Ark - Box Set #6, Part 1 of Ever After [an Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood novel]

by Robert Iannone

  They all twittered at that image. “He still gives me the creeps.”

  “Egg-o, I can hear your toast to the newlyweds. “Ladies and gentlemen, to the beautiful bride and her handsome groom . . .”

  “Forget it. I’d choke on my words. I’ll let Benny do it.”

  “Speaking of which,” called Sparky, “Incoming message. It’s Meggy.”

  “Put her on.”

  *****

  The Queen looked horrible . . . her eyes were red and swollen. Her hair looked like it had been groomed by a windstorm. “Oh, my dear sister. How are you holding up?”

  “Meggy, I need you to listen to what I’m about to say. Please hear me out before you say anything.”

  “I loved him dearly. His loss is . . .” but she began to cry. That in itself was shocking since, as Queen, she rarely if ever let her emotions show.

  “Meggy, Meggy . . .”

  “Ye . . . yes?”

  On the spur of the moment, Egg decided not to sound completely positive. “I believe Benny survived the explosion.”

  The Queen looked startled but just for an instant. “Oh, dear Egg. We would all like to believe such a thing was possible.”

  “Meggy, listen to me. When he told me that the ship was about to explode, I didn’t get goose bumps.”

  “I am sorry. What?”

  “Goose bumps. I didn’t get any.”

  “Dearest Egg. I know you believe that these bumps foretell danger or worse. But, it is only your imagination. Please, you must face the fact that we have lost my brother.”

  “Meggy, your grandmother told me that I didn’t get goose bumps.”

  “My grandmother? Kat’Alynnia? Egg, she died during the years of your exile.”

  “She came to me in a dream.”

  “What?” That really was an un-queen-like response but considering the situation, it was excusable.

  “I had forgotten about the bumps. Then, they gave me a sedative and while I was asleep, I dreamt of J’azzz-min. She reminded me that there were no goose bumps.”

  “I do not understand. I thought you said it was my grandmother.”

  “It was. But I really never knew her as anything other than that obnoxious cat. Oh, sorry. Anyway, I assume that’s why she came to me in that form.”

  The Queen stared at her sister. Egg said nothing while the other girl processed all that she had heard. “I could dismiss your reliance on goose bumps. However, your dreams are legendary and have been a critical part of your life.”

  “You don’t sound happy?”

  “Oh, Egg. I want to believe as you do. Truly. If it were just me, then I would. But if I am to tell my parents . . . and this turns out not to be true, it would surely destroy them.”

  Sylvia broke into the conversation. “Spirit. Let’s ask Spirit to do a thought weave.”

  “That’s brilliant, Syl. Meggy?”

  The girl smiled for the first time in days. “There will never be a Feminion as wise as you, dear Sylvia. I will contact her now.”

  “No. Let me.”

  “Egg?”

  “Please. I should do it.”

  “Of course. As soon as she completes her weave, you will call me?”

  “The minute I hear back. By the way Meggy, your brother asked me to marry him and I said yes.”

  Another smile. “I look forward to the day that you make me an aunt.”

  “Oh. And Tee’ka is engaged to Mobius.”

  “What?”

  *****

  “That went way better than I expected.”

  “Nervous?” asked Syl.

  “Terrified and excited . . . if you know what I mean?”

  “Always do.”

  “Sparky, get me Spirit.”

  “Can’t. She’s calling us.”

  “Oh no. Oh no. Oh no.”

  “Egg?”

  “Look,” and she held out her arms.

  “Oh no,” – this time from Sylvia.

  “Sisters,” came the mechanical voice used by Spirit to replicate her telepathic thoughts.

  “Hey, Spirit. We were just about to call. You did a Thought Weave, didn’t you? Tell me . . . did he die?” She tried to ask the question as calmly as she could but failed completely. The tension in the room was electric.

  “Egg, the Weave showed the probability of his survival as very high.”

