Gracie - Box Set #6, Part 2 of Ever After [an Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood novel]

by Robert Iannone

  “It is a wonderful story about a very precocious young lady,” replied Rose defiantly.

  “A true delight each and every time I hear it. Nevertheless, Egg and her sisters have outdone you on this occasion.”

  “Ladies, I grow impatient. Get on with it, daughter.”

  The two women exchanged glances then laughed. “Yes, Father. Apparently, my sister BreeZee discovered her long lost Sky’lords. Egg and the rest are about to rescue them.”

  “Good grief. She went to Bel’lanca on her honeymoon and somehow found time to save an entire civilization. Tell us the details unless you wish me to annoy you with a thousand questions.”

  “I will relay what I know. Bree, Jax’x, Serenity and Skotti discovered a lost journal that revealed what had happened to these people. They are trapped in time . . . in a device called the Reverie Glass. And no, I have no idea what that means. Furthermore, an insect-like creature is helping them free the Sky’lords from the device. The rescue attempt is happening as we speak. As I mentioned, the newlyweds ended their honeymoon to help the others. Egg is supervising the rescue. My brother has been by her side and sustained some minor injuries but is in no danger.”

  “Is there something that we can do to help?”

  “My brother will let me know when I can send the fleet with food and supplies. These people will need a planet to relocate to . . . at least temporarily. Perhaps you can visit with Zephyr and gauge his interest in having another winged species living on Zynn-Zaz’zia?”

  “We will go immediately,” replied Z’kkk.

  Rose on the other hand looked very worried.

  “Mother, something wrong?”

  “Yes. This incident, it highlights what your Sisters mean to so many people. It worries me greatly . . . how will the Hameggattic Sisterhood continue without Egg? And, it simply must continue. The good that you women do is beyond comprehension. I will not see it end.”

  “Tis a bit of a conundrum,” replied Z’kkk unhelpfully.

  “Worry not. My sister will find an answer when the time is right. She would never condone the Sisterhood’s end. Never.”

  *****

  “Half done,” reported Serenity.

  “Thanks. Keep me posted.”

  “Ow.”

  “Bree, you all right?”

  “I tripped over something metallic,” and she bent down to investigate. To her surprise, it was another one of those medallions that Aeri’elle had lent her. She picked it up.

  “What is it?” asked Egg.

  The girl held it up for all to see. “Another medallion.”

  Upon seeing the device, the Rak’nex lit up like a Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center. And as before, the translator was not up to the task of translating the massive input. Realizing that the others couldn’t understand his agitation, Ix’nay started to buck up and down much like a horse trying to avoid a rattlesnake.

  The three humanoids all took a step back having no idea why their strange new friend was throwing a ‘conniption fit’.

  “What’s gotten into him?” asked Skotti.

  “That medallion set him off,” and as soon as the words left her mouth, Egg’s arms exploded with goosebumps. “Uh oh.”

  “What is it?” asked Bree.

  “Goosebumps.”

  “Because of Ix’nay?” That seemed like a logical assumption.

  “No . . . the medallion.” To the big bug, she said “Ix, calm down and speak slowly so we can understand. And stop jumping up and down. You’re scaring the snot out of us.”

  “Snot?” asked Skotti.

  “A much nicer word than the one I was going to use.”

  “Gotcha.”

  Ix’nay did as he was asked. “You must stop the other. Hurry.”

  “The other who from what?”

  “No time. STOP NOW.”

  They were interrupted by Serenity. “About a minute to go.”

  “NO.”

  “Egg, he wants Serenity to stop what she’s doing,” explained Skotti.

  Without questioning, though she did not understand, Egg ordered Sparky, “Stop the drones. Hurry.”

  “Why?”

  “Serenity, now.”

  A heartbeat later – “Done. Care to explain why?”

  Egg looked at Ix’nay. “Why did you want her to stop?”

  “Without the key, the Cognitron is locked.”

  “Meaning?”

  “Without power, those inside would cease to exist.”

