First journey chapter 41

Chapter: 41 Where went the USS Ivanhoe Who is Who? The Ivanhoe was gone! Everything he knew was gone. Was he dead? Was this the afterlife? Flowar Saxa remembered every detail of the last moments very vividly. Now he stood on a surface that was hard, cold, smooth as glass, and reflective, darn I think it is a glass of some type. Flowar checked himself out, One, I'm still wearing my uniform, eyes appeared undamaged, and there were no ringing in my ears. Hold on a minute, he had tinnitus, from the exploding engine on the USS Forestal. God, my heart feels I just finished the one hundred meters under five minutes. Well. This places whatever and wherever does not appear very interesting, I can not see anything on the horizon in all of the three hundred and sixty degrees. The only difference was a faint reddish glow to the south. Okay smarty, how do you know that is south. Just know, no explanations come to mind, just know. Now whatever was above him fit the description of a sky. At present, it was black, and there were stars presently in abundance. It felt like standing on a cloudless night outside on Terra seeing the stars above. Just like he had seen them the first time he stepped off the slave trader ship, naked, hungry, and perhaps ten or twelve years old. Back then he looked up into the sky and wished to travel as a free entity among the stars burned inside him until the day he was accepted by the Union academy. He slapped his own face, and he could feel the pain. Alive, would say yes. But where is the hell am I? A voice spoke to him. No, not a voice through the air, one within a telepathic thought. It was words, not written or spoken just words! It almost roared, "What and who are you? Why are you, trespassing?" Hold on, if he was still alive, how could a telepath penetrate into his mind? He was a Union captain and PSI shielded! Best if I step back mentally and find out what is going on before I commit some stupid faux pas. "I am Captain Flowar Saxa, Union Fleet, Ship the USS Ivanhoe. Service number FO-234543-FS-443245-P." "You speak these words with pride and distinction, yet there is resistance in you. You are attempting to keep secrets! Rest easy, for I can maintain security for you. There is no one to give the information anyway, we are alone here."" "Where am I?" "You are between realities!" "Who are you?" "I am the Voice of the Rule." "Am I dead?" "What an interesting question! You are too limited in knowledge or brain containment to understand what happened to you, but you still exist as you have always existed." "Where is my ship?" "The construct you used to breach the energy barrier is no more." "Are you a God?" "If the difference of abilities and knowledge between you and the Rule is a measure, then yes I am a lesser god, but I am only a servant, a tool. I am only the voice of the Rule. It who has put the Rule in place, however, is perhaps the God if which you think." Saxa felt thirsty, and with that realization, came the knowledge that he was not dead. "It was the chaotic conditions of the asymmetric Isah field that has brought me here. Am I in some higher dimension of space?" "The definition of high and low, or the idea of the dimensions in space and time have no meaning here. I see and read your mind, and it is not capable of understanding where you are or how you came to be here. It was in your reality where the finding of the Rule has been broken. You are not the one who has broken it, and you are not associated with those who have broken it." Saxa spread his thick arms." Voice, I do not understand, and I do not know what you are talking about." There was an empty silence and only after a while the voice spoke again: "Very few come to this place and never arrive in their corporal shell. You are truly an exception and one that appears to be here by the request of the Rule. The Rule must remain impartial, but I am only the voice, and I see you as your trueself. This place has been adjusted so you can see and exist, but you cannot and will not remain here." "That is a relief! Don't get me wrong. You got a nice place here, perhaps a little on the bombastic minimalistic side, but I would rather spend the rest of my life teaching Neo-Ensigns than spending it here hating every second here, wherever or whenever it may exist." Again the voice fell silent for long moments then said." Ah yes, it is what you call humor and sarcasm. It appears you have adapted very well to your chosen home, the place you call the Union." "I am a Plato by birth, yes. I am from a species suppressed for millennials. Not even knowing what freedom and liberty mean, Voice, but in our Union, I am a Plato only in biological terms. I am a Union citizen and an officer in the Union fleet. I owe them more than you will ever understand, and I gladly lay down my life to preserving the Union!" "Your emotions are strong!" Saxa remembered his duty and said." This is a first contact situation! Voice, I represent the United Stars of the Galaxies, and we are many different cultures and individuals forming one society with the simple common goal of liberty and justice for all sentient entities. Insectoids, methane breathers, humans, lizards, invertebrates, even species without corporal bodies all live together in peace and shared