Issue 7: The Kingdom of the Blind
Progress. I'll get to see the ship. I do wonder where Murphy is at. She’s appeared from time to time to solve some miniature crisis. Usually helping that Golden Twat do something. It takes all my willpower to not sneer. It's tiring putting on this façade.— Renenutet
Getting Eliza back home was easy. Keeping her within Project Freefall for now? Much harder. Our information dumps about the mummy got under her skin. First and foremost how the Terran Alliance could pick someone so off base.—J’ino
You want Murphy to do what?! I mean: Is it wise to try to wake a Titan?—Muthra relay to Arcane Council Node
Home. Even the approaching battles couldn’t dim my enthusiasm for something as normal as flying my baby brother around the yard. For most personnel residing there, we tried to make the Dyson Spheres as much like Earth as possible. Yet even they saw sights that were unknown to me at the time.—Sleeping in Starlight, a memoir of the 23rd century (vol 3)
The Jupiter Rising
In Orbit of Sol
April 10th, 2116
I stopped dead.
My cabin was barren.
Jupiter activated a forcefield before I could cross the threshold. <<Sorry Captain! Until Doc returns from her mission? You won’t be sleeping here.>> I placed my palm on the energy field. I could punch through it. I just wanted to sleep in a familiar bed. Jupiter wouldn’t like it but a small flap of wings made me glance downward. Trouble’s orange billed beak opened with incessant quacking. Gulliver chirped in with, <<No worries Hot Sause! We got you set up someplace nice!>>
I replied, “I’m fine with my ship. That body double of hers sucks.” Mom peered around the corner. Her face filled with mock surprise, “You better not let Victor hear that cursing!” Jupiter notified me that a shuttle was being prepped. So that’s why mom was here. To ferry me someplace.
Her mental voice wryly intoned, >>Getting wiser in your old age?<< I readjusted the duffle on my back. I didn’t have much from the Bright Dawn. Wasn’t my home. It was Jacob’s! Turns out he loved tinkering alongside Samantha in various away missions. Mom tapped me on the forehead. >>Let’s go!<<
At this stage, I didn’t even have the energy to ask. I know it was a bit unusual for me but I was still processing what my future self had revealed. The pit in my stomach grew. What would happen to Doc? Would she get out of this mission safe and sound? She could rapidly heal but in the heart of that place? Who could….
White’s massive paw glided across my path. Her face was level with my chest. She was getting bigger every year. At least one of us was healing up properly! White tugged on my shirt. <<Let’s move! We have a surprise!>>
The Jupiter’s graceful hull vanished from view as mom turned the shuttle into a wide banking maneuver. That got a snort of laughter out of me. She did love to fly. Extra support with my flight chair encased my body. I didn’t care. The added G-Forces took my mind off of things. Mom was notorious for turning down the anti-grav.
Mom shifted the controls into a downward spiral.
Jerking the ship into a series of spins that would make Samantha go green around the gills. Trouble and Gulliver let out a series of delighted quacks. They were used to all this by now. As we shot past the gravitational pull of the sun, the bright expanse of stars reminded me just how much I missed the simple things in life.
I didn’t want to admit it but I needed this.
Just the ship vs the Black.
A few moments of quiet.
Relatively.
*****
J’ino breathed a small sigh of relief as the darkness faded from her daughter’s features. Samantha had kept them in the loop on Eliza’s mental condition. She was putting on a brave front but J’ino knew otherwise. The Universe saw the Star-Spangled Banner. Confident and Assured. All she saw was one of her children in pain. Not able to protect those closest. While the community at large needed her daughter to be that banner, all J’ino wanted was to provide those she loved a moment of respite.
All they would have to do is repel the combined might of Chronos, Tarkanan, Unity, and whatever fell motivations half the Typherian Houses had in store for one Pale Blue Dot. No biggie. J’ino snorted and bit back a string of curses as the ship intoned, <<Safety regulations prohibit…>>
Eliza grinned, “Mom, did you do something illegal to this shuttle’s engines?”
Thomas’s voice drifted in over their rings, “Having fun?”
J’ino gleefully responded, >>What gave you that idea?!<<
Thomas replied, “They are ready. Come back to the barn.” His mental picture made J’ino blush. >>You are the most naughty man alive.<< His burst of joy was unmistakable.
J’ino set course for the C.A.P installation. Dubbed the Eye of Demeter.
Humans loved to name everything.
J’ino just called it, “Titan Watch. For when you aren’t worried enough!”
Eliza hid a grin at that audible observation. Then added, “How much you want to bet Earth has 3 Titans? Since White has 3 eyes, The Three and its Temples, the Weave and the Highest’s fondness for….”
White eventually placed one massive paw on Eliza’s head.
<<Stop tempting fate!>>
C.A.P Installation Demeter
Waypoint Sigma
I gawked at the cylinder floating above the rings of Saturn. The shuttle dove through an energy barrier. One melded with magic. So it wasn’t visible unless they wanted it. Even from my sight. Or the Amarche. It was H-shaped. Coated with silver and blue markings. Which caused me to sneeze as we passed under some security systems.
As we exited, a few Light Shamans and Sages were staged at nearly every intersection. O’rioh’s brother was among their number. He shot me a concerned glance. Then thought better of it and bowed slightly. “I still disagree with this action but they are worried for good reason. I hope you will proceed with clarity of mind Eliza Murphy.”
