by C. M. Kane
‘Brightmoon, please stop this, you know me well enough to know I will do all in my power to find Tae for you. I vow to you, I will help find her and return her to you if you give me the chance. Please Brightmoon, trust me,’ he said softly.
He felt the vibrations from her firing pulse cannons slowly come to a stop, although he could tell she was still moving intermittently. He figured this was definitely a good sign and the ship must be listening to him so he continued. ‘I will go down to the planet myself and bring her back for you if that is what you wish. I will not let you down, I give you my word.’ He felt the great ship come to a halt while it seemed to ponder his words. Vulcan was quietly amazed at how in tune he felt with the Dreadnaught. The words that still surrounded him disappeared and more words appeared, this time there was only three words on the screen in front of him.
Bring back now?
This time Vulcan smiled. ‘Yes, Brightmoon, I’ll bring her back to you. I will organize a search party immediately, but first I need you to restart the life support to the bridge, and to any other area’s you may have stopped it alright?’
He waited for the ships answer, when nothing was forthcoming he added. ‘Please, Brightmoon, do this for me, this is what friends do for one another, they trust in each other and try to help each other. I’m going to help you get Tae back, and in return I’m asking you to turn the life support systems back on. Please, Brightmoon, do this one thing, for me.’ He didn’t know why he asked her in such a personal way, but shortly after another message appeared on the screen.
Life support reconnected to bridge, Turbo lifts fully operational. Sensors set to full scan on all bridge personal.
Vulcan nodded, she had relented and spared them, but she had also just given them what he was sure was their last warning. No-one was to touch her in any way that the she might deem as threatening or they would be dead, she was watching.
‘I understand, and thank you,’ he said. He immediately opened a channel ship wide, telling all the crew that under no circumstances were they to do anything untoward to the ship, or their death would result shortly thereafter. He then contacted the Captain and told her that life support was back on, and under no circumstances was she to try fiddling with Brightmoon again, or he’d personally escort her straight to the nearest airlock; and throw her out. Once he thought everyone understood his feelings well enough he left the lab and headed straight to the Warriors quarters to talk to Commander Brohan. He now needed to organize the rescue of both Tae- who he thought he just might strangle personally for her antics he was so livid- and Loki. He just prayed they were both still alive or this might all be in vain, because Brightmoon might just up and kill everyone anyway if he couldn’t live up to his promises. He decided that he would begin to immediately fit the finished buzz bombs with the Felice that they had so far gathered, by his estimations the first shipment to the frontlines should be ready to leave within a few days. Once he had everything organized to his satisfaction he returned to the lab and told Brightmoon honestly all that he had done and organized, the ship was silent for a time before more words appeared on the com-screen.
Thank you, little Vulcan.
Vulcan gazed at the screen perplexed. Little Vulcan, does this mean Brightmoon is beginning to trust me? If she is, than this could turn into a blessing in disguise, but what the hell is this little business?
Chapter 21
Latrissa watched Tae carefully as she looked up at her ceiling. She was so much younger than she had expected her to be, added to this she saw a vulnerability in her that touched her own lonely heart. It was this vulnerability that made up her mind to offer her something she had not done in many years. She leant forward and looked directly into her eyes.
‘We must leave to attend the feast in both yours and Lord Loki’s honor soon, but before we do I would like to offer you a personal reading. Be warned though, Tae, most times I don’t receive anything, but I have a feeling that it will be different with you.’ She considered Tae’s reaction to her offer intently before she continued. ‘I will also tell you all that I see, be it good or bad. If the Universe deigns to show me something than it wants you to know then be warned, I will not shield you from it, the choice is yours.’
Tae nodded enthusiastically, she figured that any information, be it good or bad, was vital to her right now. She didn’t shirk from confronting things that could be, because Cassandra had told her that the future was not set, it was fluid, and that meant she could change it. This could prove a boon to her if Latrissa saw something bad in her future, this way she would have a fighting chance against it.
‘When do we start,’ she said leaning forward eagerly.
