Eric Olafson Series Boxed Set: Books 1 - 6 (The Galactic Chronicles Series)

by Vanessa Ravencroft

  And as usual I was never sure if he actually spoke to me or if I heard his voice in my mind directly." It pleases me that you are able to detect my mood. Having any kind of mood is still new to me and I am thrilled that our friendship developed in such a way that you can detect it."

  The star port was a busy class B port. As we landed I watched in awe as towering Octo-bots, some over 1000 meters tall, serviced space ships, swarms of cargo drones lifting containers and freight in dazzling speeds through the air. I wished I could have lingered and watched some more. Few things fascinated me more than watching spaceport activity but our transport had touched down and the platform we landed on lowered the C 500 Trans Light Shuttle below the surface and moments later we debarked and rode a slide-way to the terminal.

  A security checkpoint manned by a robot and a local uniformed officer checked our Citizen ID and allowed us access.

  The terminal was as busy as the star port itself. Beings from all over the galaxy moved in any conceivable direction, robots of every design carried out errands, vended food, drinks and services. One side of the terminal had the usual chain stores and restaurants one could find in any mall or star port: Mc Donald's, Arthur's Swine and Dine, Harold's Mercantile, Seven Eleven, Pizza House, Wuerg Exotics and a Hoechst Drug and Pharmacy.

  And there where uniforms everywhere! The white of Medical, the light blue of Science Corps, Marines in midnight blue, Orbital Attack Infantry in green, Navy personnel in black. And in between maroon dressed Explorer crews and the purple of Military Police.

  A group of young marines plowed through the crowds as if they owned the place. There was no one stupid enough to challenge them either. Two Cadets form our group joined Navy Space men in a line before a Tattoo parlor. A dozen army cadets proudly displaying their OAI patches held a noisy eating contest at Swine and Dine.

  "What a zoo!" Owar remarked, with a disapproving tone in his voice.

  "I am sure you can still catch the transport back to Camp Idyllic." Wintsun suggested with a crocked smile.

  Owar spread his arms." I was just saying, look at all that!"

  "What's wrong with it?" Galmy wanted to know." I am starving for civilization and action. I think I could party around the clock!"

  Owar stretched his arms." I am going over there to the Holiday Inn, get me a room and sleep till Sunday. That's what I am going to do!"

  "Are you serious?" I asked.

  "Yep!"

  Sure enough he went straight to the guest counter and asked the attending robot for a room and two minutes later he held a key card, glanced at it and said:" I am in room 453. I haven't slept enough since I joined this circus. Would you guys mind checking on me before you leave?"

  As it was his habit, Limbur scratched his bald head." Sure we will. I think his idea isn't all that bad, but I first need to find me the best All you can eat buffet in town."

  With one friend left we boarded a maglev train that connected the Star Port with Jones Port the capitol city of the planet.

  The ride only took a few minutes and we left the train at the down town stop and emerged on shopping and amusement area, just as busy as the star port and again Uniforms as far as one could see.

  After quizzing an info bot we found our way to the water front and a sea food-all you can eat restaurant. The prices where astronomic but Limbur insisted on inviting us all. To my utter delight I found Tyranno Fin Steak on the menu. It was not as good as I remembered it but I still enjoyed a taste of home so far away. I also tried the local fish and it wasn't bad at all.

  Narth passed small morsels under his hood. He never really ate. He just sampled foods. I asked him:" Do Narth eat? I mean consume food the way humans do?"

  "We once did, but we found the process of consuming solid foods and passing waste products very inefficient and quite disgusting, but as you know I am trying to learn more about the way humans and other beings live. So I sample small amounts to analyze them. I must say we Narth lost a lot in the process. I learned from you that eating is much more than nourishment but a social event. Associated with flavors and textures it provides pleasure. Experience pleasure is probably the greatest loss"

  I watched him putting a whole series of little yellow vegetable balls under his hood from a bowl of these swimming in an oily substance. One of these bowls was on every table. I never had seen them so I had no idea what it was. Wintsun shook his head."I have never heard of anyone stick three Torch-berries at once in their mouth. Normally a drop of the oil is enough to spice up an entire meal. Those are hot enough to make a Nul-Nul scream and he pops them like cherries!"