  “They would die?”

  “Cease to exist,” he repeated.

  She still didn’t understand but her goosebumps were gone. “Kon’dor, did you follow that conversation?”

  “Indeed. That device – we use it to set the intensity level of the Glass. It sounds like it is also a key of sorts. Without it in place, the Glass is essentially locked. When the power goes off, all of us would be ejected – but we wouldn’t make it past the front door so to speak. Apparently, we would die on impact.”

  “Is that right?” she asked Ix’nay.

  “Fundamentally correct.”

  “Ix’nay,” said Kon’dor. “Thank you.”

  “Not to thank. Failure to notice during inspection; fault is mine. Apologies.”

  “Let’s not argue. Ix, you did good. Jax’x, beam down the other medallion. Let’s see if it will work.”

  “Here it comes.”

  The device materialized at Egg’s feet. She picked it up and gave it to Skotti. “Unlock the door, if you would.”

  “Yes, ma’am” and he found the receptacle and placed it in.

  “Kon’dor, give it a try. See if you can leave like you normally do. If it doesn’t work, we’ll try something else.”

  “Here I come,” and Bree held her breath.

  A second later, the winged man stepped through the glass . . .

  . . . and BreeZee felt her knees go weak.

  *****

  He took a moment to adjust to this new reality then smiled. Looking at the young woman in front of him, he said “No wings. You must be Egg. I am Kon’dor.”

  Egg smiled wryly. This cute guy was going to drive her sister crazy – she could feel it. “Welcome back to the here and now. This is Skotti, an engineer in our space navy and a very close friend of one of my sisters who you’ll meet in a bit.”

  Kon’dor gave the young man a bow of the head. “Pleasure.”

  “Likewise.”

  “And this impressive individual is Ix’nay,” and she pointed at the big bug.

  Kon’dor reflexively pulled back a bit . . . whatever he expected, this creature wasn’t it. Regaining his composure, he said, “Thank you for saving my people just now.”

  The Rak’nex twinkled a reply. Egg’s translator spoke the words, “We have much to discuss.”

  “What? What just happened?” asked a confused Sky’lord.

  “Ix’nay communicates by those twinkling lights. My translator can turn that into words.”

  Kon’dor stood there looking distressed but seemed unable to speak.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “L’elle . . . my, my friend. She encountered his kind in space. She reported seeing twinkling lights but dismissed it as unimportant.” To Ix’nay he asked, “Was that you?”

  “Affirmative. Attempted dialogue without success.”

  Kon’dor shook his head sadly. “She died for nothing.” He wanted to cry at the great waste.

  “Kon’dee, that’s not true.” He turned and saw Bree for the first time . . .

  . . . and his mouth fell opened. “She died to ensure your survival. The survival of all your people. She was brave beyond measure. Don’t you dare forget that.” She actually sounded angry.

  Realizing he was gaping, the young man forced his mouth closed. And for the next few moments, this tableau seemed frozen in time. Finally, he found his voice and his smile. “My dear BreeZee, you never had anything to worry about. You are as beautiful on the outside as your heart is on the inside.”r />
  Without thinking, completely on instinct, our butterfly girl ran up to this stranger and hugged him for all she was worth.

  For his part, he wrapped his enormous wings around them both affording the couple complete privacy. Not sure what happened in there but when he retracted his wings, they both seemed a bit flushed.

  “Okay then,” said Egg with a silly grin, “introductions are officially over. Why don’t we go back to the ship and make our plans?”

  “That would be acceptable. However, I must first change the setting on the . . . lock.” He walked over to the arch and did something to the medallion. “This one is set on a pleasure level of nine. Way too high. I just lowered it to one.”

  “What happens at nine?” asked Egg.

  “Virtually every pleasant fantasy you ever had comes true.”

  “Really?” she replied with too much enthusiasm.

  Over the communicator, her husband said, “After our wedding night, dear wife, it would be sadly disappointing.”

  Egg laughed. She winked at the others while shaking her head ‘no’ but said to her husband, “You’re right, of course.”

