never seen again. There's also the fact that all records of the Basili were purged from the Sokuhl database, all art destroyed, and any mention of them made to disappear off the face of Sokuhl."
"Is that possible?" Alex asked.
"Ask Kel Hardy. He spent most of his l
ife trying to find evidence that his kind existed, and he's a scion of the Patriarch's family. Oh, there was also a mysterious accident involving a top secret nuclear power plant."
"What kind of accident?"
"It went critical and exploded. Ever hear of the Forbidden Zone?"
"I heard of the urban legend about a large chunk of radioactive desert. I think I read it in a book someplace."
"Probably the book containing the Earth urban legends of Area 51 and Grey Aliens, who we now call the Alue."
"Point taken. Can a nuclear power plant explode when it goes critical?"
"Only if it hits a large pool of ground water. Now, Sokuhl does have a large no-fly zone in the northern continent which the government refuses to explain or even acknowledge."
"This is not good. You've done well, sister. I want you to prep the colonists for a possible invasion. I think we're dealing with people more despicable then we ever were."
"Copy that. What are you going to do?"
"Find the last piece of this sordid puzzle. Alex out. Raul, get me Dr. Aymar on the line!"
"Aye, sir!"
###
Tannith shut down the comm and looked over at Doc Orsi who was reviewing the records for the umpteenth time. "Anything?"
"We assume that Kel's DNA is Sokuhl with dominant Basili traits, probably put there through cross-breeding by his ancestors. We assumed this because we don't have true Basili DNA to compare to."
"OK. So what?"
"For the last hour, we've been using data from Red's experiments to map out the sites which the mutagen uses to kill Basili. We never thought to compare Kel's DNA to the same Basili standards. Kel is one-hundred percent pure Basili. His DNA could be used as a standard for the species."
"That's impossible! His parents are Sokuhl."
"Jenna! Are you busy?"
"I was. What's up, Doc?"
"I hate when you do that. I've just programmed a Reverse-Orshinsky Gene Comparison and I need as much memory and CPU as the system can spare."
"On it... Running program... Finished... So, what was so damn important?"
Doc just stared at the screen, not moving and barely breathing as he looked past his steepled fingers.
"Jenna, is he still alive?"
"Scanning... Doc! Snap out of it!"