  Narth whispered in a hissing voice." I believe I just experience pain! It is not very pleasant…fascinating!"

  "You better quit just sampling food and eat a lot of bread and drink water."Wintsun said, with a grin on his face."

  After a long meal we finally left the restaurant and lingered for a little while at the beach walk watching waves roll in.

  Galmy spoke very little and she looked quite lovely tonight, she wore make up that enhanced her big eyes and her long black hair had a precious shine." I thought Limbur would ever stop eating!" She put her hand over her lips and giggled.

  Limbur laughed." I noticed the worried glances of the server too!"

  Olia padded her belly." I ate like a pig as well. I had no idea I could eat that much!"

  "Wonders never cease!" I said looking at Galmy." I had no idea you actually could smile!"

  She blushed and it was especially noticeable on her usually snow white skin. "I am not used to express my emotions openly as humans do."

  "I thought Maltyrs are human."

  "We have human characteristics: Two hands, five fingers, stereo vision and all that. I am sure Maltyrs and all the other humanoid species have some common ancestry, but we are not human. Expressing emotions openly is something we don't like to do. It is part of our religious believes."

  "I am sorry. I didn't mean to offend you or diminish your culture. I was merely expressing my delight to see you smile."

  "I know Eric. I am not offended."

  A stranger approached us and he bowed deeply before Narth." Are you the Dark One? Have you finally come back? I am here to serve you!"

  Narth moved a step back." No I am not, Human. How do you know about the Master?"

  There was something going on I didn't understand. The man was human and appeared to be at least 200 years old. He still seemed quite vital. His skin was wrinkled and his hair was thin and gray with a hint of sulfur yellow. He wore a black garment not unlike the robe Narth wore, but without a hood and with a white skull like symbol on his chest.

  The man's face first showed disappointment then anger and then it changed to a clear expression of disdain." Everyone should know about the Dark One! Everyone should worship him and pray for his return!"

  With a sudden urgency he made a sharp turn and walked away, not quite running but with considerable speed and disappeared in the crowds.

  "What was this all about?" wanted Olia to know.

  Narth as always was completely shrouded, but I could feel he was disturbed by this event. He finally spoke" This universe is based on Duality. Good and Evil, Darkness and Light, Male and Female, Matter and Antimatter. The Universal Rule is that all these must be in balance and this rule is represented by a collective called Order of Balance. But there are two entities one wants to gain victory and dominance for light and good and the other wants evil and eternal chaos to reign supreme. According to the Rule which is set in place by the Order of Balance neither side is allowed to gain the upper hand, to do things that would change this Universal balance is to break the rule."

  Narth had never spoken so long and so much and right here at the shore of an alien Ocean next to a lovely beach and a balmy night he told us about subjects of such profound importance that none of us really dared to breath and not to interrupt him.

  "About a million of your years ago an evil dark force came to this galaxy from somewhere far beyond, pe
rhaps even from another reality or universe. This force headed by an avatar of evil and death itself and it spread into this galaxy, devouring the most advanced civilizations that existed for millennia just as easy as it destroyed the most primitive ones it came across. No other motivation than destruction and death seemed its purpose. There was one vastly advanced civilization ruling most of this galaxy back then and they tried to stand against the Dark Ones in a war unlike any other before or since. This civilization today is just ruins and artifacts. The Celtest are gone, nothing but legends and broken objects can be found of their civilization that once ruled this galaxy!"

  I gasped at this:" We learned in school no one knew why or how the Celtest disappeared and you know?"

  Wintsun nodded." It's one of those great mysteries."

