The Reverie Glass

Book 5
of Ever After

Another Novel of

Egg and the Hameggattic Sisterhood

©Copyright 2016, by Robert
Iannone

All
rights reserved

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 – The Glimmer

Chapter 2 – The Sky’lords

Chapter 3 – The Honeymooners

Chapter 4 – Bel’lanca

Chapter 5 – The Sky’lords of Splendora

Chapter 6 – The Reverie Glass

Chapter 7 – Aliens

Chapter 8 – Love Letters from L’elle

Chapter 9 – Pleasant Under Glass

Chapter 10 – The Last Rak’nex

The seven active sisters.

Top left to right: BreeZee, Tee’ka, Bl’azzz and Jax’x.

Bottom left to right: I’za, Serenity and Egg.

Prologue

In the cavernous cathedral, Waldo’s cry
reverberated off the walls and ceiling amplifying the already ear-splitting
sound.

Rose and her husband, like everyone else,
turned to see who was causing the commotion. The sight of Mobius (it was still
the evil one’s body and face) charging at Egg with malice in his eyes caused
them to react instinctively. The Queen Mother put herself in front of her
daughter in law to protect the girl. Z’kkk pulled out his ceremonial (though
still real) sword and charged into the aisle.

Realizing everyone was getting the wrong
impression; I’za stood and began to scream – her voice adding to the cacophony of
shrieks and cries that had begun to swell in volume. Realizing no one could
hear her, she started to frantically wave her arms and shake her head.

Egg couldn’t see the aisle where Waldo and
Z’kkk were about to clash. With Rose blocking that view, all she could do was
look out at her sisters and friends. There she saw I’za and time seemed to slow
down. Her sister was trying to stop something . . . but what? Egg turned back
to aisle, nudged her mother in law out of her way and was horrified. Lord Z’kkk
was brandishing his sword and crouching in an attack position.

Her father in law was going to kill Waldo.

Chapter 1
– The Glimmer

Chaos, pandemonium, and a healthy dose of
bedlam . . . as all hell was breaking loose.

Skotti rushed the podium and grabbed Serenity
and simply threw her over his shoulder and carried her out of harm’s way. She didn’t
go quietly – beating on the poor guys back and yelling at him to put her down.

Tee’ka was racing down the aisle trying to get
to Waldo – whether to stop him or protect him was unclear.

I’za and V’az were close behind Tee’ka, doing
their best to keep up . . . calling to her to stop.

All the other sisters, and their escorts, were
standing – most more or less trapped in their pews and unable to do anything
but watch events unfold.

“Gracie, get behind me,” and Benny began to
grab his new bride.

Egg slapped his hand away. “No”. Then, “Ring
tend to my suit,” and the grey fog enveloped her and out stepped Flying Girl.
She leapt into the air, made a beeline toward Waldo and landed in his path a
few feet away.

“ELOISE,” screamed Z’kkk. “Step away now.”

Surprise, surprise. She didn’t.

Upon seeing her, the big man stopped running.
“You are unharmed?”

“Waldo, what are you doing?”

By this time Z’kkk had reached the two – sword
arm outstretched. There was no doubt as to his intent. (Benny, running just as fast,
had to zigzag at the last moment to avoid running into his father). “Keep your
distance, you dastardly coward, or I shall run you through.”

Egg spun around. “Put that thing away before
someone gets hurt,” she demanded.

“But . . .”

“Dad, just put it away and step back. You too,
husband of mine.”

“Most certainly not.”

Egg smiled but didn’t acknowledge the young
man. Turning back to Waldo, she asked again, “Waldo, what are doing?”

“It was the Glimmer.”

His answer didn’t actually answer anything. “Say
what?”

I’za and V’az reached the others. “It’s the
Glimmer. I warned you that if you get her mad, Vyper would take revenge.”

“She did this glimmer thing? What exactly is
it?”

“The Glimmer is a life form that can dwell in
an electromagnetic field. Apparently, it was planted in the one generated by
Serenity’s chair. Then it transferred to her suit when she rose up.”

“How do you know this?”

“I saw it,” explained V’az. “They are like
twinkling lights. Unless you know what to look for, they appear and disappear
too quickly for one’s mind to register.”

“So what do they do?”

I’za turned to her husband then back again.
“They would do whatever Vyper wished . . . from a nasty shock all the way to an
agonizing death.”

“Wow. Well, thank you – all three of you.
Waldo, what were you going to do?”

“Sacrifice myself. I am a Hameggattic sister; I
could do no less.”

Egg smiled then gave the big (and still ugly)
man a warm hug.

His Lordship was devastated that he had almost
injured an innocent man – one that was trying to save his daughter-in-law. “My
dear sir, please accept my most sincere apology.”

“Accepted.” He looked down at Tee’ka who
nodded. Waldo looked at Z’kkk and extended his hand.

Before his Lordship could put away his sword
and take the proffered hand, Benny stepped in front of his father and shook it.
“I owe you a great debt – yet again. Thank you, sir.”

The poor man was still struggling with
etiquette and protocol. He looked at Tee’ka with panic in his eyes. She stood
on tiptoes and whispered something. He nodded then turned to Benny. “You are
most welcome.” Once again, he looked at his girl who smiled and nodded her
approval.

“Hey, you guys,” called Serenity. “If this love
fest is over, what about me?”

Egg asked I’za, “How do we get rid of the
Glimmer?”

“Waldo was wrong – he couldn’t have sacrificed
himself. This particular Glimmer will only attack you, Egg. Had he grabbed
Serenity, nothing would have happened”.

The big guy looked crestfallen. Egg patted his
arm. “You didn’t know that, so it still counts as a heroic deed. Thank you.”

Waldo bowed to the girl.

“So how do we disarm Sparky?”

“I’d just send her far away,” called Jax’x. She
was sporting a ridiculously big grin.

“I heard that.”

“You were meant to, you grumpy goof.”

By this time, Rose and Meggy had joined the
group. “Waldo, thank you for your efforts. Yet another act of heroism for which
we are indebted. However, we have a Royal marriage ceremony to complete. There
are a thousand or more guests waiting impatiently.”

“Oh Mother,” whined her daughter. She was
beginning to grow impatient with the demands of protocol.

Benny stepped between them. In a very loud
voice so that many of the guests could hear, he said, “I do believe everyone
present just enjoyed a simply marvelous performance by one and all. I dare say
this ceremony will be yet another glorious chapter in the history of Egg and
her sisters. Do you not agree?”

The people roared their approval. To a person,
they couldn’t wait to go home and tell their friends that they had seen Flying
Girl appear out of a grey fog. And just like in the history books, she
fearlessly flew directly at that Mobius-looking fellow and confronted him.

Sylvia came up to her bestie. “Here’s the ring.
Let’s get this show on the road. I’m starving.”

So, right there in the middle of the aisle, Egg
[inadvertently still dressed in her Flying Girl outfit] held the ring up high
for all to see (well, not all. The ring wasn’t that big). Turning to the Prince,
she said, “With this ring, I thee wed. In sickness and in health, till death do
us part,” and she slipped it on his finger. He stood there smiling – admiring
the gold band. “Hey, you big lug, permission to kiss the bride.”

He smiled beautifully. “There is much to be
said for this Earth tradition,” and he kissed her. A lot.

After a minute, the Queen Mother rolled her
eyes. In a very un-Rose like phrasing, she said, “Do save something for your
wedding night.”

Her voice had carried further than she expected
. . . and the crowd roared once again.

*****

The
poor guy paced nervously back and forth on the balcony of his suite. His new
bride told him to get out and stay there until he was summoned. Apparently, she
had some rituals to perform before she would accept the Prince into her arms.

For as nervous as he was, he didn’t know that
Egg was terrified. She could face Mobius, the Ephemeral or the Divine Ones and
not feel half as scared. Kissing her man was one thing . . . actually, it was
the only thing . . . for which she had experience. As for the rest . . . she
got goose bumps. But these were the good kind. She finished her bath, splashed
on a bit too much perfume in places that made her both giggle and blush then
slipped into a negligee. It was from her mother and it was wonderfully sexy . .
. without even a single one of Syl’s dumb, daffy duckies.

One more glance in the mirror, one more strand
of hair moved just so – and she was as ready as she would ever be. She went to
the sliding door to the balcony and joined her man. He ogled her – staring at
the wondrous sight of his very own goddess. “I hope you do not catch a chill
too easily.”

She smiled. “Nope.”

“That is good. I have absolutely no intention
of being gallant by offering anything to cover you up. You are a breathtaking vision
of beauty.”

She just couldn’t help but to be giggly.
“That’s probably because I’m half naked.”

“Indeed. Would it be terribly boorish of me to
take you in my arms and kiss you?”

“Not sure. Why don’t you give it a try and
we’ll see?”

“As you command.”

And the rest, as they say, is the stuff of
legends (at least in Benny’s mind). There’s nothing more to see here – so just
keep moving. Thank you very much.

*****

Two days later, they left the rooms. Hand in hand,
they made their way to the Royal dining room for a late breakfast. They chose
this time in hopes of avoiding any other family members.

“Rats.” Everyone was there.

“Be brave. This too shall pass.”

“Where did you learn that earth saying?”

“I’m a fount of knowledge, don’t you know?”

“And a sentence with not one but two
contractions. My heart is all aflutter.”

He stopped and looked into her eyes. “We could
forgo breakfast.”

Had she known that she giggled yet again, our
girl would have been mortified. “I’ve worked up quite an appetite . . . for
food. So back off, big boy, or I’ll start to nibble on your fingers.”

He opened his hand and offered it to her. “I
believe the thumb is particular succulent.”

She grabbed the offered digit and gave it a
gentle bite. “Yuk. Food should never be blue. Come on, I need a gallon of
coffee.”

“How disheartening. Bored after only two days
of marriage. What does the future hold for me from such a capricious woman?”

“If you don’t pour me a cup of coffee, there
will be no future – capricious or otherwise. Now move that perfect blue bu . .
.”

“Egg, dearest, good morning. And to you,
Ben’Edikk.”

“Morning Grammy, Ezra, Mom, Dad, Dazzle, Your
Lordship and Queen Meggy.”

“And how are the children this morning?” teased
Rose. She and her husband were beside themselves with happiness. It was a dream
come true - the young woman that had done so much for Aerianna, that meant so
much to them personally, was now family.

Benny got a little flustered so Egg replied,
“I’ve had such a terrible headache these last two days that I had to spend them
in bed. But I’m much better now.”

Not to be out done, Mrs. Graystone said with
mock innocence, “You do look a bit flush. Perhaps a fever? I could get you some
aspirin.”

“No thank you. I think I’ll just let it run its
course. Might take a year or ten, but I’ll just grin and bear it.”

Ezra said something to Grammy. His speech still
had not recovered sufficiently for him to converse comfortably with others. “My
husband said that Flying Girl is a real trooper to endure such hardship.”

“Thanks, Ezra. I do what I can,” she teased.

As they filled their dishes at the buffet
table, Meggy asked, “When do you go on your tour?”

The newlyweds sat down at the table. “We fly to
River’s Edge tomorrow.”

“And your entourage . . . who will accompany
you?” questioned Lord Z’kkk. That was part of the age-old ritual – lots and
lots of pomp.

Egg turned to her husband (how weird is that –
her husband? It seems like it was just yesterday she was nine). “Your turn.”

“Are we keeping score?”

“Counting this morning when we woke up, I’m
ahead by about a gazillion.” She actually blushed at the memory.

“Indeed you are,” and he kissed her on the
cheek. Turning to his father he said, “Just the two of us. Bl’uddd has
graciously agreed to take us.”

Z’kkk exchanged glances with Rose. “Why
Bl’uddd? And why only the two of you?”

“Since Bl’uddd is now . . . involved . . . with
Aeri’elle, we consider him a friend. He has proven to be incredibly adept at
maintaining law and order on Zynn-Zaz’zia. And, it is time we put the past to
rest. In addition, it has been quite gratifying to see our people embrace Waldo
for the person that he is and not the individual whom he resembles. Though our
future is based on the trials and tribulations of our history, it is time to
look forward to a new day. In a quirk of fate, Bl’uddd fits the bill in a most
dramatic fashion.” He smiled then quoted Bob Dylan. “The times they are a
‘changing”.

All four grown-ups from earth smiled broadly at
the reference. “Bravo, son,” said Mr. Graystone. “Well phrased.”

“And why just the two of you?” Rose asked
again.

“Your turn,” Benny said to his wife.

“Nice,” she replied semi-sarcastically. “I get
the hard question.”

“You are so much more courageous than I,” he
reminded her with a smile.

She coughed into her hand while saying
something unintelligible.

“I did not quite catch what you said. Bull
something?”

The other four earthlings smiled and snickered.
When Benny looked at them, Grammy said, “I assure you that it wasn’t meant to
be heard.”

“Ah. Then I withdraw my question.”

“See how fast he learns. I’ll have him
completely trained in a week.”

Benny put a stupid grin on his face then
whirled around and started to tickle his wife.

“No, no, no . . . stop. Please. I take it
back.”

“Brother, you have reasserted your manhood . .
. for the moment. I warn you, however, my dear sister knows where you sleep and
she will have her revenge.”

“I shall lock my door.”

Egg punched him playfully on the arm. “And on
which side of the door will I be on?”

“Hmmm . . .” and he pretended to mull it over.
“OUCH”. Egg had flicked his ear.

“May I ask,” interrupted the Queen, “did all of
you go through this period of childlike happiness when you first married?”

Ezra nodded enthusiastically causing Grammy to
give him a big hug.

The Graystones just looked at each other and
exchanged a kiss.

All eyes turned to the Queen Mother and her
husband. “Please,” said Rose. “I had not seen him in a thousand years. He is
lucky to have survived that first night.” That brought on gales of laughter.

When the merriment had died down, Meggy asked,
“You did not say why you were not bringing an entourage with you. Is that
decision part of the changes you see in our future?” She addressed the question
to both of them, though she was staring at Egg.

The other girl had the coffee cup to her lips
and wasn’t about to put it down. She gulped the contents in a most
un-princess-like fashion. “Sorry about that.”

Meggy smiled warmly. “It is addictive. So, tell
me about our future.”

And for the next hour, Egg did just that.

*****

After brunch, everyone went their own way.
Meggy stayed behind with her parents.

“Well, need I say it again, she will be
perfect.”

“Of course she will. But there is nothing we
can do directly. Indirectly, we can begin to organize a groundswell of support
for the idea.”

“But Rose, it is almost four years till the
vote. Is it not too soon?”

“No father,” interrupted his daughter. “By
moving slowly we have a much better chance to succeed without being perceived
as manipulative.”

“Then what do you suggest?”

“We enlist the sisterhood of course. But everyone
must be sworn to secrecy. If Egg finds out, she will be very displeased with
us.”

Chapter 2
– The Sky’lords

Zynn-Zaz’zia

She was feeling a bit sorry for herself. Egg
was on the first part of her honeymoon visiting the great cities of Aerianna. Jax’x
was with Grex, presumably doing math problems, Bl’azzz went to Fire’s Breath
with Aero to meet his family, Tee’ka had gone to Kallous to visit Waldo, Sparky
was with her mechanic trying to figure a way of ridding herself of the Glimmer
and I’za and V’az went with a contingent of Gek’a to reconnoiter a couple of
worlds that had extended them an invitation.

Another visit to her parents resulted in a more
heated argument about getting married and settling down. They meant well, and
she loved them dearly, but she was a grown woman and needed to make her own
decisions. Zephyr and Azure were having a difficult time in accepting that
particular fact of life.

So with nothing else to do, she decided to find
out what she could about the Sky’lords – the alien race of winged beings that
supposedly had visited her world hundreds of years ago.

Her father had no hard information on the
legend other than the tribal belief that the visit was cut short by an angry
Zynnia who wanted no interference in her fledgling creation. Outside influence
might wreck the plan she had for her beloved Wind ‘dancers.

She decided that she would try Zazzi next. He
had been around for a very long time. His home, created by Zynnia, had stopped
him from aging. It was conceivable he was here when the Sky’lords came. In
fact, he may have met them.

She went to his home then to the waters off the
Tea Kettle where many of his wards liked to swim - but to no avail. Maybe his
wife knew where he was so she went to visit K’ssss.

“Hi, Sister.”

“BreeZee, what a pleasant surprise. What brings
you to my humble laboratory?”

The winged girl looked around at an impressive
array of incredibly sophisticated gadgetry and laughed. “Humble?”

“H’ssss. Maybe not so humble.”

“I would ask you what all this stuff does, but I
doubt I would understand.”

“There was a time I felt the same way.”

“Speaking of which, can you remember what you
were like before the transformation?”

“Bits and pieces. Mostly I remember Soo making
fun of me.”

“Isn’t it amazing that Egg chose you to be a
sister?” As soon as she said it, she realized how awful that sounded. “I’m so
sorry, I didn’t mean . . .”

“No need to apologize. I know what you meant.
And yes, in retrospect it is beyond understanding. That overweight, dingbat
that was me should never have been on the Quest. On the other hand, this
version of me would probably have done terribly.”

“How so?” (Bree chose not to point out that her
sister was still on the heavy side).

“As the earth saying goes – I’m too smart for
my own good. Instead of acting instinctively like I did, I would have sat back
and analyzed each situation - weighing the pros and cons of every possible
solution. It would have been a disaster for all of us. So the dumb me was by
far the better choice. How weird is that?”

“That’s the wonder of our Egg.”

“You’re right. It was part of her pattern of a
non-stop streak of implausibly good luck. So, how can I help you?”

“Actually I was looking for that handsome
husband of yours.”

“Handsome, ha. He’s way too skinny. I’ve been
trying to put meat on his bones as Egg would say.”

“He doesn’t have bones; he’s a serpent.”

“You’re right. That’s why it hasn’t worked.
H’ssss.”

“Anyway, do you know where he is?”

“I do.”

When she didn’t say anymore, Bree asked, “Could
you tell me?”

“No.”

“No?”

“I rather let him tell you.”

“What?”

“Hi, BreeZee.” It was that skinny husband.