Latrissa stood up. ‘Let me get some things I’ll need,’ she said as she moved quickly to the room Tae had thought of as her “workroom”. She returned shortly after with a large earthenware bowl and a bag full of dried Herbs. She set the large bowl on a small table and sat cross legged on one side of it directing Tae to sit opposite her. She than crushed a liberal amount of the Herbs in to the bowl and took out some flint.
‘When I light the herbs keep calm and breathe deeply, your head will feel a little dreamy, a bit like you are dissociated from the current world. You will need to try to disregard this feeling because I will need you to think of a question you want answered. When you have thought of what you most need to know tell me, then concentrate on it with all your might. I will then take your hands and do my best to see if the Universe will respond.’
Tae nodded and leant further towards the table and the bowl as Latrissa struck the flint lighting the Herbs. Soon a sweet pungent aroma permeated the small room, surrounding its two occupants in a thick haze. Tae began breathing deeply as she’d been told, she felt her eyes drift closed as a sense of peace and calmness washed over her. She tried to concentrate as she struggled to think of a question.
‘What is the best way to defeat the Titans,’ she finally asked, then as an afterthought she quickly added, ‘and will anything nice ever happen to me, instead of crappy things all the time?’
She felt Latrissa take her hands in each of hers as they sat there, quietly breathing in the smoke still issuing from the bowl. Latrissa hissed in a breath. ‘I see a great eye between two moons; you must travel through the eye before Tartarises next full moon. From there you must travel to the world of the dead, above it great blind machines like that of their dead leader will soon begin to gather. Their blindness is both their greatest weapon and their greatest weakness. Destroy these machines and you can defeat the Titans. Be warned though, there is great danger, death follows these creatures closely, but whether it is yours or theirs I cannot see. I do feel this will be your only chance to stop them completely. Beware their leader; you cannot defeat him as you are now, he is far superior to you. To defeat him, you must remember your beginning.’
Latrissa slumped forward and opened her eyes looking at Tae in surprise. ‘Never have I seen so clearly.’
Tae opened her eyes and stared at Latrissa in concern. ‘You didn’t see a weapon we could win with I suppose. It’s just, well, I was hoping they might have another kind of weakness, you know, apart from being blind- not that she had any idea what the hell that was supposed to mean.
Latrissa shook her head ‘No, I am sorry, Tae. I do know it is imperative you travel to the land of the dead before the next full moon though. That is with-in twenty three days. I have a terrible feeling that it will be too late if you don’t, if you should fail, then death and despair will cover the realms of the gods.’
Tae rose to her feet groggily. ‘I better go tell Loki the bad news than, but thank you, Latrissa, because of your information we may now have a fighting chance. Your people must feel very blessed to have someone like you in their midst.’
Latrissa smiled and stood. ‘My people are uneasy around me, like the gods, they do not know whether I am to be believed or whether I am a charlatan who tells wild tales; just your choosing to come with me has raised me in their
esteem,’ she chuckled.
Just as she was about to say something more they heard shouts coming from outside. They both hurried outside the small home into the gathering twilight, night had started to fall quickly during Tae’s reading, and now people were looking upwards and pointing in fear. Tae looked to the sky her mind still totally drug addled, she saw massive energy bolts coming from a large moving shape, that even from this distance Tae could tell was the Dreadnaught. The Brightmoon was firing at one of Tartarises small moons; apparently she was attempting to pulverize it.
Tae let out a gust of breath. ‘Bugger me, I haven’t been gone that long,’ she muttered to herself. She quickly turned to Latrissa. ‘We have to find Loki now, before she does something stupid.’ Tae tried to get her fuzzy brain to focus on the immediate problem, but all she could think of was food, she was suddenly feeling ravenous for some reason.
Latrissa nodded and lead her quickly to the main square where it seemed half the city had gathered. Even with all the milling Minotaur her eyes were drawn immediately to Loki, he was looking skyward with everyone else, until his eyes quickly swung to hers, as if he felt her gaze upon him.
