“I hate to destroy such advanced technology even though it’s so dangerous. Let me think on it. Anyway, Bl’azzz, you are definitely going.”
“I’m going too, Egg,” insisted Tee’ka. “Someone as clever as me should really be there.” Unfortunately she was serious.
“Well, you’re sure as shazbot not leaving me behind,” groused Serenity.
That surprised Xara. Out of curiosity, and for a change without any malice, she asked the girl in the wheelchair, “How would that work exactly?”
“I’ll manage,” was all the answer she received.
Egg looked at her sisters. Normally she would never take everyone into a dangerous situation but she wasn’t getting any goosebumps. “Okay, everyone goes.”
Xara’s reaction was twofold . . . surprise and joy. The former because Egg was putting all her sisters in harm’s way for no good reason. The latter because Egg was putting all her sisters in harm’s way . . . and she, Xara, was that harm. She neither said anything nor showed any emotions and when Egg glanced at her, she pretended not to notice.
“What exactly happens to MAGEK when you tell it to shut down? Please, no snide answers.”
“Actually, I haven’t got an answer. It’s never been shut down.” Again, that was a partial truth.
“Anyone want to take a guess. Po, Jax’x?”
Xara looked at the two young women. They were standing next to each other, arms touching. They were apparently good friends and that irked Xara deep in her core. A Heart and a Hex – friends. It was an abomination and she was going to put an end to that. The ‘how’ was going to be easy . . . devilishly clever and irreversible. A small smile creased her lips and she quickly bowed her head so no one could see.
“I can hypothesize what will happen,” offered Serenity. “That the machine is enormous and spherical like the mini one suggests that it’s spinning constantly and probably at a high rate of speed. I have no idea where it draws its power but that’s beside the point. Once the command to shutdown is executed, it could take a relatively long time for it too slow and finally come to a halt. It could very well still supply ‘magic’ to the Divine Ones though at a continuously diminishing rate.”
“Anyone want to argue with that?” Egg asked the assembly.
“Will that be a problem?” asked BreeZee.
“Could be a disaster,” offered Xara. “If the Divine Ones still have power, things could get ugly. There may be a lot of collateral damage if they panic as their power begins to wane.” She was planting a seed hoping for a specific response. Without thinking, she bit her lower lip waiting for it.
“Collateral as in other people?”
“Yeah.” Actually, she didn’t have a clue.
Silence as they considered this possible outcome. And the outcome that Xara wanted and anticipated – an expectation based on her assumption that these little girls wouldn’t want blood on their hands – was offered. “Serenity, your ship has an advanced infirmary. I know we wouldn’t want to land the Gracie but maybe we could use the Astral as a temporary hospital just in case.”
Xara played the innocent. “Don’t you think that people might notice an alien spaceship and wonder why it was there?”
“The ship can be cloaked. Maybe the Divine Ones could find it if they were looking, but otherwise it should go unnoticed,” explained Serenity. To Bree she said, “Sounds like a good precaution.”
Since the mother ship would not be put in jeopardy, Egg had no reason to object. “We can also put the mini MAGEK unit on the ship to protect it. Is there a place to land while we make our way to the access tunnel?” she asked Xara.
“There’s a park that I used the last time. Well, to be fair, it was a park. Now it’s probably just a barren, hilly place that no one visits. For sure, at night, there will be no one there.” It took all of her self-control to answer without showing her emotions. Not only were they going to land the spacecraft she intended to steal, they were also going to put the MAGEK unit on board. She wanted to fling her arms around Egg and give her a big kiss . . . no one ever gave her such a great and wondrous gift before.
“Then it’s settled,” declared Egg. She glanced at the universal clock. “Time to tell our co-conspirators that we’ll be late.”
“What are you talking about? We’re right on time.”
“We are . . . and in about four hours, so will Chaos ‘mas.”
“I don’t get it?”
“Bree, explain to those three what we came up with”.
“Where are you going?”