Bree turned around. “How long have you been
standing there?”

“Technically, since I don’t have legs . . .”
but he didn’t finish.

“Wow. You two have become a full blown comedy
team.”

“It comes naturally. Just one of our many
talents.” Pretty sure he was teasing. “So how can I help you?”

“I’m trying to find out what I can about the
Sky’lords.”

“I haven’t heard that name in a very long
time.”

“Who are they?” asked K’ssss

“A race of winged beings much like Wind
‘dancers. Zynnia made them leave before they could corrupt her experiment.”

“Were you here when they came?” Bree asked
excitedly.

“I was.”

“Oh my gosh. Did you talk to them?”

“Only briefly. As I said, Zynnia was pretty
adamant that she did not want them around. But, out of curiosity, I found one that
would talk to me.”

“This is so exciting. I have a million
questions if you have the time.”

“Sure. Ask away.”

“If you two will excuse me, I have a great deal
of work to finish.”

“Of course, K’ssss. Sorry for the
interruption.”

“Don’t be silly. Just do me a favor. See if you
can get him to eat something while he’s spinning his yarns.”

“I will,” and she hugged her sister. She waited
politely for the serpent to leave then turned back to Zazzi. “What were they
like?”

“Well, let’s see. They were somewhat taller
than your people. Their wings were more feathery and they could be flapped.”

“So they didn’t sail; they flew.”

“Exactly.”

“Do you know what planet they were from?”

“No. Sorry.” Then he seemed to get lost in some
thought. “When I asked this fellow why he had come to Zynn-Zaz’zia, he said
words to the effect that they were in the neighborhood and thought they would
investigate.”

“How is that possible? If their planet was in
this section of the galaxy, we would know of them.”

“Not necessarily. They may have gone extinct.”

“Oh.” Sadly, that was the most logical
explanation. Or was it? “Zazzi, if they did go extinct, wouldn’t someone have
found the remains of their civilization? Surely there would be something left
of them.”

“That would seem reasonable. However, planets
do explode, natural disasters do occur. It’s still plausible that some
catastrophe obliterated all signs of their existence. Sorry.”

“No, I’m glad you’re taking the other side of
the argument. By the way, why don’t you eat more to make my sister happy?”

Zazzi looked around to make sure his wife
couldn’t hear him. “She is such an awful cook. This is the same woman who sped
up the entire Aeriannian solar system to bring time back in sync with the rest
of the galaxy. But can she prepare eel soup? All you do is boil them in water –
that’s it.” If he had arms, he would have thrown them up in a show of great
exasperation.

Bree giggled. “I think we’ll keep that as our
little secret.”

“Thank you.”

“So, anything else you can think of that might
help me track down the Sky’lords?”

“No, I don’t think so. If I do, I’ll contact
you.”

“Well, thank you for your help.”

“Didn’t give you much of that, but you’re
welcome.” Bree hugged him then turned to go. “Wait.”

“Yes?”

“Zynnia was so upset with their visit that she
went to Reven. If the mere presence of the Sky’lords caused her experiment to
go wrong, she wanted that . . . that . . .  thing to go back in time and make
it right.”

“But Reven is gone as you well know.”

“True. But maybe there’s something in her time
castle that might help in your search.”

“That’s certainly worth pursuing. Thanks.”

“Be careful. That place gives me the shivers.”

“You didn’t much like Reven, did you?”

“She was evil. Zynnia made a huge mistake
creating her.”

*****

Aboard the Gracie

“That’s it. No more. We have work to do.”

“Just one last kiss then I promise we’ll finish
the experiment.”

“Sparky, you are insatiable . . .”

“Kiss me you fool,” and he did. A minute later
– “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“My lips hurt.”

Serenity giggled (yup, a real girlie giggle).
“Me, too.”

“Come on, no more goofing around. Let’s infuse
the avatar with Egg’s DNA.” He sounded so serious.

“What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing. Everything.”

“That about covers it. Any chance you could
narrow it down a wee bit.”

“That thing . . . the Glimmer. No one knows
what it might do if it can’t find its programmed victim. It might turn on the
host.” In this case, that would be Sparky.

The old Serenity would have said something
snide. This version of her was in love and his care for her welfare and safety,
something that once would have sent her into fits of righteous indignation, now
only made her feel fulfilled in some inexplicable way. However, some teasing
was in order. “Fess up. You’re afraid that this thing might start taking orders
from me then you’d be in real trouble.”

“Now you’re just trying to scare me.” His smile
said otherwise.

The girl exhaled – from satisfaction – a
totally alien feeling. “I just love a brave man.”

“There’s a fine line between bravery and dumbassery,”
he countered.

She went silent as she fiddled with her
computer controls. “Okay, we’re ready.”

“Wait.”

“What?”

“I’ll do it. This might work better if you
enter the room and let the Glimmer detect its victim. We don’t know how smart
those things are. They might be able to understand that we’re trying to fool
them.”

“Okay. Dumb line of reasoning, but I’m willing
to give it a try. Just activate sub-routine A to transfer the DNA, then
sub-routine B to activate the avatar.”

“Will do. Count to ten before you come back
in.”

“How many is this?” and she held out all her
fingers.

“Um, eleven.”

“Idiot.”

“Just go or I’ll bite off the extra one to make
ten.”

*****

Ten seconds or so later, Serenity went back
into the lab. The Glimmer immediately detected the Egg avatar – confirming its
identity by DNA and face recognition – and attacked. Like a bolt of twinkling
lightning it leapt from Serenity’s body and speared its victim.

“GOOD GRIEF,” cried Skotti.

“Well, Vyper was obviously less than pleased
with our girl.”

The avatar had disintegrated into a puddle of
something gelatinous from the Glimmer’s high voltage shock. With its mission
accomplished, the twinkling lights faded out.

*****

Reven’s Time Castle

“Hi, Bree. What brings you to my little corner
of the world?”

“Sorry to bother you. Both of you (Bl’uddd was
there also). I’m doing some research and Zazzi suggested that the Time Castle
might hold information that could help me.”

“Really? What are you researching?”

“The Sky’lords.”

Aeri’elle stared silently at her sister.
“Bl’uddd, would you excuse us for a bit.”

“Sure. I’ll come back after my rounds.”

“Perfect.” Big Bird then rubbed the side of her
head on the neck of her large friend. Apparently, it was how dragons in love said
goodbye.

When they were alone, Aeri’elle asked, “Why the
interest in the Sky’lords?”

“So you know who they are.” It was not a question.

“We found references to them while going
through Reven’s personal affects.”

“Did you ever discuss it with Zazzi? He
actually met them.”

The dragon shook her head. “Sometimes we think
we’re so smart. It never occurred to me to do that. What did he tell you of his
encounter?”

Bree spent a couple of minutes to bring her
sister up to speed. “Your turn.”

“My staff believes the items came from the
Sky’lords home world. There is a medallion of sorts and a map. Based on what
Zazzi has said, it sounds like Reven was doing Zinnia’s bidding. She must have
sent one of her future or past selves there and brought back these two artifacts.
Not sure how they would have helped to accomplish whatever task Zynnia asked
them to do.”

“Is it a map to their planet?”

“No. It’s a map of a planet. Or, more
precisely, part of a planet.”

“Enough to determine which one?”

“We tried. But after hundreds of tedious and time-consuming
comparisons to known worlds, we tabled the project for another time. There was
no urgency.”

“I’m guessing the medallion tells us nothing?”

“It is well made and the metal is of the
highest quality. It speaks to their workmanship. It is also quite intricate.”

“Would I be out of line to ask if I could have
these artifacts?”

“Sorry, I can’t give them to you. However, I
can hire you as an at-large professor’s assistant while you pursue your
investigations. In such a capacity, it is in my power to loan them out for as
long as you need.”

“Oh, Aeri’elle, that’s great. Thank you so
much.”

“As Egg would say, it’s a win-win situation.
Are you going to work on this by yourself?”

“Everyone else is bonding with their male
cohorts and I hate to bother them. So, I guess it’ll be just me.”

“Probably not a good idea. Ask one of your
sisters, if no one wishes to join you, I’ll get volunteers from my staff to
accompany you.”

Bree stood up and hugged the dragon. “Thank
you, Big Bird.”

“Please never tell Egg I said this, but I
really, really love that nickname.”

*****

Aboard the Gracie

“Hi, Bree. What’s up?”

“Why are you so flushed? The Glimmer didn’t get
you, did it?”

Serenity’s mouth opened but nothing came out.
Skotti stepped in front of the viewer. “Hi, BreeZee.”

“Ohhh. I withdraw the question.”

“Then ask another one or go away,” chirped the
grump.

“I need help.”

“Is it life or death?”

“No.”

“Then no.” Skotti’s hand reappeared in the
viewer as it flicked Serenity’s ear. “OUCH”.

“Be nice to your sister.”

“You always liked her best.”

“What’s not to like?”

“Okay, you two. Not sure what you’re talking
about and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know.”

“Bree, how can we help you?” The young man
emphasized the word we. He also was beaming inside because he could call a
Hameggattic Sister by her nickname.

“I’m looking for a long lost civilization.”

“Head for Alcyone then make a right. It’s about
a million miles from there,” teased Serenity.

“Alright. If I’m bothering you two, I’ll ask
someone else.”

“Don’t listen to her. It sounds like fun. Do
you remember where you were when you lost them?” It was corny but that didn’t
stop his girl from laughing.

“Good grief. Everyone’s a comedian.”

“Hey, that’s my line.”

“You guys going to help or not?”

“Of course, we will. We’ll be there tomorrow to
pick you up.”

“Thank you. I would say that you’re the best,
but we both know that would be Jax’x,” joked the butterfly girl.

“That deserves a punishment.” Her arm went off
screen then returned holding her boyfriend. “Watch,” and she kissed him. I mean
really kissed him.

“You really are mean,” and the boyfriend-less BreeZee
signed off.

Chapter 3 – The Honeymooners

If tradition were a crystal goblet, it would
lay shattered – just a million shards glittering in the dawn of a new day. Egg
and her hubby were rewriting the rules.

And the people loved it.

Custom had dictated that the newly married
royal couple should visit each of the capital cities of the other two species –
Nautica and Talon’s Perch. There, they would spend a week in the company of
their host King or Queen . . . attending lavish banquets and parties for other
royals and high-ranking individuals. All the while, the common folks would wait
outside hoping to catch a glimpse of the uncommon folks inside.

As far as Egg was concerned – not happening.

Instead, they would visit all nine of the major
cities purposely avoiding the capitols until last. There would be no formal
anything. Picnics and barbeques – the tried and true Earth custom – had never
seen the light of an Aeriannian day. At least, not until now.

Regardless of the formality of a food event, it
would have been assumed that the Royal Couple would bring everything with them
. . . a gift to the people as it were. When Benny began to organize these affairs,
Egg stopped him.

“Nope.”

“Nope what?”

“We’re not bringing anyone or anything with us
– no cooks, no bakers and no candlestick makers.”

“To what end would we choose to bring a
candlestick maker?”

“Not the point. No one is coming with us.”

“Then how will these barber cues
happen?’

“Barbeque . . . and we’re going to hire the
local town’s folk to supply, prepare and cook everything. It will be a
financial boon to everyone.”

“Ah, how very wise and impressively clever. I
do approve . . . assuming my approval was required.”

She smiled and gave him a kiss. “It wasn’t.”

Brace yourselves – we need to take a small
break as Benny picked up his wife, threw her on the bed . . . and tickled her.
And shame on you for thinking something different.

The first event was at River’s Edge – childhood
home to Sassi and the town where the Quest began those many years ago. Bl’uddd
delivered the royal company then departed. He would return the next day to
ferry them to their next stop.

On one point, Benny had overruled his wife. He
did send a small contingent of his people to help the locals organize, to order
the food and beverages, and give instructions on how to construct these barber
cues.

And the rest is much as you would imagine.
There were local musical groups, dancing, pie eating contests and various
distractions for the children.

However, there was one uniquely earth event
that Egg introduced herself.

“It’s called dodge ball. The rules are simple –
take a ball and try to hit someone on the other team. If you do, and he or she
doesn’t catch it, then they are out. Last person standing wins.”

“Your Ladyship,” a young girl called out. “Are
you going to play with us?” The adults in the audience all laughed at such a
silly notion. If for no other reason, the Princess wasn’t quite dressed for the
sport . . . or any sport.

“Of course I’m going to play and I pick you for
my side.”

The young girl, maybe nine years old, looked at
her mother for approval. “Go . . . but behave yourself.”

“And what’s your name?”

“I’m called Rosie, your worship,” and she
curtsied. It was a popular name in honor of the beloved Queen Mother.

“No, no. I’m not anyone’s worship.” To the
audience she said, “My name is Egg. If anyone calls me anything else, you’ll
hurt my feelings. Understand?”

The people smiled and nodded approvingly.

“Lady Egg”.

“Rosie, it’s just Egg.”

“Egg.”

“Yes, Rosie?”

“Can you play dodge ball in that dress?”

“Oh. Of course not. Ring, tend to my suit”.
Gray smoke, Flying Girl, oohs and Ahhhs, - you know the routine. “Okay, let’s
choose up sides.”

“Egg”.

“Yes, Rosie?”

“Is there a prize for winning?”

“A prize?” Benny whispered something in her
ear. That earned him a kiss – and the mouths of everyone dropped open. A Royal
couple kissing in public was unheard of.

But they loved it . . . these two were just
like real people.

“My husband suggested that the winner gets to
go flying with Flying Girl. What do you guys think of that?”

They apparently like the idea.

*****

Later that day, the Prince brought out the
legendary sword Dazzle. The blade, made from serpent’s crystal, had symbolized
the thousand-year fight for freedom from Mobius. Few citizens ever had the
opportunity to see it and Rose had suggested to her son it would be well
received by the people if he were to bring it.

Everyone
had a chance to get close to the blade and a few of the children received
permission to touch its hilt.

Many
of the grown-ups who understood the history of their world, and the sacrifice
that Rose’Alynnia had made, welled up with tears of gratitude. That emotion, in
turn, led them back to Egg – the Heroine of Aerianna – who brought the Queen’s
plan to fruition.

“My Lady”. It was Rosie’s mother.

“Please. It’s just Egg.”

“Oh no. It will never be just that. Not to us.
You were Rosie’s age when you fought that evil creature. Nine years old and you
saved this entire world. My Rosie is free because of you. She wants to grow up
and become a Hameggattic Sister because of you. How could I ever thank you?
Like everyone here, I’ve read the history books. But I still don’t understand
how you could be brave enough to do that? To do what not even the Queen could
do.”

Egg walked over to the woman and hugged her.
When they stepped apart, she said, “Don’t give me too much credit. I had six
wonderful sisters and a hundred of the Shades of Nights standing with me. And I
had a lot of luck.”

“Rubbish,” someone shouted. When everyone
turned, the poor fellow grimaced. “Sorry, your Worship. It was you. You saved
all of us and all of our families. It’s what we believe.”

That brought out a chorus of agreement from the
rest.

Into the awkward silence that followed, Rosie
asked, “Egg, tell us what happened.”

“What happened when?” Egg was thankful for the
diversion.

“At the end when you faced Mobius.”

Egg was about to demur but the Prince said,
“Please, wife. I would like to hear it from you also.”

She gave her husband one of ‘those’ looks.
“Alright” and she began the tale finishing with, “After he had sent all of the
Shades and Sassi back to the Seven Lands, he was about to . . . um . . .
dispatch me with his sword.” The crowd gasped as if this was news to them.
“Just then, the Queen came in with this sword (and she held up Dazzle) and
Mobius stopped his attack on me so he could go after her. Rose was better
trained as a swordsman than Mobius and held her own. But in the end, he was so
big, so powerful, that he knocked her down and was ready to do the
unthinkable.”

Rosie interrupted. “That’s when you did it,
right?”

Egg laughed. “I did. I shot him with a great
big gob of glue and he became stuck. And that’s it. That’s all I did. I poured
glue on him. Not much of a hero, am I?”

Yeah, the crowd wasn’t buying it. They all
began to applaud . . . and the noise kept getting louder and louder. Egg
dropped her head in embarrassment.

Benny came to her rescue . . . but not quite as
quickly as he could have. He held up his hands and like someone throwing a
switch, the crowd went silent. “My wife and I thank you all. As she has told me
on more than one occasion, she would gladly do it all again because the people
of Aerianna were well worth fighting for.” And, they roared again.

After the sword was put away, most kids were
sent home and just the older folks remained with their guests. To their
surprise, Egg and Benny led them to the outdoor pavilion and danced. He was
very graceful – a product of his upbringing. Egg, on the other hand, did her
best not to injure him.

When the dance ended, Egg found an elderly
gentleman and pulled him on the dance floor. Benny, taking advantage of the
situation, chose a beautiful young woman. After the dance, Egg explained the
Earth custom of ‘cutting in’. They each chose another partner and every ten
seconds or so, both men and women practiced the ‘cut in’. To dance with the
Heroine of Aerianna or the handsome son of Rose’Alynnia was, for most, a dream
come true.

After an hour or so, everyone – especially the
royal couple – was getting tired.

“Before you leave,” said Egg getting their
attention, “I would really appreciate if you would spend a few minutes and tell
us how the Prince and I can make your lives – and those of your children - more
fulfilling.”

Everyone was surprised by the request and for
sure, no one wanted to be first. Egg explained, “We will be asking all the
citizens on our tour the same question. When we are finished, we will publish
the top five issues for all to see. And then, we will convene an advisory
council to work on solutions.”

Someone had the courage to ask, “Will you and
the Prince be on the council?”

“Yes. And one member from each of the nine
major cities.”

Benny added, “Those members will not be from
the Royal families. They will be elected by you.”

That night, as the people of River’s Edge made
their way home, they realized they had been wrong about the married couple. The
Prince was such a gentleman and not stuck-up at all. He was charming and
amusing and obviously very much in love with his wife. Even better – he wasn’t
afraid to show it (more than one husband heard that refrain multiple times that
night).

