by Karl Morgan
“That is an option, brother,” Dave laughed. “Now I understand your headache because I have a small one myself, but what was your dream about? It had to be something else to upset you so much.”
“It was pretty much the same dream I have every time I come here,” he began. “It always starts so well and then makes a big turn for the worse. Each time I have the dream it gets longer and more violent.”
Fa-a-Di told Dave about his dream. At the beginning, he is leading a large army of Galliceans, flying over a massive gas planet. They are all wearing battle armor and carrying their daggers, blasters and their Ziga, or war blade. Galliceans have not carried the Ziga for generations, except for certain military ceremonies and parades. It was carried in an ornately decorated scabbard on their back, lying between their wings. The armor was also different, like that of an earlier age. The breastplate and other metal parts were brilliantly polished and engraved with their family crests. Those pieces were held together with straps of leather. As they flew, they sang the old war songs to build their confidence for the battle to come. Fa-a-Di felt perfectly content as a soldier doing his duty.
After several minutes he spies the smaller enemy force who are also Galliceans. The others wear blood-red leather armor. Even from this distance, he can see they also carry the Baloo. In his mind, Fa-a-Di becomes frightened. It was been thousands of years since his people fought each other. Why would his men attack the Marine army? Something must be terribly wrong, but he keeps flying with his men. The battle cries fill the air with noise. He wants to ask why they are attacking the others, but instead begins shouting as well. As they dive toward the opposing forces, he withdraws his Ziga and exhorts his men to be brave for Greater Gallia today.
The armies engage with thousands of soldiers swinging their blades and twisting and turning in the gas. He swings his Ziga and slices the left wing off one of the Marines. The enemy has a look or horror on his face and then spins downward into the gas toward his death. He looks around and sees his larger army is barely keeping even and many of his own soldiers are being killed. Something is very wrong here. This is the time when he would usually wake up, but this night the dream continued. Deep in the flock of Marines is a small circle protecting their leader. He waves to some of his comrades and they fold in their wings and dive toward the group.
They attack and hack at each other. Fa-a-Di sees several of his trusted lieutenants gutted by the Baloo of the enemy. He is losing the battle and must act now to end the carnage. He swings his Ziga at one of the guards, hitting him on the side of the head with the flat of the blade. The soldier is knocked unconscious and tumbles downward out of sight. The enemy commander is flying away. Fa-a-Di knows he must kill the commander to end the fight, so he follows him, flying as fast as he can. He is wondering why this coward is running and allowing his brave men to die for him. After several minutes, the commander lands on a small Ka-la-a and stops to face Fa-a-Di. Fa-a-Di lands twenty feet from the other, holding the Ziga in his right hand and his Falon in the left. For some reason, the face of the commander seems blurred, but that does not change his mission. He can hear himself say, “This is the end of your little rebellion, priest.” He steps closer and sees the commander has his Nak and Falon in his hands. As he approaches, he swings his Ziga and hits the other on the shoulder with the flat of the blade, knocking him to the ground, where he lies on his stomach. “Turn over and look at your own death, coward!” he shouts. He stands over the other and prepares to plunge the Ziga in his back. As he starts the downswing on his blade, the commander flips over and thrusts the two daggers through Fa-a-Di’s stomach upward into his chest. Waves of searing pain shoot through his body, but he still doesn’t wake up from the nightmare. He stumbles backward and falls down with the hilts of the two daggers still protruding from his flesh. Rivers of blood pour out and onto the ice, freezing almost immediately. As he feels the life force leaving his body, he looks at the commander who is kneeling next to him.
The commander says, “Za-a-Za, this was your battle not mine. All I ever asked for was peace, brother. I’m very sorry it ends this way for you. May God have mercy on your soul.” As he feels himself lose consciousness, he looks one last time at Fa-u-Bay and sees his face clearly now, but it is not the face of the true Gallicean. The face was that of Dave Brewster.
“And that’s when I woke up today, brother,” Fa-a-Di finished. “Now can you see why I hate this place? That dream will haunt me for the next ten years until I have to come back again.”
“Wow!” Dave said. “You were Za-a-Za and I was Fa-u-Bay? That’s unbelievable! Sorry about killing you brother.”
