Egg grinned at some private thought. “He still makes me laugh.”
“You will tell me if that ever changes?”
“I won’t have to. If I ever out-grump our resident grump, you’ll know the cause.”
“Well, I for one expect Serenity’s personality to take a sudden turn away from the dark side. We will all bemoan the loss of the old Sparky.”
“That actually makes me a little sad.”
“If I may return to the subject of the Sky’lords, you must realize that the Sisterhood does as well as it does because of your leadership and inspiration. Bree and the others achieved what they did because of your extraordinary influence. Sorry, dear sister, you still get the credit.”
“No. That’s goofy talk.”
“I refuse to argue the point in so much as I am correct. Furthermore, you must know how much the people or Aerianna love you. They have yet to stop talking about your wedding tour with my brother. What surprised them most was that Flying Girl, the Heroine of Aerianna, was just like them. You have connected with the populace on a level that I never could. Nor my mother for that fact, and they dearly love her.”
“Meggy, first of all they give me way too much credit. The stupid history books make me seem larger than life. You know as well as I do that any success I had was from just dumb luck and the help of incredibly great sisters. Secondly, I don’t have the qualities that an Empress should have. The conversation you had with Ix . . . the subtle way of protecting Sparky and Skotti was pure diplomacy. Something I know nothing about. The same with your conversation with Kon’dor. It’s why you’re Queen and I’m just a princess. I could never fill your shoes . . . or crown.”
The Queen was surprised that Egg didn’t think of herself as a diplomat. “Good grief – nothing could be further from the truth. As you earthlings are fond of saying . . . you’re a natural.”
“Thanks, but why are we even arguing about any of this? I have no desire to be an Empress. Being the leader of the Sisterhood and the better half of Egg and Benny is pretty much a full-time job.”
“You are right, of course. Sorry, you must be exhausted from today’s festivities. You will keep me apprised of events?”
“Always.”
“By the way, I am so happy for Serenity and at the same time sad that she will be gone for so long.”
“Yeah, me too. What do you think of Kon’dor?”
“Very, very good looking.” Then she hastily added, “Not that his physical attributes are relevant in any way.”
Egg smiled knowingly. “Nooo. Of course not. Hey, one more thing before you sign off. When I get back to Aerianna, you, and I and Syl need to have a long talk.”
“Concerning?”
“The future of the Hameggattic Sisterhood.”
*****
As her screen went blank, Meggy, now deep in thought, continued to stare at it. She needed to convince Egg that she did indeed have the qualities to be an empress – or at least a queen. The challenge, of course, was that the girl had already proven herself to be extraordinary as a leader, a role model, and a diplomat but because of her natural and irritating modesty, she didn’t recognize her own talents. Her morality, integrity, empathy as well as that darned modesty were already legendary.
Meggy, as well as her parents, were determined that Egg would succeed her as Queen of Aerianna. They had been discussing nothing else since the girl had become engaged to her brother. Oddly enough, she was no longer worried that a majority of the citizenry would vote for her. The real worry was whether Egg would accept.
Hmmm. What to do? What to do?
*****
Not Quite a Week Later
“Why are you back early?”
Serenity blushed and Skotti looked away.
“Answer the lady,” demanded Jax’x worried that something was wrong. She was very protective of her sister. Serenity was a paradox – tough as steel and as vulnerable as a stray kitten.
“You tell them.”
Skotti looked aghast. “That’s not going to happen.”
Benny was as curious as the ladies. “Captain, attend-hut.”
By reflex from years of training, Skotti snapped to attention. “Sir.”
“You will answer my wife’s question.”
“Permission to talk freely, Sir?”
“Absolutely – if it includes an answer to Egg’s inquiry.”
The newlywed closed his eyes then opened them. “Sir, we were too noisy. They asked us to leave.”