As for Egg, their high esteem for her had
already been off the charts. But now – they realized they had shortchanged
their heroine. She wasn’t just some semi-mythological super hero risking her
life to fight evil. She was a real person – as sweet, as self-effacing as the
history books said she was. The fact that she cared about their lives as individuals
made each of them feel special. And the best thing of all – she seemed so
ordinary, just like them.

*****

“Mother. You spied on your son and my sister?”

“Nonsense. I simply sent trusted acquaintances
to bear witness to the events that they had organized and report back to me in
excruciating detail what was said and done.”

“I believe that is the definition of spying. However,
since the deed is done, please share the information.”

“She is extraordinary.”

Meggy rolled her eyes. “I am as shocked as you,”
she teased. “Details, please.”

“She ate with the towns folk; she played games,
allowed some children to fly with her, danced with as many locals as wish to do
so then held a meeting so they could voice their grievances.”

“Not quite,” corrected his Lordship. “She asked
how she and my son could help make their lives more rewarding. And the game she
played was dodge ball.”

Meggy laughed. “I presumed she won.”

“I am told she subtly lost so that a young girl
named Rosie could win.”

“Nothing you have said surprises me in the
least. However, the real test is when she visits with Dragons and Serpents. If
she receives the same welcome, there will be little for us to do to achieve our
goal.”

*****

The visits to the mountain cities of the
dragons and the submerged cities of the serpents went equally as well.

In Naut’ica, Queen S’eee-sik, the former leader
of the Shades of Night, made an unexpected appearance to greet her old friend.
Seeing the two legends arm in arm (that’s obviously just an expression since
serpents are lacking the appropriate appendage) made for a memorable sight.
Though Egg invited her to stay and join the festivities, the Queen demurred.
They would meet later as planned.

The royal couple followed the same script as in
River’s Edge . . . with a few notable exceptions. Marco Polo was substituted
for dodge ball . . . and grilled meats were replaced with eel – live,
slithering eel. The fact that these two humans would actually partake in such
repast – without regurgitating it – earned them an enormous amount of goodwill.

When they arrived at Fire’s Breath, one of the
three castle cities of the dragons, the first thing they were asked to do –
more like pleaded – was to verify the rumor that the legendary Storm had
recently saved Flying Girl’s life.

“He most certainly did. I had been knocked
unconscious and I was very close to death. My sisters had been searching
frantically for me but there were hundreds and hundreds of pieces from the
destroyed planetoid to examine. Then my good friend Storm appeared to the crew.
He told them to follow him and he led them straight to me. By the time I was
transported onboard, I needed a jolt of electricity from I’za to restart my
heart.”

The dragons all reacted the same way – with
small eeks. It was a combination of pride in one of their own saving the
Heroine of Aerianna as well as acknowledgement of the mortal danger that she
had been in.

To get things back on track, Egg suggested a
race through an obstacle course for anyone interested in matching their skill
against hers. The challenge was met with a lot of excitement and more than
fifty brave souls volunteered. Flying Girl did well but apparently, a favorite
son edged her out at the finish line. To the delight of everyone, she then
challenged the young man to another contest. She would ride on his back and he
would try to throw her off.

He couldn’t . . . and that earned her some very
high praise.

As for their barbeque, Egg and the Prince
gamely ate what the ‘people’ ate.  Afterwards, in the privacy of their bedroom,
they agreed that the unidentifiable meats were virtually inedible. “Remind me
to have Ashley buy some Pepto Bismal the next time she visits earth.”

*****

Aboard the Gracie

“So that’s what I have so far,” said Bree
recounting her conversations with Zazzi and Aeri’elle.

“Not much to go on,” commented Serenity.

“By the way, did I tell you that Egg got goose
bumps when we talked about the Sky’lords?”

“That critical fact must have slipped your
butterfly mind.”

Bree, like all the sisters, was so used to
Sparky’s insults that they didn’t even register. “Why is that important?”

“Why is what important?” asked Skotti. He had
just entered the room with a tray of coffee. He poured a cup for each of the
girls then offered them cream and sugar.

“Egg got goose bumps when she and this winged
whacko were talking about our lost civilization.”

“Don’t know what that means?”

“Goose bumps – earth term for those little
bumps you get on your arms when you’re cold or scared.”

“What’s a goose?”

“Shut up.”

Bree asked again, “Why is that important?”

“Because we can make some reasonable deductions
as to where these people are.”

“Are? You think they still exist?”

“Now I do. Dead Sky’lords can’t be very
dangerous. Therefore, not dangerous means no goose bumps.”

“That’s a stretch.”

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

“I wish Jax’x was here,” tormented the other
girl.

“She will be, assuming we’re still here in a
week.”

“Really? Things not going well with Grex?”

“It’s going fine. He just has work to do.”

“Oh.”

“Would you two concentrate? What else you got,
love of my life?”

She honored the guy with a big smile. “Well, if
Egg got goose bumps, somehow she’s going to get involved in the search and it
has to be relatively soon. Her goose bumps are not a long range indicator.”

“But she’s on her honey . . .” and Bree
stopped. “Where is she going after she finishes her tour?”

“Bel’lanca,” said Serenity as she whirled
around and grabbed the map. “Pretty boy, scan this into the computer. Hurry.”

As he was doing just that he sang, “Look at me,
I’m a pretty, pretty, boy. Just a toy, just a toy. Oh boy, oh boy, a pretty boy
toy”.

“Make him stop,” pleaded Bree.

“Skotti – shut up.”

“Yes m’am.” Map’s been scanned.”

“Computer, compare the map to the surface
features on Bel’lanca.”

“Working,” came a female voice.

“Is there a match?”

“Affirmative. Northern hemisphere. Eighty-five
percent correlation to current land mass and natural formations.”

“Any signs of life reported in that area?”

“Negative. Uninhabited.”

“Any geological surveys?”

“Affirmative. Survey limited to orbital scans”

“Print out a detailed map with an overlay of
the scanned map.”

“Complete.”

“Any record of archeological expeditions to
this region?”

“Negative.”

Serenity turned around . . . stood up and took
a bow.

“Bravo. That deserves a kiss.”

“What a shock,” teased Bree.

*****

Over the next two weeks, the girls scoured
every known database in the Federation trying to find any reference to the
Sky’lords. It proved to be a futile effort. As promised, Jax’x had joined them
and was as excited as BreeZee to uncover the mystery of the long lost, but
maybe still alive, Sky’lords.

Skotti used this semi-down time to go back to
his day job and catch up on a few projects he had been overseeing. The only
reason the young man was still on board was that Sparky asked Egg to ask Benny
to reassign him to the Sisterhood until the honeymoon was over. The Prince
couldn’t deny his new bride her request. Or anything, for that matter. So technically,
he didn’t need to do it, but the young man was very conscientious. Besides, he
was bored and he needed a break from three lovely, continuously prattling,
babbling and gossiping young women.

When he returned, Serenity gave him a full
report on what they had uncovered. It went something like this . . . “nothing.”

“Let’s
concentrate on the medallion,” suggested Jax’x. “Anyone want to venture a guess
as to what it does?”

“My guess
is its some kind of locking mechanism or a key to one,” suggested Skotti.

Serenity inserted a finger into the hole on the
teardrop tab and tried to move it. “It still moves. At some point we may want
to take this thing apart.”

“Skotti, if it were a locking mechanism, how do
you think it works?” asked Jax’x.

“That tab that Sparky moved – I would expect
that those metal nubs on the outer ring will pop out. Then the whole thing
would fit into a receptacle – either to lock it or to open it.”

“If you’re right, we shouldn’t mess with it by
taking it apart. At the very least, we shouldn’t do anything that might damage
it more than it might already be. It may very well be the . . . key . . . to
solving this mystery. Pun intended.”

“Agreed,” and the mechanism was put away until
later.

“Hey Bree, do you think these Sky’lords had an
ascension rite like your people?” asked Jax’x.

“Say what?” Skotti wasn’t familiar with the
Wind ‘dancer ritual so the girl explained it to him.

Bree didn’t answer right away. “Probably not.
We were the creation of Zynnia and our development was more artificial. We can
assume the Sky’lords developed naturally which means that the whole Ascension
rite wasn’t – or isn’t – part of their evolution.

“That’s at least something to search on. The
problem is that there’s no reason to believe these people called it an
ascension storm. They may have had another name for it,” explained Serenity.

“That may be true, but I’ll have the AI use our
term and see if it can find a match,” suggested Jax’x.

It took the AI the better part of an hour to
finish the analysis. The girls and Skotti used the time to have lunch.

“Analysis complete,” came the computer.

“Display results.”

NO MATCH flashed on the screen.

“Shazbot.”

*****

“Hi, guys.”

“Right back at you,” responded Serenity. “If
you’re not buried nose deep in a book, I need your help.”

“Of course you do. Admitting you have a problem
is the first step.”

In the background Skotti laughed.  “Shut up
back there.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Returning her gaze back to the ever-smiling
face of Egg’s brain, Sparky said, “I like you better in person. You’re less
annoying.”

“Stop it. You’re making be blush. So, which of
your many problems do you need help with?”

“I want you to do a little research for us.”

Syl looked at the others. “What are you
mischievous miscreants up to?”

“We’re trying to find a lost civilization
called the Sky’lords,” said Bree. She explained why and what they had found so
far.

“How fun. Wish I was there.”

“So do you have time to help?”

“What exactly did you need?”

“Who gave the planet the name Bel’lanca and
why?”

“Sounds like you’re grasping at straws.”

“Nonsense,” replied Sparky. “We are conducting
an exhaustive scientific investigation utilizing all available mathematical,
statistical and historical resources.”

“And straws?”

“That too.”

******

Later that day

“I’m back.”

“Glorious day for all of us. So . . .
anything?”

“The people who first discovered the planet and
turned it into a resort world found some artifacts when they started to
excavate for their hotels. Apparently, the word “Bel’lanca” was on a sign of
some sort that they dug up. They liked the sound of it.”

“What else did they find?”

“A bunch of unidentifiable stuff. Before you
ask, it’s stored in the main Admin building . . . all but forgotten.”

“Will they let us see it?”

“Just ask.”

“I hate to say this, but you’re the best.”

Bree added, “Thank you, Syl. You really helped
the effort.”

“Any time.”

“Before I let you go, how’s Kreed?”

Sylvia stared at her sister, expression very
serious. Then she broke into an excellent imitation of the Cheshire Cat.
“Meow”.

Chapter 4
– Bel’lanca

“Your Blushing Bride-ness.”

“Hi, Jax’x. What are you doing onboard?”

“My guy had to work. Figure I’d come back and
help BreeZee find her long lost Sky’lords.”

Egg’s eyes went wide and she looked down.

“You okay?”

Egg held up her arms. “Goose bumps again.”

“Well, then you’re not going to like what I’m
about to tell you.”

“Which is?”

“We think that they lived – maybe still live –
on Bel‘lanca.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“All signs point to it. So, since we’re also going
there, want to hitch a ride with us?”

Egg laughed. “Perfect, I’m taking the
Sisterhood with me on my honeymoon.”

Jax’x smiled. “Seems about right.”

“If you guys are ready to leave, then sure.”

“We’ve been waiting for you actually. We’ll be
over Aerianna in the morning. Can you be ready by then?”

Egg smiled. “Make it late morning.”

“Hussy.”

*****

“Welcome aboard, your royal-nesses.”

“Please, no need for such formality. You may
call me Princess,” teased her married sister. She hugged BreeZee.

“No offense Benny, but your wife doesn’t wear
that title very well.”

His answer of “you are correct” caused both
girls to stare.

“Should I be offended?”

“It was actually meant as a compliment.”

Egg looked back to Bree. “This should be good.
Go ahead, little boy blue, get yourself out of this one.”

“If I had known you were such a bully, I would
have thought twice about this marriage.”

“Shame on you, Benny. You know our girl has
gone toe to toe with Mobius, Empress Violetta and . . . well, everybody she
thinks is mean. Only a bully or a crazy person would do that.”

“I see your point. The fault is entirely mine.”

“Get back to explaining that Princess comment
or you’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight.”

“Hmmm.”

“Hmmm what?”

“I am tired and a night alone on the couch may
be just the thing. Sleep seems to have eluded me these past weeks.”

“Okay, guys. Too much information.”

“Sorry BreeZee. As to my comment, with your
accomplishments and abilities, you should be Queen. The title of Princess is
beneath you.”

“Ahhh,” and she kissed him.

Bree shook her head as she turned to walk away.
“I really need a boyfriend.”

*****

“Serenity, how long to Bel’lanca?” asked the
Prince.

“Normally about fifteen days. But Aero made
some modifications to my engines and now we can get there in about five.”

“What’s the word on him and Bl’azzz?” asked
Egg.

“You can’t really tell with dragons. But, she
did go visit his parents so that’s probably a good thing.”

“How about you and Skotti?”

Sparky whipped around. “He’s standing right
there,” and she needlessly pointed. The young man waved back.

“I know.”

“Not answering that question, princess or not,”
and the girl turned away.

“In that case, Benny and I are going to settle
into our quarters. We’ll meet you for lunch and you can bring us up to date on
this mystery quest.”

“Lunch is in an hour,” warned Jax’x.

“Then we’ll see you all for dinner.”

*****

Egg examined the medallion then handed it to
her husband. “Well, I can’t argue with your logic. Just holding that thing gave
me goose bumps.”

Benny handed the medallion back to Skotti.
“Since we have days before we arrive on Bel’lanca, let’s use the time to
explore some . . .” but he turned to his wife for the phrase that was eluding
him.

“What-ifs,” she said helpfully. “And nice use
of the contraction”. She turned to her sisters. “Stupid earth phrases and
contractions – he’s almost completely trained.” The others smiled. Skotti, on
the other hand, pretended to be studying the medallion.

“And did you wish to tell them what I’ve been
teaching you?”

“BENNY”. This time they all
laughed, including the chief mechanic.

“Perhaps not. As I was suggesting before the
conversation veered into deep and treacherous waters, let’s explore the
possibilities of what would cause my darling wife to get her famous warning
sign. Who wishes to start?”

“If I may, your Majesty,” said Skotti.

“No, my dear friend. As long as you are part of
this crew, I am just Benny.”

The young man laughed. “That’s a tough order.
I’ll give it my best, Sir.”

“Forty lashes should you fail. Please
continue.”

“Thanks. Maybe the warning is that if we find
these people alive, they will become a menace to us and the rest of the
Federation.”

“What’s your reasoning?” asked the logical,
though still very much in love, Serenity.

“What if they were put into some kind of prison
– be it suspended animation or whatever – because they had been a threat in the
past. If we free them, we might be unleashing something evil.”

It was as reasonable an explanation as any.
More importantly, it got the proverbial ball rolling. And for the next hour or
so, everyone threw out at least one idea as to the danger that the goose bumps
were forewarning. When all the ideas had been exhausted, Jax’x finished with the
obvious, though overlooked, observation.

“Egg, as far as I remember, you never got these
goose bumps unless the danger related to you in some way. That would seem to
imply that you’re going to get involved directly with our little mystery.”

“No, no, no. I’m on my honeymoon.”

“Maybe we should drop you off on another planet,”
suggested Bree. “None of us want to do anything that might interfere with this
very special time for you two.”

“Or we could just postpone our adventure until
after you return to Aerianna,” offered Skotti. That earned him a smile from you
know who.

Egg took both offers seriously. “What do you
think, my Majestic Majesty?”

“Kill me now,” muttered Sparky. Jax’x kicked
her under the table.

“Gracie, the last few weeks were, in many ways,
tedious but you loved every minute of it. You interacted with the citizens of
our world in ways they would never have expected, sadly enough, from a Royal couple.
You are a woman with boundless energy and an inquisitive mind. Spending a few
weeks simply lying around on a beach will surely drive you into cantankerous ill-temperament.”

“You are a silver-tongued devil; I’ll give you
that much.”

“I do have my strengths,” he teased. “So I will
suggest the following. We go to the resort as planned while the rest of you
continue your research on the artifacts – both the ones on the planet and the
ones you already have acquired. If you uncover enough data on which to act, we
shall join you and lend what help we can. I love a good adventure and this
promises to be one. It will be a memorable honeymoon in so, so many ways. So,
so many.”

“BENNY.”

*****

When they arrived, the newlyweds received a
royal welcome. Benny used that opportunity to secure for his friends unlimited
access to the artifacts and whatever else they might need.

“Benny, if she mistreats you, just call us.
We’ll come to your rescue,” said Jax’x with mock seriousness.

“Just to be clear, does mistreat also include a
blatant refusal to fulfill any reasonable wish I might have?”

Egg shook her head. “You are incorrigible.”

“Nonsense. I am completely corrigible given the
proper motivation.”

“That’s it,” complained Serenity. “We’re out of
here.”

“Bye guys. Good luck.”

“Thanks Egg,” and Bree gave her a hug. She
turned to the Prince. “I would give you a hug also, but I don’t want the memory
to distract you from concentrating on my sister.”

“Too late,” replied the young man with a
licentious grin.

“BENNY.”

*****

They were ushered into a surprisingly large
room considering that it only housed the artifacts that had been unearthed.
There was a long table that could be used to examine the relics and an
impressive array of tools and analytical equipment.

“I hope you find this to your satisfaction,”
said the obsequious manager. Naturally, any friends of a crowned Prince were
guests to be treated royally. Just like on Earth.

“And we can analyze this stuff anyway we see
fit?” asked Skotti.

“Absolutely. Our staff anthropologist went as
far as she could with these objects and determined that they had no intrinsic
value. I only ask that you record your findings for our use if we choose to
follow up on your research. Anything you take from this room we would expect to
be returned before you left Bel’lanca. You may stay as long as you wish. We
have rooms for you, the dining room is open all day and night, and we can
arrange transportation to whatever archeological site you think you have found.
If there is anything else I or my staff can do, you need but ask.”

Bree shook the man’s hand. “I will tell the
Prince of your generous hospitality.”

The man smiled as if he had just won the
lottery. “You are too kind.” He nodded to the others and left, closing the door
behind him.

“Barf.”