The Gallicean laughed heartily. “Pretty bizarre, right? That little ironic twist at the end didn’t bother me. You are here and that probably pushed you into my nightmare. But the horrible part is Galliceans killing other Galliceans. I know that war was long ago, but the specter of it is never far away. Look at the Society of Humanity. They are more advanced than any of us and now they are at each other’s throats. If it can happen to them, it can happen to any of us.” He looked around and was startled to see De-o-Nu and De-o-Pa standing on the other side of the room. “When did you two get here?”
“About the time your men attacked Fa-u-Bay’s army, Brother,” De-o-Nu said as they came over to join them. “You know, I never thought you and Dave looked alike enough to be related.” Everyone laughed. “If this place bothers you that much, we can go to the terrestrial planet later today.”
“Thank you, brother,” Fa-a-Di replied. “Of course you know this planet does not bother me as much as the other.”
“Yes, but the Sojourn requires both,” De-o-Pa said. “I don’t mind the expedited trip either. We are expecting three colony ships on Jupiter in the next couple of weeks. There are lots of folks to meet.” The De-o brothers each grabbed some coffee and sat at the table with Dave and Fa-a-Di. “Dave, I cannot thank you enough for being here. If the High Commissioner really has this dream every visit, it’s great he was able to confide in you about it.”
“You are all quite welcome,” Dave said. “But I can’t help but think this is more than a dream.”
“Not everything in this universe is magical, Dave,” Fa-a-Di scoffed.
“I have to agree with Dave on this one,” De-o-Pa said. “There were a lot of details in your dream most Galliceans do not know, such as the red leather armor of Fa-u-Bay’s army and the use of the Baloo.”
“I don’t understand,” Fa-a-Di replied. “My imagination put them there. I’ve worked with Marines many times, as Dave can attest.”
“Perhaps that is true, but it would be an almost miraculous coincidence,” the Prelate said. “While it is generally considered to be legend, certain of our ancient texts confirm the use of red armor and the Baloo by his army. Before that, our Marines wore the same armor as other troops and there was no such dagger. The priests on this world proposed the red color to honor the Beings on the terrestrial planet. It is also written that the Baloo was created on that world. After the battle here, Fa-u-Bay put his generals in charge of the Marine forces and taught them their secrets to defeating the larger army of Za-a-Za.”
“And I suppose the real Fa-u-Bay had Dave’s face too!” Fa-a-Di laughed and everyone joined in.
“That is highly unlikely,” De-o-Pa chuckled. “However, no one knows how he looked for certain. The statue in the temple is the oldest known sculpture of him, but it may not look like him at all.”
“Good!” Fa-a-Di said. “If he really is my ancestor and had Dave’s face, my beautiful mug would never have been so pretty!”
Chapter 18
De-o-Nu had loaded the luggage onto the shuttle craft and was preparing to start the engines, while the others locked up the lodge and walked toward the landing area. Dave had a strange feeling in his stomach, stopped and turned around to see High Consul Zee Gongaleg of Tak-Makla standing not three feet behind him. “Zee!” he shouted. “What are you doing here?” The Galliceans turned as well and
came to join them.
“Well, Dave,” he began, “I wanted you to be the first to know our Hive is operational again. As you can see, the agents sent me here to be with you in person.”
“That’s great news, brother,” Fa-a-Di agreed. “Now you can assist Dave in his new mission. Your people know more about the planets in this galaxy than anyone else.”
“Of course, it would be our pleasure to help,” Zee smiled. “However, there are many things happening around the galaxy right now and I was hoping you all could come back to Tak-Makla with me now. It is very important.”
“How do you do sir?” De-o-Pa asked. “I am De-o-Pa, the brother of your friend De-o-Nu and it is a pleasure to meet you. Unfortunately, we are on a religious retreat and it would be very unusual to break the Sojourn in the middle. I hope you understand.”
“Of course I understand. However, there are many developments I must inform the others about as soon as possible,” Zee replied. “I can assure that you can return here within one or two days to this same spot. I would love to talk more now, but it is quite an urgent request.”
De-o-Nu had become concerned that the others had not boarded, and he shut down the shuttle and came to see what was happening. “Zee, welcome to Gallicea!” he said. “But can’t this wait another day or two?”
