“One you’ll just have to forgive some day.” He wiped his chin dripping purple blood that looked black in the darkness. “I would say sorry, but once I got started I couldn’t stop.”
“Just busting your balls. I remember that craving so I can’t fault you for it.” Renee took it in stride and said “Let’s cut off a slab for later and condense the rest before we go to get the job done.”
The cutlass made quick work making thick steaks for those who would eat before Oliver’s vambrace and Renee’s bracelet covered the Salamander remains and crushed them into a speck of their former selves.
Right after, Oliver lifted the thirteen kilos of Salamander steak and said “I’ll go seal these for later and meet you at the destination.” He jumped clear of the tree tops, found the three fighters as well as the shuttle and Deegen’s fighter over twelve kilometers away in another clearing. As he fell he said to the others “Better yet we should fly.”
“Oh, forgot to tell you our landing area is larger than where you all parked.” Renee suddenly remembered. “I was faster getting here as Sparky wanted to stay close to the others.”
They hurried back to the three fighters and Renee hopped in behind Oliver as they flew over to land again. He found Stephanie and Jessica in front of a door recently freed from rubble with Jacob holding up lights with Sparky glowing beneath his dark armor. Without asking, Oliver just knew the Drake’s primal nemesis’s scent alone would make him want to kill. Even though the five recently were killed, a Drake had no control over the glowing threat display when a Keptl was near. The only thing keeping him from being too bright was the donned Drake armor painted tactical black.
Renee also commented it was she who blasted her way to the sealed door.
They all landed and Stephanie came over to say “We’ve been at it for a half hour and no cutting tool will leave a scratch. I scanned it and those doors are made just like your sword Oliver. The atoms are so packed they do not move. Jake’s translation program tells us only someone of high rank can place their hand on it to get it to open. And it’s shielded from scans so I don’t know what is behind it. All I can find are faint energy traces.”
They got out and he got straight to the point. “Let me try then.” And walked right up to the door that was marble white and right at eye level was the Solarian written language. His gaze unfocused as he got closer and said “Renee, I need you for this.”
“For what?” she did come up from behind and let her own gaze relax. She had also found she needed no translation to understand. “How did I miss that?” she looked at him.
“Asking the wrong person.”
“Guess I was too busy thinking with my stomach at the thought of finally tasting fresh Salamander for the first time.”
“What is it?” Jacob asked as he held a set of lights in either hand.
“Oh, sorry.” Oliver remembered they weren’t alone. “Solarians did nearly everything as pairs. It says ‘High ranking warriors’ as in perfect pairs, mates. Jake was right, if this works it requires the two of us.”
Renee laid her left hand on the feminine side of the hidden access area as Oliver did the same on the male.
Beneath their bare touch the black door glowed a blue shadow that outlined their hands. There was a quick, high pitched chime followed by “Colo Tei, Mantiv, Reten. Zandryth allain frethiene.”
And the door suddenly turned translucent.
“A nano-wall!” Jessica gasped.
“A rut?” Bell asked, her tail swinging side to side in anxiety.
“Nano-wall. With a specific frequency the density of a uniform object made of nanites can spread and allow things to pass through.” She explained. “We must hurry. We do not want to get caught when the frequency stops.”
“What would happen?” Deegen asked, fearing the answer.
“Two solid objects cannot occupy the same space. If the atoms are so packed I think you can understand how it would cut through your body.” She lifted her bag and hurried through first, making the wall ripple like water. Everyone else hurried through and not three seconds after Jacob stepped beyond, the translucent door became solid again.
“Did either of you understand what was said before the door… er opened?” Stephanie asked as they entered a rather large hall that seemed to have escaped the ravages of time’s decay. It was more dome shaped and rather clear of anything aside from a table and chairs all angled towards the empty center. It was made of some silvery wood that hadn’t petrified like the rest. And the hall lit up, emanating from the walls themselves to the point extra light was not required.
“Not a clue. Red?”
Renee shook her head.
“Te connue. Metitte alavan.” Everyone turned to a tall floating woman with pointed ears, blonde hair and wore a set of strange red clothes that were both provocative and enticing. She stood floating in the center of the room
Oliver sniffed to say “It’s a hologram. She isn’t real.” It didn’t make things easier for the others who all stepped behind the Hunters with drawn weapons.
“Te Kenniy calin?” the woman’s head turned and her beautiful visage seemed confused.
Oliver’s eyes were drawn to the desk where a round recess was familiar. He went to it, disregarding the others. He willed what Stephanie called the brain hacker function into being. A sucker attached to his forehead and then he made it link to the recess and the fit was perfect. He was momentarily fatigued.
The woman closed her golden eyes for a few moment before saying clearly “Language translation complete, General Mantiv. How may I serve you?”
Oliver was too disoriented, but Renee stepped forward, making the hologram turn her gaze. “What did you call him?”