  Limbur, as usually scratched his head:" But if the Celtest lost and those Dark Ones won. Why aren't they still around or why has no one found any artifacts left by them?"

  Narth made a sound that sounded almost like a human sigh:" We do not know what happened to the Dark Ones. Only the Narth Supreme, guardian of the Deep Vault might know. The Deep Vault holds artifacts of the Dark Ones."

  Galmy blinked:" I would dismiss this as legend and fairytale if it wasn't Narth who told us this. What are the Dark Ones?"

  Narth didn't answer at first but then he said:" There are no human concepts I know that would express it correctly, but perhaps God or Demon would be somewhat accurate. I am very old compared to you, but quite young in terms of Narth and I have been made sentient only recently. I did not exist when the Dark Ones where here. I never seen a Dark One and Narth Supreme has not found it necessary to share this memory with me!"

  "Did this Dark One also attack Narth?"

  "The Celtest did ask others to fight with them and founded the first Galactic Council. The Saresii back then pledged their support and received much of their technological advancements from the Celtest and so did the Nul-Nul. Narth did not want to be involved and this is why we decided to hide our home from all sight. Our Observers some millennia later and found the Celtest to be completely destroyed. The Saresii lost every one of their colonies, only their home world was spared. The Nul-Nul had been punished and all their colonies where gone, their technology completely destroyed living in Stone Age conditions on their home world. Many other civilizations stood against the Dark Ones, once thriving and now completely forgotten because they where utterly vanquished."

  We listened to Narth with open mouths. What he told us there, where answers to many of the biggest mysteries of galactic history. I wondered if the Narth knew about other mysteries as well, like the Y'All and the Piostla, about the Guardian and the 200 Mentors."

  "No Eric we do not have all the answers and much of what we know is based on second hand accounts. Narth Supreme and the Eternal Tribune see a connection between the Y'All and the Dark Ones, but no concrete information or observation can substantiate this."

  Wintsun stared into the direction where the old man disappeared." I wonder how he knew about it. He didn't look like a Narth."

  "I was able to see only his surface thoughts, without violating the Psionic Directive I could do no more. From this I gathered he was a religious person belonging to a sect that worships the Dark Ones"

  "I saw a public GalNet terminal not far back." Olia said pointing towards the row of stores." Maybe we can find out more there."

  Galmy tipped at her temple." No need. I am a Data head. I can access GalNet from anywhere within Union Space."

  She folded back the sleeve of her flimsy blouse and a GalNet Control interface suddenly appeared shimmering through her skin."

  She pushed the controls and a field screen appeared before her."Normally I access GalNet via Retina control but I had this field screen projector put in a short while ago, it does come in handy when I want to share information."

  Wintsun was impressed."That stuff is so incredibly expensive. I heard a full Data head Implant with transdim receiver is about a Million Creds."

  Galmy shrugged." That's not all that much money, I got a good price since I took the SI Silver Complete Package."

  The energy field screen displayed the GalNet Search page and then switched to a site named: "Church of the Dark One"

  It was, as we scanned through the documents and info blips just a relative small religious and quite legal church association. They based their religion on ancient documents their leader had found in a Saresii Archive. The declared goal of the church was to prepare for the second coming of these Dark Ones. , described as an all powerful God."

  Limbur snorted with contempt." Nothing new here, just the usual religious crap of a Gods second coming, I bet there are millions of these and all claim their Deity is the one true god and the one that is coming back. None ever did!"

  Galmy was not so convinced." But Narth told you that this one did come at least once and it did defeat the Celtest and all the others. Since we have no idea why they left, they could come back. The Y' All come back every 5000 years just for example."

  Narth pointed at the skull like symbol." And this church seems to have more information than most others. This symbol is quite accurate."

  Limbur bunched his fists. "Then let's find that goon and ask him a few questions."

  "About what?" Wintsun wanted to know." Praying or worshipping gods is not illegal and what is it our business?"