Zee frowned and furrowed his brow, saying, “Perhaps, but I think it would not be in everyone’s best interests to wait. Honestly, just one day or so and you can return. Fa-a-Di, you are the senior official here. What do you think?”
“Well, I’m not an expert in religious protocol, however, I would be grateful for a day away from this place,” he replied. “De-o-Pa, certainly this is not too much to ask to help the people who stopped the Predaxian invasion?”
“I could see that tactic coming a mile away, High Commissioner,” De-o-Pa laughed. “I shall stay here and await your return.”
“De-o-Pa, it would be an honor if you would accompany us,” Zee said. “The reconstructed Hive is much improved, which we will discuss on Tak-Makla. I can tell you we have constructed several hundred chambers which should allow Galliceans to join with Universal Power.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Fa-a-Di quizzed. “You are bribing the Prelate of Jupiter with the chance to enter the Hive?”
“I suppose that’s one way to look at it, Fa-a-Di,” Zee smiled back. “What do you think, Prelate?”
“Let’s go!” De-o-Pa said. “From what I’ve been told of Hive technology, this is exactly the right experience for a man of faith.” Before the last words came out of his mouth, the group was standing on the beach in front of Zee’s residence on Tak-Makla. The Galliceans were human sized again and no one required any breathing apparatus. “Oh, my God!” he gasped. “Just like that we’re here?”
“That’s pretty much how it goes, Prelate,” Zee replied. “I’ve asked my butler Ton to serve a light lunch on the beach. It’s going to be a warm and sunny day. Follow me.” He walked up the beach toward the wide patio where one large table was set with fine china and glassware. “Ton will show you to your seats, gentlemen. Some of my key staff will be arriving by tube in a few minutes. I’m sure you will remember my Minister of State, Fak Mondoka and Mak Andeles, Minister of Internal Affairs. The Chief Engineers of the Hive will also join us. One is my daughter, Pua Napale. Please congratulate her when she arrives. She gave birth to my granddaughter, Nika just yesterday.”
“And she’s back to work already?” De-o-Nu gasped. “She must be very dedicated to her job.”
Zee laughed. “Well brother, that is true, but we are maklans and our bodies work somewhat differently. She is on maternity leave, but offered to attend this meeting. She is also bringing little Nika. Val and I were unable to be at the hospital for the birth due to some of the issues we are here to address.”
While Zee spoke, Dave was remembering the conversation he had with Nok last night. He had no way of knowing, but everything inside him was shouting that Nika was Nok reborn again. He felt warm and happy, but not certain he should mention this feeling to Zee. “Congratulations, Zee. I am very happy for you.”
“Thank you Dave,” Zee replied, smiling broadly. “Ah, I see they are arriving now.” The second Chief Engineer was indeed Loni Arrak, who hugged Dave warmly. Everyone else was introduced and sat down to have lunch, which consisted of fresh fish and sautéed vegetables. “I hope everyone is enjoying the food. Fortunately, there was little damage to our crop lands from the Maklakar attack. Now that our Hive is back on line, we can probably reduce the defensive fleet from the Free Society. What do you think Dave?”
“It might be wise to move cautiously on that, Zee,” he began. “With the Hive available, I think we need to focus some agents on investigating the motivation of the Maklakar and those races they are now contacting. Does that make sense, Fa-a-Di?”
“Absolutely, Dave,” the High Commissioner agreed. “From what we’ve seen of Maklakar weapons and tactics, we must be especially vigilant. This planet is in extreme danger once they learn your Hive is active again.”
“I agree as well,” Loni said. “Until we can determine why they attacked this peaceful world, none of us are safe. Now that the Hive is working, it seems only logical they would want to attack it again. If they use their plasma bomb technology, this entire planet could be obliterated.”
“Loni is correct,” Pua interjected. “We have a large contingent of agents on Vilu-Zan to monitor the discussions between the Maklakar and Vilu. We even witnessed a meeting between their leadership and Altamar and Valamar Zendo. I thought we were finished with Predaxian aggression after the war?”