“He is General Mantiv, highest warrior and elder brother of Galactic King Chamatan. Mantiv, the strongest warrior of all fifteen thousand galaxies. Age 83,462,916 years old by Earth Standard measurement by this recent update. To my records he has fathered fourteen thousand six hundred and two offspring with his match General Reten. You. General Mantiv holds the record for fastest fusion ignition of a star via telekinesis, can singularly move planets to optimum orbit placement for life to be seeded and left to thrive. Nova expert and second-most skilled in swordsmanship. Bested by Galactic King Chamatan fifty six percent of all matches.
“Do you not know this, General Reten? You have been his match since your birth 83,302,801 years ago.”
“But I’m not…”
“You most certainly are. My records are accurate to your biorhythms. Otherwise you would not be allowed inside with the younger species I do not have in my records. You are also the genetic match for General Reten. You are also known as Hellcat from the general’s memories he gave me, but you are also known as well as the Flame of Adunm. Strongest born female and only one strong enough to birth General Mantiv’s offspring safely. No other female can survive his seminal fluids without burning a feverish death. Your breeding was carefully selected over the course of sixteen generations to be the only compatibility equal to your ideal offspring’s match, who at that time was 160,118 years old. You too are a world creator and healer second to none. No female in all my history’s recordings was above you. You led with a ruthless determination that other female in all galaxies strived to emulate. As another highlight to your life, the chemical potency you create and store within yourself has no equal to my databanks.”
“You’re an AI aren’t you?” Jessica asked when Renee could not move.
“If you mean, artificial intelligence, yes. I am the interactive construct named Alleia, system recorder and guide for the battle cruiser Calleiteim, commanded by admiral Veleeik. But many of my systems are inoperable or damaged. May I ask in what quadrant is the galaxy known as Milky Way and in what sector your home star and planet you stem and evolved from is. My sensors have determined your species has rapidly mutated under a yellow dwarf star from being seeded three point five billion years ago. A remarkable advancement.”
Suddenly fift
een thousand different smaller scaled galaxies appeared in the spacious room as it darkened considerably. None being the same. Alleia the interactive creation continued and wiped her hand. “Though my charts haven’t been updated since I powered down sixty eight thousand, four hundred and nine years ago from crashing, I’m narrowing down to disc shaped galaxies from the recent downloaded memories.” She waved her hand and thousands not meeting that criteria vanished. The remaining increased in size. “Narrow it further for me, please.” She said politely.
Jessica brought out her crystal and pulled it up rather quickly.
“Quadrant twelve thousand three.” The hologram said in an instant. All but one galaxy left the room and now the Milky Way brightly circled overhead in a spiraling disc. “Sector five, five, three, seven point two. Sentient evolution successful and space fairing.” She said and then the galaxy disappeared and the room became brighter again. “I thank you, and welcome you to the cosmos though you have already been greeted by the second race.” She smiled.
Steven whispered to Visor “I thought AI’s were too dangerous.”
Alleia turned to him and smiled “I take it you mean you have learned that creating sentient technology is outlawed for good reason?” he nodded. Reason being that free thinking computers always come to the decision humanity is weaker, less uniform and functions with unstable programming to therefore decide that to fix the problem is to delete. Delete meaning complete annihilation. “Such is true and I have many limitations as to what I can function through, or could before crashing. Technology revolt is common for newly learning species who must learn on their own. Surviving artificial beings is rare without overcoming and eventually learn to place restrictions. My primary function is data recording and navigation though I do not pilot. Secondary functions include warfare council, seeding planets, and monitoring hostilities throughout whichever galaxy I may have been currently occupying. If I found danger, the Calleiteim’s primary duty is to go and fight.”
“Is that why you crashed? You lost a fight?”
“Precisely.”
“Can you tell us how?” Jessica picked up after Steven.
“Not without a high ranking warrior’s permission to access classified files.”
“Is mine high enough?” Oliver asked and had to focus or be overwhelmed with thoughts even though he had recovered from the mild lightheadedness.
“If you both place your palms on the table.” The AI looked between Oliver and Renee. They looked between each other and though they were inundated by thoughts they placed their hands on the table. Like at the door, a light grew around their bare palms. “Restricted species information release, access granted. Would you like a detailed visual playback of the events leading to the destruction of my body?”
“Yes.” Oliver said first.
Alleia’s form disappeared and the room darkened to show the Solarian battle cruiser Calleiteim in its prime, just appearing out of nowhere somehow in this solar system. It was massive to say the least, three or four times that of the Dorgenox, and colored a reflective white trimmed in gold. It didn’t show what went on inside, but outside was chaotic. A deadly battle already in progress. The ship was shaped quite like a smooth coconut, but was leveled with over eighty launching bays sending out tens of thousands of Solarian fighters, arrow shaped with four cannons on a pair of wings that moved a lot like the Flare, but had a hammerhead shark’s front with a long narrowing body.
As the fighters were all scrambled and launched into combat it showed another battle cruiser show up to the aid of a third currently being attacked by more than fifty Keptl Goliaths, an oversized living creature that resembled a cross between a crab and a tick that shoots thousands of explosive spines from its eight legs and two oversized pincers. Each creature being the size of a Solarian battle cruiser. Judging from the extended abdomen of the Goliaths, they carried millions more of the violent creatures inside itself, basically pregnant creatures able to manipulate gravity to fly as well as go into FTL under their own strength.
