Issue 9: House Scion
While Eliza and her crew were handling all sorts of fireworks upon the surface of Typha, over the years I got to know Ith’aria pretty well. We inducted her into C.A.P and got to work on other mysteries plaguing the old stomping grounds of the Markav. Knowing that they were a Creator Level race who chose to go out and plant false leads made it vital for me to examine old colonies. –Mary Herbert Lanis, A Light House in the Sea of Stars
Eventually, I would see my husband once more. But I had work to do. The fact that J’ino trusted me with her children kept me grounded for that decade. Earth herself was a delight but I wanted to help them more. So I joined C.A.P. It was set up similarly to our Survey Corps. Now to unearth the mysteries that would help us down the road. As the human phrase goes.—Ith’aria Odessen
The rest of the Reunion was uneventful. No more Grimkin or Dreaming areas to clear out. The Pinkertons added the Redeemers to their contacts. I had a feeling we’d see those 3 again. Sooner rather than later. Most Light Shamans tended to form conclaves. These guys? They blew the doors open and took on Unity head first. With plenty of ordinances to back them up. Glad Moonlighter vouched for them. Dad already has them scouting the Zygotic Expanse. Via a joint Commons and Union Alliance multispecies recon unit.—Sleeping in Starlight, a memoir of the 22nd century
C.A.P HQ (North American Division)
Cape Nexus, Florida
August 4th, 2114
Mary read her daughter’s message.
///Morgana sighting confirmed. Possession and Dreaming Warps. So how was your night? I drank until Eliza had to carry me around. No, I just got pleasantly wasted. Just so she’d have to carry me around. Mostly.///
Ith’aria brought over some strong coffee. From how Mary was frowning the Typherian thought it prudent. Mary took the mug. Raising it just so. “I’m gonna have a word with Eliza. She should know better. My daughter is a lightweight with alcohol.” Mary’s long blonde hair was pulled into a braided bun. Miltary regulation. Even if C.A.P allowed for different styles so their agents could blend in better in the field. Her ice-blue eyes locked with Ith’aria’s deep blue ones.
The Odessen matriarch had decided on a simple bob cut for now. Her raven black hair reminding Mary of Lorain for a split second. The Navy admiral winced. Normally Doc didn’t drink to excess. One or two cups. At most. What had she seen in the Dreaming that reminded her of the creeping horror of the Void Walkers? That was the only other time her daughter had gotten completely wasted. Knowing what her mother had been protecting people against with her old Area 51 position. She linked into her H.U.D. Eliza’s cheery face lighting up in the corner. Her grey eyes growing concerned at Mary’s overall state.
<<Why did you let her get drunk?>>
Eliza didn’t glance away but replied, <<It was either that or she would have had an idea to enhance certain parts of the TNN reporter’s face.>>
Mary shared a look with Odessen. Ith’aria smothered a snort. That wouldn’t be very dignified or ladylike. Odessen cut in on the Holo-line. <<Who was it? Tarith? B’kori?>> Eliza replied, <<Worse. One of E’ratha’s 4th House cousins.>>
A flash of white caused the screen to wink out.
Mary sipped from her mug.
“Let’s get to work.”
*****
I let the pillow hit my face.
Doc’s blazing green eyes promising many things.
Most I imagined would be “YOU SAID WHAT TO MOM?!” But that playful grin let me know that other activities for the day were incoming. Lanis women weren’t that subtle. She smiled sweetly, saying, “So how was mom doing?”
My prompt reply, “C.A.P assignments. They are in Florida. Based on the sounds I was able to pick up. Then again I think your mom lets me know where she is.”
Lorain’s face grew pensive for a moment. Then cleared as she said, “Makes sense. Not many people have you in their side pocket.” She stuck her tongue out at me. Throwing the sheets off as she wandered into the refresher. Might as well enjoy Earth while I could. We’d be back at the official fun of state sooner rather than later. The hotel staff had been very gracious. I’d make sure I’d tip well. All the owner wanted was a picture to put up in the main lobby.
About 20 mins later we exited the refresher.
Doc noticed the glazed expression within my eyes.
*****
An alert pinged on Adm. Lanis’ sidebar. Another Dweller Gate had been discovered. They wanted her and Ith’aria on-site 10 mins ago. Both women donned the proper protective gear. Each suit enhancing their natural abilities. Having been blessed with Light Shaman rites. Each shell was a gunmetal gray color. No identifiable markings leading them back to C.A.P. As of this moment, they were in dark mode. Under the facility was a translocator. They boarded the small shuttlecraft. Built for stealth. Its smooth exterior opening revealing a simple two-seater. Complete with weapons and medical supplies.
