by Karl Morgan
“Brother, High Priest Um-e-Ka and most of the population have left Sa-la-Na,” De-o-Nu said. “They are either flying about or looking for Ka-la-a to land on. They are reporting heavy bombardment of the city at this time.”
“What about our reinforcements?” Fa-a-Di asked.
“Eight minutes out, General,” Ka-a-Fa said.
“How is the city holding up?” he asked. “Is it going to lose power?”
“It’s too early to tell, brother,” De-o-Nu said. “The constant bombardment is taking a toll.”
“General, I have an idea,” Ka-a-Fa interrupted. “When my fleet engaged the Brotherhood over Lagamar Boley, we tried a new tactic to rapidly disable their ships.”
“Just do it!” Fa-a-Di urged. “We’re not even denting their defensive arrays with one ship.”
“Okay, sir. I’m overloading the plasma system. I’m trying to get to two hundred percent of maximum,” Ka-a-Fa said.
“Won’t the ship explode?” Fa-a-Di asked. “Is this a suicide attack?”
“Hardly! Watch this!” Ka-a-Fa shouted. He pressed the contact and a massive blast of plasma shot at the last ship in the line of attackers. Less than a second later, he pressed the contact again, sending a second blast behind the other.
The first blast knocked out the rear defensive array. Before it could recharge, the second blast hit, smashing through the array and striking the engine nacelles, which exploded in a massive fireball. The fireball grew and shot forward until the entire vessel burst into thousands of pieces.
“They’re turning to attack us, brother,” De-o-Nu said. “I don’t know how long our array can hold up to that many ships.”
“I’m up to one hundred and forty percent, general,” Ka-a-Fa said. “I just need a few more seconds to attack again.” Plasma blasts rocked the Kong-Fa, but her array held at eighty percent.
After collecting her things, Dave and Lini crossed the river again. She kissed the ferryman on the cheek and wished him well, wondering if she would ever see this place again. Dave carried most of her baggage and she was talking nonstop. “I can’t believe I’m doing this Dave. Tell me everything about space and the Free Society. Where are we going now? Will I be going for that training right away?”
“Don’t worry, Lini,” he laughed. “There is all the time in the world. I only worry about my friends in space now. Twenty to one odds are pretty long. I don’t even know if I’d want to keep doing this without them.”
She took one of the bags from him and put her arm around his waist. “Dave, you worry too much. We are going on a new adventure. God will protect Fa-a-Di and De-o-Nu. You have to have faith.”
“Hello Dave,” said a voice behind them. They turned to see Fola Untor pointing a blaster at them. “Surprised to see me here?”
Ka-a-Fa fired the second round of double plasma blasts at a lead ship, which exploded in a giant fireball which damaged four other vessels. The remaining enemy ships turned and headed away as quickly as they could. “Thank God they gave up,” Fa-a-Di said. “What’s our defensive level, brother?”
“Ten percent, General,” De-o-Nu laughed. “If they knew that, they’d never have fled.
“General, I’m getting an odd reading on the terrestrial planet,” Ka-a-Fa said. “It looks like a temporal wave near the encampment.”
“Oh no,” he sighed. “They’re after Dave again. Jake, get over here and take me there right now!”
“I am surprised to see you Fola. You can’t imagine how surprised, actually,” Dave said as the man approached them.
“Tell the girl to move away, Admiral,” Fola smiled. “I don’t mean any harm to her. And both of you need to turn around slowly.”
As they turned, Lini asked, “Who is that man and what does he want from you?”
“It’s a long story and I doubt I have time to tell you,” Dave replied.
“If she doesn’t move, you’ll have plenty of time to tell her, Dave,” Fola laughed. He was only a couple feet behind them now. Dave could feel the tip of the blaster in his back.
“You should move Lini,” Dave said. “This isn’t your battle.”
“Fola Untor? I thought you were dead,” shouted Fa-a-Di who appeared ten feet ahead of them with Jake clinging to his chest. His two blasters were aimed at them. “Drop the weapon before you are killed for the second time!”
