“We’re trying to find a lost civilization called the Sky’lords,” said Bree. She explained why and what they had found so far.
“How fun. Wish I was there.”
“So do you have time to help?”
“What exactly did you need?”
“Who gave the planet the name Bel’lanca and why?”
“Sounds like you’re grasping at straws.”
“Nonsense,” replied Sparky. “We are conducting an exhaustive scientific investigation utilizing all available mathematical, statistical and historical resources.”
“And straws?”
“That too.”
******
Later that day
“I’m back.”
“Glorious day for all of us. So . . . anything?”
“The people who first discovered the planet and turned it into a resort world found some artifacts when they started to excavate for their hotels. Apparently, the word “Bel’lanca” was on a sign of some sort that they dug up. They liked the sound of it.”
“What else did they find?”
“A bunch of unidentifiable stuff. Before you ask, it’s stored in the main Admin building . . . all but forgotten.”
“Will they let us see it?”
“Just ask.”
“I hate to say this, but you’re the best.”
Bree added, “Thank you, Syl. You really helped the effort.”
“Any time.”
“Before I let you go, how’s Kreed?”
Sylvia stared at her sister, expression very serious. Then she broke into an excellent imitation of the Cheshire Cat. “Meow”.
Chapter 4 – Bel’lanca
“Your Blushing Bride-ness.”
“Hi, Jax’x. What are you doing onboard?”
“My guy had to work. Figure I’d come back and help BreeZee find her long lost Sky’lords.”
Egg’s eyes went wide and she looked down.
“You okay?”
Egg held up her arms. “Goose bumps again.”
“Well, then you’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you.”
“Which is?”
“We think that they lived – maybe still live – on Bel‘lanca.”
“You’re kidding me?”
“All signs point to it. So, since we’re also going there, want to hitch a ride with us?”
Egg laughed. “Perfect, I’m taking the Sisterhood with me on my honeymoon.”
Jax’x smiled. “Seems about right.”
“If you guys are ready to leave, then sure.”
“We’ve been waiting for you actually. We’ll be over Aerianna in the morning. Can you be ready by then?”
Egg smiled. “Make it late morning.”
“Hussy.”
*****
“Welcome aboard, your royal-nesses.”
“Please, no need for such formality. You may call me Princess,” teased her married sister. She hugged BreeZee.
“No offense Benny, but your wife doesn’t wear that title very well.”
His answer of “you are correct” caused both girls to stare.
“Should I be offended?”
“It was actually meant as a compliment.”
Egg looked back to Bree. “This should be good. Go ahead, little boy blue, get yourself out of this one.”
“If I had known you were such a bully, I would have thought twice about this marriage.”
“Shame on you, Benny. You know our girl has gone toe to toe with Mobius, Empress Violetta and . . . well, everybody she thinks is mean. Only a bully or a crazy person would do that.”
“I see your point. The fault is entirely mine.”
“Get back to explaining that Princess comment or you’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight.”
“Hmmm.”
“Hmmm what?”
“I am tired and a night alone on the couch may be just the thing. Sleep seems to have eluded me these past weeks.”
“Okay, guys. Too much information.”
“Sorry BreeZee. As to my comment, with your accomplishments and abilities, you should be Queen. The title of Princess is beneath you.”
“Ahhh,” and she kissed him.
Bree shook her head as she turned to walk away. “I really need a boyfriend.”
*****
“Serenity, how long to Bel’lanca?” asked the Prince.
“Normally about fifteen days. But Aero made some modifications to my engines and now we can get there in about five.”
“What’s the word on him and Bl’azzz?” asked Egg.
“You can’t really tell with dragons. But, she did go visit his parents so that’s probably a good thing.”
“How about you and Skotti?”
Sparky whipped around. “He’s standing right there,” and she needlessly pointed. The young man waved back.
“I know.”
“Not answering that question, princess or not,” and the girl turned away.
“In that case, Benny and I are going to settle into our quarters. We’ll meet you for lunch and you can bring us up to date on this mystery quest.”
“Lunch is in an hour,” warned Jax’x.
“Then we’ll see you all for dinner.”
*****
Egg examined the medallion then handed it to her husband. “Well, I can’t argue with your logic. Just holding that thing gave me goose bumps.”
Benny handed the medallion back to Skotti. “Since we have days before we arrive on Bel’lanca, let’s use the time to explore some . . .” but he turned to his wife for the phrase that was eluding him.
“What-ifs,” she said helpfully. “And nice use of the contraction”. She turned to her sisters. “Stupid earth phrases and contractions – he’s almost completely trained.” The others smiled. Skotti, on the other hand, pretended to be studying the medallion.
“And did you wish to tell them what I’ve been teaching you?”
“BENNY”. This time they all laughed, including the chief mechanic.
“Perhaps not. As I was suggesting before the conversation veered into deep and treacherous waters, let’s explore the possibilities of what would cause my darling wife to get her famous warning sign. Who wishes to start?”
