“It’s okay,” Juliet responded, acutely conscious for the first time that no other person had been in her personal room since she arrived at the training compound.
“Is everything alright?” she added, not understanding why he was there.
“Yes, yes, of course,” he seemed nervous. “I just came to bring you something.” Wood removed from his pocket a beautiful, large piece of a polished mineral that looked something like a diamond might if it were more silver in color. It was attached to a leather cord, a stark contrast to the way such gems were customarily presented in The Cupel.
“Is that the mineral where we’re going-the one Saraceni keeps talking about in the mountain?” Juliet asked.
“No,” Wood responded quickly, still nervous, both for his own discomfort and in his own underlying concern for Juliet’s safety in leaving on the mission that day. He knew it was dangerous. He knew chances of success were good, but not great, and certainly not guaranteed. He knew he might never see her again, for, if someone died in the enigmatic region around the mountain, their soul was lost to True Earth forever. The souls lost there could not be reengineered, redirected, or passed through The Cupel, because they were gone-beyond retrieval, and where they went, no one knew for sure. The presumption was to the Divine-by most, anyway.
“No, this is not that mineral. This comes only from a small island on the far side of the planet. It is thought of as holy by the Derexi. It is said to invoke the protection and guidance of the path to unity. The technical name is azimuth but everyone calls it Godstone.”
“What’s a Derexi?” Juliet asked, looking at the morning light reflecting off the necklace.
“They are spiritual leaders, like if in The Cupel you were to combine a Native American Shaman and an Australian aboriginal spiritual leader, something like that. Thought that’s still not the best explanation, it’s the most you can understand right now with your training,” he confided.
“Well why didn’t we learn about this?” she asked, a bit perturbed that something this important hadn’t even been mentioned in the weeks and weeks she’d spent at the facility.
“We don’t talk about things like that here. It would be like opening up into gospel songs in the middle of a military briefing to pray for the success of the mission. Everyone prays, of course, but it’s a silent thing, not socially acceptable in this context. It’s private,” he explained. Juliet took the necklace from him.
“Well, thanks, Wood, I can use all the help I can get, divine or otherwise,” she joked, holding the necklace casually. Wood clasped both his hands around hers to protect the necklace, almost reflexively. He looked directly at her.
“Juliet, any stone like this is very rare. They are powerful,” he continued quietly, knowing that she didn’t fully understand, “and this particular one has been in my family for many years.” She understood, and looked at him apologetically. She opened her hands gently, stressing the fact that she was being extra careful with the stone, the way Gabriel had done at three with baby Gretchen.
“Oh, Wood, thank you so much. I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to take something so important to you,” Juliet’s tone was soft.
“You are important to me, and I want you to have it. It will help protect you. I believe that,” he said, taking the necklace to tie it around her neck. “See how the leather strap goes straight through the tiny hole drilled through the stone-no hooks or clasps, and then-we triple tie it back here with a series of Gideon knots. Affixed this way, a stone like this has never been lost. This is the strongest cord there is.”
“I will treasure it always,” Juliet said, and then she hugged him. The two sat with their foreheads pressed together for a full minute before moving.
“We’d better go,” Wood said, standing up abruptly. He turned to see her, the necklace shining around her neck, twinkling in the morning sun, and immediately felt a great sense of relief. He knew in his heart she would be protected.
They joined the others in the staging area as the crew did flight pre-checks on the two helicopter-like crafts nearby. All of Molior were checking their packs, adjusting their gear, or reviewing the maps for the difficult terrain they would face once they landed. When Wood and Juliet arrived, Stone saw the necklace around Juliet’s neck and gave Wood a reproachful glance, knowing he was courting a reprimand. Ruth walked across the concrete staging area with a pair of metal blocks with stone, crystal, laser attachments. They looked like something from a seventh grade science project, not slick or sleek like all the other technology at the facility.
“Team, this is your one and only communication device. Everyone on the mission must protect it at all costs,” she advised them.
“How about a tin can phones and some string,” Gabriel joked, and his mother gave her old standard look instructing him this was not the time for his humor.
“I thought we couldn’t communicate in the mountain ring zone?” Jack queried.
“That’s right,” Ruth responded, “no traditional electronics or communication equipment will work there. However, this is different. It doesn’t have any conventional pieces. Think of it like a hard land line. It works on the spiritual plane, and therefore it may only be used by kindreds. It’s the same way kindreds sense each other in the physical world without ever meeting. They have a direct connection to one another that cannot be created or duplicated. It just is.” She handed one device to Alexander and one to Athena Aquila. “Alexander and Athena, as binary soul matches, can keep our communications open.”
“Alexander,” Saraceni jumped in with an instructional tone, “In that zone, this will take a fair amount of energy out of you to use, so no phoning just to chat. Necessary communication only, and then as short as possible or it will wipe you out, and we can’t afford that.”
“Understood,” Alexander responded, taking the device from Ruth. Athena did the same. With just a few minutes left before departure, a project team member brought Phoebe to the takeoff area. She ran to George.
“Daddy! We’re going on the big bird! Up in the sky!” she squealed.