  “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you.” She couldn’t help but shake and the tears fell of their own accord. She took a deep breath. “Now tell me the rest.”

  “It is very confusing. There are two threads that shine the brightest. One has him as a prisoner, the other as a hostage. Egg, in both cases, the probability of injury is extremely high. I’m sorry.”

  Egg cupped her face with her hands – more to stop them from shaking. “Let’s try that again. What did you mean by prisoner versus hostage?”

  “My weave did not yield that information. But they were definitely the two very distinct, high probability, outcomes.”

  “Okay. And the injury . . . is it life threatening?” Her voice broke as she spoke the words.

  “No. However . . .” but she hesitated.

  “Say it. Just say it.”

  “The injuries were life altering not life threatening.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I can’t answer that. I am sorry.”

  Egg sat there unable to think or speak. Syl squeezed her shoulder. “Hey, Spirit.”

  “Sylvia. I didn’t know you were on this mission.”

  “Last minute thing. Is there anything else you can tell us?”

  “Just one. The better outcome is if he is a hostage and not a prisoner.”

  “Any idea why?”

  “Sorry, no.”

  “We all appreciate your help . . . especially Egg. Would you call Meggy and tell her what you told us?”

  “Of course. I wish I could be with you . . . especially now.”

  “And we wish you were here. But taking care of Jynxie is very important. How is she doing?”

  “She will be giving birth very soon.”

  “How exciting. So do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

  “Actually, it’s one of each.”

  “Twins. Wow. Well, tell her we love her and miss her.”

  “I will. And Egg, sister . . . you will find a way. You always do.”

  The girl managed to answer with “I’m sorry. Find a way to do what?”

  “To bring this to a happy ending.”

  “I’m not so sure this time.”

  “You are Flying Girl and the Leader of the Hameggattic Sisterhood. If I were Benny, there would be no one in the universe I would want trying to help me other than you.”

  “Thanks, Spirit. We’ll keep you posted.”

  “May the odds always be in your favor, my sister.”

  *****

  Egg excused herself and went to her cabin. She needed a little time to be alone, to think and more importantly to cry. He was alive but injured. And that injury could be life altering according to Spirit. Her mind raced through the possibilities of what that might mean. Had he been disfigured? Did he lose a limb? His sight? Would he be confined to a wheelchair like Serenity? She was unequivocally sure that none of those things would change how she felt about her prince. Those handicaps simply didn’t matter when you’re in love. And she was.

  Satisfied with that line of thought, she was absolutely confident that he had suffered none of those injuries. It was something else. Something much worse. But what?

  She was so emotionally drained and physically exhausted by all the highs and lows and uncertainties of the past twenty-four hours. If she could, she would crawl under the covers and stay there forever.

  Then the intercom came alive. “Egg.”

  She took a deep breath then let it out. “Yes?”

  “Ashley is calling. Do you want to talk to her?”

  Well, this was a first. “Sure. Put it through to my cabin, please.”

/>   “Here she comes.”

  “Hey Ash.”

  “Hey, little sis. How are you holding up?”

  “Better now that I’m talking to you.”

  “Sorry about calling but I just needed to make sure you were okay. I heard the whole goose bumps thing. I’m not sure I understand but Soo seems to think it’s good news.”

  “In a nutshell, every time something is about to go wrong, I get goose bumps. Don’t know why but it always seems to work. Since I didn’t get them when I thought Benny was about to be scattered into space, then it means it didn’t happen. But . . . “

  “But what?”

  “Spirit did a thought weave. She saw the probability of his survival as very high. But the weave also showed a high probability that he was injured in a life altering way. Don’t know what that means. He is also either a prisoner or a hostage. Apparently being a hostage is a better outcome.”

  “Wow. Spirit saw all that?”

  “Remember, she sees strands of possible future events. The stronger they glow, the higher the probability that strand will come to pass. But it doesn’t guarantee it will.”

  “Yeah, I remember that whole discussion. At least the weave confirms the no-show of your goose bumps.”