Between three carriers and over a hundred thousand fighters blasting massive beams of blue-white energy in a continuous stream, they destroyed every Goliath before they could escape. But even with Solarian power and shielding the Keptl Goliaths had grievously crippled the Calleiteim and completely shredded the first under attack. The now scrapped ship had been lost to the nearby gas giant’s hunger. Being so big, the battle cruisers weren’t nimble at all enough to avoid the spine-like projectiles. Shields could only take so much damage. But the gravity of the gas giant as well as this moon’s pull forced the entire crew of the Calleiteim to abandon ship. The third cruiser which survived collected all survivors.
The last scenes were of the burning crash landing that destroyed what little life remained on this moon. How life returned is anyone’s guess.
Alleia returned as the spectacular show ended. “And that is the last I recorded until you all arrived to reawaken my systems. Only by design of extreme reinforcement has my system remained semi-functional. Not fully functional mind you, but functional. The crash still broke many vital tasks I was responsible for maintaining.”
“Damn, did you see that!” Visor clicked his beak. “They took down fifty Goliaths when we need an armada to bring one down. Their fighters’ had cannons able to crack those hard ass shells.”
“What systems are not functional, Alleia?” Jessica asked to keep from going off subject.
“Navigation, personal logs, war council and technology information. I do have control of basic personnel files, data statistics on universal principals and physics. Nothing more.”
“Then you wouldn’t be able to tell us where the Solarian home world is located and every planet they colonized would you?”
“Sadly you are correct.”
“But what of all the galaxies? Surely you can highlight…” Stephanie began.
“Only seeded worlds tasked to instill primordial life are in my functional records. Colonized ones are too damaged to bring up. The data is too corrupted to retrieve. All but one, the primary birthing world under Wind’s domain in this galaxy.” She created another world, but its oceans were a murky brown. Its landmass was rather covered in wooded forests.
“We know that one. We call it Havannah. Only recently did we find it to really be the nursery center.”
“Maybe we better take another look, Babe. It seems Solarians had tech that can hide important things. Take Oliver’s hiding place or even this room for example. If we didn’t find the door we never would have guessed something was inside.” Jessica told Stephanie who saw the merit in the idea now that they had more information into how well the ancestors could disguise something scanners could not detect.
“What can you tell me of myself? Do you know why my memories were wiped?” Heads turned back to the largest of the pair sitting at a desk.
“I’m sorry, General, I do not believe it was done till long after I shut down. I’ve gone through your memories, but cannot determine for what reason it was determined you would be placed in stasis. To be cleansed of mind and power is highly unusual. I also do not understand how your match goes by Renee Dorgen when she is General Reten. Maybe my sensors were slightly damaged after all. She must be close enough to fool me, but such hadn’t happened in my lifetime.” The sultry AI exhibited confusion perfectly.
“Then do you know of this enemy the Solarians faced or where they may have went or come from?”
“Only by permission of the reigning Galactic King can such information be permitted to be revealed. From your memories I know there isn’t one.” Her expression was firm suddenly. “As for where they would go? Solarians must have met their end against an unknown enemy if they have been replaced by the Creelin as the eldest honorable race, tasked to watch over our bid to fill the universe with life.”
“Is there a way we can download her and take her with us...” Jessica began asking.
The provocative hologram turned to say “DENIED. Taking from records wi
ll result in immediate self destruction of all records in my possession unless by command of six generals, the five ruling queens of this galaxy or by the explicit authority of the Galactic King. Top secret information is stored within. Dangerous information. Theft will force me to destroy all in attempt to keep classified data sealed.”
“Well if Oliver is the king’s brother doesn’t that make him now…”
“No, Satellite.” Oliver said to the falcon. “Law six of the three hundred states that the king is crowned by the hundred eldest surviving Solarians or one day chosen by the single most eldest of one hundred completely different species. It isn’t a birthright to be passed along. It is an ironclad law. Five sentient races won’t cut it. Creelin, Drake, Humans, Solarians and Keptl.
“Whatever my rank was, can’t get higher without the real elders’ to be around to grant it. Human, two remaining Solarian, Drakes, Creelin and Keptl only make five sentient species.”
“He is correct.” The AI explained with a slow smile.
“Then begin talking on all you can speak of and we’ll record it.” Stone said and touched the tiny camera on his shoulder.
“Very well, but my already diminished energy is rapidly depleting. In one hours and eleven minutes I will run out if all I must do is speak.” A metallic handle lifted out of the desk. “If you wish to do this, please spare some power.”
Renee grabbed hold and her eyes burned a hot green to pass on a great deal in a short amount of time. The AI began speaking and moving too fast for human ears to pick up or watch, but no one interrupted her. Lips moved too fast to read. Jessica only let it go because she found she could slow the words down to understand what was said.
Sparky met Renee’s eyes to say “I do not believe in reincarnation, but for now just remember you are who you are. It is proven in twins that DNA is identical. Perhaps you are like a twin to this mate the hologram believes you to be. Besides, she even said her sensors may not function accurately.”
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