You could have heard a feather drop. A couple of heart beats later – not so much as everyone broke into gales of laughter. Serenity hid her face in her hands while her husband continued to stand at attention trying not to smile – and not quite succeeding. Being a man, he was way more proud than embarrassed.
“At ease, Captain.”
“Thank you, Sir.”
As the laughter died down, Jax’x asked her best friend, “Would you like to add some deliciously personal details to that statement?”
“Not very likely, is it? However, I would like to threaten each and every one of you with an excruciatingly painful, and lingering, death should you ever ask about it again. Anyone have any questions about that?”
“Yay,” cried Egg. “She’s still grumpy.”
“Am not.”
“Captain, can you confirm or deny your wife’s grumpiness?”
“Sir, I can confirm that for the past week or so, this beautiful young lady wore nothing but a smile the entire time.”
“Is that figuratively or literally?” teased Kon’dor who was enjoying the moment.
“SKOTTI,” yelled his wife. “Don’t you dare answer him.”
“Of course not, dearest. Though, I do believe they just drew their own conclusions,” and they all laughed again – including Sparky reluctantly.
“Well, your timing is impeccable. The fleet just hailed us. They should be in orbit tomorrow morning. So, we will all be going down to the Sanctum to help Kon’dor bring out his folks and acclimate them to their new reality. We already have a few of their leaders onboard. I’ll introduce you later.”
“Looking forward to meeting them. So, once the rest of them have vacated the Glass, my wife (and he smiled at her), Ix and I can load it aboard the Astral.”
“Yup. Then you’re out of here.”
“We can stay if you think you’ll need our help with the Sky’lords.”
“Thanks, but we can manage. Besides, like I said before – the quicker you go, the faster you’ll be back.”
“Well, I must admit that having six months to recover from the last six days does sound appealing.”
The loud ‘raspberry’ sound from Serenity made everyone turn around. “Just my luck. I married the only wimp in the entire Navy,” groused his grumpy wife good-naturedly.
Chapter 7 – New Beginnings
Life was about to get very hectic, very quickly.
It all started with the release of the Sky’lords from the Reverie Glass. Having about eight thousand people pop back to reality after spending two hundred years in ‘la-la land’ was a monumental task . . . made more so because their world had been destroyed in the interim. A few days before they were to begin, Egg suggested “Kon’dor, before we start releasing your people willy-nilly, let’s consider a different approach.”
“Sorry, Willy who?”
Egg smiled. “It means randomly. Is there a way to find your civilian or military leaders and release them first? Otherwise, we may end up with eight thousand chefs all trying to cook a different version of the same broth.”
The Sky’lord laughed. “Your phraseology is quite unique.”
“Everyone from earth babbles like that. So, what do you think?”
“Excellent idea. However, we don’t have a governmental structure like most worlds. With a population so small, most everything is done by consensus. There are a few exceptions. Space exploration requires a military discipline. So, I will find Kommander Khan. The Medicus Gener
al, the head of our medical organization, would be another. And perhaps our Chief Archivist who manages our Archive of Achievement. He’s very knowledgeable and extremely well respected.”
“Great. Do you have a religious leader that the people look up to?”
“The Arch Patriarch of the Temple of Appreciation is that person. However, not everyone is an admirer of the lady. She can be a bit dour and inflexible.”
“That probably won’t be helpful. Okay, why don’t you and I go down and get these people and bring them onboard. We obviously have a lot to discuss.”
*****
The first person Kon’dor found was Kommander Khan. When both men exited the Glass, his first question was, “How long?”
“Two hundred years.”
If the man was shocked, he didn’t show it. “And L’elle?”
Kon’dor shook his head no.
“I’m so sorry, Kon’dor. She sacrificed herself for all of us. I will never forget her bravery.”
“Thank you. Let me introduce this young lady. Egg, this is Kommander Khan of our Space Command. Kommander, this is Egg, the leader of the Hameggattic Sisterhood.”
“Hi, and welcome home.”
“Thank you. I’m sorry but I am not familiar with your organization.”