“That is disturbing to me as well,” Fa-a-Di said. “As part of the peace negotiations, they voluntarily gave up their mind control. From our planets on the frontier, we have seen no untoward actions as yet.”
“I spoke with President Panoplez Zendo earlier today,” Fak announced. “He claims this is the renegade action of a small group of agents who remain loyal to Altamar Zendo. While Altamar did play a critical role in the defeat of his brother, apparently he was not ready to go quietly into retirement. Those agents have remarkable mind control abilities and were causing tremendous problems with the new government. Pan said it was a relief to have them gone, although he fears they will return to take power if possible.”
“You know, that sounds remarkably like the Brotherhood in the Society of Humanity,” Dave said. “Even though they were disbanded by the High Council, I have no doubt they are planning a come-back.”
“No doubt about that, Dave,” Loni replied. “Agents in our Hive and the one on Atar Pa have been monitoring Brotherhood agents. They seem to have some temporary asylum on Narta Ela, if you can believe that. We have heard hushed conversations about them moving to this galaxy to gain support and power for revenge.”
“This galaxy?” Fa-a-Di gasped. “Won’t they need a Hive to get here? Do they have one already?”
“Oh yes,” Zee replied. “While we cannot penetrate any of their Hives due to security measures, we have seen several planetoid Hives near Narta Ela over the last weeks. One has been seen approaching the Lagamar system very recently.”
“I need to send ten battle cruisers to Lagamar immediately!” Fa-a-Di shouted. “I will not allow those bastards to attack Lagamar 7 again.”
“Please calm down, brother,” Zee said. “We will all work together to keep them safe. Sending ships there now could be seen as a very provocative act. We must remember that the Society is crumbling. We have been helping the Lagamar planets get the tools and technology to build their own defenses. Their army is one of the most potent forces in Andromeda now. And we must remember the Brotherhood is at its weakest point. If they attempted to attack any other planet, the others would likely unite to eradicate them. They seem content to bide their time and lick their wounds. But we must keep an eye on them.”
“If we’re not going to do anything, then why did you bring us here, Consul?” De-o-Pa asked. “Why is this visit so
urgent?”
“There seems to be a shift in the current of Universal Power,” Pua answered. “We are aware of the time eddy problem being scrutinized on Earth. But it is much more than that. While those of us who know it believe Hive technology serves the greater good of all life, there are those who are beginning to believe it is the opposite of that. And for much of the technology’s history, that has been true.”
“Pua is quite right,” Loni continued. “When Hive technology was developed in the home galaxy, its original purpose was to spy on other civilizations for defensive purposes. As it was refined, we found it could be used offensively as well. For example, if agents found a great planet with a weak military, we could jump several warships and thousands of troops there instantly. Within hours or days, the native population would be subjugated or eliminated completely. This was millions of years ago, but it is our past. That is how the Society grew to be so large. While there are many uninhabited planets, life always seems to choose the best ones. Rather than terraforming thousands of barren, lifeless worlds, it became easier to just take over developed ones. I’m sure you’ve all heard the story of the fifty-one races of humanity by now. The original Non-Ti, the ones who resembled the humans of Earth 47 were conquerors. When they finally learned that aggression was not the way, that race began to split until the Non-Ti no longer existed.”
“But what impact does that have on any of us?” De-o-Nu asked. “We have not used Hive technology for aggression?”
Zee laughed. “Brother, you are forgetting the prison world of Localus. We dismantled that planet to end the Predaxian war.”
“I’ll never forget that Zee,” De-o-Nu replied. “But that was done to stop aggression. We did not attack the Predaxians. We defended ourselves from them.”
Zee was still smiling as he turned to Ton and said, “Please bring us some whisky, Ton. I think we might need it.” He turned back to the group and said, “What you say is completely true, brother, but it is not our personal recollections that will fill the history books of this galaxy. There are many places where the natives are petrified with fear that a Hive might dismantle their populated world. There is no way to protect yourself or your family if the planet you live on dissolves into rocks and dust. We will never use this Hive for that. However, others may. We know the Brotherhood has access to more than one Hive. We also know they hate Nan, the Lagamar system, and most of all, our dear brothers, Dave Brewster and Fa-a-Di. In fact, you two are the primary reason we are here right now.”