Lini saw Fola’s free hand moving to touch Dave’s shoulder. The arm had a strange electronic device covering it from wrist to elbow. Several lights were flashing red. Just as he touched Dave, she grabbed Dave’s other arm. A massive blast of light and energy shot through the area knocking Fa-a-Di off his feet. Several nearby trees caught on fire and the ground shook as though an earthquake had struck. Fa-a-Di rose slowly, feeling as though he had been shot by a blaster. His uniform was singed and Jake lay on the ground, barely breathing. There was no sign of Fola, Dave or Lini. They had disappeared in the giant explosion.
De-o-Nu flashed into the clearing with Mitch clinging to his chest. He rushed over to help Fa-a-Di get to his feet. Mitch took Jake and flashed away for medical aid. “Brother, what happened? Where is Dave? Was it a bomb?”
“I don’t know,” Fa-a-Di said, shaking his head. “That bastard Fola Untor was here with Dave and Lini. I was about to shoot him when the blast occurred and they were just gone.”
Ka-a-Fa’s voice crackled over their intercoms. “Please leave that area. There is a massive temporal eddy in your immediate area. Hurry!”
As the two Galliceans ran, Fa-a-Di glanced at his chronometer, which appeared to be running backwards. After a few seconds, it stopped completely, then began to run normally again. Ka-a-Fa’s voice crackled over their intercoms. “Please leave that area. There is a massive temporal eddy in your immediate area. Hurry!” Within a few minutes, they had climbed back to the shuttle port.
They sat to rest near the shuttles. “Did you see your chronometer, brother?” Fa-a-Di panted. “Mine was running backwards and then stopped.”
“That’s why we got the same message from Ka-a-Fa twice,” De-o-Nu reasoned. “That was so strange.”
“It’s worse than strange, brother,” Fa-a-Di replied. “Fola has taken Dave and Lini to another time so we cannot find him.”
“But I thought Dave said Fola was dead,” De-o-Nu said. “How could a dead man do this?”
Odo Pak had seen the blast and arrived at the shuttle at the same time as the two Galliceans. “You are thinking too linearly, De-o-Nu,” he began. “Obviously, Fola came to the future before he went to the past where he was killed on Earth 47.” He sat with the others. “The worst part is that Fola could have done this many times. We may experience more of his treachery yet.”
Chapter 41
The Nightsky arrived over Zulanan two hours after Dave and Lini had disappeared with the Brotherhood agent. A second meeting was being held in the conference room at the bottom of the ocean. Aria, Muncie and Rence spoke to the group from their office on Earth. “Thank you for the details on the two temporal anomalies, General,” Rence opened. “I’ve run them through my algorithm and your prediction is remarkably accurate. The first wave was very shallow but broad, implying only a small time jump over a vast distance of space. It would be totally possible that Fola Untor made this jump before the visit to Earth where he died.”
“I know what I saw!” Fa-a-Di shouted. “I knew it was Fola Untor, I remember his face well. What about the second wave?”
Muncie looked pained. “The blast and second wave were unbelievably powerful. The depth was incredible, but the size was not sufficient to include other galaxies.”
“So what’s the bottom line?” Darlene asked. She had heard about the attack within minutes and had been distraught ever since. She looked tired and her bloodshot eyes gave away her tears.
“Darlene, I am so sorry,” Aria said. “This kind of time travel should be impossible without a Hive. Then it would only be mental energy, not physical bodies. While Dave is probably somewhere in this gala
xy, he could be anywhere from half a million years behind or ahead of us. We’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Zee Gongaleg could be seen on the other side of the screen with Loni Arrak. “Darlene, I will dedicate the entire resources of my Hive to find your husband, but I must admit the odds are against us. We are looking for a single man in a galaxy somewhere in a million years of time.”
“What about getting more Hives involved?” she asked. “Can this planet or Nan or Atar Pa get involved?”
Ulook was in her human form again and patted Darlene’s hand. “Darlene, this planet is already working with Tak-Makla on the matter. Serena Vanatee has offered help, but with her Brotherhood past, I’m not sure it is a genuine offer. And Nan is fully dedicated to protecting the Lagamar-Nan Alliance. But Zee is correct, this will take time.”