They had been at this for a decade. Since Project Freefall was self-sustaining for the moment they often used Mary to translate more obscure dead languages in their quest to discover key aspects about Unity. Odessen didn’t want to stay idle and now that the triplets were with their parents, had joined Lanis on the last dozen scouting missions. The Naval officer pressed a sequence of holo keys and the space around them folded. The sprinkle of stars and blanket of black curling around the dormant Dweller Gate. Most were in the shape of a Y but this one? It was lighter in tone. Not quite white but a mottled tan color. The markings were unfamiliar to either woman. It was two Ys. One facing opposite directions. Highly unusual.
She brought the outline up on her H.U.D.
Odessen kept vigil. Her rifle at the ready.
One Y intersection had the scorch marks of battle. Bits of debris floating outside her max range. She didn’t activate the coms but said within the confines of her helm, “Eliza. If you know where I am at, send me the usual sign.”
She activated the code line to Central.
Mary’s voice hardened, <<We have the target in sight. Exploration status?>>
A series of beeps.
No active energy sources. Proceed with extreme caution.
They tethered their resonance in their suits to the evac shuttle. Hoping they wouldn’t have to use the sudden teleportation. It often made Mary throw up. The mix of magic and tech didn’t suit her. She’d have her daughter look into it when they got back. The quick jingle of Captain Cosmos hit her H.U.D. In a simple pinging format. Odessen linked into their short-range coms, <<Ahh. Have you always had this kind of arrangement?>>
Mary turned, <<Yes. But I often don’t cash in on it. Something about this place rubs me raw. We might need the backup.>>
Odessen glanced about the area. Spotting a humanoid shape against the rough exterior of the gate. Mary crouched. Pulling her grav rifle to the sightline. As a distant gleam from the stars pulsed overhead, the ancient remains floated nearer. A figure clothed in robes that Ith’aria recognized as Orator robes. No House markings. This was a Typherian corpse! Its face was eerily preserved. Mary kept her voice pitched low. A stab of unease running up her spine.
“Eliza Elizabeth Murphy.”
*****
I had enough time to say “Love you” to Doc before I was out the door. Wearing just a plain gray shirt, underthings, and black jeans. Mary’s deadpan voice at odds with the rapid beating of her heart. I dared not use any Dweller Gates near them. White’s alarmed voice rocking around in my head. <<Old death. To be recognized!>>
Planets and stars whirled by as I flew onward. Going faster than most FTL’d ships.
The cool exterior of the inert Gate sending pinpricks up my bare feet as I landed softly near both women. She did say my full name. Nobody does that full runoff except family. Usually when highly distressed. Angry or both. My eyes flew wide open. Void Walker's speak was scrawled all across the corpse.
They weren’t able to add me to their com setup. That would probably get Mary in hot water so I brought their helmeted heads in close. Making the sign for Keepers. But not just any Keeper. Chronos had attacked this place. White extended around the other two women. Pulling them along after me. The coiled white sash nearly tripled its normal length. I could tell Odessen wanted to lay the corpse to rest but I had a nasty suspicion it was bugged somehow. As I floated along, the Amarche descended, bringing with them the sounds of battle. They knew what had happened here.
*****
Lorain Lanis brushed her cheek. Still feeling the slight pressure from Eliza’s quick kiss goodbye. Through their Union pieces, she could feel the concern flowing from the taller woman, noting the uptick in her normally calm heartbeat. An odd melody flowed through her brain.
///You are found worthy. Speak the words.///
Aboard the Jupiter Rising, the old belt thrummed to life, hearing the call.
The ship let it leave. Jupiter already knew.
It whirled. A thin beam of yellow light. Finding the one who would complete it.
Nu’lar’s golden defender sash circled the human. Awaiting the words.
Lorain reached out to run a hand along the belt. It sent a thrill through her body.
It had always been there. Waiting.
Hoping.
She found her mouth moving. Speaking the oath that would bind them both.
“The Mind of All, the Knowledge that Flows, Mend the Worlds, Mind the Flows, Yellow Defender's Might!" It phased through her. A flash of Markav memory settling into her mind. To be examined when ready. A message to the next line of hosts. Other pinpricks of light formed. A vast network of voices welcoming her. Blues, reds, greens, an orange or three, alongside the might of the Omegas. Fellow yellows echoed her oath.
Q’vera’s voice rose above all for a spit second. “HA! B’karis is gonna owe me a drink!” Lorain opened her eyes. Staring at the mirror. A brilliant golden, white and black suit had curled around her body. The majority of it was that yellow-gold. With the boots and knee guards a deep black. While the white portions settled across her shoulders. She twitched. Reaching up to rest a hand against the yellow visor that had woven itself around her eyes. “Greetings Yellow Defender Lanis. White Defender Priority Summons. Stand by for teleportation.”
Her face froze as the world shifted.