respect. I invite you to come to Pluribus. The Narth are also members of the Union, and they might understand both you and this place quite well. It does not matter if you are an unjust voice or the representative of a God, there would be a place for you too!" "Yes, Narth would have the capability to see this place as it is and perhaps even understand the Rule. The Rule must stay impartial and cannot associate itself with anything or anyone, but I see you speak from your innermost with the greatest conviction. Maybe your Union will one day find the answer to the Rule, it is conceivable. Now I will send you back, but one day I will call you again to return to this place, and then I shall educate you more about the Rule." "I do not understand Voice, but I feel you are a force of good, and I look forward to meeting you again." "The concept of good and bad is always in the eye of the beholder. I am only the voice, and the Rule must remain impartial. Now you have much to learn, so you will return to your Universe, but not as you are. Once you have learned, you will be able to have a better understanding of the troubles and why the Rule must be returned to a state of correctness in your Universe. For it does not a state of chaos will descend and force hardships on all that exists in that location." The Tinkehel Qualnat cowered behind a tree as he saw the enormous metal object, the size of a mountain, descent from the sky. He was one of the scientists who worked on the first deep-space expedition. The first ship, built to reach faster than light velocities, was sent out to explore the closest neighboring star, 34 Light pandaras away. This happened 22 solar pandaras ago. Back then, he was a celebrated man, one of the heroes of progress, and science. Now an outlaw forced to live in primitive conditions. Hiding in the sole remaining forests of his once beautiful planet. The Urtla One, that first ship met other sentient beings! This alone was a shocking revelation, but that first meeting with intelligence did not turn out to be a profound, joyous occasion but brought almost complete destruction to his civilization! The aliens destroyed the Urtla One and then came in many colossal space ships and rained nuclear fire onto the Tinkehel. Their governments had no defense against those energy shielded elongated spheres, immune to the few weapon systems the Tinkehel possessed. Less than two million of the original six billion Tinkehelions survived the genocide. Eighty percent of the planet surface turned into radioactive wasteland deserts, where neither plant or any living body survived. The survivors blamed the scientists, explorers, and government, in that order of vileness, for the misery besetting them. If they remembered and apprehended him, then he would face certain death. Now the aliens had returned, arriving in a construct that defied all their known science and technology. This wedge-shaped craft was much bigger than the original spheres, which deal so much harm to his planet. He could clearly see the faint purplish bubble surrounding the object, and he correctly deduced that it was an energy shield for defense. His scientific mind was in awe of the entities that could produce and maintain such advanced technology. Why, oh, why? Did they need to be such vile, evil creatures? With their help, his planet and his civilization could return to its former glory and then reach beyond. As the alien ship hovered above the surface of the planet, n enormous hanger door opened on the bottom of the craft. Several small flyers and two larger vehicles exited through the doorway. The small flyers were mere dots compared to the size of the vessel. Qualnat used his hunting rifle's magnifying optics to spy on them. One of the larger ships landed near Qualnat, and the visitors exited. They worn bulky armor suits, configured for two arms and two legs, they walked upright and did not look like the world destroyers, the smaller Siucra. This would explain why their ship was so much bigger and differently shaped. He correctly concluded these were beings of a different species and hoped, saying a short prayer that beyond hope they were opposed to conquest and slavery. He rushed to his well-concealed earth mound, once the burrow of a Jickkak, and now his dirty, muddy dwelling. With his dirty, grimy fingers, he rummaged through his few belongings and found the handheld Communication device. It was once the hallmark of all the scientist to have one of these, now it was a certain death sentence to be caught with one. Survival and food were more important than maintaining technology. Qualnat had nothing to lose, and from the size and the displayed technology of the newcomers, there was nothing the surviving Tinkehel could do if the Aliens came with hostile intentions. It could be the device that allows him to determine what they wanted. He cleaned himself as much as possible and went back to the edge of the forest, took a deep breath and started to walk towards the Aliens, holding the com unit to his ears. It was clear to him that other survivors must have seen the arrival of that ship as well. He could imagine the terror and the fear they felt for those who had families who still had hopes and lived for tomorrow. It took him longer than he thought to reach the