“To tinkle,” and Egg ran out of the room.
*****
Home of Hay’gar and Taysen
“They are obviously stalling, I just don’t know why?”
“Whatever the reason, if this is not done by midnight or soon thereafter, we have to get back to the Crypt.”
Lightning Flash blanched. “I have to be honest, that scares me. You know that either Absolute won’t hesitate to sacrifice us for her own gain.”
Peak wrapped his arms around the girl. “This will work out. Even if we go back to the Crypt, there’s every reason to believe that the others will do as we wish.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I am going to put a Twisting Torc around our host and hostess. If anything happens to you or I, there will be no way for the others to save them.”
“They have the Divine One. Why can’t she remove the Torcs?”
“I will encode the release command. It would take Pond Ripple, or anyone with the gift for that matter, days to figure it out. Hay’gar and his wife will not have that long.” (The Torc was a necklace consisting of strands of pure energy. It was designed to slowly tighten until the poor soul who wore it would literally lose his head).
Just as he finished saying that, the holographic image of Forest Green’s face began to materialize before him. “It’s my Absolute. She mustn’t see us together. Go back to the Library and wait by the small MAGEK unit. Hurry.”
The hooded face finished materializing. Without preamble, the woman said, “At midnight, you will issue a formal challenge to Grassy Knoll.”
“Yes, Mistress. Have you decided where the confrontation is to take place?”
“Of course, you idiot. I choose the far side of the Bridge of Infinite Possibilities (that’s the one over the rift that connected to the Crypt). Tell her one Acolyte only (the challenger could set the rules of engagement). You will meet me there precisely thirty minutes before the appointed hour. I expect you to be as clever as you always are.” Those were not meant as words of encouragement but as a thinly veiled threat.
“As you command”.
Green glared for another few seconds then her image dissipated like so much smoke in a windstorm.
Peak took a moment to calm down. Then he summoned the old couple.
*****
On Board the Astral
“Nice little spacecraft you’ve got here. Is she fast?”
“Fast enough,” replied Serenity vaguely.
“Any weapons?”
“Of course not. This isn’t a war ship.”
“But I’m guessing it could be.”
“Guess all you want.”
“What kind of fuel does it use?”
“Enough,” demanded Egg. “We’re giving you a ride when this is over . . . not a ship.”
“Just curious. For instance, is it easy to command? Seems really sophisticated and complex.”
Before Egg could object again, Serenity’s pride got the better of her. “Voice command to the A.I. [that’s artificial intelligence] or manual if you’re in the mood. Even a child could fly her.”
“Serenity, no more,” said Egg shaking her head.
“Oh, right. Sorry. It’s just that sometimes . . . never mind,” and she shrugged her shoulders. What she didn’t say was that she seldom got a chance to talk science and engineering to any of the others. In fact, she was a little miffed that the brief conversations she had had with
Jax’x were so satisfying that she was tempted to treat her like a friend. That made it really irritating since the Librarian just rubbed her the wrong way. Shazbot.
“Serenity, let’s fly over the Library and get the mini unit. Then we’ll head to Hay’gar’s place. Bl’azzz, get into your gear and get ready to send Soo down to talk to Kr’eep.”
“On it. Can one of you ladies give me a hand?”
“I’ll do it,” volunteered Tee’ka. “And maybe I can give you some advice on how to seduce your man.”
“What are you talking about, you whack-a-mole? You never even kissed one?”
“Ha. I kissed Jagged Peak.”
“That wasn’t a kiss. You attacked him with your lips.”
“Well . . . that’s how it’s done. Haven’t you ever read a romance novel? No wonder you’ve been unsuccessful with Kr’eep.”
“Where’d you get a romance novel?”
“Serenity got it for me. So maybe I should go instead of you since I have more experience. How about it, Egg?”
“Next time we need someone seduced, I promise I’ll send you. Now, enough jibber-jabber and go help Bl’azzz.” After they left, she turned to the girl in the chair. “Why would you give her a romance novel?”