“Come on Sparky, he’s just doing his job,”
chastised Skotti.

“Sorry.”

“Okay, let’s get started,” said Bree. “Why
don’t we all take a section of the storage units and start going through this
stuff. If you find anything of interest, just put it on the table.”

They agreed and for the better part of the morning,
they did just that.

“I’m beat,” declared the fleet engineer. “Let’s
get some food and some rest.”

Involuntarily, two of the girls looked at the
third. “He said rest, you old biddies,” snapped Sparky.

“Rest is a relative term,” responded Skotti
unhelpfully.

“I’m going to have to put you on a leash. Come on,
I’m starving too.”

*****

They returned after lunch and decided to stop
the sorting process and concentrate on what they had strewn on the table. It
was a sorry collection of twisted, broken and unidentifiable objects.

They quietly picked up each item to study. The
silence was broken by Skotti. “Look at this,” and he held out a piece of metal
with something embedded in it.

The girls gathered around. “What are we looking
at?”

“I don’t know what the metal is, but that
little pebble stuck in there – that looks like a piece of a meteor.”

Jax’x took the thing and looked closely. “I
found other pieces like that rock. Should I get them?”

“Just one for comparison,” replied Serenity.
Jax’x returned in a moment and gave it to the other girl.

“They look the same, that’s for sure.”

“Hang on a second,” and the young man found
what he was looking for amongst the instruments. “Let’s see,” and he touched
the rod to each object. It stuck. “We can do a further analysis but this magnet
is sticking to each of them. Meteors are usually hunks of iron. These are
almost definitely pieces of a meteorite.”

“Can we conclude that was the natural disaster
that did them in? This planet got bombarded by a meteor shower?” asked Bree.

“Until we find evidence to the contrary, I
think that’s a very reasonable theory.”

“That should be easy enough to prove,” claimed
the brilliant grump. She took out her communicator. “Ship, this is Serenity.
Please confirm.”

“Voice pattern confirmed.”

“Find the area on the map that was scanned and
enter a geosynchronous orbit above it.”

“Working.”

“This will take it a few minutes. Once it’s at
the right location, I’ll have it scan the area for meteor craters. That should
confirm our theory.”

“Rats. I should have thought of that.”

“Sorry, cat woman. What’s the score now?”

“Four – two.”

Before Skotti could ask, his girl said, “It’s
an ongoing competition.”

“And she’s got the four?”

“Shut up.”

“Orbit obtained,” came the voice over the
communicator.

“Scan the surface for signs of meteor impact
craters.”

“Working.”

“How many?”

“Three hundred and seventy-four confirmed. One
hundred and thirty-two probable’s.”

“Wow. They really took it on the chin,”
sympathized Skotti.

They went quiet as they considered what they
had just learned. “What if these people decided to go underground to avoid the
bombardment?” asked Jax’x.

“Could be. But they were winged beings. They
wouldn’t stay very long in such a confined environment if they had a choice,”
explained BreeZee.

Jax’x suggested, “That leaves three reasonable
possibilities. They died directly or indirectly from the meteor storm, they were
able to leave the planet altogether, or they are trapped underground and have
adapted.”

“If it’s the first or second alternatives, then
we might as well go home,” said Bree. “So, I think we should assume it’s the
third one – they’re down there and alive.”

“We’re still missing something,” complained
Bree. “They had space flight; why stay and risk death?”

That seemed to jar some thought in the chief
engineer. He went to the table and started to pick up each piece of mangled
artifacts. Eventually he stopped and said, “There’s your answer,” and he
pointed at the collection on the table.

Sparky was about to say something but Jax’x cut
her off. “They probably tried to use their ships to shield them from the
meteors. This is all that remains of their fleet.”

“I knew that.”

“Five - two.”

“You cheated . . . again.”

“Bree, are they always like this?”

“From day one. At first, it was amusing. Not so
much anymore,” but she grinned.

“Skotti, do you think those craft were manned
or just positioned to crash into the onslaught?”

“Actually, they might just have been on the
ground when the swarm hit. On the other hand, if I was trying to protect my
world and my people, I would order those ships be manned. I wouldn’t leave
anything to chance or to technology.” They all went silent; staring at what
remained of untold number of Sky’lords who may have perished trying to save
their love ones. “I’m going to tell that guy that these artifacts should be
given a proper burial. I’ll also mention it to Benny.”

Serenity gave her man a hand squeeze.

“Unless someone objects, there probably isn’t
anything else here of interest” suggested Jax’x.

Skotti said, “I’d like to see that sign they found
with the name Bel’lanca on it. Maybe there’s something there that might be
helpful.”

After Skotti left the room, the winged girl
said, “Hey, Serenity. He’s so nice.”

“Thanks, Bree. I think so too.”

“Don’t make a mess of it, you grumpy ghoul,” demanded
her friend.

“If either of you see me do something stupid,
stop me please.”

“You do realize that’s a full time job,” teased
the former Librarian.

“Shut up.”

*****

Skotti came back holding a rust-encrusted
rectangular object with writing on one side. “You’re not going to believe this,”
he blurted with obvious excitement. He held it up so the others could see.

Jax’x and Bree had no idea what they were
looking at. The writing on the plaque was indecipherable. Naturally, Sparky
did. “Galactic Standard. Are you kidding me?”

“What? What’s Galactic Standard?” asked Jax’x.

Skotti answered. “It was supposed to be the diplomatic
language of choice for all worlds in the Federation and, before that, the
Starlight Alliance. It never caught on except very briefly.”

“But how old is the language? How would the
Sky’lords know about it?”

“No one knows how it originated. Heck, maybe the
Sky’lords invented it. Point of fact, this isn’t quite the usual version of Galactic
Standard . . . but there’s a lot of similarity.”

“So what does Bel’lanca mean?”

Serenity studied it for a minute. “I can only
take a guess. I think it means ‘My Love’.”

“Why would there be a sign like that?”

Serenity shrugged.

On the other hand, Skotti who had been studying
the object with great intensity said, “I have an idea but I need to get back to
the ship first.”

Chapter 5
– The Sky’lords of Splendora

About Two Hundred Years Ago

“Fog?”

“What? Oh . . . here.”

“Too-Thin Min?”

“I’m standing right in front of you,”
she huffed.

“Min? Is that you Min?” That got
the rest to snickering.

“Kon’dor, you are so annoying.” But,
she reluctantly acquiesced with “Here.”

“Drowsy?”

The response was a loud yawn that
muffled whatever word she uttered.

“Scowl?”

“I hate that nickname.”

“Then try smiling once in a while; it
won’t hurt. Well . . . maybe just a little the first time. Feather?”

“Reporting for duty, sir.”

“That’s the spirit. Twist?”

“Sir. Yes, sir.”

“Your father told you to say that,
didn’t he?”

“Sir. Yes, sir.”

“Crash?”

“All body parts accounted for . . .
and most are functional.”

“That’s a first. And that takes us
to last . . .  but certainly not least, T.K.?” The boy was the youngest
and the smallest of the group. His wings had only reached full maturation in
the past few months. The others just referred to him as The Kid – or T.K. for
short.

“How come you always call my name
last?”

“It’s a Sky’lord tradition. We
always save the best for last.”

“Really?”

“He’s messing with you, runt,” said
Feather. She was his older sister.

“Oh.”

Actually, brother and sister were
the two best flyers of the group but Kon’dor kept that to himself. He was their
flight instructor and was teaching them all they needed to know to become masters
of the sky. Those lessons were about to come to an end. Today, they would all
go to the Sanctum of Reverie – passing into the Reverie Glass to begin
their final test.

*****

The Sky’lords had built five edifices
– each serving a core belief of, or a societal need for, the people of
Splendora.

The Temple of Appreciation was
a house of worship. It was the place to contemplate one’s life and give
thanks for all the gifts for which the individual had received. It was also the
place to plead your case for those desires that had yet to be fulfilled.

The Gateway to Perpetual
Tomorrows was where all births and marriages were attended to.

The Sanctuary of Everlasting
Yesterdays administered to the needs of the terminally ill and the very old.
It was a place to celebrate all that these individuals had accomplished, to
relive those experiences that were most precious to them, and to ease their
journey into the Unknowable Beyond.

The Archive of Achievement
housed a wide array of artifacts and documents considered milestones in the
evolution of Sky’lord society.

And then there was the Sanctum of
Reverie, which housed the Reverie Glass, where an individual would
lose themselves in an alternate dream reality woven from the fabric of their subconscious
mind’s own desires or fears. Each person’s inviolable experience was unique
unto themselves and seldom did a visit provide the same challenges or pleasures
as the previous one.

The Reverie Glass was not of Splendora;
it had been discovered fifty years before in the ruins of a nameless civilization
on a distant planet. Why it had been created was not known.

Serendipitously, it came with an
owner’s manual. To be more precise, it was a very thick treatise – probably
written by the scientists who invented it – that had also been recovered from
the rubble. The bad news was that it was written in a language unknown to the
Sky’lords (hundreds of years later it would be referred to as Galactic Standard).
It took many years to decipher just a small portion of it. However, the snippet
of science that it did reveal was so advanced that it was never completely understood.

Besides the alternate reality that
it created, there were two other aspects that were incomprehensible –
intellectually and emotionally unfathomable - to Sky’lord scientists.

First, once inside the Glass, time
ceased to flow. It wasn’t suspended animation as we might assume. The Glass
literally stopped the River of Time for anyone in it.

Even more inexplicable, one did
not pass through the Reverie Glass – one entered into it. There was ‘no other
side’.

*****

Through trial and error, it took
more than ten years for the Sky’lord scientists to figure out how the Glass
actually functioned. After another five years to refine that knowledge, it was
ultimately decided to gift this strange and wondrous device to the people. It
didn’t take long before the Reverie Glass became an integral part of Sky’lord
culture. Because of its popularity, it became obvious that access had to be
limited because of the sheer number of individuals requesting to use it.

Highest priority was eventually
given to two groups. First, the terminally ill (whether from disease or old
age) were allowed to use the ‘highest pleasure settings’ of the Glass to make
their final time in this world as enjoyable as possible.

Fittingly, the other group was the young
Sky’lords who were about to ‘earn their wings’ – a rite of passage from
childhood to young adult – by experiencing the challenge settings of the Glass
(though at a low intensity level).

“First, I want to congratulate you
all for making it to the final test. As you know, we will be entering the
Reverie Glass on each of the next five days. The degree of difficulty in each
challenge will be greater than the day before. However, . . .” and he drew that
out. “It really isn’t that difficult. You’ll face situations that you now have
the training to handle. You all have the mental and physical skills and I
expect that you will actually be disappointed that it wasn’t as hard as you had
imagined.”

“How did you survive?” asked Twist.

“I presume you’re referring to
level nine?” Of course they were – the kids always did.

The Glass had positive and negative
settings depending on whether you were looking for pleasure or a challenge. The
scale for each went from one to ten.

These young people would test on
the lowest five levels of difficulty. The higher settings were exponentially
more dangerous. No one had ever survived above a setting of eight . . . except
Kon’dor himself who had made it – though just barely – through level nine.

His question was answered by a
chorus of “Yes’s.”

“It’s actually pretty simple.
Concentrate on the challenge in front of you while ignoring the consequences of
failure. Let your mind find the resolution to the problem and trust your body
to react as required.”

The kids were silent as they
‘chewed’ on that answer. A few moments later TK asked the question that they
were all thinking. “What does that even mean?”

“Feather, answer your brother.”

She was about to argue that she
didn’t know – but instead she applied some of her extraordinary brainpower to
the question. “Fear is too powerful an emotion – it stops you from thinking
clearly.  If you’re worried about the price you pay for failure, then you’re
not thinking about the solution.”

All of them looked at Kon’dor who
nodded approvingly. “Exactly.”

Too-thin Min wasn’t buying it.
“Then why didn’t you get to level ten?”

Kon’dor laughed. “First, not all
problems have an obvious answer. Second, you need to recognize when a problem
is greater than your personal ability to resolve. And third, there may come a
time when fear wins out. When that happens, turn around and get the heck away.
As L’elle would say – it’s better to live to fight another day then to die for
a lost cause.” L’elle was his girlfriend and also a flight instructor – but for
the Sky’lord space force.

“So were you scared?” asked Twist
semi-sarcastically.

“I actually wet myself,” he replied
with a dead-serious straight face.

They all reacted the same – eyes
went wide, mouth flopping open. Then he smiled and they all laughed at the
absurdity of that statement. Kon’dor was the bravest Sky’lord ever . . . a
living legend.

“Okay. Has anyone ever been in the
Glass?”

They looked from one to another –
each shaking their head no. That wasn’t unusual.

“So let me tell you how this is going to work. The Glass will use
each of your individual fears to create an alternate reality specifically for
you. I will set the intensity control,” and he pointed to the device around his
neck, “to one.”

“And you’re going to have the Proctor Pendant I hope?” asked
Feather. This was a device created by Sky’lord scientists that served multiple
purposes. First, the Glass would not create an alternate reality for the
wearer. Instead, it would allow the individual to share what another was
experiencing if they wore the paired Apprentice Bracelet. It also allowed the
wearer to communicate outside the Glass in case of unforeseen emergencies.

“Of course, and he reached into a pocket and pulled out . . .

Since it was already programmed for Kon’dor, his image was
captured in the device. On the flip side was the interface to the complicated
technology. It also had one other feature – it showed how much time had elapsed
outside the Glass.

“Okay, any more questions?”

“Kon’dor?”

“Yes, Fog?”

“How long is each test?”

“As long as it takes. But remember
– and this is very important – to voluntarily exit the Glass, all you need
to do is picture yourself leaving. Don’t do that unless I tell you it is
okay otherwise I’ll have to send you back in. Anything else?” There were no
more questions – just a lot of nervous fidgeting. “Okay then, let’s get into
formation and follow me.” They did . . . and he flapped his beautiful pink
wings and took to the sky.

*****

HQ, Space Command

She entered the conference room,
which was filled with both military and civilian personnel. At the far end of
the large table sat the man in charge of Space Command.

“Prime Kommander, I am . . .”

“I know who you are, Captain. Get on
with it.” The man was all business and very brusque. He was also adored by
everyone who served under him. The fact that he knew L’elle came as no
surprise. He made it his business to know.

“Yes, sir. My squadron was on a
training patrol in the Ty’con Expanse. We were returning via the Tor’tuka
Sluice . . .”

The Prime Kommander interrupted.
“Who gave you permission to enter the Sluice with a squadron of untrained
pilots?” It was asked politely – but his eyes belied his feelings. The Tor’tuka
Sluice was a notorious section of space filled with black holes, dark matter
and gamma ray bursts from dying stars. No one in their right mind would take
that route if for no other reason than it was under strict quarantine from Space
Command.

“Permission to speak freely, sir?”

“Granted.”

“First, my squadron is well trained and this was their final
mission before being certified as flight ready. Second . . .” and she
hesitated. “I felt a disturbance” (but not in the force, after all she wasn’t a
Jedi).

L’elle had a reputation for these
unscientific feelings – disturbances, as she liked to refer to them. They were
inexplicable, and just like Egg’s goosebumps, they were never wrong. Her
commanding officers had long ago stopped trying to second-guess her. In fact,
they had given her written orders allowing her to follow up on these feelings
even if it meant violating previously issued orders.

The Kommander was well aware of
this strange ability and had to suppress a smile. “I see. Continue.”

“Sir. About an hour into the Expanse,
we came across a swarm of meteors. To be more precise, they appeared to be
meteors. A visual and spectral analysis confirmed that they conformed to
lifeless space rocks. That is until they altered course to avoid a mini black
hole.”

“I believe you have a photograph?”

“Sir,” and she handed him a document.

The man examined it closely then slid it along the tabletop to one
of his assistants. “Continue.”

“When the swarm altered course, it
became obvious that they weren’t what they appeared to be. I sent out a probe
that landed on the closest one. The telemetry it sent back indicated that it
was hollow. There was also a distinct electromagnetic radiation signature that
was artificially produced, indicating a not too advanced propulsion system.
However, no life signs could be detected.”

“Then you left to return to
Splendora?” It was almost an accusation.

“No Sir. We followed for another
day to observe their behavior. Nothing out of the ordinary happened. I launched
another probe to keep pace with the swarm and to send back any anomalous
readings. We then headed for home at high warp to report our findings.  While
we were in transit, the swarm altered course a second time to avoid a gamma ray
burst . . . but like the first maneuver, it soon returned to its original
heading.”

“Which is?”

“Splendora.”

“How long before they rendezvous
with us?”

“They do not seem capable of high
warp. At their present speed, approximately five days”.

“Recommendations?” It was a signature
question from the Prime Kommander. He wanted his people to think for themselves
and to feel comfortable expressing those thoughts. He also wanted input from
‘foot soldiers’ so to speak and not just from his experts. Sometimes the
‘little guy’ had pretty good ideas.

“Intercept them in deep space and
attempt to make contact. If that fails, endeavor to board one. We should assume
they’re hostile and be prepared to destroy them if necessary.”

“If they are hostile, why didn’t they
fire on your squadron?”

She hesitated, took a deep breath
then said, “The most likely answer is that they either have no weapons or
didn’t perceive us as a threat.”

“You seem to be contradicting
yourself, Captain.” He sensed that she had more to say but wasn’t sure how it
would be received. “I value whatever theory . . . or feelings . . . that you
have.” Her reputation was impeccable.

“Thank you, Sir. My instincts tell
me that these rocks are not ships in the conventional sense. They are more akin
to seedpods. Even though they have their own power and guidance system, that is
a secondary function. Every fiber of my being is screaming danger. If we do
nothing, this will be an extinction-level event for our people.”

And with that outlandish statement,
the rigid decorum of a military meeting dissolved into a cacophony of excited
babble.

The Kommander cleared his throat
loudly and the room immediately fell silent. “That’s quite a leap of logic.”

“With respect, logic has nothing to
do with my conclusion. Perhaps you are unaware that when I get a premonition of
trouble, I can also get an equal but opposite feeling if I . . . if I stumble
across a solution.” She was being modest.