almost invisible energy barrier, testimony to the incredible size of the alien construct. He was immediately spotted by a towering two armed being in a frightening looking armor suit. The being raised his arm, signing with his hand and two more aliens appeared neither wearing armor. While one worn only a black uniform and the other seemed to be minus clothing. One had the overall shape of a Tinkehel, but his face had no fur and only two instead of four eyes. The other had four arms, and his skin was dark green and scaled and looked shockingly similar to a Jickkak lizard, but much more substantial. The shimmering energy disappeared before him, and he heard the naked skin being say something to him. "I'm Qualnat of the Tinkehel. Are you here to destroy us?" Out of thin air, a holograph like a soap bubble appeared, and it displayed one dot then two dots. He understood that this was a simple math problem, and he responded saying, "Two!" The bubble now displayed his planet, and he replied, "Tink." An image of himself and he said, "Qualnat." After the bubble had displayed about fifty different images of rocks, trees, hands, feet, faces, eyes, and other easy to recognize items. The bubble stated, "Sufficient Psionic and verbal data for language analysis, collected. Proceeding to process." Now the naked being said. "I am Captain Kowalski of the USS Bremerton. We are the Union of the United Stars of the Galaxy. We are on a peaceful first contact mission but also attempting to engage the Siucras. We noticed extensive orbital bombardment as we surveyed this system, and our instruments detected surviving sentient life. We are here to offer assistance and aid if your people need or want it." "If you are not here to destroy us and sincerely offer assistance, you are the answers to many, many prayers to Wati-Atat?" "No destruction to your world or people by us. I assure you we only offer help and assistance to regain your culture and honor. We can clean up the radiation, render medical aid. Then help you get your civilization functional again. All this is offered freely and with the only condition, that we exist in peace. Should you decide you do not want our help, we will leave doing neither harm nor good for you." "You are not the Siucra?" "No, we just defeated most of their fleet, and we are in pursuit of the last Siucra, this is why we are here presently." Qualnat almost fainted out of thankful relief. He was so tense and much afraid, now it looked like he was right after all. The Universe was full of honorable civilizations and not just evil destroyers. "I am but a disgraced scientist and unable to speak for the rest of the people. There is no central government left, only family pods. We are slowly starving to death and due to our limited medical knowledge, dying of radiation poisoning. You would be greeted as Gods or saviors, at your wish, if you solved those evils placed on us by the Siucras." SIUCRA The last transmissions of the Grand fleet and Olnatar arrived at the Sicura homeworld. The First Protector listened to them with grave concern. The entire fleet of over a thousand ships had been destroyed, even Olnatar had not returned. The Siucra did not have that many ships remaining and few bodies to operate them. They had sent their finest trained with the Grand fleet to return draped in honor and stories of daring-do to tell Kermac. The holy task to protect Koken was in jeopardy. He knew that the Kermac had been here only recently, He decided to disturb the sanctity of the holy place, just like the first Siucra did when they found the Holy place in the hidden chambers, the location of the Holy Fire weapons. There were more devices and perhaps one could be used to call the Kermac or receive instructions on how to defend Koken against this mighty enemy, --**-- The First Protector had entered the Hidden Chambers beneath a mountain range on Koken. Unknown to him and far from these chambers about hundred nokta to the planets east were the Shafts of Knowledge that had been visited by Kermac wizard so very recently. The old songs described exactly how one had to navigate through shafts and passageways to reach the chambers. Then an ancient song described precisely how to open it, and it worked just as written. Finally, they stood in the same room as the ones before. His long-dead ancestors had taken on the task of protecting Koken and thous received the weapons of the Holy Fire. The first chambers were not entirely empty, there were still a few of the elongated containers that once were stacked here by the thousands. Each crate contained a completely assembled Holy Fire cannons. The final chamber always had been empty except for a slightly raised platform. I was about two hundred steps across, and two sickle-shaped arms bend inward their pointed tips almost touching each other. Both of them perhaps one hundred steps in height on each side of the platform. This was, according to the ancient songs, the holiest and most sacred point on all of Koken. The Nuthrum Device, the gate to the Masters. According to the songs, if activated, beings of incredible fighting power would emerge without number and eradicate all life. He was not a Kermac, and whatever came, would certainly not recognizing lowly Siucra, but perhaps they showed mercy and