  Bree turned to Kon’dor to explain. “They just got married. Do Sky’lords marry?”

  He smiled beatifically. “Indeed.”

  “Oh good.” She didn’t even realize that she had asked that.

  “Now I must go back into the Glass.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to find one or two of my students. I’ll enlist them to stand guard out here just in case others inadvertently exit the Glass and get confused. I’ll be right back.” He stepped into the Glass and a minute later he came out followed by a young girl. “This is Feather.”

  The girl smiled at each of the three humanoids in turn . . . then screamed rather loudly when her eyes found Ix’nay.

  “Apologies.”

  Chapter 3 – Back to Work

  Kon’dor gave the young girl her instructions. “Your first duty is to insure your own safety. If the ground begins to rumble, step back into the Glass. Understood?”

  “Yes.”

  “If anyone else leaves the Glass, tell them to go back in.”

  “But why?”

  “You tell me.” That caused Bree to glance at Egg who shrugged.

  She shook her head in annoyance. “Oh, Kon’dor” but she gave it some thought. “It’s safer, they won’t get hungry or thirsty, no rocks will clunk them on the head, and . . . blah, blah, blah.” Teenagers – they’re pretty much the same on any world.

  “Close enough. Tell them I’m working on a plan and they should be free to leave the Glass very shortly.”

  “Okay. Kon’dor, how long have we been in there?”

  “A little more than two hundred years.”

  Feather’s eyes went very wide. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “So, did everyone make it? Is everyone safe?”

  “We only lost one.” He couldn’t help himself and his eyes went misty.

  Feather took notice. “Oh no. Oh, Kon’dor, I’m so, so sorry,” and she gave him a heartfelt hug.

  He didn’t move for a moment – allowing the girl’s love to give him strength. He finally gently pushed her away. “She died a hero and when the time is right, we will honor her memory. For now, you have your instructions. Any questions?”

  “No.”

  “Feather.”

  “Yes . . . um, Egg was it?”

  “Right you are. This is a communicator. If there’s a problem, you and Kon’dor will be able to talk.”

  “Thank you. Um, Egg . . . how come you and he (pointing at Skotti) don’t have wings but she does?” The girl, of course, had never seen an alien species. Turning to BreeZee she added, “They’re so beautiful.”

  Bree smiled brightly. “Thank you. Maybe you and I can talk later? Get to know each other. I can tell you about my people and my world . . . and about our Sisterhood.”

  “That would be nice. I’d like that.”

  *****

  They returned to the Gracie and Bree introduced her winged Mr. Wonderful to the others. “This is Jax’x from the planet Spell ‘bound. Next to her is Skotti’s better half – Serenity from Laff’Alott. And this gentleman is Prince Ben’Edikk of Aerianna and Egg’s husband.”

  “Ladies” and Kon’dor smiled and gave each a small bow of the head. To the Prince, he said, “Forgive me Majesty; I do not know the protocol for addressing someone of royalty.”

  Benny smiled. “Onboard this ship, there is no protocol except one – no titles. Everyone addresses me as Benny; I would hope you will do the same?”

  “As you wish.” He hesitated then asked, “If I may ask, did you sustain your injury trying to save my people?”

  Benny dismissed the thought with a wave of his hand. “A misunderstanding led to a minor wound. It is nothing.”

  Kon’dor appreciated the response. Let us not forget, most men prefer to suffer in silence. Go figure. Anyway, he then took a moment to take in the control room of the ship and was mightily impressed. “Perhaps when there is time and if it’s permissible, someone could give me a tour of this vessel?” He addressed the question to the Prince.

  “This ship is property of the Hameggattic Sisterhood. My dear wife is the one who would give you permission.”

  If that was surprising, Kon’dor didn’t show it. He simply nodded then turned toward Egg.

  “Absolutely. Normally Serenity would do the honors, but I think I’ll ask Skotti to join you two. I’m sure he has some technical questions about the Glass he’s dying to ask you. However, we need to make a few decisions first. Why don’t we all go to the conference room and figure out our next moves and maybe grab a bite to eat.”