  “Now all I have to do is find, rescue and cure him. Just another ho-hum day at the office.”

  “Little sis, if it can be done – you’re the person that will make it happen. You are so freaking remarkable.”

  “Shut up.”

  “Make me, you little brat,” and they both laughed.

  “By the way, Benny asked me to marry him and I said yes. Want to be maid of honor?”

  “And deprive Sylvia? I’m not that crazy. But, thanks for asking.”

  “I can definitely see you as the flower girl.”

  Ashley smiled. “Glad to see you’re feeling a little better. I’ll let you get back to your legendary exploits. If you need to talk, I’m here for you?”

  “Where’s here?”

  “Oh, I forgot to tell you. I’ve moved to Aerianna. Earth is so boring – no dragons.”

  “What about your last love?”

  “Hated his name so I dumped him. Anyway, I have to get ready. Molly and I have dates.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me, girlfriend. Mine isn’t a prince unfortunately. On the bright side, his skin is green. Looks like a relative of Sassi.”

  “Please. That’s so clichéd.”

  “What is?”

  “Dating a little green alien.”

  “Actually, he’s about six and half feet and built like a tight end. Very dreamy.”

  “Does he know you’re my sister?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Don’t tell him.”

  “Why?”

  “He’ll be afraid to kiss you.”

  “Oh really. Well then, mums the word.”

  *****

  Talking to her sister made all the difference in the world. Egg jumped out of bed and hurried back to the control room with a renewed sense of optimism.

  A surprised Sylvia asked, “Back so soon? Everything okay with Ashley?”

  “Everything is fine. She dumped her boyfriend and is now living on Aerianna. Get this – she and Molly are going out on a double date.”

  “Please, not another Prince?”

  “No. But he’s tall and built like tight end and has the cutest green skin.”

  “That was always her favorite color, if I remember. Which reminds me – blue was yours.”

  “Still is. What about you? Going to marry one of your silly ducks?”

  “Now you’re just being quackers.”

  “Okay, back to business. Would one of you remind me what Waldo said about why the Klat isn’t affected by the Ephemeral?”

  I’za answered. “He said that they – the Klat – lacked imagination.”

  “Perfect.”

  “How so?”

  “I’m going to send Jax’x and Serenity into their habitat. As we all know, neither of them has a modicum of imagination.”

  That earned her a raspberry from Sparky, a protruding tongue from Jax’x and smiles from everyone else.

  Syl came up behind her friend and rubbed her shoulders. “Glad to see you’re feeling a little better.”

  “We have too much to do and some very important people to save. Wallowing in self-pity won’t peel the banana.”

  “Words to live by.”

  “True dat.”

  Chapter 4 – Monsters from the Id

  “Okay, let’s get serious. Anyone have any idea why a lack of imagination protects you against the Ephemeral?”

  Silence.

  “Come on, guys. Don’t think it through. Just say the first thing that pops into your mind. Your idea may not make sense but it could stimulate a discussion that leads to a group epiphany.” Then she added with a smile, “And I promise we’ll only laugh at you for a few seconds if you say something truly dumb.”

  I’za found Egg’s approach to be brilliant. As intelligent as some members of the group obviously were, they couldn’t be expected to be experts on everything. Here was a situation well outside their collective experience and they had no data source to call upon to shed some light on the problem. Yet by encouraging free thinking and expression, Egg was engaging all seven girls – eight if she included herself – to act almost like a computer network . . . harnessing the brain power of the entire group. Amazing.

  “Egg,” began the alien, “should we consider imagination to be related to intelligence?”

  “Are you suggesting that the Klat are intellectually challenged?” That was a nice way of asking ‘are they stupid?”

  “As I mentioned before, those that imprisoned the Klat felt they did not have the wherewithal to survive on the Ark. That is why they gave them the AI in the first place.”