“We’ll explain everything when we get back to our ship.”
“Of course. Do we have you to thank for our rescue?”
“No. It was L’elle.”
*****
After finding the other two, all three men were transported to the ship where they were greeted by the Sisters, two husbands and two friends. Naturally the sight of Bl’azzz and Aero caused the biggest stir.
“Dragons? Creatures from children’s books – how amazing,” said Grand Master Tron, the Chief Archivist. “Do they bite?”
“Stick out your hand and see,” teased Bl’azzz who then gave the poor guy a full smile that displayed her two rows of razor sharp teeth.
“I’m so very sorry. I . . . I just assumed you were pets.”
“We couldn’t house train her,” said Sparky. “They make such a mess so watch where you step.”
All three Sky’lords involuntarily looked down at their feet. “Hey guys, she’s teasing. Bl’azzz is one of two dragons we proudly call Sisters. We also have two sea serpents, and a telepath. I’za over there (and the girl smiled and waved) is from the Ark of Forever, a prison ship exiled from some distant galaxy. Among other things, she can disappear at will,” and Egg gave the girl a nod. A moment later she was gone.
“Extraordinary.” This time it was the Medicus.
“Come on back, I’za,” and the girl reappeared. “Just to really fluster your feathers, Tee’ka was a computer program. Her body is an avatar that Serenity grew for her.”
The three men just gawked.
Egg laughed. “None of that’s important. My husband – that blue guy over there – is the Prince of Aerianna. His sister, the Queen, has sent their fleet to help you. It will be in orbit tomorrow. You’ll have food and any other supplies you may want. The transports will also serve as temporary housing if you wish to stay and rebuild. Or, we can take you to Zynn-Zaz’zia . . . that’s BreeZee’s home world. You’ve been invited to relocate there if you choose.”
“Your generosity is overwhelming,” said Khan.
“Just being neighborly. Before we go any further, there are three topics we need to discuss. First, it was Bree who set out to discover the truth of the Sky’lords. However, it was L’elle – more specifically her diary – that led us to you. It’s not my place to say, but I’m going to anyway. You all need to honor her passing. What she did for her people is legendary and I expect you to acknowledge that.”
“That was never in question,” said the Kommander. “May I ask why you felt you needed to say what you did?”
“Sure. We’ve come to know L’elle from her last words and she’s touched us all. We’ve come to know and admire Kon’dor. We take his loss very personally. And finally, we’re putting a lot of effort into helping you and your people. The only thing we ask in return is that you show us you’re worthy of our respect. Honoring L’elle will go a long way in doing that.”
While she talked, Bree squeezed Kon’dor’s hand . . . and he squeezed hers in return. Egg’s words were just so perfect on so many levels and they both were very appreciative.
“As I said, L’elle will be honored. We thank you for sharing your feelings on this matter.”
“Thanks for not taking offense. Anyway, the second and third items to discuss will be walking through that door,” and she nodded at Jax’x who opened it.
And in walked Ix’nay.
*****
After their meeting with Ix, which went much better than Egg had expected, Tron and Talis (the Medicus General) went with the others to tour the ship. Egg stayed behind with Kon’dor and Khan.
“I should like to see the destruction first hand, if that can be arranged.” Kon’dor had described what he had seen but the Kommander still desired to survey the surface for himself.
“No problem. We’ll go with you,” said Egg.
“I don’t wish to sound rude, but there’s a lot of territory to cover. It will be difficult to carry you for an extended period of time.”
Kon’dor and Egg looked at each other then laughed.
“Did I say something amusing?”
Kon’dor was about to explain but Egg stopped him. “If I become too much of a burden, just set me down and I’ll transport to the ship.”
“If you insist.”
As they made their way to the control room, Egg quietly dropped back and changed into her flying suit. Like all men, the Kommander didn’t even realize she had changed clothes. “Sparky, three to beam down.”