“If I may, your Majesty,” said Skotti.
“No, my dear friend. As long as you are part of this crew, I am just Benny.”
The young man laughed. “That’s a tough order. I’ll give it my best, Sir.”
“Forty lashes should you fail. Please continue.”
“Thanks. Maybe the warning is that if we find these people alive, they will become a menace to us and the rest of the Federation.”
“What’s your reasoning?” asked the logical, though still very much in love, Serenity.
“What if they were put into some kind of prison – be it suspended animation or whatever – because they had been a threat in the past. If we free them, we might be unleashing something evil.”
It was as reasonable an explanation as any. More importantly, it got the proverbial ball rolling. And for the next hour or so, everyone threw out at least one idea as to the danger that the goose bumps were forewarning. When all the ideas had been exhausted, Jax’x finished with the obvious, though overlooked, observation.
“Egg, as far as I remember, you never got these goose bumps unless the danger related to you in some way. That would seem to imply that you’re going to get involved directly with our little mystery.”
“No, no, no. I’m on my honeymoon.”
“Maybe we should drop you off on another planet,” suggested Bree. “None of us want to do anything that might interfere with this very special time for you two.”
“Or we could just postpone our adventure until after you return to Aerianna,” offered Skotti. That earned him a smile from you know who.
Egg took both offers seriously. “What do you think, my Majestic Majesty?”
“Kill me now,” muttered Sparky. Jax’x kicked her under the table.
“Gracie, the last few weeks were, in many ways, tedious but you loved every minute of it. You interacted with the citizens of our world in ways they would never have expected, sadly enough, from a Royal couple. You are a woman with boundless energy and an inquisitive mind. Spending a few weeks simply lying around on a beach will surely drive you into cantankerous ill-temperament.”
“You are a silver-tongued devil; I’ll give you that much.”
“I do have my strengths,” he teased. “So I will suggest the following. We go to the resort as planned while the rest of you continue your research on the artifacts – both the ones on the planet and the ones you already have acquired. If you uncover enough data on which to act, we shall join you and lend what help we can. I love a good adventure and this promises to be one. It will be a memorable honeymoon in so, so many ways. So, so many.”
“BENNY.”
*****
When they arrived, the newlyweds received a royal welcome. Benny used that opportunity to secure for his friends unlimited access to the artifacts and whatever else they might need.
“Benny, if she mistreats you, just call us. We’ll come to your rescue,” said Jax’x with mock seriousness.
“Just to be clear, does mistreat also include a blatant refusal to fulfill any reasonable wish I might have?”
Egg shook her head. “You are incorrigible.”
“Nonsense. I am completely corrigible given the proper motivation.”
“That’s it,” complained Serenity. “We’re out of here.”
“Bye guys. Good luck.”
“Thanks Egg,” and Bree gave her a hug. She turned to the Prince. “I would give you a hug also, but I don’t want the memory to distract you from concentrating on my sister.”
“Too late,” replied the young man with a licentious grin.
“BENNY.”
*****
They were ushered into a surprisingly large room considering that it only housed the artifacts that had been unearthed. There was a long table that could be used to examine the relics and an impressive array of tools and analytical equipment.
“I hope you find this to your satisfaction,” said the obsequious manager. Naturally, any friends of a crowned Prince were guests to be treated royally. Just like on Earth.
“And we can analyze this stuff anyway we see fit?” asked Skotti.
“Absolutely. Our staff anthropologist went as far as she could with these objects and determined that they had no intrinsic value. I only ask that you record your findings for our use if we choose to follow up on your research. Anything you take from this room we would expect to be returned before you left Bel’lanca. You may stay as long as you wish. We have rooms for you, the dining room is open all day and night, and we can arrange transportation to whatever archeological site you think you have found. If there is anything else I or my staff can do, you need but ask.”
Bree shook the man’s hand. “I will tell the Prince of your generous hospitality.”
The man smiled as if he had just won the lottery. “You are too kind.” He nodded to the others and left, closing the door behind him.
“Barf.”
“Come on Sparky, he’s just doing his job,” chastised Skotti.
“Sorry.”
“Okay, let’s get started,” said Bree. “Why don’t we all take a section of the storage units and start going through this stuff. If you find anything of interest, just put it on the table.”
They agreed and for the better part of the morning, they did just that.
“I’m beat,” declared the fleet engineer. “Let’s get some food and some rest.”
Involuntarily, two of the girls looked at the third. “He said rest, you old biddies,” snapped Sparky.
“Rest is a relative term,” responded Skotti unhelpfully.
“I’m going to have to put you on a leash. Come on, I’m starving too.”
*****
They returned after lunch and decided to stop the sorting process and concentrate on what they had strewn on the table. It was a sorry collection of twisted, broken and unidentifiable objects.
They quietly picked up each item to study. The silence was broken by Skotti. “Look at this,” and he held out a piece of metal with something embedded in it.
The girls gathered around. “What are we looking at?”