  “Oh, that reminds me,” interrupted Sparky. “Jax’x and I came up with this,” and she handed a crystal necklace to Egg.

  “What am I looking at?”

  “Go ahead and tell her, Jax’x, since it was your idea.”

  Egg smiled. “You two seem to be playing nice together.”

  “I admit it; I’ve met my match.” It was probably the greatest compliment Sparky had ever given to anyone.

  “Whoa, what about me?” teased her love.

  A normally rude remark was replaced with a little of Jax’x-learned snark. “My admiration for you is boundless. Clever, inquisitive and on a scale of one to ten, a solid seven when it comes to kissing.”

  Everyone smiled – except Ix’nay (who had no idea what they were talking about) and the grease monkey (who had just been mortally wounded). “I will have my revenge,” he threatened.

  “Enough you two. Jax’x, tell us what this is, please. Keep it simple.”

  “The short answer is that each crystal acts like a laser and gives off coherent light . . . each at a different frequency. We didn’t know which would be the most beneficial to Ix’nay so we gave him a little variety.”

  “What powers them?”

  “They’ve been bathed in concentrated axion particles. They’ll last for decades.”

  “Impressive. What say you, Ix?”

  “Gratitude and deeply awed. Specifications accessible to the Rak’nex?”

  “Let’s try it on you first. If it works well, then you can get all the information you need to produce more.”

  “Appreciation.”

  Egg walked up to the creature who bent his knees so the girl could affix the necklace. “So, does it work?”

  “Word for extensive joy?”

  Egg smiled. “I’ll take that for a yes. Come on, let’s go talk.”

  *****

  Kon’dor was presented with all the alternatives available to him and his people. He listened intently, asked a few questions then came to a quick decision. “Since the supply ships will not be here for another two weeks, I will leave my people inside the Glass. In fact, I will ‘lock the door’ so to speak. It won’t do anyone any good to exit and roam around without food or water.”

  Bree asked, “That reminds me,
why did you ask Feather to explain your decision back in the cave?”

  “She is highly intelligent and represents the next generation of Sky’lords. She needs to learn to think for herself and not rely on her elders. Though I’m just a flight instructor, I care deeply for our children and feel it’s my responsibility to do all that I can to bring out the best in each of them.”

  Bree had been staring intently at Kon’dee’s face as he spoke. When he finished, it took every bit of will power not to grab the man and kiss him. Egg saw her reaction and put her hand on her friend’s arm just in case the girl needed to be restrained.

  “That’s very noble of you.”

  “Thank you but I hope not. I would think everyone felt the same way.”

  Bree licked her lips so Egg interrupted the two. “You’re a good man. Love to hear more about your philosophy. Benny and I are thinking about making changes to Aeriannian society and any input would be appreciated. So, back to the issue at hand . . .”

  “I would like to speak to the clan leaders or government heads of Zynn-Zaz’zia to see if relocating there would be in everyone’s best interest. The final decision of course would be with my fellow Sky’lords. However, I would like to have that alternative settled before I broach it with them. If that does not work out for whatever reason, then I will avail myself to the Prince’s generous offer of assistance in rebuilding our world.”

  “Should you and your people choose to stay, you might want to consider sending the young and the very old to Aerianna while the work is being performed. Regardless of the help we provide, it will be hard work and uncomfortable for a protracted length of time.”

  “Agreed. But, again, I can only offer that to my people. It will be their decision.”

  “May I say something?” asked Skotti.

  “You are a member of this team,” replied Egg. “What’s on your mind?”

  “Seems to me that this planet belongs to the Sky’lords. Technically, they never left it. So, the folks in the southern hemisphere need to be paying rent on the land that they’re using. This will give Kon’dor and his people a source of income.”

  “Excellent suggestion,” said the Prince. “Kon’dor, I will have my legal team work with the proper authorities in the Federation and see what can be done.”