“I am aware.”

“Yes, Sir. Destroying these objects
in deep space is the only scenario out of hundreds that I considered that gave
me that feeling. The sense of urgency I felt leads me to believe that our
people will pay a heavy price should we fail.”

“I take it that you have never
experienced anything of this magnitude in the past?”

“Not even remotely.”

“Anything else you wish to offer
this committee?”

“If we assume that these space
rocks took a direct route from their point of origin to Splendora and
extrapolate that backwards through the Tor’tuka Sluice, they would have originated
from Pri’ori Minor.  As you are aware, that is the star system where the
Reverie Glass was found.”

This time the Prime Kommander
couldn’t resist a smile. None of his experts had uncovered that incredibly
important fact. “Are you assuming that this swarm also destroyed that world? If
so, why?”

“I do believe that. They were
probably trying to recover the Glass which was theirs to begin with, or they
knew of it, found it dangerous and wanted it destroyed.” Again, the silence was
broken by a wave of murmurs.

The Kommander raised a hand for
silence. “I will take your analysis and recommendations under advisement.
However, since time may be of the essence, please get with Tactical and devise
a battle plan. They are expecting you . . . Tertiary Kommander.”

“Sir?”

“You have been awarded a field
promotion. Congratulations.”

L’elle realized her mouth was
hanging open and she forced herself to close it. “Thank you, Sir.”

“My compliments to you and your
squadron on a job well done. You are dismissed.”

“Sir.”

Chapter 6
– The Reverie Glass

To accomplish all that it did, the Reverie Glass required massive
power. Whatever the source used on that distant planet was never determined. So
one ingenious scientist came up with a unique solution. It was cleverly known
as One Eye Peek . . . an enormous magnetic lens built
inside the throat of an extinct volcano. It captured atmospheric radiation,
amplified it millions of times and transmitted it through now defunct lava
tubes to the Sanctum of Reverie. What gave it the appearance of an eye was the metal
iris that could be opened and closed to moderate the amount of power the lens
produced. In fact, the only way to turn off the power to the Glass was to close
the iris completely.

Kon’dor and his class landed on the volcanic rim. “Before we go
down, I wanted all of you to get the chance to see the power source.” He waited
while they all leaned over to get a good look. “So, tell me what are we looking
at? Anyone?”

TK answered. “It’s a magnetic lens
that amplifies ambient atmospheric radiation.”

“Correct. Why is it black?”

Fog replied, “Any other color would
reflect more energy than it absorbed.”

“Very good. Does anyone know what
would happen if you were inside the Glass and the power was turned off?”

“Trick question,” responded Drowsy
with a yawn.

“You really need to get more sleep,”
teased Kon’dor. “So why is it a trick question?”

“First, the Glass would eventually
spit you out if the power got too low, which could take weeks even if the iris
was closed. However, once the external power was cut, the Glass could be moved.
If you were inside, you’d go with it.”

“Well done. But why can’t the Glass
be moved when the power is on?”

And now back to TK. “It bonds with
the specific space-time continuum that it’s located in when it was powered up.
And before you ask, no one has any idea why.”

“Not quite true. There are lots of
ideas – none of which can be proved or disproved.”

“Hey big guy.”

Kon’dor smiled. “Yes, Scowl?”

“What would happen if the lens
broke?”

“It’s as close to indestructible as
it can be . . . and that’s due to the magnetic field it creates. Any more
questions?”

The kids looked from one to
another, but they each shook their heads no.

“Okay then. Follow me,” and he
leapt skyward once again.

*****

HQ, Space Command,
Tactical Division

“Captain L’elle reporting as
ordered, Sub-Kommander.”

The woman smiled. “I believe your
rank is Tertiary Kommander.”

L’elle blushed slightly. “Begging
your pardon, Ma’am. It hasn’t quite sunk in yet.”

“Understandable . . . but the
promotion is both overdue and well deserved. Let’s join the others in the
situation room and you can bring everyone up to speed.” They walked out of the
office, down the hall and entered a large conference room. In the middle was a
holographic display of Splendora and the surrounding space. Perhaps fifty
military personnel of varying rank stood around it.

After L’elle told her story, and
answered what questions she could, the Sub-Kommander asked her to suggest a
course of action. “As I see it, first and foremost, we need to find a way to
communicate with these aliens to determine their intent. We can try hailing
them or if that is unsuccessful, boarding them. However, if that fails, we can
try forcing them to deviate from their course until they have passed Splendora
and are no longer a potential threat.

Until we determine their
intentions, we cannot blast them to oblivion – even if we had the firepower
(the Splendora fleet was for exploration and scientific discovery with only
modest defensive weapons). If they show no hostility, then we have no moral
right to open fire.

“Finally, I ask you to remember
that our ships are significantly faster than theirs. It is our best chance at a
last stand.”

“Explain,” demanded her superior
officer.

“If we can’t determine their intent
or if our weapons are inadequate to destroy them, then to save the population,
we would have to break off from the swarm and return to orbit above the planet.
We would then create an impenetrable wall of ships that would block the swarm
from invading Splendora.”

“Our ships would never survive a
collision with these space rocks.”

“No, ma’am. Nor would theirs with
ours.”

*****

The Sanctum of Reverie was located
at the base of the volcano. The entrance was only accessible over a naturally
occurring span of rocks crossing a gulley cut by a fast moving river named the
Dream Chaser. It was created by the ever-melting snows of the surrounding mountains.

Since the winds were funneled and compressed by the sheer rock
cliffs, they could be fierce and unpredictable. For safety sake, the Sky’lords
would land on the far side of the bridge and walk across.

Then again, there was always someone stupid enough to risk flying
directly to the entrance to the Sanctum.

Kon’dor landed where he should and
waited for his wards to do the same. They all did . . . except for Crash who
decided to challenge the winds and land on the wrong side of the span. Everyone
gasped when a strong gust knocked him into the side of the mountain and he slid
maybe twenty feet to the surface of the bridge. A moment later, he jumped up
and waved to the others.

“I can’t even imagine what the
Glass can find that would scare him,” said Feather. “He’s as fearless as they
come.” She would never admit that she was attracted to the crazy daredevil.

“There’s a fine line between
fearless and foolish,” said Kon’dor. “Anyway, now you all know why we land here
and not there. Come on; let’s join him before he does something even more
stupid.” They jogged across the bridge and met up with the other boy. “You
okay?”

“Nothing broken.”

“If you do that again, I’ll break
something. Understand?”

“Yes sir.”

Kon’dor ruffled the boy’s hair, bent his head close and whispered,
“Next time flatten your wings to reduce lift.” The boy was about to respond but
the older man winked then shook his head no. To the group he said, “Welcome to
the Sanctum of Reverie.” He stepped aside and the eight young Sky’lords entered
into a well-lit, massively large, crystal encrusted, domed cavern. Even more
impressive were the enormous stalactites and stalagmites, which towered over
them like silent sentinels. And to a person, they were awed.

They continued to stare with eyes wide all the while whispering
excitedly. It was one thing to see this wonder in pictures . . . it was
entirely different to experience it firsthand (much like the Grand Canyon or
the Great Wall of China back on Earth).

After a few minutes, TK, being the
youngest, became bored and impatient. “So where is the Glass?”

“Down this path and through that
opening over there. Come on, let’s go see.”

They followed the man and entered the dark, yawning mouth of the
smaller cave. Once inside, the only thing visible, illuminated by its own eerie
green light, was the arch holding the Reverie Glass . . .

. . . And the kids fell reverentially silent.

*****

HQ, Space Command

L’elle addressed the Prime
Kommander and his staff. It had been obvious to the Sub Kommander at Tactical
that this young woman had a superior grasp of the situation and should be given
the opportunity to discuss her thoughts with the powers that be. “We need to
intercept the swarm as soon as possible. Should we be unable to ascertain that
their intentions are peaceful or to stop them if they are hostile, we will need
at least three days to evacuate the populace to the Reverie Glass.”

That was a course of action that no
one had ever considered. “Make your case, Tertiary Kommander.”

“We have no standing army to defend
the population. Our ships are lightly armed with defensive weapons, which will
most likely prove incapable of stopping the swarm. We would then have two
choices for our fleet. We could fall back around Splendora and use the ships as
a passive defense by allowing them to intercept the enemy and hope for mutual
destruction. Or we could allow the enemy to land and disembark from their
ships. Then we might be able to destroy them on the ground. However, failure in
either case seems very high, leaving the population exposed to harm.”

“Are you suggesting I order our
ships into a suicide mission?”

“I am simply offering
alternatives.”

“Tell me about the Glass?”

“Once the population is inside, we
can create a landslide to bury the entrance. The enemy will not be able to
reach them.”

“There are two emergency entrances,”
he reminded her.

“They are so hidden and so hard to
navigate that I am confident the enemy would never be able to access the Glass
that way.”

“And the lens? If it’s destroyed,
everyone in the Glass would be expelled.”

“May I remind you, Sir, that the
lens is for all intent and purpose indestructible. We only need to jam the iris
in the open position to insure continuous power.”

“In this scenario someone would
have to volunteer to stay behind to ensure that the entrance and the iris have
been rendered inoperable.”

“Yes, sir”. She unwittingly licked
her lips that had gone dry. “I volunteer.”

“You would not survive.”

“There’s a chance I could make it
to an emergency tunnel and join the rest of you.”

That chance was one in a million –
if that good.”

“I will consider your
recommendations. Let’s hope we can make contact with these aliens so none of
this comes to pass. In the meantime, ready the fleet. Be prepared to leave at
midnight.”

“Sir, we shouldn’t wait that long.”

“Perhaps. But every pilot deserves
the opportunity to spend a few hours with their family.” What he didn’t say was
that the chance of them surviving a battle was not great.

“Yes, Sir. As to the population?”

“There is only one individual I
trust with that assignment.” He didn’t say who.

But she knew very well who he
meant.

*****

The Reverie Glass

“Okay, I will double check to
ensure that the intensity control is set to one,” and Kon’dor took the device
off and did just that. “Now it gets placed in this receptacle,” and he set it
in its niche on the right side of the arch. “We’re ready. When you step
through, you’ll feel disoriented, as everything will go completely black for a
moment. Then, you’ll be in a reality created by one of your own fears. Face it,
conquer it and I’ll send you back out. You’re free to fly home at that point.
And . . . I do mean home. Understand?”

They mumbled in the affirmative.

“Okay. TK since you’re always last,
you get to go first. Here, put on the Bracelet,” and he handed the device to
the young boy.

“Awesome,” and he fumbled trying to put it on. Feather reached
over and helped. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. Do well.”

He rolled his eyes but said nothing.
“Ready.”

“Let’s go,”
and Kon’dor and his young student stepped through the Glass and disappeared.

*****

The blackness was shockingly sudden, all-encompassing and as suffocating
as being submerged in thick tar. TK would have panicked but it was over just as
quickly as it had begun. Replacing it was a weird scene – something out of a teenager’s
comic book . . .

Kon’dor always found these fascinating. It was a glimpse inside
the mind of another person. As he took in the scene, he tried to make a sense
of what TK was fearful about. There was a bizarre looking monster approaching a
young girl. Obviously – at least he thought – TK must be afraid the girl would
be hurt if he didn’t save her. All in all, not much stranger than most of the
other dreamscapes he had observed. However, at a setting of one, coming face to
face with such a large foe was not typical. He glanced at the boy to see how he
was reacting.

TK blushed . . . then groaned.
Since he seemed frozen in place, Kon’dor gently encouraged him, “Go. Stop the
monster and save the girl.”

“I . . . um, I don’t know how.”

“To what?”

“Um . . . you know . . . to kiss
her.”

“What?”

“If I save her, she’ll want to kiss
me. I don’t know how. I’ve never kissed a girl before.”

Kon’dor put his hand over his mouth
to cover a smile and to stifle a laugh that was threatening to come out. “It’s
actually very easy. Just press your lips against hers.”

“That’s all?”

“For now. Any advanced techniques
will come with practice. Now I suggest you go before that monster gets any
closer.”

TK exhaled then nodded.

*****

They both exited the Glass a few
minutes later. TK was smiling so the rest of the kids knew it had gone well.
“What happened?” asked his sister.

“Oh, just stuff,” replied her brother.

The others turned to Kon’dor –
waiting for more details. Since there was an ethical, if unwritten, rule that
what went on inside the Glass stayed inside the Glass, the man had to get TK’s
permission. “Can I give them a taste?” He winked at the boy.

“I guess.”

“TK had to save a damsel in
distress from a monster that stood about two hundred feet tall. Ugly thing. I
am happy to report that the girl is well but the colossus is not. And that’s
all I can say.”

The others turned as one to look at
the youngster with a new appreciation. “Nice going, runt,” said his sister
approvingly. The boy beamed with pride.

“TK, stay here and wait for your
sister. Feather, put on the bracelet.”

*****

Kon’dor finished with his students
and was about to leave the Sanctum when his communicator buzzed. It was L’elle.
“Hi. You’re back early.” He wasn’t expecting her for another couple of days.

“Did you finish with your class?”

“Just now. I was headed home. Do
you want to join me for dinner?”

“Actually, I want to meet you there.”

“There as in here – at the Glass?”

“Yes.”

“What’s wrong?”

“What makes you think somethings
wrong?”

“L’elle.”

Though he couldn’t see it, the
young woman smiled. “We’ll talk when I get there. Ten minutes.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

*****

He was waiting at the entrance by
the bridge when his love arrived. Like him, she had no problem in landing on
the wrong side of the ravine. She touched down as gently – as gracefully – as a
butterfly. Then she fell into his arms and they kissed.

Now he was even more worried. “What’s
going on?”

“Not here. Let’s go inside the
Glass.”

The hairs on the nape of his neck
were now sticking out. But he said nothing. He just nodded and took her hand
and led her deep into the cave.

At the Glass he said, “I’ll set it
to a pleasure setting of eight.” Higher settings were dangerously addictive and
were avoided unless the person was near death.

“No. Set it to one.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” She sounded so sad.

“Alright.” He pulled out the
bracelet and put it on her wrist. “Ready?”

She forced a smile to her lips and
nodded. Together they walked through the arch.

Chapter 7 - Aliens

Inside the Reverie
Glass

It was a few minutes before sunset on a beautiful evening. The
tops of the distant mountain range glowed a spectacular reddish orange as they
reflected the last of the sun’s rays.

Kon’dor and L’elle sat on a rock outcropping, hand in hand, as
they enjoyed one of Splendora’s most exhilarating sights. Of course, it wasn’t
the real mountains. At a pleasure setting of one, a person could almost
guarantee that the Glass would provide a dreamscape that was near and dear to
their heart. Ever since they fell in love, this was one such place where the
couple had spent many happy hours.

After a bit, Kon’dor asked, “What’s
wrong? Something happen on the mission?”

She squeezed his hand – her way of
thanking him for giving her a few minutes to enjoy the moment. “We encountered
a swarm of meteors. Assuming no change in speed and trajectory, it’s on a
collision course with Splendora.”

He stared at her for a moment. “What
aren’t you telling me?” A meteor shower was hardly newsworthy.

“Hmmm,” she mewed provocatively as if she was giving the question
serious consideration. “Oh, I know. I didn’t tell you how handsome you look tonight
my precious pink Kon’dee (her very private nickname for him). Very, very
manly. Did you do something special with your hair or your wings?” She was
trying to make these last moments together as memorable as she could (all
things considered).

“Just remember, you brought this on yourself.”

“What are you talking about?”

His answer was to grab her and
squeeze her close to his body. His lips found hers and, except for an urgent
need for air after about two minutes, it might have lasted till well past
sunset.

“Okay, okay. You win,” and she
gently pushed him away – but not too far. “They’re behaving unusually.”

“They who?”

“The swarm of meteors.”

“How so?”

“They made a course correction to
avoid a small black hole. Once clear of its gravitational well, the swarm
resumed its original heading.”

“Really? Obviously they can’t be meteors.”

“That’s the strange part.
Spectrographic analysis is consistent with your common variety space rock . . .
mostly iron. However, they’re hollow.”

“How is that possible?”

“Lots of theories to choose from .
. . each more farfetched than the last.”

Kon’dor was as smart as he was
brave. “You think they’re spacecraft?”

“Yes,” she conceded.

“So Command wants you to go back
and intercept them. Make contact and find out their intentions. If they’re
hostile, try to destroy them. However, with only defensive weapons, that won’t
go well.”

She bent over and kissed him again.
“Brains and beauty – you’re the whole package.”

He would have laughed . . . but
there were tears in L’elle’s eyes. “Just tell me the rest.”

“If it doesn’t go well, we’re to
return to Splendora. The Prime Kommander wants you to organize the evacuation
of our entire population into the Reverie Glass. The fleet will provide as much
protection as we can. Then, we’ve been ordered to land and join the rest of
you.”

He went quiet as he tried to digest
what he had just heard. Obviously, such a threat – and such a response – was
unprecedented in Sky’lord history. “So if we can’t defeat them, we’re to hide
inside the Glass until the threat is gone. Makes sense – unless these aliens
realize that cutting the power to the Glass would eject all of us. How is
Command going to safeguard against that happening?”

“The mechanism that controls the
iris will be destroyed. But we’ll wait as long as we can before we do that. The
damage would take a long time to repair. Until we figure out what the aliens
want, it may be a wasted effort. The same is true for the entrance into the
Sanctum. We’ll destroy it at the last minute to keep the invaders out.”

“Okay. Seems pretty
straightforward.”

“I had recommended that the fleet
take up orbit around the planet as a last resort. We would collide with the
meteors and try to destroy them that way.”

“Are you crazy? Those meteors would
tear through our ships and never even slow down.”

She managed a small smile. “So I’ve
been told. However, I’ve been given three unmanned ships that I can position in
front of one. They’ll be programmed to fire their weapons as long as they can.
If that does nothing, then we’ll see what happens when they collide with the
thing.”