“I don’t know what the metal is, but that little pebble stuck in there – that looks like a piece of a meteor.”
Jax’x took the thing and looked closely. “I found other pieces like that rock. Should I get them?”
“Just one for comparison,” replied Serenity. Jax’x returned in a moment and gave it to the other girl.
“They look the same, that’s for sure.”
“Hang on a second,” and the young man found what he was looking for amongst the instruments. “Let’s see,” and he touched the rod to each object. It stuck. “We can do a further analysis but this magnet is sticking to each of them. Meteors are usually hunks of iron. These are almost definitely pieces of a meteorite.”
“Can we conclude that was the natural disaster that did them in? This planet got bombarded by a meteor shower?” asked Bree.
“Until we find evidence to the contrary, I think that’s a very reasonable theory.”
“That should be easy enough to prove,” claimed the brilliant grump. She took out her communicator. “Ship, this is Serenity. Please confirm.”
“Voice pattern confirmed.”
“Find the area on the map that was scanned and enter a geosynchronous orbit above it.”
“Working.”
“This will take it a few minutes. Once it’s at the right location, I’ll have it scan the area for meteor craters. That should confirm our theory.”
“Rats. I should have thought of that.”
“Sorry, cat woman. What’s the score now?”
“Four – two.”
Before Skotti could ask, his girl said, “It’s an ongoing competition.”
“And she’s got the four?”
“Shut up.”
“Orbit obtained,” came the voice over the communicator.
“Scan the surface for signs of meteor impact craters.”
“Working.”
“How many?”
“Three hundred and seventy-four confirmed. One hundred and thirty-two probable’s.”
“Wow. They really took it on the chin,” sympathized Skotti.
They went quiet as they considered what they had just learned. “What if these people decided to go underground to avoid the bombardment?” asked Jax’x.
“Could be. But they were winged beings. They wouldn’t stay very long in such a confined environment if they had a choice,” explained BreeZee.
Jax’x suggested, “That leaves three reasonable possibilities. They died directly or indirectly from the meteor storm, they were able to leave the planet altogether, or they are trapped underground and have adapted.”
“If it’s the first or second alternatives, then we might as well go home,” said Bree. “So, I think we should assume it’s the third one – they’re down there and alive.”
“We’re still missing something,” complained Bree. “They had space flight; why stay and risk death?”
That seemed to jar some thought in the chief engineer. He went to the table and started to pick up each piece of mangled artifacts. Eventually he stopped and said, “There’s your answer,” and he pointed at the collection on the table.
Sparky was about to say something but Jax’x cut her off. “They probably tried to use their ships to shield them from the meteors. This is all that remains of their fleet.”
“I knew that.”
“Five - two.”
“You cheated . . . again.”
“Bree, are they always like this?”
“From day one. At first, it was amusing. Not so much anymore,” but she grinned.
“Skotti, do you think those craft were manned or just positioned to crash
into the onslaught?”
“Actually, they might just have been on the ground when the swarm hit. On the other hand, if I was trying to protect my world and my people, I would order those ships be manned. I wouldn’t leave anything to chance or to technology.” They all went silent; staring at what remained of untold number of Sky’lords who may have perished trying to save their love ones. “I’m going to tell that guy that these artifacts should be given a proper burial. I’ll also mention it to Benny.”
Serenity gave her man a hand squeeze.
“Unless someone objects, there probably isn’t anything else here of interest” suggested Jax’x.
Skotti said, “I’d like to see that sign they found with the name Bel’lanca on it. Maybe there’s something there that might be helpful.”
After Skotti left the room, the winged girl said, “Hey, Serenity. He’s so nice.”
“Thanks, Bree. I think so too.”
“Don’t make a mess of it, you grumpy ghoul,” demanded her friend.
“If either of you see me do something stupid, stop me please.”
“You do realize that’s a full time job,” teased the former Librarian.
“Shut up.”
*****
Skotti came back holding a rust-encrusted rectangular object with writing on one side. “You’re not going to believe this,” he blurted with obvious excitement. He held it up so the others could see.
Jax’x and Bree had no idea what they were looking at. The writing on the plaque was indecipherable. Naturally, Sparky did. “Galactic Standard. Are you kidding me?”
“What? What’s Galactic Standard?” asked Jax’x.
Skotti answered. “It was supposed to be the diplomatic language of choice for all worlds in the Federation and, before that, the Starlight Alliance. It never caught on except very briefly.”
“But how old is the language? How would the Sky’lords know about it?”
“No one knows how it originated. Heck, maybe the Sky’lords invented it. Point of fact, this isn’t quite the usual version of Galactic Standard . . . but there’s a lot of similarity.”
“So what does Bel’lanca mean?”
Serenity studied it for a minute. “I can only take a guess. I think it means ‘My Love’.”
“Why would there be a sign like that?”
Serenity shrugged.
Gracie - Box Set #6, Part 2 of Ever After [an Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood novel] Page 4