Box Set #5: Nemesis: [The 4 book 5th adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood]

by Robert Iannone

  “You have my word, Dazzle.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Oh, by the way. Did I mention that the Myst Tree said that when I retire from the Sisterhood, my youngest daughter, Syl’kie, will take my place?”

  Rose stared at Egg then at her husband then back to Egg. “Did he mention if the child had blue skin?”

  Chapter 3 – Bound for Spell’Bound

  Egg beamed aboard the Gracie and was greeted by four of her sisters. “Where’s Serenity?”

  “She went to get her ship.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s small compared to the Gracie and we can use it as a shuttle instead of landing the bigger ship – possibly in harm’s way.”

  “Good thinking. Will she be long? I’d like to get going.”

  On cue, the communications system announced, “Ship approaching; requesting permission to dock.”

  “Permission granted,” replied Spirit. Then she turned back to Egg. “We need to discuss my thought weave.”

  “That doesn’t sound good. But let’s wait till Serenity gets here. So, is the ship ready to go?”

  “Fully provisioned. It’s really a wonderful craft. I can’t wait to take it into deep space.”

  “How long to get to Spell’Bound?”

  “Four or five days.”

  At the sound of a door hissing open, everyone turned. It was Serenity. “Hi, Egg.”

  “Good idea about taking the Shadow,” complimented the girl.

  “Um, I changed its name. After meeting those creatures over Earth (To destroy the Shadows, life-force sucking creatures they had accidently picked up on the way to get Egg, the girls were forced to blow up the Seven), I thought it best if we weren’t constantly reminded of how close we came to disaster.”

  “So what’s the new name?”

  “The Astral. It was my mother’s first name.”

  “That’s sweet. I’m sure she would be happy.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Anyway, now that we’re all here, Spirit is going to tell us about her thought weave. Whenever you’re ready, girlfriend.”

  “Well, to begin with, we’ll have no problem finding the Librarian. One hundred percent chance of success.”

  “Okay, that’s good. What else?”

  “Egg, this mission is going to be . . . um, what’s the earth expression . . . a lose-lose situation.”

  “I don’t like the sound of that. Tell us why.”

  Spirit took a deep breath. “If we do nothing or if we try and fail to turn off the MAGEK machine, the chances are that the Librarian could lose her life and the planet will continue to be enslaved.”

  “Okay, that makes sense; after all that’s why we’re here. So, what’s the chance that we fail?”

  “A high probability.”

  “Well, we do love a challenge. And if we’re successful, I’m guessing it still doesn’t turn out good.”

  “This is the other ‘lose’ part. There’s an even higher probability that she will suffer grievously . . . but probably won’t die.”

  Egg sensed there was more. “Tell us the rest, Spirit.”

  “If we lose – or just walk away – the Sisterhood will suffer no ill effects. If we win, there’s an extremely high probability that we’ll never be the same.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Meaning that future missions of the Hameggattic Sisterhood will fail as often as we’ll succeed.”

  There was only dead silence as everyone digested the information.

  Tee’ka finally spoke up. “Is it just me, or does this mission now sound like a really bad idea?”

  “Can someone explain all this to me so I can understand?” asked Bl’azzz.

  Serenity volunteered. “If we go home now, or if we fail, the Librarian is almost certainly going to die. However, if we succeed, then she’ll only be injured not killed. In the first case, the sisterhood is good. In the second case, we’re going to be a lot less successful on future missions.”

  “Yeah, I got that. I was just hoping I was too dumb to really understand.”

  “Hey, Butterfly Girl, you’ve been awfully quiet. What do you think?”

  “Sorry, but it seems obvious to me. We already committed to helping the girl. We’re the Hameggattic Sisterhood . . . how can we possibly turn our backs on her?”

  “Bree’s right. We have to risk it.”

  “Risk what?” demanded Serenity. “If we save this girl, we are going to hurt untold numbers of people in the future. That’s a bad decision. Worse, it’s illogical.”