He again went silent because something
she said seemed odd. She still wasn’t telling him something. Whatever it was;
it wasn’t going to be good. Then it came to him. “NO,” he shouted. “I won’t
allow you to do that. I’ll do it.” If she was controlling those ships, it meant
that she would be the last Sky’lord in orbit. And that meant her primary job
was to ensure that the entrance and iris were rendered inoperable.

Yet again, she bent over, took his
face in her hands and gently kissed him. “It’s my job.”

“L’elle, there is no way I’m going
let you stay behind to ensure that the entrance and the iris are secured.”

“We’re not going to blow the two
emergency tunnels. Those lava tube systems are so extensive, no one will ever
find their way to the Glass. After I’m sure that the entrance is sealed and the
iris can’t be closed, I’ll make my way to one of them.”

“Even if I would consider letting
you do this, it still won’t work. They could easily follow your ship’s
emissions.”

“I’ll set the automatic pilot and
program it to land in the southern hemisphere. It may be the only ship that
survives. We can recall it if and when the danger passes. Meanwhile, I’ll eject
and wing it to the emergency tunnel. They won’t be able to follow me.”

“Still too dangerous. And, there’s
absolutely no reason that I can’t do it.”

She smiled. “Think you’re sending a
woman to do a man’s job?”

He didn’t return the smile. “No. I
think I’m sending the love of my life on a fool’s errand.”

*****

“Hail them,” commanded L’elle.

A moment later, “No response.”

“Cycle through every known
frequency”.

“Yes ma’am.”

Ten minutes later, “Nothing. No
response.”

“Launch the probe.”

“Probe launched. Approaching the
large rock directly ahead.”

“When it lands, initiate drilling
sequence.”

“Yes . . . wait. The probe hit some
kind of force field. It’s been rendered inoperative. I guess we can confirm
that these rocks are manned.”

“Not necessarily. Could be an
automated defense system. However, it does mean that they are ships. Let’s see
what happens when I put us directly in their path. If they’re manned, they
probably won’t rely on their shields. They’ll either take evasive maneuvers or
shoot us out of the sky.”

For a moment, her co-pilot forgot
himself. “L’elle, are you crazy?”

“Playing one of my hunches. If I’m
right, it will just veer off to avoid a collision then resume its course.”

“And if you’re wrong?”

“Good question.” She flicked on her
radio. “To all ships, I’m taking us in front of that first meteor. If they
don’t veer off, I’m ordering all of you to return home at full throttle. When
you get within communications range, tell Command to initiate the evacuation
plan.”

“L’elle.” It was one of her
lieutenants. He was going to volunteer to do what his commander and friend was
about to do.

“Forget it, fly boy. I appreciate
the gesture.”

“Kon’dor will kill me if anything
happens to you.” He was only partially kidding.

L’elle smiled. “Yeah, you’re
probably right. Might want to avoid him for a few years.”

A barking laugh came over the
radio. “Thanks a lot. Good luck.”

*****

“Command.”

“This is Command.”

“We can confirm that the meteors
are manned ships. All radio communication efforts failed so we cannot confirm
their intent. Attempt to divert their course proved ineffective. The maneuver
did, however, cause their lead ship to emit a random series of light bursts. Purpose
unknown. Recommend immediate implementation of evacuation plans.”

“Understood. Did you sustain any
casualties?”

“No,” responded L’elle. “All ships
returning to base. We are about a day out. The swarm is about a half day behind
us.”

“Thank you, Tertiary Kommander.
Upon entering orbit, contact us for further instructions.”

“Yes Sir.”

*****

While L’elle was on-route to meet
the meteor swarm, Kon’dor began to plan for the evacuation of the populace
should that become necessary. His first order of business was to meet with a
select group of lead scientists from the University, the Medicus General from
the League of Medical Practitioners and the Arch Patriarch of the Temple of
Appreciation, who was the closest thing to a religious leader that the
Sky’lords had.

“Thank you all for coming. You have
been briefed on the situation that we face as well as the decision to evacuate
to the Reverie Glass as a plan of last resort. What I need from this assembled
group is just one thing – a consensus on what intensity level I should set for
the Glass. Remember, we have no idea how long we will stay inside. So I open
the discussion for anyone who has an opinion.”

They all did.

The Arch Patriarch suggested a
negative setting of three. Her rational was it would make the populace that
much more appreciative of all that they had once the emergency had passed. It
could also serve as penance for any sins that each individual may have committed.
No one else agreed.

The Medicus General wanted a high
pleasure setting to offset the emotional strain of being invaded and the
uncertainty of their stay inside the Glass.

Those from the University agreed
with the chief doctor’s rationale but thought a mildly positive setting would
be most appropriate – a setting high enough to offset the strain but not high
enough to cause addiction or permanent behavioral changes.

Kon’dor agreed with this group and,
by a show of hands, a pleasure setting of two was agreed upon.

*****

Since he was in charge, Kon’dor
took it upon himself to begin moving two groups – those from the Gateway to Perpetual
Tomorrows and the Sanctuary of Everlasting Yesterdays – who would be
the most difficult to relocate. He didn’t want anything to slow down the
evacuation of the bulk of the Sky’lords. It might prove unnecessary but he
could not take that chance. Those involved were actually thankful that he
allowed them the extra time.

In lieu of the remaining four trips
to the Reverie Glass, he asked the eight young people from his class to help
out.

“Does this mean we graduated?”
asked TK.

“With flying colors”.

“Lame.”

*****

Next on his to-do list was the Archive
of Achievement. It needed to be protected for two reasons. First, it held
proof of the accomplishments of the Sky’lord race. And second, it might contain
information that the enemy could use either against his own people or against
other races.

Like the Sanctum of Reverie, the
Archive utilized the ancient cave system created by yet another extinct (and
adjacent) volcano. The amount of available space to grow the Archive was
virtually limitless and it could tap into the same power source as the Reverie
Glass. Since all the artifacts within this museum were functional, some
required enormous power to work. It was also virtually impervious to all
natural disasters. As it turned out, it would prove equally invulnerable to
alien invasion.

But there was only one way to
ensure that. After a brief discussion with the Chief Archivist, it was agreed
that he would seal the massive door to the entrance of the cave. With the help
of a contingent of the Space Corp to assist, they would divert the adjacent
tributary into the natural basin where the entrance was located. They had some
experience with this since it had a propensity to overflow in late spring. Once
flooded, the entrance would be virtually invisible and totally inaccessible.

*****

“Command.”

“This is Command.”

“We are now in geo-synchronous
orbit above the population center. Awaiting your instructions?”

“Tertiary Kommander, have your
fleet return to the surface. Upon landing, they should proceed directly to the
Reverie Glass to join their families.”

“Yes sir.”

“You will use the emergency
ejection system so your co-pilot can do the same.”

“L’elle, I’m staying with you. Tell
them.”

She ignored the young man. He was
married and had an unseemly number of children. “Yes sir.”

“Kommander L’elle,” said the voice
filled with both admiration and sadness. “You will remain in orbit. This
facility will be closed. Your only point of contact will be Citizen Kon’dor. After
you confirm that the swarm is indeed landing and you make visual contact with
the occupants, you will relay that information to him. He will detonate the charges
for the entrance and the iris. Once you are certain that both have been
rendered inoperable, you will make haste to one of the emergency tunnels and
join the others at the Glass. Do you understand?”

“Yes sir.”

“If either detonation fails, you
will use your weapons to finish the job.”

“Yes sir.”

“L’elle, you will not – I repeat
will not – try to engage the enemy. Please acknowledge.”

“Understood.”

There was a moment of static filled
silence. “On behalf of all Sky’lords, we thank you for your service. Good luck,
Kommander.”

“And to you, Sir.”

*****

It began to rain fire. Hundreds of manned meteors hit the upper atmosphere
and began to glow cherry red. L’elle watched with morbid fascination hoping
against hope that they would simply burn up.

They didn’t.

“L’elle . . . L’elle what’s going
on?” It was a very worried Kon’dor.

“They’re here. What’s really weird
is that they aren’t slowing down. I can’t imagine how they expect to survive
impact.”

“Maybe they don’t. Maybe their
mission is to sacrifice themselves to annihilate us.”

“Why?”

“Somehow they perceive us as a
threat.”

L’elle had another thought. “Kon’dor,
while I waited for their arrival, I had one of my feelings.”

The man gritted his teeth –
expecting the worst. “Tell me.”

“Based on their speed, it appears
that they left their point of origin at the about the time our people recovered
the Reverie Glass.”

“That can’t be a coincidence. Are
you thinking that it’s the Glass they’re trying to destroy? Maybe we’re using
it wrong. Maybe it was a weapon that threatened the existence of these aliens.
Now they want it wiped out of existence.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“So if we destroy it, maybe they’ll
leave us alone.”

“Or maybe they’ll think we now have
the technology and could build another one.”

“This isn’t going to end well, is
it?”

“I don’t know, my love.” Just then, a particularly large meteor came
into view.

“Wait a second,” and she positioned the three unmanned ships in
its path and opened fire. A few seconds later, the ships exploded from the
impact with the meteor. “Well that didn’t work. The three ships were destroyed.
Kon’dor, set off the explosives.”

“Okay. After you confirm everything
worked, I’ll wait for you outside the Glass. We’ll go in together.”

“No. When those meteors make
landfall, there’s going to be quakes and landslides. I’m not going to let you
risk getting injured just to be gallant. Get inside the Glass.”

She was forced to smile when he replied,
“We both know that’s not going to happen. Setting off the first charge now.”

The explosion caused a good section
of the volcano to slide down and bury the entrance to the Sanctum. The bridge
over the gully collapsed. Oddly enough, the sign welcoming visitors flew into
the air and landed on top of the rubble where the door once stood.

“That worked,” L’elle reported to
her love.

“Great. I’ll give you a minute to
get above the lens.”

“No need. I can see it well enough
from here.”

“Setting off the charge now.”

From her vantage point, L’elle
could see a section next to the volcanic rim that held the iris explode in a
shower of rock and dirt. “I can confirm the explosion. Let me try the iris.”
She had her onboard computer send a ‘close’ command to the mechanism. To her horror,
it started to move . . . then stop. “It’s not completely destroyed. I need to finish
the job.”

“Be careful.”

She flew in and fired a dozen or so
volleys at her target. This time the iris failed to budge. “It’s done.”

Before he could answer, the meteor
shower began to make impact with the planet. Over the next ten minutes, one ship
after another struck with unimaginable force. Much like a flurry of punches
from one fighter to his opponent’s body, the planet took a devastating beating.
And the Sky’lord civilization, created over a millennium, suddenly ceased to
exist.

Chapter 8 – Love letters from L’elle

“Kon’dor. Kon’dor.” Only static.
“Kon’dor”.

“L’elle. L’elle, can you hear me?”

“Yes. What happened down there?”

“Felt like the end of the world.”

“It was my love. There’s nothing
left.”

A few heartbeats of silence then, “No
matter. We can rebuild. Now, it’s time for you to join me. Get to one of the
tunnels.”

“I will. First, I want to see what
these aliens look like.”

“L’elle, don’t be foolish. That can
get you killed.”

“I’ll be in and out before they
realize it. One of those meteors fell well outside the crash zone of the
others. Stay on the radio . . . this will only take a minute.”

“Please don’t.”

“Kon’dor, I want to see the face of
the enemy that destroyed our civilization.”

It was useless to argue with her.
“Okay. But do it fast.”

She didn’t bother to answer. She
turned her ship and headed for the enemy. Pushing the control forward, she dove
almost straight down – pulling up at the very last second.

What she saw horrified her. The
front of the meteor swung opened and out crawled three creatures, the likes of
which she had never seen before. “Kon’dor . . . they’re like giant bugs.”

“What?”

“The aliens . . . they’re like
giant bugs. They walk on four . . . um; I guess you call them legs. They’re
purplish in color and seem to be about eight to ten feet tall. I’m going to
blast one to see what happens.”

“L’elle, don’t.”

“Why not?”

“If there’s any chance for a peaceful resolution to this,
destroying one of them will not help. Please, leave the area, find the tunnel
and get here as fast as you can.”

“I guess you’re right. Okay, I’m heading for the tunnels.” But she
knew what she would find when she got there. She had always known.

*****

Back to the Future Onboard the Gracie

“Okay, let’s scan that sign so the
AI can decipher it.”

Skotti took the ancient artifact
from his girlfriend and did as she asked. “Done.”

“Computer, compare the information
scanned to Galactic Standard. Decipher the message.”

“Working.”

“How long will this take?” asked
Bree.

“Analysis complete,” came the
artificial voice.

“Never mind,” replied the winged
girl with a smile.

“What is the message?” asked
Serenity.

“Ninety-five percent probability it
means ‘my love’. Five percent probability it means ‘my lover.’

“So I’ll ask again – why leave a
sign that says ‘my love?”

“I don’t think it’s a sign,”
replied Skotti.

“What does that mean?”

“This thing,” and again he held up
the rust-encrusted object, “is a container of some sort.”

“It’s only about an inch or two
thick.”

“More than enough room to store a diary.”

“Skotti, tell us what you’re
thinking,” quizzed BreeZee.

“I think under all this rust and
corrosion we’ll find that this object is hollow. And I think the person who
wrote those words – my love – was trying to preserve his thoughts and feelings
about someone he lost.”

“You mean his love died?”

“No . . . well maybe. However, I
think the author knew he was about to die and these were his last words. Words he
wanted preserved for the future to see.”

“That’s a lot of speculation,”
replied Jax’x. “How did you come to that conclusion?”

“We’ve seen bits and pieces of
spacecraft and the meteors which probably destroyed them. This was part of that
wreckage. We’ve seen the impact craters from those meteors. We know that a
civilization that once lived here is gone. It’s not much of a stretch to think
they were destroyed by these space rocks. I know it’s just conjecture but maybe
one craft survived. With his world destroyed and no place to go nor anyone to
go to, this last pilot wrote about the one person that meant the most to him.”
The others were skeptical until he added “If I was about to die, I would want
the world to know how much I loved Serenity. It just feels right.”

Sparky’s mouth dropped open while
the other two girls sighed a very loud ‘ahhhhh’.

*****

Back in time

“You knew, didn’t you”?

“It was a . . . strong probability,”
responded L’elle. The young woman had sensed that the tunnels would collapse.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kon’dor
was hurt that she hadn’t confided in him; and devastated that he would never
see his love again.

“You had a job to do. And I did too.”

“You didn’t have to volunteer,” he
replied accusingly – but only because he was overwhelmed with grief.

Defending her decision would just
hurt him more. “Kon’dor, you are the love of my life. I am so very thankful for
the time we had together.”

“L’elle,” came the choked reply.

“It’s time to say goodbye my love.
Get inside the Glass. The ground will be shaking for weeks from all the
pounding it took. It’s not safe . . . and there is no point in waiting.”

“I can’t say goodbye. I won’t.”

She smiled. “You are a stubborn
man.”

“I don’t feel much like a man right
now.”

“Now you listen to me, lover boy. You
are probably the most admired Sky’lord of this generation.”

“Only because I have you,” he managed
to tease.

L’elle smiled . . . but that soon
turned to tears. “I want you to promise me something.”

“I’m not going to fall in love with
someone else so don’t even think it.”

It was exactly what she was
thinking. Instead, she said, “Name your first daughter after me.”

The radio went silent as each tried
to control their emotions. Finally, Kon’dor asked, “What are you going to do?”

“If I had more fuel, I would leave
Splendora and try to find us some help. As it is, I can only make a low orbit.”

“We both know that it will decay in
a few weeks at best. Without fuel, you’ll burn up on re-entry.”

She knew it very well. “I’m going
to choose a trajectory that passes over you once every day. We’ll be able to
talk for a few minutes when I do.”

“L’elle. Go south. The land is
hospitable. You could survive for years.”

She didn’t want to argue. What was
the use of postponing the inevitable? She wasn’t taking her own life – that had
already been taken. She was just choosing the method and the time of her
demise. However, that would not be a discussion she would have with the man she
loved. “Get inside the Glass now. Please. I’m headed for orbit. Talk to you
tomorrow.” She didn’t wait for a reply.

*****

Sparky, who wasn’t wearing her
exoskeleton, crooked a finger at her man – combining it with a come-hither
look.

“No, no,” he protested. “If I have
to kiss you every time I say something incredibly romantic, we’ll never get
anything done.”

“You ruin this moment and I’ll beam
you down to the planet in your skivvies.”

“You’re mean,” but he walked over,
leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips. As he tried to straighten
up, she pulled him by the ears and forced him to do a proper job.

“Enough you two,” whined Bree.
“Until I get a man of my own, I expect you people to show a little
consideration.”

Skotti disengaged himself and
stood. “I have at least a half dozen friends I could set you up with. Just say
the word.”

“Do any of them have wings?”

“Is that really important to you?”
asked a curious Jax’x. “You can’t date a man without wings?”

“I could, but it would never get
serious. The ability to fly – or in my case soar – is who I am. Only a man who
can experience the same thing could relate to me – and me to him.”

“That narrows the field considerably,”
added Serenity. “Me thinks you’re going to have to reconsider your fellow
Zynn-Zaz-Zians.”

“Unless I can find a Sky’lord,”
replied the butterfly girl wistfully.

“Speaking of which, let’s see if
this thing really is hollow,” said Skotti.

“You want a sledge hammer,” teased
Serenity.

“What I really want is to use the
lab. Can you three ladies survive without my company for an hour or two?”

Before anyone could respond, Sparky
pressed a few buttons and Skotti turned into a cascade of twinkling lights and
disappeared. The surprised look on his face as he faded away caused the ‘three
ladies’ to burst into laughter.

“Serenity, he is definitely a
keeper.”

“Jax’x, for once I won’t argue with
you.”

“If only he had wings . . .,” said
Bree dreamily.

*****

Long Ago, Somewhere
in Orbit above Splendora

She rummaged through a few lockers
until she found a pad and stylus. Returning to her command chair, she settled
in to eat her dinner and to begin her journal. In approximately fourteen days,
the ship would reenter the atmosphere. She had that long to get her thoughts on
paper. She would place the journal in a metal case that had housed a medical
emergency kit. It was constructed to withstand a lot of abuse. With a little
luck, it would survive the fiery descent to the planet.