She reached up as the void of space surrounded her. Yet her lungs continued to function. It was then she noticed a faint golden outline around her. Ahh. Her belt rumbled. Reminding her of the old Bardaxian, Watson in tone, when it stated, <<I will not fail you. White’s aura will maintain us. Linking with the central nervous system for emergency resuscitation purposes.>>
It paused, <<If that is agreeable?>>
She nodded, <<Ok. Sounds good but what do you mean White’s aura?>>
It replied, <<The White enhances all Defenders within the sector. Across all Multiversal Bands. She is muted to prevent Unity from detecting us early but by being so close, we gain extended defenses by mere proximity. Charging, Energy Reserves, Quicker response.>>
It paused, noting that Eliza was staring. Dumbfounded, relieved yet concerned.
<<For now I will say: We were summoned by White. Questions will have to remain secondary until the threat has been dealt with.>>
Lorain reached out to touch her mother, her captain, one bemused Odessen, adding them to a constructed comlink of her choosing.
She said, <<So, are belts usually this chatty?>>
White replied, <<Oh yes. You hush Eliza.>>
Doc got a very detailed mental picture of White, in her tiger form, gently bopping a rather animated Star-Spangled Banner on the head. Her amusement fled however when the pulse of living beings registered on her medical aura. Besides themselves.
Doc sputtered, <<Oh god. There’s still people alive in that thing!>>
*****
I reached out. Hearing nothing but the background noise of the cosmos. But I believed Lorain. Without question. I asked, <<Can you tell if any are…>>
She knelt. Resting a palm on the surface. <<No. Only that there are 4 biosignatures.>>
She knew what I meant. Keepers.
I took point. With Odessen bringing up the rear. Her movements spoke of Survey Corp training. While the Lanis women watched our left and right corners. Most Dweller Gates had very simple facilities attached. To house early warning personnel. This place? It must have been a major hub. It had three levels of living quarters. Based on what I had been able to peer through. At the central node? That was shrouded in darkness even I couldn’t penetrate with my demi senses. That’s where we would find the trouble.
White snarled, <<This is what you will have to stop Scion.>>
As I pried open a service entryway, after making sure I wouldn’t trip up some sort of Void Walker trap, we entered and the smell made me gag. Everyone else was protected. Even Lorain. I was thankful. Lorain yanked me back as a gelatinous black mass moved to where I had been floating. Its surface bubbling as the faint starlight hit it from the opening. It shot off into the cavernous dark of the Gate’s inner corridors. Ith’aria touched the back of my neck.
>>That thing was broadcasting in Typherian.<<
I forced open the access hatch to its limit. The deck plating hissed and sparked as corrupted matter floated outwards. Deep within the facility, I heard the cries of many. Odessen translated it from ancient Typherian. While Rosetta Stone aka Mary Lanis added it to her library of languages. Given enough time with the written format she’d be able to understand words as easily as Ith’aria did.
I attempted to call out to Dexter but White interjected, <<We have to disable this ourselves. It’s living yet not. Along with a strange barrier. No coms in or out>>
I glanced back. The stars were different. A mobile Dweller Gate?!
Whatever had been here brought calamity to its inhabitants.
One Amarche clung to my arm. Pointing towards the sector my sight couldn’t pierce.
I made sure White was still daisy linked with everyone. Then pushed off the wall. Her aura combining with Lorain’s Yellow Defender belt. Into the Abyss we went. Those few unbound by time and space. I only hoped it would be enough. Every sense was stretched to the limit. I would not fail my friends.
*****
Within the gloom of the central power conduit of the Transverse Gate, a lone figure glanced up from his small white tree. Its red and gold fruits a stark contrast to the detritus of decay floating around the humanoid. He guarded it constantly. Using the power of the Weave and the Sages of Light to keep the plant safe. Chronos had been denied. He would not falter in his remaining duty. He would protect the others. The day of Convergence was closing in.
The Orator of White Home sighed, >>Finally. The Chains will be released from me. I have waited so long.<< He watched as the Scion of the Final House traveled with others made of sparks. The very lifeblood of the Weave. Titles changed. So did memory but flesh? That remained. Speaking across time and space. He saw those iron-gray eyes and prayed.
The reborn of C’alain had arrived.
The final battle grew closer.
He would not be alone.
Within the ashes of this Tree, the spell around Typha would be broken. Guiding the three and their Scion to the very foundations of Typherian power. Not in the genetic abilities of Matter or Telepathy but in the true power of those unfettered by Unity’s poisons. She only had to plant it in the right soil. The four-footed guardians would know. They had always known. Clever little ones. So kind. Trusting. Everything Unity despised. They were the heralds of the Weave. As much as he was. The flesh always remembered.
Until the very stars dimmed and winked out.
Issue 8: Here
Issue 10: Here
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