  No sister had ever challenged Egg in this way – and nobody knew what to say or do. Without realizing it, the sisters were holding their collective breaths.

  Again, it was Tee’ka who spoke first. “Serenity, we chose Egg as our leader. Whatever she decides, I’ll support her.” The other girl just glared.

  “Thanks Tee . . . but Serenity makes a valid point. Let me tell you why I think we should continue – besides what Bree said. Then, if there are still objections, we can talk it out. Okay with you, Serenity?”

  The girl bowed her head in embarrassment. “Sorry, Egg. I didn’t mean to sound . . . well, to sound mean. Please, tell us your reasoning.”

  “It’s simple, actually. What we do is pretty dangerous stuff. There’s no guarantee that there will even be another mission. We have a whole planet that’s suffering right now . . . who knows how many people. I think the Sisterhood should try to help them. As for any future mission, well Spirit said a high probability things will go against us. She didn’t say it was a one hundred percent certainty. If anyone can beat the odds, I think our crew of wacky, wonky women can.”

  Serenity shook her head . . . in admiration. “You see things so much more clearly than I ever could. Sometimes I’m too smart for my own good. Oops, not to say that you’re not smart (Egg smiled). Well, enough jibber-jabber. Time’s a ’wasting; these people need the Hameggattic Sisterhood.”

  *****

  It was a few days later – half the trip was behind them while half lay ahead. They were all gathered in the common room eating dinner. Tonight, only dishes from Paradox could be ordered. The brainchild of Tee’ka who shamed everyone into trying something new, the order of planets (and therefore the menu) was Earth, Aerianna, Paradox, Zynn-Zaz’zia, and Laff’Alott.

  In truth, there wasn’t a great deal of difference in fare between planets. A hamburger from Earth was very similar to the Rubik’s Qube from Spirit’s home world. Granted the meat of the Rubik (kind of like a rabbit – but about the size of a small horse) was served, as the name implies, in the shape of a cube not a patty. And instead of salt and ketchup, you used Piz - a condiment that was closer in taste to vinegar. The most difficult difference to adjust to was the consistency. Hamburgers are, of course, ground up beef with a uniform texture. The Qube contained bits and pieces of the Rubik, preferably left unidentified.

  Bl’azzz, as a certified vegetarian, was allowed to eat a bowl of fruits and nuts that were indigenous to Paradox.

  “What do you think?” asked Spirit.

  “What are those crunchy things I taste?” replied Egg.

  “Um, best if you didn’t know.”

  Egg looked from Spirit to her plate. She touched the meat with her fork – a look of horror on her face.

  “Don’t be such a girl. It won’t kill you,” teased her friend.

  “Yeah. Maybe I’ll just have what she’s having,” pointing to Bl’azzz’s bowl. “Need to watch my weight.”

  “Fearless leader my . . .” but Tee’ka couldn’t remember how the Earth expression went.

  “Butt,” whispered Serenity.

  “Oh, right. My butt.” She turned back to the girl in the wheelchair and asked, “What is that again?” Serenity pointed at her Gluteus Maximus. “Really?”

  After the prerequisite giggling and a deep breath from Egg as she reluctantly took another bite of her Qube, BreeZee asked, “Egg, tell us again what the Myst Tree told you.”

&n
bsp; The other girl grimaced as she swallowed a mouthful of the mystery meat. “It was an awful rhyme . . . give me a second. Got it, he said, “That which lights – the darkest nights – will point the way – but only in the grey – of the following day.”

  “Not his best,” observed Serenity.

  “That’s what he said. So, believe it or not, he came to me last night in a dream and apologized.”

  “The Tree apologized? Why?”

  “Tee’ka, he said he was embarrassed . . . can you believe it? Anyway, he told me to forget the rhyme because it had something to do with solar eclipses or whatever. I couldn’t really follow what he was talking about. Sometimes he kind of babbles.”

  “So we have nothing to go on?” asked Bree.

  “Actually, we do. He came up with another rhyme . . . this time it was up to his usual standards.”