Bright green orbs floated about my head. <<Follow.>>
Mom took a hold of my right arm. “Another super project! Even I’m not allowed to wander.”
The area around us faded to white sound. Then dad walked through the field. He held up a gauntleted hand. He was in his Judgment gear. “I'll guide you the rest of the way. This is going to get weird.”
From the way he maneuvered mom into the crook of his arm, it probably would involve vertigo, but White was ready. She phased back through me and my belt came alive. Entwining itself around my father’s waist. To anchor us. Then the world went plaid. A mix of blacks, greens, blues, yellows, and everything in between. The G-Forces? That was simple. This? I nearly tossed my cookies. What little I had burned in the back of my throat. Then a massive white coliseum formed. At each interval on the uppermost crust was a massive iron lion. Their ice blue gems glowing. Each turning its head towards us.
A multitude of voices cried out, “Who approaches the Gates of Ta’rakarum?”
Ta’mathon answered, “The magisters wish to consult the Titan sleeping within the Saturn Dominion.”
They bounded from the pearly white stoneworks.
Surrounding me specifically, “It is too soon. She does not bear the right marks. The White Mother has yet to fully awaken.” Their eyes bored into me. Not accusingly. They were appraising me. I reached out and rested my left palm on the closest lion. It sucked in a great warm breath. My eyes widened.
“Living metal.”
Souled metal.
Unity’s answer was the “Living Stone.” Was there anything it didn’t try to corrupt or mimic? The Lion peered down at me, “It knows no other way.”
My left arm numbed from the elbow down. The black dragon coiled tighter.
The iron flowed over the mane of the great feline.
“The Titan will speak but only to her.” He lowered himself. Belly touching the ground.
“Get on. Otherwise, the forces within this place will be too much for your untrained mind.”
A massive swirling vortex appeared over the coliseum. He sprang skyward. Galloping along. Each step was reinforced by an invisible force. The lack of plaid was a delight.
*****
Hiulk coiled around the silver orb representing Saturn in the physical realm. For this meeting, he would take on a controlled form. One that wouldn’t cause Eliza Murphy much trouble. It may even amuse her. Within real space? One of his scales was the size of Earth. He could coil around the entire Edenverse multiple times if he wished. Even then? He only showed Murphy what her mind could conceive. If that was a Dragon akin to the one branded upon her arm? Then so be it. Held within his 3 pronged sapphire claws was a small hourglass. Its golden sands trickling.
He waited until the Iron Guardian deposited Murphy before him.
At this stage, he was merely the size of Earth’s Moon.
Eliza peered up at him, “Wow. How are you hiding in Saturn then?”
He smiled. Showcasing rows of sharp fangs, “My true size is well beyond your solar system.”
Murphy visibly gulped, “If it isn’t too much trouble. Why am I here? I got the impression it’s too soon.” Hiulk moved so he could coil around Eliza, shrinking until he rested comfortably across her shoulders. He nodded, humming to himself, as he examined her left arm. “I see now. It was wise of the Weave to guide you here. The energy within this weapon of yours will need to be channeled. “ His claws left tiny pinpricks on her forearm. Unlike some dragons of legend, his breath was cool. Nearly as bitter as the void of space.
*****
I couldn’t stop staring. He was the most enchanting thing I had ever beheld.
The threads around him were bright and comforting. Gossamer smooth.
What dread remained within my heart dissipated.
I blurted out, “Are you an empath?”
He chuckled. The sound tickled along my skin.
The soft patter of windchimes.
“Dreams give hope. Respite from the woes of waking day.”
He plucked at my black dragon tattoo. It heated.
Not with the searing heat of the sun but a soothing hum that curled around that spot in my chest that always throbbed. The point where Nyx had stabbed me. He rose. Gliding around my neck. “Walk with me in the Dreaming young one. We have much to talk about.”
*****
Ren let out a low whistle. The platform lowered.
The Jupiter Rising. What technological marvels awaited her? She already used a memory enhancer to record every bit of information. From sight, touch and sound, to other vibrations. All of it would serve a purpose.
She would have her pound of flesh.
Drinking in the pinnacle of what this pathetic race considered the best of the best.
She hummed an ancient melody as the ship brought her inside.
It didn’t even have an enhanced AI.
This would be child’s play.
*****
Jupiter informed The Puzzler and Nola, <<Showtime!>>
Eddie checked himself in the mirror. He smiled. The face that grinned back at him was not his own. For this adventure? Arthon’s heavy brows waggled beneath a glowering stare. “Nola” scowled at him, “Just don’t do anything I wouldn’t!”
Arthon wondered at this plan.
How would pretending to be Nola help?
It's not like she was openly displaying her legitimate origins. Her people were still a trump card in the Terran Alliance’s military wall of battle. His eyes narrowed. He could kick himself at this moment. Of course! She’d pick up the Muthra implants within Nola and make all the “right” assumptions. He smiled back at Eddie and winked.
“Let’s go open the floodgates of misinformation then!”
Eddie replied, “That’s the spirit!”
Jupiter added drily, <<By the time we are done the Horse will truly be beyond the gates of Death!>>
Eddie sneezed.
Arthon said, “Misinformation is the first line of battle!” Hearing his wife’s voice come out with Arthon’s particular cadence would give her ample ammo later on. Her laughter echoed through his pocket mirror. Of course, she was watching!
Jonas groaned. “Onward! Let’s take out more windmills!”
Issue 6: Here
Issue 8: Here
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