  I shrugged."You are right of course, I just have this feeling we would miss out on something. No I didn't put that right, I just think there might be more to it than just another sect."

  "Hate to be the one to tell you that, but you are hanging out day and night with Narth and to him everything is strange. It was just a goon who has the same fashion sense as Narth!" Wintsun said." Let's check out that Data head Shop we passed. I want something like Galmy. Maybe they have an economy model I can afford!"

  We turned direction and headed back, but I could not shake the feeling we should have followed that man.

  Interlude: Church and the Dark One – Perryton

  Istee Da Notham was out of breath as he stormed into the back office of the Dark Temple. Mitzitrone the Head priest sat behind his desk reading something and was quite startled at the undignified and unannounced entrance of his Right hand man and fellow Priest." What in Darkum's name? Has someone put a Stickle-Incher under your robe?"

  Notham pointed his arm to the door." I saw him and I felt him! The Dark One is here and he is here now! I could feel more power than I ever felt. More power than I thought possible!"

  "I don't follow you. You cannot be serious!"

  "I am a Tele-Empath as you know. I can not read minds but I can sense other Psionic talents and their strength. This morning I sensed a few here and there, the usual. But moments ago on the Beach walk. A being completely shrouded in a black robe, I brushed his mind. It is like seeing the sun and all the other talents are mere Flashlights. He was accompanied by Humans dressed like Starfleet Cadets, but one of them, perhaps his servant was almost as strong. I am telling you the Dark One came! He immediately recognized the symbol and asked me why I would know about those things!"

  Mitzitrone was completely unprepared for such a statement, but he believed Istee was not hallucinating either. "The return of the Dark One was prophesized to occur during our life time, but not here on Perryton! The entire Galaxy would know if he returned."

  "We are but mortals. We base our lore on ancient plates found by the First Son of Darkness. What if the Dark One is here to test us or if he came to choose us to be his Agents of Dominion!"

  Mitzitrone got up. "Let us go and welcome him then! If he is the Dark One we must offer our services. If he is not then we must know what power you speak off! Do you still sense him?"

  "I can't feel anything. My senses are numb of the power!"

  Lead the way to where you saw him last!"

  The two men reached the Beach walk moments later and they both saw the group of Cadets stand before a Data head shop.

  Mi
tzitrone held his friend back."That is not the Dark One. That is a Narth!"

  "A Narth?"

  "We must return and contact the Fist Son of Darkness. It is important that he knows a Narth is here on Perryton and mingles with Fleet Cadets."

  As they rushed back, Istee asked." I know nothing of the Narth but I did hear they don't mingle with humans. How do you know it is a Narth?"

  "You sensing his power and the way he is dressed. Narth are supposed to be even greater Psionic talents than the Saresii."

  "I am half Saresii. I spend years on Saresii Prime. I never felt anything like it!"

  "That confirms it then!"

  They reached the office and Mitzitrone immediately activated his GalNet terminal and keyed in a secure Link request along with a priority signal to the First Son. It didn't take long and the First son's projection appeared before them. He did look a lot like the Narth he too chose to obscure his face with a hood. "Brother Mitzitrone of the Perryton Temple, we received your generous donation and we are thankful for your devote service, but why the call at this time?"

  "There is a Narth here on Perryton and he is with a group of Fleet Cadets."

  "My sources where correct, then! I heard a rumor from the Worm that a Narth had joined the Naval Academy. I want you to keep a close eye on him. I will give you access to our contact on Camp Idyllic and you will inform me daily! We might have to act and capture the Narth!"

  "I will do as you command!"

  Istee felt left out." Why is this Narth important?"

  "This Narth has the key through the Shield. With him we can access the Vault of Knowledge for deep within the vault lays the Summoner. Whoever holds it becomes the vessel for the Dark One and he returns!"

  Istee bowed deeply." I will do all you ask so the Dark One can return!"