understanding to a fellow thrall society. Not that the First Protector had much choice. He feared the new enemy was already on approach. It was only a matter of time before they would appear here and defile holy Koken. He placed his hands onto the sensor fields mounted into a monolith console before the device. His body heat-activated the ancient machinery and a wafting bright point of light appeared between the pointed ends of the sickle-shaped columns above the platform, and the point grew slowly in size. The primordial system hummed and vibrated with a deep sound as it crackled and glowed with energies the spanned and combined numerous dimensions. The first Protector and those with him started to chant the old texts. "We the guardians and protectors of the Most Holy place summon the spirits of the Universe, grant us revenge and the tools so we may continue to protect what is holy. It is the Masters of the sacred White we serve alone! Come then who are also servants of the Masters and assist us in defeating this great evil!" Something did appear out of the shimmering portal. It was a bluish skinned being wielding a blaster weapon in one hand and a sword in the other. Draped in a black cloak over a black chainmail outfit that looked both anachronistic and timeless. "I doubt you expected me! This Nexu gate connects many places to the planet at the center of the Universe. The time for this has not yet come to pass. Neither the Kermac nor you understand but tried to touch events that can not yet come to pass. The stranger's sword sliced through the solid metal monolith with the controls for the transdimensional gate as if it was air. The golden energy gate behind him collapsed. The Siucra had yet to react to his arrival, then one of them fired his blaster weapon, but the beam did not penetrate the flexible armor the Plato wore. He returned fire and killed the shooter. "I have been Captain Saxa of the United Stars Fleet, and it was one of your kind that caused me to lose my ship. Now I am serving another purpose. I am a Knight of the Order, but despite my new mission and knowledge, I am and always will be a citizen of the Union. The Kermac you worship is not the Gods you make them, yet they again set events in motion that will have a significant impact on everyone. Activities that will bring much war and bloodshed, but the Siucra who assisted the Kermac will not exist when these events occur. Your species is doomed by its allegiance to the evil, self-serving Kermac, who used you only to relieve their military to conquer other innocent cultures. That is what and to whom you mistakenly paid grace. --***-- Captain Jackson of the USS Alexandria located Koken, the homeworld of the Siucras, for the Union a few months later. It was him and his crew during an initial survey that discovered the hidden chambers. He and his landing party followed a union fleet code signal that had led them to this underground facility of a long-forgotten civilization. It was there they located the source of the signal, a Union issued wrist communicator, next to six dead Siucra sitting before a metallic platform. The communicator contained several coded messages, with one addressed to the finder, and Jackson activated it. "This message is urgent and must be delivered to Admiral Mc Elligott and Fleet Command. I was once known as Captain Flowar Saxa of the USS Ivanhoe, Service number FO-234543-FS-443245-P. My ship is lost and destroyed, but I am alive even though I am no longer the same being as before, and I am now serving another, of a much higher purpose. I do at this moment resigning my commission. You must keep my existence a secret. Tell only Admiral McElligott about me. Rest assured that I am and always will be a Union citizen, and I will serve my new task with this assurance as a foundation. I cannot tell you what has happened to me or what I have become, for now, that is forbidden. If the time aligns appropriately, I might be able to reveal myself in the distant future. "This planet is where the Kermac originated, but before that, it was a UNI world. You are standing in one of the last remaining UNI installations built for the sole purpose of containing a gate to another Galaxy. A location there is being used to safeguard forbidden knowledge. The Kermac have called the Y'All, and they will come again, but those who send the Y'All will also come! If my sources are correct, you have no more than one hundred standard years to prevent those beings from arrival or prepare to do battle with that which will come. Somewhere in our Galaxy is a device to be found, something the Y'All also seek. Whatever it may be, that object can defeat both the Y'All and their masters. You will recognize it when you find it as a small disc-shaped space ship of great age. Inside rests knowledge and power unimaginable. You must do as necessary to prevent the Y'All from gaining possession of that object. It is this device and its potential that forces the Y'All return. Take this message to Fleet Command. There are two more messages for their eyes only recorded on this wrist com. THE DELIVERY OF THIS COM UNIT TO ADMIRAL McELLIGOTT OVERRIDES ALL PREVIOUS OR NEW ORDERS. SACRIFICE ALL TO ACCOMPLISH THIS DIRECTIVE. Fare thee well, all of you!" The End, of Eric's and crew's first mission.