‘I have to get back to her before she does something worse,’ she said. ‘I have a feeling that’s meant to be a warning, and I don’t want to find out what she’ll do if she really gets angry.’
Loki nodded. ‘How big is the jumper you arrived in?’
‘A four seater,’ she said, immediately wondering what he was up to.
Loki frowned in thought for a moment. ‘We will take a small delegation of the Tore with us as an act of good faith,’ he said as he turned to Borig and the other elders. They were now standing huddled in a small group talking to each other whilst gazing skyward with worried looks. ‘We have enough room to bring along two of your people, but we must leave immediately, our ship is in distress and could mistakenly fire upon the planet if we don’t return!’
Borig turned to the others, and after another brief conversation he and another young warrior stepped forward. ‘We will travel to the great ship with you, My Lord, your men will be here with-in the hour, but we have a much quicker way of travelling than braving the dangers of Tartarise after the sun has left us.’
He turned and nodded to a young boy who took off up a small staircase set into the wall. Shortly after they heard a large horn blast out, followed by four shorter blasts, the sounds echoed across the fields and into the neighboring forest, and straight through Tae’s still drugged mind. She blinked rapidly trying to get her bearings as Loki walked over and stared down at her.
‘Are you alright?’ he asked in concern.
Latrissa stepped up beside Tae. ‘I did a reading for her, My Lord, sometimes the herbs I smoke can fog the mind for a short time, I can assure you it will pass soon.’
‘A reading?’ said Loki
‘Yes,’ said Tae, ‘and boy was it worth it, Latrissa might just have saved the entire realms and everyone who lives here,’ she turned to the assembled Minotaur who were listening surreptitiously to the exchange. ‘Latrissa has our everlasting gratitude, she is an amazing seer, and your people have been truly blessed to have one such as her amongst you.’
Latrissa gazed at Tae with delight. This girl is so smart, she thought, with this one sentence she has given me more respect in the eyes of the Minotaur than I’ve had my entire life. She felt blessed to have met her, but there was one last thing she had to tell her before she left. She quietly drew Tae a little aside while everyone waited for the horns summons to be answered.
‘There is one thing left to tell you, Tae.’ At Tae’s questioning look she continued, so quietly that only she and Tae could here. ‘It’s about your second question. I have found that the Universe likes to keep all things in balance, during the reading I had the feeling it has asked a lot of you so please remember this; it gives as well as demands. The greater its demands, the greater the rewards. Sometimes it may not seem like it, but the Universe always rewards us in kind for whatever we have done, be it good or bad.’ She snorted a little to herself as if remembering something, ‘this can happen when we least expect it. Remember, if you have achieved good in your life, if you have strived to do right, than you must have your eyes and heart open to recognize your reward when it arrives.’
Tae nodded, and then on impulse wrapped her arms around the seer and hugged her; she heard some shocked gasps from the crowd and ignored them. ‘Thank you, Latrissa, I am in your debt, if there is anything I can do for you please don’t hesitate to ask,’ she said with genuine warmth. The noise of what sounded like giant wings began to fill the air as she let go and smiled at the seer.
‘You have done more than enough already, Tae, I thank you for your kind words and friendship,’ Latrissa said warmly before turning her eyes skyward. ‘Now go and meet your ride, I believe the Harpies have now arrived.’ She turned away from Tae and disappeared back into the crowd, just as four giant winged shapes flew over the walls and came into land besides the Tore leader Borig.
Chapter 22
The harpies landed with amazing grace, especially considering their wing span, people who had known who and what was coming had cleared out a large area beside Loki and the minotaur Leaders. As the harpies landed they folded their wings and stepped forward.