“I know, honey,” George scooped her up in his arms, and smiled mildly at how much easier it was than with his 42 year-old body as Governor Jacob in The Cupel, with the bad knees and shrapnel in the shoulder.
The two metal birds became pregnant with possibility as the team divided and entered their bellies for transport to the mysterious mountain zone. The doors were about to close when the messenger brought Ruth the latest report.
“The fifth earthquake over 7.0 in The Cupel this week, Ma’am,” the messenger reported. Then after a moment, “Shall I take it to the mission chief, Ma’am?”
“No, thank you," she responded slowly. “They have enough to worry about.” She looked up at the craft. Saraceni saw them hand her the tablet, and saw her face upon reading it, but the craft were waved onward and took off, leaving him wondering what the message contained. He quickly put it behind him, and looked to the arduous task ahead. After an hour of flight, the team was relatively quiet, the initial nervous chatter having died down. They would be landing within half an hour.
“Now on approach, we may get a little bumpy, but we will keep sufficient capabilities to function adequately and land. We’ve done it many times. That’s how we know this particular spot is safe.” Bumpy turned out to be an understatement. As they approached the clearing in which they would land, the last five minutes were bordering on sheer terror. The aircraft would abruptly descend 15-30 feet or more, be corrected only to repeat it again. Pitch to the left, drop, hard pitch to the right. Now they understood why each person was strapped in at both shoulders. By then end, they all sat with eyes closed, just praying for it to be over. Ironically, in the final moments the birds set very gingerly on the ground. When the passengers emerged, it was a surprise to see the beautiful, clear sunny sky. The crafts had been forced to pitch and yaw by unseen forces.
The area immediately surrounding the clearing was dense with forest, but th
e red cliffs could be seen protruding upward behind them, or the tops of them anyway. The team walked through the forest, and Phoebe was the first to regain her composure following the flight, being spellbound by the trees and forgetting all about the preceding fright.
“Look how big they are, Daddy! I’ve never, ever seen trees that big before.” the small voice was nearly lost in the volume of foliage.
“Me, neither,” George agreed, staring himself at somewhere near a thousand trees averaging 118 feet tall and 17 ½ feet in diameter. More striking, they were all branchless all the way up the height of the tree until very near the top, where each branched into 2, 3 or 4 branches.
“Yes, these are about 3500 years old,” Saraceni informed, clarifying, “True Earth time measurement.” Soon they left the shade of the forest and were in the open sun, walking across a wide swath of land approaching the cliffs. The heat intensified notably and a few people removed their jackets, rolling them up into their packs. Juliet and Kyle walked side by side in perfect stride, having been a hiking pair in several of the prior missions. They communicated nearly wordlessly and handed items back and forth as needed as if reading each other’s minds. After a while, they spoke as they walked, as many of the team had small sidebar conversations going.
“It’s funny I think of you like a little brother. How much older than me are you, anyway?” Juliet asked Kyle.
“Several centuries,” he laughed, “but you can be my unofficial adopted little sister if you want. My parents would be so proud.”
“You know your parents? How does that work, exactly? How can people have parents here if some of them were born the first time in The Cupel?” she asked.
“Well, we’ve obviously taken the whole “parent” part out of being a parent in that we engineer the bodies and don’t give birth the old fashioned way. Still, if some come here as children to avoid the mental shock of it, like Phoebe, and then grow up here, or if they had a parent-child relationship in their last lifetime, like Gabriel and his parents, then they maintain those titles here. For others, they go through a soul selection process to select their “children”, but not everyone does. Since being a parent here entails nurturing and educating the child, some people prefer teaching or mentoring opportunities to help in the same way without being labeled a “parent”. It’s really a matter of choice,” Kyle explained.
“Do most people choose to, or choose not to?” Juliet was curious.
“Mmmm, about half and half, I guess,” Kyle appraised.
The group reached the cliff face and stared at the first vertical climb with some trepidation. It was about twice as tall as the one they practiced on.
“Now just remember, it’s no more difficult than what you have already done, just longer. So, you will have to spend more time doing the climb, but it’s the same skills for the top half as for the bottom half, and you can stop for a good sized break halfway up if you wish.” Saraceni advised.
Phoebe was strapped securely to David Running Wolf’s back. He did not feel the additional weight as much as he felt the hindrance of movement. As the next strongest climber, Jack carried Running Wolf’s pack in addition to his own and they started first, both to set the pace for the others, and as a safety measure in the unlikely instance Phoebe should fall, there would be others below to catch her. With the unequal burdens, Jack and David moved at the same pace and climbed side by side most of the way, occasionally moving into singular position when the terrain called for it. They reached the first ledge and stopped to take a good water break. Looking down, they saw the remainder of the team paired off, straining on the climb beneath them. Chandra and Jane were next, then Gabriel and George, then Juliet and Kyle, then Alexander and Enam, and lastly Saraceni and five equipment team members brought up the rear.
“Daddy’s really far down there,” Phoebe commented fearfully. It was clear she was worried her father might be hurt.
“He is. Just like we were!” Jack replied brightly, “and now we’re here, and he will be too. See these straps?“ He tugged hard on one, “See how he has them, too?”