This memoir wouldn’t have any logical
construction. It wasn’t going to start at the beginning and progress
chronologically. It would be a stream of consciousness -- a random walk through
her life. And so she began . . .

“To the person who finds this
document, greetings. My name is L’elle. I am twenty-four years of age as
measured by the revolution of this planet, which we call Splendora, around our
sun. I am a Tertiary Kommander in the Sky’lord Space Corp. In fourteen days, I
will cease to exist, having chosen the time and method of my demise. But know this;
it was an unprovoked alien invasion that took my life. But, more on that later.

My life has been ordinary by most
measurements. That’s not to say it hasn’t been rich in experience and
accomplishments. But as I look back on those things that seem so important to
me at the time, only one truly stands out. His name is Kon’dor and he is the
love of my life . . .”

*****

Onboard the Gracie

It took him almost the full two
hours but it was worth the effort. He ran back to the control room to show the
others. Bursting into the room he boomed, “I was right.”

The other three had already
conspired to pop the guy’s bubble. “About what?” asked Serenity without even
turning around.

“What do you mean about what? That
thing was hollow and look,” he held up a pad. “It’s obviously a personal
journal. Maybe it will tell us what happened to this civilization.”

“Are you hungry? I’m starved.”

“What?”

“Me, too,” added Bree.

Not to be left out, Jax’x asked
sweetly, “Be a dear and bring us something to eat, would you?”

Skotti may have been a man, but he
wasn’t entirely stupid. “You’re right. I’m hungry too. I’ll go cook up some
stew. And as far as this journal goes, we probably shouldn’t read it. It’s
obviously very personal and we should respect the author’s privacy. I’ll put it
back in the container and beam it to the surface.”

“NO,” screamed BreeZee. “Don’t you dare.”

“Are you crazy? Bring that thing
over here,” demanded Serenity.

Jax’x, who was the only one of the
three ‘ladies’ that had had a long term relationship with a man (remember
Jay’gar?) sighed loudly. “You two are pathetic. He’s teasing you.”

“Really?” asked Bree.

Jax’x shook her head sadly. “Sorry,
Skotti, you deserve better.”

“That’s okay. Sparky makes up for
her naivety by being exceedingly grumpy. It’s an endearing combination.”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, dear,” and they all giggled.
Well, not the young man.

When the moment passed, Bree asked,
“May I see the journal?” Skotti handed it to her. “Don’t suppose you translated
any of it?”

“No. Her scribble isn’t very good.
I’m just hoping the AI can read it.”

“What do you mean ‘her’?”

“That’s a woman’s handwriting. I
would put a wager on it.”

“That makes more sense,” quipped
Sparky. “The idea that a man would be that romantic is pure fantasy.”

Skotti made a move towards his girl
but stopped when Bree grabbed his arm. “Before you two annoy me any further,
scan this in please.”

“As you command,” he said with a
smile. He took the pad and did as asked.

“Computer, can you translate the
document just scanned?” asked Jax’x.

“Affirmative.”

“Please give this priority.”

“Acknowledged.”

“Okay guys, I think it’s time we
get some rest. I’ll take the first watch.”

“Jax’x, I’ll do it. I’m very
anxious to read that diary. These Sky’lords – I kind of consider them to be
distant cousins. The computer should be able to translate the journal in short
order.”

“Okay by me. Wake us if you find
out anything interesting.”

“I will.”

*****

Back in Time: Sanctum
of Reverie

“L’elle. L’elle,” but he received
no answer. He exhaled loudly then sat down on a boulder – shoulders slumped
forward, head hanging down. Too numb to form an intelligent thought, he just
sat there staring with unfocused eyes at the ground. After a few minutes frozen
in place by grief, an aftershock shook the cavern. Pebbles and dirt rained down
on the young man waking him from his paralysis.

He stood up and rubbed his face in
his two powerful hands. L’elle was right – he needed to enter the Glass.
However, he had no intention of going in there while the device was at a
pleasure setting of two. The thought of being artificially induced by the Glass
to be mildly happy was nauseating to him. It felt like a betrayal of his love
for his woman. By placing the Apprentice Bracelet on his own wrist, he would in
effect be immune to the Glass’s induced pleasure. He would be able to suffer
his loss for as long as he needed to.

Eventually his pain would ease – such
was the nature of life. But it would not be today. Or tomorrow.

Another seismic event shook the
cavern. It was so violent that it knocked Kon’dor to the ground. A rumbling
sound made him look up. To his horror, large sections of the roof came crashing
down. Discretion, being the better part of valor and of stupidity, he made the
only sensible choice – he dove through the Arch and into the Glass.

Behind him, rock and rubble were
bouncing every which way. One sizeable chunk hit the Arch. The impact caused
the intensity control to fall out of its holder. Upon landing, the delicate
mechanism broke.

Without the device in place, the
safety protocol that caused anyone inside the Glass to be ejected when the
power went off would not function.

If or when the power to the Glass was ever turned off, those
inside would simply cease to exist.

And once again, back on the Gracie

Enveloped in silence and lost in
thought, Bree nearly jumped out of her skin when the computer unexpectedly
announced, “Translation completed.”

“Don’t do that,” said the flustered
girl.

“Command incomplete. Please clarify.”

The girl smiled. “Disregard. Download
the file to this monitor.”

“Acknowledged.”

Bree pressed a button and the
translated text appeared on her screen. She settled back and began to read . .
.

“To the person who finds this
document, greetings. My name is L’elle. I am twenty-four years of age as
measured by the revolution of this planet, which we call Splendora, around our
sun. . .

Chapter 9
– Pleasant Under Glass

An hour later Bree finished. Her
eyes were moist and her bottom lip was bleeding where she had inadvertently bitten
it. L’elle’s journal was not what she had expected. It was more akin to a diary
filled with love letters than a story of a lost love. There were so many
anecdotes and observations about this individual – Kon’dor, was his name – that
she felt she knew him personally. Some of entries had even made her blush – not
because the intimacy described was by any means inappropriately explicit or
coarsely indecent. Just the opposite; it was described almost poetically – this
love between two individuals that knew no bounds.

It made her sad. For L’elle, for
Kon’dor and even more so for herself. The other two lost something beautiful
years too soon. However, they at least had had the chance to experience
something most do not. She didn’t think that would ever happen to her.

Sitting quietly for a few minutes
to absorb all her emotions, she finally pressed the intercom and summoned the
others. Five minutes later, they were all together.

“So what did it say?” asked
Serenity getting right to the point.

“Well most of it was about the
relationship between L’elle – the woman who wrote it – and Kon’dor the man she
loved.”

“So nothing useful?”

“Sparky, you have to learn the art
of listening,” chastised Skotti.

“What does that mean?”

“Can’t you hear how much the story affected
Bree? It obviously had a huge impact.”

Bree’s eyes went wide and she
looked at Jax’x. “As I said, a keeper.”

“I might have to make an exception
about wings”.

“Back off, butterfly. He’s mine.”

Bree stretched out her gorgeous
wings to the fullest. “Skotti,” she purred, “do you like to fly?”

“No, no, no. Don’t drag me into
this catfight. I’m an innocent bystander and intend to stay that way.” He gave
Serenity an exaggerated grin. Turning back to Bree he added, “But for the
record, I love to fly.”

“Computer, self-destruct sequence
alpha seven. Engage”.

“No such thing, Serenity”.

“Flirt with my man again and there
will be.” Then she stuck out her tongue and the rest laughed. “So, tell us the
rest of what the dead lady had to say. Anything about the demise of her
people?”

“Oh yes. Apparently a swarm of
meteors hit the planet destroying everything. But they only looked like
meteors. They were ships filled with bugs.”

“What?”

“Computer, display the illustration
on page eighty-five.”

“On screen,” came the reply.

“Take a look . . .”

They all crammed around the screen.

“Cute,” said Skotti.

“That explains it,” replied Jax’x.
“If he finds that thing cute, by comparison Sparky has to be considered
beautiful.”

*****

Back to the past for
the last time

“Still can’t exit the Glass?”

“No. I’ve tried everything.”

“Maybe if we cut the power. Find a
way to close the iris.”

“That could work . . . but then we
would be trapped in this cave without food or water. Not a very good
alternative.”

“Oh, Kon’dor. It’s all gone so
wrong for us. For all of us.”

But his mind was on something far
more important to him. “L’elle,” he pleaded yet again, “please. Land now why
you still have the fuel.”

“To what end? To spend years by
myself? Worse, what happens if these bugs are able to track me down? I might
end up as their dinner. Or worse. Kon’dor, they frighten me. I won’t risk being
captured.”

“I can’t say goodbye.”

“I know. So I’ll do it for the both
of us. You have been the love of my life since I was twelve. You have been my
best friend, my inspiration, my reason for living. We have shared so much in
such a short time that I almost feel selfish. I can see you right now as if you
were standing in front of me. You great big beautiful man . . . I will miss
your lips. Your arms around me. The warmth of your touch. Find what happiness
you can my love . . . with my blessing. Don’t let the memory of what we had
stop you from loving another. Remember always that . . .” but the rest was lost
to static.

“L’elle. L’elle. L’elle.”

One more meteor lit up the night
sky . . . and she was gone.

*****

“Hi, guys. What’s going on?”

“How are you two love birds?”

Egg looked around as if checking
for something – or someone. “Between you and me, I think I made a huge mistake.”
Then, “STOP THAT. I told you no tickling.”

Benny’s smiling head popped up next
to his wife. “S’up, my loyal subjects?”

Skotti asked his companions, “What
did he say?”

“Stupid earth saying. It’s short
for ‘what’s up,’” explained his girlfriend.

“Oh. Um, I don’t know how to
respond.”

It didn’t matter because just then
Egg turned and bit her husband on the ear. He grabbed her and they both
disappeared from the view screen to sounds of giggling.

“This was a bad idea,” complained
Jax’x.

Bree wasn’t in the mood. “EGG. Get
back here.”

A moment later, Flying Girl did.
“Sorry. What’s going on?”

“We discovered something about this
planet and I think you’ll want to be involved.”

“Important enough to interrupt my
honeymoon?”

“There seems to be a whole
civilization that needs saving. Thought you might want to help.”

“What civilization?”

“The Sky’lords.”

“I don’t understand? Where are they
and what do they need saving from?”

“They’re stuck inside something
called the Reverie Glass and giant bugs that invaded this planet centuries ago
may still be hanging around to eat them.”

“Let me see if I understand.”
Silence then, “Nope. I got nothing. What about you, little boy blue?”

“It’s quite simple, my love, if you
were as sophisticated and worldly as I.”

“Really? So explain it to me.”

“Of course. Your friends are obviously
sloppy drunk.”

*****

“Never mind. We shouldn’t have
bothered you. We’ll figure this out on our own. You guys have fun.”

The disappointment in her friend’s
voice was evident and Egg felt badly. “I’m sorry Bree. Why don’t you start at
the beginning and bring us up to speed?”

“No, really. It was wrong to ask
you to get involved. It’s I who should apologize. We’ll call you later if we
make some progress.”

“Actually you’re doing me an
enormous favor. If I hear myself giggle one more time I’ll be forced to divorce
this blue-skinned, blue-blooded, blue-footed booby.”

“She’s just teasing. We’re actually
quite inseparable.”

“I think you mean insufferable,”
chirped Sparky. Skotti barked a laughed then slapped his hand over his mouth.
Chumming around with the Prince was still a bit nerve-racking.

“In four days we’ll have been
married for a month. Then I promise I’ll stop acting like a blithering
bird-brained bride.”

“I on the other hand make no such promises,”
decreed his royal-ness.

“Benny the goofy googly-eyed groom
– your dad will be so proud.” At that comment from his girl, Skotti was forced
to walk out of camera range of the vid screen less the Prince see him laugh.

“Bree, tell us what you guys found
out.”

“Thank you. First, I think I know
who it is you saw me kissing.” She was referring to the vision that Egg had
seen.

“Really? Who?”

“His name is Kon’dor.”

*****

“So she didn’t give any details
about this Reverie Glass?”

“Just that it’s located in a place
they call the Sanctum of Reverie built into the base of a volcano. The main
entrance and the two auxiliary ones were destroyed because of this invasion.”

Jax’x added a few more details.
“She also said it was powered by a giant lens located in the throat of that
volcano. So, it should be easy to locate. If that power is turned off, the
Glass will eventually spit out its’ occupants.”

“Sparky, any idea what that means?
What this glass thing is?”

“Could be a portal to an alternate
universe. Maybe something similar to what we found on Spell ‘bound.”

“I read your report on that,”
interrupted Skotti. “Don’t think it’s the same thing.”

“Why?”

“I think that a quantum . . .”

“Stop,” demanded Egg. “No
scientific gibberish.”

“Egg.”

“Yeah, Bree.”

“She also said that Kon’dor told her
that he was unable to exit the Glass the normal way – whatever that means.”

“What about those bugs?”

“Just what we told you. They came
out of the meteors and started searching. She and Kon’dor thought that it was
the Glass they were after and the Sky’lords just happened to be in the way.”

“Anything else?”

“Egg, L’elle mentioned a place
called the Archive of Achievement. Sounds like a museum of sorts. It contained
everything that was important to these Sky’lords. It might have some more
information on the Glass.”

“Good thinking, Skotti. Any idea where
we would find it?”

“Underwater.”

“Perfect,” was the sarcastic
response. “Okay, Prince Charming and I will meet you tomorrow morning at the
rim of that volcano. I want to see if that lens is still functional. If it’s
not, then those Sky’lords didn’t survive. Serenity, send me the coordinates.”

“Done.”

“Wife, we have no means of
transportation. Should not the Gracie come fetch us?”

Egg stared at the blue face of her
husband. “Say what?’

He repeated what he had just said.

Egg looked back into the screen. “Would
one of you like to explain it to this poor guy?”

Sparky did. “You married Flying
Girl, you dim-witted, doofus.”

Did you know that when a blue
skinned person blushes, the red from the blood combine with the blue pigment of
his skin and the result is purple?

The prince turned purple. “I knew
that,” he stammered.

*****

Egg extended her hand to Benny.
“Ready?”

“Would I disappoint you terribly if
I said that this mode of transportation is not my favorite?”

“Husband, I’m devastated” she
replied trying to sound sincere. “Don’t you think that you should have told me
before we exchanged our vows?”

“Well . . . I, um . . . that is to
say, the thought did cross my mind. However, in my defense, I was so smitten
with love that I was not thinking clearly.”

“Smitten? Who even uses that word
anymore?”

“I apologize. I should have said I
was besotted, enamored or infatuated.”

“There you go. As to this mode of
transportation, you have two choices. Man up or stay behind.”

“It is not a matter of ‘manning-up’
as you so rudely put it. It is simply a matter of personal preference.”

“I could carry you in my arms if
that would make you feel safer?”

“Ha. I dare you.”

*****

“Here she comes,” and Serenity
pointed.

“Is she carrying him?” asked
Skotti.

“If I was you, Lieutenant, I would
pretend not to notice,” suggested Jax’x.

“Good thinking. I’m just going over
here to examine what remains of this mechanism,” and he sauntered off.

Egg landed and gently put her man
on the ground. “Hi, guys.”

Benny brushed himself off, used his
fingers to comb his hair then turned to face the others. “Please be assured
that I will deny what you just witnessed. Do I make myself perfectly clear?”

“Oh please, you big baby. Did you
think she was going to drop you,” scoffed you know who?

“I was simply thinking of my
beloved parents who would be overcome with grief if they lost their treasured
son.” He struggled to hang on to his last shred of dignity.

Skotti chose to come to his
Sovereign’s assistance. “Your Majesty, if I may interrupt. Please take a look
at this.”

Benny raised his chin. “If you
insist,” and walked off. When he reached Skotti he whispered, “Thank you, my
friend. Those women – they will eat you alive.” He was probably kidding.

“They are fearsome; I’ll give you
that.”

“So, what are we looking at?”

“In that diary, L’elle said she had
to destroy the lens’ closing mechanism. This is what remains.”

“I see. And the lens is still
functional?”

By this time, the girls had joined
them. “I’ll check it out,” said the Egg that could fly. She bounded into the
air then down into the mouth of the volcano. A half minute later, she returned.
“It’s still there. Doesn’t appear to be damaged.”

“But is it still working?” asked
Bree.

“I can tell you one thing – it’s giving
off some kind of energy field. I could feel it.”

“Then I think we should assume that
this Glass is still being powered,” said Jax’x.

“What next?” asked Skotti.

It was natural for everyone to turn
to Egg for the answer. They weren’t disappointed. “Bree, you said that L’elle
spoke to Kon’dor the night she died.”

“Yes. Her goodbye to him made me
cry.”

“So why can’t we?”

“Say goodbye?”

“No. Talk to Kon’dor.”

*****

They all beamed back to the Gracie.
Jax’x took the ship down from orbit and circled the volcano at a comfortable
height. Skotti did the navigating.

Egg and Benny sat at the computer
terminal. “Computer. Scan the surface for life signs. Start at the volcano we
are circling and expand the search to a radius of ten miles. Also scan as far
below the surface as possible.”

“Working.”

While they were doing that, Serenity
and Bree went to the communications station. “I’m going to broadcast on every
frequency in the non-visible electromagnetic spectrum.”

“Won’t that take forever?”

“No. The AI can do it
simultaneously. What message do you want to send?”

“Let’s keep it simple. Ready?”

“Go ahead.”

“Kon’dor of the Sky’lords, my name
is BreeZee. Please respond.”

“Okay. I’ll set it to repeat every
fifteen seconds. Keep your fingers crossed.”

*****

Inside the
Reverie Glass

It’s not that time stood still.
Well, kind of – but not really. Weeks and months and years came and went but
the occupants of the Glass did not age. At the mildly positive setting, they
all shared the one thing in common for all of them – their idyllic life on
Splendora. What they experienced day by day however depended upon their own subconscious
minds. Some days were exactly like previous ones. Others were different.

For anyone on the outside, it would
be a horrible form of boredom.