  “Well, what was it?” demanded Serenity impatiently.

  “Okay, here it goes,” and she closed her eyes as if she could see the words on the back of her eyelids . . .

  Underneath the celestial lair

  Lies a chamber that holds the sphere

  Suspended by a train of thought

  Perpetual motion stopped by naught

  Heart and Hex must combine as one

  Directed thru he, born with none

  “Wow,” exclaimed Bl’azzz. “That’s a mouthful.”

  “Yeah, but I wish he just come out and say what he means in plain English just once. Okay, anyone want to venture a guess on any of it?”

  “Obviously this sphere is the MAGEK machine,” suggested Serenity. “And I think the last two lines is how we turn it off . . . . though, obviously, we don’t know what he’s referencing.”

  “Seems reasonable. Anything else?” asked Egg.

  “Perpetual motion defies the laws of physics. Therefore, this sphere is drawing energy from somewhere . . . that’s where the ‘train of thought’ reference comes in. I think these magicians, or whatever they are, feed the sphere energy. Since no one knows this machine even exists, they almost certainly don’t know they’re doing it. If we can interrupt that ‘train’, the machine stops.”

  “Ohhhhh. Clever. Ridiculously, over-the-skies clever.”

  “Don’t act so surprised,” teased the other girl.

  “I wasn’t acting,” retorted Egg who stuck out her tongue.

  After a few seconds of silence, Bree asked Spirit, “So how do we find the Librarian?”

  “Since it’s a certainty that we will, I’m guessing that she’s very well known. I suggest we just ask the first person we meet.”

  “So we just choose a random place to land?”

  “No,” interrupted Serenity. “I’ve checked the Federation’s data banks and found out a few things. First, there’s only one major city called Amber Heart . . . though everyone refers to it as just Heart.”

  “How can there be only one city?” asked Egg.

  “The rest were destroyed, however, the reference material didn’t say why or how. Before it happened, the planet was technologically very advanced. Now, there’s almost nothing left of that civilization. Again, I have no details as to the why.”

  “Well, it kind of makes sense.”

  “What does, Bree?”

  “The Librarian said that the powers-that-be think of themselves as masters of magic. If all other technology was destroyed in that long-ago war, the most powerful people would be these magicians. She also said it wasn’t magic but some machine. It must be the only advanced technology that survived . . . but no one remembers it.”

  Spirit reminded her friends,“And when you’re all-powerful, you can be as mean as you want . . . remember our friend Mobius.”

  “Egg, do you really think the Librarian is a witch?” asked Bl’azzz.

  The girl gave the question some serious thought. “No.”

  “Really? Why?” Tee’ka assumed that everyone told the truth.

  “Tee, I don’t think she’s lying to us. I’m sure she actually believes it.”

  “Then why don’t you think she’s a witch?”

  “I just don’t believe that such a thing exists. I always thought my flying suit and the jewelry were magic, but it was only technology. It was the easy explanation because I had no experience with such amazing science. Think about it . . . her civilization used to be very advanced. Maybe her powers also come from a machine . . . another one that survived their war but whose existence has been forgotten.”

  “Does that change anything for us”?

  “I can’t be sure, Serenity. But . . . it gives me goose bumps when I think about it.”

  “Ha,” barked Bl’azzz.

  “Ha, what?”

  “Your stupid goose bumps . . . tell me that’s not magic.”

  Egg opened her mouth to dispute the notion but couldn’t think of a good argument.

  “Got’cha.”

  “I don’t understand. Why would it give you goose bumps?”

  “I’m not sure. If I had to guess, it’s because she’s not a witch and that will be why we can’t find a way to help her. I think it’s going to be the reason she turns on us.”

  “Well, that’s depressing.”

  “Cheer up, Serenity. I’ve been wrong before.”

  “But your goose bumps haven’t.”

  Egg shrugged resignedly.

  *****

  Using the ship’s intercom, Serenity requested, “Everyone to the bridge, please.”