They materialized on the surface just in front of the now-blocked entrance to the Sanctum of Reverie. “First, let’s go to Space Command and see what’s left.” To Egg Khan said, “Allow me,” and he extended his arms to carry her.
“Please don’t take this the wrong way, but you winged warriors fly way too slow.” She stuck out her tongue then launched herself skyward. In an instant, she was practically out of sight.
“What?”
“Sorry, did I forget to mention,” said Kon’dor with a grin “that she’s also known as Flying Girl? Come on; let’s see if we can catch up.”
*****
It took the better part of a week to free all the Sky’lords in an orderly fashion. As each group of a dozen or so exited the Glass, they were taken aside and given the grim news about their beloved homeland. This was partially offset by the news that the Aeriannian Navy was there to help them. They were transported to one of the ships for medical treatment and further orientation, which included a discussion of rebuilding Splendora or relocating to Zynn-Zaz’zia. Kommander Khan was anxious to have a final vote on staying or leaving as soon as possible.
They voted overwhelmingly to stay.
The sisters and their male companions volunteered to help in various ways.
Bl’azzz and Aero would work on the physical reconstruction of the temples of births and deaths.
Jax’x and Grex went with Tron to help reclaim the Archive of Achievement.
Tee’ka was totally fascinated with child bearing since she was not capable of that miracle. She asked to help in the Gateway of Perpetual Tomorrows.
I’za felt strongly about helping with the aged and terminally ill and would work at the Sanctuary of Everlasting Yesterdays.
Bree chose to assist Kon’dor (not a big surprise) in working with the young children to help them acclimate to their new world . . . and to learn about the wonders of the other worlds they might visit one day. Bree asked for Feather to join them.
The Prince had little choice in what he would do. The Fleet was his responsibility and he would stay onboard to manage their involvement.
That left Egg. “I would very much like your counsel as we try to begin rebuilding our world,” said Khan.
“Anything I can do. However, as I told you, Serenity and her husband Skotti are leaving with Ix. I need to see them off.”
“Of course. May I ask why they are going?”
“The Rak’nex have learned to harness the energy from black holes. My friends are going so they can learn the technology. It will be a boon to the Federation.”
“I should say so. Such knowledge will make the Sisterhood rich beyond imagination.”
Egg grinned. “We’re already rich. We have each other’s love and friendship as well as the respect of the peoples on a hundred worlds. There’s nothing else we need.”
Khan stared at the young woman. “If that’s true – and I certainly have no reason to doubt you – the Hameggattic Sisterhood is setting a standard of behavior that the rest of us mere mortals will find difficult to match.”
“You give us way too much credit. We’re just a bunch of loveable ladies who have the ability to help others . . . and so we do. That’s it. We’re not trying to be role models for the rest of the galaxy.”
“Yet you are. There is a nobility in that, don’t you think?”
Egg just shrugged – wishing to leave the subject. “Anyway, I’ll be back in a few hours. Anything in particular you want me to do?”
“Indeed. Since Kon’dor refused the vote of the people to lead us during this time, that honor has fallen to me. I think the first task is to meet with our neighbors in the Southern Hemisphere and negotiate a lease agreement. We can use the income to help us rebuild. Accepting your generosity puts us in a moral bind. It isn’t in our nature to rely on others. I hope that doesn’t sound ungrateful.”
“No. I understand completely. By the way, these people we’re going to meet have the remains of several of your craft. It was among these artifacts that we found L’elle’s diary. We asked them to treat this material with respect and to give it a proper burial.”
Khan shook his head. “How incredibly thoughtful. However, maybe they will return the material to us so we can inter these remains according to our customs. Some of the artifacts may be from L’elle’s ship.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
*****
Skotti and Ix had finished stowing the Glass onboard the Astral and were ready to begin their journey. All the Sisters and male companions were there to say goodbye. All except Egg and Serenity.
Gracie - Box Set #6, Part 2 of Ever After [an Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood novel] Page 16