  “I guess that’s consistent with their warlike nature,” suggested Jax’x. “They see everything in terms of black and white . . . completely unable to discern subtle shades of gray in any situation.”

  “Doesn’t necessarily mean that they are stupid,” countered Serenity.

  Bree asked I’za, “What was the Klat civilization like before the Ark?”

  “Unremarkable. Technologically backward compared to other civilizations. No central government; just lots of tribes all fighting each other. As far as I know almost no advanced culture . . . as in books, art and music. Architecture was very basic. No parks or other social infrastructure.”

  “All those things take imagination,” suggested Bl’azzz.

  “But not necessarily superior intelligence,” added Egg.

  Jax’x asked, “Couldn’t we say that an intelligent species will create a complex society . . . and it’s that complexity that leads to varied experiences. And that in turn leads to a development of an imagination?”

  Encouraged by her statement, half dozen lively and simultaneous conversations ensued until Sylvia interrupted them all. “Monsters of the id.” With that, everyone went silent.

  Egg asked, “Is that the name of a movie or are you just insulting us?”

  “No silly. The id is the part of the psyche, residing in the unconscious, that is the source of instinctive impulses that seek satisfaction. It is the dark, inaccessible part of our personality.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” complained Tee’ka.

  “None of us do, Tee.” To her friend she said, “You’ve got the floor. Just keep it simple so Sparky can follow your logic.”

  “Hey,” complained the offended girl.

  Syl continued her line of reasoning. “If I was an Ephemeral and a Klat was attacking me, how would I alter its reality to protect myself?”

  “Put fear into your enemy,” suggested I’za.

  “Right. That would be logical. But the Klat respond to fear in the only – unimaginative – way they know how. They get angry and attack even harder.”

  “Whereas we civilized and intelligent people would conj
ure up something hideous and we would run the other way,” added Egg.

  “Exactly. If the Ephemeral had the time they might have come up with a different reality distortion. But they didn’t.”

  “What does this have to do with the monster thing?” asked Bl’azzz.

  “It’s probably what happened to Benny’s people. Like Egg suggested, they were made to see that which scared the crackers out of them the most – whatever monster lurked in each person’s subconscious.”

  That elicited a collective “Ahhh.”

  Again, I’za was impressed. Egg’s strategy had yielded the answer – or at least a reasonable answer – to the question she had posed. Into the contented silence, she asked, “So how does this knowledge help us?”

  And the sisterhood’s bubble of satisfaction at their own cleverness went ‘pop’.

  *****

  “Well, that’s a real buzz kill.”

  “Sorry?”

  “Just teasing. We were all puffed up with our cleverness and you brought us back to reality.”

  “If it would make you feel better, I thought this whole conversation was terribly impressive. Everyone contributed . . . except Serenity.” They all looked at the alien who smiled from ear to ear. “Just teasing.”

  “I’ve said it before . . . everyone’s a comedian,” complained Sparky.

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s still not a compliment.”

  “You know what – let’s take a break and clear our heads. We have the better part of a day before we engage the bad guys.”

  “So how do woman in this galaxy relax?” asked I’za.

  Before Egg could respond, Jax’x called out, “Incoming message. It’s the Queen.”

  “I’za, the answer to your question is that everyone has their own way of relaxing. Let me take this call then we can talk about it.”

  “Of course.”

  “On screen,” and Jax’x obliged.

  “Sister,” said Meggy. Standing to either side of her were Dazzle and Lord Z’kkk. Husband and wife were trying to look calm and dignified and almost succeeded.

  “Hi everyone.”

  “My father wishes to ask you something.”

  “Of course. Lord Z’kkk?”

  “Eloise, I wish to hear it from you.”

  Egg understood. “Your son, my husband-to-be, is alive. He is probably wounded, as I’m sure Spirit explained. What she meant by a life-altering injury I have no idea. But that’s a problem for another day. My sisters and I are on our way to the battle site. And we will find a way to rescue him and the rest of his crew. You have our word on that.”