For those inside the Glass, at a
pleasure setting of two, it was quite satisfactory . . . peaceful, comfortable
and contented.

For Kon’dor it was different. Because
he wore the apprentice bracelet, each day was created by his conscious
mind. And not surprisingly, he re-experienced all those moments with L’elle
that he could remember. It was so very bittersweet. However, you can’t relive
the past forever and eventually he was able to put his loss behind him. That
left him with an infinite amount of time to find a way of ending this purgatory
that he and his people were trapped in.

But the Glass simply would not
allow him to leave. He had tried everything he could think of. Had he succeeded,
he would have searched for another passage out of the volcano. With so many lava
tubes, he felt sure that he could find an exit. As for the bugs that L’elle had
seen, he would worry about them later, assuming they were still there.

Then the improbable happened; his
communicator came alive. He was actually surprised that it still worked.
“Kon’dor of the Sky’lords, my name is BreeZee. Please respond.”

At first, he assumed it was the
Glass creating something that he so desperately wanted . . . hope.

“Kon’dor of the Sky’lords, my name
is BreeZee. Please respond.”

However, it kept repeating. Giving
in to his curiosity, he touched the device and responded. “This is Kon’dor.” He
didn’t expect a reply.

Silence. Apparently, it was the
Glass. How disappointing. (What he couldn’t know was that it was caused by Bree’s
reaction to hearing the man’s voice).

“Kon’dor, you’re alive.” Kind of a
silly statement.

“L’elle? L’elle is that you?” How
could that be?

“I’m so, so sorry. L’elle died a
very long time ago.”

He knew that; what was he thinking?
“Who are you? How did you find me?”

“She did it. L’elle left a diary
describing . . . (she hesitated not wanting to upset the man by describing the
woman’s love for her man) your situation. Through a series of very fortunate
events, we found it. Kon’dor – L’elle was thinking about you, worrying about
you up till the moment her ship . . . um, re-entered the atmosphere.”

Kon’dor exhaled. “She was so very .
. .” but he didn’t finish. He felt self-conscious talking about her to a total
stranger.

Bree waited for him to continue.
When it became obvious he wasn’t, she said, “Yours is a love story that
transcends time. You were both blessed to have had each other. I am truly sorry
for your loss.”

“You’re very kind. Please, I would
like to read her last words.”

“Of course. We’re going to find a
way to help you. When we meet, I’ll hand the diary to you personally. But, um .
. . you should know that she was pretty detailed about your relationship.”

He laughed . . . for the first time
in centuries. “L’elle always spoke her mind. I hope it didn’t offend you?”

Bree felt she knew this man as if
they had dated for years. Teasing him seemed appropriate. “Offend me, no.
Embarrass you – my precious pink Kon’dee - probably.”

Chapter
10 – The Last Rak’nex

It had been a little more than fourteen
cycles, yet only he still survived. They had brought an inadequate supply of electromagnetic
nutrients and there was nothing on this world to harvest. Perhaps worse, the
atmosphere was barely breathable and that had weakened all of them.

Most frustrating, the Cognitron
had been buried under a mountain. However, after much effort, it was finally so
close he could almost touch it. They had been digging day and night since their
arrival. But without the proper equipment, progress had been painfully slow.
And now, as the last surviving Rak’nex, the chance to successfully conclude this
mission was rapidly slipping away. Realistically . . . it was probably already too
late because the sudden increase in seismic activity threatened to collapse the
tunnel they had given their lives to dig.

That he would be dead soon was of
no importance. Failure of this enterprise deserved such a reward. What did make
him weep was the acknowledgement that his people were all but certain to be condemned
to a life of mindless barbarism. A society so painstakingly built with the help
of the Cognitron would be lost within a generation or two.

He had a recurring, and unsettling,
thought, - it was the notion that the Rak’nex had not become sentient through
natural evolution and had therefore violated some cosmic law. Maybe the
Mentorians, the race that had created the device, had actually done them a
disservice. He almost immediately banished the idea as too complex for his
cognitive reasoning. He was the foremost scientific expert on the Cognitron and
not a metaphysical philosopher. And so, he went back to the task at hand, and
resumed digging.

[The Mentorians were a
scientifically advanced species with boundless curiosity. Their world and that
of the Rak’nex were locked in a gravitational embrace – rotating around each
other in an endless twirling dance. These Rak’nex were the polar opposite in their
evolutionary development. They were as mindless and self-unaware as a colony of
spiders. They spent their existence on two endeavors – fighting each other for
food and for the right to procreate.

The Mentorians, as part of a
larger scientific study, decided to experiment on their neighbors . . . a
dubious ethical and moral endeavor. Could they force these creatures to
sentience? It took a very long while, but eventually they partially succeeded
with the creation of the Cognitron.

For some reason never
determined, the offspring of Rak’nex who had been through the Cognitron could
not pass their sentience to their offspring. So once a year when the Rak’nex
brood was born, they were transported to the machine for treatment.

Then catastrophe struck. A race
of militant psychopaths (to use a familiar earth term) attacked and destroyed
the Mentorians for reasons unknown. Soon after, when the Rak’nex returned for
their annual use of the Cognitron, they found only total devastation. After
determining that the machine had not been destroyed, they began tracking it. Eventually,
this led them to Splendora.]

*****

Onboard the Gracie

The mood in the control room was
one of exuberance. Their search for the Sky’lords was a resounding success. And
here they sat, in communications with Kon’dor – a being trapped for hundreds of
years inside a remarkable piece of technology.

Egg had just finished introducing
each of them. “Kon’dor, though we were all involved to some extent, it was BreeZee
who gets full credit. She is from the planet Zynn-Zaz’zia, a world your
ancestors once visited. It was her interest in your people that led us to this
moment.”

“I am thankful beyond words for all
of your efforts. I do look forward to meeting each of you. BreeZee, I know of
your world and our people’s visit. Yours was the only humanoid species we found
that also evolved with wings. If I remember my history, the Wind’ dancers sail
rather than fly. Is that true?”

“Yes. We can’t flap our wings like
you.”

“Still, I think we are more similar
than different.” The way he said it – with more than casual interest – caused
the girl to blush. Truth be told, she was already of the mindset that this man
would one day be an important part of her life. Wishful thinking or premonition?
Only time would tell.

“That leads us to the obvious
question,” continued Egg. “How do we rescue you?”

“The simple answer is that we need
an escape route from the Sanctum to the surface. Once that’s created or
discovered, all you need do is close the iris on the lens and the power will be
cut off. The Glass has a failsafe mechanism that will eject us once that
happens.”

“But how do you normally exit the
Glass?” asked Skotti who was beside himself with curiosity about the Glass?

“Under normal circumstances, all
one needs to do is to imagine themselves outside the Glass.”

“Doesn’t that seem a bit unusual to
you?” asked the grease monkey.

“Perhaps. Please remember, we
didn’t create the Reverie Glass. My people found it in the rubble of a destroyed
civilization. Our understanding of the science or even the purpose for it is
almost non-existent.”

Serenity was about to ask a very
relevant question but Jax’x, as usual, beat her to it. “How do you know that
turning off the power will eject you from the Glass since the other method
doesn’t work anymore?”

“I have no reason to believe that
it won’t.”

“Kon’dor, what would happen to you
if the power is cut and you’re not ejected”? That question was just as good as
the one Jax’x had asked and Serenity gave the girl a smirk.

“That simply can’t happen.” So he
thought. Unfortunately, he was wrong . . . dead wrong.

“Can you tell us how many of your
people are inside the Glass?” asked the Prince.

“I don’t have an exact count. But,
a good guess would be about eight thousand.”

“Isn’t that strange. That’s about
the population of Wind ‘dancers back home. I guess us winged wonders don’t
propagate like the rest of the galaxy,” observed and commented Bree.

“Any more and it could be construed
as too much of a good thing,” teased Kon’dor.

Sparky rolled her eyes – whether it
was at the man’s comments or Bree’s giggles was not obvious.

“Kon’dor, do you think your people
would want to relocate to another world or remain on Bel'lanca?” asked Egg.

“Bel’lanca? I’m sorry; is that a
typical way to address someone on your world?”

“What?”

“Egg-o, Bel’lanca means ‘my love’,
remember?”

“Oops. Sorry about that.”

“Married less than a month and
already flirting with another man. I am devastated,” teased Mr. Egg.

Kon’dor listened to the banter with
great amusement. He was very intrigued – these strangers made him feel so
incredibly comfortable. He believed they really did care about the well-being
of his people. “Why do you ask, Bel’lanca”?

“Everyone’s a comedian,” said our
beloved grump.

“I asked because . . . um,
Splendora doesn’t seem like it’s ready to be home to anyone anytime soon.
There’s nothing left of your world. Sorry if that sounded harsh.”

“Nothing to forgive. As to your
question, what alternative is there?”

“Zynn-Zaz’zia,” blurted Bree. “You
would all be welcomed there with open wings.”

Jax’x sneaked a look at Serenity
who winked back. Bree wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Thank you. Once we’re free of the
Glass, I will put it to a vote. However, should we not concentrate on the most
pressing issue – freeing us?”

Before anyone could respond, the AI
announced, “Life form detected approximately six hundred meters below the
surface.”

“Identify,” commanded Sparky.

“Species unknown.”

“How many?”

“One.”

“What’s going on?” asked the
disembodied voice of Kon’dor?

“Our computer has found a single,
unidentifiable life form about six hundred meters below the volcano.”

“It’s on the same level as the
Sanctum. Do you have the technology to locate my transmission?”

“On it,” called Jax’x. “Got it.
Computer overlay these coordinates with that of the unidentified life form.”

“Working. On display.”

“Kon’dor, it’s about twenty meters
west of your location.”

“As L’elle and I suspected, it
wants the Reverie Glass.”

“Can it be moved?”

“Not while it’s powered up. It
somehow anchors itself to the space-time continuum.”

Skotti’s head jerked up. “Really?
That’s fascinating.”

Sparky beamed. “That’s why we’re in
love.”

“Don’t forget I also adore your
sense of humor,” quipped the young man. Everyone presumed he was teasing.

“Would you two please concentrate?”
moaned Egg. “Kon’dor, if it can’t take the Glass, would it have any reason to
enter it?”

“I can’t think of any. It couldn’t
hurt us if it did. No one dies inside the Glass.” Not really true but he didn’t
know that.

“Well, this is a bit of a conundrum,”
observed the Prince. “On one hand, this creature has created an escape route
for you and your people. On the other hand, it blocks the way. If we turn off
the power, you and whomever is first out will be exposed to the nefarious
thing. Worse, we don’t know what powers it has. It might destroy anyone exiting
the device then simply take the thing with it.”

“I’m going down. Maybe I can talk
to it.”

“Wife, you will do no such thing.”

“Husband, this is Hameggattic
Sisterhood business. We’ve had this discussion.”

“Technically, you are wrong. There
aren’t seven sisters present.”

“No such rule, but kudos for
trying.”

“Egg my dearest, if you go, I go.” Obviously
a non-negotiable statement.

“I’m going too,” added Skotti.

“Not without me,” stated Serenity.

“We’ll all go. Please, let’s stop
arguing and do something,” insisted Bree.

Kon’dor couldn’t allow these
strangers to risk their lives. “I’m sorry. I will not allow you to place
yourselves in harm’s way. Cut the power and me and my people will handle this.”

“Maybe I wasn’t clear about the
Hameggattic Sisterhood. This is what we do.”

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure what
you were telling me. Seven women fight evil and save worlds . . . was that the
gist of it.”

Bree was a little offended. “Do you
have a problem with that? With women fighting the good fight?”

Kon’dor was silent for a moment, and
then said, “My L’elle would have loved to become a sister. She’s just like you.
I’m sorry, I mean she was.”

Bree’s hand went to her mouth. She
should have realized how he would respond. “I’m so sorry, Kon’dee (she didn’t
realize she used that term of endearment though it didn’t escape notice by the
others). After reading her diary, I should have known. I feel horrible.”

“Please don’t. I phrased it poorly.
You had a right to take offense. Never-the-less, if you want to help – all of
you – cut the power and leave the rest to us.”

Egg took charge. “Listen up,
everyone. We are not cutting the power until we know the extent of the danger
this creature poses. End of that conversation. Second, not all of us are going
down. That would be lunacy.”

“But . . .” Jax’x was about to
argue with the decision.

Egg raised her hand for silence.
“I’m not putting everyone in harm’s way. Besides, if something goes wrong, I’ll
need backup. Not only me, but Kon’dor and his people.” It was a fairly obvious
argument.

“Who’s going then?” asked Serenity.

“Since my husband insists, I’ll
take him. Skotti, you’re going too. Get your girlfriend to fit you out with
that remote camera device you two have been working on. This is a great time to
try it out. I want Bree to monitor us and to keep Kon’dor updated. You also
need to map out that tunnel the creature dug so we can direct the Sky’lords
once we free them. Serenity, work on a means to close that iris. If that can’t
happen, then you’ll need an alternative plan. Jax’x, analyze that creature as
best you can. We need to know if it’s sentient and how we can communicate with
it. If that’s not possible, we need a way to disable it without (she
emphasized the word) . . . without killing it. Any questions?”

Kon’dor had one. “Why not destroy it?
It destroyed my world?”

“We don’t kill . . . and
certainly not for revenge. Besides, most conflicts are caused by
misunderstandings. Like you said before, the creature was probably trying to
get the Glass and your people happened to be in the way.”

“Doesn’t forgive them from what
they did.”

“Maybe when you took the Glass, you
did terrible harm to them. Maybe they can’t forgive you.”

They couldn’t see Kon’dor’s mouth
flop open. Finally, he managed, “Certainly something to consider.” His respect
for these people just popped up a couple of notches.

“Okay, then. Ring tend to my suit.”
Skotti couldn’t help but smile at the sight. “Sparky beam us down to the
Sanctum.” And that caused him to groan.

“Something wrong Skotti?”

“I was kind of hoping that Flying
Girl would fly us down there.”

“That’s sweet. What do you think,
husband of mine?” She was just ‘egging him on’.

“I believe Lieutenant Tess’lar was
teasing. Were you not, Lieutenant?” The message was not exactly subtle.

“You are correct, Your Highness. My
apologies, Lady.”

“Skotti, I’ll give you a ride when
this is over,” said Egg trying not to laugh at her husband.

“Thank you.”

“Okay, Sparky. Do your thing.”

“Wait.” Everyone turned to the
Prince. “I forgot something” and he walked over to a cabinet and pulled out
Dazzle and strapped the sword to his waist. He shrugged at the others. “Might
need it.”

Egg smiled. “Very dashing in a King
Arthur sort of way.”

“A compliment?”

“Yes, my Liege. Okay, now we’re
ready.”

“Not so fast,” and Serenity dug
around for something. She found what she was looking for and tossed it to her
boyfriend. “Might need it,” she said purposely mimicking the Prince.

Skotti caught the object. He
examined it, found the power switch and turned it on. A red beam shot out. “Ah,
a light saber.”

“Don’t I wish. It’s a laser
pointer.”

“Oh. What do I do with it?”

“Shine it in the beastie’s eyes, of
course.” She turned back to the controls and called over her shoulder - “Three
to beam down,” and they were gone.

*****

They materialized inside the
Sanctum and promptly fell. The ground was shaking and rolling, dirt and pebbles
were raining down from the ceiling, and parts of the walls were cracking and
caving in. All in all, their timing could have been a wee bit better.

Benny threw himself on top of his
unsuspecting wife to protect her as best he could. Skotti crawled on all fours
to join the other two. If need be, he would do the same to save the Prince’s
life.

The seismic activity soon subsided
and the three disentangled themselves.

“You okay, my love?”

“Yes, thanks. But in the future,
I’m pretty well protected by the flying suit. So, not to hurt your feelings,
it’s best if I get on top.”

Skotti couldn’t help but overhear
and he barked a laugh. “Sorry, that was uncalled for.”

The Prince was becoming more and
more like a regular ‘joe’ and smiled. “And what were you planning on doing?”
referring to the fact that the young man had crawled so close to the couple.

“Thought I’d join the fun and pile
on,” he kidded.

“Well thank you . . . for not doing
so.” He patted the young man on the back acknowledging the truth of the
situation.

“What’s going on down there? The
video was dark and jumpy?” asked Bree.

“Some seismic activity. Check the
tunnel and see if it sustained any damage,” requested Egg.

“It’s fine. Any monsters?”

“No. Everything seems . . .” but she didn’t finish. The wall on
the far side of the cavern rumbled then fell away. And there, in all its horrid
splendor, was the last Rak’nex.

“Uh oh.”

“What?”

“We’ve got company.” To Skotti, Egg
said, “Be sure the ship is getting a video of this thing.”

“Got it.”

“Egg, my love, stand back. I will
attend to this creature,” and the idiot (but chivalrous) boy blue pulled Dazzle
and attacked. Ignoring Egg’s yells to stop, the Prince swung his sword at one
of the creature’s legs. The thing simply lifted the appendage and the
glittering blade missed by a foot. Then with amazing speed, the leg came down
and pinned Benny to the ground.

Benny yelped as his chest began to
compress under the enormous weight.

Egg immediately went airborne and
flew straight at the Rak’nex. Skotti watched in horror, as Flying Girl found
herself similarly trapped by the creature’s other leg. Like her husband, she
too cried out as she felt the deadly force on her chest.

Back on the Gracie, the other three
girls watched in shock as the strange bug-like beast subdued the newlyweds,
apparently crushing them under its legs. Ironically, with bugs, it’s usually
the other way around.

Skotti looked around for anything
he could use as a weapon. The Prince’s sword was out of reach, having been
tossed under the creature when he fell. With only the rocks strewn on the
ground to use, he picked up the biggest one he could carry and turned towards
the monster. In his heart he knew that this wasn’t going to end well . . . for
any of them.

“SKOTTI,” screamed Jax’x over the
communicator. “SKOTTI, use the light saber. Use the light saber.”

“Are you crazy?”

Egg and the
Hameggattic Sisterhood

Book 6 of Ever
After