‘You have need of us, Borig of the Tore?’ asked a large woman who, Tae saw, was covered in long brown feathers from the waist down. Smaller, more delicate feathers encased her upper body to just above her breasts, where a light brownish grey skin continued on to her throat and face. She also had glossy brown feathers for hair and small shell-like ears similar to the Tuvarnans, but from the waist down was a different story. The feathers became a lot larger and thicker from the bottom of what appeared a short thick ribcage, by the time they reached the females lower abdomen they very effectively hid any signs of what sex she was. Tae was only going by her rather generous breasts and feminine features. But it was her legs that really shocked her; they looked like two giant chicken legs. They were wide and appeared to be heavily muscled at the top, and were also covered in the same thick brown feathers that were on her torso, they then narrowed down abruptly to a backward bending knee area where the feathers stopped and some kind of hard grey scales started, just like a birds. As the harpy walked awkwardly forward, Tae saw that instead of feet, she had Talons, three that served as toes at the front, and one extremely large talon at the back that would act as an opposing thumb. She also noticed another smaller talon protruding from the left of its first “toe” on the right “foot”; she thought this was what they would use to inject their paralyzing poison.
Borig took a step toward her and nodded, ‘Dreela of the harpy, well met, we have summoned you to request that you fly four of our company to whatever clearing has a spacecraft in it, if any of your flock have sighted one in your patrols,’ he said.
Dreela narrowed her striking Golden eyes and looked directly at Loki before switching her gaze to Tae. ‘We know where their metal ship is, but why are they here, and why do you aid their escape? Why should we aide those whom the gods have sent to abide with us?’ she asked.
Loki stepped in front of Borig. ‘Because I am one of your gods, I am Lord Loki, and I have come to an accord with the Minotaur, we need to get back to our main ship as soon as possible, now are you helping us or not?’
The harpies eyes widened in shock as she looked at Loki, then she bowed low, her enormous wings doing a strange fluttering before settling back and up. ‘The Harpy of the Forest Stalker flock welcomes, Lord Loki, to Tartarise. We will be honored to do what-ever we can to be of assistance to him.’
Loki nodded. ‘Then take us to our jumper, Dreela of the Forest Stalkers, and you will have our gratitude.’
Dreela nodded and turned to Borig who bought forward some harnesses which were deftly strapped onto the waiting harpies.
‘While the harpies are swift, their talons cut deeply, we find the harnesses allow them to fly freely and keep us snug against
them while they hold us with their arms,’ Borig told Loki.
Loki nodded and stepped towards Dreela, soon they were each strapped firmly against a harpy. Tae was suddenly glad she still had the drugs coursing through her system, at the moment she was feeling decidedly mellow and at peace with the world, but she knew that was about to change. Still she had to clear her mind somehow, and she figured the terror of a night-time flight into the unknown should pretty much do it. She felt the harpies arms wrap around her and up over her chest, each hand grasping her harness firmly just above her breasts. She was told to wrap her feet back and around the outside of the harpies to prevent her legs from dangling forward and upsetting their rhythm.
Well this is gonna be different, she thought vaguely as she felt the harpy tense and seem to duck down slightly. Then just as suddenly she leapt upwards, and with a quick violent jerk Tae knew they were airborne. She kept her eyes tightly shut and tried to control the fear she felt at the feel of nothing but empty space under her. Instead she concentrated on the warm night air as it flowed over her face, bringing with it a myriad of jungle smells, it made her realize just how alive this planet was. She started concentrating on the rhythmic beat of the harpies giant wings, and strangely she began to relax, after all she thought, it’s not as if it could be any worse than the escarpment back on the Island, and she’d managed that. With that thought firmly in mind she opened her eyes.
Oh crap no, this is definitely worse, way, way, worse! Well so much for shitty things not happening to me anymore! If the Universe is going to equalize things with me than it better be enormously bloody good, or the Universe can go stick it where the sun don’t shine. She thought as she looked down at a vast drop into nothingness.
As if determined to punish her for her ungrateful observations the universe answered Tae almost immediately. She heard a shriek to her left and looked over to Dreela who was pointing to something below them. Tae forgot her fear and looked down; there were at least six dark shapes that seemed to be moving rapidly towards them. She knew immediately that they weren’t going to be friendly.