“We do know one thing, Darlene,” Muncie interjected. “Fola Untor did jump to Earth a few days ago to kill Dave. Wherever Dave and Lini are, Fola is not with them.”
“How does that help?” she asked, wiping tears from her eyes.
“These temporal eddies leave marks,” Muncie added. “While it’s theoretical at this time, we might find a way to track the other end of the wave and find its endpoint. The Temporal Command is one hundred percent focused on those calculations now. Believe me, we won’t give up.”
Odo stood and walked behind Darlene and put his hands on her shoulders. “We are all forgetting something else.” He smiled. “We must have faith.” He walked slowly around the table touching each person on the shoulder as he passed. “Dave and Darlene had faith when they left their lives in the twenty-first to help modern Earth. The Temporal Command had faith that Dave and Darlene could help them progress, and they have already done that!”
“How will this help us find Dave, Odo?” Fa-a-Di asked. “I believe in God too, but know this is an almost impossible job. We will all do our best. Greater Gallia will expedite the construction of new Hives to join the search, as will others in the Free Society. But it is still like finding a specific hydrogen atom in a star.”
“We must remember Dave’s unique connection to the Source,” Odo reminded them. “The Source exists above space and time. When Dave reaches out to it, I believe it will help him return to us.”
“I hope you’re right,” Fa-a-Di replied. “Without divine intervention, this could go on forever. Poor Dave. Poor me! I am lost without my brother.” He forced himself to remain composed. Turning to De-o-Nu, he asked, “Whatever happened to the fleeing Brotherhood fleet?”
“A Kalidean fleet intercepted them as they approached Atar Pa,” his brother-in-law replied. “They heard them begging the Hive there to return them to their own galaxy. Atar Pa never returned their signal. They began to fire on the planet just as the Kalidean fleet came within range. Within fifteen minutes, all the Brotherhood ships were either destroyed or disabled. The disabled ships then self-destructed.”
“They chose to die rather than being captured? There were no survivors?” Fa-a-Di asked. “That seems very severe.”
“Without a willing Hive, those men were condemned to stay here as enemies to all,” De-o-Nu replied. “I’ll never understand such devotion to evil.”
“Perhaps we can count on support from Atar Pa then,” Darlene suggested. “If that’s true, it is a very good sign.”
“I just thought of something else,” Odo interrupted. “Didn’t Dave tell me yesterday that Fistan was a natural Hive?”
“Oh not this again,” Fa-a-Di scoffed. “Odo, it’s an ancient story. No one believes it anymore.”
“Perhaps that is true General,” Odo laughed. “Remember that a natural Hive is much more powerful than a constructed one, even one as great as on Tak-Makla. We have this natural Hive now. If we could locate another, it would be like having thirty Hives on our side. That could make this job a lot simpler.”
“I could use a drink!” Fa-a-Di laughed. “Odo, sometimes I wish I could win an argument with you, but I doubt that will happen. I will ask High Priest Um-e-Ka to bless the trip and provide some priests with knowledge of the presumed location. After all Odo, I did promise to introduce you to him.” He stood and walked behind De-o-Nu and clapped him on the back. “Admiral, I guess this makes you Supreme Commander of Dave’s fleet until you find him. What are your orders?”
De-o-Nu rose and shook the general’s hand. “Thank you brother.” He turned to the table. “Odo, after your visit to Gallicea, you need to return here. The Hive will need you to lead it. Also, your health will be better here. Since this may be a wasted trip, I recommend that only Nightsky and Kong-Fa travel to Fistan. Darlene, I know you will want to accompany us, but I think it would be better if you stayed with Fa-a-Di and began diplomacy with the Maklakar. Perhaps Fak Mondoka could join you. It’s critical we get them on our side before Paxran or the Donnaki try an attack. Zee, you need to monitor Atar Pa daily. I’ll have a couple ships travel there for diplomacy too. We have to know their intentions. How’s that brother?”
“You left out the part where you give me a glass of whisky when we get back on board,” Fa-a-Di laughed.