  A few moments later, all the sisters had arrived. Serenity flipped a switch and the main view screen came on. “There’s Spell’Bound.”

  “Pretty,” said Bl’azzz.

  “Pretty weird,” corrected Serenity.

  “Why?”

  “No blue for water. No green for vegetation. It looks like nothing but desert.”

  “How could anyone live there?”

  “Got me, Tee’ka. I guess will find out soon enough.”

  “How long till we arrive?” asked Egg.

  “About twenty-four hours. As we get closer, we should have no problem in finding that city.”

  “Well, I think it’s time we decide on a plan. I guess the first question is what do the inhabitants look like. The image I got from the Myst Tree was just the Librarians eyes . . . and they seemed human. Serenity, any information on the people and animal life?”

  “Definitely humanoid. As to animal life, I can find nothing totally out of the norm. But, until we get there, we won’t know for sure.”

  “What do you think they’ll do when they see our motley crew?”

  “They’re pretty xenophobic. Before someone asks, it means they don’t like outsiders.”

  “Can I suggest something?”

  Egg rolled her eyes. “Spirit, you don’t have to ask. Just say what’s on your mind.”

  “I was just going to suggest we send down one or two of Serenity’s avatars. Just to be on the safe side.” She glanced at Tee’ka then added, “I didn’t want to sound insensitive.”

  “I don’t consider myself an avatar . . . but I appreciate your concern,” replied the former avatar.

  “Anyone object to Spirit’s suggestion?” No one did. “Serenity, can you whip up a couple of make believe people for us to use?”

  “I can do that. Who wants to volunteer their good looks?”

  Egg spoke first. “How about using your Sera’Fina and Mysteria patterns?”

  “Why not duplicate two of us?”

  “Just a feeling,” she replied with a shrug.

  “Well, Sera’Fina and Mysteria it will be. I’ll start growing them now”

  *****

  The Next Day

  “Ladies, I believe you know these two,” said Serenity.

  Using a hand held controller, the avatars followed closely behind her.

  “They don’t have brains, right?”

  “Actually, it’s called artificial intelligence, Bl’azzz. And the answer is no. Two of us will have to operate them.”

&nb
sp; “Egg, I’m guessing you’ll be one. Can I volunteer to be the other?” Everyone looked at the F’yre Dragon, surprised by the request. “Hey, I never get to do the good stuff.”

  Egg asked Serenity, “Will that be a problem – a dragon operating a human avatar?”

  “Not really.”

  “Then, hot lips, you’re in.”

  “Hot lips?”

  “Don’t you love it?”

  “No, not really.”

  “Well, I can’t call you big bird. And if you’re going to be my wing man, you have to have a nickname.”

  “What’s a wing man? Is that like a human with wings?”

  Egg laughed good-naturedly. “No, it’s an earth term for someone who’s there to back you up. A very important position.”

  Bl’azzz proudly raised herself to her full height. “Hot lips. I love it.” Then after a moment, she asked, “That isn’t like one of those looney big birds, right?”

  “Promise.”

  “Then let’s do this thing.”

  “Serenity,” asked BreeZee, “will we be able to see and hear what they do?”

  “Absolutely. I’ll relay the video and audio to the main viewer.”

  “Then we’re all set. Did you find the city?”

  “I did, Egg. But I also found something else. It must be leftovers from before their wars. Let me show you,” and she fiddled with some controls and the screen came on.

  “What the heck is it?”

  “No idea, but I found hundreds. I’ll try to analyze them while you two go down there. Might be helpful if you ask the Librarian.”

  “Will do. Okay, Spirit you fly the ‘other us’ down in Serenity’s ship. Take Bree with you. Tee, you stay here and help us. Any questions?”

  “Can you feed the coordinates to the ships navigation computer?”

  “On it,” replied Serenity.

  “Okay, Tee, help us into those helmets.” They were the device used to control the avatars.

  And so began their mission . . . and the start of some serious trouble.

  Chapter 4 – Amber Heart, the City