“Because she never shuts up about men. It’s enough to drive me crazy. I’m thinking about building her a boyfriend avatar. Is that okay with you?” She was only half joking.
Egg opened her mouth to say no, but stopped as she gave that some serious thought. After a moment, she answered, “That’s too weird . . . don’t you think?”
Serenity chose not to answer.
*****
As the ship made its way to the Library, Serenity opened a compartment in the control panel looking for something or other when her hand felt a leather pouch. She pulled it out and looked inside. To her surprise, it was filled with a couple of dozen smallish heart stones like the one worn by Jax’x.
“Hey, cat woman.”
“Are you talking to me?”
“Who else looks like a cat?”
“I don’t even know what that is.”
“It’s you with four feet, whiskers, a furry rump and a tail.”
“You are incredibly annoying. What do you want?”
“I’m guessing these are yours. Why are they on my ship?”
Egg had forgotten that she suggested Jax’x split her cache of gems. “What is it?”
“Little Hearts,” replied Serenity.
Egg glanced at Xara who pretended indifference. “Store them in a safe place, will you.” And she nodded towards the evil one.
Following her glance, Serenity said, “Safe in the safe.”
Xara, for her part, meandered to the view screen taking in the sights below. With her back turned to the others, she actually licked her lips in excitement . . . much like a dog who was about to attack an unsuspecting victim. This was all going better than she could have hoped for. Life was looking up. Way up. A minute later she called to the others, “There’s the Library.”
“I knew that,” replied Serenity petulantly.
“And I couldn’t be more proud of you,” said Xara sarcastically.
“Play nice, you two.” To Bree she said, “Let’s send down Ziz and make sure the coast is clear. Is that okay with you, Jax’x?”
“Of course.”
So Bree teleported the dragonetta into the Room of Doom. The bird looked around and spotted Lightning Flash. “Flash, it’s me, Egg. Are you ready?”
“No. I can’t go. My Absolute has ordered me to report to the Crypt. In fact, I must leave immediately.”
“Hang on. Where’s Kr’eep?”
“Oh, right,” and the Divine One opened a rip in the fabric of space and pulled a befuddled creep through. Before he could say anything, she cast a spell over him. “I put him in a waking sleep. You can make him do what you will but to him it will be a dream. Pond Ripple can undo it if you so desire.”
“Sit him on the MAGEK unit so we can transport them both.”
She did as she was asked. “One more thing, Peak has placed a Twisting Torc on Hay’gar and Taysen. Only he can remove them. If we don’t get out of this safely, your friends will die.”
“HEY,” protested Egg.
“Stop. It was a sensible precaution since we can’t be with you. Just do as we agreed and everyone will be fine. Now I really must go.” She started to leave then turned back to look at Ziz. “Good luck. Please, don’t fail us.” Then she was gone.
“Serenity, beam Kr’eep and the unit to Hay’gar’s house. Then beam the Soo avatar down there.”
“Will do.”
On the intercom Egg called the dragon. “You ready to strut your stuff?”
“Oh yeah. This time I’ll melt him into a glob of infatuated manliness.”
In the background they heard Tee’ka yell, “More like a blob of . . .” but the rest was lost in a burst of static.
Chapter 8 – Grim Fandango
Home of Hay’gar and Taysen
“HUSBAND,” screamed the old woman.
Hay’gar burst through the kitchen door. “What’s wrong? Are you ill?”
“Look,” and she pointed at a spherical contraption upon which sat a seemingly sleeping Kr’eep.
Before he could reply, Soo materialized. She looked around – noting her beloved sitting in a stupor, then Hay’gar and Taysen. “Hi, guys.”
“Soo . . . is it beginning?”
“Oh, yeah. This dance is about to start. What about those things around your necks? Are they hurting you?”
“No, not yet but Taysen says hers is a bit tight”. That wasn’t good.