Chapter 42
Dave woke in a brightly-lit stone cottage. He was lying on the cold floor. Something about this room was very familiar, he thought. There was a small bed next to him where Lini was still unconscious. As he tried to sit up, the pain surged through his head and his entire body tingled. He remembered when he was shot by a blaster on Aranar Zu and realized Fola must have shot him. The light pouring through the small windows was incredibly bright, as though two suns were overhead. A small table sat across the room. Fola Untor sat on one of the two chairs smiling. “Why did you stun me? Why didn’t you just kill me?”
“Would you prefer that, Dave?” Fola said pointing his blaster at him menacingly. After a couple seconds, he laughed and set the weapon down on the table. “I do want to kill you for what you’ve done to the Brotherhood, but that comes later. Just consider this my backup plan.”
“What are you talking about Fola?” Dave asked. “None of this makes any sense.”
“Maybe not to you, but it does to me,” Fola answered. “As a Chief Engineer, I know how dangerous it is to mess with reverse time travel. There are too many potential paradoxes. Some believe unforeseen circumstances prohibit those from happening. I really don’t know the truth of it though. In a little while, I’m going back to Earth 47 to kill you long before you met Loni Arrak on Tak-Makla. Then none of this will have happened. You’ll be dead, but your friend here will be back on her home planet and the Brotherhood and I will be back in power.”
“Who is this man, Dave?” Lini asked as she sat up on the bed. “Where are we and why?”
“I’m guessing this Nan is your hand servant or sex slave, am I right?” Fola laughed.
“You’re wrong again, Fola. Lini is a member of my crew,” Dave replied as he rose to sit next to her.
“Unbelievable,” Fola scoffed. “You’re just like those damn Vol and Ulu, treating the Nan like real people. Well, she’s your only friend now Dave, at least until I travel back and kill you.”
“You’re going to die there, Fola,” Dave began. “Several Temporal Command agents will be there and one of them will shoot you dead.”
“What makes you think that?” Fola asked.
“It already happened, right? That was a thousand years ago. You die and I am still here,” Dave laughed.
“You may have been told that, but look at me now,” Fola growled. “I am very much alive. And the point in time when I will kill you is hundreds of thousands of years in the future. Since I haven’t done it yet, perhaps your past will change again. Tell me how it all happened.”
“I’m no idiot Fola,” Dave laughed. “I’m not going to help you kill me.”
“Then maybe I’ll kill you here and now, along with your pretty servant girl,” Fola said aiming the pistol at them.
“The Brotherhood will still be destroyed unless you go back, and you know it,” Dave said
. “Do your worst, but please take Lini back home. She doesn’t deserve this.”
He pointed the blaster at Lini and smiled. Then he set it down on the table again and laughed out loud. “I’m not going to kill either of you and I’m not taking her back. She chose to hold onto you when we both asked her to move away. It’s her decision to die on this hellhole, not mine.”
Lini held Dave’s arm and said, “I’m happy to stay with Dave. We will be fine.”
“Where are we, Fola?” Dave asked. “And when is this?”
“Where is a damned good question, Dave,” Fola started. “I don’t think this planet has a name. I’ve never seen this system in any star chart. It’s a few hundred light-years away from the rest of your galaxy. There is only one planet circling the sun. You are now on one of the two moons. The other moon is inhabited, so I put you here. I didn’t think you deserved any helpers. Think of it, you have a planet to yourselves. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Dave frowned, “So this is our prison now. I can see out the window and this place is barren. How are we supposed to survive?”
“I thought about that for a long time, Dave,” Fola continued. “At first I thought I’d just let you starve quickly. But then I realized that would be too easy. I think it would be better if you have some time to think about what you’ve done.”
“I’m proud of what I’ve done, Fola,” he replied. “And I’d do it again.”
Fola laughed. “Right. Anyway, I had this place built with lighting and air conditioning that should have enough power for a few hundred years. You’ll find out the planet can be incredibly hot when the sun and reflected light from the planet shine together. Assuming you live that long, there are lots of candles in the storage closet. I also found a deep aquifer that should provide adequate water. My men built an underground bunker with enough food for a few years too. You’ll have to find new sources of food, if you live that long. There are edible plants and animals out there. You just have to find them. What do you think?”