“Yes,” she replied, trying to be brave, but she still didn’t sound convinced. David Running Wolf, a father of four, tried a different tactic.
“Wow, look at Juliet’s necklace. It’s shining into my eyes even way up here.” Phoebe looked.
“It is very shiny,” she seemed to be distracted for a moment.
“Well, I heard there are other shiny rocks like that in these rocks we’re climbing on. You should keep an eye out for them while we’re climbing. Maybe you could find one!”
“Really?” Phoebe responded, her eyes brightening. She began scanning the rock face for signs of such a miraculous treasure. “Then I could give one to my Mommy when she gets here.” Jack and David both knew what had happened to Jillian, but they agreed anyway, though with slightly less enthusiasm. They would live here a long time and know this tiny girl long after she was grown. No doubt they would work with her in the future and they didn’t want her to feel misled someday. After another forty-five minutes, they made it to the next ledge. Starting to feel the intensity now, they knew the others must be even more worn out.
They agreed Jack would pull himself over the top first, having the lighter load, and then help pull David up to help keep Phoebe’s positioning as upright as possible as David pulled up. This worked pretty well, except for Jack had to drag David a few feet away from the edge, face down in the dirt, so he could have room to pull his knees under him and rise to his knees so Phoebe was standing vertically behind him.
“Gee, thanks,” he said to Jack snarkily.
“Don’t mention it!” Jack grinned in his charming and affable way, detaching Phoebe from David’s back. She skipped around the flat mountaintop area, turned a cartwheel, and looked at Jack.
“You look like Prince Charming,” she said, examining him as if she had met him before in her living room.
“Well, I was. Were you ever in a play in school-where you pretended to be a part that was somebody other than you?” he asked.
“Of course. I was Eleanor Roosevelt in the history pageant,” Phoebe said as if it were common knowledge.
“Right, but you weren’t really Eleanor Roosevelt, right? You were just pretending to be her. Well, I was just pretending to be Prince Charming,” he explained. She thought about it earnestly for a moment and then added.
“Well, that’s good. I was thinking you don’t act very much like a Prince. I mean, you’re nice and all, but you don’t bow, or wear a crown, or like dance around and stuff.” David and Jack laughed and then saw a hand come over the edge, reminding them they were there to help the others. They pulled Jane and Chandra up the last few feet over the edge with ease and waited on the others. Before long, all of Molior and the equipment were up over the edge. They sat taking a break in the field, and Alexander communicated with his wife on the device.
“We’ve arrived at the top of the mountain. Confirming 3:48 PM,” he spoke into the microphone. His body felt strange as he communicated, tingly all over and sort of warm with a slight sense of being disoriented for a moment. Athena copied and then they moved to radio silence. Saraceni wanted the entire team to rest at least a full hour before they attempted to open the gate. If they could succeed before sundown, they could camp there for the night and then climb down in the morning, when it was less dangerous. Night climbing was insane, and they had brought plenty to keep warm with when the dusk air turned cool.
Molior lay in the grass forming a circle, staring up at the clouds and sunny sky. They could feel their energies aligning in this place. The mountain’s properties were almost palpable. The equipment team worked to set up the necessary elements into a configuration matching the one they had tested in the training room, only this time they did not have the benefit of monitors to tell how close they were getting. Saraceni surveyed the group, assessing that several of them should be a half point or full point higher than in trials since they had rested the last coupl
e days. George seemed to be much stronger than in the first days after coming out of his coma, and Gabriel and Alexander both seemed brightened by the visit with Athena Aquila. Overall, he thought their chances were much improved.
Just when all were very relaxed and focused solely on the mission at hand, they felt the ground shake beneath their backs. Fortunately they were at the top of the mountain, for a wide array of rocks began crumbling down on all sides. If that had happened while they were climbing, they would have been pelted by small rocks and probably lost their handholds or footholds. The ground rumbled softly. It was a small quake, but it still unnerved them all. Saraceni grabbed Alexander and moved away from the group with him and the communication device. He didn’t want the others to hear the exchange. Their mental state needed to be as positive as possible.
“Whatever we talk about, it’s confidential,” he said to Alexander.
“Yes, Sir,” Alexander said in rote fashion.
In the communiqué, they learned that there were multiple earthquakes happening in The Cupel, likely the beginning of the more serious decoherence effects. There had been one tsunami and Mt. Rainier in Washington State in the U.S. had started smoking. Out in the universe, new black holes seemed to be popping up, or so said the media conjecture since patches of sky where stars formerly twinkled were now dark. Solar flare activity was up 11% overnight. Alexander thought of Lela.
“So, we can expect more of these earthquakes here, too?” Alexander relayed Saraceni’s words to Athena, who took her responsive cues from Ruth.
“Yes,” they heard back. They also learned the earthquake was much stronger in the areas away from the mountain. It did seem they were buffered from the external physical effects some, but not completely, since they were coming from deep within the planet. Time was crucial, and in moments, Saraceni had the group arranged in a circle around the equipment just like in the training room test run. This was the moment they had trained for, and the world was literally breaking apart with every moment they delayed. The sun was still fairly high in the sky, but had just begun to tip its hat at them.
The Cupel Recruits Page 28