“Will get them off you very soon.” She then walked up to the couple and grabbed each by the hand. “And we found a way of getting Jay’gar back.”
Taysen began to collapse in a flood of tears and Bl’azzz and Hay’gar had to grab her less she hit the floor. “Let’s put her on the couch,” instructed her husband.
“I’ll get her some water.”
“No. No need, Soo. I’m fine. I’m . . . I’m . . . I’m going to cry again,” and she did.
Hay’gar sat down and embraced his wife in a gentle bear hug. Though he wasn’t crying, his eyes were puddled with tears that threatened to cascade down his cheek. “You best stop that old woman before you make me cry too.” But she didn’t . . . she couldn’t. So, being the loving husband that he was, Hay’gar joined in.
Soo knelt down in front of them. “Hey, guys. It will all be over soon. Now’s the time to be strong for your grandson.” That worked and the two regained their composure.
“What can we do?”
“First, I’m going to take Kr’eep in the bedroom and convince him to help us.”
Hay’gar was horrified. “You’re not telling us that without his help, you won’t be able to get Jay’gar back? He already ran away once. He can’t be trusted.”
“No. His cooperation has nothing to do with your grandson’s rescue. It’s has everything to do with the rescue of everyone else on this planet.”
It wasn’t her intent but that embarrassed the other two. “I’m sorry. We’re being selfish. Forgive us,” begged the older woman.
“Don’t be silly. There’s nothing to forgive. Anyway, Egg, Jax’x and Po should be teleporting down soon. Maybe some others. They are going to turn off a machine that looks like that doohickey over there. This one is a small version of what makes Divine Ones divine.”
“We don’t understand?”
“All the little red riding-hoods get their power from a machine. That’s a prototype. Me and the others are going to turn off the big one. Then – poof – no more divine power.” Soo smiled in satisfaction at her explanation but the other two just stared back without real comprehension. “Doesn’t matter. All you need to know is that if we’re successful, the citizens of this world will be in charge for the first time in forever. And, like magic (she couldn’t resist the pun), it’s going to rain again. You better get ready to start a
garden because you’ll be able to grow your own food.”
“Grow our own food? How is that possible?”
“Oh boy. Let’s leave that for later.” Into her communicator she said, “Egg.”
“I’m here.”
“Send down the ‘A’ team.”
Egg had to smile at that earth reference. “On our way.”
*****
A moment later Po, Jax’x and Egg materialized. The Librarian hadn’t seen her friends in many weeks and she walked over and gave them each a warm hug. “Are you two okay? The Torcs, are they hurting you?”
“Everything is fine,” lied the woman. “And once Jay’gar comes home, all will be perfect. Can you tell us when that will be?”
Jax’x smiled. “Very soon.”
“I know it’s none of our business but are you finally going to ask him to marry you?”
“Old woman,” cried her husband. “That’s incredibly rude to ask such a thing.” Then he smiled and said, “But since you already did the unthinkable, there’s no harm in having the question answered,” and he stared at the masked girl.
Jax’x smiled back. “Egg told me there’s an Earth saying. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Apparently it even works on Spell ‘Bound. I am absolutely going to ask him to marry me.”
“Oh Jax’x, we’re both so very happy. You know how much we love you, I hope?”
“I do. And you know I feel the same about both of you.”
The maudlin conversation ended when Egg yelled, “RATS and double RATS.” Everyone turned toward the girl. “That dumb son of a . . . um, son of a gun forgot to leave us the key.”
“What key?” asked Hay’gar.
“The key to make our plan work. We are royally up a creek without a paddle.”
The others had no idea what the Earthling was referring to . . . but her intent was abundantly clear.
“So what now?” asked the Soo avatar.
“You still need to get Kr’eep to do his part. Take him in the bedroom. Po, follow them and when Bl’azzz is ready, remove the sleepy spell.”
“Of course. After you,” she said to Soo.
Box Set #5: Nemesis: [The 4 book 5th adventure of Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood] Page 35